Mojo 278: Square Valentine

Yay! Tomorrow is finally Friday, which is great for me because I thought it was Friday aaaaalllll day today :( oops... hopefully tomorrow flies by! I played along with the Mojo Monday sketch this week. The last Monday of the month is always the round or square challenge:

So I made my first 5x5 card based on this sketch:

I followed the sketch pretty closely... I love the detail and depth you can achieve by using a Mojo sketch with all the layers. This card will be my mom's valentines day card :) it will have a matching envelope made from the same DSP, from the More Amour pack (this is the first goodie I have broken into from the spring catty... eek, took long enough!!). I love the little dahlia accent too :)

Thanks for looking!

Supplies used:
Stamps: PS - I Love You (ret)
Paper: Pool Party, Primrose Petals, Very Vanilla, More Amour DSP
Ink: Primrose Petals
Tools: Scallop Edge Border Punch, Hearts Framelits
Accessories: Elegant Lines Embossing Folder, In Colour Dahlias, Stitched Satin Ribbon

Monochromatic #2

Happy Wednesday! It feels great to be back at the blog after a three day break :) Today I decided to play along with Dynamic Duos and The Paper Players:

Last week, I posted a monochromatic card for the Mojo Monday card challenge, so I found it rather amusing when I saw the dynamic duos challenge this week, the same colours (lol). Here's the card I made using these two challenges:

I must say, I really like this colour combo! So soothing, and perfect for a sympathy card. I used the Spice Cake DSP from Stampin' Up!'s clearance section. And that striped grosgrain ribbon is retired :( (I was so sad when it retired, but super happy when a bunch of colours came on clearance a while back)

Thanks for looking! :)

Supplies used:

Stamps: Thoughts & Prayers, Love & Sympathy

Ink: Soft Suede

Paper: Soft Suede, Crumb Cake, Spice Cake (ret)

Tools: Itty Bitty Punch Pack, Labels Framelits

Accessories: Striped Grosgrain ribbon (ret), Pearls

Inspired By... #2

Happy weekend! Here's hoping the weekend takes its time this time :) Time for another addition of:

This week's inspiration photo was selected by Charissa, a beautiful bag she saw on Etsy:

 I thought about this photo all week, and finally, last night, came up with what I wanted to create that was Inspired By... this photo.

I drew on the colours and the circles in the bag to create this baby boy card. The best thing about this card is that aside from the card base, all the paper was out of my small scraps bin! Yay!

Thanks for looking and be sure to check Charissa's blog Snippets by Design for her card based on this week's photo!

Supplies used:
Stamps: Teeny Tiny Wishes
Ink: Island Indigo
Paper: Island Indigo, Comfort Cafe DSP, Patio Party DSP, 2010-2012 DSP Stacks (ret), Michael's Grey, Whisper White
Tools: 1" Circle Punch, 1" Square Punch, Word Window
Accessories: Polka Dots Embossing Folder, Michael's Star Brads, Island Indigo Baker's Twine, Dimensionals

KCRR #2: A Challenging Combo

Good morning! Time again for another installment of....

Yay! This week, random.org really threw us a curve ball... Baja breeze & baby girl... not a combo I would put together probably ever.... Anyways, after much thinking and planning, I was able to create a really cute baby girl card: 

Cute hey? Lucky for me, twitterpated DSP contains some baja breeze and I threw in a few other thing, like the banner with the bear & the clothes line to tie it all together. Funny, Charissa and I were just chatting about the polka dots embossing folder today, and I said that it is probably my most used item... and here it is again! :) Banners are so in right now, and I am loving them! They make regular appearances on my cards. The banners on this card had their tails curled up using my handy-dandy bone folder. Here is a close up of the string of banners on this card: 

Love it! Make sure you pop over to Charissa's blog to check out what she has made with this week's combo :)

Thanks for looking! :)

Supplies used:

Stamps: Little Additions

Paper: Baja Breeze, Blushing Bride (ret), Whisper White, Twitterpated DSP, 2010-2012 DSP Stacks (ret)

Accessories: Polka Dots Embossing Folder, Twitterpated Buttons (ret), Bone Folder

FMS 70: Tulle Rosette

Hello! What a busy last couple of days... on the plus side, I got to see my absolute favourite baby boy and his parents, our good friends, tonight! I just love that baby boy :) When we got home tonight, I finally got around to making something new! :) I have been plotting this ribbon rosette ever since I saw this week's Freshly Made Sketch:

As promised, here is the tulle rosette creation:

Ta-da! I like it :) The tulle ribbon and the cherry cobbler core'dinations cardstock are both retired from the holiday mini. I wanted to make cherry cobbler my main colour (can you tell? lol) but I also wanted to add a bit of black... a colour I don't incorporate very much into my crafting. A touch of sanding on the core'dinations cardstock really brings that side of the card to life. And the little heart with the rhinestone added flare to the other side! :)

Thanks for looking today! :)

Supplies used:

Stamps: Delightful Dozen

Paper: Cherry Cobbler, Basic Black, Whisper White, Cherry Cobbler Core'dinations

Ink: Cherry Cobbler

Tools: Scallop Border Punch, Small Heart Punch

Accessories: Tulle Ribbon (ret), Antique Brads, Lacy Brocade Embossing Folder, Sand Paper, Dimensionals

MOJO 277 Revisited

Good evening :) I thought about the Mojo sketch all day today... not entirely too pleased with my first card (this did not make for a super productive day at work, lol) and I am quite pleased with my second take on the sketch:

Here's the sketch again:

I really love how this card turned out! I wanted a monochromatic clean and simple theme, and think it really worked on this card. I had some issues with the corner punch and had to trim the flower square a bit... oh well, the bow covers the uneven edge :)

Thanks for looking again! :)

Supplies used:

Stamps: Blooming with Kindness

Paper: Crumb Cake, Soft Suede

Ink: Soft Suede

Tools: Boho Blossoms Punch, Corner Punch

Accessories: Seam Binding Ribbon, Pearls, Dimensionals

MOJO 277: Treasured Friend

Hello there! I hope you survived blue monday yesterday, supposedly the most depressing Monday of the year... There was nothing depressing about this week's Mojo Monday sketch!

Oh boy! What, oh what, will I make with this sketch? I love the sketch and found it to be a challenge. I made this card last night, but didn't post it because I wasn't sure I actually liked the card! (lol) When I saw it this morning tho, I realized that there is nothing wrong with this card, and I actually did like it: here we go... the Mojo colour explosion....

Taa-daa! What do you think? Too much? I bought the World Treasures stamp set a while ago and hadn't had a chance to use it yet. I really loved the peacock, but realized after yesterday, that using that little guy can be a tedious endeavour! He is a lot of work... I stamped him in pool party and trimmed... then added some colour using tangerine tango and rich razzleberry markers. I was also smitten with the international bazaar paper when I first saw it, but haven't found a good place to use it yet... I thought it was fitting here! And it goes so well with the fancy fan embossing folder. In trying to keep true to the sketch, I added three little black brads at the bottom of the peacock.

What do you think of this card? Thanks for looking!

Supplies used:

Stamps: World Treasures
 Paper: Pool Party, Very Vanilla, International Bazaar DSP

Tools: Corner Punch

Accessories: Ruffled Ribbon, Fancy Fan Embossing Folder, Brads (Micheals), Dimensionals

PP 129: Rue Des Fleurs

Sigh - already Sunday afternoon :( I can't believe how fast the weekend goes by... I firmly believe that it should be a two day workweek and a five day weekend! hehe Oh well... there is something great about Sunday... a new challenge at the Paper Players! Here is the sketch this week:

Clean and simple! Uh oh... This is something I struggle with as I like to embellish my cards and have a REALLY hard time with white space... Here's what I came up with using this sketch:

Kind of clean and simple, right? Lol - regardless, I like the card :) I was so happy with Rue Des Fleurs came on clearance! I snapped it up the first day. I embossed the background with lacy brocade and sponged some daffodil delight colour on there. Then I stamped the umbrella from Rue Des Fleurs on Attic Boutique DSP, snipped it out and popped it up on dimensionals. The sentiment is also popped up. Here's another view of the card that shows some pretty little pearls added on the scallop edge border:

What do you think? Does this card meet your definition of clean and simple?

Thanks for looking!

Supplies used:
Stamps: Rue Des Fleurs (ret)
Paper: Very Vanilla, Daffodil Delight, Attic Boutique DSP (ret)
Ink: Jetblack Stazon
Tools: Scallop Edge Border Punch
Accessories: Lacy Brocade Embossing Folder, Seam Binding Ribbon, Pearls, Sponge, Dimensionals

FMS 69: Elements of Style

Hello again :)

Freshly Made Sketches comes out with a new sketch every Wednesday, this is the sketch from Wednesday January 16, 2013:

Diagonals rarely appear on my cards, so this is a nice change-up :) Here's what I came up with for this sketch:

I made a sophisticated birthday card using the stamp set Elements of Style and lots of early espresso embossing powder. The flowers, humming birds and sentiment were stamped in versamark and heat embossed with early espresso (carry-over from the holiday mini catalogue). The humming birds were snipped out and popped up on dimensionals. The flowers were sponged with blushing bride in a bit of a emboss resist technique. The antique brad is the final touch of sophistication to the card.

Thanks for visiting! :)

Supplies used:

Stamps: Elements of Style, Blooming with Kindness (sentiment)

Paper: Beau Chateau (ret), Very Vanilla, Blushing Bride (ret)

Ink: Versamark

Tools: Scallop Border Punch

Accessories: Early Espresso Embossing Power, Antique Brad, Sponge

Introducing "Inspired By..." Challenge!

Woohoo! It's finally the weekend! Today Charissa over at Snippets by Design and I are debuting another card challenge, Inspired By...

With this challenge, one of us will pick a picture of something that can inspire us in card making. The photo can be anything from a beautiful nature scene to a fun article of clothing. The cards can contain anything about the photo that has inspired you, for example, colours, shapes, etc. This week's inspiration photo was selected by me: a delicious sushi dish!

From this, I saw lucky limeade, tangerine tango, so saffron, and circles! Here's the card I thought of:

This card displays the quilting technique, running the entire face of the card through the big shot using the square lattice embossing folder. I used the Outlined Occasions stamp set, from last year's Sale-A-Bration, and coloured it with markers. I popped up the entire face plate to add some dimension.

Thanks for looking today and I hope you enjoyed Charissa and I's second challenge. Pop over to her blog and check out how this photo inspired her! 

Supplies Used:

Stamp Sets: Outlined Occasions (ret)

Paper: Tangerine Tango, Lucky Limeade, So Saffron, Very Vanilla

Ink: Basic Grey

Tools: Nestabilities Circle 

Accessories: Tangerine Tango & So Saffron Markers, Square Lattice Embossing Folder, Dimensionals

KCRR #1 - Our New Exciting Challenge

Good morning! Or should I say, GREAT morning? I think great :)

Today my stampin' pal Charissa Laarman and I are debuting our very own challenge! ...drum roll please....

Yay! This challenge was inspired by Naki & Nina's double dare challenge, where each person would pick off the top of their heads a card-making element, and they would create a card using those elements. Charissa and I wanted to make ours different, so we came up with a long list of 225 items, then we used random.org to randomly generate two numbers off the list. This is the initial list, of course, the list will expand and contract as Stampin' Up! introduces new items and as items retire, etc. 

This week, the randomly selected items were the jewelry tag punch & the square lattice embossing folder. Here is my creation using these two elements: 

It is the middle of winter here, but we have been having unusually warm weather, which has me thinking about spring! ...and daffodil delight :) such a cheery colour! This card has a lot of elements, based on an older Mojo Monday sketch but I really like how they all work together to create a non-traditional wedding card. Oh - adding the pearls on to the safety pin was my mom's idea... so clever!

Thanks for looking and I hope you enjoyed the debut to our challenge! Pop over to Charissa's blog to see what she has created with these two elements :)

Supplies used:

Stamps: Love & Laughter, Tiny Tags

Paper: Island Indigo, Daffodil Delight, Whisper White, 2012-2013 In Colours Paper Stacks, Brights Paper Stacks, Howlstooth & Scarringbone DSP

Ink: Basic Grey

Tools: Hearts Framelits, Scallop Border Punch, Jewelry Punch, Itty Bitty Shapes Punch Pack

Accessories: Square Lattice Embossing Folder, Striped Satin Ribbon, Pearls, Safety Pin, Dimensionals

Colour Q: Experimenting with Colour

Hello! Today I find myself experimenting with colour :) This is generally something I struggle with and I often tend to use no more than three colours per card. I find that once more colours are thrown into the mix, creating a coherent card is far more challenging. Today I wanted to play with Colour Q:

Naturally, putting all these colours on one card scared me! Here's what I came up with:

I have to admit, it is not my favourite card, yet I liked it enough to share :) I like the panels background. I wanted the panels to by my main focus, but thought the card was just too plain with only the sentiment and the panels. To jazz it up, I added the ribbon & butterflies.

Thanks for visiting!

Supplies used:

Stamps: Vintage Verses

Paper: Summer Starfruit, Poppy Parade (ret), Brights Paper Stacks, Birds of a Feather DSP

Ink: Basic Grey

Tools: Labels Framelits

Accessories: Beautiful Wings Embosslits, Stitched Satin Ribbon, Dimensionals

Silver Anniversary: Faux Patina

I hope today finds you well :) I have had this idea for a 25th anniversary card in my mind for a few months now, and it feels great to finally get it out on paper. We tried the faux patina technique  in a card class with my upline, and I loved it! Since then, I have used it a few more times to make birthday and thank-you cards, but I thought it would look extra special for a beautiful 25th anniversary. Now, no one I know will be celebrating a 25th anniversary soon, but it is never a bad idea to have a variety of cards in stock because you never know when you'll get that odd request for a special card :)

The faux patina technique is a time consuming, but not a challenging, technique. There are a few steps involved:

First, ink up the embossing folder you want to use, I am using lacey brocade & midnight muse ink. To do this, rub the ink pad all over the embossing folder and run your paper through the big shot.

Next, sponge the colours you are using all over the embossed page. I am using baja breeze & basic grey (lightly applied).

Then we heat emboss! Make sure to use your embossing buddy prior to applying the versamark. I dabbed the versamark all over the page, then covered the page with silver embossing powder. If I think that there will be too much silver, or not enough of the sponged colours are showing, I wipe some of the embossing powder off with a paint brush before heating.

Viola! The background is complete :) See, not hard at all :)

In order to make a more vintage look, try other colours! I have used early espresso on the embossing folder, sponged with marina mist & wild wasabi, and used gold embossing powder.

Thanks for looking and leave me a comment if you have any questions! :)

Supplies used:
Stamps: Memorable Moments, Apothecary Art
Ink: Midnight Muse, Baja Breeze, Basic Grey, Versamark
Paper: Whisper White, Brushed Silver Cardstock, Baja Breeze
Tools: Labels Framelits
Accessories: Lacy Brocade Embossing Folder, Tim Holtz Sponges, Silver Embossing Powder, Embossing Buddy, Victoria Crochet Trim, 1/2" Seam Binding Ribbon, Hat Pin & Jewels from Pretties Kit (ret), Baja Breeze & Basic Grey Markers, Dimensionals

MOJO Monday 276: Cupid Loves You

Hello again! I hope Monday was good to you :)

I played along this week with the Mojo sketch and came up with this pretty Valentine's card. It's almost that time of year again!

As you can see, the card follows along nicely with the sketch. I popped up the entire face plate to add some dimension to the card. Dimensionals are a necessity in my crafting room and I use them on basically every project!

Thanks for looking! 

Supplies used:

Stamps: PS-I Love You (ret)

Paper: Basic Grey, Whisper White, Love Impressions (ret), Blushing Bride (ret)

Ink: Basic Grey, Real Red

Tools: 1-3/4" Circle Punch, Eyelet Border Punch, Nestabilities Scallop Circle & Circle

Accessories: Victoria Crochet Trim, Pleated Satin Ribbon (ret), Basic Pearls, Dimensionals

3x3 - Possibly the Cutest Size!

Happy Monday! I hope you had an excellent weekend :) My weekend was great! I had a birthday last week and the celebrations continued into Sunday. With three birthday dinners and one lunch, I think it is best if I don't eat out for a while! :) Here is a snapshot of my little sister and I on my 24th birthday and of Beefy trying to share the ice-cream cake:

Another exciting thing this weekend - my best friend Michelle (who also happens to be my boyfriend's sister) and her boyfriend arrived home from an exciting trip to Colombia! They were gone for three weeks over Christmas and New Years and it is so great to have them back. Not to mention that they brought a lot of exciting loot back from their travels with them :) Here are two of my favourite things they brought back: a beautiful bag/purse (don't you love the colours!?) and a fabulous poncho scarf called a chalina which can be tied over 50 different ways! I absolutley love both the gifts and am so grateful to have such thoughful people in my life.

That's enough about me... let's take a look at one of the cutest, in my opinion, card sizes: 3x3! This first set I made for a craft fair back in December, but my mom loved them so much that she snapped them up even before the craft fair started! Aren't they adorable?

I made another set for Michelle to take to Colombia with her (I know Christmas is over, but I really wanted to show these because I absolutely love them). Also adorable!

Michelle brought quite a few of my papercrafts to Colombia with her and I was delighted to hear that the recipients of my cards loved them! One person even went as far as to clear everything off their mantle and display my card as their centerpiece. How awesome is that? :)

Thanks for looking! Check back later tonight for another post :)

Supplies used:
Stamps: Easy Events, Short & Sweet, Jolliest Time of the Year (ret)
Paper: Raspberry Ripple, Gumball Green, Whisper White, Be of Good Cheer DSP, Michael's DSP
Ink: Basic Grey, Raspberry Ripple, Old Olive, Real Red, Early Espresso
Tools: 1-3/4" Scallop Circle Punch, 1-1/2" Circle Punch, Word Window Punch, Sizzex Tags Die, Diagonal Score Plate
Accessories: Blender Pen, Primrose Petals Marker, Raspberry Ripple Marker, Gumball Green Marker, Basic Pearls, 3/8" Stitched Satin Ribbon, Sponge, Polka Dots Embossing Folder