Sketchy Birthday Celebration

So how much of a whiner did I sound in my last post? I didn't mean to!! I was just tellin' it, you know, but when I re-read it just now, it sure sounded whiny. Sorry!

For today's project I got to play with some new Stampin' Up goodies that came this week. I am in love with this new Haiku patterned paper. Talk about happy colors!! I wasn't planning on getting the Upsy Daisy set yet, but when I saw that it was on sale, I took a few things off my order to make room for it. And I'm so glad I did!

The layout today comes from Jen del Muro's Sketch for You to Try. You'll find the sketch, Jen's sample, and guest designer Bonnie Sharp's sample at i{heart}2stamp. Then be sure to check out the samples from Amy, Shannan, and Susan. Carole is playing too, but not until Sunday, when she gets back from a weekend getaway. Hope you can play along this week! If you upload to SCS, remember to use keyword: SYFTT.

This is also my sample for this week's challenge over at Our Creative Corner, which is to make a birthday card. I have quite a few birthday cards to send out (both overdue ones and upcoming ones), so this was a great challenge for me. We'd love to have you play along. You'll find all the details, along with samples from the other OCC designers (Cindy Haffner, Dawn Easton, Denise Marzec, Jennifer Meyer, Laurie Schmidlin, and Lynda Benden), plus guest designer Julee Tilman's sample, over on the Our Creative Corner blog.

I used Nestabilities to cut the circle window and to create the scalloped border. The top layers are mounted on 1/8" foam squares over the Very Vanilla stamped panel. For the stamped image, I inked the stamp in More Mustard, then used a sponge dauber to add Tangerine Tango to the edges of the flowers. The Tangerine wasn't quite dark enough after I stamped, so I used an aqua painter and ink from the lid of the Tangerine pad to deepen and intensify the orange edges. It really made a difference! While I had the aqua painter out, I painted some Angel Wings Shimmerz Glitter Paint onto the flowers as well. A very cool product available at Jacksonbelle Embellishments. (I don't see the Angel Wings color listed anymore, but there are a bunch of other colors.) Here's another shot of the shimmer that adds:



On the inside, I repeated the stamped image in the lower left-hand corner on a layer of Very Vanilla matted with Tangerine:



Have a fantastic holiday weekend!



Stamps: Upsy Daisy (SU!)
Paper: Old Olive, Tangerine Tango, So Saffron, Very Vanilla, More Mustard card stock, "Haiku" designer paper
Ink: More Mustard, Tangerine Tango, Old Olive
Accessories: classic and scalloped circle Nestabilities (Spellbinders); Floral Screen cuttlebug folder (Provo Craft); large oval punch, Tangerine Tango ribbon, aqua painter (SU!); Angel Wings Shimmerz; foam squares, paper piercer

Procrastinator's Special

I've been crazy busy this week. My oldest son turned 8 on Monday. He ended up sick, so we had to postpone his "party" (not really a party, just a few friends heading off to the water park for the day). We rescheduled it for today, but since it was supposed to be rainy (and is), we had changed it to bowling. He's still not fully well, so now we're looking at moving it to sometime in September. Bummer for him - he's so upset! School starts next week, so there's shopping and some PTO stuff to do. DH is going in to work in the late afternoon and working all night this week, which always makes dinnertime and bedtime kinda hairy. And I'm trying to help my mother get ready for a baby shower next weekend. Plus all the "usual." Anyway, it's all good (except for the sick stuff).

I've also been madly trying to finish up some of my design work for the month, and the good news there is that I have six Verve cards to show today. This first one I posted on SCS Tuesday for the color challenge: Rose Red, Black, and Kraft. What a fun color combo!



I absolutely LOVE the "Beautiful You" sentiment that the stamp set was named after. Beautiful You is made up of special quotes and phrases from the Verve design team members. This one was Laura Fredrickson's genius choice - just an all-around fantastic sentiment for so many things. I'm sending this card to my mom, who celebrated her birthday on Tuesday. My poor mom, I'm always so caught up in my son's birthday the day before that I'm never ready for hers anymore. Hopefully, her 60th birthday gift eight years ago (first grandchild) makes up for all future tardies :)

These next two cards are both made with Fairy Tales. On this first sample, I can't decide which I like more, the edgy color combo of black and Stampin' Up's new Kiwi Kiss or the awesome sentiment, "Make Your Own Happiness." No matter what the circumstances around us, I'd like to think we have the power to choose happiness over sadness or despair, to choose to see the good over the bad, to actively seek out that which satisfies. I just love it!!



This next sample shows an out-of-the-box combination of the ring from Fairy Tales and the flourishy circle from Artful Elegance: a Christmas ornament! The hook stamp came from a retired Stampin' Up set called Fun With Shapes. The tree branches are from another retired SU set, Peaceful Wishes. The sentiment is from SU's All Holidays.



Next is a 4 1/4" notecard using a sentiment from Notes of Prayer. I love Kiwi Kiss, Baja Breeze, and Chocolate Chip together. I added some dry embossing with the Argyle Cuttlebug folder for a bit of a masculine look and feel.




Last but not least is the totally gorgeous Cupcake Affair set. I'm certain I've never seen prettier cupcake stamps!





I'm sure I say this each month, but this month's Verve sets are the best yet! For many, many more samples, be sure to visit the Verve gallery!

"See" you again on Saturday for my regular Saturday challenges - Jen's Sketch For You To Try and a new challenge from Our Creative Corner.



Most of the supply lists are available in the Verve Gallery. Here are direct links: Beautiful You, Make Your Own Happiness, Merry Christmas, Our Prayers are With You, and Cupcake.

Cupcake Trio:
Stamps: Cupcake Affair (Verve); Polka Dot (SU!)
Paper: Certainly Celery, Rose Red (SU!); Stamper's Select White (Papertrey Ink)
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black
Accessories: Copic markers, classic and scalloped rectangle Nestabilities (Spellbinders); Regal Rose wide grosgrain ribbon, oval punch, Dazzling Diamonds glitter (SU!)

A Verve Kind of Day

I have a few Verve things to show you today.... This first card uses Artful Elegance. I just love how easy this set is to work with!

These next two use some of the Scripture "Plain Janes." First up is 1 Thessalonians 5:17-18:



Second is Joshua 24:15:



Thanks for stopping by!

Project Hope

I was taking an overdue peek at Sharon Johnson's blog recently and saw this beautiful accordian card she made using stickers of all things. (Only Sharon could make something this beautiful with stickers!) A few days later, Sharon had a link to this gorgeous coupon keeper that Sharon Harnist made from a file folder. The wheels began to turn in my little head. I wondered how it might work to make some kind of accordian book with pockets to hold either some bookmarks or tags using the new Hope set from Our Daily Bread Designs. This is what I came up with:



Each pocket holds a bookmark/tag. On the first, I left some extra white space for a personalized message:



The other three tags each have a Bible verse of encouragement:







I folded the two outside panels in, gate-fold style, then added a decorated belly band to hold it all together. So this is what it looks like all folded up.



Finished size is 5 1/2" square. You can see from the photo that it's a little thick when it's folded up. It kind of bothers me that it doesn't lie flat, to be honest. If I make another one of these, I think I'll try to design the base into a thin box to accommodate the thickness a little more neatly. On the other hand, it's like a thick scrapbook that doesn't close all the way ... you just can't wait to see all the good stuff inside!

This was really simple to make. I started with an 8 1/2" x 11" sheet of Pixie Pink card stock. From a landscape orientation, I scored at 2 3/4", 5 1/2", and 8 1/4". Then I switched to a portrait orientation and scored at 5 1/2" (so I'm scoring down the long side). I folded that long side in to create the pocket, and punched the edge with my Stampin' Up scalloped edge punch. I used Sticky Strip to adhere just the left and right edges of the pocket. The accordian folds do a pretty good job of keeping the bookmarks/tags in place. After that I just embellished the outside with some designer paper and added the bookmarks/tags. If you have any questions, just let me know and I'll update this post with the answers.

Don't forget that with the purchase of the Hope stamp set, you'll receive a free "Hope Pack" (while supplies last). Check out the details HERE. The Breast Cancer Awareness designer papers I used on this project, as well as the pink ribbon brad on the belly band, are both included in the "Hope Pack." [Update: These papers and the brads are also available for purchase. Just click the link above and scroll down past the set and the picture of the Hope Pack.]

Have a great Sunday!

Girl Meets Chocolate

I can't believe I completely spaced on letting you know about Verve's latest challenge - sorry! If this gorgeous graphic isn't enough to stir your creative juices, nothing is!! Is this not the yummiest? The Verve Divas are using this as the inspiration for our monthly project parade. Jen del Muro started off the parade yesterday with an absolutely spectacular project that will have you salivating for sure! And every weekday through September 5, another Verve Diva will post another project. It all happens on the Verve blog. We'd love for you to play along, too! Just upload your project to your blog or gallery and then link back to this post on the Verve blog. We're choosing a random winner who will receive $15 in Verve bucks. Deadline to enter is midnight ET September 3. Winner announced Thursday, September 4. Good luck!

Chip{hoard}

We could call this part three in my unofficial "use what you hoard" series. What is it for you? A patterned paper? Ribbon? Hardware? Chipboard has topped my list, but mostly because I haven't really known what to do with it. I'm working on getting that figured out, and have created some cards lately that I've been really happy with.

For today's card I've doubled up on challenges. The layout is a squared up version of Jen's weekly Sketch For You To Try. You can see the sketch, plus Jen's and guest designer Bonnie Sharp's samples, at i{heart}2stamp. And be sure to check out what Amy, Carole, Shannon, and Susan have put together. As always, we welcome you to play along. Upload to your blog or gallery, then leave a comment on Jen's blog with your link. If you upload to SCS, use keyword: SFYTT.

The Ruby Red, Pumpkin Pie, Old Olive and Chocolate Chip color combo comes from this week's Our Creative Corner Color Challenge. You can see all kinds of yumminess from my teammates over at Our Creative Corner. Come and play with us! Just upload to your blog or gallery, then leave a comment on this OCC post with a link to your project. If you upload to SCS, use keyword: OCCC.

And if you're feeling really ambitious (or lazy... or efficient...) combine the two like I did!

A few notes about the card ... the stamps come from Verve's Grateful Elegance set. I stamped the flowers in Memento Tuxedo Black onto watercolor paper and colored them with an aqua painter and reinkers. I coated the chipboard pieces with Chocolate Chip craft ink before clear embossing. The sentiment panel is cut and embossed with oval Nestabilities. I had a question a little while ago about how to do the embossing inside the cut shape. Rather than re-create what's already been done, I'll direct you to Nichole Heady's tutorial here. It's easy peasy and adds sooooo much to the otherwise plain panel. The scrolly background is also from Grateful Elegance, and has been stamped in VersaMark and heat embossed, too. Finished card size is 5 1/2" square.

Thanks so much for stopping by, and have a great weekend!



Stamps: Grateful Elegance (Verve)
Paper: Chocolate Chip, Old Olive, Whisper White, Ruby Red card stock, Bali Breeze dp
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Ruby Red, Cranberry Crisp, Pumpkin Pie
Accessories: classic and scalloped oval Nestabilities (Spellbinders); chipboard (Fancy Pants); wide olive grosgrain, 1/4" circle punch, vintage brads, aqua painter, sponge daubers, dimensionals, slot punch (all SU!)
Size: 5 1/2" square

Grateful Elegance

Here's a quickie thank-you note idea using Verve's new Grateful Elegance stamp set. I love the easy elegance of this scroll background stamp! All I had to do was add some ribbon and brads plus a simple sentiment and the card was finished. The layout comes from Julee Tilman's Meet the Verve Diva sketch challenge. Head over to the Verve Forum this week and get to know Julee! Next Thursday, she'll be drawing one random winner from all the sketch entries, too - winner gets $15 Verve bucks. Hope you can play along!



Stamps: Grateful Elegance (Verve)
Paper: Cranberry Crisp, Going Gray, Basic Black, Naturals White (SU); "Boxer" (Basic Grey)
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black (Tsukineko)
Accessories: vintage brads, 1/4" circle punch, Cranberry Stitched ribbon (SU!); "Swiss Dots" Cuttlebug folder (Provo Craft); classic and scalloped circle Nestabilities (Spellbinders); black satin ribbon (Offray); paper piercer

Dirty Thirty

Every month on the 20th, the Dirty Dozen and Dirty Dozen Alumni have a challenge. This month, the challenge, issued by Jen del Muro, is to make a birthday card that includes numbers, but doesn't include the word "birthday." Jen celebrated her 30th birthday last week, so this one's for her (yes, belated, of course, I know no other way!). I created the "Celebrate 30 It's Your Day" sentiment using JustRite products. So much fun to play with! The layout comes from today's SCS Sketch Challenge. Be sure to check out the challenge gallery to see what everyone else did!

I chose two coordinating patterned papers from the Wild Asparagus line by My Mind's Eye, cut them into squares, then cut in half on the diagonal. I ran each triangle through the Cuttlebug using the Floral Screen folder before machine-stitching them to brown mats and adhering to a Blue Bayou 4 1/4" square card base. The circles are all cut with classic and scalloped circle Nestabilities. I added two flower embellishments - one is a "Painterly" flower by Prima; the other is punched from dp with the Spring Bouquet Stampin' Up punch.

Thanks for stopping by!

Hope

A few days ago I told you about a new set from Our Daily Bread Designs called "Hope." In it are the awareness ribbon image, as well as the word "Hope," and four Scripture stamps. My first thought was the pink ribbon of breast cancer awareness. Having lost a grandmother to breast cancer, my life has certainly been touched by this illness, too. Sadly, I think most people have been touched in one way or another.

The ribbon also works well for other types of awareness cards and projects. I've seen a few sites that list the awareness ribbon colors ... one of them is Wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_awareness_ribbons

When I saw today's Splitcoast color challenge (Ruby Red, Blush Blossom, and Close to Cocoa), I thought it would work well with this set, even though it's not the traditional pinks of breast cancer awareness. Hope you like it!

Remember, while supplies last, Kelley has a fantastic "Hope Pack" available FREE with the purchase of this set. It includes some pink office supplies along with some Breast Cancer Awareness papercrafting supplies. Take a look:



Have an awesome day, and thanks for visiting!



Stamps: Hope (Our Daily Bread Designs); Stitched (SU!)
Paper: Close to Cocoa, Chocolate Chip, Ruby Red, Blush Blossom, Whisper White
Ink: Ruby Red, Chocolate Chip, Blush Blossom, Close to Cocoa
Accessories: aqua painter, flowers (unknown), vintage brads, 1/4" circle punch, Pewter Hodgepodge Hardware, scallop border punch, corner rounder, sewing machine, sponge daubers

A JustRite Challenge

If you love the JustRite Stampers, you've gotta check out the JustRite Stampin' Champion Contest they're running on their blog. Unbelievable giveaways -- $25, $50, and $100 gift certificates every week, plus a grand prize at the very end! Looks like it runs for the next 9 weeks.

I made today's monogrammed notecard a few weeks ago using the DIY Monogram Stamper Kit - Special Occasions Font. It was my first time using this product, and I loved it. So easy to work with! I dotted Stardust Stickles onto the circle border for a little extra somethin'. The whole white panel is raised up on dimensionals.

Thanks for stopping by!



Stamps: DIY Monogram Stamper Kit - Special Occasions Font
Paper: Bashful Blue, Whisper White, Basic Black
Ink: Basic Black
Accessories: classic and scalloped circle Nestabilities (Spellbinders); Swiss Dots and Birds & Swirls Cuttlebug folders (Provo Craft); wavy edge blade on rotary paper cutter; ticket corner punch (SU!); Stardust Stickles (Ranger).

Clickerty Cluck ... Clickerty Clack

These adorable Penny Black chicks just crack me up every time!! Michelle at Stamper's Dream knows how much I like my other chick stamp, and surprised me by including this one along with a recent order. Thank you Michelle - you are the BEST!!!

This is my {very late} sample for Our Creative Corner's sketch challenge this week. Check out the sketch and all the fabulous samples at Our Creative Corner. We hope you can play along with us this week. Just upload your project to your blog or gallery, then link it up to the OCC blog so we can check it out! If you upload to SCS, use keyword OCCC.

Hope you're having a great weekend!



Stamps: Spinning A Yarn (Penny Black)
Paper: Cranberry Crisp, Stamper's Select White (Papertrey Ink); Basic Black and So Saffron, dp by KI Memories
Ink: Versafine Onyx Black, various reinkers
Accessories: black gingham ribbon, paper piercer, aqua painter, scallop border punch (all SU!), jumbo black brads (CTMH), fabric flowers (Daisy D's)

The Big News!!

Good morning!! I know some of you know this already, but I have a HUGE announcement to share ... yesterday I officially joined the Splitcoast Dirty Dozen!!! I can't EVEN believe I'm lucky enough to be a dirty girl!!! I've drooled over the Dirty Dozen gallery each month since way back when it first started quite a few years ago, so for me to become a part of it is really just the ultimate honor. I'm on cloud nine, and I don't know when my feet will touch the ground again!! Thanks for all the comments, emails, and phone calls of congratulations yesterday! Your support and encouragement have meant so much to me!!! I also want to give a big congratulations to my "roomie," the awesome Cindy Lawrence (One Happy Stamper), who joins at the same time. Way to go, Cindy!! I'm so excited for our ride!

[Okay, that's a lot of exclamation points, even for me! Can you tell I'm excited?]

If you're not familiar with the Dirty Dozen, you can read more about it HERE and HERE.

Today's card is my sample for Jen del Muro's weekly Sketch for You to Try. I had a tough time wrapping my arms around today's sketch at first ... what to do with the three panels, where to stamp, what kind of embellishment to use. But once I figured out my game plan, the card came together in record time. So, a long time thinking, but a short time creating. Check out the sketch, along with Jen's and guest designer Bonnie Sharp's samples, at i{heart}2stamp. Be sure to visit Amy, Carole, Shannan, and Susan for even more samples. I haven't looked at theirs yet, but I'm thinking there's going to be a lot of variety this week! We hope you'll play along!! Just upload your project to your blog or gallery, then link it back up to Jen's post. If you upload to SCS, use keyword: SFYTT. (Note: that painted and clear embossed chipboard piece on my card looks black in the photo, but it is actually Chocolate Chip, and matches very nicely with the dark brown twill.)

The colors on this are hard to capture for some reason ... here's another look:



Today is also new challenge day at Our Creative Corner. If you head over there, you'll see another very cool sketch from Dawn Easton, our August hostess, as well as gorgeous samples from guest designer Julee Tilman and the OCC girls. But you won't see my sample, as it's not done yet! Whoops!!! (I'm working on it -- promise!!)

Last, before I go, I want to share some announcements from Our Daily Bread Designs. Yesterday, three new stamp sets, as well as a Guardian Angel Prayer single stamp, became available in the store. Kelley has a special promotion going on with the Hope set where you get a free "Hope Pack" with purchase. It's an all-pink collection of Breast Cancer Awareness goodies just perfect for cardmaking and scrapbooking (value $10, you can see a picture here). The design team has been making the most incredible samples - they just amaze me! Check out the samples HERE and HERE, and especially HERE! You won't be disappointed. And last but not least, a huge welcome to Becca Feeken of Amazing Paper Grace, who joins Our Daily Bread Designs as guest designer. This was my first introduction to Becca - she's seriously talented and such a sweet, wonderful person! Welcome, Becca!

Thanks so much for stopping by!



Stamps: Artful Elegance (Verve)
Paper: dp by Amy Butler/K&Co.; chocolate and lime green card stocks (source unknown); Stamper's Select White (Papertrey Ink)
Ink: Chocolate Chip craft
Accessories: chipboard (Fancy Pants), decorative brads (Making Memories?), sewing machine and thread, brown twill (Offray), word window punch, clear embossing powder (SU!)

Notes of Prayer

I've been all over making 4 1/4" square cards lately. This one uses Notes of Prayer, one of the new sets Verve released just yesterday. Check out the Verve store and the Gallery for more samples using this and all the new Verve sets. Gorgeous new images!! (And Julee has some special pricing and free shipping when you purchase the entire Anni-VERVE-sary Collection. Details in the store.)

In addition to the whopping SIX new sets, Julee has created five more Scripture Plain Janes. Here are three of them:

Isaiah 61:3



Matthew 11:28



Psalm 31:24


Thanks so much for stopping by, and have a wonderful day!

Note: I hate to do this, but if you're interested in a supply list, they are included in the Verve Gallery. You can find them under the individual set names or all together under my personal gallery. I would normally type them all out here again, but I did something to my thumb this morning, and it is agony to type! If it stops acting up later, I'll come back in and edit. Sorry!!

Peace on Earth

On Friday, Our Daily Bread Designs will be releasing three new stamp sets as well as another prayer stamp. Today's card features "Peace on Earth," which includes the adorable lion and lamb image, as well as verse and sentiment stamps. I stamped my images in Jet Black Staz-On on Stamper's Select white card stock by Papertrey Ink, then colored with Prismacolors and Gamsol. All the tan card stock colors are from the Prismatics Tawny pack. Card size is 6 1/2 wide by 3 1/4 tall.

It's a quick post for me today. My older two are at Vacation Bible School every morning this week, and my youngest still naps in the mornings. Methinks I see some rare daytime stamp time this week! Which is great today especially, since I'll be hanging out in the Verve Forum tonight for Verve's first-ever online release party. Come join us from 10 pm until midnight Eastern Time!! Click HERE for a direct flight.

Happy Tuesday!

Artful Elegance

Everyone should have at least a few stamps in their repertoire that are so classy, striking and beautiful they can pretty much stand on their own. Verve's soon-to-be-released Artful Elegance is one of those sets for sure -- simple elegance at its best! The scroll pattern reminded me of the ornate wrought-iron fencing that surrounds the historic homes and immaculate gardens of the French Quarter in New Orleans. I chose my earthy greens with those gardens in mind, then added black satin ribbon and a little bling to finish off my more formal look.

For more peeks at this gorgeous set, as well as another set called Notes of Prayer, stop by the Verve blog. And remember, the Anni-VERVE-sary fun continues today and tomorrow in the Verve Forum.

Have a great day!



Stamps: Artful Elegance (Verve)
Paper: Stamper's Select White card stock (Papertrey Ink); "Inspire" (Memory Box); Basic Black card stock (SU!)
Ink: Versafine Onyx Black (Tsukineko)
Accessories: Heidi Swapp bling; 1 3/8" circle punch, scallop punch, small oval punch, dimensionals (all SU!); black satin ribbon (Offray)

I'm Late, I'm Late, For a Very Important Date

FINALLY, I carved out some stamp time and put together my very late sample for Jen's weekly Sketch for You to Try. It's an awesome sketch, and just for playing this week, you'll be entered into Jen's giveaway for "a little something." So head over to i{heart}2stamp to check out the sketch, Jen's sample, and guest designer Bonnie Sharp's sample. Amy, Carole, Shannan, and Susan have even more samples. Should you decide to play along with us (and we hope you will), go back to i{heart}2stamp to link up your creation. If you upload to SCS, remember to use keyword: SFYTT. I'm not sure I gave a proper welcome last week to the fabulously talented Bonnie Sharp, who joins the SFYTT groupies as guest designer for the month of August. Bonnie, we're so glad and so lucky to have you!! Welcome!

Speaking of important dates, I know some of you have been following the Anni-VERVE-sary celebration in the Verve Forum on SCS, and are anxious to begin seeing peeks of the new sets. Today is your lucky day -- previews for a set called Grateful Elegance are now posted on the Verve blog. Peeks will continue through Tuesday on the blog, then the release party will take place Tuesday night, 8 pm CT in the Verve Forum, and the release is midnight Wednesday, the 13th in the store!



Stamps: Live Your Dream (SU!)
Paper: Not Quite Navy, Very Vanilla, Baja Breeze card stock (SU!); dp (October Afternoon)
Ink: Baja Breeze, Not Quite Navy, Old Olive (SU!)
Accessories: dimensionals, sponge daubers, wide Olive grosgrain ribbon, Not Quite Navy buttons (all SU!); classic circle Nestability (Spellbinders); sewing machine and thread