OWH Sketches, Frantoonies & A Birthday

I created these two cards using Fran's wonderful images and the Bonus sketches at OWH Stars & Stamps Blog. These images are great fun to color and need little to nothing else to turn them into great cards. 

 

A big shout out with Happy Birthday wishes for Sandy and thanks to Fran for sharing her talent with the OWH Family of card makers.

Happy Crafting to Everyone!

Cards 4 Kids & A Free Digi

Kids cards are among my favorites to create so I couldn't possibly sit out this week's MWT at Operation Write Home. I can't even begin to imagine how hard the separation must be between our hero Dad's and Mom's and their kids back home. I have been blessed to have heard from heroes saying just how much it means to their children to receive cards. Happy hero, happy kid, happy card maker... one little card is a gift that keeps on giving!

 

Boy cards are a bit harder for me. I seem to have a lot more girly images in my collection of stamps and digis so I decided I'd draw a sailboat.  As always feel free to use this image in any of your crafting projects. Post a link back here if you'd like to share it with your friends, and please do not sell it, repost it or claim it as your own. Just click on it and then use the 'save as' command to save it to you computer.

Happy Crafting Everyone!

MWT Throwdown & A Free Digi

Some of you may recognize this digi that I made for an OWH Blog Hop late last year. If you didn't see it and get it then you can scroll down and get it at the end of this post.  
 

I've made two cards to share with you today. On this first one I printed the digi in 2 different sizes. The larger one for the main piece and then a smaller version (printed twice) so that I could cut the smaller envelopes out and pop them off the base of the card. One of the nicest things about using digital images is the ability to size them to specifically fit your need.

In this second card my goal was to make a card that was masculine, or at the very least gender neutral.

Here is the digital image. Just click on it and then use the 'save as' command to save it to you computer. As always feel free to use this image in any of your crafting projects but please post a link back here if you'd like to share it with your friends, and please do not sell it, repost it or claim it as your own. 

Happy Crafting Everyone!

Sketch #60

I am not a quilter or much on sewing at all, though every so often I find myself drawn to attempt it, so far I've always managed to talk sense into myself before I get as far as buying materials. I do however love quilts and have seen a lot of card designs based on quilt patterns. It has been one of the items on my list of "things to try" (I've added the paper Twisty Flowers from last week's tutorial to the list) and when I saw this week's sketch it seemed like it was a sign!

It was actually a bit harder than I thought it would be. I thought it would be a matter of a  few punches and some adhesive but I found myself having to trim and adjust along the way. This geometric pattern makes a nice gender neutral card and I will definitely be doing some more of these with patterned papers, other colors and maybe some other quilt patterns too.

Happy Crafting Everyone!

Dots & A 1956 Ford Fairlane

I typically make general cards so I can ship whenever I want.  Having made a few Easter cards this year and with the OWH deadline fast approaching I couldn't postpone any longer so I've packed up close to 500 cards and will ship them out to Dixie tomorrow. Among the ones in this shipment are a stack of  these which fit the MWT "Dotty Challenge" perfectly.

I also finally got to making some cards with Yolanda's fantastic 1956 Ford Fairlane digi. I had a ton of fun coloring these. I made the little embellishment by punching a small circle and then inserting an eyelet right into the center. It was a bit tricky at first but once I figured out the order (punch the hole for the eyelet before you punch the actual cirle, then insert the eyelet last) it went fast and it made a nice coordinate with the paper (which I got at Michael's last month).

Happy Crafting Everyone!

OWH Bunny Hop Blog Candy Winner is Sheryl

The winner of my blog candy is Sheryl and she blogs at Sheryl's Crafting Corner. Thanks to everyone who entered and all the kind folks who took the time to leave comments.

I hope that card makers and crafter's who have perhaps just discovered OWH because of the Bunny Hop will consider joining in this worthy cause.

Happy Crafting Everyone!

Sketch #59 Love You Daisies

My thanks to everyone who participated in the OWH Bunny Hop this past weekend. I enjoyed seeing all the great cards and I hope like me you came away inspired.

Here is my take on this week's OWH Stars & Stamps sketch challenge.

The embossing folder is 'Petals A Plenty' by Stampin Up and the sentiment is one I created and is here below for you to use and enjoy. As always feel free to use this image in any of your crafting but please post a link back here if you'd like to share it with your friends, and please do not sell it, repost it or claim it as your own.

To download it, click once on the image itself and then choose the 'Save As' command to save it to your computer.

Happy Crafting Everyone!

OWH Bunny Hop

Welcome to my stop on the hop! You should be arriving here from Barb's Paper Therapy Ponderings. I know you have a long journey and there is so much wonderful stuff to be seen so I will keep my post brief.

If you are lost you can go back to the start of the hop at OWH Stars & Stamps blog.

Remember that the deadline for mailing Easter cards is March 18th and Mother's Day is March 31st. This is the latest date your package should be postmarked and on it's way to your shipper.

If you are just discovering OWH be sure to check out the main site. You will find all the information you need so you can join in the fun and some wonderful FREE Digital Stamps. Just size as you like, print them out on your printer, grab your markers or pencils and you're well on your way to making cards!

I opted for a pretty, pastel color scheme and since the paper itself has spring words on it I decided to skip adding any further sentiment. Papers in my card are DCVW, the stamp is Inkadinkado and the punch is EK Success. My blog candy includes the stamp, punch, papers and ribbon you need CASE this card or to create your own version. If you'd like to be included in the prize drawing simply click this link and send me an EMAIL. (A blank email is fine and gives me an easy way to contact the winner). I will draw a random winner on Tuesday, March 8th.

 Your next stop on the hop is
Handmade By Julie

(so far this year she's managing to make a card for every comment she gets on her blog -- what an awesome idea --- so leave her some love and let's keep her busy!)

Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the rest of the hop,

What's a Frantoonie?

Why it's a wonderful, one-of-a-kind cartoon by Fran, of course!

I was lucky enough to get a sneak peak at Fran's terrific artwork and all I can say is WOW, talk about talent! Fran's style reminds me of one of my all-time favorite cartoonists, Mort Walker, creator of Beetle Bailey. These were  so much fun to color!

In each case I started by considering the colors I would use in the images and I searched my papers for a patterns that would work with each without stealing any attention away from them. These images are just wonderful and I know these cards will bring smile to the faces of our heroes and their families too. Many thanks to Fran for sharing her talent with all of us at OWH.


Happy Crafting Everyone!