God Bless America

First, God has blessed this country with a force of men and women who feel a love and sense of duty to preserve this nation and our way of life. I am so grateful for their commitment.

Second, in case you missed it, Operation Write Home has reached a goal of 1 million cards!  www.operationwritehome.org We just wanted to give a shout out to all the people involved in making cards for

Do you like the card designed above? The card above was completely made by two of our Card Makin' Cuties for  the Fourth of July. They did an excellent job on the design and colors for the up-coming deadline for Fourth of July cards...but  I also think its perfect for other celebrations too. Do you need a cute design for a Fourth of July invitation-- well, here you go and thank Judy and Ellen for their idea.
  "You guys did a great job! Thanks Judy and Ellen!

The next holiday coming up is Father's Day. Here is an example we really liked by our group of card makers.

This card design was just one design we used for "Father's Day." The design uses several different scrap cuts and new paper punches. One of the reasons I like the design is it has a lot of built-in forgiveness. By that I mean, if you mess up the stamp on the "light house" you can remove it and stamp another circle. The over all card is 4.25" X 5.50" as OWH has asked us to make---a good size.

Any part of the card can be repositioned, squared up or replaced before the final card design is finished. Our group, Card Makin' Cuties, likes this style of card very much.
Using the various hues of blue for effect,  light blue, sky blue, medium blue, and a navy chalk pad for edging--- with  gray, as the neutral it impressed us with its look of simplicity. Look closely, the pop comes from the tiny bit of red in the stripe gross-grain ribbon in the design.  Hope you try one of these designs and give us some feed back.
Well, happy card making.  We are  still novice at this, but we love making cards.
Gloria J.

Color choice makes a difference!

Hello! We have deadline coming up for OWH. One deadline is for more masculine cards for Dad--- cards that can be used for birthdays and other celebrations for men. We also will be making Fourth of July cards for celebration.  The design below is one we wouldn't think to use for a Fourth of July card, even though it has a flag in the design. Look again.

 

The print design used above has much cooler colors in it. You can see the gray in the design is very strong and this color may indicate a cool background such as blue or blue gray to off-set the total card design.

Embellishments (like punched-out stars) might be brushed on the edged with a blue gray chalk ink color before we adhere them to the card front design. This might be used as a card for remembrance or for Memorial Day. 

When we design cards, we are expressing something of ourselves within the card. This is one reason hand made cards are so personal.  

I usually sit in my studio experimenting with colors before a whole design is finished, just ready for the next card. I love to look outside watch the birds and the trees now green. Its all the little creatures and their activities that make life so enjoyable.  We, like all God's creatures, make our own homes warm and inviting for friends and family. Likewise, we make our cards with the same spirit of hospitality, for the pure pleasure of enjoying the "free gifts" of life and liberty of expression. 

Operation Write Home is a wonderful way to give our cards away to soldiers in deployed areas who want to reach out to loved ones back home. The soldier can find a card they like that expresses what they want to say and mail these cards back home to family members for a birthday, anniversary, get well, or a special occasion. 

Its with this same spirit of hospitality when I sit in my studio watching the neighbors struggle with their garden, mowing grass, or digging in their yard, I look for subjects of life and colors; earth tones, neutrals and  natural sources of color and simplicity. I work and forget myself, leave my situation behind me and think of the one who might select one of these cards. I realize what motivated our Lord with the passage: "Love thy neighbor as thyself." I serve out of God's love. My only regret is I can't express this feeling to everyone I meet. 

In order to have a ready made selection on hand, I have a little box of  2"X3" of scraps in different colors cut just for this designing purpose. I try several combinations with my print papers before I make a final choice of colors and patterns for the design. Then, by adding on embellishments our design is completed.

A card is a special way to communicate who you are and share how you feel. Always choose to make a card a blessing to someone; one that communicates your freedom for life and your liberty to create a work of beauty.  

I hope you all have a great day making cards for someone you love and care about. 

Gloria J.

Mom's Day: Havin' Fun Together

We're having fun with one of our friends. I think it would be safe to say Ginny is "mom" to more than few women besides her own two lovely daughters. AND... I will also stick my neck out further to say Ginny is beyond 39 years old. ( She's in her early 80's, though you couldn't tell it by her skill level.) She can make cards with the best of 'em. She is a remarkable lady who has given us a new perspective on life and living. 

We make cards to give them to others! This embraces what Ginny is all about---"you can't live if you just sit at home sitting on your hands and doing nothing." This is her philosophy. 

We celebrate role models like you, Ginny, who demonstrate with their own talent and life experiences how to live a joyous,victorious life in spite of life's age traps, adversity, deboggles and disappointments. We've witnessed your smile.

On this Mother's Day, Ginny, have a great day and enjoy your life as we enjoy the pleasure of your company...  you are one of the "Cuties."  You are special and we love you!

Brunch: Wanna have a brunch for Mother's Day? Check out what Julie is serving up on her web blog.Handmade by Julie,www.handmadebyJulie  has a cute card and some tutorials that are fabulous. Click from here to take a peek at what she's doing with her cards. Thanks Julie for the great ideas!

Don't forget to get your cards ready for OWH!

Have fun with friends, celebrate each day with them. They are gifts to each one of us and Sunday is just a day named to celebrate this fact!--- After all, Mom's deserve to be treated with some TLC more than just one day a year. Right? Right!