These are for Operation Write Home. I used the current sketch challenge and twist, which was to make one rather straight up and then do a second card stepped up a bit.

Here are the other challenges that also inspired me.  Use dinosaurs for Here Come the Boys challenge #19.  I pulled all these blue papers from my stash for the Shopping Your Stash challenge #36 – Winter Blues.  I love blues and had a ball matching these patterns to form a couple of masculine cards for the troops to send home.  Something for the Boys is the challenge at The Crafty Pad #154.  Challenge #40 at the Birthday Sundaes is to have the sentiment on the front.  I printed my sentiments, punched it out with a Stampin’ Up! punch, and popped it up on dimensionals.

Thanks for looking in on me today!  Please consider making some cards for Operation Write Home too. Read about it on their blog or pop me a question here.

Here is the sketch:

I also used buttons for the Scrapbook Inspiration challenge at SCS too.

The title letters are from a couple of Cricut cartridges. I cut flourishes and buttons from Sizzix dies, added embroidery floss, stamped embellishments from Stampin’ Up’s Sew Suite stamp set, added one large button, and a ribbon bu SU. There are strips of real fabric from the dress, a piece of chiffon over a pink cs and some print fabric cotton sewn above the title. Most of the patterns are SU with one orange strip by Basic Gray. Both solids are SU. 

Do you know how to wish someone a happy birthday in Hawaiian?

Hau’oli lā hānau

(pronounced How-o-lee Laa Haa-now)

I gathered inspiration from several challenges to create this card. So as I explain my process I will reveal the particular challenges.

First, from the Perfect Sentiments challenge I know it would be a birthday card.  I had to use the technique of emboss resist.  I clear embossed palm trees to the white card stock. (Important note to self: use watercolor paper when you think you might use a lot of water.)  Over the embossed trees I brushed watercolor over it to give the look of the sky.  The hint of the palms in the back are a nice effect, understated but a nice illusion behind the cutout.

These beautiful digital images – hula girl and the island hammock scene – are some of the prizes I won from Make it Crafty.  I was so excited to win these and was delighted to get Christmas behind me so I could get down to some real fun of coloring some water scenes. I had so much enjoyment making this scene and am submitting this card for the Craft a Scene challenge #1. Although not much grass, there is some on that island and I am entering this card in Make it Crafty’s challenge which is Blades of grass/ make it colorful. I doubled up on two tree tops and the hammock; the girl is popped up too.

I made a border using the Fiskars wave punch for the challenge at Shopping Our Stash challenge #35.  Other than my new digis everything has been around for a while.  An interesting bit of trivia, and in fact, it is the subject of another challenge – the sun.  The challenge over at The Stamping Boutique #24 is to use a die cut.  My blingy sun is a Spellbinders die cut of an Avon box!  I had to save this gorgeous gold box back when I opened my new cream because some day it would be perfect for a card or project – it is!  You too can find your Avon treasures at Kristina’s on line store. {wink!}

Two other challenges I’ve included are from Splitcoast stampers.  One is Thursday’s Sew Beautiful – I sewed on the waves border. The other is Free 4 All Friday to use 2 hearts.

A shout out to Stampin’ Up! also for the water color crayons, eyelets, label punch, palm tree stamp and clear embossing powder.

My challenge was:

1. Use a raven

2. Make it about love or romance.

3. Across the Border – Use a border punch or border detail.

I first covered my black cs with smudged strips, did some stamping and heat embossing, added two pieces of border (SU’s scallop and EK). My flowers are felt cut with a Sizzix die and a pearl (SU) added to centers. The paper photograph I found on the Internet of the old Clark County Courthouse where we got married and can be seen in the photo. The photos on this page were nearly destroyed, so the distress on them is real, I didn’t add to it, just scanned and reprinted.  I really enjoyed forming this page to relate to the artistry of Poe’s work.   

This is made from a McCall’s pattern, number 5963.  The lining is Blizzard fleece in light pink. The strip of elastic in the hood and the Velcro under the tabs should keep baby Leia snuggy.  I lengthened the jacket from what the pattern called for, to give more coverage when baby is picked up and carried. So often the short jackets don’t stay down far enough. I hope mommy likes it. It is uber soft.

Getting a start on the Christmas cards is a good thing, and it’s prompted by a group at Splitcoast stampers.  

I colored the main image with Prismacolor pencils, cut it out with a Spellbinders die, matted with larger die.  The swirl is another Christmas stamp set from SU that I stamped in versamark and brushed Pearl Ex over. I also spritzed with SU supplies. The sentiment is stamped in Night of Navy.

This is a pic of the other 4 cards for January’s goal. I stamped these the same as the sympathy card but changed the sentiment by adding a Spellbinders snowflake die cut from silver SU’s CS.

I hope I made it to fit Leia’s waist.  I closed the elastic with a safety pen so mommy or daddy can adjust if necessary.  My strips are 4.5 inches of nylon tulle looped over the elastic with a few satin and organza ribbons added.  I trimmed after completing to give it more of the ballerina look.  I figure when she is totting around I will try for a fairy look with a more wispy bottom.  I had picked up this cute little Onesie the other night just because I thought it too cute to pass up.  Should make a cute little play outfit for mommy to dress her in.  Hope I get a photo of her in it!

I have used the tree and the blue and white from the inspiration photo here:

This card by Loll for the CSC153 challenge inspired my sketch.

To create my background I inked a stamp from a Stampin’ Up! set called “All Around Argyle” starting with the lightest of the 3 inks and wiping a bit off of the first two to make smaller blocks.  The tree from the set called “Thoughts & Prayers” is heat embossed with SU’s light blue powder.  The sentiment was stamped in Night of Navy with my beloved Stamp-a-ma-jig.

After a trip to the quilt store in Rockledge I picked up a perfect blue to match my inspiration fabric for my Craftsy.com block of the month quilt.  So, last night I remade the wonky pound sign block – the second block for January. This new one is exactly as suggested and I carefully constructed it according to directions this time.  The white on white background is the same as the strips in the January block #1, asterisk block. 

We ended up selecting fabrics to make pretties for the dining room table.  I searched the patterns on display there and pretty much have an idea in my head as to what I want for the design.

My “Resolution” for 2012 is to spend my time more wisely.  I want to work on the sewing projects, mending jobs, and also do more quilt art.  I figure if I block my time out in a little book or something I can avoid wandering around trying to decide what to do next.

Two New Years cards went into the mail today. I wanted to send a pic of the new baby in our world and offer some much needed joyous thoughts for our family in the new year.

This little precious baby girl makes life so happy!