Mojo Monday #427

Welcome to the first Mojo Monday sketch for December.  That also means it is contest week!  The more entries we receive the more chances you have of winning a Verve Stamp of your choice (one winner per fifty entries).

Being in the Christmas spirit and not having a ton of time to craft during this busy time of year, I just "had" to use snowflakes, my go to accessory of choice this time of year {grin}.

Layered my snowflakes to fit the earthy colour scheme I was going for, then mated them and added a half pearl to the centers to pull in the white.  The sentiments is from Holiday Treats and since I love gold at Christmas I tossed in some gold twine for good measure.

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.

Julee Tilman (Owner)

Marisa Ritzen (that's me)

Mary Fish

Sarah Biglow

Teresa Kline

Justin Krieger

Lori Tecler

Wanda Cullen

Busy weekend decorating the house for Christmas as well a doing some baking between running my son to and from his four reffing commitments for soccer games as well as his own team's game!  Good thing hubby and I can split the driving!  So far, fingers crossed, our tree has not been touched by our new >^..^<  Paddington.  However, it is only day one so we will see how we make out.  He is a very inquisitive cat so hopefully one "inspection" does it LOL! 

Wishing you a fabulous day!





 
What's In It?
Stamps:   Holiday Treats (Verve Stamps)
Paper:  Mistletoe Magic (My Mind's Eye) Kraft, Early Espresso, Always Artichoke (Stampin' Up)
Ink:  Black
Accessories:  Scalloped Circle, Circle and Square Nestabilities (Spellbinders), Snowflake Die (PTI), Snowflake Punch (Martha Stewart), Scalloped Border Punch (Stampin' Up), Gold Twine, White Half Pearls, Dimensionals 

Viva La Verve November Week 4 Sketch

Maureen's sketch screamed snowflakes when I saw the circle clusters and I gleefully went with it :)  After all, snowflakes are my accessory of choice this time of year.

The sentiment is from Christmas in the Air, and since it had the word heart in it, I carried the theme over on to the little tab by adding a row of punched hearts.  Glad snowflakes come in any colour when you are crafting :)  A touch of bling on the snowflakes, a twine bow and a little row of piercing to balance things off.

Hard to believe we are in December already!  Thankfully my Christmas shopping is done and this weekend we will put up the tree and decorate.  A big task, but just love the result :)

Wishing you a glorious day!






 
What's In It?
Stamps:   Christmas In The Air (Verve Stamps)
Paper:  Lost and Found Christmas (My Mind's Eye), Early Espresso, Always Artichoke, Kraft, Real Red (Stampin' Up), Cream Linen
Ink:  Black
Accessories:  Flag It Die Set (A Cut Above by Verve), Snowflake Punches (Martha Stewart), Small Snowflake Punch (Marvy), Heart Punch (Michael's Dollar Bin), Twine, Bling, Dimensionals 

Curtain Call Inspiration Challenge - Dear Santa

Welcome to our first December inspiration challenge!  We have a Dear Santa Theme with lots of room for interpretation :)  The LEAD for this challenge will be invited to be a Guest Designer in an upcoming challenge.

We are sadly saying goodbye to Amy Sheffer today (hugs to you, Amy, we will miss you!), and giving a big welcome to Silke Ledlow as she joins The Crew.   

I have seen some cute punch art Santas in cyberworld, so I searched Pinterest and it did not disappoint :)   Found this adorable little guy and had great fun creating him.  Added some snowflakes to the background, a red scalloped trim for a pop of colour on the right, and "made" the sentiment from MFT's Grand Holiday Greetings fit even if it hung over the edge just a bit ;)

Dear Santa

Amy Kolling
Amy Tsuruta

Betty Wright

 Kim Singdahlsen

Laurie Willison

Leigh Penner

Lisa Henke
Lori Tecler

Marisa Ritzen

Maureen Plut

Melody Rupple

Monika Davis

Sheri Gilson
Silke Ledlow

Stacey Schafer

Tracey McNeely

Have fun with the challenge and I look forward to seeing your creations in the Curtain Call gallery. 

Challenge: Simon Says





 
What's In It?
Stamps:   Grand Holiday Greetings (MFT)
Paper:  Always Artichoke, Real Red, Blush Blossom (Stampin' Up) 
Ink:  Black, VersaMark (Stampin' Up) 
Accessories:  Scalloped Circle. Circle, Scalloped Oval and Oval Nestabilities (Spellbinders), Bird Punch, Flower Punch (Stampin' Up), White Gel Pen, Dimensionals 

Mojo Monday #426

It's tall and skinny week over on the Mojo Monday blog and Julee's sketch is another keeper.

I delved into my MME Mistletoe magic pad and found a few papers to work with.  The herringbone one reminds me of candy canes and the musical script of Christmas carols so I was a happy camper.  Had great fun using this fun Reverse Confetti die cut tree for the first time (got it on sale in the summer), and paired it with an MFT snowflake and PTI's Wet Paint "joy". A few sequins to decorate my tree, a twine bow and a button on my snowflake dressed things up perfectly.

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

Julee Tilman (Owner)

Marisa Ritzen (that's me)

Mary Fish

Sarah Biglow

Teresa Kline

Justin Krieger

Lori Tecler

Wanda Cullen

Speaking of tree decorating, we are in a bit of a quandry this year as we have not experienced a Christmas with Paddington yet (our new cat), and consequently have no clue how he will react or more importantly, "play" with the ornaments and tree LOL!    Will be an interesting adventure for us all!

Enjoy the sketch, Cyber Monday if you are so inclined, and your day!

Challenge: Simon Says





 
What's In It?
Paper:  Mistletoe Christmas (My Mind's Eye), Always Artichoke, Early Espresso (Stampin' Up)
Accessories:  Wet Paint Christmas Dies (PTI), Snowflake Die (MFT), Christmas Tree Die (Reverse Confetti), Sequins, Button, Twine, Glue Dots, Dimensionals 

Viva La Verve November Week 3 Sketch

A quick recap on this week's Viva La Verve sketch by Charmaine.

Found this cute, wood stag as part of six piece clothes pin set in the dollar bin at Michael's and had to get it.  I removed him from the clothes pin he was attached to so I could mount him on the card and then couldn't resist adding a little red nose as it fit the Christmas Wishes sentiment.

Some twine and stitched borders for a bit of a rustic feel and a tag with the smallest snowflake from Holiday Treats with a red dot in the middle for a pop of colour.   I also added a teeny strip of red below the sentiment panel as I needed some colour - artistic liberty you might say {grin} - and a third dash of red for the "rule of three".

We would love you to play along.   You don't need Verve Stamps to participate, but we love to see them if you have them.

Have a great day!

Challenge: Simon Says





 
What's In It?
Stamps:   Holiday Treats (Verve Stamps)
Paper:  Tis the Season (Echo Park), Real Red, Going Grey, Kraft (Stampin' Up)
Ink:  Black
Accessories:  Stitched Rectangle Dies (Lil' Inker), Tag Die (PTI), Wood Reindeer (Michael's Dollar Bin), Crimper (Fiskars), Twine, Red Half Pearls, Glue Dots, Dimensionals

Mojo Monday #425

Today's Mojo Monday sketch was a delight and brought me one step closer to my required Christmas card count.

I took a piece from my hoarded Echo Park, Happy Holiday's paper as it is such a fun, non-traditional mix of colours for Christmas cards.  Paired it with some medium and small sized polka dotted papers, this glorious Every Heart Plain Jane, which showcases Julee's font art fabulously, and a shimmery, silver tree.  Added some silver cording and a few pink snowflakes with a touch of bling to finish things off.

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

Julee Tilman (Owner)

Marisa Ritzen (that's me)

Mary Fish

Sarah Biglow

Teresa Kline

Justin Krieger

Lori Tecler

Wanda Cullen

We have a cold but sunny weekend so the Christmas lights are now up and ready for action starting December 1st - yeah!  Made some butternut squash soup and did some baking for the kids lunches so I am set and ready for this week to begin. 

Enjoy the sketch and thanks for popping by today! 

Challenge: Simon Says





 
What's In It?
Stamps:   Every Heart Plain Jane (Verve Stamps)
Paper:  Happy Holidays (Echo Park), Tinsel Tree (Carta Bella), Stampin' Up DSP, Silver Shimmer Paper (Dollar Store)
Ink: Black
Accessories:  Stitched Rectangle Dies (Lil' Inker), Circle Nestabilities (Spellbinders), Silver Cording (Michael's), Snowflake Punch (Marvy), Bling, Glue Dot, Dimensionals

Viva La Verve November Week 2 Sketch Recap

This week's sketch is brought to us by Maureen and this sketch definitely has two of her favorite things on it:  a big circle you can use a doily for and a tag.

In a rush to get some Christmas cards done I created another one with this week's sketch.  Love the font on this Christmas Blessings Plain Jane.  Added a red doily (a la Moe) and underlay it with a white as it didn't really show up well against the kraft.  Back to my go to tree from the Winter Fun die set and some buttons and twine to finish things off.

You can check out my Viva La Verve recap and viewfinder post for some added inspiration or browse the gallery to get your mojo going.  Verve Stamps are not required, but we love to see them if you have them :)

Still recovering from a very busy weekend.  The son of some good friend of ours got married this past Friday and the wedding was put together in about two weeks!!  Yes, it can be done folks!  With an army of people contributing to the cause, we managed to help them pull it off :)   I made the table give aways as well as the guest registry and helped with set up and take down.  My daughter was asked to be the photographer (and I her trust assistant), her photography teacher was kind enough to lend her a high end flash for her camera as well as a diffuser, the rain held off, she got some great shots, and is giddy that she was able to do a wedding!  It was a lovely, albeit busy, day and everything fell into place.  Most importantly, the bride and groom were thrilled with the outcome and very grateful to everyone who helped pull it off.  Miracles still happen {grin}.

Thanks for popping in and have a fabulous day!




 

What's In It?
Stamps:   Christmas Blessings Plain Jane (Verve Stamps)
Paper:  Blizzard (Bazzil Basics), Real Red, Garden Green, Kraft (Stampin' Up)
Ink:  Black
Accessories:  Winter Fun Die Set (A Cut Above by Verve), Doily Die (Top Dog Dies), Circle Nestabilities (Spellbinders), Tag Die (PTI), Stitched Rectangle Die (Lil' Inker), Buttons, Twine, Glue Dots, Dimensionals 

Mojo Monday #424

Is it just me or are Monday's coming around faster and faster these days!  Thankfully, there is always a Mojo sketch to work with and that makes for a good day :)

Since I am quite behind on my Christmas cards, it is time to pick up the pace and create them like crazy, with this one being the first  of many.  The sentiment is from Weary World, and I used the tag stamp from Die Sidekicks for the outline and the matching Sweet Scalloped Tag die to cut the tag out.  Added a touch of interest with the Pennant Trim die and a just had to use a big old layererd snowflake.  Finished things off with a gold twine bow and some gold bells.  Note to self:  do not tie bells on a card when your cat is in the room....Paddington has some toys with bells on them and he was convinced I had a toy which meant I had to fend off a cat while trying to tie bells on my card.

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

Julee Tilman (Owner)

Marisa Ritzen (that's me)

Mary Fish

Sarah Biglow

Teresa Kline

Justin Krieger

Lori Tecler

Wanda Cullen

Enjoy the sketch and have a fabulous week! 



 
 

What's In It?
Stamps:   Weary World, Die Sidekicks (Verve Stamps)
Paper:  I Believe (My Mind's Eye) 
Ink:   Black, VersaMark
Accessories:  Pennant Trim, and Sweet Scalloped Tag Dies (A Cut Above by Verve), Snowflake Dies (PTI), Gold Embossing Powder, Gold Cording, Gold Bells, Button, Ribbon, Glue Dots, Dimensionals 

Curtain Call Inspiration Challenge - Foxy

Welcome to our second November inspiration challenge!  This time round our theme is Foxy.  Don't know about you, but I immediately thought of and started humming the "What Does The Fox Say?" song LOL!  Also flashing back to the Dancing With The Stars group dance which Derek Hough did to this song which was simply amazing!

The LEAD for this challenge will be invited to be a Guest Designer in an upcoming challenge.  Today our Guest Designers are Toni Maddox and  Kelly Schirmer - welcome ladies :)

I apologize for the dark photo, but with the crazy weekend I have had it was some late night creating and this was the best shot I could get at the time.  I will try to post an updated photo shortly.  Woes aside, I searched high and low through my papers, dies and stamps for a fox image and came up empty.  That lead to a very intentional and focused trip to my LSS, and thankfully they delivered by directing me to this adorable The Story of Fall paper by Echo Park.  Phew, crisis averted!  Added some fall leaves, just because I can {grin} and the die cut word.  Finished things off with a touch of twine.

  Foxy

Kelly Schirmer, Guest Designer
Toni Maddox, Gues Designer

Amy Kolling
 Amy Sheffer

Amy Tsuruta

Betty Wright

 Kim Singdahlsen

Laurie Willison

Leigh Penner

Lisa Henke
Lori Tecler

Marisa Ritzen

Maureen Plut

Melody Rupple

Monika Davis

Sheri Gilson

Stacey Schafer

Tracey McNeely

Have fun with the challenge and I look forward to seeing your creations in the Curtain Call gallery. 





 
What's In It?
Stamps:   Leaf Prints (PTI)
Paper:  The Story of Fall (Echo Park), Kraft, Early Espresso, Real Red (Stampin' Up)
Ink: Close to Cocoa (Stampin' Up) 
Accessories:  Leaf Print and Word Dies (PTI), Scalloped Border Punch (Stampin Up), Twine, Dimensionals

Verve November Inspirations Hop

It's time for the Verve Divas to bring you our monthly Diva Inspirations Challenge and Blog Hop! There are two ways to win Verve prizes: comment on the design team's blog hop posts (linked below) to see their take on the inspiration, then go get inky and link up your take on the challenge to be eligible in our prize drawings! You have until December 5 to link up, so feel free to play as often as you like.

Our November challenge is Rustic Winter

The days are turning cold and the splendor of fall is changing to the majestically rustic beauty of a winter woodland. This month we're challenging you to bring a little bit of that rustic winter to your creations. Follow the graphic or head off on your own trail, just show us your rustic winter creations!

Click here to link up your challenge entries

Challenge deadline: Thursday, December 5.
Prize: $30 gift voucher to the Verve online store!

If you have come here from Maureen's blog you are right on track. If you just happened upon the hop, you can check out the hop list below to get caught up.

As fate would have it, I had a piece of paper that matched the blue paneled wood in the background of the inspiration picture - score!  I paired it with some dark brown, tan and kraft neutrals (remember when that was a total faux pas to mix blue and brown - yes, I am dating myself!), my favorite Christmas tree die from the Winter Fun die set (they are a dark brown trees, honest!!, not black like they look in the photo), the reindeer from Unto Us and the sentiment from Pinecone Christmas.  A light sponging of edges and the banner to "rustic it up" a bit, and some pops of red via a red bell and sequins from the Holiday Sequin Mix as per the red berries in the pine boughs.  Was still missing something so I added some foliage under the bell and it was the perfect finishing touch.

Need a little inspiration? Check out the blogs linked below to see what the other Divas did with the challenge! It's sure to be a treat, and speaking of treats, we've got a prize for one lucky commenter along the hop! Check out the Verve Blog today for all the prize info and deadlines!

	1. Julee	6. Maureen
	2. Amy	7. Marisa
	3. Betty	8. Charmaine
	4. Sankari	9. Stacey
	5. Sarah

Time to head on over to Charmaine's blog to see what inspired her rustic winter creation.







What's In It?
Stamps:   Unto Us, Pinecone Christmas (Verve Stamps) 
Paper:  Dolled Up (My Mind's Eye), Sahara Sand, Kraft, Early Espresso (Stampin' Up),
Ink:   Chocolate Chip, Sahara Sand (Stampin' Up), Antique Linen Distress Ink (Tim Holtz)  
Accessories:  Winter Fun Die Set (A Cut Above by Verve), Holiday Sequin Mix (Verve Stamps), Leaf Punch (Martha Stewart), Twine, Bell, Glue Dots, Dimensionals