Operation Write Home Memorial Day Weekend Blog Hop

Hello blogland and welcome to my stop on the Operation Write Home Memorial Day Weekend Blog Hop.  You should have come here from Patty at Patty Creates blog, but if you're lost, click on the banner at the top to get to the start of the hop.  If this is the first time you've stopped at my little blog - welcome!

For my "missing you" project this weekend I'd like to show you a clean and simple card using a Sizzix embossing folder and a small Stampin' Up stamp which was cut out with a Nestabilities scallop circle die.

This card was in my last box of cards that was sent to Operation Write Home and I hope it made someone smile when they sent it to a loved one.  When my Dad was in the Army in 1940 there wasn't an organization like this that provided cards to write home, so I'm pleased that I help our service men and women in a little way with a few cards.

This card will be going in my next box of card to OWH - I made it for this week's Clean and Simple Challenge at Simply Scrapping Crafts.  The background was created by using Lindy's Stamp Gang Ponderosa Pine Olive spray, then I heat embossed the Band of Brothers stamp from Stampers Best, used some Tim Holtz salvage stickers, some faux stitching on the side, and 3 acrylic stars and it was done.  What a good message to remember as we celebrate this Memorial Day weekend - Freedom isn't free.

Now on to your next stop on the hop - Amanda at Who are You Calling Crafty?  Enjoy the rest of the blog hop!

A challenge for Breast Cancer Awareness

Hello blogland and happy Friday!  Another week has flown by, but I've got a great Clean and Simple Challenge to share with you from Simply Scrapping Crafts.  This month there are lots of walks for Breast Cancer Awareness, and the DT gals and I decided to devote this week's challenge to that.  Check out these great inspirations cards from the team:

Doris

Angie

 

Amy E.

Amy M

Paula

Yvonne

 

We had a great time working on this challenge - as you see, it doesn't always have to be just pink.  Yvonne and I both used Lindy's Stamp Gang products on our projects this week - love that stuff!  And Lindy's is our sponsor this month for the CAS Challenge group at SSC, so be sure to stop by and check out our challenges for your chance to win a great prize package.

Another Cricut Corner Challenge Project

Hello blogland!  I didn't get to post this project from Simply Scrapping Crafts Monday Cricut Corner Challenge yesterday, we were having a bit of a problem loading or posting for a few hours.  This week's challenge was to make a project using either the Multi-Cut or Mix and Match features and here's what I came up with using the Wild Cards cartridge:

I've had my Cricut Expression for a while now and have never used the Mix and Match feature before and let me tell ya', this is quite a time saver!  Instead of taking my mat in and out after each cut, this allows you to use several different functions like shadow, icon, layer, etc. without having to unload your mat between each cut.  I cut all the pieces for my card and envelope using the Mix and Match and only had to remove my mat to add more paper for the larger envelope. 

This whole project took me about 10 minutes because I saved so much time using this feature.  I'm sure it's going to get used much more in the future :)  Be sure to stop by SSC to see more inspirations projects for this week's challenges and check out the great prize from this month's sponsor Lindy's Stamp Gang.

One last thing - I want to wish a very happy birthday to my Design Team mate Angie Smith - please stop by her blog HERE and leave her some birthday love today.

A new Clean and Simple Challenge at Simply Scrapping Crafts

Hello blogland and happy Friday!  I have a new Clean and Simple challenge to share with you from Simply Scrapping Crafts.  Our challenge this week was to use masking on our projects and I had a ball doing this project.  I hadn't used my masks in a while but it's really easy, like the reverse of stenciling.

For the mask I used a large Tim Holtz borderline mask and sprayed my white Bazzill cardstock with Lindy's Stamp Gang's Treasure Island Aqua Moon Shadow Mist, blotted it and heat dried it.  I added my sentiment from Stampers Best Someone Special Sentiments set using Stampin' Up Taken with Teal ink.  The flower was made using 3 layers of a Stampin' Up 5 Petal Flower punch on a piece of white cardstock that had been sprayed with Lindy's Stamp Gang's Delphine Turquoise Starburst Stain and topped off with a mini mulberry rose colored with Tibetian Poppy Teal Magical Mica from Lindy's.  It sounds like a lot of steps, but this card took me about 5 minutes to make from start to finish.  Using the sprays from Lindy's Stamp Gang let me decide how light or dark I wanted the background and the Moon Shadow Mists get a two toned effect when heat dried.  The shimmer is beautiful!  Go check out all the companies I highlighted above then stop by Simply Scrapping Crafts CAS challenge and our great sponsor this month: Lindy's Stamp Gang.

Happy Mother's Day Monday!

Hello blogland!  I hope all the Mother's had as lovely a Mother's Day and I did!  And since it's Monday, it's time to share this week's Cricut Challenge from Simply Scrapping Crafts.  We're still reviewing the features and functions of the Cricut machines, and this week's challenge was to use the Center Pointe Feature.  I have to admit, I've never used this button before and had no idea what to use it for.  But the videos the DT has been sharing has been a good review and I have to tell ya', I was impressed that the Cricut Expression can do that.  After choosing my paper, my idea was to make a few cuts for a Mother's Day card I was making for my Mom.  But after making the cuts I changed my mind about what to make and here's what I came up with:

Whatcha think?  This card took me about 5 minutes to make - I kid you not!  The paper I used was from the DCWV Mariposa stack - I cut one piece of 12x12 in half to make a 6" square card base.  The flower and sentiment were both cut from the Mother's Day 2010 cartridge.  The flower cut actually belongs to a pinwheel and I decided to cut it in 2 different sizes (2 inches and 3 inches), I curled the edges under with the end of a thin paint brush, stacked them all together and used the mini I Am Roses bud to secure everything.  Easy peasy and Happy Mother's Day Mom!  Here's a closer look at the flower:

Be sure to stop by Simply Scrapping Crafts and check out this week's great challenges and all our May sponsors.

A new Clean and Simple Challenge at Simply Scrapping Crafts

Hello blogland and TGIF!  Where did this week go and how did it get to be May already?  Well it's Friday and I have a new CAS challenge to share with you from Simply Scrapping Crafts.  We have a fabulous sponsor this month: Lindy's Stamp Gang!  Woo-hoo! Our challenge this week was to use white and only one other color on our project.  Here's our sketch:

And here's my sample:

This was a really fun challenge - I love pink and I love Lindy's products so this was a no brainer for me.  To keep my project just pink and white I used a plaid background stamp from Stampers Best and instead of ink I used VersaMark to stamp the image and added white embossing powder.  After heat setting I sprayed on Lindy's Cotton Candy Pink Stain and heat set again.  Presto - I had my pink/white plaid paper.  I did the same for the sentiment paper this time using a Michael's dollar stamp.  I tore each piece, added some Basic Gray bling, some ribbon from My Favorite Things and I was done.

Want a chance to win a great package of products from Lindy's Stamp Gang?  Then join me over at SSC every Friday in May for a brand new Clean and Simple Challenge.

A new Cricut Challenge at Simply Scrapping Crafts

Hello blogland!  It's Monday and that means a brand new Cricut challenge over at Simply Scrapping Crafts!
We're still going through some of the basic features of the Cricut machines, and this week's challenge is to use the Flip feature.  Here's my little project:

Card Recipe:

Cardstock: DCWV

Die cutter: Cricut Expression

Cartridges used: title - Sweethearts; animals - Live Simply

Other: Zig 2 way glue

Feature used: Flip - used on turtle

This was a really fun and simple project!  I had never used the Flip feature before and it worked out great for this card.  I flipped the turtle to face the right so he was nose-to-nose with the hare - the perfect pair :)

Be sure to stop by SSC this week for all new challenges - something new each day!