VLV February 2018

Late in the month but still able to play along with February's Viva La Verve sketch created by none other than my favorite sketch designer, Julee Tilman, owner and creator of Verve Stamps.

Pulled out some older papers - Kioshi by Basic Grey and Lime Twist by MME.  Still love them!  The sentiment is from Cake and Candles (so many wonderful birthday wishes in this set!!) and I filled in with hearts from the Heart Quartet and PTI's Gran's Garden.

Planning on more inky time this weekend as we had a dump of snow yesterday (about 6 inches - first real snowfall of the year for us!) and it is the perfect excuse to stay home and relax.

Wishing you a fabulous day and remember there is still time to join in on the sketch challenge for a chance to win some free Verve!






What's In It?
Stamps:  Cake and Candles (Verve Stamps)
Paper:   Kioshi (Basic Grey), Lime Twist (My Mind's Eye), Pale Plum, Kraft, Lovely Lilac (Stampin' Up)  
Ink:  Black, Going Grey (Stampin' Up)
Accessories:  Heart Quartet (A Cut Above by Verve), Lacy Circle and Circle Nestabilities (Spellbinders), Medium Scalloped and Gran's Garden Die Sets (PTI), Crimper (Fiskars), Brown Half Pearls, Button, Twine, Dimensionals     

Verve Anniversary Release August 2017~ Day 5

Welcome back to Day 5 of our Anni-VERVE-sary Spotlight Hops!  It's an exciting day as there's new Verve in the store this morning! 4 beautiful new sets and 2 coordinating die sets just released and they're all available to order right now. To celebrate this special 10th Anni-VERVE-sary release, we're putting on another blog hop, with a pretty cool prize!

Today's featured focus is designer's choice, so you might just sneak a peek at a whole bunch of must-haves, especially since we've got a full line-up of Divas, guests and Alumni today!

If you have come here from Charmaine's blog you are right on track.  If not, you can check the hop list below to get caught up because today's prize is a big one!

My daughter made muffins today while I was working on some of the anniversary release cards so the cupcake image was calling my name LOL!  A few fun papers, cupcakes coloured to match with some Stickles on the icing for a bit of glam (sorry, doesn't show up in the picture!), a double sentiment to balance the card, and a few silver half pearls and twine to finish things off. 

Want to win some shiny new Verve? Today's prize is a BIG one. We'll be picking a random commenter on one of the hop spots below to win our ENTIRE new release! So be sure to leave a little comment on all the blogs below to increase your chances! Check out the Verve Blog today for the full hop list and all the prize info and deadlines!

1. Julee	9. Lesley
2. Maureen	10. Christyne
3. Betty	11. Laurie
4. Charmaine	12. Kelly (Guest)
5. Marisa	13. Laurie W. (Alumni)
6. Amy S.(Alumni)	14. Tosha L. (Alumni)
7. Amy K.(Alumni)	15. Tiffany S.(Alumni)
8. Michelle W. (Alumni)

Time to head on over to Alumni Amy's blog to see her fabulous creation and then over to the Verve Store  for a bit of shopping - you can thank me later for the enabling {wink, wink}.
  

      

What's In It?

Stamps:   Cake and Candles (Verve Stamps) 

Paper:  Lime Twist (MME), Simple Stories, Burgundy (LSS)  
Ink:  Black
Accessories:  Lacy Circle and Circle Nestabilities (Spellbinders), Twinkling H2Os, Stickles, Silver Half Pearls, Twine, Dimensionals

Curtain Call Inspiration Challenge Reminder ~ Flutter

 

We are half way through the Flutter challenge and since I love butterflies and this PTI butterfly die so much, I had to make another card for this challenge :) 

 

I used a Case This Sketch from a few weeks ago, pulled my colours from the photo (other than the "pink" which took a rather strong detour towards orange LOL), added the birthday sentiment, a button, and finished things off by rounding the bottom corners.  A nice, quick and easy card.

FLUTTER

Guest Designer - Marcie Sharp of Sharp Designs

Betty Wright

 Kim Singdahlsen

Leigh Penner

Lisa Henke
Lori Tecler 
Lynn Magnan

Marisa Ritzen

Maureen Plut

Melody Rupple

Monika Davis

Sheri Gilson
Silk Ledlow

Stacey Schafer

Tammy Hershberger

Tara Godfrey 

Have a fabulous week and I look forward to seeing your creations in the gallery!

What's In It? 

Paper:  Dots and Stripes (Echo Park), Only Orange, Pale Plum (Stampin' Up)
Accessories:  Birthday and Butterfly Dies (PTI), Corner Rounder, Button, Twine, Glue Dot

Mojo Monday #491

It is the first Monday of the month which means it is contest time over on the Mojo Moday blog :)    The more entries we get the greater the chance you have of winning some free Verve!  Whoo hoo!

I was cleaning out some paper pads and found the bright coloured polka dotted paper and decided to go with it and make a bright, birthday card using Verve's Get Together set so I use this big cupcake :)   Used a white background so the colours popped.

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.

Julee Tilman (Owner)

Justin Krieger

  Lori Tecler  

Marisa Ritzen (that's me)

Sarah Biglow

Teresa Kline

Wanda Cullen

Another busy weekend driving my son to all his soccer reffing gigs.  He has been a reffing machine lately as they are making up a ton of the games that had to be cancelled earlier in the season due to the snow and frozen fields.   It is a real joy being able to see how much he has improved, and once the warmer weather comes, I will definitely be wearing my "Ref's Mom" jersey on the sidelines LOL!

Have a fabulous week everyone, and I look forward to seeing your creations in the gallery!

Challenge:  Simon Says



 
  

What's In It?

Stamps:  Get Together (Verve Stamps)

Paper:  Lime Twist (My Mind's Eye), Black
Ink:   Black

Accessories:  Circle Nestabilties (Spellbinders), Twinkling H2Os, Black Half Pearls, Dimensionals

Curtain Call Inspiration Challenge ~ Speckled

Can you believe it is April already??!!  We are celebrating April 1st with the first Curtain Call Inspiration Challenge of the month called Speckled.  Soon enough there will be lots of robins in the area and we will find empty egg shells on our lawn from the those babies that have hatched.  Never ceases to amaze me how delicate those eggs are!    I also want to offer a big welcome to this month's guest designer, Susie Moore.

I don't have any speckled paper so polka dots were my speckle of choice.  Pulled the colours from the picture and used this wonderful Viola Sprouts die from Simon Says.  Such a delicate die - like the eggs and of course the flowers in the picture.  Added a few touches of tan for the third colour and there you have it. Quick and easy card.

SPECKLED

Guest Designer - Susie Moore, The Dies Have It

Betty Wright

 Kim Singdahlsen

Leigh Penner

Lisa Henke
Lori Tecler 
Lynn Magnan

Marisa Ritzen

Maureen Plut

Melody Rupple

Monika Davis

Sheri Gilson
Silk Ledlow

Stacey Schafer

Tammy Hershberger

Tara Godfrey 

Have a fabulous week and I look forward to seeing your creations in the gallery!

What's In It?

Stamps:  Happy Birthday (Amuse) 
Paper:  Lime Twist (My Mind's Eye), Cool Caribbean, Tan  
Ink:  Black
Accessories:  Circle Nestabilities (Spellbinders), Swiss Dots Embossing Folder (Provo Craft),  Flag It Die Set (A Cut Above by Verve), Violet Sprouts Die (Simon Says), Twine, Dimensionals  

Mojo Monday #489

Happy Monday everyone!!  Julee has created this fabulous sketch for us to work with and I absolutely love it!

I wanted to focus on spring colours when I saw this sketch, but as I flipped through my designer papers, I ran across this hoarded Simple Stories paper and just had to use it.   Calling it my week of winter/week before spring pallet {grin}.

I simply adore the mix of colours on this paper, and pulled the rest of my card colours from it.  Used a PTI "birthday" die cut and added a tab with just the word "happy" from the happy birthday sentiment in Poppy Birthday.  Added this gorgeous PTI butterfly for some dimension and pizzaz.

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.

Julee Tilman (Owner)

Justin Krieger

  Lori Tecler  

Marisa Ritzen (that's me)

Sarah Biglow

Teresa Kline

Wanda Cullen

My week off turned out to be much less productive than I had hoped and planned....I was absolutely wiped out and most likely fighting the bug the rest of the family got so I ended up sleeping a lot and laying low.  Fully energized again and ready to take on the weeks ahead  - booyah!!

Have a fabulous week and I hope you enjoy the sketch as much as I did!



 
  

What's In It?

Stamps:  Poppy Birthday (Verve Stamps)

Paper:  Simple Stories, Kraft, Old Olive, Black, Going Grey (Stampin' Up)
Ink:   Black

Accessories:  Flag It Die Set (A Cut Above by Verve), Stitched Circle Dies (Lil' Inker), Butterfly Die (PTI), Button, Twine, Glue Dot, Dimensionals

Curtain Call Inspiration Challenge ~ Fluff

Welcome to the second Curtain Call Inspiration Challenge of March with lots of great patterns to work with this week.   Also, a big welcome to my wonderful blogging friend and Guest Designer for this challenge, Carol Mayne.  Huge ((hugs)) to you my friend!!

 

I pulled out some fun, yellow, chevron paper for my background and coloured in this fabulous flower from Kindness Matters with some Twinkling H2Os.   A kraft sentiment banner and some orange twine finished things off.

FLUFF

Guest Designer - Carol Mayne, Just Me: c 

Betty Wright

 Kim Singdahlsen

Leigh Penner

Lisa Henke
Lori Tecler 
Lynn Magnan

Marisa Ritzen

Maureen Plut

Melody Rupple

Monika Davis

Sheri Gilson
Silk Ledlow

Stacey Schafer

Tammy Hershberger

Tara Godfrey 

Have a fabulous week and I look forward to seeing your creations in the gallery!

What's In It?

Stamps:  Kindness Matters (Verve Stamps)
Paper:  The Sweetest Thing (My Mind's Eye), Kraft  
Ink:  Black  
Accessories: Great Kindness Die Set (A Cut Above by Verve), Twinkling H2Os, Twine Dimensionals

Curtain Call Inspiration Challenge - Green

Welcome our first March Inspiration photo and my favorite colour {grin}!!   I adore green as it is such a soothing colour (my kitchen and bedroom are both green), and with St. Patrick's Day on the horizon, it was the perfect fit, especially since I have a few Irish Friends with St. Patrick's Day birthdays!!

I used this MFT sketch and Verve's Lucky You and matching Shamrock die set as they were screaming to be used with green as the theme.  A few pieces of green polka dotted paper, some stitched borders, a touch of kraft and some black accents called it a card.   You can check out what the other DTs were inspired by below.

GREEN

Betty Wright

 Kim Singdahlsen

Leigh Penner

Lisa Henke
Lori Tecler 
Lynn Magnan

Marisa Ritzen

Maureen Plut

Melody Rupple

Monika Davis

Sheri Gilson
Silk Ledlow

Stacey Schafer

Tammy Hershberger

Tara Godfrey 

Have a fabulous week and I look forward to seeing your creations in the gallery!

What's In It?

Stamps:  Lucky You (Verve Stamps), Happy Birthday (Hero Arts)
Paper:  Kaiser Kraft, Simple Pleasures, Kraft, Wild Wasabi
Ink:  Black, Garden Green  
Accessories:  Shamrock Die Set (A Cut Above by Verve), Stitched Rectangles and Stitched Circles (Lil' Inker), Crimper (Fiskars), Buttons, Twine, Glue Dots, Dimensionals

Mojo Monday #485

After all the snow we got this month, it was time to turn my thoughts towards Spring!!

More of my MME hoarded paper came out to play, along with the Wishing You sentiment set and a few hearts from the Heart Quartet die set for good measure as I just couldn't let them go just yet {grin}.  Added an accent line with the Scalloped Trim Trio heart border die.  A few half pearls for a little something something and a few sequins to fill in the sentiment panel 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.

Julee Tilman (Owner)

Justin Krieger

  Lori Tecler  

Marisa Ritzen (that's me)

Sarah Biglow

Teresa Kline

Wanda Cullen

The snow has finally all melted and the fields have absorbed or drained all the moisture so we are back into full on soccer again.   This year has brought the most cancellations ever - think it was nine weeks in all that had to be cancelled due to frozen, snow covered or rain soaked fields. A lot of players and refs will be sucking wind big time for the next few weeks as their cardio took a big hit with the lack of playing time.

I must admit, I have somewhat enjoyed the driving hiatus as we put a lot of miles every week going to soccer pitches all over the Lower Mainland so our son can ref games.  However, I also deeply cherish our driving time as it is wonderful quality time with my son and an opportunity to be able to connect, communicate and delve into the inner workings of a teenage boys mind (a very interesting  place sometimes lol!).  Soon enough he will be able to drive himself and that time will be lost so I am drinking deep of the car time we have.

Have a fabulous week and look forward to seeing your creations in the gallery.



 
  

What's In It?

Stamps:  Wishing You (Verve Stamps)

Paper:  Lime Twist (MME) 
Ink:   Black

Accessories:  Heart Quartet and Scalloped Trim Trio Die Sets (A Cut Above by Verve), Sequins, Half Pearls, Twine, Glue Dots, Dimensionals

Curtain Call Inspiration Challenge - Icicle

Happy January and welcome back to the Curtain Call :)   It is time for a brand new year of inspiration photos to play with and this time round we are still in winter mode!  Pretty well suited to the weather much of the country has been experiencing over the last month or so! 

I pulled out one of my hoarded papers by Bo Bunny (love this paper!!) as it was the perfect icy, glittery fit for this photo.  I also pulled out one of my favorite PTI snowflake dies for a wintery feel, added a sentiment flag and a button with some twine.  Nice, quick and easy card.

 ICICLE

Betty Wright

 Kim Singdahlsen

Leigh Penner

Lisa Henke
Lori Tecler 
Lynn Magnan

Marisa Ritzen

Maureen Plut

Melody Rupple

Monika Davis

Sheri Gilson
Silk Ledlow

Stacey Schafer

Tammy Hershberger

Tara Godfrey 

We had more snow in December than we have had the prior six years combined, not to mention some rather cold temperatures for our neck of the woods, which means the snow has stuck around for weeks (versus our usual snows one day and washes away in the rain the next day).  Been quite the adjustment for us West Coasters!  Must say, I do enjoy the brightness the snow brings as it is a nice change from the grey skies and rain we usually get.

Can't wait to see your creations in the gallery!

Challenges:  Simon Says




 
  

What's In It?

Stamps:  Treasured Words (Verve Stamps)
Paper:  Snowflakes (Bo Bunny), Silver Shimmer (Paper Store)  
Ink:  Black  
Accessories:  Stitched Rectangles (Lil' Inker), Snowflake Die (PTI), Button, Twine, Glue Dot, Dimensionals

Colour Throwdown #421

First of all, I want to thank the Colour Throwdown team for having me as their guest designer this month!  This is a wonderfully talented team of ladies, and I am honored to have been able to join them for the month. 

This week's challenge brings a fun mix of bright colours.  A wonderfully fun way to branch out of traditional Christmas colours and mix things up a bit!

I had a very busy weekend so kept things rather simple this time round.  Pulled out this old Stampin' Up set (Blooming with Happiness) and coloured the cake flowers to match.  Kept with black and white so these wonderful colours would pop.  Added a few black half pearls to the centers of the purple flowers for a bit of dimension and lightened things up with some green twine. 

Now for the CTD rules:  Once you've finished your card or other paper crafted project, add a direct link to your creation using the Inlinkz tool at the bottom of the Colour Throwdown post.  And, don't forget to use the keyword CTD421 if you upload your project to an online gallery, or hashtag on social media with #ctd421 and/or #colourthrowdown.  Challenge guidelines are in the right sidebar on the Colour Throwdown Challenge Blog in case you have any questions.

Noted below are the Design Team members who are sure to have lots of inspiration for you!

Barbara Anders - Paper Pursuits

Broni Holcombe - Splashes of Watercolor

Lori Tecler - Inking Aloud

 Wanda Cullen - Cullen-ary Creations

 Jodi Collins- Stamping a Latte

Lynn Putt- The Queens Scene

Lisa Henke- My Little Creative Escape

Amy Rysavy - Prairie Paper & Ink

 Amy Rohl - Ink About Me

Have a fabulous week and enjoy the challenge!



 
  

What's In It?

Stamps:  Blooming with Happiness (Stampin'  Up)
Paper:  Black and White (Stampin' Up)

Ink:  Black 

Accessories:  Circle Nestabilities (Spellbinders), Border Punch (Stampin' Up),  Birthday Die (PTI), Twine, Black Half Pearls, Dimensionals

Colour Throwdown #419

This wonderful colour combination turned my mind to Spring for some reason so I went with flowers.  I think subconsciously I am not looking forward to a bleak winter with no colour in my front and back yard for the next five months or so and this is my way of dealing with LOL!

 

I pulled out some Reverse Confetti's Petals and Posies and went to work.  Matted it in kraft as there seemed to be brown sugar around the rims of the glasses so I took it as artistic license to add that colour to the mix {grin}.   The champagne flutes made me think celebration so I went with the birthday sentiment.

Now for the CTD rules:  Once you've finished your card or other paper crafted project, add a direct link to your creation using the Inlinkz tool at the bottom of the Colour Throwdown post.  And, don't forget to use the keyword CTD419 if you upload your project to an online gallery, or hashtag on social media with #ctd419 and/or #colourthrowdown.  Challenge guidelines are in the right sidebar on the Colour Throwdown Challenge Blog in case you have any questions.

Noted below are the Design Team members who are sure to have lots of inspiration for you!

Barbara Anders - Paper Pursuits

Broni Holcombe - Splashes of Watercolor

Lori Tecler - Inking Aloud

 Wanda Cullen - Cullen-ary Creations

 Jodi Collins- Stamping a Latte

Lynn Putt- The Queens Scene

Lisa Henke- My Little Creative Escape

Amy Rysavy - Prairie Paper & Ink

 Amy Rohl - Ink About Me

I look forward to seeing your creations in the gallery, and make sure to come back next Wednesday for my take on their next challenge.



 
  

What's In It?

Stamps:  Petals and Posies, Lots to Say (Reverse Confetti)   
Paper:  Kraft, White

Ink:  Only Orange, Real Red, Gable Green, Black (Stampin' Up)
Accessories:  Diagonal Stripe Pretty Panel, Petals and Posies and Love Notes Confetti Cuts (Reverse Confetti),  Stitched Rectangle Dies (Lil' Inker), Dimensionals