Rosette Hello

Hi friends!  Can you believe it's already the last day of September?  This month flew by so fast!  Just a little reminder that tonight's the deadline to get your entries in for this month's Viva la Verve! challenges.  One lucky participant will win all the new Vervey goodness that's releasing next Friday!  Woohoo!  So for my last card of the month, I chose to do the September Week 5 Viva la Verve! sketch.

I've been making accordion flowers for a while without a die (just cut a strip of paper, score at even intervals (I usually do 1/4"), then fold back and forth on the score lines until you've got it all folded.  Connect the two ends with strong glue, then press things down, forming the circle and adhere something to the center to keep it all together) but when I saw the Rosette flower die from Tim Holtz, I immediately thought this was something I "needed" to save my little hands from carpel tunnel woes.  After using it, I'm still a bit on the fence.  I do love the little scallop edge and how super easy it was to do without needing to score.  However, I don't like the little perforated marks on the finished folds.  It's that age old convenience versus aesthetics battle!  LOL

I chose this room for my inspiration, love the black and white with a splash of color look.  It made me think of the Paddington Papers from 7 Gypsies, and I pulled in some color with Olivia BoBunny paper scraps that were sitting on my desk.  The stamping on this card is minimal - just the circle frame and sentiment from Happy Hello.  I also stamped the trio of open circles below the sentiment as little frames for my topaz rhinestones from Pizzazz Aplenty.  For holding my layers together on the accordion flower, I use either dimensional dots or sticky dots from texasjodylynn's store.  I love how they're already the perfect shape and they have a strong hold.  And if I get excited and forget to make my center piece before making the accordion, I can just slap one of the dots down to hold it together, then peel off the adhesive backing when I'm ready to glue everything down.

Okay, it seems I'm kind of chatty today.  I'll wrap things up now.  I added a little center-stitched grosgrain ribbon from Pizzazz Aplenty, and the border is an EK Success punch, which I accented with White Opal liquid pearls.  Hope you have a fabulous last day of the month!  Thanks so much for stopping by!

Thinking Vintage

Happy Wednesday!  Today I'm back with another card using one of this month's Viva la Verve! sketches.  This one is from September week 3.  I just love square cards, so I couldn't resist this super cute sketch! 

For the inspiration option, I chose this bedroom ensemble and it immediately made me think of my new Conservatory papers from 7 Gypsies.  So I pulled them out and started in on some shabby chic crafting!  Basically the papers are so pretty, that I didn't really have to do too much.  I sponged the edges with Antique Linen vintage distress ink and matted everything with some crumb cake cardstock.

For the stamped panel, I stamped a 2nd generation (ink up the stamp, stamp it once on scratch paper, then immediately on your paper without reinking) silhouette of the Kind Words flower in Soft Suede, then stamped the sentiment with full strength Soft Suede.

The ruffly bow is made with some scrumptious shabby wrinkled ribbon. I tied a normal bow, then wrapped another piece of the ribbon around the center of the first bow and tied a second bow over the top and adorned with a trinket leaf pin from Maya Road.  The embossing folder is a new one from Sizzix I found at Archiver's this weekend - Swirls #2 and I finished off with a little pierced edge on the green panel and three 4mm peridot rhinestones from Pizzazz Aplenty.

And for those of you who asked yesterday...  When I'm using Nestabilities as a stencil or mask, I keep it from sliding around on my paper by scotch taping the die to my scratch paper on all sides.  If you're sponging, you'll still want to keep pressure down with one hand on at least one edge of the die, so it doesn't wiggle with your sponging, but for masking or outlining it should stay put without much extra effort.  Okay, that's all my chitchat for this morning!  Thanks for stopping by - I hope you have a fabulously creative day!

Hi There

Happy Tuesday!  September is coming to a close and that means the deadline for Viva la Verve! entries is looming.  If you play along with all 5 of the September VLV challenges, you'll have a chance to win our October 8th release!  And the new stamps are super fun, if I do say so myself!   ;-)  There's still time to play, so check out the Viva la Verve forum for all the challenge details, and be sure to get your entries in by this Thursday night for a chance to win!

My card for today uses the September Week 4 VLV sketch, and I chose this wild and crazy room for my inspiration option.  The wallpaper reminded me of the Leaves Plain Jane, so I pulled some colors from the picture and got to work

To start off, I stamped the Leaves plain jane randomly on white cardstock in Wild Wasabi and Pear Pizzazz, then filled in the white space with the coordinating small leaves in Bermuda Bay from the Forever in Our Hearts set.

For the main sentiment panel, I did a new favorite trick of mine.  I cut the Nestabilities label, then left the die in place and used it as a mask to stamp around the edges with the leaves stamps and finished off by outlining the inside of the die with a black pen for a thin frame.  The sentiment is from Fabulous You and I added two little prima flower accents in the corner.

The black cardstock is cut with the Tim Holtz bracket die and I added a little ruffled shabby wrinkled ribbon and a strip of 1/8" grosgrain.  To do my ruffled ribbon, I lay down a strip of sticky strip or Scor-tape, and then since I find this lacks the staying power it needs to stay put long term, I brush a thin line of zip dry over the sticky strip, then bunch up my ruffled ribbon along the glue without any worries that it will unravel later.  To finish off accenting my card, I accented the white taffeta with a bow and another prima flower, then added a few 4mm flatback black pearls from Pizzazz Aplenty to spice things up.

Okay, that wraps things up for today!  Thanks so much for stopping by and have a great day!

Sunburst Mojo

Hi everyone!  Welcome to another week!  It's the last Monday of the month, so that means it's my favorite time over at Mojo Monday... round or square sketch week!  I just love making non-traditional sized cards.  For those of you who wonder, I usually keep the sizes of my circle and square cards 4.25" and under so they fit in regular A2 envelopes.  For circle cards, the largest scallop circle Nestabilities are just under 4.25", so they're just perfect.  My Mojo158 sample card for today features the Great Friend set from Verve.

There are several ways to make circle cards, but I prefer the easel back style.  It's super simple to do, too!  Just cut two cardstock circles, then take the back one and score a straight line between the top 3 scallops (you can do more if you want, but that's how many I do).  Apply glue above the score line  (I use something strong like sticky strip or Zip Dry, so it won't come apart)  and then just align the scallops on the two pieces and glue.  Here's a little photo of the back side for a visual. 

The paper is from the Olivia collection by Bo Bunny. I cut the shapes for the sketch, then stitched a little ribbon to ruffle and run across my two horizontal panels.  Next up I used the slight embossed line around my DP circle as a guide to make a dotted frame around the edge with an early espresso marker.  This circle is matted with a groovy guava circle embossed with swiss dots and sponged with groovy guava.  For the flower accent, I stamped the medium and small outline flowers from Great Friend onto patterned paper, cut out and layered, then embossed one more small flower on vellum, rubbed it with some groovy guava ink and layered on top to soften the effect a little.

That sunburst in the flower center is an absolutely gorgeous embellishment from Pizzazz Aplenty.  I just love how sparkly it is - Mark even commented on its coolness factor, so that's saying something!  :)  Then I just finished off the card with the for you sentiment from Great Friend stamped in early espresso and three little 3mm clear rhinestones, also from Pizzazz Aplenty.

Thanks so much for stopping by today!  I hope you have a fabulous start to your week!

How Sweet

Happy Friday!  Today I've got a sweet little card to share.  The paper is from the Enchanted collection by Dear Lizzy and I liked the flower in the paper so much, I decided to cut one out to use as one of the elements on my card.

I stitched the two different patterns to some pink mats, adding a punched border to the bottom.  The sentiment is from the Happy Hello set and is punched out with the large oval punch and matted with a Spellbinders Fancy Tags die cut, then matted again with the large scallop oval punch.  To add to the frill factor, I added some shabby wrinkled ribbon and a little lace trim, then finished off with some super sparkly clear rhinestones from Pizzazz Aplenty.  Oh, and how could I forget the bit of diamond glaze mixed with glitter I used to sparkle up that paper flower and a few other accents on the paper!

Okay, that's all for today!  Thanks so much for stopping by!  I hope you have a fantastic weekend!  I know I plan to get some much needed R&R after an exhausting week!

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What's In It?
Stamps: Happy Hello (Verve Stamps)
Paper: Enchanted (Dear Lizzie), Salmon card stock (American Crafts)
Ink: Regal Rose (SU!)
Accessories: Antique brads, oval punches (SU!), sewing machine, shabby wrinkled ribbon (Prairie Bird Boutique), lace trim (Maya Road), glitter/diamond glaze mixture, clear rhinestones (Pizzazz Aplenty), Fancy Tags (Spellbinders), EK Success Border Punch

Glad Tidings

Happy Thursday!  This week is really flying by!  I think I say that every week, but Thursday always seems to just sneak up on me!  Such a sneaky little day!  LOL  Today's card is another from my "just for fun" weekend and uses more Waltzingmouse goodies and the gorgeous BoBunny Noel papers.  I used this sketch by Teresa Kline although at the end I forgot and added a bunch of bling, so I'll have to make another card to send to Operation Write Home.  :)

I started by stamping the circle frame from Vintage Circles in Cherry Cobbler then cutting out with classic Nestabilities.  Next I stamped the basket and filler from Bountiful Basket Additions in the center of the circle, then the filler once more to color with Copics, cut out and piece over the top.  I layered two Lacey Circles Nestabilities to achieve a basket-like effect.  The sentiment is from the Teeny Trees set and is stamped on a Modern Label Punch from SU!  That luscious ribbon is the new cherry cobbler seam binding ribbon from the holiday mini.  Love it!   And to finish things off, I added some shiny gold pearls and a 12 mm star from Pizzazz Aplenty.

Thanks so much for stopping by!  Have an awesome day!

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What's In It?
Stamps: Vintage Circles, Bountiful Basket Additions, Teeny Trees (Waltzingmouse)
Paper: Pear Pizazz, Cherry Cobbler, Ivory (SU!), Noel Collection (BoBunny)
Ink: Cherry Cobbler, Early Espresso (SU!), Copic markers
Accessories: Classic Circles, Lacey Circles Nestabilities (Spellbinders), Modern Label Punch, Cherry Cobbler Seam Binding Ribbon (SU!), shiny gold pearls, 12 mm gold star (Pizazz Aplenty)

Good Times

Happy Wednesday!  Today I've got a simple little card using the Great Friend set.  The card has been sitting on my desk for a couple days while I decided whether or not I liked it. I'm still a little on the fence about it, just because it doesn't feel like my normal style.  But sometimes it's fun to just get outside your own little box, color outside the lines, ya know?

So, here's the lowdown...  I cut a piece of Paddington paper by 7 Gypsies, then punched a little bracket border along the bottom and matted with black.  I stamped the flowers from Great Friend on white cardstock, then colored with Copic markers and cut out.  I painted a little crystal effects around the edges then dipped in some waterfall glitter.  The sentiment is stamped on a Labels 14 Nestabilities die cut and I added a little ruffled black seam binding ribbon up top.  My finishing touches were some 2mm, 3mm and 4mm turquoise pearls from Pizzazz Aplenty.  I love how you can get multiple sizes in the same color!

Thanks for stopping by!  I hope you have a great day!

You Make Me Happy

Happy Tuesday!  Today I've got another card to show you using this week's Mojo 157 sketch.  This time I flipped the sketch horizontally and used the darling new Half-Pint Heroes set from Waltzingmouse Stamps.

I started by stamping and coloring the porthole and little guy, then cutting out with circle Nestabilities and distressing the edges a bit.  Next I used the Wave die from The Cat's Pajamas to make a little baja breeze border and added some white gel pen stitches.  The gray layer is stamped with the Sanded background from SU!  For the rectangle, I wanted a light background, so I just stamped it with the Sanded background without re-inking it.  Part of the sentiment is stamped in black, then I stamped the happy repeatedly in soft sky, then the final time in baja breeze.  To add a bit of whimsy, I sketched in a little frame.

My trio down the side are SU! bitty buttons that I backed with grey paper circles, then used a little linen thread to dress up.  The soft sky layer is embossed with the Cuttlebug bubbles folder and I added a few more distressed edges.  My final little accent was a happy little fishy from the Half-Pint Heroes set, colored and Stickled for a touch of sparkle.

Thanks so much for stopping by!  Have a happy day!

Shabby Pink Birthday

Hi y'all!  Did you have a fabulous weekend?  I got several hours of uninterrupted "just for the fun of it" stamping time and I feel refreshed and energized!  Since it's another Monday, I'm using this week's Mojo Monday sketch.  Check out the Mojo Monday blog for sketch 157 and a little inspiration from the DT.

My most recent order from Waltzingmouse Stamps arrived in record time, and I couldn't wait to get them inky!  Today's card uses the Musical Backgrounds set and a few stamps from the Teeny Trees set.  I started by stamping three sizes of the round circle thingies from Teeny Trees in Rose Red and Blushing Bride then punching out with circle punches (I'm thinking they were 1.25", 7/8" and 1/2"). Next I stamped the long musical background in blushing bride on blushing bride and made a little accordion flower, then layered all the pieced together on dimensionals and added a little flower pearl center.

The main background for the card has one of the musical background stamps lightly stamped in blushing bride repeatedly.  For the rectangle, I used some Newsprint dp, then softened it up by rubbing the blushing bride ink pad directly on the paper.  Next I cut a vellum rectangle, embossed the Birthday Wishes sentiment from Teeny Trees, then rubbed a little more blushing bride on for good measure.

My border strip is made with the EK success notebook edge and I added some shabby wrinkled ribbon from Prairie Bird Boutique.  I just noticed that I glued my border strip on the wrong direction, but I guess it doesn't really matter!  :)  I finished off with a bunch of distressed edges and some black flower pearls from Making Memories.

Okay, that wraps things up for today!  Thanks so much for stopping by my little corner of blogland!  I hope you have a great start to your week!

Vintage Autumn Wishes

Happy Friday!  Today I'm sharing a little autumn goodness I cooked up with the leaf stamps from Great Friend and a sentiment from Harvest Blessings.

Ever since I designed Great Friend, I had an idea to use these leaves for a fallish background, so I pulled out some colors that I thought said fall...  cajun craze, cherry cobbler, and peach parfait.  First I stamped the three sizes of leaves randomly on a square of ivory, then sponged the edges with crumb cake and spritzed with a mini mister of water for an aged effect.  Next I cut a Labels 10 shape and left it in the die to mask off the edges while I stamped the leaves and sentiment, then used a Cajun Craze marker to outline the inner edge of the die.  For a little aging, I pulled out my air art tool and squirted a little crumb cake splatter on it, then inked up the edges and matted on a Cajun Craze mat.

The background is embossed with the regal flourishes texture fade from Tim Holtz, and I added a little sponged crumb cake and a curled edge to complete the look.  And to add just a bit of bling, I finished off with a trio of gold octagonal nailheads from Pizzazz Aplenty on opposite edges of the square.

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

Everlasting Love

Happy Wednesday!  I've been busy working on some things at Verve so I haven't had any time to stamp recently.  But this morning I remembered this card I made for the last release and never posted, so here's something new to look at.  :)  I can't help but sing that Everlasting Love song every time I look at it!

It uses the new Love Story set and the Doodle Labels & Frames cutting file from Kelleigh Ratzlaff.  I started by cutting the label shape and a coordinating mat with my Cricut.  While I was at it, I cut one size smaller, then used the negative of that as a stencil to sponge around the edges like I do with Nestabilities..  I just love that soft effect.  The paper is from Jillibean Soup and I added the borders in cherry cobbler with an EK Success punch, then covered my seams with some early espresso 1/4" grosgrain, pleated by laying down some sticky strip, then pinching the ribbon together in intervals as I layed it down.  My finishing touch was some brown swarovski crystals on the flourishes.

Thanks for stopping by!  Hope you're having a great week!

Vintage Hello

Hi everyone!  Happy Monday!  Did y'all have a good weekend?  I suffered through a few serious migraines, but luckily last night things loosened up enough for me to do a little creating.  It's Mojo Monday and this week's sketch was designed by Teresa Kline.  It's a great way to use up some old scraps, but I have soooooo much new paper right now (I kind of went on a paper binge last week!  LOL), that I had to cut into some of it for my Mojo card.

These papers are all from the Conservatory 6x6 pad by 7 Gypsies.  I can't even begin to tell you how much I love the patterns in this paper!  I really didn't have to do much else - the papers really steal the show!  I picked my patterns and then cut them in one stack with the Bracket edge die from Tim Holtz, then sponged each with a little Vintage Photo distress ink and layered together onto the card base.

Next up I pulled out the frame stamp from Fabulous You and embossed it in Metallic Bronze onto ivory cardstock.  I distressed the edges a bit and gave it a distressed kraft mat, then tied some scrumptious new very vanilla seam binding ribbon from SU! around the edge.  For the circle element, I embossed the circle frame from Happy Hello and added the Hello friend sentiment in Bermuda Bay, then inked up the edges and matted on a kraft scallop circle.  For my finishing touches I added a brown jeweled organza butterfly and some 3 mm shiny gold pearls from Pizzazz Aplenty.

That's all on the card front today.  Thanks so much for stopping by!  I hope you have a fabulous start to your week!  Be sure to tune in to the Verve Blog this week for the final days of our Something Old, Something New project parade!

Apple Cider Thanks

Happy Friday!  I'm so glad the weekend is almost here.  I've been hit hard by seasonal allergies and the last couple days are kind of just a fog.  I'm hoping to catch up on some stamping and sleeping this weekend! Oh, and my nephew's 5th birthday party!   :)

I picked up some of the fabulous Apple Cider papers from Imaginisce at a local craft store the other day and couldn't wait to play.  But I love the paper so much, I didn't want to cover it up!  So I tried to use materials that allowed the paper to show through.  The sentiment from Dream Big is stamped on a Label 10 die cut and matted with an embossed vellum label, inked up with a little Vintage Photo ink.  The side border uses one of the Tim Holtz On the Edge dies and is matted with cherry cobbler.  To embellish, I pulled out a few goodies from Pizzazz Aplenty...some Sasha lace layered over a sheer lace from my stash, a gold mulberry flower over three cut out leaves from the paper, and some light coffee pearls to adorn the label.

Okay, that's all from me today!  Thanks so much for stopping by!  Have a fantastic weekend!

Hello Friend

Happy Wednesday!  I hope you're having a great week so far!  Today's card mixes two colors I've really grown to love over the past year.  I used to not be much of a fan of greens or oranges, and now I get a little giddy whenever I see them!  Weird how our tastes change over time.  In fact, out of all the color choices, I chose to order my new iPod Nano in green!  It's scheduled to arrive later this week and I'm so excited!

I started the card with the Book It! library card image from Ippity.  I stamped it in Early Espresso, then inked up the flower from the new Kind Words set in Pumpkin Pie and Old Olive and stamped right over the library card. 

Next up, I stamped the circle frame and sentiment from Happy Hello, punched out, matted and stapled to the library card with my Tim Holtz Tiny Attacher, after adding some Antique Linen ink to the edges of both.  The pumpkin panel is embossed with the Vintage Wallpaper embossing folder from SU! and that top little piece is just a section of one of the Labels 14 dies.  Love it as a little border!  For embellishments, I chose a fun little flower, a happy little orange butterfly and some 4mm peridot rhinestones, all from Pizzazz Aplenty.  Here's a little look-see at the close-up.

Okay, that's all from my little blog today!  Thanks so much for stopping by!  Have a spectacular day!

Hello Yellow

Happy Tuesday!  Today I have a fun little card using two of the newest Verve sets, Happy Hello and Great Friend.  For my pretty clean & simple layout, I was inspired to use a column of circles like Amy Sheffer did on her gorgeous card. 

The papers are printed from the ABC's & 123's digi papers by Sugarplum Paperie and embossed with the notebook Tim Holtz Texture Fade folder.  For the circle strip I simply stamped the circle frame from Happy Hello five times, adding a hello sentiment in alternating colors, then punched out with a 1.25" circle punch and taped together in a strip, cutting either end off after adhering it to my papers.

The flowers from Great Friend are stamped on pearlized cream paper in cherry cobbler, then cut out and layered adding some loops of green ribbon for leaves.  For the flower center I used 2mm, 3mm and 4mm chocolate pearls from Pizzazz Aplenty.  Check it out in the closeup - I really like the mixture of sizes!  The card felt a little off balance, so I pulled out my new Labels 14 Nestabilities and cut just a portion of the shape for a little bracket/border thingy.  I finished off with one rounded corner and a cherry cobbler mat on an ivory card base.

Okay, that's all from me today!  Lots to do to catch up from the long weekend!  Hope you have a splendid day!  Thanks for stopping by!

Autumn Wishes

Hi there!  Happy Labor Day!  Hubby and I have been enjoying the long weekend just hanging out and having fun.  And I'm so glad there's another day of fun in store for us!  Speaking of fun, it's the first Monday of the month and that means it's contest time over at Mojo Monday!  Play along with us this week for a chance to win your pick of any Verve stamp set!

For my Mojo 155 card I pulled out the September featured stamp set, Harvest Blessings.  Chock full of elegant and fun fall images and sentiments, this set is a big fat bargain at 40% off this month!  And some of our other fall favorites, as well as the coordinating set, Happiness Found, are on sale, too!  Check out the sale page for all our current deals!  And today's the last day to get the Anni-VERVE-sary Collection, so if you've been waiting don't miss your chance for this $34 savings!

Okay, sales pitch over!  On with today's card!  I embossed the wreath from Harvest Blessings in early espresso, then embossed the swirl leaf in the center in rich razzleberry, and then again on a scrap of ivory to cut out and pop up.  The wreath is colored with Copics and I cut it out with Classic Circle Nestabilities, then added a kraft mat with the new Lacey Circles Nestabilities.  The tag is another Spellbinders die that I cut down to size and stamped the sentiment in rich razzleberry.  The papers are from the Cosmo Cricket Pixie-Licious paper pad, and I added some rich razzleberry taffeta, glitter/diamond glaze mixture and a bunch of gorgeous little 3mm lavender rhinestones from Pizzazz Aplenty.  These ones have a hotfix backing, so I fixed them on with my favorite new toy, the iRock hotfix tool!  I love using that thing!  :)

That's all for today!  Thanks for stopping by and I hope you have a fabulous day!  Be sure to check out the Verve Blog for the next installment of our Something Old, Something New project parade!

365 Wishes

Happy Friday!  Today is Sankari's birthday and a few of my sweet friends on Facebook are posting cards to celebrate!  I knew I wanted to make a true "Sankari style" card - bright, cheerful, lots of cutting and of course lots of BLING!

Dear Sankari... how do I love thee?  Let me count the liquid pearls!  LOL  :)  In fact, this card has a year of birthday wishes on it... 341 liquid pearls dots and 24 stickles swirls, making up 365 wonderful wishes for you and your coming year!  I hope the sun shines brightly on each of your days!  Happy Birthday, sweet Sankari!

I'm headed out for a day of fun with hubby, so I'm not going to go into a lot of details on this card.  It's a whole lot of paper piecing with the balloons, stars and cupcakes from the Birthday Bash set,  a little accordion flower thingy, some ruffled ribbon and loads of liquid pearls and stickles!  Papers are from the Alphabet Soup line from My Mind's Eye.  Here's a little closeup of that accordion flower, sentiment thingy.  So much fun to make!  And I love that sparkly rhinestone star on the candle... another new toy from Pizzazz Aplenty!    Thanks for stopping by! 

Be sure to hop on over to Sankari's blog and wish her a happy day!

Butterfly Thoughts

Happy Thursday!  I'm looking forward to a loooong weekend.  We're starting a bit early, so I'll be hanging with my hubby Friday through Monday!  Yay!  Today, I'm pulling out another August VLV card {August Week 4} I made last week but didn't get posted.  This one combines the frame from Love Story with a sentiment from Kind Words.

I chose the third inspiration option for this sketch, loving the colors, the paisley pattern mixed with the stripes, and the graph look of the window panes.  The photo kind of reminded me of the new ABC's & 123's digi papers from Sugarplum Paperie, so I went with that, choosing the graph paper, some red diamond checks and some sagey aqua to print. 

The Love Story frame is stamped in Cherry Cobbler on the graph paper, then I lightly filled in the edges with a blender pen and stamped the Kind Words sentiment inside.  I then embossed just the bottom portion of the graph paper with a paisley Cuttlebug folder and inked up the edges for a little vintage effect.  The aqua piece is embossed with the candy cane stripes embossing folder and I added some riding hood red taffeta.  I punched the fountain fun corner adorner punch from the top two corners of the red paper, then punched again on early espresso and the leftover flourish shapes were fit into the corner punched paper.  I finished off with a trio of butterflies punched and popped up for the circles in the sketch and a few little chocolate pearl accents.

One Love, One Lifetime

Happy Wednesday and welcome to September!  I'm still recovering from whatever bug it is I've picked up, but last night I think I turned the corner and am on the mend!  At least I have more energy than I've had the past 2 days, so that's a step in the right direction!  :)  Since I haven't been feeling up to stamping, I'm pulling out another card from my stash today.  This is one I made for one of last month's VLV challenges {August Week 3} and haven't had a chance to post yet.  I've been waiting for a chance to use some cool specialty papers I got at Hobby Lobby, and as soon as I saw this black & gold bedroom inspiration photo, I knew exactly what I wanted to do with the sketch.

I started by embossing the frame from Framed Wishes in gold on black cardstock.  Framed Wishes was a free gift with a $35 purchase August 20 - 31, but now that it's September it's available to purchase individually!  I love this elegant frame and I know you'll be seeing it often here on the blog.  :)  I thought these colors would work well for an anniversary card, so I embossed the one love one lifetime sentiment from Love Story in the center.  Next I took some gold specialty paper and matted the frame as well as embossed with a Tim Holtz Damask texture fades folder for the center strip.  It's punched on both sides with a border punch and I highlighted each joining loop with a 4mm black pearl from Pizzazz Aplenty.  Then it was just a matter of layering everything onto some Paper Studio gold studded specialty paper and adding a big satin bow.

Okey dokey, smokies!  That's all for today.  Hope you have a great day.  Thanks for stopping by!