OWH - Sketch #259

Today's card is my thank you to Sandy Allnock for all the JOY she has brought to card makers like myself and more importantly to all the troops and their loved ones who were fortunate to come across these wonderful works of art.  Here is sketch #259 from Operation Write Home.

OWH - July Challenge

Operation Write Home is a great organization that will be closing it's doors in August.  If you'd like to donate cards please click here. For this card I used SU's new stamp set called "Watercolor Wings" with the matching die and the new brickwall embossing folder. The sentiment is from Heidi Swapp.

Tim Holtz - 12 Tags of 2015 (Jul)

Happy 4th of July!  For this month's tag from Tim I used a retired (2004) SU set called "Star-Spangled Banner". I stamped all the images using StazOn ink and colored them in with SU markers and blender pens. The sentiment is from SU's "Liberty for All" set also retired (2001). Enjoy your weekend!

Leather Wrap Bracelets

Happy 1st day of Summer! I made these last week while we were on vacation in North Carolina. If you've been following trends you'll know that these leather wrap bracelets can be very pricey (i.e., +$100) but they're surprisingly easy to make with supplies from Michael's or JoAnn's. For a tutorial just search YouTube.

Tim Holtz - 12 Tags of 2015 (Jun)

Happy June. May was a very busy month for us so I haven't posted in while but I couldn't miss Tim's June tag. The focal point for this tag was a Silhouette coffee cup image called "thanks a latte". It actually came with the flower image and then I added the corrugated sleeve. For the background I used a woodgrain stamp and rotated the image to create the grid pattern.

Happy Mother's Day

Here's a quick tag that I made for my mom using a recycled Easter card. I added flower embellishments, the ribbon, sentiment and finished it off with a few spritzes of gold ink. Happy Mother's Day!

Tim Holtz - 12 Tags of 2015 (May)

Last month my father-in-law celebrated his 91st birthday so I thought this photo of him and his two sons would be perfect for this month's tag from Tim. For the background I used sticky canvas instead of burlap and I added a variety of ephemera including airmail printables from pinterest.

OWH - Sketch #253

For this week's card I turned Operation Write Home's sketch #253 horizontally. I also got a head start on my Mother's Day cards...this one being for those doggie mamas out there.

 

OWH - Sketch #252

Here is my card for Operation Write Home's sketch #252. The inspiration came from a tag I saw on Pinterest. Here's the link to the actual blog post. It was such a creative use of washi tape that I had to try it. I used the butterfly stamp from Stampin Up's "Nature's Perfection" set, covered it with strips of washi tape and ran it through my big shot. I then pulled back pieces of the washi tape using an exacto knife. Pretty cool effect.

Lá Breithe Sona!

Happy Birthday (in Gaelic) to my father-in-law. 

May You Live a Long Life
Full of gladness and health
With a pocket full of gold
As the last of your wealth
May the dreams you hold dearest
Be those which come true
May the kindness you spread,
Keep returning to you.

Tim Holtz - 12 Tags of 2015 (Apr)

Here is this month's tag for Tim Holtz's monthly challenge. The flowers and the butterfly are from Stampin' Up's "Nature's Perfection" Sale-A-Bration stamp set and the sentiment is from the "Expressions" thinlits dies. Hope you enjoy and have a Happy Easter! 

OWH - Sketch #251

For this week's sketch from Operation Write Home I used one of SU's classic stamp sets from 2001, "Wonderful Wings". I stamped the dragonfly on watercolor paper and applied Rich Razzleberry ink with a blending pen.

OWH - Sketch #250

Happy Spring! I saw the idea for this card on Pinterest and thought it worked perfectly for the sketch. Stamping Ginger gets credit for the awesome idea and all the products used are from Stampin' Up! To see sketch #250 from Operation Write Home click here.

OWH - Sketch #249

Here is this week's card for Operation Write Home's sketch #249. The numbers are from Stampin' Up's polymer set called "Typeset" and the sentiment is from the "Big Day" set.

Tim Holtz - 12 Tags of 2015 (Mar)

Here is my tag for this month's challenge from Tim. Most of the products used are from Stampin' Up! except for the tape and the stencil...and yes I made the mistake of heat embossing with copper powder while the paste was wet but I kind of liked the grunge look and just kept going. The butterfly stamp is one of SU's classics!

SBC - Sketch #428

It's hard to believe that February is ending and we're just now expecting our first significant snowfall of the season. Here is a layout I did for Scrapbook Challenges sketch #428. ...boys will be boys. All products used are Stampin' Up!

SBC - Sketch #427

For this week's layout, I went back and used a Christmas photo for Scrapbook Challenges sketch #427. Although the color palette is somewhat untraditional, I think all the different elements work well together to compliment the photo.

Happy Birthday Tag

Happy Birthday Mom!

OWH - Sketch #248

Here is this week's card for Operation Write Home's sketch #248. All the papers, dies and punches are from Stampin' Up!

SBC - Sketch #426

Happy Valentine's Day!!! Last week we were honored to attend a very special event. I thought this photo and sentiment from Ali Edwards worked perfectly for the sketch and the occasion. 

SBC - Sketch #425

Here is my layout for sketch #425 from Scrapbook Challenges. These photos feature my niece and nephew were taken at Monticello. The background paper is from Katie Pertiet and the hexagons are from Stampin' Up!

Tim Holtz - 12 Tags of 2015 (Feb)

Happy February! Here is my tag for Tim's 12 Tags of 2015 challenge. This month I used an eclectic mix of items to recreate Tim's look. The card base is Real Red cardstock from Stampin' Up; other SU items include the ribbon, silver wire, brads, buttons, chipboard arrow and heart, silver embossing powder, inks, newspaper print paper, love rub on and newsprint washi tape. The oval frame, the sentiment and a few of the background papers are from other vendors.

Greeting Card Holder

As part of a baby shower gift, I made fifteen "Thank You" cards for the mother to be. I used the "Baby, We've Grown" set from Stampin' Up! and made each card different (scroll to bottom of post to see all fifteen). I then needed a nice way to present the cards and found a really nice tutorial with step-by-step instructions from Amy Kolling. Since I had so many cards with raised surfaces I had to modify her design which ultimately created a holder 3" thick.

 

SBC - Sketch #424

Here is my layout for Scrapbook Challenges sketch #242.  These photos were taken back in December at the Military Bowl in Annapolis, MD. Can you believe we actually made it into the ESPN shot?

OWH - Sketch #247

Here is this week's card for Operation Write Home's sketch #247. For this card I used Stampin' Up's new "Baby, We've Grown" set. I also made 15 variations of this card to give as a baby shower gift. I'll be posting those soon.