Be Strong and Take Heart

Good evening!  It was a bright, sunny albeit COLD today today…the perfect kind to be by a warm window in a cozy studio :)  Once dinner went into the slow cooker, I dove into some card making, making good use of the fabulous daylight.  Today’s card is for Stacey’s Curtain Call Colour Challenge.  I needed some more sympathy cards and love using Verve’s Scripture Plain Janes for the them.  This is my newest one :)  Eek!! It’s almost February…this month sure felt long, didn’t it?  Hope your weekend went well.  I was drooling at all the CHA posts over on the Moxie Fab blog…so fun!  One day I’ll get there…it’s on my bucket list :)  Hugs and sweet dreams…

 

what’s in it?

stamps: verve plain jane Psalm 31:24

ink: su chocolate chip

paper: pti white, lavender moon, bitty dot dp, su really rust, espresso

accessories: circle and lacey circle nestabilities, gemstones, seam binding ribbon, thread, pti button

Ticket to Love Forever

 

Good morning dear friends…here is my late Saturday morning post :)  It snowed last night and I’m comfy cozy in my jammies with a coffee, creating the LAST challenge in the Moxie Fab challenges.  It’s for the Monochromatics Color Challenge for Color Inspiration for Card Makers Week in the Moxie Fab World.  And this last one WAS a challenge.  Yes, I’m a “pink” girl, but to juggle only 3 pinks on one card and keep it from looking like I spilled Pepto Bismol in the studio is a challenge.  I’ve been thinking about this card all week and finally sat down to start it last night.  In the morning, with better light, I changed the paper to this PTI pastel paper and added the Tickets to Love :)  I found with a monochromatic cards, it’s best to KISS!!  KWIM?  lol  I was so happy to be able to use this Just the Ticket set again.  It was so fun to mix the little stamps to make tickets :)  I was going to staple the ticket strip down, but forgot!!  I think it looks fine without it…maybe next time.   Yay!!! I’m so happy with how it turned out :)  Now I can go do my Saturday workout in peace!! lol  Have a wonderful day!!

 

what’s in it?

stamps: pti just the ticket

ink: su rose romance, pti raspberry fizz, versafine onyx

paper: pti cream, hibiscus burst, sweet blush, pretty pastels dp

accessories: pti ticket die, heart button (Michaels), bakers twine, gemstones

Love Will Keep Us Together

Yay!!! TGIF everyone!!  Or maybe just if you are a working Monday to Friday gal like myself :)  In the summer, when I’m off, I actually like the week better than the weekend…weird, eh?  First up, thanks so much to EVERYONE for such lovely comments about my debut Diva Dare post yesterday.  You are too sweet :)  Next up is the first February Viva La Verve challenge!!  Yes, we have 4 more days of January, but hey, let’s start the month of Love early!!  I warned Amber it was going to be a girly girly card and here it is! LOL  To pick a stamp for my card, I looked at my new Love Notes set and picked one that hadn’t seen ink yet…trust me, this was difficult as most of them have seen ink and more than once! LOL  I am so in love with Echo Park’s Be Mine collection right now.  This card uses a lot of the pinks so maybe I need to get a little edgier next week with the neutral blacks and greys of this paper!  How do you like that blinged out ribbon?!  LOL  After tying this bow, there was/is glitter all over the studio!!  I also tried another chipboard frame using my labels 16 and square nestabilities dies.  It took 3 passes through the Cuttlebug again like this card, but cut cleanly with a little help from my exacto knife :)  For all the deets on this fun Viva La Verve challenge, head over to the Verve Forum on Splitcoast.  Submit cards for all the month’s challenges and you could win the whole next Verve Stamps release….suh-weet!!  Hope your weekend is starting off right!!  We are skating again this afternoon so it should be a quick, fun day :)  oh, and remember there’s one more day to get your Diva Dare challenge done AND make comments on the other Diva’s posts to win more Verve!  Fun, fun!! 

what’s in it?

stamps: verve love notes

ink: versafine onyx

paper: pti kraft, lavender, raspberry fizz, echo park be mine dp

accessories: circle, square, and labels 16 nestabilities, chipboard coaster, su scallop punch, stitching, blinged out glitter ribbon (Michaels), pti buttons, thread, gemstones

You Go Girl! My January Diva Dare

ETA: the deets about the flowers are at the end of this post :)  Thanks for the overwhelming interest!!

Good morning!!  Today’s post is a special one as it’s my debut on the Diva side of the fabulous new Diva Dare Challenge.  I’m wrapping things up over on the Verve Blog today.  Being the youngest in a family of 6, I’m used to being last…last to grow up, last to graduate, WAY last to get married (lol!).  My ideas for this one kept changing over the week…UNTIL I noticed one of my 7 year old female students wear the sweetest little zippered flower party shoes to school.  I just had to take a picture of them and she kept asking “Why do you need a picture of my shoes?”  Aren’t they fun?

I then thought of my sweet little niece, Ava, who is around the same age.  She is the last girl grandchild in our family so her (and her twin brother!) are the “babies,” no matter what age they are! LOL  So with “zippers,” my sweet and patient-with-the-boys-in-our-class girl students and my sweet “baby girl” niece in mind, I created this card.  I used a stamp from Text Objects to make a black border, then stamped “Baby Girl” from To the Moon in different colours to match the zipper.  I love this “You Go Girl” sentiment from the same To the Moon set.  With zipper flowers on my brain, I wanted to make (YES “make with my own hands with the help of an Etsy tutorial!” lol ) a fun zipper flower hair band to wrap up as a little gift.  I have only one son so I’m always fascinated by how my girl students and niece are wearing their hair on any given day.

Of course, the hair band needs to be wrapped in some fun packaging with a fabulous matching tag…

Oh, I just love using this Sweet Treat stamp with the Sweet Scallop die :)  Here’s a closeup…

I know some of you have already entered this fun, fun contest…but if you haven’t, you have until Midnight (MST) Saturday to do so and win some Verve Goodies…see all the deets on the Verve Blog.  Do you DARE?  lol….just had to add that :)  Have a great Thursday :)  Come back tomorrow for my Viva La Verve card…warning..it’s pretty girly girly!! LOL  Hugs!!

what’s in them?

 

{You Go Girl}

stamps: verve text objects, to the moon

ink: versafine onyx, pti raspberry fizz, su taken with teal, kiwi kiss

paper: pti white

accessories: pti felt, stitching, gemstones, su ribbon, pti button, zipper, bakers twine

 

{Just for You tag}

stamps: verve sweet treats

ink: pti raspberry fizz, versafine onyx

paper: pti raspberry fizz, cream, black, red, basicgrey sugar rush dp

accessories: verve sweet scallop die, pti tag die, circle punch, pti button, ek success border punch, bakers twine, MS felt heart, gemstones, stitching

zipper flower on card tutorial HERE
zipper daisy tutorial bought HERE on Etsy

Love is the Flower

Good morning!! Well the week is half over and I love the way it is flying by so that the weekend arrives soon :)  Today’s card features 3 different Verve stamp sets and one of the newest dies.  The colours come from Stacey’s Curtain Call Colour Challenge this week.  At first I didn’t think all those lovely reds and pinks would be a problem, but there are 4 of them to juggle and make look like they belong together.  When in doubt, use the colours in your embellishments!! LOL  I hope you’ll come back tomorrow for my debut Diva Dare challenge :)  I’m wrapping things up over on the Verve Blog bright and early :)  Be sure to check out Amber’s post today and have a wonderful Wednesday :)

what’s in it?

stamps: verve love notes, great friend, love’s flower

ink: versamark, versafine onyx, baroque burgundy

paper: pti lavender moon, cream, scarlet jewel, making memories dp

accessories: verve jotted heart die, fiskars border punch, corner chomper, cuttlebug ef, su tag and slot punches, su and pti ribbon, gemstones, buttons, bakers twine

Papertrey Ink January Blog Hop

Good morning friends and Papertrey Ink fans :)  It’s the 25th so it must be the Papertrey Ink Blog Hop!!  Today’s post is all about Stamping News Years Resolutions….resolutions to use those yet to be inked stamps or dust off an old set to use again.   I was sooooo excited about this as I have a growing pile of new stamp sets just begging to be used…first up is the wonderful Love Lives Here set with dies.  Oh, I love Melissa Phillips and just HAD to have this set :)  How adorable are those little cut out hearts on this house and all the dies in this set?  I loaded on all the sweet little bits in an homage to Melissa :)  Next up is Dawn McVey’s Love Birds set.  I HAD to have this set and dies as well!! LOL
Feeling a bit nervous about how to use this set for the first time, I went through Dawn’s release week posts and found THIS CARD to help inspire my own (scroll down to the 4th card).  I loved stamping the cage onto some fine linen…I think it really stands out :)  Last up is a card inspired by the latest WaCCCky (Wild Card Colour Challenge).   It uses the Mat Stack 2 Collection and Mega Mixed Messages.  Now, I use this last set a lot, but have never inked the Feel Better stamp…so here it is…

 
Okay, that’s all from me…this was so fun and I wonder how high everyone else’s stack of uninked stamps is!!  Thanks for visiting and see you on the Hop!!

what’s in them?

 

{My Home}

stamps: pti love lives here

ink: versafine onyx, pti hibiscus burst, aquamist, tea dye duo

paper: pti cream, fine linen, basicgrey and memory box dps

accessories: pti love lives here dies, ek success border punch, su tag corner punch, stitching, seam binding ribbon, thread, prima flowers, crystal brad, glitter star, pti buttons, Grandpa’s button, gemstones

 

{Love Birds}

stamps: pti love birds

ink: versafine onyx, pti raspberry fizz, su river rock

paper: pti white, fine linen, distressed dots & raspberry fizz dps

accessories: pti border die, love birds dies, mat stack die, su slot punch, pti ribbon, gemstones, stitching, corner chomper

 

{Feel Better}

stamps: mat stack 2 collection, mega mixed messages

ink: versafine onyx, su perfect plum

paper: pti cream, lavender moon, scarlet jewel, plum pudding, distressed dots dp

accessories: mat stack 2 die, circle punches, pti buttons, seam binding ribbon, dritz pins, thread, stitching

Grey {Gray} is the New Black

Good evening friends!!  I’m a little late posting today as I’ve been a busy little stamper this afternoon and didn’t want to waste a moment of daylight so I left the photos, editing and blogging until after sundown.  My mojo works best in natural light :)  Tonight’s fun card is inspired by the Grey {Gray} is the New Black Challenge in the Moxie Fab World, my fabulous Verve Stamps and my new delicious Echo Park Be Mine paper.  The Moxie Fab blog is a great place to keep up with all the latest trends.  This one has been on for a while and I only noticed it because I’ve been entering their other colour challenges this month.  I’ve always wondered about “grey” and “gray.”  I use both!!  In teaching, I use the “ay” ending because it goes perfectly with the “ay” word family.  Although, I just looked it up and found out that the “grey” is the UK/Canadian spelling and “gray” is the American spelling (AND you can remember this by “E” in England, “A” in America).  As a teacher, I find this extremely interesting!! LOL  I have always loved grey as a neutral and always thought it got a bad reputation being associated with dullness and death.  So, I’ve embraced the grey in my ribbon, heart, sentiment panel, fun dots, French script AND the light grey pattern tissue flower!!  Well, that’s it for me…I’m off to finish the lamb stew that’s been happily cooking on the stove :)  Have a fabulous evening!!

what’s in it?

stamps: verve love notes

ink: versafine onyx, pti raspberry fizz

paper: pti white, lavender moon, su going grey, basic grey, echo park be mine dp

accessories: verve jotted heart die, pti blossom die, ms border punch, stitching, pti buttons and twine, gemstones, grey pattern tissue paper, sheer ribbon, corner chomper

Join Your Hearts

Good afternoon dear friends :)  It is a BEAUTIFUL sunny day here, the best type of day for me to stamp.  The sun totally energizes me and gets my mojo flowing :)  I am making my way through the Moxie Fab colour challenges and today’s card is inspired by the Neutrals Color Challenge for Color Inspiration for Card Makers Week in the Moxie Fab World.  My sister has asked for a couple of wedding cards so this will be one of them :)  I’m using a couple of new goodies from the candy fabric store last week.  See that bold stitching?  That is my new top stitch thread in kraft!!  How yummy is that?  You can actually see my stitching now!!  Many people thought I was just paper piercing! LOL  No, it was all stitching!!  Now that I’ve used it, I want to go and get some more…most of the store is 50% off right now during their moving sale.  The tissue flower is made from sewing pattern tissue paper. I lucked out last summer when I bought a piece of pottery at an art store.  The sales clerk started packing it with pattern paper…I freaked out and told her about my card making and tissue flowers (via Melissa Phillips’ blog).  She thought that was cool and put extra paper in my bag!! LOL  PLUS some grey pattern tissue as well.  Hmmm…forgot about the grey…that’s giving me an idea!! LOL  I love the way the flower shows some of the French wording on the pattern :)  I’m also using some new crochet trim from the same fabric store.  I just love how it all came together :)  What are you enjoying today?  Thanks so much for visiting…smiles to you all!

what’s in it?

stamps: waltzing mouse labels 14; fiskars just married quotes

ink: su soft sky, pti tea dye duo; versafine onyx

paper: pti cream, su sage, basicgrey dp; K & company amy butler dp

accessories: pattern tissue paper; pti blossom dies, spellbinders labels 14 dies, gemstones, stitching, grandpa’s button, su linen thread, crochet trim

My Heart Belongs to You

Yay!!! It’s Friday again!!  That means the lovely weekend is starting AND there’s a new Viva La Verve Sketch Challenge!  It’s Week 4 which means after you complete all 4 sketches you need to enter the Sketch Champions Thread for a chance to win the whole next stamp release!! Take it from a past winner…it is a FUN prize!!  Well, my new release stamps are officially BROWN!! LOL  You know, when your clear stamps have been loved so much they have a brownish tinge to them…hehe.  It just means they are well inked and stamps (and I) love that!!  Diva Sankari is our sketch hostess this week and she took it a little easier on us with no tilted panels :)  I knew I wanted to have some fun with layers, though.  The square frame was made from a chipboard coaster and my scalloped square and classic square nestabilities.  I had to run them through the Cuttlebug 3 times, but they did cut through to make this fun frame.  Then I inked the edges up a bit with some tea dye ink.  Here’s a closer look…

I then added some text paper underneath the frame and then a couple of Verve dies to complete the sentiment panel. I’ve used a sentiment from Love Notes as well as one of the jotted line stamps to fill up the oval.  The vintage oval  die  has been stamped with a matching image from Swirling Hearts.  So whatcha doin’ this weekend?  Any inky time in the plans?  Join us for the Viva La Verve challenges…the chit chat on the forum thread is always fun and then browse the VLV January Gallery for loads of inspiration :)  And if that’s not enough, check out Day 6 of the Diva Dare Baby Love challenge over on the Verve Blog…okay, let’s get this Friday started!!! Yahoooooo!!!

what’s in it?

stamps: verve swirling hearts, love notes

ink: su rose romance, versafine onyx, pti tea dye duo, versamark

paper: pti cream, lavender moon, memory box and carolee’s creations dps

accessories: verve vintage oval die, oval die, pti scallop border die, square nestabilities, seam binding ribbon, pearls, gems, glitter heart, stitching, distressor

Love is the Answer

..and you know that for sure. Love’s a flower, you’ve got to let it grow. ~ John Lennon.  Good morning everyone!!  Today’s card is a little exciting for me…it’s my first try at a zipper flower.  I have seen a variety of them in magazines and wanted to see if I could make my own!!  It was pretty easy and kind of fun (except for the odd fingertip burn from the hot glue gun…do fingerprints grow back?  lol).  This is my entry for Metallic Color Challenge for Color Inspiration for Card Makers Week in the Moxie Fab World.  I have used shimmer white, a gold leaf paper for the leaves, gold cording and a pink zipper for the flower.

Ideally, I would have liked the zipper to be metallic, but the 2 stores I went to this week only had pink zipper hardware so I made due.  I had this sentiment on my brain for this card but didn’t have it on a stamp so I printed out “is the answer” on the computer and stamped the “Love” with my  Verve Love Notes stamp.  I really tried to add something more to the sentiment, but nothing looked right.  The flower is  such a big focus that anything else would have looked “off.”  Oh, I had fun yesterday at the fabric store.  It is relocating in 3 months so everything is half price!!  I loaded up on zippers (of course), buttons, ribbon, top stitch thread (that is thicker than what I’ve been using), red bells for Christmas next year (yes, at the fabric store!) and crochet trim.  I was like a kid in the candy store!! LOL  I had a little extra pin money this week as I’ve been selling my cards at work :)  Hope your week is going well..be sure to check out the Verve Blog for Day 5 of the Diva Dare challenge…it is just dripping with inspiration!!  Hugs and have a great day :)

 

what’s in it?

stamps: verve Love Notes

ink: versafine onyx

paper: pti shimmer white, black, The Paper Company inca gold dp

accessories: zipper, grandpa’s button, su gold cording, long rectangle nestabilities, cuttlebug ef

Wishing You Sunny Days

Good morning dear friends :)  Today’s card involves some photography experiments.  First up, I’m trying a little doily underneath my card as seen on so many other fabulous blogs AND in honour of the doily trend out there as of late.  Second, I really had to fiddle with my camera settings to get the vibrant rich purple of the ribbon to stand out.  On my “goto” camera settings it just turned navy blue…no good for a colour challenge that calls for a purple jewel tone.  I hope it views okay on your screen.  In my defense I can only say…I’m a teacher not photographer, Jim!!  (reference to Star Trek if you missed that so early in the morning!! LOL).  This lovely colour combination comes straight from the Jewel Tones Color Challenge for Color Inspiration for Card Makers Week in the Moxie Fab World.  I’ve been slowly entering all the colour challenges and having a ball with them!!  Thanks for all the positive feedback about yesterday’s BOLD Birthday card :)  I hope you have a fabulous Wednesday…I’m off to the fabric store after work to hunt down some zippers and crochet trim…wish me luck!!  (p.s.  head over to the Verve Blog for Day 4 of the Diva Dare challenge…there’s a whole lotta Baby Love fun happening there!)

 

what’s in it?

stamps: verve let it shine

ink: versafine onyx, su more mustard

paper: pti cream, su pacific point, more mustard

accessories: pti scallop border die, stitching, gems, satin ribbon, inverted scallop and circle nestabilities, button, thread, corner chomper

Happy Birthday!!

Good Tuesday morning!!  It seems funny to blog about this card as it no longer is in my possession!! LOL  I took some cards into work yesterday and this one went quickly!!  I think my colleagues are ready for Spring!! This card uses the colours for the Bright & Bold Color Challenge for Color Inspiration for Card Makers Week in the Moxie Fab World.  I had LOADS of fun playing around with different colour combinations…used my favourite sketch again, but in a different orientation :)  Flowers + Polka Dots = YUMMY!!  Hope your day has started out well.  If you haven’t checked it out yet, the new Diva Dare challenge is on over on the Verve Blog…head over for all the deets and scrumptious eye candy!!  Thanks so much for stopping by :)
 

what’s in it?

stamps: pti birthday basics

ink: versafine onyx

paper: pti white, raspberry fizz and black and white basics dps

accessories: pti border and banner dies, stitching, ribbon, prima flower, pti button, bakers twine, corner chomper

To Love and Be Loved

Good morning!! Wow, here we are with another new week.  I’m thinking if you are a friend from the States, you more than likely have today off :)  Happy Martin Luther King Day!  We do not have a special day until Spring Break…it’s a long haul from Christmas to March!  But the days are getting longer and Spring is around the corner.  I had a fun, fun day in the Studio yesterday (one good thing about freezing rain…keeps you at home!).  I got all lovey dovey again, creating a card for Karen’s Sweet Sunday Sketch challenge with some new and old Verve stamps, seam binding ribbon and a silver doily.  The large tag is stamped with a sweet sentiment from Feel the Sun and the little tag is stamped with Verve’s new Swirling Hearts and Sweet Treats.  The silver doily was a little too much by itself, so I punched out a circle of text patterned paper to soften all the silver.  Well, that’s it for me today….thanks so much for spending a few moments here…I really appreciate you visiting and leaving some love :)  Have a fabulous day :)  {p.s.  Head over to the Verve Blog for Day 2 of the Diva Dare challenge and then create something yourself…I DARE YA!! lol}

 

what’s in it?

stamps: verve swirling hearts, sweet treats, feel the sun

ink: versamark onyx, su rose red, pretty in pink, versamark

paper: pti cream lavender moon, silver cardstock, memory box, making memories, carolee’s creations dps

accessories: seam binding ribbon (This Good Day @ Etsy), pti buttons, thread, Wilton silver doily, pti tag die, stitching, cuttlebug heart die, pearl

Celebrate

Good afternoon friends!!  Well, this card makes me want to celebrate!! Celebrate the fact that I’m joining in Stacey’s Curtain Call Colour challenge this week AND celebrate the fact that I didn’t chicken out with mostly white and only hints of the other colours :)  HA!!  I actually told myself not to “wimp out and go BOLD or go home.”  (Which is kind of funny since I’m already home! teehee).  I did allow myself to use my favourite card sketch for a little ease and comfort :)   Some of you may think that I handle bold colours well…thank you for your confidence in me!!  Truth be told, I LOVE bold colours when I get to choose them, but feel breathless when they are given to me.  It’s something that I really want to get better at…hence, I’m participating in Stacey’s challenge.  I tried many different coloured ribbons on this card, but the only perfect ribbon was my new black and white gingham from Pizzazz Aplenty.  I just love the homespun feel of it :)  Well, that it’s for me this afternoon…I’m off to Michaels and Starbucks and then back to the Studio :)  Hope your Sunday is going well too :)  See you tomorrow with a card for Karen’s Sweet Sunday Sketch :)  Thanks for popping by!!

 

what’s in it?

stamps: pti say it with style

ink: versafine onyx

paper: pti white, red, su pacific point, pti autumn abundance dp, cosmo cricket material girl dp

accessories: red stitching, pti border dies, corner chomper, pinking shears, gemstone, pti buttons, red floss, gingham ribbon