Life is GOOD

Hey peeps!  Life has been crazy around here this month and I've had less time to design than ever before.  So this morning I stepped into the studio (directly across from my bedroom) before I even started my day, so I could be sure to get a little stamp therapy in before all the craziness of the day set in.  Tomorrow is the deadline for all four February Viva la Verve! sketches and I realized I hadn't finished Week 1's sketch by Amber yet, so that was my launching point.

Next I picked up this Lille paper from 7 Gypsies that I just fell in love with the moment I saw it.  I was particularly drawn to the page that said LIFE IS GOOD, so decided to use that as my focal point and pick a stamp set that could just accent the beautiful papers.  These delicate flourishes from Filigree Fantasy are one of my all time favorite stamps and I thought they would pair well with the vintage style of this paper.  Everything is inked with Vintage Photo distress ink and I used a paper distresser on all the edges, then stamped the flourishes and embellished with red rhinestones from Pizzazz Aplenty.  For the ribbon accent I went with this gorgeous silver & black twine also from Pizzazz Aplenty.  I just love the metallic shine to it.  I finished off with the Sprinkle each day with kindness sentiment from Filigree Fantasy in the bottom corner.  Then I just layered everything together, deciding to skew my square a bit (I saw you cringe, Marisa!), then quickly decided to make a little photo corner accent with punches and the square stamp from Filigree Fantasy, accenting with another red rhinestone.  Finished card size is 5.5" square.


Enabler's List:
Stamps: Filigree Fantasy (Verve)
Paper: Lille (7 Gypsies), Black, Cream
Ink: Black Soot, Vintage Photo (Ranger Distress Ink), Copic marker
Accessories: Classic Circle Nestabilities (Spellbinders), paper distresser (Tonic), red rhinestones and Midnight Silver Baker's Metallic Twine (Pizzazz Aplenty)

Hello Friend

Welcome to another week!  This week, Mary Fish is filling in for me at the Mojo sketchboard.  Head on over to the Mojo Monday blog to check out her sketch (Mojo179) and some fabulous samples from the design team.

For my mojo card, I wanted to use some rolled flowers.  The Sizzix 3D Flowers die is the only one I currently have, so that's where I started.  I've seen a lot of people making little nests with them, so I decided to turn on the shabby and added some hemp twine, pearls and some diecut leaves painted with liquid pearls.  I stamped the circle frame from Happy Hello, punched it out and layered onto some petite scallop circles cut with the Stella & Rose Hattie papers.  Actually all the papers are from that collection and I matted with basic gray cardstock.  The sentiment is also from the Happy Hello set and I used it with the Sentiment Flags die from Lil inkers.  I distressed lots of edges, inking with Pumice Stone and Scattered Straw distress inks, then layered on a bit of lace and finished with some pearl accents.

Enabler's List:
Stamps:  Happy Hello (Verve Stamps)
Paper: Stella & Rose Hattie Collection (My Mind's Eye), Basic Gray (SU!), Ivory
Ink: Basic Gray (SU!), Scattered Straw, Pumice Stone (Ranger Distress Ink)
Accessories:  Sentiment Flags die (Lil' Inker Designs), 3D Flowers Bigz die, Flourish Leaves die (Sizzix), hemp twine, circle punches (SU!), Petite Scallop Circle Nestabilities (Spellbinders), Liquid pearls, lace trim, pearl accents

Happy Saturday!

Today I have a card to share that's my take on the current Get Your Diva On challenge.  It's a new challenge hosted once a month in our SCS forum and this month's hostess is Charmaine.  And the prize is a doozie... you get to be a Guest Diva for a Verve release!!!  The challenge deadline is tomorrow night (2/20), so you better get cracking!

When I first saw the inspiration photo Charmaine picked out, I totally dug the layout, so I sketched it out on paper.  Next I was inspired by the monochromatic colors with white accents, so  I picked out some pretty aquas in the Stella & Rose Hazel collection by My Mind's Eye and got to work.  No surprise I picked aqua, eh?  LOL

The cupcake in the inspiration photo looked almost beaded, so that inspired me to line my circle with glitter rhinestones from Pizzazz Aplenty.  My photo studio lights don't play nicely with the migraines I've been having, so I had to rush through the photo and couldn't quite capture all the glimmer and shine this card has in real life.  The sentiment is from Beautiful Kindness and is embossed in white.  I placed a couple sentiment flag diecuts on the side along with some Maya Road trim.  The butterfly centerpiece is from Prima and I added a couple butterflies using the SU! embosslits, then accented with some light sapphire rhinestones from Pizzazz Aplenty.

Okay, I hope you have a fabulous Saturday!  Thanks so much for stopping by!

Enabler's List
Stamps:  Beautiful Kindness (Verve Stamps)
Paper: Stella & Rose Hazel collection (My Mind's Eye), White
Ink: VersaMark
Accessories:  glitter rhinestones, 2mm light sapphire rhinestones (Pizzazz Aplenty), butterly (Prima), circle punches, butterly embosslits, white embossing powder (SU!), Sentiment Flags die (Lil Inker Designs), rose trim (Maya Road), Classic & Scallop Circle Nestabilities (Spellbinders), Diamond glaze and glitter mixture

Smallest Things

Happy Friday!  It's time for another Viva la Verve! challenge and this week's hostess with the mostess is Andrea!  It's the final sketch for February, so be sure to play along with all four challenges for a chance to win our next release!  There's even a printable pdf to make it easy for you, so head on over to the February Week 4 challenge thread for all the sketches and details!

Andrea's sketch had me pulling out the new Stella & Rose Mabel collection from My Mind's Eye.  I just adore all four lines in the Stella & Rose collection and had to snatch them up the minute I saw them!  As usual, I seem to have gone beyond the sketch, piling on the goodies, but you can still see the "bones" of the sketch in there.  This orange paper reminded me of an adorable stuffed elephant my mom made me as a child.  Oh, how I loved that little elephant!  I even had a dress to match and we had all sorts of adventures!  He was orange and white gingham, with a cute little pocket on his belly and I think he probably influenced my design of Emery!

So all that to say, I knew I had to use Emery with this orange paper!  After piecing all my papers together, I stamped the Smallest Things plain jane onto a Classy Label Die cut, then added some orange rhinestones from Pizzazz Aplenty.  The orange seam binding started simple, and then had a mind of it's own as I layered two bows together, then added a bitty button to the center.  Next I pulled out the Lots of Hearts punch and layered some hearts, along with the Thank You sentiment from Friendly Phrases on a Sentiment Flags die cut from Lil' Inkers.  I finished off by tucking Emery behind the classy label.

Okay, that's all for me today!  Thanks for stopping by and have a fantastic weekend!

Enabler's List:

Stamps: Emery Plain Jane, Smallest Things Plain Jane, Friendly Phrases (Verve Stamps)
Paper:  Stella & Rose Mabel (My Mind's Eye), Really Rust, Ivory
Ink: Really Rust, Vintage Photo Distress Ink
Accessories: Classy Label Die (Verve Stamps), Sentiment Flags die (Lil Inker Designs), Punch pack, bitty buttons, Lots of Hearts punch (SU!), scrapper's floss (Karen Foster), 2, 3 and 4mm orange flatback rhinestones (Pizzazz Aplenty), orange seam binding (Prairie Bird Boutique)

Polka Bear

Happy Wednesday!  Today I have a little card to share that combines the bear from To the Moon and a sentiment from this month's Stamp of the Month...  Sweet on You.  Sweet on You is 40% off through the end of February!

I was totally in a polka dot mood when I made this card!  This flocked paper from Kaiser Craft is so soft and I had to add a few different embossing textures to round out the polka dot theme.  The heart shape is the Jotted Heart Die and I simply embellished with a few little pearls from Pizzazz Aplenty, a slanted bow and a little mini paper clip.  Pretty simple, but oh so cute!

Enabler's List:
Stamps: To the Moon , Sweet on You  sets by Verve Stamps
Paper: Road Trip Collection by KaiserCraft, Crumb Cake and Early Espresso cardstock by Stampin' Up! Ink: Black Soot, Vintage Photo Distress Inks by Ranger
Accessories:  Jotted Heart Die by Verve Stamps, Polka Dots embossing folder by QuicKutz, Swiss Dots Cuttlebug folder by ProvoCraft, Crumb Cake Seam Binding by Stampin' Up!, dark chocolate pearls from Pizzazz Aplenty, Mini Paper Clips by Tim Holtz

You Had Me at MEOW

Hey everyone!  Today I have a little card to share that I made for Mark.  {Today (2/15) is his birthday and there's a little one day sale going on over at Verve to celebrate.}  I combined these fabulous TCP stamps from the It Had to Be Mew set and some of the Be Mine papers from Echo Park.  Love this paper!

Sprinkle the cat is stamped once on Neenah Brilliant White Cardstock, colored with Copics, and then I stamped just the hat, colored, cut out and pieced on top.  The sentiment is cut out with Verve's Embossed Oval Die and I added a TCP Big Scallop Border die at the bottom and embellished with ribbon and some peridot rhinestones from Pizzazz Aplenty on Sprinkle's collar.

That's all from me today.  I'm headed off for a birthday adventure with Mark!  Yay!

Enabler's List:
Stamps: It Had to Be Mew set by The Cat's Pajamas
Paper: Be Mine Collection by Echo Park, Cherry Cobbler and Basic Black Cardstock by Stampin' Up!, Brilliant White Classic Crest cardstock by Neenah
Ink: Versafine Onyx Black by Tsukineko, R46, R59, N4, C4 and C5 Sketch markers by Copic
Accessories:  Embossed Oval Die by Verve Stamps, Big Scallop Die by The Cat's Pajamas, Round it all by Zutter, polka dot ribbon by Creative Impressions, 2mm peridot rhinestones by Pizzazz Aplenty

Celebrate

Welcome to another week!  It's time for another Mojo Monday sketch, and this week Maria Gurnsey has stepped up to the sketchpad to inspire us with a fun little sketch.  Head on over to the Mojo blog for the sketch and to see the fabulous samples by the Mojo designers.

Today's my Dad's birthday (yep, he's a Valentine's baby - and my hubby Mark's birthday is tomorrow!).  So for dad's card I went for a clean and simple masculine look.  He's red/green color blind, so I try to stick to colors I know he can see well, and these fun papers from BoBunny seemed like the perfect fit.  I paper pieced the balloons from Birthday Bash, then added the celebrate sentiment from the same set and colored with Copic markers.  A little grosgrain ribbon, a star brad and some metal stickers finish off the look.

I've been suffering from frequent migraines again recently, so I've been a little quiet on the blogging front.  I have a few cards made and photographed, though, so hopefully I'll be up to posting a few times this week.  Thanks so much for stopping by!  Have a fabulous start to your week!  Oh, and if you'd like a chance at being one of the next Verve Guest Divas, be sure to check out the Get Your Diva On challenge that's starting today over in our forum!

Enabler's List:
Stamps:  Birthday Bash (Verve Stamps)
Paper: BoBunny, Black, White
Ink: A Muse Black Dye Ink, black copic multi-liner
Accessories: Star brads, 5/8" black grosgrain, Signo white gel pen (SU!), Classic Circle Nestabilities (Spellbinders), metal accent stickers (Colorbok), Diamond Stickles

Postcard Valentine

Happy Friday!  It's time for another Viva la Verve! challenge and this week's sketch was designed by Teresa Kline.  As soon as I saw the little envelope shape on the sketch, I remembered a cute little postcard die that I picked up on clearance at the craft store a few months ago.  I couldn't wait to dig it out and give it a go!

I wanted a vintage valentine look to go along with the miniature postcard die, so I picked out this kraft-based Love paper from American Crafts.  I stamped a heart and an XOXO from the Love Notes set on my postcard to dress it up.  Next up, I made a little rosette with the designer paper, then stamped the heart and sentiment from Love Notes and cut out with the Jotted Heart Die (both on sale right now!) and layered together.  Keeping with the miniature theme, I embellished with a mini library clip, mini staples and some mini rhinestones from Pizzazz Aplenty.

That's all for me.  I hope you get a chance to play along with Viva la Verve this week.  And just a little reminder that it's a contest week over at Mojo Monday - so be sure to get your entries in by Sunday night.  Thanks so much for stopping by.  I hope you have a fabulous weekend! 

Enabler's List:
Stamps: Love Notes (Verve Stamps)
Paper: Love Collection (American Crafts), Crumb Cake, Real Red (SU!)
Ink: Vintage Photo (Ranger Distress), Real Red (SU!)
Accessories: Jotted Heart Die (Verve Stamps), Postcard 2x2 Die (QuicKutz), mini paper clip (SU!), Martha Stewart border punch, Hero Arts stickers, glimmer twill ribbon (Taylored Expressions), 2mm red flatback rhinestones (Pizzazz Aplenty), mini staples, Rosette Die (Tim Holtz)

Friendship Tea

Welcome to another week!  It's the first Monday of the month, so that means it's contest week over at Mojo Monday!  We'll have up to seven winners, so be sure to play along this week for a chance at the Verve stamp set of your choice! 

For my sample sketch card, I started with these really shabby, girly Annalee papers by Prima.  Next I pulled out the A Cup of Life set and had a little masking fun, stamping two of the teacups several times, stacked on top of one another and then coloring in with baja breeze and regal rose markers.  I used the steam swirl for a little accent on my sentiment circle, and the friend sentiment stamp is from Text Objects.  Underneath that I added a little Sentiment Flags die from Lil' Inker Designs and for my upper circle, I just added a partial circle and accented with some Swarovski Crystals and the teardrop rhinestones from Pizzazz Aplenty.  I finished off with some Baja Breeze seam binding ribbon and distressed edges.

Okay, I'm suffering through another bout of tendinitis in my wrists, so I'm going to cut this short and just leave you with the Enabler's list...

Enabler's List
Stamps:  A Cup of Life, Text Objects (Verve Stamps)
Paper: Annalee Paper Pad (Prima), Black, Ivory
Ink: Black Soot, Vintage Photo (Ranger Distress), Regal Rose, Baja Breeze (SU!)
Accessories:  circle punches (SU!), Sentiment Flags die (Lil' Inker Designs), Baja Breeze seam binding (SU!), swarovski crystals and teardrop rhinestone (Pizzazz Aplenty)

Courage

Happy Friday!  This week has totally flown by and it's already time for another Viva la Verve! sketch to start your weekend off right!  This week's sketch was designed by the talented Amy Sheffer and it totally inspired me to get inky!

I pulled out one of my favorite sets from 2010, Blue Skies, because I wanted to use this courage quote.  The card is for a friend who I think has shown extreme bravery during the past year and I just wanted to let her know I'm thinking about her.  My batch of SU! goodies that arrived this week had some new papers in it, so I decided to play with them, keeping a neutral palette with just a pop of color.

My sewing machine and I are still on the outs, so I chose to go with torn edges instead of stiched ones.  The butterflies from Blue Skies are stamped on First Edition paper, then cut out and colored with a Copic marker.  Most of the layers on the card are sponged with Early Espresso ink, to give it an aged look, then I added a little ruffled twill before adding the butterfly trail of pearls.  I was only going to add a few, but placing the three sizes of chocolate pearls (from Pizzazz Aplenty) was so fun, I extended it all the way to the edge of the panel, then finished off with three pearls on each butterfly body.

Okay, that's all from me today!  I hope you'll play along with our VLV sketch this week!  And if you haven't had a chance, there's still time (until 2/5) to get your comments in for our Diva Inspirations Blog Hop prize drawing.  Thanks for stopping by and have a fabulous weekend!


Enabler's List:
Stamps: Blue Skies (Verve Stamps)
Paper: First Edition DSP, Botanical Gazette DSP, crumb cake, early espresso (SU!)
Ink: Early Espresso (SU!), Copic marker
Accessories:  Classic Circle Nestabilities (Spellbinders), paper distresser (Tonic), clear detail embossing powder (Judikins), 2mm dark chocolate pearls, 3 and 4 mm chocolate pearls (Pizzazz Aplenty), mini library clip (SU!)

I'd Pick You

Happy Thursday, peeps!  Did y'all have fun taking our Diva Inspiration Blog Hop?  I know I got so inspired by all the projects.  If you haven't had a chance to hop around yet, you've still got until Saturday 2/5 to leave your comments.  Click here for my post, which also has the master hop list at the bottom.

When I was making my Mojo Monday 176 card earlier this week, I had another idea for just masking off the curve for a simpler one layer version and had to give it a go.  Of course I didn't stick to just one layer, but the concept itself is pretty clean and simple-ish.  This time I went with a square card and pulled out Dream Big.  I hand drew a curve, then cut out and lay down as a mask before stamping the greenery in Pear Pizazz and Wild Wasabi.  Then I pulled off the mask, stamped the large stem and the sentiment, then added a little Melon Mambo pompom trim to accent my curve.  Sorry for the poor photo - pinks and greens are always so hard to photograph.

I stamped the flower in Melon Mambo, then cut out and layered over the card, adding a button for the center and some pink liquid pearls to each petal.  The little flags are made with the fun Sentiment Flags die by Lil' Inker Designs.  I had some washi tape on my desk that matched the project, so I layered it onto white cardstock, then cut with the flag die and trimmed to different lengths, adding some 1/2 circles and some pear seam binding ribbon to accent.  My finished card size is 5" square.

Enabler's List:
Stamps:  Dream Big (Verve Stamps)
Paper: White, Black
Ink: Melon Mambo, Pear Pizazz, Wild Wasabi, Black
Accessories:  Sentiment Flags die (Lil' Inker Designs), washi tape (iCopic), pear pizazz seam binding, melon mambo pompom trim and 3/4" circle punch (SU!), button, liquid pearls

Diva Inspirations Blog Hop

Happy Tuesday and welcome to February!  I love new beginnings, and this month we're kicking things off in style with a Diva Inspirations Blog Hop!  Today you'll be hopping along with our Diva Inspirations team, who are putting a brand new spin on some of those well-loved sets from days gone by.  If you've been hopping already, you're about midway through the hop.  If you're just getting here, you can see the master hop list at the bottom of this post.

As always, there's a hidden prize, so leave a comment as you hop along.  Check out the Verve Blog for the prize details and to read a little about our 3 newest Divas and our February promotions!  

 Once I started on my project, I just couldn't stop, so I've got a few more photos than usual.  This month, we're getting back to our Stamp of the Month feature.  For February, Sweet on You is our Stamp of the Month and it's on sale 40% off through the end of the month!  It's a perfect set for treat giving, with sentiments that coordinate with lots of different candies and gifts and a couple oval frame stamps to set them off!  I couldn't wait to pair Sweet on You with the cute little critters in the To the Moon set for some fun child valentines!

Okay, well the first one isn't really for a child - it's for my DH!  I love this You're RED HOT sentiment and decided to put his little monkey mouth at a slant so it looks like he's letting out a good "woot woo"!  {grin}.  The dotted oval frame from Sweet on You is punched out with the Wide Oval punch from SU! and then layered onto a Vintage Oval Die.  All of that is layered onto a Sweet Scallop Tag stamped, cut out and then layered onto a Sweet Scallop die and tied around a potion bottle filled with...you guessed it... red hots!

Next up is the little spotted giraffe from To the Moon, and I paired him with the I love you to PIECES sentiment from Sweet on You, because I thought his coloring reminded me of reese's pieces.  I used the Sweet Scallop Tag stamp and Sweet Scallop die, adding the little heart trio from To the Moon, and finished off with a sweet little heart shaped button.

The third little amigo is the elephant from To the Moon.  I figured since elephants are usually gray (here I colored him with a silver colored pencil), they could use a little color in their world and picked the You color MY WORLD sentiment from Sweet on You.  I used the Sweet Scallop Tag stamp and Sweet Scallop die again, and I embossed the WORLD in white on 5 colors of cardstock, then cut each letter out and pieced together.  And in the bottle... a colorful display of Skittles!

So I got to the end of my potion bottles, but there was still a fourth amigo hanging around.  This darling little polar bear from To the Moon seemed made for the Can't bear it WITHOUT YOU sentiment from Sweet on You, so I had to make one more little treat!  This time I used a little kraft sack I got at Archivers and filled it with a small ziploc full of gummy bears.  I added a Sweet Scallop die and Jotted heart die behind my bear and sentiment, then clipped on with a mini library clip and mini paper clip.  I finished off with some divine twine and a few little rhinestones.

Okay, I'm done showing and telling.  Thanks so much for stopping by and have a fabulous rest of the day! The master hop list is below! And we've hidden a little mystery prize on one of today's hop spots, so be sure to leave a little comment love as you hop around. One lucky commenter on the mystery hop spot will win a $30 gift certificate to the Verve Store! The deadline for comment entries is Saturday, February 5.  Happy hopping!

1. Betty 6. Michelle 2. Dawn 7. Lynda 3. Jen d. 8. Shannan 4. Jen T. 9. Sony 5. Julee 10.Susan

Enabler's List - Potion Bottle Trio
Stamps: Sweet on You, To the Moon , Sweet Scallop Tag (stamp) (Verve Stamps)
Paper: Cherry Cobbler, White, Black, Pumpkin Pie, Daffodil Delight, Pear Pizazz, Marina Mist (SU!)
Ink: Onyx Black, Crimson Red (Versafine), Cherry Cobbler, Copic markers, silver colored pencil
Accessories: Sweet Scallop Tag Die, Vintage Oval Die (Verve Stamps), potion bottles (Taylored Expressions), black twine, rhinestones (Pizzazz Aplenty), heart buttons, glitter heart (Jesse James), trinket pin (Maya Road), polka dot ribbon (May Arts), Wide Oval Punch (SU!), Scrapper's Floss (Karen Foster), Scallop Classic Oval Nestabilities (Spellbinders), Reese's Pieces, Red Hots, Skittles 

Enabler's List - Can't Bear It Kraft Sack
Stamps: Sweet on You, To the Moon (Verve Stamps)
Paper: Cherry Cobbler, White, Black
Ink: Onyx Black, Crimson Red (Versafine)
Accessories: Jotted Heart Die, Sweet Scallop Tag Die (Verve Stamps) kraft mini envelope, gummy bears, cherry divine twine (TCP), heart button, red rhinestones (Pizzazz Aplenty), mini library clip (SU!), mini paper clip (Tim Holtz)