Missing You - Operation Write Home


Welcome to my stop on your weekend hop!
          I hope you are finding inspiration from the cards, comments, & card-makers to join and support this mission! You too can help a hero, with just the little bits of paper you may already have at home!
I'm sure you can tell that as we make these cards for our service members overseas, a lot of love and thankfulness are folded in and glued on with every embellishment. I know mine are... 

Missing You
 The card I'm sharing with you today is a quilt style card. Its made by taking little strips and gluing them to a sheet of card stock. Then I ran the sheet through a texture folder, and followed with a die cut. Its then layered onto a card base which has "Missing You" printed all over the background. I added a few paper roses I made from more strips, and two tiny tags - also printed with "Missing You".

I hope you'll make time to visit Operation Write Home's web pages and Facebook page - and share them with your friends and family!! OWH truly does works of the Heart, and your help making cards and/or donating to cover postage costs can make a difference. Read how something so simple as a card can connect some of our National Treasures - our Troops - with their loved ones who serve here at home! 
My deepest gratitude goes out to 
our Heroes and their families,
Thank You!


Please continue on with Sharon at
http://desertroseoutpost.blogspot.com/

Thanks for visiting & enjoy the Operation Write Home Memorial Day Blog Hop!
Remember to Never Forget

“They fell, but o’er that glorious grave

Floats free the banner of the cause they died to save.” — Francis Marion Crawford

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Festive Fridays Christmas Punch

Its that special Friday again -- a FESTIVE FRIDAY!

 
Festive Friday is a Blog Hop happening the second and fourth Friday of each month, showcasing Christmas projects. The goal is to work on a few Christmas Cards a month so your all ready to mail a gazillion cards by December! If you're joining me directly, you will probably not want to miss the beginning of the hop over at Terris blog. If you've joined me from Brendas blog, You're hoppin' along just fine! A full list of blogs is at the end of this post. Please enjoy your tour of the festivities this week!

 
This week Simplicity is on my mind...
Sweet & Simple - and maybe one the kids can help with?
Check!
 
Holly Jolly Christmas
This one can be made in bulk (haha) pretty easy.
Heres your recipe:
Card base 8.5x5.5" Red card stock (folded in half to 4.25x5.5")
White strip 2" x 5.5" edges distressed or torn for a "fuzzy" effect
Optional - inking edges of white for dimension
Black 1.25" x 4.25"
Gold 2" x 2" with slits cut 1/2" in from edges (slits should be 1.25" long)
Sentiment stamped and punched - I used the Curly Punch which coordinates with the stamp from Christmas Punch set, but you could also use other coordinating stamps/punches that fit in the same area
Assemble:
adhere white layer first, then put your "belt" together and position "buckle" in line with white layer, adhere
tuck sentiment into belt and adhere

 
To add some bling?!
  • Emboss the belt with black embossing, snowflakes or ornaments, "HoHoHo" sentiments
  • Use shimmer spray (Smooch Silver Foil) on the belt or on the white strip (Smooch Vanilla Shimmer)
  • Use Metal/foil sheets to fashion belt buckle
  • Emboss belt buckle with clear embossing, swirls or pattern (texture if your using metal/foil)
  • Emboss your sentiment

Want to translate to Scrapbooking?
  • This would be a great page in a mini album! The cover - with the Year on the little sentiment tag?
  • Increase your dimensions to 6x6 or 8x8 and you'd have a spot in the upper right to add a picture with Santa or a nice family shot in front of the tree!
  • You could add photos down the strip of white, or a cute close up in the belt buckle. (perfect for those small phone-photos that print best at small sizes)
  • Would be a nice festive Page-in-a-Frame to display at the holidays - 12x12 size would also be great to frame and give as a gift - nice group shot (class, club, friends, or family) in the space to the upper right?

 
Alternative Translations:
  • Great gift wrap - red wrapping paper, white ribbon and a black paper belt? Cuteness!
  • Door Decoration - the entire door, or a cute plaque in the center?
  • Table Decor - red table cloth, white table runner, and another black table runner with a gold charger? Would look sweet on a kids table or the food table....

 
Enjoy!
You're off to visit YOLONDA at stop #9

 
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Wordless Wednesday Merry-go-Round

Speechless, more than Wordless <3
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Festive Fridays Holiday Hybrids

Its that special Friday again -- a FESTIVE FRIDAY!
Festive Friday is a Blog Hop happening the second and fourth Friday of each month, showcasing Christmas projects. The goal is to work on a few Christmas Cards a month so your selection is bountiful by December! If you're joining me directly, you will probably not want to miss the beginning of the hop over at Terris blog. If you've joined me from Brendas blog, You're hoppin' along just fine! A full list of blogs is at the end of this post. Please enjoy your tour of the festivities this week!

Here are the cards I've been working on over our extended time this tour: Holiday Hybrids
These cards are made using My Digital Studio software, which allows you to access stamps and punches and papers (Oh My!) and digitally create masterpieces that you can then share online OR print out and share in the real world. The beauty of this is the ease of creating in large quantities. Need Calendars for your whole family? Check! Invitations for a crowd? Check! Scrapbooks for each grandparent and aunt and uncle and godparents? Check! Design once, Print a gazillion times if you so please... You can print using the very professional services through Stampin' Up! or you can send files to your favorite online printer, or you can print them off right at home! Love this program.
Another level to the program is the ability to use it to create Hybrid crafts. These crafts have digitally created elements that you then print and ADD to additional pieces from your craft stash. You can print off embellishments to add to pages or cards or home decor, you can print card bases with a particular background, you can print your scrapbook pages with photos and add embellishments to them, and so on - the Possibilities are limited only by your imagination! (and time ;-)

For this Festive Friday I reduced the Medallion stamp (the original stamp size in real life is 5"x5") and added a greeting or sentiment to the center, creating 5 different designs. I then printed them out on white card stock and trimmed them to front an A2 size card (4.25" x 5.5") and layered them onto some card bases, added some ribbon and bling, maybe ran it through a texture folder... and Voila! 5 Cards for your Friday tour. I can easily print off a dozen more and create a nice assortment of holiday cards!

The ink is Old Olive, and MDS makes it easy to match your paper - it prints pretty true to color! The sentiments I added in Real Red digitally, and then after printing, added hand colored "berries" on the "wreaths" and added my Real Red ribbon. For the ones done with the texture, I used an additional print and punched it out and layered it with dimensionals in the center (a little hard to read after texturizing :-) adds a nice dimension and effect to the card.
I think these would be great with a photo, I may hold onto the idea for a current family photo - I used one from 3 years ago (wow, where is my CD with last years pics on it?!) but it was easy to modify the photo in MDS to the right size and shape, and I even added a nice Real Red mat to it and printed it that way.
Other options would be for a company logo, or a monogram for newlyweds celebrating their first Christmas as a couple... Very easy and you still get your "hands on" crafting time in the finishing up of the cards. A time saver, and makes it easy to get a consistent look if you are having help assembling them.

Thanks for stopping by, we have new bloggers this week so visit and comment (with some festive phrases?)!
You're off to #9 - Yolonda,
but be sure to take a whirl through the entire Festive Friday blog hop - and get your notepads ready for some great ideas!


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Wordless Wednesday Thank You Teachers



Worth saying a thousand times, despite Wordless Wednesday, Thank You!!!
 
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Q & A - National Scrapbooking Month

Q: I'm interested in learning more about scrapbooking. Do you have any ideas to get me started?

A: Absolutely! Since May is National Scrapbooking Month, this is the perfect time to give the popular and rewarding hobby of scrapbooking a try. Starting anything new can be intimidating, especially when it involves something as important as your special memories. I've got some great suggestions to get you started. There's no better time than now to pull those photos out of the boxes or computer files where they're being ignored. Just imagine the joy you'll feel when you can open your scrapbook to enjoy and relive some of your cherished moments.

Mini Albums

Starting small is a great way to test out the world of scrapbooking. Just like when you first begin cooking, it makes sense to start learning with a simple recipe instead of a five course meal. Begin by selecting a theme for your album. It could be five photos of your mother that you'll use for a Mother's Day gift, a dozen photos of your favorite flowers from your garden, or a handful of photos from your favorite vacation. You pick whatever theme excites you! Mini albums can be created in a variety of styles and sizes that range from whimsical to formal. Create a mini album from a few card stock tags held together with a binder ring, a 6" x 12" piece of card stock folded like an accordion, a stack of standard card bodies punched with the Crop-a-Dile (#108362) and bound together with ribbon, or from our 5" x 5" Art Journal (#108495). Add your photos, layers of Designer Series Paper, stamped images, and punched accents that coordinate with your theme. Don't forget to add journaling as that is an essential element to any scrapbook. Journaling can be simple date and name information or more detailed expressions of thoughts and feelings that your photos represent.

Simply Scrappin' Kits
Designed with coordinating Textured 12" x 12" card stock, Designer Series Paper, and self-adhesive die cuts, the Simply Scrappin' Kits help take the guesswork out of creating beautiful scrapbooks. They can be used for traditional 12" x 12" albums, 8-1/2" x 11" albums, 6" x 6" albums, or any variety of mini albums. Consider creating a 6" x 6" album that focuses on one or two special moments from each month of the year. Begin with the One Great Year Simply Scrappin' Kit (#118705) that features a calendar-like theme, including self-adhesive die cuts for labeling each month. Start by cutting the 12" x 12" Textured card stock into quarters, giving you four - 6" x 6" pages from each sheet of card stock. You could create a single page for each month (twelve - 6" x 6" pages) or a two-page layout for each month (twenty-four - 6" x 6" pages). Cut a 2" x 6" strip of the included Designer Series Paper for each page. Add a 4" x 6" photo to each page, or one photo for each month's two-page layout and leave the other page for journaling. Or crop your photos to fit more than one on the page. Add the self-adhesive die cut for each month and any die-cut strips or other die-cut accents you like. If you want to step up the design a bit, add some coordinating stamped images such as the Calendar (#109298) background stamp for journaling events during the month. To step up the design even more, add punched shapes and ribbon. Slide the completed pages into any of the 6" x 6" albums from page 180 of the Idea Book & Catalog and you have a "year in review" album that you can treasure and share anytime! You may discover that the Simply Scrappin' Kit makes creating the album so simple that you'll want to make one as a gift for grandparents, too!

My Digital Studio

Digital crafting is a fast-growing trend in the world of scrapbooking. With the popularity of digital cameras, many of us have begun taking more photos than ever because we don't have the expense of developing them all. The unfortunate side effect is that many of those photos never go beyond their lonely home in some computer file! Our digital crafting software called My Digital Studio is a great solution for getting those forgotten photos into albums. With My Digital Studio, you can print individual 12" x 12" or 8-1/2" x 11" pages as well as bound photo books in a variety of sizes and styles. You can create custom themes with stamp images, Designer Series Paper, embellishments, and more. Or you can create an album - literally in moments - by using the wonderful artist-designed templates included in My Digital Studio and the auto-fill option that magically plops your photos right into the template. Add a bit of journaling to each page, crop photos and fix red-eye if you wish, and you can be done. Or take the template and customize it a bit by adding or removing elements of the designs, photos, rearranging pages, or whatever you want. It's all customizable, even when you start with one of the pre-designed templates. With over 3000 exclusive stamp images and papers, you'll have all kinds of ways to customize and create your scrapbook. Even more stamp sets (called stamp brush sets in the digital world), Designer Series Papers, embellishments, punches, and templates are available for purchase and immediate download at shockingly low prices! Digital scrapbooking is perfect for people that love their computers, don't have a lot of space for traditional scrapbooking, with lots of digital photos that aren't printed, and those that want to be able to share their scrapbooks by email or on photo-sharing sites or want to easily print multiple albums to give as gifts.
 I have to let you know that, in addition to scrapbook pages and photo books, you can create calendars, cards, journals, DVD-videos, movies, and multimedia projects with My Digital Studio! So you'll have oodles of options for expressing your creativity and sharing your special photos.
No Time Like the Present

During May only, Stampin' Up! is celebrating National Scrapbooking Month with discounts of 30% off select scrapbooking-related stamp sets and My Digital Studio downloads. A variety of My Digital Studio professional print products are also 30% off. So there's no time like the present to dive into the world of scrapbooking. I think you'll love experiencing the joy of truly being able to view, enjoy, and share your special memories that defines the art of scrapbooking. Contact me today for more information about scrapbooking or the special National Scrapbooking Month promotion so you can take advantage of the discounts only available this May!

© CraftyPerson Production. Images © Stampin' Up!


QandA is a regular section of my monthly newsletter,

Have a Question? Contact me or leave it in the comments section below.

To order any of the items listed above, please visit my Online Store.

Happy Crafting!


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No Photos, Please

I have been considering posting my actual photo on my blog, Facebook page, and the Twitter... radical, I know. I have had these accounts for so long, and gotten by without my mug, that by now I actually feel like my followers/friends/tweethearts wouldn't know who it was with some Photo of me up there!

I kind of like the image of a sunflower, the imagery.
The sunflower is tall, and rises above almost everything around it, it can see both near and far. The sunflower is a useful flower (grown for oil, food, dye and fuel) rather than a showy beauty. The sunflower is usually only around for one season and they turn their heads to follow the sun, which to me represents focus and the limited time we have here. Like those plentiful seeds at the center of the flower I too am full of varied and useful tidbits just waiting to be shared. Sometimes even throughout the day, my passions change - like the sunflower turns from one horizon to the other. The sunflower is rather plain, with simple colors and no special scent, yet they get the job done and provide for those around them in the time they are allotted. I think it is actually a great representation of me, or at least, of who I hope I am.


But then someone said "Should I look for a big walking sunflower?" What do you say to that? (I say I need a big sunflower hat, but that's just me)  I got to thinking about WHY I don't have any pictures of myself posted, and here are some thoughts:

I have never felt pretty. As the older sister of the Pretty Daughter, I guess I grew up used to being the not-pretty one. I was always the smart one (until the sister actually beat me at that too, darn amazing sister). I had freckles. I didn't know anyone who had freckles as plentiful as I did until high school. I had bad teeth. No really - monster teeth. I used to get told that I was totally "Pretty in Pink" Molly Ringwold... and I was, if we were looking at teeth. My Mona Lisa smile was commented on in the yearbook. I finally got braces, and jaw surgery, as I turned 19. Best awful experience ever! Changed my smile, made me feel prettier, but still not Pretty.

It could be because I do the majority of my social media dabbling through my wonderfully "smart" phone. The one that doesn't show any pictures, because it gets all messages through text. Let me tell you, its a great phone, but "Smart" is stretching it. It calls, and texts, and takes and sends photos... but when you're trying to go online, its like pulling teeth. (haha, no really) I just don't do it. all my Twitter and Facebook friends, I know you as Your Name In Ariel Type. Your latest photos and profile pics I have to wait to view in the after hours. And even then, its hard for me to connect the names to the faces. But they are nice faces! I know I am in the minority here with the whole "no pictures" thing.

And I know how people can judge based on looks.
I laugh sometimes at that because I judge people on actions and words, which are sometimes just as false as looks, but not being looked at often one does become a great observer. And I remember looks. I have the worst time remembering peoples names, names in general actually. (My children did not grow up calling Blockbuster "The Movie Store", or Target "The Flag Store" because I was trying to be cute) Odd, because I do have a great memory for situations and appearances and feelings. Definitely more of a visual memory. And I love seeing peoples faces, I love those little blog and avatar photos, and I love looking thru my friends profile pictures. I love portraits. Sometimes its hard to tell from photos, but you can really see a lot in a persons face and the many faces they show the world. Not the whole picture, but certainly an interesting one. Combine the look with the words, and you can develop a sense of their presentation to the world. So where is the look part of my presentation? Its there, in the sunflower.

Maybe that's what it boils down to, I can control the reaction to the look with that sunflower image.Well, I feel that I can at least limit the judgement. I can't control the reaction if I post some photo of me. It could be interpreted 10,000 ways to Sunday without ever being what I intended. I can come up with many reasons Not to share a photo. Most of them are my own insecurities, but then I read about "good interactions through social media". Maybe its not good "business" (insert laugh track here, its not all about business for me in case you hadn't noticed), maybe its too impersonal, maybe you Need to see a picture of me to feel that you really know me...

You don't.

I am as plain and simple as that sunflower.
And all in all, that makes me feel pretty.


Who is this woman and what the heck is she doing on this blog?

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Mini Catalog Must Have : Triple Layer Punch

Oh Boy!!!! Its here!!! Are you ready?!
The Stampin' Up! Summer Mini Catalog has been released, and you are in for some goodies! This catalog is available from May 1, 2011 until August 31st, 2011. Visit my Online Store to find these products and more!

Today I just have to focus on the awesome new Triple Layer Punches! (See page 6 of your Mini Catalog) ((dont have a catalog yet? Email me or download it Here))

When Stampin' Up! introduced the new body style for its punches in the Occasions Mini 2010, I knew bigger things were in store. All Stampin Up Punches are offered in this new body style, which is a low-profile rectangular punch that allows for easier stacking and storage. As well as having a larger, whole handle design thats easier to use, this style also allows for large and more intricate punch designs. (Check out the fabulously versatile Two-Step Bird and Two Step Owl punches!)

Well, they have taken that opportunity and R U N with it - the new Summer Mini 2011 presents these amazing Triple Punches:

Image Copyright Stampin' Up! Blossom Bouquet #122164
 The Blossom Bouquet Triple Layer Punch, item #122164, has 3 punch images in one convenient punch. Simple adjust the lever to the image you want and punch! This will be perfect for adding borders to your scrapbook pages, creating beautifully coordinated card elements, or crafting stunning home decor! I'm thinking it will be great for making lei-style necklaces or garlands, and it will be one of those punches you will just never tire of using. It coordinates with the Bold Blossom stamp set (#122232), and looks great paired with the large buttons in the Designer Buttons Collections for a great textured and coordinated effect.


Image Copyright Stampin' Up! Doily #122465
 The Doily Triple Layer Punch also offers 3 great coordinated punches with the simple adjustment of a lever. I can just see this now on some sweet Mothers Day cards, decorating a great scrapbook page from that tea party, embellishing heirloom photos... and just wait till you get to the Holidays! Christmas? Valentines Day? Those winter parties? (I love that it looks like a snowflake, can you tell? :-)

Talk about versatile, just what you want when you purchase an item for your crafting!
What is YOUR Must Have from the new Mini?
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Free Stamp Set for May 2011: Strength & Hope

Do you know a Breast Cancer survivor? It's pretty safe sad to say these days that everyone knows Someone... The statistics are pretty daunting, but we can have Hope. Hope that in our lifetime there will be found a cure for this disease. I'm proud to share with you that Stampin' Up! has partnered with The Breast Cancer Research Foundation, and we are offering a special stamp set in this years Summer Mini Catalog: Strength & Hope, where $2.00 of every set purchased will be donated to this fine organization.

A consistently highly rated non-profit, The Breast Cancer Research Foundation posts this on their website:

The mission of The Breast Cancer Research Foundation® is to achieve prevention and a cure for breast cancer in our lifetime by providing critical funding for innovative clinical and translational research at leading medical centers worldwide, and increasing public awareness about good breast health. Currently, over 90 cents of every dollar donated goes to breast cancer research and awareness programs.


Awesome! Visit their website at http://www.bcrfcure.org/ to find out more about them. I know that I can whole-heartedly support this organization, and I hope you will join me by purchasing this set yourself.

Image Copyright Stampin' Up! Strength & Hope #123660

Image Copyright Stampin' Up! Digital Kit #124475
What a wonderful set to share hope with those around you, and a beautiful set all in itself! Offered in Clear Mount and Wood stamp sets, in English, Spanish, and French, this set of 4 stamps includes a gorgeous flourish, an intricate butterfly, a beautifully embellished letter H with the word hope, and a background stamp including words like courage, support, together, blessed...
The Strength & Hope Digital Kit #1224475 includes a four-piece stamp brush set, 12 Designer Series Papers, and 10 embellishment pieces.


This set would be great to make cards for people struggling in these tough times, those people coping with set-backs in their lives - not just cancer, but any situation where support, encouragement, and hope would be appreciated. The beautiful words on one of the stamps are versatile to use on a number of cards, sympathy, encouragement, friendship, and thank you, just to name a few... what a great set to offer in a Relay for Life or Walk for a Cure donation, either as a set or make card sets to offer. This set will also make a beautiful embellishment to scrapbook pages.
 
I'm happy to offer this set as the Free Set of the Month,
Each order placed by Tuesday May 31st, 2011
automatically earns you one entry into the drawing.

For more details visit my Win Free Stamps page.
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