MOJO131-take two.

I liked this week's sketch so much I used it again on this Asian inspired card. I thought the 3 panel frame was perfect for those blossoms. If you've never checked out the MojoMonday sketch blog, go give it a try! It might be just the thing to jumpstart your mojo!

I said I wouldn't do it(I know, Yvonne, you can scold me for this)but I caved late last week and bought some Copics. It was the airbrush possibilities that pushed me over the edge. I've been playing with them ever since in detailed images(since I'm still too scared to color a giant empty space) and trying to get the hang of it. Clearly, there's a learning curve but it's not as bad as some would make you think. I plan on taking an online course in a bit to build my skills.

Hope your week is going great so far! I'm buried in my scrap room this week churning out a few more Easter cards for family and Mother's day cards for OWH!

Supplies used:SU stamps and ribbon,BasicGrey pp,DCWV cs,Copics R22,R24,Spellbinders labels ten,Recollections pearls,Cuttlebug embossing folder,Neenah 80# solar white,Memento ink,MS border punch

MOJO-131 For Peeps Sake

So I had a few Easter cards to make for family(sadly, I missed the OWH Easter card deadline) and this week's MOJO-131 sketch was absolutely perfect! I've been wanting to line these little guys up on a card ever since I picked up this punch:


The first thing I thought of when I saw this punch was Peeps. I just cut the little tail off and it was my own Peeps punch:) I'm on a roll with the cards now, that bloghop was just the push I needed to get moving and get those Mother's day cards done for the troops!

Supplies used:Fiskars punch,EK Success(SU)border punch,BasicGrey paper,Queen & Co pearls, SU sentiment stamp, Spellbinders labels, Sizzix(SU)embossing folder,Darice ribbon,DCWV cardstock.

We have a WINNER!!

And the winner of my BLOG CANDY from the OWH Springbreak Bloghop is.........

Martha!!(Is that not funny?? Martha wins a Martha punch:))

I've left you a little note on your blog:)

Thanks so much everyone for visiting my blog over the weekend and participating in OWH's Springbreak bloghop. I hope you had a fun time looking at all the eye candy and amazing inspiration out there, I know I did! Can't wait to play in more bloghops with OWH in the future!

A Salute to OWH!

*EDITED: With 93 stops on this fabulous hop...it's taking a LONG time to really check out all the goodness out there and give each blog the attention they all so deserve SO--I'm extending the deadline to post a comment to enter for my blog candy until 12:00noon Mon 3/22. I'll post the winner here Monday before 5:00pm and contact the winner as well*

Happy Spring everybody! What better way to kick off a new season than start a new venture, right? ...So... Welcome to my stop on the OWH Springbreak bloghop! If this is your next stop on the hop, welcome! If you have absolutely no idea what 'OWH' is, you've got to check out the start of the hop at http://www.owhstarsandstamps.org. You won't want to miss a single stop!

Here's my first card for the troops:


I used lots of fun stuff on this one. Flocking on the bunny(Doodlebug), MS border punch,QK Santa's Workshop, Nesties labels ten and thirteen, and the new SU border punch. The paper is BG Lemonade and Bo Bunny.


Here's a quick and easy tutorial on making the grass border in the nestabilities:

First, you'll need the Martha Stewart grass border punch
and your chosen paper. Punch along one edge.

Next, line up the grass border where you want it
on the nestabilities die and tape the
die cutting-edge down on the front of your paper.

Turn the die with paper attached cutting-edge up
and run it through your die-cutting machine.

Here's what your grass border looks like.

Now, cut your full nestabilities shape out with
the same die you used for the border.

To finish it up and add a little extra dimension,
I used pop-dots on the back of the grass border and bunny.

I adhered the grass a little higher to keep
the white border all around, but it would also
look great flush with the bottom edge.

Just a simple, quick technique for those who might be new to nesties or die-cutting in general.

I'm super excited to participate in the OWH cause. I was in the Army for 8 years and my husband just recently retired last fall from active-duty after 20 years of service. When we heard about what OWH does, we both thought how awesome that would've been as a soldier to not only have the means of sending cards home to family, but to receive boxes and boxes of these lovingly handmade cards from so many people showing their support.

If you're not familiar with this awesome organization and you'd like to learn more, spend a little time at their homefront blog here. I just loved the topic of their March 12th post about involving kids with sending letters to the troops. One of the questions asked was "will the service members write back to the children?" I can't speak for all of them, but I do know when my husband and I were deployed and would receive 'anyhero' letters from back home, it was a very special feeling of pride in country and staying connected to home and the real meaning behind what we were doing. Long before the days of OWH, when my husband was a brand new soldier and deployed to Somalia in 1993, his hometown school would send letters to the troops and he had a penpal that he wrote to for many months. He still talks about this kid nearly 20 years later and how much those letters of encouragement meant.

Here's a pic of my hero on the day of his retirement ceremony last September.



Now for some real fun!
Anyone who's visited my blog before knows what a total Martha Stewart punch addict I am. So in honor of my first bloghop with OWH, I'm giving away a brand new Martha Stewart grass border punch just like the one I used on my card to one lucky winner! All you have to do to be entered to win is leave me a comment on this post(if you're not with blogger, be sure to put your email addy in your comment) by 11:59pm Sunday 3/21. The winner will be selected by random number generator and posted here on Monday 3/22. (Sorry--only open to US residents)

If you'd like to start making cards for the troops, be sure to check out all the details on the OWH site. The deadline for Mother's Day cards is April 1st. The next stop on the OWH Springbreak bloghop is Stephanie's. I love her clean gorgeous style! Click HERE to visit Stephanie's blog and keep hopping!!