DS56 - One Day at a Time

The day are just speeding past, and here we are at Thursday, which means a brand-new Deconstructed Sketch to play with. Do you look forward to these as much as I do? Here it is:

For my sample, I really wanted to start with one of Verve's new Plain Janes, so I picked out One Day. For papers, I reached for Echo Park's Note To Self 6x6 collection. There's something about the bold, graphic vibe of this collection that makes me practically giddy. I had to find a way to work in those adorable viewmasters, too!

The sentiment is stamped onto a Curvy Bookplate die cut and popped up over a Spellbinders Labels Fourteen shape. The orange accent flower was done with Verve's Loopy Blooms die set. The notebook edge on the blue ledger paper was done with My Favorite Things' Notebook Edge Die-namics die, and the gray scallop beneath that is a Cat's Pajamas Big Scallop CutUps. Along the bottom, I added some paper-pleated orange paper and adhered it with some Tim Holtz tiny staples.

For more sketch inspiration, please visit the Deconstructed Sketch Girls:

Amber Hight

Arielle Gordon

Donna Wardle 

Jen Shults 

Jessica Diedrich

Judy Rozema, Guest Designer

Kadie Ensley

Lori Boyd

Pam Varnell (off this week)

Sheri Gilson

When you're ready to play, link up your creation HERE on Jen's blog.

Don't miss Verve's current sale -- it's a good one! ALL dies, plus their coordinating stamp sets, are on sale. Check it out, right HERE.

Happy stamping!

Summer Fresh Gift Card Tins

Hola, friends, I'm still around, just super busy with year-end activities and such. I haven't done a whole lot of crafting, but last week, I set aside a chunk of time to make some fun gift-card holders for my son's teachers. I used metal DVD tins and altered them with Simple Stories Summer Fresh papers and journaling elements. Shown above are the outsides of both tins. For each, I embellished with a pinwheel and cloud border. Both were made with The Cat's Pajamas CutUps dies (Pinwheels and Cloud Border). I personalized the tins with the teachers' names using stickers from my stash.

Next, the inside of the lids ...

For both, I started with a large 4x6 journaling element from the Summer Fresh collection. (One of the 12x12 sheets has six of these on the front and another six on the back. Lots to choose from!) I formatted the list of students who contributed to the group gift on my computer and then just ran the journaling block through my printer. Last, I added coordinating paper to fit the dimensions of the tin.

The inside of the tin is where I put the actual gift card. 

I used a few more TCP CutUps dies here. The Gift Card Envie CutUps held the actual gift cards. I cut those from Kraft and embellished with a tiny strip of striped paper and a daisy cut with the Flower Buttons CutUps. The tin on the left has some die-cut borders, Big Scallop and Queen of Hearts. The tin on the right has a Grass border.

Have a happy day, friends!

DS55 - The Greeting Farm

It's Thursday -- are you ready for a new Deconstructed Sketch? Here's what we're playing with:

Since it's the first Thursday of the month, we are also sponsored this week, and by none other than The Greeting Farm! To be eligible win some TGF of your own, you'll need to complete your sketch by Wednesday, June 13, 8 pm CST. Link up your creation HERE.

Visit my fellow Deconstructed Sketch Girls for lots more inspiration:

Amber Hight

Arielle Gordon

Donna Wardle 

Jen Shults 

Jessica Diedrich

Judy Rozema, Guest Designer

Kadie Ensley

Lori Boyd

Pam Varnell 

Sheri Gilson

I chose to play with Amy Paints, a digi image by The Greeting Farm. She has my name, but she reminds me so much of my 8-year-old daughter, so I think she was meant for us! I'll have to either save this for her birthday in November, or let her give it to one of her friends. Coloring is with Copics, papers are from one of the Indie Chic lines by My Minds's Eye. 

I love this week's sketch! Don't be surprised if it shows up here again ;) Hope you'll give it a try!

Thanks for stopping by!

Verve Inspirations Hop - Fun in the Sun

Each month, Verve has an Inspirations Hop and the Divas get to show some new love to some of the older Verve sets and dies. Today's hop is all that and a little more! In addition to looking back at past Verve favorites, many of the Divas are also featuring two brand-new Plain Janes, One Day and Grace. My crafty muse took me in a different direction, but I know lots of the Divas have some beautiful things to share with the new PJs. You're sure to love them!

	1. Betty	9. Amber
	2. Jackie	10. Amy
	3. Jen d.	11. Andrea
	4. Jen T.	12. Janelle
	5. Julee	13. Laurie
	6. Sankari	14. Maureen
	7. Sony	15. Teresa
	8. Susan	16. Tosh

I can't stop admiring the new Summer Fresh collection by Simple Stories. As I was combining all the bright, fun colors, I thought they'd go perfectly with Relax The timing is perfect, too, as my kids are finishing school this week and then .... SUMMER BREAK and some good, ol' fun in the sun!

I stamped the sentiment in red and yellow ink onto onto one of the pre-made elements in the Summer Fresh collection. Accents and embellishments include a scallop border, buttons, pearls, twine, a lace doily, distressing and a bit of hand-stitching.

Before I go, more Verve news ...

Coordinating stamp sets are on sale, too. VERY nice!! For a complete list, visit the SALE page on the Verve site.

One more thing, as always, be sure to leave comments along the hop for your chance to win a $30 Verve gift certificate. Enjoy!

Just Clownin' Around -- TCPTues212

Have you seen this week's TCP Tuesday challenge, #212? Julie Masse is our host this week, and has challenged us to incorporate paper pleating into our project. If you've never tried paper pleating, it's really easy. Amy Rohl has a tutorial on SCS showing just how easy. No special supplies needed, although a scoring tool and bone folder do make the job much easier. 

I was flipping through some new-to-me, unused paper pads, when the bright colors and fun patterns of Cosmo Cricket's Baby Jane line jumped out. I thought they looked perfect for a circus theme, and have been itching to play with The Cat's Pajamas circus -themed stamps and dies anyway.

The adorable penguin is from Clownin' Around, and the circus tent was done with TCP's Big Top CutUps die. Along the bottom, I used the Circus Border CutUps die.

1. Each Tuesday we will give you a challenge. 2. You will have until the end of the month to complete the challenge. 3. Add your entry to the guestbook on Alma's blog and/or upload to the SCS Gallery, using the keyword TCPTUES212 for this week's challenge. 4. TCP stamps/dies are not required, but of course, highly encouraged. 5. There will be one randomly chosen weekly winner, announced on Tuesdays. 6. There will be one winner, The Swanky Stamper, announced the 1st of each month. They will win several sets from an upcoming release and get to play along with us at our Pajama Party and Blog Hop.

Hope you're enjoying your weekend! 

June SFYTT - Lil' Inker Designs

Happy first Saturday of the month! Are you looking for the new Sketch For You To Try?

This month we're sponsored by the awesome Lil' Inker Designs, one of my favorite companies! Check out all their super clever dies and the companion sentiment sets!

Here's our sketch:

Isn't that a fun one? Feel free to use stars, as shown in the sketch, or any other embellishment you'd like. I'm liking the relative simplicity - background, large focal panel, and a few embellishments. Less thinking required, which is a most welcome thing during the crazy end-of-school-year chaos!

I used Lil' Inker Designs' adorable 2 Cute Ink - Cutie Cat stamp set, along with the clouds from Rainbows & Clouds Dies. Coloring is with a combination of Copics and Prismacolor pencils. The wavy and chevron patterns are from the Indie Chic lines by My Mind's Eye.

Stop by the SFYTT Sisters for lots more sketch inspiration:

Jen del Muro with Designer of the Month Julie Elak (welcome, Julie!)
Amber Hight
Amy Sheffer
Becky Carafa
Carole Burrage **taking a break**
Jen Tapler
Jodi Collins
Kerry Johnson
Megan Lock
Susan Liles
Tracy Schultz

Hope you'll join us! Link up your creation HERE.

Details (click to enlarge):

Stamps: Lil' Inker Designs 2 Cute Ink - Cutie Cat
Paper: Papertrey Kraft card stock; Neenah Classic Crest Solar White card stock, My Mind's Eye Indie Chic
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Stampin' Up So Saffron
Accessories: Lil' Inker Designs Rainbows & Clouds Dies, Copic markers Prismacolor pencils, Spellbinders Classic Circle Nestabiities, The Cat's Pajamas felt, Papertrey button, May Arts jute string, white pom-pom trim (Maya Road, maybe?), foam dimensional adhesive
Size: 4 1/4" x 5 1/2"

Live the Life You've Imagined - DS54

I absolutely love this sentiment from Verve's Words of Wisdom set. Here, I've paired it with a die-cut butterfly (done with Verve's Flutterby die) and some Summer Fresh papers by Simple Stories. The layout is this week's Deconstructed Sketch, #54:

I think I've mentioned my unease with symmetrical sketches. In theory, they should be the easiest, and they're awfully pretty on paper, but when it comes time to create something, inevitably I end up feeling boxed in and constricted somehow. I struggled with this one yesterday and gave up on a few different attempts. This morning, however, my card came together in no time. Less than an hour -- a major feat for me!

I hope you'll join us this week at The Deconstructed Sketch. Link up your creations HERE. But first, have a look at all the inspiration the DT has put together:

Amber Hight

Arielle Gordon

Donna Wardle 

Jen Shults 

Jessica Diedrich

Judy Rozema, Guest Designer

Kadie Ensley

Lori Boyd

Pam Varnell 

Sheri Gilson

Thanks for stopping by!





Stamps: Words of Wisdom (Verve Stamps)
Paper: Papertrey Kraft and Rustic White card stock, Stampin' Up Riding Hood Red card stock, Simple Stories Summer Fresh 6x6 pad
Ink: Versamagic dark blue, Ranger Brushed Corduroy and Antique Linen Distress Ink
Accessories: Spellbinders Classic Circle Nestabilities, Verve Flutterby die, Stampin' Up wide twill, Papertrey buttons, Lemon Divine Twine, The Cat's Pajamas natural linen string, adhesive pearls, distressing tool, foam squares
Size: 5 1/2" square