I fell behind with challenges this week, and was checking out the new ones today. The Mix-it-Up Monday challenge at StampTV had a deadline of 8 PM CST, and I didn't even see the challenge until 7:30 PM CST. Not only designing and making the card, but also taking the photo, uploading, cropping in PhotoShop Elements, and finally posting to their site. Just barely got it posted in time!
This card also fulfills the Operation Write Home Mid-week Throw-down (love/anniversary), and CAS-ual Friday's clean and simple with a heart. The doves were a last-second addition. They are from the confetti that my son and daughter-in-law had on the tables at their wedding.
I got a very late start on the World Card Making Day challenges, and had lots of interruptions. I swear I made one more card, but I can't find it! Went through the whole mess on my desk, and it's not there - but I can picture it in my mind. Frustrating and NOT my best card making day.
Anyway, there were a couple of challenges that were to use Pink, and Penny Black had some sketch challenges. These are both with the first sketch. 365 Cards Day 219 was a color scheme challenge (green, blue, purple, and orange). So, here are the cards.
Paper Smoochies has a challenge for World Card Making Day - I just realized there were three options, not three requirements! I tried twice to make a single layer card using the sketch they had, and included some pink on it. HOW do you make a single layer card and still follow a sketch with multiple layers? That was my problem, and I'm not happy with either of the efforts I made.
First I tried using three different background stamps, and masking the areas that weren't to be done by the particular stamp.
Then I tried using different stamps to create the 'layers', but . . . I tried distressing both cards to make them "blend" more, but that didn't work. It was more distressing for me than the cards!! LOL!!
To celebrate Operation Write Home's birthday last month, Sandy Allnock had asked card-makers all over the country to have OWH card-making parties. I designed a dozen or maybe different cards, and made kits for easy assembly. From 12 to 15 kits per design. That's a lot of bits and pieces! I planned to host a party for a couple of hours at work, using my vacation leave.
However, working in government has it's drawbacks. Management at my work site wasn't supportive. The concept may have been too "political" for the setting. Anyway, since co-workers couldn't be allowed a few minutes to make a card, or write an Any Hero letter, I was left with about 170 cards to assemble. Here are a few of the ones that got completed this week.
This card combines requirements for Day 216 of 365 Cards - a spattered background - with the second Viva la Verve sketch of October. I spent the day with my friend Kelly, in her WONDERFUL studio. She's a fiber artist, but pitched in to make spattered backgrounds for "miss you" cards that I'll give to Operation Write Home. She used some thin ink (can't remember what she called it) and some dye she had handy. Kelly also provided the vertical strip of painted paper, and had the alphabet stamps to make the greeting.
I fell behind with challenges this week, and was checking out the new ones today. The Mix-it-Up Monday challenge at StampTV had a deadline of 8 PM CST, and I didn't even see the challenge until 7:30 PM CST. Not only designing and making the card, but also taking the photo, uploading, cropping in PhotoShop Elements, and finally posting to their site. Just barely got it posted in time!
