I told myself at the beginning of the year that each quarter I would dedicate some time to making cards for our military personnel...all those young ladies and men that are sacrificing their time, and maybe their life for us. I started my first quarter project yesterday. I don't normally mass produce anything, so this is an undertaking for me. Beginning with a masterboard using stamps from Club Scrap has helped ease the way for this project. I have preserved the masterboard and am making copies to use on the cards. I've enlisted my faith fellowship group to help this year, although we haven't actually gotten together yet. The cards aren't fancy, but they all have a common theme, which is 'thank you'. I will write a brief note inside each card to help encourage them. My son actually served in Desert Storm, and my heart goes out to all the parents out there that have a son or daughter serving our country.

In this swap, the recipient can choose to send the house shape or not. So I chose this shape for her house. I love the shape of the gothic arch. There were minimal items included in this baggie, so I had free reign. I chose to use some german scrap around the top of the arch and used a punch to create the border at the bottom. What you can't see in this photo is all of the metallic rubs used on the various pieces, giving it old time charm. I just love this little girls face. Thanks for looking.

I continue to work on the houses for a swap I'm involved in at Paper Artists Online. I believe I managed to use almost all of the items I received in the baggie on this house. The base is a page from an old book covered with a napkin. The collage images were included, but darkened considerably when I used beeswax over the entire house. There was a piece of a foil doily included which I dissected to create the arc. This was a fun piece. Hope the owner enjoys it!

I'm sharing a couple of birthday cards using stamps from Oxford Impressions. A paper piecing technique was used on the little girls face, cupcake and the boys clothing. Hope you have a joyful week.

This is #2 in a series of 5 row houses. I'm posting them as I finish. Sometimes we create a piece for a swap and think to ourselves, I'd like to keep this one for myself. This is how I feel about this little house. I hope the recipient enjoys receiving it as much as I enjoyed making it. You can take a look at #1 below, if you're so inclined. Hope you're having a wonderful week...

I really enjoy being involved with art swaps online. It pushes my creativity and allows me to spend time with like-minded people. For this swap, I received 5 baggies, each with 5 items that have to be utilitized on the page. I can add anything I choose from my stash, but must use at least a portion of each item sent to me. These pieces will be returned to the original senders. Makes for some fun creative time. Hope you enjoy...

I'm involved in a Row House swap that involves 5 people sending me baggies of things they would like me to use to create their row house. We are not limited to just these supplies and can use whatever we have on hand, such as that watch crystal I used on the London frame. The houses shapes can range in sizes up to 10" tall. We create these pieces and then send them back to the owner. Swaps like these are always exciting, they stretch our creativity. For this house I altered many of the pieces using inks, paint, crackle compounds, etc. I'm not sure this is finished, what would you add?

Another set of cards in a different color scheme. Making cards is still my love. I enjoy making them, sending them and giving them away as gifts. Hopefully this isn't getting too monotonous for you. I'm sure my next post will be something totally different.

There was a major cyber creative weekend on one of the forums that I belong. Directions were given to make this paper pin. This is about all that I was able to finish over the weekend as I worked. I def resemble this statement! The stamp was by Paula Best. It was assembled on a bottle cap. This was fun...