Mojo Monday #365

It's tall and skinny week over on the Mojo Monday blog and Julee has created this fabulous sketch for us to work with.

Love banners on cards and I jumped at the chance to use some of my hoarded Stella and Rose MME papers.  Just adore this paper pack with all the wonderful fall colours and am quite stingy with using them LOL!

Another favorite of mine is this wonderful flower/leaf combination from Dream Big.  I never tire of using either of them.  Added a some twine and a bow along with a small sentiment tag from PTI 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

Debbie Carriere

Julee Tilman (Owner)

Marisa Ritzen (you are here)

Mary Fish

Sarah Biglow

Teresa Kline

Wanda Cullen

We survived our first week of school after the teachers strike and an extended summer vacation, and are all tired to prove it LOL!!  It's been an adjustment to early mornings for everyone again, as well as adding my two days of work into the mix.  I have never had to leave the house for work since the kids were born (ran a daycare out of my house for ten years), but they are at the perfect age for this to occur and am feeling very blessed all round.

Challenges - The Pink Elephant

                   Simon Says

What's In It?
Stamps:  Dream Big (Verve Stamps), Tiny Tags (PTI) 
Paper:  Stella and Rose (My Mind's Eye), Early Espresso, Kraft, Old Olive (Stampin' Up)
Ink:  Black, VersaMark
Accessories:  Elegant Leaves and Scalloped Flowers Die Set (A Cut Above by Verve), Tiny Tags Die (PTI), Border Punch (Stampin' Up), Twine, Button, Twine, Glue Dots, Dimensionals

Masculine Sympathy Card

Masculine sympathy cards are not easy to make...  I used this week's Viva La Verve sketch by Stacey, and the 1 Peter 5:7 verse from Faith Medley.  After humming and hawing for a while, I finally decided to go non-traditional with the colours and added some spiral clips I found in my stash.

My friend lost his father, who he was very close to, and though there is great sorrow at losing his presence here on earth, I know he takes comfort in the fact he will one day see him again in Heaven.   Yet amidst the comfort of that knowledge, there are always times of deep, emotional, heart ache when one misses having your parent to walk through life with, call for advice etc.  My prayer is that this verse will comfort him during those times.

A busy weekend ahead as we celebrate all the September family birthdays, along with a soccer game and my son reffing two games too.  Our schedules are in full swing now, and I think we will have a very low key Sunday to enjoy some down time!

Wishing you a fabulous day!

Challenges:  Simon Says - Anything Goes

 
 
What's In It?
Stamps:  Faith Medley (Verve Stamps)
Paper:   Kraft, Real Red, Night of Navy, Cool Caribbean (Stampin' Up), Cream Linen, Costco DP Pack
Ink:  Black    
Accessories:  Starry Die (A Cut Above by Verve), Circle Nestabilities (Spellbinders), Crimper (Fiskars), Chicken Wire Embossing Folder (Provo Craft), Black Half Pearls, Spiral Clips, Dimensionals

Viva La Verve September 2014 Week 3 Recap

I get to host this week's Viva La Verve sketch recap and this was my take on the sketch.  Loved the inspiration photo and pulled the colours from it. 

I was a bit stumped by the two smaller circles in the sketch, so I decided to use a little artistic impression and go with some embossing paste polka dots.  The sentiment panel was screaming for me to use the fabulous Coffee Word Die, so I did LOL!  The green coffee mug was die cut using the Cuppa Joe Die Set and inspired by the green flower stems.  Finished things off by adding a few coffee beans around the cup to ground it.

Want to see whose card I spotlighted this week?  Head on over to the Viva La Verve blog and find out! 

What's In It?
Stamps:   Coffee (Verve Stamps) 
Paper:  Kraft, Cameo Coral, So Saffron, Early Espresso, Old Olive, Blush Blossom (Stampin' Up)  
Ink:   Black, Close to Cocoa (Stampin' Up)
Accessories:   Cuppa Joe and Coffee Word Dies (A Cut Above by Verve), Tag and Doily Die (PTI), Embossing Paste, Heidi Swap Polka Dot Stencil, 5/8" Brown Satin Ribbon, Twine, Dimensionals

Mojo Monday #364

It's Mojo Monday time and this week's sketch is great for mixing up some patterned paper.

I used The Sweetest Thing by My Mind's Eye for my papers along with this wonderful flower image from Happy Place and its matching die from the Happy Doodles Die Set.  The sentiment is from Take Note and a touch of yellow, satin ribbon finished 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

Debbie Carriere

Julee Tilman (Owner)

Marisa Ritzen (you are here)

Mary Fish

Sarah Biglow

Teresa Kline

Wanda Cullen

First day back at school for the kids now that the teachers strike is over - yeah!  Getting back into the school routine after three months of summer vacation will be interesting LOL!  But we are all glad to be back on track and in a regular schedule.

What's In It?
Stamps:   Happy Place, Take Note (Verve Stamps) 
Paper:   The Sweetest Thing (My Mind's Eye), Kraft, Real Red (Stampin' Up) 
Ink:  Black
Accessories:  Happy Doodles Die Set (A Cut Above by Verve),5/8" Saffron Satin Ribbon, Button, Twine, Glue Dot, Dimensionals

Curtain Call Inspiration Challenge - Wishing Well Reminder

We are half way through the Curtain Call Inspiration Wishing Well challenge sponsored by Whimsy Stamps.

This time round, I used this adorable bird house image from In The Garden.  I fussy cut the grass, birdhouse and cute little bird to create my scene and added some clouds for depth.

We'd love to have you play along if you haven't already.  You have until September 10th to link your card to the Curtain Call Blog. The LEAD and Show Stoppers for this challenge will be announced on September 14th, and our next challenge will begin on September 15th.

Celebrating my daughters sixteenth birthday this weekend.  How did she get so grown up?!!  A house full of teenage girls, hubby BBQing burgers for them and lots of laughter as they worked their way through trying to answer as many of the 40 questions about her as they could for a prize! A wonderful weekend of celebration :)

Challenges:  CASology - Grass
                    AAA Cards - Fussy Cutting

 
 
What's In It?  
Stamps:   In The Garden (Whimsy Stamps)
Ink:  Black, Chocolate Chip, Close to Cocoa, More Mustard, Real Red, Old Olive (Stampin' Up)
Accessories:  Stitched Rectangle Dies (Lil' Inkers), Dimensionals

Curtain Call Inspiration Challenge - Wishing Well

It's time for another Curtain Call Inspiration Challenge, and this week, our sponsor is Whimsy Stamps!  A randomly selected participant in the Wishing Well challenge will receive $25 store credit to Whimsy Stamps and the LEAD will be invited as Guest Designer of a our next challenge!

The Whimsy Stamps set I got to play with is called In The Garden, and it has a coordinating Watering Can die.

Love this darling watering can die and had great fun die cutting out a designer, polka dotted can LOL!   Used MME's Stella and Rose papers (still have a stash of them, and still love them!), fussy cut two tulips and added them to the watering can to pick up on the flowers in the inspiration photo.  Think the sentiment fits the photo perfectly too!

Wishing Well Designers

Guest Designer, Esther Asbury

Amy Kolling
Amy Sheffer
Amy Tsuruta
Gayatri Murali
Kim Singdahlsen
Laurie Willison
Lisa Henke
Marisa Ritzen
Maureen Plut
Monika Davis
Sarah Gough
Sheri Gilson
Stacey Schafer
Tenia Nelson
Tracey McNeely

You can check out all the challenge details over on the Curtain Call Inspiration Challenge.  Plus, you can now follow us on Facebook and Pinterest.  Here are the links:

Curtain Call Inspiration Challenge Facebook Page

Curtain Call Pinterest Boards

Thanks for popping by and look forward to seeing your creations.

 

What's In It?
Stamps:  In The Garden (Whimsy Stamps) 
Paper:  Stella and Rose (My Mind's Eye), Kraft, Old Olive (Stampin' Up), Cream Linen
Ink:  Real Red, Black (Stampin' Up) 
Accessories:  Watering Can Die (Whimsy Stamps), Lacy Square and Square Nestabilities, Butterfly Punch (Martha Stewart), Brown Half Pearls, Dimensioanls

Mojo Monday #363

I am having a great time using all the wonderful fall colours on my cards lately :)   Definitely my favorite colour pallet to work with.

Couldn't let the butterflies go just yet...so added the one from Die Sidekicks in a colour close to cameo coral.  Added some sprightly sprigs and a pop of red on the sentiment panel to liven things up a bit.

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

Debbie Carriere

Julee Tilman (Owner)

Marisa Ritzen (you are here)

Mary Fish

Sarah Biglow

Teresa Kline

Wanda Cullen

Our glorious weather continues!  Think it has been almost five months of sunshine here on the West Coast - an amazing summer indeed (not like Calgary who got a dump of snow last week and had to close their airport!).  There is a Fall crispness in the early morning air now so the seasons are changing, but we will continue to enjoy the sunshine before the rain begins!

Wishing you a fabulous day, and thank for stopping by today :)

What's In It?
Stamps:  Die Sidekicks, Happy Place, Bloom and Grow (Verve Stamps), French Script (Stampin' Up) 
Paper:  Stella and Rose (My Mind's Eye), For the Record (Paper Loft), Sahara Sand, Real Red, Mellow Moss, Old Olive, Cameo Coral (Stampin' Up), Cream Linen
Ink:  Black
Accessories:  Sprightly Sprigs Die (A Cut Above by Verve), Scalloped Circle and Circle Nestabilities (Spellbinders), Black and Brown Half Pearls, Crimper (Fiskars), Dimensionals

Verve Release Retrospecitve

Welcome to Verve's August Release Retrospective Blog Hop! The Verve Divas are hopping today and serving up some more inspiration using the August 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 her from Charmaine's blog you are right on track.  If you just happened upon the hop, you can check the hop list below to get caught up.

For my card, I chose to use this fabulous new Psalm 34:8 Plain Jane.  Love this verse!  I embellished the card with the flowers and leaves from Dream Big and used the matching Scalloped Flowers and Dreamy Leaves dies to cut them out.


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.

Want another chance to win? Now it's your turn! We'd LOVE to see what you've done with the August release. Link up your cards using at least one product from our August 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 October 3, so there's still plenty of time to get the August release if you haven't already.

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

Now it's time to hop over to our Anni-verve-sary Release Guest Diva, Monika, who is sure to have some wonderful card candy for you to enjoy!

Thanks for stopping by and happy hopping!

What's In It?
Stamps:   Psalm 34:8 Plain Jane, Dream Big (Verve Stamps) 
Paper:   Gardenia (American Crafts), Juliet (SEI), Kraft, Old Olive, So Saffron, Close to Cocoa (Stampin' Up) 
Ink:  Perfect Plum, VersaMark, Black
Accessories:  Scalloped Flowers, Dreamy Leaves, Pennant Trim Die (A Cut Above by Verve), Crimper (Fiskars), Button, Twine, Glue Dots, Dimensionals 

Verve Diva Dare ~ September 2014

This month's Diva Dare is entitled "Terrific Trios".  Back to school time usually means life is a three ring circus, so this month we are daring you to add 3 of something to your card or project.

I used this weeks Viva La Verve Sketch, and immediately thought of using this fabulous image from the newly released One Cup.  Needless to say, the trio portion of the dare was all taken care of wink, wink.  Cut out the image using the matching Cuppa Tea Die Set and then paper pieced the mugs using MME's Stella and Rose papers (still love these papers!).   Opted for a natural colour pallet so the cups would pop, and added the crimped panel and some raffia for a bit of texture.

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 - particularly timely as Verve just has it's big Anniversary Release!  Simply head on over to the Verve Blog to get all the challenge details!

What's In It?
Stamps:   One Cup (Verve Stamps) 
Paper:  Kraft, Sahara Sand (Stampin' Up), Cream Linen 
Ink:   Black
Accessories:   Cuppa Tea Die Set (A Cut Above by Verve), Stitched Rectangles (Lil' Inkers), Crimper (Fiskars), Black Half Pearls, Black Button, Raffia, Glue Dots, Dimensionals

Wedding Card

Went to a wonderful wedding over the Labour Day weekend and this is the card I made for the groom's mom to give to the happy couple. The bride loves bling so I made sure I added a lot :)

Used one of Jen's Deconstructed Sketches for the layout and Verve's Love Story for the image and sentiment.  The birds are stamped in silver ink, even though they look dark grey in the photo.  The picture was underexposed and even Photoshop couldn't rectify the colour - sorry!  Hope the couple liked it!

 
 
What's In It?
Stamps:  Love Story (Verve Stamps)
Paper:   Juliette (SEI), Going Grey (Stampin' Up), Brushed Silver
Ink:  Black, Silver
Accessories:  Heart Nestabilities (Spellbinders), Heart Punch (Marvy), Bling, Dimensionals

Mojo Monday #362

It's Monday and that means it's time for a Mojo Monday sketch - yeah! 

I was in the mood for another leaf card and lots of texture so I actually delved into the world of embossing paste.  Used a chevron stencil, added the paste and then let it dry.  Used a mix of fall colours and of course, my leaf dies wink, wink.  The maple leaf is die cut from a Starbuck's sleeve - love the olive colour and the writing on it added a little something.   I also embossed the sahara sand panel with my wood grain embossing folder for even more texture.  Replaced the ribbon with my die cut "thankful" and completed the card by adding the secondary sentiment.

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

Entering this into the Just Us Girls "leaves" word challenge, the NBUS challenge (new stencil and embossing paste) and The Paper Players Fall Theme.  Think I'll save this card to give to hubby from the kids and I at Thanksgiving as we are truly thankful for the wonderful father and husband he is - not to mention great cook! 

Wishing you a wonderful day! 

What's In It?
Stamps:  Great Friend (Verve Stamps), Leaf Prints (PTI)
Paper:  Sahara Sand, Kraft, Early Espresso, Real Red (Stampin' Up)
Ink:  Black, Close to Cocoa
Accessories:  Wood Grain Embossing Folder (Tim Holtz), Chevron Stencil (Heiki Swapp), Embossing Paste, Leaf Dies (PTI), Thankful Die (PTI), Button, Twine, Glue Dot, Dimensionals 

Curtain Call Inspiration Challenge - Lovely Leaves Reminder

Fall cards are often a "no-brainer" for me as most times, I simply reach for PTI's Leaf Prints and matching dies and go from there.  This card was no exception.  Maximized the number of wonderful fall colours and then added my beloved leaves to the mix.  Happy sigh... :)    Just wish raking them off my lawn when they fall would be as much fun as putting them on cards LOL!

We'd love to have you play along if you haven't already.  You have until September 10th to link your card to the Curtain Call Blog. The LEAD and Show Stoppers for this challenge will be announced on September 14th, and our next challenge will begin on September 15th.

Have a great day!


 
 
What's In It?  
Stamps:  Leaf Prints and Modern Wood Mats (PTI)
Paper:  Stella and Rose, Collectible (My Mind's Eye), Real Red, Old Olive, Only Orange, So Saffron, Early Espresso (Stampin' Up) 
Ink: Close to Cocoa, Black (Stampin' Up)
Accessories:  Leaf Print and Labels Dies (PTI), Scalloped Circle and Circle Nestabilities (Spellbinders), Crimper (Fiskars), Twine, Glue Dot, Dimensionals

Verve Stamps Inspirations Hop September 2014

Welcome to Verve's September Diva Inspirations Hop. It's the 5th of the month and that means it's time for the Divas to serve up some fresh inspiration with their Verve stamps! Leave some comment love along the hop spots for a chance to win a prize, then grab some stamps and play along with our September inspiration challenge for another chance to win!

This month's challenge is entitled Sweet September:

Sugar-high! Get sugary sweet with pastels, cupcakes or candy. Create a calorie free confection to delight the senses! Feel free to use the graphic as inspiration or not.

If you have come here from Stacey's blog, you are right on track.  If you happened along the Hop, you can check out the Hop List below to get caught up.

For my card I used the newly released Small Packages and co-ordinating Cupcake Frame die set along with this week's Viva La Verve sketch.  I coloured the cupcake with Twinkling H2Os and added some stickles for a bit of sparkle.  A little flag banner in the cupcake and some fun, purple twine I found in my stash finished things off.

I realized too late in the process (unlike Diva Moe who caught herself) that I used a stamp from the recent release instead of a previously released stamp set which is the purpose of an Inspiration Hop.  A very stressful and exhausting week hijacked my brain cells...  Off to sit in my time out chair ;)   
 
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! 

	1. Julee	7. Sarah
	2. Amy	8. Sony
	3. Anya	9. Susan
	4. Betty	10. Maureen
	5. Karen	11. Stacey
	6. Sankari	12. Marisa

Trusting all the fabulous Diva inspiration from the hop has your mojo raring to go and ready to play along with us.  Simply create a card using the above theme, and link it up for an additional chance to win some Verve.  You can check out all the prize info and deadlines are on the Verve Blog.



Timing is perfect with the recent anniversary release providing lots of sweet savings.  Verve's brand new releases are marked 10% off and some of our sweetest tamps & dies from releases past are 20% off!  





 
 
What's In It?
Stamps:  Small Packages (Verve Stamps)
Paper:   Lime Twist (My Mind's Eye), Ballet Blue, Certainly Celery, Kraft (Stampin' Up)
Ink:  Black
Accessories:  Cupcake Frame Die Set (A Cut Above by Verve), Twinkling H2Os, Crimper (Fiskars), Button, Purple Twine, Stickles, Glue Dot, Dimensionals