Viva La Verve Meets Coffee Lovers Blog Hop

Time for a recap of the fourth and final September Viva La Verve sketch.  You have until 8:00 p.m. CST on Thursday, October 1st to submit your entries for this month's $100 Verve gift certificate draw!  You don't have to complete all the sketches, but the more you do, the greater your chances of winning.  In addition, Verve stamps are not required but we love to see them if you have them :)

In honor of the Fall Coffee Lovers Blog Hop, I paired Laurie's sketch with a sentiment from Better With You and these adorable latte cups from Julee's Latte Love Digi Freebee (available only until October 15th).  Every time I see these images I want to hop in my car and go get myself a Venti decaf non-fat latte LOL!! 

If you want to see who I have spotlighted for this week's sketch, and/or want some additional inspiration from the gallery, simply hop on over to the Viva La Verve blog.

Have a great day!  I'm off to get a latte {grin}.






What's In It?
Stamps:   Better With You, Latte Love Digi (Verve Stamps) 
Paper:  Recollections Papers (Micheal's), Early Espresso (Stampin' Up)
Ink:   Black  
Accessories:  Lacy Oval and Oval Dies (Spellbinders), Ribbon, Button, Twine, Sequins, Glue Dots, Dimensionals 

Mojo Monday #417

It's tall and skinny week over on the Mojo Monday blog - time to enjoy a change from my standard A2 sized cards.

Needed a birthday card for my SIL this past weekend as we gathered as a family to celebrate our three September and one August birthday together.  Always great fun to get together and hubby made a delicious pork roast with and cooked cabbage and black forest cake was our dessert.

Love this Birthday To You Plain Jane and added a heart cluster to dress 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

Julee Tilman (Owner)

Marisa Ritzen (that's me)

Mary Fish

Sarah Biglow

Teresa Kline

Justin Krieger

Lori Tecler

Wanda Cullen

Have a great day and enjoy the sketch!






What's In It?
Stamps:   Birthday to You Plain Jane (Verve Stamps) 
Paper:  Floral Chic (Fancy Pants), Tan, Blush Blossom, Real Red, Pretty in Pink (Stampin' Up)
Ink:   Black  
Accessories:  Heart Quartet Die (A Cut Above by Verve), Lacy Square Nestabilities (Spellbinders), Heart Punch (Marvy), Crimper (Fiskars), Twine, Black Half Pearls, Button, Glue Dot, Dimensionals 

SFYTT - September 2015

 

Time for another Sketch For You To Try card.  With the busyness of September, I am just now getting to this month's sketch. 

My daughter's birthday was this Tuesday, and this sketch fit the bill.  Since she loves pink, ruffles and flowers, I pulled out Petals and Posies once again (love this set!) and went to work.  Ruffles - check.  Flowers - check, check. Pink - check, check, check lol.  Hoping this will be soft and feminine enough for her :) 

Not sure how my baby got so big!  This mama is having a hard time with it LOL.  I am so proud of her and all of her accomplishments, how she has excelled academically and in her photography, how she has stood true to her values though out high school in the midst of pressure to do otherwise, and oh how I love her wit and her huge heart.  She is a precious girl and I am beyond blessed to be called her mother.  Happy Birthday, sweetheart!! I love you lots!






 
What's In It?
Stamps:   Petals and Posies (Reverse Confetti)
Paper:  Lovey (Bella Boulevard), Costco DP, Pretty in Pink (Stampin' Up), Cream Linen
Ink:   Pretty in Pink, Regal Rose, Sahara Sand (Stampin' Up)
Accessories:  Petals and Posies Die Set, Love Note Die Set, Diagonal Stripe Pretty Panels Die (Confetti Cuts by Reverse Confetti), Stitched Rectangles (Lil' Inker), Crimper (Fiskars), Flag It Die Set (A Cut Above by Verve), Dimensionals

Viva La Verve September Week 3 Sketch

It's recap time for this week's Viva La Verve sketch and I am swinging from holiday to holiday!  Yesterday was Christmas and now I am fast forwarding to Valentine's Day LOL.

Love these Yours Truly papers by Echo Park and paired them with my beloved Jotted Heart die and "U" die from the I Heart You die set.  Needed a little something, something so I added a tie on the U and a button on my heart.  Adore this "hugs" sentiment from Love Notes as it is just so much fun to add to a card :)   Keeping this for my daughter when she needs a pick me up during the year or it may very well be her Valentine's Day card.

Need or want to see some extra inspiration for this fabulous sketch by Stacey?  Simply head on over to the Viva La Verve blog to check out the gallery.  You will also find my top picks for this week.

Enjoy the sketch!

Challenge:  Simon Says Stamps

 



 
What's In It?
Stamps:  Love Notes (Verve Stamps) 
Paper:  Yours Truly (Echo Park) 
Ink:  Black 
Accessories:  Jotted Heart and I Heart You Die Set (A Cut Above by Verve), Crimper (Fiskars), Corner Rounder (Marvy), Button, Twine, Glue Dot, Dimensionals

Mojo Monday #416

I was in the mood for making a Christmas card this week after seeing a few in blog land.

I pulled out my hoarded Lost and Found Christmas papers by MME and went to work.  The triple circles were causing a bit of havoc so I took a little artistic license with this week's sketch, but the guts if it are still there {grin}.

I adore this Winter Fun die set as the Christmas tree is one of my favorite Christmas dies.    I paired them with this beautifully fonted (not sure if that is a word but you know what I mean) sentiment from Glad Tidings and added in a few starts to fill up the focal panel.

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 are fully immersed in our Fall schedule after the kids' second full week of school.  Let the mad dash to Christmas begins lol!

Wishing you a fabulous day and thank for sharing a bit of yours with me :)

Challenges: Simon Says Stamps






What's In It?
Stamps:   Glad Tidings (Verve Stamps) 
Paper:  Lost and Found Christmas (My Mind's Eye), Going Grey, Kraft (Stampin' Up), Cream Linen
Ink:   Black  
Accessories:  Winter Fun Die Set (A Cut Above by Verve), Snowflake Dies (PTI), Stitched Circles (Lil' Inker), Circle Nestabilities (Spellbinder), Gold Twine, Dimensionals

Curtain Call Inspiration Challenge - Pop Pop Pop

Welcome back to our second inspiration challenge of the month. This time round we are popping with fun- sorry, couldn't resist ;)   The LEAD for this challenge will be invited to be a Guest Designer in an upcoming challenge.

I used this week's Sweet Sunday Sketch as it had a nice big circle to play with and I had sunflowers on the mind (don't ask me how I got from popcorn to sunflowers LOL).

Used Clearly Besotted's Blomoing Marvelous and matching dies (love this sunflower image!) added a wood grain embossed background for some texture and finished things off with a bit of twine.

  Pop, Pop, Pop

Amy Kolling
 Amy Sheffer

Amy Tsuruta

Betty Wright

 Kim Singdahlsen

Laurie Willison

Lisa Henke

Marisa Ritzen

Maureen Plut

Melody Rupple

Monika Davis

Sheri Gilson

Stacey Schafer

Tenia Nelson

Tracey McNeely

Have a fabulous day and I look forward to seeing your creations.

 




What's In It?
Stamps:  Blooming Marvelous (Clearly Besotted Stamps)

Paper:  So Saffron, Kraft, Tan (Stampin' Up)
Ink: Old Olive, Summer Sun, More Mustard (Stampin' Up)

Accessories:  Stitched Rectangles, Circle Nestabilities (Spellbinders), Sunflower Die (Clearly Besotted), Woodgrain Embossing (Tim Holtz), Twine, Button, Brown Half Pearls, Glue Dot, Dimensionals

Viva La Verve September Week 2 Sketch

Charmaine provided this week's Viva La Verve sketch and today I am recapping it over on the Viva La Verve blog.

I don't use purple often but when I tripped across this lovely Basic Grey paper I wanted to focus on the purples.  Mind you, dark purple is not an easy colour to photograph - ugh!!  My butterfly looks black, but it is actually a deep plum colour, honest!

Phillippians1:6, now part of the Scripture Medley 3 stamp set, is my life verse, and oh how I love knowing that I can use it on a card any time because I have it in stamp form - thank you Julee!!   The corner needed a little something so I used the butterfly and leaves from the Butterfly Dreams die set to add a little interest.

You can see who I have spotlighted for this week's sketch as well as get some additional inspiration, over on the Viva La Verve blog.

Thanks for popping by today!




 


What's In It?
Stamps:   Scripture Medley 3 (Verve Stamps) 
Paper:  Basic Grey, Echo Park, Always Artichoke, Pale Plum, Perfect Plum (Stampin' Up) 
Ink:   Black  
Accessories:  Butterfly Dreams Die Set (A Cut Above by Verve), Circle Nestabilities (Spellbinders), 5/8" Saffron Satin Ribbon, White Half Pearl, Dimensionals

Mojo Monday #415

Love starting my Monday's with a Mojo Monday card :)   After another glorious weekend weather-wise, I wasn't quite ready to make a full out Fall card, so I snuck a butterfly and a flower on to a neutral pallet.

Love these papers by Teresa Collins as well as this fabulous Beautiful Plain Jane sentiment.  Used the  Sweet Scalloped die for my tag and snuck in a flower using the Loopy Blooms die.   Sorry about the smudge on the bottom right hand side of the photo.  Didn't catch it until processing the photo and bu then had no light left to take another photo.  Apparently somewhere along the way I left a big fingerprint across part of the lens :(

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

Kids survived the first week of school, though my daughter had a bit of a hiccup.  Due to the size of the school, they now have an on-line locker sign up system -- tons better than having to line up for three or so hours the day before school starts!   When she went to put her books in her locker the first day of school, she found it didn't have a door!  Needless to say, it should not have been an option on the system, but life happens.  She and her locker partner now need to wait one to three weeks for the door to arrive and be installed (no room for an alternate locker due to an overcrowded school).  Thankfully they have a few friends who have offered them some locker space until that occurs - a very nice gesture as that means three plus to a locker for a while.   Never a dull moment!

Wishing you a fabulous day!







What's In It?
Stamps:   Beautiful Plain Jane (Verve Stamps) 
Paper:  Life Emporium (Theresa Collins), Going Grey, Mint Medley, Kraft, Real Red (Stampin' Up) 
Ink:   Black  
Accessories:  Sweet Scalloped Die, Loopy Blooms Die Set (A Cut Above by Verve), Stitched Rectangles (Lil' Inker), Martha Stewart Butterfly Punch, Button,Twine, Glue Dot, Dimensionals 

September Verve Inspirations 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 the until October 5 to link up, so feel free to play as often as you like.

Our September challenge is Autumn Lovelies

September brings to mind crisp apples, bouquets of sharpened pencils, baked pumpkin delights, rainbows of fallen leaves and don't forget Pumpkin Spice Lattes and Salted Caramel Mochas! This month we're challenging you to to show us your autumn inspired creations. Use the inspiration graphic or go off on your own tangent, just share a little autumn loveliness with us!

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

If you have come here from Stacey's blog you are right on track. If you just happened upon the Hop you can check the Hop List below to catch up.

The fabulous flowers by the window caught my eye so I decided to focus on them.  Lean On Me's flowers were the perfect fit, so I stamped them and used the coordinating Pointed Flowers die set to cut them out.  Twinkling H2Os was my colouring medium, and the foliage was created by using the Sprightly Springs die set.  A sentiment from Bountiful Harvest along with a scalloped edge and a touch of twine finished things off.

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	7. Susan
	2. Amy	8. Maureen
	3. Betty	9. Amber
	4. Jen	10. Stacey
	5. Sankari	11. Marisa
	6. Sarah

Look forward to seeing your inspired Fall themed creations!







 
What's In It?
Stamps:   Lean On Me, Bountiful Harvest (Verve Stamps)
Paper:  Kraft, Certainly Celery, Cream (Stampin' Up) 
Ink:  Black  
Accessories:  Sprightly Springs Die Set, Pointed Flowers Die Set (A Cut Above by Verve), Scalloped Border Edger (PTI), Twine, Twinkling H2Os, Round Punches, Lattice Embossing Folder, Dimensinoals

Viva La Verve September Week 1 Sketch Recap

It's recap time for the first Viva La Verve sketch of the month.  Julee provided this week's sketch and I had fun using it.

In my continuing venture to use up paper pads I own, I pulled out this older MME line called Lime Twist and found this cute little bird paper to work with.  A "love bird" card was an obvious choice, and I kept things on the white and bright side.  The sentiment is from Stronger Love and I used the heart die from the Scalloped Trim Trio set along with two heats from the Heart Quartet die.

Want to see who I spotlighted for this week's Viva La Verve sketch?  Simply head on over to the Viva La Verve blog and find out.  If you haven't played along yet, we would love to have you join us - Verve stamps are not required, but if you have them we love to see them :)






What's In It?
Stamps:   Stronger Love (Verve Stamps) 
Paper:  Lime Twist (MME), Going Grey, Cool Caribbean, Rose Romance (Stampin' Up) 
Ink:   Black  
Accessories:  Heart Quartet, Scalloped Trim Trio (A Cut Above by Verve), Stitched Circles (Lil' Inker), Chevron Embossing Folder (Darice), Button, Twine, Glue Dot, Dimensionals

Mojo Monday #414

It's the first Monday of the month and that means contest time over on the Mojo Monday blog!  The more entries we get, the greater the number of winners.

I have been seeing lots of back to school challenges over the past few weeks, and with my kids heading back tomorrow, I was in the mood to make a teacher card.  Always good to have some in your stash :)

The paper is from Echo Park's Paper and Glue collection and this fabulous, and oh so true sentiment, is from Teacher's Count by Verve.  The apple image is from the same set and I love that there is an outline and then a solid apple image so you can stamp the apple colour versus having to colour it in - perfect for us non colourers!   Bonus:  a matching Apples die set for the apples.

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

Enjoy your Labour Day holiday, and may your school preparations run smoothly if you have kids heading back, or if you are a teacher or administrator.  Three cheers for a great school year ahead!

Challenges:  Just Us Girls






What's In It?
Stamps:   Teachers Count (Verve Stamps)
Paper:  Cut and Paste (Echo Park), Night of Navy, Kraft, So Saffron, Cool Caribbean (Stampin' Up) 
Ink:   Real Red, Garden Green, Black,  
Accessories:  Apples Die Set (A Cut Above by Verve), Corner Rounder, Twine, Button, Glue Dot, Dimensionals 

Mojo Monday #413 - Take 2

This is my original "Tall and Skinny" card which was a result of  rushing to get it done for Monday's post after an 8.5 hour power outage and forgetting to go tall and skinny.  Nothing like having to make two cards instead of one LOL!

With the rain and cooler temps this past weekend, I was in the mood to make a coffee card using fall colours.  This was the end result.  Some old Stella and Rose MME papers, some fun, polka dotted coffee cups from Verve's Get Together and the Coffee Word die in case you thought it was tea wink, wink :) 

Also blaming my faux pas on just getting back from vacation and obviously still not into the swing of things wink, wink.  We had a wonderful family vacation over on Vancouver Island, visiting our old neighbours and getting some good quality time with hubby's parents.  Always great to stay with them and have an extended visit as it had been well over half a year since we had seen them.

We had our annual mini golf tournament and I'm ashamed to say, I lost the first round even after getting two holes in one on the first course!!  Yes, my two nemesis holes strike again LOL!   We enjoyed some time on the beach, fierce games of hearts, walking the trails, visiting Coombs for some lunch, shopping, mint moose tracks ice cream and enjoying the goats on the roof (roof is covered with grass and the goats graze up there).  Bonus: no wifi at grandma and grandpa's so we are able to totally unplug for a few days.



Stamps:  Get Together (Verve Stamps) 
Paper:   Stella and Rose (My Mind's Eye), Real Red, Early Espresso, So Saffron, Tempting Turquoise (Stampin' Up), Cream Linen
Ink:  Black (Momento)
Accessories:  Coffee Word Die, Heart Quartet, (A Cut Above by Verve), Circle Nestabilities (Spellbinders),  Crimper (Fiskars), Dimensionals 

Curtain Call Inspiration Challenge - Shades

Welcome back to the Curtain Call Inspiration Challenge!  This week, the Crew is back back with our first September challenge entitled Shades.  The LEAD for this challenge will be invited to be a guest designer in a future challenge.

After seeing the inspiration photo, I wish I had purchased the eye glass paper I saw at my LSS a few weeks ago, but since I didn't, it was time to get creative.  I pulled the colours from the photo and went with a trio on my card as per the three pairs of glasses.

Shades Designers 

Amy Kolling
 Amy Sheffer

Amy Tsuruta

Betty Wright

 Kim Singdahlsen

Laurie Willison

Lisa Henke

Marisa Ritzen

Maureen Plut

Melody Rupple

Monika Davis

Sheri Gilson

Stacey Schafer

Tenia Nelson

Tracey McNeely

Have a fabulous day and I look forward to seeing your creations.

 




What's In It?

Paper:  Dots and Stripes (Echo Park), Tan, Black 

Accessories:  Doily Die (Top Dog Dies), Tag Die (PTI), Hello Dies (MFT), 5/8" White Satin Ribbon, Twine, Dimensionals