Everyday Themes

Almost all of the cards I send to OWH are general themes like Birthday, Missing, Thinking of You and Love. While this might sound boring I find the easiest way to keep things interesting is to decide on an a specific recipient in my mind. I try to cover all the bases... a guy sending to his wife, a woman sending to her dad, a parent sending to a teenager or little one.



I got my box of cards into the mail today and will make the switch over to fall and winter cards next. Some of course will have Thanksgiving and Christmas sentiments but again the majority will be general cards but done with fall and winter papers and color combinations.

Happy Crafting Everyone!

Sketch Challenge #27

Happily I was able to spend some time making cards today and have completed enough to fill my July box that I will pack up and send off to Dixie in the next day or two. This week's sketch card (shown here) will be included.

I have recently rediscovered my corner rounding punch and as is often the case when this happens I find myself hooked and using it over and over. I am pretty sure the 80/20 rule applies to crafting (you use 20% of what you own, 80% of the time) but I am determined to challenge myself to use a wider variety of tools, papers, embellishments and whatnot that make up my enormous stash. After all, I need to make room for new stuff somehow!

Happy Crafting Everyone!

Summer Fun

It's hard to believe that  we are closing in on the last week of July! I'm a warm weather person and summer has always been my favorite season. It's far too soon to start mourning the end of summer (I'm going to do my best to hold out until at least August 1st for that) so instead I'm gonna celebrate it while it lasts. Here a a couple of the "summer" theme cards I've done recently...

These papers are all from various DCWV stacks. The Hello, Happy Birthday and Watermelon stamps are all StampinUp. The stitches border stamp is from Hot Off The Presses and the Hula Girl and Aloha sentiments are computer generated digital elements.


Happy Crafting Everyone!

Sketch Challenge #26

I found this week's sketch to be another super easy one to use. This will no doubt be one I will use again many times. Thanks for the inspiration and very nice work Rhonda!

I know that so many of you are great about including card recipes. I am pretty sure all of these papers are from various DCWV stacks I have collected over the years and I can say for certain the Thinking of You stamp is an older StampinUp and the green floral is from a clear set that I think is Hero Arts. Oh well, consider this a friendly warning...this is what happens when you accumulate so many stamps and supplies they go farther back then most of your friendships!

Happy Crafting Everyone!

Kids Cards

I have to admit that kids cards are probably my favorite kinds of cards to make and I include them with every box of cards I ship to OWH. It's almost impossible to imagine how difficult the separation must be for the children of our heroes. I almost always design cards with a particular category of recipient in mind.

For someones little leaguer...

For a teenage "rocker"...

For kids of all ages...

Happy Crafting Everyone!

S&S Sketch Challenge #25

This week's sketch may be my most favorite yet! What a wonderful way to be able to use up small scraps and have a nice card as a result. I can definitely see myself using this sketch on a regular basis. I created the sentiment on my computer and sized it to fit a standard 1-1/2" circle punch and then layered it against the slightly larger scalloped circle.

For those of you, who like me, find yourself combining elements you print out on your computer into your card art more and more, you can download the digi sentiments shown below here . You are welcome to use these on your cards and share them with friends, but please do not sell them in any form.

 Happy Crafting Everyone!

S&S Sketch Challenge #24

Many thanks to all who stopped by and left such kind comments on my blog post over this past weekend. I was lucky enough to be off from work today (most people I know were not) and since it was very hot and humid here in the Northeast, I decided it would be a perfect opportunity to spend the day making cards. I got a nice start on my next box and managed to do this one based on this week's sketch.

For once, I turned the sketch on it's side and while the measurements of my pieces are not exact they do generally follow the sketch. Thanks to Marianne for this week's sketch!

Happy Crafting Everyone!

OWH Independence Day Blog Tour 2010

Welcome... For those who are new to the OWH blog hops/tours or who may have stumbled onto this fantastic blog tour I encourage you to 

join in the fun over at www.owhstarsandstamps.org

In addition to celebrating the birth of our great nation this weekend, I am excited to say that I am celebrating a personal milestone by surpassing the 5000th card I've made for OWH. It has been rewarding beyond words to be able to do something I love, however small a gesture, to show my gratitude to all who serve in our Armed Forces.

Here are two birthday cards that I'd like to share with you...

Since starting this blog back in April of 2008, to chronicle my participation in OWH, I have had many comments on the quote in my header and today I'd  like to share the entire quote with you.

"Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn't pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children what it was once like in the United States where men were free." ~ Ronald Reagan


Wishing you all a happy and safe Independence Day.
God Bless America!

Tasty Challenge

I love all the great challenges at OWH Stars and Stamps, but I have to admit it's almost impossible for me to keep up. But, there is so much inspiration I stop in often regardless of my crafting schedule.

I  recently added this Quickutz die to my small collection. I figured it would be almost impossible to go wrong with anything "cake themed" since birthday cards are one of the categories I make most.

 Happy Crafting Everyone!