Operation Write Home S&S Sketch # 54

I finished 1 quilt and got most of the way done with another, but ran out of thread for quilting...  I hate when that happens.  :)  It won't take long to finish up- I'm about 2/3 of the way done quilting.  I have 2 more to quilt and bind too, hoping to get those done by the end of February.

Anyway, here is the newest OWH Stars and Stamps Sketch- # 54 and my take.  I'm working on spring cards for the Spring Thaw challenge- hoping for 20 Easter, Mother's Day and Father's Day cards and then 20 general cards.  That puts my goal for February at 40.  I ended up with 31 for January, so I don't think it will be a problem.

The sketch:

 And here is my take on it...

 The paper is from Basic Grey- the Sultry line.  I love the colors for Mother's Day/spring.  I got the paper on clearance at Michael's, which is always nice.  :)

 I have been wanting the stamp since I picked up a project card at Michael's that used it, but they haven't had it in stock.  I found it today and am so happy with it.  I used my colored pencils to color the flowers and felt like a kid again. :)

I also got this stamp set at Michael's today- on clearance also.  I love the monkey- he is so cute- and I love the colors on this paper.  It is from a DCWV paper stack- not sure what line it is from, but it's so bright and cheery. 

Operation Write Home Sketch Challenge # 53

I'm hoping to take part in the OWH sketch challenges and mid-week throwdowns each week to keep up my card making for the group.  I'm at 25 cards now- need to make a trip up to Federal Way to get them to the shipper.  I've been shopping for supplies for Mother's Day cards too so I can get a jump start on those. 

Here is my card for sketch #53- after the sketch image.

I used the Garden Party stack from DCWV and the stamp is from the $1 bin at Michaels.  I'm not sure where the sticker is from- it was just in my stash.  I wish I had more of that particular sticker so I could make more of this card- I like the colors.

I also made these over the weekend:

 This is with paper that I got at Michaels for $.05 on Saturday.  It was marked as $.19, which I thought was a great deal, so I was super excited that it rang up at the price it did.  I wish I'd picked up some more!

This paper is from a free stack that came with a Papercrafts magazine- I love the colors and I got to use my Cuttlebug.  I don't use it enough but I always love it when I do.

My next project is finishing up 2 quilts- I'm making myself finish those before I do any more cards...

Operation Write Home Midweek Throwdown Challenge- 01/19/11

The OWH MWT for this week is "White on White with a Pop of Color."  I made this using plain white cardstock, my birthday embossing folder for my Cuttlebug and stickers from Me & My Big Ideas.  It was too easy but I think it is cute- kinda felt like I was cheating!  I did some Christmas cards like this and thought they were very classy...  I am now officially at 15 cards for the month (not counting the 25 I turned in for Valentine's Day) and I stil have another week and half to go.  :)

Operation Write Home Sketch Challenge Anniversary

Operation Write Home posted their 52nd sketch challenge today- a whole year of challenges.  I wish I'd taken part in more- this is only my second.  I love taking a sketch and making it mine.  Maybe that should be one of my goals for this year too....  Anyway, here are my cards for the challenge- one for the 52nd sketch and one for the missing 34th. :)

 Sketch # 52....

...and my take on it.  I used the DCWV Cafe Mediterranean line for this one. 

Sketch #34....

...and my take.  I used My Mind's Eye paper that I got in a Cardmaking Magazine.  I think the line is Pretty Please, but I could be wrong.  :)
I'm now at 14 cards for my 15 card goal for OWH.  Guess I'll have to up my goal for February.  It sounds like my kids daycare is going to help with some Any Hero letters for OWH too- I'm really excited to see how that turns out!

Cards

So far, so good for 2011...  I'm more than halfway done with my goal of 15 cards for January and I'm meeting my goal to post at least once a week.  ;)  Last weekend, I finished 2 quilt tops (one that had been started previously) and I finished another that was a long time work in progress last night.  I'm loving my new setup.  :)  I'll post pictures of the quilts once they are done- just need to get batting for all 3 and backing for one. 

Here are my cards for Operation Write Home- I made 2 of each card, so a total of 12 cards.

 This is with paper that I got at JoAnn's- I can't remember the brand, but it is photo paper.

 This paper is from the DCWV La Creme line.  I really like how this looks- think I'll try some different color combinations and sentiments with this one.

 I used George and Basic Shapes for the stars, the paper is the same as the 1st card.

 This is more of the photo paper line.

 This paper is from the DCWV Citrus line.  I absolutely love the colors in this line.  I'm not sure how I like the stamp shows.  I think I need to stamp the sentiment on a plain piece of paper...

I used the Sweet Treats cartridge for this- what a fun cartridge.  I used a card in a magazine for inspiration on this.  I don't normally mix colors like this, but I like how it turned out. 

New crafting area layout, receiving blankets and cards

I got a new desk for my sewing machine and added some much needed storage space.  I am so happy with my new layout!  There is less wasted space and much more room for all my stuff!

 The shelf between my sewing desk and crafting table is the same shelf that my Cricuts and card making supplies are on, just turned up on it's end.

I made the following cards for a baby shower I attended today and for my niece's 6th birthday.

And last, I made 2 receiving blankets and 2 burp rags as a shower gift.  I am also making her a quilt for the baby, but haven't started on that yet.  Baby is due the end of February, so I'll have it done by then.  I love these receiving blankets and wish I'd had some when my kids were babies- they are so big, much better for swaddling

.

Valentine's Day

I made some Valentine's Day cards for Operation Write Home- I've talked about this group before and I think it is so awesome.  My goal for 2011 is to make at least 15 cards per month for them.  I also have a goal to post at least 1 project a week on my blog this year...  I tend to do at least 1 a week, but am not good about actually posting here!

The paper and stickers for these cards were from a scrapbook page kit from WalMart.  They were $5 each, I bought 2.  I made 2 of each card below and have enough paper to get probably 8 or 10 more cards.  Hopefully tonight will bring more crafting time so I can get them done and up to the shipper by the deadline.

Gift Card holders

I was looking for a different way to wrap gift cards and found this link last night- http://www.thesunsethouse.com/2008/12/11/mr-twigster-says-thanks/ and thought they were really cute.  I made this one last night for my mother-in-law's gift and have a couple more to make.  Super easy, but cute and not so boring.  :)  Sorry for the quality of the pictures...  I have been kicked out of my normal craft area for our Christmas tree and the lighting isn't as good.

Christmas gifts for teachers

A friend made one of these for me at Halloween and I thought it was so clever- then I found the tutorial here: http://scrapadoodledee.blogspot.com/2010/11/fabulous-friday-and-tutorial.html- and knew I had to do them for my kids' teachers for Christmas.  I modified my pattern a little, but same results...  I used Bazzill Basics cardstock that had a bit of a shine for the poinsettia (cut from the Winter Wonderland cartridge) and for the holder, then I used removable Glue Dots to hold the hand sanitizer and gift card in.  The pictures aren't great- the shine on the paper made it a little difficult- but I think they turned out cute.  I hope the teachers love them!

Sewing projects

Wow, over a month since my last post...  That's awful!  I have lots of cards to post, but today, I'm just posting 1 and my sewing projects.

These 3 purses are for my girlfriends for our Christmas gift exchange.  I just need to add buttons to the blue and black ones. 

This is the start of a bag that I am making for a friend to give as gifts- I made one for her already and have this one & 2 others to go.  I'll post pictures of the final products.

This is a quilt top that I've had done for some time and will be finishing for a white elephant exchange at my family's Christmas party- the striped material is the backing.

And last, one card- I made 6 of these for a swap through Crafty Card Gallery.  Looking forward to getting the other cards from the swap.  I really like the colors and texture on this- I thought it was fun.  I've been trying to find more ribbon so I could make some more like this, but it was from the $1 spool collection at JoAnn's and they don't seem to have it anymore. :(

New Cricut carts and another giveway

There were new Cricut cartridges announced today.  Check out the Obsessed with Scrapbooking blog to see some projects created with the new cartridges.  I love the Wrap It Up and Paper Lace ones the best.  The projects she made a beautiful.  She is also offering a chance to win The Christmas Card mini Cartridge (which I really want) and the Christmas Village mini cartridge....

Christmas cards for Operation Write Home

So, I'm not good about sending cards out to my family and friends...  But, Operation Write Home is such an amazing cause, that I did get in the Christmas spirit early.  Maybe I will keep up the cardmaking after the deadline for OWH and actually send out some of my own this year.  :)

I just realized that I forgot to take pictures of the quilt I made before I gave it to the happy couple.  I will get my friend to take some pictures for me so I can post them....

Here are some pictures of the cards I made. The first ones were made with a chipboard set that came with a cardmaking magazine I just bought.

These were made with different stamps and little help from my new Cricut Imagine.  I used the Winter Wonderland one to make the poinsettia, trees and snowman, with color from the Imagine.  The holly was a brad set with the leaves and berry brad.

Inspiration for this one came from this post: http://acreativeneed.wordpress.com/2008/10/10/a-cuttlebug-christmas/  I thought this was very classy- I may try to find a different stamp...

The rest are with my Imagine and some stamps- but not Christmas themed...  I'm really liking the Imagine and can't wait to have more time to play with it!