Origami Cards for OWH

I must be a writer – I edited that last post at least 5 times.  The first two to fix typos, the second and third time to add paragraphs, and the last time to fix one other typo.   So, if anyone reads my posts and thinks “huh… I swear that wasn’t phrased that way and I’m sure I didn’t read that paragraph before” well... you’re probably right.

Anyways, I shipped off a package of 25 cards to Operation Write Home just yesterday.  I hope they arrive safely, I'm not sure that big envelope they were packaged in was quite sturdy enough.  Anyways, I thought I would share a few more of the cards I made for them - these ones featuring my one true love... origami!

What guy wouldn't want a giraffe shirt?  Actually, there are probably tons but we never see them because of us females.  What girl wants to show off her boyfriend if he's wearing such atrocious colors?  And what wife wants to be asked "Honey, does this shirt bring out the caveman in me?"  And any teenage girl hoping to become wildly popular by dragging her father out while he wears such attire will be disappointed to find that animal prints *are* "in"... just not for men.  In spite of this, I couldn't resist making this outfit!  I just hope it won’t give anyone any ideas…

Oooh – sparklyyy!  But still totally safe.  Safe?  Yeah, glitter can be dangerous.  OWH doesn’t allow cardmakers to use glitter or sparkles that could rub off the card because it is a safety hazard to our heroes.  Luckily, the sparklies in this paper are fully embedded and won’t be rubbed off!

Here's another masculine card but with a little more sense of fashion (and the paper is all matchy-matchy!)

This card features an origami rosette which, in my humble opinion, are just adorable!

And my last card is another man card =]  I think it looks very American and patriotic.

Cards for Operation Write Home

I discovered Operation Write Home a few months ago and have since been setting aside a handmade card or two from the "sets" of cards I make to donate to them.  For those that don't know, Operation Write Home (OWH) is an organization that collects handmade cards from crafters around the nation and then sends them to "heroes" (soldiers, Marines, deployed Coast Guard) stationed overseas so those men and women have something nice on which to write home.

OWH reached 1,000,000 handmade cards last month!  I am hoping to get my cards shipped off within the next week or so.  I don't have very many (maybe 25?) but the thing I love about OWH is that you can send any number of cards - be it 1 or 300!  I don't have the time, funds, or resources to go about making 300 cards to ship off every month, but I am grateful for the ladies that do.  As for me, as I make cards for my soon-to-be business I take a card or two every few sets and make sure that they have plenty of extra glue (extreme heat tends to dry out adhesives).  I thought I'd share some of the cards I've been making.

I have never been much of a stamper - I don't have the patience (or the skills) to color in stamps and especially recently, as I've been trying to get my card business going, I haven't used them due to all the Angel Policies (those laws regarding whether you can sell things stamped with a particular image.)  But I really wanted to try digi-stamps and I found this adorable one from Sliekje (she draws digi-stamps and posts them on her blog for others to use for free.)  I love all things Japanese and this one was printed on vellum paper and then embossed.  The digi-stamp can be found here.

This is another digi-stamp from the same blog.  It reminds me of Strawberry Shortcake!  But I decided to do it in blue instead of Strawberry's signature pink so the "you are my sunshine" would match if I put it on the inside.  It's probably hard to see since I took this picture head-on, but the sticker is actually a pop-up!  I simply stuck it on some paper, cut out the sticker, and made a simple little pop-up box.

I made a few other cards with digi-stamps from Sliekje's blog but found that, because I was trying to use actual glue runner and glue dots (I didn't think cards with vellum tape would be practical to send to countries so hot that the Wicked Witch of the West could melt without the aid of water), the glue showed right through.  I'm going to have to find something to cover up those areas (really just the corners).  I'm thinking about using glitter glue to make a border or circles where the dots show through (they won't be OWH worthy at that point, but at least I'd be able to use them or give them away.)

I hope to share some more cards with y'all very soon.  These next ones for OWH will feature my true passion: origami!

Post "Official"

Okay, so I posted before but this is my first "official" post because the last one was pure rambling in order to finalize the "look" of my blog.  Without further ado...

Welcome to Just by Josephine! (Or Jo, if you prefer.)

As that little description on the sidebar so succinctly says, I am a resident of the State of Insanity.  I am also a Dabbler.  I like to learn and/or try new things (within reason) and have many hobbies.  I am incapable of choosing favorites so I will list whatever hobbies come to the top of my head and cut them off before... say 50?  I am a writer, origami addict, post-it note lover, and handmade card maker.  I enjoy photography, altering clothing (the only sort of surgery I feel safe performing), reading books (mostly fiction, but I'm currently reading about punctuation and also synesthesia), oggling over origami paper and models, and listening to my cat whine.  Actually, scratch that last one (pun intended).  The two talents I absolutely do not posses is any ability in the art or music department.  I can kill a rhythm with one hand and even my stick figures wish they had never been born.

In the future I will be posting some craft tutorials and about my thoughts and up-and-coming handmade card business.

I had better go for I am currently engaged in one of my non-hobbies - listening to my cat whine.  And no wonder... it's 23 minutes past her dinner time!  Sorry kitty... maybe if you hadn't started the pitiful noises at 3 pm I might have took better notice 23 minutes ago.