Back to Paradise

Hi friends! I'm popping in today with another card for the Spring/Summer Coffee Lovers Blog Hop.  Mark and I have been planning a "just us" vacation this summer, so I had that on my mind when I selected the Santorini collection from Prima to use on my card.

I cut the sentiment panel from one of the papers and colored with Copics, then cut with the Rounded Rectangle die and then sponged with distress inks.  I used the negative from the die cut as a little frame layered behind, then stamped the starry to go cup from the Happiness Is stamp set.  I cut it with the coordinating Happiness in a Cup die set, then colored with Copics and added a bit of stickles to the foam.

Next I layered some flowers from my stash, adding a bit of glass glitter to the centers to tie them all together.  I tucked a piece of pistachio cardstock cut with banner ends behind the sentiment panel, popped it up then finished off with sunglasses from the Santorini ephemera collection.

That's it for this dreamy little card. Hope you're having a wonderful weekend! If you're in the mood to shop, be sure to hop on over to Verve and take a peek at our BOGO sale. Buy a stamp set and get the coordinating die set at 75% off! Just add the stamp set to your cart, and then scroll down in the shopping cart to related items and click add to cart next to the coordinating die set to add it to your cart. Easy peasy!

Enabler's List
Stamps: Happiness Is (Verve Stamps)
Paper: Santorini (Prima), white, pistachio (SU!)
Ink: intense black (Hero Arts), copic markers, , antique linen, walnut stain distress ink (Ranger)
Accessories: Happiness in a Cup die set, Rounded Rectangle die (A Cut Above by VERVE), Santorini ephemera, flowers (Prima), glass glitter, stickles

Magically Delicious

Hi friends! I got a little time in the studio yesterday afternoon and cooked up this super quick card with the new Irish Coffee DIGITAL Set.

I had some Zella Teal journaling cards on my desk from another project and thought this one would make the perfect backdrop for the magically delicious sentiment from the digi set.  I cut the printed sentiment with a label die I rediscovered in my die collection. It cuts both the inside and a tiny frame at the same time.  So I cut it from gold cardstock as well and pieced the two together for a perfect little label.  The to go cup is colored with copic markers and cut with the coordinating die from the Happiness in a Cup Die Set.  I added a gold mat to the journaling card, then layered a woodgrain paper behind.  My grosgrain ribbon goes across these panels and then I made two little loops and tucked them on either side of the label for a super fun, super easy ribbon treatment.  A bit of stickles on the shamrock and I was done.

Thanks so much for stopping by today.  If you're in the mood to shop, everything at Verve is 30% off this month.  Woohoo!

Enabler's List
Stamps: Irish Coffee DIGITAL Set (Verve)
Paper: zella teal 2 x 3 journaling cards (Prima), white, shiny gold, wood grain paper (JoAnn)
Ink: laser printer, Copic markers
Accessories: Happiness in a Cup Die Set (A Cut Above by VERVE), labels die (QuicKutz), corner rounder, grosgrain ribbon, stickles

Irish Coffee

Hi friends! It's the first Friday of a new month and that means it's time for me to share a new Viva la Verve sketch with you. The layout for the sketch came from this card I shared in January. I loved how it turned out and thought it would be fun to use for the challenge this month. I hope you agree!

Back when I first started blogging, a friend of mine asked me to guest blog for her, and she picked St. Patrick's Day as one of the themes. I had absolutely zero products on hand and had a very hard time finding anything near me, so ordered some fabulous ones from The Cat's Pajamas (if you want a giggle and a peek at the card I made way back when, here's my post) and thus began a love affair with collecting St. Patrick's Day stamps and papers!

I feel like a broken record when I say I had planned to have St. Patrick's Day physical stamps to release but I missed my production deadlines again. If having kids has taught me anything, it's that my life is not all about me {wink} and my time is never my own. So I'm offering myself the gift of grace and today there's a brand new digi (and a re-released digi) in the Verve shop. I do, however, promise that some non St. Patrick's Day brand new physical stamp and die designs are at the manufacturer as we speak.  Yippee!

The Irish Coffee digi is filled with fun Irish themed coffee loving sentiments and images. And the cup images match up with the Happiness in a Cup Die Set. If you're tech savvy, you can manipulate the individual files, or if you'd rather not figure all that out, there's a hand dandy PDF printable already sized for cardmaking to print all the images on one 8.5x11" sheet.

For the card, I had to pull out my Minc machine again. I just love the look of gold foiling (although I'm not so fond of photographing it!), so foiled both the sentiment and the cup (which I colored with Copics before I foiled). The cup is cut with the coordinating die and then I layered some fun papers from Authentique and die cuts with shiny gold cardstock.  I found an old QuicKutz flourishes die in my stash and thought it would be perfect as steam, to replace the twine element in the sketch.

If you're heading over to the shop, be sure to check out our sale.  Since my boys think March is the BEST month of the year (birthday, St. Patrick's Day and March Madness!), we're letting the little leprechauns celebrate with 30% off storewide!

I'd love for you to play along with the sketch this month. Head on over to the Viva la Verve blog for more inspiration from the design team and all the details on how to enter to win some Verve!

VLV March 2018 Sketch

Enabler's List
Stamps: Irish Coffee DIGITAL Set (Verve)
Paper: Emerald (Authentique), gold cardstock (Recollections)
Ink: Laser printer, copic markers
Accessories: Happiness in a Cup Die Set (A Cut Above by VERVE), Minc machine, gold foil (Heidi Swapp), Lacey Circles (Spellbinders), Flourishes (QuicKutz), scallop border (MFT), circle dies

Pop Up Thanks

Hi friends! It's another Monday and miraculously all my people were well enough to go to school/work and I've got the house to myself.  I'm still fighting some bronchial issues, but I'm on my second cup of coffee and have some clarinet concertos queued up on Spotify to help ease me back into work mode.

Last Friday when Trevor was home, I set him up with some acrylic paint and color wheel practice exercises as an excuse to be able to hang out in my stamp room. That meant I got a chance to make this little caffeinated creation with some bits and scraps on my desk for another Falliday Fest challenge.  And he had a lot of fun learning about secondary colors... and that acrylic paint doesn't like water the way watercolor paints do!

As you might have guessed from my cards lately, I'm head over heels for the Amber Moon collection by Prima.  So I've got a lot of bits and pieces of it on my desk. Since the Falliday Fest challenge was to use up bits and pieces, I decided to pair my paper scraps with some of the stamped colored and cut images I already had finished that hadn't made it onto a project yet.

The first little bit that was already made was my favorite wreath stamp from the Autumn Blessings stamp set, cut with the coordinating die from the Autumn Thanks die set. I had layered another wreath cut from chipboard behind it for some heft, then popped them up on a circle die cut stamped with the thanks a latte sentiment from Autumn Leaves. Everything had been colored with copics previously and the wreath had been coated with morning dew Nuvo drops and sprinkled with glitter.  I had also splattered with some distress stain.

I tucked some Autumn Leaves leaves behind the wreath that I had previously stamped and die cut, then added a few little nuvo drops to the wreath alternating yellow and orange.

The cup image was another bit that had been previously colored and cut with the coordinating die from the Happiness in a Cup die set. My only new stamping was the steam stamped in mocha ink on the sponged scrap from an Amber Moon journaling card.  I wrapped some vintage lace trim around the piece, then layered another Amber Moon scrap, then the wreath/leaf image and finally popped up the colored coffee cup below the steam.

I knew I wanted to make another pop up gift card holder. I created it the same as the last one I shared, but this time I used the Classy Label Die to cut the opening instead of the word window punch, and then cut a little slit on each side from the die cut opening to about 3/8" from either side.  On the inside of the card, I used a left over strip of paper from the 6 x 6 pad. The center block of the paper actually has a heart that says Autumn is love, but it wasn't the sentiment I wanted, so I covered it with a heart shaped ephemera piece from the ephemera pack, then placed a coffee cup sticker from the Amber Moon planner goodie pack in the center of the heart. I bought this pack entirely because of these little coffee cup stickers! Seriously cute! I finished off with a seasonal chitchat sticker with the sentiment today I am grateful that I fishtailed on either end. Now it's all ready for a quick note of gratitude with a gift card to a local coffee drive-thru tucked in.

Thanks so much for stopping by today! I hope you have a wonderful start to your week.

Enabler's List
Stamps: Autumn Leaves, Autumn Blessings (Verve Stamps)
Paper: Amber Moon 4 x 6 and 2 x 3 journaling cards and 6 x 6 pad (Prima), neutral cardstock
Ink: coffee archival, vintage photo distress stain, brushed corduroy distress (Ranger), warm sunshine, crimson, espresso, mocha (Altenew), copic markers
Accessories: Autumn Thanks Die Set, Autumn Leaves Die Set, Happiness in a Cup Die Set, Classy Label Die (A Cut Above by VERVE), Seasonal chitchat stickers (Tim Holtz), morning dew, ripened pumpkin and dandelion yellow Nuvo drops (Tonic), vintage lace, Amber Moon Planner Goodie Pack, Amber Moon ephemera pack (Prima)

Other Links
Color Wheel printables
FF17bejoyce Falliday Fest Challenge
Pop Up gift card tutorial

More Salted Caramel

Hi friends! I'm back again today with another card for the Fall Coffee Lovers Blog Hop.  It's another fall themed card with the new Coffee Please Digital Set.

I started by printing the leaf, cup, sentiment and an enlarged version of the leaf from the Coffee Please Digital Set on my laser printer. I colored these all with copics and then die cut with circle dies and the Happiness in a Cup Die Set.  The stitched rectangle panel is stenciled with sage shadow ink and then I just layered all the papers together.

The other day I pulled out my Nuvo drops and a piece of palette paper and made a bunch of enamel dots.  Love how they turned out and I've had so much more success using them that way. I just add them to the cards with a bit of glossy accents when it's time. Here I used some of the yellow and orange  dots to accent the card.

Thanks so much for stopping by today! I hope you're enjoying the hop. If you'd like to play along for some of the prizes, just ink up a fall coffee/tea/or cocoa project and link it up over on the official Fall Coffee Lovers Blog Hop post.

Enabler's List
Stamps: Coffee Please Digital Set (Verve Stamps)
Paper: dp scraps, early espresso  and sage shadow (SU!), white (Neenah)
Ink: laser printer, sage shadow (SU!), Copic markers
Accessories: Happiness in a Cup Die Set (A Cut Above by VERVE), scallop trim die, stitched cricles dies, stitched rectangle die, Nuvo drops (Tonic)

Fall Breeze

Hi friends! I'm back again today with another card for the Fall Coffee Lovers Blog Hop.  I've been having so much fun with the new Coffee Please Digital Set.

Our weather looks like it may have finally turned to autumn this weekend. We were 95 degrees on Tuesday and only a high of 66 degrees yesterday. The fall breeze and chill in the air makes me happy after a long hot summer. And for the first time in weeks I stepped outside and smelled clean air instead of smoke. Hooray!

Anyhow, on with the card. I printed the sentiment, cup, leaf and an enlarged version of the leaf and colored with Copics.  The cup is cut with the die from the Happiness in a Cup Die Set and I fussy cut the leaves. I layered a few papers from an autumn paper pad I had in my stash, adding a line of piercing down the one border.  My accent was a bit of twine wrapped around the layers and tied with a double bow and finishing off with the small leaf cut out.

Thanks so much for stopping by today! I hope you're enjoying the hop. If you'd like to play along for some of the prizes, just ink up a fall coffee/tea/or cocoa project and link it up over on the official Fall Coffee Lovers Blog Hop post.

Enabler's List
Stamps: Coffee Please Digital Set (Verve Stamps)
Paper: Autumn (Carta Bella) cajun craze (SU!)
Ink: laser printer, aged mahogany (Ranger Distress), Copic markers
Accessories: Happiness in a Cup Die Set (A Cut Above by VERVE), paper piercer, twine, stitched square die (Cottage Cutz)

Bring On the Pumpkin Spice

Hi friends! I'm back with another card for the Fall Coffee Lovers Blog Hop. The hop goes all week long and there are plenty of prizes to be won from over 80 sponsors.  So ink up and link up! {grin}

The new Coffee Please Digi set covers two of my favorite things.. fall and coffee! I seriously haven't had so much fun just coloring and playing with papers in a long time. Here I used four of the images from the Coffee Please Digi and a flipped version of the September Viva la Verve sketch as my inspiration.

The pumpkin cup image fits the Happiness in a Cup Die Set and the pumpkin matches the Pumpkin Spice Die Set, so after coloring with copic markers, cutting them out was a breeze. I used stitched circle and oval dies for the other two images, then layered my papers together, matting with cajun craze cardstock.  I used a little brad from way back when to hang the cup and finished things off with a few nuvo drops.

The Coffee Please Digital Set has been pretty popular so far! Hooray! It's on sale for $3.50 through the end of September and you can download the images immediately in a zip file that includes individual images in both .jpg and .png format as well as a printable pdf that has all the images laid out to print on an 8.5 x 11 sheet.  Our shopping cart is kind of old school, so if you have any problems downloading after you place your order just email and I'll be sure get you the links. 

Alrighty, I hope you have a fabulous Saturday! Thanks so much for hopping by!

Enabler's List
Stamps: Coffee Please Digital Set (Verve Stamps)
Paper: Midnight Haunting (Pebbles), cajun craze (SU!), white (Neenah)
Ink: laser printer, Copic markers, wink of stella glitter pen
Accessories: Pumpkin Spice Die Set, Happiness in a Cup Die Set (A Cut Above by VERVE), stitched oval, stitched circle and stitched rectangle dies (Cottage Cutz), black Nuvo Drops (Tonic), pumpkin embossing folder (Cuttlebug)

A Teensy Bit of Silence

Oh, the sweet sound of silence. {happy sigh} My boys are off at soccer camp this week, so I've been basking in the silence and the chance to actually do a little work. Trevor has recently been super verbal. He's either non-stop talking or repeating silly sounds over and over. It's sweet and cute and he has lots to say, but add in Kellan who talks to himself out loud because, "I can't hear my thoughts over Trevor's words", and things get a bit cacaphonous.

So I've been really looking forward to this week of silence. A lot. Enough to make a card about it over the weekend!  LOL It was inspired by one of the challenges for Dare to Get Dirty.

I started with a watercolor panel, and smooshed up some excess india inks on my craft mat from the drippy card I made the other day. I love these colors and thought the smooshing turned out fabulous. I then stamped the teensy bit of silence stamp from Happiness Is in early espresso ink.  (PSA: This set sold out during our release, but is back in stock and on sale during our Anni-VERVE-sary Sale!) I pulled out the distressed mug from the same set and stamped in cracked pistachio distress oxide using my MISTI, then I inked up the edges with broken china and stamped again with the MISTI to get a two-toned look.  I colored the coffee part with Copics and cut with the coordinating Happiness in a Cup Die Set .

Next I added the -and- stamp above the sentiment, then decided how I wanted the mug to lay and placed the Happiness Is sentiment above that.  I added a little washi down the side to bring in some of the browns and then finished off with a portion of a Heart Swirl die that was a freebie in my last order from The Cats Pajamas. Isn't it just perfect for steam?  I added a little coating of Nuvo crystal drops for a bit of shimmer, then added the whole panel to a white card base.  And that's just about as clean and simple as this girl gets! {grin}

Thanks so much for stopping by today! I hope you have a wonderfully creative day filled with happiness and a teensy bit of silence.

Enabler's List
Stamps: Happiness Is (Verve Stamps)
Paper: watercolor paper (Creatology)
Ink: early espresso (SU!), Bombay India Inks Set 1 (Dr. Ph. Martin's), cracked pistachio and broken china distress oxides (Ranger)
Accessories: Happiness in a Cup Die Set (A Cut Above by VERVE), Heart Swirl (The Cat's Pajamas), washi tape, Nuvo Crystal Drops (Tonic)

Day 4 July Release Blog Hop

Hi friends! Welcome back to another day of hopping! It's Day 4 of our New Release Blog Hops and it's an exciting day as there's new Verve in the store this morning! Three beautiful new sets and two coordinating die sets just released and they're all available in the shop right now. To celebrate our new release, we're putting on another blog hop with a fabulous giveaway... the entire July Release Collection! Doesn't it look fabulous? {grin}

Shipping note:
Our new release shipment was unexpectedly delayed and is now scheduled to arrive by end of business day tomorrow.
 All orders with new release items will begin shipping on July 12. Thanks for your patience!

I'm the first stop on today's hop, so you're right at the beginning and I'm so glad you're here! Today's featured focus is designer's choice, so you're sure to see some must haves as you hop along!  For all the prize details and a little run-down on what's in store, head on over to the Verve Blog. And don't forget to leave a little comment love as you hop about for a chance to win some shiny NEW Verve!

I started with the fueled by Jesus sentiment from Fill My Cup, stamped onto a Flourished Tag Die. I chose a strip of paper that said be fearlessly authentic. Love this for an encouragement card. I also chose to paper piece the little cup with a strip that says Keep Moving Forward, because who doesn't need a little push to do that?  I cut the finished cup out with the Happiness in a Cup Die Set.

Down the side I stamped the give me Jesus sentiment a few times in sahara sand and added the little sun and cloud image at the bottom.  I finished off with some burlap, a bit of distressing and some jumbo rivets from my stash to give off a rugged look that could work for either a girl boss or a guy boss. {grin}

Thanks so much for stopping by today!

 Next up on the hop is the fabulous Kathy Schweinfurth! 

Want to win some shiny new Verve? Today's prize is a BIG one. We'll be picking a random commenter on one of the hop spots below to win our ENTIRE new release! 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 and all the prize info and deadlines!

1. Julee	7. Teresa
2. Kathy (Guest)	8. Maureen
3. Sheri (Guest)	9. Betty
4. Wanda (Guest)	10. Christyne
5. Charmaine	11. Laurie
6. Marisa	12. Lesley

Enabler's List
Stamps: Fill My Cup (Verve Stamps)
Paper: World's Fair (Graphic 45), mixed media cardstock (Ranger)
Ink: sahara sand (SU!), antique linen, gathered twigs distress ink (Ranger), onyx black (Versafine), copic markers
Accessories: Happiness in a Cup Die Set, Flourished Tag Die (A Cut Above by VERVE), burlap, jumbo rivets (WRMK), stardust stickles (Ranger)

***Click HERE for my DAY 1 Blog Hop Post***
***Click HERE for my DAY 2 Blog Hop Post***
***Click HERE for my DAY 3 Blog Hop Post***

Day 2 July Release Blog Hop

Hi friends! Welcome back to another day of hopping! It's Day 2 of our New Release Blog Hops and the Divas and special guests are shining their sneaky little spotlights on the Happiness Is set and coordinating Happiness in a Cup Die Set today. It's sure to be filled with happy little creations, so let's get started.

I'm the first stop on the hop, head on over to the Verve Blog for all the prize details and a little run-down on today's products. And don't forget to leave a little comment love as you hop about for a chance to win some shiny NEW Verve!

Today's set is filled with some fun builder sentiments that also work well with other sets in this release. Here I paired the a really good book sentiment with the and coffee. Lots and lots of coffee. sentiment from the Fill My Cup set we'll be spotlighting tomorrow.

Next I stamped the starry straw cup in early espresso and colored with Copic markers, cutting with the coordinating die.  I highlighted with some glossy accents and glitter for extra sparkle.  Next I die cut the happiness word die in soft sky and early espresso cardstock and layered together down the side of my sentiment, to give the appearance of a book spine.  The background was a super quick stenciling with spiced marmalade, scattered straw and tumbled glass distress inks.

All in all, I'm loving the way it turned out and it was a quick enough process I might just make some more just like it!

Thanks so much for stopping by today. Hop on over to Kathy's blog next to see the eye candy she's sharing today!

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!

1. Julee 7. Teresa 2. Kathy (Guest) 8. Maureen 3. Sheri (Guest) 9. Betty 4. Wanda (Guest) 10. Christyne 5. Charmaine 11. Laurie 6. Marisa 12. Lesley

Enabler's List
Stamps: Happiness Is, Fill My Cup (Verve Stamps)
Paper: white, soft sky, early espresso
Ink: spiced marmalade, tumbled glass, scattered straw distress (Ranger), early espresso (SU!)
Accessories: Happiness in a Cup Die Set (A Cut ABove by VERVE), star stencil (Carta Bella), glossy accents (Ranger), glitter

***Click HERE for my DAY 1 Blog Hop Post***

Thanks a Latte

Hi friends! It's a brand new month and I'm popping in to share a few Verve-y things. {grin}  First off, our Red, White and Blue Sale kicks off today with 25% off all in-stock stamps, dies and sequins through July 4.

Also, starting today you can pre-order the July Release Collection. It includes the three sets and two coordinating die sets in this release. The pre-order price is 25% off and is only available through July 9. So if you love Verve and coffee or tea or Jesus {grin}, reserve yours today! Pre-orders are expected to ship beginning July 10.

One more little bit of news before I move on to my card... we've got THREE amazing guest designers joining us this month.  Hop on over to the Verve Blog today to see who they are! They're rocking some beautiful Verve cards, too, so go take a peek.  I'll wait here. {grin}

Okay, time for the card. I started this card last weekend, fully intending to link it up during the Summer Coffee Lovers Blog Hop, but I just didn't manage to find a bit of time the entire week to sneak away to my studio and stamp. Isn't that the way some weeks go? So last night after the kiddos FINALLY went to bed, instead of plopping on my bed in exhaustion like I normally do, I decided to head to the studio and spend 30 minutes making a card.

I had this cup from the soon to be releasing Fill My Cup stamped, colored, die cut and glittered already and a bunch of Americana paper scraps on my desk. I remembered the Ways to Use It challenge at Splitcoast this week was to use strips of paper. So I took three strips of patterned paper, taped them together and then cut them with the Stitched Pennants Die Set. I liked the look of it, so continued taping scraps of paper together until I came up with a layout I liked.  I stamped the Thanks a Latte sentiment in early espresso, then sponged all the layers with antique linen and frayed burlap distress ink. I finished off with a twine bow and a teeny tiny rhinestone star.

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

Enabler's List
Stamps: Fill My Cup (Verve Stamps)
Paper: Liberty Collection (BoBunny), cream (Neenah)
Ink: archival black, antique linen and frayed burlap distress (Ranger), early espresso (SU!)
Accessories: Stitched Pennants Die Set, Happiness in a Cup Die Set (A Cut Above by VERVE), glossy accents (Ranger), linen thread, star rhinestone, glitter