Chocolate Ones

Hi friends!  Happy Friday!  It's the first Friday of the month and that means I'm up over on the VLV Sketches blog with a sketch + color challenge.

For my card, I pulled out the Chocolate Bunnies and Borderline sets.  (These same images used on my card are available as limited editions individually for a great price, while supplies last!)  I stamped directly onto crumb cake cardstock with early espresso ink and then colored with Prismacolors and gamsol.  The Best of All sentiment is embossed in white onto an early espresso petite oval die cut.  I distressed things a bit with some watered down white paint, antique linen distress stain, brushed corduroy distress ink and a distressing tool.  Last, but not least, I added some white gel pen accents to the stamped chevrons and the doodled egg patterns.

Alrighty, got to go.  The boys' 2nd birthday party is tomorrow and I have lots to finish up!  Be sure to head on over to VLV and play along with this week's sketch, color challenge or both, if you're feeling really sassy!  {grin}

Bunny & Eggs	Best of All	Borders Galore

Enabler's List
Stamps: Chocolate Bunnies, Borderline (Verve Stamps)
Paper: crumb cake, early espresso (SU!)
Ink: early espresso (SU!), Versamark, prismacolor pencils, brushed corduroy, antique linen (Ranger)
Accessories:  Petite Oval Nestabilities (Spellbinders), white embossing powder, white paint, white gel pen, distressing tool

Happy Spring and a HOP

Hi friends!  It's the 5th of the month and that means it's time for our monthly Diva Inspirations Hop! This month we've got a fabulous challenge that's sure to put a string in your step! So in addition to a comment prize hidden along the hop, you can play along with the challenge and link up your creation for a chance to win another prize!  I'm smack dab in the middle of the hop, so you probably came here from Tiffany's, but if not, the whole list is at the bottom of the post for you to continue on!

My card for the challenge is all about the soft subtleness of spring.  I started with pink, yellow & aqua in my head, then glanced at a brand new paper pad I just picked up and saw the same colors in this yummy watercolored design that I stamped the sentiment from Easter Joy on.  I wanted to add in some softness with vellum to match that yummy background in the inspiration pic, so sewed a chicken wire embossed piece of vellum to the blushing bride layer.  The butterfly from Easter Joy is stamped on barely banana then covered with a layer of vellum.  I stamped the butterfly again onto designer paper and cut just the butterfly wings and body out and popped up over the vellum.  Some lace and a paper doily add to daintiness of the card, then I added some Pastel Sequin Mix  randomly and flicked on some watered down gesso.

Our March challenge is Spring Has Sprung:


It's time to ditch the winter blues! Create a card that sings Spring using inspirational quotes, pretty colors and florals or themes that celebrate new life. Whether you draw inspiration from the graphic or blaze your own trail, just show us what spring means to you!

Need a little inspiration? Check out the blogs linked below to see what the other Divas did with the challenge! It's sure to be a treat, and speaking of treats, we've got a prize for one lucky commenter along the hop! Check out the Verve Blog today for all the prize info and deadlines.

Next up on the hop is Teresa!

	1. Amy	11. Teresa
	2. Anya	12. Stacey
	3. Betty	13. Marisa
	4. Karen	14. Laurie
	5. Sankari	15. Maureen
	6. Sarah	16. Jen
	7. Sony	17. Christyne
	8. Susan	18. Charmaine
	9. Tiffany	19. Andrea
	10. Julee

If you haven't checked it out already, Verve is having a sale on all stamps & dies this month, plus we've added a bunch of stamps to our retired list at a great savings!

Enabler's List
Stamps: Easter Joy (Verve Stamps)
Paper: Style Board (Crate Paper), blushing bride, barely banana (SU!)
Ink: black, white gesso
Accessories: Pastel Sequin Mix (Verve), circle punches, classic circles nestabilities (Spellbinders), chicken wire embossing folder (Cuttlebug), lace trim, paper doily

Birthday Bloom

Hi friends!  Can you believe it's already March!  The boys turn 2 on Sunday, and while the years have flown, the days and nights have drug on endlessly.  LOL  Anyhow, we tired the boys out at the park this weekend, so I was able to get a little weekend stamping in and actually have a Mojo Monday card ready on Monday morning for the first time in several weeks.  Woohoo!  The month is off to a great start!

It's the first Monday of the month, and that means it is contest time over at Mojo Monday.  Play along with our sketch this week for your chance to win some Verve of your very own!  My card started with a left over die cut and colored flower from my Viva la Verve! card last week.  The flower and sentiment are from the Amazing Wishes and the flower is cut with one of the dies in the Joyful Blooms Die Set.  I added some greenery using the Elegant Leaves Die Set and the coordinating stamp from Bloom & Grow, then added a little detail with a white colored pencil on the leaves.  The papers are from the Lucky Charm collection and I rounded all the corners, added some Swiss Dot embossing, then went a little crazy with some linen thread.  Just a hint of bling at the end with some glossy glaze, glitter and a random sparkly embellishment.

With a new month, there's a new sale over at Verve!  All stamps & dies are 20% off, plus we've got a whole new list of stamps we're retiring at 50% off to make room for new lovelies.

Thanks so much for stopping by!  Hope this fine March day finds you happy, healthy and ready to create!

Enabler's List
Stamps: Amazing Wishes, Bloom & Grow (Verve Stamps)
Paper: Lucky Charm (American Crafts), white, sage shadow (SU!)
Ink: black, sage shadow (SU!), copic markers
Accessories:  Joyful Blooms Die Set, Elegant Leaves Die Set (A Cut Above by VERVE), linen thread, Swiss Dots embossing folder, glitter, glossy glaze, sparkly gem