Bits of Cheer

Greetings! The new theme starting today at Cards In Envy is "Let It Snow", perfect for these days before Christmas! We always hope for a white Christmas in the DC area, but they are few and far between! Still we hope! Maybe these 3 little snowmen will bring us a little bit of the white stuff!

The challenge at Words 2 Scrap By is the poem "Twas the Night Before Christmas." I found this little vintage image Digital Two for Tuesday and it reminded me of the lines from the poem: "When what to my wondering eyes did appear but a miniature sleigh and eight tiny reindeer!"

Hello and welcome! There's a new challenge today starting at Cards In Envy: "A Very Vintage Christmas." For my card, I used a beautiful old royalty-free image from a blog called Clearly Vintage, a companion blog to Digital Two for Tuesday.

I love this festive image and it was fun picking out complementary dp's and ribbon!

One more card I made for the Friends & Family challenge at 52 Christmas Card Throwdown:

I made this card for the "Family and Friends" theme challenge at 52 Christmas Card Throwdown:

The challenge at the Shabby Tea Room is "O' Christmas Tree". I made this holiday tag using #veralanestudio digital stamps:

A new challenge begins today at Cards In Envy: "Put An Extra Layer On It"! AND there is a prize for this challenge! I am very proud to offer one of each of my two children's books* to two random winners! So be sure to post your card to qualify for the random drawing!

This little Pure Innocence by My Favorite Things guy is bundled up and ready for an early snowfall:

Hi! The challenge at 52 Christmas Card Throwdown is use a previous theme. I chose their July 2015 "Snowman" theme because I wanted to use this adorable digi by "From the Heart Stamps"! This digi is such fun to embellish with Glossy Accents and Stickles for that sugarplum look!


Thanks for stopping by!

The new challenge theme at Cards In Envy is "Gratitude". I thought it was a good time to make a Thanksgiving card with these cute little pilgrim bears, which I colored with Copics. I can't find a record of where I found the bears; if anyone recognizes them let me know!

As you know, Cards In Envy requires A2 sized cards that are flat for mailing. The bit of mesh ribbon I used is very thin and squashes down flat enough to meet the requirement. I love the rustic look it adds to a fall card.


Can't wait to see what you create for this fun challenge at Cards In Envy!

I was looking up "punch art" monsters on Google and came across so many cute ideas for using the Stampin' Up owl punch. Gosh, is that a useful punch to have! I couldn't resist c.a.s.e.ing the idea for a mummy owl!

Hello and welcome! The new challenge at Cards In Envy is to make a card that makes you think of trick-or-treating at Halloween! Click here for a link to Cards In Envy and the challenge guidelines. Here is my Design Team card:

Come join the fun at Vera Lane's Etsy shop and on Facebook! I have fallen in love with her quirky and fun line of digi stamps. They have taken me out of my card making comfort zone, so to speak!
They are wonderful for card making, tags and journaling!

Hi! Happy Columbus Day!
I made this card for the "Fight Like a Girl" challenge at Words 2 Scrap By. I haven't joined in over there in 'way too long and this is such a great and important theme. I used a digi set from Whimsie Doodles that raises funds for breast cancer research.

The current challenge at Send A Smile 4 Kids is "Early holiday wishes 4 kids." Here's my card, using a  #veralanestudio digi stamp set:

Getting in the Halloween spirit over at Cards In Envy with a new challenge: Creepy Crawly. Your creation can feature a spider, snake, anything creepy and crawly (I get the creeps just thinking about it!).

I wanted to use this "Not So Spooky Spider" by OakPondCreations (Etsy) because it combines a spooky image with those un-spooky big eyes! I also added purples and purple gingham to play down the scariness of the spider! I dislike spiders but he/she looks like a rather friendly sort!

Have fun with your Creepy Crawly creation; just remember: A2-sized card, no shaped cards, and flat for standard mailing. Can't wait to see what you create!

The new challenge theme at Cards In Envy is "Colors of Fall." Autumn is my favorite season; the warm colors are so beautiful!

Here is my card. I used a masking technique that I learned 'way back in 2010 at a stamping class. The first tiny butterfly (Martha Stewart punch) was added to cover an "oops", then I decided to add two more (gotta follow that Rule of 3)!

The new theme challenge at 52 Christmas Card Throwdown is "For a Man". I immediately thought of the set of Christmas sweater digis I got at Vera Lane Design Studio at Etsy. I was thinking of all the sweaters guys receive on Christmas morning, or the guys who can't wait to bundle up and hit the slopes!

I made this card for the "Fall Colors 4 Kids" challenge at the Send A Smile 4 Kids challenge blog. I paper-pieced a Pure Innocence by My Favorite Things stamp and used Authentique "Something for All Seasons" 6x6 pad  I also colored with Copics and added a seam binding bow. I really love paper-piecing; it satisfies my inner child that loved paper dolls!

There's a sketch challenge this week at 52 Christmas Card Throwdown:

My card is for the new challenge at Cards In Envy : "Inspired by a Song". What a fun challenge! Think about some of your favorite songs and look through your stash of images to get inspired! I love this fun digi by Hambo Digital Stamps and it reminded me of the great Motown song, "I Heard It Through the Grapevine!"

 This little Hambo guy, who apparently has gone under cover as a bunch of grapes, looks pretty happy; I hope that means he's heard only good things "through the grapevine"! Here's my card for the challenge:

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This is the other card I made with a digi by From the Heart Digital Stamp that I purchased through a fund raiser that owner Faith Skrdla set up for her daughter's soccer league (link). There are several sentiments with this digi and this one really makes me laugh!

I made this card and the kitty cat card on my next post with digital stamps by Faith Skrdla of From the Heart Digital Stamps. Faith has set up a fund raiser for her daughter's soccer league and this cute "Spectacular Birdbrain" digi is one of the images available through the fund raiser. I love it and couldn't wait to bling up those spectacles! For more information, click here.

Welcome! Here's my card for the new "Cute and Cuddly" challenge that starts today at Cards In Envy. Take out one of those cute and cuddly images you have (such as teddy bear, bunny, kitten, puppy) and join in the Cards In Envy fun!

Cards In Envy requires A2-sized cards (no square or shaped cards) which are flat for mailing (no thick embellishments or layers).  I hope you'll join in and I look forward to seeing what you create. You have two weeks!

This week's challenge at 52 Christmas Card Throwdown is cards for kids. I love this sweet snowman digi from From the Heart Digital Stamps!

Welcome! The August challenge at Words 2 Scrap By is one I can't resist! The challenge is "Calling All Book Lovers!" and it's in honor of National Book Day. You can choose from these suggested titles as listed at W2SB, or pick a book that inspires you to make a card:

"Here are a few ideas, or choose one of your favorites:

• Where the Wild Things Are
• The Good Earth
• Eat, Pray, Love
• Winnie-the-Pooh
• Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus"

I chose The Good Earth by Pearl Buck because it's a great book and I immediately thought of the fun digital images at Hambo. Here's the card I came up with:

Here is a card I made for the Red & Green color challenge this week at 52 Christmas Card Throwdown:

I love looking through sites that provide royalty-free vintage images. I couldn't resist this little girl in her red jacket and green plaid skirt.

There's a new challenge starting today at Cards In Envy: BIRTHDAY PARTY! Who doesn't love a birthday party and making birthday cards! Click on the highlighted link above to go to the blog and read the challenge rules.

Today is also my first challenge as a member of the Cards In Envy Design Team! I'm so excited and proud to be a new member of the team! As a long-time OWH'er, we learned very well the importance of flat, A2-size cards when we were making cards for the troops. I think that's a skill that carries over well to ease of mailing flat cards to all our families and friends.

Here is my birthday card:

Here is my card for the "Christmas in July" challenge at Cards In Envy. It's nice and flat as required by CIE with only 3 flat Candi dots as embellishment.

Here is this week's sketch at the OWH Stars & Stamps Blog. It's the final sketch as OWH winds down its mission:


I have followed the OWH sketch nearly every week since I started making cards for heroes in 2010. I learned early on that I can't make a good card without a sketch. I call it "working without a net" lol. The weekly OWH sketch challenge always motivated me! I will miss it very much but thankful we have an archive of all the OWH sketches to refer to.

In honor of OWH and its founder, I decided to use one of the Ciara's Friends stamps that Sandy Allnock designed for Whimsy Stamps. I hope in a small way it expresses my thanks to Sandy for all the fun, knowledge and inspiration she has given us through OWH as well as all her very hard work. Her golden retriever, Ciara, was the OWH mascot and beloved by us volunteers. I didn't have exactly the right golden retriever Copic colors but did my best. And, of course, I couldn't make a card for Sandy without adding a bit of ribbon. Thanks, Sandy!!

I made this for the Cards In Envy "Just Beachy" challenge. I really love Vera Lane Studio's digi stamps and this set is called "Beach Love". I painted the background in watercolors and all other coloring was done with Copics.

I like this challenge at 52 Christmas Card Throwdown because I love kraft paper. One of my favorite combos is kraft and green, so that's what I used here with only a speck of red and yellow for her hair. This digi was a freebie on OWH 'way back soon after I started volunteering (2010) and I can't remember who made it. I added a tiny mouth because I like it better that way.

This sketch at OWH is second to the last one! Between you and me, I hope they'll post two more to make it an even 300!

I  just had to post the last card that is going into my final box for Operation Write Home! I sent my first little box in 2010. I never sent a huge box of cards but I knew that every single card mattered--that each handmade card would be sent to the troops to write home on. As soon as I learned about OWH I was impressed with the organization and have never been disappointed. I am sad it's ending but I think many of us in the community have formed bonds (even tho they are in cyberspace) that will keep us in touch. Thanks to Sandy for founding OWH, for leading us and for all the fun!!
Before I get too sentimental, here's one more little card for my box:

Words 2 Scrap By has a sweet challenge right now: "A Friend With Chocolate". What could be better? I made this card with a Di's Digi Downloads image, watercolor pencils, Glossy Accents, and Stampin' Up cupcake punch. The sentiment is a wood mounted stamp and I will go up to my studio and check who makes it.

Crafty Individuals current challenge theme is "Face Value". I chose for my focal point a sweet Crafty Individuals' stamp that reminds me of those carefree days long ago when my sisters and I were little. The background includes two other CI stamps as well.

Here is the July sketch at 52 Christmas Card Throwdown:


And here is my card:

                                         Image: "Santa's Delivery" by Di's Digi Downloads

I colored the image with Derwent Watercolour Pencils. The sentiment is a woodmount in my stash; I'll go up and get the name. Sorry that Santa's reds look orange-y in the photo.

Our Daily Bread Designs has been so very generous supporting the card challenge at Operation Write Home every month! Thanks, ODBD! I can't believe this is the final challenge as OWH winds down its mission.

Here's my card for the July 2015 challenge theme: Thank You cards, After finding a yummy pack of black and white buttons, I couldn't wait to make a monochromatic card with them. I borrowed this sketch from 52CCT.

Wishing everyone a happy Independence Day!

This week's technique challenge at 52 Christmas Card Throwdown is "mixed media". I watched a lot of very fun instructional videos! Here's what I made:

I built up the background with gesso, Ranger distress paints and distress inks. I glued on the Martha Stewart punch snowflakes and added another layer of gesso. Then I used the Ranger Texture Paste with Tim Holtz "Bubble" stencil. I paper pieced the MFT Pure Innocence stamp and added stickles and ribbon. The most fun aspect was using the Texture Paste--can't wait to use it again. Thanks for this fun challenge, 52CCT!

Welcome! I had a lot of scraps around from a 6x6 Pebbles paper pad called "Family Ties." I decided to try the OWH starburst technique. After piecing the starburst and trimming it to make a card, I had this nice strip of starburst left over so I decided to make another banner card for OWH. Here's the banner card first:

I used Sketch 226 from the OWH Archive for my card. The paper is by Pebbles:


thanks for stopping by!!

The new challenge at 52 Christmas Card Throwdown is "elves". I love this digi by Whimsie Doodles:

Making a Christmas card for this week's 52 Christmas Card Throwdown Challenge seemed like a good way to beat the heat! The color challenge is Black & White + one other color. I chose red:

For my red, white and blue card I chose this cute Melonheadz digi. Now I just need to find a little boy who has a July 4th birthday--any takers?