May Blessings be Yours This Christmas

Happy Sunday everyone!  I squeezed in some studio time this week in between writing report cards (totally new report program that is NOT user friendly) to make this card for PTI’s Make it Monday Challenge.  Dawn made a gorgeous poinsettia card and though I could have CASEd it exactly, I chose to use her old poinsettia set instead.  Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the rest of the weekend!

Wonderful Marvelous You ~ Viva La Verve

Happy Friday, everyone!  I’m the hostess over on the Viva La Verve blog so head over there for all the details on how you could win a whole lotta Verve this month by playing along with our sketches! 

This card should have arrived at my son’s place by today.  You see, it’s his birthday tomorrow so I mailed it on Monday to make sure it arrived in time for his special day.  When I went to make this card, I had the idea of a whole bunch of starts in different sizes and papers stacked on top of each other.  I even threw on some tiny wood stars!  And as I usually do for Jake’s birthday post, here are a few photos :)  Have a great day!

A Day Old

University grad

stamps: Small Phrases, Wonderful Marvelous (Verve)

dies: Starry Die (Verve)

Joy ~ Papertrey Ink Blog Hop

Welcome friends!  I’m participating in the PTI November Blog Hop today with a card inspired by this gorgeous photo…

I focused in on the white frame against the grey background along with the green ornaments (translated as jingle bells on my card!).  A bit of sparkle with some silver cardstock and Frosted Snowfall Sequin Mix and this card is one shakin’ bit of joyful fun!  Thanks for stopping by!  Enjoy the rest of the hop!

Merry Christmas ~ Viva la Verve Friday

Greetings everyone and TGIF!  It’s full blown Christmas card making here in the studio!  Today’s card uses this week’s Viva La Verve sketch.  I grabbed some Bo Bunny patterned paper and Verve’s Weary World stamp set and Starry Stable dies for my card today.

Head over to the Viva La Verve blog for all the details on how you could win some great Verve by playing all month long.  It’s a great way to stay on top of those Christmas cards!  Have a lovely weekend!

Feel Better ~ Curtain Call Inspiration Challenge

Good morning!  There’s a new Curtain Call Inspiration Challenge up and this time we’re inspired by this photo…

This really was a challenge for me!  I have NO fox images in my stamp stash…can you believe it?!  The Curtain Call team tried to help out saying I could focus on the cup image or use any cute little critter.  I loved these ideas and dug out my PTI Cuppa Love die that I had never used! Yikes!  I poured over all my patterned paper, hoping to find a fox image, but nothing.  The last place I looked was in my new Simon Says Stamp card kit.  I turned over a piece of patterned paper and there he was!  Little Mr. Fox!  Score!  The papers match perfectly with this packet of tea that I love when I lose my voice.  I will tuck one into this card and save it for the next coworker who loses his/her voice!

Want to play along?  Head over to the Curtain Call blog for more inspiration and then join in the fun! Thanks for stopping by!

Thanks ~ PTI Make it Monday

Hello!  Sneaking in another card this weekend for PTI’s Make it Monday challenge.  I stayed pretty true to Ashley’s card as I had the same coverplate…why mess with a good thing, right?  I was happy to experiment again with my Kuretake watercolours.  With this technique I almost look like I’m a bonafide watercolour artist!  Woohoo!  I won’t tell if you don’t tell :)  Thanks for stopping by!  The dh and I are off soon on date night…Spectre (hello, Daniel Craig!) and then dinner!  Hope you’re having a great weekend :)

25 Days of Christmas Tags ~ Clearly Besotted Style

 Hello everyone!  Today I'm excited to join in all the fun over at Tracey's blog for the 25 Days of Christmas Tags celebration, Clearly Besotted style!



 I hadn't used the  Merry Kissmas stamp and die set from October's release but had left them out specifically for this Christmas Tag celebration.  The dh and I LOVE mistletoe and actually leave our "faux" mistletoe up all year :)  No mistake there! {insert Kiss, Kiss here}.  The dh is also a notorious present shaker and peeker so I had to add this vellum overlay with a sentiment from Eat Drink Be Merry.

 Head over to Tracey's blog to see more inspiration from the Clearly Besotted Design Team!  Thanks for stopping by!

 what's in it?  

stamps: Merry Kissmas, Eat Drink Be Merry (Clearly Besotted Stamps), "to" from 2012 Tags (PTI)
paper: white, vellum (PTI) 
ink: soft stone, spring moss (PTI), onyx (versamark)
accessories: Merry Kissmas die collection,(Clearly Besotted) Shine Bright Sequin Mix (Verve), twine, bookmark die (PTI), white embossing powder

Bless the Lord ~ Viva La Verve

TGIF friends!  I’m hosting the Viva La Verve sketch this week so head over there for all the details on how you could win some great Verve by playing all month long.  I made this card for last month’s release but hadn’t posted it yet.  This layout became one of my go to sketches so I asked Julee to make it into an official one! Yay!  The tag is actually a bookmark that is removeable by using  the Dotto non permanent tape runner.  Because it was going to be a bookmark, I had to make sure the back of it looked pretty.  Notice the rough bottom on the photo below.  The cardstock and patterned paper were a little too thick for the die cut. 

So I die cut another bookmark out of some pretty paper and covered up the back.

This card went to my dear sister in law (married to my brother, God bless her! HA!).  She let me know how much she loved it and that’s is sitting in a place of honour on the mantle :)  I love to hear that!  Have a great start to your weekend!

 

what’s in it?

stamps: Good Work

paper: white (PTI), heart foil (MME), pink grid (Pebbles)

ink: onyx (Versafine)

accessories: Sprightly Sprigs Die Set, Good Work Flowers Die Set, bookmark die (PTI), cardboard, gold doily, ribbon scraps, twine

Always Fashionable

Good morning!  I’m sharing a CASEd card today inspired totally by Amy Scheffer.  Amy was one of the first bloggers I ever started following many many years ago and I had the honour of sharing some Design Team time with her at Verve as well as presently with the Curtain Call Crew.  Amy created this GORGEOUS card for the PTI Stamp-a-faire. 

After seeing it, I had to have this set!  This card is going to one of my beautiful nieces for her birthday.  She graduated on the same day as me in May and has started working for Eddie Bauer.  I think she’ll love the nod to fashion on the card :)

Thanks for stopping by!

My gorgeous nieces…the birthday girl is second from the left :)

November Diva Inspirations Blog 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 magesticly 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!

I was so excited when I saw the inspiration photo and the word "rustic."  I broke out my Christmas bell box and pulled some rusty bells for the first time this season!  Woohoo!  I made a chalkboard tag inspired by the grey background and stamped it with a sentiment from Peace on Earth .  I used some beautiful gold reindeer paper to keep with the reindeer theme along with a few snowflakes embellished with the Frosted Snowfall Sequin Mix.

Click here to link up your challenge entries
Challenge deadline: Thursday, December 5.
Prize: $30 gift voucher to the Verve online store!

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

What's in it?
stamps:  Peace on Earth, Unto Us (Verve)
ink: craft white (SU), gold (Memory Box), Ocean Tides (PTI)
paper: rustic white (PTI), basic grey (SU), Snow Village (Pink Paislee)
accessories: Reindeer Fun Die Set, Flourished Tag Die Set, Frosted Snowfall Sequin Mix,

Autumn Elements Ribbon Collection

The Most Fabulous (day of the week!)

Hi dear friends!  It’s my most glorious day of the week so it’s all TGIF here on the blog!  We’re celebrating this Friday with a whole month of brand new Viva La Verve sketches! I had fun with this sketch adding some bits and pieces from the HUGE scrap pile on my desk.  The flowers were die cut from a piece of water coloured paper I had made last month.  I just love the variation of orange, reds, and yellow. Head over to the VLV blog for more inspiration and all the details on how you could win some fantastic Verve this month! Thanks for stopping by!  Have a great start to your weekend!

stamps: Better Together, Die Sidekicks, Happy Place (Verve)

accessories: Happy Doodles Die Set, Sweet Scallop Die, Holiday Sequin Mix (Verve)

Joy ~ Make It Monday

Good evening, friends!  Yes, I’m posting this TONIGHT because I can’t wait until Saturday!  I get like that sometimes when I’ve made something I didn’t think I could do.  And why is it that it’s usually something Melissa Phillips has so effortlessly made?  I’ve been thinking about this PTI Make it Monday challenge all week.  Last night I dug through what teensy tiny fabric scraps I had and was pleasantly surprised at the greens I found.  I wanted my tree to have a vintage feel and the fabrics were perfect!  I even threw in a handwriting one I had (yes, the upside down one that started out the right way until I tied it! HA!).  I was not even going to attempt to change it as didn’t want anything to ruin the roll I was on.  And someone once said to me that “only God is perfect, so it’s okay to leave imperfections on things.”  That’s my story!

There are two special people who could receive this card at Christmas (or I may have to attempt another one so they can both have one!)  Our sweetest secretary or the mom who keeps me on the “biscotti gift list,” even though I taught her son 5 years ago.  Her name is “Joy,” so that would really work out well.  I’ve got time before Christmas to make another one if I feel brave!
Thanks for stopping by!



stamps: Mega Mixed Messages, Vintage Ornaments additions (PTI)
die: tiny tags (PTI)

Clearly Besotted Stamps Release Day!

Hi everyone!  I’m back with my last card for the Clearly Besotted Stamps November Release.  All the stamps and dies are on sale later today (10:00 BST)over in the CBS shop so be sure to go and check everything out!

The brand new set, Petite Plushies, is perfect for baby cards with four sweet little animals in 2 different poses and lots of darling sentiments to customize for any occasion.  I needed some more baby cards so I made both of these at the same time, but with different animals and paper.  I water coloured the plushies with my Zig watercolour brushes, easy peasy for a non colourer!

Thanks for stopping by and all your lovely comments on this Clearly Besotted Release :)  Head over to Stephanie’s blog for some more inspiration and the Release Reveal contest!