Curtain Call Inspiration Challenge - Sweet Snowflakes

We are back with our newest  Curtain Call Inspiration Challenge and it is entitled "Sweet Snowflakes", a very appropriate title indeed!  This time round, Uniko Studios is our sponsor and the LEAD (aka: winner) for this challenge will receive a $15 gift certificate to Uniko Studio.

Well, needless to say, I was beyond giddy with the theme this time round as I looooove snowflakes. Sure you are getting sick of seeing them on my blog this past month, but I just can't help myself!

For my card, I embossed all three sizes of one of the snowflake images from Stunning Snowflakes on to kraft and then embossed the sentiment on vellum.  Sorry about the sentiment being a bit hard to read.  It says "If kisses were snowflakes, I'd send you a blizzard".  Such a cute quote.  May have to give the card to hubby to give it to me for Christmas LOL.  

You can check out all the challenge details over on the Curtain Call Inspirations Challenge and also get a chance to view all the wonderful Curtain Call Crew samples!  Should you wish more details on the Curtain Call Crew's cards, you can also visit their individual blogs noted below.  

Beverley Brown, Uniko Studio 

 Amy Wanford, Guest Designer

Amber Kroening
Barb Murphy
Christina MacLaren
Gayatri Murali
Kim Singdahlsen
Laurie Willison 
Marisa Ritzen
 Maureen Plut
Monika Davis

Sheri Gilson
Stacey Schafer
Tenia Nelson
Tracey McNeely

You have until December 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 December
31st.

Challenges: CAS-ology 
                   Friday Mash Up
                   Simon Says

 

What's In It? 
Stamps:   Stunning Snowflakes (Uniko Studio)
Paper:  Kraft, Pretty in Pink, Vellum (Stampin' Up) 
Ink:  VersaMark
Accessories:   Edger Die (PTI), White Embossing Powder, 5/8" Pink Satin Ribbon, Silver Twine, Silver Bells, Bling (Michale's), Dimensionals 

Just Us Girls #219 - Faux Silk

Sue V is our hostess this week and she has chose the Faux Silk technique for us to use this week.  You can find the SCS tutorial here.  I must admit I have never done this technique and it was quite enjoyable and easy to do!  Great look too :)

I know I'm totally inundating you with snowflakes, and I apologize....sort of wink, wink!  For some reason I just can't get enough of them this year!  

That being said, I used the fabulous trio of snowflakes from Holiday Treats along with chocolate chip and close to cocoa to create the faux silk background.    The large snowflake is PTI's and the kraft one is a Martha Stewart punch.  Snuck in my crimper too {grin}.

The rest of the  JUGS team, along with our December GD Jan Del Bone, 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.  Then put your creative genes to work and add your card/project to the challenge post on the JUGS blog for the chance to be chosen as the Chic of the Week.  Plus if you are chosen as Chic of the Week, you could be invited to be a Guest Designer.

Get some extra time this weekend to get lots of little things done because the grass soccer fields are still closed this weekend which means no game today, and a good chance my son won't be reffing on Sunday (unless he gets a game on the turf).  Yeah for a little down time to catch my breath :)  

Have a great weekend!

Challenges:  Simon Says




What's In It? 
Stamps:   Joyous Noel and Holiday Treats (Verve Stamps)
Paper:  Early Espresso, Kraft (Stampin' Up), Cream Linen, Tissue Paper
Ink:  Black, Close to Cocoa, Chocolate Chip (Stampin' Up)  
Accessories:   Flag It Die Set (A Cut Above by Verve), Snowflake Die (PTI), Snowflake Punch (Martha Stewart), Crimper (Fiskars),  Brown Half Pearls (Michaels'), Button, Twine, Glue Dot, Dimensionals

Mojo Monday #323

Welcome to another Mojo Monday!  Julee has created a wonderful sketch to use some twine on and that big circle is full of possibilities. 

I immediately thought of a snowflake when I saw the circle.  In case you haven't guessed, it is my favorite seasonal shape.  This one is big, bold, and front and center indeed!  I paired it with some North Pole We R Memory Keepers paper and this wonderful Merry Christmas sentiment from Merry and Bright.  A few pearls to make the snowflake stand out a bit more, a snowflake trim down the side and a rounded corner to finish things off. 

You can check out all the challenge details over on the Mojo Monday blog and also get a chance to 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 had a very cold weekend by West Coast standards.  Lows of -8C (17 F) overnight and highs of -2C (28 F).  Nowhere near some of the crazy temps in parts of the US right now, but trust me, it is cold for us!!  The damp cold we get here on the coast goes right to your bones.  Soccer was cancelled this weekend due to frozen fields and I was doing a happy dance when we got the news as it was just too chilly for the boys to play, ever mind us poor parents having to stand on the sidelines freezing to death!   Bonus:  the extra time allowed me to get my Christmas cards done :) 

Thanks for popping by and have a great week!


 
What's In It?
Stamps:   Merry and Bright (Verve Stamps)
Paper:  North Pole (We R Memory Keepers), Real Red, Cool Caribbean, Old Olive, Kraft (Stampin' Up) 
Ink: Black  
Accessories:  Snowflake Die (PTI),  Jumbo Snowflake Punch (Martha Stewart), Button, Twine, White Half Pearls, Glue Dot, Dimensionals  

Just Us Girls #218 - Sketch Challenge

It's time for a sketch challenge over at Just Us Girls, and Maria is our host with this sketch for us to work with.

In my continued Christmas card theme, I dipped into MME's Merry Little Christmas pack.  It is a fun pack to use for non-traditional colours.  Love this PTI snowflake die and WPlus9's "JOY" die.  Had a hard time deciding between a pink or blue heart to put on the "o" and finally settled on blue.

The rest of the  JUGS team, along with our December Guest Designer Jan Del Bone, 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.  Then put your creative genes to work and add your card/project to the challenge post on the JUGS blog for the chance to be chosen as the Chic of the Week.  Plus if you are chosen as Chic of the Week, you could be invited to be a Guest Designer.

It's going to be a cold weekend here (cold for us whoosy West Coast people anyway LOL).  My son has an early soccer game today and I think I'm going to wear my snow boots, hat, scarf and mittens.  Standing on the sidelines in weather like this is not fun, but I think I'll take it over the pouring rain we had last weekend.   

Wishing everyone a great weekend!



What's In It? 
Paper:  Merry Little Christmas (My Mind's Eye), Certainly Celery, Cool Caribbean, Baroque Burgundy (Stampin' Up)
Accessories:   Snowflake Die (PTI), Joy Die (WPlus9), Scalloped Oval Nestability (Spellbinders), 5/8" White Stain Ribbon (Michael's), Dimensionals  

December Diva Dare

This month's Dare is entitled "Playing Favorites" and the Divas are daring you to to re-post your favorite Verve card made in 2013 OR make a new card with your favorite Verve set.

In addition, each day, the host Diva will be answering the "Diva Fab Five Questionnaire".  A great way to get to know the Divas a bit better :)

Of course, where there is a Verve Diva 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 find out which part of the Dare I took as well as getting a bit of info on yours truly and all the challenge details, then head on over to the Verve Blog - I dare you!

 

Viva La Verve December Week 2 Sketch

Welcome to Week Two of December's Viva La Verve Sketch Challenges over at Splitcoast Stampers.  I'm  hosting this week's sketch and since this month we are bringing back some of our favorite VLV sketches, I chose this fabulous sketch by Teresa!  I loved it so much in 2011 that I made three cards using her sketch,  and now I get to make another.

I'm still deeply in love with Teresa Collins' Santa's List paper pack -- happy sigh -- so couldn't resist pulling it out once again.  I'll take any exucuse to use a heart on a card, no matter the time of year,  so out came my beloved Jotted Heart die.  Love this musical score paper and it was perfect for the heart.  I added a snowflake and blinged it up as I just love sparkle at Christmas :)

Want to win a $100 gift certificate to the Verve Stamps store?!  All you have to do is complete all the sketches in a given month and load them on the Verve Challenge Thread on Splitcoast Stampers and a random winner will received the gift certificate.   Easy peasy, and with three recent releases, there are lots of new goodies to chose from as well as a sale of some previously released goodies.  Nothing better than doing a little shopping for yourself!

Thanks for popping by today and have a fabulous day!

 

What's In It?
Stamps:  Peace on Earth (Verve Stamps)
Paper:  Santa's List (Teresa Collins), Early Espresso (Stampin' Up)
Ink:  Black
Accessories:  Jotted Heart Die (A Cut Above by Verve), Scalloped Circle and Circle Nestabilities (Spellbinders), Snowflake Die (PTI), Crimper (Fiskars), Bling, Button, Silver Twine, Glue Dots, Dimensionals

Verve December Diva Inspiration Hop

Welcome to Verve's December Diva Inspirations Hop.  It's the 5th of the month so the Divas will be showcasing cards to inspire you with both old and new Verve!   

If you have come here from Maureen's blog you are right on track.  If you just happened on to the hop, you can start from the top and work your way through!

I just love making Christmas cards, and as many of you already know, "joy" is my favorite Christmas word so I pulled out this fabulous Joy to the Word Plain Jane.  I created my own notebook paper by using the dotted line image from Text Objects and then stamped the sentiment over top.  We R Memory Keepers' North Pole 6 x 6 paper pack has some great non-traditional papers in it and I went with a blue and orange combo.  I die cut two Frosty Snowflakes and stamped the corresponding image from Frosty Flakes on to them.  Finished things off with some of this delicious chocolate seam binding from Verve's Signature Series ribbon pack, some silver bells and buttons.



One lucky commenter along the hop will win a prize, so make sure to leave a comment on each of the participating Diva's posts to increase your chances of winning!  You can check out the Verve Blog today for all the prize info and deadlines.

Below is the full hop list if you need it, otherwise just hop on over to the oh so talented Christyne for what I'm sure will be a stunning display of Verve goodness.

	1. Julee	12. Andrea
	2. Amy	13. Teresa
	3. Anya	14. Charmaine
	4. Betty	15. Laurie S,
	5. Jessica	16. Stacey {Guest}
	6. Karen	17. Jen
	7. Sankari	18. Amber
	8. Sarah	19. Maureen
	10. Susan	20. Marisa
	11. Tiffany	21. Christyne

Julee also has a Christmas sale going on, and you can check out the details over at the Verve store.




 

 
What's In It?

Stamps:  Joy to the World Plain Jane, Frosty Flakes, Christmas in the Air (Verve Stamps)
Paper:   North Pole (We R Memory Keepers) 
Ink:  Black, Taken With Teal, Chocolate Chip, Sahara Sand (Stampin' Up)
Accessories:   Frosty Snowflake Die Set (A Cut Above by Verve),  Notebook Die (My Favorite Things), Stitched Rectangle Dies (Lil' Inkers), Signature Series Ribbon (Verve Stamps), Buttons, Twine, Silver Bells, Silver Twine, Glue Dots, Dimensionals

Retro Sketch #92

Susan Raihala had a recent post which touched my heart.  She knows a family that is having a tough go of it over Christmas this year.

The father, who was trimming his 98 year old mom's trees, fell and broke 7 ribs, and a week later, they discovered their 4 year old grandson Jonah had a cancerous tumor on his kidney.  The tumour has been removed and a secondary surgery had to be done to remove a bowel obstruction.   Radiation and chemo treatments are in progress to treat his Stage 3 cancer.

My heart goes out to this family as I can't even begin to imagine what it would be like to have a child with cancer.  My son was admitted to Children's Hospital in Vancouver at 18 months when he had a Norwalk type bug and got dehydrated.  I was deeply impressed and touched by everyone who worked there and will never forget one of the nurses telling me that kids are very resilient and though they go through a lot it is amazing how they bounce back.  This is my prayer for Jonah. 

Since Christmas will be very different for this family this year, Susan has volunteered to be a "card courier" for them.  So, if anyone would like to make a Christmas card for Jonah and/or his family, just contact Susan via her blog (link above) and she will send you her mailing address.  By the way, Jonah's favorite colour is orange, and he also likes bright colours, robots and typical little boy things.

When I saw robots on the list, I immediately thought of Verve's Birthday Bots set - sooo perfect!  I used this week's Retro Sketch, some bright orange paper, and a few of the cog sequins from Verve's Metal Mix.  Next up on the agenda is making a card for the parents.  Trusting the family will be deeply touched by total strangers sending them cards, and what a great way to spread some Christmas joy via this wonderful hobby - love it!!   

 
 
What's In It? 
Stamps:   Birthday Bots (Verve Stamps)
Paper:  Dots and Stripes (Echo Park), Early Espresso, Kraft, Night of Navy, Designer Series Paper (Stampin' Up)
Ink:  Black
Accessories:   Stitched Circle Dies (Lil' Inker), Button Die (PTI), Metal Mix Sequins (Verve Stamps), Twine, Dimensionals

Mojo Monday #322

 

It's the first Monday of the month so that means it is contest week over at the Mojo Monday blog!  For every 50 entries, one person will receive a Verve Stamps set of their choice, to a maximum of seven winners!

Julee created this fabulous sketch which allows a whole lot of options for creativity.  You can keep it simple or go all out.  Love when you have that flexibility in a sketch, and trust you will enjoy it as much as I did!

Since I'm slightly addicted to Echo Park's 'Tis The Season paper pack, I opted to go with this fabulous, grey, snowflake paper with a candy cane striped accent panel.  I used the Rounded Scalloped Frame die and taped the back so the pieces stayed together, and then added my beloved tree die from the Winter Fun die set as well as the star die from the Scalloped Trim Trio set.  Thoroughly enjoyed using my new Martha Stewart snowflake punch too :).  It was sold out everywhere last year so I wasn't able to get it.  However, my patience paid off, because I got to use my 50% off coupon at Michael's to buy it - score!  A touch of sheer red ribbon, some bells, silver twine, bling, and my card is done.

You can check out all the challenge details over on the Mojo Monday blog and also get a chance to 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

Another busy weekend here.  Son's soccer game Saturday was amazing.  He scored three goals and had two near misses.  The team played a wonderful game and it was very encouraging for my hubby who is the coach to be able to see them progress week by week.  The parents on the sidelines were so into the game, I think most of us forgot about the very soggy weather we had to stand in - almost LOL!   The house is now fully decorated for Christmas and I got a good dint in my Christmas cards.  The next three weeks are going to be a blitz, but I'm ready to rumble :)

Have a great week everyone!



 
What's In It?
Stamps:   Glad Tidings (Verve Stamps)
Paper:  'Tis The Season (Echo Park), Basic Grey, Real Red (Stampin' Up), Cream Linen
Ink: Black  
Accessories:  Rounded Scalloped Framed Die, Winter Fun Die Set, Scalloped Trim Trio Die Set (A Cut Above by Verve), Crimper (Fiskars),Snowflake Punch (Martha Stewart), 5/8" Red Sheer Ribbon, Silver Bells, Silver Half Pearls, Bling, Silver Cording (Michael's), Dimensionals  

Curtain Call Inspiration Challenge - Christmas Countdown

We are back with our newest  Curtain Call Inspiration Challenge and it is entitled "Christmas Countdown", a very appropriate title indeed!  This time round, the Sweet Stamp Shop is our sponsor, and the LEAD of the Christmas Countdown challenge will receive a $15 gift certificate to their store!

 

I used a stamp from their Packaged Pretty set.  It is a great set for Blog Candy give away notes, RAK notes, and some basic sentiments.

 

I a Deconstructed Sketches for my card and some delicious MME papers from their Merry Little Christmas pack.  Just love some of the non-traditional Christmas colours in this pack.  Plus, they remind me of candy, and since it is the "Sweet" Stamp Shop sponsoring our challenge, I figured it was a perfect match!  This sentiment just makes me smile as I can imagine the various happy dances of the recipients LOL!

You can check out all the challenge details over on the Curtain Call Inspirations Challenge and also get a chance to view all the wonderful Curtain Call Crew samples!  Should you wish more details on the Curtain Call Crew's cards, you can also visit their individual blogs noted below.

Amber Kroening
Barb Murphy
Christina MacLaren
Gayatri Murali
Jessica Kephart
Kim Singdahlsen

Marisa Ritzen

Monika Davis
Sheri Gilson
Stacey Schafer
Tenia Nelson
Tracey McNeely

You have until December 10th 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 December
14th.

 
 
What's In It? 
Stamps:   Packaged Pretty (Sweet Stamp Shop), Text Objects (Verve Stamps)
Paper:  Merry Little Christmas (My Mind's Eye), Wild Wasabi, Pretty in Pink, Rose Red, Certainly Celery (Stampin' Up) 
Ink:  Black, VersaMark
Accessories:   Scalloped Circle and Circle Nestabilitiers (Spellbinders), Notebook Edge Die (My Favorite Things), Jumbo Snowflake Punch (Martha Stewart), Snowflakes Embossing Folder (Provo Craft), Button, White Half Pearls, Stickles, Glue Dots, Dimensionals