Mojo Challenge AND a card to encourage a caregiver

I'm so excited to hear about Carolyn's blog candy ($1,000.00 in prizes!! oh my!) and the way today's card may encourage an Alzheimer patient caregiver. She sent out the challenge and there are hundreds responding. If you get a moment today, check out her blog. What a great idea, Carolyn!

To make this card I used the Mojo Monday sketch challenge and let me tell you....it was hard this time! I knew I wanted to use the stamp set Embrace Life and Ginger Blossom DP (retired from the last catalog) but I struggled with what colors to use in which places. I guess that is why they call these things 'challenges' and not Fun and Easy Sketches to Copy. But if I were in charge of the stamping world, that is what I'd call it and that is what it would be. Fun and Easy Simple Sketches. Basically, it would be a sheet of white paper, folded in half, with a button glued on the front.

Actually, I'm just kidding. I really do like the sketch CHALLENGES and am glad that they have gotten me out of my rut. It is more than being challenged, it is being inspired too! What a great feeling to see a sketch, pull out your supplies and bring to life something that was inside someone's head.

This was the original sketch:

The papers on my card, besides the previously mentioned Ginger Blossom DP, are River Rock (oops, sorry that is retired too), Chocolate Chip, and Naturals White. I used the rhinestone brads from the Pretties Kit. I also used markers (Cameo Coral, Mellow Moss, and Regal Rose) on the stamped flower images in the center. The scallop edge is done with the Scallop Edge Punch and I used a paper piercer on the edges.

For the three flowers on the left side, I used the white flowers that come in the Pretties Kit. They are awesome to color! I first picked up some Cameo Coral ink from the lid of the stamp pad with my aqua painter.

Then I held the little tiny flower with one hand and brushed the aqua painter onto it. It absorbs the ink instantly. In fact, so do your fingers at this point and you really do have Inky Fingers!

For a darker contrast on the edges and because I can, at times, be a perfectionist, I used my Cameo Coral marker on the edges of the flower. This step is quite optional as I'm sure the receiver would never notice the difference.

FYI, I never know how these posts will look once I hit "publish post". I'm hoping the pictures are neither scrunched up nor spread too far apart. And also, I've been playing with some photo publishing software. I guess I'm just warning you. Even I don't know how some things will turn out but that is what keeps life exciting!