A Tweet Hello!

What a wild ride our Wisconsin weather has been!  Last week we were getting wind chills that put us at over 20 below 0, and yesterday our temperatures were in the 40s and 50s.  We would have been buried in snow again if it hadn't been so warm.  It definitely felt more like March than January yesterday, but today we are forecast to have rain changing to snow with 5-8" snow predicted.  Ariel and the dogs will be happy to have a fresh batch of snow on the ground!

I just love it when I sit down with a sketch, and I know exactly which papers I want to use, and I even have some scraps that are nearly the right size for my card.  That's what happened for me on this little bird card, and despite the layering, it came together really quickly for me.  I started with Julee's Mojo Monday sketch #275 and turned it sideways.

I used some My Mind's Eye dps from a big 12" x 12" stack that weren't too large in scale for my little birdie.

I did just a little sponging on the sentiment as I thought the all white was a little too stark against my background papers.  I just love that little birdie peeking out of his house!  It's kind of how I've felt the past few days going outside, checking to see if it is still raining before venturing outdoors.

Supplies:
Image:  "Tweet Houses" from Clearly Digital Stamps (Clear Dollar Stamps)
Papers:  White, kraft, dps from My Mind's Eye (just a big stack, no collection name, think I got it at Hobby Lobby)
Ink:  Vintage Photo Distress Ink (sponged)
Other:  Copic markers, Spellbinders circle and scalloped circle dies, MS leaf punch, button from stash, thin twine, SU! sentiment punch
Card size:  A2

Thanks for stopping by!
Blessings,
Sarah

Happy Birthday, Dad!

My Dad celebrated a milestone birthday earlier this month, and I'm finally getting around to sharing the card that I made for him.  He's a farmer, and I knew as soon as I saw this farm image when I joined the CDS digi design team last fall that I'd use it for his birthday card.

Since the image panel was fairly large, I opted not to use a sketch with lots of layers of papers.  I really wanted my weathered wood paper to show up in the background and not be entirely covered, so I just added an angled sheet of red paper that I embossed with a paisley design, some twine, and a few stars.

Here's a look at the inside of the card.

 

Supplies:
Image:  Digi from "Farm Critters and Barn" set by Clearly Digi Stamps (Clear Dollar Stamps)
Ink:  Vintage Photo Distress Ink (sponged)
Papers:  White, red, dps from My Mind's Eye "Miss Caroline - Fiddlesticks"
Other:  Copic markers, paisley Cuttlebug embossing folder, Tim Holtz distressing tool, the 3 little stars are leftovers from the MFT Western Star Border duo die, thin twine, tiny stars are the punch outs from the MFT die, sponge, SU! punch for sentiment tag
Techniques:  distressing, sponging
Card size:  6" square

Thanks for stopping by!
Blessings,
Sarah

New Release Day at CDS!

Today is the latest release of digis from Clearly Digi Stamps (Clear Dollar Stamps)!  There are soooo many cute images and sentiments perfect for valentines and anniversary cards along with a fruit set, a cute dinosaur set, and that's just the beginning! 

The first card I made uses the new set "Monkey Love."  I decided to have my monkey couple sitting out on the beach in a tropical paradise. 

I used Sketch Saturday #239 for my layout.  I loved this sketch!

Here's a peek at the inside of the card.  The sentiment is also from the new "Monkey Love" digi set.

Supplies:
Image:  "Monkey Love" Clearly Digi Stamps (Clear Dollar Stamps)
Papers:  White, green, dp from My Mind's Eye "Quite Contrary"
Other:  Copics, Prismacolors, odorless mineral spirits, blending stump, pale pink organdy ribbon, Recollections flower, Hero Arts heart pearls
Card size:  5.5" square

On my second card, I used "Ladybug Love."  I wanted to make my ladybug couple look like they were sitting on one of the mushrooms in the cluster on my dp, so I decided to put the sentiment on the inside.

Here's the inside.

Supplies:
Image:  "Ladybug Love" Clearly Digi Stamps (Clear Dollar Stamps)
Papers:  White, bright pink, teal, dp from DCWV "Berry Sweet"
Other:  Copics, pale pink organdy ribbon, Bow Easy, Spellbinders oval and scalloped oval dies
Card size:  A2

I hope you've enjoyed seeing the new CDS digi images.  I know I had fun making my cards!

Thanks for stopping by!
Blessings,
Sarah

Operation Write Home cards

Today I have 5 cards that I made for Operation Write Home to share with you.  I made these cards using sketches provided at the OWH blog.  It was very satisfying to make these cards as not only was I able to make a contribution to the card drive, I also used up the very last of some Hero Arts paper scraps that were just too big to throw away!  (I still have just a few scraps of Basic Grey Sultry left, in case you were wondering!)

I used OWH layout B-28 for these 2 cards as the little pennants were just the right size to use up some long narrow paper strips.

Card supplies:
Stamps:  left:  Verve "Birthday Bash" cupcakes and sentiment and right:  Verve "Fabulous You" images and sentiment
Papers:  white, colored papers from Hero Arts
Ink:  Versafine Onyx Black
Other:  Spellbinders circle die, SU! "Calypso Coral" baker's twine, CM heart punch
Card size:  A2

I made a couple of Valentines in this next batch.  I've missed getting them mailed to one of the distribution centers for 2013, but I'll send them later this year when I've made enough cards to send at least a shoe box sized box of cards all at once.  If you decide to join in this cause, you will want to check out the calendar for OWH as they have to work quite a bit of time ahead of upcoming holidays so the troops receive the blank cards with enough time to get them written and sent home.

Supplies:
Card on Left
Stamps:  Left:  Verve "Hearts on Fire"
Papers:  white, red from Hero Arts
Ink:  Versafine Onyx Black
Other:  CM heart punch
Layout based on OWH sketch B-14
Card size:  A2

Center card
Stamps:  sentiment from Verve "Hearts on Fire" and images from Bo Bunny "Crazy Love"
Papers:  white, colored papers from Hero Arts
Ink:  Versafine Onxy Black
Layout:  SC386 from Splitcoaststampers
Card size:  A2

Card on right
Stamps:  Verve "Birthday Bash"
Papers:  white, colors from Hero Arts
Ink:  Versafine Onyx Black
Other:  Cuttlebug embossing folder, Hero Arts button, twine
Layout:  OWH sketch B-6
Card size:  A2

I had a lot of fun using up my scraps making these cards!

Thanks for stopping by!
Blessings,
Sarah

Garden of Life

One of the things I'd like to do in 2013 is more volunteer work.  I've started clearing out some of the excess fabric in my sewing room by having Ariel sew pillowcases for Conkerr Cancer.  Now that she can sew a straight seam with a consistent seam allowance, she is a slow and steady production assistant!  I'll take some pictures when we get a few more pillowcases finished.  We're also planning to make some quilts for Project Linus. 

Today I have the first of a few cards I've made for Operation Write Home.  The guidelines call for the cards to not have much embellishment/thickness as they do not make it through the mail from overseas as well.  So I went very CAS on the card and used one of the OWH bonus layouts for my first card.  The layouts are found in a PDF file that you can download here by clicking on the link for 32 bonus sketches.  I used sketch B-29 along with an image from Clearly Digi Stamps called "Garden of Life."

Operation Write Home supplies a stamp to use on the back of the cards you make.  You just request it from their website, and they mail it to you free of charge.

Card supplies:
Image:  Garden of Life from Clearly Digi Stamps
Papers:  white, pink
Other:  Copic markers, Hero Arts ribbon
Card size:  A2

I've finished a few other cards to send, I just have to get them photographed so I can share them with you. 

Thanks for stopping by!
Blessings,
Sarah

Happy New Year 2013

Happy New Year!  We are still living in a winter wonderland here in Wisconsin.  Our temperatures have dipped into the single digits for the highs, so it really feels like winter!  Looks like the snow will be here for quite some time yet, and Ariel has been so happy to be able to go out and play in the snow and go sledding every day over Christmas vacation.

Today I have card made with one of my favorite Bible verses from Clearly Digi Stamps (Clear Dollar Stamps).  The verse is part of the set "Scripture Occasions."  I used a recent Sketch Saturday sketch for my layout.  This is the same sketch that I used for this card a couple of weeks ago, but this time I used flowers and flipped the sketch.

It's a little hard to see in the picture, but I zigzagged around the border and also did some distressing.

Supplies:
Image:  Clearly Digi Stamps  "Scripture Occasions"
Papers:  white, pink, dps from My Mind's Eye "Sweet Girl"
Other:  Sewing machine, Spellbinders circle and scalloped circle dies, Recollections flowers, satin ribbon from stash, Bow Easy, Tim Holtz distressing tool
Card size:  6" square

Thanks for stopping by!
Blessings,
Sarah