Cards Using OWH Sketches 1- 24

Since many units are being withdrawn from overseas deployments, Operation Write Home doesn't need as many cards as formerly.  That means we can take the time to explore new techniques and put a little extra love into every card.  My plan is to use the OWH sketches.  Today the 240th sketch was published, and there are some bonus sketches as well.  That means I'll be busy for quite a while!  Here are the first twenty-four cards made from Sketches 1 - 24.

Sketches 1-2-4-3

Patterned paper won at the OWH Memorial Day Blog Hop
Images and dies:
    1 - Hero Arts "Missing Ewe" OWH stamp and die sets
    2 - My Favorite Things "Funny Bunny" OWH fund raiser
    4 - Mama Elephant "In My Heart" stamp and die sets, sentiment Autumn Leaves "Postmarks"
    3 - Inkadinkadoo "Cats Galore" stamps, Cuttlebug "Celebration Stamps" die

Sketches 5-6-7-8

I turned #7 on its side since a sentiment running up and down on the middle strip didn't work for me.
All papers were won at the same blog hop.
Cuttlebug "Welcome Baby" embossing folder
5, 6, 7 - Mama Elephant "In My Heart" stamps and dies, Sticko flat dots, Stampin' Up label punch
8 - Stampendous "Love Robotz" and "Botz Quotes" images and sentiments

Sketches 9-10-11-12

I made #10 horizontal instead of vertical.
Stamps, sentiments, and label punch as above.
Cuttlebug "Swiss Dots" and Darice "Zigzag" embossing folders
Hero Arts "Hugs" stamp

 Sketches 13-14-15-16

Number 13 with a sentiment going downhill didn't appeal to me, so I made it a vertical card with the image and sentiment on a slant.  Number 14 was supposed to have the image slanted -- again, not my style, so I placed it straight.  I turned #16 into a vertical card as well.
Papers:  Pink zigzag from brights stack by Darice, floral from Big Lots
Corner punch from Carl
Stamps:
    13 - Studio G image, Inkadinkadoo sentiment
    14 - Personal Stamp Exchange image, Hero Arts sentiment, Darice Zigzag embossing folder
    15 - Same as #8
    16 - My Favorite Things "I Spy" image and sentiment

 

 Sketches 17-18-19-20

I turned #18 into a vertical card and # 19 into a horizontal one.  

Papers for 17 & 18 Darice Brights paper stack

Papers for 19 & 20 K I Memories "Celebrate Life" paper stack

    17 -  My Favorite Things "You Are Unrepeatable" image and sentiment

    18 -  The Artful Stamper image, Cuttlebug "Organic Flourish" embossing folder

    19, 20 -  Stampin' Up "Giggle Greetings" image and sentiment

 

 Sketches 21-22-23-24

Number 22 was shown as a horizontal card, but I turned it into a vertical card.

Striped paper same as #19, map paper Gartner Studios "World Map"
    21 & 22 - Stampin' Up "Giggle Greetings image and sentiment, Darice"Paw Prints" embossing folder
    23 - Hero Arts OWH "You're Always in My Heart" stamp, Cuttlebug "Celebration Stamps" die
    24 - Stampin' Up "Traveler" stamp

World Card Making Day is coming on October 4th!

Time to get a "Love" card ready for the Operation Write Home WCMD Blog Hop!

June, July, August, and September Card Classes

Vicky, my Stampin' Up distributor, was busy this summer creating a wide variety of cards for us to make.  I love how most classes offer at least one card with an interesting fold or technique that's new to us.

June

Here are all eight cards made in June.  From 10 a.m. until 3 p.m. with time for a lunch Vicky provides makes for a restful, creative day with friends.

This card is my favorite because it's not a regular fold and it has many layers.  I now have the label punch that makes the legs of this screen so can make these cards on my own.

 

This clean and simple card is so elegant.  The scored background adds interest to the plain white paper.  Just remember to stamp the sentiment before scoring.  Ask me how I know! I have a tiny stamp of a package so can make more of this card as well. 

The pink card base is another interesting fold.  To make more of these I'll have to use a shape other than a square since I don't have a square die.

Christmas in July

Eight Christmas cards made six months early.  My Christmas card list gets shorter each year, but I still will need more than eight!  The teal ornament card had a silver bow at the top but it seems to have come off for this photo.

I love hedgehog stamps, and this one is so cute.  I may use a button made from the Martha Stewart punch instead when I mail it.  The candy cane ribbon adds the right touch.

I try to avoid glitter, so instead of using the silver glitter paper for the snowflakes, I used embossed and inked paper.  I love the snowflake edge die.

This is an elegant card with layered borders behind the ribbon and a light blue with greens color scheme.  The sentiment on the inside has the text of "Silent Night" in the shape of a Christmas tree.

Another elegant card with an unconventional grey and blue color scheme.  

This card has a cute manger scene and stamped stars for the background paper.

Somehow I missed the red paper that was supposed to go behind the top paper which has the embossing, scene, and sentiment.  It's good just as it is, though.  I like the little touch of red, the embossing, and the gems in the center of the snowflakes.

This one involved a lot of coloring.  I did add more color to the tree and did some blending when I got home. 

Here's a fold just like one made in May.  The striped paper has a texture and adds interest.

August

These were fun to make.  The top right card is blue and yellow rectangles adhered at right angles and the parts which extend are closed like you'd close a box by folding in the flaps.  I love the fancy edge of the tag below that one.  The birthday stamp with the cheese was so cute I ordered the set. 

September 

 

Last week we made three Halloween cards and five others.  My favorite technique is the blue quilted one made with paper strips.  I went to Pinterest and pinned a bunch of quilt ideas that can be made with paper strips. 

The hedgehog stamp is cute, as are the koala and the frogs.  The trees remind me that I've seldom used the tree stamp set.... I must use it more often.

 

"Whether you're a good witch or a bad witch, it's all about the shoes" tells me exactly who this card will go to!  The three-dimensional scene will go to someone whose birthday is on Halloween, and the witch's hat to a friend who loves folded paper.  It's great how things work out.

Operation Write Home July 4 VCMP

This year's Virtual Card Making Party is well underway, and as of 4:00 p.m. July 4, I've yet to make a single card.  However, by the time the end of the party rolls around on Monday evening, I plan to have all 18 cards completed, posted, and linked to the eighteen party hosts. (Note on July 10:  I didn't make my goal time-wise, but I did complete and link all challenges by 2 a.m. on Wednesday.)

Hostess #1 is Sybrina at There's Always the Other Side.  I love the name of her blog, because my stamping is often crooked, so I flip the paper over to stamp on the other side!

The challenge here is to use one of the OWH Sketches  and make two cards, a his and a hers.  The bonus sketch by Nancy K. on page 66 is the one I plan to use.  I used hexagons which are two sizes, the small Fiskars and large Stampin' Up punches.  His card is embossed with the Darice zigzag folder and Hers with Cuttlebug Swiss Dots. 

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Michelle at Caffeine & Stamps has the next challenge -- make a Thank You card to send to our heroes serving overseas.  There are bonus points for using spray inks to make fireworks, but I had to emboss the navy background with Cuttlebug Stars to give a hint of night sky.  The stamped image and die are from the In My Heart set by Mama Elephant.

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The third stop is Kelly's place, A2Z Scrapbooking Supplies , where the theme is using paper piecing on a card for kids.  Blue white-core  card stock embossed with the Darice Clouds folder and then sanded made the sky.  The images, dies, and sentiment are from the same Missing You set from Mama Elephant as the previous card.

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Lori at Lori's Kreations is the next blog, where the challenge is to use red, white, and blue to make a birthday card.  Cuttlebug Birds and Swirls, and Decorative Tile Set folders were used, as were tiny Sticko gems from EKSuccess. 

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At Bunny Scrap Beth's challenge is to use ink, paint, or scraps to make a colorful background.  This was a great chance to sort through my scraps that were already cut into strips.  One day I'll do nothing but make scrappy backgrounds and clean out that little box of scraps.  The sentiment is from Inkadinkadoo.

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Today's final stop is at JoAnn Ross where the task is to make two winter cards -- one Christmas and one that can be used at any point in the winter season.  The Inkadinkadoo snowman is from the thrift store, and the sentiment is Katie & Co.  The second sentiment is from Unity Stamps.

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More VCMP on Saturday, July 5

Saturday's first challenge is to participate in the July (even though the title says June!) Our Daily Bread challenge to include on a card something with wings.  Birds, butterflies, other insects, or airplanes would fit this challenge.  This card is really blue and purple (same patterned paper as the card above), but the photo washed out the rich colors.  The bird is several layers cut from the Stampin' Up Bird Builder punch, as are the leaves.  The sentiment is from the Heart Flutter set by Dimensions and the purple sparkly dots are Stickos.

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At Cherie's Corner of the World we're to make a card that includes at least one circle plus two banners. The Mojo Monday sketch was altered somewhat for this card.  Papers from a scrap pack from Autumn Leaves, Sticko shiny dots, and stamp from a Hero Arts OWH fund raiser set.

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Andrea at Crafty Tafty asks us to make a masculine card with a vintage image. These papers, ribbon, and stamps are all from Stampin' Up.

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At Bobbi's Treasure the challenge is to include at least three different textures on a card.  Embossing folders, textured papers, heat embossing, ribbon or other fibers, buttons, brads, eyelets, of die cuts...how to choose just three?  I chose Stampin' Up materials:  ribbon, embossing on the butterflies, dimensionals under the scalloped die cut, and pearls on the butterflies.

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The next task is to make a card featuring some type of transportation.  A bike is transportation, right? These are also all Stampin' Up materials.

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Tami has asked us to make a Christmas card that features  Santa ... and is a red, white, and blue card!  This was fun, something I'd never done.  The Santa is nearly 30 years old, and was from Rubber Stampede.  I love the corner punch from Carl and should use it more often.  Once again the Stars folder from Cuttlebug gives a good background to go with the patterned paper. 

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Sunday, July 6, the final day of the VCMP

The first challenge was to make a card that uses OWH sketch 232.  I had the Santa stamp out so used it for this sketch.  Thanks to Marlene at Stars and Stamps for the sketch challenge.   More silver Stickos and some vellum embossed with the Cuttlebug Leafy Branch folder complete this card.

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Annette at by Annette had a creative task - make two cards with the same design but make one thick and one thin.  The thick one is OK for Any Hero mail, and the thin one is for our heroes to use when they write home. 

Really thick gems can't go through the postal machines without ripping the envelope.

Thin Sticko stickers, however, definitely can.

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A card for a teen was next, and this image of a rockin' pup is perfect.  Thanks, Becca from Expressions for the challenge.  The Rockin' Doggie image and sentiment from Birdie Brown's blog are no longer available.  The diagonal strip is just torn from a grocery bag.

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Yvonne at Penguin Papers tasked us with making a love card featuring a furry critter, and I chose this fellow in a bunny costume...so cute!  The stamp and image are Funny Bunny from My Favorite Things, and the zigzag folder is from Darice.

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One year I used these little stamps for  my Christmas card, but Sherry at Bits of Cheer asked us to pair the Christmas inchies with a sketch at OWH, and I chose number 58.  The stamp set is from Close to My Heart, and the bling dots are more Stickos.

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The final card was Cara's challenge at Crafting Adventures.  We were to make something faux.  I have materials to do faux stitching, buttons, or tiles, and I chose the buttons.  I think the image and sentiment are more from the Birdie Brown blog, but are no longer available.  The Martha Stewart button embosser/punch are perfect for making buttons that will go through the mail with no problem.

OWH Midweek Throwdown - Kites

I watch Sandy Allnock's Scrap Wrangler video whenever I need some inspiration to wrangle my scraps, and the kite is one idea Sandy gives.  This is a terrible photo since it's cropped from a photo of six cards sent last month to Operation Write Home.  The pieces are on blue card stock, trimmed and then mounted on black.  The hills are two curved layers with inked edges.  Last week I bought a Darice embossing folder with clouds, so all future kite cards will have clouds in the sky.

Four 12x12 Double-Sided Papers, Four Cards

It was during the recent blog hop that I discovered The Efficient Crafter's blog. The concept of using four sheets of double-sided paper to make four cards appealed to me because I'm really awash in paper and needed a sketch and a plan to use more of it.

First I tried using some paper from Big Lots - two assorted scrap packs from Autumn Leaves.  The papers are 6x6, 6x3, and 3x3, one pack in fall colors, one in summery shades.

 There aren't any solids in the packs so I had to use some yellow and turquoise card stock embossed with the Cuttlebug Swiss Dots embossing folder.
 

The second pack with papers matted with light green and orange.

Only four 12x12 double-sided papers make four cards -- including the base and every single element including all the matting pieces!

       The cutting formula yields:

• four card bases
• four 5 x 2.75 papers to use unmatted
• four 3 x 4.5 papers and their matting pieces
• four 2.5 x 3.5 papers and their matting pieces
• four 1 x 3 papers and their matting pieces
• eight extra pieces, four 2.75 x 2.75 and four2.75 x 3 to use on another project

 Since I was using papers from the "Best Occasion" collection from Wal-Mart which was stiff enough to use as card bases, this four-sheet formula requires just that and no more.  This is my kind of sketch and cutting formula - the kind that doesn't skimp on paper.  I've seen One Sheet Wonder cutting formulas that take one 12 x 12 sheet and make 16 cards, but since some of the cards use only a little piece of the 12x12, they require additional card stock for the base and for layering.  This one is brilliant!