Mojo Monday #428

It is Mojo Monday time once again with this week's sketch being the last one of this year.  The Mojo Team will be taking a little break over Christmas and will be back in full force in January.

I adore the font Julee used to create the Every Heart Plain Jane.  I stamped it on the tag from the Flourished Tag Set and cut out a second tag to give it a bit more width and interest.  Embossed one of the snowflakes from Glad Tidings in gold and cut it out using the coordinating Snowflake Tidings die set.  Added a few brads, gold twine and bells and curled the top corner to keep the diagonal flow.

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)

Marisa Ritzen (that's me)

Mary Fish

Sarah Biglow

Teresa Kline

Justin Krieger

Lori Tecler

Wanda Cullen

Had a busy weekend of socializing - cookies exchange on Friday night and our Bible Study's Christmas dinner on Saturday night.  Great fun doing the white elephant gift exchange at each one too.  Love how gifts get stolen and restolen.  Managed to finally get my Christmas cards done and mailed out so I am ready to go into recluse mode for a day or so to recover LOL! 

     

We will be back in January with a new year of Mojo Monday sketches - yeah!!  Enjoy the break.

Challenge: Simon Says





 
What's In It?
Stamps:   Holiday Treats (Verve Stamps)
Paper:  Mistletoe Magic (My Mind's Eye) Kraft, Early Espresso, Always Artichoke (Stampin' Up)
Ink:  Black
Accessories:  Scalloped Circle, Circle and Square Nestabilities (Spellbinders), Snowflake Die (PTI), Snowflake Punch (Martha Stewart), Scalloped Border Punch (Stampin' Up), Gold Twine, White Half Pearls, Dimensionals  

Verve December Inspiration Hop

It's time for the Verve Divas to bring you our monthly Diva Inspirations Challenge and Blog Hop! There are two ways to win Verve prizes: comment on the design team's blog hop posts (linked below) to see their take on the inspiration, then go get inky and link up your take on the challenge to be eligible in our prize drawings! You have until January 5 to link up, so feel free to play as often as you like.

Our November challenge is Cup of Kindness

Everywhere you look this time of year there's a flurry of color. Shiny ornaments, twinkling Christmas lights, window displays decked out in the merriest of brights. And not to mention all the sweet little wassail, hot cocoa, tea and coffee cups all around. So this month we're challenging you to share a cup of kindness with us. Get inspired by the graphic or blaze your own color trail, just show us some colorful creations!

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

If you have come here from Maureen's blog you are right on track. If you just happened upon the hop, you can check out the hop list below to get caught up.

I used Julee's newest digi set called Cup of Kindness (a free download until December 25th!).  Love the sentiments and font art in the set and of course, the wonderfully decorated cups.  Just "had" to use the one with the snowflake on it- happy sigh :)     The sentiment is from the same set and I added some pops of red for a touch of Christmas in the midst of the pastels.

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've got a prize for one lucky commenter along the hop! Check out the Verve Blog today for all the prize info and deadlines!

	1. Julee	6. Susan
	2. Amy	7. Stacey
	3. Betty	8. Maureen
	4. Sankari	9. Marisa
	5. Sarah

Need a last minute Christmas treat for yourself or someone else, head on over the to the Verve Store and have some fun, or enjoy Julee's free digi - her gift to you this Christmas :) 

Challenge:  Simon Says






What's In It?
Stamps: Cup of Kindness Digi Set (Verve Stamps)
Paper: Dolled Up (My Mind's Eye), Pink Polkadots (Making Memories), Turquoise, Real Red, Rose Romance (Stampin' Up)
Ink:  Black
Accessories: Scalloped Circle Nestability (Spellbinders), Tag Die (PTI), Stitched Rectangles (Lil' Inkers), Scalloped Border Punch (Stampin' Up), Crimper (Fiskars), 5/8" Pink Grosgrain Ribbon (Michael's Ribbon Bin), Silver Cording, Button, Bling, Mini Heart Punch (Michael's Dollar Bin),

Curtain Call Inspiration Challenge - Dear Santa Reminder

 

We are half way through our Dear Santa challenge over at the Curtain Call Inspiration Challenge, and this is my second take on the photo.

I just love this adorable Santa image from There She Goes.  Unfortunately, the company is no longer in business so I am glad I got him while I could :) 

A quick, simple design for today's card.  Coloured him with Twinkling H2Os, added glitter on his hat and cuffs (sorry, hard to see in the photo), created the snowflake pattern on the kraft using two snowflake stamps from the same set.  

We had a bit of a scare with our new kitty this weekend.  Turns out, a plant we had in the house (anthurium) is poisonous to kitties (totally unknown to us) and he chewed a bit of leaf.  The toxicity can be mild to severe, and based on his symptoms, his was mild - phew!  He has some swelling in his throat and may have a small blister or two (side effects), but thankfully, what he ingested was minor so he can breathe, drink and eat wet food okay (dry on hold for a few days).  Things should be back to normal in a few days and we are very thankful it wasn't worse!  Never a dull moment with Paddington in the house!

Have a fabulous day, and thanks for stopping by!

 

What's In It? 
Stamps:  HoHoHo (There She Goes - Retired)
Paper:  Kraft, Real Red, Black (Stampin' Up)  
Ink:  Black, VersaMark
Accessories:  Scalloped Circle and Circle Nestabililties (Spellbinders), Diagonal Strip Pretty Panel (Reverse Confetti), Twinkling H2Os, Twine, Glue Pen, Glitter, Dimensionals

Mojo Monday #427

Welcome to the first Mojo Monday sketch for December.  That also means it is contest week!  The more entries we receive the more chances you have of winning a Verve Stamp of your choice (one winner per fifty entries).

Being in the Christmas spirit and not having a ton of time to craft during this busy time of year, I just "had" to use snowflakes, my go to accessory of choice this time of year {grin}.

Layered my snowflakes to fit the earthy colour scheme I was going for, then mated them and added a half pearl to the centers to pull in the white.  The sentiments is from Holiday Treats and since I love gold at Christmas I tossed in some gold twine for good measure.

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)

Marisa Ritzen (that's me)

Mary Fish

Sarah Biglow

Teresa Kline

Justin Krieger

Lori Tecler

Wanda Cullen

Busy weekend decorating the house for Christmas as well a doing some baking between running my son to and from his four reffing commitments for soccer games as well as his own team's game!  Good thing hubby and I can split the driving!  So far, fingers crossed, our tree has not been touched by our new >^..^<  Paddington.  However, it is only day one so we will see how we make out.  He is a very inquisitive cat so hopefully one "inspection" does it LOL! 

Wishing you a fabulous day!





 
What's In It?
Stamps:   Holiday Treats (Verve Stamps)
Paper:  Mistletoe Magic (My Mind's Eye) Kraft, Early Espresso, Always Artichoke (Stampin' Up)
Ink:  Black
Accessories:  Scalloped Circle, Circle and Square Nestabilities (Spellbinders), Snowflake Die (PTI), Snowflake Punch (Martha Stewart), Scalloped Border Punch (Stampin' Up), Gold Twine, White Half Pearls, Dimensionals 

Viva La Verve November Week 4 Sketch

Maureen's sketch screamed snowflakes when I saw the circle clusters and I gleefully went with it :)  After all, snowflakes are my accessory of choice this time of year.

The sentiment is from Christmas in the Air, and since it had the word heart in it, I carried the theme over on to the little tab by adding a row of punched hearts.  Glad snowflakes come in any colour when you are crafting :)  A touch of bling on the snowflakes, a twine bow and a little row of piercing to balance things off.

Hard to believe we are in December already!  Thankfully my Christmas shopping is done and this weekend we will put up the tree and decorate.  A big task, but just love the result :)

Wishing you a glorious day!






 
What's In It?
Stamps:   Christmas In The Air (Verve Stamps)
Paper:  Lost and Found Christmas (My Mind's Eye), Early Espresso, Always Artichoke, Kraft, Real Red (Stampin' Up), Cream Linen
Ink:  Black
Accessories:  Flag It Die Set (A Cut Above by Verve), Snowflake Punches (Martha Stewart), Small Snowflake Punch (Marvy), Heart Punch (Michael's Dollar Bin), Twine, Bling, Dimensionals 

Curtain Call Inspiration Challenge - Dear Santa

Welcome to our first December inspiration challenge!  We have a Dear Santa Theme with lots of room for interpretation :)  The LEAD for this challenge will be invited to be a Guest Designer in an upcoming challenge.

We are sadly saying goodbye to Amy Sheffer today (hugs to you, Amy, we will miss you!), and giving a big welcome to Silke Ledlow as she joins The Crew.   

I have seen some cute punch art Santas in cyberworld, so I searched Pinterest and it did not disappoint :)   Found this adorable little guy and had great fun creating him.  Added some snowflakes to the background, a red scalloped trim for a pop of colour on the right, and "made" the sentiment from MFT's Grand Holiday Greetings fit even if it hung over the edge just a bit ;)

Dear Santa

Amy Kolling
Amy Tsuruta

Betty Wright

 Kim Singdahlsen

Laurie Willison

Leigh Penner

Lisa Henke
Lori Tecler

Marisa Ritzen

Maureen Plut

Melody Rupple

Monika Davis

Sheri Gilson
Silke Ledlow

Stacey Schafer

Tracey McNeely

Have fun with the challenge and I look forward to seeing your creations in the Curtain Call gallery. 

Challenge: Simon Says





 
What's In It?
Stamps:   Grand Holiday Greetings (MFT)
Paper:  Always Artichoke, Real Red, Blush Blossom (Stampin' Up) 
Ink:  Black, VersaMark (Stampin' Up) 
Accessories:  Scalloped Circle. Circle, Scalloped Oval and Oval Nestabilities (Spellbinders), Bird Punch, Flower Punch (Stampin' Up), White Gel Pen, Dimensionals 

Mojo Monday #426

It's tall and skinny week over on the Mojo Monday blog and Julee's sketch is another keeper.

I delved into my MME Mistletoe magic pad and found a few papers to work with.  The herringbone one reminds me of candy canes and the musical script of Christmas carols so I was a happy camper.  Had great fun using this fun Reverse Confetti die cut tree for the first time (got it on sale in the summer), and paired it with an MFT snowflake and PTI's Wet Paint "joy". A few sequins to decorate my tree, a twine bow and a button on my snowflake dressed things up perfectly.

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.

Carole Burrage

Julee Tilman (Owner)

Marisa Ritzen (that's me)

Mary Fish

Sarah Biglow

Teresa Kline

Justin Krieger

Lori Tecler

Wanda Cullen

Speaking of tree decorating, we are in a bit of a quandry this year as we have not experienced a Christmas with Paddington yet (our new cat), and consequently have no clue how he will react or more importantly, "play" with the ornaments and tree LOL!    Will be an interesting adventure for us all!

Enjoy the sketch, Cyber Monday if you are so inclined, and your day!

Challenge: Simon Says





 
What's In It?
Paper:  Mistletoe Christmas (My Mind's Eye), Always Artichoke, Early Espresso (Stampin' Up)
Accessories:  Wet Paint Christmas Dies (PTI), Snowflake Die (MFT), Christmas Tree Die (Reverse Confetti), Sequins, Button, Twine, Glue Dots, Dimensionals 

Viva La Verve November Week 3 Sketch

A quick recap on this week's Viva La Verve sketch by Charmaine.

Found this cute, wood stag as part of six piece clothes pin set in the dollar bin at Michael's and had to get it.  I removed him from the clothes pin he was attached to so I could mount him on the card and then couldn't resist adding a little red nose as it fit the Christmas Wishes sentiment.

Some twine and stitched borders for a bit of a rustic feel and a tag with the smallest snowflake from Holiday Treats with a red dot in the middle for a pop of colour.   I also added a teeny strip of red below the sentiment panel as I needed some colour - artistic liberty you might say {grin} - and a third dash of red for the "rule of three".

We would love you to play along.   You don't need Verve Stamps to participate, but we love to see them if you have them.

Have a great day!

Challenge: Simon Says





 
What's In It?
Stamps:   Holiday Treats (Verve Stamps)
Paper:  Tis the Season (Echo Park), Real Red, Going Grey, Kraft (Stampin' Up)
Ink:  Black
Accessories:  Stitched Rectangle Dies (Lil' Inker), Tag Die (PTI), Wood Reindeer (Michael's Dollar Bin), Crimper (Fiskars), Twine, Red Half Pearls, Glue Dots, Dimensionals

Mojo Monday #425

Today's Mojo Monday sketch was a delight and brought me one step closer to my required Christmas card count.

I took a piece from my hoarded Echo Park, Happy Holiday's paper as it is such a fun, non-traditional mix of colours for Christmas cards.  Paired it with some medium and small sized polka dotted papers, this glorious Every Heart Plain Jane, which showcases Julee's font art fabulously, and a shimmery, silver tree.  Added some silver cording and a few pink snowflakes with a touch of bling to finish things off.

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.

Carole Burrage

Julee Tilman (Owner)

Marisa Ritzen (that's me)

Mary Fish

Sarah Biglow

Teresa Kline

Justin Krieger

Lori Tecler

Wanda Cullen

We have a cold but sunny weekend so the Christmas lights are now up and ready for action starting December 1st - yeah!  Made some butternut squash soup and did some baking for the kids lunches so I am set and ready for this week to begin. 

Enjoy the sketch and thanks for popping by today! 

Challenge: Simon Says





 
What's In It?
Stamps:   Every Heart Plain Jane (Verve Stamps)
Paper:  Happy Holidays (Echo Park), Tinsel Tree (Carta Bella), Stampin' Up DSP, Silver Shimmer Paper (Dollar Store)
Ink: Black
Accessories:  Stitched Rectangle Dies (Lil' Inker), Circle Nestabilities (Spellbinders), Silver Cording (Michael's), Snowflake Punch (Marvy), Bling, Glue Dot, Dimensionals

Viva La Verve November Week 2 Sketch Recap

This week's sketch is brought to us by Maureen and this sketch definitely has two of her favorite things on it:  a big circle you can use a doily for and a tag.

In a rush to get some Christmas cards done I created another one with this week's sketch.  Love the font on this Christmas Blessings Plain Jane.  Added a red doily (a la Moe) and underlay it with a white as it didn't really show up well against the kraft.  Back to my go to tree from the Winter Fun die set and some buttons and twine to finish things off.

You can check out my Viva La Verve recap and viewfinder post for some added inspiration or browse the gallery to get your mojo going.  Verve Stamps are not required, but we love to see them if you have them :)

Still recovering from a very busy weekend.  The son of some good friend of ours got married this past Friday and the wedding was put together in about two weeks!!  Yes, it can be done folks!  With an army of people contributing to the cause, we managed to help them pull it off :)   I made the table give aways as well as the guest registry and helped with set up and take down.  My daughter was asked to be the photographer (and I her trust assistant), her photography teacher was kind enough to lend her a high end flash for her camera as well as a diffuser, the rain held off, she got some great shots, and is giddy that she was able to do a wedding!  It was a lovely, albeit busy, day and everything fell into place.  Most importantly, the bride and groom were thrilled with the outcome and very grateful to everyone who helped pull it off.  Miracles still happen {grin}.

Thanks for popping in and have a fabulous day!




 

What's In It?
Stamps:   Christmas Blessings Plain Jane (Verve Stamps)
Paper:  Blizzard (Bazzil Basics), Real Red, Garden Green, Kraft (Stampin' Up)
Ink:  Black
Accessories:  Winter Fun Die Set (A Cut Above by Verve), Doily Die (Top Dog Dies), Circle Nestabilities (Spellbinders), Tag Die (PTI), Stitched Rectangle Die (Lil' Inker), Buttons, Twine, Glue Dots, Dimensionals