Miss You for Operation Write Home

     I'm still doing cards for the Operation Write Home box that gets mailed to the shippers this Saturday and today I used the most current sketch at OWH.



     I combined it with an image from Bugaboo Stamps and I'll be submitting it to both Bugaboo's Wacky Wednesday challenge at their Paper Craft Planet, for the color challenge (lavender, pale green, and pale blue - all pastels) and also to their Catch the Bug challenge for pearls and lace.

    
     As you know, anything with purple or lavender is my kind of color palette so this one really appealed to me.  The image is printed and colored with Copic markers, and I added hologram cellophane to her wings, adhered with clear gel glue.  I fussy cut the image and adhered her to a Spellbinders scalloped oval die cut.  I used that as the "heart" shape on the sketch (which, of course, can actually be any shape you want.)  I found mint green and pale blue CS in my stash, cut the blue to fit the diagonal shape in the sketch, adhered them together and started looking for lace.

     I dug through my stash and found that perfect lace with tiny lavender flowers going across it.  I cut it to size and wrapped it around the CS, then layered that to the card base.  I added the focus image, setting it just above the flowers on the lace.  I added the row of tiny green pearls to the diagonal to set it off and another row of tiny blue pearls just below the ribbon.  I added the larger lavender pearls to the lace, then printed the sentiment, trimmed it and adhered it along the diagonal.  Final touch was to add the dried and pressed flower in the upper corner.  I used a small paintbrush to apply a very thin coat of glue to the underside of each flower petal and the fern so that nothing would break off in transit.  Dried flowers are pretty fragile but if glued down properly, they travel very well.  I also used tweezers to handle the flower while gluing and applying it.

     While this is a bit bulkier than the cards I usually do for OWH, it slips easily into an envelope and is still light enough to use only one stamp.  Those are always concerns when doing cards for our deployed troops to use.  Additionally, we don't use glitter which might flake off onto their uniforms and make them visible when they don't want to be seen.  For adding sparkle, basket-wrap cellophane is a great alternative and one roll of it lasts forever!  When crinkled up, it also gives great texture to the cards with very little bulk and no weight.  Try it, even on the fancy cards.  It's wonderful stuff!

     Thanks for visiting, and I especially appreciate any comments you might leave.  Happy Creating.  NanaConnie