Thankful Blossoms

Today I've got a simple card for y'all. This one took me all of 10 minutes, but I love how it turned out. It's about as close to one layer stamping as I get. This is the third set that Verve will be releasing tomorrow and is called Thankful Blossoms. For this card I used three stamps from the new set.

I started by stamping the large open flower in Versafine Onyx black in the center of a 4 x 5.25" piece of white cardstock and colored with Copic markers. Next I stamped the curvy stem stamp on either side of the flower and trimmed along it and around just the top half of the flower with scissors. I then stamped the thank you sentiment in the corner and glued this to a Grayson Hall journal card by Collage Press. I finished by tying a knotted pomegranate satin bow across the panel and adhering to a Purely Pomegranate card base. A little Cotton Candy stickles accents on the petals and voila - a card was born!

If you want to see more, be sure to check out the fabulous samples Bethany, Kim and Shannan have posted on the Verve Blog today. You can buy this set, along with Easter Elegance and Anniversary Birds, starting tomorrow - March 1! Happy Friday, everyone! Have an awesome weekend!

Anniversary Birds

Hey everyone! How's your week going? I've been busy from sun up until sun down every day this week, but I'm happy to report I'm making some good progress on the projects I've been working on, so that's GOOD news. I love having a productive day where you get to cross a bunch of looming tasks off your list. That was yesterday for me - a fabulously productive day!

Today, I'm sharing a card made with another of the new Verve sets releasing this Saturday. This set is called Anniversary Birds and is a set of eight stamps. I wanted to try a different color combo for me, and since guava is not one of my fave colors, I thought I would try to match it up with my favorite color, Cool Caribbean, to see if I could make it work for me. It's a little different, but springy and is definitely growing on me.

I started by stamping the solid bird in cool caribbean. Isn't he a looker? LOL! I swear, hubby giggles every time he sees this set - he just LOVES this bird. Next I stamped the branch below Mr. Birday in Always Artichoke and then colored the leaves and the bird's wing with Copic markers and then highlighted with a clear Spica glitter pen for some added sparkle. I sponged Groovy Guava all around the edges and then sewed the image to a Groovy Guava mat and then matted with a Cool Caribbean Scallop Rectangle (Nestabilites). I pierced a hole in each scallop and outlined with a white gel pen for a faux micro eyelet look.

The card base is 4.25" square and is stamped with the Stampin' Up! Paisley background stamp in Groovy Guava. Next I stamped the Wishing you a fabulous Anniversary sentiment in Versafine Vintage Sepia, added three clear glass baubles and an Ivory satin knotted bow.

So what do you think? Wanna see more? Be sure to check ou the Verve Blog later today for more sneak peeks of this set by Amy, Jen and Lila. Oh, and Friday's the last day of the 15% off stamp sale at Verve, so if you've been procrastinating, now's the time to let your fingers do the clicking! ;)

Easter Elegance

Hey everyone! As promised, today I'm showing you a sneak peek of the new Easter Elegance set from Verve Visual that is releasing on Saturday. It's a set of eight stamps and I used four of them on this card. As I was checking out some of the mojo entries from this week, I saw that Anita had made a card that opened between the squares and the rest of the sketch and I thought the idea was so fabulous I had to try it for myself. I'm not always a fan of how my cards turn out, but I think this is one of my favorites of all time. It's clean and crisp with a hint of modern elegance and a meaningful message - if only all my cards could capture all that! :)

I started by stamping the cross on Pearlized Cardstock in Versafine Onyx Black. I then trimmed the image panel and punched with the ticket corner punch. Next I sketched a frame around the edges with a Zig Mellenium pen. I then punched four 7/8" squares from the pearlized cardstock and used the small flourish stamp to stamp in two opposite corners of each square. Next I punched a 1 3/8" circle punch. Then, out came my neglected Watercolor Wonder Crayons and an aquapainter. I did a wash of Barely Banana around the swirls on each square, the border on the image panel and over the circle, and then highlighted the edges with Apricot Appeal. To finish each of these pieces off, I added some doodles to the corners and edges. The patterned paper is from the Palette O Prints pack from last year and I added black mats to everything, using the SU! scallop punch for the circle mat. I stamped the He is Risen sentiment in the corner and then glued down all my pieces.

Next I mixed some Diamond Glaze and Dazzling Diamonds and applied to the doodled border, each of the curlies at the end of the swirls on the side, and a drop on each scallop of the half circle. To finish I added some clear rhinestones to each swirly and the center of the cross. The card measures 5" square and opens between the squares and the main panel. For the inside, I glued down a piece of white cardstock and stamped the Happy Easter sentiment in the center.

So what do you think? Want to see more Easter Elegance? Be sure to check out the Verve Visual blog later today - Charmaine, Dana and Laurie have each created a sneak peek of this set to share with you.

Two of Hearts

Two hearts that beat as one. I need you, I need you. Two of hearts. Okay, that's not exactly the sentiment on this card, but it's the song that's been going through my head over and over again since I made this card. If you haven't noticed, I've been on a Noteworthy kick. Actually I'm just trying to be a better steward of all the stacks of paper I have and use as much of any given sheet as possible before it gets stowed away in the black hole that is my scrap drawer.

This card came together so easily. Since the hearts in the Heart to Heart set coordinate with the Marvy Mega and Super Jumbo heart punches masking is a breeze. I normally don't do much masking because I just don't have the patience for all the cutting and lining up required, but I must say this was a fun card to make. I started by stamping the large swirl heart frame on the right side of my panel with Purely Pomegranate ink. Next I punched a Mega heart out of copy paper and temporarily adhered over the stamped heart, and stamped the second heart. The inner hearts are two Super Jumbo heart punches from Soft Sky that I then ran through the Cuttlebug with the D'Vine swirls embossing folder for some texture. To figure out where to cut the curve on the left inner heart, I just laid my Mega heart mask over the top and traced with a pencil. For a little sparkle, I quickly highlighted each swirl with a Quickie glue pen and then poured ultrafine glitter over it. For the scored frame, I just flipped my image panel over and scored a frame all around the edges with my Scor-Pal.

The sentiment is a sneak peek at one of the sentiments in the Anniversary Birds set that will be releasing this Saturday. It reads Two Hearts One Lifetime, and I thought it was perfect to coordinate with the Heart to Heart set for a nice anniversary card. The Noteworthy patterned paper is embossed with Swirls and matted on Purely Pomegranate. To finish, I added three little glass baubles from Stamping Bella.

Okay, peeps - tomorrow I promise there won't be any Noteworthy paper on my card, but I will show you a sneak peek of the new Verve Visual Easter set. Catch ya on the flipside! :)

Mojo Monday Week #26

Happy Monday everyone! Wow! Can you believe it's week #26? Where did half a year go? LOL! Hope you're all ready to kickstart your week, because I decided to go for a little non-traditional layout today. Sometimes it's good to mix things up a bit and get out of your comfort zone. Now, depending on your image, you might want to move the image panel so that it overlaps the four squares. That's how I originally envisioned the sketch, but after moving pieces around, I decided that for my image it looked a little more balanced not overlapping.

So, here's the drill... If you make a card with the sketch, just link me up in the comments of this post, so I can come check out your creation. If you've got your link to me by Sunday at 8 PM Mountain time (6 PM ET), I'll include it in the slide show next Monday. If you happen to upload to SCS, please use keyword Mojo26, so we can see everyone's mojoliciousness all in one happy place.

Today I have a special sneak peek from one of the new Verve Visual sets that release March 1. That's Saturday, peeps! Hooray for new stamps! The set I used is called Thankful Blossoms and is a set of 16 stamps. I used three stamps from the set for this card -the small flower, the stem and the solid leaf. I took my color inspiration from the Noteworthy paper that was still sitting on my desk from my last card. I stamped the flower with Crimson Red Versafine ink and then the stem and leaves in Taken with Teal. I then punched four 7/8" squares and then stamped two squares with the flower off the edges in Crimson and two in Taken with Teal. The half circle panel is a Regal Rose Scallop Circle punch (SU!) and I stamped the you're fabulous sentiment from the Uplifting Phrases set. The dp is from the Noteworthy Collection by Making Memories and is matted on Regal Rose and then on a Soft Sky 4.25 x 4.25" card base. To finish I added some glass baubles to the center of each flower and some doodles and dots with a red Spica glitter pen.
Okay, that's all for now, folks! :) Be sure to check out all the fabulous entries from last week's Mojo challenge in the slide show below.




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Love Robot

Hey everyone! Hope you're having a fabulous weekend. I've had such a long week - the migraines and back spasms continue, but they seem to at least be alternating days, so never both at once, thankfully. Today it's just an achy breaky back, so I've been spending a little time on the computer. I came across this little card that I hadn't shown y'all, so I figured I'd pop in and share it with ya.

All stamps are from The Cat's Pajamas. I stamped the small and large heart circles all over the Basic Grey Two Scoops aqua/grey Paper, then added a different designer paper from Scarlet's Letter to create the background of the card.

Next I stamped I'm just your Love Machine on white cardstock and used and EK Success scallop corner rounder and then punched two rectangles in each end to make a ribbon slider with some Red Satin May Arts ribbon. Next I stamped the large scallop heart from Be Still My Beating Heart on Red card stock and cut out. I then layered a Mega black heart punch and then a Super Jumbo white heart punch in the center of the stamped heart. Love Robot came next, and isn't he just the cutest? He always brings a smile to my face. I colored him with markers and then added the tiny scratches stamp to each side of the heart to give it even more of a wobbly feeling. I finished off with an EK Success corner punch with some Stampendous rhinestone stickers for a little bling.

Okay, back to my computer work. I'll be back tomorrow with a brand new Mojo sketch for y'all.

Aspire

Today's card uses a Penny Black stamp I've been eyeing for quite a while that just arrived on my doorstep yesterday. I'm such a fan of Penny Black florals - they make me so happy! I decided to play with this week's SCS sketch challenge and cut into the Noteworthy paper by Making Memories that I've been hoarding the last couple months. I started by stamping Aspire on Pearlized White Cardstock with Ancient Page Coal Black. I then colored with Copic markers and highlighted with a little Stardust Stickles. Next I matted on Purely Pomegranate and used my Scor-Pal to add a little embossed frame to the image. The card base and the horizontal strip are Soft Sky card stock stamped wiht French Flair in the same color ink. The patterned paper is from the Noteworthy Collection and I tied a Pomegranate satin knotted bow around the top edge. The baubles are some clear cheapos from Michael's that I colored with my Copics to match the card. I finished by stamping the May All Your Wishes Come True from the Wonderful Wishes Remixed set in Purely Pomegranate in the corner.

Happy Trails

Hey everyone! I've got another little western card for you. This one uses stamps from the Havin' a Pow Wow set by The Cat's Pajamas. I started out with last week's SCS sketch challenge on my mind, but the layout seemed just a little too clean cut for this little rough & tumble guy, so I decided to re-arrange things a bit and skew the panels. The papers are from the We R Memory Keepers Boho Chic line. I stamped Lassoed in Vintage Sepia Versafine ink on Classic Cream cardstock and then colored with Prismacolor pencils and gamsol. I then sponged around the edges with Ranger Tea Dye Distress ink. Next I stamped Happy Trails to you on the aqua piece and then I stamped the Horse Shoe in Versamark above it and paper pierced it to make it stand out. I love how that turned out. Nexte I sewed a zigzag stitch around the third panel and then scuffed it up a bit with a sander for a more rustic look. (Word to the wise: I'd suggest roughing it up BEFORE you sew, since you run the risk of fraying your stitches if you do it the other way, like I did!). For the back panil I took some Muslin Coral Paper Accents paper and stamped the Horse Shoe in Orangene Palette ink randomly for a nice little custom background. I finished off with a little hemp tied around the bottom and yippee skippy, we have a card! :)

Okay, that's it for today peeps. Be sure to check out the Verve Visual blog where the design team has been posting their Back to Basics series of projects. I asked them to go back to their stamping roots and come up with some projects that could be made with minimal fancy tools. The results are just gorgeous - so head on over there for a little inspiration. :)

I've Got Who's-its and What's-its Galore

You want thing-a-mabobs? I've got twenty. But who cares? No big deal. I want MORE!!!

LOL! I just love that Little Mermaid song. Anyways, I do have who's-its and what's-its galore to share with you.... some embarrassingly late thank yous.... some embarrassingly late tags, and my Mojo Gone Wrong/Sprinkle's a Cowgirl? card.

First with the card...
This was actually my first attempt at this week's mojo sketch, but unfortunately I forgot to leave a little white space to the right of my image when I was trimming, so the sentiment didn't look right overlapped according to the sketch. So, since I wasn't feeling lik coloring her all over again, I had to flip flop the two front panels. So, guess what?? I can't even follow my OWN sketches! LOL! :) But who cares, no big deal. I still like the finished card.

All stamps are from the It's a Western Thing Clearly Swanky set by The Cat's Pajamas. I started by stamping Catch 'Em Kitty in Vintage Sepia Versafine ink on Classic Cream cardstock and coloring with Prismacolor Pencils and Gamsol. Next I trimmed the image and pierced holes all around the edges and connected the dots with a brown marker for some faux stitching and then sponged the outer edges with Vintage Sepia ink. I did the same for the Howdy panel and added two Antique Copper brads to the side (still not realizing that it wasn't going to fit the sketch quite right!). Next I stamped the Western Star in Versafine Crimson Red all over Cosmo Cricket Souvenir Collection paper and then matted on some Paper Accents brown paper bag paper and added some faux stitching and sponging. The back two panels are also from the Souvenir Collection, which I ran through the Cuttlebug using the Textile embossing folder and then sanded lightly, and rubbed my Vintage Sepia pad randomly over it to make it a little "dirty". :)

And now for some RAK's I've received over the past month. (Yes, I'm very bad at keeping up with posting these, but please don't think that doesn't mean I don't love your creations! I get a spring in my step each time a piece of happy mail arrives in my box!)

The first one is from Carol. It's absolutely gorgeous. I'm kicking myself for not purchasing Roses in Winter. I just might have to pick up that gorgeous new Kitchen Sink Stamps one. Anyhow, the colors and layout of this card are so prett, and there's a cute little tag that hangs down from the ribbon that says a happy hello. Thanks Carol! You brightened my day!

The second card is from Libby. This card is just pure sparkling goodness. Both the elephant and the Gator are embossed with Irridescent Ice. I just love how she put the Wild Thing sentiment with these two crazy critters. And the colors combo is just lovely. Thanks Libby!

The third card is from Susan. This card is so cool. There's so much dimension and I absolutely love the cute little cut out clouds and heart and the way she matched up the set with the Polka Stars and Seeing Stars sets. I just smile each time I see it. Thanks Susan!

The fourth card is from Kim H. I just love the colors and layout. I rarely stamp directly on a white card base, so this one has my wheels a-turning for something new to try. Just a gorgeous card all around. Thanks Kim!

The final card for today is from Kelly. I really like the happy little flowers and the hand drawn stems. It's another interesting layout, that I'd like to try. Such a cheery card - thanks for brightening my day, Kelly!

And the You Make My Day Award.. I've been tagged multiple times with this one, and am just now getting to it. I know I'm missing a few of the names that tagged me, but here's who I do remember... Norma, Karrie, Bela and Abi (for the You Make Me Smile Award). I'm not going to tag anyone, since I'm SO late with this one, and y'all have probably been tagged enough with it. You all make my day each time you comment or post a card using one of my sketches.

And a tag from Linda...

Here are the details on how to play along: You must post the rules before you give your answers.You must list one fact about yourself for each letter of your middle name. Each fact must begin with that letter.If you don't have a middle name, just use your maiden name. After you've been tagged, you need to up-date your blog with your middle name and answers. At the end of your post, you need to tag one person for each letter of your middle name. (Be sure to leave them a comment telling them they've been tagged and need to read your blog for details).

A - Anxious. Yep, that's me. I struggle all the time with anxiety. My mind never stops running. I recently listened to a sermon that said everything in life either falls on your worry list or your prayer list. I'm trying to get to that point where the prayer list outweighs the worries, but it's a daily struggle. :)

N - Natural. I'm a t-shirt and jeans kinda girl. No frills, no fuss. Never much make up and rarely any "product" in my hair. Natural curl, so I just don't fight it. :)

N - Night Owl. Like once a year I might go to bed before midnight - if I'm sick. Usually I'm up till 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7..... rockin' round the clock! LOL

Well, I'm refraining from tagging anyone else right now, since I think everyone's already done it. But if you haven't and you want to, consider yourself tagged.

Oh and one more award....
Karrie just nominated me for the Excellent Blogger Award. Thanks Karrie! Since this one's a little more current, I'll list a few blogs. I read tons of blogs every day, but these are some of the newer additions to my reading list.

Rainy Day Creations
Scrapnextras
Bouncy Flouncy Fun Fun Fun
Paper Possibilities
The Stamping Scrapbooker

Sparkling Florals

Thanks for all the well wishes yesterday. My back is still in pain, but it's lessening, so I think that's a good sign! :)

Today's card is one I made for Colleen's Thursday Throwdown Challenge. This week it was a sketch challenge with a twist. The twist being that the large panel in the center was not supposed to be the focal point of the card. The focus was to have been the area where I put the flower. Hopefully I didn't cheat by actually stamping inside the main panel, but I like how it turned out.

I started by stamping the Soft Sky panel randomly in Soft Sky and then in Chocolate Chip ink with two of the small flowers from Thoughtful Florals. I then inked the whole panel up with VersaMark and covered and embossed with Irridescent Ice for uber sparkle! :) This layer is matted on a chocolate chip scallop rectangle cut with Nestabilities. For the background of the card, I lined up the Happy and the Birthday stamp from Happy Thoughts on my acrylic block and then stamped them together in Soft Sky ink repeatedly across the card front. I then tied to Chocolate satin knotted bows across the panel and matted on a Chocolate Chip card base. My focal point is a flower stamped with two of the flowers from Fancy Florals Remixed (one in soft sky and the other in Chocolate Chip). I then cut out the flowers, covered in VersaMark and embossed with Irridescent Ice. For a little flair, I added a fancy decorative brad from Making Memories to the flower center.

I must say, it really does sparkle nicely in real life. Nothing's better than a little sparkle to start the day off right! :)

Mojo Monday Week #25

Happy Monday everyone! Hope everyone had a good weekend. Mine was filled with migraines and back spasms, so not the best weekend ever. I did however squeeze in a little time to think up a mojo sketch for y'all. I was feeling like I wanted to make a card with some cool layers, so this is the sketch I jotted down before I headed up to my stamping room. Hope it inspires you to make some mojolicious creations this week. So, here's the drill... If you make a card with the sketch, just link me up in the comments of this post, so I can come check out your creation. Please, if you can, leave a link to the actual post with the card or the actual card in your gallery, not just a link to your blog or gallery. Sometimes it's hard to find the cards if you have a general link and I'd hate to miss anyone's cards. If you've got your link to me by Sunday at 8 PM Mountain time (6 PM ET), I'll include it in the slide show next Monday. If you happen to upload to SCS, please use keyword Mojo25, so we can see everyone's mojoliciousness all in one happy place.

I took my color inspiration from this Grasshopper Cookie paper by EK Success I found in my stash while I was having a cleaning marathon this weekend. It's always so nice to "find" new stuff when you clean! The paper has bashful blue and certainly celery flowers with a chocolate chip background. YUMMY! I stamped the solid larger floral stamp from Serenity in Chocolate Chip and then sponged around the panel with Bashful Blue ink and matted on Chocolate Chip. Next I stamped the Thinking of You sentiment from Fancy Florals Remixed in Chocolate Chip, inked around the edges with Bashful Blue and matted with chocolate chip. The green horizontal strip is the reverse side of the floral paper and I matted on Bashful Blue, sewed a zigzag stitch across the top and bottom and then tied a chocolate satin knotted bow around the middle. For the chocolate chip background I used one of the small Cuttlebug folders from my Fancy Corners set, and embossed it three times across the top and three times across the bottom of the cardstock for a cool background that I thought matched the paper really well. To finish I added two cheapo fake "baubles" that I got from Michael's.

And to start your week off right, here is the slide show with all of last week's mojo submissions. For even more awesome cards check out the fabulous entries for the Verve Visual Honored Guest Sketch Contest.



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She's an ANGEL I Tell You

Hey everyone! Did you have an awesome Valentine's Day? Hubby was sweet enough to surprise me by ordering and bringing home the heart shaped pizza on his way home from work. I must say it tasted even better in a heart shape. Definitely lived up to all my years of wanting one! LOL! And with it, Mark brought a bouquet of gorgeous tulips and the best chocolate in the world, made right here in Boise. It really is the best chocolate I've ever tasted. We don't get it very often because it's $24.00 a pound, but TOTALLY worth every penny and more.

Okay, so I have one more lovey card to show you, then I promise to move on to other stuff! ;) And it's a Sprinkle card, so Sharon in NE will be on cloud 9 , getting two Sprinkles in one week! When I saw this flowerpot and Angel Sprinkle included in the Loving Mew set from The Cat's Pajamas, I knew exactly what I needed to do. Anyone who owns a cat and has a plant has seen this pose a time or two! LOL!

I started by stamping Angel Sprinkle in Versafine Onyx Black and the heart flowerpot on it's side. I then colored in some dirt with prismacolor pencils and gamsol and colored the flowerpot and some accents on Sprinkle with Spica glitter pens. Next I added in some ground with a gray marker and finished off the image panel by stamping the tiny tracks stamp from Be Still, My Beating Heart several times in the "dirt". I used the My Angel sentiment and stamped the tiny tracks below it in Versafine Vintage Sepia. I rounded all the corners and matted with black cardstock. The background papers are from the Scenic Route Loveland Collection and are divided with some May Arts black satin ribbon. I finished off with a little Stardust Stickles and a tiny pink bow in the corner.

Well, today is hubby's birthday and we have a special day of fun planned. All our favorite things... bagel sandwiches, a movie, Borders, Tully's, Lily Jane's Cupcakes...sounds like a little bit of heaven! :)

Have a fabulous weekend peeps. And don't forget that today is the last day to enter the Verve Visual Honored Guest Contest, so if you're a procrastinator, now's the time to kick it into high gear! ;)

Happy Valentine's Day!

Does everyone have lovey dovey plans tonight? Mark and I are getting a heart shaped pizza from a local pizza joint. For some strange reason, I've secretly always wanted one. :) We usually go to a fancy place for Valentine's, but this year I told Mark I wanted a heart shaped pizza and a bouquet of Copic markers! LOL! The markers are on their way, and I'm so excited about the lovely colors I'll be getting. We purchased them through Carpe Diem {ETA.... THE LINK!!!}, where Mark got my other set of Copics at Christmas. They normally have a good deal on the markers and then you can email for an even deeper discount. Once our order was processed, the markers ended up only costing $3.56 each! And they ship fast and have all the colors in stock! Woohoo!

Okay, enough about my bouquet of Copics. On with the cards. I'm showing you two today, because I feel extra happy today. :) They're both cards I made for The Cat's Pajamas with the new Clearly Swanky Love sets.

The first card is a simple little number starring Poochie. I tried something I've seen Jen do a time or two and really love - Cuttlebugging just a portion of the card. Mine didn't turn out as dramatic as I hoped, but I still like it. I started the card by stamping Love Puppy from Puppy Love in Versafine Onyx black and coloring with Spica Glitter Pens. I then matted this on some mint Paper Accents paper, tied a pink satin bow around one side and lined up some BasicGrey two scoops buttons on the other side. Next I took a piece of Two Scoops paper and stamped I Ruff You from the Puppy Love set in the corner and then ran just one side of the paper through the Cuttlebug with the D'Vine Swirls folder. To make the swirls stand out a little more I covered them with Stardust Stickles. To finish everything is matted on a 4.25 x 5.5" Muslin Coral card base.

The next card is made from the Be Still, My Beating Heart set. For some reason whenever I see this set all I can think of is balloons. I just love going out on Valentine's day and seeing all those heart shaped mylar balloons floating around bringing joy to everyone! So I had to make some of my own in card form. For the first heart I stamped the medium dotted heart on crimson cardstock with Crimson Red Versafine ink. I then punched it out with a Marvy Mega Scalloped Heart punch and sponged around the edges with Crimson red ink. For the center I stamped the Loads of Hugs & Tons of Kisses heart on white cardstock, trimmed and colored in with Prismacolors and gamsol and then accented with a mixture of Diamond Glaze and Ultrafine glitter. For the second balloon, I punched out a Super Jumbo Scallop Heart and stamped around the edges with the Tiny Asterisk stamp and then sponged with Blue Lagoon ink. The center is the Love Ya heart stamped in Crimson Red and cut out. I popped both balloons up on pop dots for a little dimension. The patterned paper is from Bo Bunny and I used the tiny diamond stamp to stamps some strings for the balloons and then also added a little glitter to them. To finish I tied a black satin ribbon around the bottom and added some mini Doodlebug brads to the top and bottom.

Okay, that's it for now peeps. Have an awesome day!

Lovestruck

Happy Wednesday! Man the week is flying by! Sorry for the late post, I totally forgot I hadn't posted yet until I realized I hadn't gotten any comments. LOL! Today's card is another one I made for The Cat's Pajamas. I didn't want Sharon in NE to think I was neglecting Sprinkle again, so today my card feature's everyone's favorite cat.

I started by cutting and embossing some ovals in coordinating colors for my Sprinkle image. I stamped Cupid Kitty from Loving Mew inside the oval and colored with Spica glitter pens and Prismacolor pencils. And to give her a little depth, I added a little outline with my Tombow light gray marker.

The cardstock used is Muslin paper from Paper Accents. I love the texture of this stuff. I stamped the Lovestruck sentiment from the Loving Mew set in Versafine Onyx Black and then I inked up just the hearts and swirls portion of the Love Rocket from Puppy Love and stamped it on opposite corners of the sentiment. I colored the hearts in with a Spica Glitter pen and then added three Hero Arts rhinestones in the corner for some bling. To add even more sparkle I added a mixture of Diamond Glaze and Stampendous Ultrafine glitter to the dots in the American Crafts Cosmopolitan paper as well as to Cupid Kitty's wings. I set it aside, but it felt it was missing something, so I went back and added a knotted bow around the top with some May Arts black double-stitched ribbon.

Yes I Am the Muffin Man

Can you believe Valentine's Day is almost here? Valentine's is a big deal in my house, since my Dad is a Valentine's baby and my hubby was born on Feb. 15th. Somehow it seems like it was just Christmas, and now I'm realizing I have presents to buy and cards to make, like YESTERDAY! LOL! Oh, and I better hurry up and show you guys all the samples I've been making for The Cat's Pajamas before you're all Valentine'd out! :)

So here's my Love Muffin card. I was originally going to make this into a shadowbox card, but since my Marvy heart punches only give me about 1/4" clearance from the edge of the paper, I decided it would end up being too heavy to stand up with so many layers as a shadowbox card. So I adapted it to a regular card. I started by punching a Mega heart punch out of black cardstock and then a Giga Heart punch out of some pink Paper Accents Muslin paper. I then stamped the medium heart circle stamp from the Loving Mew set randomly over the pink strip with Versafine Crimson Red ink. Next I layered the black piece with the heart punch out behind the pink piece so I could estimate where I needed to stamp Angel Yappy from Puppy Love directly on my white card base. Next I made two strips of scallop borders using my corner rounder without the guide and glued them to either side of the pink strip and tied some black May Arts double stitched ribbon around one side. I highlighted Yappy with a light gray marker and then added some Stardust Stickles to his wings.

I stamped the Love Muffin sentiment in the corner and then decided it needed a little something else. So I pulled out the tiny flower from the Be Still My Beating Heart set and stamped a little flower trail across the top and bottom edges and colored each lightly with a blending pen. To finish off, I added some Liquid Pearls to the black inner mat around the heart.

Mojo Monday Week #24

Hey everyone! Are you ready for a little mojo? This week we're going for a three panel background, which is great for using scraps, adding variety with some different background stamps or embossing textures, or just going for a color blocked look. Hope you enjoy it! Link me up in the comments of this post with your card using this sketch and I'll include it in next week's slideshow of all the entries. If you upload to SCS please use keyword MOJO24 so we can all see your lovely creations in one place.

My sample card is created using stamps from The Cat's Pajamas. I started by cutting and embossing a rectangle and coordinating mat with my Nestabilities dies. I then stamped the frog prince from Puppy Love right next to the frog princess from Loving Mew. I then colored them in with some Prismacolor Pencils and Gamsol and then accented with Spica Glitter pens. So they aren't just floating froggies, I added a touch of shading with a light gray tombow maker across the panel and around their feet. Next I stamped a heart and the Be Mine sentiment from Be Still, My Beating Heart directly onto the My Mind's Eye Kiss & Tell patterned paper, then cut out free hand and matted on white cardstock. The background panels are made with the same Kiss & Tell paper and the middle panel is from American Crafts. I added some May Arts double stitched grosgrain to each of the seams and finsihed off with some K & Company pearl accents down the side.

That's all for today, peeps! Catch ya on the flip side! :)

Mojo Madness Winners & Slide Show

Hi everyone! Have I kept you in suspense on who the winners are long enough? Sorry for the late post today - as my FIL would say I've been trying to pack 10 pounds of taters into a 5 pound sack. There just never seems to be enough time to do everything - even when I stay up ALL night! I just finished viewing all 59 of the fabulous entries for this month's Mojo Madness contest, and the judging was SUPER tough! Since I've made you wait so long, I'll just get right to it...

This month's Mojo Madness Honors go to...

Laura of Scrapnextras for this gorgeously soft and elegant beauty. I just want to sigh each time I look at it. Everything seems balanced, coordinated and perfectly executed - right down to the tiniest little pearl for the bird's eye.






Suzy of Paper Monkey for this mojolicious card. Suzy said she went for something funky, and she definitely achieved it with this little number! I love all the extra details she added like the fringe for the bird to walk on and the way that the tail feathers flow off the edge of the card so perfectly. Just a total treat for the eye!

So, congrats Laura and Suzy! Email me your addresses and your choice of Verve Visual stamp set and I'll get your goodies on their way! Thanks everyone for playing, I love seeing your work. Be sure to check out all of the fantastic entries in the slide show below.

I'll be back a little later with Mojo Sketch #24.



NOTE: If you get a message that says no photos found, please hit the refresh button on your browser or the F5 function key on your keyboard, and hopefully it will reload with the pictures!

Serene Sunday

Today's the official release of the four new Verve Visual sets. They've arrived and are ready to jump into their boxes and head out into the world, starting tomorrow! Hooray! :)

Today's card is another one using the Serenity set. Sorry I've kind of been neglecting the other sets this release, but, in all honesty, I made these samples quite a while ago. My stamping time has been sorely lacking in the past few weeks, so I just haven't had time to play with my new stamps. :( Oh well, the design team did - and they've got some gorgeous stuff in the Verve Gallery, so be sure to check it out!

This card came together pretty quickly. First I stamped the solid flower in Soft Sky on Soft Sky and then stamped the sentiment, "The Joy of the Lord is my Strength" in Versafine Onyx Black. I used the ticket corner punch on the corners and matted on black card stock. The next layer is Blue Bayou, and I pierced holes around the edges and then matted on black card stock. The horizontal panel in the sketch is Soft Sky, embossed with the Cuttlebug Textile folder and then rubbed lightly with a Versafine Onyx Black ink pad and matted with black card stock. The patterned paper is from the Foyer collection by Chatterbox. The two top tabs are word window punches, which I pierced holes in and then accented with some diamond shaped rhinestone stickers. I finished off the card with some black ribbon across the bottom, some glitter glaze on the flower, and a couple white primas. I wasn't so sure about the flowers, so I actually ended up removing the primas before I sent the card to my Mom.

The card is based on the Verve Visual Honored Guest Sketch Challenge. I drew some random winners for a couple cool prizes this morning, so if you've submitted a card for the Honored Guest Contest, be sure to check out the Verve Blog today!

Magnetize Me

Hey everyone! I just figured out I have an extra hour today. My brain decided that my alarm was going off way too early this morning, and as I fumbled at my alarm to reset it for an hour later, I must have set the time an hour later instead! So, all morning I've been thinking I was way behind, but I'm pleasantly surprised now that I'm looking at a real clock and realizing I have an extra hour I thought I had lost! LOL!

Today, I thought I'd do a little something different and show you some altered projects I made with the new Serenity set. This set is available now for pre-order and will start shipping on February 11. These projects were so fun and super simple to make - I think all together they took about 30 minutes combined! I started out the first one with a little pre-made magnet I got in the $1 bin at Jo-Ann's quite a while ago. I just cut a piece of Webster's Pages Classical Garden paper big enough to cover the front and then sponged around the edges with Versafine Vintage Sepia ink. Next I used my Xyron to adhere the paper to the front of the magnet, then just sanded the sides.

For the main focus, I cut and embossed a piece of SU! Watercolor paper and a coordinating Chocolate Chip mat with my Nestabilities Classic Square dies. Next I stamped the small solid flower stamp in Mellow Moss (stamped off once to keep it soft) and then highlighted the petals with my Clear Spica glitter pen. You can't see it in the photo, but it really adds some sparkle and elegance in real life. Next I stamped over the jlower with The JOY of the LORD is my STRENGTH stamp in Versafine Vintage Sepia. I added a little knotted bow out of Chocolate Taffeta, and voila a magnet was born!

The second project I made was an altered mini clipboard. I found these wooden clipboards at my LSS in a pack of 3 for a $1, so I picked them up and stowed them in my altered projects drawer for a rainy day. I simply covered the clip board with the same Classical Garden paper and inked up the edges with Vintage Sepia. This time I stamped directly on the patterned paper with the sentiment stamp and added another Chocolate Taffeta bow. To finish I painted the butterfly on the paper with a mixture of Diamond Glaze and Dazzling Diamonds to give it a little sparkle. A super easy gift for a friend who needs a little pick me up!

Since I was having so much fun, I decided to make another magnet, but I didn't have a pre-made one the size I wanted. So I began thinking about what I could use, and decided I could make my own out of a chipboard coaster! So I pulled out my Scallop Rectangle Nestabilites and cut out a rectangle from a lightweight chipboard coaster and some more of the Classical Garden paper. I then just inked up the edges with Vintage Sepia and set aside. For the focal image, I stamped the large solid flower stamp in Mellow Moss (stamped off once) on Watercolor paper and then stamped over the top with The Serenity Prayer in Vintage Sepia. I then added some paper piercing to the top and bottom edges and punched two holes in the top corner to slide some ribbon through for a flat bow. Next I accented the flower with my Clear Spica Glitter pin, and sponged the edges with Vintage Sepia. To finish, I just glued to my covered scallop rectangle coaster and glued a magnet to the back with some Diamond Glaze.

Be sure to check out the Verve blog to see some more projects from the Design Team using this month's new releases. Catch you on the flip side! :)

It's Hip to Be Square

Well, I told y'all earlier this week that it's hip to be square. I rediscovered my love for these cute little square cards recently, and just can't stop making them! This one uses one of Jen's awesome Sketch For You To Try sketches from a while back. The stamps are from the same Puppy Love Clearly Swanky set (The Cat's Pajamas) that I used on yesterday's card. I just love these little birdies - everytime I see them I smile.

I stamped the lovebirds in Versafine Onyx Black and colored with prismacolor pencils and gamsol and then accented the beaks and hearts with Spica Glitter pens. I cut and embossed the square with my Nestabilites dies and matted onto a scallop square. The sentiment says, "Love is in the Air" and I colored in the dotted I's with Spica Glitter pens and then covered with Stardust Stickles. I added a little random Stickles lines under the birdies feet, to give them a little snowy ground to be standing on. The pink/red background paper is from the Kiss & Tell collection by My Mind's Eye. The black/white flourish paper is from the Cosmopolitan collection by American Crafts. I divided the two panels with a piece of black/silver satin ribbon from May Arts and finished off with three K & Company pearl embellishments.

You Send Me

Today's card is one I made for The Cat's Pajamas using the new Puppy Love Clearly Swanky set. I used this week's Mojo Monday sketch, and pulled out some BasicGrey Two Scoops paper. The rocket ship and sentiment are stamped in Versafine Onyx Black on white card stock. I then stamped the rocket on the Two Scoops paper and paper pieced it onto the image panel. The hearts are colored with a Spica Glitter pen, and then I added some pink dots around three edges of the panel. The panel is matted on some pink muslin and teal muslin paper by Paper Accents. I added little dots of Liquid Pearls to the bottom and top edges for a little oomph - and of course a little Stardust Stickles for sparkle. :) The ribbon is May Arts pink satin ribbon and the finished card measure 4.25" x 4.25".

Well, that's it for today, peeps - short and sweet. I've got a mile long to-do list today, which is calling my name. And my coffee maker decided not to work for me this morning, so a trip to Starbucks has just been penciled in at the top of the list! :) Okay, see y'all tomorrow.

Oh, and by the way - the four new Verve sets are available for pre-order today, so if you haven't already, be sure to mosey on over and take a peek at this month's new releases!

Mojo Monday Week #23 - Mojo Madness CONTEST

It's the first Monday in February, so that means it's time for another Mojo Madness Contest! Just make a SQUARE card using this sketch and leave a comment on this post with a link to your project by Sunday, February 11 at 8 PM Eastern. Once all the entries are in, I'll pick the TWO entries that I think are the mojo-est of them all. Those two winners will each receive they're choice of ANY Verve Visual set! Sound like fun? Well, let's get started! I fell in love with square cards all over again this weekend, so this week, it's hip to be square! My sample is 4.25 x 4.25", which is my favorite size because they fit in regular A2 card size envelopes. Feel free to make your card any size you want - as long as it's square! :) Oh, and if you upload your cards to SCS, please use keyword Mojo23 (no space between Mojo and 23) so we can all see them in one place.

My card uses one of the four new Verve Visual sets that will be releasing on the 10th. This one is called Serenity and is one of my favorite sets so far. I started by stamping the larger outline flower stamp in Versafine Vintage Sepia on Pearlized Cream. and coloring with Copic markers. Next I cut the rectangle out, because I only wanted the blossom part of the flowers to show. I should have stamped the sentiment before cutting the rectangle, because there wasn't quite as much room for the sentiment as I would have liked. Oh well - as my sister always tells me, if it's perfect, it's not homemade! The sentiment, "The JOY of the LORD is my STRENGTH" is stamped in Versafine Crimson Red, and then I lightly sponged the edges of the panel with Creamy Caramel and matted with Chocolate Chip card stock. All of the papers are from the Cosmo Cricket Hey Sugar collection. I was too lazy to go downstairs and find my horizontal slot punch, so I just used my Crop-a-dile to punch two holes and then used an exacto knife to connect them to make a slot for the taffeta ribbon to slide through on the vertical panel. The half circle is made with a 1" circle punch. To finish it off, I added a hint of Stardust Stickles to the flowers.

Well, there's lots going on at Verve this week. Tomorrow we reveal the four new Verve sets and they'll all be available for pre-order and will start shipping February 11! We've also got a sale going the whole month of February for 15% off stamps. Plus we added free shipping if your order subtotal is $40 or more! Be sure to check out the Verve Blog for some fabulous new projects by the Design Team.

Okay, that's all my ramblings for today! Be sure to checkout the slide show below with all the fabulous submissions for last week's sketch!



NOTE: If you get a message that says no photos found, please hit the refresh button on your browser or the F5 function key on your keyboard, and hopefully it will reload with the pictures!

Bella Inspiration

Hi everyone! Today's card is one I made for the Bella Pajama Party Inspiration Challenge on SCS. The challenge was to make a card with a groovy little nightie (see photo) as the inspiration. When I do inspiration challenges I try to only look at the inspiration piece once. I then write down the things that strike me most about the photo. For this challenge, my notes read.... pink, green, chocolate, diamonds with rounded edges and lots of dots. Here's what I came up with....

I started by spending about 90 minutes trying to locate my Cuppacakeabella stamp. LOL! My desk is a DISASTER, and after cleaning for what seemed forever I finally found her right on top of the pile I was sure she wasn't in! Anyhow, once I found her I stamped her in Ancient Page Chocolate Brown and colored her with Prismacolor pencils and Gamsol. Next I stamped the cupcake part again on some BasicGrey Two Scoops paper and paper pieced the cupcake frosting onto the stamped image. Next I trimmed her with scissors, added a little Cinnamon Stickles to the spots on her dress and set her aside to dry.
I then cut 3 squares from the Two Scoops paper and rounded just two opposing corners on each square to make the diamonds a little more rounded. I sponged each of these with some Chocolate Chip ink and then matted on Pretty in Pink and Sage Shadow squares with two corner rounded. The scallop mats are Chocolate Chip SuperJumbo Scallop square punches. I pierced holes around each edge to give it even more of a dotted look and then stamped the May All Your Wishes Come True stamp from Wonderful Wishes Remixed in the center diamond.

The next step was to stamp the Print Pattern background in Sage Shadow on Sage Shadow and then add little dots to the edge of each diamond with a Chocolate Chip marker. I rounded the corners and matted on Chocolate Chip. For the Pretty in Pink layer I got the silly idea that it would be cool to emboss little circles all around the edge with my Crop-a-dile and then cover them with Stardust stickles for some added sparkle. Now there's a reason I don't use my Crop-a-dile very often - it's WAY too heavy for my wrist. So I'm still paying the price for this design decision! LOL! I tied a pink satin May Arts ribbon around the Pink panel and then layered bella and her cupcake over it and behind the three diamonds. Next I matted everything on a Chocolate Chip card base with rounded corners and then added Stardust Stickles in between each diamond on the print pattern background and on all the dots on the cupcake frosting. To finish off, I added a small pink rhinestone as the cherry on top!

You have until Sunday night to play the Bella challenges and there are even some prizes to be had, so be sure to check out the Stamping Bella forum if you want to have a little Bella fun this weekend. There are three total challenges, including a sketch challenge designed by Shannan.

Just wondering if anyone else is having problems with spell check in blogger? The past few days when I click the spell check button nothing happens. So, sorry if there are some typos. I try to proofread, but don't always see them all.