Sunday Share ~ Too Much Fun!

Over the past 2 days I have had too much fun!  I can tell because I went to sleep last night and didn't wake up until noon today.  Yikes!  Way to show daylight savings time who's boss.  :D

On Friday I met with my friend Louise for another one-on-one class.  Honestly I think she is helping me more than I am helping her.  I'll show you the Easter cards we made later this week. 

Yesterday I went to a stamp camp up above Seattle with my friend, Sherry.  I'm so glad she invited me.  I took almost 100 pictures yesterday and none of them are of the lovely sunny day in Seattle nor Mt Rainier rising behind the city.  Oh my!  I wish somebody was driving instead of me alone so I could take pictures.  It was an awesome day in the Pacific Northwest.  (It's cloudy again today.)  I enjoyed the drive there and back as I soaked up the sun and scenery.

It was a big stamp camp.  There had to be at least 70 ladies there.  The demonstrators all rotated between the tables and we made the projects.  I was so glad I was just a stamper yesterday.  Those demonstrators worked their tails off.

Back to my friend, Sherry.  She brought me a couple cards.   She must know I love lilac because both of her cards used this pretty color.  She even gave me an extra of the Happy Birthday card.

Sherry makes cards for Operation Write Home.  (OWH)  In January she took a bunch of my "extra" cards to send in with her donation.  I'm working on filling up my own box to send to the troops now too.  One of these cards was not for the troops, it was just for us at the stamp camp.

Isn't it lovely with embossed lilac paper on top, sweet ribbon in the middle and glittery background on the bottom with a die cut that reminds me of angels or irises.   Thank you, Sherry.  It's already on a shelf in my entryway so I can look at it every time I pass by. 
We can't send glittery cards to our troops though.  If glitter gets on their uniform they will be visible to night vision goggles.  Can you imagine exposing our troops to the enemy with our sparkly creations?!!!  That is honestly why I haven't sent cards in before.  I'm afraid of covering them in dazzling diamonds!

Sandra Rook is Sherry's demonstrator and she gave us each one of these cards she made.  Isn't it wonderful?  I don't have that floral stamp set, so it was fun to see the images in person.  I love the details on the LHS of the card and the little bit of ribbon poking out of the punched piece on the right.

In addition to stamping and swapping and giving away goodies, they had idea boards and tables set up around the room just overflowing with cards and SU ideas.  Oh my!  That's where the bulk of my pictures were taken. 

Below are all the goodies I made or was given yesterday.  Isn't that great?!  I didn't even win one of the door prize giveaways.   Part of my camp fee was given back to me as a gift certificate so I broke down and bought Lovely As A Tree.  Am I the LAST person to own this stamp set?  I keep thinking SU will retire it because so many people have it, but it continues to live on a classic and now I will join the ranks of others who own it.  I can hardly wait to try the refelection technique with it.

 Did I mention that I had fun?  Oh YES I did!  Thank you again, Sherry for inviting me, and thank you Louise for being my guinea girl.  We are going to have fun trying out all these new ideas together!

Creative Blessings,
Heather North

P.S.  I really want this iron "dress form".  I wonder where they got it.   After seeing all the samples I am extremely tempted to buy the SU dress die cut.  It looks like so much fun to play "paper dolls" with.

Crepe Paper Flower & Happy Hello Purse

Last month I showed you how to make a box using the Happy Hello Simply Sent Kit (SAB).  If you missed that post, and the video that went with it you can find it here.  Clicky

After I turned off the camera I decided to play with the box and see if I could turn it into a  purse or Easter basket. 

The handle is just a strip of Pink Pirouette Cardstock with one of the grey stickers on it from the same Happy Hello Kit.  I adhered the strip to each side of the box, then added a ribbon and some Large Basic Rhinestones.

Don't you just love the soft flower on the front of the purse? 

I made a video showing you how to make one for yourself.  :)   If you are reading this post on an email you may need to go to my blog to view the video. Simply click on the title of the post above (Crepe Paper Flower...) and it should link you right to this post on my blog.

Creative Blessings,
Heather North


Happy Hello Simply Sent Kit
SAB




Sponge Daubers




Crepe Paper



1 1/4" Scallop Circle Punch




1 3/4" Scallop Circle Punch



Easter Girl & 3 Challenges

From the time I was a little girl I've enjoyed coloring.  I'm not an artist, but there is something very soothing to me about coloring in the lines.  The challenge today at StampNation is to use an animal on your card, so I chose a bunny.  I used a blender pen and markers to color in this sweet girl looking at her bunny rabbit.

I used the color challenge at Color Throwdown for my color choices.  I had to add Certainly Celery for the grass though.  I just couldn't do the sky and grass the same color.  :)



After I colored in the images, I needed a sketch for it.   Usually I start with the sketch, choose my stamps, then my paper.  From the paper I choose my colors and embellishments.  This time I went a little backwards.  Retro Sketches to the rescue.  :)




The finishing touches of the 3 little buttons was certainly inspired by the sketch.  On the inside I stamped one of the greeting that came in the set, then added a leftover strip from the paper I used on the front.  It's a great way to use up those scraps!

That's 3 challenges with one card.  I would love to see what you come up with playing in these challenges.   Let me know if you do.

Creative Blessings,
Heather North

Stamps: Heaven Blessed (Retired SU)
Paper: Sycamore Street DSP (SAB), Whisper White, Crumb Cake, Pool Party, World Spectacular DSP, (+ Retired DSP I cannot remember the name of)
Misc.: Cloudy Day Embossing Folder, Sycamore Street Buttons (SAB), Baker's Twine, Blender Pen


Blender Pen



Cloudy Day EF



Sycamore Street Ribbon & Buttons




Sycamore Street DSP



Happy Birthday Bro

Today is my brother's birthday.  I decided to make him a colorful birthday card using my aqua painter and a couple of Sale-A-Bration items. (SAB)  Hopefully it will brighten his day when opens his mail.

The ferris wheel from Feeling Sentimental, was stamped onto watercolor paper with black staz-on ink.  Then I took some ink in the lids of my stamp pads and used the aquapainter to pick up the ink and brush it over the ferris wheel in a rainbow pattern.

That patterned paper in the background is Sycamore Street DSP, also available during SAB.   SAB ends soon.  You have until March 22 to redeem any of these SAB items for FREE.  You can choose one for each $50 you spend! 

Creative Blessings,
Heather North



Feeling Sentimental
SAB




Watercolor Paper



Aquapainter



Jet Black Staz-On Ink Pad



Sycamore Street DSP
SAB



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



Scrapbook Sunday ~ Digital

My layout today is a digital one using 2 different challenges.  The first challenge was a sketch challenge from the recent Weekend Warriors class at Inspired to Scrap.  The second was StampNation's challenge to use pinwheels on your layout.

After much searching and downloading, I wasn't able to find any pinwheels I could use on my layout, so I improvised.  If you are trying out challenges, don't let obstacles stand in your way. Sometimes you have think outside the box, but you might just love what you come up with.

Creative Blessings,
Heather North




Free 30 Day Trial of MDS2




Fan Fair DSP Digital



Fan Fair Photobook Template
Digital Download



Distracted

Company is coming on Monday, so I "should" clean my room today.  Let's see if I clean or get distracted by the wonderful, crafty goodness that is my craft room.  What are your plans for today?

Sunshine & Sprinkles February Thank You

Can you believe it is already March 1st?  Where did February go?  I just realized this morning that I had not yet shown you my February thank yous.  This post shall remedy that!

It's been cold and rainy and muddy and blah here where I live, so I wanted to send cards with a touch of Spring to brighten your day.   The colors come from the color challenge at Color Throwndown.



 I would say it is Spring with a touch of summer added in.  Below is a close up so you can see the embossing I did with my new Needlepoint Borders embossing folder.  It's fun to use these small folder to add just a touch of embossing on your card.

In the video, below, I show you how to make this Sunshine & Sprinkles card.   If you are reading this blog on your email or reader, click on the title of this blog post above,  Sunshine & Sprinkles February Thank You, to go to my blog where you can view the video. 

Thank you for being my customer.  If you ordered from me in February be looking in your mailbox early next week for one of these cards.

Creative Blessings,
Heather North

Stamps: Serene Silouettes
Ink: So Saffron
Paper: Sunshine & Sprinkles DSP, Whisper White, Crumb Cake
Misc.: Needlepoint Borders Embossing Folder, Punches, Paper Piercer




Sunshine and Sprinkles DSP



Needlepoint Borders EF





Serene Silhouettes



Truly Clear Stamps

Two posts in one day?  Why, yes!  Stampin' UP! made a big announcement today and I thought it was worth sharing in it's own post.

Stampin' UP! has just released a photopolymer (truly clear) stamp set on a trial basis.  I'm anxious to see how they work with our new firm foam ink pads.  :)  You can click on the picture below to view more images and see the video that SU put out.


Designer Typeset Photopolymer Stamp Set



Click the PDF below to see it as well.

Here is what Stampin' UP! has to say:

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What makes them so great?

• They're entirely transparent for perfect placement every time!
• They are durable. The photopolymer material is designed to last.
• Can you say sticky? (Don't worry; in a good way.) These stamps stick amazingly well to our clear blocks.
• They're age tested. They won't yellow or cloud up over time.
• They use FDA, food-safe material. How far can you stretch your stamping creativity?
• We could go on, but we'll let you try them for yourself.

They are clearly a great choice.

Item	Description	Price
132956	Designer Typeset Photopolymer Stamp Set Recommend clear blocks A, B, G, F, and I. Purchase separately. Includes 57 pieces. (Don't faint! This is a good overwhelming feeling.)	$13.95

The Fine Print

• Photopolymer stamps will be offered on a trial basis. Based on popularity, we hope to release more photopolymer stamp sets over the coming months. At this time we don't plan on offering a line of photopolymer sets as expansive as our wood-mount and clear-mount lines.
• Available on all order types beginning March 1, 2013.
• Not available in wood-mount or clear-mount.
• All photopolymer will be packaged in cello bag w/insert, but don't forget you can store them in our clear cases.

Q&A

Q: How long will each stamp set that's released be available for purchase?
A: Since this product line is being offered on a trial basis and is not currently included in our catalog, we won't have a standard amount of time that each set is offered. We'll let you know when each set is no longer available as well as when new ones become available.
Q: What should I tell my customers about this line and its future plans? A: Let them know that we're trying it out and if it's popular we'll keep the photopolymer sets coming! So if they want to see more, tell them to buy! And if they like a set they see, tell them to buy it now since there are no guarantees that it will be available tomorrow.

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Creative Blessings,
Heather North