Love Balloon

Hi friends!  It's the beginning of a brand-new week and that means it's time for a new Mojo Monday sketch.  It's probably just a lack of time and loving the feeling of accomplishment I get from a quick crafting session, but I've really been drawn to simpler layouts lately.  So this week's sketch has super clean lines and is a super go-to kind of layout.

My card uses leftovers from my Diva Inspirations Hop card.  My absolute favorite candy is the heart shaped cherry Charms suckers that only come out at Valentine's.  I just love them and get a little bit giddy when I find them in a store.  (They're a lot harder to find than they used to be!)  So that  was the inspiration I started with for my card.  I had previously cut a heart from book paper with the Wavy Hearts Die Set and it didn't get used, so I pulled it out, scraped it with a little gesso and stamped the heart from Chevron Love with worn lipstick distress ink.  I then glued it to a cardstock cutout of the same heart to give it a bit of thickness, then sponged the edges with worn lipstick distress ink.  The word LOVE was stamped by masking off the upper and lower sections of the with love from me to you stamp.  I added in some highlights with a white gel pen.

For the balloon strings, I used up some of the leftover hearts I had from cutting the border for my last card using the Scalloped Trim Trio Die Set.  I also used the scalloped circle trim from the set as my border across my card, I just left the circles in the scallops for a solid border.  The trim and mat are from glimmer cardstock.  I just HAD to have this when it came out and am now determined to use it! {grin}

I added a little bow to my balloon with some silver cording, then added three scored lines to my white panel, since I didn't think it needed anything else after all that sparkle!

That's all from me today!  I hope you have a fantastic start to your Valentine's week!

Enabler's List
Stamps: Chevron Love (Verve Stamps)
Paper: designer paper scraps, glimmer cardstock (SU!), white (Neenah), book paper
Ink: worn lipstick distress ink, black Archival (Ranger)
Accessories: Scalloped Trim Trio Die Set, Wavy Hearts Die Set (A Cut Above by VERVE), silver cording, gesso

Vivacious Valentine Challenge and Hop

Hi friends!  After a short break in January, the Divas are back with their monthly Diva Inspirations Hop & Challenge!  This month's challenge is super lovely and just perfect for the season! There are two ways to win Verve prizes... comment on the design team's blog posts to see their take on the inspiration, then go get inky and/or link up your take on the challenge to be eligible in our prize drawings!  Be sure to head on over to the Verve Blog for all the challenge and giveaway details.

I'm the kickoff for today's hop, so settle in and let's get to hopping!

The challenge this month is Vivacious Valentine

I loved that little xoxo at the bottom of the inspiration photo and thought it would be fun to make a little shaker pocket, so that's where I started.  The xoxo are cut from glimmer cardstock with the Vintage Market alpha die from Tim Holtz (a rediscovery in my latest reorganization).  I ran them through my Xyron create a sticker machine, then cut a piece of white card stock the size I wanted my pocket.  I embossed this piece with hearts, then  inked some spun sugar and worn lipstick distress ink directly onto an acrylic block, spritzed with water and applied over the dry embossed paper.  I then stuck my xoxo letters to the paper and cut a piece of acetate to cover the piece.  Pulled out my sewing machine and stitched three sides, then stuffed in some sequins from the Pink Sparkle Mix and Signature Sequin Mix, as well as a couple hearts cut with the Heart Quartet Die and sewed up my little shaker. 

Next I stamped the with love from me to you sentiment from Chevron Love on a piece of acetate in Archival black and added a couple glitter hearts cuts with the Heart Quartet Die for accent.  This is layered over a piece of white cardstock which I embossed with a different heart folder and then splattered a bit of watered down worn lipstick ink.  I added a little border to my scrap of designer paper using a piece of glimmer cardstock cut with the heart trim from the Scalloped Trim Trio Die Set Set. Finished off by accenting my xoxo pocket with a few of the leftover hearts from the die and glued it all together.  Super fun!

That's all from me today!  Thanks so much for stopping by.

Next up on the hop is Amy!

Need a little inspiration? Check out the blogs linked below to see what the other Divas did with the challenge! It's sure to be a treat, and speaking of treats, we've got a prize for one lucky commenter along the hop! Check out the Verve Blog today for all the prize info and deadlines!

	1. Julee	8. Sarah
	2. Amy	9. Susan
	3. Anya	10. Marisa
	4. Betty	11. Maureen
	5. Jen	12. Stacey
	6. Karen	13. Verve Blog
	7. Sankari

Enabler's List
Stamps: Chevron Love (Verve Stamps)
Paper: glimmer paper (SU!), dp scrap, white, acetate, book paper
Ink: worn lipstick, spun sugar distress ink, Archival Black (Ranger)
Accessories: Heart Quartet Die, Scalloped Trim Trio Die Set (A Cut Above by Verve), Signature Sequin Mix, Pink Sparkle Mix , Signature Sequin Mix (Verve), sewing machine, Vintage Market die (Tim Holtz Alterations), embossing folders (Sizzix), Xyron create a sticker machine