Our Greatest Glory

Hi friends! I hope you're having a fabulous week so far. Mine is flying right by, just flitting from one activity/appointment/event to another. I'm looking forward to the lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer, for sure!

Today I'm popping in with one more mixed media card I made for the Pink Diva Inspirations Challenge.  I had lots of fun with this card, directly sponging on worn lipstick, seedless preserves and picked raspberry distress oxides and spritzing and drying.  I then dabbed some bubble gum pink Dylusions paint on with a baby wipe until I got the look I was going for.  I splattered with some white India ink, then embossed the quote from Learning to Sail directly onto the panel in white.

The hot air balloon is from the Hope Lifts set, and I stamped it in black on white cardstock twice, cutting one image with the coordinating Lifted Hope die set, then fussy cutting just the balloon to color with copics and pop up.  I finished with some distressed edges and a trail of rhinestone stars.

Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising EVERY time we fall. 

Thanks so much for stopping by today!

Enabler's List
Stamps: Learning to Sail, Hope Lifts (Verve Stamps)
Paper: white (Neenah)
Ink: archival black, picked raspberry, worn lipstick, seedless preserves distress oxide (Ranger), Copic markers, Versamark (Tsukineko), white India ink, bubble gum pink Dylusions paint (Ranger)
Accessories: Lifted Hope die set (A Cut Above by VERVE), white embossing powder, paper distresser, rhinestone star adhesive strip

April Verve Spotlight Hops Day 4

Hi friends! It's RELEASE DAY 😊 and we have a very special final day of hopping to share with you! We've combined our release hop with the kickoff to our April Diva Inspirations challenge. The theme this month is yellow, so get ready for a little handmade sunshine coming your way!  And don't forget to leave a little comment love for the Divas as you hop about, because today's prize is for the entire April release!  Woohoo!

I'm the first stop on the Day 4 April New Release Spotlight Hop & Diva Inspirations challenge, so if you didn't arrive here from another hop spot you're in the perfect place to jump right in! All of the stamps and dies you've been seeing are available in the shop right now!  Go ahead, check them out.... I'll wait! If you missed our earlier hops, you can click here for my Day One,  Day Two and Day Three posts.  Deadline for our blog hop prize drawing is April 15.

Today's featured focus is designer's choice combined with our April inspiration, so you might just sneak a peek at a whole bunch of must-haves! Check out all the challenge details on the Verve blog today, then play along for a chance to win in our monthly challenge drawing! We hope you'll play along with us!

Now, if you hadn't noticed from my cards lately, I love me some sunny yellow! Especially when it seems like spring just wants to elude us! I'm all about creating my own sunshine, so I'm willing spring to come and stay with our Welcome Spring Sale this month! 😁 When you're done hopping, be sure to hit the Verve shop to check out the sale and the new products. All of our new releases are 15% off. Or double your savings by purchasing the Buy it All Bundle at a 30% discount.

I have two cards to share today. The first card started with the cross from Risen Savior and the inspiration color of yellow. I knew I wanted it behind this sentiment, so cut an oval die to fit, then stamped the cross and the sentiment. I then put the die back over the die cut to sponge some squeezed lemonade around the edges and finished off with an air art tool with a brown marker for a few ink splatters.

Next I moved on to the background. I added a thin layer of gesso to watercolor paper, then painted on some dylusions paint with a baby wipe.  I added some squeezed lemonade distress oxide to the mix and then let things dry.  The yellow had become a bit brighter than I wanted, so I scraped some heavy gesso in places, then used a script stencil to apply some light paste to the background.  I love how it turned out.



From there I went to work on the scalloped piece, attaching the larger scallop border die cut from the Lacey Trim Duo die set to a rose red rectangle panel and then covering with some pretty paper from the Eastertime collection by Authentique.  I covered the seam with a few layers of baker's twine, tied in a bow, then accented with a paper flower.

For my second card, I kept with the mixed media style, having fun with light paste, gesso, stencils and texture paste to create the tag. Next I stamped a flower from the previously released Bloom Brighter set twice, colored with Copics and cut with the coordinating Blooming die set.  I added the leaves, also cut with the same die set and then stamped the thinking of  you sentiment from Sentimental Wishes onto a Lacey Frames die cut circle.  To finish the tag section, I added a flourish die cut, some glitter to the center of the flowers and a wrinkled seam binding bow a the top.

For the rest of the card, I used a doily, a piece of smoky slate to tie in the other grays in the card and a card base embossed with the chicken wire embossing folder. My final touches were a couple rounded corners and the two border dies from the Lacey Trim Duo die set layered on top of the card for a fun, elegant edge.

That's all for me, next on the hop is our super duper fabulous Guest Diva, Michele!

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! The April 2018 Release Collection includes Risen Savior, Hope Lifts, Sentimental Wishes, and the Lifted Hope, Lacey Frames and Lacey Trim Duo die sets. So be sure to leave a little comment on all the blogs below to increase your chances! Comment deadline for the blog hop prize drawing is April 15.

DAY 4 Hop List 1. Julee 5. Laurie 2. Michele (Guest) 6. Marisa 3. Betty 7. Maureen 4. Charmaine 8. Teresa

Enabler's List
He Lives card
Stamps: Risen Savior (Verve Stamps)
Paper: Eastertime (Authentique), rose red, crumb cake (SU!), white (Neenah), watercolor distress paper (Tim Holtz)
Ink: pure sunshine, lemon zest dylusions paint (Ranger), squeezed lemonade, black archival, scattered straw (Ranger)
Accessories: Lacey Trim Duo die set (A Cut Above by VERVE), oval dies, bakers twine, script stencil, paper flower, light paste (Prima), gesso

Thinking of You card
Stamps: Sentimental Wishes, Bloom Brighter  (Verve Stamps)
Paper: smoky slate (SU!), white (Neenah), tag (Paper Accents)
Ink: pure graphite, forest glades (Altenew), Dragonfly blue color bloom spray (Prima), white india ink (Bombay), Copic markers

Accessories: Lacey Frames Die Set, Lacey Trim Duo Die Set, Blooming die set (A Cut Above by VERVE), flourish die (Recollections), doily, chicken wire embossing folder, dot stencil, light paste, gesso, glitter glue, seam binding, corner rounder

Lifted Spirits Viva la Verve

Hi friends! It's the first Fri-yay of a new month and that means it's time for me to host a new sketch challenge over at Viva la Verve! This week's sketch has lots of layers, but you can dress it up or dress it down as you like. I hope you can play along with us! I love seeing the linky fill up with so many lovely cards to take a peek at throughout the month.

My sample card is also a sneaky peek at a new set we'll be releasing on April 10th. Our new release spotlight blog hops start tomorrow (4/7), so be sure to tune in for a chance to win some shiny new Verve! And for some early peeks, click on over today to the Viva la Verve blog to see a bunch of sneaky peek samples from the Divas using the April VLV sketch.

For my card, I started with the butterfly from the new Hope Lifts stamp set. It's similar, but a bit larger than the butterfly in our previously released Sparkly Dreams set (which was briefly retired due to a lost artwork file, but I'm happy to say the lost has been found and it's back among our offerings!). I embossed the butterfly in white once on white cardstock and once on vellum. Next I colored with watercolor pencils and blended with a wink of stella pen.  Then I cut the white cardstock butterfly out with the coordinating Lifted Hope Die Set. The vellum butterfly was cut with the butterfly die that has no antennae from the Butterfly Dreams Die Set. The image in Hope Lifts is larger than this previously released die, so it cuts off parts of the stamped image, but it makes for a perfect layered dimension to this image. I then cut the antennae from the same Butterfly Dreams die set out of smoky slate and then layered together with some grey pearls.

Next I worked on the sentiment panel, using a cereal box stencil I made with a smaller circle die to mask off a circle die cut and then do a watercolor wash with some Prima color bloom spray.  Once this was dry, I embossed the sentiment from Hope Lifts in white over the watercolor.  This is matted on a big pinking circle from so saffron. I liked how this gave the look of a sun, so added some embossed clouds to the background panel, then some embossed stripes for the rounded square panel.

The vertical panel is embossed with polka dots, then I used the same spray ink for the background and added on a new border die from the Lacey Trim Duo die set.

Alright, there you have it! Thanks so much for stopping by today! It's sure to be a busy weekend for me with daily blog hops and the boys' first ever flag football practice and game on Saturday. They're totally pumped for it, though. I'm just praying for no injuries! {grin}

Enabler's List
Stamps: Hope Lifts (Verve Stamps)
Paper: smoky slate, so saffron (SU!), white (Neenah), vellum
Ink: dragonfly blue color bloom spray, Scenic Route watercolor pencils (Prima), wink of stella glitter pen, versamark
Accessories: Lifted Hope Die Set, Butterfly Dreams Die Set, Lacey Trim Duo Die Set (A Cut Above by VERVE), clouds, stripe and polka dot embossing folders, pinking circles, classic circles nestabilities (Spellbinders), corner rounder, pearls

Sneaky Autumn Leaves and VLV

Hi friends! Today I'm happy to announce we have a new mini release just around the corner. The team will be hopping showing you a brand new set and die next Tuesday, October 10. But today, the pre-order for the new Buy it All Bundle starts at a 30% discount, so it's the perfect time to pick up a bit of fresh fall fabulousness for your stamp room. {grin}  While you're there, be sure to check out our World Card Making Day Sale, with 40% off our selection of holiday stamps and dies.

I'm sneaking in a peek at the new set today, along with my first look at the October Viva la Verve sketch.  I love the simplicity of this one, with so many options for what to stand in for that flower. I hope it inspires you to get inky!

I started by stamping the cup and happy fall sentiment from the new Autumn Leaves set and coloring with Copic markers. I cut the sentiment out with a pierced square die and the cup with the Happiness in a Cup Die Set.  I had some left over leaf sprays already stamped and cut using Autumn Blessingss and the Autumn Thanks Die Set, and I liked the way they looked tucked behind the cup, so colored them and added glossy accents and glitter to all the leaves.

I wanted a bit of a splashy background, so took a piece of white cardstock, layered with gesso and then treated with teal magical powders and water.  I then glued it to a white cardstock panel and ran through with a fall leaf swirl embossing folder so all the embossing lines would meet up.  I finished with a crinkled ribbon bow and a white card base.

Thanks so much for stopping by today! I hope you have a fabulous weekend and would love to see your take on the sketch.

Enabler's List
Stamps: Autumn Leaves, Autumn Blessings (Verve Stamps)
Paper: white (Neenah)
Ink: black, Time Travel Teal Magicals powder (Lindy's Stamp Gang), Copic markers
Accessories: Happiness in a Cup Die Set, Autumn Thanks Die Set (A Cut Above by VERVE), pierced squares dies (Cottage Cutz), fall leaf swirl embossing folder (Darice), glossy accents, glitter, gesso, seam binding

September Diva Inspirations Blog Hop

Hi friends! It's the 10th of the month and that means it's time to hop, hop, hop with our favorite Divas!  We've got a brand new inspiration graphic for you this month and we hope our posts will inspire you to come play along with us.  I'm the first stop on today's hop, and there are prizes to be won, so let's get to it.

There are TWO $30 gift vouchers to the Verve store up for grabs this month and two ways to win!

Giveaway 1:  Random drawing from comments on the official Diva Hop Blog posts

Giveaway 2:  Random drawing from participants who link up for the challenge

I've been having some mixed-media fun lately, so started with the background, taking my inspiration from the colors in the inspiration graphic.  A layer of gesso on white cardstock to prime the paper, then I added some Lindy's Magicals in teal tones.  When that was dry, I took a scribbles stencil and a baby wipe to wipe away the pattern to give some texture.  Then I sprinkled on some of the purple magicals.  Loved the way it looked, so decided to sprinkle some more on the white cardstock and use the sprinkle each day with kindness sentiment from the new Kindness Matters stamp set.

Next I stamped the smaller flower from the set and watercolored with the purple magicals, adding some white gel pen accents and fussy cutting (because I was a very messy watercolorer).  I layered some tip top taupe leaves cut with the Great Kindness Die Set, then scraped them with gesso and sprinkled on some aqua glass glitter.  The aqua dotty piece behind was a leftover piece of cardstock painted with magicals and cut out with one of the Tim Holtz mixed media dies.  I finished with a bunch of distressed edges.

Alrighty, that's my card, and here's the inspiration challenge and blog hop details.

Your next stop along the hop is Betty.

The changing colors of autumn are always a favorite. It's like a paintbrush came and colored the world. One of my favorite trees around the neighborhood turns a brilliant purple in the fall, and is so beautiful against the blue sky. So while some may find this a wintry inspiration, to me a bit of regal purple and a touch of sky and earth will always be fall. Follow the color pattern, or take your inspiration from the graphic, either way it's sure to be lovely! We can't wait to see what you create!

Click here to link up your challenge entries
Challenge deadline: Wednesday, October 5.
Prize: $30 gift voucher to the Verve online store!

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.  Just leave a little love as you hop about for a chance to win!

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

Enabler's List
Stamps: Kindness Matters (Verve Stamps)
Paper: white, tiptop taupe (SU!)
Ink: Bermuda Bay (SU!), Industrial Chic and Halloween Magicals (Lindy's Stamp Gang), gesso, white gel pen
Accessories: Great Kindness Die Set (A Cut Above by VERVE), Mixed Media dies (Tim Holtz), aqua glass glitter, scribbles stencil

Perfect Day Mojo

Hi friends!  It's Monday again this week and time for a brand new Mojo Monday sketch by yours truly.  This one has a slightly skewed panel (my fave) and is easy to dress up or keep it simple.

For my card, I started with the smoky slate panel which I stenciled with the gothic stencil using whipped spackle tinted pink with distress inks. Next I selected some paper scraps I thought would fit the shabby look I was going for and added a couple torn pieces of Tim Holtz tissue paper to either corner in place of the circles in the sketch.

The sentiment is from Simply Amazing (I masked off the word as from the end of the sentiment) and embossed on vellum, then I used the inlaid die technique to add the "perfect" from the Amazing Adjectives Word Die Set  in a pale pink.

I finished off with a seam binding bow, silver pearls, a few paper roses and some distressed edges.

Thanks so much for stopping by today!  I hope you have a fantastic start to your week.  Be sure to head over to the Mojo Monday blog to see what the other designers did with this sketch!

Mojo Monday 447 Sketch

Enabler's List
Stamps: Simply Amazing (Verve Stamps)
Paper: smoky slate (SU!), dp scraps, Melange tissue paper (Tim Holtz), vellum cardstock
Ink: black, pumice stone, versamark, spun sugar
Accessories: Amazing Adjectives Word Die Set (A Cut above by VERVE), Truly Madly Deeply Ribbon Collection (Verve), paper roses, silver pearl bling, Gothic layering stencil (Tim Holtz), whipped spackle (Faber Castell)

Cocoa Kindness and a Hop

Oops!  Sorry my hop post is late.  I accidentally scheduled it for 5pm instead of 5am.  Doh!

Hi friends!  It's time for another Diva Inspirations Blog Hop to kick off Verve's December inspiration challenge.  I'm the first stop on the hop, so grab a treat and get ready for a little loveliness from the Divas inspired by this month's challenge theme... A Cup of Kindness!  There's a blog hop prize and a challenge prize up for grabs, as well as a free limited time digital download on our site!

For my project, I made an easy little hot chocolate holder with stamps from the Chocolate set and the keep calm senteiment from Coffee.  It's an 8.5 x 5.5" piece of cardstock, scored at 5.5" just like an A2 card, then I cut a diagonal piece off the front.  The bottom is adhered with sticky strip and I punched two holes with my crop a dile on the side to feed the ribbon through to tie my candy cane on.  Then it was just a matter of dressing it up with papers and stamps.  I also added a few wood stars which I embossed with frantage shabby embossing enamel.  Those seem to be my go-to embellishments this season.

Thanks so much for stopping by today!  I can't wait to hop along and see the colorful creations from the other Divas!  I hope you'll play along with us too!  You can find all the challenge details and linkup info on the Verve Blog.

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	5. Susan
	2. Amy	6. Stacey
	3. Betty	7. Maureen
	4. Sarah	8. Marisa

Enabler's List
Stamps:  Chocolate , Coffee. (Verve Stamps)
Paper: Holiday Style (October Afternoon), tiptop taupe, early espresso (SU!), cream (Neenah)
Ink: vintage photo (Ranger Distress), Early Espresso (SU!), VersaMark
Accessories: Chocolate Word Die (A Cut Above by VERVE), seam binding, linen thread (SU!), wood veneer snowflakes, jingle bells, frantage shabby aqua embossing enamel (Stampendous), glossy glaze, glitter, stitched circles stax (MFT), corner rounder

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