Miss You - Brown with Cream and Black

For Paula's current Operation Write Home design bootcamp lesson "how does it feel?" with a focus on texture.   I used dry embossing on the base layer, some visual texture in the dotted "ribbon" threaded through the label slots, and several interconnected layers.  The result has both visual and tactile interest.

It also fits the "all about him" masculine card theme for Our Daily Bread Designs (ODBD) December challenge for Operation Write Home.  Thanks, ODBD, for supporting our troops each month!

Double thanks to Paula - for her monthly bootcamp lessons, and also for her "Miss You" digi sentiment, which I used as my focal point!  I enjoyed working with it.  Click here for her original post. 

Card details:

• Card stock is Papertrey Ink (PTI) kraft, dark chocolate (dark brown), true black, vintage cream,  and the bitty dots print from PTI dark chocolate pattern pack.
• The heart in the sentiment is colored with Copic marker E43.
• Embossing folder is Darice dot point.
• Dies are from My Favorite Things layered label set.  
• The slot punch is by Cosmos.

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." (335)

Tiny Tags - Tree Decoration

Tiny Tags on a tiny tree.  My husband brought home this 12" plant, and I decorated it with some red and yellow die-cut ornaments.  

Details:

• Card stock is Papertrey Ink (PTI) pure poppy (red) and harvest gold (deep yellow).
• Dies are from PTI tiny tags.
• A 4" length of black sewing thread is knotted for the hanger loop. 

Teal Tree with Cream and Silver

My box for Operation Write Home is nearly full, and I'm adding a few more "missing you" cards.  This one is monochromatic with silvery touches - twine and a trio of small silver hearts. 

The tree and leaves are die cut into the top cream layer.  The tree trunk is also die cut and inlaid into the negative space.  The leaves are open to the patterned paper layer below. 

Card details:

• Card stock is Papertrey Ink (PTI) ocean tides (teal), rustic cream, and the damask print from PTI ocean tides pattern pack.
• Dies are PTI mighty oak and trendy tree tops (hearts). 
• Twine is platinum shimmer - cream with a silver thread - by The Twinery.   Love their mini twine bundles in a wide variety of colors.
• Silver foil is Ranger Inkssentials metal foil tape.  Before die cutting, I adhered it to Neenah solar white card stock to make it heavier.  The hearts look very shiny in real life.
• Sentiment "Missing you ..." is computer-printed in Monotype Corsiva font, expanded spacing, in teal ink.

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." (333)

Lattice on White with Red Stripes

Another lattice card today.  I like the stained-glass look with bright colors in some of the openings. Yellow in the sentiment echoes the yellow diamonds.  And the red striped card front adds a cheerful, playful element to offset the lattice panel's static (or, as my husband put it, "architectural") look. 

Card details:

• Card stock is Neenah solar white,  Papertrey Ink (PTI) enchanted evening (dark blue), harvest gold (yellow), pure poppy (red), and the stripes print from PTI pure poppy pattern pack.
• Dies are Poppystamps lattice edge (see yesterday's card for a note about the die) and PTI sketched shapes (narrow and medium banners).  The red and yellow diamonds are negative cuts from the lattice die, and the white diamonds are the background layer showing through the lattice. It's a nice texture effect but hard to see in the image. 
• The sentiment "Hello!" is computer printed in Hobo font, expanded spacing, using yellow ink with blue outline.  After printing, I added some Y15 Copic marker to deepen it more like the harvest gold card stock. 

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." (332)

Red Lattice with Blue and Tan

This card pairs a new-to-me lattice die with a leftover red "thank you" cut from last week's card.  I'll use this design to write "any hero" notes for my Operation Write Home box. 

Card details:

• Card stock is Papertrey Ink (PTI) pure poppy (red), enchanted evening (dark blue), and the stripes print from PTI fine linen (tan) pattern pack.
• Dies are PTI wonderful words: thank you and Poppystamps lattice edge.   I added some blue cutouts into the lattice openings. 
  Note: Many times, an "edge die" will leave the cutout attached on one side, but this lattice die cuts the full shape.  The full die cut is 5.2" long; I used part of it for this card. 
• The blue lines at top and bottom are 1/4" strips of card stock. 

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." (331)

Red and White Thank You on Blue Pattern

Last week's card was pretty complicated - this one is very simple.  A white die-cut thank you, inlaid into the red negative shape.  On a layer of blue patterned paper and a white card base.  Nice clean lines and bold color contrast.  I'm making multiples of it for my "any hero" cards to add to my almost-full box for Operation Write Home. 

Card details:

• Card stock is Papertrey Ink (PTI) pure poppy (red), stamper's select white, and the leaf print from PTI enchanted evening (dark blue) pattern pack.  Note: the gray is background, not part of the card.
• Die is PTI wonderful words: thank you.

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." (330)

Scene with Fence, Trees, and Cat

A sweet scene with wooden fence, trees, grass, and cat under a sunny sky.   I really enjoyed creating this card. 

Card details:

• Card stock is Papertrey Ink (PTI) rustic cream, pure poppy (red), aqua mist (light aqua), kraft, ripe avocado (dark green), simply chartreuse (medium green), summer sunrise (yellow-orange), lemon tart (light yellow), and dark chocolate (dark brown).
• Dies are PTI picket fence, PTI ad sense (sun), PTI polka dot parade #6, PTI trendy tree tops, Impression Obsession cat set, My Favorite Things fresh cut grass and STAX hearts, and WPlus9 pretty patches: tree. 
• Sentiment "Missing you..." is computer-printed with brown ink using Prestige Elite Std Bold font (character spacing adjusted).

I used quite a bit of Copic detail on the die cuts:

• Before die-cutting the fence, I airbrushed my kraft card stock lightly with Copic R29.  I also edged the fence rails with R29.
• The fence "nails" are dotted with Copic red multiliner.
• The grass, pine tree, and leaves are shaded with Copic YG91 and YG95.  The pine tree trunk is colored with E29 - barely visible behind the grass.
• The cat is patterned with Copic E25 and edged with E29 along its back. The cat's eyes are tiny dots of brown Micron pen, with larger areas of Copic sepia multiliner.
• The sun is edged with E21.  The heart is edged with E25.  The flower is edged with E25, with a dot of red multiliner and E25 in the center.
• For almost all the Copic marker that I added, I blurred it with colorless blender "0" to soften the edges.

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." (329)

Blue Stitched Heart with Doily - Before and After

After

Blue patterns with white texture from the die-cut doily and the hand-stitching.  I like this card a lot!  See end of post for my "before" version from last year.  

Card details:

• Card stock is Neenah solar white,  Papertrey Ink (PTI) spring rain (light blue), blueberry sky (medium blue), enchanted evening (dark blue), and the gingham and bitty dot prints from PTI blueberry sky and enchanted evening pattern packs.
• Dies are Elizabeth Craft love, PTI coffee cozy details (heart), PTI stitching lines, and PTI Parisian lace doily.
• Embroidery floss is 3 strands of white DMC. 

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." (328)

Last year I made a similar card (click here for details) shown below.  It was a very nice card, but I do like today's better.  It's fun for me to take an older card and see how I can adapt or even improve it.

Before

Hearts on Cream with Twist Background

A simple design with lots of texture.  Continuing with "love" cards for Operation Write Home.  We just reached another milestone!  Over 2,500,000 cards for our deployed troops.  "Blank handmade greeting cards to write home on, as well as cards of gratitude to encourage them." 

Card details:

• Card stock is Papertrey Ink (PTI) rustic white, sweet blush (light pink), autumn rose (medium pink), and scarlet jewel (burgundy).  Note: the gray is background, not part of the card.
• Dies are PTI twist cover plate (also used to emboss the white background),  Elizabeth Craft love, and My Favorite Things STAX hearts.  
• Embossing folder is Stampin' Up square lattice, placed diagonally on the heart.

(323)

Red Birds and Heart with Gingham Ribbon

A pink and red love card for Paula's "balance" card design bootcamp lesson for Operation Write Home.  I used symmetry for balance with evenly spaced ribbons, a centered heart, and a pair of birds.

But my design also has asymmetry, with its vertical weight toward the bottom of the card and its angled sentiment. The birds' positions and the ribbon lengths are also different; to my eye, everything lined up and centered would look too static here  

Thanks again, Paula, for your lessons!  I can see them all in this card - white space, variation (not all hearts or all birds), repetition (ribbons and red shapes), odd numbers, rule of thirds, color harmony (monochromatic), relationship (birds and heart grouping), major-minor-accent colors, and focal point.  It's fun to learn the theory of what makes a design more eye-appealing.

Card details:

• Card stock is Paper Source blossom (pink),  Papertrey Ink (PTI) pure poppy (red), and stripes print from PTI sweet blush (pink) pattern pack.
• Pink-and-red 1/4" ribbon is from my local scrapbook store.  I don't know who made it.
• Dies are PTI heart-2-heart #9, the inner heart from PTI framed out #11, and Elizabeth Craft love.  
• I used a Copic cool gray multiliner to draw the birds' eyes.  Black seemed to be too strong a contrast.  

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." (326)

Purple and Lime Green Hello

Something different after making a lot of "love" type cards.  A bright and modern feeling with lime green (it looks less yellow in real life) and purples.  Plenty of texture in the shadow effect on the sentiment and the lime green showing through the dots layer, plus a touch of baker's twine and embossed dots.

Card details:

• Card stock is Papertrey Ink (PTI) limeade ice (lime green), plum pudding (medium purple), and lavender moon (light purple.)
• Embossing folder is Cuttlebug swiss dots, only on the right-hand side of the card.
• Twine is The Twinery honeydew.
• Dies are My Favorite Things peek-a-boo dots and PTI wonderful words: hello.  
• Technique: I cut the word twice, one purple and one green.  The green word is placed a bit higher and to the left of the purple word.  I used Glossy Accents to adhere it, so the green is not sticky on the back where it slightly hangs off the edge of the purple.

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." (325)

Hearts on Banners with Tan Stripes

Just a few hearts, left over from other projects.  Love using my leftovers to make something nice!

I like the alternating pink and red colors, with a bit of embossed texture and two kinds of stripes (paper and twine).  Simple design, but interesting to look at.

Card details:

• Card stock is Papertrey Ink (PTI) pure poppy (red), berry sorbet (pink), and stripes from PTI fine linen (tan) pattern pack.
• Die is the inner heart from PTI framed out #11 (pink hearts).  
• Punches are 1/4" hole punch (dots) and EK Success 1" heart punch (red heart).
• Banner notches are hand cut. 
• Embossing folder is Stampin' Up square lattice.  
• Red baker's twine is by We R Memory Keepers.  I pierced my banners right at the top of the hearts, and pulled the twine through to the back of the striped A2, so it wouldn't be bumpy under the hearts.  The striped A2 is adhered to a sturdy white card base, covering the twine.
• I popped up the outer part of the hearts with bits of Tombow power tab - not as thick as foam tape.  

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." (321)

Winter Snowflake in Blues

A large blue snowflake, inlaid in deeper blue. A wintry "subway art" panel, courtesy of Paula. 

Click here to see her beautiful card and the generous offer to use her graphic.  I printed it in a bit smaller size and trimmed it with a narrow white border, then matted it on dark blue.  Thank you, Paula! 

I'm always happy to use up my scraps, and this inlaid layout worked beautifully for me.  I cut the large snowflake from two pieces of A2 card stock - one light blue and one medium blue.  Then I turned them face-down and reassembled the puzzle pieces.  I adhered them in place with strips of 1" Scor Tape on the back.  Then I had two inlaid snowflakes - one light blue on medium blue (as shown) and one medium blue on light blue.   The card front is adhered to a white card base so all that Scor Tape is hidden. 

Card details:

• Card stock is Ellen Hutson white linen, Paper Source cobalt (discontinued color - dark blue),  Papertrey Ink (PTI) spring rain (light blue) and blueberry sky (medium blue.) 
• Dies are PTI fancy flakes.  In addition to the large snowflake die, I used the center cutout from the small snowflake die for my dark blue star shape.  
• The dark blue dots are from a 1/8" hole 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." (322)

Love - Pink with Gray

A bit of drama with swirls and rectangles.  I like the strong colors and the contrast of curves with straight lines in the sentiment, the layers, and the patterned papers.  The pink and gray layers reinforce the line under "love."

As I designed the card, I first tried a gray bitty-dots pattern, instead of gingham.  But the gingham won out with a fresh and graphic effect. 

Card details:

• Card stock is Papertrey Ink (PTI) berry sorbet (pink), smokey shadow (dark gray), and prints from PTI pattern packs: smokey shadow gingham and berry sorbet leaf.
• Die is PTI one-liners "love."  Note: the line is cut as part of the word. 

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." (320)

Turquoise Arrows and Asterisk on Gray

Bold graphic shapes with subtle background colors.  This card is for the "white space" lesson in Paula's Design Boot Camp on the Operation Write Home blog.  I used white (empty) space to draw attention to my focal point with the sentiment circle and the plain gray above it.  At first, I was tempted to do more with the background, but once my circles and arrows were strong enough, the plain gray looked just right to me.  Thank you so much, Paula, for your monthly design lessons!

Edited Dec. 31, 2013 to add:  My card was chosen as the model for this week's Operation Write Home Sketch Challenge #205.  I'm enjoying all the variations as OWH card makers interpret my layout! 

Card details:

• Card stock is Paper Source peacock (turquoise), Papertrey Ink (PTI) stamper's select white, aqua mist (light aqua), soft stone (light gray), and bitty dots (aqua mist) and stripes (soft stone) prints from PTI pattern packs.
• Circle punches are EK Success 2-1/4", 2", and 3/16".
• Dies are PTI get to the point and Avery Elle icon fill-in-the-blank.  I used partial die-cutting to lengthen the shaft of the arrow on the left. 
• Sentiment "Love you miss you" is computer printed in turquoise ink with Footlight MT Light 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." (319)