Love This Wonderful Life

Hi friends!  It's the final Monday of the month and that means it's time to bring on my favorite kind of Mojo sketch... round or square.  This month's Mojo 291 sketch is so trendy and fun with layered banners.  I can't wait to see what everyone makes!

For my card, I chose these gorgeous papers from Authentique.  Mark got them as part of my Easter basket and I seriously have just flipped through the pad over and over again!  It just makes me happy, happy, happy!  I cut all of the banners by hand, just laying strips of paper in a pile, then marking a place in the center 1/2" from the bottom and cutting to that mark from each end on all the papers at once.  Then I cut the black mat strips and layered the papers on and eyeballed the cut.

The this wonderful life sentiment is from the Remember This and is stamped into the mini curvy bookplate stamp from Borderline and cut and matted with the coordinating Mini Bookplate Die Set.  The LOVE sentiment is from Text Objects and I stamped it onto a die cut from the Flag It Die Set and hand cut the mat.  The ribbon is some super fun crinkly crepe ribbon that we'll be introducing in the Verve Store with our May 10 release.  I also pulled out the From the Heart Die Set and layered them on for some fun accents.  The base is embossed with a polka dot embossing folder, then I rounded the bottom corners and this 5" square card was finished.  Oh, and I added two little heart rhinestones for a bit of bling (even though they don't look too heart shaped in the pic)!

Okay, that's all for this card.  I'm also wrapping up the April Diva Dare over on the Verve blog with a super colorful creation drawing on Marisa and Charmaine's styles today.  So be sure to head over there to see my full card and leave some comments on our series of posts for a chance to win!  Then play along with the challenge before Wednesday for another chance at some shiny new Verve!

Thanks so much for stopping by!  Have a fabulous start to your week!  I'm starting my week off with coffee and a little crafty shopping with a friend this morning.  Woohoo!

Enabler's List
Stamps:  Remember This, Text Objects, Borderline (Verve Stamps)
Paper: Renew (Authentique), Black, White
Ink: Black, Copic
Accessories:  Flag It Die Set, Mini Bookplate Die Set, From the Heart Die Set (A Cut Above by VERVE), Black Beauty Ribbon Collection (releasing soon from VERVE), polka dot embossing folder (Cuttlebug), corner chomper, heart rhinestones

Just a NOTE

Hi friends!  I'm a little late today with my mojo card as my weekend was CRAZY busy!  This week's Mojo Monday 290 sketch is from Carole and from the time I saw her sketch, I had this idea to do a triptych type thing by stamping on a length of paper, then cutting it up and spacing it according to the sketch.  So that's what I did here, using the Joyful Blooms set and some Peach Parfait and Pool Party inks.

I did change a few little things about the sketch, but the main inspiration is there.  The pool party layer is stamped in Pool Party with the larger flower from Joyful Blooms, then I added some accents to the flower centers with glossy glaze and glitter.  The ribbon and cloud embossing folder are both from SU! and I finished off with some black matting and a little rhinestone flourish.

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

Enabler's List
Stamps: Joyful Blooms
Paper: Pool Party, Basic Black (SU!), White
Ink: Pool Party, Peach Parfait (SU!), Black
Accessories: clouds embossing folder, peach parfait ribbon (SU!), rhinestone bling (Recollections), glossy accents (Ranger), Dazzling diamonds glitter (SU!)

Birthday Treasure

Hi friends!  Happy Thursday... this week has just flown by for me.  My little guys have RSV again, so we've been busy with breathing treatments every 4 hours for each of them and no more than 3 hours of sleep at a time for the past 5 days.  As Mark said this morning, we're too old for this!!!  LOL  The sleep deprivation has brought my migraines back full force, so it's been a doozie of a week so far.

Anyhow, I do have this card to share that I made during a little free time last week.  It uses the Park Bench paper collection again.  Mark took me to Archiver's for my Easter basket this year and I picked out 3 or 4 new paper collections and this was one of them.  I've been trying to cut back on my craft spending, so my goal is to actually USE the paper I buy!  LOL  I think I've made 6 cards with this pack now, so that's pretty good, right?  {grin}

The stamps are from the Treasured Words set (30% off right now!) and the little stitch marks on the yellow circle are from the Borderline set.  I used the Pennant Trim Die as a border, then added some liquid pearls.  I'm really loving the look of black pearls on black card stock right now.  I roughed up the edges of everything with a paper distresser, then finished off with a polka dot bow.

That's all on the card front.  Be sure to head on over to the Verve blog for another segment in our April Diva Dare series.  And if you've been waiting on an out of stock set from Verve, check out the Verve website for 20% off our newly re-stocked stamp sets!

Enabler's List
Stamps:  Treasured Words, Borderline (Verve Stamps)
Paper: Park Bench (Fancy Pants), Black, Cream
Ink: Black, grey
Accessories: Pennant Trim Die (A Cut Above by VERVE), Classic Circles Nestabilities (Spellbinders), ribbon, Gesso, paper distresser (Tonic), liquid pearls (Ranger)

Birthday Mojo

Hi friends!  It's Monday again and time for another Mojo Monday sketch.  This one came from my crazy sleep-deprived brain.  I must admit that I was super excited to try it out, but it was a bit more of a challenge for me than usual.  Could just be that I'd rather be outside playing in the sun than inside stamping!  {grin}  Talk about spring fever!

Laurie W. has been talking about being hooked on coral and grey and stripes and I thought that sounded like a fabulous combination, so that was the inspiration for my card.  I used the Small Celebrations set, stamping the circle frame stamp on a die cut from the Surely Goodness Die Set.  The center of the frame stamp is a 1-3/8" circle, which makes it easy to customize with punches.  I made my own background paper by stamping tone on tone on the coral paper, then used a couple embossing folders and some washi tape for my stripes.  I accented with some seam binding from the Signature Ribbon Collection and a bunch of silver gray pearls and liquid pearls.

Okay, that's all for me today.  Thanks so much for stopping by.  Be sure to check out the Mojo Monday blog to see what the other design team members did with this sketch!  And head on over to the Verve Stamps blog for the next installment in our April Diva Dare series!

Enabler's List
Stamps: Small Celebrations (Verve Stamps)
Paper: Cameo Coral (SU!), gray (Paper Accents), white
Ink: Going Gray, Cameo Coral, Calypso Coral (SU!)
Accessories: Surely Goodness Die Set (A Cut Above by VERVE), Signature Ribbon Collection (Verve), Chevron and Stripes embossing folders, silver button and circle punches (SU!), white gel pen, silver gray pearls (Pizzazz Aplenty), liquid pearls (Ranger), corner chomper, washi tape

Joy

Hi friends!  It's Friday and time for another Viva la Verve! sketch over in our forum.  This week's sketch comes from Christyne and is totally layer-licious!

When I sat down to stamp these beautiful pastels in the Walnut Grove paper pad called out to me.  Back when I was in high school peach and mint green were THE thing.  I even had jeans in both colors!  The other day when I was walking at the mall, I noticed several clothing store displays with peach and mint green or aqua.  Crazy how styles and colors come and go... and come back again.  Anyhow, it's a very feminine combination, so I went frilly with my card.

The kraft doily is a freebie die cut I got with an order from somewhere.  I stamped over it with one of the text border strips from Text Objects, then added just a bit of sponging around the edges with Leather Mix'd Media Inx.  The sentiment uses the Nehemiah 8:10 Plain Jane.  I simply masked off the other lines on the stamp with masking tape so just the joy got inked up, then peeled off the masking tape and stamped.  I embossed it in clear, then added a little shading with copic markers.

I used a Christy Tomlinson rub-on along my banner strip for the border, then added a bit of ric rac and a seam binding bow from the Signature Ribbon Collection for embellishment.  Then finished off with some more sponged edges and a bit of liquid pearls on each scallop.

Thanks so much for stopping by!  I hope you have a fantastic weekend!  Oh, and be sure to hop on over to the Verve blog today for the kick-off to our April Diva Dare!!!

Enabler's List
Stamps: Nehemiah 8:10 Plain Jane, Text Objects (Verve Stamps)
Paper: Walnut Grove (Pebbles), crumb cake (SU!)
Ink: Leather (Mix'd Media Inx), Copic markers
Accessories:  Signature Ribbon Collection (Verve), ric rac (Michael's), classic & scalloped ovals nestabilities (Spellbinders), liquid pearls (Ranger), corner chomper, rub-on (Christy Tomlinson)

Hello

Hi friends!  Happy Wednesday!  I'm popping in with a super quick card I made during nap time the other day.  I had some scraps of this Park Bench paper on my desk and it reminded me of a tag I had made quite some time ago that has just been sitting in my scrap drawer waiting for the right card.  Love when I get to use something that's been around a while!

The tag and the sentiment are from the Tag Time set and stamped onto a Tagged Rectangle Die.  The leafy sprig comes from the Sunny Days set and I added a little shadowing with a grey copic marker.  I glued a black circle punch to my tag and then punched out the hole with my crop-a-dile for a hole re-inforcer (Remember those things you used to lick and stick around hole punches?  Or does that really date me? {grin}) look.  A button, twine and ribbon were added, and I did color the button with a Copic to get the right shade of yellow.

I used the Flourished Trim Die for an accent across my dp panel, then added some interest with black liquid pearls across it.  I finished off the card with a Chevron embossing folder on the base and a couple black sequins and gold rhinestones.  I just love that Flourished Trim Die and it's one of the items marked 30% off this month!!! 

Enabler's List
Stamps: Tag Time, Sunny Days (Verve)
Paper: Park Bench (Fancy Pants), Black, Daffodil Delight (SU!), Natural White (Neenah)
Ink: Black, Antique Linen, Vintage Photo (Ranger Distress), Copic markers
Accessories: Tagged Rectangle Die,  Flourished Trim Die (A Cut Above by VERVE), ribbon, button, linen thread, sequins, rhinestones, Chevron embossing folder (SU!), tiny attacher (Tim Holtz)

Anniversary Mojo

Hi friends! It's Monday again already and time for another Mojo Monday sketch. This week's sketch was designed by Sarah Bigelow.

I didn't have a lot of time to make my card, due to abridged napping by the boys, so I kept it pretty simple. The papers are all from the Park Bench collection. I cut the polka dot strips down first, then added a 3.5" square rounding two corners of the grey striped paper. This is matted with black. The flower is from Surely Goodness and I stamped the large and medium directly onto patterned paper, then hand cut and layered with a brad. The leaves are from Dream Big and stamped in white jasmine black cardstock and cut with the coordinating Dreamy Leaves Die Set. I did flip the sketch so that I could use the new Happy Anniversary Plain Jane as my sentiment. The whites on the two papers didn't match, even though they came from the same paper pack (a total pet peeve of mine), so I went over the polka dots with liquid pearls. Then I had to add a bit of sparkle to the flower with stardust stickles and finish off with a bit of glossy accents on the leaves. The seam binding bow is from the Signature Ribbon Collection.

That's all for me.  If you haven't had a chance to hop along the April Diva Inspirations Hop yet, click here! I hope you have a great start to you week.  Thanks so much for stopping by!

Enabler's List
Stamps:  Surely Goodness, Happy Anniversary Plain Jane, Dream Big (Verve Stamps)
Paper: Park Bench (Fancy Pants), Black, Cream
Ink: Black, Jasmine White (Mix'd Media Inx), Pool Party
Accessories:  Dreamy Leaves Die Set (A Cut Above by VERVE), Signature Ribbon Collection (Verve), brad, Stickles, Liquid Pearls, Glossy Accents (Ranger)

Rising

Hi friends!  It's the 5th of the month and that means it's time for the Divas to put on a little hop to breathe new life into previously released Verve sets and dies.  I'm the first stop along the hop and I thought I'd let you know that there's a PRIZE up for grabs! Leave a little shout out in the comment section of each blog as you hop about to be entered in a drawing for a $30 gift certificate to Verve Stamps! Check out all the details and prize info over at the Verve Blog.

This month we're also saying a fond farewell to Jen del Muro, as this is her last hop as a Verve Diva. She's been a part of the Verve team almost from the very beginning and although I'm sad to see her go, I'm so excited to see the things she has up her sleeve for the stamping world!

My card uses this week's Viva la Verve! April Week 2 sketch and the Learning to Sail set.  I stamped the sentiment on cream cardstock, then stamped the sun and banner on yellow paper from the Park Bench collection.  The banner is cut out and popped up over the sentimetn and I hand cut the sun image and pieced onto the same stamped image layered onto the Frosty Snowflakes Die Set.  A little Antique Linen sponging around the edges and some black washi tape and sequin accents finish things off.  Oh and a bit of stickles and rhinestones for sparkle!

As a bonus to our hop this month we've got a WHOLE lot (as in almost 100) of sets & dies marked down 30%, to clear a little room for our next release. Check it out on our SALE PAGE (you'll also find our latest release sprinkled in there and marked down 10%). Okay, enough on the side note... time to hop along to the next stop....  Amy Kolling!

	1. Julee {me}	7. Sankari
	2. Amy	8. Sarah
	3. Anya	9. Sony
	4. Jen d.	10. Susan
	5. Jessica	11. Tiffany
	6. Karen

Enabler's List
Stamps:  Learning to Sail (Verve Stamps)
Paper: Park Bench (Fancy Pants), Cream, Black
Ink: Black, Antique Linen (Ranger)
Accessories:  Frosty Snowflakes Die Set (A Cut Above by VERVE), washi tape, corner chomper, sequins, rhinestones, stickles

Choose Happiness

Hi friends!  Happy April!  It's the first Monday of a new month and that means it is time for contest week over at Mojo Monday!  Play along with this week's fun sketch for your chance to win one of up to 7 prizes!  Check out the Mojo Monday blog for all the details!

I made a quick little card during naptime yesterday with not a lot of stamping.  I love this new Uncharted Waters collection from Glitz and the paper with the Choose Happiness was just calling my name.  I paired it with the Remember This set from Verve, stamping the days of the week in the background of the grey paper, then lightly covering with gesso for a chalkboard look and crimping a bit for some texture.  The on this day sentiment is also from Remember This and is stamped onto the banner from the Flag It Die Set.  I also added a bit of gesso and crimping, then clipped it on and added some bakers twine and a rhinestone.  The doily on the edge was white and I rubbed a Primrose Petals ink pad directly over it, then spritzed with water and dabbed up some of the excess ink until it was a color that matched the twine.  a little gesso, a lot of distressed edges and a white prima flower finish this grungy little card off.

That does it for me today.  I've got lots to do and two very cranky little boys to do it with.  :)  Thanks so much for stopping by.  I hope you have a lovely week and a fabulous start to the month!

Enabler's List
Stamps: Remember This (Verve Stamps)
Paper: Uncharted Waters (Glitz), So Saffron, Basic Gray (SU!), Natural White (Neenah), paper doily
Ink: Basic Gray, Primrose Petals (SU!), Gesso
Accessories: Flag It Die Set (A Cut Above by VERVE), flower (Prima), paper crimper (Fiskars), mini library clip (SU!), rhinestone, divine twine, paper distresser, corner chomper, water mister