This card was made for the Whiff of Joy challenge #72, found here. I colored this Oakley last week but he was sitting around here looking for a card to hang out on. I absolutely love this Basic Grey paper, the Origins pack. Who am I kidding - I love all things Basic Grey, lol. I cut Oakley out and popped him up on dimensionals, then sat him on the tree trunk stamped separately.

I sponged the clouds in w/a scalloped mask and then tried something different for the grass - I took a couple of my Fiskars border scissors and cut a mask, one small scallops and the other a tilted scallop (kind of like small waves). I turned these upside down so the peaks were facing up and sponged 2 different greens at different angles to give that mottled grass look. Very pleased with the way it turned out, although I seem to have cut most of it off when I used my Creative Memories oval cutter ... Oh well, taught myself something new, and will use it again.

The card base is vanilla, so I used a strip of vanilla and punched on both sides w/the new Stampin' Up scalloped border punch to bring some of the vanilla up to the top of the card. I totally forgot about the 3 embellishments on the bottom til the card was assembled, so I added some green stickles as faux brads.

I just love these Elisabeth Bell images - such talent!


This next card was made for the Splitcoasters Sketch #273 Challenge found here.

The image was PIF'd to me by one of the Splitcoasters so I'm not sure but have a feeling it's a Whipper Snapper. I colored him with prisma colored pensils and gamsol. Originally I colored his nose with a gold gel pen, but didn't stick out, so I added some Crystal Effects, and with the gold sparkly underneath, looks really cool. The paper is from Basic Grey's Lemonade pack ... I have mislaid the sentiment stamp, so not sure where it came from. It's not included in the sketch, but I wanted to say something on the card and it fit just right.

Thanks for stopping by for a look see - I love to hear any comments you may have.

Here are a couple more cards I'm getting together to send out to Operation Write Home ...

The first one was done following the

OWH Sketch Challenge #9, found here .

I also combined it with the Splitcoasters color challenge for today: Dusty durango, Pretty in pink and Creamy caramel. I'd link that as well, but the SCS site is down for maintenance. This image is from Whipper Snapper, "Chloe" (which I colored with Copics) and the sentiment is from PTI's Daily Designs Sentiments. The ribbon is generic but matched the pretty in pink - perfectly that is, until I sponged over the cuttlebugged swiss dots with durango to make them pop, lol. The bunny's nose has crystal effects on it and her flowers were outlined with clear gelly roll pen to make it sparkle a little.

Did one for a little girl, so had to balance the scales ... This next card is also a Whipper Snapper image, "Baseball Brandon" that I also colored with Copics. I matted using the Creative Memories Cutting System. The sentiment is also from Whipper Snapper "Little Slugger" (imagine that, lol). I added 3 stars since I knew I was going to send it to Operation Write Home.

Hoping these arrive safe 'n sound so that they can be sent home to someone's little boy and little girl.

Thanks for stopping by ... feel free to leave comments.

FINALLY got through the whole list of blogs for this weekend's Spring Break Blog Hop. Many touching stories and wonderful cards made to send on to Operation Write Home's shippers, ready for transport to the troops. I've been instilled with a renewed desire to make even more cards, so much that I stamped a bunch of cards last night.

When I send out cards, I usually write a note on a post it and place it inside the card, but I recently actually wrote on one of the cards I made for my BFF, and it drove me crazy, all the bumps, lol. So ... last night I made single layer cards, just using stamps and negative space templates to create the effect of mats & layering. Wanted to get something that was just as beautiful as the cards we make w/all the layers, but skinny enough to write comfortably on - especially if they want to write a long note. Here's what I came up with ...

As you can see, I used a lot of sponging the inside of a mat that I had punched in different shapes & sizes. Over this, I stamped various images & sentiments trying to keep them simple. I did use a clear gelly roll pen for the trailing butterfly paths and outlining the flowers on the card on the right. The far right also was colored using prismas & gamsol - dries so you don't see the 'bleed' on the inside of the card.

Stamps I used include Penny Black, Stampin Up With All My Heart, PTI's Butterfly Dreams; Beautiful Blossoms II, Daily Designs Sentiments & a Stampendous sentiment stamp (far right).

I ordered a back stamp from OWH's referred site, but in the meantime, I printed something similar on the back of some of these sheets of c/s. Makes it easier for the sorters - I didn't realize this before.

Thanks for stopping by ... Love to hear any comments you might have.

Making my way through the Operation Write Home Spring Break blog hop - baby steps it seems ... I know deadline has passed, but I'm determined to visit each one. Until I get there, just wanted to say they're all WONDERFUL. The stories are heartwarming. Hopefully this will bring more attention to the cause of getting cards to the troops so they can send some love home to their families and loved ones ...

Welcome to Operation Write Home's Spring Break BLOG HOP ... for more information, please go to ...

Operation Write Home Stars and Stamps' home page.

So, what's the story behind your contributions of sending cards to our troops? I'm always curious.

My husband is unable to serve in the military because of medical reasons, and my only daughter is only 14 years old. Therefore, I don't have anyone in my immediate (or even extended) family who is serving our country for whom I can offer up some kind of encouragement or appreciation for all they do from the home-front. I LOVE participating in the challenges over at Splitcoast Stampers where the cards completed are sent over to the troops for them to pick and choose what they'd like to send home to their loved ones. (Thank you, Kris, for all you do!) I think it's safe to assume there are no Hallmark card stores where these men and women are sent. It feels like the least I can do for all that they do for us to protect our country and our freedom throughout the world.

These servicemen and women need all the love, prayer, encouragement and support that we can give them !!

Today, I made this card to send along ... and will be doing a bunch more as time allows ... If you're up to it, I'd like to challenge you to make a spring-inspired "Thinking of You" or just "Hello" card yourself and send it along. Go to the Operation Write Home link posted above, and click on the About Operation Write Home button to find out the particulars - remember...No Glitter, size A2 cards, No storebought cards - they DO so like the handmade ones best.

I made the background paper with PaperTrey Inc.'s Distressed stripes and my "Gua-Sabi" combination of Stampin' Up colors: Guava and Wasabi. I'm hoarding the cardstock and ribbon since they're In-colors that have been retired, but figured if this wasn't a worthy cause, nothing was.

Please REMEMBER - The Deadline for Mother's Day is April 1st - so please keep that in mind. No Mother's Day cards will be sent to the troops after that day. There's always Father's Day, 4th of July,and just plain ole Thinking of You cards.

Now, without further ado, Please Hop On Over to Erika's blog at Polley Crafts to continue on your journey.

Best Of Blog-Hopping to you ...

Just a few random cards I worked on this week ... This first one was for the Gina K sketch challenge ... While the images aren't Gina K, the white Luxury c/s is ... plus I got the Basic Grey Eskimo Kisses from her. The image is actually a Whipper Snapper one that I colored with Copics. I watercolored the prima's with pink and green. Don't know if you can tell, but I added crystal effects to the tops of the brads to give them that epoxy look.

This image just struck my funny bone when I saw it online, so of course, HAD to get it. He's colored with copics as well. This one was just for MY pleasure, lol - have to find someone to send it to now.

I absolutely LOVE this set from Stampin Up. It screamed masculine, so I left it fairly simple & monochromatic. Very happy with how it turned out.

Think I must be on a Whipper Snapper roll here, cuz this one turned out pretty cute, in my humble opinion.

This card was made for the Free For All 4 Challenge .. "I want the Fairy Tale" ... In her description, she mentioned Pretty Woman, and this dress IMMEDIATELY came to mind. The sentiment was computer generated.

This card was made following Julie's Ways to Use it challenge yesterday - Words of encouragement. My BFF lost her job recently, and I just wanted to send her a little pick me up ... Yes, another Whipper Snapper, lol.

That's all for now ... Come back tomorrow ... Operation Write Home is having a blog hop and my blog is somewhere near the end ...

I don't think this mom's ready for her DD to grow up so fast.

Had uninterrupted couple of hours this afternoon (can you say "YAY for homework?") ... so I worked on a couple more cards for this weeks Way to Use It, or in other words, use something new. I used some of Gina K's luxury white c/s to stamp these dandelions on, and again went to my Basic Grey's Lemonade paper pack. I like the way the diagonal corners look here ... I only rounded the 2 corners. I LOVE the way the gold ribbon looks against the mustard card stock. The button is from a bag I found - plastic actually - that I cut the shank from & used a glue dot for the sticky part. Don't think you can see it, but I also took a clear gel pen and made little swirls on the dandelions for a little bit of shimmer. That sentiment is actually a rub on.


For this next one, I used my new primas ... I bought a large container of the offwhite ones knowing that I could paint them to match what I wanted them to go with. Also used another sheet of Basic Grey that I just got. This Sugar Nellie Postbox was colored with copics. Ok, I said I wasn't going to say anything, but I have to - I'm not happy with the butterfly. Got a bit dark and in trying to lighten, ended up bleeding out (no, I wasn't using SU's whisper white or Gina K's luxury - that'll teach me, right, lol). OF COURSE, this happened after the rest of the coloring was done ... of which I'm actually pleased with the results ... So I used my clear Copic to try to 'sop up' the extra color. I dotted her bonnet w/the same clear gel pen and added some liquid pearls to the flower centers. The primas were spritzed with smidge of water & I then used my aqua pen & mustard to color the primas randomly. I didn't want overall coverage, so I just kind of dabbed the brush here & there so it could soak in where it wanted to. That "skinny minny" trim is from the SAB border punch that I just cut thinly so it would look like lace.

Thanks for stopping by. Would love to hear your comments.

Today's challenge over at Splitcoasters was to use something new. While I did buy this Changito set last year, I can't believe I haven't even broken the seal from this clear set til today. I also got some new designer paper from Basic Grey. I used the Lemonade pack to pick from for this background paper.

Changito Hop, Copics to color, multiple Stickles for the corners, Crystal Effects for the eggs & some saffron grosgrain ribbon to finish it off.

Thanks for stopping by ...

This first card is representative of a two-fold challenge ... both at Splitcoasters. First, it's Color Combination Tuesday ... Certainly Celery, Bashful Blue and Melon Mambo. Second, I followed along (for the first time ever) at Cindy's (aka: mothermark at SCS) Teapot Tuesday. She has such fun stories to go along w/the challenges, but this was my first foray into the teapot. Be ready to be entertained at Today's Teapot Tuesday .

Cindy told us of a young woman named Lindsay who is in her 2nd trimester and just found out that she has Hodgkins Lymphoma. Click on the link to find out more about Lindsay.

Along w/this touching story, Cindy tells of a quilter she met in England and has basically gone Bobby Flay with a THROWDOWN!

I love sewing on my cards, just never seem to make it all the way up to the 3rd floor where the machine is. One of these days, I'll have to consider combining the 2 rooms.




This next card was made for Whiff of Joy's Challenge #69, Coffee and Cream
What I wouldn't have given for a long, tall cuppa joe today. Instead, I had to settle for this beautiful Willow with Hot Chocolate. I tried to keep the card with a coffee and cream theme with the plaid paper pieced chair and the background as well as the satin ribbon. My flower looks like it has arms, lol. I'll be heading to the LSS tomorrow to get some primas ... all I have are the small ones & I'd love to start using bigger & better.

Well, th...th... th... that's all folks! Thanks for stopping by for a look-see !

This first card was made for the Clean and Simple challenge at Splitcoasters - to use 2 different Nesties, Spellbinders, etc., shapes on the card. I wanted to keep it very simple, so I used the sponging technique & reverse masked the shapes onto the white cardstock before stamping my image from the Merci set by Stampin' Up. I then ran it through the swiss dots embossing folder with my Cuttlebug. Only 2 layers - Voila !


I followed the Technique Lovers Challenger for yesterday for this card - Very Vintage. (MAYBE my favorite style?) The image was stamped on cream cardstock, as was the sentiment, in chocolate. I then distressed the edges & sponged around them with cocoa. I liked the contrast between the swirly corner punch and the straight lines of the Parisian Summer paper. I especially love this crocheted cream trim. I'm running low, so will have to stock up on this. I like the dark Forest base, too. Think it's the perfect complement.

Would love to hear what you think about any of the cards you see.

Thanks for stopping by!

This card follows Act 20, found at Stacey's Stamping Stage, to use Real Red, Bashful Blue and Certainly Celery.
I once again used the 'huffing' technique with my Zig brush markers. After, I sponged using reverse masking from a blank from one of my Nesties Labels. I added some corners punched in red and the sentiment. That celery twill ribbon is to die for! If you don't have it, get some! I think the only thing I'm not as happy with is the sentiment. I should have gone w/a larger red mat to balance that one corner. I DO like the way the image turned out tho. Those are sometimes hit or miss when you're coloring onto the rubber.

This Splitcoasters challenge was based on the Inspiration of Ginko Papers . I immediately fell in love with this Floating Cherry Blossom card and the only stamp I could envision was the Blossoms Abound set by Stampin' Up. I actually used 3-4 markers to casually color the rubber before "huffing". I'm actually very pleased with the results on this first one.

This second card, for the same challenge, was based on the Twinkle of Snow letter set. I used the clear embossing technique and then sponged some bashful blue over it to keep it light and airy. I didn't want to detract from the overall design, so I made the 'image panel' of the same snowflakes, with the same technique. That ribbon, while it appears pink in this photo, is actually white. Only thing I'm not happy with is the sentiment. Looks great on the card, In Real Life, but in the photo ... well, Maybe! would have done it different.

This card was made following a sketch challenge. Note the lower layer just beneath the oval panel is made up of 3 different pieces. I stamped the striped paper in the 'way back' with some flourish images. The sentiment is a digital creation from Squigglefly I really liked the way the satin ribbon looked against the black & cream of the card. What do you think?

At Splitcoasters, this color challenge included Crushed Curry, Artichoke and Grey. Another digital image ... I printed the "greenery" and background directly onto the curry. The back panel was made with my Stampin Up plaid wheel, after I dusted it off. I keep forgetting what supplies I have when they're organized in a drawer. I wasn't too keen on the color choice until I softened the edges with some sponging, now I'm a happy camper!

Here is a sampling of what I did for the Splitcoasters' Virtual Stamp Night a couple of weeks ago, themed Winter Olympics.

The challenge for this first card was based on one of the
"official" sweaters. The background was sponged (simulation of Zindorf's fabulous brayering technique) with basic black on one side and burgundy on the other side. I then ran the panel through my Argyle Cuttlebug embossing folder. When I added the burgundy twine to the brads, I like the way the background has a quilted appearance. I was very pleased with how this turned out.

For this next card, we were to make the card as much white as possible. I used some of the CB embossing folders rather than actually stamping images and used a very thin bashful blue mat to help the layers pop. Super simple - I think it only took me about 10 minutes from cover to cover ... well within the 45 minutes they allot you.

This card here was based on a sketch of the symbol representing these 2010 Winter Olympics. Not the 5 rings, but an "Inukshuk". An Inukshuk is a stone landmark (or cairn) built for centuries by people of the Arctic North Americas. They've been used for navigation, land markers and even food caches. If you're interested in more information, Watch this YouTube interview. I'm finding myself drawn to some of the older Stampin' Up sets - I used my Zig brush markers to color the stamps themselves and then 'huffing' on them before stamping. And yes, I've seen flowers this color, lol.

This challenge from VSN for the Winter Olympics was to incorporate GOLD! I think you can see it, but this Japanese designer paper is almost like rice paper, very thin and delicate. The flowers are all outlined in a wonderful shimmery gold. So that's the first use ... Then there's the mat behind the image & sentiment. Last is the gold ribbon. I love this paper. I ended up buying 2 sheets of 3 papers, and am squandering it - "Is THIS card worthy?" It's perfect for that subtle effect.

I won't bore you will all my VSN challenges, but these were some of the ones I was most pleased with. Thanks for taking the time to stop by and leave a comment.

I couldn't wait to open up my Butterfly Dreams from PTI. Only sad part was I didn't have their matching die, but I've since rectified that, now that they're back in stock. I'm pretty pleased with the results.

Here's another digital image from Squigglefly, colored in Copics. I like the coloring, but I will be the first to admit that I "need" a bigger selection of colors to do some of these justice. I wanted to keep this one fairly simple to bring focus to the image.

This is a new 'purchase' - Thanks, Carrie, I LOVE it! These are so fun to color with copics, lots of larger areas that you can get in & mix and match & blend til you're happy. I so want to take a class to finesse my technique. They're certification classes are few and far between - distance wise. And you have to be affiliated with a store; teach classes, etc., or they'll bump you to the last come/last served list. Hard to plan a long distance trip on the off-chance you may get in, you know? Ok, off my soapbox. I DO love coloring with them, it wasn't a complaint.

Thanks for stopping by - would love to know what you think.

This was a fun challenge for me ... we were supposed to use a color we're not prone to grab. I have to admit, while I LOVE the Carribean waters, Turquoise just doesn't grab me, you know? This is another digital image, Kai in Snow, from Mo's Digital Pencil. I do like the way it turned out with keeping the coloring on the bright side to match the main color. Thanks for peeking in ...