Triple the challenge, triple the fun?

This is another pair of cards made last weekend for the limited supply challenge, LSC248, which was to make multiple cards using the same materials but different layouts. For this duo I used the sketches from a couple older challenges not yet done. The card on the left fits SC254, the one on the right SC255.

We had our first measurable snowfall here Thursday night, which means people in my building have again turned into inconsiderate morons, stomping outside my apartment at all hours of the day and night. It's especially bad between 5 and 7pm, when people are getting home for the day. Talk about grating on someone's nerves! And it's not like we even had that much snow, though this side of town had more than they did on the north side (the airport measured only .7, but it was more like 2 inches here).

And, of course, get a little snow and the Beltline turns onto a parking lot. I was soooo glad I wasn't in that traffic snarl Thursday night. There is more snow expected over the next three days, about 1-3 inches, and I am feeling it in my neck, which is all too susceptible to the cold temps. It doesn't exactly motivate you to get things done.

Stamps: Tree (Studio G), Greeting (Endless Creations)
Paper: Wausau Paper Co, DCWV
Ink: Basic Black
Accessories: Colored Pencils and Blender Pen

Holiday Wishes

A couple different cards for today. The top features a penguin dollar stamp from Sudio G; the bottom a stamp from the retired SU Reindeer Print set. Greeting is from Verve. Penguin was stamped in black and colored with Le Plume II markers. Tree and greeting were stamped in ruby red. Patterned paper is from DCWV. Grosgrain ribbon is from JoAnn's. Circle punches are from Marvy.

Warm & Cozy Wishes...

Fluffles is all ready for the holidays in his warm and toasty knitted sweater. I love this line of stamps, and this one is among my favorites.

Stamps: Fluffles Sweater (Stampendous); Inside says "For a very merry Christmas," taken from another stamp in my inventory
Ink: Basic Black
Paper: DCWV
Accessories: Le Plume II markers (Marvy), tag corner punch (SU)

Diecut Snowman

Quick and easy diecut card. Plain blue paper is from DCWV, patterned is a Dollar Store find. Greeting from Stampin' Up (retired greeting set). Snowman and snowflake diecuts were another Dollar Store purchase.

Snowmen

A couple of cards using clear stickers and no stamping--at least on the outside. Paper (plain and snowflake) is by DCWV; Sticker vendor unknown. Hopefully we will not see enough snow to build one of these guys any time soon. I wouldn't be opposed to a dusting for Thanksgiving, but the several inches required for snowmen? Not quite ready for that.

Halloween in Progress

This post is primarily for my friend Nina, who is always asking me questions about my workspace and how I piece cards together. The top shows several piles of cards in progress, mostly Halloween. From back left, you can see some of the stamps being used, an envelope box to hold completed cards, a few Christmas cards in progress next to that. There are several layouts posted up on the wall behind. The bottom pic shows some of the 75 completed cards. Close-ups of finished cards can be seen in previous posts--just click on the "Halloween" label below.

Bewitching

Stamps: Witch, Cat (Studio G), Greeting (A Muse)
Paper: DCWV Fall Paper Stack
Ink: Basic Black (SU)
Accessories: Ticket Corner Punch, Ribbon, Le Plume II markers (for moon)

Pumpkins Gleam

Another quick Halloween card I did for troops overseas to send home to family and friends. The stamp is by A Muse, Paper is DCWV and ink is Only Orange from Stampin' Up. Accessories include the ticker corner punch and ribbon from Joann's.

Bats About You

A couple more for Halloween...

Stamps: Studio G
Ink: Basic Black
Paper: DCWV
Accessories: Circle punches, Ticket corner punch, Bat brads, Ribbon

Provençal Rooster 1

Last week was fairly productive for card-making. I somehow managed to whip out 50-60, which is a lot easier to do when you mass produce 10-20 of mostly the same design. I was concentrating on Father's Day cards for troops overseas, but I liked some so much I had to keep a couple of each out for my own use for upcoming birthdays or other special events. My favorites were made with the Stampin' Up set "Provençal." The patterned paper used in this one was a Dollar Store find. I also used Chocolate Chip and Basic Black cardstock from SU. I also used Chocolate Chip ink. There's space at the bottom to add a matted greeting of choice (which was "Dad" or "Dearest Dad" for those sent overseas).

Perennial Mother's Day Cards

These are a few samples of some Mother's Day cards I worked up for troops overseas to send home. This particular group lifts up from the bottom. I tried to add a bit of variation by using different colors for the flowers and ribbon, tying ribbon in a couple different ways (some have colored strips of cardstock and brads instead of ribbon), and using different flourishes, such as curliques and butterflies. While most are for "Mom," I also made a bunch that could be sent home to "Grandma."

Stamps: Butterfly (Live Your Dreams--Stampin Up!); Flowers (Perennial Friendship--Stampin' Up!); Greetings (Mother's Day Sayings--Darcie's); Corner Flourishes (Fancy Flexible Phrases)
Paper: White (Xerox Cardstock)
Ink: Basic Black, Pink Passion, Perfect Plum, More Mustard (SU)
Accessories: Markers (Le Plume), Grosgrain ribbon (Joann's and Wal-mart)

Easter - 2

What a cruel sense of humor Mother Nature has! It's the first full day of spring and we are under a winter storm warning until 7pm, with 6 to 9 inches expected in our area. With 92 inches of snow already dumped on us this season, this storm could put us over the century mark. At least it shouldn't stick around very long, coming so late in the year as it does. Sadly, I don't think it's the last snow we will see, either. *Sigh*

Below is another selection of Easter cards, most of which were sent to troops overseas for personal use, with a few kept out for family and friends. I found some vintage images online, which I then printed out and matted. Paper from DCWV and Current, Inc were used for all of these. Accessories include Primas, brads and grosgrain ribbon. Closeups of two of the cards follow below.

Easter - 1

A seelction fo Easter cards made for troops overseas, and closeups of a couple of them. Bunny is from the "Tender Toile" retired hostess set by Stampin' Up. Bliss Blue ink and cardstock (SU) were also used. Accessories include blue Prima flowers, brads, and grosgrain ribbon.

Tender Easter

Colder here Saturday than expected. The original forecast was for temps in the 30s. Instead we topped out around 25F with a windchill of 19F. Very windy and overcast, and not as much melting. They were calling for temps in the 40s for Sunday but now...who knows? Still calling for rain, though, so that should melt some of the snow.

Walking anywhere these past couple weekends has been horrendous. Sidewalks last weekend were glassy sheets of ice--you were better off walking in the street rather than take your chances with the sidewalks. The worst were out at West Towne Mall and along Odana Road. The walks were fine directly in front of mall entrances, but between the different doors? Those were a hip replacement waiting to happen!

The sidewalks weren't much better today, what with the thawing during the days and refreezing at night--and let me tell you, the city isn't any better at clearing walkways than the general public or area businesses. Walking along Gammon north to Odana was especially treacherous. There was one block before the Beltline where I feared I might slip and end up under a moving vehicle, and I ended up walking in the snow the last sloping block to Odana as wet feet were better than being knocked off one's feet with the icy walkways. I know there's a severe salt shortage, but seriously--something needs to be done about sidewalks before someone is seriously injured. I'm tired of wrenching my knees or back while correcting my balance on slippery sidewalks!

I was glad to finally get home from running errands this afternoon and veg in front of a couple good movies--after popping a few Advil, of course. I did some reading as well, but also started work on a cross-stitch for a friend's upcoming birthday. It's part of a series and the patterns are so simple they usually take only a few days (and a lot of black DMC floss) to stitch.

I somehow managed to churn out a bunch of Easter cards over the past couple weeks--some stamped, some using printed vintage images. Most have now shipped out to troops overseas, but I did keep some for my own use. The cards below use a stamp from the retired SU hostess set, Tender Toile. I used only a portion of the stamp so as to highlight the bunny. Both cards are 4.25" square.

Stamps: Tender Toile
Paper: White (Xerox cardstock); DCWV red and pink.
Ink: Ruby Red
Extras: Grosgrain Ribbon (Joann's), Piercing, Scalloped Square punch (Marvy)

Balmy Greetings

I made a bunch of these this past week to add to my latest stash for troops overseas. Some say "miss you," and others the greeting pictured above. Valentines have already been sent off, and now I'm trying to build up a supply of Birthday and Easter cards. With Easter coming so early this year (March 23), it's especially important to get going on those cards right away. Sadly, I have yet to see any new Easter stamps I like this year, so will need to come up with new ways to use old sets -- which, I admit, becomes more difficult every year. I'm thinking I need to print off some vintage Easter images to use as well.

Stamps: Balmy Breezes, Fancy Flexible Phrases (SU)
Paper: White, Elegant Eggplant (SU); Old World Stack (DCWV)
Ink: Basic Black, Elegant Eggplant (SU)
Accesories: Grosgrain Ribbon

Halloween Cards for Troops

A selection of Halloween cards made for troops. Nowhere near what I've done for Christmas, but sure to put smiles on a few small faces!

To find out how you can get involved, read my article on Donating cards for troops.

Donating Cards for Troops

It never fails that, whenever I post samples of cards I've made for troops (either here or in my SCS gallery), a number of people contact me, asking how they too can get involved. Whether we agree with the war or not, the sad fact is that many service men and women are away from their families during long rotations in Iraq and Afghanistan--sometimes as long as two years!--missing birthdays, graduations, holidays, and many other special occasions.

Unlike those of us at home, they do not have the option of walking into a Hallmark store to pick something out. In fact, I've heard from many stationed overseas that the PX on every base around the world pretty much stocks the same three cards and they are gone as soon as they come in. When I saw a plea for volunteers by a fellow stamper at Splitcoaststampers two years ago, I instantly got involved. Since then I've seen many more requests posted, as well as posts and emails from others wanting to get involved but not sure what to do or where to send them. This should help you out!

THE BASICS

Cards are generally 4.25x 5.5 inches and must include envelopes. While some embellishments such as ribbon, cording, brads, eyelets and multiple layers are okay, try to limit 3-dimensional ones such as buttons or other protruding hardware. Postage is not necessary since many troops overseas have free mail. Inside greetings are fine, just remember to leave room for them to write a message. Also, if using dark cardstock for your cards, make sure the inside is a light color so they can write in them. Birthdays and "thinking of you" cards are always in high demand--both serious and humorous, child and adult, masculine and feminine. There is a huge call for holiday cards as well, with Christmas cards being especially big at the moment.

The important thing to remember about making holiday cards, is that you have to ship them out at least a month in advance to allow time for cards to reach the troops, and time for them to send cards home. This means that Halloween cards should already be airborn, Thanksgiving cards should go out by mid-October, Christmas cards by mid-November, and Valentines by mid-January, etc. It can be a little confusing at first, working a month or two in advance, but think of the smile it will bring some little boy or girl who gets a card from Mommy or Daddy.

WAYS TO GET INVOLVED

You can become involved with sending cards or other materials to troops overseas through a variety of different programs and websites. You can adopt a soldier or unit through sites such as AnySoldier.com or Angel Stampers for Soldiers, or you can volunteer to fill book and other requests through sites such as Operation Paperback and Books For Soldiers (note: you will have to send in a notarized application and fee for BFS). There are many more organizations out there, so finding one that fits shouldn't be too difficult.

You can also join a group collecting blank cards for troops through friends, churches or a site you frequent on the Internet. As mentioned above, I became part of a group when I saw a request posted to the SCS message boards. We have one coordinator, Sue, who collects cards from all of us, then sends them overseas to one of "our people" as soon as she has a bx of goodies filled. Although our primary focus is sending handmade cards, we also send candy, pens, magazines, and other goodies when we can, or send a little something to Sue once in a while to help with shipping costs. There are several people our group sends to, and no card has ever gone to waste. In fact, we hear quite frequently how they are usually gone as soon as our contacts set them out.

What follows is a short list of SCS coordinators currently collecting cards for troops. I will not post any mailing addresses here, so if you want an address or want to know more about a group or request, simply click on the links. I've tried to include what sort of cards each person is looking for or other pertinent imformation.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Diane is collecting cards for wounded troops for Operation Quiet Comfort. "Get well," Thinking of you" or "thank you for your sacrifice" cards appreciated.

Rachel is collecting cards for troops from Vermont.

Kelley is collecting birthday cards for a battalion chaplain.

Jen E. is collecting cards/card fronts to send to troops.

Donna is collecting cards for local VFW to send overseas in care packages, send to sick veterans and to the VA nursing home.

Jackie is a soldier from Minnesota stationed in Afghanistan, and is collecting cards for her battalion. (Update from Jackie: due to surgery scheduled in mid-December, she requests that no packages be sent after December 1, as she does not yet know where her surgery will be.)

This request is a bit different. Heather (not me!) is collecting Christmas cards for her husband's unit stationed in Afghanistan. These are cards to be sent to individuals in appreciation of their service, some of whom never get any mail. Donors can write a short message themselves, or send cards to Heather which she will then write out.

Jen is collecting cards for her husband’s unit.

Hope A. is collecting cards for the unit of a friend's husband deployed to Iraq.

Christina is collecting cards and other items for her brother’s platoon, deployed to Iraq for 15 months. See her thread for a list of other items they are requesting.

Shell is collecting cards, pens and other supplies for the battalion of a friend’s husband recently sent to Iraq.

Mary Hutchinson is collecting cards and stationery for a church group sending materials to the troops.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

This is by no means a comprehensive list, and there are sure to be many more posted at SCS and other venues over the coming weeks, but it is a starting point for those wishing to support the troops with no idea how they can get involved.

BOO

Part of the fruits of this afternoon's labors... I settled in with a few episodes of Charmed (season 8) and some stamping supplies this afternoon and ended up with 35 Halloween cards. Not a bad start! I'm trying to amass a supply of cards to send for troops, which need to be in the mail by end of the month in order to allow time for delivery and turn around. Stamps used: Halloween Hedgehogs and Collage Alphabet, both retired sets from Stamin' Up. I used my Le Plume markers to color the image, and craft white ink to stamp the word "boo."

Christmas in July

July is almost over and Christmas less than five months away. Yes, it's that close! I've been working on Christmas cards all through the past month, trying to build up a collection to send to troops stationed overseas. Last year I sent 175; this year's goal is 200. I am happy to report that I am--as of tonight--half way to that goal. These need to be done by end of October so that there is enough time to ship them overseas, with plenty of time for them to send them back home to family and friends. Here are a few of those done so far.

All of these use the now-retired Stampin' Up set, Sleigh Full of Toys. The third also uses the dog from another retired set (and one of my all-time faves), Winter is Calling. I used greetings from a variety of sets, mostly Season's Greetings (Stampin' Up) and Winter Wishes (Hero Arts). All of the cool ribbon is by American Crafts--it was a set of six mini-bobbins I picked up on clearance at Archiver's a few months back. I knew it would come in handy once I started working on Christmas cards. Paper used was white, real red, green galore, gable green, certainly celery, glorious green, and a non-SU dark green. Ink colors are basic black, glorious green, real red, so saffron and craft white. Aside from ribbon accessories used include Marvy Uchida scalloped punches, and Le Plume markers. I especially like the last one, but coloring in all those presents (times about a dozen) took forever.

Land That I Love

How about something a little patriotic as we draw closer to Independence Day -- which is only two weeks away. Where has the year gone?! Next week will be the first of this summer's Concerts on the Square, and the following week (July 4) their big "Stars and Stripes Forever" concert. I'm especially looking forward to that one as the featured guests will be the vocal group Five By Design, a Minneapolis-based quintet featuring 1940s era music. Before you roll your eyes and grimace, trust me--they're good. VERY good. Their shows here are always packed, with the crowd completely circling the Capitol grounds and singing (and often even dancing!) along. It's been a few years since they performed at Concerts on the Square, their last scheduled appearance here having been rained out--hopefully the weather will be cooperative this year.

Anyway, about the card... This is one of a batch of Partiotic cards done up for the troops. My goal was nice and easy cards that enabled me to do a lot in one sitting. I think I succeeded. *grin* I cut the red into strips of 5.5x1.75, then tore one long side of each piece. Flag was stamped below that, slightly off-center, and the sentiment positioned just below that.

Stamps: Flag from Land That I Love (Stampin' Up, retired); Life & Liberty (Stampendous)
Paper: White, Real Red (SU)
Ink: Real Red, Night of Navy (SU)
Accessories: White DMC embroidery floss (leftovers from several counted cross-stitch kits)