Operation Write Home Design Bootcamp - February

In the February Design Bootcamp Paula talks creating an intentional focal point for your card.  I made this card last night.  I think that the flowers and sentiment create a distinct focal point.  Let me know what your eye was drawn to.

OWH Virtual Card Making Party - Part 2

Well, I am back with the last five challenges from the Presidents Day Weekend VCMP.  I found the second day's challenges to be more difficult than the first.  That was primarily because I did not have the supplies necessary to create the first three cards. 

As a general warning, my pictures are not very good.  I will try to get some better pictures taken and replace these.

Saturday 8 a.m., Challenge #6 - This challenge is Things With Wheels.  I did not have any stamps or digis with wheels.  I assume that I could have found something in my Cricut cartridges, but I am short on work space right now, so it is easier leave it off my table.  I like classic cars, so I was happy to find a digi set with classic cars at Clear Dollar Stamps.  It have multiple cars to choose from.  I particularly like this truck.  I am also looking forward to using the 1939 Ford and the VW Bug.

 

 

Saturday 11 a.m., Challenge #7 - This is the Caffeine Challenge.  Since I live in a non-coffee household, I have never picked up any of those cute coffee stamp sets.  I searched online and found a cute coffee cup digi available from free at lostinpaperscraps.blogspot.com.  Thanks Dawn!  I really liked the pattern on the coffee cup.  I had gone out to buy washi tape for the next challenge, so I put come on a piece of cardstock and stamped the sentiment on it.  I think I probably should have put some steam coming off of the cup, but since I popped the cup, I can't  see how to attach it.

 

 

 

 Saturday 2 p.m., Challenge #8 - This challenge was to use washi tape.  I just heard about washi tape last week.  I was not sure what it was, and now I have seen several different ways to use it.  I really like stars so I decided to try make some interesting stars with my two coordinating washi tapes and my star shaped Nestabilities dies.  I made four different stars and started trying to arrange them on the card.  I was just not working out for me.  Then I remembered that Paula had commented on using an odd number of items, so I stack two of the stars and arranged the three resulting stars and it worked so much better.  Thank you Paula!  I really like how this card turned out. 

 

 

 

Saturday 5 p.m., Challenge #9 - This challenge was All White/Cream with 3 Layers.  I somehow lost sight of the three layers requirement.  Of course, this card was my third attempt; I found this challenge more difficult than I expected.  I will describe the card a bit, since the photo really is not great.  The card base is white linen with a sheen on it.  I then used a Nestablities die to create a cream layer with this lightly ivy leaf embossed cardstock and added a strip of sheer cream ribbon across the middle.  Then using one of my favorite Nestablities dies, I made an anemone flower alternating metallic white and cream cardstocks.  The flower is topped with a button sticker that happens to have light blue thread that matched the sentiment I stamped directly on the cream ivy embossed cardstock.

 

 

 

Saturday 8 p.m., Challenge #10 - This challenge was Glitz and Glam without Glitter.  The without glitter part is essential, since it is unsafe for soldiers to have glitter on their uniforms.  I really like cute little animals, so I used a digi from Sliekje.blogspot.com and cut it out using a Nestabilities die.  Then using the same die in a larger size I made a frame with a metallic pink paper and added pearls to the corners.  So even with the glitzy parts, it is still in keeping with my CAS style.

 

 

Thanks for looking at my cards.  Please give me some comments on what you liked and some suggestions on how to make them better. 

 

 

OWH Virtual Card Making Party - Part 1

It is Presidents' Day Weekend and Operation Write home is having a Virtual Card Making Party.  I don't personally know very many card makers, so this is a great way for me to get some new ideas.  As the weekend progresses, I will be adding cards for the various challenges.

 

 

Saturday 8 a.m., Challenge #1 - The challenge was to use chevrons.  This cuttlebug folder is not exactly chevrons, but it is the closest that I have.  As you can tell from looking at my card I generally work in the CAS style.  I rarely get too busy.  This digi was free artwork from Sliekje.blogspot.com.  She has numerous darling animals available for free.
 

 

 

Saturday 11 a.m., Challenge #2 - This challenge involves the use of animals in a card.  I love this little giraffe; he is just too cute.  I had a hard time with this card.  I wanted to use the giraffe and the sentiments digis that I purchased from Clear Dollar Stamps.  However, after I inked the background paper and attached the giraffe, I tried different locations for the sentiment and the top corner was the only location that worked for me.  That left a large dead spot in the bottom right hand corner.  After trying several ribbons, I found that they just covered the giraffe's legs and that looked odd.  I realized that a sheer ribbon could really fill up the corner without intefering with the giraffe's legs.

 

 

 

Saturday 2 p.m., Challenge #3 - This challenge involves omitting texture or selective embossing.  This is something I have a explored just a little bit in the past.  However, I had completely forgotten about it.  For this card, I used an embossing folder from Hobby Lobby and two different spellbinder sets.  It is fun to emboss, but leave a portion clear.  I makes it easier to stamp a sentiment right on the card rather than have it be an attachment.

 

 

 

Saturday 5 p.m., Challenge #4 - This challenge is called Things With Wings.  So I pulled out a stamp set from Clear Dollar Stamps that has several animals, including a duck.  I love the sentiment Going Quackers Without You.  I used OWH Sketch #50, but eliminated the second strip at the bottom.  This card has very little contrast.  I may look at this later and say "That's what happens when you are trying to complete a challenge," but for now I am enjoying myself.

 

 

Saturday 8 p.m., Challenge #5 - This challenge is to use up a 12x12 page making six cards.  So here is the card I made six times.  I really liked the sample card, so I really just cased it.  I just got the twine and was looking for a way to use it.  Thank you for the terrific inspiration. 

 

 

Well, that was Part 1 of the OWH VCMP.  See you tomorrow!