7 Days Without You

     I decided it was time to start making cards for Operation Write Home again since I haven't done any for a while.  If you're not familiar with OWH, check out the badge on my side bar.  Just click on it and you'll go right to their website.

     This card uses an image from Sassy Cheryl's.  In this post, I'll also have to give you an update on the "Battle for the Window Seat" between Honey and my newest fur baby, Molly, since they were working out terms while I was making this card.  Of course, all the negotiations (including objections) had to take place with me as the arbitrator at the same time I'm trying to create something wonderful  :-D  Scroll down one post to get the full scoop on Molly, how she came to live with me, and how the window seat battle started.

I used the sketch from Tuesday Throwdown this week.

(Shout out to my former teamies!)

     The image is colored with my Prism watercolor pencils, then cut with a die from QuicKutz.  The "7" is from an old page of pre-cut pop-outs which came with a stack of scrapbooking paper.  I never use those pop-out things so these have been kicking around as much as 5 or 6 years!  But my friend, Vicki, from "Stamp Smiles" is doing a Flashback Friday challenge each week where she asks that we use something from our stash that's more than a year old and this week she wanted to see letters or numbers.  Since a number worked better for my sentiment, I dug out the '7.'  

     The card base is a pre-cut card from DCWV and I used one of their flowery "Linen Closet" prints.  All I added for embellishment were the 3 tiny pearls.  I wanted this card as flat as possible since it will have to be mailed.

     Challenges:
Baffies Kreativladen
Crafty Gals Corner  
Cuttlebug Mania
Inky Chicks
Jo's Scrap Shack
Moving Along with the Times
Paper Minutes
Scrap & Craft
Sister Act
Top Tip Tuesday

     OK, now the update on Honey and Molly and who gets to peek out which window.  I made another 'window seat' a bit higher than the previous one (which Molly had seen fit to claim) and suggested to Honey that perhaps it would work even better than the original one since it was a bit higher (hinting that it gave additional status to the user.)  Honey looked very skeptical but did deign investigate it.

     Molly, aware that I was being very attentive to Honey for several minutes without a single glance in her direction, began purring and mewing, hoping to attract my attention away from Honey.  Here's what I mean...

     Notice that's the original window seat and Molly does look simply smashing on purple!  Who needs a red carpet when you're that cute?

     Glancing back to Honey, here's what I found...

     However, 15 minutes after these photos were taken I discovered that the two fur babies had exchanged places and were just as happy with either spot.  Currently they are each taking a long feline nap in the respective window seats.  Who knew it could be that simple -- just make an additional fur baby bed.  Do they have their human trained or what?  I think I'll put these two photos on the side bar just so that I have continuing proof that issue resolution between felines is possible when one puts one's mind to it.  :-D

     BTW, Molly is a real cuddle cat -- she loves to be petted, held, stroked, or carried around.  Her purring motor runs constantly and she sleeps on the bed as close to me as she can get.  She seems to be truly happy here in her new home and I love having her here.  :-D  Happy Stamping.  NanaConnie

Red Roses for Love

     It's said that in the language of roses, red ones stand for love.  If that's true, then today's card is just filled with love.  I was visiting favorite blogs last week and ran across this post on Crafting Vicky's blog and thereby discovered a new progressive challenge blog.   The images that have to be used are from Imagine That and each challenge requires you to use the latest free digital image.  Since they were already into the challenge, I had to purchase the rose digi but it's so gorgeous, who could resist.  From now on, as long as I enter the challenge with each new image, I'll get the next one as a freebie.

I used a sketch from Operation Write Home, one of my favorite groups.  You can find out more about them by clicking on their badge on my right sidebar.

I took the colors from Dynamic Duos.

  

     Coloring the image with Promarkers took some effort because I used only my lightest "red" marker.  I just added more color in layers (let it dry between covering strokes) to darken the shaded places.  The darker the red, the more it tends to 'bleed' over so I was very careful to darken it slowly and gently with light strokes.

     I also added touches of white to the rose, and covered the leaves with white after I had used a very light pastel green on them.  I really didn't want any color other than the red to go with the black and white, which was the reason for the white overlay on the leaves.

     The punched black butterfly idea came from Benzi Stampz and I already warned her that I was stealing -- CASEing it today!  I've never punched a butterfly from black CS before but I know I'll do it more often now.  Isn't it striking?  Thanks, Brenda. :-D

     Challenges:
A Gem of a Challenge -- Things w/ wings
Charisma Cardz -- Black & White + 1 color
Color Me Creative -- Anything goes
Flutterby Weds. -- Open, Anything goes
Fresh Brewed Designs -- Flowers
Paper Shelter -- Love
Simon Says Stamp -- Things w/ wings

     Well, I had a marvelously restful and fun Mother's Day weekend with my daughter and grandkids.  I promise to post some photos of the beach house where we stayed, and some of the incredible scenery within either walking or driving distance.  But for now, I want to get this posted so I can get it entered into the Imagine That progressive challenge before it closes tomorrow.  Thanks for visiting.  Happy Stamping.  NanaConnie

Tuesday Throwdown Shaped Cards

     Today's Tuesday Throwdown challenge is sponsored by Catherine Pooler, an independent Stampin' Up dealer.  She will be providing the prize for our winner!  The CS, image, and sentiment for my card are all SU products; the card stock is two-sided, patterned and comes from the Europa collection, called Pumpkin Pie.  The image and sentiment are from the Gnomes set, oldies but goodies.  I thought this Gnome was perfect for a Halloween/fall card.  Who wouldn't want to be a cute gnome at Halloween?

     I rarely do shaped cards, for two reasons:  I don't have many dies really large enough to make a card and I like A2 shaped cards since I do so many cards for Operation Write Home.  (Please check out the last paragraph of today's posting for more info about OWH.)  But when I found out that our Tuesday Throwdown challenge was going to be for shaped cards (nothing square or rectangular), I had to figure out what to do!   One Stitch at a Time also has a "Shape Up" challenge theme, and Paper Cutz wants us to do "Stars, Circles, or Diamonds."  Obviously, mine is the circle, and The Stamp Man theme is "Circle It."  Along that same line, Card and Scrap says "Not 4 Sided" and a circle was the first thing that came to mind.

     This one is made from a large (5 1/2" diameter) doily die, with the paper folded at the top and the die positioned just below the fold line.  Once the doily was cut, I stamped the Gnome into the middle of it, and heat embossed the image with black, detail EP.  I loved the black on orange combination so I did nothing else in the way of coloring him.  I did stamp a sentiment on the inside (also heat embossed) and add the orange gingham bow to the front, made from ribbon that came from Really Reasonable Ribbon -- their challenge theme is "Fun 4 Fall".  In addition, Meljen's wants us to use ribbon on our projects this week.  You can see the other side of the Pumpkin Pie CS in the photo below.

     I'm sending this card to a friend of mine who happens to have a Halloween birthday!  I thought the sentiment was perfect without having to say either Happy Birthday or Happy Halloween.  She'll know, since Halloween is her favorite holiday.  :-D

     Time to talk about all the other challenges, made easy again because of all the fall/autumn colors/Halloween themes this week.  I'll start with Pile It On (Fall is for Fun) because, in addition to their theme each week, they want us to make cards which can be used is as many challenges as possible.  I always select my challenges before I start on my cards.  That way, I know the card will fit the particular challenge and, if it doesn't when I'm finished, I can eliminate that challenge from the list.

Hanna and Friends - Autumn/Halloween
Paper Crafting Journey - Black, orange, & white
One Stop Craft Challenge - Halloween
Pals Paper Arts - Inspiration photo; Fall/Thanksgiving
Craft Your Days Away - Halloween colors, orange and black
Crafty Pad - Monochromatic
Through the Craft Room Door - Halloween
Card Cupids - Use Orange
Dream Valley - Halloween
Designed 2 Delight - Cute Halloween

     I promised you some additional information about Operation Write Home.  They are a fantastic, non-profit, organization which gathers up donated, hand-made cards for shipment to our deployed military troops that they use to send greetings home.  All this week, OWH is being supported by card makers just like you and me, helping them to raise funds for postage.  It's going to take more than $13,000 to mail boxes of Christmas and holiday cards to the soldiers overseas just this upcoming season.  One of the fund-raiser, blog hops will be starting here on my blog this next Friday morning, and featuring some cute and clever digi images which you can buy to help OWH in its cause.  All the proceeds (less the Paypal fees) from the digi sales are being donated by the artists to OWH.  (Our fellow DT teamie, Deedee, is one of the artists!  Another is Katlyn of K 'n K Designs.  Thank you, Deedee & Katlyn.  We love you for doing this!)  Please mark your calendar and come by here on Friday.  Thanks.

     That's it for today except that we'd love to see you play in the Tuesday Throwdown challenge this week.  Remember, any shaped card except square or rectangle; even octagons will qualify!  See you over there.  Happy Stamping.  NanaConnie