Live the Sweet Life

I've had Impression Obsession's yummy Candy Jars stamp on my desk for months and have been too intimidated to ink it up. Why?? Now that I've colored it, I have no idea. Oh my gosh, was this a fun one! The image + the colors = pure joy.

I stamped in Memento Tuxedo Black on Neenah solar white card stock, colored with Copics and Prismacolor pencils, then trimmed out the image and added some clear glitter to the rock candy swizzle sticks. I was playing around with some different layouts and combos of patterned papers when yesterday's Splitcoast sketch challenge (#271) popped into my inbox. I took a look at the large focal image panel and decided to make it work. I also scrapped all the dp in favor of the fresh all-white design. The sentiment is from a Flourishes set, Cherries and Peaches, and is cut with a Labels 1 Nestie and tucked in between the two large rectangle panels. Fun!

Hope you're having a great week!




Stamps: Candy Jars (Impression Obsession)
Paper: Neenah Classic Crest Solar White
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black
Accessories: Copic markers, Prismacolor pencils, white gel pen, clear glitter, glue pen, Papertrey ribbon, Cuttlebig D'Vine Swirls embossing folder, Scor-Pal, EK Success scallop border punch, Spellbinders Labels 1 Nestabilities, foam adhesive

You Light Up My Life

I've been so inspired by some of Mercy's unique card layouts lately, where an artfully arranged group of scraps accents her focal point image. You can see what I mean HERE and HERE. Aren't they fun? I wanted to give it a try, and this is what I came up with, using just scraps left out from other projects. Thanks for the inspiration, Mercy!

The sun and sentiment are both from Verve's brand-new Let It Shine, and the papers are a mixture of October Afternoon Farm Fresh and Cosmo Cricket Girl Friday. I stamped the sun and sentiment onto Papertrey Rustic Cream card stock, heat embossed, and colored with Copic markers. A second sun is stamped, colored, trimmed, glittered, and popped up over the first.

For the gotta-have-it-all folks, save 15% when you buy Verve's full Spring Fling Collection (through the end of the month, or while supplies last). That's all four of the new sets, plus five Plain Janes. Check out all that you'll get:



Okay, that's it for me today. I've been having a time in my stamp room trying to find my groove - wish me luck!

Thanks, as always, for stopping by today!



Stamps: Let It Shine (Verve Stamps)
Paper: Papertrey Dark Chocolate and Rustic Cream card stock, October Afternoon Farm Fresh dp, Cosmo Cricket Girl Friday dp
Ink: Versafine Onyx Black
Accessories: Spellbinders circle and mega curved rectangle Nestabilities, EK Success scallop border punch, 5/8" natural twill, Papertrey button and twine

You ROCK!

How about a rocker grunge teen/tween card for today? I'm having so much fun with this new You're My Hero set by Taylored Expressions, filled with rock star images and sentiments. You're My Hero is the latest installment in the TE Giving Tree program. In case you're not already familiar with the program, every three months TE introduces a new Giving Tree set, and during those three months, $7 of each set sold goes directly to a designated charity. This month's set is in memory of Taylor's neighbor Darrin, who lost his battle to cancer last fall at the young, tender age of 10. I am truly honored to help spread the word about this wonderful cause. Head over to this post on Taylor's blog to read more about Darrin - be sure to grab some Kleenex on your way. If you're inclined to help out by purchasing You're My Hero, know that $7 per set will go to CureSearch. CureSearch unites the world's largest childhood cancer research organization, the Children's Oncology Group, and the National Childhood Cancer Foundation through their mission to cure childhood cancer.

My card uses Taylor's sketch challenge from this past Friday, TESC#103.



I modified it slightly to make it square. The papers, textured card stock, and ribbon are all part of the Rock Star Key Ingredients kit as well. I've been eyeing these Key Ingredients kits for a while now, and let me just say, now that I've had the chance to work with one, what a great value! Not to mention, there's just nothing quite like opening up that package of materials, knowing that everything has been carefully selected to coordinate. There are two KI kits this month. Rock Star is absolutely *perfect* in every way for You're My Hero, and the Easter Key Ingredients kit coordinates beautifully with TE's other two March releases, Favorite Peeps and Easter Blessings.

The guitar in this set comes in two pieces, the neck and then four different guitar bodies to choose from. My 9-year-old son liked the two with the flames best - go figure! I stamped three guitars in black ink, colored with Copics, trimmed them out, and popped them up against the grungy-looking notebook paper pattern (again, part of the Rock Star KI kit). I rock-'n-rolled the star in orange ink, then red, to create the two-color effect. For that bottom strip, I went with a strip of dry embossed circles (done with a Cuttlebug Frills folder).

Thanks for stopping by - Rock On! (couldn't resist - lol)

Joy Ride

Check out the new Joy Ride stamp set from My Favorite Things! Smitten, that's what I am! Cosmo Girl on a scooter? With her dog? How fun!

I made a little scene for her and her pooch out of Cosmo Cricket's new papers. Don't hold me to this, but I think the papers came from both Material Girl and Garden Variety (and none from CC's paper pack of the same name ... Joy Ride? How can this be?) The hills are cut from a green paper, the tree (from MFT's Grow Love) is paper pieced, and I put together the sun freestyle. The image is colored with Copics, trimmed out, and popped up for dimension.

Enjoy today!

Have I Toad You Lately

I get such a kick out of this fun frog/toad image from Penny Black called Viva Diva. Here, I've put it together with some new My Mind's Eye Little Boy Blue papers to make a card for my husband. The sentiment on the front is computer-generated. And the inside includes an "i love you" sentiment (I used a sentiment from a Penny Black Valentine set I already had on hand). I stamped in Versafine Onyx Black, clear embossed, and colored with Tombow Markers, then finished it off with a natural 5/8" twill bow, a wooden button, and some Maya Road Scallop Brown Vintage Crochet Trim, all available from Stamper's Dream.

Stamper's Dream has load of new Penny Black images, plus tons of other new products arriving almost daily (Tosh and I were good CHA shopping helpers {wink}). You can find all the new things under New Arrivals.

Here's the inside:





The layout is this week's Sketch For You To Try:



And in case you missed it in my last post, there's LOTS more inspiration this week due to some new faces on the SFYTT team! YAY!!

Jen del Muro with guest designer Angie Tieman
Amber Hight
Amy Rohl
Jenn Diercks
Kelly Lunceford
Leigh O'Brien
Megan Lock
Susan Liles

Thanks for stopping by!

SFYTT News!

I'm so excited for today's Sketch For You To Try! Jen is introducing our new March guest designer, Angie Tieman, along with three new members of the permanent team: Megan Lock, Jenn Diercks, and Amber Hight (on vacation this week)! Welcome!!

And now, here's your sketch this week:



And inspiration to get you started:

Jen del Muro with guest designer Angie Tieman
Amber Hight
Amy Rohl
Jenn Diercks
Kelly Lunceford
Leigh O'Brien
Megan Lock
Susan Liles

I've had an unusually busy week, both stamping and non, so my sample is not ready :( The sketch is finally making it out of triage this morning and I'm eager to go stamp! See you in a bit :)

Verve's Spring Fling Blog Hop

After a fabulous day of sneak peeks, challenges and set reveals, we’re topping off our Spring Fling Blog Party with a blog hop featuring the four new sets and five Plain Janes that just released from Verve. If you arrived here by way of Sankari, then you’re on the right track. If you just happened along, be sure to head back to Julee’s blog for the start of the hop. I can't wait to see what the Divas have in store for the hop!



As I was perusing my favorite sketch challenge sites earlier in the week, the current CPS sketch (#156) jumped out as a perfect fit for the new Birthday Wishes Plain Jane. I've been soaking up the gorgeousness of some new 6x6 paper packs from Webster's Pages this week, so I put one of the papers to work for the large background panel. I stamped the Birthday Wishes PJ onto a K&Co brown pattern and again on a Webster's Pages yellow pattern, then paper pieced it back together. To add dimension and texture, I topped the flower on the Plain Jane with a paper toled flower from Feel the Sun. Each of the flower layers is paper pieced and accented with some Antique Linen Distress Stickles. I love the romantic look and feel of this card! It also fits with Jackie's Spring Fling Color Challenge, yellow, green, and brown, although that might not be obvious at first glance ;)

Here's a closer look at the layered flower:




I also created a card for Lynda's Clean and Simple Flowers Challenge. Anyone who knows me knows clean and simple cards are my weakness! I might end up with a simple card, but the process to get there is anything but - LOL :) This one, though, wasn't too bad, thanks to the totally cool and unique Mojo Monday Sketch #128. Here's my take:



I stamped one of the flowers from Feel the Sun onto white card stock, colored with Copics, popped up the actual flower part, and gave the petals some glittery speckles. I just love how this particular birthday sentiment from Big Wish fits next to this flower so perfectly! The color combo is from the Embellish Magazine Challenge that Verve is currently sponsoring.

To celebrate our new release, we’ve got a very special treat hidden along the hop. One lucky commenter will win our entire release! So as you’re hopping along, be sure to give a little shout out in the comments if you see something that makes you smile. The lucky winner will be announced Tuesday evening, {March 10} on the Verve Blog.

Thanks for hopping by! Next up on the hop is Charmaine!

And in case you get distracted or there’s a hiccup in the chain, head on over to the Verve Blog for the full list of hops.

Thanks so much for visiting!



Shabby Birthday Wishes Card:
Stamps: Feel the Sun, Birthday Wishes Plain Jane (Verve Stamps)
Paper: Papertrey Rustic Cream card stock, Webster's Pages and K&Co designer papers, a page from an old book
Ink: Versafine Onyx Black, Ranger Antique Linen and Frayed Burlap Distress Ink
Accessories: clear embossing powder, foam adhesive, Antique Linen Distress Stickles, 5/8" natural twill, EK Success scallop border punch, BossKut flourish die, distressing tool

Clean and Simple Happy Birthday Card:
Stamps: Feel the Sun, Big Wish (Verve Stamps)
Paper: Papertrey Kraft, White, Melon Berry, and Lemon Tart card stock
Ink: Versafine Onyx Black, white pigment ink
Accessories: Spellbinders circle Nestabilities, corner rounder, Kaiser Craft black pearls, Cuttlebug Swiss Dots embossing folder, Martha Stewart scallop dot border punch, Papertrey ribbon, foam adhesive, sewing machine