Red and Blue Patterns with White

Just a happy card in red, white, and blue.  A simple layout with interesting shapes and patterns.

Note: the gray is background, not part of the card. 

Card details:

• Card stock is Papertrey Ink (PTI) stamper's select white, pure poppy (red), blueberry sky (medium blue),  and the damask print from PTI pure poppy and blueberry sky pattern packs.
• Embroidery floss is DMC blanc (white) and 799.
• Dies are Savvy Stamps hello, PTI mat stack 4, and PTI layerz mat stack 4.
• Corners are rounded with 1/2" Corner Chomper.

Created for Operation Write Home, "supporting our nation's armed forces by sending blank handmade greeting cards to write home on, as well as cards of gratitude to encourage them." (196)

Grateful in Fall Colors

 

Two very similar cards with different color schemes.  In keeping with this month's "relationship" lesson (in the Operation Write Home design Bootcamp series),  I reconsidered my initial layout where the branch went straight across and "for you" was on one line below it.  

Instead, I angled the branch and nestled "for you" into the negative space on two lines.  It looks much better.  Thanks for the lesson, Paula!  I'm also linking these cards to the Operation Write Home midweek Thank You card challenge.

Card details:

• Card stock is Papertrey Ink (PTI) orange zest (top card), royal velvet (purple- bottom card) and the prints from PTI pattern packs as follows: orange zest damask and dark chocolate (brown) bitty dot (top card), and royal velvet bitty dot and melon berry (light orange) stripe (bottom card.)
• Dies are Impression Obsession leafy branch and PTI counting my blessings, block alphabet (top card), modern alphabet and modern alphabet upper (bottom card)

Created for Operation Write Home, "supporting our nation's armed forces by sending blank handmade greeting cards to write home on, as well as cards of gratitude to encourage them." (308)

Dark Blue Gingham with Brown

A simple note card with good contrast.  Interesting shapes and textures.

Card details:

• Card stock is Hero Arts latte (brown), Papertrey Ink (PTI) rustic white and enchanted evening (dark blue), and gingham print from PTI enchanted evening pattern pack.
• Dies are PTI my mother, my friend (labels) and Elizabeth Craft thanks.
• The narrow banner is notched with scissors.
• Embossing folder is The Paper Studio woodgrain. 

Created for Operation Write Home, "supporting our nation's armed forces by sending blank handmade greeting cards to write home on, as well as cards of gratitude to encourage them." (307)

Orange Ribbon with Brown and Cream

Fall colors and a nice variety of texture. The May Arts chevron ribbon is lovely to work with. 

Technique:  The ribbon "bow" is a separate flat piece of ribbon.  I pinched it in the middle and sewed it diagonally onto the main piece with a few stitches of white thread.  Then I wrapped it a few times with embroidery floss to create the effect of a knot.  It flattens down for mailing, with less bulk than a real knot, and it was easy to do. 

Card details:

• Card stock is Papertrey Ink (PTI) rustic white, orange zest, terra cotta tile (rust), dark chocolate (brown), and kraft.
• The star is punched with a 1/4" Fiskars star punch.
• Dies are PTI tremendous tags and heart prints (medium and small hearts).  
• For stability and dimension, I backed the brown tag with a circle cut from PTI coaster material. 
• Embossing folder is Cuttlebug candy cane stripe.
• Chevron ribbon is by May Arts.
• Embroidery floss is DMC 721 and 920

Created for Operation Write Home, "supporting our nation's armed forces by sending blank handmade greeting cards to write home on, as well as cards of gratitude to encourage them." (306)

Large Banners - Blue, Yellow, and White - Before and After

           After                                                                   Before

A card for the "major, minor, and accent" lesson in the Operation Write Home design bootcamp series.  My color choice was the second option: dark blue (major), bright yellow (minor), and white (accent). 

Edited August 10:  added notes in italics and posted "after" card:  I glued on a few small stars, and I like it better now, compared with the "before" version.  It's growing on me.  I'll make another one, substituting a textured white linen  cardstock for the plain Neenah white.  And maybe shorten the tail of the "o" a bit more, instead of placing it all the way to the edge of the card.  It's fun to see the impact of a few small changes.  

Before I thought of adding the stars, I didn't enjoy working on this one.  Maybe I was too focused on the 60-30-10% equation, which I didn't get right anyway.  But the card turned out okay.  Thanks, Paula, for a very educational series!  And I'm glad I persisted till I got to my "after" version. 

Card details:

• Card stock is Neenah solar white,  Papertrey Ink (PTI) enchanted evening (dark blue), and the leaf and polka dot prints from PTI enchanted evening and summer sunrise (yellow) pattern packs.
• The banner ends are notched with a square punch.
• Dies are Savvy Stamps hello and PTI star gazer. 

Created for Operation Write Home, "supporting our nation's armed forces by sending blank handmade greeting cards to write home on, as well as cards of gratitude to encourage them." (305)

Trees with Copper Leaves on Aqua and Tan

Three trees, with shimmery copper leaves and a heart.  The leaf colors and the strip of tan grass give this an autumn look.  My second card for the current Operation Write Home midweek challenge to use punches and dies.

Note: In real life, the sentiment is darker (matches the tree trunks) and the copper looks less red.

Card details:

• Card stock is Papertrey Ink (PTI) fine linen (tan), dark chocolate (brown), copper shimmer,  and the bitty dots print from PTI aqua mist pattern pack.
• Dies are Impression Obsession leaf cluster (cuts 8 leaf clusters at once), My Favorite Things fresh cut grass, PTI heart prints (small die), PTI trendy tree tops (center tree trunk), and PTI polka dot parade #6 (left and right tree trunks).  I shortened one branch (left tree) and trimmed off the outer leaves on one leaf cluster (top of right tree).  
• I added a brown line on the bottom of the grass with the fine tip of a Copic marker E29.   
• The sentiment "Love you, miss you" is computer printed with brown ink using Prestige Elite Std font, bold.  I reduced the font size for the spaces between the words.

Created for Operation Write Home, "supporting our nation's armed forces by sending blank handmade greeting cards to write home on, as well as cards of gratitude to encourage them." (304)

Orange Flowers with Brown

One of my drawings in a simple setting.  The drawing is colored with colored pencils, and the background is colored with Copic markers.  In real life, the orange of the card base is not so pink - more like the orange of the drawing's background. 

Card details:

• Card stock is Neenah solar white, Papertrey Ink (PTI) melon berry (light orange), dark chocolate (brown) and the bitty dots print from PTI dark chocolate pattern pack.
• Embossing folder is Lifestyle Crafts diamonds and dots, a pattern which seems to be retired now. 
• Colored pencils are Venus Spectracolor - a very old brand - green bice, dark green, burnt ochre, dark brown, orange, canary yellow, and vermilion red.
• Copic markers are E43 (ground), E44 (edging and shadow), and R00.  

Created for Operation Write Home, "supporting our nation's armed forces by sending blank handmade greeting cards to write home on, as well as cards of gratitude to encourage them." (296)

Navy with Yellow and Green - Rainbow Stripes

Strong color contrast and a bold design.  The sentiment's angled placement seems to flow with the curving stripes.  This card is for the Operation Write Home midweek challenge to use punches and dies.  Nice to have a challenge that's easy to accomplish sometimes! 

Card details:

• Card stock is Paper Source night (dark navy), Papertrey Ink (PTI) vintage cream, summer sunrise (yellow), and damask prints from PTI simply chartreuse (green) and summer sunrise pattern packs.
• Dies are PTI rainbow stripes and the pinked circle from PTI 2-1/2" limitless layers circles.
• Punches are 2" and 2-1/4" circles by EK Success. 
• Sentiment "You're always in my thoughts" is computer printed in green ink with blue text outline, using Brush Script Std font (with adjusted character and line spacing.)

Created for Operation Write Home, "supporting our nation's armed forces by sending blank handmade greeting cards to write home on, as well as cards of gratitude to encourage them." (302)