Be Mine

I've been checking off blog to-do's today and found a project that I made for Verve's latest release, but haven't posted here. This one features Swirling Hearts, along with the Vintage Oval die. The patterned papers are all by Stampin' Up. The layout is a slightly modified version of an older Viva La Verve sketch by Sankari (December, Week 2).

Thanks for stopping by, and have a great day!



Stamps: Sweet Treats, Swirling Hearts (Verve)
Paper: Stampin' Up Natural White and Basic Black card stock, Papertrey Kraft card stock, SU Love Letter designer paper
Ink: Versafine Onyx Black, SU Real Red craft, Ranger Brushed Corduroy Distress Ink
Accessories: Stampin' Up ribbon, Papertrey button and twine, Martha Stewart heart border and Optic Dots border punches, SU small oval punch, Verve Vintage Oval Die, Kaiser Craft black adhesive pearls

Butterfly Birthday + Giveaway

Today I have another Skipping Stones Design sketch and sample to share. This is my last sketch as guest sketch designer this month. Thanks, SSD, for the opportunity!!

Here is this week's sketch:

For my sample, I inked up a fabulous set called Dandelion Dreams ...

Love the beautiful floral, bird, and butterfly silhouettes! I started by repeatedly stamping the Happy Birthday sentiment in blue ink onto ivory card stock. I die-cut a scalloped circle using a Spellbinders Lacy Circles Nestabilities die. Last, I stamped the floral stems in brown ink. I stamped them a second time, slightly offset and without re-inking, for a subtle shadow effect, which you can just barely see in the detail photo below. The butterfly, done with a Martha Stewart punch, is in two layers for some extra dimension.

The banner along the top was made by putting together sentiment flags die-cut with a Li'l Inker Designs die and a striped border die-cut with Papertrey's Victorian Lace border die. The idea to use the sentiment flag die as a banner came from this card by Laura Pryor, owner of Li'l Inker Designs, and this one by Jen del Muro (thanks, ladies!) I placed 1/2-inch brown circles behind the flags so that they'd just peek out along the bottom. Some twine and buttons help make it look like a real banner. Teeny butterflies top each flag. (You could also use the banner area to personalize the card.)

I'm giving away one Dandelion Dreams set to a lucky commenter! Deadline to enter is Thursday, January 27 at 11:59 pm. I hope to announce the winner sometime on Friday.** Be sure to visit fellow SSD guest designer Jen del Muro for another giveaway opportunity! Also be sure to visit Skipping Stones Design for more awesome sketch inspiration from the SSD design team and special guests! To play along, link your creation over at SSD, too!

Thanks for visiting!




**By the way, I'll also be flying out to LA on Friday for CHA! Woohoo! If you'll be there, leave a comment or email me!

Baby, I'm Yours

Have you heard about Verve's new Diva Dare Challenge? On the Friday following each release, we'll post a theme we'll dare you with, and you'll have two weeks to complete the challenge.  During those two weeks, the release team will post their creations and tell you how they answered the dare.

The January theme is Baby Love:

We dare you to make a card, project, layout, or whatever fits your stamping style using this month's theme - Baby Love. The baby part could be for a new little someone...or a special someone. Play along for a chance to win some new Verve goodies! That's something everyone loves!

I answered the dare with a Cher-inspired, shabby Valentine for my dear husband ...

Find out more over on the Verve blog!





Stamps: Love Notes (Verve Stamps)
Paper: Aqua Mist card stock, Basic Grey Capella dp, cardboard box
Ink: Ranger Pumice Stone Distress Ink
Accessories: Jotted Heart die, distressing tool, Martha Stewart heart border punch, My Favorite Things Rolled Flower Die-namics, Kaiser Bliss adhesive pearls, Recollections bling, Making Memories white acrylic paint, woven burlap trim/looped trim/crochet trim (sources unknown), Offray aqua satin ribbon, Maya Road trinket pin, Prima white roses

Precious Little One

I made today's card for the new Viva La Verve January - Week 4 sketch challenge, hosted by Sankari. Remember, if you complete all four of the January Viva La Verve sketches, you can add yourself to the Sketch Champions thread, where a lucky participant will receive the entire next Verve release. The deadline for the January sketches is midnight, Thursday, January 27th. Winner announced on the 28th!

Here's Sankari's awesome sketch:

For my card, I pulled out Verve's awesome new To the Moon set and My Mind's Eye's Fine & Dandy True Blue paper collection. For the main image panel, I layered a Spellbinders Lacy Circle die-cut over a classic square over a Labels Sixteen. The giraffe has been colored with Copics and trimmed out. The pennants were cut from one of the True Blue patterns. And did I forget something on the sketch? Yes ... the three little circles in the bottom right. Oopsie! A few more white brads would have been perfect!

Thanks so much for popping in for a visit today. Hope your day is fantastic!



Stamps: To the Moon (Verve Stamps)
Paper: Papertrey Aqua Mist, Harvest Gold, and Kraft card stocks, Stampin' Up Espresso card stock, My Mind's Eye Fine & Dandy True blue 6x6 pad
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Ranger Walnut Stain Distress Ink, Stampin' Up Pumpkin Pie
Accessories: Copic markers, The Twinery twine, Mark Richards orange rhinestone, white gel pen, Cuttlebug Seeing Spots embossing folder, Pink Hedgehog Papercrafts white brads, paper piercer, needle, thread, foam adhesive, Spellbinders Classic Circle, Lacy Circle, Classic Square and Labels Sixteen Nestabilities, Papertrey button and ribbon, My Favorite Things Open Scallop Border Die-namics

Love Song

I couldn't wait to ink up this new Penny Black Love Song stamp that I received from Stamper's Dream. I just love the sweet, whimsical style! And this image couldn't be any easier to work with. I just stamped in black, colored in the trunk and birds with Copics, then used dark and light green Copics to trace along the foliage swirls. Last, I sponged on some Tumbled Glass ink around the birds and around the perimeter of the image for a subtle sky feel. It was so easy to color, I almost feel like I cheated! Just for fun, I added some crystal  ultrafine glitter, and two sizes of crystal rhinestones, randomly placed around the branches.

To finish off the card, I added some green felt grass (die-cut with the Fresh Cut Grass Die-Namics by My Favorite Things), velvet ricrac, a button topped with red baker's twine, and a scalloped cork border (die-cut with MFT's Jumbo Scallop Die-Namics). The sentiment is from JustRite's Happy Everything Mini Tag Kit.

The bling shows up a little better in this detail shot:

Thanks so much for stopping by. Hope you're having a great day!!




Stamps: Love Song (Penny Black), Happy Everything Mini Tag Making Kit (JustRite Stamps)
Paper: Prism Simply Smooth White, Stampin' Up Real Red and Basic Black, and Papertrey Hawaiian Shores card stock
Ink: Versafine Onyx Black, Memento Tuxedo Black, Tumbled Glass Distress Ink
Accessories: Copic markers, Sakura quickie glue pen, Art Institute crystal ultrafine glitter, MFT green felt, Jumbo Scallop Die-namics, and Fresh Cut Grass Die-namics, black velvet ricrac (source unknown), The Twinery baker's twine, clear rhinestones (various sources), Papertrey ribbon and buttons, Cuttlebug Seeing Spots embossing folder
Size 4 1/4" x 5 1/2"

Men Are Like Purses ...

(Men are like purses)

Time for another Skipping Stones Design sketch challenge! I'm going to miss this gig come February :) Today's card uses a brand-new, super fun set called Birthday Purses.

Ready for the inside?

(cute, full of crap, and totally replaceable)

Here's a look at the full set:

Gotta love a cute purse (or three), and aren't these sentiments awesome?!

Here's the sketch, SSD60:

I hope you'll play along! All you have to do is link your creation up to the SSD#60 post on the Skipping Stones Design blog. There may be goodies ... just sayin' ;)

My sketch sample is pretty straightforward. The three purses are paper-pieced with patterns from Cosmo Cricket's DeLovely collection, then layered onto a lacy circle die-cut. For the strips along the left, I just used some more DeLovely scraps. The sentiment flag is attached with a button and some Pink Sorbet baker's twine. The pink die-cut border on the inside (totally crooked - eek! I can't believe I didn't catch that beforehand!) was done with Papertrey's Victorian Lace border die, and the sentiment is die-cut with a Spellbinders Labels Fourteen die. I don't think I've ever dry-embossed the inside of a card, but the panel was lying there (a reject for the card front), and I thought why not?

I made this card for a good friend who could use a little cheer in the "men" department. She will know exactly who those three purses represent - teehehe! Time for a new purse, B____!
 



Stamps: Birthday Purses (Skipping Stones Design)
Paper: Papertrey Dark Chocolate card stock, Neenah Classic Crest Solar White card stock, Cosmo Cricket DeLovely dp
Ink: Versafine Onyx Black, Ranger Walnut Stain and Tumbled Glass Distress Inks
Accessories: Spellbinders lacy circle die, Papertrey button, The Twinery baker's twine, Swarovski crystals, needle and thread, Papertrey border die (inside), Spellbinders Labels Fourteen die, paper piercer, needle, thread, Prismacolor pencils

Get Well Soon

Have you played along in this month's Sketch For You To Try (SFYTT) yet? If not, visit Jen's January sketch post to check out the new monthly format and all the deets on a very special prize package coming at the end of this year for one lucky sketch participant!

We've kicked off a new year of fabulous sketches with the swankiest sponsor around -- The Cat's Pajamas! Anyone can participate in this month's sketch and is welcome to use any stamps she'd like, BUT for those who use TCP stamps, a sweet prize is up for grabs! To enter, just link up your creation HERE. Remember to use keyword SFYTT in online galleries.

Here's the sketch:

For today's card, I've used the adorable TCP set A Cuppa to make a get well card. The image is colored with Copics primarily, with the sky and grass added in with Prismacolor pencils. The apron was so much fun to  paper piece! Throughout, I've used papers from October Afternoon's Modern Homemaker collection, along with some punched borders, baker's twine, box pleating, stitching, and dry embossing.

Thanks for stopping by!



Stamps: A Cuppa (The Cat's Pajamas)
Paper: Papertrey Dark Chocolate, Kraft and Rustic White, Neenah Classic Crest Solar White card stock, October Afternoon Modern Homemaker
Ink: Versafine Onyx Black, Memento Tuxedo Black
Accessories: Copic markers, Prismacolor pencils, Papertrey button, twine, and ribbon, corner rounder, Scor-Pal, Martha Stewart border punches, Stampin' Up scallop border punch, Cuttlebug Seeing Spots embossing folder, Pink Hedgehog Papercrafts brown brads, foam tape
Size: 5 1/4" square