Monday Gratitude
Anyhow, you're probably here for my Mojo Monday card and not for my jabbering on, so let's get to it. The last week of the month, I always try to squeeze in a square card, because I just love them so much! I was inspired by this really cool paper from the Victoria line by 7 Gypsies. The butterfly is actually printed on the paper, and I cut it out and popped it up as an accent. I used the circle frame from Verve's new Thankful Accents set, as well as a pendant and sentiment from the same set. I hand cut the sentiment panel, (although I do wish I'd stamped the pendant on both ends, it looks a little too arrowish to me, but I had originally planned for a bigger embellishment on that side that didn't quite work out.) I slid some polka dot ribbon through the sentiment panel and tied in a bow and embellished with a pretty flower button from my stash. Some sponged edges with Vintage Photo Distress Ink and some Liquid Pearls and I was done.
And today's the last day of our big Weekend Sale over at Verve. There's over 40 sets on sale, with prices that will make you smile. The Weekend Sale ends tonight (11/30) at midnight, so if you're in the market for some deals, don't delay! :) We've also got our three newest sets and all of our winter sets on sale through December 15.
Thanks for stopping by! Hope you have a wonderful day!
Thankful Hearts Blog Hop
After a fabulous day of set reveals and challenges over on the Verve Blog, we're topping off our Thankful Hearts Blog Party with a blog hop featuring three new sets that just released, all focused on thankfulness. This is the first stop on the hop, so you’re right where you should be to do the loco-motion with me!
My card for the hop features the new Thankful Accents set and some gorgeous papers from the Heart of Thankfulness kit by Sugarplum Paperie. For my focal piece, I embossed the large circle frame with Chocolate Chip ink, then cut out with Classic Circle Nestabilities. I did a little masking with various circle cut-outs to sponge Scattered Straw, Worn Lipstick and Vintage Photo inks on my circle to match the colors in the paper. The sentiment is punched out with a 1-3/8" circle punch and I stamped a little accent underneath it for interest.
The chocolate chip panel is punched on both edges with the fleur de lis border punch from EK Succes. I added some polka dot ribbon and wrapped a couple pink Sweet Blossoms around the knot. The final touch was some liquid pearl accents on each of the scallops.
Okay, that's all for my card. To make this hop even sweeter, we’ve got a special treat hidden along the way for one lucky commenter. So if you see something that makes you smile, be sure to give a little shout-out in the comments for a chance to win our entire release!
Thanks for hopping by! Next up is some amazing eye candy from the fabulous Amy Sheffer!
And in case you get distracted or there's a hiccup in the chain, here's the full list of hops:
1. Julee <-- You are HERE!
2. Amy
3. Mercy
4. Laurie
5. Teresa
6. Sankari
7. Jen d.
8. Michelle
9. Tosh
10. Jackie
11. Susan
12. Lynda
13. Charmaine
14. Jen T.
15. Amber
Mini Pizza Box
I've been meaning to try making one of these for QUITE a while, and for some reason I kept putting it off, thinking it would be time consuming. WRONG! I had my box done in less than 20 minutes - and most of that was just picking out the paper I wanted to use! So easy, so cute and such a fabulous way to package a little gift. I know I'll be making many more of these this hoilday season! You go, Jen! ;)
I've been buying a bit more 12x12 scrapbook paper lately, because there are just some designs I LOVE that aren't available in a smaller size. So I've been challenging myself to incorporate the big patterns I wouldn't normally use for a card into my projects. Here I let the paper kind of steal the show - isn't it gorgeous. It's from the Winter's Wings collection by Webster's Pages. I matted with red, then cut other strips from the same page (a beautiful soft aqua color) and stamped the border from the new Thankful Hearts set (releasing tonight) in red to decorate the sides. The tag is cut with the Concentric Hearts die by Cuttlebug, and I added a from the heart sentiment from Thankful Hearts. A strong finish with that beautiful May Arts ribbon I'm addicted too, and a little Stardust Stickles and I was done!
What's In It?
Stamps: Thankful Hearts (Verve)
Paper: Winter's Wings (Webster's Pages), Real Red, white (SU!)
Ink: Crimson Red, Onxy Black (Versafine)
Accessories: Ribbon (May Arts), Concentric Hearts (Cuttlebug), Stickles
Give Thanks
Today's the day of our Thankful Hearts Blog Party! Yay! Time to par-tay! Starting at Noon Eastern, we'll be posting something (challenges, set reveals, sneak peeks, giveaways, etc.) every hour on the Verve Blog until the kick-off of our Blog Hop and release at 9 PM Eastern tonight! Feel free to stop in any time - the challenges and drawings are open until Monday night, so you can stamp the weekend away! :)
I've got several sneak peek cards that will be appearing on the Verve Blog today, along with all sorts of fabulous eye candy and inspirations from the Divas, so be sure to tune in over there. Right now I'll leave you with a simple card using of one of the new plain janes, Grateful Heart. Oh, and it also uses the heart from a new set called Thankful Accents. I scored lines every 1/4" with my Scor-Pal for a fun textured look. The paper is the negative scrap was left after I cut out a rectangle for another card. I loved the way it looked, and thought it would make the perfect frame for my sentiment.
What's in It?
Stamps: Grateful Heart, Thankful Accents (Verve)
Paper: Prism cardstock, Sweet as Cherry Pie DP (Websters Pages)
Ink: Baja Breeze, Real Red (SU!)
Accessories: Half spiral punch (Martha Stewart), buttons, gold cord, rhinestones, Scor-Pal, Round-it-all (Zutter), Stickles
Beary Merry
Unusually enough, I actually have a plethora of stamping done that I haven't shown y'all, I'm just having a hard time finding the time to blog! There will definitely be some new Verve cards later this week, but for now, I'm pulling out a card that's already photographed and edited. This one uses the adorable Give a Little set from TCP. I know, the bow is a little ostentatious, but I totally {heart} that ribbon, and it matched his candy cane, so I HAD to go there! LOL ;)
What's In It?
Stamps: Give a Little (The Cat's Pajamas)
Paper: Cardstock (Prism), Peppermint Twist DP (K & Company)
Ink: Onyx Black (Versafine), Copics, white gel pen
Accessories: Concentric Squares dies, Snowflakes embossing (Cuttlebug), ribbon (May Arts), Labels 3 (Nestabilities)
Merry Monday
For my sample card this week, I pulled out the adorable Make Merry set by The Cat's Pajamas and set out to make some holiday cheer. Of course, something in me always rebels when I'm doing a layout the second time, and I moved the bottom panel over. I know, REBEL, huh? LOL
Right now, I'm actually on a mini-weekend getaway with Mark, and since I wrote this on Saturday morning right before I left, I'm going to skip the play by play of the card and just leave you with the recipe...
What's in it?
Stamps: Make Merry (The Cat's Pajamas)
Paper: Cardstock (Paper Accents), DP (BasicGrey)
Ink: Shabby Shutters, Onyx Black (Ranger Distress), Copics
Accessories: Classic & Scallop Circles (Nestabilities), Embossed Curves punch (EK Success), ribbon (Creative Impressions), Lime Peel, Xmas Red Stickles (Ranger)
Thanks for stopping by! I hope you have a fabulous week!
New Moon Blog Hop
For my card, I picked a favorite New Moon quote...
and designed a little word art to print on cardstock. Next I punched a 1-3/8 inch hole in some Masking Magic, stuck to my sentiment and sponged the moon with Crushed Curry ink. The sentiment is cut out with Labels 8 Nesties and I added a few flourishes from the Hearts on Fire set by Verve. For my patterned paper I turned to an old favorite, Scarlet Letter by BasicGrey, and added a little embossing with the Harlequin Texturz plates from SU!. I finished off with a beaded hat pin from Creating Keepsakes, stuck through a big May Arts bow of black wrinkled ribbon. Oh, and a couple little black glitter dots to give some shimmer!
Okay, now it's time to hop on over to feast your eyes on some more New Moon goodness.
Birthday Wishes
I stamped the Wishing you phrase in Always Artichoke and the a very happy birthday phrase in Chocolate Chip and cut out with the Large & Small Labels. Both phrases are from the Wishing You stamp set. Everything else is paper from the Life Stories collection that has been sponged with Vintage Photo and Chocolate Chip ink. I added some piercing and chocolate pearls on the long strip, and some ribbonn instead of the flower in the corner. The main background is stitched on either end and adhered to a chocolate chip card base. Finished card size is 3.25" x 6.75"
What's In It:
Stamps: Wishing You (Verve Stamps)
Paper: Life Stories 1 Collection (My Mind's Eye), Chocolate Chip, Choice Buttercream
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Always Artichoke, Vintage Photo Ranger Distress
Accessories: may arts ribbon, Kaisercraft pearls, Large & Small Labels (Nestabilities), paper piercer, sewing machine
Silent Night
The sketch is this week's sketch challenge on SCS {SC255}. I cut Eskimo Kisses DP with Long Scallop Nesties and matted on Baja Breeze. The Pink pirouette background is embossed with the Holly Ribbons embossing folder. I stamped the Silent night sentiment from Star of Wonder in Rich Razzleberry, then stamped one of the stars on baja breeze, trimmed out and added some Stardust Stickles for shimmer. The ribbons are baja breeze stitched grosgrain layered with a Rich Razlleberry polka dot ribbon and a bow. I finished off with some white gel pen accents on the scallops and I was done!
What's In It?
Stamps: Star of Wonder (Verve)
Paper: Pink Pirouette, Rich Razzleberry, Baja Breeze (SU!), Eskimo Kisses (BasicGrey)
Ink: Rich Razzleberry, Baja Breeze (SU!), white gel pen
Accessories: Long Scallop Rectangles (Nestabilities), Holly Ribbons embossing folder (Cuttlebug), Baja breeze stitched ribbon, Rich Razzleberry polka dot ribbon (SU!), Stardust Stickles (Ranger)
Winter's Wonders
Now that I'm looking at it, I bet some aged looking jingle bells would be the perfect accent hanging from the rope. Wouldn't that look cool? I'll have to see if I can find some of those on my next shopping trip. Anyhow, I'm rambling, so I'll get to the card.
The sketch is this week's Viva La Verve! challenge and the twist is a fall/winter holiday card. I started with some beautiful snowflake paper from the Winter's Wings collection by Webster's Pages. The coral was a bit bright for the frosty look I was going for, so I sewed a block of vellum over it, to soften things up. Next I embossed the Snowflakes are Winter's Wonders sentiment from Snowflake Splendor in Vintage Photo Ranger Distress ink in the top corner. For the squares, I stamped several of the snowflakes from Frosty Flakes randomly on Choice Buttercream in Antique Linen, then stitched the borders and sponged all the edges with Vintage Photo ink.
Next I wrapped some rope from last year's SU! holiday mini around the base, then layered on Kraft and a Buttercream card base. My finishing accents were some tiny little pink pearls on the centers of the snowflakes.
Sprinkle Mojo
The papers are from the Scrapbook Basics collection by Making Memories. I loved the classy black, white and grey paired with a pop of aqua. The main background is embossed with the Candy Cane Stripe embossing folder and with all the square lines on the sketch, I felt it needed a couple rounded corners to give the card some swagger.
Okay, that's it for today. Monday's are always down and dirty around here, so I best get to work! Hope you have a fantastic day!
What's In It?
Stamps: Make Merry (TCP)
Paper: Cardstock (Paper Accents), Scrapbook Basics DP (Making Memories)
Ink: Onyx Black (Versafine), Copics
Accessories: Classic & Scallop Circles (Nestabilities), Circle punches (EK Success), Candy Cane Stripe (Cuttlebug), Stardust Stickles (Ranger), rhinestones (Kaiser Craft), Round-it-All (Zutter), ribbon (May Arts)
Hop til you Drop
For my ornament, I started with an utterly gorgeous new digital kit by Sugarplum Paperie called Heart of Thankfulness. You really must take a peek - it kind of stole my heart when I first saw it! The pink paper just makes me want to pet it, it's so pretty! The papers are clipped to the drop ornament template (although there's a pdf lines only version if you'd rather just print on your own paper), and the brown swirlies are an element from the same digi kit. Once I'd printed everything out, I embossed the Peace on Earth and Joy to the World sentiments from Winter Wonder in Chocolate Chip on all four center squares. Then I stamped one of the small snowflakes randomly in Ranger Distress Tattered Rose on each of the triangle pieces. Then I trimmed, scored, folded and inked up the edges with some Vintage Photo distress ink. Then it was just a matter of looping a ribbon through the top before closing up the sides with sticky strip, then adding a fancy wide bow to the front. Easy peasy, and another holiday gift is done! :)
Okay, that's all for today! Thanks so much for stopping by! Be sure to check out the other fun projects from Kelleigh's team, as well as leave a comment on Kelleigh's blog for a chance to win a free template!
Kelleigh
Julie
Juli
Sunghee
Sharon
Laura
Trio of Trees
Here are a few details that aren't in that post:
The hanging ornament is made with the Labels 9 Nestabilties and uses the large snowflake from Frosty Flakes and a sentiment from O Christmas Tree. Tree top embellishments include a Prima flower center, Making Memories decorative snowflake, button, star punches and ribbon. Papers are from the High of 75 digital kit by Sugarplum Paperie.
Oh, and today's the start of a new project parade over on the Verve Blog, so head on over and see what fabulous little gifty Jen's cooked up to kick things off!
TCP Tuesday - It's a Holiday Hop!
So if you've been doing the Holiday Hop, you got here from the fabulous Ana Wohlfahrt's blog, but if not, don't worry, you can just click on over to the start of this shindig, at Susan's blog, who also happens to be the TCP Tuesday Hostess with the Mostess for this week!
For TCP Tuesday, Susan challenged us with making something "for the holidays", and bless her little heart, I love an easy challenge! I knew exactly what I wanted to make with the fabulous new Give a Little set and the new alpha set.
Since there are always a few people on my list that seem more delighted with cash than anything I would lovingly pick out for them, I decided to make a little money holder card. I stamped the adorable penguin and the sentiment in Versafine Onyx Black and colored with Copics. I added some black mats, and rounded corners and a punched border to make a little tag shape, then threaded some red polka dot ribbon through the tag and embellished with a button from the Candy Sprinkles Buttons collection. The background papers are from the Fancy Pants Happy Holidays 8x8 pad, and I embossed the green layer with the Snowflakes Cuttlebug folder, then lightly sanded to set them off.
For the inside, I created a little pocket to stash the cash with a piece of black cardstock the length of my card, decked out with some coordinating paper stamped with some of the snowflakes from Give a Little, as well as the alphabet stamps, forming the words Merry Moulah.
Okay, that's all for me, be sure to head on over to the next stop on the hop, the talented Jen del Muro's blog, to see what fabulous eye candy she has for you. Then keep hopping along, because you won't want to miss what the swankiest cat in town, Alma de la Rosa, has in store at the end of the hop. Oh, and if you're wondering what TCP Tuesday is all about, read on...
Here are the deets.
1. Each a week one of The Cat’s Pajamas DT members will host a challenge. {This week's hostess: Susan)
2. The challenges will vary {stamp, technique, color, theme, sketch, etc.}
3. You will have until the end of the month to complete the challenge.
4. Post your design to the guestbook on Alma's blog.
5. TCP stamps are not required, but of course, highly encouraged. {Unless it is a challenge calling for a specific stamp}
6. There will be one winner each month. They will be deemed that month’s Swankiest Stamper and get $25 in Cat’s Cash {money to spend on the TCP site!}.
7. Only designs posted to the guestbook will be considered for the Swanky Stamper.
8. The newly crowned Swanky Stamper will be announced on the First of the Month and have his/her winning entry posted on The Cat’s Pajamas website where he/she will reign for the entire month
Mojo Wonderland
My card for Mojo112 uses the Christmas in the Air set. I really love the look of dry embossing on white cardstock, so I pulled out my Snowflakes Cuttlebug folder and embossed the shorter strip and part of the longer strip. Then I added the Winter Wonderland sentiment and matted both with black cardstock.
The focal piece is a snowflake from Christmas in the Air stamped in black and colored with Copics. I punched out with circle punches and then added some liquid pearls accents. The background paper is from the BasicGrey Figgy Pudding Collection and I adorned my top strip with a half circle, some hardware and a snowflake brad, along with a fun little bow with some May Arts ribbon.
Renaissance Faire
The twist for VLVNOV01 was 3,2,1... to use three stamps, two colors of cardstock, one type of embellishment. I actually just realized I used four stamps, but I think it's okay to use more, you just have to have at least 3. At least that's my story, and I'm sticking to it! ;-) My cardstock colors were buttercream and black and I used ribbon as my embellishment.
I started with the scroll background from Bountiful Backgrounds, stamped on Choice Buttercream with Antique Linen distress ink. Then I cut the circles and hearts with Nestabilities, sponging a little on the inner edges. Next I stamped the circle frame from Just for You and the sentiment from Wishful Elegance on the main circle and matted with buttercream and black mats. Next I stamped the flourished heart from Hearts on Fire on the heart and smaller circle in black, then again twice on scraps of the pattern paper, to paper piece the hearts.
The buttercream card base is embossed with the Moroccan Screen Cuttlebug folder, and I added a piece of the Masterpiece DP along with some black wrinkled ribbon along the top edge and accented with some gold cording. To finish off the look, I added a dotted border around the small circle and heart, then accented each scallop with gold Stickles.
Leave it to Weaver
This one uses last week's Weekend Sketch Challenge {WSC104} and stamps from Christmas in the Air and Frosty Flakes (for the solid snowflake). I had to flip the sketch to fit my sentiment. The card base is an off-white Prism cardstock and I embossed 2/3 of it with the Swiss Dots folder and added the sentiment in Rich Razzleberry. I stamped the wreath in Rich Razzleberry and the largest open snowflake in the center, then cut out with Classic Nestabilities. Next I stamped the solid snowflake in 2nd generation Rich Razzleberry, cut out and added some Stickles and bling. The scallop circle is Melon Mambo, and I used more Rich Razzleberry for the strips. The middle one is punched with my new Leave it to Weaver punch by fiskars and I threaded some organdy ribbon through it. Then I finished off with some liquid pearls accents on the strips to dress things up.
Hope y'all have a fabulous weekend! Thanks for stopping by! :)
Sunny Silhouettes
My project for today uses the Silhouette Box template from Kelleigh's November Grab Bag, as well as some papers from the gorgeous High of 75 kit by Sugarplum Paperie. These papers are so beautiful I printed them out and just stared for a little bit!
For the box, I clipped the paper to the template, added some more paper and an element in the extra space and printed on an 8.5 x 11 piece of cardstock. Then I just cut, scored and assembled. I cut a small label from the extra paper I had printed in the margins and then stamped the Hello Sunshine sentiment from Artful Elegance. This is matted on barely banana cardstock cut with the Labels 8 Nestabilities and tied to the box with some gold edged ribbon. For the top closure, I just added a few beads and some prima flowers to a hat pin and stuck through the top to keep everything closed.
For the card, I used the scrap from what I cut the small label from as my main background, then layered onto barely banana cardstock. I cut out the it's the little things tag that I had printed out, then added a little ensemble of primas, ribbon, a button and some gold card. Then I finished off with a trio of pearls and some stardust stickles.
You've Got Style
What's In It?
Stamps: Express Yourself (Verve)
Paper: prism cardstock
Ink: vintage photo and broken china (Ranger Distress)
Accessories: Victoria Cuttlebug folder, modern label & word window punch, rhinestones, ribbon, Petite ovals Nestabilities
Star of Wonder
My card today uses digi papers from the Sienna Papers pack from Roben-Marie Designs and the Star of Wonder set. I loved the warm colors, and thought it would be fun to go a little non-traditional for this Christmas card.
What's In It?
Stamps: Star of Wonder (Verve)
Paper: Paper: digi Sienna Papers (Roben-Marie Designs), kraft cardstock (SU!)
Ink: Onyx Black (Versafine)
Accessories: ribbon (May Arts), dew drops (Robin's Nest), Goldenrod Stickles (Ranger)