Pink Star with Stripes

Pink star, heart, and curving stripe shapes.  Monochromatic with energy in the bright pink colors, pattern, and texture.

Card details:

• Card stock is Papertrey Ink (PTI) sweet blush (light pink), raspberry fizz (dark pink), and damask print from PTI hibiscus burst (medium pink) and raspberry fizz pattern packs.
• Embossing folder is Cuttlebug d'vine swirls.
• Dies are PTI rainbow stripes, seeing stars, and heart-2-heart #3.
• Sentiment "Love you" is computer-printed in pink ink with Apple Chancery font.

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." (318)

Wreath of Autumn Leaves with Aqua

An autumn wreath with a turquoise bow.  The patterned paper gives a veined effect to the leaves.

For Operation Write Home, I'm working on cards for Valentine's Day!  But for this family celebration, I'm in the current season of the year.

Card details:

• Card stock is Papertrey Ink (PTI) aqua mist (light aqua), Hawaiian shores (medium turquoise), dark chocolate (brown),  and the in bloom 8x8" paper pad in dark chocolate, scarlet jewel, pure poppy (red), summer sunrise (yellow), and orange zest.
• Dies are Impression Obsession sm leaf set, My Favorite Things winter wreath (twigs and bow), Spellbinders big scalloped circles LG and standard circles SM for the wreath base and background circle, and PTI bountiful banners.  
• I wanted a larger-diameter wreath than the winter wreath die, so I cut a plain open circle with two circle dies, then attached some pieces of winter wreath for twigs.  
• The lighter aqua banner is the actual PTI die shape.  I cut a second banner in darker turquoise, cut it in half lengthwise, and spread it apart by about 1/8" to create the additional layer. 
• Sentiment "Celebrate!" is computer-printed with brown ink in Copperplate font.  To curve the word, I used the "text transforms - follow path arch down" effect in PowerPoint. 

 (317)

Thank You Banner - Red with Tan

A bright "thank you" banner on a starry textured background.  

Card details:

• Card stock is Papertrey Ink (PTI) pure poppy (red), fine linen (tan), and the stripes print from PTI fine linen pattern pack.
• Die is PTI wonderful words: thank you.  
• The banner notches are hand-cut. 
• Embossing folder is Darice stars asst.
• Baker's twine is by We R Memory Keepers.

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." (316)

Pink Hearts with Lace

Pink hearts with touches of red and white - another Valentine season card for my post-Thanksgiving OWH box.  The ornate sentiment works well with the patterned papers, crochet-style lace, and scalloped edge heart.  Note: the gray is background, not part of the card.

Card details:

• Card stock is Neenah solar white,  Papertrey Ink (PTI) berry sorbet (pink), a tiny print from PTI pink patterns 6x6" pad, and the leaf print from PTI pure poppy (red) pattern pack.
• Dies are PTI limitless layers: 2-1/4" hearts (scalloped and large print hearts) and framed out #11 (pink heart frame and white inner heart).
• Corners are rounded with 1/2" Corner Chomper. 
• Lace is Maya Road bone white crochet trim. 
• Sentiment "Sending all my Love to You" is computer-printed with red ink in Edwardian Script ITC font, bold, adjusted spacing.  The "S" is a larger font size.  The little ornament below the sentiment is the letter "h" in Wingdings 2 font.

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." (315)

Brown and Cream with Banners

Another monochromatic card today.  This one uses Sketch #189 from Operation Write Home.

Card details:

• Card stock is Papertrey Ink (PTI) vintage cream, dark chocolate (brown), and the dark chocolate leaf print and fine linen (tan) bitty dots print from PTI pattern packs.
• Die is the vine from PTI my mother, my friend set. 
• Sentiment "Thank you for your kindness" is computer-printed in brown ink with Zapfino font, bold. 
• The decorative lines on the sentiment panel are dots (periods) in Courier font with the letters hg and df in Dingbats 2 Wingdings 2 font.  (Edited September 15, 2013 with correct font name.)

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." (314)

Burgundy Script with Rose and Cream

Monochromatic with burgundy, rose, and cream.  I just mailed a box of cards to Operation Write Home, and my next box won't be full until early December.  That's the season for Valentine's Day in the OWH mailroom calendar!  So I'll be making lots of "love" cards for the next few months. 

Card details:

• Card stock is Papertrey Ink (PTI) autumn rose, scarlet jewel (burgundy), vintage cream, and the leaf and bittty dots prints from PTI autumn rose and scarlet jewel pattern packs.
• Dies are Membory box love script, My Favorite Things STAX heart, and My Favorite Things stacking stars.
• Embossing folder is The Paper Studio script.
• The "love" die cut is inset into the cream and rose layers. 

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." (213)

Wintry Quilt Squares - Hello

A quilt effect with 1" gingham squares in rich jewel tones of purple, blue, and scarlet.  I couldn't decide on a color for my die-cut sentiment, so I used all three. 

This card is for Nancy's winter-themed sketch challenge in Operation Write Home's Labor Day weekend virtual card making party.  Thank you, Nancy, for hosting a fun challenge and sharing your sketch!  It's a versatile sketch that I'll be sure to use again. 

Card details:

• Card stock is Papertrey Ink (PTI) enchanted evening (blue), scarlet jewel, royal velvet (purple), bitty dots print in soft stone (pale gray), and gingham prints in enchanted evening, scarlet jewel, and royal velvet, all from PTI pattern packs.
• Die is PTI wonderful words: hello. 
• I used my paper trimmer to cut the 1" squares. 

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." (312)

Dark Gray with White Paint, Red, and Silver

Well, this is different!  Very "not me" in style, but it was fun to make, and I like the finished card.  It will be good for a teen or tween, I think.  In real life, the silver card stock (card base and die cuts) has a very nice metallic shimmer.

Created for Donna's masking tape technique challenge in the Operation Write Home Labor Day weekend virtual card making party.   I changed it up a bit using acrylic crafter's paint instead of ink.   Thank you, Donna!  I never would have tried this without your challenge. 

Card details:

• Card stock is Papertrey Ink (PTI) smokey shadow (dark gray), pure poppy (red), and silver shimmer.
• Embossing folder is Sizzix chevrons. 
• Dies are PTI wonderful words: hello and get to the point.
• Paint is a white crafter's acrylic.  I spread a light coating onto my masking tape surface with a Tsukineko multi-purpose squeegee, then misted with water so it wouldn't dry too fast. 
• Technique: I added some red to my die cuts.  I used Copic marker R29 to edge them, with some intentionally messy edges.  The shimmer card stock resists the Copic marker a bit, so when I pushed the excess color back with a colorless blender ("0"), it left a sort of patina effect. 

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." (311)

Kraft Love You with Red and White

A kid-friendly card with a punny sentiment (i heart u), alphabet embossing, and dies.   I like the bold colors and simple design. 

For Sybrina's tic-tac-toe challenge in Operation Write Home's Labor Day weekend virtual card making party.   Thank you Sybrina! 

Card details:

• Card stock is Neenah solar white, Papertrey Ink (PTI) pure poppy (red), kraft, and the bittty dots print from PTI kraft pattern pack.
• Twine is by We R Memory Keepers. 
• Embossing folder is The Paper Studio typewriter alphabet.  I bought it recently, but it's not shown on the Hobby Lobby web site, so it may be retired. 
• Dies are PTI block alphabet and heart-2-heart #11.
• I added a punched 3/16" dot of kraft to the heart. 

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." (309)

Navy Floral with Tan and Cream

I find it ... challenging ... to use multi-colored patterned paper, so for today's Operation Write Home sketch challenge #188, I went outside my comfort zone with a floral print.  The card wasn't easy for me to design, even with Seongsook's lovely example, but I'm happy with my end result.  Thank you, Seongsook, for your inspiration!

Card details:

• Card stock is Basic Grey PB&J 6x6" patterned paper, Paper Source night (dark navy),  Papertrey Ink (PTI) fine linen (tan), ocean tides (muted turquoise), vintage cream, and bitty dots print from PTI fine linen pattern pack.
• Embossing folder is Stampin' Up square lattice. 
• Dies are Elizabeth Craft thanks and PTI ad sense.  
• Circle punch is McGill 9/16".

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." (310)