Kindness Cup

Hi friends! Confession time... I *may* have gone a little bit crazy when the new Prima collections came out. I seriously had to have them all, and now I have an entire box full of Prima lovelies that I just want to sit and stare at all day! I just keep pulling them out and flipping through them and then not actually getting anything made! LOL I'm really hoping to make some mixed media canvases soon with some of the goodies... if I can ever stop staring and start creating! {grin}

Anyhow, judging from the sheer amount of Prima paper and ephemera on my desk right now, I'm thinking you're going to be seeing quite a bit of shabby chic creations from me for quite some time.  The Lavender collection brings back fond memories of my Grandma who loved lavender.  Although I really like purple, I rarely have found any purple papercrafting products that I like as much as this collection.  So here's a shabby little card I put together with an image from the Graciellie Design digi I used on yesterday's card and a sentiment from the Coffee Helps clear stamp set that just arrived back in stock.

The image is printed on a laser printer and colored with Copic markers.  I fussy cut it, then accented with a bit of string and a few little mini roses.  I selected a couple of papers from the Lavender 6 x 6 pad, then sponged with first antique linen and then vintage photo.  The sentiment is from Coffee Helps, stamped in early espresso and cut with a stitched circle die cut.  I finished with a bit of lace,  butterfly and ticket ephemera and a bit of foil accents rubbed onto the twine.

Thanks so much for stopping by today!

Enabler's List
Stamps: Coffee Helps (Verve Stamps), Coffee & Love (Graciellie Designs)
Paper: Lavender 6 x 6 pad (Prima), white, cream
Ink: laser printer, early espresso (SU!), antique linen, vintage photo (Ranger Distress), markers (Copic)
Accessories: Lavender Ephemera (Prima), twine, flowers, lace, foil, stitched circle die, tiny attacher

Summer Loving Happiness

Hi friends! Welcome to another week. I'm sharing a new card for the Summer Coffee Lovers Blog Hop today.  This one combines a sentiment from the Coffee Helps set with a sneak peek of stamps from the Happiness Is stamp set that releases on July 10.

I started with the coffee cup from Happiness Is stamped on watercolor paper.  I had just seen a glimpse of the keyword challenge at The Challenge and thought it would be fun to watercolor the cup.  I also chose the background paper to fit the square keyword.  I used Daniel Smith watercolors for the cup, adding in some splatters with some brown watercolor ink.

I then masked off part of the you by my side sentiment to stamp just the you and then added the -and- sentiment to build my pictogram sentiment.  I did also sneak in the steam stamp from the new Always Time set for the coffee steam.  The Summer Loving sentiment is from Coffee Helps and I stamped it on a stitched circle and added to a sun die cut from the Partly Cloudy Die Set.

I masked off the Happiness Is sentiment to stamp just the happiness word in the corner of the designer paper to complete my summer loving happiness sentiment.  I added my pictogram to a 7 gypsies tag with some staples and then added a bit of sponging, splatters and distressed edges all around.

Thanks so much for stopping by today. If you haven't had a chance to link up some cards to the Coffee Lovers hop, there's still plenty of time.  There are bunches of prizes from 77 sponsors, including a chance to win Verve's July release! Link up over at the official hop post.

Enabler's List
Stamps: Coffee Helps (Verve), Happiness Is, Always Time (releasing 7/10/17 from Verve)
Paper: dp scraps, 7 gypsies tag, watercolor paper
Ink: early espresso (SU!), ground espresso (Ranger Distress)
Accessories: Springtime Stitches Die Set, Partly Cloudy Die Set (A Cut Above by VERVE)

Life Coffee Mojo

Hi friends! Even though the boys are in Montessori through the end of June, summer is in full swing. Somehow all of our swim, tennis, chess, and soccer lessons got squeezed into the month of June and I'm in full Mom chauffeur mode. I think the boys are having fun, but I'm looking forward to a slower pace in July.

I haven't been stamping very much lately, but I have been designing new stamps! Yay!  A few will be releasing very soon and a few missed the seasonal deadline so will be coming next year. I'm starting to feel the time crunch of needing to have releases in order, since the boys will be home full time all of July and August and I'm thinking there won't be a lot of time for focused work. I'm hoping to get them on an independent study schedule in the mornings so I can have a little time to work, but we'll see how it goes!

This morning I wasn't feeling much like staring at a computer, so I grabbed my morning cup of coffee and headed up to the stamp room. Of course, with coffee on the brain, I had to pull out the Coffee Helps stamp set and coordinating Cup for All Seasons Die Set.  I wanted to take another crack at the final Mojo Monday sketch, since my first attempt was flipped horizontally. It's been such an emotional week and a half, reading everyone's posts and comments about the closing of Mojo Monday. My heart is full and I'm touched that so many of you would take the time to share your sweet Mojo stories. It's amazing to read how many of you started blogging just to share your entries! Our final linky will end on Sunday, so there's still time to play if you haven't had a chance yet.

I stamped the life happens coffee helps sentiment in archival black on a stitched rectangle, then stamped and cut out the coffee cup.  I colored with Distress Crayons and a waterbrush, then coated the flowers with glossy accents and sprinkled on some glitter.  The steam is part of a larger rhinestone flourish that I cut down.

The papers are from the C'est la Vie pad by Pink Paislee.  The patterns I chose were all grayscale and I accented the floral patterns with the distress crayons I used for the cup to tie everything together.  A bit of black grosgrain across the back and some black mats all around finish off this card.

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

Enabler's List
Stamps: Coffee Helps (Verve Stamps)
Paper: C'est la Vie (Pink Paislee), black, white
Ink: archival black ink, distress crayons in wilted violet, seedless preserves, dusty concord, broken china, tumbled glass, peacock feathers and ground espresso (Ranger)
Accessories: Cup for All Seasons Die Set (A Cut Above by VERVE), glossy accents (Ranger), glitter, black grosgrain (SU!), rhinestone embellishment

Anything is Possible

Hi friends! Welcome to another Mojo Monday!  This week's sketch has a couple front and center panels that are easy to dress up or keep simple as you please.  Of course, I left simplicity on the shelf and grunged it up with paint and oil pastels!

I loved the inspiration photo for this week's Inspired By All the Little Things challenge, so that was my starting point for this card.  (I mean, really, coffee + woodgrain + aqua... that's totally me!)  I started by cutting out the coffee cup from teal paper, using the Cup For All Seasons Die Set, then stamping the coordinating cup from Coffee Helps onto the diecut using my handy, dandy MISTI.  A white pencil and some copics shaded the cup a little and subdued the print of the paper to get a nice aqua-ish tone.  I then embossed the steam from the Coffee set directly onto the woodgrain print in white.  I glued down the coffee cup over it, then shaded around the steam and cup with Copic markers.  I distressed the panel a bit, smudging white acrylic paint around the edges with my finger, then adding some black oil pastel around the edges and smudging with a baby wipe.

I cut the Coffee Word Die from the same teal paper, then used white and black Stabilo Marks All pencils to shade in and around the glued down die cut.  I finished that section off with some white gel pen accents.

The anything is possible sentiment from the Coffee set is stamped onto white cardstock, I stamped the steam off the side in pumice stone, but didn't really like the look of it, so added a bunch of white acrylic paint all over the panel with my fingers, then smudged a bit of black Marks All pencil around the edges to make it not so stark.  I cut a couple of scraps from the teal paper, muting with paint and black pencil, then added some wooden stars down the side.

The background panel is embossed with a Darice damask embossing folder, then I rubbed some black oil pastel over the embossing and wiped with a baby wipe. Makes such a nice and super easy grungy background!

For those who don't like math on a Monday morning, here are the measurements of my panels...

Left panel: 1.5" x 3.5"
Right panel: 2.5" x 3.5"
Embossed panel: 4 x 5.25"
Pennants:  0.5" x 2.5" and 0.375" x 2.125"

That's all from me today! I hope you have a fabulous start to your week.  Be sure to head on over to the Mojo Monday blog to see what the other Mojo Makers are sharing today.

Enabler's List

Mojo Monday 466 Sketch

Stamps: Coffee, Coffee Helps (Verve Stamps)
Paper: Felicity (Authentique), woodgrain scrap (MME), white
Ink: onyx black (Versafine), Versamark, black and white Marks All pencils (Stabilo), black oil pastel (Prima), Copic markers, white acrylic paint, white gel pen
Accessories: Coffee Word Die, Cup For All Seasons Die Set (A Cut Above by VERVE), white embossing powder (JudiKins), Damask embossing folder (Darice), paper distresser, wood veneer stars, Crystal Drops (Nuvo), MISTI

Life Happens Mixed Media

Hi friends!  I'm popping in with my final card for this year's Summer Coffee Lovers Blog Hop.  It's been a work in progress on my desk all week and it's finally "finished". I was undecided as to whether I wanted to make it a card or put it on a canvas because I really loved how it turned out.  I ultimately decided for a canvas looking card (with an added bow at the end).

I started out with a 5.5" square piece of white cardstock that I treated with Gesso, then collaged with designer papers and some Tim Holtz tissue paper.  Next I scraped in some acrylic paints and more gesso until I achieved the desired look.  By this time, everything was pretty thick, so I used my MISTI alignment tool to stamp the Coffee Helps sentiment in Archival Black, to make sure everything would get inked evenly.  I think I did three stamp passes to make sure it was crisp.

Next I stamped the cup and straw from Coffee Helps in archival black on designer paper, then colored in with watercolors, pencils and accented with a white gel pen.  Then I let things sit for a few days. When I came back, I glued on the cups and let it sit for a couple more days.  Finally last night I decided to cut it down to card size, mat with black, add a flat bow and call it done.

I've got a little blog candy today!  

Just leave a comment here before 11:55 pm on Thursday, June 30 to be entered to win
the Coffee Helps set and Cup for All Seasons Die Set.

Thanks so much for stopping by today! I hope you've had a wonderful time hopping this past week. 

Enabler's List
Stamps: Coffee Helps (Verve Stamps)
Paper: white, dp scraps, Tim Holtz Melange tissue paper
Ink: Black archival (Ranger), watercolor pencils, acrylic paints, gesso, white gel pen
Accessories: grosgrain ribbon (SU!), MISTI

Red White and Blue Coffee

Hi friends! I'm back with another patriotic coffee card for the Summer Coffee Lovers Blog Hop. Thanks to everyone for the well wishes.  I seemed to fare better than my boys with the virus, so am back up and running and feeling SOOOO much better!

I started by printing the Three Cheers digital sentiment, then cutting with a stitched circle die and matting with a pinking circle die cut. The coffee cup from Coffee Helps is stamped, then colored with Copic markers and cut with the coordinating Cup for All Seasons Die Set. Next I stamped the steam from the Coffee set, embossing it in white on vellum, then hand cutting to tuck in a small slit I cut in the coffee cup.

The background of the card is done with three strips of designer paper, edged with distress ink and layered onto crumb cake cardstock. I wrapped a bit of red striped ribbon around the middle, then accented with my sentiment circle.

Thanks so much for stopping by today!  I hope you found a little inspiration here.

Enabler's List
Stamps: Coffee Helps, Coffee, Three Cheers Digital Set (Verve Stamps)
Paper: Liberty (BoBunny), crumb cake, vellum (SU!), cream (Neenah)
Ink: black, Copic markers, Versamark, white gel pen, antique linen and vintage photo distress (Ranger)
Accessories: Cup for All Seasons Die Set (A Cut Above by VERVE), stitched circles stax (MFT), pinking circles nestabilities (Spellbinder), wide striped ribbon (SU!), white embossing powder

Amazing U Card Concept

Hi friends! It's time for another challenge over at The Card Concept and this time we've got a sunny little inspiration pic for you.

I was inspired by the scrabble tiles to pull out the I Heart U Die Set to pair the letter U with the Amazing Adjectives Word Die Set.  I selected a texty paper that reminded me of the scrabble tiles and highlighted a few words randomly.  I pulled the sunshine inspiration in with a Partly Cloudy Die Set die cut that I split in half and layered down the center of my card.

The flowers from Coffee Helps were perfect for a bit of sunny coloring and I added a bit of stardust Stickles to each for some bling, cutting them out with the coordinating die from the Cup For All Seasons Die Set.  I finished off with a birdie wood cut that I covered with designer paper and distressed.  A bit of sanding all around gives a shabby weathered look and I added a bit of chic in with a mixture of lace and twine.

Thanks so much for stopping by today! Be sure and head on over to The Card Concept to see where the inspiration took this team of amazing designers!

Card Concept 55

Enabler's List
Stamps: Coffee Helps (Verve Stamps)
Paper: dp scraps, tiptop taupe (SU!)
Ink: black, Copic markers, white pencil
Accessories: Cup For All Seasons Die Set, Amazing Adjectives Word Die Set, Partly Cloudy Die Set, I Heart U Die Set (A Cut Above by VERVE), birdie wood cut, bisque liquid pearls, stardust stickles (Ranger), twine, lace, rhinestone

Summer Loving Viva la Verve

Hi friends!  It's the first Friday of the month and that means it's my turn to host the sketch at Viva la Verve. This one has lots of layers for lots of possibilities! {grin}

I must confess I've been singing Summer Nights from Grease since I made this card last weekend!  I can't seem to get it out of my head.  I started with the sun from Rise Above, stamping it in daffodil delight on the same color card stock, then cutting out with the coordinating Partly Cloudy Die Set.
Next I embossed the sentiment from Coffee Helps on a stitched circle cut with the Springtime Stitches Die Set and layered them together.

I had a scrap of cardstock I had practiced some watercoloring on and thought it would make the perfect backdrop for my sun.  I also cut the clouds from the same water colored piece.  A couple scraps of dp, some weathered edges and an embossed stitched cloud background finish things off.

Thanks so much for stopping by today.  In other Verve news, we've got a new Diva joining the team today. Be sure to stop by the Verve Blog to read all about it!

And if you're in the mood for shopping this weekend, be sure to head on over to Verve for our 25% off sale.  We received a shipment of 19 out-of-stock titles this week, and I've been happily packaging them and adding them back to the website.  :)  You can check what's back in stock here.

Viva la Verve May Sketch 1

Enabler's List
Stamps: Rise Above, Coffee Helps (Verve Stamps)
Paper: dp scraps, white, daffodil delight (SU!)
Ink: daffodil delight (SU!), black
Accessories: Partly Cloudy Die Set, Springtime Stitches Die Set (A Cut Above by VERVE), stitched clouds embossing folder (SU!), paper distresser

Coffee Loving Hop

Hi friends!  I'm linking up to the Spring Coffee Lovers Blog Hop today.  Verve is one of the hop Super Sponsors again, and I hope you can find a little time over the next week to create some coffee (or tea or cocoa) lovin' creations to link up for a chance to win.  All the deets are over on the Coffee Loving Cardmakers Blog.

The layout is this week's Viva la Verve sketch, hosted by Maureen.  I stamped the cup and the flower stamp from Coffee Helps, colored with copics and cut out with the coordinating Cup for All Seasons Die Set.  The sentiment is stamped onto a stitched circle die cut with a doily layered behind.  Papers are from the Perfectly Plaid collection by Lawn Fawn.  I separated them with a peach parfait Scalloped Trim Trio die cut.  To find out how I made that sweet little coordinating K-cup holder, head on over to my blog hop post on the Verve Stamps Blog. (Psst....there's a giveaway over  there, so be sure to check it out!)

Thanks so much for stopping by today!  Happy hopping!

VLV March Sketch 2

Enabler's List
Stamps: Coffee Helps (Verve Stamps)
Paper: peach parfait, pool party (SU!), white, Perfectly Plaid (Lawn Fawn), paper doily
Ink: black archival (Ranger), copic markers
Accessories: Cup for All Seasons Die Set, Scalloped Trim Trio Die Set (A Cut Above by VERVE)

Coffee Helps Spotlight Blog Hop

Hi friends!  Welcome back to Day 2 of Verve's March Spotlight Hops!  I'm the first stop on the hop, so settle in and come check out what's new at Verve! 5 beautiful new sets, 6 die sets and a plain jane just released on Friday and they're all available to order right now. So come hop along with us and take a closer look at the Coffee Helps and Cup for All Seasons die set.

It's also the first Monday of a new month, which means its contest week over at Mojo Monday!  Play along with this week's Mojo Monday 438 sketch for a chance to win some Verve of your very own.  I made a sweet little card with this week's layout and the new stamps and dies.

I started with the sentiment panel, testing out my new Distress Crayons to make a colorful background, then embossing the sentiment from Coffee Helps  in black and cutting with nestabilities dies.  I then stamped the floral cup in Melon Mambo, colored with Copics and cut with the coordinating Cup for All Seasons Die Set.  The sun and clouds are die cut with the new Partly Cloudy Die Set and the stitched circle center for the sun is from the new Springtime Stitches Die Set.  A little Frosted Lace Stickles on the cloud and coffee finish things off.

Want to win some shiny new Verve? We'll be picking a random commenter on one of the hop spots below to win today's featured products! So be sure to leave a little comment on all the blogs below to increase your chances! Check out the Verve Blog today for the full hop list, a little more about our new products and all the prize info and deadlines!

Alright, next up on the hop is the lovely Amber.  If you haven't already, don't forget to take a peek at all of the new products in the Verve Store.

1. Julee	8. Mackie
2. Amber	9. Marisa
3. Betty	10. Maureen
4. Charmaine	11. Stacey
5. Christyne	12. Teresa
6. Laurie	13. Vicki
7. Lee-Anne

Mojo Monday 438 Sketch

Enabler's List
Stamps: Coffee Helps (Verve Stamps)
Paper: dp scraps (MME), melon mambo, daffodil delight (SU!), white
Ink: black, melon mambo (SU!), copic markers, distress crayons (Ranger)
Accessories: Cup for All Seasons Die Set, Partly Cloudy Die Set, Springtime Stitches Die Set (A Cut Above by VERVE), frosted lace Stickles (Ranger), classic & scallop rectangles nestabilities (Spellbinders)