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Season's Givings Blog Hop


Welcome to the New Year!  I love that Anne of Green Gables quote, "Tomorrow is a brand new day with no mistakes in it yet." I love a fresh start and what better clean slate than a brand new year?  To celebrate this day I'm participating once again in the Season's Giving Blog Hop.

I am so thankful to all of you who have stuck by me over the past few years as I laughingly attempt to balance being a mom to toddler twins, running a full-time business in a part-time way, being creative, coordinating multiple challenges and blogging.  Some days I feel like I'm just all washed up and have nothing more to give. And then I log on and see a sweet comment from one of you that turns my day around.  Every kindness matters.  Truly.  As I struggle through hard days and tough times I have found how true that is in my own life.  One simple kindness can change a whole lot. A WHOLE lot.

I'm striving to take more time each day to make sure those around me know that I appreciate their efforts. To say thanks and comment on posts and do all the things that my struggle with depression has made so difficult these past three years. So thanks so much for joining this journey with me.  I appreciate each comment on this blog, every card made for one of my challenges, each post made using my stamps and every little note about how you told your friends about Verve or made something amazing and can't wait to share it. Thank YOU!  You may never know how much you have touched my heart.

As a way of saying thanks, I've put together two giveaways for this blog hop.  One is a package of papercrafting goodies.  The other is a gift code to my store, Verve Stamps.  To be eligible for the prize drawings, just leave a comment on this post before 2:00 pm Mountain on Jan. 5.  If you'd like to tell me what you're most looking forward to in 2015, I'd love to hear it.  I personally am so excited that Donna Downey is starting  her Inspiration Wednesday videos again.  Her weekly art journaling videos gave me something to look forward to through the horrific double dose of newborn/colic/acid reflux stage with the twins and I just can't wait for January 7, since this time around I'll hopefully be able to do some art journaling at the same time instead of just watching the videos with a screaming baby in each arm!

Giveaway 1: {winner must have a US shipping address}



Package includes Twitterpated, Calendar Countdown, Wings of Love, No Matter What, Flourished Trim Die and From the Heart Die Set from Verve Stamps and the Teresa Collins Something Wonderful collection: 12x12 papers & stickers, brads, wood chips, buttons, ephemera and washi tape, 

Giveaway 2: 
 {winner must have a shipping address in one of the countries Verve ships to... Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom and the United States.}



$50 Gift Code to the Verve Stamps online store.


Comment deadline for prize giveaways is 2:00 pm Mountain on Monday, January 5.  
Please check back on Jan. 6 to see if you are a winner.



My card for today is a New Year's card using one of my favorite Verve products from 2014.... the Mask Die Set and coordinating Masquerade set.  I paired it with the happy new year sentiment from Light My World. The masks and handles are die cut in black, then stamped with Versamark and embossed in gold.  For the feathery accent at the bottom I stamped the image repeatedly in black, then lightly outlined sections with a blender pen and dusted some gold embossing powder on and heat set it.  Love the look with some of the black still showing through.  The side accent is a strip of black cardstock with a bit of gold cording wrapped around it.

Thank you so much for stopping by today!  

If you're new and like what you see, you can hit the buttons on the sidebar to find me on Pinterest, Facebook and Instagram as well as a subscribe link to this blog.  I also run the Mojo Monday and Viva la Verve sketch challenges, as well as the Verve Stamps Blog.

Next stop on the hop is Michelle Woerner!


Season's Givings Hop List:
Julee Tilman  {YOU ARE HERE}

Quick Thanks

Hi friends!  It's Monday again and time for a new Mojo Monday sketch.  This week is tall & skinny sketch week, and I've made a 3.5" x 5.5" card to fit a regular size A2 envelope.

We had a fabulous Christmas, but there hasn't been a spare moment to sneak away and stamp.  So late last night, I made a quick no-frills card with the sketch.  'Tis officially the season for thank you cards now, so I pulled out an old favorite... You and I and the coordinating I Heart U Die Set and some vintage papers and got to work making a thank you card.


Most of the papers come from the Antique Lost & Found pad by My Mind's Eye.  The red polka dot paper is from my scrap pile (originally from some Christmas pad, I'm sure).  I inked up the edges of each panel with pumice stone distress in, hand cut the banners, then cut the U from the I Heart U Die Set and embossed the thank sentiment from You and I in white.  To make it not so stark, I colored lightly with a copic marker.  The red heart is a wood veneer that I covered with the same paper as the hand trimmed banner.  I finished off with some liquid pearl accents around the circle mat.

Thanks so much for stopping by today!  I hope you have a wonderful last few days of 2014!  If you are in the mood to shop, Verve has a great SALE going on through January 4.  40% off all in-stock stamps and dies, and 60% off overstocks and remaining Christmas inventory!  Things are selling out fast, though, so hurry on over for best selection.


Mojo Monday 378
Enabler's List
Stamps: You and I (Verve Stamps)
Paper: Lost & Found: Antique (MME), cream
Ink: pumice stone (Ranger Distress), versamark
Accessories: I Heart U Die Set (A Cut Above by VERVE), classic circles nestabilities (Spellbinders), white embossing powder (Judikins), black onyx liquid pearls (Ranger)

Sweet Distressing Tutorial

Hi friends!  Merry Christmas Eve!  Yesterday I dug the video camera out of my craft closet so it would be all charged up and ready for Christmas with the twins.  Since I had it out, I decided to do a quick video tutorial on one of the most frequent topics I get questions about... how I distress my cards.



I'm super shy and have pretty much always stamped alone, so it felt a little weird talking to myself on the video. {grin}  Hopefully I didn't ramble too much, or go off frame for too long. I'll try to get better and more frequent with videos.  (And learn how to zoom out at the end).  :)

Other than the stamping and the bow, I designed the entire card live on the video (about 15 minutes). The stamps are from the Small Packages set and I die cut the frame with the coordinating Cupcake Frame Die Set.  The distressing was done with two shades of distress ink, a paper distressing tool, a bit of water and a paper piercer.  All in all, a quick little heartfelt thank you card.

The video tutorial is embedded below or you can view it directly on my YouTube channel.  If you like it, be sure to give me a thumbs up and let me know what types of things you'd like to see in future tutorials.  :)



Verve's annual end of year sale starts today and it's our biggest one yet!  Save 40% on all stamps & dies, 20% on embellishments and a whopping 60% on our overstocks and remaining Christmas stamps.  A great way to gift yourself a little something this year!  All sale prices are while supplies last, through January 4, 2015, so head on over to the Verve store for best selection!



Thanks so much for stopping by!  

Merry Christmas!


Enabler's List
Stamps: Small Packages (Verve Stamps)
Paper: In Bloom (MME), crisp cantaloupe (SU!), cream (Neenah)
Ink: early espresso (SU!), antique linen, vintage photo (Ranger Distress), Copic marker
Accessories: Cupcake Frame Die Set (A Cut Above by VERVE), Honeycomb texture fades (Tim Holtz), paper flower (Prima), taffeta ribbon (SU!), Zip Dry (Beacon Adhesives), paper distresser (Tonic), paper piercer, ink blending tool (Ranger)

Buttercup Birthday

Hi friends!  Welcome to another Mojo Monday!  For my sketch sample this week, I needed to switch gears to a birthday card, since my MIL is a Christmas baby.  I try to steer as far away from Christmas as I can for her card, so chose a sweet buttercup yellow and grey color combo.



The stamps are from two of my favorite sets that I designed this year... Happy Place and Wonderful Marvelous.  I colored the flowers with Copic markers, adding a little shadowing around the images to make them pop.  Did the same thing with the happy and birthday sentiments, then matted with basic gray cardstock.  The papers are from a big 12 x 12 paper pad I got for under $4 the last time I went to Michael's.  I don't typically buy 12 x 12 paper any more, but the patterns were so soft and gorgeous I thought they would be great for doing some mixed-media canvases.  Can't wait to try that out.

The butterflies are an old Martha Stewat punch that I punched from cream cardstock colored with Copics, then sponged around the edges and added some rhinestones and some shimmer with a Wink of Stella pen.  A bit of lace trim finishes things off.

Thanks so much for stopping by today!  I hope you have a wonderful start to the Christmas week.

Mojo Monda 377
Enabler's List
Stamps: Happy Place, Wonderful Marvelous (Verve Stamps)
Paper:  In Bloom (My Mind's Eye), basic gray (SU!), cream (Neenah)
Ink: Black, antique linen, pumice stone (Ranger Distress), Copic markers, Wink of Stella clear glitter brush pen
Accessories:  Classic Circles Nestabilities (Spellbinders), butterfly punch (Martha Stewart), rhinestones, lace trim

Scripture Card Set

Hi friends!  I'm back with another card set using the Viva la Verve December One Sheet Wonder template.  This card set was a gift for my mom's birthday earlier this year and is the set that inspired the challenge.  I'm loving seeing every one's take on the challenge and have posted my weekly picks for the Viva la Viewfinder over on the VLV Sketches blog today.



For the card set, I went a little shabby chic, using verses from the Scripture Medley 2 set, some gorgeous My Mind's Eye papers, a bit of lace trim, and some butterflies made with the  Flutterby Die and some chocolate pearls.




The base panel is cream cardstock that was embossed with an embossing folder, then I distressed the edges with ink and a paper distresser. For the Joy card, I used the banner piece as a sash, but didn't really like the way it kind of looked a bit like I was slashing out joy, so changed up the template when I made the challenge to move the banner above.


The butterfly embellishments are made by die cutting two of the  Flutterby Die from so saffron cardstock that had been embossed with the same embossing folder as the main panel.  I inked up the edges and then layered them together, adhering only in the center, then folding the wings on the top butterfly up and embellishing with some dark chocolate pearls.



On this final card, I loved the whimsical look to slightly skewing the verse.  I also turned the square as well to balance things out, Then finished off with a flower from my stash.


Well, that's all from me.  I hope you have a fabulous weekend!  We've got extended family gatherings Saturday and Sunday, as well as our 17th wedding anniversary tomorrow!


Enabler's List
Stamps:  Scripture Medley 2 (Verve Stamps)
Paper: My Mind's Eye, so saffron (SU!) cream (Neenah)
Ink: Early Espresso (SU!), vintage photo (Ranger Distress)
Accessories:  Flutterby Die (A Cut Above by VERVE), Flowers & Flourish embossing folder 2 pk. (Sizzix), paper flower, dark chocolate pearls (Pizzazz Aplenty)

Blog Candy Winner

Hi friends!  I'm popping in today with the winner's announcement for my Holiday Coffee Lover's Blog Hop giveaway.

I loved reading all 128 of your sweet comments.  Thanks to everyone for taking the time to brighten my day!  It is much appreciated by this mama of ABC song obsessed twins.  :)


My random blog candy winner is Jennifer Loftfield who said...
Congrats Jennifer!  You won the Verve Stamps Holiday Treats stamp set, Cup of Cheer and Coffee Word dies, Pink Paislee Snow Village 6 x 6 paper pad, aqua, red, cream and gold spools of ribbon, and  a bag full of jingle bells!  Send me your shipping info and I'll get your goodies on their merry way!

Pink Season's Greetings

Hi friends!  It's a brand new week and time for another Mojo Monday sketch.



For my card I pulled out the new Pinecone Christmas set and used the pine cone imagery to make a wreath.  To make the pine cones look snowy, I stamped them in brown sugar and then highlighted with a white chalk paint marker.  Used the same marker for the dots around the edge of my early espresso circle mat.

The poinsettia is stamped in black and cut with the coordinating Poinsettia Pinecones Die Set, then I colored by stamping the solid flower in blush blossom and the leaves in mossy meadow.  For the highlighting, I brushed some strawberry slush marker on the solid flower stamp and stamped it again.  The papers I used are from an old Eskimo Kisses BasicGrey pad and I finished with a bit of brown burlap ribbon and some rhinestones.

Thanks so much for stopping by!  I hope you have a fabulous start to your week.  Be sure to check out the Mojo Monday blog to see what the other gals have created with the sketch!



Verve's weekend shopping promotions are valid through 11:59pm tonight (12/15/14). 
Orders over $30 get free US Shipping and orders over $50 get a 15% discount!


Mojo Monday 376
Enabler's List
Stamps:  Pinecone Christmas (Verve Stamps)
Paper: Eskimo Kisses (BasicGrey), early espresso, crumb cake (SU!)
Ink: baked brown sugar, blush blossom, strawberry slush, mossy meadow (SU!), white pain pen, Copic marker
Accessories:  Poinsettia Pinecones Die Set (A Cut Above by VERVE), Classic Circles Nestabilities (Spellbinders), rhinestones, burlap ribbon, embossing folder (SU!), white embossing powder

Start with Coffee

Hi friends!  It's Friday and I'm back with another card I'm linking up to the Holiday Coffee Lover's Blog Hop.  I had a little time yesterday afternoon and felt like pulling out my 3 x 5 gelli plate for a little background fun.



I started by cutting the Double Snowflake Cut Ups from deli paper.  Then I rolled some peacock feathers and mowed lawn distress inks onto my gelli plate with a brayer, layed down the deli paper snowflake and made my monoprint.  Next I cut the panel down and matted with basic gray cardstock.

Using the Coffee set from Verve, I embossed the tall mug and steam in white on vellum, then hand cut, paper piecing the front of the cup with patterned paper.  I used the Coffee Word Die to cut a white and basic gray coffee word, then layered them together.  I embossed the start with portion of a stamp in silver, then hooked on with a mini library clip.  My side decor is some silver washi tape, taffeta ribbon, silver cording and glittery white jingle bells.


  • The hop has 27 sponsoring companies! Enter a post in the InLinkz List found on Amy Tsuruta's blog post and have a chance to win from one of these great companies.
  • Hop through the InLinkz List and you'll quickly find blog candy, free recipes and more! Comment on individual blogs for a chance to win the blog candy for that blogger. If you have a no-reply account, please leave some way to contact you in case you win the giveaway.
  • Look for details on Amy's blog about the amazing sponsors and prizes for this hop! Linky to remain open until Friday, December 12th @ 11:55 pm pacific.  Blog Hop participants (those that link up with a newly created holiday/winter coffee/other favorite holiday hot beverage project) are eligible for sponsored prizes.  
Thanks so much for stopping by!  Have a fabulous weekend!

Enabler's List
Stamps: Coffee (Verve Stamps)
Paper: white, basic gray, vellum, deli paper
Ink: peacock feathers, mowed lawn distress ink (Ranger), versamark
Accessories: Coffee Word Die (A Cut Above by VERVE), white and silver embossing powder, taffeta ribbon, silver cording, mini library clip, washi tape, jingle bells, gelli plate, Double Snowflake CutUps (TCP), brayer, Stickles

Holiday Coffee Lovers Blog Hop


Hi friends!  I'm taking part in the Holiday Coffee Lovers Blog Hop today.  You never need to ask me twice to make a coffee themed project!  {grin}  The hop link up list is over on Amy Tsuruta's blog, so head on over there for all the hop details, awesome sponsor list of prizes and to see everyone's coffee-lovin' projects. Many of the participants (including myself) are offering blog candy for commenters, plus there are some Super Sponsor prizes (including a Verve GC) up for grabs for participants who link up their cards to the link list.  So why not make a little coffee (or your favorite hot beverage) inspired creation and link it up?


The Viva la Verve challenge this month is a One Sheet Wonder template that I designed for making card sets.  I love to have a few coffee gift cards on hand to give to friends and neighbors we happen to see during the holidays, so I made this little card set to go along with the gift cards.





My card set uses one sheet of 6 x 6" paper from the Season's Greetings pad by Echo Park and some neutral cardstock.  Red and aqua are a favorite holiday color combo for me.  This paper has a nostalgic flair that reminds me of Christmas Eve's past spent with my grandparents and their 1950's style decorations. Fond memories, indeed.


For this set of cards, I used the Holiday Treats stamp set and coordinating Cup of Cheer Die Set from Verve.  Each circle is stamped in soft sky ink with the three sizes of snowflakes in the set, then I added the sentiments in early espresso or cherry cobbler ink.  The mugs and java cups are stamped in cherry cobbler and one in old olive and die cut.  Each background panel was embossed with a Darice snowflakes embossing folder and I sponged all of my paper layers with some vintage photo ink for an aged look.


My embellishments include my all-time favorite Christmas embellishment... jingle bells!  Gold cord, linen thread and seam binding make for the perfect way to tie these on, then I added some little wooden hearts and stickles to finish things off.


That's all about the cards, but there's blog candy for a lucky commenter as well!

Comment for a chance to win:
Just leave me a comment and you'll be in the prize drawing to with the following treats:  Verve Stamps Holiday Treats stamp set, Cup of Cheer and Coffee Word dies, Pink Paislee Snow Village 6 x 6 paper pad, aqua, red, cream and gold spools of ribbon, and  a bag full of jingle bells!

Thanks so much for stopping by!  Don't forget to head on over to Amy's blog for all the fun deets!

Enabler's List
Stamps: Holiday Treats (Verve Stamps)
Paper: Season's Greetings (Echo Park), cream (Neenah)
Ink; early espresso, soft sky, old olive, cherry cobbler (SU!), vintage photo distress (Ranger)
Accessories: Cup of Cheer Die Set (A Cut Above by VERVE), snowflakes embossing folder (Darice), Classic Cricles Nestabilities (Spellbinders), jingle bells, thread, cord, seam binding, wooden hearts, Frosted Lace Stickles (Ranger)

A Light Unto My Path

Hi friends!  It's Monday again already and time for a new sketch over at Mojo Monday.  The days are getting busier and busier as the holiday countdown continues, so I thought a clean and simple sketch would be perfect this week.


My card uses the candle image from Pinecone Christmas and the Psalm 119:105 Plain Jane.  I started by stamping the candle image in vintage photo, coloring the dish with a colorless blender, then stamping the solid candle and flame to color in the image.  The Psalm 119:105 verse is stamped directly below in early espresso and I colored with copics.  I sponged around the panel and matted with early espresso.  The soft sky panel is crimped with a paper corrugator, sponged with ink and matted.  I finished off with some splatters using an air art tool and an early espresso marker.


Thanks so much for stopping by today!  I hope you have a fantastic start to your week and would love to see you link up to our Mojo challenge!

Mojo Monday 375
Enabler's List
Stamps: Pinecone ChristmasPsalm 119:105 Plain Jane(Verve Stamps)
Paper: soft sky, early espresso (SU!), cream
Ink: early espresso, soft sky, hello honey (SU!), gold pen (wink of stella), Vintage photo (Ranger Distress)
Accessories: paper corrugator, air art tool

Light of the World Release Retrospective Blog Hop

Happy Saturday and welcome to Verve's Holiday Release Retrospective Blog Hop!  It's one more chance for the Divas and our special guests to share a little inspiration with the our Holiday Release stamps & dies now that you've hopefully had a chance to get them in your hands.  As usual, there's a prize up for grabs for a lucky commenter along the hop, so be sure to give a little shout out as you hop about.


I'm the first stop on the hop, so let's get this party started!  I pulled out the Weary World set and coordinating Starry Stable Die Set to make another Christ-centered Christmas card.  I just love this Christ the Savior is born sentiment.  It really is the heart of everything, so that's what I stamped first.  Next I stamped the manger scene, coloring with a colorless blender and a few copic markers, adding some little snowflakes with a white chalk paint pen, then cut the image out with the Starry Stable Die Set.

For the background, I used a flower stencil that I thought would look like rays of light and stenciled it onto the cardstock with pan pastels and sprayed with workable fixative to set the pastels.  Next I used a burlap stencil to randomly apply light molding paste around the sentiment and stenciled rays.  I layered the die cut manger scene on dimensionals, also adding another layer to the star on top with the coordinating die.  Then I added a strip of cardstock down the side, added a thin layer of redline tape to adhere the lace trim, then pressed some champagne glass glitter into the exposed pieces of adhesive for a fun gilded look.  Everything is sponged lightly with walnut stain distress ink to finish things off.


Well that's it for me.  If you haven't had a chance to order our holiday release yet, all of our Christmas themed stamps and dies (including the newest release) are on sale for 20% off, or you can buy the Holiday Release Collection at a 25% discount!


Next up on the hop is Marisa!


Want to win some shiny new Verve? We'll be picking a random commenter on one of the hop spots below to win a $50 gift voucher to the Verve online store! So be sure to leave a little comment on all the blogs below to increase your chances! Check out the Verve Blog today for all the details!

Day 3 Hop List
1. Julee6. Teresa
2. Marisa7. Andrea
3. Amber8. Christyne
4. Diana9. Maureen
5. Charmaine10. Nancy

Enabler's List
Stamps: Weary World (Verve Stamps)
Paper: Saint Nick (Fancy Pants), cream (Neenah)
Ink: Mossy Meadow, Early Espresso (SU!), Walnut Stain (Ranger Distress), Pan Pastels, white chalk pen
Accessories: Starry Stable Die Set (A Cut Above by VERVE), lace trim, light molding paste, glass glitter, Daisies stencil (Delta), burlap stencil (Tim Holtz)