Spark your mojo - make a card for someone you love

Even when I'm not feeling very crafty, thinking about my sweetie sparks me to make something special just for him.

I like to try and use new things for him, especially since he sees a lot of what I buy.  This Christmas card uses a new stamp that hadn't seen ink yet (Snow Buddies from Crafter's Companion), and little jingle bells from Stampin' Up!

I usually use a lot of paper on Paul's cards, since I'm not trying to mail the card or make the card meet a price point to sell.  It's fun to see how much paper I can use!  This one mainly uses paper from the Academy kit, green paper from Retro, and various love themed stamps (no longer available - My Funny Valentine, and a special release from Stampin' Up!) on the tan paper.

Paul always takes his turn making cards, too.  I just love how this looks like a stained glass window, and celebrates our recent trip to Disney.

This week for Valentines' day, I had an idea while watching the Paperwishes video show - since he's my sweetie, how about a sweet cupcake as an image?  This cupcake is a Dazzles Mix 'Em Cupcake - mix and match the shiny pieces to make your own unique cupcake.  Add a paper doily, some heart banners (still trendy!), and again lots of layers, for some Valentine's fun.  There are lots of pearls on the inside - I can use as many as I like since it won't be mailed!

Paul did another quilled masterpiece for me, as well.

So, spark your creativity this week by making a card for someone you love!  And, check out our other cards to each other here:

• Anniversary 2012
• Christmas 2011
• My Christmas card for Paul in 2010 - a tag tutorial
• Anniversary cards in 2010
• Anniversary cards in 2009

Spark your crafty mojo - let the paper do the work

Since my crafty mojo was temporarily displaced, I needed to kick it into high gear and make some cards quickly.  Last week, I shared some of my ideas on how to spark your creativity, so this post continues those tips.

One of my biggest tips is to let the paper do the work for you.  Pennants, banners, and chevrons are huge trends right now.  So, I used paper with these elements in it to make this card. This paper comes from the Happy Days Double-Sided Paper Pack.

When you've got one piece of paper working for you, make a second card.  That way, you can get two cards for the creativity of one!

Both of these cards also used Dazzles - they're very popular in England, and Hot off the Press is the best place I've found for these items.  I love their monthly club, because you get a nice variety of stickers, paper, a goodie, and a newsletter with ideas every month.  

Dazzles are stickers (which make them very easy to use) that look like embossed images (which make it look like you spent a lot of time making the card!).  They come in a variety of finishes, like copper, holographic colors, silver, and gold.

Several Club Scrap kits have also featured them, so check them out if you're interested in using them in your scrapbooking.

• Retreat 2012 - these numbers are super useful for birthday cards. I used them for Paul's card last year (which I haven't posted yet - eek!).  Get the full kit for even more numerical items.
• Bright lights, big city - these little stars pack a big punch.  The full kit has more coordinating items.

So, the next time you need to make some cards, but don't know where to start, let your paper do the work!  Share any tips you have for using paper to get started in the comments.  I'd love to hear what you think.

Finding my crafty mojo...

Why has it been so long?  Well, first, I get really, really busy at certain times of the academic year.  I've always struggled with how to balance work, crafting, blogging, and the million other things that we all do at the same time.  Like, snow blowing.

Second, I'm happy to report that in between this year's busy times, I earned a promotion at my job, which led to increased responsibilities.  In addition to those extra responsibilities, I was primarily responsible for moving forward some policy changes that also required extra effort this fall.  Frankly, I've just been plain exhausted ever since August.

Finally, along the way, I seemed to have lost my mojo for a while.  I'm sure you can all identify - who hasn't been stuck in a rut or just plain uninspired?  This weekend, though, I think I broke through the mojo barrier, and over the next few weeks, I'm going to share some of my successes as well as some paper crafting ideas.

First, my friends really help here.  From KnitterPam (who is always gently reminding me to blog) to my wonderful Club Scrap family (who encourages me and asks me what I'm up to) to my local friends who admire my paper crafting, knowing that someone is interested in what you do really makes a difference.    I had a great craft show last December, which made me really itchy to start making stuff.

For example, last year, I made this calendar for my office and shared a tutorial.  These were very popular at my craft show and my local shops where I have work for sale.  Who doesn't want a pretty calendar as a gift?

My friend from work has been admiring it all year, and asked me to make her one this year.  A deadline helps get the mojo sparked - if I don't get her the calendar by the end of January, it starts to lose a bit of usefulness.  So, I buckled down and asked her what color she would like.  This immediately eliminates a choice for me, which makes it that much easier to get started. She said pink, and I happened to have the Birds of a Feather kit out in the open with a fabulous pink in it.  If you've lost your mojo - don't spend all day looking for the perfect paper.  Use what is there!  The kit had this fabulous saying in it, and the cute wings stamp, so I just played with that to start.  I figured if Kay likes a little glitter on everything, more must be better, especially for wings.

The easel came together really quickly with the pink paper, and ribbon from the kit.  So, presto!  I had a great gift and made a friend very happy today.

So, my restoring mojo tips of the day:

• Find some friends to encourage you!  I love the Club Scrap community, and all my friends there. It's the board I most regularly visit to check in on everyone.  A BIG thank you to everyone there who asked (or wondered) how I was doing.
• Find a deadline - they always motivate me!
• Eliminate choices - having my co-worker pick a color made it that much easier to get started.
• Use what is around - don't go hunting for the perfect pink, or that paper you remember buying - just use what is visible!
• Finally, I started by cleaning my desk, too.  Still my most helpful way of getting going.  As I clean, I always find something to inspire me.

The Bon Appetit Menu - stamps and aging techniques

I had so much fun making cards with the Bon Appetit collection.  I was a bit stumped how to use the menu stamp, but the sentiment that goes along with the collection gave me the inspiration.

Start by inking the menu stamp - I used the Club Scrap india ink for a super dark black that won't run when I start aging the menu.

I want my menu to look aged, so I dab a cloth randomly on some different areas of the stamp.

I love how this looks after stamping.

Now, the fun begins!  Tear the paper to create a lovely aged effect.

Spray with whatever mists you have on hand that give that lovely aged appearance.  My sprayer wasn't working well, so I got these lovely spots that were perfect.

I used some distress inks to add some depth to my color.

Use a bamboo skewer (or whatever you have on hand!) to roll the edges up a bit.

I added some ink to the exposed areas from the backside and a little ribbon "clostheline," compete with closteh pins (I used half of the pin to add a little less dimension).

All stamps and paper from the Club Scrap Bon Appetit collection.

Hope you are enjoying the summer.  We're still knee deep in our remodeling project.  Should be great when it's done!

Kissing my stamps

Well, not really....

Kissing is a technique I don't do a lot with my stamps, but I thought it would be perfect with this striped stamp from the Club Scrap Bon Appetit kit.  Start by inking a stamp - I inked the striped stamp that is mounted on my grid ruler.

Kiss the inked striped stamp to the second stamp - a brocade pattern.

Stamp on your paper.

You now have a lovely stripe, but with a subtle pattern.  I liked this better than the bold stripes on their own.

Repeat until you have covered the entire panel - using the grid ruler helps you to line up all of the stripes nicely.

On the front of the card, I used the brocade pattern in a contrasting color to bring that out more boldly, and finished it off with a sentiment and a few little embellishments.  An easy way to make your stamps go further!

All stamps and paper from Club Scrap's Bon Appetit collection - and I used their lovely hybrid inks too (great for any surface).

Since this is the height of summer and we're knee deep in a remodeling project, my posts will be a little infrequent from here on out.  I should be back on a regular schedule in September after classes start again.