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June Diva Inspirations Hop

Happy June!  It's the first day of a new month and that means I'm hopping along with the Divas to bring you some Verve inspiration.  There's a $30 Verve gift certificate up for grabs to a random commenter along the hop, so be sure to give a little love as you hop around.  The master hop list is at the bottom of this post.

We're featuring two stamp sets this month at 40% off...  Dad's Day and  American Hero.  Plus all sorts of stamps for the men in your life are on sale as well.  I used a sentiment from Dad's Day here and made a little scene with the palm tree from Relax.  I tore the "sand" from crumb cake paper, then added some pastels and spritzed with an air art tool.  The sky is done with pastels and I stamped the flourish in Versamark and rubbed pastels over it as well.

This card is on the simple side, but that's kind of how I usually go with masculine cards.  Mark (in his completely unbiased opinion) said it is one of his absolute favorite cards ever, so I must have captured my target audience!  LOL  I haven't had much creative time the past few weeks and it felt really good to get my hands dirty.

I don't really have any words of wisdom today, other than my new motto... just do what you can do.  I bit off way more than I could chew yesterday with two doctor appointments and a website reset, plus needing to make a card and write the two posts for this hop.  In the past I would have stayed up until the wee hours making a much more elaborate card, creating way more graphics for the website and generally just overdoing it.  Instead, I'm just going to let it be, let it be, let it be, let it be.  Whisper words of wisdom... let it be.

So whatever is weighing you down today... let it be.  And take a little time to hop around the Divasphere...
Diva Inspirations Blog Hop
Master Hop List
1. Julee9. Andrea
2. Betty 10. Sankari
3. Dawn11. Maureen
4. Jen d.12. Teresa
5. Jen T.13. Tosh
6. Lynda14. Amy
7. Shannan15. Charmaine
8. Susan16. Amber
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 for a chance to win!
Comment Deadline: 11:59pm Mountain, June 5
Prize: $30 gift certificate to Verve

Enabler's List:
Stamps:  Relax, Dad's Day (Verve Stamps)
Paper: White, Black, Crumb Cake
Ink: Coffee Archival (Ranger), Copic Markers, Burnt Sienna and Turquoise Tint PAN Pastels, Crumb Cake Marker, Pitt Journaling Pen, Versamark
Accessories:  Jumbo Eyelets (SU!), black scrapper's floss, Crop-a-dile

78 comments

Dawn Easton said...

Fabulous masculine card, Julee! That is one of my fave sets!

Kimberly said...

Love this! I feel right at home with the palm tree!

Amber Hight said...

This is beautiful, Julee! I love the peaceful feel of this card, a perfect card for a man!

TannyP said...

CAS & perfect for a man - especially with that comment from Mr.Verve =) Gorgeous scene!

Sherry Kushibab said...

Nice card and love that little surprise detail of the flourish in the background.

Tanya said...

Beautiful, so calm and just "ahhhhh".
It's so hard to learn to just let it be, but with 2 kids, helping out at school, 3 dogs, a full time job, and a husband, I had to learn that one awhile ago, and yep, it OK! :D

Gretchen said...

Gorgeous! And yes, let it be is a tough one to do but it's sooo worth it in the end

Ravengirl said...

I, too, love your fabulous CAS card here! I think the offset piercing is genius and I love it!

Holly AKA KopyKat said...

this is so cute

Amy Sheffer said...

Love this, Julee! The perimeter sponging and stamping around the tree look fabulous, as does the sand!

Geny said...

Beautiful card Julee! I have a really long list of wants from Verve and this Dad's day set is on it! Love your new motto!

Fonda @Southern Scraps said...

Beautiful card and wise words to "let it be".

Keva said...

Ahh..let it be. I could try to do that. My husband is deployed and won't be home till August. I'm having issues with the landscapers, the truck broke and cost me over $700 to fix, our daughter is having major allergy and eczema issues and cannot even go outside, my weight is out of control....ugh...I TOTALLY should just let it be. Simple words..but words i truly needed to hear today, Julee! Thank you!

By the way - LOVE the simplicity of the card!

Marlena M. said...

This is an awesome card! ;)

joannhw said...

Great card!!! Love this set!

Denisse said...

what a gorgeous card! Julee, you are a master of creativity :)

Rhonda said...

So needing the masculine card inspiration!! Thanks Julee

Niki Estes said...

I love this, Julee! The sand looks so neat under the palm tree. Perfect masculine card!

jan farnworth said...

what a great card.

Kimberly White said...

I love it. Beautiful coloring and simple like men usually like them.

debbie said...

Big fan of your work Julee. Great card!

Susi said...

I really love the flourish stamp you used for the background. Terrific card.

Chunyuan said...

Love your card.

Marisa said...

Loving all that white space and your CAS card, Julee. Fabulous touch with the piercing.

irishgalkelly said...

Calm and tranquel, love this! I really like the piercing on the angle. So cool!

Jen Tapler said...

Well, you already know I love this one Julee! The sand and palm tree scene are AWESOME!!

Lillian Child said...

Great job! Love the paper piecing of the palm tree! Loving this new set as I have very few masculine or patriotic phrases to work with. Thanks for sharing!

http://lillianchild.blogspot.com

Heather said...

I'm glad you didn't waste your time making this card more elaborate; it is fabulous just the way it is! I love your torn "sand" and the whole scene is so relaxing.

Joanne Gilch said...

Julee, thank you so much for your words of wisdom this day!!! Hope you had some good times in your time away from us!!! Your card is very special and I can see why Mark likes it!!

Anonymous said...

Great card. Thanks for the inspiration!

KanataNewf said...

Gorgeous card Julee. Definite words of wisdom today - it's always good to kick back and not stress out over things that should be fun. I recently came to that same conclusion myself!

Anonymous said...

Nice card - love the tip on making the sand - it looks so real!

Tosha Leyendekker said...

Love this Julee!! What a masculine beauty!! Love the scene and your creative addition of the (watch-a-ma-call-it shape :) Ultra cool!

Janet's Joy said...

I love the little scene!!

Suzie McFloozy said...

I love your new motto and this lovely card - I always struggle with mens cards but this is perfect - love the buttons on the bow x
((hugs)) Suzie xoxo

Luanne said...

Fabulous and I love your new motto! I so enjoy your blog, you're always inspiring! :-)

jengd said...

Fabulous card! LOVE that sand!!

Cheryl said...

I love the card. I especially like the way you colored the sky. I never would have thought to use those particular stamps in a sky, but they seem to go well with the palm fronds. And, the two buttons at the top...immediately I thought of one of those coconut bikini tops ;). I mean, it DOES goes perfect with the coconut tree.

jennifer mitten said...

Love your card and your advice today!

Andrea Ewen said...

Simply beautiful in a totally masculine way! If Mark loves it, that is all that counts! Well, all of us love it too...the clean white background is the perfect canvas for that lovely palm tree and eye-catching sentiment panel. Tis a true "Julee beauty"...oh, and I rhyme too!

MackieMade Paper Creations said...

So simple, yet so many details. Like the "sand" and the paper piercing and the twine! Just fabulous!

Stacy said...

What a perfect card for a man. I love the sky and your new motto.

Teresa said...

I like the suggestion to relax! Great card Julee.

Jocelyn aka JoBear2 said...

Fabulous card Julee - the perfect masculine card.

Julia M said...

I struggle with masculine cards so I'm so glad you gave me some much needed inspiration.

Janelle Stollfus said...

Fantastic card, Julee! I love.love.love that sand with that gorgeous palm and sky!

tiff said...

Love the card! Everything about it is fabulous!

ShersL84bed said...

Beautiful and tasteful.

Smiles Sher
ShersL84bed@aol.com

Peachy Wessels said...

A great guy card - I love the palm tree! Also, I think your advice is right on - let it be!

Maureen said...

I just love this and LOVE your new outlook on everything...so inspiring...let it be! I see some new sentiments brewing!!

Anonymous said...

Cool card. I love the sand. Great technique. - Heather B

Raven said...

Love this card! Makes me want to head south and rest my toes in some warm sand..

Denise Willerton said...

wonderful card ~ TFS and have a super day!

seamom said...

The card is BRILLIANT.... So were the Beatles (and your hubby).

Donna said...

great Fathers day card

Michele said...

I'm with Mark; definitely one of my favorite cards ever too! Love the double buttons and all the sweet, simple details; Perfect Masculine card! :D

Charity said...

Love the card. But also love "Let it Be" My mom is a musician, and has performed that song many times. So it brought back a flood of memories and my momma's voice into my heart. <3 Made my day.

kksb said...

Great card. I really like the sky! So clever.

Betty Wright said...

This is terrific, Julee! Love the created scene and design! Awesome card!

Anonymous said...

It's simple but beautiful. The way you did the sky and the sand is very creative.

Laraine R said...

Fabulous card!!

Sue D said...

Great card--I like the peaceful scene you created.

steph said...

I think you did good to Let it Be. It is beautiful and a great Masculine card. TFS

Katy said...

Love the masculinity in this one! I am actually in the process of saving up so I can go nuts in the verve stamp shop!!!

-Katy
www.hooklineandinker.com

Naomi said...

Love the card! For a simple card, you still managed to get your hands dirty and used some techniques I never would've thought of :)

ScrappySandie said...

Great card! Especially for a guy!Love your advice to "Relax"...but also your fantastic advice to "Let it be"!! I needed that today. Thanks!

Rachel B said...

Fabulous father's day card. I love the design you stamped around the edges.

Jen Cuthbertson said...

I adore this CAS design, Julee! The card is beautiful and makes me want to be relaxing on a tropical island somewhere! Great job!!

Melissa said...

Just beautiful! I mean, manly...

JoAnn said...

Great masculine card. Love all the details. TFS

Nicole said...

Very cool! I just love your sand. There are never enough sets to use for masculine cards.

stampencamper said...

love the demensional sand and the palm tree, great card and sentiment

bristowmom said...

I am always grateful for "simple" cards - they match my talent level and all of the fancy embellishments are pretty hard to come by here in Taiwan. And, as your card proves, simple does not have to be boring!

Charmaine (CharmWarm) said...

I just LOVE this Julee! So clean, happy and relaxing! A perfect Father's Day card!

Crafty Math Chick said...

Very pretty! I love the dimension you gave to the palm tree and the sand.

Marsha said...

What a wonderful card. Love the button treatment on top, torn paper, piercing. Perfect - let it be.

Kim O'Connell said...

Love how you've tied the floss through the buttons!

AdoraBella said...

Fabulous masculine card! I Love palm trees and the buttons in the left corner - just like coconuts.