Boy Birthday

Celebration time!  My youngest son had a birthday earlier this month, and I wanted to make him an extra special card.  Here is what I came up with.  It has a matching envelope, which really seemed to impress him.  lol 

The paper I used is from the "Letters to Santa" Designer Series Paper (DSP).  That's right, SANTA paper.  Stampin' Up! is so smart, they made their paper double sided, so you can use the Christmas theme paper that's on one side or flip it over, like I did, to have an "un-themed" pattern.  This paper pack is fabulous if you need to make masculine cards or scrapbook pages.

 Here's a look at the inside. 

If you like the Outlined Occasions Stamp in the center of the card you still have until the end of March, 2012 to get it for FREE.   It's one of the Sale-A-Bration items you can choose.  I used my Stampin' Write markers to color it in.  Fun!  Bakers Twine adds a nice touch of dimension to the card, as well as liberal use of Dimensionals.   The cute little brads are from the Sweet Shop Jelly Bean Brads.  Aren't they adorable?! 



Sweet Shop Jelly Bean Brads



Stampin Dimensionals



Letters to Santa DSP





Creative Blessings,
Heather North

Thoughts of You

Last week I saw several cards that used this Sale-A-Bration stamp set with Poppy Parade or Riding Hood Red Ink.  Unfortunately I don't have either of those colors.   (Guess what is going on my next order?  ...lots of Markers so I can have more colors to choose from.)

Rich Razzleberry is one color I do have, and I LOVE it, so I decided to try out this card with that ink.  What do you think?  Actually this card could be made from almost any color you want.  Just use the same color ink that you use for the paper, and ribbon if you can.  If not, use a neutral ribbon. 

It's all in the details, from the pearls on the flowers, to the brad on the double ribbon bow, to the embossing of the scallop edge cut with the new edgelit die.

 

Creative Blessings,
Heather North



Adorning Accents Textured Impressions Ebaossing Folder



Adorning Accents



Basic Pearls



Antique Brads



Loving Thoughts



Cardmaking 101- Crystal Effects

Welcome to another edition of Cardmaking 101- My online class for beginner card makers and those who may be new to Stampin' UP products.   Today I will be covering Crystal Effects, SU's clear glue.  I've only begun to tap into what this product can do, but so far I love it.  You can use it to add "raindrops" or "watermarks" to any project.  Once it is dry it leaves a glossy smooth texture.   It's difficult to see in pictures, but definitely cool in person.

Top card with Crystal Effects on the "chocolate" part of the strawberry, and bottom card without.



Crystal Effects



P.S. I Love You
Stamp Set

Creative Blessings,
Heather North

Scrapbook Sunday

Monday afternoon my kids and I had a playdate.  The moms scrapbooked and the kids played.  I wish all our Mondays were like that.  :)  Many of these pages were created during our playdate. 

Sorry for the glare, I already had these in page protectors.  Check out how I used the top note die to not only add a bit of decoration, but also some journaling.

I just ran the paper through my die cutting machine and the cut the paper in half.



Top Note Die



If you find that you have a piece of patterned paper and want to stretch it, cut it in half.  Use one half on each side and a piece of colored cardstock on the other half. 

Try choosing one photo on a page that you want to stand out from the rest.  Mat or even double mat that picture so that it pops and draws your eyes to it.

The left hand side (LHS) has 2 pictures of eagles that were flying around our house and watching us at our neighbor's party.  I wanted to show off where the eagles were, so I punched out a 1 3/8" circle, then I centered it in my 1 3/4" scallop circle punch to make the frames you see on these pictures.



1 3/8" Circle Punch



1 3/4 " Scallop Circle Punch



 For some added decoration on the right hand side (RHS) I pulled out the new Labels Framelits Dies and added some brads to "jazz" it up.  Again I made the most of 1 sheet of patterned paper by cutting it into strips and making borders. 
P.S.  Aren't those roses gorgeous?  My dear husband got me those for my birthday in 2009.  <3



Labels Framelits Dies



3/16" Metallic Brads





For this page I couldn't decide which side of the Double Sided Paper (DSP) I wanted to use, so I cut 3" off of each sheet and flipped it over.  This way I could use both sides and have a decorative element.

 The page below is almost finished.  It just needs some journaling.  I'm thinking about adding words to the pages like: "Smile", "Play", "Fun with Friends", "Nerf War" and "Legos".

As you can see this page is nowhere near done, but it will be soon.  I just needed to take pictures while I still had daylight.  :)   Be looking for the finished page next Sunday. 

Creative Blessings,
Heather North

12 Months of Christmas 1-25-12

You may be asking yourself, "didn't we just put away all our Christmas decorations?"  Don't panic, we aren't getting close to Christmas.  But if you are a crafter, you know that you need to get a head start on holiday crafts in order to avoid being OVERWHELMED at Christmastime.    The best way to do that is create a little something all year long, so that when December rolls around you can enjoy the holidays instead of losing sleep trying to find more hours in the day to get everything done.

To prepare all the Christmas cards I want to send out I am doing a set of 5-10 Christmas cards on (or near) the 25th of each month.   By December I will have over 75 cards ready to be sent out.   Sounds do-able, right?  Actually coming up with the first design is the hardest part.  Duplicating 4-9 more is actually easy.  That's why I will be posting my card ideas here to inspire you.  If you don't need 100 cards, do 5 a month or even 1 a month and just give them to those super special people in your life. 

Card for 1-25-12  (It was snowing and our power was out in January.  Inspiration can be seen below.)

I got the idea for this card from a video I saw on the Stampin' UP demonstrator website.  :)  After making the card I realized how high the doily snowflake sticks up, so I won't be mailing this design.   That's okay, I have a plan.  I'm going to take the snowflake punch or diecut and add that to the center for the cards I'm mailing, or I can just give this card in person. 

It's hard to see in the pictures, but I used some glimmer mist to add sparkle to the entire card.  Did you know you can make your own glimmer mist by adding some rubbing alcohol with shimmer paint in an empty spray bottle.  Shake and spritz.  *or you could just use smooch spritz.



Frost White Shimmer Paint

I'm not sure if the stamp set I used will be in the next catalog, but any stamp set that has a snowflake would work.  (not to mention doily, flower, lace, etc.) 


Large Lace Border Punch



Scallop Circle
(I used 1 3/4" and had to cut the Border in half, if you use the 2 3/8" you wouldn't have to)




White Embossing Powder

Card Recipe:
Stamps: Bright Hopes
Base: Not Quite Navy, Crumb Cake
Ink: Versamark (with White Embossing Powder)
Misc.: White Bakers Twine, Scallop Circle Punch, Large Lace Border Punch, Basic Rhinestone

Love Helps Blossom Butterfly

Sometimes the worst in life happens.  At times like that it is so important to know that others care.  This card was for a special someone in my life going through a difficult period.  Life Happens. Love Helps.

Here is a video showing how to make the butterfly.   It's a slight variation from the butterfly I made for the Scallop Square card a couple of weeks ago.

The second video today is short, but it gives you a better look at the card.  The song is Healer by Kari Jobe, although others sing it as well.  If you would like to hear the full song you can buy it on iTunes.

The inside of my card is decorated too. 

It almost looks like this butterfly is taking flight.  This is one of my favorite cards.  I've already sent it to my loved one.  Perhaps I will make another one to keep on my desk and remind me to pray for them.

Creative Blessings,
Heather North
My Stampin' UP! Store: http://www.stampinup.net/esuite/home/cr8tvblessings/

Attic Boutique DSP

Blossom Punch

Mixed Bunch

Vintage Vogue

Card Recipe:
Stamp Sets: Mixed Bunch, Vintage Vogue
Paper: Attic Boutique Designer Series Paper (DSP), Basic Gray, Whisper White, and Wisteria Wonder Cardstock
Ink: Wisteria Wonder
Misc.: Blossom Punch, Whisper White Satin Ribbon, Linen Thread, Scallop Trim Border Punch

Attic Mojo

It's Mojo Monday time!  Ok, I realize it is now Thursday, but Monday I was scrapbooking at a friend's house and didn't make a card.  I love sketches, and have fun using them in both my scrapbooking and cardmaking.  This week's sketch on the Mojo Monday blog is no exception.

If you've been reading my blog this week, you know I am tackling some challenges.  My personal challenge this week has been to use what I own, and not buy something new to create my cards & scrapbook pages.   This proved a bit challenging for this card, because I did not own any of the ink colors in this paper pack except Soft Suede.  Hmmm.... what's a girl to do?

Actually it wasn't that hard because Stampin' UP colors seem to flow well together even if they are not exact.  I pulled out some current colors like Regal Rose, Pink Piroutte and Baja Breeze, then pulled out my set of retired SU! pens to fill in the other colors.  The blender pen was my best friend for coloring in these flowers.  I was able to vary the shades of colors, like the background paper, and make what I had work.  Yay me! 

To add the bow to my card I tied a piece of linen thread around it and the strip of Pool Party ribbon.  It adds a nice touch.  I might go back and add a little jewelry tag to that bow, or I might leave it like it is.  I'm debating on whether to send it to Nana or give it to my neighbors the next time they drop off some fresh eggs.   Perhaps I will make another card so I can do both!  :)



Attic Boutique DSP



Pool Party Seam Binding



Apothecary Art Stamp Set


Creative Blessings,
Heather North