Winter Wonderland

I wasn't ready to put away those fun papers from Crate Paper's Snow Day Collection, so I've used them again for today's Sketch For You To Try sample. Love the whimsy of the colors and patterns, and found them just perfect for the images in JustRite's Whimsical Christmas set. The image was stamped on Neenah white, colored with Copic markers, and glittered with both Art Institute crystal ultrafine glitter and Frosted Lace Stickles. The accent cluster is made up of May Arts natural burlap string, Papertrey Harvest Gold grosgrain ribbon, a snowflake cut with My Favorite Things' Snowflakes Die-namics die, and more of those rusted jingle bells I used earlier in the week. I've incorporated lots of scallops today -- the focal panel is matted with a Spellbinders Lacy Circle Nestabilities, the vertical brown open scallops were done with MFT's Open Scallop Border Die-namics die, and the white scallops peeking out from above and below the two turquoise panels were done with an older EK Success Scallop Diamond border punch.

Here's the sketch this week:

And be sure to check out all the gorgeous samples this week:

Jen del Muro with guest designer Lesa Smaligo
Amber Hight
Amy Rohl
Carole Burrage
Jenn Diercks (out this week)
Jodi Collins
Kelly Lunceford
Megan Lock
Sonja Christoph
Susan Liles

To play along, link up your creation to Jen's SFYTT post HERE, and use keyword SFYTT when uploading to online galleries!

Thanks for visiting today and have a great weekend!


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Stamps: Whimsical Christmas (JustRite)
Paper: Crate Paper Snow Day Collection, Prismatics Dark Suede Brown card stock, Neenah Classic Crest Solar White
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Stampin' Up So Saffron
Accessories: Copic markers, Art Institute crystal ultrafine glitter, liquid applique, Frosted Lace Stickles, Spellbinders Lacy Circle Nestabilities, My Favorite Things Open Scallop and Snowflakes Die-namics dies, Diamond Scallop EK Success border punch, Papertrey ribbon, May Arts burlap string, rusted jingle bells

Verve New Release Spotlight: A Cut Above

Remember the Sweet Scallop Tag from earlier in the week? And the snowflake tag with the same tapered shape, from Glad Tidings? Well, guess what? There's a Sweet Scallop Tag DIE to go with them! Yes, Verve has dies now! Well, a die, with more to come! The new line of dies is called A Cut Above, and I'll let Julee tell you all about it over on the Verve blog!


As you hop through today's spotlights, you'll be seeing just how versatile this die can be. As with our other hops this week, we've hidden a PRIZE on one of the participating blogs, so leave a little comment love as you hop around to be entered into a drawing to win today's featured die and coordinating single stamp! Deadline for comment entries is 7PM Eastern tonight.

1. Laurie	9. Teresa
2. Charmaine	10. Sankari
3. Lynda	11. Tosh
4. Mercy	12. Amber
5. Amy	13. Jen d.
6. Shannan	14. Andrea
7. Michelle	15. Julee
8. Jackie

For my project, I stamped and die-cut the Sweet Scallop Tag image, then layered on some paper-pieced mittens from Winter Mittens and an offset oval sentiment, also from Winter Mittens. The papers are all from Crate Paper's Snow Day collection, and the layout is this week's Mojo 162 sketch. Lots of glitter and bling on this one!

Thanks for visiting, and hope to see you tonight at 9 pm EST in the Verve Forum for our Release Party!



Stamps: Winter Mittens, Sweet Scallop Tag
Paper: Papertrey Rustic White, Crate Paper Snow Day Collection
Ink: Ranger Brushed Corduroy and Walnut Stain Distress Ink, Stampin' Up Rose Red
Accessories: Verve Sweet Scallop Tag die, foam adhesive, bling (various sources), Stampin' Up oval punch, Papertrey ribbon, buttons, baker's twine and eyelet lace border die, My Favorite Things felt and snowflake die, Spellbinders ric rac border die, ivory acrylic paint, Scotch Quick-Dry liquid glue, Martha Stewart snow glitter

Verve New Release Spotlight: Glad Tidings

Greetings on this fourth day of Verve New Release Spotlights! Hope you've enjoyed the Divas' eye candy so far this week and that you've marked your calendar for tomorrow night's Release Party. The fun all starts at 9 pm over in the Verve Forum on Splitcoast!

Today, the Divas are spotlighting the largest set from this release - Glad Tidings. It's a beauty, I can promise you! I chose to focus on the tag image in this set, which has the same tapered shape as the Sweet Scallop Tag we spotlighted yesterday. The "Jingle Bells" sentiment is from the Holiday Phrases mini set, which was previewed on Monday.

I can envision this set working well with all sorts of styles; for today, I opted for a layered and embellished, shabby, vintage look. The cluster at the top of the tag is made up of a ribbon loop, Webster's Pages gold-accented netting, burlap string, and rusted jingle bells (they really jingle, too!). I saw similar rusted bells on Hilary Hanwischer's blog last year and loved the look. (I purchased mine from Craft Catalog.) Elsewhere on the card, I've added some hand-stitching, punched and die-cut borders, glittery snowflake accents, a Maya Road kraft envelope, and a distress inked doily. In the corners and along the edges, I added some Martha Stewart snow glitter, a look that was inspired by some recent glittered beauties by Melissa Phillips. Along the top and bottom of the blue snowflake patterned paper panel, you'll see punched borders. They are strips that have been punched with the Martha Stewart Quilted Edge border punch, then nudged behind the blue snowflake panel such that only a small portion of the full punch design shows. It looks like a whole new punch this way!

Have a closer look (you still don't see the glitter on the punched snowflakes, though):

Here's the official link list of today's spotlight hops.
Happy hopping!

1. Amy 8. Tosh 2. Jackie 9. Sankari 3. Mercy 10. Teresa 4. Michelle 11. Jen T. 5. Lynda 12. Andrea 6. Charmaine 13. Amber 7. Laurie 14. Julee

Be sure to leave some comments along the way
for a chance to win! Have fun!

Thanks for visiting!



Stamps: Glad Tidings, Holiday Phrases
Paper: Papertrey Vintage Cream and Fine Linen card stock, Webster's Pages Waiting For Santa Petite Papers
Ink: Ranger Forest Moss, Old Paper, Brushed Corduroy and Walnut Stain Distress Inks
Accessories: Verve Sweet Scallop Tag die; Maya Road kraft envelope; Martha Stewart quilted border punch, snowflake punch, and snow glitter; Ranger Frosted Lace Stickles; Papertrey buttons, double-stitched ribbon, and eyelet lace border die; May Arts natural burlap string; Wilton doily; Webster's Pages netting; needle and thread; 13mm rusted jingle bells (Craft Catalog)
Size: 6" x 4 1/4" (a little wider than standard A2 to accommodate the Maya Road Kraft envelope)

Verve New Release Spotlight: Merry Wishes

Hope you're enjoying this week of Verve's New Release Spotlights. We continue the excitement today with two sets -- a holiday set called Merry Wishes and a tag single called Sweet Scallop Tag. In case you missed yesterday's and Monday's spotlight projects, head to the Verve blog HERE and HERE for the complete link lists. You'll also find today's link list HERE, and I'll include it at the end of this post as well.

My card today features both the Sweet Scallop Tag and images from the Merry Wishes set. I started by creating the tag, which would work well on a gift bag or box, too. The two poinsettia images are part of Merry Wishes, as are a whole bunch of "sentiment pieces" -- individual words that you can combine to create your desired greeting. You can easily mix ink colors, mix fonts, and vary the word placement to suit your card design -- such fun and infinitely customizable! Also included in Merry Wishes is a variety of berry branch images. I used two of them to create a subtle white pattern on the Kraft card stock. The ribbon is 5/8" grosgrain that I gathered by stitching down the center, then pulling the thread ends.

Here's a close-up of some of the different card elements:

Here's the official link list of today's spotlight hops. Happy hopping!

1. Charmaine	8. Teresa
2. Michelle	9. Sankari
3. Lynda	10. Tosh
4. Jackie	11. Susan
5. Laurie	12. Amber
6. Mercy	13. Andrea
7. Amy	14. Julee

Be sure to leave some comments along the way
for a chance to win!

Thanks for visiting!




Stamps: Merry Wishes, Sweet Scallop Tag
Paper: Papertrey Kraft and White card stock, Stampin' Up Real Red and Basic Black card stock, The Girls' Paperie Tinsel & Twig dp
Ink: Versafine Onyx Black, Memento Tuxedo Black, Ranger Fired Brick Distress, Stampin' Up white craft
Accessories: Verve sweet scallop tag die, Copic markers, Papertrey buttons and black ribbon, May Arts burlap string, Stampin' Up red ribbon, EK Success dotted wave punch, Cuttlebug Seeing Spots embossing folder, Martha Stewart quilted border punch, Scor-Pal

Verve New Release Spotlight: Richly Blessed

I'm back with Day Two of Verve's New Release Spotlights. Today the Divas will be showing two new sets, Richly Blessed and Joy for the Journey, as well as a single image, Vintage Oval Frame. My favorite Christmas cards are those with a clear religious sentiment, so I couldn't wait to ink up Richly Blessed for today's spotlight card.

The set includes a beautiful cross image, which I stamped in Ranger Old Paper Distress Ink onto a pattern from Webster's Pages' Waiting for Santa Petite Papers collection, along with some Scripture and other holiday sentiments. I chose to feature Isaiah 9:6, which I stamped in Stampin' Up's Bravo Burgundy. The frame around the cross and Scripture was done with Stampin Up's Top Note die and a Spellbinders Classic Oval Nestabilities die. Finishing touches are a little crocheted trim, crinkled seam binding, a Webster's Pages sparkler, a punched border, and some gold pearls and cord.

AND ... check out the finished inside:

Oh, how I love this set!

Here's the official link list of today's spotlight hops.
Happy hopping!

1. Jackie	6. Sankari
2. Laurie	7. Teresa
3. Lynda	8. Andrea
4. Amy	9. Julee
5. Mercy

Be sure to leave some comments along the way
for a chance to win!
Have fun, and see you again tomorrow!

Thanks for visiting!

Verve New Release Spotlight: Christmas Blessings

It's New Release Spotlight time at Verve this week, and friends, oh my, are you in for a treat! The new sets are amazing, and I can't wait for you to see them! Before I get too ahead of myself, be sure to mark your calendars for this Friday, 9 -11 pm EST. That's when Verve will be hosting its Release Party in the Verve Forum at SCS, and I sure hope you'll join us if you can!

Today, the Divas are spotlighting four mini sets and two Plain Janes, so you're sure to see quite a variety. My sample features Christmas Blessings Plain Jane. Isn't that font so classy and elegant? I colored the stamp with markers for the two-color effect, then die-cut with a Labels Ten Nestabilities die. The loopy frame behind the sentiment was done with a Sizzix Frame Back Ornate #6 Bigz die. You could stop right there and have a nice tag to use with your Christmas packaging. I went ahead and turned it into a card by adhering the tag to a simple card base. All of the patterned papers are from the Tinsel & Twig collection by The Girls' Paperie.

I lightly misted the whole card front with some Sparkle Pssst shimmer spray. In this detail shot, you can see a hint of the sparkle (click for an even closer look). So festive!

Here's the official link list of today's spotlight hops.
Happy hopping!

1. Lynda	8. Sankari
2. Michelle	9. Tosh
3. Mercy	10. Susan
4. Amy	11. Amber
5. Shannan	12. Jen d.
6. Laurie	13. Andrea
7. Teresa	14. Julee

Be sure to leave some comments along the way
for a chance to win!
Have fun and we'll see ya tomorrow!

Thanks ever so much for stopping by today!

Lil' Inker SFYTT

Good morning, friends! Today's Sketch For You To Try is being sponsored by Lil' Inker Designs. The owner, Laura Pryor, has created an adorable, sweet and wonderfully *practical* flag/banner stamp set with coordinating steel die. Be sure to check out the Sentiment Flags combo in the Lil' Inker Designs store. This is sure to be something you'll reach for again and again and again! And just by playing along in today's sketch, you'll have a chance to win a Sentiment Flags stamp/die combo. Be sure to link your creation to today's sketch challenge post at Jen's blog. Good luck!

Here's the sketch:

For more sketch inspiration, visit the SFYTT sisters:

Jen del Muro with guest designer Lesa Smaligo
Amber Hight
Amy Rohl
Carole Burrage
Jenn Diercks
Jodi Collins
Kelly Lunceford
Megan Lock
Sonja Christoph
Susan Liles

For my sample, I've stamped one of the flag outline images and the Happy Birthday sentiment onto a flag cut with the matching die, then colored inside the flag outline with a light aqua Copic marker. The balloons are from Verve's Birthday Bash, the papers are Cosmo Cricket's Togtherness, the decorative square behind the circle was cut with a Spellbinders Labels Sixteen Nestabilities die, and the open scallop border was cut with one of MFT's Die-namics dies. The dark brown stitching was done by hand.




Stamps: Sentiment Flags (Lil' Inker Designs), Birthday Bash (Verve Stamps)
Paper: Papertrey Kraft, Vintage Cream and Dark Chocolate card stock, Cosmo Cricket Togetherness Mini Deck
Ink: Ranger Walnut Stain Distress Ink
Accessories: Spellbinders Labels Sixteen and Classic Circles Nestabilities, Cuttlebug Seeing Spots embossing folder, Lil' Inker Designs steel die, Papertrey button and twine, hemp twine, My Favorite Things Open Scallop Border Die-namics die, paper piercer, needle, thread, foam adhesive, BG000 Copic marker