Romantic Christmas

Coming in just a little late for this week's Merry Monday challenge, and it's the card I have wanted to make since I saw the current Monday Mood Board challenge from Wplus9.  Could that be because I saw one right after the other?

If you saw Friday's post you saw the other card I made inspired by the mood board.  (clicky if you want to see it now)  That card did not give me the soft look I was going for so I decided to try again.  I've actually been thinking about this all week wondering how I could create the flowery whitewashed wooden background.

Monday Mood Board #26

Then it came to me.  I could use my hardwood stamp, ink it up in Smoky Slate, stamp off twice and then stamp on Whisper White cardstock.  It gave it that soft wood feel.  Then I pulled out my markers to ink up the trellis flowers and leaves.  It was time consuming to create this background but I think it was worth it.

 

One of my all time favorite backgrounds is a script font.  I've been looking for ways to use my Defining Words stamp from Wplus9 and decided it make make a pretty background for my embossed sentiment.  I really want to try to add this type of stamping to my cards more often.

MM#93

The Merry Monday challenge was to use an ornament on your card.  I've been wanting to make this kind of ornament since seeing Catherine's card here.  In fact I bought the Pucker Me Pink metal sheets from Monica at Add A Little Dazzle just so I could CASE Catherine's card, but as I put this card together I felt that the card wanted to be more "soft & romantic", so I pulled out my brushed copper metal sheet to see if that would work, and I think it did.

Monica showed us on StampNation how we could take finger nail polish remover and remove color from embossed areas of our metal sheets. Isn't that cool?  This week the Dazzling Diva's challenge is "Anything Goes".    I think  this card fits the romantic feel of the photo even though I don't have any hearts on my card.

DD#10

The funny thing is that the heart is my favorite shape.  I'll keep this photo on the wall in my stamp room for another week to see if it can inspire me some more.  If you are looking for a quick and easy card, this is not it, but it was fun to pull out tons of things and just play.  

Creative Blessings,
Heather North

Supplies Used

Stamps: Defining Words (Wplus9), Forever With You (SU), Hardwood (SU), Seasonal Flourish (WaltzingMouseStamps)

Ink(SU): Crisp Cantaloupe, Pistachio Pudding, Smoky Slate, Versamark

Accessories: Brushed Copper Metal Sheets (Add A Little Dazzle), Gold Embossing Powder, Holiday Ornament Framelits (SU)Vintage Wallpaper Embossing Folder (SU), Misc. Crochet Lace trim from my stash, Basic Pearls

I Found You ~ MOJO 329

Happy Martin Luther King day to my American friends.  Wouldn't Dr King be amazed today to see how far his dream has come?   One of the things I love about Dr King is that he worked to make his dreams come true.  He taught us by example to not only dream big, but to take the steps needed to make it happen.

I too dream of the day that there will be equality and justice for all.  I have dreams about there being a cure to cancer and the common cold.  I have dreams that my children will grow up to be godly men and make a difference in their world.  I have dreams that I will fit into my skinny jeans.  Who's with me?

I also have a dream that my creativity will inspire others and one day I will get paid for my creativity.  That is certainly a dream I can work towards.  :)

Sometimes I make a card and it makes me happy just looking at it.  This is one of those cards.  I used the new sketch up at Mojo Monday to design my card.  As soon as I saw it I knew I wanted to use to make my card.  I LOVE when that happens.

MM#329

I'm also linking up with the current Curtain Call Challenge to make a Love Letter.  <3  This fits, don't you think?

CCIC

Oooh la la, I'm in love. <3 Did you spot the trio of hearts with a tiny pearl on one of them?  I'm making so many love cards lately that I will soon have a box to ship to Operation Write Home.  :)

Now it is time for me to work on my Skinny Jeans dream and do my workout.  If only it was as easy as world peace.   LOL.   There are many things I have learned from Martin Luther King, but one of the big ones is that dreams don't just happen.  They take hard work, determination and often involve some sweat and tears. Dreams are worth pursuing though, because when they come true your heart will soar and you will know you have fulfilled your purpose.  What are your dreams?

Creative Blessings,

Heather North

Supplies
Stamps: Defining Words (Wplus9), Follow My Heart (SU)

Paper: Fresh Prints DSP Stack (SU), Coastal Cabana, Real Red

Inl: Smoky Slate, Coastal Cabana, Real Red

Misc: Circle Framelits (SU), 2 1/2" Circle Punch, Heart Punch, Basic Pearls

FYI:  Today is the last day to take advantage of the StampNation special trial offer.  You can try out StampNation for 3 days for $1!  Why not give it a try and see if you are as inspired as I am by all the fabulous papercrafters, tutorials and videos on the site?

If you love it, it's just $9 a month.  If you don't, it's easy to cancel by sending Catherine an email.  Clicky to start your 3 day membership now.

Want to learn more about StampNation before giving it a try?  Clicky here for more information.

Purple Butterflies

Every week I check out challenges on the web and "plan" to do them, but most weeks I am lucky if I get one done in time to enter.  Today I have 2! 

Dynamic Duos is one of the few color challenges that I rarely struggle with.  Perhaps because it is just two colors and a neutral.  When I saw that they were doing 2 shades of purple this week I knew I had to join in the fun!


Dynamic Duos

The butterflies from SU Papillion Potpourri were stamped in Perfect Plum, then layered with a smaller butterfly punched out of Perfect Plum cardstock.  The script in the background as well as the mat is in Wisteria Wonder.  Don't you just love my new stamp?   The card needed a little bling so I added strips of silver glimmer paper behind the butterflies and two rhinestones to the center of each of purple butterfly.

The second piece of inspiration comes from Unscripted Sketches.  You know how I love sketches.  This one looked challenging to me at first, but when I started to think about all the shapes/punches I could use in place of the circles the ideas started flowing.  In fact, I am thinking about a few other cards I can adapt this sketch for.



Unscripted Sketches

What challenges inspire you?  If either of these spark your interest give them a try.  There is still time to enter both of them.  I would love to see what you come up with.



Creative Blessings,
Heather North

Stamps: Defining Words (Wplus9), Papillion Potpourri
Ink: Perfect Plum, Wisteria Wonder
Paper: Silver Glimmer Paper, Whisper White, Wisteria Wonder
Accessories: Basic Rhinestones, Bitty Butterfly Punch, Elegant Butterfly Punch