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Hi friends!  It's Friday again and time for another Viva la Verve sketch.  It's the final sketch in our May VLV series, so if you haven't already, you have until next Thursday (6/5) to play along for your chance to be entered in our $100 gift voucher prize drawing.


When I looked at the sketch I totally thought of the new banner stamp in Wonderful Marvelous.  I originally was just going to stamp them on rectangles, but once I got them stamped it covered up too much of the fabby polka dot paper, so I decided to do a little fussy cutting.  The paper is a new-to-me pad from Crate Paper that I picked up for $2.99 at Tuesday Morning earlier this week.  I replaced the circles in the sketch with hearts cut with the Heart Quartet Die, then added a little sentiment flag stamped with the happy and birthday sentiments from  Wonderful Marvelous.  I finished off with some shiny silver pearls and a seam binding bow using ribbon from the Truly Madly Deeply Collection.

Thanks so much for stopping by today!  I hope you have a fabulous weekend ahead of you!  Oh, and if you missed Verve's Memorial Day weekend shipping promotion, we're doing it again this weekend!  Now through Sunday, June 1 get FREE US shipping on orders over $30.  No code needed.  Just add at least $30 of product to your cart and choose the default "US Shipping" option for your shipping method. Discount will be automatically applied to your cart. Offer not valid on Priority or International shipping options.

VLV May Week 5 Sketch
Enabler's List
Stamps:  Wonderful Marvelous (Verve Stamps)
Paper: Flea Market (Crate Paper), midnight muse (SU!), cream
Ink: midnight muse (SU!), antique linen (Ranger)
Accessories:  Heart Quartet Die (A Cut Above by VERVE), Truly Madly Deeply Ribbon Collection (Verve), shiny silver pearls (Pizzazz Aplenty)

Stamping in Reverse

Hi friends!  Happy Tuesday!  Today I thought I'd share a quick little note card set I made with the new Button Best set and the coordinating Petal Points and  Sprightly Sprigs die sets.  Each card measures 3 x 3" and uses the same simple layout.


First I stamped the large flower in black on white paper four times, then cut out with the  Petal Points Die Set. For a quick water colored look to each flower, I used the back of the stamp...yep, just flipped it over so the part that's usually applied to the block was up and inked that up with color then spritzed a couple times with water and stamped over my flowers.  Super simple way to color in an image, and since you're going for a water colored effect, it doesn't matter that the color goes a little outside the lines.  Just remember to clean the stamp right away and use a water or dye based ink that won't stain so you can still see through your stamp next time you want to stamp it the usual direction.



I found the technique worked better with the lighter colors like soft sky, blushing bride and barely banana. The perfect plum was a bit too dark for what I wanted, so I lightened it up by using the same technique with the smaller flower and doing a second generation stamp onto that one and then layering it over the larger flower. The DP is from my scrap pile and I stamped a different sentiment from Button Best on each card, then accented with pear pizazz Sprightly Sprigs cutouts and some dew drops and pearls.  I think the whole set took about 30 minutes start to finish.


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

Enabler's List
Stamps: Button Best (Verve Stamps)
Paper: dp scraps, pear pizzazz, blushing bride, barely banana, perfect plum, soft sky (SU!), white, black
Ink: blushing bride, barely banana, perfect plum, soft sky (SU!), black
Accessories:  Petal Points Die SetSprightly Sprigs Die Set  (A Cut Above by VERVE), dew drops, pearl

Birthday Blues

Hi friends!  It's Monday again and time for my favorite sketch feature over at Mojo Monday... tall & skinny! I used the Be Blessed set from Verve's brand new release for my card.  If you haven't already, be sure to check out the Verve store to view the entire release.  And there's a FREE US Shipping promotion on orders over $30 that runs through tonight (5.26.14), so it's a perfect time to pick up a little Verve!


I started by stamping the solid small flower from Be Blessed in Marina Mist twice.  Next I stamped over one of the flowers with the medium solid flower in soft sky.  I cut this out with the coordinating Petal Points Die Set, then hand trimmed the very center of the extra flower I cut and popped it up over my flower center for a bit of dimension.  The leaves are made from white cardstock run through the die cut machine with the new Sprightly Sprigs Die Set.  Then I stamped over each die cut with the coordinating stamp from Be Blessed in Pear Pizzazz.  The sentiment is stamped in Marina Mist and I matted it with a white circle accented with white liquid pearls.  My background is Marina Mist cardstock and I randomly stamped both solid and outline images of the flowers in the same color, then did the same for the soft sky horizontal panel.  I finished off with a few more liquid pearl accents and a seam binding bow.  The finished card size is 3.5 x 5.5".

Thanks so much for stopping by today!  I hope you're having a fabulous long weekend!  Mark and I actually got to go to the movies yesterday for the first time since before Christmas.  Such a nice break from our teething toddlers.  A great way to recharge the batteries!


Mojo Monday 347
Enabler's List
Stamps: Be Blessed (Verve Stamps)
Paper: marina mist, soft sky (SU!), ehite
Ink: marina mist, soft sky, pear pizzazz (SU!)
Accessories:  Petal Points Die Set, Sprightly Sprigs Die Set (A Cut Above by VERVE), Classic Circles Nestabilities (Spellbinders), seam binding (SU!), liquid pearls (Ranger), dots embossing folder (Cuttlebug)

Without Fear

Looking for my Verve Spotlight Hop posts? Click the links for Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, Day 4.

Hi friends!  Happy Saturday!  I thought I'd pop in with another project I made using the new Verve release. This one combines Wonderful Marvelous, Proverbs 31:25 and the previously released Better Together set.




My inspiration was the Viva la Verve May Week 3 Sketch + Inspiration.  I loved the touches of gold in the graphic.  And since it's a color I rarely reach for, I challenged myself to incorporate it into my card.  I started by painting a little watercolor background.  Next I took a piece of vellum and embossed the banners from Wonderful Marvelous down it.  I also cut a few stars from vellum using the Starry Die and a large star punch, then used the background strip from Better Together to emboss them in gold.  I embossed the same background across the layers of my card, then stamped the  Proverbs 31:25 verse on white cardstock and hand trimmed the pennant ends.  I finished off with a piece of seam binding from the Spring Fling Ribbon Collection.

Well, that's the skinny on the card.  Before I go, just wanted to let you know that  along with the new release, Verve has a FREE SHIPPING promotion on US orders over $30 now through Monday, May 26. No code required. Just add at least $30 of product to your cart and choose the default "US Shipping" option for your shipping method. Discount will be automatically applied to your cart.  Offer is not valid on Priority or International shipping options.

Hope you're enjoying the long weekend! Thanks so much for stopping by!

Enabler's List
Stamps: Proverbs 31:25Better TogetherWonderful Marvelous
Paper: watercolor paper, vellum, white
Ink: Versamark, watercolors

Accessories: Starry Die (A Cut Above by VERVE), Spring Fling Ribbon Collection (VERVE), gold detail embossing powder (Judikins), polka dot embossing folder (Cuttlebug), large star punch (SU!)

Oh Happy Day Verve Release Hop

Hi friends!  It's Release Day at Verve and time for our final May Spotlight Hop!  It's Diva's choice today, which means the Divas will be showing you whatever their little hearts wanted to stamp with from this release.  And we've got a big prize for today's comment winner... the ENTIRE May 2014 Release Collection!  Hop along and leave a little shout out to be in the drawing!

All of the stamps we've been previewing this week are available
in the Verve online store today!  

I made a bunch of cards with this release, and well, even as I'm starting to type this post, I'm not sure what I'm going to show you!  {grin}  Maybe I'll share a few??


I'll start with this little {almost} one layer card using Be Blessed.  I thought these flowers were just begging for a big tropical adventure, so I pulled out coastal cabana and stamped the big flower, then masked it off and stamped the smaller flowers in crisp cantaloupe and peach parfait and then one big flower in the corner with barely banana.  I made one mask for the smaller flowers and moved it around to stamp the greenery in with pear pizzazz.  The sentiment is stamped in black and I added a teeny strip of coastal cabana to give the edge some flair, then accented with liquid pearls and some dew drops on the flower centers.

The next card is the one I gave my mom for Mother's Day this year.  It uses Button Best on the outside and a sentiment from Be Blessed on the inside.


I embossed the flowers from Button Best in white, then cut with the coordinating Petal Points Die Set. Next, I watercolored the flowers with distress markers, taking the color all the way to the edge of the die cut to extend the flowers.  Next I glued a few Sprightly Sprigs that I highlighted a bit with watercolors to a cream panel and ran through the machine with the Chicken Wire embossing folder.  The sentiment is also from Button Best, and I hand cut and sketched a little banner around the sentiment.  a black mat, some linen thread and a vintage button finish the outside off.


For the inside of the card, I kept it simple and added this sentiment from Be Blessed, then stamped one of the flowers from Button Best in soft sky a couple times.


This last card also uses Button Best.  I again embossed the flowers in white on a piece of watercolor paper. I then watercolored the flowers with distress markers and shimmer spray.  I also used the markers and waterbrush for the color wash around the flowers, then embossed the sentiment in black.  I wanted those pearly watercolored flowers to take center stage, so I just decided to leave it at that and made a circle card with a crisp cantaloupe mat and crumb cake scalloped circle base.  A bit of liquid pearls accenting the scallops finished things off.  


Alrighty... time to move along to the next stop on the hop:  Charmaine



Want to win some shiny new Verve? We'll be picking a random commenter on one of the hop spots below to win our ENTIRE May Release Collection.  Check out the Verve Blog today for all the prize info and deadlines!

1. Julee8. Amber
2. Charmaine9. Maureen
3. Marisa10. Jen
4. Janelle11. Laurie S.
5. Teresa12. Andrea
6. Chaitali13. Christyne
7. Stacey14. Sarah

Enabler's Lists
Card 1
Stamps: Be Blessed (Verve Stamps)
Paper: white, coastal cabanan 
Ink: coastal cabana, crisp cantaloupe, peach parfait, barely banana, pear pizazz (SU!), black 
Accessories: dew drops, liquid pearls 

Card 2
Stamps: Button BestBe Blessed (for inside of card) (Verve Stamps)
Paper: cream, basic black, soft sky (SU!), watercolor paper
Ink: Versamark (Tsuikineko), Black, distress markers (Ranger)
Accessories: Petal Points Die SetSprightly Sprigs Die Set (A Cut Above by VERVE), twine, chicken wire embossing folder (Cuttlebug), vintage brad (SU!), bling 

Card 3 
Stamps: Button Best (Verve Stamps) 
Paper: crumb cake, crisp cantaloupe (SU!), watercolor paper 
Ink: Versamark (Tsuikineko), Black, distress markers (Ranger) 
Accessories: Classic & Scalloped Circle Nestabilities (Spellbinders), white embossing powder, waterbrush, liquid pearls, shimmer spray

Be Blessed Day 3 Blog Hop

Hi friends!  I'm back again kicking off Verve's Day 3 Spotlight Hop!  Come join in the fun and check out the Divas' first looks at Be BlessedLuke 1:45 Plain Jane and Sprightly Sprigs Die Set.  And there's a prize to be won, so be sure to leave a little shout out as you hop around to the blogs on the list below! {grin}


For my card today, I used all of today's featured products, plus the Petal Points Die Set we peeked earlier this week.  That's right, the Petal Points dies work with the flowers in both the Be Blessed and Button Best sets!  That's my kind of two-fer! {grin}  I started by inking the solid flowers from Be Blessed in perfect plum, then I rock-n-rolled the edges of the stamp with wisteria wonder and stamped onto white cardstock.  Next I cut the three medium and one large flower with the Petal Points Die Set.

I wanted a bit more layering to my flower, so decided to stamp the smaller solid flower three times and hand cut to pop up over the flower centers.  I really like the effect this gives, and it would be a great way to add a traditional yellow flower center to a stamped image.  Next I sent the Sprightly Sprigs Die Set through my machine two times with some designer paper so I'd have a bunch of greenery to work with once I started gluing things down.

I pulled out the Luke 1:45 sentiment and decided I wanted it to look like the worn cover of a prayer journal, so layered some green papers behind, embossed the scripture verse in perfect plum on vellum and then distressed a little with a paper distresser and a paper crimper.  For the back panel, I layered two designer papers together and then started putting all the pieces together.  I wanted there to be a lot of greenery and a bit of distressing around the edges to convey that maybe it's been a while between the promise and the fulfillment.

Alrighty, next up on the hop is Charmaine!  Thanks so much for stopping by, I'd love to hear what you think of today's features.

Want to win some shiny new Verve? We'll be picking a random commenter on one of the hop spots below to win today's featured products! So be sure to leave a little comment on all the blogs below to increase your chances! Check out the Verve Blog today for full set reveals and all the prize info and deadlines!  All of the stamps and dies you see previewed this week will be available in the Verve online store on Friday, May 23 (that's TOMORROW).


1. Julee7. Maureen
2. Charmaine8. Jen
3. Marisa9. Laurie S.
4. Teresa10. Andrea
5. Chaitali11. Christyne
6. Stacey12. Sarah

Enabler's List
Stamps: Be Blessed, Luke 1:45 (Verve Stamps)
Paper: white, vellum, DSP prints packs (SU!)
Ink: perfect plum, wisteria wonder (SU!)
Accessories:  Petal Points Die Set, Sprightly Sprigs Die Set (A Cut Above by VERVE), corner rounder, paper distresser, paper crimper

Wonderful Marvelous Day Two Blog Hop

Hi friends!  I'm back with Day 2 of Verve's New Release Spotlight Hops.  Today the Divas are shining their sneaky little spotlights on a set called Wonderful Marvelous and the Jeremiah 17:7 plain jane.  I'm the first stop on the hop, so I hope you'll settle in for a little inspiration.  {Oh, and don't forget to leave a little comment love as you hop about for a chance to win some Verve!}


For my card, I combined the Wonderful Marvelous set with the Jeremiah 17:7 Plain Jane to make a special card for my nephew's 19th birthday.  He's such a great kid and just returned home from his first year of college.  This verse really makes me think of him, so I thought it was the perfect fit.  I embossed the verse in black on designer paper first.  Next I embossed the flag trios in white three times on black paper and punched out with a circle punch.  Then I stamped the trios a couple more times on two coordinating papers, hand trimmed and paper pieced over the flag images.  The Happy Birthday flag is built with two sentiments from this set and I hand trimmed the ends and added a bit of detail with a black pen to make it pop.  It's attached to the card with a Tim Holtz memo pin, turned upside down. and I added a bit of black twine for interest.  The card was inspired by Janelle's Week 2 Viva la Verve sketch, but I adjusted it a bit to fit the card and to change it to a 3.5 x 5.5" card base.  The card was a big hit, both with the women in the family and my nephew.

Alrighty... time to hop on over to the next stop on the hop, the fabulous Charmaine.
Want to win some shiny new Verve? We'll be picking a random commenter on one of the hop spots below to win today's featured products! So be sure to leave a little comment on all the blogs below to increase your chances! Check out the Verve Blog today for full set reveals and all the prize info and deadlines!  All of the stamps and dies you see previewed this week will be available in the Verve online store on Friday, May 23.


Today's Prize: Wonderful Marvelous, Jeremiah 17:7 Plain Jane
1. Julee7. Stacey
2. Charmaine8. Maureen
3. Marisa9. Jen
4. Janelle10. Laurie S.
5. Teresa11. Andrea
6. Chaitali12. Christyne
VLV May Week 2

Enabler's List
Stamps: Jeremiah 17:7, Wonderful Marvelous (Verve Stamps)
Paper: Memorabilia (Teresa Collins), white
Ink: black, versamark
Accessories: circle punch (EK success), memo pin (Tim Holtz), white embossing powder, clear embossing powder (JudiKins), twine

Button Best Day One Blog Hop

Hi friends!  It's release week at Verve and that means the Divas will be spotlighting new Verve products the rest of the week in a 4 day series of blog hops!  Hooray for new Verve!  Everything you see previewed this week will be available in the Verve online store on Friday, May 23.  And as with all of our blog hops, there are prizes to be won, so be sure to give a little shout out in the comments!  {grin}

Alrighy, I'm the first stop on the hop, so let's get this party started...


Today's featured set is called Button Best and while it has some beautiful floral images I'm sure to be showing off at a later date, today I wanted to feature this fun sentiment framed by a bunch of colorful stamped buttons from the set.  I started the card by stitching a frame on the inside of my sahara sand panel (it's actually covered up now, but it gave me the guide for placing the buttons).  Next I embossed the sentiment in white and then proceeded to stamp each of the 5 button images in the set on four different colors of cardstock (barely banana, crisp cantaloupe, peach parfait, coastal cabana) and then embossed in white.  I punched each button out with circle punches from my collection and then set to layering them around my stitched frame on varying dimensionals to give it character.  I did a little faux stitching around the edge with a paper piercer and white gel pen, then finished with some distressed edges.

So what do you think?  I'm kind of loving this color combo and how it pops against the sahara sand.  And I just love how the buttons turned out.  This is the exact card I had envisioned when I set out to design this set. So fun when it works out!

Okay, lots to see today, so I'll just send you off to the next stop on the hop... Charmaine.

Want to win some shiny new Verve? We'll be picking a random commenter on one of the hop spots below to win today's featured products! So be sure to leave a little comment on all the blogs below to increase your chances! Check out the Verve Blog today for full set reveals and all the prize info and deadlines!


Today's Prize: Button Best, Proverbs 31:25, Petal Points Die Set
1. Julee8. Amber
2. Charmaine9. Maureen
3. Marisa10. Jen
4. Janelle11. Andrea
5. Teresa12. Christyne
6. Chaitali13. Sarah
7. Stacey

Enabler's List
Stamps: Button Best (Verve Stamps)
Paper: barely banana, crisp cantaloupe, peach parfait, coastal cabana, sahara sand (SU!)
Ink: Versamark, white gel pen
Accessories: Mat pack (SU!), circle punches (EK Success), White detail embossing powder (Judikins)

Watercolor Friend

Hi friends!  It's Monday again already and time for a new Mojo sketch!  This one is based off this card I made playing around with some watercolor techniques.


The background is done with distress inks and water, then I stamped the chevron element from Better Together a few times.  I added a circle with the Hello Friend sentiment embossed in black, then did a bit of ink splatter with a paint brush and added a wooden arrow I colored with distress inks to match.  A thin little piece of black on the side grounds the image and I used a picket fence distress marker for some accents on the black strip.  I finished off with a soft sky card base.

Thanks so much for stopping by today!  I hope you have a fabulous start to your week.  It's release week here at Verve, so be sure to check back daily starting tomorrow for sneak peeks of the NEW stamps and dies!

Mojo 346
Enabler's List
Stamps: Hello Friend, Better Together (Verve Stamps)
Paper: watercolor paper, basic black, soft sky (SU!)
Ink: black, tumbled glass, squeezed lemonade, scattered straw, picket fence (Ranger Distress)
Accessories:  Classic Circles Nestabilities (Spellbinders), wooden arrow (Freckled Fawn)

Friday Smiles

Hi friends!  Today I've got a simple little watercolor card to share. 


I embossed the panel with the Sanded background from SU!, then watercolored over the top.  The sentiment is from Better Together and I embossed it in black on vellum, then cut a little strip of strawberry slush cardstock for the sentiment to sit on.  A couple photo corners and some black rhinestone bling and the card was done.

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

Enabler's List
Stamps:  Better Together (Verve), Sanded (SU!)
Paper: water color paper, black, white, strawberry slush, vellum
Ink: black, Koi watercolors, versamark
Accessories: rhinestone swirls, clear embossing powder, photo corner punch (SU!)

Tagged Thanks

Hi friends!  I was cleaning up my chaotic desk last night and happened upon this little set of tags.  I made them for the latest Verve release but was too busy at the time to photograph, so they never got shared.  So, here they are all in a row...


Lots of Verve used for these fun little tags.  The tag stamp from Die Sidekicks is stamped on sahara sand and cut out with the coordinating Sweet Scallop Die.  I stamped the scroll stamp from Die Sidekicks on white paper, then cut with the coordinating Scroll Die.  The small butterfly stamp is also in Die Sidekicks, stamped on colored cardstock and then cut with the coordinating All Aflutter Die Set.  For the thanks sentiment, I masked off a portion of the Being Awesome plain jane so that only the THANKS part inked up, then stamped in the scroll area.  I finished each tag off with some silver pearls, Shine Bright sequins and baker's twine.

That's all for today.  Thanks so much for stopping by!

Enabler's List
Stamps: Die Sidekicks, Being Awesome (Verve Stamps)
Paper: sahara sand, soft sky, so saffron, blushing bride (SU!)
Ink: soft sky, so saffron, blushing bride (SU!), black
Accessories: Sweet Scallop Die, All Aflutter Die Set, Scroll Die (A Cut Above by VERVE), Shine Bright Sequin Mix (Verve), baker's twine, silver pearls

Modern Birthday

Hi friends!  It's Monday again and time for another Mojo Monday sketch.  This week's sketch was very loosely inspired by a quilt pattern I saw that used tons of circles as a way of using up extra fabric scraps. I mentally made a note to come up with a sketch that was great for using up some scraps, and this is what I came up with.  I think it's super fun and you can create a whole lot of different styles with it.  Can't wait to see what everyone creates.


And, even though the sketch works great for scraps, I had a brand new pad of paper that I got on clearance for $2 at the craft store that I totally NEEDED to use.  {grin}  Loved these fun prints, and got to work cutting four circles and a strip for down the border.  Next I pulled out the Flag it Die Set and cut one of the flags and then the topper for it three times in different papers.  The sentiment is from Joyful Blooms and is stamped in midnight muse.  I added a strip of paper for the vertical border, cutting the paper in a zigzag along the print for a fun border.

The base of the card is embossed with the stars & swirls embossing folder and I finished off with a sprinkling of Shine Bright sequins.

Thanks so much for stopping by today!  I hope you have a fabulous start to your week!

Mojo Monday 345
Enabler's List
Stamps: Joyful Blooms (Verve Stamps)
Paper: Sunkissed (gcd studios), white
Ink: midnight muse (SU!)
Accessories:  Flag it Die Set (A Cut Above by VERVE), Shine Bright Sequin Mix (Verve), stars & swirls embossing folder (Sizzix), classic circles Nestabilities (Spellbinders)

White Out Thanks

Hi friends!  Happy Friday!  It's a new Viva la Verve week and Janelle has a fabulous sketch for you over on the VLV blog today.  But since work took precedence over stamping this week, I'm sharing one last card made with the May Week 1 sketch + colors and will hopefully get  a chance to play with Janelle's sketch this weekend.

I pulled out  Petals & Wings for this one and stamped tons of petals in smoky slate on a white square, then the centers in so saffron.  I wiped on a bit of gesso for a white-out effect and then decided to mute things a bit by layering a piece of vellum with the Being Awesome sentiment stamped on it.  The flowers are cut with the Wings & Petals Die Set and stamped with the coordinating stamps from  Petals & Wings.  A bit of gesso is swiped onto my soft sky piece and I layered everything together with washi tape.

Thanks so much for stopping by today!  I hope you have a fabulous start to your weekend!

Enabler's List
Stamps:  Petals & Wings, Being Awesome (Verve Stamps)
Paper: soft sky, smoky slate (SU!), white, vellum
Ink: soft sky, so saffron (SU!), black
Accessories:  Wings & Petals Die Set (A Cut Above by VERVE), hole punch, washi tape, gesso, embossing powder, glossy glaze, glitter

A Simple Hello and Complete Set

Happy Thursday, friends!  I'm popping in with another card using this week's Viva la Verve! sketch.  It's actually one I made for the latest Verve release and the card that inspired the sketch, but I never posted it, so today's the day!  {grin}


It's a super simple card, just a white square stamped with the Hello Friend plain jane and the two polka dot butterflies from Petals & Wings.  I colored the butterflies with copic markers, then added some black rhinestones for the butterfly bodies.  The square is attached to a black cardstock panel with washi tape and then mounted on a white card base.

And, there was one more card in that card set I made for the release, so I might as well show it now.



Here, I've stamped the flowers and stems from Petals & Wings on a white rectangle and added just a portion of one of the borders from the Scalloped Trim Trio Die Set in pistachio pudding.  The sentiment is the new Being Awesome plain jane and it's stamped in the vintage oval frame from  Die Sidekicks and cut with the coordinating Vintage Oval Die.  I added some faux enamel dots to the centers of the flower by taking some small circle punches, stamping with the polka dot flower center stamp in the coordinating ink and then covering with a thick layer of glossy glaze.  It's hard to see, but the card base is a pretty embossed polka dot background.

Here's the whole set of cards from the release in one (not so great) photo...



Thanks so much for stopping by today!  Have a wonderful day!

Enabler's List
1st card
Stamps: Hello FriendPetals & Wings (Verve Stamps)
Paper: black, white
Ink: black (TCP Studios)
Accessories: washi tape, bling

2nd card
Stamps: Being Awesome, Die SidekicksPetals & Wings (Verve Stamps)
Paper: Black, white
Ink: blushing bride, soft sky, pistachio pudding (SU!), black
Accessories: Vintage Oval Die, Scalloped Trim Trio Die Set (A Cut Above by VERVE), polka dot embossing folder, ribbon, glossy glaze

The Joy of Grunge

If you're here for my Diva Inspirations Hop post, click here or scroll down.

Hi friends!  I mentioned last Friday that I made a few cards with this week's Viva la Verve sketch, so I'm back today sharing another one.  A bit on the grungy subway side of things, but I sure had a lot of fun with it.



One of the things I love most about mixed-media is that there ends up being all these hidden layers peeking through that add so much texture and meaning.  Here I started with a white square of cardstock, wiped with a bit of gesso.  Then I stamped the flowers from Petals & Wings several times around the corners in smoky slate and the flower centers in so saffron.  This seemed a bit bright, so I ended up adding a watered down layer of gesso over  some of the stamping, then sponging with pumice stone and tumbled glass distress ink, then went around the edges with a black gelato and blended with a wet cloth.

Next I stamped the butterflies in smoky slate on so saffron and cut with the matching Wings & Petals Die Set.  I accented them with grey rhinestones, then stamped the sentiment in the white area of my square and layered the butterflies on top.  

The smoky slate layer behind is stamped randomly with more Petals & Wings flowers, then more black gelato and some distressed edges.  I added some fun washi, then did some more gelato grunging to the soft sky card base.  I finished off with a bit of moistened gelato over a stencil.

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

Enabler's List
Stamps: Petals & Wings (Verve Stamps)
Paper: soft sky, so saffron, smoky slate (SU!), white
Ink: smoky slate, so saffron (SU!), tumbled seaglass (Ranger Distress), Tuxedo Black (Memento Luxe), black gelato (Faber-Castell), gesso
Accessories: Wings & Petals Die Set (A Cut Above by VERVE), Dot Fade layering stencil (Tim Holtz), washi tape, rhinestones (MME)


Breathe Deeply and a Hop

Hi friends!  It's the 5th of the month, which means it's Diva Inspirations Hop time!  And along with that, it's the first Monday of the month, so it's also contest week at Mojo Monday!  I'm the first stop along the hop, so if you're just popping in, grab a treat and settle in for some Verve inspiration. There's a prize drawing from all the hop comments, so be sure to leave a little comment love as you hop about.



This month's Diva Inspirations challenge is Font Focus.  Totally up my alley, and I chose to use sentiments from the Remember This set, paired with butterflies from the new again Die Sidekicks set.  And since the inspiration graphic was mixed-media, I decided to pull out some gesso and get my hands dirty.

The meaning... Life has been throwing me a few curve balls lately and I really wanted to just kind of let it all go with this card.  To remember that this life is lovely and to breathe deeply, fly freely and nestle into the small quiet moments that make life big.  To remember that even when the edges of our days are jagged and ragged and messy, if we only look for them, we'll find that there are beautiful moments of hope and possibility and peace that flutter all around us.  So that was the heart I was trying to portray with this card.

The messy part... I started with a piece of so saffron cardstock that I wiped gesso all over.  I heat set it so it would dry aster, then began to stamp the Oh happy day stamp all over the front of it in So Saffron.  Next I sponged on some wild honey and scattered straw distress inks and sprayed the whole thing with water and wiped off some of the ink on the gesso.  I then went back into some of the whitest parts and stamped the Oh happy day sentiment again.  in the corner I embossed the breathe deeply sentiment in black, then distressed the edges, adding just a bit of pumice stone ink here and there to dirty things up.

My square layer (which you can only see a triangle of) is from the Hello Sunshine paper pad  (I love that it has the lyrics of You Are My Sunshine on it) and I also distressed it and added a bit of gesso.  The butterflies from Die Sidekicks are embossed in black onto so saffron cardstock, wiped with gesso, then I added in a bit of watercoloring with wild honey and scattered straw markers and a waterbrush, then hand trimmed to pop up on the card.  The love this and life sentiments are stamped onto a hand cut banner, sponged with a stencil and then wrapped around a stick pin.  I used the same stencil on the fly freely panel and added a bit of distressing and gesso there as well.

So, that's the how-to and the what-for. Thanks for stopping by today.  There's some super exciting news on the Verve Blog today that's going to make for a lot less stress on my creative soul, which has been feeling a bit battered and bruised and taped back together this past year or two.  Be sure to head on over there for the announcement and all the deets on prizes and deadlines for the blog hop and challenge!

Next up on the hop is Amy!
1. Julee 9. Susan
2. Amy 10. Chaitali
3. Anya 11. Stacey
4. Betty 12. Maureen
5. Karen 13. Marisa
6. Sankari 14. Andrea
7. Sarah 14. Charmaine
8. Sony 14. Christyne


Mojo Monday 344
Enabler's List
Stamps: Remember This, Die Sidekicks (Verve Stamps)
Paper: so saffron, basic gray (SU!), Hello Sunshine (Pink Paislee), cream (Neenah)
Ink: so saffron (SU!), tuxedo black (Memento Luxe), scattered straw, wild honey and pumice stone distress inks (Ranger)
Accessories:  gesso, clear embossing powder (Judikins), stick pin, paper distresser, Dot Fade Layering Stenciel (Tim Holtz)


And last but not least, Verve's May special is 25% off some fabulous floral and butterfly sets.