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

May SFYTT -- Last Call!

Just a reminder, the deadline to get your May Sketch For You To Try is approaching. You only have until the end of the month. Also remember, those who complete all 12 sketches this year will be entered into a drawing for a mega prize pack.

Here's our sketch again ...

and a big thanks to our May sponsor Skipping Stones Design.

Link up your creations HERE. Happy stamping!

(click to enlarge)

Have a great weekend!

 

Enjoy - DS53

How about a new Deconstructed Sketch? Jen's got a great one this week, both good-looking and easy to work with. Here it is:

I haven't done an accordian-fold rosette in a while, so that seemed like a great place to begin. I topped it with two hearts (Verve's Wavy Hearts die set) and a petite sentiment, "enjoy," from the new Small Celebrations set. The papers are from the lovely My Mind's Eye Indie Chic "Citron" line. I swapped the scallops for three buttons, and those three mini circle accents for a touch of spiral notebook border. (The ever-inspring Amy Rohl did this recently, and I just loved it. It looks waaay better on her card than it does here, but it feels good to dust off an old favorite nonetheless.)

Visit the Deconstructed Sketch Girls for more sketch inspiration:

• Amber Hight
• Arielle Gordon
• Donna Wardle 
• Jen Shults 
• Jessica Diedrich
• Judy Rozema, Guest Designer
• Kadie Ensley
• Lori Boyd
• Pam Varnell 
• Sheri Gilson

To play along, link up your card to the Deconstructed Sketch #52 challenge post.

That's it for me today. Happy Thursday!

TCP Tuesday #211 - Flower Pots & Mustaches?

Hey there, happy TCP Tuesday. Jen is our host, and has come up with a beautiful trio of inspiration photos for us this week:

I was {obviously} inspired by the flower pots as well as the blades of grass/foliage on the far right. I die-cut the flower pots out of cork using the flowerpot die from the Window CutUps set. The Grass border and Flower Buttons are also TCP CutUps. (I have a wee die addiction!) And here's something fun ... see the green leaves behind the flowers? That's the Mustache Slide turned upside down. I used the mustache slide to cut some green patterned paper, then threaded that striped paper through it, and turned it upside down for leaves instead of mustaches. Finished off with a sentiment from the new Bloom stamp set.

Here are all the swanky details on how YOU can play along!: 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 TCPTUES211 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.

Thanks for checking in!