Sunday, September 1, 2013

Officially Retired! September 1, 2013 and Operation Write Home Fun

Today is the official beginning of my retirement.  Paperwork has come through.

Today is also the Operation Write Home Blog Virtual Card Making Party.  There are challenges for this weekend.  I had fun making cards for the different challenges.  These cards will go to Operation Write Home to  be sent to soldiers so they can write home to loved ones and friends.

Challenge 1 was to make a Christmas or Winter card with 1" squares.  This is my SU Paper from last year's Festival of Prints pack from the Holiday Mini.


The second challenge was to use the letters OWH in your stamping.  Here is my card.  O=oval  W=wheat H=hemp for the wheat.  This is the set from SU called Truly Grateful stamped in curry and mounted on crumb cake then cherry as the background.  On the background I stamped in versamark using the wood like stamp.

The third challenge was to make frames.  I made my own before the measurements were posted.  I used white and cherry paper.  I stamped with cherry, pumpkin and  baja blue inks and the SU set called Flower Shop.

Challenge 4 was a sketch challenge.  I turned it on its side.  I love these Penny Black characters.  I stamped in memento black ink and colored with Copic markers.  I embossed it with hearts and added bees bringing a letter.  
  

The 5th challenge was to use masking tape on an acrylic block.  I first used blue painter's tape on the acrylic block, then added the masking tape.  I didn't have any problem removing the tape from the block.    I used pumpkin ink with the tape then stamped in espresso for the wheat.  I added the block of color using curry ink.  I used Truly Grateful by SU.
The 6th Challenge was to make a tic-tac-toe card.  I chose the bottom three elements; embossing, kid friendly embellishments, and a thing with 4 legs.  This was fun.  I stamped and left the image uncolored so a child could color it.  The embossing is post marks like you'd see on a passport, on retired SU designer paper.  I used smile face buttons and sparkly red hearts.



Challenge 7 was to make a Fall card.  Curry was my base with fall leaves embossing on the retired turquoise designer paper.  I used the Truly Grateful SU set and the Gently Falling stamp sets.

Challenge 8 was to make a card with a bee and a creative bee sentiment.  Here's mine.  I don't have large bee stamps so I downloaded a clip art image, framed it in black and added my text: Missing My Honey.  This was added to curry cardstock with the honeycomb embossing folder.

Challenge 9 was to make a card using the negative of a die or punch.  My card was stamped with memento black ink and colored with copic markers.  I then added a 2" and 2 1/2" circle opening over the turtle.  I added embossing to make it look like a turtle shell.  I used SU's octogon punch for the greeting.

I also participated in Sketch Challenge #188.
                        188 sketch (Sept 1)  

Well that was a lot of fun.  Now I just have to post these on SCS.

Today we invited Tim's Dad over for lunch.  It was a fun time with sandwiches, potato salad, chips and conversation.  It was humid today and I melted outside on the screen porch and eventually told Tim I had to go inside.  He and his dad didn't seem affected by the humidity.

Blessing of the Day: Tim's Dad came to lunch.  Ben, Rachel, Sarah, Tim and I had a great time with grandpa.
Thanks for stopping by.  Maybe you can take a peek at the Operation Write Home site and participate in some of the challenges.

Blessings,

7 comments:

Sybrina K said...

Oh my gosh..... I have so much to say that I don't know where to begin.

So, I'll start with Happy Retirement! Congratulations! Playing along with a VCMP is such a fun way to start off this new chapter of your life. :)

And, I see you were a special needs teacher. As a former teacher, thank you for your service to our kids.

You've created quite a set of cards -- each one is so well done! I honestly don't think I can pick a favorite.

Your love of kids came through loud and clear on quite a few of these cards. On your Cards 4 Kids card, the uncolored porcupine (that can be colored in by its recipient) and smile face buttons made me smile.

Speaking of smiles, your cards are sure to bring huge smiles to the recipients' faces! Thanks so much for playing along with the Cards 4 Kids challenge.

byAnnette said...

Thanks for playing along!
Hedgies make a really cute card!

Stampin' Mom of Four said...

Congratulations on your retirement! I am so happy that you're able to relax and create so many lovely cards right before Ben and Rachel's wedding. I'm sure you needed the "therapy."

Jody Green said...

You've done a great job with all of these challenges! I was impressed with myself for doing two!! I'm also VERY jealous of your retirement.

Best Wishes,
Jody

Lorri At Home said...

Absolutely awesome cards - your been one is so wonderful! And those lil hedgehogs always make me smile - Great job! ~Lo

Diane said...

Congratulations on your retirement! All of your cards are beautiful and unique- I am impressed with every one of them! Thanks for joining in on the challenges and for your support of OWH and our troops!

Donna said...

What wonderful cards! Congrats on your retirement. I sure wish I could join you. I'd love to have more time for crafty fun. I love your entries for the VCMP but I especially love the little turtle you used for the negative challenge. Thanks for playing along and for supporting OWH!

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