Coffee Lovers Blog Hop

Good morning everyone!  Ready for something fun!?  And yummy!?  Chaitali over on Cuts, Crops and Creativity is hosting a Coffee Lovers Blog Hop in honour of National Coffee Day!  Well, this coffee lover HAD to play along :)  It was the perfect excuse to open up my Verve Coffee and One Cup stamp sets along with the Cuppa Joe Die Set to create a fun shaker card!  Notice the coffee beans in the shaker?  That fun idea came from Meghan over on Pink Bike.  I squealed when I saw her coffee card!  Grab a cup of coffee and head over to Cuts, Crops and Creativity for more inspiration and to join in the fun!  There are lots of sponsors and prizes for playing along!  I’ll leave you with a few of my coffee facts…

1) I take milk only in my coffee, preferably 1% milk

2) Starbucks order is usually a grande non fat latte, but right now it’s a grande, non fat, half sweet Pumpkin Spice latte :)

3) I started drinking coffee in university.

4) I drink mainly SB coffee and buy it at the store…but I like any local coffee bean.  Life is too short to drink cheap coffee!

5) The most delicious coffee I’ve had was an iced Asian coffee at my pedicure salon!  It’s delicious :)

6) If I don’t have my daily coffee, I will get a slight headache and become a little cranky.  It’s my one addiction :)

See you on the hop!

Happy Birthday ~ Viva La Verve

Hi friends! I’m back to my TGIF celebration with the new Viva La Verve Sketch. Yes, Fridays are back at the top of my favourite day list now that I’m back at work.  And there’s nothing I love more than to celebrate with some Vervey goodness and a fun sketch :) Head over to the Viva La Verve blog for some more inspiration and all the details on how you could win $100 in Verve products just by playing along the VLV sketches!  Have a wonderful weekend!

what’s in it?

stamps: Framed Florals (Verve)

paper: rustic white, white (PTI), Summer Stories (Simple Stories)

ink: onyx (versafine), basic grey (SU), autumn rose (PTI)

accessories: Bluebells Die, Shine Bright Sequin Mix (Verve), buttons (PTI), twine (hemptique), stitched banner (Lil Inkers), paper doily, stitching

Celebrate ~ PTI Blog Hop

Good morning everyone!  It’s the first week back in my class so it’s been crazy this week, but I just HAD to play along with the PTI blog hop!  I just couldn’t resist these gorgeous colours!

I also used one of the sketches Nichole provided for us :)  I finally cracked open my new mega ticket stamp set to use for the sentiment panel.  I just LOVE those jumbo tickets!  I was also able to use this strip of felt hearts I had made back in February!  Love when I can use something from the scrap pile!

Thanks so much for visiting and enjoy the rest of the hop!

stamps and dies: PTI

September Rewind ~ First Day of School

Hello friends and happy Monday!  Yes, you heard me correctly, “happy Monday!”  For those of you not from BC, the teachers’ strike ended last week.  Though funding for public education didn’t get HUGE gains, we did get some AND we educated the public about what schools need and gave the government notice that we are a strong force, sticking together for our kids and schools.  So today, 3 weeks after what should have been our first day of school, I will greet my little monkeys…the tissue is ready!  The last 3 days have been a whirlwind trying to get my classroom ready for business so I thought it was time to do a “Rewind” post from last September.  Thanks for stopping by and have a great start to your week!

Celebrate Today ~ Diva Dare Hostess

Hi everyone!  Today’s card fills so many shoes!  First off it’s my Diva Dare card over on the Verve Blog.  Second, it uses the new Viva la Verve sketch over on the Viva La Verve Blog.  And third, but definitely not least, it was made Tuesday after the news that the teachers and government had a deal and our 5 week strike could be over!  So today I am setting up my classroom as best I can to welcome students on Monday! 

Smarty Pants ~ Curtain Call Inspiration Challenge

It's time for a new Curtain Call Inspiration Challenge!  We have a wonderful new sponsor, Clearly Whimsy Stamps, for the Curtain Call Inspiration: Wishing Well!  A randomly selected participant in the Wishing Well challenge will receive $25 store credit to Whimsy Stamps and the LEAD will be invited as Guest Designer of a our next challenge!

When I saw this Smarty Pants set with matching Glasses and Bracket Die Set, I knew I had to have it!  It reminds me of what I say to my students when they say something ‘smart.’  I say, “Oh, I see you wore your smarty pants (or shorts, skirt) to school today!  Better than silly pants, right!?  LOL  I was inspired by the colours from the photo, but chose to go CAS with my theme.  That’s the great thing about inspiration, right?

Make sure you visit each of the designers' blogs for more inspiration!

Wishing Well Designers

Guest Designer, Esther Asbury

Amy Kolling
Amy Sheffer
Amy Tsuruta
Gayatri Murali
Kim Singdahlsen
Laurie Willison
Lisa Henke
Marisa Ritzen
Maureen Plut
Monika Davis
Sarah Gough
Sheri Gilson
Stacey Schafer
Tenia Nelson
Tracey McNeely

Stop by the Curtain Call Inspiration Challenge:  Wishing Well for the challenge details and to play along with us!

Verve August Release Retrospect Hop

Welcome to Verve's August Release Retrospective Blog Hop! The Verve Divas are hopping today and serving up some more inspiration using the August release stamps & dies! Besides a peek at some really cool cards, there are also a couple of prizes up for grabs!

How gorgeous are these sweet bluebells from Framed Florals?  And how amazing they look popped off the frame!  I love using the matching Bluebells Die for that added dimension.  This is fast becoming a goto set with so many different sentiments to fit almost every occasion. 

1. Julee               10. Janelle

2. Teresa             11. Christyne

3. Amber              12. Jen

4. Charmaine        13. Andrea

5. Marisa              14. Betty

6. Monika {Guest} 15. Karen

7. Stacey              16. Sarah

8. Maureen           17. Amy

9. Laurie

Want to win some shiny new Verve? We're giving away a $40 gift voucher to one lucky commenter along the hop, so be sure to leave a shout out in the comments as you hop about. 

Want another chance to win? Now it's your turn! We'd LOVE to see what you've done with the August release. Link up your cards using at least one product from our August release and you'll be entered in a drawing to win our entire next release! All the details and the linkup widget are on the Verve Blog today. The deadline is October 3, so there's still plenty of time to get the August release if you haven't already.

what’s in it?

stamps: Framed Florals (Verve)

paper: rustic white (PTI), Fresh Cut (Basicgrey), Capture Life (Echo Park)

ink: onyx (Versafine), Surf Blue (Simon Says Stamp), Oceans Tide (PTI)

accessories: Bluebells Die, Shine Bright Sequin Mix (Verve), fishtail dies (MFT), paper doily, twine (Hemptique), stitching

Peace, Love, and Cupcakes

Happy Friday, friends!  Today’s card uses the new sketch over on the Viva La Verve blog.  I just had to use this sentiment from the new  Cupcakes set.  It’s my favourite!  Head over to the Viva La Verve Blog for all the details and more samples!  Have a fabulous start to your weekend!  My Masters courses start up this weekend!  One year down, one more to go!

what’s in it?

stamps: Cupcakes, Small Packages (Verve)

paper: rustic white (PTI), Hello Again (Echo Park)

ink: onyx (Versafine), groovy guava (SU)

accessories: Award Banner Trim Die, Cupcake Frame Die Set (Verve), fishtail dies (MFT), gems, glossy accents

Merry Christmas!

Hi friends!  As I wrote up this post, I was actually looking into the future and thinking of Christmas!  I don’t usually look that far into the future, but when you are in the middle of a strike, you tend to do that and tell yourself “this too shall pass.”  We’re not there yet, so I look forward to better times.  Today’s card uses the Festive Friday inspiration photo…

I picked some paper with a country feel and some trees to mimic the boughs on the photo.  The I made a CAS chalkboard sign for the sentiment.  I desperately wanted something else on this card, after all it is for Christmas, the season of blitz and decorations!  I chose a sweet little bow from PTI’s Bells and Boughs.  Thanks for stopping by and have a lovely, lovely day!

Speak the Truth

Happy Monday everyone!  Today’s card is another mixed media experiment using the inspiration photo from the Mixed Media Monthly Challenge.  I took the photo literally with a blue background, pink and yellow flowers, and green leaves.

Here are the pieces before I assembled the card.  I wanted to show you the beautiful background paper.  I sprayed a mosaic heart stencil with white Dylusions ink.  The sentiment is from Verve’s Words of Wisdom and the stitched frame is from Treasured Words.

Thanks for stopping by!  Have a great start to your week :)

Keep Calm and Drink Coffee

Hi everyone!  Today’s card is kicking off a new month of sketches over on the Viva La Verve Sketch blog!  Julee is starting us off with a sketch and colour combination.  I really wanted to make another coffee card using the brand new Coffee set and Cuppa Joe Die Set.  I think these kind of cards are perfect for tucking a SB or Tim Horton’s coffee card into. Notice that sweet coffee mug?  Wonder how I cut out the space between the handle and cup?  Now it may seem obvious, but I only recently discovered this all by myself! LOL  Just cut and then glue it all back together! 

Head over to the Viva La Verve blog to see more samples and learn about how you could win $100 in Verve product.  That would be a FUN shopping spree!  Thanks for stopping by!  Have a great weekend!

Verve September Diva Inspirations Hop

Welcome to Verve's September Diva Inspirations Hop. It's the 5th of the month and that means it's time for the Divas to serve up some fresh inspiration with their Verve stamps! Leave some comment love along the hop spots for a chance to win a prize, then grab some stamps and play along with our September inspiration challenge for another chance to win!

This month's challenge is entitled Sweet September:

Sugar-high! Get sugary sweet with pastels, cupcakes or candy. Create a calorie free confection to delight the senses! Feel free to use the graphic as inspiration or not.

I went with a pastel look for today’s card.  I had put a watercolour wash on some paper a few weeks ago and die cut a tag for a future card…this one!  I love seeing which sentiments will fit into all the different Verve frames.  This sentiment from Treasured Words looks so comfy in the curves of the Curvy Bookplate Die …LOVE it!

Okay, so here’s a funny story…I’m making this card for the Inspiration Hop and using some more of the stamps from the new release when I realize that the purpose of the Inspirations Hop is to highlight older sets!  LOL  ARGH!  That’s when I popped off this sentiment and replaced it with the one above!  I just wanted to share this version too as I love that Psalm 34:8 plain jane with these beautiful colours :)

I usually use mini glue dots to adhere my sequins, but ran out a few weeks ago.  The small dots just don’t work! ACK!  But when I was at Michaels last week, I noticed that the Zots line of glue dots now has Miniscule dots for bling!  They are the perfect size!  You can see the smallest size of the Shine Bright Sequins Mix on the dot paper under the box…perfect fit!

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. Sony

3. Anya      9. Susan

4. Betty    10. Maureen

5. Karen   11. Stacey

6. Sankari 12. Marisa

 

what’s in it?

stamps:Tag Time, Treasured Words, Psalm 34:8 Plain Jane, Small Packages (Verve)

paper: rustic white (PTI), Summer Stories (Teresa Collins)

ink: bordering blue (SU), onyx (versafine), watercolour

accessories: Curvy Bookplate Die, Cupcake Frame Die Set, Shine Bright Sequin Mix, tag die, button (PTI), paper doily, twine (hemptique), burlap trim (Maya Road), crochet flower, seam binding ribbon

Always Remember ~ Mixed Media Mojo Challenge

Good morning friends!  I received a sweet message from my Schmoopy (Verve Diva Amber)a few days ago inviting me to play along with the current Mixed Media Mojo Challenge.  Amber is the one I blame/thank for getting me hooked on mixed media!  I’m still only dabbling, but that’s the way things start, right?  The challenge is Fall and embossing paste.

Here’s my main panel after spraying with Dylusions inks, colouring embossing paste with orange ink, and spreading it through the Crafters Workshop “Art Is” stencil.

I pulled out the PTI Mighty Oak stamps set and cover plate.  I love this sentiment!  I took inspiration from Amber’s card for the challenge and added some burlap trim for more texture :)

Ever wonder about mixed media?  Check out the gorgeous samples on the Mixed Media Mojo challenge blog!  I didn’t “get” the big hoopla about embossing paste when I first starting seeing other designers use it, but now I do!  It’s so fun to colour it and then spread it!  Thanks for stopping by and have a lovely day :)

what’s in it?

stamps: PTI Mighty Oak

ink: dylusions spray inks, versafine onyx, su cherry cobbler, more mustard, pumpkin pie, old olive

paper: pti kraft, tim holtz watercolour

accessories: pti mighty oak coverplate and fillable frame dies, button, twine, burlap trim, embossing paste