I've Been Published

I just had to gush a little because I was so excited to get an e-mail from one of the editors at Papercraft Inspirations Magazine, which is published in Britain, asking if they could feature one of my cards in their magazine!!

They saw a card they liked on my blog (my Mojo Monday card found here) and wanted to include it in their September 28th issue under the section featuring inspirational cards from blogs around the world!  I'm beyond honored and tickled pink at the same time!!  Thank you Papercraft Inspirations!

The magazine will not be available in North American until the end of November.  Hoping I can get my mitts on a copy.  If I'm unsuccessful, I may need a little help from my blogging friends to see if anyone can track down a copy.  Failing that, a big favor may be in the asking from one of my British blogging friends (waving to you Viv and Katina).

Thanks for letting me gush :)

 

JUGS #156 - Say It With Numbers

Since there are five weeks in September, this week's Just Us Girls challenge is a "Wild Card" challenge.  Lisa is our host, and her challenge is to use numbers on your card.

When I think of using numbers on cards, my mind immediately goes to my PTI number dies.  Love them!!  The numbers are big and make a statement, but have a wonderful shape to them so you can make them stand out or blend in depending on the look you are going for.

Having just celebrated a whole swack of family birthdays last weekend, my mind must have been on the fact one of my kids will be 13 next year because that is the number that popped into my head.  Think I must be subliminally thinking about the reality of teenagers in the house....gulp!!   Add that to the fact that the GenSoy bar I was eating inspired the colour combo (it is a chocolate mint flavor) and you have my state of mind when I was creating this card LOL!  Think it may be best if you head on over to the Just Us Girls blog to check out what the other team members have created for your inspiration as mine is going downhill fast LOL!  Then put on your creative number hat, create a card and link it to the JUGS blog for the chance to be selected as Chick of the Week :)

Thanks for popping by and have a wonderful weekend!

 

What's In It?
Stamps: Happy Birthday To You Plain Jane (Verve), Leaf Prints (PTI) 
Paper: Stella and Rose (My Mind's Eye), Early Espresso, Cameo Coral, Sahara Sand 
Ink:  Close to Cocoa, Black 
Accessories:  Leaf and Number Dies (PTI), Arched Border Punch (Martha Stewart), Button, Twine, Glue Dot, Dimensionals

Masculine Verve Birthday Card

  
This is the final Verve sketch for September.  This month always flies by being the first month of school with all the activities ramping up again.  The school year schedule has been set and here we go!!

I decided to go with a masculine theme for this card when I found this striped paper.  Matched it up with more yummy fall colours and then hand doodled the stitching around the sentiment panel.

The top right hand corner was just too plain for my linking (even for a masculine card) and since I couldn't make up my mind on what I wanted to use in the corner, I armed myself with my various options and took them downstairs for a family vote.  The consensus was the leaves with the button.  Took their vote and ran with it.  Anyone else recruit their family for decisions on cards?!  They are a great cure for indecisiveness LOL!

 

What's In It?
Stamps: Happy Birthday To You Plain Jane and Best Dad (Verve) 
Paper: Costco Paper Pack, Early Espresso, Certainly Celery, So Saffron, Cream Linen 
Ink: Black, VersaMark 
Accessories: Classy Label and Ribbon Banner Dies (A Cut Above by Verve), Scalloped Border Punch (Stampin' Up), Leaf Punch (Martha Stewart), Button, Twine, Glue Dot, Brown Half Pearls, Dimensionals 

CAS-ual Blessings

This week's CAS-ual Fridays challenge had a Fall theme, so I decided to give it a go as you all know how much I love fall colours and using my beloved leaf dies.

However, the CAS side gave me quite the challenge!  Let me tell you, CAS is not an easy style to pull off!!  The tiniest shift in image size, angle, arrangement etc. can make all the difference in the world.  I  fought with this card forever, and finally gave up and kept what I had just so I could get it done before the challenge deadline LOL!  Let's just say CAS 1:  Marisa 0.   Will definitely have to study the blogs of the "CAS pros" so I can learn a few things for next time!

Have a blessed day!



What's In It? 
Stamps: Leaf Prints (PTI), Wishing You (Verve) 
Paper:  Kraft, So Saffron, Cameo Coral, Cream Linen 
Ink: Close to Cocoa, Black 
Accessories:  Leaf Dies (PTI), Twine, Dimensionals

Mojo Monday #260 - Square Version

Had so much fun making the round version of this week's Mojo Monday sketch, I thought I would make the square version as well.   As fate would  have it, a few challenges provided a excellent excuse for the use of my beloved maple leaf...happy sigh... :)

I'm combining the sketch with a few challenges out there this week:  4 Crafty Chicks - use leaves on your card.  Hello!!  Great excuse to bring out my maple leaf again.  Delightful Challenges - use distressing on your card.  Roughed up the edges with my distressing tool.  Finally, Friday Mash Up - use Indian Summer as your inspiration.

In addition, I actually jumped on the "trendy" band wagon and used some burlap on my card.  As fate would have it, I tripped across some wired, burlap "ribbon" at one of the local scrap booking stores I frequent, so I bought some in cream and kraft.  Just love the texture it adds to a card and it is a perfect companion for leaves!  Needless to say, there may be a bit more showing up on a card or two shortly wink, wink.

My daughter and I were having a debate about which picture was better. She likes the one below, I like the one above.  The top one is crisper and has darker colours, but the main point of contention is a close up versus a more distant shot.  Which do you prefer?  Please be honest as it is a debate I have had in my own mind for some time.  Thanks!

Wishing you a delightful day!

 

What's In It? 
Stamps: Purely Sentimental (Verve), Leaf Prints (PTI) 
Paper: Country Lane (Echo Park), Stella and Rose (My  Mind's Eye), Real Red, Only Orange, Early Espresso, Cream Linen 
Ink:  Black 
Accessories:  Scalloped Square and Square Nesties, Maple Leaf Die (PTI), Crimper, Distressing Tool, Burlap, Button, Twine, Red Half Pearls, Dimensinoals

Mojo Monday #260

Fourth week of the month means round or square week over at the Mojo Monday blog.  I just love making round cards so it's always a fun challenge week for me :)

I needed a birthday card so that became the theme for my card.  I also took a slight detour from my fall themed cards (don't cheer too loudly) and went with a more spring/summer type card.

I can be a bit of a hoarder when it comes to certain paper pads, and MME's Lime Twist fits in that category.  Crazy, I know.  You'd think I would be itching to use them any chance I get, but I just hate the thought of them running out.  So...I'm trying to change my mindset to "if you have it use it" and this wonderful paper became the "victim" of my new mantra.  The rest of the card flowed from there.

Never made a round card?  Why not give it a try this week!  Trust me, you'll fall in love with them!  Or, stick with a square card and enjoy creating one of them instead.  All the challenge details are over on the  Mojo Monday blog and you also get a chance to view all the wonderful Mojo Makers samples!   Should you wish more details on their cards, you can also visit their individual blogs noted below.

Carole Burrage

Debbie Carriere

Julee Tilman (Owner)

Marisa Ritzen

Mary Fish

Sarah Biglow

Teresa Kline

Stephanie Kraft

Wanda Cullen

I am decompressing after a very busy weekend and it feels good.  We had our family birthday dinner Friday night (we have three September birthdays and one August birthday), my son's soccer game early Saturday afternoon, then my daughter's birthday party that same afternoon and evening, and I wrapped things up by teaching the Grade 5/6 Sunday School class on Sunday.  Phew!  Too much weekend action for this old mama LOL! 

Thanks for popping by today and I look forward to seeing your creations!   



What's In It? 
Stamps: Small Celebrations (Verve)
Paper:  Lime Twist (MME), Cream Linen,Old Olive, Rich Razzleberry, Pretty in Pink
Ink: Black 
Aaccessories:  Lacy Circle and Circle Nesties, Scalloped Square and Square Nesties, Butterfly Punch (Martha Stewart), 5/8" Pink Satin Ribbon, Button, Twine, Glue Dots, Half Pearls, Dimensionals

Just Us Girls #155

 

This week's Just Us Girls challenge is hosted by yours truly :)  It's my first kick at the can as a hostess and I have selected this wonderful boy's room as your inspiration picture.  I loved the colour combination in this picture and the pendants.  I hope it inspires you as well!  Just click on the picture to enlarge it if you have trouble seeing it.

I tripped across a new challenge blog called Fab Fridays and decided to use the sketch for my card.  I kept to the colour scheme, added a pendant banner by cutting up the new pennant trim die by Verve and used a mini alphabet set I got in the Michael's $1.50 bin a few years ago to add the letters to the banner.  Emery is paper pieced and looks like he has chicken pox, but no other paper would work for me so I stuck with this one.  A few buttons and stars finished things off.

The rest of the Design Team has some great samples to get your inspiration going.  Just pop over to the Just Us Girls blog for a peek at their wonderful creations.

We'd love to have you play along with us this week.  Simply create a card using this week's technique and link it to the JUGS blog and you may be selected as Chick of the Week :)

Look forward to seeing your creations!



What's In It? 
Stamps:  Emery (Verve), All Year Cheer (Stampin' Up), Studio G Mini-Alpha Set (Michael's) 
Paper: Tan, Early Espresso, Burgundy, Grey Mini Dot (Recollections) 
Ink: Black, VersaMark 
Accessories: Pennant Trim Die (A Cut Above by Verve), Sizzex Star Die (Stampin' Up), Scalloped Border Punch (Stampin' Up), Star Punch (Marvy), Brown Half Pearls, Buttons, Twine, 1/4" Brown Satin Ribbon, Glue Dots, Dimensionals

Stamping Up Only Card

When I first saw this sketch I ran for the hills!  But then I won some paper on Christine's blog and sure shootin', there was a piece in there that was perfect for this sketch!

I went for a more masculine card due to the bold circles.  Even dug deep into the bowls of my stamp cupboard and found this great Stampin' Up set that hasn't seen ink in years!!  Must say it was tough lining the sentiment parts up as I am so used to using clear stamps where you can see where you are stamping!  Couldn't find my Stamp-a-ma-jig to line things up so practiced on a scrap piece of paper and then stamped it for real on a hope and prayer.  Lucky for me, the stars were aligned as it was straight LOL!

As I was typing up this post, I realized this is a Stampin' Up only card!  Don't remember the last time I made one of those!  Nice to pay tribute to the company that got me into stamping :) 

 

What's In It?
Stamps:Happy Everything (Stampin' Up)
Paper: Sahara Sand, Stampin' Up DSP
Ink: Black
Accessories:  Crimper, Black Half Pearls

Birthday Wishes For My Sister-In-Law

I needed a birthday card for my sister-in-law so took advantage of this sketch to make her one.  She loves feminine cards so I tried to make it work for her.

I ventured way out of my norm for this card as there are a total of eleven layers (if you include the leaves and flowers).  Think that is a record for me!  Good thing it's going to be a hand delivery LOL!

Verve's Love Deepens  is such an amazing set!  It has a ton of wonderful  sentiments you can add names to and Julee thought of every combination: Cousin, Aunt, Uncle, In-Law, Grandparents, Great Grandparent, Sister, Brother, Friend, Niece, Mom, Mum (love it spelled that way), Wife, Godparent, you name it, it's in that set!! The Spellbinders heart circle acted as my "doily" and I went from there.  Some rolled some roses, a butterfly and ruffled ribbon dressed it up.

I'll find out if she likes it this weekend when we have our August/September family birthday get together.  There are four birthdays to celebrate and I'm looking forward to some good food and a great evening together :)



What's In It?
Stamps:  Love Deepens (Verve)
Paper: Sahara Sand, Kraft, Burgundy, Pretty in Pink, Mellow Moss, Cream Linen
Ink: Black
Accessories: Heart Circle, Scalloped Circle, Circle Nesties, Rolled Roses Dies (MFT), Leave Dies (A Cut Above by Verve), Monarch Butterfly Punch (Martha Stewart), 5/8' Brown Satin Ribbon, Bling, Half Pearls,Dimensionals

Retro Friend

 

Loved this week's Retro Sketch which is based on a fabulous card by Laurie.  I'm also playign along with CAS-ual Fridays which had a black and white plus another colour theme this week (hopefully the challenge police will let the green leaves slip by and not count as an additional colour).

There are a ton of options for the squares and my cast off box made my decision for me as I am desperately trying to decrease it instead of increase it LOL!

The rolled roses from my case off box were the springboard for my card and lead to my selection of this classic colour combo.  A punched border softened the lines up a bit and a touch of silver twine wrapped things up nicely.

Our fabulous weather continues and I don't want it to end!!  The leaves are just starting to turn colour and soon our street, which is full of maple trees, will be covered in the fabulous colours of Fall!   A sight that always takes my breath away. 

Thanks for visiting today. Always enjoy the company :)

 

What's In It?
Stamps: Text Objects (Verve)
Paper:  Black, Real Red, Always Artichoke
Ink:  Black
Accessories:  Rolled Rose Die (My Favorite Things), Leaf Punch (Martha Stewart), Scalloped Border Punch (Stampin' Up), Silver Cording, Black Half Pearls, Glue Dots

Mojo Monday #259

Julee has provided another wonderful Mojo Monday sketch.  I jumped at the chance to use more of my new Verve and some of this yummy Basic Grey paper I haven't cut into yet.

Had great fun using some yummy Fall colours, and a white gel pen for the little flourishes on the sentiment panel.  Something wasn't quite right, so I sponged the outside edges of the cream panel with Tim Holtz's Antique Linen Distress Ink and voila, it was exactly what the card needed.

Would love to have you play along with us this week! Just pop over to the Mojo Monday blog for all the details and a chance to view all the wonderful Mojo Makers samples!   Should you wish more details on their cards, you can also visit their individual blogs noted below.

Carole Burrage

Debbie Carriere

Julee Tilman (Owner)

Marisa Ritzen

Mary Fish

Sarah Biglow

Teresa Kline

Stephanie Kraft

Wanda Cullen

Got to watch my son's first soccer game of the season in glorious sunshine this weekend, which is always a bonus!  Do believe I even got a bit of colour!  The warm weather always brings more parents out to the field to watch the game and it is great fun chatting away with them, cheering for the boys as they play and enjoying the beautiful part of the world we live in.  Soon enough we'll be donning umbrellas, hats, gloves, scarves and even snow boots on occasion, as well as dealing with pouring rain, wind, cold feet, numb fingers, and cold bodies.  Remind me again why I do this??  Oh yah.  I'm a soccer mom LOL!     
 
Thanks for popping by today and I look forward to seeing your creations!   



What's In It? 
Stamps: Wonderfully Made (Verve)
Paper:  Capella (Basic Grey), Mellow Moss, Cameo Coral and Kraft (Stampin' Up), Cream Linen,
Ink: Black, VersaMark, Antique Linen Distress Ink (Tim Holtz) 
Aaccessories:  Scalloped Circle and Circle Nesties, Elegant Leaf and Flutterby Die (A Cut Above By Verve), Script Embossing Folder (Provo Craft), Crimper,  Cream, Brown and Black Half Pearls, Buttons, Twine, Glue Dots, Dimensionals

Just Us Girls #154

Don't you just love this challenge banner!!  I sure do :)   Lisa (our graphic guru) did a great job making sure there was no way you could miss the theme of this week's challenge brought to us by Lynn.

PTI's rainbow die came to mind when I saw this but I don't own it or any alpha dies (may have to do something about that!) so I had to go in a different direction.

I pulled out Petals and Stems, one of the first Verve sets I purchased and created a rainbow of flowers.  Added a little grass to ground them, some butterflies for balance and a sentiment to finish things off.

The rest of the Design Team have some great samples to get your inspiration going.  Just pop over to the JUGS blog for a peek at their wonderful creations.

We'd love to have you play along with us this week.  Simply create a card using a rainbow theme and link it to the JUGS blog and you may be selected as Chick of the Week :)

Today we are celebrating my daughter's 14th birthday :)  Oh where does the time go??!!   She was such a tiny baby the day she was born (5 lbs 13 oz) and is growing up into such a beautiful young lady both inside and out!  Her artistic talent is amazing (skipped a generation LOL), she dresses with flair and modesty, has a huge heart and a great sense of humour, is an avid reader and a good writer, and I love her to bits!!  I am truly blessed to be her mom :)

Thanks for popping by and have a fabulous week!

 

What's In It?
Stamps: Petals and Stems (Verve), Rubber Soul (sentiment) 
Paper: Wild Wassabi 
Ink: Real Red, Only Orange, Summer Sun, Green Galore, Tempting Turquoise, Brilliant Blue, Lovely Lilac 
Accessories:  Martha Stewart Butterfly Punch,  Half Pearls, Buttons, Dimensionals 

ColourQing Fall

  
Another wonderful colour combo by Arielle for this week's Colour Q challenge.  I combined it with this week's SCS's sketch challenge - something I have not played along with in a very long time and it felt good to jump in again :)

In keeping with my fall theme, I pulled out this wonderful PTI Falling Leaves set.  Love this little tree - it just makes me smile.

Kept things pretty basic by just using card stock, but like the bold colour blocks.  A few details jazzed it up a bit and I was good to go.

Excited for when the leaves start turning colours around here, but that is a double edged sword as that also means I have a lot of raking to do when they fall down.  Until then, I'll enjoy their Autumn splendor to the fullest :)

I must fess up and apologize about the fact that in my not quite awake state yesterday morning, I accidentally deleted the the first eleven comments on my Christmas card instead of publishing them!!  Hate when I do that!!!  Just wanted to let you know I read every one of them and wish to thank you for taking the time to leave me a  comment.  Unfortunately, the black hole in cyber world is now in possession of them so you won't see your comment on that post....wearing a big "L" on my forehead today LOL!

Have a fabulous day and thanks for popping in today!



What's In It?
Stamps: Falling Leaves (PTI) 
Paper: Burgundy, Certainly Celery, So Saffron 
Ink:  Cameo Coral, Close to Cocoa, So Saffron, Baroque Burgundy 
Accessories:  Lacy Oval and Oval Nesties (Spellbinders), Button, Twine, Half Pearls, Glue Dot, Dimensionals

Poinsettia Joy

This week's Verve sketch is brought to us by Charmaine and it is a great way to use up some designer paper scraps (or make some in my case LOL).

I got a great deal on the Spellbinder's poinsettia die this summer so wanted to pull it out and "break it in" so to speak.  Needless to say, it was the perfect excuse to pair it with this wonderful MME Christmas pack I picked up on clearance after Christmas last year.  Thus the Christmas card was born.

I'm just loving the die and think you may be seeing a lot of this poinsettia in the future (wink, wink), but not for a few months yet as I am far from ready to give up my leaf dies :)

Enjoy your day and thanks for making mine by stopping by!



 What's In It?
Stamps: Glad Tidings (Verve) 
Paper: I Believe (MME), Early Espresso, Burgundy, Kraft 
Ink:  Black 
Accessories:  Poinsettia Die (Spellbinders), Crimper, 5/8 White Satin Ribbon, Gold Cording, Gold Half Pearls, Glue Dots, Dimensionals

 

Fanspiration Diva Dare

This month's Diva Dare is to get inspiration from a card in the Verve gallery made by someone other than one of the Verve Divas.  How fun!  Love seeing the endless variety of styles and ways people use their Verve stamps. 

I worked my way through quite a few pages in the Verve gallery and a few cards with hearts on them caught my eye (I love hearts).  However, this card by my blogging friend Vickie Z, stole my heart (no pun intended LOL).  I just loved the little envelope with the note tucked into it.

I pretty much cased the entire card.  Kept the layout and made my own envelope (that was an interesting experience, let me tell you). The papers are more on the masculine side as this may very well be hubby's Valentine's Day card.  The notebook stamp from Blue Skies provided a great background for the sentiment which I easily created by arranging the individual words and heart image from Verve's new Stronger Love set on to an acrylic block.  Now I just have to make sure the "safe place" I put it in is one which my aging brain will remember...yup...don't ask me why I need to be careful about that LOL ;)  

Thanks for popping in to share a bit of your day with me today.



What's In It?
Stamps: Blue Skies and Stronger Love (Verve)
Paper:Yours Truly (Echo Park), Starbuck's Sleeve
Ink: Black
Accessories:  Wavy Hearts Die Set (A Cut Above by Verve), Heart Punch (Marvy), Corner Punch (Stampin' Up), Button, Twine, Glue Dot, Dimensionals

Dynamic Retro Smile

 This week's Retro Sketches was a fun one to work with and I combined it with this week's Dynamic Duo challenge.

For some reason, my owl punch came to mind so I decided to pull it out and use it on this card.   I embossed his tummy for a bit of texture and added a branch for him to sit on.  Added the smile sentiment as he makes me smile :)   The rest is pretty self explanatory.

Our glorious Fall weather continues bringing cool mornings and evenings and wonderfully warm afternoons :)  Needless to say, layering clothes weather is upon us and I can't wait for the maple leaves to start turning colours!!!

 

What's In It?
Stamps: Circular Sayings (Verve) 
Paper: Always Artichoke, and Cajun Craze (Stampin' Up) 
Ink: Black 
Accessories:  Owl and Bird Punches (Stampin' Up), Lattice Embossing Folder (Stampin' Up), Crimper, Twine, Black Half Pearls, Dimensionals