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Coffee Lovers Bloghop

Hi friends!  Today is National Coffee Day and I'm participating in a super fun Coffee Lovers Blog Hop.  The fun all starts on Chaitali's blog at 6AM PST, so be sure to head on over there for the full hop list.  If you play along and link up your coffee creations today you could win some fabulous prizes!

And since it's Mojo Monday, I'm sharing my card made with this week's tall & skinny sketch.  I flipped the position of the banners for my card and added some linen thread, but otherwise stayed pretty true to my sketch.  {grin}  I think it's so funny that I have such a hard time sticking to my own sketch.  I think it's that whole "nobody puts Baby in a corner" mindset.  {grin}


About the card: I started by stamping the trio of cups from One Cup three times (masking off the top cup to stamp each successive trio) on crumb cake, then coloring with prismacolor pencils.  Next I stamped the hand-lettered coffee sentiment and the always a good idea stamp from the Coffee set to the left of my stamped cups.  I used the other coffee sentiments in the Coffee set to stamp on the three hand cut banners, then added some pencil coloring to the coffee letters and some sponging all around.  I finished with a bit of mossy meadow cardstock up top and some white linen thread tied in a bow.


And in honor of National Coffee Day, I've got a little one day gift code for y'all to Verve Stamps. Just enter gift code COFFEE in the gift code box at the bottom of our shopping cart and click apply and it will take 10% off your order.  Offer valid on in-stock merchandise on September 29, 2014 only. 

Someone suggested we answer a few coffee related questions on the hop, so here are my answers.

When did you start drinking coffee?
I snuck drinks of my Dad's coffee growing up, but he told me it would turn my hair black, so I stuck to just sips, wanting to preserve my golden locks.  {grin}  Maybe he was right, because I have dark hair now (by choice, not by nature, though!)  My parents drank instant coffee back then, so it wasn't all that great of a loss for me.  When I went to college I discovered how much better coffee brewed from grounds was and thanks to friends and a roommate from the Seattle area, developed quite a love for coffee.  My first experience with espresso was a quad shot that my roommate talked me into at a coffee shop in downtown Boise late on a Friday night.  Oh my!  I was so wired... the quad is definitely something you need to work up to if you've never had espresso!

What is your favorite brand of coffee?
It's changed a lot over the years, but here are my current faves... for coffee in my Keurig I'm currently obsessed with any of the Peet's Coffee dark roasts, especially Major Dickasons.  For caffè crema I love Lavazza. For out and about espresso drinks, I'm a big fan of Dutch Brothers.

What is the most amazing coffee you ever had?
Oh my goodness, I guess that would have to be the first time I tried caffè crema with Laurie when I visited her home in Montana. The coffee was so delicious I had to buy a machine of my own just like hers. Although I think the company had a lot to do with the amazingness of the coffee. The caffè crema at my house by myself is good, but not nearly as wonderful as it is when I'm at her house!

If I don't drink my needed coffee, I will...
be incapable of communication.  I'm not a morning person.  It takes me a while to process being awake and alert and most people who spend much time around me have realized that the coffee needs to happen before communication really works for me.  Most mornings I'm just trying to rush the boys down the stairs as fast as I can (which is at least a 10 minute process because they go so slooooooooooooooow and have to bring a zillion blankies and have to turn on every light and discuss whether the ceiling fan is on or off in each room they pass and whether it should be on or off, and open and close every door in the hall before they can even start the stairs, etc.), so I can get them started on their morning routine and then have some coffee. I sigh just a little bit every time I hit the button for the coffee, knowing everything is going to be okay for one small wonderful moment.

Alrighty, that's all from my neck of the woods.  I hope you have a fabulous National Coffee Day. Dutch Brothers is doing Buy 1 Get 1 Free drinks today, so that's officially on the schedule.  Yay!

Mojo Monday 365
Enabler's List
Stamps: One CupCoffee (Verve Stamps)
Paper: crumb cake, mossy meadow, pool party, riding hood red (SU!), white (Neenah)
Ink: Early Espresso (SU!), Walnut Stain distress ink (Rnager), Prismacolor pencils
Accessories:  white linen thread, border punch, wood veneer heart

How Sweet of You

Hi friends!  It's finally Friday.  Hooray!  Today I have a sweet little card to share using the September Week 4 sketch that Stacey is debuting this morning on the Viva la Verve Sketches Blog.


I thought the sketch looked like a fun way to use up some scraps, so I dug into my overflowing bin of scraps and pulled out these papers.  I stitched the stripey paper to the green designer paper, then matted with black.  The how sweet sentiment is from the Small Packages set and I embossed it onto a circle diecut then water colored in between the divider lines with mossy meadow ink and a waterbrush.  This circle is sponged with Antique Linen distress ink and then matted on a black scallop circle die cut accented with black enamel accents.

The bitty cupcake is embossed in black and then cut with the coordinating Cupcake Frame Die Set.  I also stamped the banner and hand cut it to layer behind.  I added a strip stamped with the Hello stamp from Remember This, then added it all to a piece of card stock embossed with the D'vine Swirls embossing folder and sponged with antique linen.  A bit of distressing around the edges of each outer layer and I was done.

Thank you so much for stopping by!  I hope you have a fabulously refreshing weekend!

Enabler's List
Stamps: Small Packages, Remember This (Verve Stamps)
Paper: designer paper scraps, cream, black
Ink: mossy meadow (SU!), antique linen (Ranger Distress), black
Accessories:  Cupcake Frame Die Set (A Cut Above by VERVE), classic and scallop circle nestabilities (Spellbinders), D'vine Swirls embossing folder (Cuttlebug), sewing machine, enamel accents (Ranger), clear embossing powder (JudiKins)

Peace Love and Coffee

Hi friends!  I'm popping in with a card that's been sitting on my desk for a while.  It started with the Mix-Ability challenge from a couple weeks ago... Go Scribble.  My favorite art project in elementary school was when you'd color really hard on a piece of paper, then paint over it with black tempera paint and etch out a design with scissors.  This technique is sort of like that, only easier and with less mess.


I scribbled on some white paper with some super bright crayons I bought for the boys, but they are so hard to clean off their little IKEA table, that I decided to take them out of their crayon bucket and just stick with crayola for now.  So these crayons were bundled up in my craft room, and I pulled them out to test out the technique.  I sprayed over the scribbles with Dylusions black ink, then dabbed with paper towels.  Easy peasy, and it turns out so cool!  Next I embossed the coffee cup and steam from the Coffee set in white over the top.  I used the same technique for the sentiment, which is from the  Cupcakes set, then cut it out with the Jotted Heart Die and sanded the edges of both pieces to bring back a white border.

The Coffee Word Die is cut using some of the leftover paper from my coffee cup panel and I cut another piece from white, for a little shadowing effect. The background for the card is crumb cake and I sponged black soot distress ink over a houndstooth stencil for the pattern.

Okay, time for a little Public Service Announcement.  If you haven't heard already, National Coffee Day is Monday, September 29. Chaitali has been co-organizing a super fun Coffee Lover's Blog Hop and everyone is invited to participate!  You can find out all the details on Chaitali's blog.  I'll be participating in the hop and Verve is one of several fabulous prize sponsors, so it's sure to be a whole lot of fun for all!

Enabler's List
Stamps: Coffee, Cupcakes (Verve Stamps)
Paper: crumb cake, basic black (SU!), white
Ink: black soot (Ranger Distress), super bright crayons (Cra-Z-Art), black Dylusions spray (Ranger), VersaMark
Accessories:  Coffee Word Die, Jotted Heart Die (A Cut Above by VERVE), houndstooth stencil (Crafter's Workshop), white embossing powder (JudiKins)

Happiness in a Cup

Hi friends!  It's the start of a new week and time for a brand new Mojo Monday sketch.  Mark and I got a small reprieve from the boys yesterday and tried out a new to us coffee shop in town.  It was wonderful and I had the most delightful coconut cream pie scone.  Never would have thought to put those flavors into a scone, but talk about delicious, especially paired with a coconut mocha.  Anyhow, I had coffee on the brain when I sat down to stamp, so here's a quick little card I made with the sketch.



I knew I wanted to embed the Coffee Word Die, so I cut it from a piece of early espresso and a piece of soft sky, then nested the pieces together and added the "is happiness in a cup" sentiment from One Cup, split into two rectangles and sponged with early espresso ink.  I added some white gel pen accents around the soft sky pieces and as a frame around the panel.  The tall mug from the Coffee set is embossed onto a scrap of designer paper, then sponged and matted with early espresso.  I layered this all onto a piece of white card stock embossed with the swiss dots embossing folder.  Finished off by coloring a couple of wooden stars with a copic marker to match, then adding to the cup and linen thread bow and accenting with glossy glaze and glitter.

Thanks so much for stopping by today!  I hope you have a fabulous start to your week.  And if you haven't already, be sure to check out the Mojo Maker's takes on this week's sketch:


Mojo Monday 364
Enabler's List
Stamps: Coffee, One Cup (Verve Stamps)
Paper: soft sky, early espresso (SU!) dp (American Crafts), white
Ink: early espresso (SU!), jasmine (Mix'd Media Inx), Copic markers, white gel pen
Accessories: Coffee Word Die (A Cut Above by VERVE), swiss dots embossing folder (SU!), wood veneer stars, linen thread, glossy glaze, glitter, clear embossing powder

Creative Blog Hop with a Difference

If you're here for my Anni-VERVE-sary Release Retrospective Hop post, click here or scroll down.

Hi friends! Today I'm doing a different kind of post. I've been tagged recently by a couple of people in the Creative Blog Hop and the Blog Hop with a Difference by Chaitali Narla and Nancy Leppek.  Thanks for the nominations, gals!  I'm so honored.  

The main premise for both hops is similar, (answer a few questions about your creative process and then nominate a few others to continue the hop on), so I'll be answering the questions from both.  But first, it's Mojo Monday, so I'm sharing my take on this week's Mojo 363 card sketch.



I used the Small Packages set and coordinating Cupcake Frame Die Set from Verve.  The coastal cabana layer is stamped randomly with the small cupcake stamp and then accented with stardust stickles.  I embossed the belated sentiment directly onto patterned paper, then stamped the from all of us sentiment on blushing bride and hand trimmed as a banner.  The star is a resist chipboard star that I sponged with pool party and coastal cabana inks and then around the edge with black ink.  I stamped and cut out one cupcake with the die, then colored it with Copics and accented with stardust stickles.  The only other accent was a big crystal star stick pin, that I stuck through my layers to hold everything together.  Okay, now to answer the questions for the blog hop.


How does my creative process work?
I usually start with selecting a stamp set.  I'll stamp, color, die cut and create a focal point.  Then I choose cardstock to match and build the card and layers up, distressing as needed.  I don't glue anything down until the end, choosing ribbons, twine or small embellishments at the very end where needed to balance the card out.


For illustrating, it always starts with an inspiration.  Something that I hear on the radio, see on my drive to the post office, read or come across that gives me a desire to get designing.  I may just go create that one stamp and see if a set just reveals itself, or I might write the idea down and mull it over for a while, jotting down other set ideas until I have the time and motivation to sit and create. Then it's refine, refine, refine.  I spend a lot of time fine-tuning things, mulling and cutting, changing fonts, starting over.  Some sets come together in a day, others I may start and stop and start again over the course of a few years!


What project am I working on right now?
I've been going through a bit of a creative lull and have not been feeling much like stamping. When this happens I like to try something new to get the mojo going again. So I've been doing a bit of doodling and also started Bible Journaling. Hoping a little practice at sketching and doodling and hand lettering will get me more comfortable with a pen in hand. Seems I don't get much time at the computer anymore, and it would be so much easier if I could just have a sketchpad and pen when illustrating (instead of a mouse and keyboard), so I can design amongst the chaos of toddler life.  Other than that, I'm trying to decide what to make for the Coffee Lover's Blog Hop next Monday, trying to motivate myself to work on designing some Christmas stamps and starting the behind the scenes work on Verve's next release.

How long does it take to create a project?

Oh goodness, I used to be the slowest stamper ever and cards took 2-3 hours!  Then I had the twins and my time got cut so dramatically that I now create most of my cards in 30 - 45 minutes.  I think most of the decrease is spending less time deciding on things.  I use a lot less designer paper and embellishments these days, which used to take me FOREVER to choose just the right pattern/color/mix.  I just get way too overwhelmed by all the choices!  And since most of my creating lately is either for a Mojo Monday sketch or a Viva la Verve sketch, I don't have to spend any time fussing with layout.

How do I become inspired and stay inspired?
Oh, wouldn't it be nice to know exactly how to inspire yourself and stay inspired?  {grin}  I usually look for inspiration in the things around me.  Love looking at fonts and designs on packaging and advertisements that catch my eye.  Love to go to home decor stores and look at all the displays to get seasonal ideas.  I also peruse Pinterest here and there for ideas on mixed-media and art journaling techniques.  When I'm in a slump, I will often look back in my gallery to a time when I felt particularly creative and pick out something I really liked and try to recreate it in a new way.  I also try to do some positive thinking anytime I have a deadline or commitment to meet and not much time to do it in.  I'll spend the day telling myself I'm going to make an awesome card that night.  And then things always seem to go so much smoother than when I go into my stamp room  thinking, I really hope this turns out!

What is my signature style/how does my work differ from others in my genre?
They're pulling out the tough questions, huh?  I would say my style is layered and graphic with a distressed bent.  I play around with lots of styles, though, never afraid to incorporate something new.  I guess one thing that's pretty common on my cards is sponging and dimension.  Even my cleanest cards usually have some sort of sponging on them to create depth and I can't remember the last time I made a card without dimensionals.  What do you think?  Do my cards have a defining characteristic?

Why do I create what I do?
I guess the reason I make cards is to connect with others.  I'm painfully shy and hate to talk on the phone, so when I first got into stamping it was to make cards to send to friends to keep in touch. (Back before email and Facebook and texting and unlimited nationwide long distance!) My favorite cards are always the ones that I have a special person in mind for when I'm creating the card. I like to tailor it to the person's likes and think and pray about the person as I create. Although, I must admit that even though I make many of my cards with someone special in mind, they typically don't make it to the post office in a timely manner.

I do mixed-media for myself.  I love the freedom it gives to explore and experiment and mess up and cover it up and make something beautiful from so many layers, many of which are hidden and only the artist will ever know.  It's like putting a picture of what's going on in your soul out in the world, but not having to put those feelings into words, because the words are so inadequate.

One random fact about me: I think embossing folders are the coolest invention ever!  I just counted and I have 156 full card front sized embossing folders and tons more borders and smaller sized ones, too.  And in case, you were thinking it, the politically correct term is collector NOT hoarder!  LOL

Live Nominations...
Okay, it's the time in the show where I get to introduce three people that inspire me and invite them to continue on in the hop.  I ran out of time for anything last week and completely forgot to email them about this ahead of time, so as Mark said, just tell people these are the "LIVE" nominations.  haha

First up, Alma de la Rosa from The Cat's Pajamas.  I fell in love with her adorable retro comic style cat images as soon as I saw them back in winter 2006 when I first discovered SCS.  And if I hadn't loved her stamps so much, I might not have rekindled my love for stamping and Verve would never have been.  She is an amazing artist and company owner.  She gave me my first spot on a design team and was so gracious and generous and even created a new position so I could continue with the team after I started Verve.  I will forever be a fan.

Next is Claire Brennan from Waltzingmouse Stamps.  I'm so inspired by women who already have families and start their own business.  And women that tirelessly do it all themselves.  I know just how hard it is, and I doubt Verve would have come to be if I'd already had kiddos.  It's super tough running a family and a business and Claire makes it look easy.  Her stamp designs are unique and fresh and she is the sweetest person ever and always knows when to pop a message my way to lift my spirits.

Finally, Dina Kowal.  She's a stamp designer, a missionary, a mom, an instructor, Artist in Residence for Splitcoaststampers and she's just an all around amazing artist.  Her mixed-media work is the kind of stuff that you see and you realize, "that's the GOOD stuff".  The type of art that comes from a heart of passion, reflects the soul of an artist and is so much more than just a card.  More often than not lately, if I get inspired to stamp it's because I've seen something on Dina's blog and just have to put ink to paper.  

Okay, if you made it to the end, thank you so much for reading my ramblings!  Hope you enjoyed reading a little about me and my creative process.  If you aren't familiar with these amazing ladies, you should definitely go check them out!  Hope you have an amazingly creative week.

Enabler's List
Mojo Monday 363
Stamps: Small Packages (Verve Stamps)
Paper: Hello Sunshine (Echo Park), Pattern Prints, basic black and coastal cabana (SU!)
Ink: coastal cabana, pool party, blushing bride (SU!), black soot (Ranger Distress)
Accessories:  Cupcake Frame Die Set (A Cut Above by VERVE), star stick pin (Maya Road), resist chipboard star (Heidi Swapp), stardust stickles (Ranger), polka dot embossing folder (Cuttlebug)

Verve Retrospective Blog Hop

Hi friends!  I'm the designated party starter for today's Anni-VERVE-sary Release Retrospective Hop.  It's our new fun time to play with the new release and give you a bit more inspiration now that you've had a chance to get the stamps in your inky little hands!  And we're giving a $40 gift voucher to the Verve store to a lucky commenter along today's hop, so get comfy and let's take a ride!



I'm a last minuter.  Yep, that's me.  Totally squeak by in the nick of time most days.  Although since I've had the boys, I'm not always in control of WHEN the last minute is.  Sometimes I leave my stamp room, thinking I'll be right back and it's a week later before I get to enter again.  It's the new "normal", I guess. So as I was busy with my kiddos all week long and not feeling very creative after 12 hour marathons with two 2.5 year old energizer bunnies, I told myself, I'd stamp on Friday night after the boys go to bed.  But wouldn't you know it, the migraines kicked in last night right as I was reading Go Go Gorillas (the boys' new obsession, favorite book, which we MUST. READ. EVERY. NIGHT).

So, instead of stamping a new card, I'm sharing with you something I finished earlier in the week, but didn't want to use for the hop, since it featured some freehand sketching for the greenery, instead of stamping.  But here goes, anyway.  I guess it's all inspiration, right?  Maybe you like to sketch or doodle, too?  :)

The play by play:  Stamped the flower duo from Framed Lilies on cream cardstock, Sketched in the leaves and grass with a copic multiliner and colored with watercolor pencils. Muddied the colored flowers by being to impatient with the watercolors, so decided to stamp them again with early espresso, then color by stamping with the solid 2-step stamp in blushing bride, then hand cut and paper piece onto the image.  Cut the image with a Petite Oval nestability.  There was a notch missing near the top when I cut it, so decided to distress and grunge things up.  Stamped the sentiment from  Framed Lilies in the corner of a crumb cake square, tied on some taffeta ribbon.  Used a 4.25" square card base of blushing bride, inked with some walnut stain distress ink and embossed with chicken wire embossing folder.  Finished off with some paintbrush splatters using a mix of walnut stain distress ink and water.

Want to win some shiny new Verve? We're giving away a $40 gift voucher to one lucky commenter along the hop, so be sure to leave a shout out in the comments as you hop about.  Here's the full hop list.

Next up on the hop is Teresa!

1. Julee9. Janelle
2. Teresa10. Christyne
3. Amber11. Jen
4. Charmaine12. Andrea
5. Marisa 13. Betty
6. Monika {Guest} 14. Karen
7. Stacey 15. Amy
8. Maureen


Want another chance to win? Now it's your turn! We'd LOVE to see what you've done with the August release. Link up your cards using at least one product from our August release and you'll be entered in a drawing to win our entire next release! All the details and the linkup widget are on the Verve Blog today. The deadline is October 3, so there's still plenty of time to get the August release if you haven't already.


Enabler's List
Stamps:  Framed Lilies (Verve Stamps)
Paper: blushing bride, crumb cake, early espresso (SU!), cream (Neenah)
Ink: walnut stain, antique linen (Ranger Distress), blushing bride, early espresso (SU!), aquarelle watercolor pencils (Faber-Castell), Copic multiliner
Accessories:  chicken wire embossing folder (Cuttlebug), taffeta ribbon (SU!), petite and scallop petite ovals nestabilities (Spellbinders)

A Doodling Secret

Hi friends, popping in this morning to change up the scenery.  This card was inspired by last week's SCS Mix-Ability challenge to use your non-dominant hand to doodle.  So here's my secret:  I'm not even comfortable doodling with my dominant hand, let alone my non-dominant one.  I have always illustrated with a mouse, so a pen feels really intimidating to me.  So I keep it sketchy when I doodle. Lots of sketchy lines that don't have to be straight.




My flower is sketched on copy paper.  I drew some rough squiggles for the insides of the flowers with my left hand, then used my right hand for the outer shape of the petals and leaves.  I colored with watercolor pencils, then once that was dry, I scraped some distress paint daubers over the leaves in orange and yellow colors to give a color gradation.  I then did more squiggles with my left hand using a white gel pen inside the flower and leaf doodles.  Added some dots to the flower center with a stylus and some of the orange distress paint, then cut the flower out and adhered with matte medium to a tag that was an ink catcher from an art journaling page I've been working on.


The colors were so bright, I decided to keep the card itself with a white card base, scored down the vertical side twice and a simple black sentiment from Be Blessed.  I finished off with a doodled frame around the tag, using my left hand again, and then added some linen thread to accent the tag.

Enabler's List
Stamps: Be Blessed (Verve Stamps)
Paper: white card stock, white copy paper, tag
Ink: Copic Multiliner & Pitt pens, white gel pen, black, ripe persimmon, mowed lawn and squeezed lemonade distress paint daubers, gesso, dylusions sprays
Accessories: linen thread, scor-pal, water brush   

Everything Better

Hi friends!  It's another Monday morning and time for a new Mojo Monday sketch.  I've been all about the coffee these past few weeks trying to stay sane while my part-time nanny has been out.  So when I got a little stamping time this weekend, I knew I wanted to pull out the new Coffee set and Coffee Word Die and play.


I started by stamping the cup and steam from Coffee in early espresso on white card stock.  Next I stamped the cup again on designer paper, then sponged with walnut stain distress ink and set aside.  I stamped the coffee bean trio in crumb cake, then did more sponging with walnut stain.  Next I glued the paper pieced cup down and added some highlights with a white gel pen and early espresso marker.

The Coffee Word Die is cut twice, once from the same designer paper as the cup, and then also from early espresso card stock.  I layered them together, offsetting them slightly for a little shadow effect. The makes everything better is masked off from a sentiment in the One Cup set and I cut it into a square, I finished the card with some linen thread, a bunch of sponging and a sparkly rhinestone.

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

Mojo Monday 362
Enabler's List
Stamps: Coffee, One Cup (Verve Stamps)
Paper: This & That (Echo Park), white, kraft
Ink: early espresso, crumb cake (SU!), walnut stain distress ink (Ranger), white gel pen
Accessories:  Coffee Word Die (A Cut Above by VERVE), linen thread, Smoked Topaz rhinestone (Pizzazz Aplenty)

Happy Friend

Hi friends!  It's the first Friday of a new month and my turn to host the Sketch + Color challenge over on the Viva la Verve blog.  This month's colors are pink, kraft and green.  It's also the 5th of the month and time for our monthly Diva Inspirations Hop and Challenge!  I'm the first stop on the hop, so settle in and let's head out on an eye candy excursion!  The full hop list and other hopping and challenge info can be found over on the Verve Blog today.



Over Committer's Confession:  I've had very limited stamping time lately and made this card well in advance.  I even based the VLV sketch and color challenge on the finished card so I wouldn't have the pressure to create so close to a big release.  So earlier this week, when I realized VLV and the Diva Inspirations hop were on the same day I did just a little freak out inside. {Okay, more than a little.}  But to my delight, when I looked up the Sweet September challenge information, my card could squeak by for a two-fer, since I used pastels and after all, the card IS pretty sweet (if I do say so myself!).  {wink}  


For my card, I stamped the flower duo from Happy Place on cream colored card stock, then added some random background stamping in antique linen with one of the background stamps from Text Objects, also adding some sponging around the flowers.  Next I stamped the flowers again and colored with blushing bride, regal rose and a white gel pen, then coated them with a clear wink of stella glitter pen for extra shine and hand trimmed and glued down using strong liquid glue all along the bottom and a foam dimensional near the top to give them some shape.  The leaves are colored with Copic markers.




I did a bit of distressing on all the edges except the stamped panels, also sponging with antique linen and then spritzing with a crumb cake marker and the air art tool.  The sentiment banner is stamped with the same background in antique linen and then over the top with the FRIEND stamp from Text ObjectsI finished with a bit of twill tied in a bow and the friend sentiment banner clipped on with a mini library clip.

Okay, next up on the hop is the fabulous Amy Kolling.

1. Julee7. Sarah
2. Amy8. Sony
3. Anya9. Susan
4. Betty10. Maureen
5. Karen11. Stacey
6. Sankari12. Marisa

Enabler's List
Viva la Verve September Week 1
Stamps: Text ObjectsHappy Place (Verve Stamps)
Paper: crumb cake, blushing bride (SU!), cream (Neenah)
Ink: antique linen (Ranger), Jasmine (Mix'd Media Inx), blushing bride, regal rose (SU!), copic markers, wink of stella glitter pen, white gel pen
Accessories:  honeycomb embossing folder, mini library clip, twill, air art tool, paper distresser

Taste and See

Hi friends!  I'm popping in today with a fun little card I made using our newest plain jane, Psalm 34:8.  For inspiration I used Stacey's sweet Viva la Verve Week 3 Sketch + Inspiration.  I went pretty literal with the inspiration photo, grabbing the apples from Teachers Count and their coordinating Apples Die Set and some of my favorite school themed papers.



The Psalm 34:8 verse is stamped onto the inner cut from the Rounded Scallop Frame Die, then I matted it with a  piece of designer paper cut with the Rounded Rectangle Die.  The apples are stamped, then cut with the Apples Die Set and I paper pieced the apples and colored the stems and leaves with Copics.  The Award Banner Trim Die along with some Shine Bright Sequin Mix and ribbon from the Spring Fling Ribbon Collection finish things off.


If you've been playing along with our August Viva la Verve challenges, tomorrow night (9/4) is the deadline for your August entries.  I'll kick off our September sketches this Friday!

Thanks so much for stopping by!  Hope you're having a fabulous week.

Enabler's List
Stamps: Psalm 34:8, Teachers Count (Verve Stamps)
Paper: Schoolhouse (October Afternoon), cream (Neenah)
Ink: black, copic markers, tea dye and walnut stain distress ink (Ranger)
Accessories: Rounded Rectangle Die, Rounded Scallop Frame DieAward Banner Trim Die  Apples Die Set (A Cut Above by VERVE), Spring Fling Ribbon CollectionShine Bright Sequin Mix (Verve), red liquid pearls, tiny attacher


Making Up for Mondays

Hi friends!  It's Monday again and time for a brand new Mojo Monday sketch.  And since it's the first Monday of a new month, that means it's contest time and there are Verve prizes up for grabs.  And with last weekend's new release, there's a whole lot more Verve to choose from!


For today's card, I used the new One Cup set.  It's been a looooong couple of weeks at my house with no nanny, a huge release and a few days of sickness and I have to admit this stack of cups is pretty much what my kitchen counter looked like last night!  {wink}  Anyhow, I started with the nature's way of making up for Mondays sentiment because I thought it was very fitting for a Monday card.  Next I stamped a trio of mugs in the corner and I liked how it looked, so decided to do a little masking and stamp the cup trio 4 times staggered, then color with prismacolor pencils and gamsol.  Because I couldn't bear to cover up any of the teacups, I flipped the sketch on its side.

Next I stamped the separate tea sentiment on a 1-3/8" circle, then also stamped the tea tag on the end of the tea loop for a fun look.  I added a square of script black vellum paper, then a seam binding bow from the Truly Madly Deeply Ribbon Collection, then finished off with some splatters with some watered down black soot distress stain.

For a truer representation of this week's Mojo Monday sketch, I'll show you the card that inspired the sketch, which I posted last week during our release previews.  It  uses the new Framed Lilies set. I liked how it came together and thought it would be a fun sketch for everyone to play with.  I hope you enjoy it!

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Thanks so much for stopping by!  If  you haven't checked it out already, be sure to pop on over to the Verve store to see all our brand new releases and take advantage of our Labor Day Sale going on through September 4.

Verve Stamps Labor Day Sale

Enabler's List
Mojo Monday 361
Stamps: One Cup (Verve Stamps)
Paper: soft sky, basic gray (SU!), black vellum Script (JoAnn)
Ink: black soot, pumice stone (Ranger Distress), prismacolor pencils, red spica glitter pen
Accessories: Truly Madly Deeply Ribbon Collection (Verve), paint brush, gamsol & blending stump, circle punch and circle die, corner rounder