Hello Mojo

This is a fun post for me today.  I'm entering a couple of challenges.  Do you know that means?  It means I had some creative "free time" yesterday.  For the past couple of months most of my cards have been for design teams, graduations or teenage birthdays.  I like doing those cards, but I have missed having the time to just create for the sake of creating.

My card won't be staying in the house long.  It's being sent to a special lady for her birthday this week.  I was inspired by the Mojo Monday challenge. There are prizes this week, so be sure to get your entry in too.  ;)

MM#353

The colors came straight from a new-to-me challenge blog, Lawnscaping.

Lawnscaping#85

Stamping Supplies:
Stamps: Hello Darling (SU), Hello There (SU-Hostess)
Paper: Hello Sunshine 6x6 Paper Stack (Lawn Fawn
Ink: Bermuday Bay, Daffodil Delight, Pumpkin Pie
Dies: Stitched Borders 1 (Pretty Pink Posh), Sparkling Clear Sequins (PPP), Circle Punches (SU)

I was cracking up as I was writing down all the supplies to see 3 products with the word "Hello" in them.

Hello Darling

Hello There (hostess rewards)

Vacation Mojo

Last week the kids were on Spring Break.  The sun was shining all but one day, so we spent most of the week outdoors.  It was wonderful, but I did miss my craft room.  This morning after the kids went back to school and hubby to work I headed to the room to play with the new Mojo Monday sketch.

MM#341

There's nothing like a good sketch to really get your mojo flowing.  :)   Here is what I came up with.

The paper pack I used made coordinating the patterned papers easy.  :)  

Tomorrow I will be back with a new sketch for the Stampin' Celebration mid-month sketch.

Need more tips and ideas for using patterned paper and sketches?  I have a lesson up in the StampNation forum right now in the Patterned Paper Classroom to help you out.  Not yet a member?  Clicky for more information.  

Supplies:
Paper: Classique Elegance 6x6 Bundle - (Authentique),  Basic Black, Smoky Slate (SU)
Stamps: Tea Shoppe (SU)
Misc: 1 3/4" Circle Punch, Artisan Label Punch (SU), Stitched Scallop Borders (Lawn Fawn), Silver Embroidery Thread

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.

God Chose You...

Yesterday got away from me.  Do you ever have days like that?  Honestly, I have almost a dozen cards to show you already made, but I need the time at the computer to edit them and write up blog posts.  On the bright side I got to see many friends I haven't seen since before Christmas, and that is more important than time at the computer.

Thankfully I still have time to enter this card into this week's Mojo Monday contest.  Did you know they are even giving away prizes for this week's challenge?  They only do that once a month.  In celebration of that I used my only Verve stamp set.  I love my Verve stamp set and need to buy more.   Their fonts are so pretty and "scrolly".  If only I had an unlimited budget.  Someday I will get paid to creative, if only in free product.  ;)  Perhaps I will win this week and get to buy some more Verve stamps!  A girl can dream, can't she?

MM327

The background of my card was created by stamping my new Hardwood stamp (SU) with white craft ink onto a Marina Mist card base.  Next I used a strip of Watercolor Wonder DSP and matted it with black.  That really helped make the card pop.  The focal panel was matted with black as well.

The little pop of Crisp Cantaloupe under my main image was stamped with a branch of leaves from Peaceful Petals (SU) using versamark.  It just looked too plain on this card before I added that simple stamping. Peaceful Petals was also what I used on my main image.  The blue flowers were colored with my new Christmas Copics.  I used SU markers for the stems and flower centers. Obviously I need more Copics.  ;)

Even though I knew I wanted to use the Verve stamp set for my Grandma's card I wasn't sure how to get it on my card without distracting too much with the image. In the end I embossed it in white on Vellum Cardstock and then used my neglected eyelets and some Calypso Coral Baker's Twine to tie it all together and get it stuck to my card.  It ended up being an element I really liked.

You may notice the inside is stamped with the same greeting as the outside. I did that because my Grandma has a hard time seeing and I wanted to be sure she knew what it said.   The inside is decorated with strips I cut off of the panel on the front of the card.

Creative Blessings,
Heather North

Card Supplies
Stamps: Hardwood (SU), Love Deepens (Verve), Peaceful Petals (SU)
Paper: Crisp Cantaloupe, Marina Mist, Basic Black, Watercolor Wonder DSP, White (Artist paper bought from my local art shop)
Ink: Copics- B93, B95, B97, Stampin' UP!- Pear Pizzazz, So Saffron, Wild Wasabi, Versamark, Memento- Tuxedo Black
Misc: Calypso Coral Baker's Twine (SU), Eyelets (Unkown), White Embossing Powder (SU)

Have Yourself A...

My Christmas mojo continues with this card.  At this pace I just might get all my Christmas cards made before the new year.  ;)

The sketch this week for Mojo Monday gave me a chance to get this sweet stamp a place to shine.

Is it just me or does the sentiment make you want to sing the Christmas carol?  I've been doing a lot of singing while making these cards.  It really does put me in a holiday spirit. 

On a completely seperate note, I wanted to let you know that Chupa has her first tutorial up today on StampNation.  She is also giving a preview to EVERYONE on her blog for a limited time, so you'll want to hop on over there to see her first video.  (CLICKY)  Here is a little sneak peek for you.  I can hardly wait to give this technique a try!

Creative Blessings,

Heather North

Stamps: Grunge Swirl Baground (Stamper's Best), Flourish 3 (Impression Obsession), Merry Little Christmas (SU)

Ink: Crumb Cake (Stampin' UP!) , Versamark

Paper: Seasons of Style DSP (SU), Crumb Cake (SU), Whisper White

Accessories: Cherry Cobbler Embossing Powder (SU), Cherry Cobbler Ribbon (SU), Corner Rounder (Creative Memories), Gold Embossing Powder (SU),

Warm Wishes On A Frosty Morning

This morning when I took my son to Jazz band practice the car thermometer read 26 degrees.  burrr   The grass and mailbox and lamposts were covered in glittery crystals of ice.   My card today has some sparkle to it as well.

Inspiration for this card came from this week's  Mojo Monday sketch.

This card was a fun experiment with White Craft ink.  Let me tell you some things I learned:

1. It takes a looooooooooooong time to dry, even with the heat tool.

2. It dries lighter than it looks when it is applied.

3. You can emboss with it. 

My snowman was so light that I had I had to pour some white embossing powder over him and emboss it.  That worked pretty well though.  Unfortunately when I tried stamping his face over the embossed image the colors didn't show like I wanted them to.  My solution was to dust off those bottles of stickles on my shelves and give him some sparkly color.  While I was at it I added some Diamond Dust stickles to the swirls of snow and snowflakes.

Such a fun card to make and display.  This is card #13 made for this year.  I better get cracking if I am going to make 40 Christmas cards before Thanksgiving.  :)

Creative Blessings,

Heather North

Card Recipe: (all items Stampin' UP! unless otherwise noted)
Stamps: Snow Day
Ink: White Craft Ink, Gumball Green, Black Staz-On

Paper: Gumball Green, Marina Mist, Pumpkin Pie (carrot nose), White Shimmer
Accessories: White Embossing Powder, Stickles (various colors), White Taffeta Ribbon

P.S.  Today begins the BIG holiday sale at SU!  Click HERE to go shopping!  :)

P.P.S.  If you are looking for the newest StampNation design team reveal click HERE or scroll down to the next post.  ;)

Snow Day

Whisper White Craft Ink

Thankful Tuesday

You know what is wonderful about cardmaking?  You can have almost instant gratification.  Scrapbooking takes me about an hour or more for a two page spread.  Quilting can take weeks, months or years.  This morning I created 5 cards, designed 2 more and have images stamped for another 2 more all in an hour and a half.  Oh and I cleaned up my stamp space twice.  You gotta love that!

One of the things that made this card come together so quickly is that I used this week's Mojo Monday  sketch.  :)

Don't you love the tri-colored thank you?  I inked the sentiment from Another Thank You with Versamark then 3 different ink pads.  (Blushing Bride, Coastal Cabana and Wisteria Wonder)  I quickly poured some clear embossing powder over it and heat set it to make the colors glossy.  The paper is Afternoon Picnic and cardstock.

The card changed as I was creating it when I decided to pull out a much-neglected Adorning Accents Embossing Folder.  It was the perfect touch, in my opinion.  My first plan was to use another patterned paper from the DSP, but then decided to use Wisteria Wonder with my EF.  As I was digging in my stash for WW, I came across Blushing Bride and thought it might just be even better.

For the finishing touch I added a row of Basic Rhinestones.  Tomorrow I will show you the four cards I made for my son to send out.  It uses another image from this stamp set.

Creative Blessings,
Heather North

Card Recipe:
Stamps: Another Thank You (Clear Photo-polymer)
Ink: Versamark, Blushing Bride, Coastal Cabana, Wisteria Wonder
Paper: Afternoon Picnic DSP, Blushing Bride, Very Vanilla, Wisteria Wonder
Misc.: Clear Embossing Folder, Basic Rhinestones, Adorning Accents Embossing Folder

Only One You MOJO309

Did you have a nice Labor Day Weekend?  I know I did.  It was so relaxing that I forgot to post a card yesterday.  :)  Actually it was a very crafty weekend for me.   I think I completed 6-8 card and got started on my son's new quilt top.  I also spent time on the computer looking for inspiration.  One of the things I found was this week's Mojo Monday sketch.



Instead of starting with a stamp, I started with paper.  On my messy table was this beautiful pattern from Eastern Elegance.  I really like the aqua (Coastal Cabana) combined with the grey (Smoky Slate) and white.  I paired it with a piece of DSP from the Winter Frost DSP stack which I distressed a bit using the distressing tool.

For the oval I first sponged some Coastal Cabana ink onto Whisper White cardstock.  Then I stamped the sentiment in Smoky Slate and used my oval punch to punch it out before layering it onto the Chalk Talk Framelit using dimensionals.

You could easily turn this card into a winter or Christmas card by changing the sentiment or adding a snowflake to the center.  I like that it can be sent to anyone for almost any occasion.

Creative Blessings,
Heather North
Card Recipe (SU items)
Stamps: Chalk Talk
Ink: Smoky Slate, Coastal Cabana
Paper: Eastern Elegance DSP, Winter Frost DSP Stack, Smoky Slate, Whisper White
Misc.: Chalk Talk Framelits, Distressing Tool, Smoky Slate Chevron Ribbon, Retired Basic Gray Ribbon




Chalk Talk Bundle
Stamps + Framelits



Inspired Birthday

This summer is flying by fast.  Today I needed a break from laundry and ironing, so I went down to the hobby room with a few challenges to try.  :)

My first inspiration came from the lovely photo below at Hand Stamped Sentiments.  As soon as I saw it I wanted to use it to make a card.  :)

 

HSS

I took the colors from the photo as well the little bow on the girl's shoe.  The colors I used were So Saffron, Pear Pizzazz, Strawberry Slush, with just a touch of Baked Brown Sugar. 

The stack of 3 books made me want to find a sketch that had strips or blocks that I could fill with color.  Mojo Monday didn't let me down.  :)



MM304

Isn't it perfect?   I thought about making the card rectangular so that more of the background paper would show, but the whole point of this week's challenge is to make a square or round card. 

To add the round portion I stamped the flower from Oh, Hello stamp set using Strawberry Slush and Pear Pizzazz markers onto a Tea Lace Doily.  To make the stamped image stand out I punched out a white 2 1/2" circle and adhered it to the back of the doily before putting it on the card.

Even the inside is decorated on this one.  I used a background stamp and versamark to create a background.  Then I stamped a Happy Birthday sentiment (retired SU) and cut that out with the window's framelit. 

Let me tell you, working with two challenges to make a card was way more fun than fighting with my iron.  :) 

Creative Blessings,
Heather North

Stampin' UP! Products Used
Ink: Pear Pizzazz, Strawberry Slush
Paper: Afternoon Picnic DSP, Twitterpated DSP (retired), Pear Pizzazz CS, Baked Brown Sugar CS
Stamps: Oh Hello, Retired Happy Birthday
Accessories: Tea Lace Doily, Basic Rhinestones, Windws Framelits, Strawberry Slush Ruffle Trim Ribbon



The Perfect Blend

When I saw this stamp set in the new catalog I knew I had to get it.  While I am not much of a coffee drinker, unless it is added to chocolate, many of my friends are.  So, I thought it would make cute cards to send to them.  At first I was disappointed that it didn't come with a Framelit, but it's super easy to cut out.

I stamped the main image onto Crumb Cake cardstock and then stamped it onto Whisper White cardstock.  Both times I used Baked Brown Sugar ink.  For the white piece I used Black Staz-On in to stamp the sentiment and Real Red to stamp the little heart from Lovely Little Labels stamp set.

Next I cut out the white pieces with super sharp paper snips.  If you know me, then you know I am not good at cutting, but the sharp pointy scissors really do help, as do the lines in the image.

For the background Crumb Cake piece I used the Deco Label Framelits and ran it through the Big Shot.  Then I glued the white band on, and used Stampin' Dimensionals to pop up the lid.  The label is glued onto an Early Espresso mat with a Real Red Ribbon, and the mat is popped up using more dimensionals.  (I love those things!)

In case you were wondering, my sketch inspiration came from this week's Mojo Monday challenge.  You still have lots of time to enter your own card into the challenge.

Now comes the hard part?  Which coffee loving friend will my first coffee cup card be sent to?  I better get to work making more!

Creative Blessings,
Heather North

Supplies used (all Stampin' UP! unless otherwise noted)
Stamps: Perfect Blend, Lovely Little Labels
Colors: Early Espresso, Crumb Cake, Baked Brown Sugar, Whisper White
Paper: Mocha Morning DSP (retired)
Misc: Deco Labels Framelits, 1/8" Real Red Taffeta Ribbon





Perfect Blend




Lovely Little Labels



Deco Label Framelits