Playful Colors

Boy did I have fun in the stamp room last night!  I started out trying to clean up my mess and ended up making two fabulous cards.  That means two posts today.  :)  Scroll down to see my other card.

Don't you just love that Space Needle die cut?  I flipped when I saw it over on Amy Tsuruta's blog and asked her where she found it. She told me Impress in Tukwila, WA and then said she would die cut some for me and sent them to me.  Can you believe it?  What a nice thing to do!   I've met some of the nicest people through my blogging adventure.

This little beauty is the stamp I picked up from Impress.  You can order custom stamps with your city or state or country.  I'm thinking about buying a Washington stamp, since I don't live in Seattle. I added some washi tape to the banner so it would stand out behind the die cut.

Thanks again Amy for your generosity and for pointing me to my new favorite happy place.  Perhaps I will see you in the store someday.

Linking up to the following challenges:

Colour Me: #9




Freshly Made Sketches: 125




Ribbon Carrousel: 90

Supplies:
Stamps: Sending Love (Impress)
Die Cut: Space Needle (???)
Ink & Paper: Stampin' UP!
Punches: Heart Punch (SU), Cupcake Builder (SU)
Washi Tape: Epic Day This & That (SU)

Musical Cardz 4 Guyz

I just had to jump at the current challenge on Cardz 4 Guyz.  It's a musical challenge and just perfect for my guitar playing brother's birthday coming up in March.

The first card I tried to made used the Love Notes stamp set from CASual Fridays, but it was just too busy a background.  I pulled out the newest color challenge at ColourQ and my problem was solved by just layering my center panel on a crisp blue background.

Challenge Link-up

Cardz 4 Guyz: Music

CAS*ual Fridays: Shades of Gray

ColourQ: 230

Supplies:

Stamps: Woot-Woot (CASual Fridays), Gorgeous Grunge (Stampin' UP!)

Misc: Heart Note Die (CASual Fridays)
Paper & Ink: Stampin' UP!

XOXO Tag

Just a quick post today before I go pick up my son from school.  Today is the last day for our Guest Design Team at StampNation. :'(  It's been such a joy to work with these talented ladies.  Thankfully Jan, Wendy and Aletha aren't going far and we will continue to see their awesome creations in the forums!

Here is the sneak peek at the card I made for this challenge.  Oh how I wish I could show you the full card!   You'll have to head on over to today's challenge at StampNation though to see it along with the rest of the Design Team creations.

 
Not a member?  Clicky to sign up and become a part of this amazing group of papercrafters.  Catherine just posted the 406th exclusive StampNation video, Kristie did a fun article Wednesday on Watercoloring, right up my alley, and there are some super exciting things coming to the challenge forum next month.   See you there!

*New* Basics & Beyond Class:  Clicky
StampNation Membership: Clicky
Stampin' UP! Sale-A-Bration: Clicky

Basics & Beyond ~ Wonderful Day

My friends, Catherine, Chupa and Maureen, are launching a new class today called Basics & Beyond.   Boy do I wish this class had been around a few years ago when I was learning how to design & create cards.

Click here to see what the class is all about.  :)  I've already used some of the tips I picked up in the class to put together today's card.

I was also inspired by the following challenges:

CAS*ology: Paint


SSS Wed. Challenge Blog: Pearls

The Card Concept: Floral

Not sure if you would consider this CAS or Clean & Layered since I added pearls.  What do you think?

If you would like to check out the Basics & Beyond class: Click Here
StampNation members get 50% off: Click Here to become a member & get your code
Missed out on the first class, A Very Trendy Holiday: Click Here

Card Supplies:

Stamps: Special Wishes (Penny Black)
Paper: Watercolor Paper (SU), Lilac (SU)
SU Ink: Daffodil Delight, Real Red, Pumpkin Pie, Bermuda Bay, Tempting Turquoise, Rich Razzleberry, Strawberry Slush
Misc.: Kensington Border (Memory Box) Basic Pearls (SU)

Warm Wishes

Lately I've begun "collecting" 6x6 pads of DSP.  Their graphics are sized smaller so they work well with cards. Many of them have lovely images that don't need much embellishing, like the one I used on my card today.

This week's theme at Merry Monday Challenges is right up my alley.  I just had to participate.

MM#97

For the past couple of weeks I haven't been able to play along with the challenges at Merry Monday, but I made this card after I finished my first card.

It feels good knowing I am building my stash of Christmas cards.  I used some retired Holly Berry DSP from my stash for this card. 

Use Holly

I'm pretty sure I will make more cards for this week's challenge with these lovely colors.   They are perfect for winter.

Stamps: Seasonal Flourish (Waltzing Mouse Stamps)
Paper: Glistening (Authentique), Soft Sky (SU)
Accessories: Silver Ribbon (SU), Silver Embossing Powder, Clear Sequins (Pretty Pink Posh)

Watercolor Rainfall

I'm on a watercolor kick lately.  It's so much fun to take a blank piece of paper and wash it with a rainbow of colors.  Perhaps I am being influenced by all the rain we're having here in the Pacific Northwest.  It's turning everything green and colorful again.

I combined the two February challenges at Stampin' Celebration as inspiration for my card.

SC#75 Feb.

SC#75 Sketch

One little tip I can pass on to you is to use a QuickStik tool if you are going to be attaching all these little hearts.  It makes the task so much easier.

QuickStik Tool

If you've never seen one and want me to do a video on how to use it, let me know in the comments below.  :)

Creative Blessings,
Heather North

I'm also linking up with the new Wednesday Workout at Simon Says Stamp.  The challenge is to use new products so I used my new SSS die, new paper pack and brand new Seattle stamp.  <3   No wonder I love this card, it's fun playing with new toys.  :)

New

Supplies:
Stamps: Seattle (Impress), Gorgeous Grunge (SU)
Ink: Bermuda Bay, Daffodil Delight, Pumpkin Pie, Real Red, Rich Razzleberry, Strawberry Slush, Tempting Turquoise

Paper: Cupid's Arrow (MME)

Misc: Cloudy Day Embossing Folder (SU), Apothecary Accents Framelits (SU), Heart Rainfall Die (SSS), Scallop Border Punch (SU)

Sew Sunday ~ February Finish

Disappearing Youth is quilted!  Thank you Melissa and Shanna for A Lovely Year of Finishes.  Without that incentive this quilt top would still be folded up and put away.  :)

Most of the quilt was quilted on a diagonal line, but I did outline the flying geese and center panel.  

A cool thing happened when I turned over the quilt to look at the back.  My geese were quilted right in the middle of one of the seems.  I couldn't have planned that and made it happen!

One thing I learned while quilting this is that black fabric really clings to cotton batting.  It's an easy fix, but not worth doing until I have the top trimmed at least.  I still can't believe I finished my Feb. goal with time to spare.  There hasn't been a lot of time for the sewing room this month, but I've made the most of my limited time.  Now I have 5 days to complete my other sewing goals for the month.  I have 2 left unfinished.

ALYOF

Creative Blessings,
Heather North

Sew Saturday ~ Quilt Card

It's a sewing weekend for me as I attempt to finish quilting my son's quilt, but I took a break to complete this card that has been in progress all week.  Obviously my mind wasn't too far from the sewing machine.   :)

Isn't it fun when you two crafting worlds collide?  My quilt was simply colored with Copics. Not much shading and blending going on.  The reason I had to finish this card is that I wanted to enter it in the Curtain Call Challenge.  Lil' Inker Designs is the sponsor this week and I would love to win the prize.  My wish list is looooong for LID.  ;)  

CC- Cozy Quilt

Isn't that stitched banner cute?!  To create it I took my copics and colored a scrap of paper for my sentiment using the same colors I used in the quilt above it before cutting it out with my stitched banner die from Lil' Inker Designs.

The center panel was an "oops" that I almost threw away. It was created by covering my cardstock with a stencil and spraying glimmer mist over it. Unfortunately I sprayed a bit to much and ended up losing the definition from the stencil.  It makes a beautiful backdrop piece though.  

The center panel was framed with my stitched scallop die cuts.  (again from LID)  The last step was to add the baker's twine and button.  

Creative Blessings,
Heather North

P.S.  If you are here to see my Sew Saturday quilt, come back tomorrow, or scroll up to newer posts.  :)  I need an extra day to finish this one.

Supplies:
Stamps:  Beautiful Shelf (The Craft's Meow), Express Yourself (SU- Hostess)

Copics: BG13, C1, YG63, V12,

Ink: Trunk Bay Glimmer Mist (Tattered Angels), Sahara Sand, Black

Misc: Garden Vines Stencil (Memory Box), Stitched Scallop Die (Lil' Inker Designs), Stitched Sentiment Flag (LID),  Button (SU), Pool Baker's Twine (SU-SAB), Pink Baker's Twine (Jillibean Soup??)

Feminine and Masculine

Happy Friday!  Friday is my favorite day of the week because it holds all the promise of the weekend.  Today I have two cards for you made using the same color palette from the Colour Me challenge.

CMCC #8

When I first saw the colors I thought they would make a nice baby card.  I still do, but that's not what I made.   First I made this floral beauty.

Isn't it lovely?  The dots in the background mimic the dots that are stamped on the focal panel.

FTTC259

 My next card started out as a baby card, but turned into a Thank You card because I am in need of lots of thank you cards and no baby boy cards.

The panels were started in the same way as my floral card, stamping over and over down the paper to get a lighter shade each time.  The center panel was created by stamping first in Soft Sky, then in Pistachio Pudding.  The perfect colored chevrons are from a package I won during the Seasons Of Giving blog hop.  I love these so much.

FMS124

I wasn't sure I could pull off CAS with this sketch, but I'm pleased that I did!   Thank goodness, because it means I can enter this week's Cardz 4 Guyz challenge to create a CAS masculine card.  CAS is often the safest way to go when creating cards for guys and it one of the reasons I strive to be a better CAS cardmaker.

Challenge #6 CAS 

Creative Blessings,
Heather North

Card Supplies:

Stamps: Happy Watercolor (SU),  Special Wishes (Penny Black), Express Yourself (SU Hostess)
Misc: Decorative Dots Embossing Folder (SU-SAB), Misc. Chevron embellies

Baseball Star

Being on a design team means that you usually have 2 weeks to 3 months to make cards for when the challenge/release goes live.  That is why I find it more than mildly amusing that my Design Team card for today's challenge at StampNation happens to be a baseball card.

Why do I find it funny?  Tonight happens to be sign-up night for our local Babe Ruth Baseball league.  Last month when I was creating this I had no idea when sign ups would be.  Perfect timing, wouldn't you agree?

All Star Team at Tacoma Rainier's game 2012

If you are in the Rochester, Oakville, Tenino area and have a son age 13-15 head on over to the middle school between 6-8pm and sign up.  See you on the field.  (If only Spring would arrive in the Pacific Northwest when baseball season starts... time to get that jean's quilt made for game time.)


Creative Blessings,
Heather North

Bee-yond Fabulous

Sometimes "Thank You" just isn't enough.  That is why I used the sentiment from the Thanks Bee to Thee stamp set from The Crafts Meow.  

I created two cards, playing with the different colors and contrast.   All the colors come from the current Colour Q Challenge.  I substituted Real Red for Ruby Red and Coastal Cabana for Cool Caribbean because I don't have those colors that are listed in the challenge.

CQC#228

The first card is bold with black lines and a red mat.

The second card has a softer outline with blue ink instead of black for the hexagon outlines.  It's matted in a soft blue so that the mat fades away.

Both cards were inspired by last week's sketch from Freshly Made Sketches.   As you can see I offset the hexagons instead of lining them up like the circles in the sketch.

FMS

They also fit nicely with the Hexagons: Happy for Hexagons in the Moxie Fab World Challenge.

MFW Hexies

The little bee needed a touch of glimmer, so I used a gel glitter pen to add some sparkle to his wings.  It doesn't show up in the picture very well, but looks nice in person.

Which card is your favorite?  The bold red or soft blue?  

Creative Blessings,

Heather North

Stamps: Thanks Bee to Thee (The Craft's Meow)
Accessories: Cherry Cobbler Baker's Twine (SU), Glitter Pen (Sakura)