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Birthday on the Side

Hi friends! Happy Thursday! I'd planned on posting this card earlier in the week, but migraines have slowed me down a bit (well, actually just stopped me in my tracks) the last couple of days. I'm feeling better now and have a thousand things to catch up on, so let's get to it...


The layout for the card is this week's Mojo Monday 330 turned on it's side.  The card base is 5.5" x 3.5".  I was working from scraps on my desk again and this poppy from Poppy Birthday had already been stamped, cut with the coordinating Build a Poppy Die Set and put together from a previous project, so I added the elegant leaves stamp from Bloom & Grow and cut with the coordinating Elegant Leaves Die.  The sentiment is also from Poppy Birthday and I added a little wooden butterfly coated with glossy accents and glitter.  The rounded rectangle piece is vellum cardstock embossed with a regal flourishes folder, then sponged with frayed burlap ink.  I sponged the same ink over the crumb cake portion that is embossed with the square lattice folder.  A bit of stitched ribbon and some chocolate pearls finish everything off nicely.

Thanks so much for stopping by!  I hope you have a fabulous day!

Enabler's List
Stamps: Poppy BirthdayBloom & Grow (Verve Stamps)
Paper: soft sky, crumb cake, early espresso, real red, vellum (SU!), cream
Ink: early espresso, cherry cobbler (SU!), frayed burlap (Ranger)
Accessories:  Build a Poppy Die SetElegant Leaves Die (A Cut Above by VERVE), wooden butterfly, dark chocolate flatback pearls (Pizzazz Aplenty), liquid pearls (Ranger), glossy accents, glitter, Regal Flourishes Texture Fades (Sizzix), Square Lattice embossing folder (SU!), ribbon, EK Success border punch, Classic & Scallop Circles Nestabilities (Spellbinders)

Skinny Heart

Hi friends!  It's Monday again, and in 2014 I decided to change up the Round and Square feature on the last Mojo Monday sketch of the month to Tall & Skinny.  There are lots of options for measurements in making long cards, but this week's sketch was designed with a 3.5" x 5.5" card base in mind so I could hang something off the edge and still fit it in an A2 envelope.  Feel free to adapt the sketch to whatever length/width fits your fancy, though!



I enjoyed the sketch so much that I made a second one flipped horizontally which you'll see later in the week.  But today's card uses the Proverbs 16:9 scripture from Scripture Medley 3, a bunch of embossing folders and a fun little heart embellishment.  The heart is simply 3 of the same size heart cut with the Heart Quartet Die, layered with thick glue dots in between each, then sponged with a bit of espresso ink.  I love how it turned out.  I've also had this dark chocolate burlap ribbon sitting on my desk forever just waiting for a chance to use it, so I used it for both the horizontal and vertical strips in the sketch.  I also turned the rectangle panel into a little banner for a bit of fun.

Thanks so much for stopping by today!  I'm still hanging on to my cough and getting very little sleep, but yesterday was the first day I could hear in my right ear all month!  So I think there's hope that I can leave this sickness behind in January and start February fresh and healthy.  At least that's my great wish!  Hope your week starts out healthy and filled with creativity!

Enabler's List
Stamps: Scripture Medley 3 (Verve Stamps)
Paper: soft sky, cherry cobbler, early espresso (SU!), cream
Ink: early espresso (SU!)
Accessories: Heart Quartet Die (A Cut Above by VERVE), chicken wire embossing folder (Cuttlebug), hexagons embossing folder, Classic Circles Nestabilities (Spellbinders), burlap ribbon


Elegant Thanks

Hi friends!  It's Friday again and time for a brand new Viva la Verve Sketch.  This week's sketch is by Anya and as soon as I saw it, I knew I wanted to pull out an "oldy but goody" set... Grateful Elegance.


I thought those thin little strips would be perfect for the thin border stamp, so that's where I started.  Next I stamped the thanks a bunch sentiment on the main panel, then filled in randomly with the larger flower.  I also stamped two more of the larger flowers to cut out, then stamped and cut out 7 of the medium sized flowers to pop up.  The smoky slate layer is stamped with the large square background stamp from the set, then I added a punched border and some black matting.  The soft sky base is embossed with a chicken wire embossing folder and I finished off with some turquoise bling and some glossy accents and glitter for a bit of sparkle.

Thanks so much for stopping by!  I hope you have a fabulous weekend!

Enabler's List
Stamps:  Grateful Elegance (Verve)
Paper: soft sky, smoky slate, basic black (SU!), white
Ink: black, smoky sltate (SU!)
Accessories: bling, border punch (EK Success), Chicken Wire embossing folder (Cuttlebug), glossy accents, glitter

Wild Thing

Hi friends!  Happy Wednesday!  Today I'm popping in with a little just for the fun of it card I made from things I found on my desk.  Wild Thing was one of the first Valentine sets I created and it's still one of my favorites.  I hadn't dusted it off in a while, so I decided to pull it out.


I had some purple embellishments on my desk that didn't make it onto my VLV card last week, and a doily, so I just pulled some random scraps of paper from my pile and put it all together.  The big heart is stamped & embossed in rich razzleberry, then I cut it out and cut out one of the swirly hearts to pop over the top.  The wild thing sentiment was added as a banner and I glitzed it out with a bunch of heart rhinestones.  My final accent was two wooden lovebirds that I colored with a marker, then coated with glossy glaze and sprinkled glitter over.  Super fun!

Enabler's List
Stamps: Wild Thing (Verve Stamps)
Paper: random scraps, white
Ink: Black, rich razzleberry (SU!)
Accessories: doily, wooden birds, flower, ribbon, heart rhinestones, heart embossing folder, glossy accents, glitter, corner rounder

Washi Tape Mojo

Hi friends!  I'm a little late with my Mojo Monday 329 sample today.  I've been sick all weekend and the kiddos had a rough night so there wasn't any time to finish my half done Mojo card until now. This week's sketch is a super fun one by Teresa.


My card uses the wreath from Holiday Greetings and a sentiment from No Matter What.  Most of the sentiments in this set were designed to fit inside this wreath, so the two sets pair beautifully.  I colored with copics using a red, grey and pink color scheme.  Washi tape, stitching and a portion of the Award Banner Trim Die accent things and I even added a bit of stitching down the sides. The wreath, hearts, stars and berries are coated with glossy accents and then sprinkled with dazzling diamonds for some extra sparkle.

Well, it's back to bed for me.  Hope you have a fabulously creative start to your week!

Enabler's List
Stamps: Holiday Greetings, No Matter What (Verve Stamps)
Paper: Yours Truly (Pebbles), basic gray, smoky slate (SU!), white
Ink: black, copic markers
Accessories: Award Banner Trim Die (A Cut Above by VERVE), washi tape, classic circles nestabilities (Spellbinders), rhinestones, corner rounder, sewing machine, glossy accents, dazzling diamonds

Praying for Tomorrow

Hi friends!  It's Friday again and time for another Viva la Verve! Sketch.  This week is inspiration week, so you can use the sketch, the inspiration photo or both if you're feeling creative!


I wear a lot of purple, but rarely use it in papercrafting, so I decided to challenge myself using the colors in the photo along with Christyne's sketch.  The stamp set I used is Each Day and I stamped a different sentiment on each rounded square panel, then added the buterflies in rich razzleberry.  A polka dot bow and some gold pearls finish off this clean and cluttered (that should totally be a thing! LOL) card.

Thanks again for all the well wishes.  I went back to the doc for another check-up yesterday, since my ear infection hadn't gotten any better and apparently since last week's visit, I caught a new virus.  New antibiotics, a very expensive nasal spray and a healthy dose of ibuprofen is my regimen this weekend.  Here's hoping I can hear again by Monday!

Hope you have a fantastic day!

Enabler's List
Stamps: Each Day (Verve Stamps)
Paper: rich razzleberry, basic black, brushed gold (SU!), white
Ink: Rich Razzleberry (SU!), black, Versamark
Accessories:  corner rounder, gold pearls, Classic Circles Nestabilities (Spellbinders), stickles, white embossing powder

Be Mine

Hi friends!  It's Monday again and time for another Mojo Monday sketch!  This week's sketch is by Teresa and has some nice clean lines that make for a super easy card.  I was feeling a bit off kilter from my inner + outer ear infection, so I decided to skew a couple panels in honor of the dizziness that seems to be hanging on.  {wink}


This month's Diva Dare is Smitten and the challenge is to add a heart and a Verve product to your card.  For my card, I pulled out an old favorite of mine, Heart's Desire and went with a just paper & ink approach (no pattern paper).  I really love stamped backgrounds, so I used the big heart on the red layer and the small heart clusters on the strawberry layer.  I've been seeing some masked circles lately, so decided to mask off a circle and stamp the LOVE sentiment in it, then stamp the double heart arrows over the top.  A little sentiment flag is a cozy home for the be mine sentiment and I used the Heart Quartet Die for my layered heart.

Thanks so much for stopping by today!  I hope you have a fabulous start to your week.  If you're in the mood for some new stamps, Verve has love-themed stamps & dies 30% off right now!


Enabler's List
Stamps:  Heart's Desire (Verve)
Paper: strawberry slush, real red, basic black (SU!), white
Ink: strawberry slush, real red (SU!), black, copic marker
Accessories: Flourished Trim Die, Heart Quartet Die (A Cut Above by VERVE), glitter, hearts embossing folder (Sizzix), liquid pearls, seam binding, rhinestone, glossy accents

Happy

Hi friends!  It's Friday and time for another Viva la Verve! sketch over on the brand new blog! This week's sketch is by Teresa and lots of fun to dress up.


I pulled out a couple of sets that I haven't stamped with for a while and got to work.  First up, I masked off the when skies are gray sentiment from Rain or Shine and stamped just the You make me happy sentiment on barely banana.  Then I did the reverse and stamped just the when skies are gray on a sliver of cardstock and rounded the corners for my tab.  My gray skies panel is made by embossing the clouds folder on smoky slate then sponging with smoky slate ink and matting with basic gray.  The basic grey vertical panel is embossed with a honeycomb folder and the soft sky card base is embossed with polka dots for tons of texture!

I matted the sentiment circle with a pinking circle die cut to make it a little sunshine and added some liquid pearl accents.  The butterfly is from the So Fluttery set and I stamped it in Soft Sky and then die cut with the Flutterby Die.  some bling and Pastel Sequin Mix finish things off.

That's all on the how to.  I'm still having lots of ear pain and dizziness.  Went to the doctor yesterday and apparently my middle ear infection spread to an outer ear infection as well. So antibiotic ear drops for me (and if you've ever intentionally poured liquid into your ears you know this is not a pleasant thing!) for the next week.  Hope your weekend is looking more exciting than ear drops!  LOL

Enabler's List
Stamps: Rain or Shine, So Fluttery (Verve Stamps)
Paper: barely banana, soft sky, basic gray, smoky slate (SU!)
Ink: soft sky, smoky slate (SU!), black
Accessories: Flutterby Die (A Cut Above by VERVE), Pastel Sequin Mix (Verve), Classic & Pinking Circles Nestabilities (Spellbinders), bling, liquid pearls, cloud embossing folder (SU!), polka dot embossing folder (Cuttlebug), honeycomb texture fades (Sizzix), corner rounder

Forever and Always

Hi friends!  Happy Tuesday!  I'm re-capping the January Week 1 Viva la Verve challenge over on the Viva la Verve Blog today and this is the card I made for the re-cap.

I absolutely love the way this card fell together.  A week before Christmas I treated myself to a trip to our local craft store and they had all of their paper pads 1/2 off.  So I couldn't NOT come home with more Valentine paper than a person could ever need, right???  Seriously, I LOVE making Valentine cards.  I rarely give them to anyone but Mark, but something about hearts and bling and all the meaningful sentiments just brings out the romantic in me.

 
So, the paper is from the Devoted collection by Carta Bella.  I added scalloped mats to make each pattern stand out a bit and then added some flowers (from the Hope Blooms set) that had already been stamped, sponged and cut out from a previous project.  It just seemed to be the perfect match.  I just love cards with split sentiments, so this sketch is right up my alley!  Both sentiments are from the No Matter What set and I used the Flag it Die Set.  As I was cleaning my desk looking for my scor-pal to fold my card base, I came across these little word pins that I'd recently found in the closet and set aside to use.  So I added two little pins to let Mark know that I love us! {cheesy grin}

If you haven't stopped by the Verve Blog lately, our January Diva Dare is going on.  This month's challenge is "Smitten" and you just need to have a heart and at lease one Verve product on your card.  Come play along and don't forget to leave comments on the Diva's posts as they share their takes on the Dare each weekday through Jan. 20 for a chance to win a prize!

Thanks so much for stopping by and thanks for all the well wishes yesterday.  I'm starting to feel like I might beat this sickness instead of it beating me. ;) Still no hearing in my right ear, which makes me very off balance, but the pain has lessened and I'm starting to feel a bit more human again.

Enabler's List
Stamps: No Matter WhatHope Blooms (Verve Stamps)
Paper: Devoted (Carta Bella), early espresso (SU!)
Ink: strawberry slush, early espresso (SU!)
Accessoriess:  Flag it Die Set (A Cut Above by VERVE), Classic and Scallop Squares & Circles Nestabilities (Spellbinders), chevron ribbon (SU!), pearls, liquid pearls, wooden pins

Thank You With Love and Seasons Givings WINNERS

Hi friends! Happy Monday!  I've spent the last few days quarantined in my bedroom with influenza and a severe ear infection in the hopes of not spreading my misery to the twins.  They both have ear infections of their own, but appear to have steered clear of the flu so far.  My hubby says it might be a saving grace that I can't hear out of one ear because the boys have been screamers all weekend long.  {eeek!}

Anyhow, it's the first Monday of the month and I finally felt steady enough (the ear infection is wreaking havoc on my balance) yesterday afternoon to sneak down the hall to my studio and make a quick little card for the Mojo Monday sketch challenge.  It's contest week and that means there are Verve prizes up for grabs!  Come play along, the more entries, the more winners!



Since I was trying to make a quick card, I just pulled scraps from my desk... the espresso panel, the crumb cake panel and the hearts had already been cut and tossed aside from other projects, so I just distressed them a bit, crimped the espresso layer and added the with love sentiment from Chevron Love.  The thank you sentiment is from Friendly Phrases and I stapled it on, then layered everything onto a white card base embossed with chicken wire embossing folder.  I finished off with some twine and rhinestones to bling it up for Verve's Shimmer & Shine Inspiration Challenge.

Enabler's List
Stamps: Chevron Love, Friendly Phrases (Verve Stamps)
Paper: crumb cake, early espresso, cherry cobbler (SU!), white
Ink: early espresso, cherry cobbler (SU!), brushed corduroy (Ranger Distress)
Accessories:  Heart Quartet Die, Flag it Die Set (A Cut Above by VERVE), paper corrugator, tiny attacher, linen thread, rhinestones, Chicken Wire embossing folder (Cuttlebug)

Okay, that's all about the card.  Now it's time to announce the winners of my Seasons Givings Blog Hop Giveaways!  Thanks to everyone who commented.  It was such a blessing to read your wonderful words as I was under the weather.  I loved reading each and every one!


Giveaway 1 Winner:  Dee in N.H.Wins:  Wings of LoveChevron LoveWavy Hearts Die SetTwitterpatedNo Matter What, and the Hearts & Swirls Die Set from Verve Stamps, several background rubber stamps by Christy Tomlinson and Art McKracken, Heirloom Patterns background clear stamp set from Waltzingmouse Stamps, paper and embellishments from Crate Paper and Basic Grey, Stampin' Up! ribbon, Dear Lizzy roller date stamp and random embellishments


Giveaway 2 Winner:  canadian_liner
Wins a $75 Gift Certificate to Verve Stamps.

Congrats Dee and Caroline!  Send an email to me at contests@vervestamps to claim your prize.
Dee, please include your shipping address so I can get your goody box on its way!

Viva la New Year!

If you're here for my Season's Givings Blog Hop Post, please click here or scroll down.


Hi friends!  Happy Friday! I've just put the finishing touches on our new Viva la Verve! challene blog and our first challenge of 2014 is up!  Hooray!  We're spicing things up a bit with the first sketch of each month also having a color challenge.  You can just use the sketch, just the colors or combine them if you're feeling sassy!  {grin}

I'm hostessing this week, so here's my take on the sketch + colors.  {I guess I was feeling sassy!}


For my card I pulled out the No Matter What set and some real red, early espresso and soft sky cardstock.  The heart clusters are embossed in white onto red and espresso.  I stamped the heart bouquet on a circle die cut, then colored with Copics.  The sentiment is stamped in real red and I added some rounded corners to my square and sentiment tab.  The hearts embossing folder got pulled out again and I finished off with some red rhinestones, satin ribbon and some liquid pearl accents on my scalloped circle.



Okay, that's all for me.  The boys and I have been sick the last few days and I'm hoping to get a little rest today while the littles visit their grandparents.  Be sure to head on over to the Viva la Verve blog to see some more samples with this sketch from a few of the Divas!

Enabler's List
Stamps: No Matter What (Verve Stamps)
Paper: soft sky, real red, early espresso (SU!), white
Ink: early espresso, real red (SU!), copic markers, VersaMark
Accessories: Classic & scalloped circles nestabilities (Spellbinders), ribbon (SU!), corner rounder, heart embossing folder (Sizzix), rhinestones, white embossing powder