From the Heart

There's a fun after-party happening over on the Verve blog today. Check out some major eye candy, as each Diva has chosen a favorite project to feature!

And in case you missed the release party on Friday, all of the new stamps and dies we peeked last week are now available in the Verve store. Nine different set are available individually, or save 15% when you purchase the whole April collection. Don't forget the two new A Cut Above dies, Elegant Leaves and Floral Circles, which are sold separately from the bundle.

My card uses the new Happy Phrases set along with the Charming Oval dies. I started with a background panel of a pretty Prima Botanicals 6x6 pattern, then created a shabby grouping out of painted and distressed cardboard, a glittery chipboard heart, lace trim, a Prima flower and a sweet bird. I stamped the sentiment onto the smaller Charming Oval die, matted it with the larger Charming Oval die, and then accented with clear rhinestones. I'm a bit smitten with the whole shabby, romantic, collage look right now. Bear with me if it all begins to look the same!

My kids are out of school all week for Spring Break, so there might not be a lot of crafty time for me. I'll pop in when I can!

Thanks for stopping by, and I hope you have a great week!




Stamps: Happy Phrases (Verve Stamps)
Paper: Papertrey Kraft and Rustic White card stock, Prima Botanicals 6x6 dp
Ink: Old Paper, Frayed Burlap and Walnut Stain Distress Inks
Accessories: Charming Oval Die Set (A Cut Above by Verve), Pizazz Aplenty 2mm, 3mm and 4mm clear rhinestones, Prima bird and flower, Melissa Frances glittered heart, corrugated cardboard, ivory acrylic paint, Paertrey buttons and satin ribbon, May Arts crochet trim and burlap string, sanding block, distressing tool, foam adhesive

Call Me

I'm having way too much fun with Webster's Pages new Trendsetter collection. Kind of surprising in a way -- I usually run the other way whenever hot pink is involved. But this line? It's fun, sophisticated, and stylish, with a vintage elegance that I absolutely adore! And isn't that image super fun? It's called Call Me and is one of Unity's Itty Bitty Cling stamps, made for Webster's Pages. You'll find a broad selection of Webster's Pages products at Stamper's Dream ... bloomers, sparklers, netting, stick pins, fabric tickets, flowers ... {swoon}.

A couple of other card notes:

- the blue panel along the bottom was die-cut with a Tim Holtz Plaque & Postage Alterations die
- the hot pink, doily-style frame around the image was die-cut with a die from the Fleur de Lis Doily Motifs Shapeabilities set by Spellbinders
- the pink ruffled trim is from Webster's Pages Trendsetter trim card
- the twine is from The Twinery - Pink Sorbet
- The card is a little bigger than my norm -- it measures 4 1/2" x 6"



Have a great weekend!

Verve April Spotlight: Day Four

Today is the final day of Verve's April New Release Spotlights, all leading up to our release tonight (Friday, April 15).  Today, we're featuring Hope Blooms, a beautiful floral set with three flowers and lots of wonderful all-purpose sentiments, and a new Scripture Plain Jane, Proverbs 16:9.

You know we at Verve love our giveaways. Just leave a little comment love along the hop for a chance to win today's featured stamps and dies. The deadline for commenting is 6PM Mountain TONIGHT (Friday, April 15). The winners will be announced during our Release Party, tonight, 9-11 p EST, in the Verve Forum at Splitcoast. Hope to see you there!

 

1. Julee 8. Jackie 2. Tosh 9. Charmaine 3. Amber 10. Janelle 4. Amy 11. Teresa 5. Maureen 12. Laurie 6. Cresta 13. Sankari 7. Andrea 14. Melissa TODAY'S PRIZE: Hope Blooms, Proverbs 16:9 Plain Jane and Floral Circles Die Set

For my card, I've combined the flower images from Hope Blooms with the Proverb 16:9 Plain Jane. I stamped the flowers onto white card stock and colored with Copics. To give them more dimension, I cut between some of the petals, curling some up and some down, then coated them with clear dimensional glaze. The sentiment has been stamped onto a Verve Classy Label die-cut. Papers are from the Salt Air collection by Cosmo Cricket.

So many possibilities with these flowers! I took the more fussy approach (shocking) and did all the coloring, cutting and glazing, but what's really cool is that the flowers also work with the Floral Circles dies we showed earlier in the week. You can see a great visual for that over at the Verve blog.

Thanks for stopping by! Enjoy today's hop!





Stamps: Hope Blooms, Proverbs 16:9 Plain Jane (Verve Stamps)
Paper: Papertrey Kraft and Rustic White card stock, Cosmo Cricket Salt Air Mini-Deck
Ink: Versafine Onyx Black, Memento Tuxedo Black, Ranger Old Paper, Brushed Corduroy and Walnut Stain Distress Inks
Accessories: Verve Classy Label die, Papertrey buttons and ribbon, Maya Road trim, Judikins Diamond Glaze, Spellbinders border die, paper piercer, needle, thread, foam adhesive
Size: 4 1/4" x 5 1/2"

Verve April Spotlight: Day Three

Welcome to Day Three of Verve's New Release Spotlights! Today, we're taking a look at a a new Plain Jane, Proverbs 31:28 and an amazing new sentiment set called Love Deepens. Remember to hop around today and leave lots of comments. You may be the lucky winner of today's featured sets! Winners for all of this month's giveaways will be announced during our Release Party tomorrow (Friday), from 9-11 pm in the Verve Forum.

	1. Tosh 8. Janelle 2. Teresa 9. Jackie 3. Maureen 10. Charmaine 4. Laurie 11. Andrea 5. Julee 12. Amber 6. Cresta 13. Melissa 7. Sankari 14. Amy
TODAY'S PRIZE: Love Deepens, Proverbs 31:28 Plain Jane and Elegant Leaves Die

I'm so excited for you to see Love Deepens! It's filled with wonderful sentiments to celebrate all the women in your life -- moms, grandmas, aunts, sisters, cousins, nieces, and friends. The sentiment that jumped out at me most is the one I used for today's card because it's exactly how I feel about my dear mom and her relationship with my children! I used papers from Prima's Reflections collection, some Spellbinders die-cuts (Fancy Tags Two and Labels Eighteen), and a Verve Classy Label die-cut for the sentiment. Embellishments include pearls, scrunched seam binding and a sprig of Prima's Melon Candy Gems. The angled panel and trim are inspired by Julee and Laurie -- I tilt the panels a lot, but not ribbon or trim. I'm liking it - thanks, girls!

Thanks so much for visiting! I'm the end of the line for today's hop. Hope you've enjoyed the Divas' peeks today!!





Stamps: Love Deepens (Verve Stamps)
Paper: Papertrey Rustic White card stock, Prism Medium Tawny Prismatics card stock, Prima Reflections 6x6 designer paper
Ink: Ranger Brushed Corduroy and Walnut Stain Distress Inks
Accessories: Verve Classy Label die, Spellbinders Labels Eighteen and Fancy Tags Two, distressing tool, Prima Melon Candy Gems, May Arts lace trim, Kaisercraft adhesive pearls, scrunched brinding, foam adhesive
Size: 4 1/4" x 5 1/2"

Verve April Spotlight: Day Two

Today Verve's Spotlight is on a set called Bloom & Grow, as well as two coordinating A Cut Above dies, Elegant Leaves and Floral Circles. Bloom & Grow comes with twelve floral components, sized and shaped differently for all kinds of layering possibilities, four leafy images, and four sweet sentiments. I stamped one of the flowers in orange, then stamped a brown center, and die-cut with the largest of the three Floral Circles dies. The leaf image was die-cut with Elegant Leaves. This is a must-have die -- no more fussy cutting when you want to add some foliage to your flower clusters! I used some pretty patterned papers form Jillibean Soup's Dutch Mustard line, and embellished with brads, stitching, twill, glitter, and a button. The fab layout is from Amber's Viva La Verve sketch earlier this month.

For more info, visit the Viva La Verve April 2011 Week 1 thread over in the Verve Forum on Splitcoast.

Ready to see more of this fantastic set and the coordinating dies? Here's today's hop list:

	1. Amber 8. Julee 2. Amy 9. Laurie 3. Andrea 10. Maureen 4. Charmaine 11. Teresa 5. Cresta 12. Tosh 6. Jackie 13. Sankari 7. Janelle 14. Melissa
TODAY'S PRIZE: Bloom & Grow, Elegant Leaves Die and Floral Circles Die Set

Thanks for visiting!





Stamps: Bloom & Grow (Verve Stamps)
Paper: Papertrey Rustic White and Dark Chocolate card stock, Stampin' Up textured Kiwi Kiss card stock, Jillibean Soup Dutch Mustard dp
Ink: Ranger Spiced Marmalade, Peeled Paint, and Walnut Stain Distress Inks, Versamagic Jumbo Java
Accessories: Verve Elegant Leaves die, Jillibean Soup cardboard frame, 1" lightweight natural twill, Papertrey button and twine, Cuttlebug Seeing Spots embossing folder, piercing tool, needle, thread, diistressing tool, Stampin' Up dimensionals, Spellbinders classic circle Nestabilities, Pink Hedgehog Papercrafts brown brads
Size: 4 1/4" x 5 1/2"

Verve April Spotlight: Day One

Lots going on at Verve this week, starting with our first day of April New Release Spotlights. That's right - new stamps are coming!! Mark your calendars for this Friday, April 15, 9-11 pm EST and join us in the Verve Forum for our Release Party (and tax refund assistance program {wink}).

Today, the Divas are showing a few different sets. The one I've focused on is Birthday Phrases. I've written about this before, but these tiny sentiment sets are always among my favorite and most-used Verve stamps, simply because they're the perfect size to tuck into just about anything. And now that we have the Charming Oval and Charming Banner dies (released last month and sized perfectly for these stamps), they're even better!

I'm also playing along in Amber's Get Your Diva On Challenge. She's come up with an awesome recipe challenge based on the first letter of your name. Remember, this is the new Verve challenge that gives you a chance to earn a future guest designer spot. We sure would love hanging out with you behind the scenes for an upcoming release, so go ahead and get your diva on! Deadline is this Sunday, April 17, 9 pm Mountain Time.

Here's the recipe:

Isn't that fun? I saw the blue, yellow, and ivory combo and immediately thought of my October Afternoon Thrift Shop papers. I have loads of scraps and as I was laying them out, they resembled a tiered cake, which I thought would be perfect for the new Birthday Phrases set. See the candles? They're die-cut with the Charming Banners die. It doesn't show up well in the photo, but I taped a little piece of burlap string to the top for the wick. Fun! The sentiment is stamped in a Charming Oval diecut and anchored with black eyelets. And the flower requirement was met with two of the paper patterns.

Be sure to hop around to see all the Diva spotlights today. A warm welcome to guest designers Janelle, Cresta, and Melissa! As always, leave comments for your chance at today's hidden prize. Enjoy the hop!

	1. Andrea 8. Julee 2. Jackie 9. Tosh 3. Charmaine 10. Amber 4. Janelle 11. Amy 5. Teresa 12. Maureen 6. Laurie 13. Cresta 7. Sankari
TODAY'S PRIZE: Bunny Shake, Birthday Phrases, Faithful Phrases and Happy Phrases

Thanks so much for visiting!





Stamps: Birthday Phrases (Verve Stamps)
Paper: Papertrey Kraft, Black, and Vintage Cream card stock, October Afternoon Thrift Shop designer paper
Ink: Versafine Onyx Black
Accessories: Verve Charming Oval and Charming Banner dies, Kaisercraft black pearls, Stampin' Up black eyelets, Papertrey ribbon, string, and button, Martha Stewart butterfly and border punch, My Favorite Things Jumbo Scallop border Die-namics die, Scor-Pal, corner rounder

Stamper's Dream & Friends Blog Hop - Dare to Dream

Today, the Stamper's Dream Dream Team and some very special guests are putting on an amazing blog hop that you will not want to miss! It all starts with Becca Feeken, so run get caught up if you need to. I'll have the full hop order below for your convenience. Be sure to leave lots of comment love along the hop for your chance at two hidden blog candy prizes!

I have a super fun project to share today ... an altered Maya Road ATC Shadow Box. I fell in love with these at CHA this winter and couldn't wait to make one of my own! So many neat things you can do with these (more on that at the end). I started this one with no real plan, just a bundle of new Webster's Pages products (Trendsetter and Ladies & Gents -- love!!) and some awesome Maya Road goodies. Each section is like its own canvas, and then when you put them all together, magic happens! I'll tell ya, I thought I'd died and gone to embellishment heaven!

The rest of my post is lengthy, so before I show each ATC section individually, here's the full hop list. Someone pinch me -- this is one rockin' group of talented designers I get to hang out with today!

Becca Feeken
Michelle Rodgers
Jerri Kay Jimenez
Amy Sheffer{you're here}
Denise Marzec
Arlene Cuevas
Leslie Miller
Cindy Lawrence
Kellie Fortin
Tosh Leyendekker
Jeanne Streiff
Mariana Grigsby
Joan Ervin
Lea Lawson
Frances Byrne
Christina Fischer
Carla Murphy
Teresa Kline
Carol Longacre
Gabriela Devine

There are the two mystery blog candy packages up for grabs. They'll go to two random commenters, so the more comments you leave, the better your chances of winning. The winners will be announced on Michelle's blog Thursday evening, April 14, as well as on the blogs that had the hidden candy. So be sure to check back to see who the two winners are....one of them could be you! Good luck!!

Here are some close-ups of the different sections of my ATC Shadow Box:

The vintage car is from one of the Trendsetter paper patterns. (Trendsetter and Ladies & Gents 6x6 papers are packaged together.) The adore sticker is from the Ladies & Gents Image & Phrase Cardstock Stickers (I thought it looked like a license plate). You can also find Trendsetter Image & Phrase stickers in the store. The little butterfly stick pin is by Webster's Pages, too. Those are out of stock currently, but if you like the butterfly pins, you might also like the Flower & Heart stick pins.

Again, I just cut down one of the Trendsetter patterns and embellished with some buttons and twine. Quick and easy!

This one has some stacked crochet flowers, a grass border (die-cut with a My Favorite Things Fresh Cut Grass Die-namics die), and flower stems made out of a very cool trim from the Trendsetter Trim Card (it's called Beaded Links). I also added part of a Maya Road Kraft Mini Ticket Strip topped with a button and some May Arts burlap string.

The corner piece in the bottom left compartment was cut from one of the Ladies & Gents papers. It reads, "unique & special you." Underneath are three rolls of paper, made from one of the Trendsetter patterns (the rolled paper is a neat idea I saw at the Maya Road booth at CHA). The dress form chipboard is from Maya Road's Sew Cute Mini Chipboard Set. I primed with gesso, painted it white, then added a coat of Tim Holtz's Clear Rock Candy Crackle Paint. The dress form is adorned with more of the Beaded Links trim, along with some Blue Tutu Trim (from the Trendsetter trim card again), and a mini ribbon rose that I cut from Maya Road's Small White Roses Organza Ribbon. The next compartment over is another quick and easy one. The dress forms are part of the patterned paper. I just added two pieces of Trendsetter trims and a large pink button tied off with baker's twine.

Last is the sentiment section. The look and feel of the Trendsetter products is so perfect for a young, hip, stylish woman, and with graduation coming, I decided to give my box an inspirational theme. The blue frame image is from JustRite's Friendship Blooms, and the sentiment is from Dare to Dream. Tucked along the bottom is a piece of "kisspinkruffle" trim, again from the Trendsetter trim card.

Last, around the bottom three sections, I added a length of one of the Trendsetter Fabric Ribbons, topped with pink twine, a pink button, and a Maya Road star stick pin.

A few more shots that help show the dimension and detail:

See what I meant about embellishment heaven? I used so many different goodies on this that I'm almost embarrassed! I think we papercrafters are probably all guilty of having a lot of "stuff," yes? My hope is that I haven't overwhelmed you, but encouraged you to get out some of that "stuff" and play! These ATC Shadow Boxes are the perfect thing! Off the top of my head, a few more ideas for them:
--a family theme home decor item. Add a few family photos along with some fun embellishments for a scrapbookish feel
--a brag box for grandma, instead of the usual brag book
--fill it with some of your favorite inspirational quotes
--organize an ATC swap with five other papercrafters and use this tray to display them
--display vacation memorabilia
--a school days keepsake for a child ... include a school photo, a class photo, a sample of your child's handwriting, some memorabilia, etc.

Thanks so much for visiting today!