Verve Stamps Better Together Release Hop

Verve Stamps has released a new set called Better With You, and we are celebrating by having a Release Hop.  If you came here from Laurie's blog you are right on track. If you just happened across the hop, you can check out the master Hop List below.

I loved how Teresa used the textured image in Better with You to create a background on her card, and just had to case it.  It creates a subtle texture and adds a fabulous touch to your card.  So many wonderful sentiments in this set it was hard to chose which one to showcase!  I settled on this one and accented it with the arrow image to fill in the sentiment panel.  Some of my favorite Verve dies (Pennant Trim, Flutterby  and Elegant Leaves) were used to embellish the card, and some distressing around the edges finished things off.

Want to win some shiny new Verve? We'll be picking a random commenter on one of the hop spots below to win a $40 gift voucher to the Verve store! So be sure to leave a little comment on all the blogs below to increase your chances! Check out the Verve Blog today for all the prize info and deadlines!

	Hop List: 1. Julee 2. Amber 3. Andrea 4. Charmaine 5. Christyne 6. Janelle 7. Jen 8. Laurie 9. Marisa 10. Maureen 11. Stacey 12. Teresa

Next up is Maureen and she is sure to have something fabulous to showcase this new set!

And if you haven't heard, Verve is having a Spring Cleaning Sale!  Lots of great sets to chose from and 50% off sets which will be retired.

Thanks for popping by today! 












 
 
What's In It?
Stamps:   Better With You (Verve Stamps)
Paper:  Bashful Blue, Perfect Plum, Mint Medley, Pretty in Pink, Basic Grey, Going Grey (Stampin' Up)  
Ink:  Going Grey, Mint Medley, Black (Stamping Up)   
Accessories:  Flutterby, Elegant Leaves and Pennant Trim Die (A Cut Above by Verve), Lacy Circle Nestabilities (Spellbinders), Doily Die (PTI), Crimper (Fiskars), Black Half Pearls, Twine, Button, Glue Dots, Dimensionals

Just Us Girls #232 - Colour Challenge

This week's challenge is a colour challenge and Cheryl put together this wonderful pallet to work with.

The colours had me thinking baby for some reason so I pulled out some old SU papers with these colours and had fun pairing them with last week's Freshly Made Sketch.  The sentiment and cute elephant are from Verve's To The Moon (a must have baby set).

The rest of the  JUGS team, along with our March Guest Designer Calypso Basitan, have some wonderful samples to get your inspiration going, so head on over to the Just Us Girls blog and check out what they've 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 chosen as the Chic of the Week.  Plus if you are chosen as Chic of the Week, you could be invited to be a Guest Designer.

Spring Break is upon us, which means I get my kids all to myself for two weeks :)  This weekend my son's team is in a soccer tournament and the weather does not look promising - ugh!  Then it will be a mix of hanging out, swimming, visiting friends, and a quick trip to the Island to visit hubby's parents.   The perfect mix.  Hopefully we get some sunshine along the way!

 
 
What's In It?
Stamps:   To The Moon (Verve Stamps)
Paper:  Stampin' Up Designer Paper, Bashful Blue, Certainly Celery, Going Grey (Stampin' Up)  
Ink:  Black
Accessories:  Star Die (Stampin' Up), Crimper (Fiskars), Buttons, Twine, Glue Dots, Dimensionals

Speak Truth

Welcome to another week of Viva La Verve sketches.  This week's sketch is brought to us by Maureen.

I cheated on the background a bit as I used some of the wood panel paper from MME's On The Bright side.  Love this paper pad, as the rustic wood background reminds me of the side of an old barn.

Following along that thought, I used the Loopy Blooms die set to add some pink polka dotted flowers as they remind me of the first sign of spring coming up against an old barn.

To say I love this sentiment from Words of Wisdom is an understatement.  I am not a status quo girl and have stood my ground many a time by speaking truth in a relativistic world, so this sentiment is very dear to my heart.

Would love for your to come and play along with us!  You don't have to complete all the sketches to be entered to win the $100 Verve Stamps gift certificate, but the more sketches you enter the more chances you have of winning.    

Enjoy the sketch and make sure you come back tomorrow for Verve's newest release Hop!

 
 
 
What's In It?
Stamps:   Words of Wisdom (Verve Stamps)
Paper:  On The Bright Side, Cut and Paste (My Mind's Eye), Certainly Celery, Black (Stampin' Up)   
Ink:  Black
Accessories:  Loopy Blooms Die Set (A Cut Above by Verve), Scalloped Circle and Circle Nestabilities (Spellbinders), Buttons, Twine, Bling, Ribbon Glue Dots, Dimensionals  

Viva La Verve - Hi Friend

Welcome to the first Viva La Verve sketch for March 2014.  Julee is our hostess and has created this wonderful sketch for us to work with as well as a fabulous colour combination.  You can use just the sketch, just the colour combination or both - your choice :)

I was busily working away on on the sketch when it dawned on me that I totally forgot about the colour combination...hate when I do that!!  Didn't have time to make a second card so I have to save this fabulous combination for another time.  

Used MME's Quilting Bee papers (love this paper pad) and one of my favorite Verve sentiment sets, Lean On Me.  Adore the mix of fonts Julee used in this set.  The sentiment panel uses the Classy Label Die and matching image from Love Notes and a stamped image of the heart from More Than Love which was left over from a prior card project.  I finished things off with a touch twine and some bling.

Thanks for popping by and if you want to see which cards I chose to highlight for this week's VLV sketch and Inspiration picture, head on over to the Viva La Verve blog and check it out.

Thanks for popping by today! 

 
 
What's In It?
Stamps:   Lean On Me (Verve Stamps)
Paper:  Quilting Bee (My Mind's Eye), Going Grey (Stampin' Up)  
Ink:  Going Grey, Baroque Burgundy, Black (Stamping Up)   
Accessories:  Classy Label Die and Wavy Hearts Die (A Cut Above by Verve), Stitched Rectangle Dies (Lil' Inkers), Bling, Twine, Button, Glue Dots, Dimensionals

Mojo Monday #336

This week's Mojo Monday sketch is brought to us by Debbie and I just loved working with it!  Big circles with flower accents is my kind of card, especially since Verve has so many wonderful flower sets to work with.

The papers are from the Love You More collection by Pebbles - just couldn't resist this butterfly paper and of course the polka dot paper that goes with it - happy sigh :)   The flower is from Great Friend, the leaves are from Dream Big and the sentiment is from Poppy Birthday.  Nothing like being able to mix and match my Verve sets :)

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.  
 

Debbie Carriere

Julee Tilman (Owner)

Marisa Ritzen (you are here)

Mary Fish

Sarah Biglow

Teresa Kline

Wanda Cullen

I think we needed to build an ark this weekend as it just poured - ugh!!  My poor son reffed three games on Saturday and two on Sunday and got royally drenched both days.  Looks like it will carry over into this week too :(  Come on Spring, where are you??!!


 
What's In It?
Stamps:   Great Friend, Dream Big, Poppy Birthday (Verve Stamps)
Paper:  Love You More (Pebbles), Real Red, Mint Medley, Orange (Stampin' Up) 
Ink:  Black, Mint Medley (Stampin' Up)   
Accessories:  Dreamy Leaves Die (A Cut Above by Verve), Scalloped Circle and Circle Nestabilities (Spellbinders), Butterfly Punch (Martha Stewart), Twine (My Favorite Things), Button, Bling, Glue Dot, Dimensionals

Just Us Girls #231 - Technique Challenge

Sharyn has found a great technique for us to use this week - the Weathered Wood Background.  Here's a video clip showing you how to use it:   http://stamptv.ning.com/video/weathered-wood-background.  It's a super quick and easy technique and the sky is the limit as far as what colour "weathered wood" you want to make.

With St. Patrick's Day coming up, I decided green wood would be perfect.  Gable Green and Green Galore were my two colours of choice, and they created a very bright green background!  Yikes!! I love green but this may be too much for me, not to mention any Irish friend of mine LOL!  Gotta go out on a limb every once in a while even if you crash and burn. 

Used this week's MFT sketch and I love how the black trim brings out the green and makes the black pop. The shamrocks are from Verve's Lucky You set and I used the matching Shamrock die set.

The rest of the  JUGS team, along with our March Guest Designer Calypso Basitan, have some wonderful samples to get your inspiration going, so head on over to the Just Us Girls blog and check out what they've 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 chosen as the Chic of the Week.  Plus if you are chosen as Chic of the Week, you could be invited to be a Guest Designer.  

Another busy weekend for us - can Spring Break come soon enough?!  Hope yours is a little quieter than ours will be.  Enjoy! 

 
 
What's In It?
Stamps:   Lucky You (Verve Stamps)
Paper:  Black and Kraft  
Ink:  Gable Green, Green Galore, Black (Stampin' Up)
Accessories:  Shamrock Die Set (A Cut Above by Verve), Stitched Circle Dies (Lil' Inker Designs), Scalloped Circle Nestabilities (Spellbinders), Buttons, Twine, Glue Dots, Dimensionals

Verve Diva Dare ~ March 2014

This month's Diva Dare is entitled "Do The Polka" and the dare to use polka dots somewhere on your card. Whether you choose to strut your polka dot stamps, paper, ribbon or all of the above, we want to see you do the polka!

I just love using polka dots on cards, have a ton of polka dotted paper in my stash, and am always on the lookout for more LOL!  I opted to go with some spring colours as I am desperately waiting for it to arrive.  Not that I have anything worth complaining about versus those of you on the East Coast who have been pummelled with cold temps and snow this winter!  This cute umbrella from Rain or Shine is so much fun to paper piece, and I added some liquid pearl "sand" to ground it.  The secondary sentiment is on one of the Flag It dies and comes from Friendly Phrases (pssst, it's one of the sets being retired so it's 50% off right now over at the Verve Store!)  
  
Of course, where there is a Verve Diva Dare, there are prizes, and this month's dare provides two prizes: one for a randomly selected participant and one for a randomly selected commenter! 

Want to get all the details on how you can win some Verve Stamps?  Simply head on over to the Verve Blog to get all the challenge details - I dare you!

What's In It?
Stamps:   Rain or Shine and Friendly Phrases (Verve Stamps) 
Paper:  Cut and Paste (My Mind's Eye), Green Galore, So Saffron (Stampin' Up),
Ink: Black, Going Grey (Stampin' Up) 
Accessories:   Flag It Die Set (A Cut Above by Verve), Large Sun Die and Stitched Rectangle Dies (Lil' Inkers), Liquid Pearls, Button, Twine, Glue Dot, Dimensionals

Verve Stamps March Diva Inspiration Hop

It's the 5th of the month and that means it is time for Verve's March Diva Inspirations Hop.   This month's challenge is entitled "Spring Has Sprung".  It's time to ditch the winter blues and create a card that sings Spring using inspirational quotes, pretty colours and florals or themes that celebrate new life.  Let us know what spring means to you!   In addition to a comment prize hidden along the hop, you can play along with the challenge and link up your creation for a chance to win another prize!

If you have come here from Stacey's blog you are right on track.  If you just happened on to the hop, you can start from the top and work your way through (see hop list below). 

To me, Spring always means flowers.  After a long winter with little colour around, I always love seeing my crocuses and tulips pushing through the dirt and coming to full bloom.  Shortly thereafter, the cherry and magnolia tree come into bloom.  "Pink snow" covers our street when the cherry blossoms fall off and it is so pretty!  Oh how I love the signs of new life that burst forth in spring... happy sigh :)  

I just had to use MME's new Cut and Paste papers again.  This one in particulate is my favorite as it has flowers and polka dots.  The flower is from Dream Big, the wonderful leaf image is from Bloom and Grow and has the matching Elegant Leaves die.  Where there are flowers, there are usually butterflies (at least in my card making world LOL), so my Flutterby die came to good use once again.  I finished things off with some blue seam binding from the Spring Fling ribbon collection.

One lucky commenter along the hop will win a prize, so make sure to leave a comment on each of the participating Diva's posts to increase your chances of winning!  You can check out the Verve Blog today for all the prize info and deadlines. 

Below is the full hop list if you need it, otherwise just hop on over to Laurie's blog.

	1. Amy	11. Julee
	2. Anya	12. Teresa
	3. Betty	13. Stacey
	4. Jessica	14. Marisa
	5. Karen	15. Laurie
	6. Sankari	16. Maureen
	7. Sarah	17. Jen
	8. Sony	18. Christyne
	9. Susan	19. Charmaine
	10. Tiffany	20. Andrea

In addition, Julee has a spring cleaning sale going on over at the Verve Store right now!  Los of great deals and 50% off sixty retiring sets! 

Enjoy the hop and hope you can play along with us!

 

 

What's In It?
Stamps:  Dream Big, Bloom and Grow (Verve Stamps)
Paper:   Cut and Paste (My Mind's Eye), Going Grey, Pretty in Pink, Sage Shadow, Rose Red (Stampin' Up) 

Ink:  Black, VersaMark
Accessories:  Flutterby and Elegant Leaves Dies (A Cut Above by Verve), Lacy Circle Nestabilities (Spellbinders), Border Punch (Stampin' Up), Swiss Dots Embossing Folder (Provo Craft), Crimper (Fiskars), Spring Fling Ribbon Collection (Verve Stamps), Button, Twine, Black Half Pearls (Michael's), Glue Dot, Dimensionals 

Mojo Monday #335

It's the first Monday of the month which means it is contest time over at the Mojo Monday blog and we have this wonderful sketch by Julee to work with.  One winner will be chosen for every fifty entries so come and play along for a chance to win some Verve!

The papers I chose are from Fancy Pants' Park Bench, and I used the Loopy Bloom die for the flower and the sentiment is from Big Wish.  Just realized I used the same die on last weeks card - sorry about that!  With spring on the way I have flowers on the mind 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.  
 

Debbie Carriere

Julee Tilman (Owner)

Marisa Ritzen (you are here)

Mary Fish

Sarah Biglow

Teresa Kline

Wanda Cullen

The rain has finally come and the remainder of our eleven inches of snow is quickly disappearing.  Was beautiful while it lasted, the kids had a ball playing in it, but not it's time to look forward to spring!

Have a fabulous day!

Challenges:  Seize the Birthday
                   The Pink Elephant




 
What's In It?
Stamps:   Big Wish (Verve Stamps)
Paper:  Park Bench (Fancy Pants), Black (Stampin' Up) 
Ink:  Black   
Accessories:  Loopy Bloom Die (A Cut Above by Verve), Swiss Dots Embossing Folder (Provo Craft), Black Half Pearls, Button, Twine, Glue Dots, Dimensionals

Curtain Call Inspiration Challenge - Perfectly Peach

This week's Curtain Call Inspiration Challenge is entitled "Perfectly Peach"  and our sponsor is Peachy Keen Stamps!  The LEAD of this challenge will receive a gift certificate to spend at the Peachy Keen Store!  

Though I have no card for this challenge, the rest of the Design Team has put together some wonderful eye candy for your inspiration.  You can check out their creations on the Curtain Call Inspiration Challenge blog or on their individual blogs noted below.  
 

Perfectly Peach Designers

Gigi McKillips, Peachy Keen Stamps

Amber Kroening

Amy Kolling

Amy Tsuruta

Barb Murphy

Gayatri Murali

Kim Singdahlsen

Monika Davis

Sheri Gilson

Sarah Gough

Stacey Schafer

Tenia Nelson

Tracey McNeely

You have until March 10th at 8:00 a.m. CST to complete a new card/project using the inspiration picture and linking it up accordingly.  The Lead and Show Stoppers will be announced on March 14th.

Look forward to seeing your creations.