Great Joy ~ Raspberry Suite Colour Challenge

Wow! What a different and beautiful colour palette today from Dawn :) After the last challenge card that took me almost 2 hours to glue 3 pieces of paper down, this one went a little more smoothly. Thanks to everyone for their kind comments and Spotlight congrats on that card. Christmas popped into my head for this one. I have this beautiful dp from Michaels that I thought would be perfect. I also got my new Poinsetta Nestabilities a few weeks ago and haven't been able to use it yet. Instead of a crumpled flower, I made a crumpled poinsetta!! This may turn into one of my Christmas cards this year :) I love the non tradional colours. I stamped the 2 poinsettias with Fancy Flourishes and added half pearls for the centre. I took an extra photo to show off the dimension...it's really fun in person :) The button is one of my Grandpa's (real vintage!). I wonder if he can see me from Heaven using them ;) Have a wonderful day and if you can, join in Dawn's Colour Challenge. If not, just come and look at the eye candy on her blog :)

What's in it?
Stamps: PTI fancy flourishes; SU small script
Ink: Versamark, SU choc chip
Paper: SU kraft, choc chip; PTI pure poppy; My Mind's Eye dp
Accessories: MS edge punch; PTI grosgrain; pearls; nestabilities poinsettia; linen thread; Grandpa's button

Wishing You New Verve ~ Mercy's Tuesday Sketch

What could be better than someone wishing you new Verve stamps? I was so excited to break open 2 of my new sets, "Wishing You" and "Happiness Found." The Wishing You set is really cool because the "Wishing You" is separate and then there are all these other sentiments that you can choose from. So versatile. The little leaves are from Happiness Found. I don't make many long cards as I don't have the envelopes for them but thought I could make this into my mother-in-law's birthday card and then just tuck it in her present. She turns 84 tomorrow and I'm taking her out for lunch on Saturday to our local Tea House. The scones are to die for!! I dipped into my Autumn Vine dp again. I am really enjoying these papers. These two patterns are on the same paper. I love when companies make it easy to put dp together :) The lovely satin ribbon is from PTI and the button is once again from my Grandpa's button collection (real vintage!). I wish you all the happiest of days today :) And may you be blessed with new Verve stamps someday along your stamping journey :)

What's in it?

Stamps: Verve Wishing You, Happiness Found

Ink: SU choc chip, mustard, guava

Paper: SU really rust, choc chip, Autumn Vine dp; PTI white, summer sunrise

Accessories: stitching; button; linen thread; MS edge punch, pearls; SU ticket corner punch; PTI ribbon

A Happy Sympathy Card ~ Mojo 106

Guess what came in the mail today? Yippee!! My Verve stamps are happily sitting on my desk waiting for Mercy's sketch tomorrow (no pressure, Mercy!! LOL) You'd think I would have used them today, and I would have, but I had a sympathy card in mind. I also need some sympathy cards in my collection as I just sent my last one out last week. This was a great sketch to use up little scraps of paper that I couldn't throw out. The yellow dp from Walk in the Park has its days numbered now...I'm pretty sure I only have a small square left. I loved it. Today was lovely...we had an inservice at school that ended at 2:30 so I got to go to the gym early and then home by 4:30 to stamp!! It was the most pleasant Monday. Hope you had a good one too :) Mercy's sketch up next with new Verve, I promise!!

What's in it?

Stamps: Verve Forever in Our Hearts

Ink: SU choc chip

Paper: PTI cream, summer sunrise; SU kraft, baja blue, choc chip, so saffron, dp; DCWV dp

Accessories: SU curly punch, birds and blooms, large eyelet; cuttlebug ef, brad; pearls; PTI ribbon

You Made Me Smile ~ Sweet Sunday Sketch

Good evening! Well, I was a little late getting into the studio today. Let's just say I had a REALLY good time at the reunion last night :) There was so much laughing, smiling, hugging, and toasting :) I was amazed at how wonderful everyone looked...it was literally like time had stood still. I'm so glad I went and it was worth the late start this afternoon!! LOL {wink}. My card today is for Karen's Sweet Sunday Sketch. I must say she has the best sketches. The simple layouts are great and ideas just start popping into my head once I see them. I just received my SU order and wanted to ink up my new Autumn Splendor set. I also got a retired pack of Autumn Vine dp from the retired sale this month. I wanted it last year but passed on it. How lucky am I it came back and at a great price!! As I look at the card sitting by the computer, I realize that I didn't use any white or cream! It has a very Fall feel, I hope it's not too dark. The buttons are scarlet jewel from PTI. I love this sentiment stamp from Verve. As I used it tonight, I thought of all my blog buddies because you all "make me smile" with your gorgeous, inspiring cards and kind comments. Thanks so much!! Have a great start to your week :)

What's in it?

Stamps: Verve Thankful Blossoms; SU Autumn Splendor

Ink: SU mustard, rust, pumpkin, choc chip

Paper: SU choc chip, razzleberry, kraft, mustard, Autumn Vine dp

Accessories: nestabilities labels 2; PTI buttons; linen thread; grosgrain

Inspiration Right Under my Feet ~ Viva La Verve

Good morning! I have a full day of primping to get ready for my 25th High School Reunion :) A visit to the gym, a pedicure and a hair appointment are all lined up :) I wanted to make the last sketch for the Viva La Verve contest and get it all posted as I'll be out all day (and most of the night). The twist this week was to use specialty paper. I chose this bubblegum pink glitter paper. I was inspired by the shoes I wore to work yesterday. I love the colours in them and thought, hey, great colour combo! I tried making a plaid background, but it didn't quite work out...a little too busy. So I went to a white embossed background. And sadly again, my Verve stamps did not greet me when I got home :( I swear they stop at the border and Canada Post walks them slowly to my door. The States has fabulous shipping. Monday for sure!! (fingers, toes and eyes crossed!). Have a lovely day :)

What's in it?

Stamps: Verve Wishful Elegance

Paper: PTI white, hibiscus burst, raspberry fizz dp; SU basic grey; doodlebug designs glitter cardstock

Ink: SU basic grey

Accessories: circle nestabilities; cuttlebug ef; button; pink floss; PTI ribbon; silver pearls

Essentials of Happiness ~ Mercy's Tuesday sketch!

Happy Friday everyone!! I sit here Thursday night, preposting, a little sad that my Verve stamps were not waiting for me when I got home :( They will more than likely be here tomorrow, but once they were here in 4 days so I was hoping :) I made half of this card last night but left the main image panel for today, hoping I could use my new "Enjoy" set. I was tempted to pick up my button bouquet stamp, but decided to go through my SU sets and look for a rectangular image. I found my Sidekick Sayings hostess set and smiled. I love the sentiments in this set. I thought I needed a little reminder to be happy while waiting for my new stamps :) After I tied the ribbon and adhered the main panel, I wanted to add a little somethin', somethin'. Bling would've been too much, but the buttons were perfect (even if they weren't in a bouquet!!) LOL. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend...I'm going to my 25th High School Reunion on Saturday night!! It's going to be informal and only about 50 people will be there (I graduated with 500), but it will be fun nonetheless :) TGIF!!




What's in it?
Stamps: SU sidekick sayings
Ink: SU choc chip, old olive
Paper: PTI aquamist, avocado green, green tea leaves dp, vintage cream; SU choc chip, kraft
Accessories: cuttlebug ef, PTI buttons, satin ribbon, SU corner rounder

You're the Best ~ Mojo Monday 105

Good morning! I have mixed feelings about this card, but thought, hey, just post it!! It's not quite what was in my head but I worked with it. The sketch was so interesting with the circles that I had to try it. I envisioned an elegant card and was inspired by Chelsie's dress on Dancing with the Stars on Monday night. It was pink, black and silver and stunning. I also wanted to use a different shaped label die, but it didn't quite work out the way I wanted it to. The edges of it needed something and since I have sponging issues I thought "go with the bling." I think I like it...I'm not sure. Then the top of the card looked heavy so I had to add something to the bottom...more bling. So again, I'm not sure if I like it or not. LOVE the patterned paper and you won't see much more of it as I'm down to scraps. Anyways, I enjoyed the process and .....now after taking a half hour break to talk to my son on the phone...I look at the card and like it!! Have a great day...one more till Friday!! {smile!}

What's in it?

Stamps: Verve Kindred Spirits

Paper: SU blush blossom, black, kraft, vanilla, DCWV dp

Ink: SU black, regal rose

Accessories: silver pearls, nestabilities labels 3; satin ribbon; SU circle punches; cuttlebug ef; score pal; stitching

Enjoy the Journey ~ Second Embellish Card

When I was sketching out a card for this challenge, the sketch I used for one of the Verve challenges last week popped in my head. I hope it's okay to submit 2 cards for the challenge. I could not NOT submit this card, if you know what I mean. The colours are just perfect for the blossom. I picked this Verve sentiment in honour of Ashley and company's new magazine journey. I hope they like it :) Again, the extra requirement was to use polka dots. This time I stamped a smaller polka dot onto the blossoms with versamark and used some bitty dots dp from Papertrey Ink. Seriously, this paper is great!! It's the perfect background for so many cards. Very versatile and you get all their colours from last year in the pack. The leaves are hand cut and crimped. Have a wonderful day :)

What's in it?

Stamps: PTI polka dot basics; Verve bountiful backgrounds; SU french script

Ink: Versamark, SU choc chip, baroque burgundy

Paper: PTI vintage cream, summer sunrise, scarlett jewel, bitty dots dp; SU pumpkin pie

Accessories: nestabilities blossom dies; PTI button; twine; crimper

Happy Birthday ~ Embellish Magazine's 1st Colour Challenge

Good morning! Have you seen the newest blog in town? Embellish Magazine has a new blog with challenges and submission calls. The first online publication will be in December. I love the colours for their first colour challenge. The main panel is a little different from my original plan, but I like it better. I really wanted to use the bold colours in large amounts and not take the safe route with a vanilla card base...you'll see that card tomorrow :) The extra requirement was to use polka dots in the design. I stamped the big polka dots in Versamark...love them!! The panel looked very flat and plain so I knew I wanted to emboss it and almost went to my goto swiss dots folder, but then saw the script one and decided to go with that one. It was perfect, a nice contrast to the polka dots. I think the swiss dots would have added too many dots. Ah, and my lovely butterfly die...its days are numbered as the air begins to chill. See you tomorrow with my second card for this challenge.

What's in it?

Stamps: PTI polka dot basics, birthday basics

Ink: Versamark, SU Baroque Burgundy

Paper: SU pumpkin pie; PTI vintage cream, scarlett jewel, summer sunrise, bitty dots dp

Accessories: EK Success edge punch; PTI button; twine; satin ribbon; cuttlebug ef; SU butterflies die and corner rounder

Warmed by Friendship ~ Sweet Sunday Sketch #36

Good morning! Ah, the best thing about today is our staff meeting has been cancelled!! The second best thing is it's Dancing with the Stars and Big Bang Theory night!! Today's card is for Karen's Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge. After seeing the inspiration sketches, I thought, yeah, let's skip Fall and get into Winter...then Spring will be right around the corner!! I love this old SU set. I think the snowmen are just adorable...I love the snowball gift and the beaming smiles on each snowman. My stitching was really wild on this one so I'm calling it whimsical, like I meant it. The wavy lines aren't wild, just the part on the bottom left side where it looks like I almost flew off the end! Have a wonderful day!!



What's in it?
Stamps: SU It's Snow Time; Great Impressions snowflake background
Paper: SU kraft, white, navy, baja breeze, bayou bay
Ink: Versafine onyx, SU night of navy, Versamark, bordering blue,
Accessories: stitching, aquapen, SU felt furries, linen thread; Basicgrey button, square nestabilities

Dream Come True ~ Cinema Saturday Creative Challenge

Woot! Woot! It's Cinema Saturday's 50th celebration!! This week's movie is Pretty Woman. OMGosh! I've seen this soooo many times. I still have my VHS copy ;) It's so easy to be inspired by this movie (uh, let's all say Richard Gere and drool together!). I loved this movie because it's all about dreams coming true. At the time it came out, I was raising my son on my own and finishing my teaching degree and quietly wishing for "my dream come true" to walk through my door and sweep me off my feet. Fast forward 15 years later (I had to wait a looooonnnnngggggg time) and he finally walked through my Starbucks store and swept me off my feet :) {insert heart here}. The scene I loved the most was when Edward and Vivian are all dressed up in the elevator on their way to the opera. The song playing is Fallen and has the line "You're a dream coming true." (I was listening to it as I made this card!) Vivian says to Edward, "In case I forget to tell you later, I had a really good time tonight." I love this because I say the same thing to my husband before we go out. I even told him where I got the line from. I just know we're going to have a good time because we are together doing something special :) With that in mind, this may turn into his Valentine's card!!! Am I good or what? It's already made, even before Christmas and his birthday!! So I had to make it "masculine." This year after making several sample Valentine's cards for my son, he would say, "It's too girly." Well, Baby, it's hard to make a love card without something lacy, pink, or lovey, dovey. But I think he will approve of this one...it has red and black, buttons, twine, and a strong lattice! ARRRGHHH (my masculine sound effect). And what man doesn't want to be a dream come true? The requirement this week was to paper piece. Well, the hearts are cut from patterned paper, does that count? I'd say after all this card means to me...it does!! And I haven't forgotten, my friends, I've had a really good time with you today!! Thanks for reading and allowing me to share a sweet little story about my "dream come true."

What's in it?
Stamps: Verve Fairy Tales
Ink: SU black
Paper: SU ruby red, black, white, kraft; GCD studio patterned paper
Accessories: SU lattice die, embossing folder, linen thread; buttons; heart nestabilites

My Sweet Friend, Melisa

Good morning! Just a quick post to share a card my dear friend Melisa made for me this week:) Isn't it the most adorable card you've ever seen? Notice the stitching? She's the one who convinced me to get a sewing maching because I kept drooling over all the stitching on her cards :) But she's a REAL seamstress. She really knows how to sew too!! I've mentionned before that it's Melisa's fault that I found out about card blogs 2 years ago. I had no idea all of this was going on without me! LOL We've known each other for over 20 years and have come to find we share this passion/addiction for paper, ribbon and buttons :) She's my Papertrey Ink order buddy so we always get free shipping (although we often make the $55.00 on our own!) and she got me onto Verve stamps as well! She is so encouraging and so sweet and thoughtful...oh, and talented as you can see from her card :) She honours me with "Future Diva" wishes :) Thanks, Melisa! You're the best!!! I'm so glad we're friends and share this love together. Have a wonderful Sunday :) I'll try to prepost some cards as it's crazy good T.V. finally this week with Dancing With the Stars and Big Bang Theory starting tomorrow :)

So Glad We're Friends ~ Viva La Verve

Good evening all! The title of this post is exactly how I feel about each and every one of you {insert big smile here!}. I have been busy these past few days in the studio and am finally getting a card posted. I had a fun time at the Verve release last night and have 4 new sets and a plain jane coming my way in a few days! Today's card is for the Viva La Verve September Sketch #4. The clever twist this week is to make a black and white card. Sounds easy, no worrying about which colours to use. Well, I was wrong. I had to swap out a lot of black and white dp until I got the right one to go underneath the fleur de lis stamped panel. I was trying to get enough contrast with the different panels so each one would stand out. Not easy on a 2 coloured card. I really wanted to make the fleur de lis work on this one and am happy with the results. I stamped it with Versafine Onyx and I got great coverage. It's a great black pad if you're looking for one. I also wanted to use a slightly different shape for the sentiment so went to my Labels 2 nestabilities. A few pearls and a black ribbon and I was happy with the results. Hope you are having a wonderful evening in your part of the world :)

What's in it?

Stamps: verve kindred spirits, SU best yet

Paper: PTI white, black, bitty dots dp

Ink: Versafine onyx

Accessories: cuttlebug ef, labels 2 nestabilities, rectangle nestabilities, pearls, satin ribbon

Charmaine + Mercy + coffee = 1 Fun Card!

Well, all my Verve cards are done!! I printed out all the challenges and then spent the day time thinking about the layouts and colours. I wasn't too sure how I was going to work together all the vibrant colours of Charmaine's challenge, then found this dp in my stash :) It had all the challenge colours on it plus some glitter! I'm loving the SU razzleberry! It looks great with kraft and chocolate chip :) I pulled out my favourite Delightful and Delicious set from my Verve binder and crimped the kraft layer to resemble the heat sleeves on coffee cups :) I love the font on this sentiment...so fun! The sketch I'm using is from Mercy's Tuesday Challenge. I really needed to combine a few challenges this week if I was to stay sane :) It was perfect for the card I wanted to make. Happy Hump day and I hope to see/hear/read some of you at the Verve Release Party on Friday (6:00 PST)!!

What's in it?

Stamps: Verve Delightful and Delicious

Paper: We R Memories dp; SU kraft, razzleberry, durango, vanilla

Ink: SU choc chip

Accessories: crimper, circle nestabilites, gemstones, buttons, linen thread, ribbon

Verve Release Week Challenge and Cinema Saturday

Good evening! This card is doing double duty this week. It's my entry for Jackie's distressing challenge over on the Verve forum as well as my card for the Cinema Saturday Creative Challenge. Both my main panels have been distressed (I have a messy desk to prove it!). I also added some stitching and another sweet little cork birdie left over from the last Verve release :) The Cinema Saturday movie is The Two Towers (Lord of the Rings) movie. Can you believe I've only seen the first one when it first came out? My son has seen each one several times and even owns them. The theme of the movie is friendship and courage...so I dug out this sentiment. I love it. It is one that I used many years ago when I was going through a difficult time and wanted to thank my friends with thank-you cards for supporting me :) I was sad that I hadn't met someone to share my life with...then soon after I met my husband :) The challenge this week was to emboss...love it!! I've used 2 cuttlebug embossing folders. Ahhh, it's past my bedtime...good night all!!

What's in it?

Stamps: Dawn Houser

Paper: SU vanilla, kraft, choc chip, regal rose, blush blossom, DCWV dp

Ink: SU choc chip, regal rose

Accessories: cork, button, linen thread, SU birds and blooms dies, circle and scallop punches; nestabilities, stitching, grosgrain, cuttlebug EFs

Thank-you ~ Sweet Sunday Sketch #35

Good morning! This is a prescheduled post...I am at work ;) Why do weekends fly by so quickly? We had gorgeous weather and I did enjoy some of it when I wasn't stamping :) I was digging through some old patterned paper in my Christmas stash and found this gorgeous polka dot paper. It's almost a perfect match to Cool Carribean! I stocked up on it before it retired but have a little bit too much of it now. Yes, you can have too much of something. Especially when there is other paper out there that is very close to the colour. I wanted a casual, country feel to this card and thought the tree image was perfect. I stamped it while it was still in the circle die so I would have a bit of a border around the image. Yes, leaves are not blue, but I think it works here. I added some bling, just 'cause :) Happy Monday to everyone...have a great week :)

What's in it?

Stamps: SU season of friendship, enjoy every moment

Paper: PTI vanilla; SU kraft, cool carribean, teal, choc chip; Memory Box dp

Ink: SU choc chip, carribean, sahara sand, soft sky

Accessories: gemstones, satin ribbon, large brad, circle nestabilities

Pulling a Julia Child and some FABULOUS news!!

Good evening!! I finally got to play along with Mercy's challenge this week:) I was looking through the SU mini catalogue yesterday and noticed some terrific colour combinations. When I saw teal, rust, and chocoloate together I knew I wanted to use them on my next card. So this card is inspired by the colours from the Autumn Meadows designer paper pack (no, I don't get a discount for the ad! LOL). I also wanted to use my new Verve stamp that was a free gift with my last order. Seriously, Julee at Verve is the sweetest and most generous person. I can't count the number of stamp sets she has donated to charity, contests and challenges. But I digress, again. I also wanted to emboss my favourite fleur de lis image again. The rust panel is dry embossed and I added stitching to both it and the fleur de lis panel. This is where Julia Child comes in. In the movie, Julie and Julia, Julia says, "Never apologize if something doesn't turn out in the kitchen." I think the same goes for the studio. My stitching was quite off "somewhere" on this card, but I cleverly covered it up and am making no apologies!! HA! I also discovered that melon berry/groovy guava is a close shade to real rust :)

Okay...next item...exciting news!! I just received 2 emails from CARDS magazine. They want to publish 2 of my cards in February!!! It's my first time and it's so thrilling. I sent in 5 and knew that there will be lots of rejection...but it happened :) Thanks to everyone, especially Maile and Winter, for your encouragement and lovely comments that helped me take the publishing plunge :) So now I'm off to clean the studio. It was very clean and neat and then after this last card, poof, it's covered in scraps and embossing powder (actually it's a month long build up of scraps and powder). Have a great Sunday :)

What's in it?

Stamps: Verve plain jane, kindred spirits, SU by definition (flowers)

Paper: SU kraft, teal, rust, choc chip, white; PTI aqua

Ink: versamark; SU teal, close to cocoa

Accessories: gemstones, SU birds and blooms die, cuttlebug ef, EK success edge punch, white embossing powder, stitching, linen thread, PTI button and ribbon