Best of 2016: October - December

This is the final installment of my best of 2016 posts.   Lots more posts this quarter so a few more cards.

 

For some reason I really like this card.  It didn't get a ton of comments, but for whatever reason, I quite like it.

 

Same background paper and colour mix - can you tell I love working with Fall colours ;) 

 

Absolutely adore this little angel image from Verve! 

 

Adore this colour combo! 

 

Had fun creating this wreath from the sprig image.

 

My favorite word up front and center.

 

One of my all time favorite Christmas paper packs and colour combos for Christmas cards.

 

 A bit more "JOY" for you :)  

While flipping through the year, I realized how much my stamping time and mojo was compromised...  It has been the busiest and more stressful year in a long time and it definitely showed in my card making.  Thanks for sticking it out with me :)   Next year should be a lot less busy and stressful and I am already looking forward to more inky time!

See you in the New Year!!

 

Best of 2016: July - September

Back for the third installment of the best of 2016, with July - September.

 

Heart is another favorite of mine to use on cards.

 

Surprise - more flowers ;) 

 

Another favorite verse of mine along with one of my all time favorite paper packs!

 

I don't do CAS very often as it is way out of my comfort zone and I was really pleased with how this one turned out.

Back soon with the final summary post.  Enjoy your day!

Best of 2016: April - June

Trusting you all had a fabulous Christmas!!  We had a delicious prime rib roast cooked by none other than my wonderful hubby, and though we were small in numbers this year, we had a very special time together celebrating the birth of Christ as a family.

This post will cover April through June 2016.

 

Flowers and butterflies - yup, pretty much sums up my favorite things to put on cards ;) 

 

Fell head over heels in love with this new Verve Stamps flower!

 

 One more time - I love it that much :) 

This quarter was insanely busy as my daughter graduated from high school so my card making time was at a minimum.  

Back in a few days with the next installment.

 
 

Merry Christmas

Wishing you and yours a blessed Christmas!!! 

We celebrate on Christmas Eve and had a wonderful time enjoying prime rib roast, Yorkshire pudding, double stuffed potatoes and lots more cooked by my wonderful hubby.  As usual, I was his sous chef and clean up girl - we are a great team :)    Wonderful memories of our evening together and  today we are enjoying a jammie day with brunch, some puzzle making (only time of the year I do puzzles and I love making them so always a highlight for me) and a Wii Sports challenge somewhere along the way I am sure LOL!

Sending you all a huge Christmas ((hug))!!

Blessings!

Best of 2016: January - March

Another year has flown by, and this one has been especially quick for our family!!  So much going on with family, parents and work that we are all very much looking forward to some much needed down time over the Christmas holidays :)

That being said, I am once again doing my year in review; a quick recap of my favorite cards of the year so I can spend lots of time with the family and simply relaxing - aka: family board games, reading, sleeping in, puzzle making (one of my favorite luxuries of this time of year), and creating wonderful memories.

Here goes January through March.

 Love this verse!

Emery is so fun to use on baby cards!

I love my venti, decaf non-fat latte's :)

Love working with Fall colours and orange is such an under loved colour that I gave it front and center with the flowers.

Next installment will be after Christmas!  Wishing each of you a blessed Christmas as you spend time with family and friends.

Blessings!




 
 

Curtain Call Inspiration Challenge ~ Fa La La

Hard to believe we are at the end of another year of inspiration challenges!  Don't know about you, but this year has gone by so quickly, I am not sure it even happened!    Our final challenge for 2016 is a great opportunity to make a Christmas card in non-traditional colours, and that is what I did :)

I used some orange "graph paper" to tie in the square theme, added a pink Christmas tree as per the trees, some blue accents as per the cubbie colour, and a strip of gold as per the Christmas tree and fa la la writing on the wall, added a doily to dress things up a bit, and tossed in a snowflake just because I could {grin}.  Totally fun mix of colours that I wasn't sure about when I started but love together.

 FA LA LA

Guest Designer 
Bobby, Bits & Pieces

Betty Wright

 Kim Singdahlsen

Leigh Penner

Lisa Henke
Lori Tecler 
Lynn Magnan

Marisa Ritzen

Maureen Plut

Melody Rupple

Monika Davis

Sheri Gilson
Silk Ledlow

Stacey Schafer

Tammy Hershberger

Tara Godfrey 

Hang in there during the final week before Christmas!!  I for one can't wait for some much needed down time after our very busy year.  With the kids getting older, and my mom in her eighties, I treasure every  moment we can spend together, creating family memories, and simply enjoying each others' company.  It's the best part of Christmas every year :)  





 

What's In It?

Paper:  Sunrise (Kaiser Kraft), Small Dots (Michael's), Brushed Gold, Cool Caribbean, Pretty in Pink (Stampin' Up)
Accessories:  Stitched Rectangles and Christmas Tree (Lil' Inker),  Wet Paint Christmas (PTI), Doily Die (Top Dog Dies), Snowflake Punch (Martha Stewart), Button, Twine, Glue Dot, Dimensionals

Coffee Lovers Blog Hop

 

This year's Christmas Coffee Lovers Hop is on!  It runs December 9th - 16th and there are lots of amazing sponsors and prizes up for grabs.  Amy Tsuruta does a great job organizing these so I wanted to play along to support all her hard work!   You can find the sponsor list and linky here.  If you need a little inspiration, check out the gallery as it is full of amazing creations!

For my card, I used the freebie digi set Julee Tilman (owner and designer of Verve Stamps) has on her site right now - you can find the link to download the digi set here.  Offer only available until December 31st.   I adore her coffee/tea/cocoa sets - they are always full of fabulous word art and images. 

This striped paper is so fun, but quite bold so I don't use it that often.  It reminds me of candy canes and since I love mint/peppermint I thought of a peppermint latte :)  I cut out the two coffee cups and added some red trim for a pop of colour to tie them into the red, black and white theme, mounted them on an embossed panel (aka: snow theme for winter), created a banner from one of the sentiments and added a red snowflake and touch of twine to finish things off.

We got six inches of snow yesterday and it was a beautiful scene to wake up to.   We do not get snow often being so close to the ocean, and when we do it often only lasts a day because temps warm up and it melts.  However, temperatures are dropping for the balance of the week so I think it will stick around for a bit - if it manages to stay cool enough for the next 12 days we could even have a white Christmas {grin} but that is a real stretch for us. 

Have a fabulous day and thanks for popping by today!

 
  

What's In It?

Stamps:  My Cup To Yours Digi Set (Verve Stamps)
Paper:  I Believe (My Mind's Eye) 
Ink:  Black 
Accessories:  Scalloped Circle and Circle Nestabilities (Spellbinders), Swiss Dots Embossing Folder (Provo Craft), Snowflake Punch (Martha Stewart), Black Half Pearl, Twine, Dimensionals

Verve Diva Inspiration Hop - December 2016

It's time for the Verve Divas to bring you our monthly Diva Inspirations Challenge and Blog Hop!

There are TWO $30 gift vouchers to the Verve store up for grabs this month and two ways to win! First, comment on the design team's blog hop posts (linked below) for an entry in the first giveaway. Then to be entered into our challenge prize drawing, go get inky and link up your take on the challenge. You have until January 5 to link up. Feel free to play along with the challenge as many times as you like. Verve stamps aren't required to play, but we do smile a little brighter when we see them!

If you are here from Laurie's blog you are right on track.  If you just happened across the hop, check the hop list below and get caught up!

Find a little inspiration from this sweet stocking graphic, make a colorful winter card, or head off in your own direction. There are no rules.. just have fun creating!
 

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

 I wasn't happy with my first card (see below) so I created a second one using the darling stocking image from Jolly Jingles and matching Winter Friends die set.  The Happy Holidays paper from Echo park was a perfect fit and I combined it with this month's Viva La Verve sketch and lots of snowflakes {grin}.

 

Below is my first card....keeping it real here!  My creative genes were having a hissy fit :(   I finally settled on using the middle stocking - the white one with the gold and brown strips up top and orange tassel.  Pulled in the green background as it worked well with those colours.   Quite the non-traditional Christmas card for sure - and somewhat on the masculine side so will use it for one of my male buddies.  Love this tree die from the Winter Fun die set (psssst - it is 50% off right now as it is a retiring set!).  The sentiment is from Weary World, and I added a scatter of sequins for "falling snow" an some gold twine as a finishing touch.

Need a little inspiration? Check out the blogs linked below to see what the other Divas did with the challenge! It's sure to be a treat, and speaking of treats, we're giving away a $30 gift voucher to Verve to one random commenter along the hop.  Just leave a little love as you hop about for a chance to win!

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

Time to head over to Maureen's blog to see what she has created.



 
  

What's In It?
Jolly Jingles:

Stamps:  Jolly Jingles (Verve Stamps)
Paper:  Happy Holidays (Echo Park), Real Red, Pink Passion (Stampin' Up)  
Ink:  Black 
Accessories:  Winter Fun Die Set (A Cut Above by Verve), Jumbo Snowflake (Martha Stewart), Silver Half Pearls, Button, Twine, Glue Dot, Dimensionals


Merry Christmas:
Stamps:  Weary World (Verve Stamps)
Paper:  Sage Shadow, Early Espresso,  (Stampin' Up), Brushed Gold 
Ink:  Black 
Accessories:  Winter Fun Die Set (A Cut Above by Verve), Circle Nestabilities (Spellbinders), Crimper (Fiskars), Sequins, Glue Dots, Gold Twine, Dimensionals

Mojo Monday #477

It is the first Monday of the month and that means contest time over on the Mojo Monday blog!  A great way to have a chance at winning a Verve set of your choice as a Christmas pressie :)

In the spirit of December, I made another Christmas card.  Such a fun time of year to make cards.   Love giving a hand made card to a friend, or mailing one out to someone extra special :)

I started out with a piece of MME Holly Jolly paper and pulled in some colours from there.  Love using this PTI poinsettia die and it has been under loved this year so out it came.  Stretching the poinsettia colour range a bit with a rust one, but that is the colour I needed {grin} as there was some rust in the MME paper.  Used PTIs Holiday Wet Paint set and dies for the sentiment and threw in a snowflake for good measure (or overkill, depending on how you look at it lol).

All the challenge details are over on the Mojo Monday blog and you can also view all the wonderful Mojo Makers samples.  Should you wish more details on the Mojo Maker's cards, you can also visit their individual blogs noted below.

Julee Tilman (Owner)

Justin Krieger

  Lori Tecler  

Marisa Ritzen (that's me)

Sarah Biglow

Teresa Kline

Wanda Cullen

Got the house all decorated for Christmas so just have Christmas cards, wrapping and a bit of baking to do.  This month is always a blur and I am very much looking forward to having some time off over Christmas!

Speaking of which, this is the last Mojo sketch of the year!  With December being such a busy month,  and most of us short on time to get things done, the Mojo Monday team will be taking our Christmas vacation for the rest of December.   If you need a good sketch, or some inspiration for a card, you can always flip back through this year's sketches and galleries. Loads of goodness there!

We will be back on Monday, January 2nd with the first sketch of 2017.   Blessings!

Challenge:  Simon Says



 
  

What's In It?

Stamps:   Wet Paint Holiday (PTI)
Paper:  Holly Jolly (MME), Sahara Sand DSP (Stampin' Up), Sage Shadow, Always Artichoke, Really Rust (Stampin' Up) 
Ink:  Really Rust, Sahara Sand, Black, VersaMark (Stampin' Up)

Accessories:  Poinsettia and Wet Paint Holiday Dies (PTI), Stitched Rectangle Die (Lil' Inker), Jumbo Snowflake Punch (Martha Stewart), Crimper (Fiskars), Button, Twine, Glue Dot, Dimensionals

Curtain Call Inspiration Challenge ~ Sweet

Welcome to December - meeeep!!!  This month is going to fly by and I am trying to get all my ducks in a row early in the month as Christmas is quickly approaching!  All the gifts have been purchased, house will get decorated this weekend and I actually have my Christmas letter done so I can work on sending out Christmas cards asap so they don't arrive after Christmas like they did last year.

I tripped across this fabulous card on Pinterest the other day and it fit the winter theme for this challenge, especially since I don't have any gingerbread man stamps.    Used Tag Time, Holiday Treats and the Curly Bookplate die by Verve and added a big old snowflake once again - my favorite winter accessory {grin}.

 SWEET

Guest Designer 
Karen Letchworth - My Cup Runneth Over

Betty Wright

 Kim Singdahlsen

Leigh Penner

Lisa Henke
Lori Tecler 
Lynn Magnan

Marisa Ritzen

Maureen Plut

Melody Rupple

Monika Davis

Sheri Gilson
Silk Ledlow

Stacey Schafer

Tammy Hershberger

Tara Godfrey 

I am actually hoping we do get a bit of snow this year - as there is something so soothing about watching snow fall and then seeing everything covered in a spotless, white blanket before it gets messed up by kids, cars and the like.  Plus I simply adore seeing the deciduous trees outlined with snow and the sparkling snow when the sun hits it :)   Think it brings back many wonderful memories of our skiing years as a family, and having hot chocolate after a hard day on the slopes.

Challenge:  Simon Says




 
  

What's In It?

Stamps:  Tag Time, Holiday Treats (Verve Stamps)
Paper:  Real Red (Stampin' Up)  
Ink:  Creamy Caramel, Real Red, Chocolate Chip (Stampin' Up) 
Accessories:  Curly Bookplate Die (A Cut Above by Verve), Snowflake Punch (Martha Stewart), Border Punch (Stampin' Up), Corner Rounder (Marvy), Snowflake Embossing Folder (Cuttlebug), Button, Twine, Glue Dot, Dimensionals

Colour Throwdown #421

First of all, I want to thank the Colour Throwdown team for having me as their guest designer this month!  This is a wonderfully talented team of ladies, and I am honored to have been able to join them for the month. 

This week's challenge brings a fun mix of bright colours.  A wonderfully fun way to branch out of traditional Christmas colours and mix things up a bit!

I had a very busy weekend so kept things rather simple this time round.  Pulled out this old Stampin' Up set (Blooming with Happiness) and coloured the cake flowers to match.  Kept with black and white so these wonderful colours would pop.  Added a few black half pearls to the centers of the purple flowers for a bit of dimension and lightened things up with some green twine. 

Now for the CTD rules:  Once you've finished your card or other paper crafted project, add a direct link to your creation using the Inlinkz tool at the bottom of the Colour Throwdown post.  And, don't forget to use the keyword CTD421 if you upload your project to an online gallery, or hashtag on social media with #ctd421 and/or #colourthrowdown.  Challenge guidelines are in the right sidebar on the Colour Throwdown Challenge Blog in case you have any questions.

Noted below are the Design Team members who are sure to have lots of inspiration for you!

Barbara Anders - Paper Pursuits

Broni Holcombe - Splashes of Watercolor

Lori Tecler - Inking Aloud

 Wanda Cullen - Cullen-ary Creations

 Jodi Collins- Stamping a Latte

Lynn Putt- The Queens Scene

Lisa Henke- My Little Creative Escape

Amy Rysavy - Prairie Paper & Ink

 Amy Rohl - Ink About Me

Have a fabulous week and enjoy the challenge!



 
  

What's In It?

Stamps:  Blooming with Happiness (Stampin'  Up)
Paper:  Black and White (Stampin' Up)

Ink:  Black 

Accessories:  Circle Nestabilities (Spellbinders), Border Punch (Stampin' Up),  Birthday Die (PTI), Twine, Black Half Pearls, Dimensionals

Mojo Monday #476

Trusting all my American followers had a great Thanksgiving, and if you braved the crowds on Black Friday, hope your shopping was successful!  

I love square sketches!  There is just something about them that appeals to me - maybe I am a bit square myself {grin}!   Actually, I think it is the fact that it is a nice, compact space that easy to fill and is nicely balanced as all sides are equal.  Whatever the science behind it, I love them!

I combined two wonderful Christmas sets:  Glad Tidings (think it may have been Verve's first Christmas set - an oldy but a goody!) and Angel Voices (newly released this year) and its matching Angelic Die Set.    Twinkling H2Os were my colouring medium and I just adore the sentiment font!

All the challenge details are over on the Mojo Monday blog and you can also view all the wonderful Mojo Makers samples.  Should you wish more details on the Mojo Maker's cards, you can also visit their individual blogs noted below.

Julee Tilman (Owner)

Justin Krieger

  Lori Tecler  

Marisa Ritzen (that's me)

Sarah Biglow

Teresa Kline

Wanda Cullen

Hard to believe Thursday is December 1st!!  Oh my!!  Going to be a busy month, but thankfully I have been good at getting quite a few things done in November to help ease the stress a bit so I can enjoy the season :)   That being said, I am definitely looking forward to time off over Christmas!  Jammie days, puzzles, reading, sleeping in, hanging out as a family watching movies, playing games and just enjoying each others company...priceless :)

Have a fabulous week and look forward to seeing your creations in the gallery!



 
  

What's In It?

Stamps:   Glad Tidings, Angel Voices (Verve Stamps)
Paper:  I Believe (My Mind's Eye), Kraft (Stampin' Up)
Ink:  Black

Accessories:  Angelic Die Set (A Cut Above by Verve), Twinkling H2Os, Circle and Square Nestabilities (Spellbinders), Twine, Dimensionals