July SFYTT - Sweet Dreams

Greetings! It's the first Saturday of the month, which means it's time for a brand-new Sketch For You To Try. Our sponsor this month is one of my very favorite companies ... My Favorite Things!! I used to be on their design team, and I am certain not a single release has gone by that I haven't thought how fun it would be to "work" with those images again! Good thing Michelle at Stamper's Dream carries a variety of MFT images and dies -- I can still get a good fix when I need one.

My Favorite Things images and dies are widely available from brick and mortar stores, online stores, as well as from the MFT Boutique, so chances are, you're already familiar with them. But if not, do check 'em out! Some of the cutest, most clever stamps and dies on the market!

Here's the July Sketch For You To Try:

And just for fun, here's what it looks like rotated to the right ...

Because that's what I did for my sample, which features the adorable Bedtime Story Pure Innocence stamp set by My Favorite Things:

Isn't she just precious tucked into her sweet little bed reading a bedtime story? The cloud border along the top (totally inspired by the amazing recently release cloud border die from The Cat's Pajamas) was built using a combination of MFT's Cloud Trio and Flat-Bottom Clouds Die-namics dies. The yellow stars were die-cut with MFT's Stacking Stars Die-namics die. Coloring is with Copic markers and the papers (those used for the paper pieced bed linens as well as the darker "night sky" background) are from A Walk in the Park collection by Echo Park.

 

For more sketch inspiration, visit the SFYTT Sisters:

Jen del Muro with July guest designer Debbie Carriere (welcome, Debbie -- love ya!!)
Amber Hight
Carole Burrage
Jen Tapler
Jodi Collins
Kerry Johnson
Megan Lock
Sony Christoph
Susan Liles
Terri Moore

Sister comings and goings update: Sony is back (yay!!), but we do say farewell to Kelly Lunceford. Her hands will soon be filled with a new little bundle of joy! Best wishes, Kelly!

1. The SKETCH FOR YOU TO TRY {SFYTT} will be posted on the first Saturday of each month on www.iheart2stamp.com at 8am EST and will stay open to participants until the last day of the month, unless otherwise noted.
2. This is for fun! Interpret the sketch as you wish and embellish as desired. There are no vendor restrictions, but we would love to see you use the sponsor’s stamps!
3. Each month we will have a Designer of the Month that will be chosen from past month’s participants.
4. Come and play with us on each and every sketch! On Christmas Day 2011 a prize package worth over $200 will be given away to one very lucky and loyal SFYTT stamper that participates in EVERY sketch for the year.
5. To be eligible for the prize package, you must complete ALL of the sketches by each of the deadlines AND link your creation to the link system on that month’s sketch post (the first Saturday of the month). Everyone except for SFYTT Sisters are eligible for the prize package, including Designer of the Month and international players.
6. When posting your sketch creation on your blog, please post the sketch and link back to the sketch post on www.iheart2stamp.com. When posting to online galleries, please use the keyword “SFYTT.”
 

One more thing before I go ...

Stamper's Dream is having a major sale through Monday, July 4. Save 20% off the lowest marked price on many, many store products! Find all the details HERE. Happy shopping!

Have a great weekend, blog friends!

Verve Inspirations Hop: What's Shaking?

 
Welcome to the July Diva Inspirations Blog Hop! Our Diva Inspirations team and several special guests from the Release team are here to start your month off right with a little Verve inspiration! Take a little peek at each of the fabulous blogs below for some Verve-alicious eye candy and you just might win some Vervey goodness of your very own!

1. Julee 9. Susan 2. Betty 10. Andrea 3. Dawn 11. Charmaine 4. Jen d. 12. Teresa 5. Jen T. 13. Maureen 6. Lynda 14. Amber 7. Shannan 15. Amy 8. Sony

We've hidden a little mystery prize on one of today's hop spots, so be sure to leave a little comment love as you hop around for a chance to win!
Comment Deadline: 11:59pm Mountain, July 5
Prize: $30 gift certificate to Verve 

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July is birthday time here at Verve, with five Diva birthdays, including Julee's! To start the celebration in style, our July Stamp of the Month is one of my absolute favorites... Carpe Cupcake! And at 40% off during the month of July, Carpe Cupcake is one SWEET deal!
 

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A brand new month also brings along a new sale here at Verve! During the month of July, save 20% on all of our birthday stamps! Check out all the birthday goodness on our SALE page.

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Our Gift to YOU!
And what's a birthday party without goody bags? We've gathered together some of our favorite things... doilies, My Mind's Eye paper, tags, ribbon, plus a few other goodies and put them in brown paper packages! And during the month of July, if your order is $75 or more, you'll receive one of these goody bags free! There's nothing to add to your cart, we'll just be sure to include it when your order ships! Celebrate good times, c'mon!

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For today's card, I started with Amber's awesome Viva La Verve July - Week 1 Sketch, shown here:

Then I picked cheery, summertime papers from the 100 Days of Summer collection by Simple Stories. And last (which is usually first), I picked my stamps. The adorable quivering bunny from Bunny Shake seemed perfect! Hopefully, I haven't strayed too far from the sketch with the cloud and grass border, but I really liked the way they helped to create a scene. The sentiment is punched with an oval punch, then attached to a flag, which is wrapped around a stick pin. I tucked the sharp end of the stick pin behind the bunny's paw to make it look like he's waving the flag. Such a cute stamp and sentiment combo!!

That's it for today's hop! Hope you've enjoyed the ride!!





Stamps: Bunny Shake (Verve Stamps)
Paper: My Mind's Eye Life of the Party, Simple Stories 100 Days of Summer, Neenah Classic Crest Solar White card stock, Stampin' Up Real Red card stock
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Vintage Photo Distress
Accessories: Copic markers, Papertrey button, The Twinery twine, liquid applique, Lil' Inker Designs Rainbow & Clouds die, My Favorite Things Fresh Cut Grass Die-namics, Stampin' Up small oval punch, Wilton doily, Prima pearls, foam adhesive, paper piercer/needle/thread, sanding block

Paris, New York, London Couture

Lately, I've found myself surprisingly homesick for the beautiful Blue Ridge and Appalachian mountains that flank the Shenandoah Valley where I grew up, so I took the three kiddoes down that way to visit their grandparents for a couple of days. Their behavior (the kids', that is -- teehehe) was wretched, but even that couldn't rob me of the peaceful, restorative powers of the beautiful landscape. We also visited a museum where we watched a short movie about Stonewall Jackson's Valley Campaign during the Civil War. I've never been a big history buff, but I found myself fascinated and wanting to learn more about both the Civil War and the geographical region I still call home.

Enough chatter, though, would you believe today's card was supposed to be a 10-minute card? I've had a quick and easy idea I've been wanting to try, but I went in a bit of a different direction, I'm sure you can tell {grin}. See the tag? I started by making that out of watercolor paper, Distress Stains (Peeled Paint and Broken China), various distressing methods, then stamping with an image from Tim Holtz's Papillon stamp set (currently out of stock at Stamper's Dream - sorry!). The words "Paris, New York, and London" had me thinking fashion, so I pulled out a Maya Road chipboard dress form and Webster's Pages' Trendsetter 6x6 Petite Paper pad. I painted the dress form with ivory (or maybe white?) acrylic paint, then sponged the edges with Old Paper and Vintage Photo Distress inks, and last, coated the whole thing with Clear Rock Candy Crackle Paint.

Various bits and pieces tucked here and there finish up the collage look:

Maya Road tickets, stick pins, and organza rose ribbon
Prima bling (necklace on the dress form) and trim
May Arts trim (a prize from Embellish Magazine for winning one of their color trends challenges - thanks Embellish!)
Webster's Pages Bloomers (the turquoise flower)
a stamped and trimmed butterfly (also from Papillon)

I'm linking this up to the current CR84FN32 challenge. Aqua and green are well-represented, and I'm hoping the bling "necklace" fulfills the yellow :)

Thanks for stopping by today! Have a good one!

Sky's The Limit

Laura Pryor, of Lil' Inker Designs, has done it again! She's something of a creative genius, I tell ya! First it was the sentiment flag die and stamp set combo, then the adorable (and ingenious) pinwheel die/stamps combo, and now she's got the cutest rainbow and clouds dies, with a coordinating stamp set, of course! I can't wait to see what future brilliance might be clanging around in that noggin of hers!

There's quite a lot to love in this latest set, Rainbow & Clouds ...

1. You get not one, but two rainbows ... one is the half-arc that I've used on today's card and the other is a smaller full arc
2. The same die cuts both of the rainbows and a second die cuts two clouds - large and small
3. Perforations around the perimeter of the clouds -- so cute!
4. Super cute coordinating sentiments in a most fun handwriting-style font -- love, love!!

I put together a quick and cute rainbow scene just by layering the rainbow and clouds die-cuts onto some cloud pattern paper, then adding a sun sticker and a grass border. Embellishments are minimal -- hand stitching, a jumbo scallop border, ribbon and a button tied off with yellow twine.

Here's a look at the smaller, full-arc rainbow, which I added to the inside of my card, along with a congratulations sentiment. I'm late getting a graduation card and gift sent off to a friend's son. He's heading away to college in the fall and this will be perfect!

I also made this for the current Embellish Rainbow Color Trends Challenge:

A pair of close-ups:

Have a colorful day!



Stamps: Rainbow & Clouds (Lil' Inker Designs)
Paper: Papertrey Dark Chocolate, Harvest Gold, Hawaiian Shores, and White card stock; Stampin' Up Wild Wasabi and Real Red card stock, My Mind's Eye Good Day Sunshine and Fly A Kite dp
Ink: Versafine Onyx Black
Accessories: Lil' Inker Designs Rainbow & Clouds dies, My Favorite Things Fresh-Cut Grass and Jumbo Scallop Die-namics dies, Simple Stories 100 Days of Summer sun sticker, Papertrey ribbon and button, The Twinery twine, paper piercer/needle/thread
Size: 4 1/4" x 5 12"

Fun in the Sun

Teresa's got a great Viva La Verve sketch posted over in the Verve Forum to round out our June batch of sketches. Check out the participation details HERE for your chance to win an upcoming Verve release in full! Speaking of upcoming Verve releases, mark your calendars for Friday, July 8 -- the wait for some new Verve is almost over! Yeeehaw!!

Today's card uses Verve's awesome summer-themed set Relax, which, by the way, is included in Verve's current For the Boys Sale (along with a whole bunch of other sets). Pick up any of the sale sets during the month of June and save 15%! Both the palm trees and the Fun in the Sun sentiment are from Relax. For fun, I stamped the trunks onto a woodgrain pattern. The papers, including the rectangle panel with the numbers on it, are from 100 Days of Summer by Simple Stories. I am head over heels for this collection -- so fun and bright and cheery! Thank you, Paper Posies, for sending it my way. (I'm a long-time Paper Posies kit subscriber, and the June 2011 kit especially ROCKS!)

Here's Teresa's Viva La Verve sketch:

And here's a close-up (I am ignoring the red smudges on the tips of my yellow "N" -- perhaps you will ignore them, too? {*grin*}):

Hope you're having a fantastic weekend!

And Many More

While in a vintage/shabby creative mindset, I put together this card for a friend's birthday. The papers are from Graphic 45's Once Upon a Springtime, including the main focal image, which I just cut from one of the patterns, and the angled postcard behind it (mostly covered up). I stamped a birthday sentiment from JustRite's Forever Friends cling set, die-cut it with one of JustRite's Charm dies, and tied it onto a length of crinkled seam binding using some May Arts ivory burlap string.

To add a little somethin' to the focal panel, I cut one of the Spellbinders Fancy Tags Three in half and trimmed it a little in order to use it as left and right brackets. I also used a small accent image from Forever Friends to stamp a subtle border on the pink gingham pattern. I need to remember to stamp borders more often instead of reaching for punches and dies all the time!

I finished the inside, too -- haven't done that in a while, but I sure do love how the finished insides make the card feel so much more complete. The sentiment and frame are both from JustRite's Elegant Frames set. I accented again with Fancy Tags Three diecuts, one on the left and right and another on the top and bottom.

Thanks for visiting, and may you also have happiness today, tomorrow, and always!

Celebrate Your Day

A little more love today for Crate Paper's Emma's Shoppe 6x6 paper collection and the coordinating Eclectic Buttons I loved on a couple of days ago. Emma's Shoppe is just such a yummy collection! The sentiment is from JustRite's awesome all-purpose mini sentiment set Just Because. I die-cut it with a Spellbinders Ribbon Banners die, then gave the banner a pedestal by using just a portion of one of Spellbinders Elegant Posts dies. The birds are from Prima's Birdsong Script Collection. I originally intended this to be a birthday card, but the pair of birds sure gives it a wedding or anniversary feel, don't you think? More than okay, though, as I know a very special couple who will be celebrating forty-eight years of marriage in just a few days -- my parents.

Hope you're having a great week! I am, but I sure am finding stamp time hard to come by! Take care!!





Stamps: Just Because (JustRite Stamps)
Paper: Crate Paper Emma's Shoppe 6x6 Collection, Papertrey Kraft card stock, Stampin' Up Regal Rose card stock
Ink: Versafine Onyx Black, Papertrey Fresh Snow, Ranger Old Paper and Vintage Photo Distress Inks
Accessories: Prima Birdsong Script Collection, Spellbinders Classic Circles, Ribbon Banners and Elegant Posts dies, paper piercer/needle/thread, foam adhesive, distressing tool, Papertrey twine, Crate Paper Emma's Shoppe Eclectic Buttons
Size: 4 1/4" x 5 1/2"