Time Out for Blue Skies

Hi friends! Today's card is something you don't see around here very often... clean and simple!  Verve is sponsoring Time Out Challenges this round, and I wanted to make a card for the challenge.  This round the challenge is to CASE a fabulous little card by Jenny Mullins (picture later in this post).  I had to think on it for a while since we all know CAS stamping is not my superpower {wink}.  After a little time trying to connect with my inner CAS girl, I suddenly remembered these sweet butterflies from Blue Skies and knew EXACTLY what I wanted to make!  And it came out just like I pictured it in my head. Bonus! {grin}

I started by stamping the butterflies on white cardstock and coloring with Copic markers before fussy cutting them. I next stamped them on a white panel, just where I wanted them and sponged with a layer of tumbled glass distress ink.  Next I went over this with the dot fade stencil and broken china distress ink. I love how this bit of blue sky looks against all the white.  I popped the cut-out butterflies up over the stamped butterflies, then added the Blue Skies sentiment in the corner.

I wanted a little interest up top, like she has in the branch on the inspiration card.  So I pulled out the Partly Cloudy Die Set and cut a sun, coloring it with Copic markers, and then sponging with Scattered Straw before adhering it to the corner and trimming off the excess.  A thin black mat set things off and this card was done lickety split!

Card by Jenny Mullins

Here's the card being CASE'd. Isn't it just darling?  I think I managed to capture the feel of it, don't you? As I mentioned before, Verve is sponsoring this challenge round, so come play along for a chance to win some new Verve for youself!  For a little more inspiration, head on over to Time Out to check out the lovely creations by their design team.

Enabler's List
Stamps: Blue Skies (Verve Stamps)
Paper: white, black
Ink: onyx black (Versafine), scattered straw, tumbled glass, broken china (Ranger Distress), markers (Copic)
Accessories: Partly Cloudy Die Set (A Cut Above by VERVE), Dot Fade Layering Stencil (Tim Holtz)

Secret Place Mojo 400

Hi friends!  It's a very special Monday today... my 400th Mojo Monday challenge.  Wow! 400 sketches!  What can I say? (Apparently a lot, since this post goes on forever.  {grin})

Way back before Mojo Monday, I remember playing along with the weekly sketch challenges at Splitcoaststampers and suddenly really wanting to have my own sketch challenge, but not really knowing how to go about it.  It was a tiny little dream, which my inner voice immediately shot down with a resounding, "but nobody would play along".  But I kept coming back to it, over and over and started posting a few sketches here and there.  Then a few more.  And then I started Verve and I was so busy that I wasn't finding time to post as often as I would like, so I decided to start a weekly sketch challenge.  And who cares whether people wanted to play or not?  I wanted to play and wanted the accountability to post at least once a week and I loved the idea of maybe a handful or so of people being inspired by something I designed.  So on September 3, 2007 I posted the first Mojo Monday sketch.  To my delight 25 fabulous cards were entered.  This was way back before linkies.  People left their links in comments or emails and I spent quite a bit of time saving and uploading each card each week to flickR and creating a slideshow for everyone to view.  It was such a fun time and made me smile each time I saw a card using my sketches. Here's the Mojo Monday #1 album.

So, for this week's sketch I decided it would be fun for us to play with my first EVER sketch.  This one was posted back in March of 2007, before I even had an inkling to start Verve.  It's still a favorite of mine and was based on this card I made for a local scrapbooking store DT call, but was too chicken to actually submit.  From small beginnings, big dreams grow into brighter realities.  So, my message for today is if you have a little dream, foster it.  Filter out the inner doubts and the not-so -quiet inklings about what others may or may not do or think about your dream, and take the first step.  You'll be so glad you did!  And who knows, 8 years from now you might be writing up a post about way back when. {grin}

In keeping with that theme, I made a card with a favorite quote.  "Within your heart keep one still, secret place where dreams may go." - Louise Driscoll.  I got some new Dylusions ink sprays over Memorial Day weekend and couldn't wait to give them a try.

The background was made by using matte medium to adhere a piece of Tim Holtz tissue paper to a piece of cream cardstock.  Once it was dry, I sprayed it with dirty martini and calypso teal inks and water, dabbing off when needed, then respraying and dripping until I got the colors I wanted.  As the background was so bright and I wanted to stamp my sentiment there, I then spritzed the whole thing with white linen spray (which is semi-opaque) to mute the colors just a bit.  I cut the circle out of the bottom corner with a spellbinders die, then embossed the quote sentiment from Blue Skies  (sorry this set sold out over the weekend!) in white. It didn't stand out as much as I hoped, so I used a micron black pen to outline the letters and give it a bit more weight.

Next I used fresh sunshine ink on a piece of barely banana cardstock to layer behind the tissue paper panel.  I stamped the butterfly from Blue Skies in archival ink, then again on a piece of cardstock.  I colored this one with the same colors of ink using a waterbrush, then added some black and white gel pen accents, fussy cut and popped up on the barely banana portion.  I finished off with some doodling around the circle cut out, a thin black mat and a white card base.

In keeping with the good old days, in addition to our usual first week of the month Verve sponsored prizes, I'm making this sketch a contest!  And I'm offering a spot on the Mojo Monday design team for two participants in this week's sketch challenge!  So if you've been watching the lovely and talented Mojo Makers working their magic week after week and been dreaming you could join the team, this is your chance! 

How to apply:

1. Play along with the Mojo 400 sketch and link up before 8pm Mountain on 6/7/15

2. Comment on the Mojo Monday 400 challenge post saying you're interested in being considered for the DT

3. Add the little "I want to be a Mojo Monday designer" graphic above to your blog post

I'll select my two top entries and announce them with our regular winners on June 10!

Thanks so much for stopping by today, and for all your support over the years joining in with my mojo sketches.  It's such an honor to have you play along!

Mojo Monday 400 Sketch

Enabler's List
Stamps: Blue Skies (Verve Stamps)
Paper: cream, white, basic black, Melange tissue paper (Tim Holtz)
Ink: dirty martini, calypso teal, fresh sunshine and white linen Dylusions ink spray (Ranger), walnut stain, black soot Distress ink (Ranger), white gel pen, micron pen
Accessories: classic circles nestabilities (Spellbinders), matte medium (Liquitex), paper distresser

Coming Your Way

Hi friends!  Another weekend flew by and that means it's time for another Mojo Monday sketch!  This one is another one designed by Carole Burrage (who happens to be taking a little summer break).  I love a tilted panel, so this sketch was right up my alley!

A few weeks ago I was having a conversation with a young girl and a butterfly flew by.  The girl lit up and said, "Oh that's my favorite... the yellow monarch".  I remember thinking to myself that it was a pretty boring butterfly to be a favorite with all the exotic colors and markings out there, but she then started talking about yellow monarchs and the lights danced in her eyes and now I can't seem to get yellow butterflies out of my head! It was a great reminder of how passion and enthusiasm for something is so contagious.  So here I am today with a yellow butterfly card!

The stamps are all from the Blue Skies set.  I stamped the notebook paper image and then masked it to do a little wash with sprays and watered down paint in the background.  The butterflies were stamped, then stamped again, colored with Copic markers, then hand cut and popped up on dimensionals.  The papers were all scraps from recent cards I've made and I did a little border punch and some scrunched up ribbon for embellishment.  A sparkly coat of dazzling diamonds and crystal effects gives the butterflies some shine and I finished off with some black pearls from Pizzazz Aplenty.
Thanks so much for stopping by today!  I hope you'll find some crafty time this week to play along with us at Mojo Monday!
 
Enabler's List:
Stamps: Blue Skies (Verve Stamps)
Paper: scraps from My Mind's Eye, Cream, Black
Ink: Black, Copic Markers, Antique Linen & Broken China Ranger Distress Stains, Mister Hueys Watercooler spray ink (Studio Calico), white Studio paint (Claudine Hellmuth)
Accessories:  gingham ribbon (May Arts), mini library clip, dazzling diamonds (SU!), border punch (Martha Stewart), paper distresser, crystal effects, flatback pearls (Pizzazz Aplenty)

Courage

Happy Friday, friends!  It's a new month and that means it's time for a new series of Viva la Verve! sketches.  This week, Amber is kicking things off with a fun sketch for a long card.  Check out the Viva la Verve! forum for the sketch, all the details, and then play along with all of our February sketches for a chance to win a $100 gift certificate from Verve!

For my sample card, I pulled out a favorite set of mine... Blue Skies.  I love this courage poem by mary anne radmacher and had the opportunity to speak with her this past week.  She's just as kind and inspiring as her words and I just had to use this stamp on my card.  The lovely papers are from the Devotion collection by Creative Imaginations.  I added a few scored lines at the bottom of the card and a bit of distressing to jazz things up, but stayed pretty true to the sketch for once!

The butterfly from Blue Skies is stamped onto cream cardstock, and then I used the matching All Aflutter Plain Jane to stamp on patterned paper, cut out and pop up over the butterfly image.  A lacey circle mat, liquid pearls accents and two smoked topaz czech rhinestones from Pizzazz Aplenty finish things off nicely.

Enabler's List:
Stamps: Blue Skies, All Aflutter Plain Jane (Verve Stamps)
Paper:  Devotion (Creative Imaginations), Early Espresso (SU!), Cream
Ink: Early Espresso (SU!), Antique Linen, Vintage Photo (Ranger Distress)
Accessories:  Lacey and Classic Circles Nestabilities (Spellbinders), Bisque Liquid Pearls (Ranger), Scor-pal, Smoked Topaz Czech flatback rhinestones (Pizzazz Aplenty)

Learning to Dance

Happy Friday, friends!  There's a Get Your Diva On challenge going on this week and the prize is a Guest Diva spot for a future Verve release, so if you haven't played along... you totally should!  The deadline is this Sunday night, so it's the perfect excuse to sneak away for a little stamping time this weekend!  {grin}  Sankari's our hostess, and her challenge is to make a monochromatic card.  That could be a bunch of neutrals and one color, or different shades of the same color, or just one color... whatever you choose.  I've fallen in love with green recently, so decided to use different shades of green (with a hint of gray and cream for my neutrals).

I picked out the Blue Skies set because this sentiment really spoke to me. "Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass, it's about learning to dance in the rain." It seems like the storm clouds have been rolling in a bit here lately, and I thought this sentiment was the perfect reminder that we are in control of our own happiness.  We're given the race that's set before us, and our job is to finish it well.  The goal isn't to finish first, or with the most toys, or to wish we were running a different race, but to finish the race we're in and to do our best to make sure that at the end of the race we deserve to hear two precious words.. well done.  So, I don't know what tomorrow brings, but today I'm going to dance in the rain and enjoy the life I've been given.

The Making Of:
I paired the sentiment from Blue Skies with the new Graph Paper Plain Jane.  I matted with a basic grey Rounded Rectangle die cut, then layered onto a Rounded Scallop Frame die cut, stamped with the flourish from the Blue Skies set.  I did the same random flourish stamping for the card background.  A few different patterned papers, ribbons and green embellishments kept the monochromatic march going, then I finished off with the butterfly, who always seems ready to dance!

Thanks so much for stopping by today!  I hope you have a fabulous weekend!

Enabler's List:
Stamps: Blue Skies, Graph Paper Plain Jane (Verve Stamps)
Paper: Lost & Found Two (MME), Lucky Limeade, Basic Gray (SU!)
Ink: Lucky Limeade, Basic Gray (SU!)
Accessories:  Rounded Scallop Frame Die, Rounded Rectangle Die  (A Cut Above by VERVE), ribbon (SU!), lace trim (Webster's Pages), flatback rhinestones (Pizzazz Aplenty), flower embellishment (Jesse James Dress it Up Flats), Leaf trinket pins (Maya Road), Tiny Attacher (Tim Holtz), Corner Chomper (WRMK)

Be Strong Card Journaling

Hi friends!  Today I've got a little mixed-media meets card making project to share.  When I showed it to Mark, he called it card journaling  (art journaling on a card), which made me giggle, but it's a good description of what it is.  I'm really excited, but also a bit nervous to start art journaling, so I decided to break down my first few attempts in a size and format I'm familiar with.  Here I used the small butterfly and flourish images from Blue Skies and a sentiment from the coordinating Always on My Mind set.

I absolutely loved the process of making this card.  I got all sorts of messy, stepped outside of my comfort zone and added my own handwriting (which is something I rarely do because I think it's too imperfect).  After I finished I actually carried the card around with me for several hours!!  I felt such a feeling of accomplishment... like I'd just taken the first step to becoming the artist I want to be.  I felt my own opinion of my artistic-ness (if that's a word) rise a few notches... and that hasn't happened in a very long time.  Oh what a feeling!  And over a week later, I still have a sense of pride when I look at this card.  I think that's how we should feel every day!  Like we're learning and growing and trying new things and stretching ourselves so we're ready to take on the things we dream about accomplishing.  It all starts with one small step!  Dream it, DO it!  {grin}

The Making Of:
This was mainly me just playing around with new products to see what they do.  I've now learned a few techniques that would have blended my colors a bit better (like blending the pastels with a wet paintbrush instead of my dry finger!), but I've always taken the dive in and read directions only if it doesn't work the first time approach. {grin}  I started by painting some Gesso on kraft paper, then sketching the heart.  I added color to everything but the heart with Neocolor 2 wax pastels and Shiva paintstiks and just blended them with my fingers.  Next I added the color to the heart and embossed the sentiment from Always on My Mind with black archival ink and clear detail embossing powder. 

To add a little texture, I ran just the corner of my page through my paper crimper, then scraped on a little light molding paste over parts of the crimping and the long edge of the card and colored over the dried paste with a Shiva paintstik.  The butterflies were then embossed and colored with Copics and I added a few of the flourishes from Blue Skies with Versamark and clear embossing powder.  I finished off with a verse that was on my heart down the side and some doodling under each of the butterflies.  Oh, and I re-outlined that heart to make it stand out more, then roughed up the edges, mounted on black and then on a kraft card base to finish it all off.

Enabler's List:
Stamps: Blue Skies, Always on My Mind (Verve Stamps)
Paper:  Crumb Cake, Basic Black (SU!)
Ink: Versafine Onyx Black, VersaMark, Shiva Artist Painstiks, Neocolor 2 Wax Pastels
Accessories:  paper corrugator (Marvy Uchida), Clear Detail Embossing Powder (Judikins), Gesso (ProArt), Light Modeling Paste (Golden), paper distresser (Tonic), Black journaling pen

Rainbow Skies

Hi all!  Long time no see!  My studio isn't quite available, as we had to move everything out to get our carpets and ducts cleaned this weekend, so I'm here with a card I planned to post last week, but never got around to scheduling!  :)  There wasn't a spare moment during our vacation to do anything but our mega list of improvements.  The sketch was Amy's Viva la Verve! May Week 3 sketch and I used stamps from Blue Skies.

I made this for a dear friend who loves rainbows and could always use a little blue sky in her neck of the woods.  I added some random little bits of bling to the Fly A Kite Papers, then added some liquid pearl accents and made the twine do my bidding with a bit of Diamond Glaze.   Most of all, I just had fun and the card came together so easily - it always amazes me to see a card transform from bits of paper and ink into something lovely.

Speaking of transformation, Mark and I spent last week working on all sorts of improvement projects...  new blinds ordered, new flooring ordered, ducts cleaned, carpets cleaned, house cleaned top to bottom, entire front room transformed into an office for my assistant, furniture moved, furniture built, 6 full loads of donations to our local thrift store and we've almost reclaimed the buried desk in my garage that I'm going to be using as my mixed-media studio.  Hooray!  Although I must admit my idea of a vacation was not spending sun-up to well past sun-down cleaning and re-arranging, the transformation is truly inspiring.

The thing I learned most from the past week is that things have to get uncomfortable to truly make a change. You can't stay in your comfort zone and expect radical improvements.  At first I was unmotivated and extremely intimidated by our list of tasks to accomplish.  I didn't believe we'd accomplish half of it, and envisioned a dozen  half finished projects laying around my house for the next several years, so I almost didn't even want to try.  How many times have you not tried something because you're afraid you'll fail?  I know that's been a large deciding factor in most of the decisions of my life. But it's those things that you perceive as possible failures that give you the most satisfaction when you do accomplish them. So, why not try something you're not sure you'll be good at... a new technique... a little painting... a little drawing... a different style of card making and just see what you can accomplish?  I'm pretty sure you'll soar!

Enabler's List:
Stamps:  Blue Skies (Verve Stamps)
Paper: Fly a Kite Lime Twist (My Mind's Eye), Basic Black (SU!), white
Ink: Onyx Black (Versafine), Pumice Stone Distress (Ranger)
Accessories:  Classic Circles Nestabilities (Spellbinders), Orange divine twine (TCP), liquid pearls, stickles (Ranger), diamond glaze (JudiKins), flatback rhinestones (Pizzazz Aplenty)

Butterfly Dreams

Hi friends! It's Monday and that means it's time for another Mojo Monday sketch. I'm officially on vacation, but I pre-scheduled this short little post so you'd have a little Mojo for your morning. Here's my sample card using one of my favorite Verve sets, Blue Skies.

The making of:  
Pretty Minuet papers caught my eye for the square panels, which I aged a bit with some new Pan Pastels and distress inks.  Next I pulled out a scrap of an old dictionary page that came with an order from Frost it Pink, applied some Gesso to it, then some more Pan Pastels (artist quality pastels kind of like Stampin' Pastels only so much smoother and richer) and stamped the Blue Skies sentiment. Some twill tape, twine loops and a flower were added to the side and I dirtied up the butterfly embellishment with Gesso, Glimmer Mists and some Champagne glass glitter.  The kraft base is stamped randomly with the Notebook paper image from Blue Skies, then distressed and I finished off with some more glimmer mists and a little Stardust Stickles on the flower.

Enabler's List:
Stamps:   Blue Skies (Verve Stamps)
Paper: Minuet (Memory Box), Crumb Cake (SU!), dictionary page
Ink: Walnut Brown, Vintage Photo, Antique Linen (Ranger Distress), Pan Pastels, Glimmer Mists
Accessories: Twill Tape (Frost it Pink), twine, flower (Kaiser Craft), Stardust Stickles (Ranger), Champagne Glass Glitter (SU!), metal butterfly (Making Memories), Gesso (ProArt)

Spring Dreams

Hi y'all!  Have you played along with our Get Your Diva On challenge yet?  There's just a few more days to play for your chance to be a future Verve Guest Diva.  Tosh is the hostess with the mostess this month, and she issued a color challenge to use all neutrals with a splash of color to signify the arrival of spring.  Check out all the challenge details --> HERE <--.  Deadline is this Sunday night {3/20}.

Nothing says spring to me more than butterflies, so I knew I was going to pull out Blue Skies for my card.  I fiddled with papers for a while before deciding to use all newsprint and good old fashioned stamping.  :)  The newsprint is stamped randomly with the 2 sizes of butterflies in Blue Skies, then I shaded the butterflies lightly with warm grey Copics and sponged all of the edges with a little Pumice Stone distress ink.  The flags are stamped in Bermuda Bay with the little leaf flourish, then hand cut and matted with black.  The two butterflies on the sentiment panel are colored wtih Copics then popped up for a little dimension.  I finished off with a little divine twine and a button.

The sketch is this week's Viva la Verve! sketch by Jackie Pedro.  Isn't it fun?  Play along with all of this month's sketches  for your chance to win an entire Verve release!

Personal update:  My sickness is still hanging on, but I feel about 50% healthy now, which is worlds above feeling 100% sick!  LOL  Hopefully I'll regain some of my energy over the weekend!

Enabler's List:
Stamps: Blue Skies (Verve Stamps)
Paper: First Edition Specialty (SU!), Black, Natural White Classic Crest (Neenah)
Ink: Black Dye Ink (A Muse), Bermuda Bay (SU!), Pumice Stone (Ranger Distress), Copic markers
Accessories: corner rounder, black licorice divine twine, black pearls, button

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!)

Sweet and Simple Gift Card Set

Happy Monday!  Did y'all have a Merry Christmas?   It seems like I've been busy every spare moment of the past several weeks and I'm looking forward to a few days of downtime this week before we head into the new year.  There's a new Mojo Monday sketch over on the blog today, so hop on over there to check it out and play along!  I didn't have time to make a sample, but I'm hoping to get to it later in the week.

We've also kicked off our year end clearance sale at Verve!  Everything's either 15%, 35% or 50% off December 26 - 31!

Today, in lieu of a Mojo Monday card, I'm sharing a clean & simple little gift card set I made my Grandma for Christmas.  It was fun to pull out some older stamps and just create!

The cards themselves are fairly simple.  For the first design I stamped the larger butterfly from Blue Skies on a trimmed down fabriano note card, then another butterfly on some K & Company patterned paper, to cut out and pop up. 

The second design uses The flower from Great Friend, which I also cut one layer to pop up, then accented the butterflies and flower centers with a mixture of diamond glaze and glitter.  The sentiment on each card is Birthday Blessings, from the Blessings set.  The plum layers are all embossed with the damask embossing folder, then matted on ivory cardstock and accented with a bit of ribbon.  I didn't take a photo of it, but I used the Happy Birthday plain jane for the inside of each card.

For the box, I just adhered a piece of embossed patterned paper to a crystal clear card box with Zip Dry.  Next I stamped the Sweet Scallop Tag Frame in Perfect Plum, then cut out with the Sweet Scallop Die.  The to/from sentiment is from Glad Tidings and I added the small butterfly from the Blue Skies set to finish off the tag.  Then tied it on with some May Arts ribbon, silver cording and a small little flower.

Thanks for stopping by today!  Have a fantastic start to your week!

Shabby Smiles

Merry Christmas Eve!  Are you done with all your holiday prep?  I'm nowhere close, but that's kind of par for the course - I've always been a last minute kind of gal!  :)  I've still got a ton of baking and a bit of stamping to do before the holiday shuffle starts this evening, so I better get moving!  Today's card uses the week 4 December Viva la Verve! sketch created by this week's hostess, Teresa Kline.  Play along in all 4 of the December sketches and you'll have a chance at winning Verve's entire January release!  And I'm just going to warn you, the January stamps are some of my all-time faves!!!  To make it easy on you, I've even created a printable PDF of all of this month's sketches. You have until next Thursday night {Dec. 30} to play along!

The theme for this month's Viva la Verve! is Ornaments & Winter Decor.  My inspiration came from this gorgeous little shabby chic tree from Illusive Swan on Etsy.  One of my stamping goals for 2010 was to become more comfortable with creating the shabby chic style I so admire.  I think I've definitely improved over the year, mainly due to all the inspiration I find over on Etsy!  Not sure if my wallet has improved, though!  LOL

Anyhow, I wanted a break from Christmas projects and have been wanting to use this My Mind's Eye Tickled Pink paper that has been sitting on my desk for a couple months now.  So I pulled out Blue Skies and made a cheery little card, complete with glitzy butterflies and some shabby wrinkled ribbon.  I accented the butterflies with chocolate pearls and the Inside Pinking die border and Labels 10 shape with light pink pearls from Pizzazz Aplenty.  A turquoise paper rose and some Maya Road heart shaped pins finish it off.

Okay, that's all from me this fine Christmas Eve morning!  I wish you all the happiest of holidays, filled with love, laughter and wonderment!

Give Thanks

Today I'm feeling thankful.  Thankful for for the small things in life.  Thankful for the great big things in life.  Thankful for friends.  Thankful for an abundance of Hello Kitty birthday loot.  Thankful for a business I can run from home.  Thankful for the freedom to express my opinions.  Thankful for blueberry milkshakes and for skillet lasagna.  Thankful for Fridays.  Thankful that the sun always comes out after the rain... and that good memories eventually triumph over bad ones.  Just thankful.

So when I sat down to stamp this afternoon, I knew I wanted to use this verse, "Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good; His love endures forever. - 1 Chronicles 16:34".  And since I haven't had a chance to stamp all week, I knew I wanted to stamp just for the fun of it.  So I pulled out some new toys - the Vintage Wallpaper textured impression folder, some new papers and the Long Scalloped Oval Nestabilities.  I was originally going to go for just shades of brown, but once I started, I felt in the mood for some blushing bride.  For the butterflies, I embossed them in Early Espresso on vellum cardstock, then cut out, rubbed the backs with Blushing Bride ink, then layered onto my card with Zip Dry glue in the centers so the wings would still pop up a bit.  The butterflies are from the Blue Skies set and the verse is the 1 Chronicles 16:34 plain jane.  Then I just finished off with a ton of little pink liquid pearls.

Okay, I hope you have a fabulous weekend!  And be sure to check out this post on the Verve Blog to see all the winners from our Anni-VERVE-sary Blog Hop!

Imagine

Happy Sunday!  Today is my 35th birthday and for some reason this seems like a more momentous milestone than all the ones before.  I've never really worried too much about my age, but this year it's kind of left me a little anxious.  I grew up with a solid belief that I could achieve anything I set my mind to.  Things like school and sports always came easy to me, and I left college fully believing I could change the world if I set my mind to it.

Well, I haven't yet and probably won't change the world in the huge way I had imagined, but hopefully I've added a little joy and happiness along the way to the people I've met.  My life's goal is to leave my mark, be a light and inspire others so that when I leave this earth I know I've left it a better place than when I arrived.  As I begin a new year I'm reminded of a CS Lewis quote that always inspires me...

You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream. 

I hope that even when I'm 95 I'm still dreaming new dreams!  And I hope all of you are able to achieve the dreams you've imagined!  Dream it, do it!  Thanks for all your love and support throughout the year.  Your comments always lift my spirits and give me wings to fly!

---

Card Details:
Stamps: Blue Skies (Verve Stamps), The Artist in You (Unity Stamp: Donna Downey)
Paper: Life is Good (Echo Park), Wild Wasabi (SU!), Pure Luxury Ivory (Gina K)
Ink: Wild Wasabi, Early Espresso (SU!), Vintage Photo (Ranger Distress)
Accessories: Emerald Liquid Pearls (Ranger), rhinestones, ribbon (May Arts), flower (Prima), Big Scallop Circles Nestabilities (Spellbinders), border punch (SU!)

Wasabi Skies

Happy Monday!  The weekend's over and now it's time for a new sketch {Mojo148} over on the Mojo Monday blog. 

As you can tell from my card, my new love affair with Wild Wasabi is still going strong.  Last weekend I was strolling around Etsy and started drooling when I saw this shabby wrinkled seam binding ribbon from Prairie Bird Boutique.  I had to order some and I must say it's even more luscious in person!  It's beautifully packaged and the colors are so rich and luxurious.  Plus the shipping was super fast!  I think I ordered last Sunday and got my package on Tuesday!  This particular ribbon seemed a perfect match for Not Quite Navy, so I had to incorporate that color into my card just so I could use it!

Okay, enough enabling.  On with the card details.  I stamped the butterfly from Blue Skies in Early Espresso, then colored with Copics, using a Copic colorless blender to lift off the color to add polka dots to the wings.  The swirls on the squares are stamped in Wild Wasabi, then I matted them with scalloped shapes in Not Quite Navy.  The Crumb Cake and Wasabi layers are embossed with the larger polka dot Cuttlebug Folder, then I added a ribbon divider and stamped the sentiment directly onto the Crumb Cake.

That's all for today.  Thanks for stopping by!  Be sure to hop on over to the Verve Blog to see the next installment in the My Hero Project Parade. 

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What's In It?
Stamps: Blue Skies (Verve Stamps)
Paper: Wild Wasabi, Not Quite Navy, Crumb Cake (SU!)
Ink: Early Espresso, Not Quite Navy, Wild Wasabi (SU!)
Accessories: Classic Circles, Petite Scallop Circles, Classic and Scallop Squares Nestabilities (Spellbinders), Shabby Wrinkled Old School ribbon (Praire Bird Boutique)

Daffodil Throwdown

Hi there! Earlier, Laurie and I were talking about needing to get out of a little stamping funk, so we decided to have a little throwdown between us. The challenge was to use the new Daffodil Delight, Early Espresso and one other color of our choice. For my optional color, I chose Wild Wasabi.

I started by stamping the butterflies in Early Espresso, then coloring with Copic markers and painting with a mixture of diamond glaze and glitter.  Next I stamped the notebook paper from Blue Skies three times and cut them out, adding a butterfly trail in Wild Wasabi.  I still hadn't used my new Tim Holtz ticket strip die, so I Tim Holtz ticket strip diedecided to pull it out, then stamped  the flourish in daffodil and the sentiment in early espresso and inked up the edges for some definition. 

I finished off with some daffodil taffeta a couple little buttons and a burlap embossed background in early espresso.  Okay, that wraps up my throwdown, be sure to check out Laurie's card over on her blog.

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What's In It?
Stamps: Blue Skies (Verve Stamps)
Paper: Early Espresso, Daffodil Delight (SU!)
Ink: Early Espresso, Wild Wasabi (SU!)
Accessories: button, linen string, diamond glaze, glitter, daffodil delight, Burlap texture fades, ticket strip die (Tim Holtz)

Oliver Smiles

Hi everyone!  Happy Monday!  It's time for a new mojo sketch over on the Mojo Monday blog, and this one's super fun (if I do say so myself *wink*)!  This layout reminds me of summer days spent playing four square with the kids in my neighborhood.  A piece of sidewalk chalk and a ball and we were entertained for hours!

As soon as I saw this Oliver collection by BasicGrey, I knew I had to have it.  So during a little trip to the craft store this weekend, I picked it up.  I hadn't noticed this monkey design at the time, but flipping through the pad this morning, I just KNEW I had to make a card with it for a special little monkey lover I know.  I pulled out the Verve featured stamp of the month, Love Monkey and a sentiment from the new Blue Skies set and got to work.

Love monkey is stamped onto 4 classic square die cuts in Basic Gray ink, then colored with Copics and matted onto scallop squares.  The sentiment is stamped in Old Olive onto a classic circle cut-out and I matted with the pinking circles Nesties.  To balance things out, I added the little double heart, stamped in Cherry Cobbler, colored with Copics and accented with Diamond Glaze.  The baja breeze layer is embossed with the Tiny Mosaic embossing folder, then distressed with a paper distresser.  My final touches were the old olive satin ribbon and a trio of little rhinestones.

Hope you have  a fantastic start to your week!  Thanks for stopping by.  Be sure to head on over to the Verve Blog today for the start of our July project parade!

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What's In It?
Stamps: Love Monkey, Blue Skies (Verve)
Paper: Oliver (BasicGrey), Baja Breeze (SU!)
Ink: Old Olive, Cherry Cobbler, Basic Gray (SU!), Copic markers
Accessories: Classic & Scallop Squares, Circles and Pinking Circles Nestabilities (Spellbinders), Mosaic Tiles (Cuttlebug), paper distresser, rhinestones, diamond glaze

Coming Your Way

Happy Saturday!  I'm so glad the weekend is here and it's been a great one so far!  I started the morning off with a little stamping.  I'm in the middle of a little re-org in my stamp area, and I came across this leftover piece off cardstock I'd stamped with the butterflies from Blue Skies.  I couldn't bear to throw it away, so I decided to make a quick little card to use it up.

I cut the stamped kraft background into three 1.25" strips, then layered onto a 4" piece of Early Espresso so that there would be a thin border between each strip.  Next I punched the bottom edge of the espresso paper with a wavy border punch, then tied a bow around the panel with some early espresso striped ribbon.  The sentiment (also from Blue Skies) is stamped on a Blossoms Nestabilities die and I popped up the large Blue Skies butterfly, colored with Copics.  I finished off with a Cherry Cobbler mat and an ivory card base.   When I asked Mark what he thought of the card, he said it was one of my best ever.  See why I keep him around?  He's such a sweetie!  :)

Hope you're having a fabulous weekend!  Thanks for stopping by!

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What's In It?
Stamps: Blue Skies
Ink: Early Espresso, Cherry Cobbler (SU!), Copic Markers
Paper: Crumb Cake, Early Espresso, Cherry Cobbler (SU!), Ivory Pure Luxury (Gina K)
Accessories: early espresso striped ribbon (SU!), Blossoms Nestabilities (Spellbinders), wavy border punch (EK Success)

Hang in there

Happy Tuesday!  After the long weekend, it's definitely been a Monday on a Tuesday at my house today.  So much to do, so little motivation to actually do it.  LOL!  So, in good procrastinating form, I'm popping in here to post a card!  :)  Verve's featured set this month is Love Monkey, and it's on sale 40% off through the end of  July!  I think he's got the perfect whimsical personality to pair with our new sets, Blue Skies and Always on My Mind.  So for my card, I combined all three.

I started by stamping the notebook image from Blue Skies, then stamping the Love Monkey upside down on the paper and again on white cardstock to color, cut out, and pop up.  Next I stamped the hang in there sentiment from Always on My Mind in real red, and then decided to add the little hanging heart to look like it's coming from his tail.  For the background paper, I just stamped the small butterfly from Blue Skies repeatedly in chocolate chip craft ink and then embossed in clear.  For a little oomph, I painted each butterfly with a mixture of diamond glaze and one drop of real red re-inker for some uber-glossy butterflies.  I finished off with some of my favorite striped ribbon from May Arts, and voila!  A card was born!  :)

Hope you have a fantastically creative day, and that Monday skipped your household entirely this week!  :)

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What's In It?
Stamps: Love Monkey, Blue Skies, Always on My Mind (Verve Stamps)
Paper: Kraft, Chocolate Chip, white (SU!)
Ink: Chocolate Chip Craft, Real Red (SU!), Antique Linen (Ranger Distress)
Accessories: diamond glaze, striped ribbon (May Arts)

The Lifter of My Head

Happy Monday!  I'm spending the last day of the long weekend with hubby, and am excited for a relaxing day.  Hope y'all have a great one, too!  Since it's the first Monday in July, that means it's CONTEST time over at Mojo Monday again!  Play along this week for your chance to win the Verve set of your choice!  Head on over to the Mojo blog for the sketch and all the details.

For my card, I used the new Psalm 3:3 plain jane and the small butterfly from Blue Skies.  I have some new SU! supplies on the way, and decided it was high time I used some of the {insert embarrassed grin here} unused stuff from my last order.  So I pulled out this Sending Love Specialty paper and some chocolate chip cardstock and went to stampy town.  :)  I embossed the sentiment with Chocolate Chip craft ink and clear embossing powder, then added the flourish from Blue Skies in Pirouette Pink.  The butterfly is stamped on designer paper and cut out and popped up.  I just love these Labels 10 Nestabilities, and had to add some rhinestones to set things off.  I added a few strips of some chocolate ruffled ribbon, then finished off with one rounded corner to complete the feminine look of the card.

Okay, that's all for today!  Hope your day is full of happy!  Thanks for stopping by!

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What's In It?
Stamps: Psalm 3:3 Plain Jane, Blue Skies (Verve Stamps)
Paper: Sending Love Specialty, Chocolate Chip (SU!), Ivory (Gina K)
Ink: Chocolate Chip Craft, Pink Pirouette (SU!)
Accessories: Labels 10 Nestabilities (Spellbinders), Lush rhinestones (My Mind's Eye, ruffled ribbon (Paper Studio), thin ribbon, corner rounder