Hopping By

Hi friends! I'm hopping in with a quick little card I made with a sentiment from the Hip Hop Bunnies stamp set and the Wings & Petals Printable that is free with puchase of the Wings & Petals die set. These butterflies have always been a favorite of mine. The release that they were originally in back in 2008 was a turning point for me. It was the first time I started to feel like I was a "real" artist.

We had hired a local graphic designer to redesign our logo and complete a branding package when we switched our name from Verve Visual to Verve Stamps. Let's say it was an epic fail. The gal was late, did not complete any of the designs we had discussed and when she finally sent a working proof of the logo it was nothing usable. That's when I realized I really should just do it myself. Unfortunately, the gal made me pay up front and we never received anything for our money. A tough lesson learned, but I dug in and created our logo myself and then designed our new packaging , which I still love 10 years later (a few little tweaks through the years, but still basically the same).

Anyhow, the butterflies are colored with Zig clean color real brush markers and a Wink of Stella glitter pen. I cut them with the coordinating Wings & Petals die set and then accented with  white enamel drops and some flatback pearls.

The sentiment is stamped on white, then cut out and accented with black enamel dots and matted with black. For the background I masked off a regtangle in the center, then stenciled the plaid layering stencil with squeezed lemonade and fossilized amber distress oxide. I thne did another layer with dot fade layering stencil in peacock feathers.  I added a thin black mat to the panel and finished off by layering it all together. Easy peasy and super fun!

In other news, I've been working on making printables for the dies who no longer have matching stamp sets, and I pulled together a few new DIGITAL sets that are available in the store and 55% off.  I haven't yet had a chance to create with them, but hope to do a little creating this weekend!

Land of Liberty is a completely new Americana themed set, which was slated to be a stamp set, but plans changed when I decided to close the shop. The smaller cups in this set coordinate with the Cup of Cheer Die Set. Three Cheers is a digital set we offered for a limited time in the summer of 2016, but I had planned to bring it back this summer. Coffee or Tea is a redesign of the popular One Cup stamp set, adding in sentiments for coffee lovers as well as tea lovers.  It also coordinates with the Cuppa Tea Die Set.

Okay, that's all for today! I hope you have a fantastic start to your weekend!

Enabler's List
Stamps: Hip Hop Bunnies, Wings & Petals Printable (Verve Stamps)
Paper: smooth bristol (Canson) Basic Black (SU!)
Ink: squeezed lemonade, fossilized amber, peacock feathers (Ranger Distress Oxides), intense black (Hero Arts), clear Wink of Stella glitter pen, Kuretake Clean Color Real Brush markers (Zig)
Accessories: Wings & Petals die set (A Cut Above by VERVE), plaid and dot fade layering stencils (Tim Holtz), flat back pearls, nuvo enamel drops, enamel dots

Easter Basket Ensemble

Hi friends! Today I'm popping in with a few little goodies I made to fill the boys' Easter baskets. They've been super sick the last couple of weeks and were so bummed that they had to miss our annual Easter egg hunt at a friends house last weekend. So I thought I'd add a little bit of handmade goodness to their baskets.

I started with some quick little half size cards. I scored a 4.25" x 5.5" piece of tiptop taupe cardstock in half, then added some designer paper just a smidge smaller for the front of the card.  The tall bunny from Hip Hop Bunnies is stamped in early espresso and then colored with Copics and cut with the coordinating die from the Bunny Hop Die Set.  I stamped the Easter Wishes sentiment on a die cut circle, layered the pieces and was done.

Next I worked on some sweet little triangular treat boxes.  I had been thinking about something I could hide their little Lundt chocolate bunnies in and came across a tutorial from a couple years back by Sam at Pootles. I decided to leave off the extra mat around the designer paper because they're 5 and won't notice anyhow!  {grin}  I stamped and die cut the carrot and hand trimmed the some bunny loves you sentiment into a flag.  I finished off with seam binding ribbon.  My chocolate bunny was a bit thicker, so the bag doesn't close flush like in the tutorial, but I think it still looks super cute.

Finally, my boys are a little bit obsessed with post it notes. They like to make little notes and stick them up all over the house. So I decided to make some little post-it note holders like I had made a while back.  I used the same papers as the other bunny projects, stamping the Hopping by to say hi sentiment directly onto the designer paper.  The bunny is colored with Copics and cut with the coordinating die.

Post-it Holder Instructions:
Starting dimensions: 3.25" x 7.25"
Score at 3.75" and 4"
Use envelope punch board to punch at 0" and 2" on the 3.75" end (this will be your back panel)
Keep the same side up, but spin cardstock 180 degrees and punch at 0" and 2"
Use a paper trimmer or Xacto knife to cut off the excess to create the file folder look on both ends
Round the two right angle corners with the reverse punch on the envelope punch board
Decorate

I added a 3.25" x 2" strip of designer paper to the top inside of the back panel before punching, and then another strip of the same dimensions to decorate the front.

All in all, I think the ensemble turned out pretty cute.  I made up two of everything, and I'm excited to see what the boys think when they see them in their baskets.  I hope you all have a fantastic weekend! Thanks for stopping by today!

Enabler's List
Stamps: Hip Hop Bunnies (Verve Stamps)
Paper: Hello Spring (WRMK), tip top taupe (SU!), watercolor paper
Ink: early espresso (SU!), markers (Copic)
Accessories: Bunny Hop Die Set (A Cut Above by VERVE), stitched circles stax (MFT), envelope punch board (WRMK), seam binding (SU!), post-it notes, Lindt chocolate bunny

Shabby Bunny Mojo

Hi friends! It's Monday again and time for another Mojo Monday sketch.  This week brings back an old feature, round or square.  The sketch is laid out in both round and square formats and you can pick either for your card.  Hope you have fun with it!

I went square for this shabby little baby card. I had a few scraps on my desk that I thought would be fun to piece one of the bunnies from the Hip Hop Bunnies set with, so I did.  My favorite stars & swirls embossing folder added some texture.  The sentiment is cut with the stitched circle in the Springtime Stitches Die Set and I finished off with shabby edges and a few aqua pearls.

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

Enabler's List

Mojo Monday 445 Sketch

Stamps: Hip Hop Bunnies (Verve Stamps)
Paper: dp scraps, cream (Neenah)
Ink: black, antique linen, vintage photo (Ranger Distress)
Accessories: Springtime Stitches Die Set (A Cut Above by VERVE), stars & swirls embossing folder (Sizzix), aqua pearls, paper distresser

Hopping By With Coffee

Hi friends! It's Monday again and time for a brand new Mojo Monday sketch.  I snuck a little coffee into my spring card today to play along with the Spring Coffee Lovers Blog Hop.

I knew I wanted my bunny to be holding a cup of coffee, so I started by watercoloring the bunny from Hip Hop Bunnies and the plain to go cup from Get Together.  I stamped one of the little butterflies on the java jacket, then used an X-acto knife to cut around the bunnies paws to tuck the to go cup underneath.  I used the bow die from the Bunny Hop Die Set to cut the stamped bow from matching plaid paper.  The background layer is stamped randomly with the coffee stain stamp from Better with You in crumbcake and I finished off with the hopping by to say hi sentiment from Hip Hop Bunnies.

Super fun and a pretty quick layout for this week's Mojo Monday challenge.  I hope you'll play along.

Enabler's List

Mojo Monday 440 Sketch

Stamps: Hip Hop Bunnies, Get Together, Better with You (Verve Stamps)
Paper: Perfectly Plaid (Lawn Fawn), crumb cake (SU!), water color paper
Ink: crumb cake (SU!), black, Hair & skin watercolor pencils (Prima Marketing)
Accessories: Bunny Hop Die Set (A Cut Above by VERVE), stitched circles stax (MFT), ribbon (SU!)

Watercolor Bunny Diva Inspiration Hop

It's time for the Verve Divas to bring you our monthly Diva Inspirations Challenge and Blog Hop! There are two ways to win Verve prizes: comment on the design team's blog hop posts (linked below) to see their take on the inspiration, then go get inky and link up your take on the challenge to be eligible in our prize drawings! You have until April 5 to link up, so feel free to play as often as you like.

After a few month of winter, nothing soothes the soul like a burst of vibrant color. This boho kids bedroom does that and more! Feel free to take your inspiration from the photo or the color combo, whatever suits your fancy! We can't wait to see what you create.
Click here to link up your challenge entries
Challenge deadline: Tuesday, April 5.
Prize: $30 gift voucher to the Verve online store!

I loved all the colors in this fun inspiration pic, and can't wait to play again with a much bolder take. I have so many ideas swirling through my head.  For this card, I went with a Gansai Tambi watercolor wash in the inspiration colors for my background.  I spritzed with a bit of water and then wiped with a baby wipe to soften the color a bit.  Next I stamped the new Welcome Plain Jane in versamark on the pink area and embossed in white.

The bunny is from the Hip Hop Bunnies set and is colored with Copic markers and cut out with the coordinating Bunny Hop Die Set.  I love the sweet simplicity to this baby card, so left it there, just adding some rugged edges and a crumb cake card base, embossed with stars & swirls.  I love how the color combo could easily make this card for either a boy or a girl.

Thanks so much for stopping by today!  Next up on the hop is Amy... who is stepping down from the team this month.  Thanks for all your amazing cards and inspiration, Amy!  You'll definitely be missed here at Verve!

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're giving away a $30 gift voucher to Verve to one random commenter along the hop! 

	1. Julee	7. Marisa
	2. Amy	8. Maureen
	3. Betty	9. Sankari
	4. Charmaine	10. Stacey
	5. Christyne	11. Teresa
	6. Laurie

Enabler's List
Stamps: Hip Hop Bunnies, Welcome Plain Jane (Verve Stamps)
Paper: fabriano watercolor paper, crumb cake
Ink: versamark, black, Copic markers, Gansai Tambi watercolors
Accessories: Bunny Hop Die Set (A Cut Above by VERVE), stars & swirls embossing folder (Sizzix), paper distresser

Hip Hop Hooray Day 3 Spotlight

Hi friends!  Welcome back to Day 3 of Verve's March Spotlight Hops!  Have you been enjoying the spotlights as much as me?  I love seeing everyone's different creative takes on the sets. Everything you've been seeing this week is available in the Verve Store right now and on sale 20% off!

Once again, I'm the first stop on the hop, so settle in and hop along with us as we take a closer look at at Hip Hop Bunnies, the Bunny Hop die set and the Welcome plain jane.

My boys are turning 4 tomorrow, so I knew I wanted to make a birthday card with today's set.  This bunny with his hands behind his back totally reminds me of Trevor, so I went with a turquoise color scheme.  When they were babies, they were so identical I had to paint one of Trevor's toenails turquoise so we could tell them apart.  The boys love Mickey Mouse, so I added some Mickey balloons with a paper punch and some twine.  The bunny is colored with Copics and cut out with the coordinating Bunny Hop Die Set.  I finished with the sentiment stamped across two panels.

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!

Thanks so much for hopping by today!  Next stop on the hop is the lovely Amber.  

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

Enabler's List
Stamps: Hip Hop Bunnies (Verve Stamps)
Paper: Patina Basics (Bazzill), basic black (SU!), white
Ink: black, copic markers
Accessories: Bunny Hop Die Set (A Cut Above by VERVE), Mickey Mouse punch (EK Success), twine