Joyeux Noel

This is my entry for the Verve Christmas Release sketch which enters you into a draw to win the entire release.  Hello!!

I was inspired by the heart Diva Maureen used on her card for this sketch.  She used the jotted heart die for hers but it was too small for my purposes so I used the nestie heart.

I went with a Christmas theme as it is a Christmas release after all.  A pink snowflake came to mind for some reason and where there is pink, I love to use brown :)    The card was great fun to make - finally, a card I wasn't fighting with LOL!  Even went with the French sentiment as a tribute to our bilingual country of Canada.  Have some relatives living in Ottawa (our capital) and work for the government so I think this card will be making it's way across the continent come Christmas.

Can't wait to see what Julee has cooked up for this release, but the patiently waiting part will be tough LOL!

 

What's In It? 
Stamps: Glad Tidings (Verve), Snowflakes (Stampin' Up) 
Paper:  Early Espresso, Kraft, Pretty in Pink 
Ink:  VersaMark and Black   
Accessories:  Scalloped Circle and Heart  Nesties, Scalloped Border Punch (Stampin' Up), Seeing Spots Embossing Folder, Snowflake Die (Cuttlebug), Crimper, 5/8" Brown Satin Ribbon, Buttons, Twine, Glue Dots, Half Pearls, Dimensionals

Verve Anniversary Release Challenge #4

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Loved the CAS challenge as it was perfect for my having to rush to complete all the challenges by the deadline due to being away on vacation for the past week :)

I pulled out FTL #183 (an older sketch) which I absolutely love and literally copied the sketch to make my card.  No need to ask me twice regarding a  butterfly on a card ;)  I combined the sketch with this week's Play Date Cafe challenge.

I just love making black and white cards with a splash of colour and with green being the splash this time round, I was one happy camper (for those who don't know, green is my favorite colour).  Love the font of the "friend" sentiment from Verve's Because of You set and it was the perfect fit for the card.  Not sure if the ribbon negates the CAS feel, so I'll take the lead from Julee and call it a CASS  (clean and simple sort of ) card ;)  Figure if the boss woman can do it, so can I wink, wink :)  

All five Verve anniversary challenges are d-o-n-e, done.  Yeah!!   Now I just have to patiently wait (yah right!!) for the release party over at the SCS Verve forum at 6:00 p.m. Pacific Time to see if I won the entire release (you'll hear me screaming from wherever you are in the world if that is the case LOL!) or if I won any of the new sets from all the sneak peek blog hops.  Julee is always so generous with her prizes - thank you, Julee ((hugs)).

That being said, regardless of whether or not I win anything, some new Verve will definitely be crossing the border!!  The question becomes, how much, wink, wink!  Wish I had the budget to get it all, but since it's not an option, my trusty calculator is ready to crunch some numbers so I can get the most bang for my buck :)  Upstairs computer is mine tonite, hubby is in charge of the kids (or as he says, my summer has been booked around this release) and I'm ready to party with the Verve Divas :)   Is it release time yet LOL!




What's In It?
Stamps: Because of You (Verve)
Paper: Black, White, Old Olive
Ink: Black
Accessories:  Scalloped Circle and Circle Nesties. Butterfly Die (Stampin' Up), Black Polka Dotted Ribbon, Button, Twine, Glue Dots

Verve Anniversary Release Challenge #5

I'm still in vacation mode and getting back into the swing of things after not stamping/creating for about ten days, so I took the easy road for this challenge and created a tag.  Not too much of a hardship though, as I love creating tags! 

Sorry about the dirt in the background.  Had to switch my photo spot to the front porch for good lighting late in the day and the dirt photo bombed my picture ;)

I used pink, silver and hearts because I had my daughter in mind when I made the tag.  She is a totally girly girl who loves pink -- unlike her mother LOL!  

It will most likely be attached to one of her birthday gifts or tucked into her lunch the first day of school as an encouragement and reminder that I love her and will be thinking of her (she is always stressed out the first day of school).

Four challenges down and one to go.   Back tomorrow with my CAS card (sneaking in under the deadline wire) and then it is party time over at the Verve Forum in the evening as Julee reveals all of Verve's fifth anniversary sets - yeah new Verve!!  Can't wait!  Have already claimed the upstairs computer as mine for the evening LOL!

 

What's In It? 
Paper:   Pretty in Pink, Rose Romance, Sparkly Silver 
Accessories:  Tag Die (MFT), Heart Border Punch (Martha Stewart), Heart Punch (Marvy), Crimper, 1/4" White Satin Ribbon, 5/8" Sheer Silver Ribbon, Crimper, Silver Half Pearl, Glue Dot, Dimensionals

Verve Anniversary Release Challenge #3

 

Back from vacation with three challenges left to get done, well two now that this one is done.

I had to giggle when I saw the sketch as I just knew there would be a skewed panel on it LOL!

Thankfully the Verve Divas have put me through "skewed panel boot camp" over the past year with many of their sketches having them so I no longer totally freak out - just a little :)  I can honestly say, I quite enjoyed working with this sketch....miracles do happen LOL!

I used more of my Recollections Garden Floral paper from Michael's and even managed to pull out four scraps from my "rejected, to be used later pile".  Whoo hoo!!  The stars are aligning for me today :)  The white sentiment panel is actually the reverse of a Dream Big flower - thought the wavy edge would add a little something.  Love the sentiments from Fabulous You and this is such a powerful one.  I love putting it on cards to encourage people.

Off to work on the fourth challenge as I definitely want to be in the draw to win the entire release!  See you soon....

 

What's In It?
Stamps: Fabulous You (Verve), French Script (Stampin' Up) 
Paper: Garden Florals (Recollections from Michael's), Going Grey, Creamy Caramel, Real Red, Blush Blossom 
Ink: Black, VersaMark 
Accessories:  Lacy Circle Nesties, Butterfly Die (MFT), Brick Embossing Folder (Tim Holtz), 5/8" Grey Satin Ribbon, Button, Twine, Half Pearls, Bling, Glue Dots, Dimensionals

Verve Anniversary Release Challenge #2

 
I'm continuing on in my challenge combinations so I can kill two birds with one stone.  This time I'm using Verve's week two sketch with the second Verve Release Challenge which is to make an anniversary card with wood or silver on it.  I opted for the silver as I love white and sliver cards.  I apologize for the picture quality...finished up the card too late for good sunlight.

The sketch was a lot to take in when I first saw it so I had to break it down section by section. Some embossing folders helped me out with a bit of texture and contrast with silver and bling balancing things off.  The sparkly heart is made of some paper I found at one of our local dollar stores.  I wish you could see it in real life as it is gorgeous!  The picture makes it look like hammered metal so you're going to have to take my word for it! 

Two challenges down and three to go!  Cant' wait to see what the Divas come up with for the next one - maybe it will be a skewed panel sketch just for me LOL!

Our weather continues to be simply amazing here on the West Coast!  After nine months of rain, our summer has come through big time!  Off to enjoy some of it with the kids before the next heat wave comes along later this week.

Have a great day and thanks so much for sharing a bit of your day with me :)

 

What's In It?
Stamps: Amuse 
Paper: White, Silver, Sparkly Silver 
Ink: Black 
Accessories:  Heart Blocks and Swiss Dots Embossing Folders, Circle Nesties, Medium Scalloped Border Die (PTI), Heart Punch (Marvy), 5/8" Sheer Silver Ribbon, Heart Button, Silver Twine, Bling, Glue Dot, Dimensionals

Verve Anniversary Release Challenge #1

 
My vacation time is messing with my opportunity to work on all the challenges in order to win some of the new Verve being released on August 24th.  Needless to say, that is causing me grief LOL!   Hello, my name is Marisa and I'm addicted to Verve....LOL!!

So, in order to pacify myself and double up on some challenges, I used the first Verve sketch for August and combined it with the the first challenge of the release.  Love this colour combo so it was a delight to work with!!

I skewed the sentiment panel layers (yes, you read right!) as they filled and softened the space a bit more than the straight panel, and used this wonderful verse in Zephaniah as my focal point on the card.

One challenge down and four to go.  Getting sooo excitement to see what Julee has created for the Verve Anniversary Release!!  I've saved my money from the LSS garage sale I was a part of along with some year end gifts from parents so I can shop, shop, shop.  Rumour has it I may even be counting sleeps LOL!

Thanks for popping by and I'll be back with the next challenge card tomorrow.

 

What's In It?
Stamps: Zephaniah 3:17 Plane Jane (Verve) 
Paper: Early Espresso, Rose Romance, Kraft, Certainly Celery, Starbucks Sleeve
Ink:  Black 
Accessories:  Circle Nesties, From the Heart Dies (A Cut Above by Verve), Stylized Flower Embossing Folder, Leaf Punch (Martha Stewart), Crimper, 5/8" Green Satin Ribbon, Button, Twine, Glue Dots, Dimensionals

Verve Recipe Challenge

This card was made for April's Verve Get Your Diva On challenge over on SCS.  Amber provided a recipe we had to work with depending one the initial of our first name.


My recipe was as follows:

• Embellishments:  twine, buttons, brads
• Colour Combo: brown, pink, turquoise
• Layers/Shape:  4 layers or a circle shaped card

Phew - was a lot to keep in mind while making this card!   There where many times when I thought to myself "Oh, this would look great on this card" only to have to stop myself as it wasn't in the recipe.

I stayed true to my recipe and made my flower based on this fabulous tutorial.  Working with these colours was a bit tricky in that it is beyond strange making a brown flower and adding turquoise leaves LOL, but, once I was able to wrap my mind around it, I was good to go :)

Maybe I should have swapped out the colour category with one of the others, (we could switch one category as long as we used everything in the new category not just one item or colour) but thought of it too late and didn't want to start over so I stuck with what I had.   Loved all of Amber's recipes so I just may have to try each one of them as a fun starting point for a card :)

Thanks for your wonderful comments and for supporting my little piece of blogland - you guys are the best (((hugs)))





What's In It?
Stamps: (SU) Fancy Flexible Phrases
Paper: Early Espresso, SU Regal Rose DSP, Turquoise
Ink: Chocolate Chip
Accessories: Lacy Circle and Circle Nesties, SU Flower Punches, Martha Stewart Leaf Punch, Seeing Spots Embossing Folder, SU Border Punch, Brads, Baker's Twine, Button, Glue Dots, Dimensionals

Verve Triple Play Contest

This is my entry for Verve's Project Parade Challenge.  This time Julee's challenged us to a Triple Play contest in which you have to create a trio of things - three tags, a gift set with three items, etc.

This trio was a gift for my daughter's Student Teacher who wrapped up  her teaching stint on Tuesday.  Since she will be teaching at the primary level, I decorated a Target mailbox I've had in my stash for some time and turned it into "Santa's Mailbox".  I figured it would be a lot of fun to put in her classroom (kids can write letters to Santa etc.). Here's a side view as it really doesn't show up in the picture.

I paired it with a matching coaster box (here's the link to the tutorial on SCS) full of Lindt chocolates and some Christmas cards. Unfortunately, I ran out of the matching DP for the cards - ugh - so had to go with this card instead and tossed matchy, matchy out the window.  A great way to mess with my anal side and stretch me a bit LOL!  I happy to report, she loved it.

Thanks for stopping in today, and sorry for the dark picture.  I had to resort to my light box as I couldn't get all these items on my window ledge at the same time LOL!





What's In It?

Card
Stamps: (SU) Best Yet
Paper: Read Red, Brushed Silver, White
Ink:  Black
Accessories:  SU Scalloped Border Punch, Martha Stewart Snowflake Punch, Half Pearls, Dimensinoals


Coaster Box
Stamps:  (SU) Season's Sketches
Paper:  Night of Navy, Real Red, DP
Ink:  Black
Accessories:  Square Coasters,  Echo Park Wintertime DP, Cuttlebug Snowflake Die, Martha Stewart Snowflake Punch, Marvy Snowflake Punch, Labels 16 and Square Nesties, Zip Dry Glue, Crop-a-dile, Half Pearls, Raffia, 1/4" Navy Grosgrain Ribbon, Dimensionals

Mailbox 
Paper:  Not Quite Navy, Real Red, Echo Park Wintertime DP
Accessories:  SU Border Punch, Label 16 and Circle Nesties, Martha Stewart Snowflake Punch, 1/4" Night of Navy Grosgrain Ribbon, Glue Dots, Half Pearls, Dimensionals

Not One But Two Off Angle Panels!

I saved this Verve sketch for last because off angle panels and I don't get along very well...they just mess with my anal side something fierce!  However, due to my desire and quest for a chance to win some Verve, I will deal with it and make it work even if it I get worked over by a sketch LOL! 

This week's Our Creative Corner colour challenge as my spring board into this sketch.  More yummy fall colours to work with :) I pulled out some October Afternoon DP and the rust/cajun polka dotted Recollections DP I got at Mike's and went to work.  Then the hard part began as there wasn't just one off angle panel to deal with but two!

First one was easy as the sentiment went on it but then I had to figure out what the heck to do with the second one.  I was doing a happy dance at having two DPs on one card (though it doesn't really count as they are both the same pattern just in different colours LOL!) so it was back to card stock for me.  I pulled out my crimper to add some texture and interest to the panel and used a prima I got from Stacy (aka Twinshappy - yes, I still have some, Stacy!!) for the circle element of the sketch.  The top left corner looked a bit empty so a few half pearls solved the issue.

Phew!  I've completed all five sketches and even survived this one LOL!  Now, I get to wait and see if I'm one of the lucky winners announced this Friday at the release party.

Thanks for listening to my complaining today and have a fabulous day!




What's In It?
Stamps:  (Verve) Hebrews 11:1 Plain Jane
Paper:  Old Olive, More Mustard, Chocolate Chip, Vanilla, October Afternoon DP, Recollections DP
Ink:  Chocolate Chip
Accessories:  Crimper, Prima, Button, Glue Dot, Twine, Half Pearls, Dimensionals

Going Crazy For Verve Challenges

When I first saw this Verve sketch the circle part threw me off a bit. However, once I got to working on the card, it wasn't as bad as I'd made it out to be.

I combined the sketch with this week's Crazy 4 Challenges colour combo. So many wonderful Fall colour combinations out there right now - love it :)


I couldn't wait to use the flower from the Kind Words set as I have neglected it in lieu of the flowers from Dream Big and Great friend which I have been using so often.  Now it was this darling flower's time to shine :)  I used one of the leaves from the Dream Big set to create a flower bed and added some black half pearls to the flowers to make them Black Eyed Susans :)  A few more black accents and my card was done like dinner.  Four down and one to go.

Foot is feeling much better today so I better get to the last sketch today as I won't have the excuse of  not being able to do much so the foot can heal LOL!

Have a fabulous day :)





What's In It?
Stamps:  (Verve) Kind Words, Dream Big
Paper:  Basic Black, Old Olive, So Saffron, Pumpkin Pie, Wild Wasabi, Kraft
Ink:  Pumpkin Pie, Old Olive
Accessories:  Circle Nesties, Stampin' Up! Scalloped Edge Punch, Martha Stewart Butterfly Punch, Black Half Pearls, Dimensionals

Inkspirations A La Verve

The good news is I've completed three of the five Verve release sketches -- said doing a happy dance.  The bad news is I ended up with extra stamping time today due to a middle of the night injury - ugh!  I got up to go to the bathroom, and unbeknown to me, my leg was asleep, so when I went to take a step it totally gave way under me.  Result, one very badly sprained foot - double ugh!!  A total inconvenience, to say the least!  So, here I sit, with an ice pack on my foot and my leg elevated typing this post.

I paired this sketch with this week's Inkspirations Colour Challenge.  This is such a yummy colour combination!  I am really getting into Not Quite Navy these days and loving it :)  Couldn't stay away from me new Verve flowers for long LOL!  Out came my Dream Big set - just love this flower and the script of the sentiment.  I had a great score at a local dollar store this week too!  They had all sorts of little packages of buttons for $1.25 and I took one of each of the colours options :)  The button on this card is one of them - a pretty close match to Night of Navy.

I think the next two sketches are going to give me some grief....hopefully not too badly LOL!  I'll be back when I have mastered one of them! Have a fabulous day and thanks for dropping by :)




What's In It?
Stamps:  (Verve) Dream Big
Paper:  Night of Navy, Old Olive, Real Red
Ink:  Old Olive, Real Red, Black
Accessories:  Diamonds In The Rough Embossing Folder, Crimper, SU Scalloped Oval and Large Oval Punches, Button, Glue Dot, Half Pearls, Dimensionals

World Card Making Day Pumpkin

Julee over at Verve Stamps is providing us with some wonderful pre-release sketches to work on (release party is on Friday, October 8th on the Verve forum at SCS).  With the sketches come the chance to win some free Verve so no need to ask me twice if I want to participate LOL!

I combined the first sketch with this week's Curtain Call colour challenge.  Just love the fall colours Stacey came up with, and when I saw the mustard, I decided to make my very first punched pumpkin.  I have seen these around SCS and blogs for a few years now and have always wanted to make one.

Since the square was on the smaller size, I used the large oval punch for the job.  Five punches and some assembly of ovals later, and I had my very first pumpkin :)  I cut out a stem and curled some thin strips of Old Olive for the vines.  Darn vines took longer to curl and make than the card as the paper kept ripping!  Some mustard coloured ribbon from one of my Michael's ribbon bin diving adventures finished things off nicely.  Yes, I do check that darn bin (my polite name for the bin LOL!) every time I'm in there.  Now if they would just leave a "discard bin" from my prior visit out it would make life so much easier LOL!

Just noticed my poor little pumpkin hasn't been sponged, but that will have to wait until the next one I make as I am on a mission to get four more sketches done.   Off to work on the next one!  See you soon :)




What's In It?
Paper:  Recollections DP, Stampin' Up! Old Olive DSP, Vanilla, More Mustard, Sahara Sand
Accessories:  Scalloped Square Nesties, Stampin' Up Large Oval Punch, Double Sided Tape, 1" Mustard Grosgrain Ribbon, Dimensionals

Color Throwdown A La Verve

This is my second post of the day as I'm making good progress on the Verve sketches :)  I combined the second Verve release sketch with this week's Color Throwdown.  I just love fall colours (happy sigh...) and and this one reminded me of the colours of the maple trees on our street.

I created the background panel using the leaf image from Stampin' Up's Season of Friendship set and this wonderful Plain Jane was the prefect sentiment for a Thanksgiving themed card, especially since next weekend is Thanksgiving up here in Canada.

Since the leaves had dots on them I used my Swiss Dots embossing folder on the vanilla panel to tie things together and added this yummy red, satin ribbon for a pop of color.  A few half pearls on the sentiment panel and I was good to go.

Two down and three to go LOL!  Back tomorrow with my next card.




What's In It?
Stamps: (SU) Season of Friendship, (Verve) Plain Jane 
Paper:  Old Olive, Real Red, Pumpkin Pie
Ink:  Old Olive, Real Red, Pumpkin Pie
Accessories:  Oval and Scalloped Oval Nesties, Swiss Dots Embossing Folder, 5/8" Red Satin Ribbon, Half Pearls, Glue Dot, Dimensionals

Love's Flower

This sketch gave me grief.  It has a lot of panels for this CAS gal so I had to put my tired, chlorinated, lap swimming mind and body to work.  Thankfully it is my last sketch challenge card so I'm all done - yeah!  All that's left is waiting to see who the lucky winner is!

I dug through my Costco DP pack and  found this fabulous black and taupe DP.  Just LOVE black, taupe/cream together.  Such a classy colour combination.  Also inked up this gorgeous sentiment that hasn't been used yet.  Sorry about the far from perfect scallops around the sentiment.  Rectangular Nesties are on my wish list, but till then, scalloped scissors had to do and they didn't do so well...or should I say the cutter did a horrible job!!  Had to keep trimming the panel so it would fit and it got harder and harder to line up - ugh!  I used my Labels 4 Nestie for the flower image that matches the one on the "L" and matted it by cutting around the outside of the die on black paper in order to get the thin mat.  Wasn't sure about the two horizontal strips of ribbon/paper, but once they were added they looked pretty good.  Yup, Julee knows what she is doing :)

Hope to get at least one of the Verve Forum sketches done this week so next week doesn't turn into another rush-to-get-four-sketches-done week.  Rain is in the forecast so hopefully that means a video for the kids and some stamping time for me this weekend LOL!  Failing that, I'll be back on Sunday with my Curtain Call card.

Wishing you a blessed day :)




What's In It?
Stamps:  Love's Flower (Verve)
Paper:  Black, Taupe, Cream, Costco DP
Ink:  Black
Accessories:  Labels 4 Nesties, Scalloped Scissors, Black Half Pearls, Corner Rounder, Kraft Knife, Dimensionals