Welcome to dustypenny designs! Thanks for joining me today for the Operation Write Home Memorial Day Weekend Bloghop! To start at the beginning, please visit OWH Stars & Stripes!

If you are not aware of OWH, the mission is simple: "Supporting our nation's armed forces by sending blank handmade greeting cards to write home on, as well as cards of gratitude to encourage them." These brave men and women sacrifice so much. It is an honor to provide cards to help them stay in touch with their loved ones here at home.

For this hop we were challenged to create red, white, and blue cards with a "Miss You" theme. I have been doing more sewing recently and I knew right away that I wanted to use fabric.  Here are the cards I made to share with you today!


I stitched blocks (and then leftover scraps) of fabric together and cut the shapes out in my Cuttlebug. Next I stitched and/or glued the shapes directly to the card base and added the sentiments!

Stamp(s): Hero Arts (CL183 Sparkle Clear: Cute Letters)
Ink(s): Tsukineko (Tuxedo Black)
Paper(s): The Paper Company (Kraft); Wausau (White Cardstock); Scraps (Red)
Other: JoAnn Fabric (Assorted Fat Quarters); Sizzix (Clear Rectangle, Clear Heart, Hearts Tipsy); Stash (Brads)

Please send some of your handmade cards to OWH soon! They accept general cards (thinking of you, miss you, love, birthday, etc.) anytime! Or if you want to get in the holiday spirit early this year, the postmark deadlines for the fall holidays are: Halloween: Sept 20; Thanksgiving: Oct 1; and Christmas: Oct 30. You can find all the pertinent details HERE.

Thanks for looking! Comments are appreciated!

Hugs,


Please continue your hop with Seongsook HERE.

I made this set of ATCs recently for the Cinco de Mayo-themed swap at Wishful Thinking:



When I looked up Cinco de Mayo I found lots of images of dancers. They were wearing lovely dresses (like THIS one shown above). The dresses reminded me of THIS Hero Arts Circle Lace stamp. I paired it with THIS Cornish Heritage Farms Aged Sheet Music stamp (love the large 6" x 6" size since it easily covers an entire A2 card base!).

Here is a close-up:



Stamp(s): Hero Arts (S5319 Circle Lace); Cornish Heritage Farms (Aged Sheet Music)
Ink(s): Ranger (Distress Inks, several colors)
Paper(s): Strathmore (ATC Blanks)
Other: American Crafts (White Embossing Powder)

Thanks for looking! Comments are appreciated!

Hugs,

Hope you had a great weekend. Hmm, is it too soon for me to be looking forward to the long Memorial Day Weekend? LOL

That reminds me -- there is still time for YOU to sign up for the upcoming Operation Write Home bloghop, which is on Saturday, May 29. Participants must post a red, white, and blue card with a "Miss You" theme. You can find all the details HERE.


One bright spot each month is Deborah's fun Card Chain Challenge. Here is the bright and cheerful card I received from Norma in CO. The funny thing is that I actually pulled out that exact sentiment and thought about using it on my card. I went another direction, but that near coincidence made me laugh.



Here are the cards I sent to Jan in CA. I attempted to use Deborah's colors and sketch on this first card.



I threw in a bonus card just for fun. Love the crafty sayings in this set.



Stamp(s): Papertrey Ink (Studio Style), Hero Arts (Designer Woodgrain)
Ink(s): Hero Arts (Latte); ColorBox (Chestnut Roan)
Paper(s): Hero Arts (Carnation, Punch, Celadon, Pine Folded Cards); The Paper Cut (Fossil Bib Card)
Other: Sizzix (Embossing Folder); Hero Arts (Gemstones); Copic (Assorted Markers)

Thanks for looking! Comments are appreciated!

Hugs,

Today is our 15th wedding anniversary. I can't imagine my life without my sweet hubby and best friend, Stephen. We met in college, fell madly in love, and married just after our junior year. This is the card I made for him last night: