Impossible Hello

Hi friends! It's another coffee lovers kind of day with another card for the Spring/Summer Coffee Lovers Blog Hop. This morning I was scrolling through emails and saw the fun Impossible Card tutorial in the Splitcoaststampers newsletter for the Try a New Technique challenge this week. It looked easy enough and fun, so I had to give it a go.

I started with a 4.25" x 5.5" piece of crumb cake and then decided where to put my circle die, before making my other cuts.  It ended up being pretty much like the tutorial - 1" from the end on one side and right down the middle on the other side.  I had already stamped and colored the images from the Living on Coffee stamp set with clean color real brush markers and a wink of stella pen. So I dug through my stash of papers to find some old Stampin' Up prints that seemed to match well enough.  I cut my layering panels, then used the Stitched Pennants Die Set to do the stabilizer pieces.  I stamped the sentiment on the front pennant and added the flower spray to the side.

I wasn't sure where I'd write in this "impossible card" design, so I decided to convert it to a tent card, by cutting a folded card base in half and then adhering the impossible card panel to that. I like the added lift it gave to the sentiment and more stabilized feel of it. Still a fun and unique design.

Thanks so much for stopping by today! I hope you have an awesome day.

Enabler's List
Stamps: Living on Coffee (Verve Stamps)
Paper: pattern prints, crumb cake (SU!), smooth bristol (Canson), white (neenah)
Ink: intense black (Hero Arts), clean color real brush markers (Zig Kuretake), wink of stella clear glitter pen, white gel pen
Accessories: Stitched Pennants Die Set (A Cut Above by VERVE), circle stax (MFT)

Sip Relax Repeat

Hi friends! I'm back with another card for the Spring/Summer Coffee Lovers Blog Hop. This one uses a fun, modern background that lets my colored image take center stage. Translation... I still didn't pick my papers before coloring and these blues are really hard to match! Haha.

I first stamped the mug image from the new Living on Coffee set in intense black ink and colored with Zig clean color real brush markers and a clear wink of stella pen. I accented the center parts with a white gel pen and then cut around the image with scissors.

The papers are from the Pop of Pink collection by Stampin' Up and I added some gold foil cardstock to the sides of two panels.  The sentiment is also from Living on Coffee and is embossed in gold and then cut with the Stitched Pennants die set and paper clipped to the panels.

We had a fabulous start to the long weekend yesterday with the boys' Kindergarten field day and then a family bowling night last night. I think some sipping, relaxing, and repeating is in order today. Hopefully the kind that leads to me being able to sneak up and stamp!

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

Enabler's List
Stamps: Living on Coffee (Verve Stamps)
Paper: Pop of PInk (SU!), vellum, white, black, gold
Ink: intense black (Hero Arts), clean color real brush pens (Zig Kuretake), white gel pen
Accessories: Stitched Pennants die set (A Cut Above by VERVE), paper clip (SU!)

Enjoy Today

Hi friends! I'm popping in today with a little watercolor card I made with the August Verve release. Continuing in my watercolor all the things mode, I plopped some watercolors from the Pastel Dreams watercolor confections palette onto watercolor paper to make the background.

Next I plopped some pinks from the same palette onto another piece of watercolor paper and embossed the flowers from Bloom Brighter (3 small flowers and one larger one with leaves) in white, making sure to stamp the flower with the leaves so it would be in a white space.  Then I watercolored the leaves with a paintbrush, using a green from a different prima watercolor palette.  I cut the stamped images with the coordinating Blooming Die Set.

The sentiment is from Cake & Candles and I stamped it onto a Stitched Pennants die cut, then layered them all together and accented the center with a bumpy rhinestone.  The final touch was some Nuvo jewel drops. This was my first time adding them directly on the card like this, and well, I think I need some practice! My drops definitely have lots of "character". {grin}

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

Enabler's List
Stamps: Bloom Brighter, Cake & Candles (Verve Stamps)
Paper: watercolor paper (Creatology)
Ink: Versamark, Pastel Dreams Watercolor Confections, The Classics Watercolor Confections (Prima)
Accessories: Blooming Die Set, Stitched Pennants Die Set (A Cut Above by VERVE), Sea Breeze Jewel Drops (Nuvo), white embossing powder (JudiKins), adhesive rhinestone bump (Bead Landing)

Patriotic Sparkle

Hi friends!  It's the first Monday of a new month and that means it's contest week over at Mojo Monday. Play along for your chance to win a Verve stamp set of your choosing.  We add a winner for every 50 entries, so play along as often as you like. The more the merrier!

The 4th of July is always one of my favorite holidays. I love the red, white and blue and am excited to be hosting our family BBQ for the second year in a row. Should be a fun time for all. The boys are pretty excited for our party... and for the red, white and blue skittles and M&M's they've seen me trying to hide. {grin}

For today's card I used some Liberty designer papers that have been hanging out on my desk and paired them with the Sparkly Dreams stamp set.  I love the butterfly colored in red, white and blue. I cut it with the coordinating Butterfly Dreams Die Set and added a coating of glossy glaze and glitter to make it sparkle.  The sentiment is also from Sparkly Dreams and is cut with the Stitched Pennants Die Set.

I stitched on a layer of vellum to mute my square panel just a bit, and then arranged some pearl star flourishes as if they're bursting from behind the banner.  A bunch of distressed edges and I was finished.

Thanks so much for stopping by today! If you're in the mood for some shopping, today is the last day of Verve's Red, White & Blue Sale. Order over $40 receive 25% off, plus orders over $30 receive free first class US shipping.  This is in addition to our fabulous summer clearance sale prices, so it's an excellent time to grab a few things off your wishlist. Sale ends July 4 at 11:59 PT.

Mojo Monday 455 Sketch

Enabler's List
Stamps: Sparkly Dreams (Verve Stamps)
Paper: Liberty (BoBunny), Cream, vellum
Ink: archival black, distress antique linen and vintage photo (Ranger), Copic markers
Accessories: Butterfly Dreams Die Set, Stitched Pennants Die Set (A Cut Above by VERVE), star flourishes, glossy glaze, glitter, sewing machine, circle dies

An Everlasting Love Mojo

Hi friends! It's the last Monday of the month and that means it's time for a non-traditional card sketch over at Mojo Monday.  The tall & skinny sketch this week was inspired by this card I made for the latest Verve release.

I've been having a lot of fun using multiple inks on the same image lately.  Just love the look, and it's so much easier to get it just the way I want it with the MISTI.  For both stamps from theLove Everlasting set I inked them up with pool party first and stamped, then inked the bottom half with pacific point and stamped again.  The heart is cut with the coordinating Everlasting Heart Die Set and the sentiment is cut with the Stitched Pennants Die Set.

The background is just a variegated designer paper, which I added a mat of pacific point to and then finished off with a seam binding bow.  Super easy and quick, but packs a big punch.  My kinda card! {grin}

Thanks so much for stopping by today! I hope you have a fabulous start to your week.  If you have a little time, be sure to head on over to Mojo Monday and see what the other designers did with this week's sketch.  And if you're in the mood for a little Monday shopping, Verve has 25% off all stamps and dies, plus free US shipping for orders over $35.  Sale ends May 31.

Mojo Monday 450 Sketch

Enabler's List
Stamps: Love Everlasting (Verve Stamps)
Paper: dp (Recollections), pacific point (SU!), white (Neenah)
Ink: pool party, pacific point (SU!)
Accessories: Everlasting Heart Die Set, Stitched Pennants Die Set (A Cut Above by VERVE), Summer Sailing Ribbon Collection (Verve)

Love Everlasting Spotlight Hop

Welcome to Day 2 of Verve's May Spotlight Hops! There's a new Verve release just around the corner and for the next couple of days we'll be shining our creative spotlights on the new Verve sets and dies releasing this Friday, May 20!  I'm the first stop on today's hop, so why not settle in for a fresh little dose of inspiration?

Today we're sharing our first projects featuring the Love Everlasting stamp set, Everlasting Heart Die Set and the Copper Blush Sequin Mix.  Check out the Verve Blog post today for the full product reveals!

For my card today, I was feeling a bit shabby chic, so I just went with it.  The sequin mix colors inspired me, so I pulled out a bit of groovy guava cardstock and stamped around the edges in calypso coral with a portion of the big flowery heart stamp.  Next I embossed the heart with copper embossing powder, colored with Copics and cut with the coordinating Everlasting Heart die. I sponged lightly around the edges with antique linen to give a hint of an aged look, then added a bit of glossy glaze and glitter to each of the flowers.

Next I pulled out the Stitched Pennants Die Set and cut the larger one from vellum, then embossed the sentiment in copper.  (Side note: this bottle of copper embossing powder is the first embossing powder I ever bought way back in 1997 and it's still going strong!  Can't believe I haven't spilled the whole bottle by now.  LOL)  I sewed the pennant directly onto the guava layer, then added some Copper Blush Sequins, some copper mica flakes and a bit of shabby white embossing powder to the corners.  Dry embossing for the base layers and a bit of lace trim finishes things off.

Okay, that's all from me today.  Thanks so much for stopping by!

Next up on today's hop is the fabulous Lori!

Want to win some shiny new Verve? We'll be picking a random comment winner 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. Lesley 2. Lori {guest} 8. LauraJane {guest} 3. Betty 9. Marisa 4. Charmaine 10. Maureen 5. Christyne 11. Stacey 6. Laurie 12. Teresa

Enabler's List 
Stamps:  Love Everlasting (Verve Stamps)
Paper: groovy guava (SU!), vellum, white (Neenah)
Ink: calypso coral, VersaMark, Copic markers
Accessories: Everlasting Heart Die Set, Stitched Pennants Die Set (A Cut Above by VERVE), Copper Blush Sequin Mix (Verve), copper embossing powder (PSX), mica flakes, shabby white embossing powder (Stampendous), glossy glaze, glitter, lace trim, embossing folder (Darice)

Beautiful Things Spotlight Hop

Welcome to Verve's May Spotlight Hops! There's a new Verve release just around the corner and for the next couple of days we'll be shining our creative spotlights on the new Verve sets and dies releasing this Friday, May 20!  I'm the first stop on today's hop, so why not settle in for a fresh little dose of inspiration?

Today we're sharing our first projects featuring the Beautiful Things stamp set, Beautiful Flowers Die Set and the Stitched Pennants Die Set.  Check out the Verve Blog post today for the full product reveals and a little bit about our fabulous Guest Divas, Lori Craig and Laura Jane!

I'll start by saying, I'm really loving this release. I've been struggling through several months of creative block and these sets might just be the thing to pull me out.  {grin}  These flowers seriously make my heart go pitter patter and I want to color them in all the colors!

I started the card by heat embossing the flowers from Beautiful Things in white on crumb cake and coloring with prismacolor pencils in blues.  My boys were fascinated to watch the blending of colors, so it was fun for the whole family! Next I die cut them with the coordinating Beautiful Flowers Die Set (with Trevor's help cranking the Hello Kitty Big Shot handle, of course!).

For the sentiment tag, I cut both pennants from the Stitched Pennants Die Set in crumb cake, then added a little colored pencil border to each die, going just to the stitched line.  I embossed the birthday sentiment in white, then layered them together and tucked in under my flowers.

The beautiful is also part of the Beautiful Flowers Die Set and here I cut it from white fun foam for some thickness and a layer of crumb cake for a bit of shadow.  The leaves are from the same die set, cut from crumb cake and tucked in to fill out the layout.  I finished with a couple fun neutral papers, aged with a bit of antique linen distress ink and tied a big twine bow.

Okay, that's all from me today.  Thanks so much for stopping by!

Next up on today's hop is the fabulous Lori!

Want to win some shiny new Verve? We'll be picking a random comment winner 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. Lesley 2. Lori {guest} 8. LauraJane {guest} 3. Betty 9. Marisa 4. Charmaine 10. Maureen 5. Christyne 11. Stacey 6. Laurie 12. Teresa

Enabler's List 
Stamps: Beautiful Things (Verve Stamps)
Paper: crumb cake (SU!), cream, fun foam, Beach Day (Carta Bella), Conservatory (7 gypsies)
Ink: Versamark (Tsukineko), Prismacolor Colored Pencils, antique linen (Ranger Distress)
Accessories: Beautiful Flowers Die Set, Stitched Pennants Die Set (A Cut Above by VERVE), white embossing powder (JudiKins), button (SU!), twine (Hemptique)