Poinsettia Joy

This week's Verve sketch is brought to us by Charmaine and it is a great way to use up some designer paper scraps (or make some in my case LOL).

I got a great deal on the Spellbinder's poinsettia die this summer so wanted to pull it out and "break it in" so to speak.  Needless to say, it was the perfect excuse to pair it with this wonderful MME Christmas pack I picked up on clearance after Christmas last year.  Thus the Christmas card was born.

I'm just loving the die and think you may be seeing a lot of this poinsettia in the future (wink, wink), but not for a few months yet as I am far from ready to give up my leaf dies :)

Enjoy your day and thanks for making mine by stopping by!



 What's In It?
Stamps: Glad Tidings (Verve) 
Paper: I Believe (MME), Early Espresso, Burgundy, Kraft 
Ink:  Black 
Accessories:  Poinsettia Die (Spellbinders), Crimper, 5/8 White Satin Ribbon, Gold Cording, Gold Half Pearls, Glue Dots, Dimensionals

 

Fanspiration Diva Dare

This month's Diva Dare is to get inspiration from a card in the Verve gallery made by someone other than one of the Verve Divas.  How fun!  Love seeing the endless variety of styles and ways people use their Verve stamps. 

I worked my way through quite a few pages in the Verve gallery and a few cards with hearts on them caught my eye (I love hearts).  However, this card by my blogging friend Vickie Z, stole my heart (no pun intended LOL).  I just loved the little envelope with the note tucked into it.

I pretty much cased the entire card.  Kept the layout and made my own envelope (that was an interesting experience, let me tell you). The papers are more on the masculine side as this may very well be hubby's Valentine's Day card.  The notebook stamp from Blue Skies provided a great background for the sentiment which I easily created by arranging the individual words and heart image from Verve's new Stronger Love set on to an acrylic block.  Now I just have to make sure the "safe place" I put it in is one which my aging brain will remember...yup...don't ask me why I need to be careful about that LOL ;)  

Thanks for popping in to share a bit of your day with me today.



What's In It?
Stamps: Blue Skies and Stronger Love (Verve)
Paper:Yours Truly (Echo Park), Starbuck's Sleeve
Ink: Black
Accessories:  Wavy Hearts Die Set (A Cut Above by Verve), Heart Punch (Marvy), Corner Punch (Stampin' Up), Button, Twine, Glue Dot, Dimensionals

Dynamic Retro Smile

 This week's Retro Sketches was a fun one to work with and I combined it with this week's Dynamic Duo challenge.

For some reason, my owl punch came to mind so I decided to pull it out and use it on this card.   I embossed his tummy for a bit of texture and added a branch for him to sit on.  Added the smile sentiment as he makes me smile :)   The rest is pretty self explanatory.

Our glorious Fall weather continues bringing cool mornings and evenings and wonderfully warm afternoons :)  Needless to say, layering clothes weather is upon us and I can't wait for the maple leaves to start turning colours!!!

 

What's In It?
Stamps: Circular Sayings (Verve) 
Paper: Always Artichoke, and Cajun Craze (Stampin' Up) 
Ink: Black 
Accessories:  Owl and Bird Punches (Stampin' Up), Lattice Embossing Folder (Stampin' Up), Crimper, Twine, Black Half Pearls, Dimensionals
 

Mojo Monday #258

 This week's Mojo Monday sketch is a fun one.  You can dress it up, keep it on the CAS side or go CASS as Julee says (clean and simple, sort of).

I went for a dressier version and initiated one of my new Verve sets, Stronger Love.  So many fun sentiments in this set and not just for Valentine's Day.

Love this polka dotted ribbon - just makes me smile as does the sentiment :)

Would love to have you play along with us this week! Just pop over to the Mojo Monday blog for all the details and a chance to view all the wonderful Mojo Makers samples!   Should you wish more details on their cards, you can also visit their individual blogs noted below.

Carole Burrage

Debbie Carriere

Julee Tilman (Owner)

Marisa Ritzen

Mary Fish

Sarah Biglow

Teresa Kline

Stephanie Kraft

Wanda Cullen

Today we start our first full week of school and are going full tilt after our "trail run" last week LOL!  Counting on smooth sailing and a great year for both my kids :)

Thanks for popping by today and I look forward to seeing your creations!   



What's In It? 
Stamps: Stronger Love (Verve) 
Paper:  Garden Florals (Recollections), Early Espresso, Mellow Moss, Real Red, Cream Linen 
Ink: Black, VersaMark 
Accessories:  Scalloped Circle and Circle Nesties, Loopy Bloom and Dreamy Leaves Dies (A Cut Above by Verve), Circle Punches, Butterfly Punch (Martha Stewart), 5/8" Brown Polka Dotted Ribbon, Buttons, Twine, Glue Dots, Dimensionals
 

Happy Birthday To You

I'm getting this month's SFYTT done early as I needed a birthday card for hubby's birthday today.

I continued my Fall leaf theme as they make great masculine cards (any excuse will do wink, wink).  A Starbuck's sleeve was perfect for the two panels (tried hard to get the date stamp on the sleeve not to show, but it still managed to make an appearance) and this yummy wide, striped ribbon I have been hording finally came out to play.

I actually passed on the maple leaf this time (mostly because it didn't fit well on the panel - yes I tried it first) and used my unloved oak leaf instead.  The button finished things off nicely, and I just "had" to add a bow instead of a knot, but hubby is man enough to handle that LOL!

We survived the first week of school and working our way into our ramped up schedule.  Needless to say, we all slept in on Saturday.  Today we are going to be celebrating hubby's birthday.  My daughter has a friend whose mom is going to give him a Chinese dumpling cooking lesson and I think he will be thrilled with the lesson as he has always wanted to learn how to make them.  Then we will give him the TV remote for the rest of the afternoon so he can watch all the sports he wants to, with minimal interruptions as I don't think I can guarantee uninterrupted time with two kids in the house LOL!

Have a great day and I'll be back tomorrow with my Mojo Monday card.

 

What's In It?
Stamps: Leaf Prints (PTI), Happy Birthday To You Plain Jane (Verve)
Paper: Early Espresso, Cream Linen, Mellow Moss, Cameo Coral, Tan, Starbucks Sleeve
Ink: Black, VersaMark
Accessories:  Leaf Prints Dies (PTI), 1 1/2" Orange Wide Striped Ribbon (Stampin' Up), Button, Twine, Black Half Pearls, Dimensionals

Just Us Girls #153

 

This week's technique challenge is brought to us by Vick and it is Stamped Line Art.  Basically, all you have to do is find a detailed image and stamp it - letting it do the talking :)   A great technique for a CAS card.  The link to the technique video can be seen here should you want to view it.

I pulled out an old CPS sketch and rotated it.  Had great fun using this Stampin' Up set that hasn't seen ink in some time.  The flower dress has always been a favorite of mine.  I "jacked it up" (as Randy on Say Yes to the Dress would say) by adding some black half pearls to the dress to make it stand out.

Kept to a black and white card as they make such a statement and I purposely omitted the sentiment so I have the flexibility of using it for various occasions (graduation card, wedding shower card, wedding card, black tie event - not that I go to them but one can always dream LOL !)

The rest of the Design Team has some great samples to get your inspiration going.  Just pop over to the JUGS blog for a peek at their wonderful creations/

We'd love to have you play along with us this week.  Simply create a card using this week's technique and link it to the JUGS blog and you may be selected as Chick of the Week :)

I think the family is going to have a relaxing weekend as soccer games don't begin until next weekend - phew!  Good thing, as the first week of school is now behind us, our ramped up schedule has come back full force and the early rising times have caused us all to be on the tired side.  A new school year has definitely begun! 




What's In It?
Stamps:  Blooming With Happiness (Stampin' Up) 
Paper: Black and White 
Ink: Black 
Accessories:Lacey Circle and Circle Nesties, 5/8" White Satin Ribbon, Black Half Pearls, Button, Glue Dot Dimensionals

Freshly Coloured Paper

 
Playing along with this week's Freshly Made Sketches and combining it with this weeks' Colour Q challenge. A bonus challenge was the Paper Player challenge so this card is a three for :)

With such wonderful colours reminding me of a blue sky and some leaf colours, I pulled out my beloved maple leaf die once again.  I also flipped the sketch in order to accommodate the maple leaves.  Like my blue tree bark LOL!  Needed the texture so I went for it!

I also had great fun using my new banner die from Verves's recent Anniversary release.  Love this die!!

Another fabulous day here on the West Coast.  Lots of sunshine and the kids are settling into school nicely.  The routine of early mornings and busy days has begun LOL!

Have a great day and thanks for popping by today!

 

What's In It? 
Stamps: Leaf Prints (PTI), Text Objects (Verve) 
Paper: Cool Caribbean, Cameo Coral, So Saffron, Early Espresso 
Ink: Black, VersaMark 
Accessories:  Leaf Print Dies (PTI), Wood Grain Embossing Folder (Tim Holtz), Buttons, Pennant Trim Die (A Cut Above By Verve), Mat Stack 5 Die (PTI), Twine, Glue Dots, Dimensionals

Playing With Retro Paper Leaves

 Haven't had a chance to play along with Retro Sketches for a few weeks so I took the opportunity to do so this week :)  I combined the sketch with this week's Paper Players challenge of using a tree or leaves on your card.  No having to ask me twice about that one as Fall is here and that means my PTI leaf dies are coming out to play.  A lot.  Be forewarned.

Love this SEI paper I picked up at my LSS -- wish I had picked up more sheets of it as I love both sides!  Pulled the rest of my colours from there, embossed the Sahara Sand panel with a wood grain folder (my tree element LOL), used my beloved maple leaf die (happy sigh.....) and roughed up the edges.

After standing in line for 2.5 hours yesterday in order to get my daughter's class schedule changed (they messed up and gave her the wrong elective and she was in a horrible French teachers class), when we got home I discovered there was an error again - ugh!!!  They switched her out of the elective she didn't want and put her in the one she wanted, which caused her schedule to be rearranged and that got her out of the French class, but in all the switching around, they left her in the first elective she wanted out of and dropped her sewing class.

Why oh why didn't I check her schedule BEFORE we left the office??!!  Simple.  I was exhausted and just wanted to get home so didn't even think to look it over, trusting that they did it correctly.  Note to self:  if you don't use your brain you have to give up your time.  So....back we go tomorrow to see if we can get things rectified and hopefully it won't take 2.5 hours this time round!! 

Needless to say, I am treating myself to a day of stamping while the kids are at school so I can be in a decent mood when the after school daycare kids show up!  Never a dull moment when you have kids! 


Have a wonderful day and thanks listening :) 

 

What's In It?
Stamps: Leaf Prints (PTI), Celebration of Thanks (Verve) 
Paper: SEI, Sahara Sand, Cameo Coral 
Ink: Close to Cocoa 
Accessories:  Leaf Prints Dies (PTI), Wood Grain Embossing Folder (Tim Holtz), Martha Stewart Border Punch, 5/8" Brown Satin Ribbon, 1/4" Brown Satin Ribbon, Button, Twine, Glue Dot, Dimensionals

Thank You So Much

 

Amber created this week's Verve sketch and I went "hmmmm...." when I saw the circles on the side panel.  I pulled out a few things from my "to use later pile", embossed the background panel for a bit of texture and then got stuck on the two side circles on the sketch.

After some pondering, I decided to take some creative liberties with the sketch and subbed the flowers and leaves in for the circles.  My final touch was the addition of a little red heart to the "U" to keep the rule of three in tact :)   Hopefully this passes Amber's inspection ;)

The kids went for their first hour of school today - basically a head count day for the schools.  Tomorrow is their first full day and it will be bitter sweet for me this year.  Now that my kids are older, I was able to get more mommy/alone time this summer (aka: much needed introvert's recharging time so I don't turn into a grouchy mommy) which gave me a lot more energy to just enjoy having my kids all to myself.  They are growing up soooo quickly...breaks my heart in some ways....but love watching them grow up and mature....times to treasure in my mommy heart :)

I'm bracing my self for the 0 to 100 ramp up in our schedule!  Starting today, we have two mid-week soccer practices and a weekend game, piano lessons, the beginning of our weekly Bible Study, my teaching the grade 5/6 Sunday School class, running the before and after school daycare and a few things I'm sure I have forgotten to include.  Glad it's a short first week as I am always exhausted by the time Friday night rolls around.  Or maybe I'm just getting old LOL!



What's In It?
Stamps: You and I, Dream Big (Verve) 
Paper: Bashful Blue, Mellow Moss, Real Red 
Ink: Certainly Celery, VersaMark 
Accessories:  Lattice Embossing Folder (Stampin' Up), Lacy Circle Nesties, I Heart You and Dreamy Leaves Dies (A Cut Above By Verve), Rolled Rose Die (MFT), Heart Punch (Michael's $1.50 Bin), Glue Dots, Dimensionals

Mojo Monday #257

It's the first Monday of the month so that means it is challenge week over at the Mojo Monday blog!   There will be one winner for every 50 entries and if you are selected as one of the winners, you will get a Verve set of your choice!  With the recent anniversary release, there are lots of amazing new sets to chose from too!!  Worth playing for in my books!  It is also a special week because Carol Burrage is back from her short break and will once again be creating her fabulous Mojo Maker samples for you to enjoy.  Welcome back Carole!

I loved the sketch, skewed panel and all.  Yes, you read right LOL!!  At this rate, I may have to find a new nemisis, wink, wink!  There is a teeny bit of  creative straying from the sketch (can you find it) but I think my "boss" will let it slide.  If not, I may have to serve a skewed panel sketch detention {grin}.

Would love to have you play along with us this week!  Just pop over to the Mojo Monday blog for all the details and a chance to view all the wonderful Mojo Makers samples!  Should you wish more details on their cards, you can also visit their individual blogs noted below.
 

Carole Burrage

Debbie Carriere

Julee Tilman (Owner)

Marisa Ritzen

Mary Fish

Sarah Biglow

Teresa Kline

Stephanie Kraft

Wanda Cullen

Thanks for for popping by today and I look forward to seeing your creations!   

 

What's In It?
Stamps:  Dream Big, Celebration of Thanks and Text Objects (Verve)
Paper:  Mosaic Memories (Recollections Paper from Michael's), Always Artichoke, Real Red, Cameo Coral, Going Grey, Basic Grey, Black, Cream Linen 
Ink: Black VersaMark 
Accessories:  Tag Die  and Medium Scallops Die (PTI), Dreamy Leaves and Scalloped Flowers Dies (A Cut Above By Verve), Butterfly Punch (Martha Stewart), Ticket Corner Punch (Stampin' Up), 5/8" Coral Grosgrain Ribbon, Crimper, White Half Pearls, Black Fine Line Sharpie, Buttons, Twine, Glue Dots, Dimensionals