Fringe Party

Hi friends!  It's the first Friday of a new month of Viva la Verve sketches, and that means I'm kicking things off with this week's fun new sketch!

In addition to the sketch, I also had a couple other challenges in mind when I was making this card. Verve's inspiration challenge theme this month is Celebrate, so I went all party hardy on this one.  And I also used the DTGD15fattire7 challenge on Splitcoaststampers.  {The Dare to Get Dirty challenges are open to SCS fan club members, so we're supposed to keep the details over in the DTGD forum.}

I started by cutting the Flourished Tag die from white cardstock and stamping the circle pattern border from Deco Borders down the side.  I chose rainbow colors from my set of Zig Clean Color brush markers, then sponged around the edges of the tag with tumbled glass ink.  I hand trimmed a black mat for the tag, then hand sketched a soft little sketchy frame.  The flower is the Fringe Flower plain jane and I colored it with the same colors of markers, fussy cut and then added a bit of sparkle with glossy glaze and glitter. I've always loved this flower and it's one of the stamps that's 50% off during our Anni-VERVE-sary sale this month.

The tag at the bottom is from the Flag It Die Set and is sponged with tumbled glass and also has a little sketchy frame, and I finished off with some enamel dots.  My favorite part of the card is that embossed background.  It's made with the Woven Next Level embossing folder from American Crafts.  And it's A-MAZING!  {grin}  So much texture and depth.  They are large folders (6 x 6) I think and because they're so deeply etched you need a different sandwich.  On my Big Shot I used the main platform without tabs, the folder and then a cutting plate on top.  Crazy beautiful.  I sponged around the edges to match the rest of the card and I was finished.

Viva la Verve August Week 1 Sketch

Enabler's List
Stamps: Deco Borders, Fringe Flower Plain Jane (Verve Stamps)
Paper: white, black, MME scrap
Ink: black archival, tumbled glass distress (Ranger), black pen (Micron), Kuretake Clean Color Brush pens (Zig)
Accessories: Flourished Tag Die Set, Flag It Die Set (A Cut Above by VERVE), Woven Next Level embossing folder (American Crafts), glossy glaze, glitter, enamel dots

Pink Celebration Diva Inspirations Hop

Hi friends!  It's the 5th of the month and time for our monthly Diva Inspirations Hop and Challenge. This month we're celebrating our 8th Anni-VERVE-sary, so our challenge theme is Celebrate!  We hope you'll play along and link up your celebratory cards this month.  There's a prize drawing from all the participants, and there's also a prize for a lucky commenter along today's hop, so be sure to give a shout out to the Divas in the comment box as you hop about.

I'm the first stop along today's hop and I was so inspired by the big rosettes on the wall in the graphic, I took the inspiration photo quite literally!  I pulled out a Tim Holtz rosette die and a couple of scraps of paper and made the pink rosettes, adding a black stitched circle to the center, embossed with one of the medallions from Peaceful Medallions.  I added a few Sprightly Sprigs to each rosette, then embossed the Celebrate sentiment from Moments Remembered in gold on black cardstock.  The card base is splattered with some watered down glue and then dusted with gold embossing powder and heat set.

Our Anni-VERVE-sary also means there's a new sale going on!  Right now all of our in-stock stamps, dies and embellishments are 10 - 50% off.  There's some great deals in each category, so be sure to click on over to the Verve store when you're done with the hop. :)

Next up on the hop is the fabulous Amy Kolling.

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	6. Susan
	2. Amy	7. Maureen
	3. Betty	8. Marisa
	4. Jen	9. Charmaine
	5. Sarah

Enabler's List
Stamps: Peaceful Medallions, Moments Remembered (Verve Stamps)
Paper: black, white, dp scraps
Ink: versamark, worn lipstick (Ranger Distress)
Accessories: Sprightly Sprigs Die Set (A Cut Above by VERVE), rosette die (Tim Holtz), stitched circles stax (MFT), gold embossing powder
 

Make the Most

Hi friends!  It's Monday again and time for a brand new Mojo Monday sketch.  And since it's the first sketch of a new month, it's also contest week, with a chance to win a prize for playing along!

My card was inspired by Teresa's Dare to Get Dirty challenge over on Splitcoast.  They're hosting fun challenges all week long for members of the SCS Fan Club.  I pulled out some vintage Verve for this card, in honor of our 8 year Anni-VERVE-sary.  This quote from the Seeing Stars set has been one of my favorites for as long as I can remember.

I did a bunch of distressing on all the panels with pumice stone and black soot inks.  The green layer is embossed with a stars embossing folder and I sanded it to make it pop a bit.  I stamped the stars randomly around the sentiment and then grabbed a bit of peeled paint distress ink with a water brush and brushed it on.  Next I covered with glossy glaze and added some glitter.  The star is cut with the Starry Die  and I embossed it with that same embossing folder.  The trim is cut with the Scalloped Trim Trio Die Set.  I added some stars to my banner piece with some black molding paste and a stencil, then finished off with a paper distresser on my outer layers.

Thanks so much for stopping by today!  I hope you have a fabulous start to your week.  Be sure to head on over to the Mojo Monday blog for all the contest deets and to see what the Mojo Makers created with this sketch.

Mojo Monday 409 Sketch

Enabler's List
Stamps: Seeing Stars (Verve Stamps)
Paper: On the Bright Side (MME), basic black (SU!), white
Ink: peeled paint, pumice stone, black soot (Ranger Distress)
Accessories: Scalloped Trim Trio Die Set, Starry Die (A Cut Above by VERVE), Stitched Circles Stax (MFT), stars embossing folder (Cuttlebug), glossy glaze, glitter, paper distresser, air art tool, stars stencil (heidi swapp), black molding paste

One of a Kind

Hi friends!  Welcome to August!  Today I'm sharing a card for one of the Dare to Get Dirty challenges over on Splitcoaststampers. They start today and run for one week and there are lots of prizes, including some from Verve.

I made a fun little square card, stamping the 4.25" tip top taupe base with the honeycomb image from The Buzz, then I added the BE and You-tiful stamps in the corner, with a few teeny bees fluttering around.

Next I started on my focal point, a little doodle I did to test out my new Kuretake watercolors.  After I finished water coloring the flower, I did a wash of the pearly watercolor, but it didn't turn out the way I expected, so I pulled out some stencils to rescue the project.  First I used scattered straw with a honeycomb stencil, then tumbled glass with the dots stencil.  I distressed the edges with tip top taupe and black soot, then splattered some watered down black soot on top.

The mat is baja breeze, sponged with the same colors and then I added black liquid pearl accents.  I finished off by adding some white liquid gel pen accents to the bees.

Thanks for stopping by today!

Enabler's List
Stamps: The Buzz (Verve Stamps)
Paper: tip top taupe, baja breeze (SU!), white
Ink: tiptop taupe (SU!), black soot, tumbled glass, scattered straw (Ranger Distress) watercolors, black micron pen, (Kuretake), white gel pen
Accessories: stitched circles stax (MFT), liquid pearls, honeycomb and dot fade layering stencils (Tim Holtz)