WMD - Trick or Treat

My job has moved to a new building just around the corner from O My Crafts. Will Call is just like Trick or Treat: you go to the door, say the magic phrase and walk away with a bag full of goodies.

This is what I got today at O My Crafts for around $20. Imaginisce Glam Rocks, Martha Stewart scoring board, 29 packages of Making Memories Bravissimo! sentiment packs, Making Memories Halloween stamps. Add to that a "25% off any online order" coupon code (OMC25). TRICK OR TREAT!

Lucky to Know You

This is the I Spy Sketch this week. It's simple but they have done some lovely things with it. Check it out HERE .Then grab a bundle of scraps and make a card. Easy! It's a nice sketch to show off your cute paper and a fun element.

I think Leprechauns should have as much gold as possible so I heat embossed the clover for good measure. I'm loving this ribbon for OWH cards. I got it at JoAnn's. It's metallic so it sparkles, but it doesn't flake because it's not glitter. Love it.

Pemberly Done

I finally got my CTMH Pemberly kit done. It only took 4 months. Sadly that may be a record for me.

I didn't ink any of the cards. I thought the paper was busy enough that it wasn't necessary. I inked the layouts and didn't think it added enough interest to justify the extra effort. What do you think?

WMD - Lo-tech saves the day

NASA spent a billion dollars to develop a pen that could write in space. The Russians used a pencil. I think sometimes we just make things too hard.

We, that is to say Ju, J9 and I, ordered this Pemberly class from CTMH in July. I've only completed one layout so I have the other layout and card set on my desk staring me in the face with an accusing look. I'm really not neglecting them. I just can't find my Paper Blossoms tools. I finally broke down and used the back of a pen to shape my flowers.

Stuffed Zucchini

I haven't cooked in so long I wondered if I still could. But I did, not just once, but two days in a row. Tonight's Stuffed Zucchini 2 turned out de-lish. I'm blogging it so I remember to make it again. The review from DS3 was "Surprisingly good for what it had in it."

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Stuffed Zucchinni 2


1 med Zucchini cut in bite sized chunks, blanched
2 cups cooked Spaghetti squash (or whatever amount you have left over from a previous meal, this kept the cheese from disappearing into the zucchini creating a super tasty cheese layer without gobs of cheese.)
Salt/Pepper if you want
1 cup shredded cheese
Parmesan cheese to taste, I used a couple tablespoons.
Tomato sliced thick
1 box Stove Top stuffing, prepared according to package.

 Layer in a buttered 2 quart casserole. Bake at 400 about 30 minutes or until hot through and crispy on top.

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If you wonder what Stuffed Zucchini 1 is, it just the Zucchini and Stuffing prepared the same way.

Card game #3 - Tutorials worth reading

This tutorial  on the Greeting Farm is a great one for photographing cards. Lesson one is Learn Your Camera. I've tried to read my camera's manual several times but got bogged down in the techno babble. Jen has broken down the things you need to know so you are not trying to remember EVERYTHING.

Now, if I were a camera manual where would I be?...

And Here is another fabulous tutorial on how to use up an entire 6x6 paper pad to make cards. It's pretty cool and the theory can be adapted for any set of papers you are working with. I don't know where the original post is but it's reposted on OWH. The basic idea is that you find a sketch you like and make as many cards as you want. Then you find a sketch that uses the size of scraps you have left over and make as many of those cards as you can stand. Repeat until everything is used up (or you can't stand to look at the same papers ever again.) The sketches on OWH have dimensions so you can choose your sketch according to what you have. I think it's brilliant. Thanks Kristy.

So here is the card game: grab a couple of coordinating scraps, find a sketch that requires pieces that size and try Kristy's use it 'til its gone principle. You don't even have to use a sketch if you don't want. Just use up a bundle of scraps.

I'll post what I come up with...as soon as I can find my desk. (It's currently buried in a CTMH workshop I haven't finished.)

WMD - Witchy pops

With Christmas cards done in September and Spring Cards on my desk I was starting to get a bit season confused. I thought a quick Halloween craft might fix me right up.

This cute and easy to assemble Witch hat SVG is free over at SVGcuts.com. I cut 8 per 12x12 sheet of double sided cardstock. I made 24 of them in an evening. Three sheets gave me lots of variety.  Inking the edges took most of the time but is totally worth the effort. It's a treat that looks like you fussed, only without the fuss. How can that be bad?!?

Lamps and the Girl Child

The announcement in General Conference that the age of missionary service for young women has been changed from 21 to 19 (and from 19 to 18 for young men) makes me realize that my lamp of preparation is not only empty, but there seems to be a layer of dust on the bottom.

I served a mission. It was a wonderful experience that I've treasured all my life. I've always held a hope that the girl child might want to take that opportunity, but this announcement advances the timeline dramatically. Suddenly the moment for her to decide if she'll serve is not some vague year in the future; the time is NOW. She will be 19 next month. While I'll be delighted if she decides to serve, I'm not sure I'm ready to let go.

Lucky Card

These friendly Leprechauns came in a Holiday Crafter's Block from Provo Craft. They've been living in my stash since 2003 waiting for the right opportunity to come out and play. They are just so darn cute!

WMD - The Bird has Left the Nest

It's a day behind schedule but it was a tall order. The goal was to have the cards in the mail to OWH by today. They won't actually ship until tomorrrow but WE DID IT!. We filled the box. I'm putting the Organization name as "Aspen Friends" so credit will go where credit is due. Thanks Ladies.

Tonight I'm counting, sorting and bundling. I was surprised to discover that we didn't actually reach the goal of 350 cards. I judged our progress by the filling of the box. We ended up with 289 cards and the box was FULL FULL FULL! I could have fit 11 more in to make an even 300 but there is no way I could have fit 350 as planned, and I'm pretty darn good at puzzles.

It's a brand new Season! SPRING!

It's time to start a new season of Operation Write Home cards. The "Christmas/Winter" box is filled to overflowing which gives us a little head start on the new box. I know it seems a little odd to be setting aside Christmas on the First day of October, but here we go anyway.

This is the first set of cards I've made for the "All Things Spring" box that will be shipping out in December. You can get the SVG for the Doily (posted 9/21/2012) and the Happy Birthday 2U (posted 9/10/2012) at birdscards.com. I welded the circle sentiment inside the doily and multi-layered the mat so the sentiment sits up off the card. Bird has great FREE cut files and digi stamps on her site. And she makes FABULOUS cards. It's worth going to her site just to look at her beautiful work.

My goal is to learn to use digi stamps so I don't have to try to cut sentiments. I got quite frustrated with these. I blame much of it on the off brand cutting mats I used (by Simply Crafty) which have proven disappointing beyond words.

Enjoy this lovely Fall weather...but make cards for Spring.