sweet mojo

Here's a little insight into my floopy thought process... When I saw this week's Mojo Monday sketch, I thought, "aww, what a sweet card that would make! Sweet, sweet, something sweet... chocolate, chocolate covered cherries (no clue as to why I thought of those), oh hey - the cherries will be ready to pick in a few months... cherries! I have a cherry stamp!" Can't image where my son gets the ADD from... SQUIRREL!

And so here we are.   :} 
It is a pretty sweet card, isn't it?! The Riding Hood Red card base measures 4-1/4" square (closed). Can you believe I ended up raiding three DSPs (Twitterpated, Summer Smooches, Regals Stack) for those little strips?  *** Tip: I doubled up the Lucky Limeade Baker's Twine before tying it around the 4" square Lucky Limeade card stock so that my bow would stand out more - cute!!

I used Lucky Limeade and Riding Hood Red Markers to ink the cherry stamp (Button Buddies), which I die cut using a Labels Collection Framelit. Two Riding Hood Red buttons (from my vault, of course) are adhered over the fruit with Mini Glue Dots - mega cute!! For my greeting, I used a Basic Black Marker to ink the words on a stamp in the Storybook Friends stamp set.  Happy, happy, happy  :}   
I think pretty much everything I used, except the stamp for my greeting and the Framelit, is retiring. Remember, retiring accessories (DSP, embellishments, ribbon, stamp wheels, card stock) are available only while supplies last. You can shop for your favorites here, before they are all gone. Oh, and several goodies are on sale!  Have a SWEET day!! 

the return of Soft Sky

It will be a few days before I get my goodies from the "new Cattie pre-order," but I'm too darn excited about some of the colors that are retuning. Sooooo, I got into my vault (aka "paper-crafting stuff I'm hoarding"). I pulled some Soft Sky card stock, retired ribbon, and retired DSP from my vault, and paired them with this week's Mojo Monday sketch to create this pretty card- 

I might be getting a little obsessed with the Papillon Potpourri stamp set, but it's so pretty, and has punches that coordinate! Technically it's Groovy Guava in that retired DSP, but I think it works nicely with Calypso Coral on this card. I'm so happy Calypso Coral is moving into our "core" colors!

To add a subtle look of four "boxes," I added score lines an inch apart on the Whisper White card stock.   **Tip: Before adhering punched butterflies (or flowers) to your project, curl the edges up slightly to add more interest. 

So how do you start playing with these fun new colors like Soft Sky if you don't have a vault of retired goodies??? All you need is a good color combination! Here's what Soft Sky looks like when paired with Pumpkin Pie and Wild Wasabi- 

Love this color combo!! I see a lot of "boy" cards in my crafting future using these colors. 
FYI - those Pumpkin Pie brads are on the "chopping block." The retiring accessories are available only while supplies last, so be sure to shop now before all the good stuff is gone!   ;) 

I've got Mojo, yes I do... I've got Mojo, how 'bout you?

You know when you get in a crafting groove and it just feels so awesome you can't stop??? I LOVE that feeling! And I love a good sketch that just "speaks" to me. This week's Mojo Monday sketch really grabbed my attention - I liked it so much I have both a card and a digi scrapbook page to share today!  Yahoo!!

My first Mojo Monday project was this card for a family friend who fell and broke his hip. I thought the bright colors in the Summer Smooches DSP might cheer him up a bit.

For my focal point, I stamped the vase-of-flowers image in Lucky Limeade ink, punched it out with the 1-3/4" Circle punch, and adhered it to the Lucky Limeade Scallop Circle. After cleaning my stamp, I stamped the image again in Island Indigo so I could snip out the vase and adhere it over the Lucky Limeade vase. The circle-flowers on the stamped image were a little small (in my humble opinion), so I used an eye from the Owl punch and a Circle punch (Itty Bitty Shapes pack) to create Real Red and Tangerine Tango card stock flowers. 

Now, as I said, this card sketch really, really "spoke" to me... so I used it to digi-scrap (My Digital Studio) a funny picture of my son, Aaron.  **Warning - you might need your sunglasses! It's pretty bright!  :P  

My husband's Aunt bought the boys new swim trunks and goggles for Easter. Aaron slipped the goggles on right away and went to play outside. He looked so stinkin' funny running around in nice clothes while wearing those neon-yellow goggles.  

Seriously, if you can still see after looking at this neon background, you are smiling now, aren't you??? Gotta love little boys! 
So how did I get that crazy color that matches the goggles??? I used one of my favorite features in My Digital Studio - the color picker tool. Stay tuned next week for more deets on that.  ;) 

Thanks for dropping in today! I'd love to hear what you think about the card or the digital scrapbook page - feel free to leave me a little comment. Have a fabulous day!!  :}

gotta love the Mojo...

...Mojo Monday that is! Every week they put up a great sketch, and this week's sketch really caught my eye. I played around with several cards, and here's the one I liked best: 

The leaves I used for the circular area on the sketch are a little large, so I omitted the sentiment banner to keep it from looking too "busy." 

To create the leaves, I simply die cut Very Vanilla card stock using the Autumn Accents Bigz die through the Big Shot. Then I inked (More Mustard, Raspberry Ripple, Lucky Limeade) three leaves from the Wonderfall stamp set, and did a little maneuver that's like stamping upside down. All you have to do is ink the stamp, and then lay it on it's back/ block with the rubber facing up. Align your die-cut leaf over the inked stamp, and press down. I like to use a spare block to press evenly.
Can you believe that I didn't use any ribbon or even buttons on this card??? Crazy! But I really liked how the leaves looked so crisp and stood out, so the only "embellishment" I added was some paper piercing around the edge of the Lucky Limeade layer.

Well, I'm off to tackle some more stamping projects... I actually had a dream last night that I was making cards! How silly. Let's see how it influences today's creativity! :}

more Christmas "mojo"

Today is one of those Mondays when I just didn't want to get out of bed. It was chilly this morning, and I'm so tired - a combo that makes me want to snuggle deep into the covers for hours. But, we all know life doesn't work that way  :( 
So, before I even got up, I went online to peek at today's Mojo Monday Sketch. LOVE it! So now I had an "incentive" to get my rear in gear (as if I really need one when I have two kids to get ready for school). I was already planning my card in my head, and anxiously waiting for my stamping time. It took every ounce of restraint not to speed home after my volunteer time at the school!

Ta Da!! Did you ever make a card you love so much, you don't know if you want to even send it to someone? How crazy am I?! Don't answer that. I really will have to make a second card to send, just so I can keep this one :}
It's not just the layout and the images (Ornament Keepsakes) that are really "speaking" to me... I love this color combo I ended up with - Baja Breeze, Cherry Cobbler, Island Indigo, and Very Vanilla. The DSP layer from the Festival of Prints Stack pulls it all together.

These ornaments are so pretty, and easy to use! And having the Holiday Ornaments Framelits to cut them quickly makes me a happy girl. Because the ornament images are the star of the show here, I chose a simple sentiment (More Merry Messages).

I was worried that the card base would be too plain, but I didn't want anything that would be too busy. "Shimmer Mist" to the rescue! Just mix rubbing alcohol with a few drops of Shimmer Paint in a Stampin' Spritzer or travel-sized spray bottle and spritz the mixture onto your card stock. I even added shimmer to the ornaments, because, well, why not??!! It's even prettier in real life  :} 
If you've never tried adding Shimmer Mist to your projects, I encourage you to give it a try - I think you will love the results. If you have any questions, feel free to ask  :}  Happy stamping!!
 

Mojo Monday 228

There's nothing like a good card sketch to get your stamping "mojo" going for the day... well, that and a few cups of coffee! For today's post, I used the Mojo Monday 228 sketch. 

I turned to my trusty companion - the Color Coach - for the colors on this card. I used the 'Dynamic Duo' of Always Artichoke and River Rock. Then I pulled in some white to lighten it up.
I wanted to add interest to the Always Artichoke background layer, so I dry embossed it using the Vintage Wallpaper Embossing Folder and the Big Shot. Then, I used a Sponge Dauber to brush on some Champagne Mist Shimmer Paint.
The Paisley Petals DSP takes its place in two spots on this card... once as a strip and once as a die cut. To make that nice little die cut, I used the third largest Framelit from the Labels Collection. Wanna see how??? Taadaa!! I have a short video for you today!

Here's a close-up of all those yummy details and layers on my card-

The Artichoke 3/8" Denim Jean Ribbon looks great on this card! I'm glad I finally used it - what a wonderful texture! This ribbon would work great on masculine cards... which is a good thing for me since I have a hard time not using ribbon  ;)
The leaves, from the Build a Blossom stamp set, are stamped in Always Artichoke ink onto the same color card stock, and then punched out with the Blossom Petals Builder punch. The sentiment is actually two stamps from the Fabulous Phrases stamp set - an excellent set to have on hand. I stamped them in Always Artichoke ink onto a scrap of River Rock card stock.
The Paper Daisies - which I really need to use more - look great on this card. To add interest, I spritzed them liberally with my mixture of Champagne Mist Shimmer Paint (in rubbing alcohol). I just {love} the look of it! A Basic Pearl in the center of the flower and a Large Basic Pearl add just the right amount of elegant bling to finish the card.

Thanks for stopping by - have a wonderful day!!  :}

Mojo Monday sketch challenge

I really liked the awesome sketch on the Mojo Monday blog this week! It's a great layout, that you can add as little or as much as you want to. I used my Sale-A-Bration goodies to play along:

Ink: Soft Suede          Designer Series Paper: Everyday Enchantment

Card Stock: Poppy Parade, Soft Suede, Calypso Coral, Very Vanilla, Lucky Limeade

Accessories: Everyday Enchantment Ribbon & Brad Pack

Tools: Curly Label punch, Stamping Sponge, Paper Piercing Tool

Did you know you can curl up the ends of the organdy ribbon? Just run your Snips (closed) along the length like curling ribbon. Here's a closer look:

Isn't that a fun look??? It's pretty easy to tell what my favorite Sale-A-Bration goodies are... do you have a favorite yet?

using some "mojo" for class

Good morning :}
I'm getting excited to see my stamping friends at my Technique Tuesday class tonight! One of our cards will be using the Mojo Monday 226 sketch:

This 4-1/4" square card features the Sale-A-Bration stamp set Sprinkled Expressions. So cute! And I love the bright happy colors: Daffodil Delight, Rich Razzleberry, and Tempting Turquoise.


Remember Xander's birthday card? Well, after I wrapped his present, I snapped a picture really quick before we left for the party. (I couldn't resist - it looked so cute!)

This is a great way to use your stash of retired DSP and ribbon!! I think you could wrap up an old shoe like this, and all anyone would remember would be your pretty present and coordinating, handmade card. (Don't worry, we didn't give Xander an old shoe... the Legos were a big hit.)

Well, I'd better get to cutting the kits for tonight... happy stamping, friends!

another blog challenge - MOJO225

I'm having a little fun trying out different blog challenges  :)  Today I made a card using the Mojo Monday 225 sketch:

 For the block sections, I used the  gorgeous Everyday Enchantment Designer Series Paper. I LOVE the colors in this paper: Lucky Limeade, Pool Party, Peach Parfait, Calypso Coral, Poppy Parade, Very Vanilla, and Soft Suede. I stamped the "postage stamp" image from the coordinating Fresh Vintage stamp set, in Calypso Coral and punched it out with the Postage Stamp punch. Then I sponged a little Soft Suede ink around the edges. A bit of Calypso Coral 1/8" Organdy Ribbon adds a nice, feminine touch.

Have you found a favorite Sale-A-Bration item yet (or two, or three, or...)?? There are lots of ways to get some freebies for yourself! Head on over to my Stampin' Up! website to learn more...