Operation Write Home Card Bowl 2014

yes, I have been scrapbooking and making cards between August and now. I just haven't posted them! (bad girl!!) but I figure posting took time away from making.....

anyway, this weekend is not only the Superb Owl competition (figure it out......) but also Operation Write Home's Card Bowl 2014. which, thanks to a crop night with the girls, I actually participated in!

Friday's challenge was to use the colors for one of the competing teams. I debated going with a black and white card and cheering for the referees but decided to throw my hat in with the Broncos.

Saturday's Challenge was courtesy of Our Daily Bread, an awesome Operation Write Home sponsor. they challenged us to brown as our main color. while there are several other colors in both my cards, I think they qualify as brown based.

 

And today, Operation Write Home introduced Sketch #210 and that was our final challenge. please note: if you look at the sizing on the OWH site, they are wrong. I believe the horizontal paper stripe is 2.5" instead of 1.5". 

 

for all but the "my stars" card, I was still able to use leftovers from layouts I had completed at the crop last night. that all worked out quite nicely!

Operation Write Home Memorial Day Blog Hop - THANK YOU says it all!

Based on Operation Write Home Sketch #172.

Products used:
Cosmo Cricket Cogsmo papers and chipboard

American Craft brad

Basic Grey alphabet stickers

Happy 50th!

no actual scrapbooking, but I did get a card done for a big boss at work. this is VERY loosely based on the Operation Write Home Sketch #172.

Products used:

Cosmo Cricket paper and tag

We Are Memory Keepers ribbon

Making Memories stamp and leather photo corner

Bazzill bosher

Karen Foster brad

Quickutz



Swap Round 2 Month 2

MY TURN!!!! I had the fun of designing this month's kit!!

did I take a photo of the kit? oh heck no! why would I do that? sheesh!! (sorry!) but here is a list of the items included:

the first card used the My Favorite Things stamps from the Operation Write Home fundraiser and is based on Sketch #165. please note how I used the nifty idea from the OWH Stamp Surgery tutorial on this poor bunny's ears! I added the purple heart brad to the kit contents.

it seemed weird to find a muted color combination amongst all those bright colors....but that is what happened with this next card. I just loved the blue, lilac, and peach colors and wanted to stick with them. I used a grey pen to outline everything to make it a bit more subtle than black would have been and added some alphabet stickers from a different Basic Grey line. I think this is my favorite card from the kit......which, if you know me, is odd. I like 'em bright!

at the other end of the spectrum, I am the most disappointed in this card. I had such high hopes for that awesome Jenni Bowlin journaling block die cut! but I just couldn't get it to do anything! (wonder if the other girls had better luck??) I enjoyed making my fun bow but even that couldn't save this poor doomed card! have you read "Like Water for Chocolate"? the food tastes like how the girl feels when she is cooking it. I really hope my frustration and disappointment are not sent along with this card.

similar to the blue and peach card, I loved this paper and after being so frustrated with the previous card, I just kinda threw this one together. I think the pretty little flowers (which I added to the kit) add a simple sophistication to the card. and aren't pink and orange all the rage these days? funny since this paper collection is 5 years old?!?!

after completing my cards I realized I had yet to use one of my favorite patterns in the kit. I had wanted to do a sunburst patterned card and was saving it for that. I figured I could use leftover strips to make it.....but then didn't. so I went to one of my favorite OWH sketches #154 and put together a couple more cards in time to mail out before the Mother's Day deadline! I added the big flowers and the brads for the lefthand card.

now go see what the other ladies did with my kit!!

Arlyn:

scrapperal.blogspot.com

Katie:
http://www.2craftykaties.blogspot.com/

Peggy:
http://myviewfromthebleachers.blogspot.com/

Wendy:
http://shesgonecrafty.blogspot.com/

Laurie:
http://www.scrapsfromthebeach.com/

A few more cards....

I had noticed a mention over at Operation Write Home about some digital images for each of the states. As California seems to be the largest contributor of cards I figured there would be a California digi. There was! But they aren't available on the site anymore. Thankfully, Paula was awesome enough to send them to me.

This card was my first attempt at using watercolor pencils and my blending pen (it has been many many years). Not perfect.....and not as bright as the poppies seem to be this year. But I am thankful that she shared the image with me. I want to play with it and resize it to be more versatile!

Products used:
Scenic Route Paper
Bazzill Basic brads
SU! watercolor pencils

this card was for a co-workers baby shower. the fact that it is done at all is a miracle! I had one night after a long busy business trip to complete it. I think it came out rather nice. (if I say so myself! lol!) the giraffe was based on a couple coloring pages I found online. instead of cutting out spots, I used a heart punch. I outlined the giraffe in dark brown and used grey for the rest of the card to help him stand out......like the googlie eyes didn't already do that! lol!

Products used:

Basic Grey papers and sticker

Spellbinder die

unknown felt brad

This last card was for a friend's son who is battling (and winning against) cancer. I wanted it rough and tumble boy. I scraplifted a card from the Operation Write Home featured card maker Tanya B. obviously I am a keen fan of threes! Also got to use my new stamps from Studio2le and conversation bubble punch!

Products used:
Piggy Tales paper

Junkitz

Studio 2le stamp

Swap Round 2 Month 1

Back to the Card Kit Swap for another round! Arlyn started us off again with this awesome kit! (thanks for the picture Peggy!)

Some great papers from Basic Grey, A2Z, etc. Doilies, washii tape, tags, tickets, ribbon, brads, etc. 

The lighting seems off on this first card but the colors are a super dark brown, a mint green, and cream. I added the QK cut sentiment and the Prima flower. The rest was from the kit.

This was the one oddball paper in the kit, but I love this Basic Grey classic! It also went well with the star washii tape. I used the one blue brad in the package and added my own Prima star and Basic Grey alphabet stickers. This card is very loosely based on Sketch #159 from Operation Write Home.

This card went back to the mint, dark brown, and black and whites in the kit. All I added were the Thickers for "mom." I used the February 17th sketch from My Sketch World.

And, you have seen this last one before. I didn't tell you then, but it came from the kit! I added the Prima flower, grey brads, and the sentiment. 

Now take a moment and go see what great cards everyone else made with the kit!

Arlyn:
scrapperal.blogspot.com

Katie:
http://www.2craftykaties.blogspot.com/

Peggy:
http://myviewfromthebleachers.blogspot.com/

Wendy:
http://justwen.blogspot.com/

Laurie:
http://www.scrapsfromthebeach.com/

March is my month! I've got a fun little kit put together and can't wait to see what everyone makes with it!


USAGE: (other than items in the kit)
cardstock: 2
3D alphas: 3
brads: 2
flowers: 2
die cut alphas: 2
alphabet stickers: 3

misc embellishments: 1

Challenges (pt 2)

I am hoping for a Challenges (pt 3) post after the crop next weekend. kinda feel like I should include those days in February since they ARE challenges from February......or is that cheating?

JELLY BELLY FACTORY

This uses the February 19 sketch from My Sketch World and meets the February 8th challenge at ScrapVillage to create a 2 page layout using 2 different sized photos and 2 different embellishments. I also got the "bonus" by using a total of 12 brads!

Products Used:

SEI (Smarty)
Doodlebug buttons
American Craft brads & Thickers

and with the scraps I made this card to send to Operation Write Home using  the February 6th sketch from My Sketch World.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DINGER

This uses the February 20th sketch from My Sketch World and meets the February 4th challenge at ScrapVillage to use the Superbowl as inspiration. Mine: a sports layout and using the River Cats reddish-maroon color. I really like this sketch and can see me using it a lot!

Products Used:

Prima papers
Sizzix die cuts
7 Gypsies tape
Marvy punch
Lasting Impressions brads

all on my own, (ie: without a sketch) I made a card with the scraps. I think this fits the need for teen boy birthday cards.

Additional products used:
American Craft photo corner

USAGE:
cardstock: 5
patterned paper: 7
3D alphas: 11
buttons: 4
brads: 20

die cut alphas: 1

punches: 6
misc embellishments: 1
ink: 3

Challenges (pt 1)

So.......there are a LOT of crops and challenges going on this month! Saturday morning I literally went to all the sites and copied over their challenges so I could start scrapping. these layouts/cards meet at least 2 challenges for various sites! I'll list them as I go........and as is becoming the custom, the cards from the leftovers are headed to Operation Write Home. you have until March 31st to get in those Mother's Day cards!

At the sneak preview for the movie Flipped we got to meet Madeline Carroll and Rob Reiner. Needless to say, it was quite memorable! This layout meets the Pink Challenge for Gimmie All Your Lovin Crop at Let's Capture Our Memories as well as a sketch challenge over at My Sketch World and the challenge to scrap how you met someone over at ScrapVillage. (and see, Arlyn......I used that bird QK die!)

Products used:
SEI Papers (you will see......apparently I am on a SEI kick!)
American Craft Thickers
QK die

This card took me twice as long as the layout I used the scraps from though I am not sure why! This card was very loosely based on a sketch from My Sketch World.

Products used:
SEI (Hippy Chick.....in case you were wondering)
Making Memories button
various punches

Hubby and I enjoying a nice dinner ALONE for our 15th anniversary. There is a bit of orange in the paper, but I love how it goes with my husband's polo shirt! This meets the Love layout challenge for the Gimmie All Your Lovin' crop as well as a foreign word challenge at ScrapVillage and a sketch challenge at My Sketch World.

again.....less than stellar photo courtesy of my cell phone.

Products used:
SEI paper
Prima flowers
American Craft brads and photo corner
unknown rhinestone brads
Making Memories ribbon
QK fonts (including Finale.......one I had really been wanting and finally got!)

I used leftovers from my 15 Years layout to make this card. I was inspired by Allison's sketch at the Gimmie All Your Lovin crop and her use of eyelet loops around a square. I incorporated that into the edging on the card as well as the edge of my sentiment.

Products used:
SEI (Dilly Weed)
Prima
unknown rhinestone brad
punches

LAYOUTS: 2
CARDS:
OWH: 2

PURCHASING:
4 QK alpha
10 QK dies
1 "other" die
2 stamp sets
1 set rub-ons
(I have a few more dies enroute that I'll add when I get them)

USAGE:
cardstock: 1
patterned paper: 6
3D alphas: 7
buttons: 1
brads: 14
flowers: 8
ribbon: 1
die cut alphas: 3
die cut shapes: 2
punches: 6
misc embellishments: 1
ink: 2
pens: 4

Farm Camp 2007

Just a few years behind still......and yes, still phone photos.

This layout was done in response to Laurie's Crafty Challenge to use a sketch for a layout. I used a Valerie Salmon sketch from Got Sketch 107 so I can't give you a link to the exact sketch. I believe I used the same sketch for........another layout I guess I never posted here! lol! Sorry! Maybe I'll post it another time. It doesn't look anything like this layout or the sketch.

Products used:

Chloe's Closet papers and chipboard (Imagination Project)
QK
Accent Depot brads

Splashin' Around

This was a single page sketch from Got Sketch Express 4 that a fellow classmate made into a 2 pager. Seeing her layout totally hit me upside the head that it would be perfect for these photos! Not sure if I like the wave border but it looks better than it did with white paper behind it. And I am super excited that I was able to use some seriously old things that I never imagined I'd use!

Products used:
My Mind's Eye Paper
Scenic Route chipboard
Flair border tape
American Crafts Thickers
Queen & Co brads

Churchill Middle School

I am sure this is based on a sketch from somewhere, but I don't know who/where. if it is yours, please let me know so I can give you proper credit.

I started this layout at my weekend retreat last month. after getting home I realized I had the wrong school and wrong school year. the colors work great for R's high school......too bad this was middle school! thankfully I hadn't put the layout together yet so I was able to change the things like the sticker and plaque with the wrong grade on them!

Products used:

Creative Imaginations papers, stickers, embellishments
QK dies
EZ Lazer Designs embellishment
Pebbles embellishment
KI ribbon
Lasting Impressions brads

Pumpkin Picking

yes, another camera picture, sorry!

this Got Sketch Express 4 two-pager was perfect for the photos I had. I cut them a bit smaller to have room to mat them and yes, used lots and lots of buttons for my circles to line the layout. it wasn't as difficult as you might think: I ran some adhesive down the page, positioned the buttons, punched holes, and then sewed them on. and can you believe I had enough buttons to do it??! sadly, I still have plenty of buttons leftover!

Products used:
Scenic Route papers and embellishments
Making Memories alphabet
misc buttons
DMC floss

Last Day of School

I think this is my favorite sketch in the Got Sketch Express 4 class so far! I love all the different papers (shocking, I know! lol!) and that it works well for someone who likes to mat her photos. I didn't make many alterations this time! And yes, again, sorry, another phone photo.

Products used:

KI paper and ribbon
Scenic Route chipboard
Making Memories rub-ons and stickers
Junkitz, Creative Imaginations, Pebbles embellishments

Jack O' Lantern

Another Got Sketch Express 4 sketch.


Had to change the photo sizes a little to makes my photos work but not sure you can tell the difference. Painted the edges of the pictures since we didn't mat them. For the trim on the top and bottom, I took some Creative Imaginations felt trim and added some striped paper. 

Another phone photo. Sorry!

Products used:

Basic Grey papers, stickers, alphabet
Doodlebug ric rac
Creative Imaginations felt
Misc buttons & brads

50 Ears - Sketch in Thyme

So the lighting is off a bit in this one but you can see the gold Mickey hat brads. In the scan they are totally wiped out and I want you to see just how cute they are! Heck, they even have the number 50 on them!

Anyway, this is another sketch from Sketches in Thyme. They are using this one to help choose some new Design Team members. I thought it would be fun to get back on a DT and get myself some scrapping deadlines! lol! I seem to work better that way. And it helps that I really love their sketches!

You can see the sketch, check out their DT call for yourself, and see the other great entries on their blog.

Products used:

Bo Bunny paper
Junkitz paper
American Craft brads
Scenic Route chipboard
QK font

oh, and I traced and cut out the "mickey hats" out of the glitter paper.

Polish Festival

This was a fun day! I am glad I was able to find fun colorful paper to scrap my photos. The layout is based on a sketch from Valerie Solomon.

Products used:
Kaiser Craft paper
Fiskars edge punch
ribbon
buttons

Say Cheese

We seem to gravitate to the same crazy things every year at the State Fair. This year it was a bunch of those silly photo cut-outs. The layout is based on a sketch from Got Sketch Express 2.

Products used:
Echo Park paper and stickers
Scenic Route chipboard
Junkitz ringz (is that what they were called?) and brads
Fiskars edge punch
American Craft brads
ribbon

How the West Was Won

Gotta love those school plays! Funny how both Ryan and David did the same play but the photos came out completely different. This layout was for a challenge over at Scrapdango focusing on using paint and paper piecing or hand cut element. I pieced the hat and handcut the paint stamped letters in the title. I even hand journaled! Layout based on a sketch from the PageMaps sketch book.

Products used:
Flair Designs paper and stickers
Making Memories stamps and paint
Lasting Impressions buttons
felt star

Sweets for my Sweet

Aw! Ryan made Valentine's candy for his girlfriend. This layout is based on a sketch from Got Sketch Express 2. I love different ways to use three photos on a one pager! And yes, the layout does butt up against the right hand edge of the paper.

Products used:
Scrapworks paper
QK fonts
American Craft thickers
Heidi Swapp ghost shapes

Pie for Pops

 

Ryan really had a blast throwing a pie in Jeff's face as between inning entertainment at a River Cats game!

layout is based on sketch #55 from Sketches in Thyme, a new sketch site Peggy and I found!

products used:

My Minds Eye paper, die cuts, twine

Quickutz