Another Card for Operation Write Home!

Here we go!  This is the second card for my upcoming Operation Write Home Card Workshop on the 18th and 19th of July.  I know we have done a sunburst card before, but I LOVE the papers in the Jubilee Paper Packet used all together like this!  It is soooo cheery and full of SUMMER!

What do you think?  It feels like a picnic!  I used the awesome Circus Alphabet My Acrylix set for the sentiment--this is the July Stamp of the Month from Close to My Heart!  You can get it this month ONLY either at full price for $17.95 OR for just $5 with a $50 order.

I thought the font went well with the cheery papers!

And then, I did what I tend to do...I made another option, lol!  I just could not help myself, so I stamped a couple of images from the Country-Born My Acrylix and used my Watercolor Pencils and blending pen to add some color to match!  This sentiment is just PERFECT for the troops to send home...

I can't wait to show you how easy this was!  :)

Here are some other ways to use the Jubilee Paper Packet...

And here is that Stamp of the Month again!  There is even a video at the bottom of my post with more to see using it...

OWH Midweek Throwdown! Welcome!

Hi everyone!  I'm super-excited to be the sample card maker for Operation Write Home this week!  I have a fantastic series of motorcycle cards to show you today to get those creative juices flowing for the OWH Midweek Throwdown--Masculine Cards. 

Personally, I am a sparkler, lol, so glitter and bling are my thing!  I am all about expanding my horizons though, and when a potential client wants motorcycles, you don't try to talk them into tiaras!  I came up with these six designs using the Close to My Heart Born to Ride My Acrylix stamp set after a tiny shopping spree for the proper unblingy supplies..sometimes, you see, when making your man cards, it's all about having the right embellishments!

No bling here, but plenty of shine from this printable silver foil from Silhouette.  It is sticky-back and works a lot like vinyl (which is what I have been calling it before I READ the package, lol.)  It comes in 8.5 x 11 sheets and embosses beautifully, as you will see!

  
These two are my faves!  Inside, the sentiment reads, "enjoy the ride!"

See, embossing folders can be manly!  Take this Diamond Plate folder from Cuttlebug, for example.

Hey, washi can be manly too!  I found this roll at Archivers--but threw away the packaging, I'm afraid!  I could have also used the fantastic tire tread stamp from Close to My Heart's Fast and Furious My Acrylix stamp set. Can't wait to see how that works out next time!  :)

See the little staples?  Another FUN manly addition--with the Tim Holtz Tiny Attacher!  I stamped the motorcycle in this one with a second generation image to give it a worn look.

More man-bling here too!  These 3 mm nailheads from Mark Richards are a GREAT alternative to sparkle.  I can just hear Tim, the Tool Man, Taylor now!  ;)

Alright, so a girl can only go so long without bling!  Still appropriate for guy though...or even the Harley girl in your life! 

The bottom left corner of this one sports two pewter Durables Round Studs from Close to My Heart.  Perfect on a card for YOUR stud!  ;)

I am so happy to be a guest on Operation Write Home today!  I hope these cards were able to inspire you to get some manly bling to use on your future cards.  For me, anyway, shopping for the right embellishments can be inspiration in itself!  If you haven't checked out Operation Write Home yet, please do!  It is a fabulous organization that collects and distributes handmade cards for American troops, and I can't wait to send off another box of cards to them.  If you are interested in seeing what they are all about, check out the details HERE on their blog!

Thanks for stopping in!  If you are involved with OWH--thank you so much for your time!

If you are interested in any of Close to My Heart's limited edition patriotic stamps pictured below, you can find them on my website by clicking on the links in the name.  They are available only through the end of July, and a portion of the proceeds go to the USO! Plus, they are PERFECT for making Any Hero cards!

B1437 Courage

D1576 Home of the Brave

OWH Card Workshop Wrap-up and Patriotic Stamps Available in July!

HAPPY 4th of JULY, AMERICA!!!

I saved my OWH Card Workshop Write-up for this week to celebrate July 4th in papercrafting style!  Yep--I procrastinated!  ;)

Anyway, a good blogger/CTMH consultant friend reminded me that since my workshop cards are on a page tab, they would disappear when I update it for my next one...and we don't want these cards to go away, lol!  ;)

So here they are! 

The first is that fantastic Spinner Card that Lalia Harris designed and I tweaked to make it a patriotic theme.  Click on her name to see her original and to get the details!  She even posted a video link that shows how simple it is to make.  I used the May 2013 Stamp of the Month Pinwheels, and the July Word Puzzle retired stamp set for this one.

This next one is a great combination of sanding and Cricut cuts from the Art Philosophy Collection.  I just adore this thank you tag as a dog tag look-alike!

Finally, I used the Home of the Brave and Courage My Acrylix for this card...don't worry, I won't be sending this glittered version to the troops!  ;)  They only accept non-glittered cards for safety reasons...if you ever participate in Operation Write Home, remember to follow all the rules!  ;)

These are limited edition patriotic stamps that  are only available through the end of July, so snag them up on my Close to My Heart website while you can!  :)  A portion of each of these purchased will be donated to the USO!  LOVE CTMH for their huge and generous heart.  Have I ever mentioned how much I love my job?  ;)

 Courage

Home of the Brave

Stars and Stripes, of Course!

Are you ready to get patriotic with this week's Color Dare!  I sure was!  This week's challenge colors are the Close to My Heart shades of Cranberry, White Daisy, and Pacifica.  For my inspiration, what better better source than Operation Write Home and their amazing selection of sketches.  You can see them HERE.

I immediately fell in love with this one...

I dug into my stash of cricut cuts and got to work!  

If you had a chance to browse the OWH blog hop on Memorial Day weekend, then you saw my original card with this awesome sentiment tag created with the Art Philosophy Collection.  I still love it, and had plenty left over to create new designs.  :)

The top row stars are popped up for dimension.  I have a bit of a hard time keeping up with which embossing folders I use for each project, so I wrote the name of this striped one down right away--it is in the Cuttlebug James' Set.  It was THE perfect match for the stars/stripes theme!  :)

Operation Write Home is such a fantastic organization.  I encourage you to use this challenge as a springboard to participating!  Visit their website in the link above to read up on their guidelines before you get all crafty, though!  Their rules are very important!  Did you know that you must not use glitter on your donated cards?  Yep--even one tiny stray sparkle could endanger the life of a soldier because it could be seen with night-vision capabilities!  While it is tricky for me to not bling up every card I get my hands on, it is a small sacrifice compared to the ones these brave men and women make each day!

Now, are you going to go patriotic in your interpretation of this week's Color Dare?  Perhaps you will translate these colors in an entirely different direction?  Either one is FINE, just as long as you play along and link up your project with us over at the Color My Heart Color Dare!  Each week, a winner is selected to display the coveted Color Dare Diamond badge on their own blog!  It could be you this week, so give it a shot!  :)

I'll have more red, white, and blue to share with you in the days to come, so stay tuned!  :)

Operation Write Home Blog Hop!

Welcome to my blog!  This entire Memorial Day Weekend hop is listed HERE.

If you are are a past, present, or future soldier, then THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart!  This hop is all about giving thanks to the men and women who serve our country, so thanks for joining us! 

I am a newbie at participating in OWH, and here are my cards that I made using OWH Sketch #75!

If you are new to my blog, (first of all, WELCOME!) you might not know that I am addicted to adding sparkle of all kinds to my projects...it is just the way I am.  :)  Unfortunately for my sparkly side, OWH cards may not contain any kind of glitter that will come off, for the safety of the men and women who use them.  It is a major No-No!  To be on the safe side, I was taking no chances here and made a no-glitter-whatsoever rule for myself.  I had to improvise, so I used my Cricut Art Philosophy Cartridge from Close to My Heart to make a star burst instead!  You get all the hint of shine without the sparkle!  ;)  The sentiment tag is also cut from the Art Philosophy cartridge and the stamp is included with the collection.  It is one of my favorites!  This ticket shape reminds me of dog-tags, so I knew right away this was the one I would use.   

I am so glad to be participating in this year's Memorial Day Hop!  I am using it as the kick-off to my OWH support and super-excited to be scheduling an Operation Write Home Card Workshop soon!  :)

God bless America and enjoy the hop!  If you ever get lost, just head to the beginning of the hop right HERE!

If you want to see another card made with a different OWH sketch, then keep scrolling to my post from yesterday.  I made it for the Color My Heart Color Dare!  This is a challenge blog that you can join in on by creating a paper project using the specific (or similar) Close to My Heart colors for that week.  Check it out at http://colormyheartcolordare.blogspot.com/  We would love to have you join us by playing along!

Here is my complete creative formulary for this card.  All products are from Close to My Heart unless noted:

Cricut Expression 2 from Provocraft
Cricut Art Philosophy Collection available exclusively from Close to My Heart
Fanfare Level 2 Paper Packet
White Daisy A2 Card Base
Pacifica CS
Pacifica and Cranberry Exclusive Inks
Buttons Red Assortment
Baker's Twine Neutral Assortment
Stars Embossing Folder from Hobby Lobby
Sanding tool

Color Dare #44 Gets Ready for Operation Write Home

This is a wonderfully special Color Dare today!  In honor of this Memorial Day weekend and the upcoming Operation Write Home (OWH) Blog Hop (more on that in a bit), the DT at Color My Heart is using a sketch from OWH in combination with our new Close to My Heart challenge colors, Juniper and Creme Brulee.   Here is the card I made using OWH Sketch #169...

This gorgeous stamp set, C1533 Fabulous You,  is perfect for using the Close to My Heart Alcohol Ink Markers.  Some of the colors remain out of stock, including the Creme Brulee that I used, which I apologize for!  Anyway, I used my Cocoa Embossing Powder on a Versamark Ink stamped image, then heated it up with my heating tool so that I could color in without smearing.  This is an important thing to do when using Alcohol Ink Markers.  Water based ink images would bleed into the coloring.  The two patterned papers I used are from the retired CTMH paper packets Typeset and Elemental.

I cut the layers of this flower out with my cricut at 1.25 and 1.5 inches and inked the edges with Cocoa Ink and a dauber.  Then I used my Rub On Tool in a circular motion on each of the petals to give them some curve.  An Antiqued Bronze Brad holds them together.  My Cocoa CS scalloped boarder is simply a row of 5/8 inch circles!  :)

 I made another card with similar touches, but included a sentiment on the flower this time...

...and a different ribbon across the bottom.  I have a hard time making up my mind lately, so why not make it both ways?  :)

Alright, so now the colors are in your court!  You can either pick a sketch from OWH to use these colors with, or make anything else you like.  Just be sure to use Juniper AND Creme Brulee (or similar colors) along with any neutrals of your choice and link up to Color My Heart by next Thursday the 30th at 9pm CST.  Come play with us!

More on Operation Write Home:

When my fellow DT member, Becca, suggested we take part in the OWH Blog Hop this weekend, I was ready to jump in headfirst.  I have been wanting to get involved with Operation Write Home for some time now, but it never seems to be the right time.  Well, the time has arrived!  :)  Watch for an OWH Cardmaking Workshop coming up soon!

What is OWH???  Here is a summary from their website:

"This merry band of thousands of cardmakers is made up of Americans – and citizens of other nations too – who care about our military, and want to support them through creativity and encouragement. Many thousands of crafters of all ages and levels of experience have participated since 2007!

Care packages filled with hundreds of handmade cards are sent to our contacts, restocking every 6-8 weeks, and are sent in time for the long journey back home to loved ones. Each box is packed with great care, alternating styles, colors, and cardmakers from all over the USA, creating “eye candy” for heroes who see only khaki around them. The topper on each box is a plastic bag filled with 20-30 letters from adults and children across the country, letters handed out especially to those in need of a positive word from the homefront."

Tomorrow morning you can tune in to the Operation Write Home Blog Hop to see many creations from many of the wonderful people who have been participating in this heartfelt mission!  Here is where you will find it:   http://operationwritehome.org/starsandstamps 

See you all there!