Fabulous Gift

When I shared pictures from my husband's company dinner last Sunday, Kristie asked me what was in the little blue bag.  Clicky if you missed that post.  I never thought I would get jewelry from Tiffany's.  That's like something out of a movie, but thanks to my husband's wonderful company I now have a bracelet and earrings to match the necklace they gave us wives last year.

Here's the card I made to thank the Emmerson family for their generosity.  A fabulous card for a fab gift.  Click on the picture for a close up and you will see that I put little rhinestones inside the sequins.

P.S.  Scroll down or hit "older posts" to see yesterday's card using some of the same supplies to make a Christmas card.

Stamps: Million & One (SU)
Paper: Coastal Cabana, Simply Fabulous Simply Sent Kit
Misc: Crystal Clear Sequins (Pretty Pink Posh), Silver Ribbon (SU), Basic Rhinestones, Silver Embossing Powder

1/8" Silver Ribbon

Simply Fabulous Simply Sent Kit

Merry Ribbon

One of my goals for this year is to create more Christmas cards throughout the year so I can send cards to more people and not struggle in December to get them all done.  To help me reach that goal I am going to try to complete as many Merry Monday Challenges as I can.

The challenge this week is to use ribbon, trim, or Baker's Twine.  Perfect because I just got my order from Pretty Pink Posh and her Valentine kit included this adorable pom-pom ribbon.

Merry Monday #90

This tag was so easy to make.   First I stamped the sentiment in Early Espresso Ink, then I added a strip of Champagne Glimmer paper.  Cutting out the tag was a cinch with my new Banner Framelits.  I simply chose that one that fit the stamped image best and ran it through my Big Shot.  The framelit cut through the cardstock and glimmer paper smoothly.

After the tag was cut I used Tombow Mono Multi glue to adhere the pompom ribbon.   Wrapping the ribbon around to the back added some extra bulk, so I popped up my tag using dimensionals.  To get the "little" in red I inked that part of the stamp up with a Real Red marker and stamped it on a scrap of Very Vanilla cardstock. I cut the banner out and glued it on top of the Early Espresso "little".

The entire thing was layered onto some music sheet DSP to ite into the Christmas Carol.  It feels a little funny to be making a Christmas card now that the tree is down and the decorations are put away, but I bet I'll be glad next November that I have one less card to make.  ;)

Creative Blessings,
Heather North

Stamps: Merry Little Christmas (SU)

Paper: Modern Medley DSP, Holly Berry Bouquet DSP (Retired), Crumb Cake, Early Espresso, Very Vanilla

Ink: Early Espresso, Real Red

Misc: Pompom Ribbon Trim (Pretty Pink Posh), Banner Framelits

Banner Framelits

PPP Valentine Kit
I admit I bought the kit for those adorable spools of thread and the fabulous mix of sequins.  It's funny to me that I used the ribbon first.  :)

It's A Monday

Today is Monday.  I had big plans for Monday.  It was going to be a crafty day of quilting, working on my Design Team cards and filming a few videos.   Unfortunately I started my day with ironing.  That's not the worst part.  I decided to try out my new mini iron on my small half square triangle blocks with this bad boy.

Owie Iron

I'll spare you the details, but it ends with a bad burn on my index finger.  My question as to whether this iron gets hot or not is YES!   Thankfully my dear husband came home with burn cream, but it's not pretty.  No videos and no typing with my "pointy" finger and no playing with my new toys today.  :(   On the bright side I have loads of cards to share with you that I've made since Christmas, so I can take a few days to heal.

This card is a complete CASE from my dear friend, Kristie.  As soon as I saw her card I wanted to copy it.  I loved everything about her card from the sentiment to the double layer of stripes to the glitter.  Clicky to go to her blog and see my inspiration.  BTW- I wasn't the only one who loved her creation.  She won a challenge with her card.  ;)  Way to go Kreative Kristie!!!!

There were a couple of things I changed on my card.  My stripes go in different directions, I added some bling to the sentiment and I used black glitter.  (This stuff is cool!)   I'm not sure how Kristie created her stripes, but I'm sad I can't make a video to show you the easy tricks I used.  Perhaps I will on another card soon.   The stripes in the background were stamped with Real Red ink using a clear stamp called Knotty by Avery Elle.   The stripes in the foreground were made using sticky strip and black glitter.

Hopefully your day went better than mine.  On a bright note I FINALLY got my printer working after being without it for almost 3 weeks.  I use that thing almost daily to print challenges, coupons, invoices, letters, etc.  It will be nice to be able to print out sketches again instead of trying to decipher my drawings.

Thank you again for the inspiration Kristie!

Creative Blessings,
Heather

Card Recipe

Stamps: Another Thank You (SU), Knotty (Avery Elle)

Ink: Real Red (SU)

Paper: Basic Black, Whisper White

Misc: Scor-Tape, Black Glitter (SU), Basic Rhinestones

Playing Christmas Catch Up

Two days without a post.   Can you guess what I have been doing?  Probably the same things you are...  finishing my Christmas shopping, wrapping presents, mailing packages, sending cards, stressing out, going to a Financial Aid meeting for parents of high school seniors....  Ok, perhaps you didn't have to do that last one.  The week before Christmas they have a meeting to discuss all the costs of college we will be facing next year.   Really?  As if I didn't have enough to worry about.  Sigh.   Good thing I have needed to spend lots of time in my hobby room.  :)  It's my therapy!

I've been making cards, tags and boxes.  I've got my Christmas CDs playing while I work and I find peace while I am creating.  Here's a card I made inspired by Catherine & Mo's "A Very Trendy Holiday" card class.   For some reason I really loved using non-traditional colors.

This is one of those cards that I would like to make again.  I would fix the Raspberry tree on the right side and I would add some sequins.  This card was made in November and I didn't have sequins then.  I kept meaning to make another one and show you the improved version, but time is running out.  :)

Have I shown you my Christmas Deer card yet?  This was a fun card to create. I just sat in my hobby room and played.  If I've already shown it, I apologize, but I didn't want the Christmas season to go by and not show you this one. Remember, if you have a deer stamp they make great masculine cards.  ;)

My plan was to film a video showing you how I created the background added the ribbon, but Christmas snuck up on me and I've been fighting allergies for a couple of weeks.   Perhaps I can show you at a different time using Spring colors and images. For today I am adding this card to this week's Merry Monday challenge.

December comes with a few changes to the Design Team.  First, we have more members so each of us take turns getting a week off.  Today is my off day, so I am going to show you a sneak peek of last week's card.   Which brings me to the second change.  All of my Design Team submissions for StampNation will now be exclusive to StampNation.  Just one of the many perks of being a member is that you get exclusive content. Now the DT content is exclusive too.   It's as though I am a part of a special club.  ha-ha.

Not a member of SN yet?  It's only $9 a month and it is well worth the investment in my "me time".   If you are a member you can see my card along with the rest of the DT and member cards by clicking HERE.   If you would like to see this week's challenge click HERE.  My hope is to show you how I made the tag that is on this Christmas Carol card.  If all goes well I'll even have a video for you. :)

Have I made up for two days without posts?  :)  It's time for me to edit my video that I hope to share with you tomorrow, if I don't fall asleep first.  Above is a sneak peek for the video I will be editing.   I hope you enjoying the magic of this season and that you find a parking space near the entrance next time you head to the store.

Creative Blessings,
Heather North

Sparkling Snowflake

Can you guess why the fairly clean and simple card is one of my favorites?  If you guessed glitter, sparkle, shimmer, glimmer or dazzle you're right. :)   I wish I could show you in person just how pretty it is.  If you are on my Christmas card list you just might get to.

This year I've been using my new favorite accessory, heat and stick powder, to create glittery wintry scenes.  Please excuse the way I sound in the video below. My allergies have been really bad, but I wanted to film this for you before Christmas.

Note:  You may need to visit my blog to view the video.  Click on the post title "Sparkling Snowflake" if you want to go to my blog post now.

It's so pretty that I think I might make another card just to display on my shelf for January.  In the video I mention my Dazzling Diva Winner card.  CLICKY to go to that post if you missed it the first time around.

I'm linking up to SSS Wednesday challenge.  The challenge is "Let It Snow".  Perfect card, don't you think?  :)

Creative Blessings,
Heather North

Card Supplies
Stamps: Snowflake Soiree (SU), Vintage Snowflake (TCM)
Ink: Marina Mist, Midnight Muse, Soft Sky, Versamark

Accessories: Heat & Stick Powder, Dazzling Diamonds, Heat Tool

Snowy Thanks

Monica joined the StampNation team back in October for World Card Making Day.  She introduced us to the metal sheets she sells in her store, "Add A Little Dazzle".  Don't you just love the name?!!!  Last week she had her first Dazzling Diva challenge.   You can see my card in THIS POST.  Would you believe this card was chosen as the winner?!!!!   Thank you Dazzling Design Team!!!! I'm so excited because not only will I be getting some of her metal sheets, but over the Thanksgiving weekend she launched a hot new product.  I'm looking forward to trying it out and sharing it with you.

This week the Dazzling Diva's challenge is to make a thank you card.  I had this sparkly snowflake layer since last winter and just couldn't bear to throw it away.  Now I am glad I held on to it because it wouldn't be a Dazzling Diva card without a little bling.  ;)

DDC #2

From the inspiration photo I knew I wanted to make a snowy thank you card and I had this beautiful piece of sparkly paper and one of my favorite script stamp sets, but wasn't sure how to put the card together.  That's where the current Sweet Sunday Sketches comes in.  Once again a sketch comes to the rescue!



SSS #198


I wish the camera could capture the sparkle I see in real life.  If you look closely you can see that I used the strip of sparkly snowflake that I trimmed off the front and put it on the inside of the card.  I like having a bit of the outside on the inside and I hate to throw away a piece of paper I love.

Creative Blessings,
Heather North

Card Recipe:  (SU supplies unless otherwise noted)

Stamps: Million and One, Snowflake Soiree
Paper: Snow Festival DSP (retired), Island Indigo DSP Stack (retired), Island Indigo & Cherry Cobbler cardstock, Whisper White cardstock
Ink: Versamark
Accessories: 1.25" circle punch, Snow Flurry EF, Dazzling Diamonds, Xyron sticker maker, White Embossing Powder, Island Indigo Ruffled Ribbon

Reminder:  Today is the last day of Stampin' UP!'s holiday sale.  Clicky.   Today is also the last day for my Thanksgiving Weekend special.  Clicky to go to that post and learn more about it.  The new Valentine's Products and Best of Stamp sets have been released for December.  Clicky  Happy shopping!

Clean and Bling

Back to more Christmas cards today.  Time is running short for me to get them all done.  This card would be so easy to mass produce, but the weight of the embellishment I used would add extra postage.  I suggest replacing it with some brads, snowflakes or paper buttons if you want to send out a pile of these cards.

My week of participating in challenges continues today.  When I saw this week's sketch at Unscripted Sketches I knew I had finally found the perfect card to use this pretty striped foil paper on.

US#232

One of the reasons I bought the Winter Frost paper pack was because of the shiny papers, but I haven't used them yet.  I really need to stop hoarding the pretty stuff and USE IT more often.  Perhaps that should be my New Year's Resolution.

It's hard to capture the shimmer in a photo, but you can see how it catches the light in the top right corner.  The little piece of Bermuda Bay/Pool Party ribbon sticking out the side of my greeting panel comes from a scrap that I had leftover fromm the Christmas Banner kit.

This sketch would be a great one to add to your collection to use over and over again.  Thank you Unscripted Sketches for inspiring me yet again.

Creative Blessings,
Heather North

Supplies (Stampin' UP! unless otherwise noted)
Stamps: Joy to the World
Paper: Winter Frost DSP, Island Indigo, Whisper White
Ink: Bermuda Bay
Accessories: Frosted Finishes, Christmas Banner Simply Created Kit

Frosted Finishes

Winter Frost DSP

Christmas Banner Simply Created Kit

Dazzling Christmas

My plan for this card is nothing like the end result, but I have to say I love this card so much that I want to keep it.   But, I won't.  I'll send it to my pink-loving friend who will love it even more than I do. 

This was my first time using heat and stick powder.  I went a little overboard and used it with dazzling diamonds on the ornaments, the background and kept using it to make another card.  My work space is covered in glittery goodness.  :)   

Oh how I wish you could see this sparkle in person.  The card started when I saw the new challenge that Monica, from Add A Little Dazzle, has created.  She put up this scrumptious "frosted pumpkins" inspiration photo.

DDC#1

 Don't you just love it?  My first thought was a Victorian tea party.  I still plan on making a card with that theme, but somehow when I got to the hobby room I just had to turn those pumpkins into glittery pink ornaments.  Afterall the challenge is to become a Dazzling Diva.  You need shimmer and sparkle for that, right?  

The card has touches of pear pizzazz and craft along with blushing bride, raspberry ripple and white.  If you are wonder why I used these colors specifically, it's because of this week's Dazzling Duo's new Triple Threat week.  I thought the colors went well with the inspiration photo.  What do you think?

DD#80

As if these two challenges weren't enough inspiration I had to pull out a sketch too in order to make this card work for me.  You see, after I made the sparkly background paper and 2 dazzling ornaments I couldn't figure out how to put them together.  

My plan was to put them as a grouping in the corner, but it didn't look right, so I pulled out the new sketch from Retro Sketches and stamped a Crumb Cake ornament with Crumb Cake ink and went to work pulling the card together.

rs#91

As you can see I did another lane swerve while actually putting the card together.  My plan was to have all the ornaments in a row like the rectangle on the sketch.  I even adhered the linen thread with tombow mono multi glue at the same length.  Next I glued the Crumb Cake ornament on the card and tucked a couple of leaves from SU Bird Punch behind it.  I decided to put the pink and raspberry ornaments up a bit from the center ornament.  First I popped up the Raspberry Ripple ornament, then I glued a couple of branches behind it.  As I turned over the Blushing Bride ornament it landed just slightly down from the center and I loved the slant it created so I decided to just adhere it down in the bottom corner and have the leaves help in creating a gently slope.   I hope you can still tell how this sketch inspired me.  

Yes, I took inspiration from three different fabulous challenges, but I ended up with a lovely card for a dear friend and her family.  I already feel like a winner.   

If you would like me to film a video on the heat and stick powder or how I made the ornaments, please leave me a comment below and I will try to get one up for you later this week.  

Creative Blessings,

Heather North

Stamps: Snowflake Soiree, Ornament Keepsakes, Petite Pairs

Color: Blushing Bride, Crumb Cake, Pear Pizzazz, Raspberry Ripple, Whisper White
Accessories: Heat & Stick Embossing Powder, Dazzling Diamonds, Linen Thread, Bird Punch, Ornaments Framelits

CLICKY to go to my Stampin' UP! store. 

Sparkly Sketchbook

Last week was a super busy one on the blog as we announced the newest members of the Design Team at StampNation.   They have already begun inspiring me.   Chupa let me know that she does a Sketchbook Saturday challenge every other week.  You know how much I love sketches, so I was all over this one!

This was not what I was planning on making when I saw the sketch.  My plan was to make some glittery stripes on the bottom and a pink snowflake up top, but somehow my supplies got away from me.  :)  To be honest I would love to copy the sketch exactly using the same colors and shapes.  Isn't it pretty?

Before I could work on the sketch card I had to clean up my table.  It was just too big of a mess to continue.  In the process I found this scrap of lace doily I had cut out using SU Paper Doily Sizzlit.  It was already covered in Dazzling Details and I thought it would be even prettier that a regular doily.  I wish you could see how it sparkles!

While I was putting away scraps of cardstock I decided to try out soft sky for one of my snowflakes and embossed it with silver embossing powder.  There are also some scraps of Creative Memories Shimmer paper that I embossed with silver embossing powder.  As I was searching through that scrap bin I found a piece of Creative Memories vellum swirls paper.  It's hard to see, but the vellum has white swirls running through it.

I wish you could see this card in person because it sparkles and shimmers in a way the camera cannot pick up.  The blue strip of glimmer paper was another find from my old scrap drawer.  I really should hunt in there more often.  There are all kinds of treasures to be found.  The final piece was a jewel.  Not sure who makes it or where I bought it, but it has lots of facets that capture the light.

This is the only sketch challenge of Chupa's I've seen, but I predict I'll be a regular follower.  I'm off to check out some of her previous sketches and get inspired even more. :)  You have plenty of time, won't you join me in this challenge?

Creative Blessings,
Heather North

Supplies Used (Stampin' UP! unless otherwise noted)

Stamps:  Festive Flurry, Warmth & Wonder (Hostess)
Paper: Winter Frost DSP, Soft Sky, Smokey Slate, Basic Gray, Misc. Scraps,
Ink: Versamark, Black
Accessories: Jewel (non SU), Silver Embossing Powder, Festive Flurries Framelits, Dazzling Diamonds, Paper Doily Sizzlit,

Paper Doily Sizzlit

Festive Flurries Bundle

Modern Merry Monday

My Stampin' UP! Christmas order came in last week, and I have been having fun with these winter/Christmas stamps.  I've even found myself singing Christmas carols.  :)  This stamp set almost didn't make the cut.  I only bought it for the sentiment, which I didn't use on this card.  When my order came though, this was the first stamp I pulled out.  :D  Funny how that works.

It's hard to capture the sparkle on this card.  I used glimmer paper, iridescent ice and my Illuminate ink pad.  It shimmers in person.

Lately I've been a bit obsessed with aqua and red.  I never used to like that color combo, but now I LOVE it.  Go figure?!  Dynamic Duos is using that color combo in their challenge this week.  If you like it as much as I do, you should check out everyone's samples.  It's like happiness in a blog post.  :)



DD#77


The color I used is Coastal Cabana instead of Bermuda Bay, but that is just a bit lighter shade of the same color.  I think it still works.  :)  See the bit of glimmer paper poking out behind the "Holly Jolly" tag.  Read the tag and try not to sing the song.  I dare you!

The second challenge I am entering is for Merry Monday.  It's a fabulous challenge to get your Christmas mojo flowing.  Unfortunately I couldn't really focus on Christmas cards until it got cold outside and Halloween was past.  Now it seems easy to make Christmas cards and I'm looking forward to entering more of their challenges.  I might even go back and do some of their previous challenges.




Merry Monday #82

Isn't that inspiration photo yummy?  They asked for circles.  When working with winter cards circles always makes me think of snowmen and snowflakes.  My card has both!

 

Have I inspired you to pull out your Christmas stamps yet?  No worries if I haven't.  This color combo and even the inspiration photo can be used any time of year.  Trust me.  I've been using it since Spring and it still works.  ;)

One of the things I love about this card is that the snowman is looking up into the sky with his arms outstretched to catch some snowflakes. 

 

 

What challenge will I enter next?  I still have a box full of stamps and supplies so it's going to be an inky, glittery week for me.  :)  If I keep up with all these fabulous challenges I just might get my Christmas cards made before December. 

 

Creative Blessings,
Heather North

 

Card Recipe
Stamps: Snowy Day, Tags 4 You

Ink: Coastal Cabana, Basic Black, Illuminate Glimmer Pad, Real Red, Versamark

Paper: Basic Black, Coastal Cabana, Silver Glimmer Paper, Whisper White

Accessories: Iridescent Ice EP, Bracket Label Punch

 



Snowy Day



 



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