Opposites Day

I was at AC Moore yesterday and spotted this beautiful pack of two-sided 5x7 designer paper called "The Story of Us." It is SO me! The elegant cream and black, the florals, brocade, and striped patterns, and the splash of rich blue. I couldn't wait for the kids to go to bed, so I could go play. I thought the fancy, schmancy Black-Tie Birdies set from Verve would be the perfect set. (Incidentally, you could stamp these birdies on a dishcloth and they would still look elegant!) Here I stamped on one of the neutral papers in the pack using Versafine Onyx Black, then heat embossed with clear powder. I stamped a second bird, heat embossed, trimmed out his body and popped it up on a dimensional. The wing and bow-tie are stamped on one of the blue papers in this pack, heat embossed and popped up again on dimensionals. Two large clear gems and three lengths of shiny satin and taffeta ribbon complete the elegant look.

I'm usually good for only one card a day, but I wasn't ready to stop, so I made a second card using Verve's Some Bunny set.



I had the best time dressing this sweet little bunny in his denim overalls and engineer's cap - it was just like playing with paper dolls! I free-handed the overalls and cap using some old, old, old denim designer paper made by Frances Meyer. The fuzzy dot ribbon by May Arts is one that I got in a ribbon share through Jody Morrow/texasjodylynn. The bunny is stamped three times and layered up using the paper tole technique. I could see a whole "Some Bunny Accessories" set, couldn't you?

Thanks, as always, for stopping by!



"Enjoy Today"
Stamps: Black-Tie Birdies (Verve)
Paper: Ivory Naturals, Basic Black, Buckaroo Blue (SU); The Story of Us cardstock pad (ATD/Momenta)
Ink: Versafine Onyx Black (Tsukineko)
Accessories: corner rounder, dimensionals, paper piercer, Ivory taffeta ribbon, clear embossing powder (SU!); black and blue satin ribbons (Offray); clear gemstones (Heidi Swapp)
Size: 5 1/4" square


"Some Bunny"
Stamps: Some Bunny (Verve)
Paper: Chocolate Chip, Kraft, Ivory Naturals (SU!); denim designer paper (Frances Meyer)
Ink: Memento Rich Cocoa (Tsukineko)
Accessories: Prismacolors and odorless mineral spirits; brown fuzzy dot ribbon (May Arts); Not Quite Navy marker, dimensionals, paper piercer, 1/4" circle punch, Vintage brads (SU!)
Size: 4 1/4" square

Cut It Out!

I spent part of the morning finishing up my sample for Jen del Muro's Sketch for You To Try, and now I'm being summoned by my oldest son to take him shopping for some new Bakugan (his money - yay!!). Is that the new craze everywhere? It sure is at my son's school! [Update: Cole and I spent three hours going to four different stores for Bakugan (plus two craft stores for me) and FINALLY found them at the last store, which was the closest to home, LOL! He is VERY happy, and so is Mom.]


I toyed around with some different ideas for Jen's sketch this week (check it out at i{heart}2stamp), especially for the star, which just indicates any kind of embellishment. I kept coming back to some kind of flourish. I went to bed last night after a really fun scrap club with the plan to use one of my grungeboard flourishes, but somewhere along the way took a notion to use the branch-like image from Stampin' Up's Kindred Spirits set. I love the look of this image trimmed out! It takes some time, but the results are worth it. So I guess I kind of "adapted" the sketch (it sounds so much nicer than "maul," huh?) and turned the embellishment into the focal image. Anyway, the card is really not at all what I envisioned, but I'm calling it done all the same :D

In addition to the sketch, you can see Jen's and guest designer Suzanne Dean's samples at i{heart}2stamp.com. While you're there, be sure to wish Jen and her husband Tony a happy anniversary! You can see even more samples from Amy, Carole, Shannan, and Susan. As always, we'd love to have you play along. If you upload to SCS, remember to use keyword: SFYTT.



Stamps: Kindred Spirits (SU!); So Happy (Verve)
Paper: Chocolate Chip, Ivory Naturals, Kraft, Always Artichoke (SU!); Archaic dp (Basic Grey)
Ink: Close to Cocoa, Chocolate Chip, Always Artichoke (SU!)
Accessories: word window punch, vintage brads, distressing tool, dimensionals (SU!); classic square Nestabilities (Spellbinders); Forest Branches Cuttlebug folder (Provo Craft); brown twill (Offray); sewing machine, ivory thread, chocolate brown thread

The Lion and the Lamb

This week, over at Our Creative Corner, I issued a challenge to use colored stitching on your project. The stitching can be by machine, by hand, or even faux, just as long as the thread (or faux thread) is not white. We'd love to have you play along!! And we've sweetened the pot this week too, with a Halloween-themed giveaway sponsored by Michelle Rodgers of Stamper's Dream. Thanks Michelle!

Be sure to check out Michelle's sample for the stitching challenge, as well as samples from the rest of the OCC gang over on the Our Creative Corner blog!

I knew I wanted to try some blanket stitching, and thought the lion and lamb image from Our Daily Bread Designs' Peace on Earth set would be perfect. I stamped in Versafine Onyx Black on watercolor paper, then colored with reinkers and a water brush. The blanket stitching is done with embroidery floss. I'm not likely to give this another go anytime soon - I just couldn't get the stitching nice and even to save my neck! (Anyone have any tips?) As my friend and scrapbook club member Kate said when she stamped something crooked last night at scrap club, "Oh well, it looks handmade!" I like that! You can say that about my crooked brad, too, LOL!

Don't forget about the FREE SHIPPING on Peace on Earth and all other stamp sets by Our Daily Bread Designs (US orders only). But hurry, it's this weekend only!

Have a great weekend!



P.S. I'll be back in a few with my sample for this week's Sketch for You to Try!

Stamps: Peace on Earth (Our Daily Bread Designs)
Paper: Chocolate Chip, Mellow Moss, Really Rust (SU!); watercolor paper (Canson); "Archaic" designer paper (Basic Grey)
Ink: Versafine Onyx Black (Tuskineko); various reinkers (SU!)
Accessories: decorative brads (Making Memories); brown twill (Offray); paper piercer, corner rounder, water brush, foam tape, embroidery floss, sponge daubers

Free Shipping at ODBD!!

Lookie, lookie!! To celebrate her first half-year in business, Kelley of Our Daily Bread Designs, is offering FREE SHIPPING all weekend!

Scrapbook Club Make-and-Take

After a summer hiatus, my scrapbook club is meeting again tonight for some crop time and a make-and-take. I've said before (but it's been a long time) - it's haaaaard coming up with make-and-take ideas. Everyone scraps a little differently, plus there's a mix of women at different ages and stages in the group. We all love papercrafting and we're all wives and moms. But those are about the only things we have in common. I opted for an easy Halloween spread for tonight - can't go wrong with that!

Sorry for the poor photograph - I haven't figured out how to get a good picture of such a big project. Anyway, I'm a bad demo for a lot of reasons ... one is that I don't mind pulling out my retired stuff (Booglie Eyes) and using contraband when it works (oval Nestability). If I were doing a workshop with potential new customers, I wouldn't do this, but these girls have been with me forever, and they don't mind.

The page base is 12x12 black card stock. The large green pieces are just single sheets of 8 1/2 x 11 turned landscape (yay, no cutting!). The space on the left where I've added my watermark is intended for journaling. Since the green panel is 8 1/2 x 11, they'll easily be able to print their journaling on the computer if they want to. They will be stamping the Halloween creatures on watercolor paper and watercoloring with SU markers. See that spider web on the right-hand page? I got that idea from this amazing card by Monika Davis. I wouldn't live to post here again if I had my club ladies stitch that web with a machine!! So we're doing some piercing and faux stitching (with a black marker) instead.

Have I mentioned before how much I loathe full spreads these days? The day I let go of the notion that opposing pages had to match, and started creating stand-alone single pages instead, was the day I found freedom in scrapbooking. One thing I dislike about full spreads is finding a way to visually connect the two sides, so that they really look unified. On this spread I tried to do that with the thin white strip that runs full-width along the bottom and by connecting the two pages with hinges made from Stampin' Up's tag punch.

Here are a couple of detail shots:





Thanks for stopping by!



Stamps: Booglie Eyes [retired], All Holidays (SU!)
Paper: Basic Black, Certainly Celery, Lavender Lace, Tangerine Tango, Whisper White (SU!)
Ink: Basic Black, Jet Black Staz-On (SU!)
Accessories: Basic Black, Certainly Celery, Lavender Lace, Pumpkin Pie, Going Gray markers, paper piercer, silver brads, tag punch, Tangerine Tango double-striped ribbon (all SU!); classic oval Nestability (Spellbinders)

Gettin' Krafty - Verve Project Parade

Today is my Project Parade day over on the Verve blog. For the past week-plus, the Verve Divas have been taking turns posting their interpretations of the theme "Gettin' Krafty." The challenge is to use Kraft card stock and/or any type of natural fibers in your creation. As always, everyone is invited to play along, and as always, a random participant will win $15 to spend in the Verve store! Deadline to enter is September 30 at noon. To enter, link up your project to THIS POST. If you upload to SCS, use keyword: VVPP06.

Like most of the Divas who have posted already, I chose to work with Abundant Blessings, a set that just begs to be paired with Kraft card stock and all things natural. Along with my Kraft card stock, I mixed in some of Stampin' Up's Ivory Naturals card stock, which has a nice, earthy, speckled look to it, and some retired Vintage Violet (for Jen del Muro's "Meet the Verve Diva" PURPLE challenge). The flower images are stamped in Chocolate Chip craft ink, clear embossed, then colored with a water brush and a Vintage Violet reinker. In keeping with the natural theme, I added in some dry embossing using the Forest Branches Cuttlebug folder, tied on some natural hemp twine and linen thread, and then distressed the edges of most layers.

Be sure to check out the rest of the Gettin' Krafty projects on the Verve blog. It's got to be one of my favorite Project Parades yet!

Thanks so much for stopping by!




Stamps: Abundant Blessings and So Happy (Verve)
Paper: Chocolate Chip, Kraft, Ivory Naturals, Vintage Violet, Very Vanilla (SU!)
Ink: Chocolate Chip craft and Vintage Violet classic (SU!)
Accessories: Ribbon Tags Trio dies (Spellbinders); natural hemp, linen thread, Chocolate Chip square buttons, scallop border punch (SU!); Forest Branches Cuttlebug folder (Provo Craft); clear embossing powder, paper piercer, distressing tool

And The Angel Said Unto Them

"Fear not, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord." ~Luke 2:10-11

And so goes THE greatest story of all time, as told in the gospel of Luke. I'll admit I choose Christmas cards more for how they look than for what they say (at least I'm being honest ... I like pretty things!). This one's got it all, though - a powerful reminder of the real meaning of Christmas and an elegant presentation.

Once again, I've used stamps from the Angel set by Our Daily Bread Designs. I remember last year taking a while to embrace Stampin' Up's Holiday Harmony designer paper as Christmas paper. "You've got to be kidding?" was my first reaction, lol! Purely Pomegranate and River Rock just weren't traditional enough for my taste. My, how that changed. I ended up using it for last year's Christmas card, and now this year, I'm so disappointed those colors and this paper have been retired!

I stamped the Angel in River Rock on Very Vanilla. The sentiment is stamped over the angel in Versafine Onyx Black, then clear embossed. I embellished with Vintage brads, gold cord, Pomegranate satin ribbon, and decorative corners cut out of Gold Leaf metallic card stock with one of the Cuttlebug Vintage dies.

Thanks for looking! Have a wonderful day!



Stamps: Angel (Our Daily Bread Designs)
Paper: Always Artichoke, River Rock, Purely Pomegranate, and Very Vanilla card stock, Holiday Harmony designer series paper [retired] (all SU!); gold metallic (Prism)
Ink: River Rock, Alwasy Artichoke (SU!); Versafine Onyx Black (Tsukineko)
Accessories: clear embossing powder, gold cord, Pomegranate satin ribbon, dimensionals, vintage brads, paper piercer (all SU!); Vintage Cuttlebug die (Provo Craft)
Size: 5 1/2" square

Don't Miss This Parade!

The Verve Divas are at it again, parading their stuff on the Verve blog. And you're invited to play along for a chance to win $15 in Verve bucks! You'll find all the details on this post, then be sure to check out all the parade samples from the past week - great stuff! I'll be taking my turn on Thursday - can't wait!!

He Will Command His Angels

I got back yesterday evening from my first-ever weekend crop. It was great! I can't say I was terribly productive (unless you count how fast I emptied the candy corn dish, lol!), mainly because I didn't have enough time to prepare well. One woman did sixty scrapbook pages! Woohoo for her! I did end up taking a bunch of stamps and all of my different coloring mediums so I could at least get some things pre-colored.

One of the images I colored was this beautiful Angel from Our Daily Bread Designs. Some of the Scripture stamps included in this set are obviously geared toward Christmas cards, but some are more year-round. I love that versatility!! The Scripture stamp I chose for today is Psalm 91:11, which I thought would make a wonderful card of encouragement. I'll be sending this one out to Sandy, a good friend of Kelley's (owner of Our Daily Bread Designs), who was recently diagnosed with liver cancer. You can read more about Sandy here. Please keep her in your prayers! And if you'd like to send her a card, Kelley is collecting them and passing them along.

Here's the address:
Sandy Keller
c/o Our Daily Bread Designs
P.O. Box 410
Hinckley, Ohio 44233

The angel is stamped in Memento Tuxedo Black on watercolor paper, and colored with an aqua painter and Stampin' Up ink, then outlined with a W1 Copic marker. The sentiment layers are cut with Nestabilities. I embellished with Vintage brads, two ribbon tabs (Stampin' Up's double-striped ribbon in Baja Breeze), and some zig-zag paper piercing.

Thanks for stopping by!



Stamps: Angel (Our Daily Bread Designs)
Paper: Basic Gray, Baja Breeze textured, Kraft, Soft Sky (SU!); watercolor paper (Canson)
Ink: Soft Sky, Sahara Sand, Blush Blossom, Cream Caramel, More Mustard, Close to Cocoa (SU!)
Accessories: aqua painter, Vintage brads, Baja Breeze double-striped ribbon, sponge daubers, dimensionals, paper piercer (SU!); classic and scalloped circle Nestabilities (Spellbinders); W1 Copic marker
Size: 5 1/4" square

Thank You!

Today's card is for you! I know I've been a little flaky with my blog posting lately. I've had a lot going on this week especially that has left precious little time for much stamping- boo! I'm hoping to get back to daily posts soon (for starters, there's no one left in my family who hasn't been sick, lol!), but in the meantime, thanks for your patience. And for your friendship! Even if it's "just" the cyber kind.

This is my sample for both of my Saturday challenges - Jen's Sketch for You to Try and the weekly challenge at Our Creative Corner. To see the sketch, Jen's sample, and guest designer Suzanne Dean's sample, visit i{heart}2stamp. Then hop over to see what Amy, Carole, Shannan, and Susan have put together. We hope you'll play along! If you upload to SCS, use keyword: SFYTT.

The challenge this week at Our Creative Corner is to incorporate chipboard into your project. Head to Our Creative Corner for all the challenge details, and to see more fun chipboard ideas from the rest of the OCC team, Cindy Haffner, Dawn Easton, Denise Marzec, Jennifer Meyer, Julee Tilman, Laurie Schmidlin, and Lynda Benden, as well as our special guest designer, my dirty dozen "roomie," the fabulous Cindy Lawrence!

I'm sure at some point I'll get tired of the new Haiku designer paper from Stampin' Up - just not yet. I hope you're not tired of seeing me use it! The branch image is from Eastern Blooms by Stampin' Up, and the sentiment is from SU's Upsy Daisy. I inked the branch in Old Olive using a marker. The flowers were inked in Tangerine Tango using a Fantastix brush dipped into Tangerine Tango ink from a reinker. The flower centers are dotted with Liquid Pearls. My chipboard element is the butterfly accent. It is manufactured by American Crafts, and comes in a beautiful, colorful pattern that unfortunately looked absolutely hideous with this paper. I turned it to the back, where it was still "naked," coated it with More Mustard craft ink, then covered it in Dazzling Diamonds glitter using Heat and Stick powder.

Thanks for visiting!



Stamps: Eastern Blooms, Upsy Daisy (SU!)
Paper: Tangering Tango, Old Olive, So Saffron, Very Vanilla, "Haiku" designer paper (SU!)
Ink: Old Olive, Tangerine Tango, So Saffron (SU!)
Accessories: chipboard butterfly (American Crafts); liquid pearls (Ranger), Fantastix brush applicator; paper piercer, Tangerine Tango double-striped ribbon , dimensionals (SU!)

Diaper Favor Pattern and Tutorial

I've had several requests for the pattern for the diaper favor I posted last week, and was finally able to put that together, along with a tutorial. Two things to note: First, I modified a diaper pattern I found at the Michael's website. I enlarged it and changed the folds. Here is that link, in case you prefer that one:

http://www.michaels.com/art/online/projectsheet?pid=e03212

Second, you can print this pattern directly onto the card stock and trim from there. But cutting the pattern out first is more economic, as you can then get two diapers out of a single sheet of card stock.

The pattern in .PDF format can be found here:

Diaper Favor Pattern

The basic instructions are included in the file, but if you're a visual person, the following tutorial may be of help. Hope this works for you! As always, please let me know if you have any questions. I've never done a tutorial before, so any feedback, good or bad, is definitely welcome :)


1. Print the pattern and trim it out.



2. Cut your piece of card stock into two 8 1/2" x 5" rectangles (i.e., from landscape orientation, cut at 5" and 10". You will not need the 1" strip left over.



3. Lay one 8 1/2 x 5" rectangle in landscape orientation and score at 2 1/2" and 6".



4. Rotate to portrait orientation and score at 2 1/2"



5. Trace pattern onto card stock and trim.



6. OPTIONAL: Stamp the back of the card stock (which will be the outside of the diaper) . Here I've used a dotted background from Stampin' Up.



7. Fold the two triangle sides in at the score lines.



8. Add adhesive to the bottom edge.



9. Fold the diaper front up at the 2 1/2" score line and adhere.



10. For extra durability, secure with a staple in the center.



11. Add ribbon bow to cover the staple.



12. Embellish as desired, and fill pouch with desired treat. Here I've stamped a tag image from Stampin' Up's retired Terrific Tags set in Bashful Blue on Whisper White card stock, then punched it out with Stampin' Up's small tag punch.

This favor is a more basic version than the one I did last week, and therefore easier to mass produce. Obviously, you can add layers of patterned paper, brads, and whatever else you like. By the way, Close to My Heart sells collections of hardware that include teeny little safety pins. I thought they'd be absolutely darling to "pin" these diapers, but I only had a green color and painting it white didn't work so well. Just another idea. I think they carry a white collection :)

That's it - enjoy!!

Thanks for your patience on this! It took a little longer to put together than I expected - sorry!

Stamps: Terrific Tags, Polka Dot (SU!)

Paper: Bashful Blue and Whisper White card stock

Ink: Bashful blue

Accessories: small tag punch, white grosgrain, small flat cello bags, silver cord

Little Elphaba

I'm finally getting around to posting my sample for this week's Sketch for You To Try. This week, all of us sample-makers have used holiday-themed Bellas - so much fun! Be sure to pay a visit to Jen at i{heart}2stamp, where you'll find loads of goodies ... the sketch, Jen's sample, and guest designer Suzanne Dean's sample. You'll also see that everyone who joins us in using Bella stamps gets entered for a chance to win a $15 gift certificate to the Bella site, courtesy of Emily. You don't neccessarily have to use holiday Bellas - any Bella will get you entered! Check out the awesome samples from Amy, Carole, Shannan and Susan too!

This darling little witch captured my heart the first time I saw her. Isn't she just the sweetest little thing? I colored her with Copic markers, then tried to add a green glow around her with an aqua painter and celery ink. (I thought this card by Leslie Miller of Running with Scissors was the absolute BOMB, so that's where I drew inspiration for the green glow.) Copics and watercolor together? Yes, and if I recall Marianne's instructions, you do the Copic coloring first and then the watercoloring. The only problem I had was with paper choice. You don't want to use watercolor paper with Copics, but ideally, you do want it for watercoloring. I colored over the black mat with a black Spica and added some Gunmetal Stickles to the witch's hair for some sparkle. I also gave her green skin after my favorite witch of all, Elphaba of Wicked :D

Thanks for visiting!

Stamps: Little Witchy (Bella Stamps)

Paper: Perfect Plum, Certainly Celery, Basic Black (SU!); Stamper's Select White (Papertrey); dp (Imaginisce)

Ink: Brilliance Graphite Black, Certainly Celery

Accessories: Copic markers, Gunmetal Stickles, black Spica, paper piercer, ribbon and brads (source unknown - they came out of a Paper Wishes Personal Shopper monthly kit two years ago), green paper flower (Prima)

Birthday Birdie

Before I get to today's card info, a few quick notes: First, the diaper favor template -- it's coming! I promise. My design deadlines are coming one after the other, so I'm hunkered down for the weekend getting those things finished. I'll get the template and instructions put together for Monday or Tuesday. Second, my Sketch for You To Try is also coming a little later (same excuse). And third, so far so good on the whole 40 thing!

Okay, on to today's card. Since I'm the host this month at Our Creative Corner, I couldn't flake out on this challenge ;) Plus, it's a sketch challenge, and I love those! Even though I nearly always sketch out my cards on paper before stamping a thing, I've never put together an "official" sketch. Hope this is one you'll like.

I flipped the main image from the left to the right to accommodate my image, which is from Verve's new Birthday Surprise set. The patterned papers all come from the Nana's Nursery Baby Boy collection from DCWV. I stamped the bird on watercolor paper and colored with an aqua painter and reinkers. (By the way, has anyone else had problems watercoloring with Apricot Appeal? Everytime I do, I end up with a splotchy mess. Wondering if it's something about that particular ink color, or if it's my reinker. Can they go bad, I wonder?) The balloons, hat and wing are all stamped a second time, trimmed out and popped up. I coated the balloons with Crystal Effects for some shine.

Be sure to head over to Our Creative Corner to see what all the rest of the designers (Cindy, Dawn, Denise, Jennifer, Julee, Laurie, and Lynda) put together with this sketch. We'd love to have you play along! If you upload to SCS, use keyword: OCCC.

Thanks for stopping by, and have a great weekend!



Stamps: Birthday Surprise (Verve)
Paper: Baja Breeze, Apricot Appeal, Whisper White card stock (SU!); Nana's Nursery Baby Boy Collection (DCWV); watercolor paper (Canson)
Ink: Versafine Onyx Black (Tsukineko); Apricot Appeal, Certainly Celery, Baja Breeze (SU)
Accessories: corner rounder, Baja Breeze striped ribbon, Apricot and Celery 1/4" grosgrai, aqua painter, paper piercer, dimensionals, Crystal Effects (all SU); scalloped rectangle Nestability (Spellbinders); clear adhesive crystals (Martha Stewart)

Brides, Babies, Birthdays and Blessings

All five of the new Verve sets are officially available in the Verve store. Special pricing is available on the whole September Collection too!

I have a few projects from last night's release party to share here today. This first project is a diaper baby shower favor. I started with this pattern I found on the Michael's website: http://www.michaels.com/art/online/projectsheet?pid=e03212
then enlarged and modified it just a bit. The adorable little bunny is from a set called Some Bunny. I stamped him three times, then cut and layered using the Paper Tole technique. Size-wise, this holds a small cello bag with some white and blue jellybeans. A Ghirardelli chocolate square fits well, too. (Note, let me know if you'd like me to put together a template for this ... I worked mine out so that I could fit two per 8 1/2 x 11 sheet, and so that the scoring lines were easy peasy, especially with a Scor-Pal.)

Next up is another card using Abundant Blessings, the same stamp set I used on Monday for the Zindorf-style brayered nighttime ocean scene. Hard to believe these two cards can come from the same set, huh? But I'm telling you, there is such amazing variety in this set! The sentiment is from So Happy.



Next is a card using the new Black-Tie Birdies. Aren't the Verve birds adorable all decked out with their fancy bows and tail feathers? Ooo la la!!



Last up is a birthday card for my dear twin. Tomorrow is our big day!! These images are from Birthday Surprise. I hope she finds herself standing on a bounty of gifts. If I could, I'd fill them with wisdom, peace, happiness, good health, an art studio for her jewelry-making and stained glass work, and a trip to the Pacific Northwest!



Thanks so much for the happy birthday wishes so far, both online and in the mail. And to everyone who has played along with the Our Creative Corner challenge to make something humorous -- thanks for the laughs!! I've been having the best time checking out all the creations! If you haven't checked it out or had a chance to play yet, rememer the deadline for the JustRite DIY Monogram Stamper giveaway is noon EST Friday.

Glad you stopped by today!



Diaper Favor:
Stamps: Some Bunny (Verve)
Paper: Soft Sky, Whisper White card stock (SU!); Nana's Nursery Baby Boy (Die Cuts With a View)
Ink: Baja Breeze
Accessories: 1/4" circle punch, Soft Sky double-stitched ribbon, dimensionals, small cello bag, silver cord (SU!); white brads (source unknown)

So Thankful for You:
Stamps: Abundant Blessings and So Happy (Verve)
Paper: So Saffron, Old Olive, Tangerine Tango, Very Vanilla card stock, Haiku designer paper (SU!)
Ink: Always Artichoke craft and Old Olive classic (SU!)
Accessories: So Saffron and Pumpkin Pie markers, clear embossing powder, Old Olive brads, So Saffron twill, photo corner punch, paper piercer, sponge daubers, dimensionals (all SU!); Vintage Cuttlebug corner die (Provo Craft)

So Delighted:
Stamps: Black-Tie Birdies, So Happy (Verve)
Paper: Mellow Moss, Always Artichoke, Bravo Burgundy, Very Vanilla (SU!)
Ink: Versafine Onyx Black, Mellow Moss, Always Artichoke, Bravo Burgundy (SU!)
Accessories: ticket corner punch, aqua painter, Rich Regals brads, Bravo Burgundy wide grosgrain, sponge daubers, dimensionals (SU!); Argyle Cuttlebug folder (Provo Craft); clear embossing powder, paper piercer

Birthday Surprise:
Stamps: Birthday Surprise (Verve)
Paper: Basic Black, Certainly Celery, Riding Hood Red (SU!); watercolor paper (Canson)
Ink: Versafine Onyx Black (Tsukineko); Riding Hood Red, So Saffron, More Mustard, Cool Caribbean, Certainly Celery (SU!)
Accessories: aqua painter, dimensionals, sponge daubers, slot punch, So Saffron wide twill (SU!); Stardust Stickles (Ranger); classic and scalloped circle Nestabilities (Spellbinders)

Verve Sneak Peek

I've been wanting to try a Michelle Zindorf-inspired brayered scene for a while now, and the silhouette images from Verve's upcoming Abundant Blessings set were just the added motivation to dig out my brayer and get to work. If you haven't seen Michelle's tutorials, there is a wonderful one on SCS and many more on her blog, Freedom in Creating. They take you through each step of the process. I added some Stardust Stickles to the water so it would glisten, just like the ocean under a moonlit sky. The moon, which is an ivory circle sponged with hints of yellow and blue, holds a sentiment from another upcoming set called So Happy. With its mix-and-match format, So Happy is destined to become a staple in many stamp rooms.

Be sure to pay a visit to the Verve blog today, where you'll see bunches of Abundant Blessings and So Happy samples by some of the other Verve Divas and have a chance to win both of today's previewed sets. Tomorrow on the blog, you'll find peeks of two more sets, plus a chance to win those two sets. Then, tomorrow evening at 10 pm EST, you're invited to join us in the Verve Forum on SCS for our release party and even more chances to win prizes. Speaking of prizes ... what would you think of winning the ENTIRE RELEASE? That's the prize for the current One-Sheet Wonder challenge. You can find all the details HERE!

Happy Monday!



Stamps: Abundant Blessings and So Happy (Verve); Sanded (SU!)
Paper: Baja Breeze, Basic Black, Not Quite Navy, Very Vanilla (SU!)
Ink: Versafine Onyx Black, Soft Sky, Baja Breeze, Not Quite Navy, So Saffron
Accessories: brayer, 1 1/4" circle punch, sponge daubers, paper piercer, vintage brads, 1/4" circle punch, Floral Screen Cuttlebug folder, dimensionals

A Sketch for You to Maul, I Mean Try

Yes, I mangled Jen's Sketch for You To Try this week. Ugh!! I had to elongate the sketch to accommodate my image and sentiment, which I had to use so that this card could double for my OCC sample, too (more on that in a bit). Anyway, perhaps if you squint and make your eyes go all blurry, you'll see some resemblance to the sketch ;)

So, for SURE go visit i{heart}2stamp, where you can see more samples - the first by Jen, and the second by a new guest designer for September, whom you're sure to love (I'll let Jen spill the beans, though). And while you're there, you can also check out Jen's blog candy! You'll want to pay a visit to Amy, Carole, Shannan, and Susan, too, to see what they have cooked up. We hope you can play along! If you upload to SCS, remember to use keyword: SFYTT.

So yes, as I mentioned, this is my sample for this week's challenge at Our Creative Corner, too, which is to make a humorous card. Guess who the host is for September?! Yours truly. A little extra info on the challenge this week.... It's been documented here on this blog before that this is the wonderful year I turn 40. Well, in fact, this is the week I turn 40! So I'm counting on all my OCC friends to keep me laughing instead of crying. I hope you'll play!! You better - c'mon, it's my birthday!! Plus we have a really awesome present to give away!! You'll find all the details on the blog, along with samples by the rest of the team: Cindy Haffner, Dawn Easton, Denise Marzec, Jennifer Meyer, Julee Tilman, Laurie Schmidlin, and Lynda Benden. Did you see? Did you see? Julee, who guest designed for us all last month, has joined us permanently! Woohoo!! Welcome, Julee!!

Thanks for stopping by today, and I hope you have a fantastic weekend!



Stamps: Inky Antics
Paper: Pumpkin Pie card stock; dp by Magnolia/My Mind's Eye
Ink: Versafine Onyx Black, various re-inkers
Accessories: aqua painter, clear embossing powder, tags trio Nestabilities, Baja Breeze wide stitched ribbon, SU label punch, silver brads, sponge daubers