Category Archives: OWH

CPS Sketch #161 & OWH Color Challenge

  • Stamps – Stampendous “Birch Buddies” and Hero Arts “Everyday Sayings”
  • Patterned papers – My Mind’s Eye “So Sophie: Possibilities” and SEI “Claire: Winsome”
  • Die cut made with Spellbinders Nestabilities “Labels Twenty”

This is a simple card I made using Sketch #161 at Card Positioning Systems (CPS). I was also inspired to try the color challenge at Operation Write Home Stars and Stamp: Turquoise and Brown. I do like this color combination. I used some patterned paper scraps that worked together well, added some accents with Copic markers to the stamped image and layered the sentiment to make it stand out. I hope it will be a nice one for one of our deployed troops to use to write home. Thanks for stopping by!


OWH Sketch #117 – Dad

  • Patterned papers – Canvas Corp “Black on Kraft Damask” and “White on Kraft Damask”
  • Alphabet – American Crafts Thickers, “Delight” foam stickers
  • Die cut made with Spellbinder’s Nestabilities “Lacey Circles”
  • Embossing folder – Cuttlebug “Polka Dots”

This was a really fun sketch to use. It is Sketch #117 at Operation Write Home Stars and Stamps, and the current sketch challenge. You can use a variety of papers together (which can be dangerous!) and it is symmetrical, which keeps a little formality to the design. I added some texture with the polka dot embossing folder and popped up the circle containing the sentiment to add to the dimension. I will add this to my Father’s Day/Dad cards for Operation Write Home. Thanks for your visit today.


Unscripted Sketch #153 – Dad

  • Patterned papers – Basic Grey “Hello Luscious: Honeyed”
  • Patterned cardstock: BoBunny “DoubleDot: Chiffon Journal and Coffee Journal”
  • Stickers – Pebbles “ABC Stickers”

I used Sketch #153 at Unscripted Sketches as inspiration for this clean and simple card. This sketch is part of the Third Blogiversary celebration at Unscripted Sketches, where there is a different sketch every week. I made a “Dad” card for my shipment to Operation Write Home, since we are trying to make a lot of Father’s Day and Dad cards this month for the troops to use to send home. I added faux stitching to the edges of all the elements to add a little more detail. Thanks for stopping by.


Unscripted Sketch #152 – Father’s Day

  • Image – Lisa Vollrath & Ten Two Studios
  • Patterned paper – KaiserCraft “Hunt and Gather” 6 X 6″ pad
  • Die cut made from Spellbinders Nestabilities “Standard Circles Large”
  • Cardstock – Bazzill
  • Crafter’s Cord – Hemptique “Vintage”

I made this card using the current sketch: #152 at Unscripted Sketches. The colors are quite muted, but kind of pleasant that way. This card will go in my next box for Operation Write Home (OWH), since we are trying to make lots of Father’s Day cards for the heroes to send home. The Our Daily Bread Designs (ODBD) Challenge on OWH Stars and Stamps for April is to feature an animal on a card.  I have a collection of fish images from Lisa Vollrath and Ten Two Studios that I though work well for Father’s Day cards. So that was my animal of choice! The really cool thing about this challenge is that for every 25 cards we make, ODBD pays for the shipping of a box of cards to our deployed troops. We have been making at least 50 every month that ODBD has sponsored this challenge. That is a big help! Thanks for visiting today.


OWH Sketch #115 – Fuschias

Stamp – Penny Black “Delicate Florals”

Patterned papers – My Mind’s Eye Little Miss Muffet: “That’s My Girl” and “Isn’t She Lovely”

Embossing folder – Sizzix

Cardstock – Bazzill

I used the current sketch at Operation Write Home Stars and Stamps – Sketch 115,  for inspiration to create this card. I stamped the Penny Black fuschia image and colored it with Copic Markers, then blended some Distress Inks around the edges. I added some texture by running some cardstock through the Sizzix embossing folder. I popped the layers with an additional black layer behind them. Thanks for the visit today!


Cardmaking Friends April Challenge – Floral

  • Die cuts – made from Spellbinders Shapeabilities “Blossom Tags and Accents” – colored with Ranger Distress Inks
  • Patterned paper – Basic Grey “Stella Ruby”
  • Sentiment stamp – Hero Arts “Everyday Sayings”

This is a really simple card made with floral die cuts colored with Distress Inks and some pretty patterned paper. This is the sample card for the April challenge for a card group I belong to–the challenge is to make floral cards. I enjoyed putting together the flower from the die cuts and applying color with the Distress inks to match the paper. Have a great day and I’ll see you back here soon.


Basket of Geraniums Card

  • Digital image – Ike’s Art – colored with Copic Markers
  • Die cut – made from Spellbinder’s Nestabilities “Labels Fifteen”
  • Patterned papers – Black Market Paper Society “Ebony & Alabaster” 6 X 6″ pad
  • Cardstock – Bazzill
  • Felt flower – Creative Impressions “Blossoms & Leaves”
  • Paper leaf – Prima Marketing, Inc.
  • Brad/metal flower – Nunn Design “Daisy Brad”

This card features a digital image by Ike’s Art that I got by participating in the Crafter’s Digital Art Center (CDAC) Freebies Progressive Challenge. I colored the image with Copic markers. The card design is based on the current sketch at Mojo Monday: Sketch #234. I created it in response to the March ODBD challenge at Operation Write Home Stars and Stamps, which is a “Tic-Tac-Toe” challenge where I had to pick three in a row from elements on their game board. As it turned out, I managed to get two different lines of three in a row: Brads, Digi Stamp, Die Cut and Die Cut, Layers , Stripes. This was a really fun idea for a challenge! Thanks for stopping by today!

Above is a closer look at a couple of this card’s details.


Sunny Wishes – OWH Sketch #114

  • Stamps – Darcie’s “Here Comes the Sun” cling set (both sentiment and sun)
  • Patterned papers – Basic Grey “Stella Ruby” and “Porcelain” 6 X 6″ paper pads
  • Background – created with Ranger Adirondak Alcohol Inks & Mixables – Polished Agate Technique
  • Cardstock – WorldWin

It is time for some Summer cards to send off to Operation Write Home (with the Father’s Day cards!). I started playing with my alcohol inks last week for a background and thought I’d do some more with different colors. Sometimes it is fun just to make backgrounds! I used the current sketch at Operation Write Home Stars & Stamps – Sketch #114 for this card. I like the little diamond shape in the middle. Thanks for visiting today.


Clean & Simple – Sketch 143

  • Stamp – from Darcie’s “Here Comes the Sun” cling stamp set
  • Patterned papers – Basic Grey “Lime Rickey” 6 X 6 paper pad
  • Die cuts – made from Spellbinders “Butterflies,” “Lacey Circles” and “Standard Circles Large”
  • Cardstock – Bazzill

I made this card with the current Clean and Simple Sketch #183 in response to the Midweek Throwdown Challenge at Operation Write Home. This week’s challenge was to use a green and yellow color palette. I really like this sketch and the pieces just fell together for me from my stash! Plus I was able to use one of the stamps from the new Darcie’s set I just got, which I think will be cheery for more Operation Write Home cards to come. Thanks for visiting today.


OWH – Faux Leather Card

  • Stamps – Paperbag Studios “The View” and Hero Arts “Father’s Day Message”
  • Die cut – made from Spellbinder’s Nestabilities “Labels Seventeen”
  • Patterned cardstock – BoBunny “Chocolate Flourish”
  • Solid cardstock – WorldWin Treasures “Deep Brown”
  • Metal stickers – Mark Richards Enterprises – Nailheads

This background was featured in a tutorial at Operation Write Home Stars and Stamps this week. I made the faux leather background with overlapped masking tape rubbed with Distress Ink and heat set with clear matte embossing powder. It has an interesting texture and mine sort of resembles leather. It was fun to try it out and is always gratifying to make my own backgrounds. Thanks for checking-in with me.