Curtain Call Act 45

It makes me sad to know that this is  my final Curtain Call Crew Design Team card...sniff, sniff....  The current Crew's six month journey has come to an end and a new Crew will be coming on board.  I have already thanked Stacey for this fabulous opportunity, but wish to do so one last time - thanks, Stacey!!!

What an amazing journey this has been for little old me :)  From the first e-mail Stacey sent me asking me whether I would like to be part of the Design Team (which almost sent me into shock and then hyper-ventilation), to being stretched and challenged, to having the joy of working alongside some wonderfully talented ladies - the perfect mix!  And to think, I used to shy away from colour challenges LOL!  Needless to say, I look forward to continuing to participate in Stacey's wonderful weekly challenge as it's hard to give up a good thing :)

This colour combination is my favorite one of the month.  I love the mix of colours, and the inspiration piece couldn't be more appropriate - flowers, yeah!!!  That being said, I did plan on using flowers on my card but they morphed into grapes LOL!    I just couldn't settle on a flower set and then tripped across this wonderful Art Impressions stamp and knew it was meant to be.  I brought out my crimper for a bit of a rustic feel and ended up using the large dot embossing folder on the celery panel because it tied in with the round grapes.  I did try the swirls folder as it matched the vine swirls, but it didn't look as good with the crimped panel (at least in my mind it didn't).  A button, a few half pearls and I'm ready for a nice glass of red wine LOL!


The rest of the Curtain Call Crew have some samples for you along with our August Guest Designer, Teresa Kline.

• Amy White - Delvinwhite Designs
• Andrea Roose - Andrea's Scrap -und Stampel Blog
• Iwona Palamountain (Chupa) - Random Acts of Creativity
• Julie Smith - Paper and Such 
• Lea Lawson - Cupcakes & Sunshine
• Melissa Hubert - My Paper Obsession 
• Shelley Germann - Stampin' Garden 
• Sue Kohler - My Inner Reflection 
• Stacey Schafer - Stacey's Stamping Stage (Our Director) 

And, our August Guest Designer, Teresa Kline at enjoy the va.sunshine


We'd love it if you joined us too!!  Simply create a card using this week's colours and add your card to Mr. Linky on Stacey's blog.  If  you are uploading to a public gallery, please make sure to use the keyword Curtain Call 45.  Each week, Stacey will select one person to receive her "I Got The Lead At The Curtain Call"  Award as well as five people to receive her "I'm A Top 5 Curtain Call Show Stopper" Award which you can post on your blog, so come on over and join the fun!

This coming week is going to be a zoo!  We are away for a few days and then have to get organized for school and all the Fall activities.  This has been a busy summer, and this introverted stamper is beginning to twitch from a lack of quiet, alone, uninterrupted, mommy time!!  I am SO looking forward to September 8th, the kids first full day of school.  Just me and the cat for six blissful hours....oh sigh....LOL!  I'm sure it will be a mix of reading and stamping over the six hours.   That being said, hope to post on the weekend some time, if all goes well, if not, after Labour Day for sure.  Have a fabulous week!




What's In It?
Stamps:  Art Impressions, Itty Bitty Backgrouds (SU)
Paper:  Elegant Eggplant, Certainly Celery, Kraft
Ink:  Sahara Sand, Certainly Celery, Elegant Eggplant
Accessories:  Scalloped Square Nesties, Seeing Spots Embossing Folder Crimper, 5/8" White Satin Ribbon, Black Button, Black Half Pearls, Glue Dot, Dimensionals

Blog Candy Winner!!!

The random winner of my first Blogaversary candy, (as picked out of a paper bag by my daughter) is Julie Smith.  Congratulations, Julie!!

You have until August 31st to e-mail me your address so I can get the goodies in the mail to you.  If Juilie does not contact me within the allotted time, I will randomly select another winner.

Thank you to every one of you who participated in my blog candy draw.  I'm looking forward to another wonderful year of blogging and creating.  A big part of blogging is reading all the wonderful comments you leave me :)  They always make my day and your support gives me warm fuzzies (((hugs))).  Thank you for walking along t his journey with me!

Swimming lessons are now over and we are done with lessons until next summer.  Each child passed a level over the summer and I got in shape - not bad at all :)  I'll even put up with the chlorine smell for that LOL!

Have a fabulous weekend, and I'll be back on Sunday with my Curtain Call card :)

Cherry On Top Award

I was every so pleasantly surprised when Katina (love that name) sent me this wonderful blog award - thank you Katina (((hugs))).  You can check out her wonderful work on her blog, Katina's Cards and Chat.

As part of the award I have do the following:

1.  Thank the person who gave you the award - done, but thank you again for the wonderful surprise,
     Katina,  it made my day :)

2.  Post my award with pride - check.

3.  Think of three things you like about myself:

• I love to encourage and help people
• I find great joy in the little things
• I'm not high maintenance LOL!. 

 4.  Four - post a pic you love.  I just love this picture. It was taken last year when we were on vacation and I can't believe how much my littlle guy has grown since then!  I treasure the moments with my kids while they are at such tender ages and this picture speaks a thousand words to me.  He was so proud and happy to be walking with daddy...oh sigh....the treasures a mother's heart can hold :)

5.  Pass this award to 5 other bloggers - love doing this :)  The wonderful ladies are as follows:

• Michelle Werner at Stop and Stamp the Roses - she has just gone through some major house renos this summer and I want to celebrate their near completion with her :)
• Maureen Plut at Buttons and Bling - she was a Guest Verve Diva for the August release and did an absolutely amazing job creating many fabulous cards with the sets for all of us to enjoy
• Tannis Palmer at All That Rubbish - she is such a sweetheart and is always involved helping others
• Laurel-Lee Bonato at Laurel's Passion 4 Paper - to celebrate her new job, sale of their house and purchase of a new house :)
• Andrea Ewen at Ewen Style - I recently started following her blog and her creations are simply amazing

Sorry there is no card today....life has been crazy busy with finishing up swimming lessons, buying school supplies and clothes for school (got some great deals at Old Navy on gift certificates off our Amex points - score!!), and I had an unplanned visit to LensCrafters because my glasses got stepped on by someone at the pool.  I thought they were safe from danger where I put them, but alas they were not....ugh!  However, the good news is I was loooong overdue for some new glasses and I am giddy with glee over the pair I got :D  They are my all time favorite glasses ever!


I'm soooo looking forward to more stamping time in a few weeks.   Horror of horrors, I have actually had to pass on participating in the Verve Forum sketches this month!!  I'm four sketches behind and time has run out.  It's just about killing me to do so, but at this point in time I can't afford the late nights...darn aging thing!!  I'll definitely be here on Sunday with my Curtain Call card though :)

Thanks for listening to my rambles today :)  Don't forget to enter my blogaversary draw here!

Curtain Call Act 44

When I first saw this bright colour combination for this week, my first thought was: "Darn, I used Cheep Talk last week" LOL!  Being low on energy after a week of swimming laps didn't help much either.  However, despite my reeking of chlorine, having a high fatigue factor, and basically no mojo, I pressed on :)

Just loved Mercy's sketch this week so I was bound and determined to use it.  After much fiddling around with what to put in the circle, I opted to make a flower (I know, surprise, surprise LOL!).  Out came the punches and voila, a flower was born.  I Swiss Dotted the center of the flower as well as the white panel and in a stroke of genius (well, in my mind it was anyway LOL!) I used the leaves from Best Blossoms on the turquoise panel (it really is turquoise, the photo changed it on me!!) so they looked like they were coming out of the flower.  Some yellow ribbon and white half pearls finished things off nicely.

The rest of the Curtain Call Crew have some samples for you along with our August Guest Designer, Teresa Kline.

• Amy White - Delvinwhite Designs
• Andrea Roose - Andrea's Scrap -und Stampel Blog
• Iwona Palamountain (Chupa) - Random Acts of Creativity
• Julie Smith - Paper and Such 
• Lea Lawson - Cupcakes & Sunshine
• Melissa Hubert - My Paper Obsession 
• Shelley Germann - Stampin' Garden 
• Sue Kohler - My Inner Reflection 
• Stacey Schafer - Stacey's Stamping Stage (Our Director) 

And, our August Guest Designer, Teresa Kline at enjoy the va.sunshine


We'd love it if you joined us too!!  Simply create a card using this week's colours and add your card to Mr. Linky on Stacey's blog.  If  you are uploading to a public gallery, please make sure to use the keyword Curtain Call 44.  Each week, Stacey will select one person to receive her "I Got The Lead At The Curtain Call"  Award as well as five people to receive her "I'm A Top 5 Curtain Call Show Stopper" Award which you can post on your blog, so come on over and join the fun!

Have a fabulous week and don't forget to celebrate my Blogaversary with me by entering for a chance to win some blog candy.





What's In It?
Stamps: Best Blossoms
Paper:  Real Read, Tempting Turquoise, Yellow
Ink: VersaMark
Accessories:  Swiss Dots Embossing Folder, Circle and Scalloped Circle Nesties, SU Flower Punch, SU Five Petal Flower Punch, SU Boho Blossoms Punch, 1/2" Circle Punch, 5/8" Yellow Polka Dotted Ribbon, Half Pearls, Dimensionals

My First Blogaversary Has Arrived (and I almost missed it!!)

Boy, where did the year go??!!  I almost missed my own Blogaversary amidst the business of summer!!  I'm blaming it on my chlorintated brain LOL!

I remember when I decided to start a blog last summer and my daughter's teacher at the time graciously came over and helped me take my first baby steps into blog land (thanks, Rick!!).  I wanted a place where I could record my card making adventures and keep the old brain cells firing through learning something new.  This past year has more than exceeded any expectations I ever had.  Over the past year I have experienced the following:

1.  Meeting and getting to know wonderful card making bloggers.

2.  Stretching my creative skills through various challenges.

3.  Having the amazing honour and privilege of being part of the Curtain Call Design Team (thank you
     Stacey!!) and being one of the July Guest Designer for Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps (thank you Korin!).

4.  I have been known to put off house cleaning and other chores just so I can stamp or post.

5.  Being creatively stretched is a good thing even though the process can be painful at times LOL! 

6.  The inspiration in blog land is endless.

7.  Being on a stamping budget isn't much fun, but it sure makes you enjoy what you have and be very
     selective in what you buy :)

8.  Love sharing a little bit of me through my cards and ramblings on my posts.

9.  Having over one hundred followers - thank you followers!! 

10.Card makers have huge hearts (((hugs))).

11.I love having a blog :D
 
These are a few of the things that come to mind.  I know there are many others but you'll be reading till midnight if I get on a roll, so I will leave it at these for now.

As a way of saying thank you, here are the blog candy goodies:

• Stamping Up's Whimsical Words stamp set
• The Greeting Farm's Sweet Message stamp set
• 2 packages of half pearls
• An A Muse "Happy Birthday" stamp
• Two spools of ribbon
• Some mini flower brads
• Whatever additional goodies cross my path before the closing date.

What do you have to do to win?

1.  Leave a comment on this post by Thursday, August 26th @ 11.59 pm (PST)
2.  Tell me what you've enjoyed about blogging and/or a good book you've read (I'm always looking for
     new books to read).
3.  Become a follower.

The winner will be randomly chosen and announced on Friday, August 27th.  The winner will have five days to contact me (just click on "view my complete profile" on the right sidebar and then "e-mail me") otherwise another name will be drawn.  This contest is open to anyone, though any overseas winner will have a long wait as the shipping mode will be on the slow boat :)

Thanks again to all of you who have made this such a wonderful year of blogging (((hugs))).  I'm  looking forward to another fun year of blogging :) 

Have a fabulous day and I'll be back tomorrow with my Curtain Call card.

Love's Flower

This sketch gave me grief.  It has a lot of panels for this CAS gal so I had to put my tired, chlorinated, lap swimming mind and body to work.  Thankfully it is my last sketch challenge card so I'm all done - yeah!  All that's left is waiting to see who the lucky winner is!

I dug through my Costco DP pack and  found this fabulous black and taupe DP.  Just LOVE black, taupe/cream together.  Such a classy colour combination.  Also inked up this gorgeous sentiment that hasn't been used yet.  Sorry about the far from perfect scallops around the sentiment.  Rectangular Nesties are on my wish list, but till then, scalloped scissors had to do and they didn't do so well...or should I say the cutter did a horrible job!!  Had to keep trimming the panel so it would fit and it got harder and harder to line up - ugh!  I used my Labels 4 Nestie for the flower image that matches the one on the "L" and matted it by cutting around the outside of the die on black paper in order to get the thin mat.  Wasn't sure about the two horizontal strips of ribbon/paper, but once they were added they looked pretty good.  Yup, Julee knows what she is doing :)

Hope to get at least one of the Verve Forum sketches done this week so next week doesn't turn into another rush-to-get-four-sketches-done week.  Rain is in the forecast so hopefully that means a video for the kids and some stamping time for me this weekend LOL!  Failing that, I'll be back on Sunday with my Curtain Call card.

Wishing you a blessed day :)




What's In It?
Stamps:  Love's Flower (Verve)
Paper:  Black, Taupe, Cream, Costco DP
Ink:  Black
Accessories:  Labels 4 Nesties, Scalloped Scissors, Black Half Pearls, Corner Rounder, Kraft Knife, Dimensionals

Verve Serenity

Wish I had a serene feeling when I first started this card LOL!  The layout tripped me up a bit to start with as all I could think of was a big present :)  Found a lovely piece of DP in my sloooooowly diminishing Costco DP pack and used it as my launching pad.

I tripped across this serenity prayer as I flipped through my Verve binder and decided it was time to pull it out again as it had been a while since I'd used it.  An Accent Notes thingies was used in the corner and another image of the set was stamped in VersaMark on the rose panel.  Butterflies seem to be the theme for this set of sketches so kept with it and added one in the corner .

Four down and just one to go!  Hope to get it done tonite so I can post it tomorrow and then I can move on to getting the Verve forum sketches done as I'm three weeks behind on those.....a true sign of summer LOL!

Have a fabulous day and thanks for taking a peek at my card today :)




What's In It?
Stamps:  Serenity(Verve), Accent Notes (Verve)
Paper:  Regal Rose, Rose Red, Pretty in Pink, Costco DP
Ink:  Black, VersaMark
Accessories:  Half Pearls, SU Sizzex Butterfly Die, Dimensinals

Happy Birthday A La Verve

Was itching to use this Verve Happy Birthday Plain Jane stamp so it was the basis for this card and the DP the colour selector LOL!  I used Accent Notes to create a background on the blue panel and the little flourish (for lack of a better word) in the corners of the celery panel.  A few black half pearls to zip things up a bit, and I'm well on my way to getting the Verve release sketched done :) 

I'm also wanting to tell you about Vicki's Blog Candy.  She has some awesome goodies up for grabs as well as lots of inspiration on her blog.

I have survived day two of swimming laps and must say, my prior two weeks of laps have definitely helped me not be as tired out this time round!  Cheers to smelling like chlorine I say LOL! Plus it keeps you cool in these hot temps we've been having - double bonus :)

Back tomorrow with my next Verve release sketch card.  It's definitely a "feast" week this week :)




What's In It?
Stamps:  Happy Birthday Plain Jane (Verve), Accent Notes (Verve)
Paper:  Blue, Costco DP, Certainly Celery
Ink:  VersaMark, Black
Accessories:  Corner Rounder, Labels 4 Nesties, Black Half Pearls, 5/8" Pink Satin Ribbon, Dimensionals

Baroque Verve

For some reason, when I saw this sketch I thought of Baroque Motifs...not sure why, but glad I did as I like the final outcome LOL!  This is my second card of five for the Verve Release challenge sketches, and a step towards my endless quest of hopefully winning some more Verve (even though I didn't use any on this card!!)

As you can see, the circle became a heart and I used the flourish from Baroque Motifs to fill in the background panel.  Love black and white cards with a pop of colour so I'm a happy camper with this card :)  The little row of bling under the sentiment was to added for that little something on the card.  Now I just need a wedding to go to!

Still very hot and humid here today - ugh - and my hair is living proof LOL!  Glad the kids are in swimming lessons again so we can at least cool of for a portion of the day.   I'll even put up with the "eau de chlorine" smell a second time round!  Back with my next card as soon as I can get it done.

Thanks for popping in and a have a fabulous week! 




What's In It?
Stamps:  Baroque Motifs (Stampin' Up!)
Paper:  Black, White, Silver
Ink:  Silver, Black
Accessories:  Heart and Scalloped Heart Nesties, Black Half Pearls, Pink Bling, 1/4" White Satin Ribbon, Dimensionals

Fluttering By The Verve Release Sketches

** This is my second post of the day.  Scroll down for my Curtain Call card for this week. **

Yes, two posts in one day!!  This is going to be a "feast week" on the old blogola because of the Verve Release Sketches :)  Julee has come up with another wonderful set of sketches, and this is my crack at the first one.

When deciding which Verve set to use, this butterfly just called my name.  It's still one of my all time favorite Verve sets.  Finally used this Martha Stewart Border punch I've had for a while and quite like the effect it has on the card.   One down and four to go!

The kids start their second round of swimming lessons on Monday so I'll be doing my laps and hopefully have kept some of the fitness factor from the first two week set so I'm not dozing on the couch the first few days again.  It will feel fabulous to cool off because we are having some nasty, hot weather up here again - ugh!  30C (92 F) with humidity and no air conditioning makes for sticky stamping LOL!  Thankfully the nights are cooling down a fair bit so sleeping is tolerable.

Thanks for popping in and I'll be back soon with my next Verve sketch card.  The release is this Friday over on SCS on the Verve Forum so if you want to have some fun on a Friday night, come on over and join us :D




What's In It?
Stamps:  Fluttering By (Verve), Accent Notes (Verve)
Paper:  Perfect Plun, Linen Cream, Pretty in Pink, Costco DP
Ink:  Pixie Pink, Pretty in Pink
Accessories:  Martha Stewart Border Punch, Circle and Scalloped Circle Nesties, 5/8" Cream Satin Ribbon, Button, Glue Dot, Half pearls, Dimensionals

Curtain Call Act 43

What a fun mix of colours Stacey has chosen for us this week.  Fun and funky came to mind when I saw them so I pulled out my Cheap Talk set and went to work as it is fit the colours perfectly, in my mind anyway LOL!

I paired the colours up with this week's OCC Sketch.  The orange panel has some flowers stamped on it in VersaMark which you can't really see...they do all a lot to the card.  Had to eyeball the sentiment under the branch since the stamping sheet of my Stamp-a-ma-jig has gone AWOL.  It's a teensy weensy bit off as I had to make room for the ribbon.  I used black half pearls for the bird's eye and the flower centers for a bit of dimension.

The rest of the Curtain Call Crew have some samples for you along with our August Guest Designer, Teresa Kline.

• Amy White - Delvinwhite Designs
• Andrea Roose - Andrea's Scrap -und Stampel Blog
• Iwona Palamountain (Chupa) - Random Acts of Creativity
• Julie Smith - Paper and Such 
• Lea Lawson - Cupcakes & Sunshine
• Melissa Hubert - My Paper Obsession 
• Shelley Germann - Stampin' Garden 
• Sue Kohler - My Inner Reflection 
• Stacey Schafer - Stacey's Stamping Stage (Our Director) 

And, our August Guest Designer, Teresa Kline at enjoy the va.sunshine


We'd love it if you joined us too!!  Simply create a card using this week's colours and add your card to Mr. Linky on Stacey's blog.  If  you are uploading to a public gallery, please make sure to use the keyword Curtain Call 43.  Each week, Stacey will select one person to receive her "I Got The Lead At The Curtain Call"  Award as well as five people to receive her "I'm A Top 5 Curtain Call Show Stopper" Award which you can post on your blog, so come on over and join the fun!





What's In It?
Stamps:  Cheep Talk
Paper:  Old Olive, Turquoise, Orange
Ink:  Old Olive, Tempting Turquoise, Only Orange, VersaMark
Accessories:  SU Border Punch,  1/4" Turquoise Grosgrain Ribbon, Swiss Dots Embossing Folder, Paper Piercer, Button, Glue Dot, Twine, Half Pearls, Dimensionals

CAS Punch Flowers

The flowers on this card were inspired by the mess on my desk!  Yes, you read right LOL!  I had left some punch out images on my work area and one of the flowers happened to be over the Martha Stewart leaf punch and I just loved the look of the flower and wanted to immediately make a card with them.  Love it when things like this happen :)

I kept things CAS as I wanted to focus on the flowers.  Swiss Dots was a perfect match and I added a little butterfly in the corner for a pop of colour.  Nothing special, just a fun little CAS card which I hope you will enjoy :)

Have a fabulous day!!





What's In It?
Paper:  Chocolate Chip, So Saffron, Only Orange, Certainly Celery
Accessories:  Martha Stewart Leaf Punch, Dollar Store Flower Punch, SU Scalloped Border Punch, Swiss Dots Embossing Folder, Martha Stewart Butterfly Punch, Half Pearls, Dimensionals

A Butterfly for OCC

Just loved this OCC Sketch so decided to use it as the foundation for this card. I omitted the ribbon and sentiment, but the rest of the layout holds true. SU's butterfly die immediately came to mind (love that die!!) when I saw this sketch so off to work I went.

The polka dotted DP was a perfect pair with black and white, one of my favorite go to colour combinations.  I had planned on using a white button on my butterfly but much to my dismay, found that I am all out!! Needless to say, that will have to be remedied very quickly!!  As a result, I had to settle for the pearls instead.  Some sheer black ribbon tied everything together (no pun intended LOL!)  and I was good to go.

Felt great to make a card in the midst of a busy week, even if there is no stamping on it LOL!  I'll be back on Sunday with my Curtain Call card if I don't get a chance to post before then.  Thanks for putting up with my crazy, summer posting schedule....it seems to be feast or famine LOL!  Have a fabulous day and thanks for sharing a piece of yours with me today (((hugs))).





What's In It?
Paper:  Making Memories DP, Black, Pretty in PInk, White
Accessories:  Martha Stewart Border Punch, Floral Fantasy Embossing Folder, SU Sizzex Butterfly Die, Half Pearls, 5/8" Sheer Black Ribbon

Mojolicious Petals and Stems

** This is my second post of the day!  Yes, you're at the right blog LOL!  If you are looking for this week's Curtain Call colour challenge card, it is in the post below **

 I've been trying to get to this Mojo Monday sketch all week and finally got some time today to work on it today - nothing like cutting it down to the wire!  So you get two posts today after a week of no posts.  Feast or famine around here in the summer LOL!

When I first saw this sketch, I immediately thought of Petals and Stems since I wanted to use a butterfly in the circle.  Doesn't hurt that it is one of my favorite Verve sets either :)  It just makes me smile every time I use it.

I pulled out some Imaginisce DP that I just love as my starting point, but unfortunately, it is almost all covered up!  Some ruffled ribbon became my grass to ground my flower and I Swiss dotted the white panel and yellow horizontal strip for added texture.

Off to see if I can get another card done so I have something else to post this week.  Have a fabulous week and hope to be back some time mid week.




What's In It?
Stamps:  Petals and Stems (Verve)
Paper:  Certainly Celery, Bashful Blue, Regal Rose, So Saffron
Ink:  Certainly Celery, Bashful Blue, So Saffron
Accessories: Swiss Dots Embossing Folder, 1/4" Celery Grosgrain Ribbon, Double Sided Sticky Tape, SU Border Punch, Scalloped Circle and Circle Nesties, Blue Half Pearls, Dimensionals

Curtain Call Act 42

Not sure I could handle orange walls as per the inspiration piece, but I'm loving the overall colour combination as it reminds me of fall.  We are having rain here for the first time in about six weeks, so I'm totally in character - just missing having the kids in school LOL! 

I immediately thought of Pocket Silhouettes when I saw this colour combination and paired it with this FTL layout from a few weeks ago. I don't have any of the new colours yet so I had to substitute with certainly celery and chocolate chip.  The celery panel is stamped with one of the images from Accent notes to give it a bit of texture and I succumbed to using ruffled ribbon again - just love the look :) 

The rest of the Curtain Call Crew have some samples for you along with our August Guest Designer, Teresa Kline.

• Amy White - Delvinwhite Designs
• Andrea Roose - Andrea's Scrap -und Stampel Blog
• Iwona Palamountain (Chupa) - Random Acts of Creativity
• Julie Smith - Paper and Such 
• Lea Lawson - Cupcakes & Sunshine
• Melissa Hubert - My Paper Obsession 
• Shelley Germann - Stampin' Garden 
• Sue Kohler - My Inner Reflection 
• Stacey Schafer - Stacey's Stamping Stage (Our Director) 

And, our August Guest Designer, Teresa Kline at enjoy the va.sunshine


We'd love it if you joined us too!!  Simply create a card using this week's colours and add your card to Mr. Linky on Stacey's blog.  If  you are uploading to a public gallery, please make sure to use the keyword Curtain Call 42.  Each week, Stacey will select one person to receive her "I Got The Lead At The Curtain Call"  Award as well as five people to receive her "I'm A Top 5 Curtain Call Show Stopper" Award which you can post on your blog, so come on over and join the fun!

Sorry for the slow posting week.  Working for hubby is eating away a lot of my extra time.  Hope to be able to stamp a bit today so I have a few cards to post this week, but not making any promises.  Have a fabulous week and thanks for popping in today.  





What's I n It?
Stamps:  Pocket Silhouettes (SU), Accent Notes (Verve)
Paper:  Chocolate Chip, Certainly Celery, Cream Linen
Ink:  Cameo Coral, VersaMark
Accessories:  Martha Stewart Butterfly Punch, Brown Half Pearls, 5/8" Orange Grosgrain Ribbon, SU Border Punch, Double Sided Tape, Dimensionals

Verve's Third Anni-Verve-sary Blog Hop

This is my second post of the day.  Scroll down for this week's Curtain Call card.

Welcome to Verve's Anni-VERVE-sary Blog Hop! Verve turns three today and we’re celebrating with a fabulous blog hop!  Lots of great blogs and fabulous cards to enjoy along the way.  If you've been following the hop, you arrived here from Gretchen's blog   If not, head on over to Julee's Blog (THE Verve Diva and owner extraordinaire of Verve stamps), for all the info on how to win prizes (after all, what's a party without presents?), and to start hopping from the beginning.  If there's a hiccup along the hop, just head back to the Master Hop List to get the full list of links so you know where to hop to next.

I am sooo excited to be able to participate in this year's blog hop!  It's no secret how much I love my Verve and since I didn't have a blog at this time last year, I missed out last time round.  However, this year and I am up and running and there was no way I was going to miss out.

I have a couple of cards for you today.  My first card showcases one of my all time favorite Verve sets, Petals and Stems, which also happens to be this month's pick for the Ready, Set, Stamp challenge - score :)  Just create a card using these sets and you have a chance to win a $30 gift certificate to the Verve store!

I used the Play Date Cafe's colour challenge from last week which consisted of kraft, black, cream, brown -- a totally delicious colour combo -- and a slightly morphed version of Karen's Sweet Sunday Sketch.  The black flowers have been clear embossed (sorry, it's a bit hard to see in the picture), an idea I got from Verve Diva, Teresa (aka va.sunshine).  

My second card is made with the gorgeous flower from Love's Flower.  My first thought was to emboss it on vellum but it morphed into a black and white and gray card LOL!  The flower was embossed in black, cut out and popped up on the Label 4 nesties.  I matted it with some gray SU DSP and a layer of Swiss Dots (had to include my all time favorite embossing folder).   A few pink half pearls finished it off wonderfully.  

Thanks for joining us in the hop! Now it's time to hop on over to Tanya’s blog, for a little more Verve-y goodness.  Enjoy the hop and all the inspiration along the way!





First Card
Stamps:  Petals and Stems
Paper:  Cream, Kraft, Black, Costco DP
Ink:  Close to Cocoa, Chocolate Chip, VersaMark
Accessories:  Oval and Scalloped Oval Nesties, 5/8" Chocolate Satin Ribbon, Button, Twine, Glue Dots, Half Pearls, Clear Embossing Powder, Dimensinoals

Second Card
Stamps:  Love's Flower
Paper:  Black, Stampin' Up DSP, White
Ink: VersaMark
Accessories:  Swiss Dots Embossing Folder, Lables 4 Nesties, Half Perals, Black Embossing Powder, Dimensioanls