Starry Blue Love Card

Lots of stars on this monochromatic blue card.  I used up some leftovers to make it, which seems to fit with Thanksgiving weekend. 

The "love" die cut is leftover from this card where I just needed the inner cutout shapes.  The starry printed paper is made with Copic markers and a stencil using this technique (with ink left over from airbrushing).

Card details:

• Card stock is Hero Arts cerulean (medium blue) and Papertrey Ink (PTI) rustic white and enchanted evening (dark blue).
• Stencil is My Favorite Things stargaze.
• Copic marker is B05.
• Dies are PTI super star border and wonderful words: love.  The little star inside the heart is a cutout from the star border. 

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." (399)

Bright Green Thanks with Dots

For Thanksgiving Day, a large "Thanks" in non-Thanksgiving colors.  Maybe for the green beans and the salad? 

I'm very thankful today for family and friends.  Thankful too for our servicemen and women, deployed far away from home, and for Operation Write Home supporting them with handmade cards like mine.

Card details:

• Card stock is Papertrey Ink (PTI) new leaf (darker green) and limeade ice (lighter green).
• Embossing folder is Darice dot point. 
• The little stars are cut with Fiskars 1/4" hand punch.
• Corners are rounded with Crop-a-Dile 1/2" corner chomper.
• Dies are My Favorite Things many thanks and double dot border.

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." (398)

Skyline Love - Blue with Silver and White

This will be one of my favorite cards ...  A silvery city scene with stars.  The silver notched border strip at the bottom could be a river bridge or embankment.   Serene and simple.

Card details:

• Card stock is Papertrey Ink (PTI) stamper's select white, silver shimmer, and enchanted evening (blue).
• Dies are PTI wonderful words: love, My Favorite Things (MFT) notched border, and MFT skyline border.
• Stars are punched with 1/4" Fiskars hand punch.

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." (397)

Textured Thanks - Terra Cotta with Tan and Brown

A simple strong "thanks" with lots of embossed texture.

Card details:

• Papertrey Ink (PTI) terra cotta tile (a deep rusty orange, less red than this image), fine linen (tan), and dark chocolate (brown).
• Dies are My Favorite Things many thanks and retro squares border.  I cut the word twice (tan and brown) and offset the layers for a shadow effect. 
• The word and squares are embossed with Stampin' Up square lattice embossing folder (retired).  The card base is embossed with PTI cover plate: twist die.
• Embroidery floss is DMC #839, 3862, and 3047.

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." (396)

Love Heart - Red, White, and Gray

This card started with a scrap of ribbon and a new "love" die.  The red part was easy.  Then I tried several different combinations for the heart background and the card base.  I'm happy with the bold effect of the patterns and colors.

Card details:

• Card stock is Papertrey Ink (PTI) pure poppy (red), a tiny dotted print from Pink Paislee pen pals 6 x 6" pad, and the polka dot print from PTI smokey shadow (dark gray) pattern pack.
• Ribbon is 3/4" chevron twill by May Arts.  The red border is card stock, not ribbon. 
• Die is My Favorite Things heart full of love set. 

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." (395)

Lavender Daisy Card with Yellow

I always enjoy coloring my 2009 daisy drawing for a card.  This time I lightly airbrushed everything with blue, then colored the flowers and leaves.  The blue disappears in the leaves but adds a nice extra touch to the flower petals. 

Card details:

• Card stock is Neenah solar white, Paper Source spruce (dark green - discontinued), Papertrey Ink (PTI) harvest gold (yellow), and the polka dot print from PTI lavender moon pattern pack.
• Embossing folder is Sizzix retro cirque.
• Copic markers are B14 for the airbrushing, G14 and RV52 for the base colors, with RV63 added on the petals and Y26 on the leaves and stems.  Flower centers are Y15 and Y26.  
• I edged the polka dot strip with Copic G07 marker.
• Sentiment "thanks" is cut with Cameo Silhouette.  The word is from Silhouette box and flower tags set. 
• Daisy drawing was scanned and computer printed.

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." (394)

Avocado and Gold - Two Thank You Cards

Two cards with mostly the same ingredients.  I made the top card first, one of several recent experiments with embroidery.  The bottom card started with my L-shaped scrap of gold.  I like them both.

Card details:

• Card stock is Paper Source curry (gold), Papertrey Ink (PTI) ripe avocado (green), vintage cream (top card), and fine linen (tan - bottom card), and patterned paper from Basic Grey PB&J 6 x 6" pad.
• On the bottom card, I edged the green sentiment strip with Copic marker YG97 to add contrast and definition. 
•  Dies are PTI stitched rectangles for both cards.
• Sentiment "thanks" (top card) is cut with Silhouette Cameo.  I added some colored pencil shading in a gold color (Venus 1437 sand - a very old pencil) to connect the cream sentiment better with the gold card stock. 
• Sentiment "thank you so very much" (bottom card) is computer-printed with green ink using Herculanum font (all lower case, bold, expanded character spacing).
• Embroidery floss (top card) is DMC ecru.

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." (391, 392)