A "Pulitzer" Prize?

I was flipping through a Love Nicole "Bouquet of Color" 6 x 6 paper pad, and mixed in with all of the pretty florals were these loud and proud designs that look like Lilly Pulitzer threw up all over them. At first I wondered how in the world I would use them, because each sheet was a little overwhelming, but then I came up with this idea to mix and match strips. The colors coordinate, and I think the white space in between the strips helps tone them down a bit.  This card is a little wilder than most of the ones I make for my card ministry, but there are lots of people in my church with lots of different tastes and styles, so why not offer a little something for everyone?

At first when my daughter saw these papers on my stamping table, she turned up her nose, but my finished card won her over, and I have to say, I surprised myself as well by how much I like how it turned out. I could put any kind of happy greeting on this, but I was short of "Get Well" cards, so I used this old Stampin' Up! stamp. How could these bright colors not make a person feel more cheery?

Here's What I Learned...

With it being Memorial Day, I was inspired to make a "patriotic" card that I can use in my card ministry to thank any military veterans in our church. Except, after I got the card made, I was Googling to see exactly what should be said on/for Memorial Day, and realized that Memorial Day is not an appropriate time to thank our military. (Oops!) According to Writology.com:

What Do You Say To a Veteran on Memorial Day?

To express noble Memorial Day sentiments, you should remember that this is the time to commemorate those who gave their lives in service to our country. That is why you should not thank the living veterans on Memorial Day but show respect to their fallen comrades in arms, friends, and family.

We honor veterans on Veterans Day to express our gratitude and reverence for their service. On Memorial Day, we remember and grieve for those who died in wars. In such a way, we can deliberate on the price of war and pay tribute to those who paid in full.

So instead of looking for proper words to say to a veteran on Memorial Day, you should better visit a Veterans memorial or the USSAH National Cemetery and place flags and flowers on the graves, attend the Largest Memorial Day Parade and Concert, buy a poppy, or take part in the National Moment of Remembrance.

While I definitely goofed, it was a positive in that it helped me learn the difference between these holidays, and I now know what is correct etiquette. With that said, I will go ahead and share the card I made, though it will NOT be given to a veteran today, but rather saved to send to a veteran on a more appropriate day.

I went to both Michael's and AC Moore to find flag print paper, because I had this paper-piecing idea in mind. However, I came up short at both stores, so instead I found a picture of a flag online to print. I stamped this Stampendous "Mega Thanks" word over the flag, then cut out the letters to piece them on my card. 

I also learned at Writology that you should not wish someone a "happy" Memorial Day, but it IS okay to say "I hope you have a nice day." And I do!

Grace

I mentioned this "Grace" verse in my last post; it is part of a Verve scripture set, and I love it!

I pretty much only make easy cards, and this one is no exception. As mentioned before, I can't add lots of layers, because with my card ministry, I will have other people mailing the cards who might not know that a thick, fussy card could require extra care or postage. I keep it easy for me and easy for whoever will end up sending this card off.

Here, I used a floral paper from Love Nicole's "Delicate Floret" 6 x 6 pad. I have a lot of the Love Nicole papers, because I live within walking distance of an AC Moore, and they always have these pads on sale.

Card ministry tip: This card, like all of the others I make, is an A2 size (4¼" x 5½"). I use this size exclusively for the card ministry because lots of times people who send cards don't know what to write inside, and thus are scared off from sending a card. For a card this size, with a scripture or simple "thinking of you/missing you" greeting stamped inside, there is only a half page or so of white space left. All you'd need to add is a sentence or two with a signature, and the inside looks full. I found through experience that this size card is sent much more readily than a regular greeting card size, which would sit on the card rack for months. These small cards are grabbed quickly, so it was easy to see that this size is preferred.

Thanks for stopping by today! Enjoy your Memorial Day weekend.

Shout Out to Verve Stamps

When linking to the Verve stamp I used on my last card, I realized that Verve no longer sells these "Plain Jane" scripture stamps. I was really upset to learn this at first, until I saw that these same scripture stamps that have become favorites of mine to use are now available in sets. AND, there was a great set on sale full of verses I don't have, so I quickly ordered the set, along with another clearance sentiment that was marked down to 75 cents. Are you kidding me? 75 cents for a beautiful sentiment? Yes, please!

I shouldn't have been shocked when my order arrived less than 48 hours later, because I've bought from Verve before. But not only did my order arrive FAST and packaged beautifully in pretty tissue paper, but there were lots of extras thrown in:

In addition to the stamps I ordered, they included some coordinated papers, a paper doily, a stamped sentiment, plus a free clear stamp that says "Enjoy today" -- everything I need to make a card. Awesome!

In case you're interested, this scripture set is called Scripture Medley 4. It includes 8 scriptures and one beautiful "grace" sentiment that says "Grace... meets us where we are, but does not leave us where it found us."

Needless to say, I'm thrilled with my ordering experience, and wanted to spread the word. I'm not affiliated with Verve in any way -- heck, I run a competing stamp company! --  I'm just sharing this as a happy customer.

Stencil 2 Ways

I have two cards for you today, both using the same "Dot Fade" stencil by Tim Holtz, but in a yin/yang kind of way. For the first card, I used different colors of Ranger oxide inks to color over the stencil, until I had a random pattern of colored dots. Over this, I stamped wheat stalks from Inkadinkado's "Meadow" set, and finally added the Proverbs 3:5 scripture stamp from "Scripture Medley 1" by Verve. This resulted in a very quick one layer card which will be perfect for my card ministry, in that it can be sent for any occasion.

As I began to clean up, I noticed that I still had quite of bit of oxide ink residue left on the stencil. Instead of wiping it off, I misted it up, turned the stencil over, and positioned it on a new white card base. Because the oxide ink reacts with water, I ended up with a beautiful water-colored design.

This time I used a Memory Box "Prim Poppy" die cut over the colors, and stamped a sentiment from Penny Black's "Faith" clear set. And just like that, two super simple, minutes-to-make cards!

Have a Great Day!

This card uses the same "dogwood" patterned paper that I featured on my first blog card. The paper is from a 6 x 6 Love Nicole pad called "Bouquet of Color." If you add this background, plus the strip used on the other card, you will see that I got 2 cards out of just one 6 x 6  sheet of paper. I finished this super simple card with a sentiment and butterfly stamp -- both from the Penny Black clear "Enamor" set.

I might be drawn to dogwood trees, because not only is it the state tree here in Virginia (and we have 2 beautiful ones right in front of our dining room window), but I also grew up with one outside of my bedroom window in Florida. That tree had also been pretty, until I tried climbing in it one day, and split the tree in half. It was never the same after that, and something that I always regretted! Funny thing about our trees now in VA: the 2 trees grow so close together, that they appear to be just one tree. The giveaway, though, is in the spring, when they bloom different colors -- one pink and one white. It still looks like a tree that's been grafted together, but if you look closely, you can see that they have 2 trunks.

Wishing you all a great day!

Monochrome

This card was originally going to be a Mother's Day card for my mom. Problem was, while she can appreciate a hand-made card, she likes the mushy verses found inside Hallmark cards. I'm not a mushy writer, and though I attempted some nice lettering and a verse inside, and I even put the card in an envelope with a stamp on it -- I ultimately pulled it back out of the mailbox. Instead, I decided the Hallmark card was less of a gamble, so I bought and sent her one of those. (I actually sent a Hallmark birthday card instead of a Mother's Day card, because I liked the verse better.) Still, this card was salvaged. I cut the front off and mounted it on a new white card base. The monochrome look is very pretty in person.

The flowers are from a Penny Black clear set called "Enamor." It's a handy set for general purpose cards because it has several different flower stamps, a butterfly and a saying. You'll see that I used more of the stamps from this set on my next card.

Thanks for looking!

Shine on!

Here are a couple of CAS cards that feature metallics. They look great when the light catches them and are simple to make. The lack of frills helps make these cards a nice choice for a man, as he can look at them without the fear of getting glitter or floral cooties on himself.

For both of these I used a die cut, with the metallic paper showing through from the back, then mounted on a white card base.

I tend to use white card bases the most for my card ministry cards. I either use the plain white card as I did here, or I adhere a designer paper to the front. For the times when I use colored card stock for my base, I add a white paper liner inside. Since many of these card recipients will be elderly church members, I want to make these cards as easy as possible to read.

I also use "thinking of you" quite a bit as a sentiment, because it covers most reasons why you'd send a card. Whether the recipient has been shut-in and unable to attend church, or has been sick, or has had a death in the family, or has had a birthday -- in any of these events recipients can appreciate that someone has them in mind. I pair this simple sentiment with bible verses, so when this is on the outside of the card, a bible verse is inside, or vice versa - no pun intended!

What's a Card Ministry?

I've seen a lot of posts on message boards saying "I've made these cards -- now what do I do with them?" If you are a person that only makes cards for specific occasions, then this would seem like a dumb question. But cards are often made with no special occasion, or even recipient, in mind. This could be the case for those on design teams who need to feature certain stamps or supplies as part of their requirements, or a person who loves to create, but maybe doesn't have family members who appreciate hand-made things. {Clutching my pearls!} Either case could result in a pile of cards with no intended destination.

My own card ministry serves my church, but a card ministry doesn't have to have religious implications.  The main idea is to make/provide/send cards to someone who will appreciate receiving them. It's that simple. Hospitals or rehabilitation centers are often receptive of cards for their patients -- both to receive, as well as to send out. Elderly care facilities might love donations. (The assisted-care facility where my in-laws live has a small "general store" where they sell these cards. Not only does it allow the residents to be able to find inexpensive cards to send, but the proceeds are added to a fund to buy games and things for the residents to enjoy.) Then you have the military option. While Operation Write Home is no longer collecting cards, you might find other agencies who will accept them for our troops. The main thing to keep in mind if you wish to donate cards is to keep your target audience in mind, and only send cards that would be appropriate for those recipients.  When in doubt, ask a representative of the organization or facility for guidelines as to what would work best.

My card-making tip for today is: when you have beautiful paper, don't fight it and don't cover it up! Such is the case for this water-colored design. It is so pretty that I hate to even use it! I would love to just put it in a frame on the wall so that I could admire it every day; luckily, this comes from a pack ("Aquarelle" by Love Nicole) that has more than one sheet of each design, so I have some to share. ;) I used the white space of the design for my scripture, which is from the Penny Black set "All Great Things." This set has scriptures in large sizes that are also great for making bookmarks. Though super simple to make, I'm quite satisfied with the end result of this one-layer card, and know it will be a hit (= immediately selected) in the card rack at church!

Hello, and Welcome!

(Click for a larger photo)

Hello! It has been YEARS since I've had a blog, perhaps because I eventually ran out of things to say. Well, that's not really true, but things certainly changed in my life when I decided to put my stamp business, Hambo Stamps, on the back burner and focus more on my family. My stamp biz was taking over the house, right at a time when my kids were entering their teenage years, and needing more space. So while I didn't close my business completely, I DID quit promoting it, and spent my energy instead on my kids, a partial house renovation, and eventually -- as I began to itch to stamp again after taking so much time off -- the creation of a card ministry for my church.

I've been leading out in this card ministry for a few years now, and as my profile on the right says, I learned some things in the process. My hope is that the things I have learned will benefit others who might be doing a card ministry themselves, or wanting to start one. No sense re-inventing the wheel, right? Let my experience help you sidestep the potholes that I fell in, and one-up my successes.

I will share some cards with you along the way so you'll have something to look at instead of/in addition to reading my ramblings. You'll note that my card style is CAS (clean and simple) for the most part, which actually works quite well for card ministry, because you'll want those cards to fit in an envelope and be sent at regular postage rates!

Today's card has layers though, and was made with a GORGEOUS designer paper that was included in the spring edition (Apr/May/Jun 2018) Stampers' Sampler magazine. It is called "Budding Thoughts" by Eirene Nguyen. This was the background paper for my card. I had a piece of scrap paper with what looks to me like dogwood blooms, which I coordinated with the background. The papers were so pretty, I didn't want to cover them up, so I used a vellum tag with a Hero Arts "Hello" die and a rose gold brad. The brad will cause a small bump in the envelope, but it shouldn't cause any mailing problems.

I hope you'll check back in from time to time, and be sure to let me know if you have any specific questions about card ministries that I might be able to answer by email or in a later post. I'm not claiming to be an EXPERT, but hopefully the experience that I DO have will help!