SU September Stamp Club

It's time for me to post cards from my monthly SU Stamp Club again!  There's a catch this time though - I didn't make these cards myself.  I know, sad, right?!  I had to work when Stamp Club was meeting this month so Christi made the cards for me.  They are cute cards though.  Just wish I could say "I made them!"  

These will not be headed to Operation Write Home - at least not this year!  We are past the deadlines for Halloween and Thanksgiving.  In fact, we are only 10 days from the "early" Christmas/holiday card deadline!

In case you hadn't heard, I'm the new hostess for the weekly Operation Write Home Midweek Throwdown Challenge that posts every Wednesday.  Last Wednesday, the challenge was to make cards in multiples.  You can click HERE to see the post.  The challenge stays open for an entire year so it's NEVER too late to play along.  Don't forget to stop by next Wednesday to see what I have in store for you!

OWH Birthday Bash - Perfect Layers

Welcome to the last Wednesday of the Operation Write Home Birthday Bash celebration!  If you came here from Roxie's beautiful out-of-the-box coral-colored card, you are on the right track.  If you would like to start at the beginning of today's skip, click HERE to go to the Stars and Stamps blog.

Today we are celebrating with Perfect Papercrafting, makers of the Perfect Layers tool.  I had never used this tool before, but let me tell you a few things about it: you will get perfectly straight cuts every time and will not have to do any math calculations to figure out how to cut your layers.  How great is that!  If you are loving what you've seen and want to get your own set, you can use the code OWH5% for a 5% discount when you check out.  If you'd like a chance to win a $50 gift certificate from Perfect Papercrafting, be sure to leave a comment on every blog in the hop today in order to qualify.

Our mission today is to use our Perfect Layers tool and an Operation Write Home sketch to create a card.  I chose Sketch #132 and added LOTS of layers to it using my Perfect Layers tool.  This card went together so quickly!

Card Supplies
cardstock - SU Daffodil Delight, Midnight Muse, Tangerine Tango
stamp - Hampton Arts
ink - SU Midnight Muse
patterned paper - Echo Park (this is some of my favorite collection that I found in my scrap pile)

The Perfect Papercrafting website has some video tutorials showing how to use the Perfect Layers tool.  One of these shows that you don't have to make squares or rectangles all the time, so I thought I'd try it out.  I didn't use an OWH sketch on this one - it's just a bonus card!  Making the diagonal line perfectly straight and at the exact same angle each time was a cinch with the Perfect Layers tool.  (Any crookedness was my fault when I glued the blue piece onto the black one!)

Card Supplies
cardstock - SU Daffodil Delight, Island Indigo, Raspberry Ripple
stamp - SU Delightful Dozen
ink - SU white craft
ribbon - SU Daffodil Delight
bling - Mark Richards 5 mm silver metal sticker

For more inspiration, I will send you on to LEIGH'S BLOG.  Enjoy the last of the Birthday Bash until next September!

OWH Birthday Bash - Hero Arts

Welcome to another fun and exciting skip to celebrate Operation Write Home's birthday month!  If you arrived here from the amazing Lisa Spangler's blog, you are on the right track.  If you'd like to start at the beginning of the skip or if you get lost along the way, click HERE.

Today we are skipping with Hero Arts images.  Hero Arts has quite a few stamps sets that have been designed for especially for us OWH'ers - you can find them HERE.  They generously donate 25% of their profits from the sale of these stamp sets to Operation Write Home, so now you have a license to shop - like you needed my permission, right?!

But before you run off to shop, take a look at the card I made using the Epic Love set.  I used the arrow and one of the sentiments to make a VERY bold statement using an incredibly simple layout.  I added a little bling but didn't go over the top so that a guy might be attracted to choose the card even though there are flowers on it.  I thought the colors were more in the "guy" palette, too.  No pinks on this card!  I was tempted to add some ribbon at the top of the card but didn't have any that matched...I was on the hunt for the dark blue but didn't have any.  I hate when that happens!

Supply List
patterned paper: Authentique - Genuine
cardstock: SU Midnight Muse and So Saffron
bling: Queen & Co.
punch: We R Memory Keepers Corner Chomper - stub

So, there is my simple card with a BOLD message!  Your next stop on the skip is SAMANTHA'S BLOG.  Have fun and find lots of inspiration along the way to make cards for our heroes to send home!

SU August Stamp Club

With this post, I am officially all caught up on posting the cards I made this summer in my Stampin' Up Stamp Club with Christi Beck - WOOHOO!

The birthday card went in the mail this week to one of my nieces. (Remember, I have something like 9 or 10 family/friend birthdays this month!)  Out of the two cards, it was my favorite - probably because of all that bright pink which is one of my fave colors, especially when combined with turquoise which is why my brads are turquoise instead of one of the other colors from the patterned paper.

The second card is cute and summery with the watermelons and checked papers. (Well, it is still in the 90s here in Texas, so we still have summer on the mind!).  This was a fun one to make because we used a big circle punch and then cut it in half and cut one of the halves into quarters.  Then we used a scallop punch to make the bite marks.  Fun, right?!

The September Stamp Club is in less than two weeks, so I'll try to do a better job of posting them closer to when I actually make them!  Thanks for stopping by.  :-)

OWH Birthday Bash - Stampers Best

Welcome, everyone!  If you arrived here from Samantha's blog, you are on the right track.  If you would like to start at the beginning of the skip, you can find it HERE!  

I am so happy to be a part of Operation Write Home's 2013 Birthday Bash.  Every Wednesday in September we are celebrating with a blog skip with one of our partners.  If you missed the skip with Unity Stamps last Wednesday, you can find it HERE.

This week the theme is AnyHero cards with Stampers Best.  Stampers Best carries a selection of rubber and digi OWH fundraiser stamps and makes a $1 donation to OWH on each set sold.  That sure does come in handy to pay for all that overseas shipping to send our handmade cards to the troops!  Thank you, Stampers Best, for your continued support of our heroes!  

My card today uses the Turtley Awesome rubber stamp set along with My Mind's Eye Oxford Lane patterned papers from a 6x6 paper pad and coordinating enamel dots.  Our troops certainly are AWESOME and I thought the colors were sufficiently masculine to work for a great AnyHero card.  The sketch is Deconstructed Sketch #29.  

Wondering what I write in my AnyHero cards?  Well, I talk about "normal" things like the weather in Texas, my daughter's activities, or uplifting news items (like royal babies!).  And, of course, I always thank them for their service and for making sacrifices so we can enjoy our freedom!  My goal is just to bring some of the normal activities of life to them in their not-so-normal circumstances.  What are you waiting for?  I challenge you to go write an AnyHero card NOW!

After you finish that AnyHero card, I will send you on to SANDY'S BLOG for some truly amazing AnyHero cards (yes, "plural" cards!).  Don't forget to check back next Wednesday for another fun-filled Birthday Bash Skip!

SU July Stamp Club

Wow, I'm officially on a roll of posting once per week - I've managed to post two weeks in a row which is amazing considering how long it has been since I posted any cards I made.  Stay tuned later in the week for something even MORE amazing - two posts in one week!  LOL

Here are the Stampin' Up Stamp Club cards I made in July.  Aren't they cute?!

The banner on the birthday card was made with washi tape.  Cute idea, right?!  Among our friends and family, there are a total of 9 birthdays to celebrate in September, so I'm sure this will be going to one of them!  I didn't add a sentiment to the hexagon/butterfly card below, but I may have to add a Happy Birthday to that one as well so that I can use it this month.  Isn't it pretty?!  I bet my sister-in-law would like this one.  (Sorry about the shadows on my cards - my photography skills need some work!)

SU June Stamp Club

WOW, I haven't posted anything on my blog since the very beginning of the summer and now school has started AGAIN!  I don't have any excuses except that I was working very long hours at two different jobs.  I barely had time to sleep and eat, and my husband and daughter forgot who I was!  However, in all that chaos, I did make time to attend my monthly Stampin' Up! Stamp Club with Christi Beck.  It was the only crafting I did most of the summer, except for one crop I attended in July.

Here are the cards I made at June's Stamp Club:

That just leaves July and August Stamp Club cards to share with you...but I'll save those for another day!  :-)