Verve January Diva Inspirtion Hop

Welcome to Verve's January Diva Inspirations Hop.  It's the 5th of the month and that means it's hopping time!  This year we're spicing up our monthly hops with the addition of a challenge! So in addition to a comment prize hidden along the hop, you can play along with the challenge and link up your creation for a chance to win another prize! Woohoo!

Our January challenge is:



The year is shiny and new, so let's add shimmer and shine to our cards.
Think glitter, sequins, rhinestones, pearls, heat embossing - anything with some gloss.

If you have come here from Teresa'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 (see hop list below).

I went pretty wild with the shimmer and shine LOL but it was great fun.  Thanks to my local dollar store I got some wonderful sparkly red and silver paper which got put to good use.  I used a die from the Wavy Hearts set and the sentiment is from Verve's Stronger Love.  A touch of black seam binding and some added bling maxed out the shimmer and shine side of things ;)    

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 Charmaine's blog.

 

	1. Sarah	10. Tiffany
	2. Amy	11. Maureen
	3. Anya	12. Stacey
	4. Betty	13. Amber
	5. Jessica	14. Teresa
	6. Karen	15. Marisa
	7. Sankari	16. Charmaine
	8. Sony	17. Verve Blog
	9. Susan

NEW CHALLENGE BLOG!

At the end of January, Verve will be closing their member company forum on Splitcoaststampers.  As part of that transition, we have moved our Viva la Verve Sketch challenge to a blog!  It's clean and fresh and bursting with inspiration, so be sure to head on over and play along.  We'll be highlighting our favorite cards from the entries each Tuesday, so be sure to link up if you're crafting the weekend away!

Love will soon be in the air and in the aisles and everywhere you go, so Verve is having a 30% off sale on in stock love themed sets and dies through the end of January!

  

What's In It? Stamps:  Stronger Love (Verve Stamps)
Paper:   Red and Silver Sparkly Paper (Local Dollar Store), Black 
Ink:  Black
Accessories:  Wavy Hearts Die (A Cut Above by Verve), Circle Nestabilities (Spellbinders), Black Beauty Seam Binding (Verve Stamps), Bling (Michael's), Glue Dot, Dimensionals 

Just Us Girls #222 - Sketch Challenge

 

Welcome to our first challenge of 2014!  This week's sketch is hosted by Nancy.  

I dug out MME's In Bloom paper pack, a PTI doily and heart from recycle bin and added a button and some flowers.  The sentiment is from Verve's Words Cannot Express set (love the sentiments in this set and the font was a perfect fit for the paper).

The rest of the  JUGS team, along with our January  Guest Designer Geraldine Bailly , 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.

Planning on enjoying our last weekend before school starts again and life gets back into full swing.  It's been one of the best Christmas vacations we have ever had and I will remember it fondly for years to come :) 


 
What's In It?
Stamps:   Words Cannot Express (Verve Stamps)
Paper:  In Bloom (My  Mind's Eye), Pretty in Pink (Stampin' Up)  
Ink: Black   
Accessories:  Wavy Hearts Die (Verve Stamps), Doily Die (PTI), Crimper (Fiskars), Paper Roses (Recollections), Button, Hemp Twine (My Favorite Things), White Half Pearls, Dimensionals

Diva Dare ~ January 2014

Welcome to the first Diva Dare of 2014! This month's Dare is entitled "Smitten".  I just love that word - makes me smile every time I hear it :)   

This month the Verve Divas are daring you to make a card or project with a heart, whether it’s for the one you love, a sweet Valentine or a lunch note for a child.  Let's get smitten :)

I used a VLV sketch from December's rewind sketches as it was perfect for this challenge.  The papers are from MME's Love Me pack.  I used Verve's Wavy Hearts, Heart Quartet, Pennant Trim and Flag It die sets on my card (can you tell I like Verve dies wink, wink).  

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 get all the details on how you can win some Verve Stamps?  Simply head on over to the Verve Blog to get all the challenge details - I dare you!

What's In It?
Stamps:   Stronger Love (Verve Stamps) 
Paper:  Love Me (My Mind's Eye), Going Grey, Pretty in Pink, Real Red, Rose Romance (Stampin' Up) 
Ink: Black 
Accessories:   Wavy Hearts, Heart Quartet, Flag It and Pennant Trim Die Sets (A Cut Above by Verve), Love Die (WPlus9),  Crimper (Fiskars), Buttons, Twine, Glue Dots, White Half Pearls, Dimensionals

Year in Review: October - December

This is the final installment of my year in review.  This one is a bit longer as I just couldn't narrow it down more LOL!

October 2013

I just loved the clean lines of this card and the colour combo.

Oh how I love the colours of fall and using my leaf dies!

Great verse and love the papers.

November 2013

 

A big old snowflake and my favorite Christmas word!  Such a fun card :)

Starbuck's sleeves are so handy LOL!

 

Absolutely adore this paper and of course, hearts always make me happy.

Stretched myself a bit with this card and love all that white space!

Oh how I love this colour combo and this fabulous stitched tree!

I had such a fun time paper piecing this little guy!

December 2013 

Love this colour combo and this Verve tree die!

 

Love this sentiment and had such fun creating the bow/bell accent.

 

My favorite Christmas paper pad of 2013 and a heart/snowflake combo makes me happy.

There you have it, my year in review.  So many wonderful memories of cards made, sketches used and joy sent to friends :)   Just love this amazing hobby which has enabled me to meet so many wonderful people from all over the world and which provides such a great venue to show people you care by creating a card for them.

 

Curtain Call Inspiration Challenge - Smitten

First of all, Happy New Year everyone!!  We are starting 2014 off with our first Curtain Call Inspiration Challenge of the New Year entitled "Smitten".  This time round, Linnie Blooms is our sponsor, and the LEAD of the Smitten challenge will receive a gift certificate to their store!

We were graciously provided with some gelatos for this challenge and I was eager to try them out as I have never used them before.  My mixed media, card making friends are no doubt gasping at that fact LOL!  

I started out by embossing some polka dots on to white card stock. Then I created three ribbons of colour across the dots using the gelatos (there is a blue stripe in the middle, honest!), wet my finger, and then blended the gelatos into the paper.  They dissolve wonderfully with water and create a fabulous watercolour effect.  Next, I embossed a word background stamp on the heart die and repeated the process using just a yellow gelato.  It was great fun using this medium and technique -- finger painting at its best 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 and guest designer samples!  Should you wish more details on the Curtain Call Crew's cards, you can also visit their individual blogs noted below.

 

Lesley Croghan, 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 January 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 January 14th.

 
 
What's In It? 
Stamps:   We Connect (Paper Smooches), By Definition Background Stamp (Stampin' Up)
Paper:  Black, Cool Caribbean (Stampin' Up)
Ink:  Black, VersaMark
Accessories:   Gelatos (Linnie Blooms), Jotted Heart Die (Verve Stamps), Notebook Edge Die (My Favorite Things), Crimper (Fiskars), Washi Tape, Heart Clip, Button, Twine, Black Half Pearls, Glue Dots, Dimensionals 

Year In Review: July - September

Welcome to Day 3 of my year in review.

July 2013

Loved this Mojo Monday sketch.

Love the citrus colours on this card.

A fabulous verse to cling to.

August 2013

This was such a unique sketch I had to try it and I used one of my favorite colour combos of pink and green.

Love this sentiment and the fun papers.

 

This card just makes me happy. Love the fun papers and colour combo.

September 2013

These Clearly Besotted sunflowers are so much fun to use!  Love them!

Love using fall colours and these Verve pumpkins are so fun.

 

Love this Stampin' Up set and the grid technique is such a fun one to use on a card.

Three days down and one to go.  Back on January 2nd for my final year in review post.  Have a safe and Happy New Year's!

 

Mojo Monday #326

Welcome to the last Mojo Monday of 2013!  Man, where did the year go?!

I broke with tradition this week and made a square card as I needed the extra room to get everything on my card.

I used Teresa Collins' Memorabilia paper and the sentiment is from Let It Be.  There are a few people I know who could use a reminder to believe in themselves in 2014 after a tough go in 2013.

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

Looking forward to another week with the kids home, company gone, a jammie day or two and just relaxing and enjoying some good family time :)  Also beginning to think about my word for 2014 as well as a few goals I want to accomplish in the coming year.  As the saying goes, if you aim at nothing you are sure to hit it!

Thanks for walking through this year with me on my blog and for all your kind comments and encouragement  - you guys are the best!!  Have a safe and Happy New Year's everyone, and I'll be back on January 1st with the new Curtain Call Inspiration Challenge.



 
What's In It?
Stamps:   Let It Be  (Verve Stamps)
Paper:  Memorabilia (Teresa Collins), Kraft, Black (Stampin' Up)
Ink: Black   
Accessories:  Number Border Die (PTI), Crimper (Fiskars), Buttons, Twine, Glue Dots, Dimensionals 

Year In Review: April - June

Welcome to Day2 of my year in review.  Today I will showcase my favorite cards from April through June.

April 2013

 

 Just love this sentiment's font!

 

Flowers and butterflies, two of my favorite things to use on a card.

May 2013

 

Love the soft colours on this card.

My beloved Verve tree die!

June 2013

A challenging Mojo Monday sketch with an outcome I just loved.  Verve's Strong Anchor is such a great set!

A Diva Dare card where we had to do some mixed media.

That's it for Day 2 of my year in review.  Back soon with Day 3.