OWH K-9 Challenge

I'm entering this card, destined for some far off land to help an American soldier stay in touch with home, in the Operation Write Home K-9 Challenge. This challenge honors PVT Ciara who just finished canine boot camp! Go Ciara...I have a couple canine cousins here who wouldn't cut the mustard at boot camp. They like to nap toooooo much.

My A2 size card (4.25" x 5.5") is layered in vintage unknown baseball & striped paper in patriotic colors with a little "Hello" tag slide on red/white polka-dot grosgrain ribbon. The dog is from a TPC set I purchased at Michaels just for making OWH cards but it's sure to get some extra use after my new little grandson arrives this Fall. The dog was colored with Copic markers and eyes & nose were coated with Glossy Affects for a wet look. I fussy cut the dog and adhered him with pop dots...I think it turned out pretty cool!

You needn't rush over to the Stars & Stamps blog...these can be made all year long for our troops.

* OWH Memorial Day Weekend Blog Hop *

Happy hoppin' cardmaking friends! I wanted something very special for the Memorial Weekend OWH bloghop so I decided to draw my own image. The cute little bear was a breeze to sketch but a "bear" to color with Copics. Can you believe it took about an hour and half to color this simple looking bear? The bear measures approx. 3" x 3" and is double matted & pop-dotted on an A2 size card. The paw with real tissue was also pop-dotted to give some fun dimension. The nose, eyes, & tear were coated with Glossy Affects for a wet look. Please leave me a comment or email me at rba0422@gmail.com if I can provide coloring info. on the copics used.

I hope you enjoyed my little original creation destined to travel to some far off sandy place to help some young hero stay in touch with home. Please follow my blog and come back soon, oh and do leave comments...I love hearing from fellow cardmakers.

Please be sure to visit COURTNEY who has another great card for your enjoyment. AND...most importantly...get crafting cards for the troops!

Now...hop on and have a great time!!!

((Grrrr on Blogger my little bear says! If comments aren't working try this on your rounds...jot comment in the box, then click pull down menu next to "comment as:" , and select name & URL...it really allows you to comment and links back to your blog!))

Update - Glory beeeee....the FOLLOWERS list has reappeared! I hope you'll "follow" my blog so you can stop back for a visit soon. Thanks for stopping!

OWH I've been missing you...

It has been so long since I sat down to put together cards for OWH. Taking MIL to her appointments and running back and forth to the beach to get ready for the upcoming season have eaten into my creative time so it felt great to make a few I thought I'd share. *If anyone is interested in volunteering to make cards for our deployed troops please click the link at the top of the right sidebar here...............>

My cards are made on a kraft 5.5" x 4.25" card, with a black layer under scraps of Cosmos Cricket vintage cardstock. I don't usually stitch on these cards since I'm usually making them assembly line method but decided to stitch down a narrow scrap of black dotted paper. They just seemed to call out for something coffee related so I stamped the cardstock with an old SU mug and restamped and paper pieced Bo Bunny Double Dot with a heart glazed with Ranger Glass Effects. The sentiment was computer generated with a boatload extra so I can keep making more coffee-related cards for the troops! I hope you enjoy...

OWH Principals of Design FREE Online Seminar

The instructor for this series of free seminars sponsored by OWH, holds a B.F.A. from Parson's School of Design, New York. She has 25 years design experience and works as a Sr. Graphic Designer for a small Connecticut printer. Her freelance work includes public service campaigns for a wide variety of national organizations including the American Heart Association, NFL and National Parks Foundation. Check out what Paula has to share and participate please!!

The series begins today, January 29th but is totally self-guided so you can start at anytime. I'll add photos of my attempt to this posting on Sunday. Please check back to see more and go check out OWH if you're not familiar. This is a wonderful, worthy organization all cardmakers can love!

OWH Valentine Challenge

We're down to the wire for the Archway cookie challenge AND voting at Joann's with Crafts for a Cause so hurry over to the OWH site and catch up on all the deets!


While you're at OWH be sure to enter their Valentine card challenge. Check out this wonderful prize from The Angel Company and be sure to get your entry in by Wednesday, December 1st. I entered mine tonight! I hope you like the little "luv bug". The greeting inside the card says, "be mine". The card was colored with Copics with a little faux red crystal added to the ladybug and a trio of red buttons just for a little interest and play off all the dots. I wasn't sure the red & white dots would go well but I think it worked perfectly!

PS...Don't forget to join my blog candy giveaway below. You can still join this leftover from the OWH Bloghop until December 1st. Please spread the word!!

OWH Valentine Blog Hop & Christmas Candy

Hello and welcome to my blog! You're reading right, we're having a Valentine bloghop to celebrate Veteran's Day Week and to get folks thinking about the next big OWH deadline. Valentine cards are due no later than January 7th. so it's time to take a break from your Christmas holiday crafting and join in new fun for a good cause! If you arrived here from Lisa's blog, you're in the right spot so read on for lots of fun and a link to your next stop.

**Please remember cardmakers...the deadline has passed for 2010 Christmas cards. They are NO longer being accepted for 2010. OWH is accepting Valentine cards through January 7, 2011. If you'd like to participate in Archway Cookies Valentine card challenge to match cookie per card, the deadline for entry is December 1st. Be sure to visit OWH here for more details...

To thank you for stopping by my blog I'm offering a little Christmas candy! Please spread the word to other blog hoppers to stop in and check out the goodness.

Qualify to win my blog candy with these easy steps:
1) See the left sidebar to follow my blog.
2) Leave a comment with your email address.
3) Blog about or post my Christmas candy photo on your sidebar AND/OR mention it and OWH on your blog.
4) Check back here on December 1st to see if you won.
5) Sorry, this is not available to international bloggers.


Please support Operation Write Home and vote daily! This worthy charity is in the top 3 in Joann Stores Craft for a Cause celebration and needs daily votes. So please be sure to stop by Joann's and cast your vote today. Thank you friends and God Bless the USA!!

I hope you enjoyed your visit to my blog and will visit again! Please be sure to hop on over to Nancy's at Scrap Happens! and see what fun she has in store for you.

Orchard Fun and OWH Blog Hop

Have you ever seen such unusual pumpkins? My granddaughter wanted to take home the wartful jack-o-lantern for her own. The little gal has an eye for the unusual. After I told her we couldn't take the already carved one covered in warts she ran straight to a oblong yellow pumpkin. We finally settled on some rather cute pie pumpkins and a big one for carving. Oh, and we had to take home just one cider donut!

Sorry, there was no time to blog yesterday so I only uploaded these great photos of my oldest granddaughter having fun with me at Milburn Orchard. Who'd imagine a little girl running around an apple orchard in a dress on a 75 degree day just before Halloween? The dress part her choice but 75 degrees here on the East Coast, who'd guess?

I just signed up to participate in the OWH blog hop for Veteran's Weekend on 11/13. Please keep eyes peeled for more information and snag yourself a badge and link it to OWH with this... http://operationwritehome.org/bloghop. Stop back soon to read about the coming fun. I'll be offering some fun blog candy!!

Mojo Monday #159 Challenge

Just when I thought all my mojo was gone along comes a fun challenge sketch to get the creative energy flowing! I decided this sketch lent itself well to cards I wanted to make for OWH so I went to town and made 6. I think they turned out pretty nice and might make a great Valentine card too.

Here's the cool Mojo Monday sketch:

For my interpretation of the sketch I used my paper stash to make a double-layer diecut label from the Cricut Storybook cartridge. Bo Bunny Double Dot ribbon conceals the "seam" on the 2 patterned papers which are layered with harlequin check on a 5.5" x 4.25" black card base which was lined with white paper (since the troops don't have white pens.) The red diecut "love note" comes from the Wild Card cart. I stamped the back in white with the OWH logo. The flowers are generic mulberry flowers and ones I diecut with the Cricut Wild Card, self-adhesive Button-Ups make fun centers. Best of all...everything used came from my stash so no shopping required!

Hurry over to Mojo Monday's blog...this is a weekly challenge where you can enter more than one card. Entries must be in by Sunday. The prize is a set of Verve stamps. Have fun!

I wish I could find a partner to share a case of A2 size white envelopes because the $10.99 Staples charges for a measly 100 is a budget buster when one can get 1000 for about $29.00 from the OWH source! Email me if anyone nearby would like to share a case.

Operation Write Home Mid-Week Throw Down

This week's challenge is for an easel card. My entry was inspired by reading on the OWH site how some of our troop's children sleep with cards from their parents under their pillow. Doesn't that make you want to create more cards for the children who are missing mom or dad?
Click here for the Mid-Week Throwdown Challenge!







Here are more patriotic children's cards I've been making for my next OWH submission:

Joann's Craft for a Cause

I'll be set to start making cards for this competition next week. Won't you join me or vote for my card(s)? More info and links will be posted as soon as I post a card on the site.

* Free Digis for OWH *

Wow...the good things keep coming from OWH! Today, I've been blogging around looking at the cards of others who donate to this worthy organization and came across a link for free digis to use on your OWH cards. Be sure to check out the OWH website free digi page and print yourself some art and get coloring for a good cause!

Friends, email me if you want help!

OWH Mid-Week Throwdown Challenge

Check out the Halloween cards folks are posting at OWH by clicking the title above this post!

Friends, remember...no glitter, A2 size (4.25 x 5.5), stamp back with OWH stamp, and no cellophane envies! Please email me if you'd like to join me in this great cause. This challenge ends 9/30 so hurry over and enter!

For my card I used: 2 Stampendous images colored with Copic markers & Sakura dimensional gel pens, layers of purple, black & green from my leftover stash of paper, & American Crafts vintage ribbon!

The inside greeting is "Best Witches"...just love these two stamps and am thrilled they are small enough to use on my OWH Halloween cards! I'm off to make more but here's my entry:

Now...tell me...what soldier wouldn't appreciate this fine trio of witchey legs??!!

More Soldier Cards...

How's this for timing?? I got this wonderful information today from the folks at Hero Arts and was wowed at the timing! I'll be looking to make more cards asap and wanted to pass along links to anyone interested in making their own cards for our own American heros serving the USA far from home. This drive is for blank cards the troops can send home. What a great idea!! I plan to donate some of my challenge cards that are piling up on my work table. How about you?

If you'd like to join Hero Arts for a weekend of cardmaking September 10-12, 2010 check out out the blog mid-page HERE.

Here are some great links if you'd like to join Operation Write Home (OWH):
- Operation Write Home
- OWH Birthday Bash
- Hero Arts Blog
- Important Guidelines
- OWH on Facebook