Mojo Monday #317

Welcome to round or square week at the Mojo Monday blog.  I opted to go with the square sketch this week - switching it up to keep you on your toes wink, wink.

I fudged the sketch a bit as I wanted to use my leaf dies again before the Christmas rush begins.  More yummy fall coloured papers and a double sentiment using stamps from Lean on Me and Chevron Love.

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 the Mojo Maker's 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

Wanda Cullen

Our weather has been simply stunning this fall.  Blue skies and sunshine with gloriously coloured maple trees and other deciduous trees looking like torches on tree trunks.  Love it! I just stand and drink it all in any time I'm out.  Thus the tribute to fall with my card :) 

Thanks for popping by today and since I didn't make a round card this week, someone has to - how about you!!  

What's In It?
Stamps:  Lean on Me, Chevron Love (Verve Stamps), Leaf Prints (PTI)
Paper:  Early Espresso, Real Red, So Saffron, Mellow Moss, Kraft (Stampin' Up), Cream Linen, Recollections Paper
Ink: Black, Close to Cocoa (Stampin' Up) 
Accessories:  Scalloped Circle and Circle Nestabilities (Spellbinders), Leaf Print Dies (PTI), Button, Twine, Glue Dot, Dimensionals

Verve October 2013 Spotlight Hop ~ Day 4

Welcome to Day 4, the last day of Verve's October 2013 Spotlight Hops!   If you have come here from Jen's blog you are right on track.  If you just happened upon the Hop, you can follow the list below to get caught up.

For today's hop, the Divas are showcasing their choice of any of the newly released sets.  In addition, there is a biiiig prize for today's hop!  You can find the details below :)     

Chevron Love won out for me today as I just love hearts.  A mix of pink, green and black was the order of the day, and I used both chevron hearts in the set and their coordinating Jotted Heart and Wavy Hearts dies.   Couldn't resist adding a crimped Arrow die for emphasis and some of the delicious green seam binding from the Summer Sailing Ribbon Collection.  Not sure about black hearts, but hey, they worked {grin}.



Want to win some shiny new Verve? We'll be picking a random commenter on one of the hop spots below to win the entire release!  So be sure to leave a little comment on all the blogs below to increase your chances! Check out the Verve Blog for the full set reveals and all the prize info and deadlines!

Saturday, 10/26/13
Today's Prize: Entire October Release

1. Julee	8. Amber
2 Jen	9. Janelle
3. Marisa	10. Andrea
4. Teresa	11. Laurie W.
5. Charmaine	12. Maureen
6. Christyne	13. Laurie S.
7. Stacey {Guest}	14. Verve Blog

Time to hop over to Teresa's blog to see her fabulous creation!  You can also hop over to the Verve Store to check out the new sets and create some Christmas wish lists or just have fun shopping :)

 








What's In It?
Stamps:   Chevron Love (Verve Stamps) 
Paper:   DSP, Basic Grey, Certainly Celery (Stampin' Up), Quite Contrary (My Mind's Eye)
Ink:  Black
Accessories:   Jotted Heart, Wavy Hearts and Arrow Dies (A Cut Above by Verve), Summer Sailing Ribbon Collection (Verve Stamps), Crimper (Fiskars), Scalloped Border Punch (Stampin' Up), Corner Rounder (Marvy), Buttons, Twine, Pink and White Half Pearls, Glue Dots, Dimensionals

Just Us Girls #212 - Photo Inspiration

Welcome to another inspiration challenge at Just Us Girls.  I have been a bit remiss in the use of my beloved maple leaf and leaf dies, so it was time to use a wonderful, fall inspiration picture to facilitate their use.  Fall colours and leaves just make me happy -- one of my simple pleasures :)

I paired this week's challenge with one of this month's VLV sketches as that large circle was calling my name. Lots of wonderful fall coloured papers and three leaf dies - I am one happy lady LOL! 

The rest of the  JUGS team, have some wonderful samples to get your inspiration going, so head 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 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.

I'm also sneaking this card into the Tuesday Trigger challenge.  Love the bucket of leaves.  My colours are a bit off, but leaves is the theme so I jumped on it.  

Have a fabulous weekend, and I'll be back on Monday with my round or square Mojo Monday card - can you guess which I'll most likely be making wink, wink!   

 
What's In It? 
Stamps:  Poppy Birthday (Verve Stamps), Leaf Prints (PTI)
Paper:  Real Red, Mellow Moss, So Saffron, Kraft, Early Espresso (Stampin' Up), Cream Linen, Grandma's Feather Bed(Bazzill Basics ), Pumpkin (Recollections)
Ink:  Black, Close to Cocoa (Stampin' Up)
Accessories:   Scalloped Circle and Circle Nestabilities (Spellbinders), Leaf Dies (PTI), Wood Grain Embossing Folder (Tim Holtz), Crimpter (Fiskars), Twine (PTI), Button, Brown Half Pearls, Glue Dot, Dimensionals

Verve October 2013 Spotlight Hop ~ Day 3

Welcome to Day 3 of Verve's October 2013 Spotlight Hops!   If you have come here from Jen's blog you are right on track.  If you just happened up on the Hop, you can follow the list below to get caught up.  Everything previewed this week will be available in the Verve online store on Friday night,  October 25th!  

Today's featured set is Unto Us and the Reindeer Fun Die Set.  I'm swooning over the fabulous, scripture sentiments in this set as well as the wonderful, bold, chevron border stamp that coordinates with the Classy Label die. 



Making Christmas cards is always such fun!  Managed to snag a few new papers at my LSS by Carta Bella and Imaginisce.  The snowflakes and Christmas coloured polka dots made me swoon!  Think I'll go back for a few more sheets of each before they are all gone.  Diva Christyne's VLV sketch was my starting point and I created the focal sentiment panel from the Unto Us set.  Used the Banner Bundle Dies to cut the banners, and then over stamped the main sentiment with one of the stars from Star of Wonder.  The secondary sentiment along the bottom is also from that set.  Gotta love how you can mix and match your Verve sets :)    



Want to win some shiny new Verve? We'll be picking a random commenter on one of the hop spots below to win today's featured products!  So be sure to leave a little comment on all the blogs below to increase your chances! Check out the Verve Blog for today's full set reveals and all the prize info and deadlines!

Friday, 10/25/13
Today's Prize: Unto Us, Reindeer Fun Die Set

1. Julee	8. Amber
2 Jen	9. Janelle
3. Marisa	10. Andrea
4. Teresa	11. Laurie W.
5. Charmaine	12. Maureen
6. Christyne	13. Verve Blog
7. Stacey {Guest}

Time to hop over to Teresa's blog to see her fabulous creation using today's showcased set.  Tomorrow is our last day of hops and you want to come back for that one as there is a big prize up for grabs wink, wink :)



 












What's In It?
Stamps:   Unto Us and Star of Wonder (Verve Stamps) 
Paper:   So This Is Christmas (Carta Bella), Polar Express (Imaginisce), Early Espresso, Kraft (Stampin' Up), Cream Linen
Ink: Black, Garden Green, Chocolate Chip (Stampin' Up)
Accessories:   Banner Bundle Die Set and Classy Label Die (A Cut Above by Verve), Mat Stack Die (PTI), 5/8" Brown Satin Ribbon (Michael's), Button, Twine, Glue Dot, Dimensionals

Verve October 2013 Spotlight Hop ~ Day 2

Welcome to Day 2, of Verve's October 2013 Spotlight Hops!   If you have come here from Jen's blog you are right on track.  If you just happened up on the Hop, you can follow the list below to get caught up.  Everything previewed this week will be available in the Verve online store on Friday night, October 25th!!  

Today's featured set is Holiday Treats and the the Cup Of Cheer Die Set.  It's the perfect set to make gift tags for cookie trays, hostess gifts, a Teacher's Christmas gift etc.

I used Diva Jen's sketch for my card and a wonderful paper pack by Teresa Collins called Santa's List.  Funny enough, I bought it in one store and then a week later bought it in another store because it caught my eye and didn't remember that I already had it.  Guess it proves I like it LOL!  I used the latte cups from Holiday Treats, one of the wonderful sentiments from the set, and one of the snowflake images on the tan panels, though it is really hard to see in the picture.  The hearts on the cup and by the love sentiment are the ones left over after using the Scalloped Trim Trio heart die.  The tab is the end of one of the dies from the Flag It die set.  Going to add a gift card to Starbucks to the card and use it as Christmas gift for a friend.



Want to win some shiny new Verve? We'll be picking a random commenter on one of the hop spots below to win today's featured products!  So be sure to leave a little comment on all the blogs below to increase your chances! Check out the Verve Blog for today's full set reveals and all the prize info and deadlines!

Thursday,10/24/13
Today's Prize: Holiday Treats, Cup of Cheer Die Set

1. Julee	8. Amber
2 Jen	9. Janelle
3. Marisa	10. Andrea
4. Teresa	11. Laurie W.
5. Charmaine	12. Maureen
6. Christyne	13. Verve Blog
7. Stacey {Guest}

Time to hop over to Teresa's blog to see her fabulous creation using today's showcased set and make sure you come back tomorrow for Day 3.




 











What's In It?
Stamps:   Holiday Treats (Verve Stamps) 
Paper:   Santa's List (Teresa Collins), Early Espresso (Stampin' Up)
Ink: Black, Chocolate Chip (Stampin' Up)
Accessories:   Flag It Die Set and Scalloped Trim Trio Die Set (A Cut Above by Verve), Scalloped Circle and Circle Nestabilities (Spellbinder), Snowflake Punch (Martha Stewart), Button, Twine, Glue Dots, White Half Pearls, Dimensionals 

Verve October 2013 Spotlight Hop ~ Day 1

Welcome to Day 1, of Verve's October 2013 Spotlight Hops!   If you have come here from Jen's blog you are right on track.

We're so excited to preview Verve's newest stamp sets and dies with you! Over the next few days, the Divas will be shining their Verve spotlights on a different set each day, so stay tuned for a fun series of inspirational hops... and PRIZES, too!   If you just happened up on the Hop, you can follow the list below to get caught up. Everything previewed this week will be available in the Verve online store Friday night, October 25th.   

Today's featured set is Chevron Love and Heart Quarted Die Set.  I love chevrons and I love hearts so this set has been great fun to ink up!

I picked out some Echo Park and American Crafts papers, and then used one of the coordinating Wavy Hearts dies to cut out the heart image (pssst...the other heart image in this set coordinates with the Jotted Heart die).  A doily was my working mat and I layered the Elegant Leaf die (stamped with the matching image from Bloom and Grow), the heart image, and then added one of the hearts from the new Heart Quartet die on top.  The sentiment is stamped on a die from the Flag It die collection.  The heart trim is from the Scalloped Trim Trio die set and the yummy blue seam binding is from the Spring Fling Ribbon collection.  



Want to win some shiny new Verve? We'll be picking a random commenter on one of the hop spots below to win today's featured products!  So be sure to leave a little comment on all the blogs below to increase your chances! Check out the Verve Blog for today's full set reveals and all the prize info and deadlines!

Wednesday, 10/23/13
Today's Prize: Chevron Love, Heart Quartet Die Set

1. Julee	8. Amber
2 Jen	9. Janelle
3. Marisa	10. Andrea
4. Teresa	11. Laurie W.
5. Charmaine	12. Maureen
6. Christyne	13. Laurie S.
7. Stacey {Guest}	14. Verve Blog

Time to hop over to Teresa's blog to see her fabulous creation using today's showcased set.  Then make sure you come back tomorrow for our Day 2 hop.

Cardabilties Sketch

 












What's In It?
Stamps:   Chevron Love, Bloom and Grow (Verve Stamps) 
Paper:   Dots and Stripes (Echo Park), American Crafts (Flower Atrium), Cool Caribbean, Certainly Celery, Pretty in Pink (Stampin' Up)
Ink: Black, Bashful Blue (Stampin' Up), VersaMark  
Accessories:   Heart Quartet, Wavy Hearts, Elegant Leaves, Scalloped Trim Trio and Flag It Dies (A Cut Above by Verve), Doily (PTI), Crimper (Fiskars), Distressing Tool (Stampin' Up), Spring Fling Ribbon Collection (Verve), Twine, Buttons, Bling, Glue Dots, Dimensionals

Mojo Monday #316

It's time for another Mojo Monday sketch and I loved working with this week's sketch.

The sentiment is from Verve's Each Day set from their recent release.  I just love the verses in this set and the wonderful cross and butterfly images.

The sentiment I used is a portion of the Matthew 6:34 verse and I added the filigree image below it.  Thankfully, I am not much of a worrier by nature. However, one can never be reminded often enough that worry saps you of today's joy and energy, and in all honesty, will do absolutely nothing to change tomorrow.  Carpe Diem (seize the day) all the way!

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 the Mojo Maker's 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

Wanda Cullen

My poor mom is having a hard go after her car accident.  Her car was a write off, so we have to find her a new car (thankfully the payout was very good), she has a concussion and is a bit diddled because of it, and is very, very stiff and sore.  If any of you are the praying type, I would greatly appreciate your prayers for her health and recovery.

Thanks for popping by today and hope you get time to play along with this week's sketch.  

What's In It?
Stamps:  Each Day (Verve Stamps) 
Paper:  Early Espresso, Cameo Coral, Kraft, Designer Series Paper (Stampin' Up), Capella (Basic Grey)
Ink: Black  
Accessories:   Flutterby and Pennant Trim Die (A Cut Above by Verve), Scalloped Circle and Circle Nestabilities (Spellbinders), Scalloped Punch (Stampin' Up), 5/8" Brown Satin Ribbon (Michael's), Button, Twine, Glue Dot, Black and Brown Half Pearls, Dimensionals 

Just Us Girls #211 - Colour Challenge

This week Nancy is our hostess and she has provided us with this fabulous colour combination to work with.  I just loooove brown and blue/aqua together, especially since they are Verve's signature colours :)  The photo makes it almost seem black, but trust me, it is Early Espresso!

After seeing this week's Merry Monday challenge involving snowflakes, I had snowflakes on the brain because they are my favorite Christmas element to put on cards.  That lead to my gleefully pulling out  PTI's large snowflake die!  I mounted it ion a kraft tag since the current Verve Diva Dare is to make a tag or use one on a card, and added the embossed background.  The sentiment is from Verve's Glad Tidings set and it is stamped on this fun banner from Verve's Flag It die set.  Fiddled with whether to have it vertically or horizontally oriented, and settled on horizontal, though I'm still not sure which version I liked better LOL! 

The rest of the  JUGS team, including our three new DT member's, have some wonderful samples to get your inspiration going, so head 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 chosen as the Chic of the Week.    

Hoping for a quiet weekend with lots of R & R as we have been going full tilt as a family for over two months now.  Think everyone is in agreement too, even our extrovert LOL! Have a great weekend everyone!  

 Challenges:  Simon Says



What's In It? 
Stamps:  Glad Tidings (Verve Stamps) 
Paper:  Early Espresso, Cool Caribbean (Stampin' Up)
Ink:  Black
Accessories:   Flag It Die Set (A Cut Above by Verve), Snowflake Die (PTI), Jumbo Snowflake Punch (Martha Stewart), Tag Die (My Favorite Things), Seeing Spots Embossing Folder (Provo Craft), 5/8" Blue Satin Ribbon (Michael's), Twine, Button, Glue Dot, Dimensionals

October Diva Dare Take Two

This month's Diva Dare is right up my alley (make a gift tag or use a tag on a card).  I could make tags forever as I love the small working area and the endless possibilities of creating on it. 

I used the newly released Rain or Shine set to create a fun tag to add to a "pick me up" gift for a friend.  I VersaMarked the umbrella image behind the sentiment, added a few rain drops and then the sun in the corner.  Not sure if I'll keep it a tag or add it to a card, but regardless, it will get used :)

Thanks for popping by today!



What's In It?
Stamps:  rain or Shine (Verve Stamps)
Paper:  Night of Navy, Real Red, So Saffron, Kraft (Stampin' Up)  
Ink:  Black, VersaMark
Accessories:  Scalloped Circle and Circle Nestabilities (Spellbinders), Sun Die (Lil'  Inkers), Tag Die (My Favorite Things), Button, Glue Dot, Twine, Dimensionals

Welcome to the Curtain Call Inspiration Challenge!!  This next challenge is called "Gorgeous Gourds". 

Just love those blue pumpkins!  In fact, I have actually seen blue pumpkin when my kids went to the pumpkin patch a few years back, so I can attest to the fact that they do exist.  They aren't a bright blue but rather a very, very light shade of blue, like the one in the front of the inspiration picture.

I didn't get a chance to play along this week so make sure to to check out what the rest of the Curtain Call Crew has created for you!! 

Amber Kroening

 Barb Murphy

 Christina MacLaren

 Debby Hughes

 Gayatri Murali

 Jessica Kephart

 Kim Singdahlsen

 Laurie Willison

 Marisa Ritzen

 Maureen Plut

 Monika Davis

 Sheri Gilson

 Stacey Schafer

 Tenia Nelson

 Tracey McNeely

 

You can head over to the Curtain Call Inspiration Challenge blog to get all the details on how to play along.  Can't wait to see how you are inspired!!

Thank You Pumpkins

This week's Verve sketch is brought to us by Amy and it is a nice CAS sketch for us to work with.

Since I'm full swing into the Autumn colour scheme and mood, I pulled out Autumn Splendor because these pumpkins are just too cute :)   I used the circle version of the Scalloped Trim Trio and one of the Flag It dies for the sentiment.   The debossed side of my Swiss Dots embossing folder softened the background and a little ribbon treatment and red hemp stitches finished things off.

Want to win a $100 gift certificate to the Verve Stamps store?!  All you have to do is complete all the sketches in a given month and load them on the Verve Challenge Thread on Splitcoast Stampers and a random winner will received the gift certificate.   Easy peasy, and with a recent release and another one coming in the near future, it's the perfect way to get some spending money :)

Thanks for sharing a bit of your time with me today :)



What's In It?
Stamps:  Autumn Splendor and Friendly Phrases (Verve Stamps)
Paper:  Early Espresso, Mellow Moss, Kraft (Stampin' Up)  
Ink:  Black
Accessories:  Scalloped Trim Trio and Flag It Dies(A Cut Above by Verve), Scalloped Circle and Circle Nestabilities (Spellbinders), Swiss Dots Embossing Folder (Provo Craft), Red Hemp Twine, Stitched Ribbon (Michael's), Button, Twine

Mojo Monday #315

First of all, Happy Thanksgiving to all my Canadian followers!  Today is a day to be thankful, and I am indeed deeply thankful and truly blessed in so many ways!  One of those ways is having great followers like you {{hugs}}.

For this week's sketch, I went with a robot theme -- graphic robots at that, as I am not a colourer at the best of times.  This adorable robot image is from Birthday Bots and I dressed it up a bit by adding some blue half pearls.  The background was created by stamping a mixture of the cog images from Geared Up in VersaMark ink.  The new Award Banner Trim die was great for the bottom and it too got some half pearls to add a little "oomph".

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 the Mojo Maker's 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

Wanda Cullen

Our family, Thanksgiving gathering and meal was yesterday, so today is going to be a very relaxing day just hanging out as a family and most likely a nap for good measure LOL!  

Have a great day!

What's In It?
Stamps:  Birthday Bots and Geared Up Verve Stamps) 
Paper:  Early Espresso, Kraft, DSP (Stampin' Up)
Ink: Black, VersaMark 
Accessories:  Award Banner Trim Die (A Cut Above by Verve), Cog Nestabilities (Spellbinders), 5/8" Brown Satin Ribbon (Michael's), Button, Twine, Glue Dot, Blue and White Half Pearls, Dimensionals 

Just Us Girls #210 - Die Inlay Technique

This week our technique is brought to us by Vicki, and she has found this fabulous die inlay technique by Jennifer McGuire for us to try this week.  It's a fabulously video, and the added bonus is you get two cards out of doing it :)

I decided to use my Heart Nestabilities and basically mimicked Jennifer's card using a different shape.   It's a great way to use up your card stock strips - that is if you save them like I do LOL!  If you don't have two dies that nest into each other, you can use two different dies.

The rest of the  JUGS team, including our three new DT member's, have some wonderful samples to get your inspiration going, so head 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 chosen as the Chic of the Week.    

Have a great weekend!  



What's In It? 
Stamps:  We Connect (Paper Smooches), Happy Valentine's Day (Savvy) 
Paper:  Bravo Burgundy, Rose Red, Rose Romance, Pretty in Pink, Blush Blossom (Stampin' Up)
Ink:  Black, VersaMark
Accessories:   Heart Nestabilities (Spellbinders), White Embossing Powder, White Half Pearls, Dimensionals