You Are Amazing!

Everyone should hear these words at some point.  Yesterday one of my friends said this to me on Facebook and it warmed my heart.  It truly did.  :)   Today's challenge at StampNation is to create a children's birthday card.  What better time to tell a child they are amazing than on their birthday?  Especially if mom or dad makes them read their cards out loud.

My main image was colored using Raspberry Ripple and Bermuda Bay Markers.  I like coloring my stamps with markers to get more than one color on them, especially when the stamps are big like this one is. 

For some reason I felt like using a staple on this card.  When using staples in cards and scrapbooking was popular a few years ago I often found ways to include them in my projects, but my little stapler has been sitting lonely in my crop bag for some time now.  I decided to pull in out and I love what it added to this card.  Sometimes it's the little details that make the card.

Making birthday cards for kids is fun.  Take the challenge and make a card for someone young or young at heart.  I would love to see what you make for this challenge.

Creative Blessings,
Heather North

Card Recipe:
Stamps: Blue Ribbon, You're Amazing
Paper: Birthday Basics DSP, Raspberry Ripple CS, Very Vanilla CS
Ink: Bermuda Bay, Raspberry Ripple
Misc.: Bermuda Bay Taffeta Ribbon, Apothecary Accents Framelits, Circle Punch



Birthday Basics



Blue Ribbon



You're Amazing



Masculine Monday

Last Friday I was in need of a quick card for a 5th grade boy's birthday.  I was looking at my friend, Kristie's, blog, of Kreative Kristie fame, and was instantly inspired. 



At first I thought about dusting off the Cricut and clearing off the space in front of it so I could make a star like she had on her card, but I was short on time.  Instead I used the stamped image I had on my table from the Great Sport stamp set and colored in the stars with a Daffodil Delight marker.  The piece was already cut out using my Labels Framelits, and sponged.  (this is why I don't clean my stamp space, you never know when inspiration will hit!)  Then I stamped Happy Birthday from the Blue Ribbon stamp set. 

It appears I used just about every "masculine" stamp set I own.  :D  Next I stamped one of the Gorgeous Grunge stamps with Smoky Slate ink and then stamped Celebrate, from Seasonal Sayings, on top of it with Pacific Point ink.

How many stamp sets did I use?  5? I was thinking this was a clean and simple card, but now I'm wondering if it was.  :)  The boy that my son gave this to actually thanked me for my card when I picked him up from the birthday party.  Isn't that sweet?

Creative Blessings,
Heather North

Mikey's Masculine Monday

Do you remember the two tags accordion birthday card I made last month?  Clicky if you want to see that post and video.   I took that same idea and made it into a masculine card for my son's 13th birthday.

Close up of the accordion folder:

We each added our birthday wish on one of the panels.  :) 

I can't have a birthday post without showing my special birthday boy.  :)  Happy Birthday, Michael!  I'm so proud to call you my son.  <3

Creative Blessings,
Heather North


Two Tags Bigz Die




Blue Ribbon



Print Poetry DSP Stack



Football Friday

Are you ready for some football?  It's playoff season and this weekend is a big one for our house.  We live in Seattle Seahawks territory, but being born and raised in Northern California, we are 49er fans in this house.  (I have to admit the Seahawks have prettier colors.  LOL)  My husband's phone is sure to be going crazy as both teams play, though not against each other.

Wouldn't this be a fun card to give to the host/hostess to thank them for having you over for the big game?  I actually made it as a masculine birthday card.  Do you know anyone who likes football?  This card would be perfect!  You could even change the colors to match their favorite team.

Do you have a nephew who plays football?  I bet he would enjoy getting a card themed for his favorite sport.

I made the card a "moving" card, but you could layer it in the same way without "movement" if you want to.  I still need a bit more practice to perfect this technique, but it is fun when I get a card to work right.

Whoever you are cheering for this weekend, I hope they win, and I wish you lots of creative time!  That is what I will probably be doing this weekend. 

One last thought, you could switch this card up and make it work with most any sport.  You could also leave off the ball and just have a stamp that will fit in the circle.  There are so many possibilities when it comes to paper crafting!

Creative Blessings,
Heather North




Great Sport



Blue Ribbon




Labels Collection Framelits






Gift Box Idea

My Christmas shopping is done.  My grocery shopping is done.  All the presents I ordered have arrived.  All I have left to do is finishing touches like wrapping the presents and putting them under the tree.  :)  It's a great feeling.

This year my kids have both asked for some expense gifts.  That means they won't have as many presents under the tree.  To make the morning last a little longer and to add a bit of fun, I am sending them on a gift hunt.  The first gift is in the tree.  Inside I will put some candy and a clue.

Can you spot the non-traditional stamp I used on the box?  I want them to open these boxes first, so I used the #1 from Blue Ribbon.

To make it sparkle I sprayed the finished boxes with shimmer mist.  One tip though... either spray the pieces and let them dry before adhering or use more dimensionals than I did to hold it on.  The paper curled where it wasn't attached using dimensionals.  oops.  :)

The great thing about decorating your own boxes is that you can make them any color you want.  Mine are made using my boys' favorite colors.

Tyler's box has the majestic Christmas deer. 

I was having difficulty lining up the ornaments on his antlers, and I didn't want to pull out my stamp-a-majig.  My solution was to take Cherry Cobbler Dazzling Details (a red glitter glue) and place a small dot at the top of each ornament.  It helps cover the flaws, and honestly my son will never notice.

Do you have any fun decorating ideas using your creations?  I would love to see them!  Here is a look at our tree.   The envelopes you see in the tree are actually "presents" from grandparents and won't be opened until Christmas.  :)  I thought this was a fun way to have their gift not get lost.  It also drives the kids a bit crazy because they look at it every day.  :)

Hope you are able to take time to enjoy the joyful part of this season and spend time with your loved ones.

Creative Blessings,
Heather North

P.S.  The scallop circle is currently in the clearance rack WSL!!!  If you don't have it and want to make this box before Christmas you could easily cut a square or use the smaller circle and scallop circle.



Christmas Deer



Blue Ribbon



Kraft Gift Box




Snowflake Soiree



Best Day

Wouldn't this be a great card to tuck into your child's lunch pail or backpack letting them know you think they are the Best?  How about giving it to a teacher for a little encouragement?  That's what I was thinking when I made today's card.

I started with a sketch, but then went so far away from the sketch that the finished card looks nothing like the original.  :)  That is okay though.  Sketches should give us inspiration, sometimes we use that to CASE with our own supplies, and other times they are a jumping off point into something completely different.

Close up so you can see the details.  :)  I made my own background paper when the paper I had didn't work.

Creative Blessings,
Heather North

Balloon Ornaments

Yesterday the new Stampin' UP Holiday mini catalog went live.  In the morning, after dropping off my son at Driver's Ed, I was thinking about 2 things. 

1) What card could I make to showcase one of the great new products from the Holiday mini?
Even though I love the Holiday's, it was such a nice sunny day yesterday that I couldn't get into the Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas mood.  Soooooo.... I started thinking more about the 2nd thing...

2) Do I have a stamp set that I could use to make a birthday card for a 4 year old girl?  (Avery's birthday party is this weekend, and I don't have time to order a set just to make her card.  oops)


As I was driving my mind drifted a bit to how beautiful the sky was.  The sky was a brilliant blue and the clouds were white & fluffy.  I thought about making another sky card, but that didn't seem very "holiday" ish.  I thought, I could probably make balloons for Avery's card, and put them in the sky, and then I thought about using the ornament stamp and Framelits to make that card.   Here is what I came up with.

After I stamped the balloons, I thought they looked more like hot air balloons than regular balloons, but that's okay, because they are still SUPER cute!

I'm thinking about adding some Dazzling Details to the center of the balloons to make them sparkle a bit.  What do you think?

I'm probably going to cut those Baker's Twine "tails", but they look good dangling down when you are holding the card.   To make that banner I cut a 1" strip of Whisper White cardstock, then stamped the sentiment from Seasonal Sayings set.  Then I colored in some of the letters with Pool Party, Blushing Bride (retired) and Wisteria Wonder markers.  I notched one end into a tail, then took my Marina Mist marker and made dash lines around the banner. 

Here's a peek at the inside of the card.  It would make a darling card front.  I used the Blue Ribbon stamp set, along with my marker and punches to add some layers and color to the ribbon.

So, even if you are not in a "holiday mood" or "mode" you may just find something in the new Holiday mini to inspire you today. 

Creative Blessings,
Heather North

P.S.  If you have not yet seen the Holiday Mini click the catalog image below to check it out online.  :)


2012 Holiday Mini

Ornament Keepsake Bundle



Seasonal Sayings



Sweet Swap Revealed ~ Video

I was recently involved in my first ever online card swap.  I've done many scrapbooking swaps before, but this was only my second card swap.  Thankfully my first card swap was with ladies who loved me, because my cards were awful!  That was many years ago, before I really learned how to make cards by watching videos made by some great instructors.  Coincidentally that is why I make and share videos.  I hope to inspire you like I have been inspired.

I decided to tweak my videotaped card a bit, but I still give instructions for those of you who want to CASE the original.

Swap 'Til We Drop Card

Can you spot the differences in the stepped up card?

Sweet Baby Stepped Up Card

Check out the video below to see how I created these cards.  ***If you are viewing in your email you may need to head over to my website to watch the video. ***



  You can see the detail in this close-up shot.  This card was not simple, but it wasn't all that difficult either.  There are a lot of steps, but I hope you will give this card a try.  I think next time I'll use the largest Labels Framelit Die instead of the Top Note Die and emboss the black layer instead of the Melon Mambo.  What do you think?

Come back on Sunday to get more tips on participating in swaps and see the FABULOUS cards I got back in the swap.  I think they'll blow you away too.  :) 

Creative Blessings,
Heather North

Great Sport

Top Note Die

Itty Bitty Banners

Bitty Banners Framelits Die

Labels Framelits Die

Blue Ribbon