Good Luck Shamrock

Another fun sketch to work with over at the Verve Forum on SCS.  Since I have a few more St. Patrick's Day babies to make cards for, this sketch was a perfect choice.

Found this wonderful piece of green polka dotted paper in my stash and gleefully cut into it for this card.  Oh how I love green {grin} :)   The kraft background was created by using VersaMark and the smallest shamrock from Verve's Lucky You set.  The largest shamrock die and matching stamp became the focal image with a Lucky You sentiment to go with it.   A perfect fit for this week's Timeless Tuesday Challenge   and Bellie Challenge too.

Can't believe the kids are on Spring Break at the end of this week!  Yikes!  The first quarter of the year is almost over and we have two weeks to hang out together.  Love having my kids all to myself :) and hopefully they concur about having me all to themselves LOL! 

Have a fabulous day!



What's In It?
Stamps: Lucky You (Verve) 
Paper: Kraft and Certainly Celery (Stampin' Up), Small Green Mini Dot (Simple Stories) 
Ink: VersaMark, Chocolate Chip 
Accessories: Scalloped Circle and Circle Nesties (Spellbinders), Shamrock Die Set and Pennant Trim Die (A Cut Above by Verve), Corner Rounder, Button, Twine, Glue Dot, Bling, Dimensionals

Merry Monday Joy

Since my new WPlus 9 word dies were still out, I decided to play along with this week's Merry Monday sketch.

Joy is one of my favorite words and it was great fun using this die.  I pulled out some Carta Bella Winter Fun paper and focused on a snowflake theme.

I added a dark brown snowflake for a pop of colour and some bling in the middle for a bit of sparkle.  Yeah! Made my first Christmas card of 2013.

Short and sweet today as I have a busy day ahead.  Thanks for visiting!



What's In It?
Stamps: Snowflakes (Amuse) 
Paper:  Kraft, Early Espresso (Stampin' Up), Carta Bella 
Ink: Versamark 
Accessories: Scalloped Oval and Oval Nesties, Seasonal Sentiments Die (W9 Plus), Scalloped Border Punch, Jumbo Snowflake Punch (Martha Stewart(, Bling, Dimensionals

Mojo Monday #284

This weeks Mojo Monday sketch is a delightful one to work with.  I opted to go with a St. Patrick's Day theme as I have three friends that have a birthday on this day.  Lots of green and polka dots for your viewing pleasure wink, wink.  Decided to add a little tag with March 17th on it, to highlight the exact birthday date :).   Was a perfect card for this week's Simon Says challenge of a Bit 'O Green and There She Goes green challenge.

Sorry about the picture quality.  The sunshine is still messing with my picture quality, so the challenge to overcome is on - I hate losing to inanimate objects LOL!  

You can check out all the challenge details over on the Mojo Monday blog and 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 (you are here)

Mary Fish

Sarah Biglow

Teresa Kline

Stephanie Kraft

Wanda Cullen

Thanks for sharing a bit of your day with me :) 



What's In It?
Stamps:   Lucky You and Calendar Countdown,  (Verve) 
Paper:  Dots and Stripes (Echo Park), Happy Go Lucky (Pebbles), Kraft
Ink: Black, Garden Green 
Accessories:  Shamrock and Flag It Die Sets (A Cut Above by Verve), Scalloped Border Punch (Stampin' Up), 5/8" Brown Satin Ribbon, Button, Twine, Brown Half Pearls, Dimensioanls

Just Us Girls #179 - Technique Challenge

Vicki has brought this week's technique challenge and it is a fun one.  You just need to use a negative die cut on your card - easy peasy and loads of fun :)

This week's CASE(E) this sketch was perfect for today's challenge and as luck would have it my new W9 Plus dies arrive today in the mail so I got to use them!

I also just "had" to use Verve's new Banner Trim Trio die again as I just love them!!  The hearts border is my favorite and fit perfectly with the card's love theme.  I also used one of the Wavy Hearts die and the cute falling heart from Stronger Love.  Happy accident: the heart left two holes where the alignment tools are on the die so I filled them in using bling :)

I apologize profusely for the poor picture - argh!!  I have a hard time taking pictures of white cards at the best of times and today's sunny day has wrecked havoc on my lighting!  Will edit the photo as soon as I get a chance.   CAS gals out there - if you have any photography tips for white cards, please let me know!

The rest of the  JUGS team has some wonderful samples to get your inspiration going, so just hop on over to the Just Us Girls blog, and check out what the Design Team has created.  Then put your creative genes to work and add your card/project to the challenge post on the JUGS blog for the chance to be selected as Chic of the Week.  

Have a fabulous weekend, and I'll be back on Monday with my Mojo Monday card! 



What's In It? 
Stamps: Stronger Love (Verve)
Paper: Pink Dots (Making Memories), Going Grey
Ink: Going Grey (Stampin' Up) 
Accessories:  Seasonal Sentiments Dies (WPlus 9), Wavy Hearts (A Cut Above by Verve), Bling, Dimensionals
    

Verve Diva Dare ~ March 2013

Today marks the beginning of this month's Verve Diva Dare.  Each month, the Verve Divas put together a challenge for you to play along with.  This month's challenge is entitled Just Give Me Stamps, Buttons and Bling.

Here is a a sneak peek of my card.

To find out about all the challenge details and how you can win some Verve goodies, simply head on over to the Verve Blog.

Look forward to seeing your creations!

Sweet Sunday Sketch #179

It has been way too long since I've played along with Karen's Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge so it was time to rectify the issue.   Think the round circle sucked me in wink, wink.  Always love it when there is a big circle to play around with on a sketch as there are so many possibilities.  Since I loved this week's Colour Q I paired the two challenges for this card.  

Initially, I was aiming to use some leaves as these colours just scream fall, but then I decided to continue on with my inadvertent theme this week -  verses that have been turned into songs.

Psalm 46:10 is one of my favorite verses.  Think I've said the same thing about the verses I have used on my last two cards...what can I say...I have quite a few favorite verses :)  Love that Verve has them as Plain Janes!

This verse speaks to me often, especially when catch myself running on life's hamster wheel.  As a kid I used to love watching what happened when our hamsters could no longer run on their wheel due to exhaustion.  They couldn't get off because the wheel was spinning too quickly so they had to stop running, hang on for dear life, and let the momentum they had generated take them for a few loops around the wheel.  Once the wheel stopped, they were able to walk away.  Oh how true this is of real life!  Note to self:  Get off the wheel before you are exhausted so you don't get thrown for a loop ;)

There you have it, a little insight into my world.  Just don't think of me as a hamster very time you see my name and I'll be good LOL!

Have a great day everyone :) 


What's In It?
Stamps:  Psalm 46:10 Plain Jane (Verve Stamps) 
Paper:  Springtime (Echo Park), Mini Dot (Simple Stories), Kraft, Cameo Coral 
Ink:  Black 
Accessories:  Scalloped Trim Trio, Loopy Bloom and Banner Bundle Die Set (A Cut Above by Verve), Scalloped Circle and Circle Nestabilities (Spellbinders),  Felt, Buttons, Twine, Glue Dots, Dimensionals

The Joy Of The Lord Is My Strength

Hard to believe we are in March already!  Yikes!!  Spring Break is just two short weeks away -- says a mom who needs to get her act together planning activities to do with her kids over the break!  I decided to avoid that thought for a while while I worked on this week's Verve sketch.

I went back to my Verve roots and used the very first set I purchased called Serenity.  That was the beginning of my love affair/addition to Verve Stamps.   Guess you could say it is our six year anniversary wink, wink :)

The sentiment and over stamped image are both from the set and after singing It Is Well all day yesterday, today I'll be singing the course that goes with this sentiment!  May have to keep the song theme going this week ;)  



What's In It?
Stamps: Serenity (Verve) 
Paper: Garden Florals (Recollections - Michael's), Mellow Moss, Blush Blossom 
Ink:  Black, Blush Blossom 
Accessories:  Scalloped Circle and Circle Nesties, Butterfly Punches (Martha Stewart), 3/8" Brown Grosgrain Ribbon (Stampin' Up), Distressing Tool (Stampin' Up), Brown Half Pearls, Button, Twine, Glue Dot, Dimensionals

Mojo Monday #283

It 's the first Monday of the month so that means it's contest week over on the Mojo Monday blog! 

This week's sketch is brought to us by Carole and it was a great one to work with.  I know I say that just about every week, but it's true!  Love Mojo Monday sketches :)

I knew I wanted to use this sentiment from Surely Goodness as it has been calling my name (loudly) since I first got the set.  Needless to say, the fabulous hymn it is taken from has been my companion all day :)

Vaguely remembering a bit of the story behind why the hymn was written, I decided it was time to get the facts and this is what I discovered:  The hymn was written from a place of deep, deep loss.  Horatio Spafford lost his only son to Scarlett fever, then shortly thereafter, the real estate investments he had burned to the ground in the great Chicago fire wiping out his finances.  With all the stress of the past year, the family decided to take a vacation to Europe.  At the last minute, Spafford was detained by some business so he sent his wife and four daughters ahead and was to follow a few days later.  The ship his wife and daughters sailed on collided with another ship at sea, and all four of his daughters drowned.  Only his wife was spared.  Upon receiving the news from his wife, he immediately boarded a ship to Europe to go and get her.  While on the ship, he asked the captain to tell him when they were sailing past the area where the ship carrying his family went down.  When the captain advised him they were near the location, he went to his cabin and penned this amazing hymn.  Here is a You Tube link to the hymn if you want to give it a listen.  Sorry for the tangent, but just had to share that bit of info as it brings great depth to the hymn and this sentiment :)


You can check out all the challenge details over on the  Mojo Monday blog and 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 (you are here)

Mary Fish

Sarah Biglow

Teresa Kline

Stephanie Kraft

Wanda Cullen

Thanks for sharing a bit of your day with me :) 



What's In It?
Stamps:   Surely Goodness (Verve), French Script (Stampin' Up)
Paper:  Garden Floral (Recollections - Michael's), Kraft, Cameo Coral, Early Espresso  (Stampin' Up)
Ink: Black, Sahara Sand
Accessories: Scalloped Nesties, Scalloped Trim Trio and Flutterby  (A Cut Above by Verve), 5/8" Brown Satin Ribbon, Crimper (Fiskars), Button, Bling, Twine, Dimensioanls

Just Us Girls #178 - Sketch Challenge

This week's Just Us Girls challenge is a sketch is brought to us by Lisa, and it is a great sketch to work with.

I combined the sketch with this week's Play Date Cafe colours as I just loooove that colour combination!

Happy mail arrive the other day and I was beyond giddy to finally own this PTI flower die and stamp set.  I have seen my blogging buddy and fellow Diva Maureen work wonders with it for the past few years and I finally caved in and got it.  Can you say love!!  Oh my...you may be seeing it a lot over the next little while.  What a fun, fun flower!!

The rest of the  JUGS team has some wonderful samples to get your inspiration going, so just hop on over to the Just Us Girls blog, and check out what the Design Team has created.  Then put your creative genes to work and add your card/project to the challenge post on the JUGS blog for the chance to be selected as Chic of the Week.  

Have a fabulous weekend, and I'll be back on Monday with my Mojo Monday card! 



What's In It? 
Stamps: Frilly Flowers (PTI), French Script (Stampin' Up), Beautiful You (Verve) 
Paper: Kraft, White 
Ink: Sage Shadow, Cameo Coral, Blush Blossom, Sahara Sand (Stampin' Up) 
Accessories: Frilly Flower Die (PTI), Bling, Button, Twine, Dimensionals

MFT Thanks

Love this week's MFT sketch. So many options for that big circle :)

I combined it with this week's Colour Throwdown as the colours screamed spring to me and spring means flower and butterflies to me so it was a perfect excuse to use Verve's new Surely Goodness and So Fluttery sets.

A nice, easy card that you can whip up and simply switch out the sentiment, depending on the occasion you need it for.

Thanks for popping by today, and I'll be back tomorrow with this week's Just Us Girls challenge.

Have a fabulous day and yeah for the weekend!!



What's In It?
Stamps: So Fluttery, Surely Goodness and Bloom and Grow (Verve) 
Paper: Kraft, Certainly Celery So Saffron (Stampin' Up) 
Ink:  Black, VersaMark, Rose Romance 
Accessories: Goodness Flower Die, Flutterby Die and Dreamy Leaves Die (A Cut Above by Verve), Lacy Circle and Circlel Nesties, Swiss Dots and Seeing Spots Embossing Folders, Button, Twine, Black Half Pearls, Dimensionals