I’ll be honest, I really thought the novelty of being Stamping Royalty would wear off faster than the ink on the stamp sets in our prize packages, but it hasn’t let up yet. I’ve found a new group of stampers to follow and cheer on, have a bunch of new stamps to play with, and our group has come together for the Stamp It! Cards meets Stamping Royalty Blog Hop.
To celebrate the release of Stamp It! Cards, Vol. 8 and the Fourth of July, we’re sharing cards made in a patriotic color scheme for Operation Write Home using one of the stamp sets in our Stamping Royalty prize package. All of the cards we make will be sent to Operation Write Home, an organization the sends blank handmade cards to deployed heros to write home with. OWH has a lot of information on their site, including guidelines for card makers and the kinds of cards they need. Lately they’ve been looking for masculine and gender neutral cards for general occasions, so my mind went right to the fun sentiments Lawn Fawn’s Hello Friend set.
This is one of my favorite sentiment stamps of all time, partly for the whimsical fonts and partly for that tiny airplane. I tried all kinds of masking and selective inking techniques before deciding that simple paper piecing had more impact. The patriotic color scheme wasn’t difficult, but finding a whimsical paper to coordiate with the Lawn Fawn stamps made it easier. It’s from October Afternoon’s Rocket Age collection and I’ll admit that I wasted more than a little crafting time reading the vintage science kit ads on the flip side.
I couldn’t stop with just one card though, not when they were so fun to make and being sent to an amazing cause. I even brought an old friend out of retirement for this one. The announcer reminded me a lot of Uncle Sam. He just needs a little beard. (Author’s note: As a kid, I confused discussions of the figural Uncle Sam with my actual Uncle Sam. And with ATMs because the local credit union called them SAMMs. For years I thought my parents were getting all of their cash from either my uncle or the government.)
And one last card with a smiley star to coordinate with the sentiment. I rarely allow things to hang off the edges of my card, but this star will be fine because OWH packs most of it’s cards in standard A2 envelopes. The backs were finished with a free OWH stamp the organizers have made available to card-makers. Early next week I’ll be sending a big envelope of cards to Operation Write Home, including the cards I shared here today. Now that I’m familiar with their guidelines, I’ll be creating with them in mind all the time.
If you’re looking for a place to channel some of your creative energy, I challenge you to give back through Operation Write Home. You don’t have to be a card-maker to help, either. They’re always looking for letters of encouragement to add to the packages and donations to cover shipping charges.
Want more inspiration? Visit the rest of the royal court for dozens of fun card ideas:
- Amber Daigre
- Lynn Darda
- Angela Fehr
- Mariana Grigsby
- Shelly Kurth
- Sarah Jay <– You Are Here
- Cristina Kowalczyk
- Karolyn Loncon
- Stephanie Nagel
- Laura Pryor
- Mary Dawn Quirindongo
- Kelly Silva
- Julia Stainton
- Laurie Willison
But the inspiration doesn’t stop there! Head back to Paper Crafts Connection for even more card ideas. You can also link up a card you’ve created for Operation Write Home. And the best part, leave a comment on the Paper Crafts Connection blog post for a chance to win one of two generous prize packages full of stamps and supplies.
Now it’s my chance to give back to you. Paper Crafts has donated a copy of Stamp It! Cards, Vol. 8 to give away to one lucky commenter. And because I have an extra copy of the Hello Friend stamp set I used to make the cards I shared today, I’d like to give it away to another reader. Just leave a comment here by midnight (MDT), Sunday July 3rd, sharing your favorite occasion to send or receive cards and you’ll be entered to win.
Supplies for Across the Miles card set
Stamps: sentiments from Hello Friend by Lawn Fawn, smiley face from Partly Cloudy by Lawn Fawn, announcer (retired) from A Muse; Ink: Night Sky VersaMagic, Warm Red Colorbox Fluid Chalk, Vintage Linen Distress; Paper: vanilla and cherry from A Muse Studio, soft sky (retired) from Stampin’ Up!, Black Hole from Rocket Age by October Afternoon; Other: stars die from Sizzix, blue Spica pen.
I’m Sarah Jay.
very cute, love the smiling star!
Super cute…really love the vintage feel of the paper! What great cards!!
One sheet of paper can be used in so many cards and always looks different.
You were on a roll with all the cute cards! My favorite is the one with the airplane and the dots you so creatively added to give it that ‘fly’ feeling. Thanks for sharing!
Such silly fun card! Thank you for all my smiles!
What an adorable collection of cards!
Absolutely fabulous in every way including your photography! Love the mix of Rocket Age papers with this awesome Lawn Fawn set!
these are alll soooo cute. i esp. love the first airplane one.
WOW…three fabulous cards!
Wow… these are some fabulous cards.
I love these! So simple but yet sooo dang cute!!!
Love them all. The little ring master is so cute!
I love how the lawn fawn sentiments matched your cards perfectly! Thanks for sharing!
I especially love the ‘sending smiles’ sentiment also…great job on all 3!
love the star paper! thanks!
Your patriotic theme cards are just delightful!!
Very patriotic – nice layout. TFS
beautiful cards!!!!!
I love getting cards no matter when. I love cards especially home made ones. Yours are cute!!!
Such cute cards! –and for a wonderful cause. I love your smiling star!
These are absolutely fabulous! So cute!
Such a cute set of cards!! I love the patriotic theme….and the sentiments for each one are just too darn cute!!!
You make the kinds of cards I want to! Thanks for the inspiration. I’ll be back.
these cards would make anyone smile!!!Love em!!
Such great cards!
so cute! Each one cuter than the last!
great job these cards did make me smile!
truly patriotic cards!..nice work
Love the idea of using a huge star on the third card…great cards, great colors and layouts! Thanks!
I love you set of cards there bold simplicity makes them so brilliant
Jenny x
I love to send birthday cards
Greeting’s Queen Sarah! Love the set of cards you did, they all look so great!
I like the way you used the star paper on each card to make a nice set!
all these cards are so fun! perfect for the blog hop! I can’t wait to use those sentiments.
Very cute card. Thanks for the inspiration!
love your style!
Sandra ltb
great cards. tfs.
Wow Lots of inspiration here! I love the little airplane card. Thanks for sharing!
Cute, cute cards! I love your CAS style. Perfect.
Your cards are all brilliant!!
Love all your cute cards.
I love the no occasion cards, the thinking of you/coffee/miss you kinda cards.
Great cards Sarah! They are perfect for many occasions!!
Great cards!
And congrats {again} on being Stamping Royalty!
Love these cards! My favorite time to send cards is the totally unexpected out-of-the-blue HI! or “thinking of you” kind of card! Love the holidays and birthdays and those are indeed special – but the biggest smiles aer for the ones you get in the mail when you have had one of THOSE days and a friend has thought of you.
Love OWH and these cards are perfect…
Pretty cards!
Love these… simple yet so pretty!
Awesome set of cards – such fun stamping! I have that OA paper, and I spent time reading the ads on the back too!
TFS!
My favorite occasion to send cards is for birthdays – so nice to personalize for the recipient. And my favorite to receive are thank you notes…so nice to be appreciated! (I’ll have to get busy for OWH cards – they deserve an especially mighty heaping of our thanks.)
Those cards are perfect for such a worthy cause and they all blend together beautifully