Mojo Monday #356

It's tall and skinny week over on the Mojo Monday blog.  A great way to switch things up and away from your standard A2 sized card, and Julee has provided yet another fun sketch for us to work with.

I took a few artistic liberties with this week's sketch as I wanted to use this fun peacock image from Moment's Remembered.  Fussy cut the peacock, and layered it on top of a doily with one of the medallions from Peaceful Medallions.  The papers are from MME's The Sweetest Thing.  Added a sentiment tab and some seam binding and called it a card.

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

Can not believe it is the last week in July!!  Summer is half over and it is going waaaay to quickly!  Hope you've been able to enjoy the summer so far, and if you have never made a Tall and Skinny card, give it a try - they are great fun to make!

What's In It?
Stamps: Moments Remembered and Peaceful Medallions (Verve Stamps)

Paper:   The Sweetest Thing (My Mind's Eye), Sahara Sand, Mint Medley, Kraft (Stampin' Up) 
Ink:  Black

Accessories:  Circle Nestabilities, Doily, Signature Ribbon Collection (Verve Stamps), Button, Twine, Glue Dot, Dimensionals 

Verve July 2014 Release Retrospective

Welcome to Verve's July Release Retrospective Blog Hop! The Verve Divas and guests are hopping today and serving up some more inspiration using the July release stamps & dies! Besides a peek at some really cool cards, there are also a couple of prizes up for grabs!  If you have come here from Chaitali's blog you are right on track.  If you just happened along the blog, you can check the hop list below.

For my card I just had to go with the fabulous Happy Place set.  I just about used my favorite flower from this set, but decided I needed to not use it for a change, so I opted for this gorgeous butterfly instead.  Used the Happy Doodles matching die set to cut out the butterfly, coloured it with Twinkling H2Os and paired it with this wonderful sentiment from the set.  Next up is Teresa's blog.

 
Want to win some shiny new Verve? We're giving away a $40 gift voucher to one lucky commenter along the hop, so be sure to leave a shout out in the comments as you hop about.

1. Julee	10. Jen
2. Stacey	11. Sheri {Guest}
3. Maureen	12. Laurie
4. Chaitali	13. Andrea
5. Marisa	14. Amber
6. Teresa	15. Christyne
7. Kay {Guest}	16. Sarah
8. Janelle	17. Anya
9. Charmaine	18. Betty

Want another chance to win? Now it's your turn! We'd LOVE to see what you've done with the July release. Link up your cards using at least one product from our July release and you'll be entered in a drawing to win our entire next release! All the details and the linkup widget are on the Verve Blog today. The deadline is August 23, so there's still plenty of time to get the July release if you haven't already.

Don't miss this weekend only discount offer in honor of Julee's birthday!
 

Next up on the Hop is Teresa and she is sure to have some wonderful card, eye candy for you to enjoy!


 
What's In It?
Stamps:  Happy Place (Verve Stamps)   
Paper:   For The Record 2 (Echo Park), Night of Navy, Old Olive, Kraft (Stampin' Up)  
Ink:  Black
Accessories:  Happy Doodles Die Set (A Cut Above by Verve), Stitched Rectangle Die (Lil' Inkers), Scalloped Circle and Circle Nestabilities (Spellbinders), 5/8" Yellow Ribbon, Shine Bright Sequin Mix (Verve Stamps), Black Liquid Pearls, Dimensionals 

Have A Happy Day!

Time to recap this week's Viva La Verve sketch created by Diva Maureen.

For my card I pulled out some fun paper by Three Bugs in a Rug.  Such a fun pattern which unfortunately got mostly covered up.  Anyway, it was one of my favorite colour combos (pink and green) so all is good LOL!   Used the circle scalloped die from the Scalloped Trim Trio die set, though most of it is covered up, and adore this fabulous, big, bold sentiment from Be Blessed. Of course, where there are flowers, there has to be a Flutterby butterfly {grin}.  Finished things off with a touch of twine.

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

Well, I survived Day 1 of training for my new part time job.  The old brain got a work but is was a wonderful day and today I'm at it again :)  Crazy busy week here as mom is the hospital again....she had a fall the other night and was in excruciating pain when she tried to sit up.  Laying down is fine as is standing up, but the movement of getting into a sitting position causes her to almost pass out with pain.  Nothing broken (which is a huge miracle as she has osteo!), just an old compression fracture that was aggravated by the fall so the physio team is working with her and showing her how she is to move in and out of bed, use the walker etc. until she heals up.  Needing about five extra hours a day this week!  Being the sandwich generation is definitely not fun... 

 
 
What's In It?
Stamps:   Be Blessed (Verve Stamps)
Paper:  Heart Flower (Three Bugs in a Rug), Certainly Celery, Pretty in Pink (Stampin' Up)  
Ink:  Black   
Accessories:  Flutterby and Calloped Trim Trio Die Set (A Cut Above by Verve), Scalloped Circle and Circle Nestabilties (Spellbinders), Crimper (Fiskars), Twine, Button, Glue Dot, Bling, Dimensionals

Curtain Call Inspiration Challenge - Anything Goes Reminder

** Second post of the day. Scroll down for my Mojo Monday card ** 

We are half way through our one year anniversary celebration challenge over at the Curtain Call Inspiration Challenge, so that means you still have time to play along for some amazing prizes!

I used the colours as my inspiration and pulled out this fabulous Hello Baby paper by Simple Stories.  The frame picks up the cubbies and the butterfly...well...they are always appropriate in my books LOL!  

You can check out all the challenge details over on the Curtain Call Inspiration Challenge. You have until July 25th 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 July 31st.

Thanks for popping by and hope you can find some time to play along with us if you haven't done so already.

What's In It? 
Stamps:   Lots to Say (Reverse Confetti) 
Paper:    Hello Baby (Simple Stories), Cool Caribbean, Pretty in Pink (Stampin' Up)
Ink:  Black
Accessories:  Square Nestabilities (Spellbinders), Butterfly Die (Stampin' Up), Monarch Butterfly Punch (Martha Stewart), Chevron Embossing Folder (Darice), Black Half Pearls, Twine, Dimensionals

Mojo Monday #355

What a fabulous sketch for the wedding card I needed to make.  Went with my go to wedding set, Verve's Love Story.  Lots of wonderful sentiments and images.

Kept to white and silver for my card as I love white wedding cards.  Used the Scalloped Trim Trio heart die down the side, added the sentiment and needed a little something more in the circle so stamped the bird images and used some of the punched out hearts from the silver heart border.  Used the debossed side of my Swiss Dots embossing folder, added some ribbon and finished things off with a bit of bling.  Hope she likes it as most men don't give a hoot about their wedding cards 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

Start training for my new part time job today!  I'm still in shock as to how things came about and know beyond a shadow of a doubt, it is a total God thing!

I was in my chiropractor's office for an adjustment and overheard the word resume used around the front desk.  Asked him what was up and he told me one of the girls was leaving as she needed and got full time work.  Chatted with hubby when he got home and he agreed the timing and job were perfect and to go for it.  Sent off an e-mail with my resume after dinner and that same evening got told the job was mine if I wanted it (barring something not sitting well with me after we discussed the job duties etc.).  Nothing like going from not looking for a part time job (was going to start in the new year) to getting one in less than 24 hours!  I'll be working two ten hour days which is fabulous as that still leaves me three days a week to work for hubby's office when he needs me.  Feeling very, very blessed!!  Pretty sure the major adjustment will be having to be at work by 6:45 a.m. LOL! 

Have a fabulous day!

What's In It?
Stamps: Love Story (Verve Stamps)

Paper:   White and Sliver 
Ink:  Black

Accessories:  Scalloped Trim Trio (A Cut Above by Verve), Doily Die (Top Dog Dies), Scalloped Circle and Circle Nestabilities (Spellbinders), Swiss Dots Embossing Folder (Provo Craft), 5/8" White Satin Ribbon (Michael's), Bling,  Glue Dot, Dimensionals

Just Us Girls #250 - Colour Challenge

A great colour combo for us to work with this week, and I was thrilled these wonderful Stella and Rose MME papers were the perfect match.  

I used an MFT sketch and Verve's Birthday To You Plain Jane and added the secondary "enjoy" sentiment from Small Celebrations.  A bit of distressing around the edges to give it a bit of oomph and finished things off with some twine and a button.

The rest of the  JUGS team along with our July Guest Designer, Rebekka Reed, 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.  Simply create a card using the sketch and link it up to the JUGS blog for a chance to be chosen as the Chic of the Week.  Remember, if you are chosen as Chic of the Week, you could be invited to be a Guest Designer.

We had a smoking hot week here on the West Coast and many of us were melting!  We don't have AC here for in reality, we only need it about one to two weeks a year.  Well, this was one of the week LOL!  Hot and humid is an understatement.  Daily highs around 32C (96F) and no wind for three of those days made for some sticky days.  But, it sure is nice being able to go outside at 9 p.m. at night in your shorts and a t-shirt and not worry about it getting cold.  

Challenges:  Simon Says


 
What's In It?
Stamps:  Birthday to You Plain Jane, Small Celebrations (Verve Stamps)   
Paper:   Lime Twist (My Mind's Eye), Wild Wasabi, Kraft (Stampin' Up)  
Ink:  Black
Accessories:  Lacy Circle and Circle Nestabilities, Distressing Tool (Stampin' Up), Twine, Buttons, Glue Dots, Dimensioanls

Curtain Call Inspiration Challenge - Anything Goes

Today marks the one year anniversary of The Curtain Call Inspiration Challenge and we are celebrating in a BIG way!  Lots of wonderful sponsors with prizes to be had -- all you have to do is play along!   Simply use the inspiration photo to create a card or project, link it up on the Curtain Call, and you could be one of the lucky winners!  A list of our sponsors is at the bottom of the post.  

For my inspiration, I picked up on the colours and the abundance of white space.  Added a stitched boarder as a take on all the label tabs on the boxes, used Reverse Confetti's Tag Me die set and Lots to Say stamp set, and Lil' Inker's Of The Heart stitched heart.   Here are the links to the Crew's blogs for you inspiration.

Curtain Call Crew

Amber Kroening

Amy Kolling

Amy Tsuruta

Gayatri Murali

Kim Singdahlsen

Laurie Willison

Lisa Henke

Marisa Ritzen

Maureen Plut

Monika Davis

Sheri Gilson

Sarah Gough

Stacey Schafer

Tenia Nelson

Tracey McNeely

You have until July 25th to link your card.  The Lead and Show Stoppers, along with the randomly selected winners will be announced on July 31st.  We'd love you to stop by the Curtain Call Inspiration Challenge: Anything Goes and play along with us!

Here is the list of the sponsors.

Sugar Pea Designs

$15 Gift Certificate

Newton's Nook

$20 Store Credit

Neat & Tangled

choice stamp set

The Cat's Pajamas

$25 Gift Voucher

Lawn Fawn

Say Cheese Lawn Cut Die

Paper Sweeties

$20 Gift Cerfificate

Pretty Pink Posh

$20 Gift Certificate

Uniko Studio

£15 Gift Certificate

My Favorite Things

$25 Voucher

Linnie Blooms

12 x 12 Scrapbook Kit

Paper Issues

Swag Bag

Clearly Besotted Stamps

 £15 Gift Card

Taylored Expressions

$25 Gift Certificate

Reverse Confetti

$15 Gift Certificate

Verve Stamps
$30 Gift Certificate

Have a fabulous day!



 
What's In It?
Stamps:  Lots to Say (Reverse Confetti)
Paper:   Certainly Celery, Cool Caribbean, So Saffron, Going Grey (Stampin' Up)
Ink:  Black 
Accessories:  Stitched Rectangles and Of the Heart Dies (Lil'  Inkers), Tag Me Die Set (Reverse Confetti), Crimper (Fiskars),  Twine, Brown Half Pearls, Dimensionals 

Verve Diva Dare July 2014

** This is my second post of the day. Scroll down to see my Mojo Monday card ** 

This month's Diva Dare is entitled "Inside Out".  What we are daring you to do is make a card and continue the design on the inside for a special surprise for the recipient. 

I simply adore this flower and butterfly image from Happy Place, with the added bonus of having the coordinating Happy Doodles die set!  Pulled out some old SEI paper I had and kept things rather bold with all the black.  A touch of colour on the two images using Twinkling H2Os to pick up the blue in the paper.

For the inside of my card, I carried over the flower image and added a sentiment.  In hindsight, I would have added a black mat and a small strip of the SEI paper from the front along the bottom to ground the flower a bit.  However, after having just finished participating in a 420 kid VBS last week, I was lucky to find my way to my craft room LOL!  Needless to say I was wiped out and not firing on all pistons when I created the inside of this card!  My apologies!

In true Verve fashion, where there is a 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!

What's In It?
Stamps:   Happy Place (Verve Stamps) 
Paper:  Desert Springs (SEI), Black, White 
Ink:   Black
Accessories:   Happy Doodles Die Set (A Cut Above Verve), Stitched Rectangles (Lil' Inkers), Swiss Dots and Chevron Embossing Folders (Provo Craft), 5/8" Sheer Black Ribbon (Michael's), Twinkling H2Os, Bling, Dimensionals

Mojo Monday #354

Loved this sketch by Julee, and immediately thought of the peacock image from the newly released Moments Remembered by Verve Stamps.  Love peacocks and all their glory, and will never forget seeing an albino one once!

Since I am not a colourer, I stamped it in black, fussy cut it out and added a few black half pearls to the head crown and some Stickles to the tail for a little bling effect.  The seam binding is from the Truly, Madly Deeply Ribbon collection - just love that rich orange colour!  Happy sigh...

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

Well, we survived VBS last week and had a wonderful week with all 420 kids.  That was actually more kids than the total of the elementary school my kids went to!  Fantastically organized and a great time was had by all, especially on Friday which was the water day!  Drenched was an understatement, but with the hot weather nobody seemed to mind in the least LOL!  Off to the beach today to cool off as we are having a heat wave along with some nasty humidity here.  A dip in the cold ocean will do wonders :)

What's In It?
Stamps: Moments Remembered (Verve Stamps)

Paper:   Owl Be Falling In Love (Recollections), Hazel (Melissa Frances), DSP and Sahara Sand (Stampin' Up), Cream Linen 
Ink:  Black

Accessories:  Circle Nestabilities (Spellbinders), Doily, Seam Binding (Truly Madly Deeply Ribbon Collection by Verve Stamps), Button, Twine, Glue Dot, Stickles, Sequins, Dimensionals

Just Us Girls #249 - Trend Week

We are moving into our new format so this week's trend challenge is wood grain.  You can use wood grain paper, a wood grain embossing folder or a stencil, whatever your heart desires.

I always enjoy working with wood grain.  This time round, I opted for some paper from MME's Gnome Sweet Gnome paper pad as it had a fabulous wood grain pattern.

Of course, where there is wood grain there are often leaves wink, wink, so I jumped at the chance to use my PTI leaf dies again.   I stamped them in three different colours after die cutting them out and  formed a leaf cluster.  The sentiment is a stamp I picked up from the Michael's $1 stamp bin a few years back.

The rest of the  JUGS team along with our new, July Guest Designer, Rebekka Reed, 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.  Simply create a card using the sketch and link it up to the JUGS blog for a chance to be chosen as the Chic of the Week.  Remember, if you are chosen as Chic of the Week, you could be invited to be a Guest Designer.

We are all totally exhausted after a week of VBS at our church -- 410 kids can do that to you LOL!  However, our hearts are full and it was an amazing week with many wonderful memories.  So fun to serve with my kids :)  Going to be a very low key, quiet weekend I think! 


 
What's In It?
Stamps:  Leaf Prints (PTI), Michael's Dollar Stamp   
Paper:   Gnome Sweet Gnome (My Mind's Eye), Kraft, Cream
Ink:  Black, Real Red, Only Orange, Old Olive (Stampin' Up)
Accessories:  Leaf Print Dies (PTI), Button, Twine, Glue Dot, Dimensionals