Curtain Call Inspiration Challenge - Orchard

Welcome back to the Curtain Call Inspiration Challenge!  This week, the Crew is back back with our August challenge entitled Orchard.  The LEAD for this challenge will be invited to be a guest designer in a future challenge.

This picture made me think of enjoying a nice, firm, crunchy, juicy apple.  Love when the new crop comes out as mushy apples are a huge pet peeve of mine!  I pulled my colours from the picture and used some wood grain paper to bring in the trees.  Verve's Teacher's Count was my set of choice since it has these adorable apples, matching Apples die set and this wonderful sentiment.  Best part is you don't have to be a teacher to live out this great motto!

Orchard Designers

Amy Kolling
Amy Sheffer
Amy Tsuruta
Betty Wright
Kim Singdahlsen
Laurie Willison
Lisa Henke
Marisa Ritzen
Maureen Plut
Melody Rupple
Monika Davis
Sheri Gilson
Stacey Schafer
Tenia Nelson
Tracey McNeely

Have a fabulous day and I look forward to seeing your creations. 

Challenges: Simon Says

 




What's In It?
Stamps:   Teachers Count (Verve Stamps)
Paper: Hello Baby (Simple Stories),  Kraft, Always Artichoke (Stampin' Up)

Ink:   Black, real red, Garden Green (Stampin' Up)
Accessories:  Apples die set (A Cut Above by Verve), Stitched Rectangle Die (Lil' Inkers), Button Twine, Glue Dot, Dimensionals

Viva La Verve July Week 4 Sketch Recap

It's time for this week's Viva La Verve recap of Maureen's sketch.

I found this MME Alphabet Soup paper and built the card from there.  Used the Tagged Rectangle die for my sentiment panel using Lean On Me and paired it with this cute flower from Making A Statement using the matching Loopy Blooms.  I crimped the red panel for some dimension - though it is hard to see in the photo, and added a few pops of black and a scalloped edge to balance things off.

Want to know whose cards I spotlighted this week, then head on over to the Viva La Verve blog to find out as well as to getting a ton of inspiration from the gallery.

Thanks for popping in today!



What's In It?
Stamps:   Making A Statement, Lean On Me (Verve Stamps)
Paper:   Alphabet Soup (My Mind's Eye) So Saffron, Mint Medley, Only Orange, Real Red, Kraft, Black, Tan (Stampin' Up)
Ink:  Black, So Saffron, VersaMark (Stampin' Up)     
Accessories:  Loopy Blooms, Tagged Rectangle (A Cut Above by Verve), Stitched Rectangle Die (Lil' Inkers), Doily Die (Top Dog Dies), Butterfly Punch (Martha Stewart), Scalloped Border Punch (Statmpin' Up), Crimper (Fiskars), 5/8" Yellow Satin Ribbon, Twine, Buttons, Black and White Half Pearls, Glue Dots, Dimensionals

Mojo Monday #408

Yeah for Tall and Skinny sketch week over on the Mojo Monday blog.  I just love making this size card as elements on your card can "hang" over the edges and still fit in an A2 sized envelope :)

I needed a thank you card for one of the teachers who was on my daughter's trip to Europe as she was her absentee mom, especially when she was sick while on the trip.  I had an extra "U" from the I Heart You die set cut out and on my desk so it was the springboard for the card.  I added another favorite but not used recently Jotted Heart for my focal cluster and added a flower and a few buttons for some extra colour.

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

My daughter is now home from her two week trip to Europe and we are all very glad to have her back safe and sound.  Nothing makes this mama's heart happier than having her whole family all under one roof again.  Been great fun going through all her pictures and hearing about all her adventures.  After she modelled the stunning dress she bought in Paris for her grad dress,  I told hubby to start digging the moat and loading the shotgun! 

Best part is being able to hug her again, and I must say I am sleeping much more soundly too as she had some rough bits along the way which meant early morning and late night phone calls to Europe and a few restless nights for me!  Once the dust settles, I am sure she will be very glad she went, despite the trials along the way. 


Thanks for popping in and have a fabulous day!

What's In It?
Stamps:  Love Notes (Verve Stamps), Thank You (Rubber Soul)
Paper:  Indigo Bleu (Pink Paislee), So Saffron, Going Grey, Not Quite Navy, Kraft (Stampin' Up)
Ink:  Black, So Saffron
Accessories:  Jotted Heart and I Heart You Die Set (A Cut Above by Verve), Scalloped Border Punch (Stampin' Up), Rolled Rose Die (My Favorite Things), Leaf Punch (Martha Stewart), Crimper (Fiskars), Seam Binding (Verve Stamps), White Half Pearls, Buttons, Twine, Glue Dots, Dimensionals

Mojo Monday #407

Today is the third Mojo sketch of the month and for today's card I pulled out a sheet of Hello Spring paper by Echo Park.  Just love this paper with its combination of green, yellow, pink and purple.

Combined it with a the butterfly and sentiment from Sparkly Dreams and the matching Butterfly Dreams die. A few leaf springs added a bit to the butterfly and as did a few sequins to the sentiment panel.  Also used a white gel pen to add a touch of white to the butterfly for a little something.

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

It has been quite the week here....got a call from my daughter from London last Sunday sobbing so hard she couldn't speak.  Turns out she had the flu, felt horrible and wanted to come home.  It was day one of her two week trip to Europe with a group from her school - not a nice way to start a trip!  They ended up taking her to a walk in clinic to get her checked out, doc gave her some meds and sent her on her way.  She missed the first day of tours etc. as she was too sick to do anything, she struggled through day two, and thankfully, by day three was beginning to feel better and started eating again.  Lots of phone calls, tears and "you can do this, just work through it one day at a time" from us.  Did quite the number on my mommy heart to say the least!   

She is back in full health now and enjoying her trip - other that having very sore feet from all the walking and being a bit home sick.  Thank goodness for Facebook and cheap calling rates to Europe!  Miss her dearly, can't wait to see all her photos (she has taken 520 so far and still has four days to go LOL) and hear about all her adventures and hug her to bits when she gets home!     

What's In It?
Stamps:  Sparkly Dreams (Verve Stamps), French Script (Stampin' Up Retired)
Paper:  Hello Spring (Echo Park), So Saffron, Almost Amethyst, Going Grey, Certainly Celery, Pretty in Pink (Stampin' Up)
Ink:  Black, VersaMark
Accessories:  Butterfly Dreams Die Set (A Cut Above by Verve), Lacy Circle and Circle Nestabilities, Black Half Pearls, Sequins, Glue Dots, Dimensionals 

Mojo Monday #406

It's Mojo Monday time today, and when I saw this long rectangle on Julee's sketch, I immediately knew I wanted to use the Beautiful Plain Jane.

Love this sentiment, as it is a great reminder to stop striving to do or be "x, y or z" before you are happy with yourself.  One needs to stop and look at what you have done and who you are today and celebrate you!  Not that striving to improve oneself is a bad thing, because it isn't!  We should always strive to improve in some way and grow as a person,  however, when society's definition of beautiful becomes all consuming and we forget who we are in order to strive for what society says we "should be", it leaves a big empty hole in our lives as we inevitably never match up to society's ever changing definition of what beautiful is.  As I tell my  high school daughter, "Be who you are with a vengeance, because you are the best at being you :)"

Okay, off my soap box and on to the card LOL!  Used some Sweetest Thing papers by MME, my beloved "U" die from the  I Heart U die set with an added arrow die as my platform for the "are" in the sentiment, and a scatter of butterflies to tie into my little speech above {grin}.

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 are finally enjoying cooler tetemperatures here on the West Coast, but still no rain.  We are now on level two water restrictions and hoping we get some rain soon (never though I would be saying that living on the West Coast LOL)!

Also said goodbye to my daughter this weekend as she flew to London with a group from her school.  They get to spend 9 days in London and 3 days in Paris.  I will miss her like crazy, and think I cried more than she did when saying goodbye at the airport, but know she will have a great time and I can't wait to hear all about her adventures and see all her pictures!

What's In It?
Stamps:  Beautiful Plain Jane (Verve Stamps)
Paper:  Sweetest Thing (My Mind's Eye), DSP, Rose Romance, Pretty in Pink, Cool Caribbean (Stampin' Up)
Ink:  Black
Accessories:  I Heart You Die Set and Arrow Die (A Cut Above by Verve), Lace Border and Butterfly Punches (Martha Stewart), Crimper (Fiskars), Black Half Pearls, Dimensionals

Viva La Verve July Week 2 Sketch

Today I am excited to be bringing you Viva La Verve Week 2 sketch for July!  Yes, this sketch inept crafter is dipping her toe in the water LOL.

I dug though my papers and found this fun piece by Cosmo Cricket called Fairy Rings.  Loved the colour combination and fresh, fun feel it gives.  Paired it with a lilac doily, Verve's new Flourish Tag die set, a sentiment from Floral Notes, and wonderful blue bells from Framed Florals and their matching Bluebell die.  As hard as I try, I can't seem to not use a butterfly on my cards...my apologies!  Will keep trying!

For more inspiration from the Divas, head on over to the Viva La Verve blog to see what samples they have come up with and then come play along as I would love to see how you use my sketch :)

What's In It?
Stamps:  Floral Notes, Framed Florals (Verve Stamps)   
Paper:   Fairy Rings (Cosmo Cricket), Lovely Lilac, Pretty in Pink, Kraft (Stampin' Up)
Ink:  Black, Brocade Blue (Stampin' Up) 

Accessories:  Flourish Tag Set and Bluebell Die (A Cut Above by Verve), Doily Die (Top Dog Dies), Stitched Rectangles (Lil Inkers), Butterfly Punch (Martha Stewart), Twinkling H2Os, 5/8" Lilac Satin Ribbon, Twine, Black Half Pearls, Dimensionals

July Verve Diva 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 the rest of the month to link up, so feel free to play as often as you like.

Our July challenge is Sensational Stripes

Stripes go with everything! Make them nautical, or pair with florals for a graphic look. Use stripes however you're inspired! Use the inspiration graphic or head off in your own direction, just show us your stripes!

Click here to link up your challenge entries
Challenge deadline: Saturday, July 31.
Prize: $30 gift voucher to the Verve online store!

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

I just love the soft greys and blue in this photo so I found some matching papers.  I crimped the light grey layer for added "stripes" and then layered away.  The flower is one of my favorite Verve flowers from Dream Big flower and I die cut some Sprightly Sprigs for foliage.  The sentiment is from one of my favorite sentiment sets Lean on Me.

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	7. Sarah
	2. Amy	8. Susan
	3. Betty	9. Maureen
	4. Jen	10. Marisa
	5. Karen	11. Stacey
	6. Sankari	12. Laurie

Time to head on over to Maureen's blog to see her wonderful take on the inspiration photo!  And if you want to do a little Verve shopping, there is a Red, White and Blue sale going on right now :)

What's In It?
Stamps:  Dream Big, Lean On Me (Verve Stamps), Woodgrain Mats (PTI)
Paper:  Going Grey, Cool Caribbean, DSP (Stampin' Up) 

Ink:  Black, Creamy Caramel (Stampin' Up), Mermaid (Lawn Fawn)
Accessories:  Scalloped Flower and Sprightly Sprigs Die Sets (ACut Above by Verve), Mat Stack Die (PTI), Doily Die (Top Dog Dies, Stitched Rectangle Dies (Lil' Inkers), Crimper (Fiskars), Button, Twine, Glue Dot, Dimensionals  

Viva La Verve July 2015 Week 1 Sketch Recap

We are into a new month of Viva La Verve sketches and today I am posting my take on Julee's sketch.

Multiple panels can cause me grief at times, so a great way to get around them is to use a paper pad as the papers are already matchy, matchy {grin}.  In this case, my favorite (hoarded), In Bloom MME paper pad came to the rescue.  The sketch was a great way to use up some scraps and I just love this Hello Friend Plain Jane.

The focal panel was a bit stark, so I added a few leaves from Bloom and Grow to soften it as well as a tiny butterfly for some dimension.

Want to know whose cards I spotlighted this week, then head on over to the Viva La Verve blog to find out as well as to getting a ton of inspiration from the gallery.

Thanks for popping in today!



What's In It?
Stamps:   Hello Friend Plain Jane, Bloom and Grow (Verve Stamps)
Paper:   In Bloom (My Mind's Eye) So Saffron, Real Red (Stampin' Up)
Ink:  Black, Mellow Moss (Stampin' Up)     
Accessories:  Lacy Circle and Circle Nestabilities (Spellbinders), Lace Border and Butterfly Punches (Martha Stewart), Black Half Pearls, Dimensionals

Mojo Monday #405

It's the first Monday of the month and that means it is Mojo Monday contest week!  Submit your card using this week's sketch and the more people who enter the greater your chances of winning some Verve.

In a continued attempt to work my way through my existing (sometimes hoarded) paper supply before buying more, I pulled out some old MME Lime Twist papers.   Added a notebook page for my sentiment panel with the Smile Plain Jane and had to use this fabulous butterfly from Happy Place.  

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

Our unusually hot weather continues to allow us to sympathize with how meat must feel on a BBQ!  Not fun.  Needless to say, it has been a joy to go to work because of the AC and I was teasing my boss that our family may have a sleep over at the clinic this weekend.

Thankfully we were able to keep cool one day last week by spending it at the Cultus Lake Water Slides with our kids and some of their friends.  Five teenagers and two adults made for a very fun day.  We stayed for six and a half hours, and since it wasn't overly busy got a lot of rides in.  Grinning from ear to ear again this year as this mama once again holds the title of last person standing at the end of the day {grin}.   Added bonus:  climbing up 70 - 140 steps per ride gave us all a great workout :) 

What's In It?
Stamps:  Happy Place, Smile Plain Jane (Verve Stamps)   
Paper:   Lime Twist (My Mind's Eye), Pretty in Pink, Certainly Celery (Stampin' Up)
Ink:  Black

Accessories:  Happy Doodles Die Set (A Cut Above by Verve), Scalloped Circle and Circle Nestabilities (Spellbinders), Notebook Die (MFT), Crimper (Fiskars), Twinkling H2Os, Twine, Button, Glue Dots, Dimensionals

Curtain Call Inspiration Challenge - Celebrate

source: refinery29.com

To celebrate the Curtain Call's third anniversary, the Celebrate challenge will run the entire month of July!  The LEAD of this challenge will be invited as a Guest Designer in a future challenge!

Today's theme is "celebrate" and it is a perfect theme as today hubby and I celebrate 19 years of marriage!  We got married on Canada Day and I tease him by telling him it was so he would never forget our anniversary wink, wink {grin}.

Used this week's Paper Players sketch by my cyber friend Nance, and tried to keep things on the masculine side for hubby.  The word "blessed" is die cut from brushed gold card stock and thought the photo doesn't show it too well, the circle is stitched for a bit of interest.  Used this fabulous Cat's Pajamas heart die and added a few gold loops as per the sketch.  Hope he likes it!

For added inspiration, make sure you visit each of the designers' blogs noted below.

Celebrate Designers

Tammy Hershberger, Guest Designer
Amy Kolling
Amy Sheffer
Amy Tsuruta
Betty Wright
Kim Singdahlsen
Laurie Willison
Lisa Henke
Marisa Ritzen
Maureen Plut
Melody Rupple
Monika Davis
Sheri Gilson
Stacey Schafer
Tenia Nelson
Tracey McNeely

We are off to enjoy some family time together and then heading to a big BBQ with some friends tonite.  A wonderful way to celebrate our anniversary and Canada Day.

Remember, you have all month to play along with our Celebrate Challenge, and I look forward to seeing your creations.  

What's In It?
Paper:   Real Red, Black, Pretty in Pink (Stampin' Up), Brushed Gold

Accessories:  Stitched Circles (Lil' Inkers), Blessed Die (PTI), Heart Die (The Cat's Pajamas), Gold Twine, Black Half Pearls, Dimensionals