For the Love of KETTO

Happy Saturday! Welcome to the first KETTO Blog Hop sponsored by Stamping Bella! If you've just happened upon my blog, you can CLICK HERE to start from the beginning at Bloggabella. There's a $40 gift certificate to Stamping Bella up for grabs to one lucky person who comments on the right blog along the way (it's a secret whose blog it is, though), so it's worth your while to start at the beginning and leave all those gorgeous Kettos some love!



I've mentioned before that I'm just a wee bit KETTO crazy, so when I saw there was an all Ketto blog hop going on I just had to sign myself up! My latest Ketto order arrived a week or so ago and I've been just dying to have some time to play with them all! For my project I decided on a gift set of notecards and a cute little coordinating box.

The box was printed on the backside of some Nonsense DP (We R Memory Keepers) using the lines-only large version of the Playing Cards Box #2 by Kelleigh Ratzlaff. I simply assembled and then adorned with some wide pomegranate satin ribbon, adding some frills with heart shaped pins. The card size is 3 x 4.25" and designed to fit inside the box. I made some custom envelopes by resizing Kelleigh's Mini Envelopes template. Here are close-ups of the individual cards. In order of appearance, Phoebe Ketto, Rollanda Ketto, Maisy Ketto, Phoebe again (gotta love her!), and Margarita Ketto. Sentiments are all from Thoughtful Florals by Verve.







What's In There?
Stamps: Phoebe, Maisy, Margarita & Rollanda Kettos (Stamping Bella), Thoughtful Florals (Verve Stamps)
Paper: Nonsense DP (We R Memory Keepers), Purely Pomegranate (SU!)
Ink: A Muse Black, Copic markers
Accessories: Classic Scallop Squares, Rectangles, Circles & Ovals (Nestabilities), Word Window Punch, Large oval punch, scallop oval punch, pomegranate satin ribbon (SU!), Hot Lips Bella Baubles (Stamping Bella), mini scallop scissors (ProvoCraft), heart pins (Making Memories), bling (Kaiser Craft), glitter & diamond glaze mixture
Templates: Playing Card Box #2, Mini Envelopes (Kelleigh Ratzlaff)

Thanks so much for stopping by! Now it's time to hop on over to the fabulous Lori Craig's blog for some more KETTO goodness! Have a great day!

Inspired

I'm back! When I saw Amber's Viva la Verve! sketch this morning I just had to make time to play! I absolutely love doing Amber's sketches - she inspires me to be a better crafter and try things through her layouts and twists that I never would have tried. I always love the way my cards with her challenges turn out, even when I'm a bit nervous starting out! So thanks, Amber! You ROCK!



If you haven't tried out Amber's sketches, you simply must. Every Friday she posts a new rockin' VLV sketch with a twist and if you participate in every sketch during the month your name goes into a drawing to receive the next ENTIRE Verve release! Amber just pulled a winner today from our May participants, so now is the time to start fresh and jump into Viva la Verve!

When I saw Amber's twist of threes for this week my heart did a little dance of fear and excitement. LOL The twist was to use three or more colors of cardstock, three or more types of embellishments, and three stamp sets! I knew the stamp sets would be easy, so I started first on selecting my colors.

One of my favorite sources of inspiration is the uber talented Debbie Olsen. So when I saw this card the other day on her blog, I knew I simply had to try a card with this color combo. Since I didn't have the exact colors she used, I went with what I had that I thought would work... pink passion, baja breeze, so saffron and white.

For my stamping, I started with the oval portion of the sketch and chose to work with the Scallop and dotted ovals from Sweet on You. I first stamped the scallop oval on white cardstock in Pink Passion, then cut out with Classic Ovals Nestabilities and matted on a Scallop Oval Nestabilities cut out in Baja Breeze. For the center of the oval, I stamped the dotted oval in Baja Breeze, then the sentiment from Dare to Be You in black in the center, before punching out with the wide oval punch. I added dimensionals between each layer or cardstock to give it some extra punch.

For my third set, I chose Wishful Elegance and stamped the background in Pink Passion on So Saffron, then sponged the edges with So Saffron ink. I stamped one flower on So Saffron and the other on Pink Passion cardstock with Pink Passion and then cut out, layered with pop dots and added a filigree brad to the center. The so Saffron strips have been letterpress debossed with the Textile Cuttlebug folder and the pink passion borders are done with the EK Success fleur de lis border punch. I still needed two embellishments, so I added some yellow twill from Taylored Expressions and some bling from Kaiser Craft.

Happy Trails

Happy Friday! Woohoo, it's almost the weekend, and it's also time for new stamps from The Cat's Pajamas!! Double woohoo! :) Along with a cute TCP style outdoors set and a new alpha set, Alma has also introduced some coordinating Buttons & Trims that you won't want to miss! And you can get the whole shebang in the Kitty Kat Pack for one purrrrrfectly low price!


For my card, I used the camper image from the Happy Camper set and used the Nightie alphabet set for the happy trails message. The graph paper is from the Cosmo Cricket Girl Friday Collection and I added some sponging with Vintage Photo ranger distress ink. I always think of my FIL and his big ole RV when I think of campers, so I tried to give a masculine feel with my color and layout choices. The fun ribbon is from the coordinating Great Outdoors Trims. The Happy Camper set has so many cute images and it totally makes me think of the totally cool Smokey the Bear sticker I had on my dresser growing up! LOL

Okay, that's it for today, peeps! Hope you have a fabulous Friday! Oh, and there's a little announcement today over on the Verve Blog, so be sure to check it out!

So Glad

Happy Thursday! Wow! The week is just flying by! Today I have a card for one of the Stampin' Out Alzheimer's {SOA} challenges to share with you. This card uses a gorgeous digi stamp set called Forget-Me-Not by Sweet-n-Sassy Stamps. The set is free to download for SOA participants (in the Freebies section of the SOA site) and it really caught my eye so I HAD to take a little break to play! :) In addition to the free download, Sweet 'n Sassy is also hosting a sketch challenge for SOA where you can win a gift certificate for playing. So I thought it only right to use the image with their sketch.



I printed the set twice on Neenah Classic Crest white cardstock with my laser printer. I had never used digi stamps to print out and color before and I thought that my Copics might bleed, but they didn't! Hooray! I colored both images, then set in to cut out various pieces and piece them on top with different depths of pop dots to add some dimension. I dressed the flowers up with some Cotton Candy stickles and then tiny dots of petal pink liquid pearls in the center. This panel is sponged lightly with Antique Linen distress ink and matted with black cardstock.

Although there are several lovely sentiments in the free set, I've had my heart on using this sentiment from Dad's Day for a while now and I thought it would just be perfect for the card. I used classic nestabilities to cut, stencil some antique linen ink around the inner portion and then matted with a scallop oval with Petal Pink liquid pearl accents. For the side strip I used the Martha Stewart Doily Lace punch and then pearled out some pearl clusters and finished off with a photo corner punch accent in the upper corner. The card base is textured pink pirouette.

What's In It?
Stamps: Forget-me-Not Florals Digi (Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps), Dad's Day (Verve Stamps)
Paper: Pink Pirouette, Basic Black (SU!), White Classic Crest (Neenah)
Ink: antique linen (Ranger Distress), Copic markers, Onyx Black (Versamark)
Accessories: Photo corner punch, white grosgrain ribbon, pop dots (SU!), Doily Lace Border punch (Martha Stewart), Classic and Scallop ovals (Nestabilities), pearl clusters, Cotton Candy stickles, Petal Pink Liquid Pearls

SOA Treats

Happy Wednesday! I'm going to try to make this short since I tweaked my back packing orders the other night and I'm still in quite a bit of pain. A drawer holding plain janes fell, then I fell, then I fell twice more trying to get up and ended up in that crying/laughing state with stamps all around me! It was quite comical, but the pain is not. So I've been trying to take it easy and limit my time standing, and what better way to do that than do a little creating? I started by heading over to the Stampin Out Alzheimer's {SOA} site and downloading the free Cupcake Box template from Kelleigh Ratzlaff and a free digi kit called Flip Flop Tan by Libby Weifenbach. Not only are these free to SOA participants, but both of these freebies have challenges associated with them where you can win even more cool stuff!



For the first project, I used the bottom only portion of the template and cut the edges with scallop edge scissors before assembling. I used digi paper from the Flip Flop tan kit and cut out several of the little sunshiney flowers included in the digi kit. Next, I tested out my new SU! Big Shot dies, added a sentiment from Sweet on You and then tied up some peanut M&M's in cellophane for a little treat.



The second box uses the whole template, and I clipped the Flip Flop tan papers to it before printing, then added more of those fun little flowers around the sides and finished off with a flower on top. The camera angle is a little weird because I was trying to show the top and the sides, but it looks so cute in real life!

Dare To Be Sketchy

Happy Tuesday! Today I'm back with the card I promised you yesterday. It's my sample card for the Verve Stamps sketch over on the Stampin Out Alzheimer's site. Have you joined the site yet? I'm just blown away by how many challenges and prizes there are! It's so heartwarming to see the way the stamping community gives back. Alzheimer's support is a cause dear to my heart. A few years ago my grandfather passed away while suffering from Alzheimer's. Watching his decline was so devastating. Did you know that every 70 seconds someone develops Alzheimer's? That means that while you're reading this blog post several moms or dads or brothers or sisters' lives are going to be irrevocably changed and a lifetime of memories will start chipping away. I do what I can to support Alzheimer's awareness and research in the hopes that one day we will find a cure and everyone's memories will be safe and secure.



Okay, so that's my little soapbox for the day. Now onto the sketch and card. There are a few of the new release Verve sets up for grabs for participating in the Verve Stamps sketch challenge over on the SOA site. I absolutely love this sketch and have already used it twice. I hope you enjoy it too!

My card uses the new Up, Up and Away and Dare To Be You sets. When I designed the balloon set I was really inspired by those fabulous old balloons of yesteryear, so I decided to go with a vintage feel for my card. So I started with cream cardstock, which always seems to add some warmth to a vintage look. I stamped the balloon in Vintage Photo Ranger Distress Ink, then stamped the clouds. I stamped both of these again to color and paper piece over the stamped image. Then I added all sorts of sponging with the Vintage Photo ink. For the large panel I used the fleur de lis border punch from EK Success and then I made a little accent by gluing three fleur de lis punches together for the corner piece, accenting the top one with a white gel pen. The red strip and the dotted papers are from Crate Paper. I embossed the red with the Swiss Dots Cuttlebug folder and then sanded off the dots. The sentiment is from Dare to be You and I finished off with some brown and cream polka dot ribbon.

SOA Mojo

Happy Monday! Today we have a very special mojo sketch over on the Mojo Monday blog. The sketch is doubling as one of the many challenges in the Stampin' Out Alzheimer's {SOA} event going on this week! The event starts today and runs through May 31. A $5 donation gets you access to the site, where there are tons of freebies, challenges and fabulous prizes to be won. All proceeds go directly to the Alzheimer's Association. Verve is hosting both a Mojo Sketch challenge as well as a Verve Sketch challenge at the event, so there's plenty of chances to win some Verve. The challenges are located on the SOA site in the Card Challenges section.



My sample card for the mojo sketch uses the new Up, Up and Away set and a sentiment from Great Expectations. I stamped the balloon and the scroll decoration and colored with Copic markers, then used my Classic Circle Nestabilities as a stencil to sponge with Soft Sky ink. I repeatedly stamped the scroll decoration on Riding Hood Red in Riding Hood Red ink for a tone-on-tone background for the double panels and matted with a thin layer of black. The top paper is from some Wild Asparagus papers in my stash and the bottom paper is from the Girl Friday papers by Cosmo Cricket. I added a little circle sentiment to the side and stamped the Best of Luck sentiment from Great Expectations in it and accented with some little black rhinestones.

I'm so exhausted as I write this that I think I'm going to have to wait until tomorrow's post to show you the Verve Sketch for Stampin Out Alzheimer's and my sample. I'll just tease you and tell you it's one of my favorite cards I've ever made. If you're a SOA participant you can check it out here, otherwise you'll have to wait until tomorrow! Have a fabulous Monday, peeps!

Square Protector

Just thought I'd pop in and change the scenery. This is a quick little card I made with a couple of the new Father's Day releases from Verve. We just released six new sets and have a Memorial Day sale going on with all stamps 10 - 20% off!



What's In It?
Stamps: Protector, Dad's Day, Seeing Stars (Verve)
Paper: Always Artichoke, Kraft (SU!), Classic Cream (Neenah)
Ink: Always Artichoke (SU!), Olympia Green (Versafine), Vintage Photo (Ranger Distress Ink)
Accessories: Moss taffeta, wide oval punch (SU!), brads (Making Memories) , sponge

I Went on a Balloon Ride

It's finally Friday! Hooray! Today is the last day of our peeks of the Verve sets we'll be releasing tonight. The divas have some fabulous eye candy for you over on the Verve Blog and a chance to win the two sets their peeking today - Up, Up and Away and Dare To Be. And you still have until 5PM Mountain tonight to get your sketch card in the drawing for a chance at your choice of any Verve set. And if you've ever wanted to be a guest for a Verve release, we've extended the deadline for the Special Guest contest to 10PM ET on Tuesday, May 26. I'll be picking my favorite entry to be our Special Guest for our June release! The sketch and all the details are in yesterday's post.

A while ago, the fabulous Amy Sheffer shared a cute little photo of some hot air balloon wall hangings with me as an idea for a stamp set. I just loved the idea and had so much fun designing a set that would capture the whimsy and adventure of balloon riding, but also have the elegant style of those old fashioned balloons from days gone by. I think I now have a new favorite Verve set! The other set being peeked today is called Dare to Be and it's a small sentiment set that will work for all sorts of encouragement, congratulations and all-occasion cards.

For my card, I colored the balloon from Up, Up and Away with Copic markers, then added some red rhinestones for a little bling. I stamped a few of the clouds in the set and some treetops down below, then distressed the edges and inked them with Vintage Photo Distress ink. Next I added some faux stitching around the edges and matted with a Soft Sky Scallop Rectangle Nestabilities die cut that was heavily sponged with Vintage Photo ink. Below that is a layer of cream cardstock that is debossed with the D'Vine Swirls cuttelbug folder and sponged with Vintage Photo. I thought the red and white striped ribbon really went with that old-fashioned feel, so I added a strip down the side, then added a few more loops to give it a pleated feel, finishing with the I'm so proud of you sentiment from the Dare to Be set.

Okay, that's it for today, peeps! I hope to see y'all at the release party tonight at 9PM Eastern in the Verve Forum. We'll be revealing the new sets and chatting up a storm. Then at around 11PM Eastern, the new sets will be available on the website and we'll be kicking off our Memorial Day sale!

A Peek and a Sketch

Happy Thursday! Today the Divas are sneaking peeks at two more of the six new sets debuting at our release party this Friday night. Today they'll be peeking Dad's Day and Protector. For a chance to win these sets, head on over to the Verve Blog and leave a comment with your answer to today's question of the day. I've also got a little sketch challenge I'm posting for you today to coincide with our release! It's a really clean layout, great for masculine, no-fuss cards.

To play along, just upload a project using the provided sketch to your online blog or gallery, then use the Mr. Linky form at the bottom of this post to add a link to your project. Deadline for entry in the random prize drawing is 5 PM Mountain time on Friday, May 22. Five random winners will be drawn who will win their choice of any Verve set. Winners will be announced at our release party on May 22.

In addition, I'll be picking my favorite entry to play along with the Verve Divas as a Special Guest for our June release! So if you've been waiting for a chance to show off your diva-self, now's the time to strut your stuff! :) It will take me a while to judge the entries since I'll be busy packing orders, so I'll announce the winner on Friday, May 29. Good luck! I can't wait to see everyone's cards. Verve Stamps are not required, but if you've got 'em why not give 'em a little love?

Edited to Add: The deadline for the Special Guest contest has been extended through Tuesday, May 26 at 10PM Eastern. We'll still be picking 5 random winners from the entries that are in by 5PM on May 22, but I wanted to give everyone a chance to participate in the contest who wants to, and I know not everyone can find stamping time during the week!

Well, my sample card for today doesn't start with either of the sets the Divas are peeking, but all the sets in this release mix and match well together, so I'll work in one of today's sets on the inside of the card! ;) The front of the card features one of the sets peeked yesterday called World's Best and the Whimsy Tree plain jane. I like to go with classic right angles and earth tones for masculine cards, so I started by stamping the Whimsy Tree in Vintage Photo Ranger Distress Ink and then colored with Copic markers and sponged around the edges with the Vintage Photo ink. I stamped the World's Best sentiment three times on a strip of Classic Cream cardstock, then used my mat pack and a paper piercer to add some faux stitching, sponged the edges and matted with chocolate chip. For the sentiment I chose two more stamps from the World's Best set... Father and {another name for love}.

Like I said, all the sets in this release work well together, so the inside of this card includes a smaller version of the tree that's included in one of the sets that will be peeked tomorrow. The sentiment comes from the Dad's Day set and the quote reads...

To her the name of Father was another name for love. - Fanny Fern

These two stamps are stamped directly on a Top Note die cut from Kraft cardstock and mounted on the inside of the card. This is a super easy way to dress up the inside of a card that uses a dark card base.

Links are now closed! Thanks to everyone who participated!

Sweet on You Sneak Peek

Hi Everyone! Today is the first day of the sneak peeks of the new Verve release, which will be available Friday night after our Release Party. Be sure to hop on over to the Verve Blog to see what the Divas have worked up with two of the new sets, Sweet on You and World's Best. There's also a chance to win the two sets they're peeking today, so don't forget to check it out!



For my first projects with Sweet on You, I wanted to work with some treat bags to show how the set was designed to be used. I didn't have a lot of time, (it's crazy how busy it can get leading up to a release!) so these little treats were the perfect little project. I completed both projects in under 15 minutes! I've always loved giving little goodie bags to friends and family, so I designed this sentiment set to be used with some of the popular candies you can get at the store. Things like 100 Grand, Reese's Pieces, cinnamon bears, Red Hots, Skittles, M&M's, Starburst, etc. The first sentiment I used is my personal favorite, and says "I love you to pieces" - perfect for a little treat bag filled with Reese's Pieces!

The set includes a scalloped oval and a dotted oval that are designed to nest inside of each other, and several sentiments that will fit inside. Actually, most of the sentiments from this release will fit inside these ovals. I stamped the scalloped oval in Tangerine Tango on a Top note die scored in half, then stamped the dotted oval and the sentiment in Vintage Photo Ranger distress ink and punched out with the wide oval SU! punch before sponging the edges and popping up on top of the scalloped oval. A little poly twill ribbon and a small cello bag and I was finished.



For the second treat bag, I chose the "You color my world" sentiment. I can see so many different uses for this sentiment. I picked some colorful Cosmo Cricket DP and a Riding Hood Red mat for my Top Note. I decided to go with just the dotted oval for this one, and stamped my sentiment inking it with Riding Hood Red and Baja Breeze. I finished with a little celery grosgrain and a bag full of skittles.

Okay, hope you liked my little peek. If you haven't already, be sure to check out the Verve Blog to see a few more projects with today's peeks.

Cafe Latte

Hey everyone! Happy Tuesday to you! Today I have a hybrid project to share with you. When I saw the new Cafe Latte kit by Sugarplum Paperie and Tracie Stroud, I immediately thought of this little teabag holder I made ages ago. It was such a fun project that I thought I'd take the measurements from the template by cookiestamper on SCS and make myself a digi template so I could use all the cool elements included in the digi Cafe Latte kit.



So, I designed everything in Photoshop using the proper dimensions and adding the fun coffee mug with swirls, some coffee stains and sentiment elements from the kit to dress it all up. I dragged a few extras off on the side, so I could cut them out and pop them up in places for a little dimension. Then it was time to print. I glued the cover to some cream cardstock before scoring, to make it a little extra sturdy, then assembled the inner pockets, glued down some of that yummy red & white striped ribbon SU! had in the winter mini and pulled it all together.

Mojo Chihuahua

Hey everyone, happy Monday! It's time for another mojo sketch over on the Mojo Monday blog, so head on over and play along. I bought this little Muchas Gracias stamp set by Inkadinkado almost a year ago and figured it was about time it came out of the shrink wrap! LOL I intended to use the muchas gracias sentiment from the set, but I lost it somewhere on my desk and didn't find it until after I'd already finished the card, so I went with life is good, instead.


What's In It?
Stamps: Muchas Gracias (Inkadinkado), Artful Elegance (Verve)
Paper: Pacific Point, Basic Black, Prints Pack (SU!)
Ink: A Muse Black Dye ink, Copic Markers
Accessories: Scallop and Classic Circle punches, 1" square punch, Stardust Stickles, polka dot ribbon, pop dots, Kaiser Craft black rhinestones, Cuttlebug Swiss Dots folder

Viva la Favorites!

Happy Friday! Woohoo, it's almost the weekend! I'll be working all weekend since our next release party is just a week away, but I just love having hubby home. Everything seems okay if I can sit here at the computer and hear hubby and his XBox sounds in the background! Just makes me smile! LOL

Friday also means it's time for another Viva la Verve sketch challenge with a {twist}. Amber came up with another great sketch this week and the twist is to use your favorites. Favorite embellishments, favorite color combo and favorite stamp sets! If you complete all the challenges for the month of May, you'll be eligible for a drawing to receive our entire June release! Check out the Verve challenge forum for all the details. Okay, so I just noticed my card doesn't look anything like the sketch!!! That's because when I printed off the sketch my printer didn't print the gray area around the inner part of the card. So my whole card is a tweaked version of just the inner part of the sketch. Oops! Oh well, I had fun and that's the point, right? :)

And if you hadn't guessed by now, my favorite color combination is aqua and brown. Love, love, love it! Reminds me of sunny beaches and expensive chocolates! My favorite embellishments are pearls, glitter and ribbon...especially this absolutely scrumptious brown double edged polka dot ribbon from Taylored Expressions. YUM YUM! And my all time favorite Verve set is Filigree Fantasy, and following at a close second is Grateful Elegance. I paired these two sets with the Elegant Flower plain Jane for a totally Vervey card.


The Filigree Fantasy flourish is stamped in Chocolate Chip and the Grateful Elegance & Elegant Flower are embossed with clear EP. Then I used Copic BG10 and BG11 to color the flowers and fill in some of the lines on the flourishes. Since I already had stamped and colored the images and then realized that the ribbon has cream spots instead of white, I decided to sponge the edges of the white to tone it down. So I pulled out Creamy Caramel, Close to Cocoa and Chocolate Chip ink to blend the edges for a vintage glow.

The sentiment is from Filigree Fantasy and stamped on a scrap of Soft Sky paper and punched with the Ticket Corner punch. I stamped the flourishes in Soft Sky all around the edges, then used my Quickie Glue Pen and some Dazzling Diamonds glitter to add some glitz to all of the flourishes. I had to tweak the sketch a bit since my image was a little too big to do a vertical card. The DP is from my scrap pile - a beautiful damask paper from October Afternoon. I embossed a strip of Soft Sky with the Swiss Dots embossing folder and added Chocolate pearls and three little cut out flowers to the side for the trio of somethings on the sketch.

What's in it?
Stamps: Filigree Fantasy, Grateful Elegance, Elegant Flower Plain Jane (Verve)
Paper: Soft Sky, Chocolate Chip (SU!), Ocober Afternoon DP
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Soft Sky, Close to Cocoa, Creamy Caramel (SU!), BG10 & BG11 (Copic)
Accessories: Chocolate Pearls (Kaiser Craft), Dazzling Diamonds, Ticket Corner Punch, Clear EP, Scallop Edge Punch, Stampin' Dimensionals (SU!), Quickie Glue Pen, Brown Polka Dot ribbon, tiny rhinestones, foam sponge

Hope y'all have a fabulous weekend!

Take Joy

Wow! Can you believe it's already Wednesday? My life has been so busy lately I barely have time to stop and think. I think the sentiment for today's card (and a little "me" time in my studio) is just what I needed to feel grounded and re-prioritize the chaos that is my to-do list. I didn't really have a plan for this card, other than something to bring a little smile to a friend who's been a little down lately.

I pulled out one of my favorite images, the flower from Everlasting Life and started coloring with Copic markers. I then painted a mixture of Diamond Glaze and glitter over the flowers and set aside to dry. The Cameo Coral layer is stamped with the background from Wishful Elegance in the same color ink, and then I lightly sponged the edges of the square with some coral ink as well. The scallop square was an unused Nestabilities die cut in my stash and I used a little scrap of black May Arts taffeta ribbon for a knotted bow. The background paper is a scrap of Scenic Route paper from my stash and I added a few little black Kaiser Craft rhinestones down the side. And since I still hadn't used my new Stampin' Up! scalloped oval punch, I had to test it out. I stamped the sentiment from Petals & Stems in Versafine Onyx Black, then punched out with the oval punch and matted with the scallop oval. Pretty quick, but it was fun and changed my whole mood.

What's in it?
Stamps: Everlasting Life, Wishful Elegance, Petals & Stems (Verve)
Paper: Cameo Coral, Basic Black (SU!), Scenic Route DP
Ink: A Muse black dye ink, Versafine Onyx Black
Accessories: Oval punches (SU!), Scallop Squares (Nestabilities), Black taffeta ribbon (May Arts), Rhinestones (Kaiser Craft), glitter, Diamond Glaze, sponge

Great Friend

It's been a while since I've made a Stampin' Up! only card, so I set out to make one this morning. With all the cool tools I've come to rely on, it's a lot harder than one might think not to reach for some Stickles or a Cuttlebug folder or some little rhinestones to bling things up! But, I persevered and now I can say that at least one of the stamp sets in my last order has been inked! Now if I could only find 20 more hours in a day, I might be able to get the rest of the stack inky and still finish all the other things I have to do. LOL!



I started by using the Top Note die in my Big Shot to cut a white and a Baja Breeze Top Note. I then stamped the butterfly from Great Friend in Pretty in Pink and Baja Breeze in the center of the white Top Note, then stamped them again on white cardstock to cut out and pop up on top. Next I stamped the little frame and sentiment from Great Friend in Baja Breeze with the help of my Stamp-a-ma-jig, then cut out, matted on Baja Breeze paper and hand trimmed a little border around it. For a little sparkle I applied glue around the outer edge of the stamped frame and then topped with Dazzling Diamonds. The background paper is from the Walk in the Park DSP collection and I finished off with a little pink taffeta ribbon.

What's In It?
All Supplies SU!
Stamps: Great Friend
Paper: Whisper White, Baja Breeze, Walk in the Park DSP
Ink: Baja Breeze, Pretty in Pink
Accessories: Top Note Die, Dazzling Diamonds, Mono Adhesive, pink taffeta ribbon, sponge

Mojo Flower Pot

Happy Monday! It's already Monday again and time for another Mojo sketch over on the Mojo Monday blog. Be sure to hop on over there for the sketch and some awesome Monday morning inspiration from the Mojo girls.

My sketch card uses stamps from Miracles Blossom and Floral Symphony. They're stamped in A Muse Black dye ink and then colored with Copic markers (BG10 & BG11 for the flowers). The stems and greenery are stamped in Kiwi Kiss. I stamped a few extra of the larger flowers, colored them, cut them out and popped up on each panel. The panels are sponged with Creamy Caramel and Close to Cocoa ink, giving a little vintage glow and the papers are from the Parisian Breeze collection by SU!

What's In It?
Stamps: Miracles Blossom, Floral Symphony (Verve Stamps)
Paper: Parisian Breeze DSP (SU!)
Ink: Kiwi Kiss, Creamy Caramel, Close to Cocoa, Chocolate Chip marker (SU!), A Muse Black dye ink, Copic markers
Accessories: Mat Pack, Scallop Edge punch (SU!), paper piercer, Liquid Pearls (Ranger)

Viva la Birthday

Hey everyone! Today's card uses this week's Viva la Verve sketch with a {twist} of blue, green and a neutral.



I pulled out the Wishful Elegance set and stamped some tone on tone backgrounds in Baja Breeze and Kraft (using Close to Cocoa ink, then added some white mats to make the layers pop. The sentiment is stamped in Baja Breeze on a white deckled rectangle and sponged with Baja Breeze ink. I stamped two of the flowers from the set on Baja Breeze cardstock, then cut out and layered on top of each other, with a great big rhinestone in the center. I tweaked the layers in the sketch a bit to accommodate my sentiment, and then added some pearl dew drops below the sentiment panel. I finished off with an Always Artichoke background embossed with the Distressed Lines cuttlebug folder, and then topped it off with a white taffet a ribbon. Okay, that's it for now. Hope you have a fabulous weekend!

What's In It?
Stamps: Wishful Elegance (Verve)
Paper: Baja Breeze, Kraft, Always Artichoke (SU!)
Ink: Baja Breeze, Close to Cocoa
Accessories: pearlized dew drops, rhinestone, Deckled Rectangles (Nestabilities), Distressed Lines Cuttlebug folder, white taffeta (SU!)

Oh So Happy

Happy Thursday! Today I have a little hybrid project I made with a new Fancy Correspondence Box & Envelope Set of templates by Kelleigh Ratzlaff. The templates include an envelope for a regular 4.25" x 5.5" card and a little box template that fits a set of cards and envelopes.




The papers and elements I used on the box, cards and envelopes are from the Oh So Happy digi Kit by Amy Sumrall. Aren't' those flowers cute? I printed a few extra flowers, cut them out and popped them up to embellish the box. I also printed the same design I used on the envelope and made a really quick clean and simple card with it, stamping the always look on the bright side of life sentiment from Fluttering By on both the card and the box. For the final touch I added a few little rhinestones on the flowers.



I hope you have a wonderfully creative day! Thanks for stopping by!

Magneto

Mark and I went and saw a movie for the first time in a long time the other day. I really like comic book movies, so we had to see X-Men Origins: Wolverine. It was your typical comic book movie, but I was entertained and had a great time forgetting all my worries for a little while. :)

Anyhow, Magneto wasn't in this X-Men movie, but I did post a little magnet tutorial over on The Hybrid Chick today using Floral Symphony and digi papers and elements from the Lottie Dottie Collab. Head on over to check it out!

Mojo Nonsense

Well, I'm not sure where Monday went, but it's gone! So this week it's gonna be a Mojo Tuesday for me! The sketch this week is a fun one for patterned papers, and since it's the first week of a new month, it's also a contest week! There's seven mojo prizes up for grabs, so be sure and play along. Click here for all the details!



And here's my card using papers from the We R Memory Keepers Nonsense collection and stamps from Miracles Blossom (flowers & greenery) and Floral Symphony (sentiment). A few weeks ago I saw this lovely little card by Amy White and loved how she added the little bloom to the sentiment. Doesn't it look like it was made for just that very thing? I had one of those why didn't I think of that moments and have been wanting to try it out ever since! :)

What's In It?
Stamps: Miracles Blossom, Floral Symphony (Verve)
Paper: Chocolate Chip (SU!), Nonsense DP (WRMK)
Ink: Black dye ink (A Muse), Copic Markers
Accessories: Stardust Stickles, Hardware photo corner (WRMK), Chocolate Stitched ribbon, white gel pen, scallop edge punch (SU!), satin ribbon (Archiver's), Chocolate pearl (Kaiser Craft)

Perfect in Every Way

Happy Sunday! Have you been following along with all the National Scrapbook Day festivities over at The Hybrid Chick this weekend? You need to check it out - most of the prizes you can win just for commenting! And there's some seriously cool prizes!

For the Verve Giveaway, we're giving away the Hundred Hearts and Practically Perfect sets for commenting on THIS POST. But hurry, you only have until midnight Eastern tonight (Sunday) to get your entries in! There's also a really cool Box it Up challenge, where you can win a $25 gift certificate to Kelleigh Ratzlaff's store for participating. That's a lot of awesome template goodness you could win - have I mentioned I'm in LOVE with Kelleigh's templates?! :)

Over at The Hybrid Chick they're excited about helping people who are new to hybrid with tutorials, project ideas, getting started info, etc. And to make it even easier to get started with hybrid, Nicole designed this little Paper Daisies paper pack for you to download and try for free! It's so cute so be sure to test it out! And if you ever have any questions about hybrid, don't be shy to ask a question in the forums over at The Digi Chick or at The Hybrid Chick group on Paper Craft Planet. These gals are super sweet, uber knowledgable and happy to help!



My card today uses the Practically Perfect set and the free Paper Daisies paper pack. I wanted a little boy card, so I printed out the blue and green patterned and a solid blue paper from the pack and then went up to my stamp studio to play! I started with stamping the bunny from Practically Perfect on the green diamond print paper. Next I stamped the bunny on white and on the blue plaid and paper pieced his belly and feet. I used a scrap of the green to stamp the bunny again to piece a little green bow on, then just assembled the white bunny (colored with Copics) onto the green diamond print and added some Stardust Stickles accents. I added some black and white cardstocks to make the layers pop, and used the eyelet border punch from SU! for the decorative border. I finished off with black grosgrain, some little black rhinestones and the Practically perfect sentiment stamped on the solid blue paper.

Okay, hope you're having a great weekend! See ya tomorrow for Mojo Madness! :)

Hybrid Saturday

Happy National Scrapbook Day! There's a cool sale and celebration going on at The Digichick this weekend with a 40% off sale, so if you've been wanting to try your hand at hybrid this is a good time to give it a go!

There's lots going on over at The Hybrid Chick blog this weekend, too, with tons of hybrid tutorials, challenges and giveaways. There's several posts scheduled each day this weekend, and you might even see a little Verve giveaway over there sometime this weekend! ;) They're giving away some cool prizes just for commenting, so be sure to check out all the posts if you have a little time.



Here are a couple hybrid projects I've made in the last week or so that I haven't shared with you yet. All of the templates and products I used on these projects are on sale this weekend, so if you see something you like, be sure to snag it! The first uses Mel Wilson's Hybrid Gift Pack template set and Mari Koegelenberg's Moroccan Sunset kit. This template pack has even one more template I didn't use because I didn't have a little notebook for the notebook cover. These would make great little teacher gift ensembles, but I made a little gift set for my sis.




The second project uses Kelleigh Ratzlaff's Playing Card Box #1 template and Strawberry Cafe [Revised] by Sugarplum Paperie. I hid a little iTunes gift card in here for a friend, but I've seen some cool flashcard and crayon box projects made with this template too!