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So Shine

Hi friends!  I'm wrapping up the Puddles of Color June Diva Dare over on the Verve Blog today with this little mixed-media card.  This should have been an easy challenge for me, since both Janelle and Jen have styles that mix well with my own.  But it's kind of like on the reality competition shows when the judges are harder on the people doing their own style.  That's how I felt when I sat down to stamp.... and sat and stared ... and procrastinated... and then finally just decided to DO IT.  Interestingly enough I started with flowers embossed in white on kraft cardstock, then colored with pencils.  I love how those flowers turned out, so I'm sure they'll make it onto another card.  But as the card progressed and I got my fingers all painty, this was the card that emerged.  And I love how it all came together.  I guess sometimes to get the mojo flowing you just have to sit down and be open to where your creativity leads.


For all the nitty gritty deets on how this card was made and a chance to win a comment prize, head on over to the Verve Blog and leave a comment.  Then be sure to play along with the challenge for another chance to win some Verve!  Challenge and comment drawing deadline is June 27.

Enabler's List
Stamps: Let it Be (Verve Stamps)
Paper: soft sky, crumb cake (SU!), white (Neenah)
Ink: Embossing ink (Ranger), Surf Satin acrylic paint (Martha Stewart), white gesso, prismacolor pencils
Accessories: Starry DieScalloped Trim Trio Die Set (A Cut Above by VERVE), paper crimper (Fiskars), stippling brush (Martha Stewart), paper distresser (Tonic), pearl stars (Recollections)

Birthday Blessings

Hi friends!  It's Monday again and time for Mojo Monday #299!  Wow... so many sketches.  We've got a huge shindig planned for next week's Mojo300!  Woohoo.  Anyhow, this week is round or square week and I went for the square version to make a little birthday card.


I've been on a "stamps as backgrounds" kick lately, so there's a lot of tone on tone stamping here.  All of the stamps are from the On Occasion set.  The flowers is stamped randomly in Raspberry Ripple on the same color cardstock.  I used the loopy border strip for a background on the Pear Pizzazz banner (cut with the Banner Bundle Die Set .  The birthday blessing sentiment is stamped in black , then thinly matted on black and layered onto the stamped frame and cut with the coordinating Occasion Frame Die   A little Polka Dot Basics Ribbon and somestickles finishes things off.

Thanks so much for stopping by today!  I hope you have a fantastic week!

Enabler's List
Stamps:  On Occasion (Verve Stamps)
Paper: pear pizzazz, raspberry ripple, basic black (SU!), Cream (Neenah)
Ink: pear pizzazz, raspberry ripple (SU!), black
Accessories:  Banner Bundle Die Set, Occasion Frame Die (A Cut Above by VERVE), Polka Dot Basics Ribbon Collection (Verve), Rosa embossing folder (Cuttlebug), Classic & Scallop Circles Nestabilities (Spellbinders), stickles (Ranger)

Let it Be

Hi friends!  Happy Wednesday!  I got a little time last night to play with this week's CC431 color challenge over on SCS.


I started with the three colors of cardstock... gumball greeen, rich razzleberry and midnight muse.  I stamped the flower from Let it Be on each piece of cardstock with the coordinating ink pad.  Next I stamped the two flowers on cream in rich razzleberry, then hand cut and colored with a colorless blender pen.  The leaves are from the Sunny Days set and cut with the coordinating Leafy Sprigs Die Set in gumball green.  The Let it Be sentiment is stamped onto a classic oval and then I simply accented with rhinestones.

Enabler's List
Stamps: Let it Be, Sunny Days (Verve Stamps)
Paper: gumball green, rich razzleberry, midnight muse (SU!), cream
Ink: gumball green, rich razzleberry, midnight muse (SU!)
Accessories: Leafy Sprigs Die Set (A Cut Above by VERVE), flatback rhinestones (Pizzazz Aplenty), rhinestone flourish (Recollection), Classic Ovals Nestabilities (Spellbinders), James Collection embossing folder (Cuttlebug)

Birthday Blooms

Hi friends!  It's time for another Mojo Monday sketch and this week's sketch is a flipped version of a card I made for the last Verve release.  I thought the way the borders and ribbon layered was super fun and wanted to try it again.


My Mom's birthday is this week, so I used the sketch to make a card and then made a matching little money holder gift for her.  I had to change the proportions of my layers a bit because for some reason my DIY Shop paper pad only had 1 sheet of this fun aqua floral paper included.  The stamps used are from the Hope Blooms set.  These flowers are some of my all time favorites.  I just love to cut them on each petal for a fringey effect.  The borders are a die cut portion from the Scalloped Trim Trio Die Set matched back to back with Laurie' Willison's Scalloped Card Hanger Die, then accented with flatback pearls and liquid pearls.  The ribbon is from the Signature Ribbon Collection.  I added a few accents on each big scallop with the snowflake from Glad Tidings, then used the same stamp and coordinating Snowflake Tidings Die Set for the leaves on my flower.  Some pearl clusters and distressing finish off the card.

For the matching money holder I used a 6.25" x 2.75" piece of crumbcake, scored 3" from each end.  I added a 2 7/8" x 2 5/8" piece of dp to the front, then stamped the birthday sentiment on a 2.75" x 1.75" piece of white cardstock.  The flowers are cut from DP with the Floral Circles Die Set and then I cut in between each petal for a fringe look, layering on dimensionals.  The money is held inside with a thin piece of ribbon that I wrapped around the gutter and tied inside, then accented the ribbon, flower center and sentiment with pearls.  So quick and easy, but I love how it turned out.


Thanks so much for stopping by today!  Please be sure to stop by the Mojo Monday blog to see what the rest of the team has come up with for this sketch.  And if you're on Facebook, I've just created a Mojo Monday facebook page.  I'll be linking up our sketches, favorite entries and mojo news there, so be sure to like us if you want to be in the know!

Enabler's List
Card:
Stamps: Hope Blooms, Glad Tidings (Verve Stamps)
Paper: DIY Shop (Crate Paper), Crumb cake, Early espresso, coastal cabana (SU!), white
Ink: Early espresso, Coastal cabana (SU!), Vintage Photo (Ranger Distress)
Accessories:  Scalloped Trim Trio Die Set, Snowflake Tidings Die Set (A Cut Above by VERVE), Signature Ribbon Collection (Verve), Scalloped Card Hanger Die (Soapbox Creations), Rosa embossing folder (Cuttlebug), pearls, pearl clusters (Recollections), Liquid Pearls (Ranger)

Money Holder:
Stamps: Hope Blooms (Verve Stamps)
Paper: DIY Shop (Crate Paper), Crumb cake (SU!), white
Ink: Early espresso (SU!), Vintage Photo (Ranger Distress)
Accessories:  Floral Circles Die Set (A Cut Above by VERVE), ribbon (SU!), pearls, Scor-pal


Shiny Inspiration

Hi friends!  It's time for another Viva la Verve! challenge over in the Verve forum.  This week is inspiration week so you can use the sketch, the inspiration picture or both.  I was so inspired by the picture Teresa picked (see below) that I just had to make a card for Kellan using it as inspiration.  If you saw my post last week, I made a card for Trevor to commemorate his starting to walk, and well, it just wouldn't be fair to not have one for Kellan, right?  {grin}


For the inspiration challenge, I picked out a few things from the picture... lots of white space, aqua and green and black and white chevrons.  My card is super CAS with a sentiment from Shining Starstamped onto pistachio pudding.  There's a bit of soft sky behind that has been embossed with a stars embossing folder.  The border is just a portion of one of the dies from the Scalloped Trim Trio Die Set and I finished off with a bow using some new SU! ribbon and a few rhinestones.

The Shining Star set is 30% off during our sale this month, and I might be a little partial, but it's one of my favorite sets from the last year.  Thanks so much for stopping by today!  I hope you find a little time to get creative with this week's VLV!


Enabler's List
Stamps: Shining Star (Verve Stamps)
Paper: pistachio pudding, soft sky, basic black (SU!), white (Neenah)
Ink: black
Accessories: Scalloped Trim Trio Die Set (A Cut Above by VERVE), stars embossing folder (Cuttlebug), black chevron ribbon (SU!), olive rhinestones (Pizzazz Aplenty)

Be OK

Hi friends!  Wednesday here and ever since I made the card for today, I've had that Ingrid Michaelson Be OK song running through my head.  And guess what?  Now it's running through your head, too!  {grin} But take it from me, that's a lot better than having the Three Little Kittens song playing over and over and over again in your head because the twins only want to look at one page in their musical book.


Today's card is my take on this week's Mix-Ability challenge over on SCS.  The challenge was to put a frame around your focal point, but to smear and smudge it on.  I still had the piece of white cardstock I used to mask my scroll when I was paint splattering on my last card and I just loved the dripping, so decided to use it as part of my card.  I stamped the Be Okay plain jane in pistachio pudding, then sketched a little frame with Neo Watercolor II crayons and smudged with a damp finger.  To set the frame off a bit more, I took the solid chevron border from Borderline and inked up just parts of it and used my hands (no acrylic block) to stamp just sections around the frame.  Next I sprinkled some 2 and 3mm olive rhinestones on the panel and then glued them down where they fell so it looked like a pretty natural spray.  A little chevron washi tape and a black grosgrain knotted bow finish off that panel.  The base of the card is smoky slate and is embossed with a folder from the James' Set, then I smudged on some gesso with my fingers and then added some black gelato and smudged with a baby wipe.

I just love how this turned out and I'm thinking that Smoky Slate is going to be my new go-to neutral!  Alrighty, that's all for me today!  Hope you have a fabulous Wednesday!

Enabler's List
Stamps: Be Okay plain jane, Borderline (Verve Stamps)
Paper: smoky slate, basic black (SU!), white
Ink: pistachio pudding (SU!), black, Neo Watercolor II crayons, black acrylic paint, Gelatos (Faber-Castell), white gesso
Accessories: James' Set (Cuttlebug), washi tape (Glitz Designs), grosgrain ribbon (SU!), 2mm and 3mm olive green rhinestones (Pizzazz Aplenty)

This Hope

Hi friends!  Happy Tuesday!  I thought I'd pop in and share another of the cards I made for the VSN challenges over on Splitcoast last weekend.  I haven't had a chance to do any mixed-media for a while, so this challenge to splatter watered down paint on your card was just the ticket to get my fingers all painty again!



I started by stamping the new Off the Grid SU! stamp in the background and then the two sizes of anchors from 
Strong Anchor in Coastal Cabana.  Next I swiped on some white gesso, then dripped on watered down black paint. I let this drip a bit, then wiped it off for a grey tone. Next I tore the edges, then went back and did the full strength watered down black paint for the darker splashes, and painted the same mixture on the torn edges. 

The Hebrews 6:19 scripture is embossed onto Aged Paper dp, then I tore the edges, rolled each end and glued down with modpodge so it looks like a scroll and tied on an anchor cut with the Nautical Die Set with some black scrapper's floss.  For the drippings on the scroll, I used the same technique, but laid down a piece of white cardstock to mask off the stamped sentiment.  A bit of distressing to the card base and I was done.

By the way, there's a brand new Diva Dare posted this morning over on the Verve Blog, with a chance to win some Verve!  This painty, mixed-media style card would fit right in over there!  {grin}  Be sure to tune in to the Diva's posts each week-day through 6/25.

Enabler's List
Stamps: Strong Anchor (Verve Stamps), Off the Grid (SU!)
Paper: Aged Papers (Bazzill), Coastal Cabana (SU!), white
Ink: Coastal Cabana (SU!), Black, black paint, white gesso

Accessories: Nautical Die Set (A Cut above by VERVE), paintbrush, black scapper' floss (Karen Foster)

The Best

Hi friends!  It's Monday again and time for a new Mojo Monday sketch.  This week's sketch is one I based off a favorite card of mine from Verve's last release.  I loved how it turned out and thought it would make a great sketch.  I hope you enjoy it.  I certainly had fun making another card with it.


For this card, I wanted to keep things a bit more simple and masculine as it's a card for my hubby.  We've had a lot change in our lives the past year and a half and at times the picture of what a day in the Tilman house is like can be overwhelming.  I hold on to this little phrase with all my heart as we futilely try to teach the boys to share when they are not at the age to understand what sharing is ... the BEST is yet to come.  So this card is just a little shout out of encouragement to Mark who's been working long hours and then coming home to full-contact 2 man diaper changes and 2AM constipation shriekfests.  Oh joy!  {wink}

Anyhow... the card.  I pulled out some Bazzill Basics Aged Papers I got in a monthly kit a while back, because I've been itching to make some book print flowers with the flower from Let it Be.  I fussy cut them, layered them with dimensionals and then added a bit of black liquid pearls to highlight the center, finishing off with an olive rhinestone in the center.  The sentiment is also from Let it Be and stamped onto cram paper.  The center panel is just a rectangle of DP that I glued two Flourished Trim Die cuts to.  I love how it looks shaped, but is so much easier than trying to line up a die on the top and bottom.  The back panel is pear pizzazz and I embossed it with the Charles embossing folder.  My new fave!!!  I finished off with a bit of seam binding from the new Summer Sailing Ribbon Collection .

Thanks so much for stopping by!  Be sure to hop on over to the Mojo Monday blog to see what the other gals did with this sketch.  It's always a treat!

Enabler's List
Stamps: Let it Be (Verve Stamps)
Paper: Aged Papers (Bazzill), pear pizzazz, basic black (SU!), cream (Neenah)
Ink: black
Accessories:  Flourished Trim Die (A Cut Above by VERVE), Summer Sailing Ribbon Collection (Verve), black liquid pearls (Ranger), Charles embossing folder (Cuttlebug), olive rhinestone (Pizzazz Aplenty)

Shining Star

Hi friends!  Happy Sunday!  I got a little time this weekend to participate in some VSN challenges over on splitcoast, so I thought I'd pop in and share one of my cards.


The Red, White and Blue Challenge was the perfect excuse to test drive the brand-new Red White & Beautiful Ribbon Collection from Verve.  I wanted to make a congrats card for Trevor, since he is walking now.  Kellan beat him by about 2 weeks, and oh my were those some frustrating, tear-filled days!  Trevor was so jealous and so mad at Kellan that he would cry if Kellan even came near him.  Anyhow, they're both walking now and Trevor couldn't be prouder of himself.  So I thought I'd make a little card to commemorate the occasion to slip into their memory book.

The sketch is the Deconstructed Sketch from last week.  It just called my name.  The bottom border is cut with Laurie Willison's new Scalloped Card Hanger Die and I paired it with the Flourished Trim Die.  The banner is cut with the Banner Bundle Die Set, and I stamped the title sentiment from Shining Star on a nestabilities oval, then accented with stars cut from the Starry Die (back in stock and on sale!!)  I added a bow using the navy/cream ribbon from Red White and Beautiful and then finished off with rhinestone stars from Pizzazz Aplenty and some navy stickles.

Okay, that's all from me today.  Hope you're having a fabulous weekend and I'll see you back here tomorrow for Mojo Monday!

Enabler's List
Stamps: Shining Star (Verve Stamps)
Paper: Liberty (BoBunny), Night of Navy (SU!), Cream (Neenah)
Ink: Night of Navy (SU!), Vintage Photo (Ranger Distress)
Accessories:
Starry Die, Banner Bundle Die Set, Flourished Trim Die (A Cut Above by VERVE), Red White & Beautiful Ribbon Collection (Verve), Scalloped Card Hanger Die (Soapbox Creations), Clasic Ovals Nestabilities (Spellbinders), 6mm red star rhinestones (Pizzazz Aplenty)

Hello Ribbon

Hi friends!  It's Friday and time for a new sketch over in the Viva la Verve! forum.  This week's sketch comes from Maureen, whom I had the pleasure of meeting in person a few weeks ago.  She was just as sweet as I imagined she would be and we had such a fun time.


For my card, I pulled out the Take Note and On Occasion sets.  I stamped the sentiments from Take Note onto white cardstock and then added the border from On Occasion to the top and bottom edges.  The half circles in the sketch are cut from vellum, which I embossed with the Charles embossing folder, then accented with liquid pearls.  For embellishment I used some luscious new seam binding from the Summer Sailing Ribbon Collection  a bit of twine and a cabbage rose.  I finished off with some tiny orange rhinestones from Pizzazz Aplenty.

Take NoteOn OccasionPolka Dot Basics Ribbon Collection
Take NoteOn OccasionSummer Sailing Ribbon Collection

That's all from me. Today is a non-work day for me, so it's just me and the twins hanging out. I'm thinking about taking them on their first craft store shopping excursion. Trevor loves looking at bling and I need some glue. The entire contents of my ZipDry glue emptied onto my desk a couple weeks ago, so I've been using my hot glue gun to attach ribbon, but now I'm on my last glue stick. Dire straits, I tell ya! {grin}

I hope you have a fabulous weekend.  Thanks so much for stopping by.  If you haven't already, be sure to check out this thread in our SCS forum for a $25 Verve giveaway!  And our Diva Inspirations Hop is still open for commenting through June 10.

Enabler's List
Stamps: Take NoteOn Occasion (Verve Stamps)
Paper: Color Me Happy (Glitz Design), black, white, vellum
Ink:  soft sky, peach parfait, (SU!), black
Accessories: Summer Sailing Ribbon Collection (Verve), Classic Circles Nestabilities (Spellbinders), Charles embossing folder (Cuttlebug), cabbage rose (Prima), soft sky baker's twine (SU!), corner chomper (WRMK), orange 2mm flatback rhinestones (Pizzazz Aplenty), Stardust Stickles and White Opal liquid pearls (Ranger)

A Great One and a HOP!

Hi friends!  It's the 5th of the month and that means it's time for the Divas to put on their monthly  inspirational little hop using some old{er} favorites from Verve.  I'm the first stop on the hop, so grab yourself a treat and hop along for some inspiration!  There's a comment prize, too, so be sure to leave a little shout out in the comments as you hop around to the blogs listed below.  All the prize details can be found over on the Verve blog today.


For my card I pulled out Doodled Occasions to make a fun little birthday card.  I wanted to try my hand at this week's Mojo Monday sketch again, since I went all clean and simple with my first one.  The papers are from the Now & Then collection from Teresa Collins and I stamped the flowers in Cherry Cobbler and Midnight Muse, then colored in with a blender pen.  I added the sentiments on separate layers, and masked off the happy birthday stamp with some scotch tape so I could add another happy in there.  You can never have enough happy, right?  {grin}  The leaves are stamped with the Dream Big set and cut out with the Dreamy Leaves Die Set.  I cut the chevrons from paper in the collection, then gave everything a healthy dose of distressing and stardust stickles.  I finished off with a seam binding bow from the Signature Ribbon Collection, then added some super sparkle-tacular Subtle Spray Glitter Rhinestones from Pizzazz Aplenty.  Seriously sparkly!!!


In other news, we've got two brand new ribbon collections releasing and a Summer Sale starting at Verve today!  Check out the summery ribbons I selected, then do a little shopping!  We've got a bunch of sets and dies marked at 30% off and all of our ribbon collections are 10% off this month.

Okay, now it's time to HOP!  Up next is the phenomenally talented Amy Kolling!

1. Julee7. Sankari
2. Amy8. Sarah
3. Anya9. Sony
4. Betty10. Susan
5. Jessica11. Tiffany
6. Karen


Enabler's List
Stamps: Doodled OccasionsDream Big (Verve Stamps)
Paper: Now & Then (Teresa Collins)
Ink: Midnight Muse, Cherry Cobbler, blender pen (SU!)
Accessories: Dreamy Leaves Die Set (A Cut Above by VERVE), Signature Ribbon Collection (Verve), Classic Circles Nestabilities (Spellbinders), Stardust Stickles (Ranger), paper distresser (Tonic), Subtle Spray Glitter Rhinestones (Pizzazz Aplenty)

Clean and Nautical

Hi friends!  How was your weekend?  Mine was spent purchasing and switching over to a new computer, since my laptop died last week.  I always forget how much work a new computer is to set up, especially when you run as many programs as I do.  I'm feeling all spiffy (and at the same time, completely lost) with my new Windows 8 touch screen and brand new versions of all my design software.  If only this sleep-deprived brain would catch on to the new stuff a little quicker!  {grin}

Anyhow, you're probably here for a card, right?  It's the first Monday in a new month and that means it's contest time over at Mojo MondayPlay along with this week's sketch for a chance at one of seven prizes from Verve!  Woohoo!


With this sketch, I made a clean and simple Father's Day card using the new Strong Anchor set and coordinating Nautical Die Set.  The ship's wheel is stamped in Cherry Cobbler and cut with the Nautical Die Set.  I added an eyelet to the center.  The rope circle frames are stamped in Midnight Muse, then cut with Classic Circle Nestabilities.  The sentiment is stamped in Early Espresso.  I stamped the rope border on a strip of cream cardstock in Cherry Cobbler, then cut a pennant border using the Pennant Trim Die from Midnight Muse.  A stripe embossed cream panel and some old eyelets finish things off.

Okay, that's all from me today.  I hope you have a FABULOUS start to June!  My day is slated for packing and shipping orders and then trying to catch up on the mountain of emails and work that piled up while I was without a working computer!

Enabler's List
Stamps: Strong Anchor (Verve Stamps)
Paper: Midnight Muse, Cherry Cobbler (SU!), Natural White (Neenah)
Ink: Midnight Muse, Cherry Cobbler, Early Espresso (SU!)
Accessories:  Nautical Die Set, Pennant Trim Die (A Cut Above by VERVE), Classic Circles Nestabilities (Spellbinders), eyelets and stripe embossing folder (SU!)