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Hold On

Hi friends!  I'm so glad it's Friday!  It's been one of those weeks where I've just told myself to hold on over and over again.  Hold on one more hour until the nanny gets here... hold on just a little bit longer until Mark gets home.... hold on just 30 more minutes until the shrieking stops (yes, shrieking, piercing and deafening have all been words OTHER PEOPLE have used to describe the twins' cries!)... hold on until the Keurig makes its magic coffee surprise... hold on just a few more minutes until the migraine medicine takes effect... hold on.... hold on... HOLD ON.  The days are sooooooooo long and the nights are so short and I just keep telling myself it's always darkest before the dawn.  It's always darkest before the dawn.  Dawn WILL come, right?!?



Anyhow, today's card is centered around those two little words that have been repeating in my head.  I picked a few of my favorite scraps from the scrap pile to start with.  Can't go wrong with a little aqua and brown, right? And the stamps are from the Lean on Me set. The aqua looks really bright in the photo, but it really is a mellow card.  I stamped the sentiment onto one of the Mini Classy Label die cuts and then layered it onto a Classy Label die cut, which I dry embossed and added a little Tim Holtz tissue tape.  I used the Flourished Trim die across the width of my card, adding a few liquid pearls accents to make it stand out more.  I used the Ribbon Banner die to cut the ribbon tails, leaving one end uncut, so I could make it a little longer and then roll the top like a scroll.

The flowers from Lean on Me are stamped onto designer paper with Early Espresso and I colored them in with distress markers and a water brush.  An aqua bow and some distressed corners finishes things off.

So, if you're having a rough time right now, this card is for you.  Just keep on holding on!  :)  Thanks so much for stopping by today.  I hope you have a fantastic start to your weekend.

Enabler's List
Stamps: Lean on Me (Verve Stamps)
Paper: My Mind's Eye, Glitz Designs scraps, Early Espresso, Pool Party (SU!), cream
Ink: Early Espresso, Pool Party (SU!), Frayed Burlap, Distress Ink Markers (Ranger)
Accessories: Flourished Trim Die, Mini Classy Label Die Set, Classy Label Die, Ribbon Banner Die (A Cut Above by Verve), liquid pearls (Ranger), pool party seam binding ribbon (SU!), Tissue Tape (Tim Holtz), Damask embossing folder (Sizzix), waterbrush

Much Happiness

Hi friends!  Happy Wednesday!  Today I've got a card to share using this week's September Week 4 VLV sketch by Janelle.  I thought the half round panel would be perfect to use a paper doily, so I pulled one out and went all shabby chic!


The stamps are from the Brighter Days set, stamped onto some old sheet music that I coated with antique mod podge , then used some sprays to fingerpaint over the little scroll.  The flower is stamped onto Blushing Bride card stock, then hand cut and layered.  I added some vintage lace trim and a few ribbons from my box of scraps.  The paper is the Peaceful collection from Authentique and I accented the polka dots with some pink bling.  At the very end, I thought it needed a little sparkle, so I sprayed what I thought was Shine Mr. Huey spray, but it ended up being opaque white.  A baby wipe got most of it, but it left kind of a dirty chalkboard effect on half of the card!  Oh well!  That's the way the crafting crumbles!  {grin}

Thanks so much for stopping by!  Have a fantastic day!

Enabler's List:
Stamps:Brighter Days (Verve Stamps)
Paper:  Peaceful (Authentique), Blushing Bride (SU!), vintage sheet music, paper doily
Ink: Black Archival (Ranger), Blushing Bride (SU!), Mr. Huey sprays (Studio Calico)
Accessories:  Vintage lace trims, rhinestones and pearls, ribbon, paper distresser, Antique modpodge, liquid pearls.

Wishy Washi Mojo

Hi friends!  It's Monday again and with the last Mojo sketch of the month, that means it's round or square week.  This week's sketch was based on this little number I made a while back.  I had fun re-inventing the sketch for today's sample card.



The past few weeks I've been on a washi tape spending spree.  I spend way too much time perusing Etsy on my iPad while the boys are feeding.  Which means there's a steady stream of crafty goodness arriving in my mailbox.  {grin}  When I sat down to stamp, I was inspired by this fun artistic collage washi that had just arrived.  I loved the colors and the different patterns, so I used the same roll and randomly placed pieces on the embossed background panel, as well as layering strips over the square piece for a fun collage background.  The stamps are from the Brighter Days set and I added a  bit of doodling, beige paint and some ink distressing to match the feel of the tape.  A scrap of bloomers ribbon is my side embellishment and I added leaves stamped with the Dream Big set and cut with the Dreamy Leaves Die Set.

I hope you have a fantastic start to your week and are able to squeeze in a little creative time of your own!  Thanks so much for stopping by!

Enabler's List:
Stamps: Brighter Days, Dream Big (Verve Stamps)
Paper: Cream, Early Espresso, Groovy Guava (SU!), vintage sheet music
Ink: Early Espresso, Groovy Guava (SU!), Archival Black, Walnut Stain Distress Stains (Ranger), Claudine Hellmuth paint, Micron permanent black pen
Accessories:   Dreamy Leaves Die Set (A Cut Above by VERVE), Classic and Scallop Squares and Circles Nestabilities (Spellbinders), Washi Tape (PrettyTape on Etsy), sprockets embossing folder (Cuttlebug), bloomers trim (Webster's Pages), burlap, distress stickles (Ranger)

Mixed Media Mojo

Hi friends!  Happy Saturday!  I stole a little time when I should have been sleeping last night to sneak into my studio and get inky.  I've been excited for this week's mojo 259 sketch since I designed it and was a little downhearted that I was unable to get a sample done for it all week.  So, I headed into the studio with every intention of making a clean & simple card.


However, once I sat down I saw that my September Scarlet Lime mixed media kit had arrived and I hadn't opened the box yet.  I fell in love with the Glitz paper pad as soon as I opened the kit and just had to change directions and "go for it" with the mixed media style!  It's nothing like I thought it would be, but was a whole lot of fun. I guess that's what I love about mixed media.  It's always a surprise how it will turn out.   I'm particularly loving the way the background ended up.  In the beginning that was a cream piece of cardstock, but I kept adding layers of paint and stains and doodles and it really turned out fun.

The sentiment and flower is from the Brighter Days set.  And I added a little portion of the Pennant Trim Die over on the side.  The "stitching" framing the sentiment panel is one of the border stamps in the Borderline set.  I hand cut the layers of flowers and popped them on dimensionals.  The leaves are hand cut and doodled with a white gel pen and I added some fun punched pieces from my stash.

I hope you're having a fabulous weekend so far!  From the sound of things, the twins are done napping, so I better mosey on back to mommyland.  Thanks so much for stopping by.

Enabler's List:
Stamps: Brighter Days, Borderline (Verve Stamps)
Paper: Cashmere Dame (Glitz), cream, Black
Ink: Archival Black, white gel pen, black micron pen, acrylic paints, distress stains, golden heavy body acrylics, gelatos (Faber Castell)
Accessories:  Pennant Trim Die (A Cut Above by VERVE), photo corner and punch pack (SU!), classic Circles Nestabilities (Spellbinders), enamel accents, liquid pearls (Ranger), rhinestones

Who I Am

Hi friends! I can't believe another week has gone by! I still haven't had any new time in the studio, but that's because I've been designing stamps. {grin} So I'm just popping in to change up the scenery to this card I made a few weeks back for Verve's release.


This is another one of the cards made on my clean & {sort of} simple kick.  I'm just loving white space lately.  The sentiment from Stronger Love inspired me to keep things a bit on the masculine side for a just because card for Mark.  We've had an extremely rough 6 months adjusting to life with difficult infant twins, a new house, a new job and basically nothing familiar in our lives but each other.  He's been such a support to me, but some days I can just tell he needs a little pick me up, so that was the inspiration for this card.  I fussy cut around the sentiment, "I love you not because of who you are, but because of who I am when I am with you" and highlighted the scripted letters with a distress ink marker.  The scroll is stamped with the Scroll Plain Jane and cut with the Scroll Die and I added some of the heart trails from Stronger Love, then stamped, colored and cut out the hearts to pop up over the scroll.  The three little pennants are made by layering the tails of the Arrow Die over the Pennant Trim Die for a perfect mat.  The main layer is embossed with a striped embossing folder and I added some Tim Holtz film strip ribbon, some back twill and a Tim Holtz metal charm as accents.  Although you can't tell in the photo, the charm says JOURNEY, and seemed like the perfect embellishment for the occasion.

I hope you have a fantastic day as we head into the weekend!  Thanks so much for stopping by!

Enabler's List:
Stamps: Stronger Love, Scroll Plain Jane (Verve Stamps)
Paper:
paper scraps (Graphic 45), Basic Black (SU!), Cream
Ink: Black, Pumice Stone, Broken China, Tumbled Glass (Ranger)
Accessories: Pennant Trim Die, Scroll Die, Arrow Die (A Cut Above by VERVE), Film Strip Ribbon, Philosophy Charms, Tiny Attacher (Tim Holtz), black twill, black scrapper's floss (Karen Foster), blender pen, Stripes embossing folder (Cuttlebug), Corner Rounder

Thinking of You

Hi friends!  I haven't had much time in the studio lately, so I thought I'd pop in and share a card I made a few weeks back but never posted.  It was actually for Amy's August Week 4 CAS Viva la Verve sketch.  But my card ended up mixed-media and anything but CAS!  So I held onto it, thinking maybe I'd have a chance to make a real CAS card, and then in a flash, three weeks went by!



Okay, now let's see if I can remember anything about how I made this card! {grin} I do know it was another one of those use up scraps on my desk kind of cards. I recently purchased some Enamel Accents to try out. They're kind of like liquid pearls, only glossy and not as puffy. I had a lot of fun dabbing them all over the place like paint. I did use some craft paint to paint a layer over the designer paper, then stamped the rectangle frame from Treasured Words onto it in archival ink. The scallops are hand doodled on with a permanent marker and then I added a couple layers of the white enamel accents to fill in the scallops. The sentiment is also from Treasured Words.

The flower is made using the Pointed Flowers Die.  I simply cut 3 sets of both dies out of designer paper, then lined them up, with the largest on the bottoms, pierced a hole through them, added a brad to hold them together, then spritzed with water and crumpled up.  Then when they dried, I fluffed them up a bit and added some accents with the enamel paint.  The leaf is cut using the Dreamy Leaves Die Set and I just added glue and prisma glitter to make it super glitzy.  I added some fun scraps of book paper, burlap and a bow that didn't get used on a previous project.  The tab is a Tim Holtz die and I finished off by clipping on an Arrow Die cut with a mini library clip.

So that's the story, morning glory! Our little family is headed to the doc today for the boys' 6 month check-up and vaccinations.  So that means we have a fun weekend of baby soothing in store!  Hope your weekend is fabulous.  Thanks so much for stopping by!

Enabler's List:
Stamps: Treasured Words (Verve Stamps)
Paper: dp scraps, Black, book paper
Ink: Black archival, tan and white craft paints
Accessories:  Dreamy Leaves Die Set, Pointed Flowers Die Set, Arrow Die (A Cut Above by VERVE), Tab Edge die (Tim Holtz), burlap, ribbon, paper crimper, Enamel Accents, paper distresser, tiny attacher, prisma glitter, marker

Mojo Blooms

Hi friends!  It's another Monday morning, and that means it's time for the newest Mojo Monday sketch!  This week's sketch comes from the dark recesses of my little creative mind.  I've been drawn to simpler layouts recently (maybe due to my lack of time in the studio), so that's what inspired this one.


I love the sketchy little flowers in Doodled Occasions, and here I've stamped them on white cardstock, colored with Copic markers, added a little liquid pearls and layered the centers for some dimension.  Fun times!  The sentiment is stamped on a pretty in pink circle, which I randomly stamped one of the small flowers around for a fun little background.  Some doodled dots and liquid pearls on the scalloped circle finish off that piece.  The leaves are from the Sunny Days set and are stamped on basic gray cardstock and then cut with the coordinating Leafy Sprigs Die Set.  I added three little pennants from the Pennant Trim Die behind my two top flowers, then layered everything onto a piece of cardstock embossed with the Striped folder from SU!  A couple rounded corners seem to balance out the layout and I finished off with some pink rhinestones in the corners and addorning the centers of the flowers in my sentiment.

I hope you enjoy your Monday!  Thanks so much for stopping by.  Be sure to head on over to the Mojo Monday blog for more inspiration with this week's sketch!

Enabler's List
Stamps: Doodled Occasions, Sunny Days (Verve Stamps)
Paper: Pretty in Pink, Basic Gray (SU!), White
Ink: Black, Blushing Bride (SU!), Copic markers, black pen
Accessories: Leafy Sprigs Die Set, Pennant Trim Die
(A Cut Above by VERVE), Classic & Scallop Circles Nestabilities (Spellbinders), basic gray taffeta ribbon, Striped textured impressions (SU!), corner rounder, rhinestones, liquid pearls

Hopeful Courage

Hi friends!  I'm kicking off this month's Diva Dare today over on the Verve Blog.  If you want my usual play by play, head on over to the Verve Blog There's a chance to win a $50 gift certificate to Verve for playing along in our Fanspiration Diva Dare this month, so be sure to check it out!

So today's project is one dear to my heart.  As many of you know, one of my recent passions is mixed media art.  I don't get the time to do it very often, but when I do it is such a rewarding process for me.  I think it's so cathartic to just get my emotions out within the layers of paint and paper and inks.  My heart definitely went into this project.  Laurie's daughter, Ali, who is receiving these mini canvases (hopefully today) is facing another round of brain surgery and I can't even imagine what emotions are swirling through her head and heart right now.



I chose aquas and greens because they seem like such light and happy colors... like new beginnings.  The stamped sentiments are from the Borderline stamp set and I most importantly wanted to convey a sense of peace and hopefulness through these canvases.  For the first canvas, I created a little angel from two pieces of glittered chipboard, to represent the prayers I'm praying for angels to watch over her.  I chose the sentiment dare to dream and added some stickers to create the phrase she has great courage. Because she most definitely does have great courage and is such an inspiration to others.



For the second canvas, I wanted a starry, cloudy look, which I created with stencils and Glass Bead Gel.  Stars are one of my favorite things - they shine no matter what, and that's what I think of when I think of Ali.  A shining star.  I paired the never give up sentiment with stickers to form the phrase she is hopeful, which is what I hope for her.  That she continues to shine through the darkness and can find the silver lining on the other side of the clouds.  I finished with a little bling to give that feeling of movement and rising up.

I hope these canvases brighten up her room and give her something positive to dwell on in the coming weeks.

Enabler's List
Stamps: Borderline (Verve Stamps)
Paper: Book paper, vintage dress pattern
Ink: Archival Black, acrylic paints, Glass Bead Gel, Gesso, ModPodge, Shine Mister Huey's spray (Sudio Calico)
Accessories: Mini Vintage Oval Die Set, Flourished Trim Die (A Cut Above by VERVE), 3 x 3" mini canvases, Zva Creative rhinestones, Glitter, Glassy Glaze, glittered chipboard, prima flower, star cluster, Chitchat Stickers (Tim Holtz)

On My Mind and a HOP

ETA:  Oops!  I goofed up my link for the October hop, if you're looking for my WCMD October Diva Inspirations Hop post, click here.

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Hi friends!  It's the 5th of the month and that means it's time for the Verve Divas to reach into their stamp piles for inspiration and put a new spin on a previously released stamp set.  Hop along and tell us what you think about our projects and you just might be the lucky commenter along the hop to win a prize!  If you've been hopping along already, you've arrived here from Jen Tapler's blog.  If not, pull up a chair and jump right in!!!  You can find the full hop list and all the prize details over on the Verve Blog.


For my card today, I was inspired once again to reach into my box of "rejects" and scraps for all my doo dads and elements.  In fact, the only thing that wasn't in the box was the sentiment stamp (from the new With Love set) and the glass glitter.  The flowers and leaves are from the Dream Big set and are cut with the coordinating Dreamy Leaves and Scalloped Flowers die sets.  They weren't the right color for the original project I stamped them for, but were just perfect as a focal point for this sweet little square card.  I added in some doodads that were cast aside from other projects... some prima thingys, a burlap scrap, some glittered chipboard pieces and a black rhinestone flower center.  Then it was just a matter of laying down some scraps and finishing off with a few distressed edges and a whole lot of glitter!

There's still lots more inspiration along the hop, so I'll keep things short and let you hop on over to Sankari's blog.  Here's the entire hop list:


1. Betty8. Amber
2. Jen d.9. Amy
3. Jen T.10. Andrea
4. Julee11. Janelle
5. Sankari12. Maureen
6. Sony13. Teresa
7. Susan14. Tosha

Enabler's List
Stamps: Dream Big, With Love (Verve Stamps)
Paper: designer paper scraps, Pretty in Pink (SU!), Cream
Ink: Pretty in Pink, Black (SU!)
Accessories: Scalloped Flowers Die Set, Dreamy Leaves Die Set (A Cut Above by VERVE), burlap, glass glitter, flower rhinestone, glitter chipboard, prima thingies

Flutter

Hi friends!  Happy Labor Day!  We're headed to hang out with family today, so I'm going to make this short and sweet.  It's a contest week over at the Mojo Monday blog, so that means there are Verve prizes up for grabs!  Be sure to head on over to the Mojo Monday 257 post for the sketch and all the details! 


The sketch is my design, and is a variation on this card I made a while back.  Today's card uses Twitterpated and the All Aflutter plain jane as well as the coordinating All Aflutter Die Set, the Flourished Trim Die and the Pennant Trim Die.  I loved the colors in the Heyday Collection I picked up over the weekend, so had to use it first!  I added a little accent with shiny pearls and frosted pearls from Pizzazz Aplenty, then finished by ruffling some ribbon and adding some liquid pearls.  Just realized I forgot the sentiment flag from the sketch.  Oops!  {grin}

That's all folks!  Thanks so much for stopping by today!  Have a fabulous start to your week and if you find a little time, be sure to come play along with us at Mojo Monday!

Enabler's List:
Stamps: TwitterpatedAll Aflutter (Verve Stamps)
Paper: Heyday Collection (Studio Calico), Basic Gray, Pool Party, Peach Parfait (SU!), Cream
Ink: Basic Gray (SU!), Copic markers
Accessories: All Aflutter Die Set, Pennant Trim Die, Flourished Trim Die (A Cut Above by VERVE), Classic & Scallop Circles Nestabilties (Spellbinders), shiny pearls and frosted pearls (Pizzazz Aplenty), liquid pearls (Ranger), Stars & Swirls Embossing Folder (Sizzix), Glassy Glaze, glitter, MFT border die, corner rounder, basic gray ribbon (SU!)

Oh!  One last thing!  We've extended our Anni-VERVE-sary sale through Tuesday, September 4, so there's still time to pick up a few new Verve toys at a great price!