Brown Script with Blue and Cream

Three strips and two dots of blue to brighten my cream and brown color scheme.  The script lettering and jute twine give this card an antique feeling. 

Card details:

• Card stock is Papertrey Ink (PTI) vintage cream, dark chocolate (brown), blueberry sky (blue), and the script print from PTI Dearest Jane.  
• Dies are PTI my mother, my friend small label and the inner shape from PTI framed out #7. 
• Blue dots are punched with an old 1/4" hole punch. 
• Twine is PTI rustic cream button twine. 
• Sentiment "Hello" is computer-printed with brown ink in Edwardian Script ITC font, expanded spacing, with the "H" in a larger font size.

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." (350)

Pink Butterflies with Doily

A sugary pink card for the day after Valentine's.  Damask, doily, butterflies, faux stitching - it doesn't get much sweeter in my crafting world. 

Card details:

• Card stock is Paper Source blossom (pink butterflies), Papertrey Ink (PTI) stamper's selsct white, raspberry fizz (dark pink) and the damask print from PTI sweet blush (pink) pattern pack.
• The faux stitching is drawn with Copic 0.3 pink multiliner and with Signo Uniball white gel impact pen.
• Dies are My Favorite Things mini delicate doilies and Impression Obsession butterfly set.
• I notched the banner ends with scissors.

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." (356)

Brown with Aqua Swirls

This card started with a scrap of swirl-embossed aqua.  I'm in a push to work down my excess scrap.  I use most of it as I go along, but sometimes it builds up.  Really I could just toss it, but I enjoy the challenge in finding ways to make nice cards with it.

Card details:

• Card stock is Papertrey Ink (PTI) stamper's select white, aqua mist (light aqua), Hawaiian shores (turquoise), dark chocolate (brown) and the leaf print from PTI dark chocolate pattern pack.
• Embossing folder is Cuttlebug d'vine swirls.
• Dies are PTI my mother, my friend large label and the inner shape from PTI framed out #7. 
• The "thanks" word is cut with Silhouette using Lori Whitlock's ribbon slide set.
• Twine is The Twinery caribbean.

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." (348)

Embossed Leaves with Copic Coloring

An elegant card with the look of an old book illustration.  The leaf outline is embossed (impressed) into the cream panel with a die, then outlined in brown and colored with Copics.  (Note: the gray is background, not part of the card.)

Embossing with the die gives a beautiful detail and texture.  It also makes the outline and coloring easy to do!  See below for the image before and after coloring.

Card details:

• Card stock is Papertrey Ink (PTI) rustic cream, dark chocolate (dark brown), simply chartreuse (medium green),  script print from PTI Dearest Jane, and the bitty dots print from PTI ripe avocado (dark green) pattern pack.
• Dies are Elizabeth Craft thanks (die cut from brown) and Savvy Stamps tall branches with leaves (embossed into cream panel). 
• I notched the banner ends with scissors. 
• With a 0.3 Copic multiliner in the new brown color, I outlined the leaves and stems, added some short lines where the leaves join the stems, and drew a few sketchy horizontal ground lines.  
• Technique: For the outlining, simply trace along the "valley" of the impressed line, moving the pen at an even speed from one "corner" to the next.  Any fine-tip Micron-style pen can be used for this technique. 
• Copic markers are E23 (stems and panel edging), YG91 (base color for leaves), YG63, YG23, and E21 (some blending on the leaves). 
• The bitty dot paper is edged with Copic E29. 

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." (340)

Blue Thank You with Dots - Before and After

 

                       After                                                 Before (timed version)

For today's Papertrey Ink 7th Anniversary limited supply Timer Challenge - select 7 items in 7 minutes, and then 17 minutes to complete the card.  I had a few "oops" moments, but I got it done before the buzzer!

My 7 items are 3 card stock colors, 1 word die, and 3 lengths of stitching line dies.   Thank you Nichole for a fun challenge!

Edited February 8 to add:  The "limited supply" part of the challenge was more enjoyable for me than the "timer" part.  I began with a general idea of my card design, but then, of course, no time to refine it.  I'd like this card better with my diagonal layers cut to the same angle as the pattern paper dots, and narrower to close up the space above the sentiment.  In my "after" version, some knotted twine (denim and shore from The Twinery) fills the excess space.  It also hides a smudge (not visible on the scan, but very obvious to me in real life!) that in my haste I didn't notice.  I'll try this design again with a few changes. 

Card details:

• Card stock is Papertrey Ink (PTI) spring rain (light blue), enchanted evening (dark blue), and the bitty dots print from PTI blueberry sky pattern pack.
• Dies are PTI wonderful words: thank you and stitching lines.

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." (352)

Yellow Dots with Diagonal Stripes

A bright and cheerful "love you" card, made with a color recipe and sketch recipe from Papertrey Ink's 7th anniversary celebration. Thank you, PTI, for all your great products and inspiration! 

Card details:

• Card stock is Papertrey Ink (PTI) vintage cream, raspberry fizz (pink), Hawaiian shores (turquoise), scarlet jewel (burgundy), and the polka dot print from PTI summer sunrise (yellow) pattern pack.
• Dies are PTI heart-2-heart #11, block alphabet lower case, and photo finish strip.

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." (351)

Cream Branch with Tan and Red

Working my way through some excess scraps.  This design used some leftover red strips in varying widths. 

Card details:

• Card stock is Papertrey Ink (PTI) pure poppy (red), vintage cream, and the stripes print from PTI fine linen (tan) pattern pack.
• Dies are Elizabeth Craft thanks and Memory Box floral vine (retiring).
• Technique:  I traced lightly around the die cuts with an E43 Copic marker, before I removed the surrounding card stock.  This gives an nice uneven outlined 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." (349)

Pastel Flower with Doily Background

Soft pastels for a flower card.  The embossed doily detail adds a background texture.  I like the layered flower shapes together - similar but not identical in their eight-petal curves.

Card details:

• Card stock is Papertrey Ink (PTI) sweet blush (pink), aqua mist (light aqua), Hawaiian shores (medium aqua), and vintage cream.
• Dies are Lifestyle Crafts nesting petals (I used the 5 smallest dies), PTI double-ended banners, and Elizabeth Craft love.   Also PTI Parisian lace doily die is embossed into the base layer.
• The flower center is made with a 1/4" 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." (344)

Green Squares and Stars with Purple

This card began with some leftover green squares and stars.  I enjoyed playing to create a layout to use them up.  In real life, the green is not so yellow. 

Card details:

• Card stock is Papertrey Ink (PTI) plum pudding (purple),  limeade ice (lime green), and stripes print from PTI lavender moon pattern pack.
• Dies are PTI square prints, PTI tipped tops (the last part of the script "happy" turned upside down), and My Favorite Things stacking stars (inner part of large star).
• The little stars in the squares and dotting the "i" are punched with Fiskars 1/4" star 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." (346)

Aqua with Red on a White Twist Background

Aqua, red, and dark gray with white.  Straight lines and curves.  The diecut "twist" pattern makes an interesting background for the ribbon slide sentiment.  In real life, the colors work well together.  

Card details:

• Card stock is Paper Source pool (light aqua), Papertrey Ink (PTI) pure poppy (red), smokey shadow (dark gray), stamper's select white, and the leaf print from PTI Hawaiian shores (medium aqua) pattern pack.
• Die is PTI cover plate: twist.
•  Silhouette cutting file is a ribbon slide set by Lori Whitlock.

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." (339)

Blue Dots Hello

Two blues with lots of dots.  The light blue baker's twine adds a non-dotty accent.

Card details:

• Card stock is Papertrey Ink (PTI) spring rain (light blue) and blueberry sky (medium blue). 
• Dies are My Favorite Things peek-a-boo dots, which I used for embossing instead of cutting, and PTI wonderful words: hello. 
• Using B32 Copic marker, I colored some dots and edged the light blue panels.  I edged and added a few "marbled" lines on the "hello" and dots.  Then I used "0" colorless blender to mottle everything.
• Using Copic sky blue 0.3 multiliner, I outlined some dots that were not colored with B32.  
• The three dots next to "hello" were cut with the peek-a-boo dots die. 
• Twine is The Twinery shore.

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." (345)

Orange and Lime with Teal Sentiment Banners

Bright colors and bold shapes.  A diagonal layout gives emphasis to the sentiment banners.  The knotted twine breaks up the lines on the left.  

Card details:

• Card stock is Paper Source peacock (dark teal) and Papertrey Ink (PTI) limeade ice (lime green) and orange zest.
• I used a Copic marker BG49 to edge the lime panel.
• Twine is PTI orange zest baker's twine.
• Embossing folder is Sizzix retro cirque.
• Die for the diagonal panel is PTI tipped tops - medium size.
• Sentiment banners "love you - miss you - xo xo xo" in Hobo Std font were cut with Silhouette Cameo.  I used Caroline's tutorial on the Silhouette America blog to create the framed words.   Thank you, Caroline!  Love this idea and will use it again.  

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." (343)

Aqua Lace with Yellow and White

Sweet and fresh pastels.  Flowers, lace, and twine.  Very pretty in real life.  Two nice touches are the dots of yellow pearl pen and the yellow that shows through the top row of lace dots. 

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

Card details:

• Card stock is Papertrey Ink (PTI) stamper's select white, aqua mist, and the leaf print from PTI lemon tart (yellow) pattern pack.
• Twine is The Twinery buttercream.  I used a 1/4" hole punch to notch the sides of the card, to keep the twine in place.
• Dies are PTI wonderful words: hello, Avery Elle icon fill in the blank, and Memory Box charlotte border (retired).
• Bottom corners are notched with 1/4" Corner Chomper. 
• The pearl dots in the flower centers are Viva Decor pearl pen, yellow (it's the pastel yellow 202, not sunny yellow).

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." (342)

Dots - Terra Cotta with Gray and Blue

Lots of dots on today's thank you card!  The narrow strips of dots (die cut) make a great accent for the sentiment.  I like the colors together, but another time I'll try edging the blue banner strip with gray to give it more definition. 

Card details:

• Card stock is Papertrey Ink (PTI) terra cotta tile (rust), smokey shadow (dark gray), and rustic white, Hero Arts cerulean (blue), and a dotted print from the Authentique Free Bird 6x6" collection.
• Dies are PTI limitless layers 1-3/4" circles, My Favorite Things peek-a-boo dots, and Elizabeth Crafts thanks
• The blue banner strip is notched by hand.
• Embossing folder is Cuttlebug Swiss dots.

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." (341)

Top 13 Cards of 2013 - My Favorite Card Choices

Welcome to my favorite card choices for Operation Write Home's "Top 13 of 2013."  I truly enjoy being part of the OWH community, helping our troops connect with family and friends across many miles, and learning to be a better card maker while playing with my art supplies :-)  For more of the Top 13 posts from OWH card makers, click here or on the Blog Hop banner to the right.

The cards below are good examples of my usual "crisp and clean" style with lots of die cuts and colored card stock.  I'm not a stamper, but I love to draw and color using Copic markers.  My cards often include:  Simple sentiments (computer-printed or word dies) or no sentiment.  Shapes layered over each other.  Strong color contrast.  Plenty of "white space," though not much white.  Some monochromatic patterned papers.  Textures from embossing folders.  Touches of embroidery floss, twine, or sometimes a bit of ribbon.

You can click on any card for a larger view.  If you're interested in the products and techniques, click here to see my original 13 posts for these cards.  Thanks for visiting my blog, and I'd love to read your comments!

My drawings, scanned and computer-printed,
then colored with Copic markers
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Scenes with birds and a cat

Note: The gray border on the left card is background, not part of the card.
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Simple and serene
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Flower die cuts
Note: The gray border on the right card is background, not part of the card.
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Stitching with embroidery floss
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Bright colors, clean lines
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Like almost all of my cards, these were 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."