Mojo Monday #387

It's the first Monday of the month which means it is contest time over on the Mojo Monday blog!  Create a card using this sketch and you could be a lucky winner of some Verve Stamps!

I was in  need of a baby card and as fate would have it, last week I just picked up and adorable paper pad for baby boys by Echo Park at my LSS.  Used a few of the papers and then added Emery as my focal image.  A crimped panel and some twine added a touch of dimension, and then stamped and fussy cut a second head so I could pop it up and give Emery some dimension as well.

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

  Debbie Carriere

Julee Tilman (Owner)

Marisa Ritzen (you are here)

Mary Fish

Sarah Biglow

Teresa Kline

Wanda Cullen

So proud of my daughter as she has had yet another poem published in a book!  She entered a contest last year and just got word that her poem was selected as a winner. She has such a gift for writing.  In addition, my son has been approved to be an assistant ref for the HPL soccer league (high performance league), which is a huge honor and gets him a ton of exposure, experience and feedback for improvement and growth.  He has been noticed and labelled as a very good up and coming ref with a ton of potential, and if he keeps it up, he can go a long way.  The other day he actually mentioned he would love to be a World Cup ref.  Love when my  kids dream big!  Thanks for listening to my proud mama stories :)

Wishing you a blessed day!

Challenges:  Simon Says



What's In It?
Stamps:  Emery Plain Jane (Verve Stamps)  
Paper:  Bundle of Joy (Echo Park), Early Espresso, Bordering Blue, Old Olive (Stampin' Up)   
Ink:   Black   
Accessories:   Circle Nestabilities (Spellbinders), Crimper (Fiskars), Twine, Dimensionals

Curtain Call Inspiration Challenge - Lucky

Time for another Curtain Call Inspiration Challenge and this photo gives tons of options for inspiration!  The LEAD of the Lucky challenge will be invited as a Guest Designer in a future Curtain Call challenge!

I adore the shamrocks in Verve's Lucky You set and couldn't wait to use them when I saw the inspiration photo.  Green also happens to be my favorite colour so I am always happy to make a St. Patrick's Day card LOL!  Added an xoxo embossed panel for some texture my beloved "U" from the I Love You die set for a fun spin a "Lucky You" sentiment.

Check out the rest of the DT's creations for added inspiration.

Lucky Designers

Amy Kolling
Amy Sheffer
Amy Tsuruta
Gayatri Murali
Kim Singdahlsen

Laurie Willison
Lisa Henke
Marisa Ritzen
Maureen Plut
Monika Davis
Sarah Gough
Sheri Gilson
Stacey Schafer
Tenia Nelson
Tracey McNeely

Time to pull out your inner Irish flair and have some shamrock fun!

Challenges:  Just Us Girls 
                        Simon Says 

 




What's In It?
Stamps:   Lucky You (Verve Stamps) 
Paper:  Lucky You (Echo Park), Always Artichoke, Kraft (Stampin' Up), Cream Linen
Ink:   Black, VersaMark  
Accessories:   Shamrock Die Set and I Love You Die Set (A Cut Above by Verve), XO Embossing Folder (Provo Craft), Buttons, Twine, Glue Dots, Dimensionals

CASE This Sketch "Hello"

When I saw this week's CAS(E) This Sketch  I immediately thought doily for the corner element.  It so happens that I had an extra one in my stash so I was off to a blazing start lol.

Though Valentine's Day is over, I just couldn't resist adding a crimped heart to my card.  Added pops of colour with the dark brown and a lovely, scripted "hello" for the sentiment.  Two layers of stitched edges added a little something and and my brown bow finished things off.

We are having gloriously, warm, spring-like weather here this week - sorry to those of you who are experiencing the exact opposite weather!  Some cherry trees are already blooming in parts of Vancouver and surrounding areas and my lawn is definitely growing - crazy!  I am very tempted to mow and set an all time record for the first mow of the year being in February!   

Wishing you a glorious day.

Challenges:  The Pink Elephant

 




What's In It? 
Paper:   Going Grey, Pretty in Pink, Early Espresso (Stampin' Up)   
Accessories:   Stitched Rectangle Dies (Lil' Inkers), Heart Nestabilities (Spellbinders), Crimper (Fiskars), Doily Die (Top Dog Dies), 5/8" Brown Satin Ribbon, Dimensionals 

Viva La Verve Febraury Week 3 Sketch

It's time to recap this week's Viva La Verve sketch and here is my take on the sketch by Diva Stacey.  Loved her sketch and can see myself using it again for sure as there are so many wonderful options for that big square.

I in full throttle Spring mode right now as our weather has been amazing lately, not to mention my tulips are six inches out of the ground already - meep!!  Can't wait for them to bloom!!  I pulled out this fabulous flowed paper from MME's Lime Twist set (an oldie but a goodie), and added Martha Stewart's wonderful monarch butterfly to accent this simply fabulous Hello Friend Plain Jane.  I adore the font and bold statement this sentiment makes!

You can check out all the contest rules over on the Viva La Verve site and you can also see the cards I spotlighted for this week.

 




What's In It?
Stamps:   Hello Friend Plain Jane (Verve Stamps)  
Paper:  Lime Twist (My Mind's Eye), Rose Romance, Eggplant Envy (Stampin' Up)   
Ink:   Black  
Accessories:   Rounded Rectangle Die (A Cut Above by Verve), Butterfly Punch (Martha Stewart), Crimper (Fiskars), Black Half Pearls, Button,, Twine, Glue Dot, Dimensionals

Mojo Monday #386

It's Tall and Skinny week over on the Mojo Monday blog and I love making these cards!

For today's card I pulled out two of my favorite Verve sets:  Dream Big and Kind Words.  I simply adore the sentiments and flower images in both sets and they compliment each other wonderfully.

Working through my older paper pad sets and since MME's Lime Twist was still on my desk I used it again.  The cute bird paper is mostly covered up, but since the robins are back in our neck of the woods (along with the woodpecker who is merrily banging away on our metal exhaust vent on the roof as a territory marker) it was a must do.  Paired them with a flower and butterfly - more signs of spring!  The sentiment is one I adore and love adding to cards.  It is so easy to think nice things about people but never verbalize them.  This wonderful sentiment allows you to encourage and uplift others, plus, with my favorite word "joy" included in the mix, I am on happy lady :)

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

  Debbie Carriere

Julee Tilman (Owner)

Marisa Ritzen (you are here)

Mary Fish

Sarah Biglow

Teresa Kline

Wanda Cullen

My daughter's diving lessons are moving along.  She has driven us to and from Costco twice now.  Lots of nerves on busy streets still, but she is getting more confident every time we head out and I am more relaxed wink, wink!

Wishing you a day filled with joy and thank you for being a joy to me!

Challenges:  The Pink Elephant 

 




What's In It?
Stamps:  Dream Big, Kind Words (Verve Stamps)  
Paper:   Lime Twist (My Mind's Eye), Cool Caribbean, Mint Medley, Elegant Eggplant, Early Espresso (Stampin' Up)   
Ink:   Black, Versamark  
Accessories:   Dreamy Leaves Die (A Cut Above by Verve), Butterfly Punch (Martha Stewart), Button Die (PTI), Twine, White Half Pearls, Dimensionals

Curtain Call Inspiration Challenge - Donut Delight Reminder

We are half way though the Donut Delight Curtain Call Inspiration Challenge and for my reminder post, I used a fun sketch by Retro Sketches.

I created three mini donuts for the circle elements on the sketch and paired them with MME's Lime Twist papers.  Added some sprinkles to my donuts and a birthday sentiment from Verve's Making a Statement to finish things off.

A masculine card, a kid's birthday card, or a card that can be tucked into an office donut run to Timmy's (aka:  Tim Horton's) for a staff member's early morning birthday celebration. 

Hope you are having a great day, and we would love to have you play along if you haven't already done so!

Challenge:  The Pink Elephant

What's In It?

Stamps:   Making a Statement (Verve Stamps) 
Paper:  Lime Twist (My Mind's Eye), Early Espresso, Mint Medley, Pretty in Pink, Rose Romance (Stampin' Up) 
Ink:   Black 
Accessories:   Circle Nestabilities (Spellbinders), Hole Punches

Mojo Monday #385

Adore the diagonal line Julee added to this sketch.  Such a great visual impact.  She is the queen of sketches indeed!

I pulled out one of my favorite MME paper pads, In Bloom (yes, I bought a second backup one wink, wink), as I wanted to create a card with a soft feel to it.  With spring around the corner - at least here on the West Coast as winter never really arrived and my daffodils and tulips are three inches plus out of the ground already - I couldn't resist using my beloved Flutterby buttefly die.  Happy sigh...{grin}.  The sentiment is from Bloom and Grow, and I just love it.  So important to tell people what they mean to you when you have the chance to do it!

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

  Debbie Carriere

Julee Tilman (Owner)

Marisa Ritzen (you are here)

Mary Fish

Sarah Biglow

Teresa Kline

Wanda Cullen

Kids switched semesters at school this week so they are adjusting to new classes, work loads, schedules etc. and are pretty wrung out after the first week.  Remember hating the first few days of class when teachers reviewed the class syllabus and I thought there is no way you could get through all that in just a semester.  Always took getting into the rhythm of the classes, figuring out how your teachers taught and what they expected (or in some cases what you had to do to pass LOL), and then just digging in. 

 




What's In It?
Stamps:  Bloom and Grow (Verve Stamps)  
Paper:   In Bloom (My Mind's Eye), So Saffron, Going Grey, Cameo Coral (Stampin' Up)   
Ink:   Black  
Accessories:   Flutterby Die (A Cut Above by Verve), Scalloped Circle and Circle Nestabilities (Spellbinders), Crimper (Fiskars), Buttons, Twine, Glue Dot, Dimensionals

Curtain Call Inspiration Challenge - Donut Delight

Time for another Curtain Call Inspiration Challenge and this photo gives tons of options for inspiration!  The LEAD of the Donut Delight challenge will be invited as a Guest Designer in a future Curtain Call challenge!

I do not own any of the fun donut sets and matching dies by Reverse Confetti or MFT, so I decided to make my own in the form of a round card as it has been forever since I have made one and this was the perfect excuse to do so.  Fussy cut my icing, punched my decorations and a chocolate donut with pink icing and a dash of sprinkles emerged.  The sentiment is from  Verve's Sweet Treats set.  A totally fun card to make :)

Check out the rest of the DT's creations for added inspiration.

Donut Delight Designers

Guest Designer, Jessica Frost-Ballas
Amy Kolling
Amy Tsuruta
Gayatri Murali
Kim Singdahlsen
Laurie Willison
Lisa Henke
Marisa Ritzen
Maureen Plut
Monika Davis
Sarah Gough
Sheri Gilson
Stacey Schafer
Tenia Nelson
Tracey McNeely

Hope you can play along as the theme is a totally fun one, not to mention one that will give you a craving for a donut LOL!

 




What's In It?
Stamps:   Sweet Treats (Verve Stamps) 
Paper:  Early Espresso, Pretty in Pink, Regal Rose (Stampin' Up)
Ink:   Black  
Accessories:   Lacy Circle and Circle Nestabilities (Spellbinders), Punches, Black Half Pearls

Viva La Verve Februrary Week 2 Sketch

It's week two of the February Viva La Verve sketches and today's sketch is brought to us by Charmaine.

I took a few artistic licences with the sketch - a bigger circle and a relocated sentiment panel {grin}.  Just had to do the doily butterfly combo again and this fabulously fonted (a new stamping word lol) "smile" sentiment from Happy Place was the perfect match.

Remember, a $100 Verve gift certificate is up for grabs at the end of the month!  Definitely a prize worth playing for!  All the contest details are over on the Viva La Verve blog.

Thanks for popping in today and look forward to seeing your cards in the Viva La Verve gallery.

 




What's In It?
Stamps:   Happy Place (Verve Stamps)  
Paper:  Lost and Found Heirloom (My Mind's Eye), Pretty in Pink, Going Grey (Stampin' Up)   
Ink:   Black  
Accessories:   Doily Die (Top Dog Dies), Butterfly Die and Twine (PTI), Button, Glue Dots, Dimensionals  

Keeping Things Real

Decided to keep things real, and show you a card that I fought, and fought, and fought with while creating, and in the end, am not very fond of.  Ever make one of those cards?? 

Experience has taught me that when a card is that hard to create, I should just toss it and start over.  However, after struggling for so long to make a card "blog worthy", it isn't always easy to deep six it in the trash can - case in point with this card LOL!

This was my first attempt at a card for the recent Verve Inspirations Hop, and a number of hours later, it just wasn't doing it for me so I went back to the drawing board and created a second one which came together much more easily.   Note to self:  "let it go" when it is a struggle and move on!

 




What's In It?
Stamps:   Love Notes (Verve Stamps)  
Paper:  Pretty in Pink, Regal Rose, Going Grey (Stampin' Up)   
Ink:   Black  
Accessories:   Rounded Scalloped Frame Die and Heart Quartet (A Cut Above by Verve), XO Die (PTI), Cross My Heart Embossing Folder (Cuttlebug), Border Punch (Martha Stewart), White and Black Half Pearls, Sequins, Button, Twine, Glue Dot, Dimensionals