Little Ones Count

It's Monday again and time for a brand new Mojo Monday sketch.  Here's my take on it. Measurements are below. For more inspiration, hop on over to the Mojo Monday blog to see what the other designers are sharing today.

Teacher appreciation week at the boys' school is quickly approaching, so I thought I'd get a head start on my crafting.  I pulled out the Teachers Count  stamp set and stamped the numbers background on a circle die cut, then stamped the sentiment over it in black. I layered my papers, matting each with white, then decided to bring in a little pop of color with a red apple, stamped and then cut with the coordinating Apples Die Set.

I didn't measure when I made my card, but here are the measurement I used to create the sketch, if you like to have them. Thanks so much for stopping by today.

Card Base: 4.25" x 5.5"

Layer 1: 4" x 5.25"

Layer 2: 0.5" x 4" or ribbon

Layer 3: 2.5" x 3.5"

Layer 4: 2.5" x 2.5"

Layer 5: 2" circle

Enabler's List

Mojo Monday  494 Sketch

Stamps: Teachers Count (Verve Stamps)

Paper: Take Note (Doodlebug), watercolor paper

Ink: marina mist, real red, pear pizzazz (SU!), onyx black (Versafine), Copic marker

Accessories: Apples Die Set (A Cut Above by VERVE), circle dies (Spellbinders), ribbon (SU!), glassy glaze

Shabby Chic Concept

Hi friends!  Today I'm excited to have been asked to be a guest designer for the Card Concept this month!  I love the idea of this challenge... it definitely encourages stepping outside of your box and trying on new cardmaking styles.  I've been chosen to guest in the shabby chic/vintage style.  I giggled a bit when I read Lesley's email, because shabby chic is a style I sometimes create in, but it's almost NEVER on purpose!  LOL  I go shabby to cover up my stamping boo-boos, which are quite frequent!  After all, the best way to cover up a little smudge is some sponged ink and a well-placed embellishment!  Needless to say it was super fun to try out this style from the very beginning.. a very good place to start!  {wink}

Mark and I are doubly blessed with examples of long lasting love in our family.  My parents celebrated their 50th anniversary in July, and Mark's parents celebrate their 50th this week.  We're in full swing party planning mode right now, so I thought I'd make a golden anniversary card for them.

For inspiration, I swapped the white pumpkins for a pair of ivory golden apples.  I liked the subtle vines and leaf garlands in the picture, so I picked a vine covered embossing folder to emboss all the panels of ivory, as well as the upper portion of the vellum sentiment piece.  I loved the border on the apple farm sign, so thought I'd do something similar for the top of my vellum panel.  I added a strip of adhesive pearl clusters to the top edge, then sprinkled some chunky glitter in between, which stuck to the extra adhesive and made a super elegant border.

The apples are from the Teachers Count set and I cut them with the coordinating Apples Die Set. The sentiment is from the Happy Anniversary plain jane.  My only other touch was a bit of white paint and some distress inks to shabby up the apples, some of my favorite lace trim and a whole bunch of distressed edges.

Thanks so much for stopping by today!  Be sure to head on over to the Card Concept blog today and check out what the challenge design team did with this inspiration piece!  And thanks so much to the Card Concept crew for allowing me to guest with y'all!

Enabler's List
Stamps: Teachers Count, Happy Anniversary  (Verve Stamps)
Paper: ivory (Neenah), vellum cardstock
Ink: Versamark (Tsukineko), vintage photo (Ranger Distress)
Accessories: Apples Die Set (A Cut Above by VERVE), gold embossing powder (Judikins), glass glitter (SU!), lace trim, pearl cluster trim (Recollections), vine embossing folder (Anna Griffin), white paint

Taste and See

Hi friends!  I'm popping in today with a fun little card I made using our newest plain jane, Psalm 34:8.  For inspiration I used Stacey's sweet Viva la Verve Week 3 Sketch + Inspiration.  I went pretty literal with the inspiration photo, grabbing the apples from Teachers Count and their coordinating Apples Die Set and some of my favorite school themed papers.

The Psalm 34:8 verse is stamped onto the inner cut from the Rounded Scallop Frame Die, then I matted it with a  piece of designer paper cut with the Rounded Rectangle Die.  The apples are stamped, then cut with the Apples Die Set and I paper pieced the apples and colored the stems and leaves with Copics.  The Award Banner Trim Die along with some Shine Bright Sequin Mix and ribbon from the Spring Fling Ribbon Collection finish things off.

If you've been playing along with our August Viva la Verve challenges, tomorrow night (9/4) is the deadline for your August entries.  I'll kick off our September sketches this Friday!

Thanks so much for stopping by!  Hope you're having a fabulous week.

Enabler's List
Stamps: Psalm 34:8, Teachers Count (Verve Stamps)
Paper: Schoolhouse (October Afternoon), cream (Neenah)
Ink: black, copic markers, tea dye and walnut stain distress ink (Ranger)
Accessories: Rounded Rectangle Die, Rounded Scallop Frame Die, Award Banner Trim Die ,  Apples Die Set (A Cut Above by VERVE), Spring Fling Ribbon Collection, Shine Bright Sequin Mix (Verve), red liquid pearls, tiny attacher

Appreciated

Hi friends!  Happy Friday!  Today I've got a little gifty project to share with you.  I love everything about fall... especially school supplies.  Although the boys aren't anywhere near school-age yet, I've been so inspired by seeing all the back to school projects in blogland lately.  When I was scrolling through emails I came across Kelleigh Ratzlaff's pencil boxes templates and had to download one and give it a try.

I thought pairing it with the Teachers Count set would make the perfect little back to school present for a teacher, so that was my inspiration.  Kelleigh's template set has cutting files, but since I still have yet to clear a space for my cutter on my desk, I just printed the PDF template out and used that on Smoky Slate for the base of the pouch.  I added a 1.75 x 7.75" strip of designer paper down the front of the pouch for accent, then used a coordinating paper for the pouch band.  My tag uses the Tiny Sweet Scallop Die Set and I stamped the sentiment from Teachers Count onto a flag from the Flag It Die Set.  The apple is stamped onto the coordinating Apples Die Set and then I paper pieced the leaf and apple in coordinating papers.  Some black scrapper's floss ties the tag on and I accented the bow with a red rhinestone.  The finished pouch holds 4 pencils.  The whole project took under 30 minutes, and most of that was deciding which papers to use! {grin}

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

Enabler's List
Stamps: Teachers Count  (Verve Stamps)
Paper: Report Card (October Afternoon), Smoky Slate (SU!), cream (Neenah)
Ink: Black
Accessories:  Apples Die Set, Flag It Die Set, Tiny Sweet Scallop Die Set (A Cut Above by VERVE), scrapper's floss (Karen Foster), rhinestone, Pencil Boxes Template Set and Cutting Files (Kelleigh Ratzlaff)

Touching Hearts

Hi friends!  Our little family has been enjoying Memorial Day weekend so far.  First, a graduation party for my nephew, then the twins' first excursion to the park to play on the baby swings, the opening of our community pool, and today is a day for Mark and I to recover while the boys are hanging out with their grandparents.  Woohoo!

It's Monday and that means it's time for a new Mojo Monday sketch... Mojo295.  This week is a round or square sketch, which is one of my favorites.  I just like mixing things up every now and then.  It's also our final week with Mojo Maker Stephanie Kraft on the team.  She's one talented stamper and I've so enjoyed the fabulous inspiration she's provided week after week since she joined the team way back at Mojo 174!  Be sure to hop over and give Steph a shout out to thank her for all her fabulous Mojo samples over the years.  Thanks Steph... you totally rock!

 

I took a clean and simple approach to this week's sketch, with lots of white space.  I hadn't had a chance to use the new Teachers Count and coordinating Apples Die Set yet, so that was my jumping off point.  I started by stamping the loopy border from On Occasion across a 3-7/8" square, then laying down a piece of acetate to mask off the stamping and then I stamped the border again on a 2.25" square (oriented diagonally) so it would line up perfectly across the card when I was done.  Next I stamped the sentiment from Teachers Count, then matted that with black cardstock.  I ran the background piece with the stamped border through with a heart embossing folder for a little texture.  Then it was just a matter of stamping the apple from Teachers Count on an Apples Die Set cut out, stamping the solid leaf and solid apple to add some color and adding a little glossy accents and glitter.  The finished card size is 4.25" square, perfect for tucking into a normal A2 size envelope.

Thanks so much for stopping by today!  I hope you have a wonderfully creative start to your week.  I hope to get a little stamping done while the kiddos are gone today, myself.

Enabler's List
Stamps: Teachers Count, On Occasion (Verve Stamps)
Paper: White, black
Ink: Cherry Cobbler, Gumball Green, Crumb Cake (SU!), Markers (Copic), Black
Accessories:  Apples Die Set (A Cut Above by VERVE), Love Set embossing folder (Sizzix), glossy accents (Ranger), dazzling diamonds glitter (SU!)  

All You Do

Hi friends!  Happy Tuesday!  Today I'm sharing a quick little thank you card I made last night.  I was thinking about the May Diva Dare... Stars & Stripes and had been wanting to flip the rope stamp from Strong Anchor over and ink up the base for a broad stripe, so that's where I started.

The navy broad stripe is stamped with midnight muse ink using the back of the rope stamp from Strong Anchor, I then stamped the rope side of the image in between each broad stripe in gumball green.  A little scalloped star trim using the Scalloped Trim Trio Die Se finishes my corner piece off.  The gumball green layer is embossed with one of my favorite embossing folders and I accented with some green star rhinestones.  The large star is an artisan chipboard piece that I inked with midnight muse and gumball green, then coated with glossy accents and dusted some glitter over the top.

The thanks for all you do sentiment is from the new Teachers Count set and I stamped it onto a die cut from the Flag It Die Set.  I finished off with some linen thread wrapped around my card.

Enabler's List
Stamps: Strong Anchor, Teachers Count (Verve Stamps)
Paper: midnight muse, gumball green (SU!), white
Ink: gumball green, midnigh muse (SU!)
Accessories:  Flag It Die Set, Scalloped Trim Trio Die Set (A Cut Above by VERVE), star rhinestones (Pizzazz Aplenty), Stars Artisan Chipboard (Pink Paislee), glossy accents, glitter, frosted lace Stickles