Happy Birthday, Dad!

It is my Dad's birthday this weekend! I bought this set specifically because he is a golfer (maybe a golf addict would be more accurate!) and I loved the sentiment: "Hope your day is par-fect!". This card was cased from one by JanTInk, someone else did the inside as the flag on a golf course but I didn't write down who! I like Joy fold cards because they are different. I had to hold it shut to photograph it (notice how the chocolate chip frames the main element). I sponged the sky and grass but so ineptly that I had to throw my first attempt away and start over. This time I stamped my golfer on a separate piece of paper, colored him, cut him out, and pasted him on the (now nicely sponged) grass. Some days are just like that! I was pretty happy with this in the end, and I hope he is, too.

More Operation Quiet Comfort cards

I did it! I have 24 cards ready to send out for Operation Quiet Comfort. Here are my last 3 cards, all cased from SCS.

Operation Quiet Comfort-- Can you help?

When surfing a favorite site for inspiration, I saw a card request that resonated with me. Many of you know I like to send cards to organizations that distribute them to deployed military members (many of you have contributed cards to send with mine--thanks!). This request, however, was for the medical teams that wait to perform surgery and care for our wounded heroes.

This struck my heart like a blow. I do not know why. Maybe because I still remember the fear that gripped me when Byron fell off the roof-- and he was only 40 miles away for treatment.

The doctors, nurses, pharmacists, and orderlies that treat these heroes are not on the front lines per se, but think for a minute of the stress of trying to save the lives of the fallen-- and worse, the despair when all efforts fail.

Operation Quiet Comfort, in addition to putting cards with messages in transition bags, is also soliciting cards to distribute to medical teams; a small thank you for all they do.

My first 12 are ready to go (4 of each design I'm showing today). If you would like to send some too, all the info is below. Please-- the note about no glitter is a must, you know how that stuff spreads and breeds-- the cards are going to hospitals so NO GLITTER. If you are in the Stafford area, I will gladly include yours in mine-- my first package will be sent Tuesday Sept 22 (I hope to have 24 done by then).

Operation:Quiet Comfort www.operationquietcomfort.com

Cards for the Troops

Store bought and handmade cards are needed to include in our GO Bags (transition kits which are sent to over 60 combat support hospitals). Direct any questions to Diane Schneider (diane52381@nc.rr.com)

Types of cards: patriotic, thank you, thinking of you or just a cheerful hello from children and adults

Size: approx.4x5 – cards must fit into a quart size baggie

NO ENVELOPES
NO GLITTER

Blank cards will be sent to an OQC member to fill with a heartfelt message. However, we really need cards that are signed with a personal message. Begin with “Dear hero,” or a simple hello greeting. This can be used for any military branch. The messages can be long or short, simple or complex. A simple “Thank you for your service” or just write from your heart.
I’ll also accept messages written on 4x5 sheets of paper. I’ll attach to blank cards.

Cards are always needed, in any amount, from children and adults.

Sign the card with your name (First name only is fine) and city/state to show support comes from all over the U.S. Mail to:

Diane Schneider - OQC
6305 Cape Charles Drive
Raleigh, NC 27617

Include a slip of paper with your email address so receipt can be confirmed. Acknowledgements will also be posted on the OQC Yahoo group site.
**************

Wednesday I ignored all the housework and watercolored away. I am so happy I found my watercolor paper, it truly makes for a good experience! Above is my first attempt this season with Autumn Harvest. Stamp with Staz-On and gently add color a bit at a time. You may not be able to tell, but I lightly colored these pumpkins with watered-down More Mustard ink before painting them with both Pumpkin Pie and Only Orange-- there'e even a little Really Rust in there! Old Olive and Pumpkin make the leaves glow a little (they really pop in real life!).



Harvest Home is such a pretty set (are you really surprised to learn that I own all 3 of the stamps featured on page 26 of the catty? Nope, didn't think so!). Again, I stamped with Staz-On then went to town! I love crisp autumn days when the sky is so blue it almost hurts your eyes. Here, I added water to Tempting Turquoise and gently added about 5 coats to get the effect I wanted (yes I waited for each to dry just a little before going on). The leaf is colored with Really Rust, Old Olive, and a touch of Dusty Durango-- I wanted it to look like it would crack and fall apart. Here's a close-up of the image. Love these colors-- I am definitely an Earth Elements fan, all my favorite colors are in there!

Finally, below is a simpler version of the easy cards I made the other day. I love using that swirl (from Season of Joy)to suggest the wind.


Take a minute today to count your blessings!

julia

Fall cards

I stamped 6 easy cards last night! I left my long-suffering hubby to deal with getting the kids to bed (after I checked backpacks, etc) and stamped away. These were to be for a very important "card mission" (I'll tell you about that in a post later this week) but when I re-read the instructions I found I had ignored some size restrictions!! So these can be used for something else, and I will spend the afternoon recreating similar ones sized correctly.

I hated that Seasonal Whimsy retired! I love fall images as you know, and anything with leaves. Another loss for me was when the Spectrum pad retired-- fortunately all the colors in it are still current, so I re-inked them!

I was inspired by-- where else?-- my favorite stamping site for this design, which I first made with Petra last year for thank you cards for our Staff Appreciation committee members. We had to make over 24 that time, so only did the swirls to suggest the wind, and did not add the cut-out leaves for those. This time though I wanted to add the leaves, and a stronger contrast by using Old Olive for a mat (the originals were a bit monochromatic, with Really Rust and More Mustard mats).
On this one I used the Swirl from Season of Joy and tried to postion stamped leaves to suggest the wind was making them dance. OK, maybe too poetic a description, and I hope the result is not too busy. I do love the colors, and one of my favorite fall moments is to see a cluster of leaves suddenly swept up into a whirlwind.

Looking at these pictures-- taken on the floor of the family room-- I think it is time to write MAKE A LIGHT BOX on my to-do list so I don't keep taking close-ups of the family room carpet!

Have a great Wednesday!

Cards!

I love getting cards! The top one arrived courtesy of Angie, a friend and inspired stamper who moved to Louisiana. She's bright and bubbly and has a knack for cheering people-- I miss seeing her and getting together to stamp! I loved this card when I saw it on her blog and am thrilled she sent it to me. Thanks, Angie!

I'm cheating-- this one is really not for me! Petra came over for a bit to work on birthday invites for her son Erik's party, and hand-delivered Russell's invite. Russell agreed to let me have this just long enough to photograph it and post it. Petra's inspiration came from our favorite stamping site, originally designed by craftcrazy98 (just search by "lego" and you will find it). I'm going to make Erik a Lego-themed gift card holder (yes, I wimped out on choosing a gift-- I love gift cards!!).

I'm itching to hide in the basement and make cards, but instead I am cataloging all my stamp sets and making an index for them. I recently asked my friend Heidi if by chance she had a BBQ stamp. She consulted an index in a binder, and within a minute handed me her stamp set. Wow, that was impressive! She dropped by Wednesday for a visit and shared her system with me. I pared down my sets last month, and when I finish indexing them, will know exactly what I have AND WHERE-- always assuming, of course, that I put everything back where it is supposed to go!!

Back to School treats

Back to School! Woo hooo! The kids were excited this morning to head back, even if Molly had butterflies in her tummy! Russell has one of these tucked into his backpack for his teacher, and handed another to the bus driver when he got on. It is the bag in a box that we learned how to make in class last Christmas. I love this because it lets you use up remnants of designer paper (you only need 5.5" X 11" for this size, and can adjust size as needed). This paper was stuck in a drawer in the craft room, I found it when we moved. It coordinates beautifully with Pumpkin Pie ribbon and Bravo Burgundy cardstock. "Enjoy" comes from Lovely Labels, one of those stamp sets I think I will always hold on to! Inside is 1/2 a bag of Hershey Toffee and Almond Chip Nuggets. I deliberately did not buy those until yesterday, as they are my favorite! Today will be taken up with errands and getting some cleaning done. Isn't it funny, I can't wait to clean -- I won't be interrupted every 5 minutes. I might actually get a lot done today! Our neighborhood celebration is Friday-- breakfast at a restaurant. What are you doing to celebrate?

Birthday girl!

My sister Debbie's birthday is this month. I planned to use Bloomin' Beautiful-- the large image- for her card. I'm not sure what the flower is, but I figured if I colored it in purple, it would remind her of violets or pansies-- both of which she loves, and both of which remind me of her. While surfing my favorite source of inspiration, all plans changed! I followed links from one card in the Bloomin' Beautiful gallery to several others and was just blown away by one card (kharmagirl's). This is almost an exact case, except I think I colored my images with a bit more detail. Can you tell the tips of the petals are outlined with a white signo gel pen? She also wrapped gold cord several times around hers. This photo is not from the best angle-- you can see the edges of the stamped images underneath the mounted ones. Of course, when you use a very dark color for the base, you have to mount light cardstock on the inside for a message. I continued the theme with some Pink Pirouette, edged with the Scallop edge punch, with an inset of Whisper White. I'm itching to get back down in the craft room and do some of these with some orange and golden shades! Can anyone tell me the name of this flower? Leave the answer in a comment and I will send you one of these cards! (I made 2).

Ice Cream Invites!

At the end of the school year, my friend Lori treated the kids at the bus stop to ice cream cones. I filed the idea away to use here in our new neighborhood. Russell's bus stop is practically in our driveway (very convenient!), plus I ran into a good deal on waffle sundae bowls, so on Tuesday, when school (SCHOOL, GLORIOUS SCHOOL-- imagine the music to Oliver here and then you will NOT be able to get it out of your head, LOL!) starts, I've invited the friends up and down the street to gather for ice cream in the driveway. I couldn't just verbally invite them, now could I? Nooooo! Here's the invite! Very quick and fun, done entirely with punches.