You're Fantastic Verve!

There's two things I just loooooove about Verve - first, the stamps...duh! Second, they have THE best challenges! This card incorporates three Verve challenges, Julee's Mojo Monday sketch, the August Project Parade challenge and Michelle's Meet the Diva Challenge!
Once again, Julee's sketch rocked - congrats on your 50th sketch Julee!

The August Project Parade challenge was to use Pink and Brown....you have to pop over to the site to see the yummy inspiration piece - it just screamed "use Cupcake Affair" to me!

Michelle's fun challenge was to use supplies we haven't touched in awhile. I used my new Fairy tales set - first time I've got it inky. I also used the Two Scoops paper I've been hoarding and 16 - yup 16 of the rhinestones I love to have in my stash! Lastly, I used some of my precious narrow Chocolate Chip Grosgrain - I can't believe this stuff retired!

After stamping the cupcake bottom, I turned it over on my foam mat and embossed stripes with my embossing tool - in real life it has a really cool texture and dimension. There are Cotton Candy Stickles on the popped up flowers. The Blush Blossom cardstock was sponged with Creamy Caramel, Close to Cocoa and Chocolate Chip - feeling hungry yet?!?

Have a great weekend!



Stampin Supplies:
Stamp Sets: Cupcake Affair, Fairy Tales
Ink: Creamy Caramel, Close to Cocoa, Chocolate Chip
Card stock: Blush Blossom, Chocolate Chip, Close to Cocoa, Whisper White
Paper: Two Scoops by Basic Grey
Punches: 1/4" Circle Punch, Small and Large Oval punches, Photo Corner Punch
Accessories: Kaisercraft Rhinestones, Circle Nestablilities, Narrow Choc Chip Grosgrain, Sponge Daubers, Stampin’ Dimensionals, SNAIL adhesive.
Stamps by Verve. Some supplies available from Stampin' Up!

Beautiful You

How gorgeous are these colours for Kristina's challenge? Chocolate Chip, Regal Rose, Pretty in Pink, Certainly Celery and Very Vanilla! Yummy!
I had this idea for a simple layout....bunching all the elements together all in one spot, I really like how it turned out! I stamped the background by combining three clear stamps on one block, inking with Regal Rose then really roughly stamping off once before stamping onto the Pretty in Pink.

The gorgeous sentiment from Verve was embossed with clear embossing powder. The butterfly was stamped on vellum cardstock with Chocolate Chip stamped off a few times.

Loved this combo, don't be surprised if you see another card from me soon using the same colours!




Stampin Supplies:
Stamp Sets: Beautiful You from Verve, and a really cheap clear set with no name!
Ink: Regal Rose, Chocolate Chip, Versamark
Card stock: Pretty in Pink, Regal Rose
Paper: Certainly Celery Prints
Punches: Corner Rounder punch.
Accessories: American Crafts Typehouse Chipboard, Kaiser rhinestones, Regal Rose ribbon, Clear embossing powder, Stampin’ Dimensionals, SNAIL adhesive.
Some supplies available from Stampin' Up!

Cammie's Treat Tote

I had a very quiet weekend on the creative front, spent lots of time sorting out boxes and just generally relaxing with Shanan. On Saturday I did make this adorable little "Treat Tote" that Cammie designed to take over to Janine, who had us over for a lovely dinner. I just thought the tote would look adorable filled with little embellishments as a hostess gift.
I used Cammie's measurements, but instead of using a punch to cut the window, I used my Oval nestabilities to cut out a larger area. I stamped an image from True Friend on the inside of the tote so it would show through any gaps in the window.

The only other big change was in the closure. I wanted to be able to untie then retie the bow at the front, so punched through all the layers with my Crop-a-dile (how did I ever survive without it?!) but only set the eyelets on the front layer - the ribbon bow keeps it all held together. I love that River Rock double stitched ribbon, such a gorgeous neutral.

Thanks for such a great tutorial Cammie!



Stampin Supplies:
Stamp Sets: True Friend
Ink: River Rock
Card stock: River Rock, Really Rust, Very Vanilla
Paper: Apple Cider DP
Punches: Slit, Small and Large Tag punches
Accessories: Markers, Crop-a-dile, Jumbo Eyelets by Provocraft, River Rock Double Stitched Ribbon, Hemp Twine, SNAIL adhesive.
Some supplies available from Stampin' Up!

Oprah Says...

Another Verve creation! Tonight I used the stamp set I won at the latest Verve release party - Beautiful You. This is such a must-have set, I've never seen such a wonderful collection of sentiments.
The sketch I've used is from Julee's Meet the Divas Challenge - so much fun to read all her answers to our questions! I did cheat a little, the sketch called for a circle, but I HAD to use an oval. it fit the sentiment perfectly. Hope you'll forgive me Julee!

The colours are from Kristina's Color Inspiration 19. We had to use Whisper White, Basic Gray and Basic Black + one other colour from the photo. I chose the hint of apricot from the flowers in the vase.

I didn't have any designer paper that fit my card idea, so went to work making my own. I stamped the flower on Whisper White, reverse masked it and sponged Apricot Appeal in a circular motion. Then I masked the flowers and sponged Basic Gray around the edges. I finished with a bit of bling....making my own Stickles (I have 35 bottles and none were the right colour!) with a drop of reinker, crystal effects and dazzling diamonds glitter. I wish you could see how sparkly it is in real life!

This card was the perfect excuse to break out my roll of Basic Gray taffeta too - previously unloved!

I just had to share the sweet note Shan left me today! I usually drink Coke Zero but occasionally splurge on a "real coke" lol This was the last one in the fridge - I love unexpected surprises like this....it might be goofy to some people, but it made me smile!



Stampin Supplies:
Stamp Sets: Beautiful You
Ink: Basic Gray, Apricot Appeal, Brilliance Graphite Black
Card stock: Whisper White, Basic Gray, Basic Black, Apricot Appeal
Punches: Corner Rounder, 1/2" Circle punches
Accessories: Basic Gray Taffeta, Sponge Daubers, Oval Nestabilities, Dazzling Diamonds, Crystal Effects, Swiss Dots embossing folder, Making Memories jumbo brads, Stampin’ Dimensionals, SNAIL adhesive.
Stamps by Verve. Some supplies available from Stampin' Up!

Verve - Cupcake-a-licious!

Here it is...after weeks of coveting their stamps, my first Verve card! I have to say...I can't believe how well these stamp....honestly, the coverage is as good as (in some cases...a little better!) than rubber! Love it!
Isn't this cupcake just the CUTEST?! I love this set, Cupcake Affair - had to have it right away! It's been forever since I baked some cupcakes - probably cos I don't have a dishwasher and hate the cleaning up after icing them - but stamping them is almost as much fun!

I went all candy coloured with this card - not intentional, I just inked up my cupcake with the first colour I thought of! I used some Marigold Morning to shade the flowers and found that going back over every second line on the cupcake liner enhanced the pleated look.

I used Baby Blue liquid pearls on the "icing" and white Kaiser pearls on the flowers. The ribbon is from a couple of rolls I picked up for like $2 each - love layering it like this.

The "what-looks-like-patterned-paper" is actually a stamp from the Grateful Elegance set, beeeautiful stamp!

Oh, I almost forgot...the sketch is from Julee for Mojo Monday #49 - so cool to finally do one of her sketches with her stamps!



Stampin Supplies:
Stamp Sets: Grateful Elegance, Cupcake Affair
Ink: Pretty in Pink, Basic Gray, Soft Sky, Barely Banana, Marigold Morning
Card stock: Pretty in Pink, Whisper White, Soft Sky, Barely Banana,
Punches: Slit, 1 1/4" Circle, 1 3/8" Circle punches
Accessories: Swiss Dots embossing folder, Sponge Daubers, Discount store ribbon, Kaiser Pearls, Liquid Pearls in Baby Blue, Blending Pens, Stampin’ Dimensionals, SNAIL adhesive.
Stamps by Verve. Some supplies available from Stampin' Up!

Today's a GOOD day!

I LOVE days like today! Started off great with a coffee date with Janine, Kelly and Beverley (I have so much to learn from these girls...all amazing scrappers!) at Butlers - soooo yummy, you get a free chocolate with your coffee (not to mention the Chocolate Ganache cake I had to have cos I skipped breakfast - excuses right?)

We went shopping at kikki.K - my first time there, but it won't be my last, see all the CUTE goodies I got? (Mandy, you'd love all the giraffe things there!) I thought this meal planner would be such a good way to remember to take the chicken out of the freezer in time for it to actually thaw before dinner!

The magnetic hooks are so I can hang stuff from my file cabinets....I can't waste an inch of storage space cos I'm such a shop-a-holic! As evidenced below....
Then....when Kelly kindly dropped me home....THIS was in my mailbox....my new Verve stamps! Yippee! Isn't that the fastest shipping ever? Julee rocks! She's such a sweetheart there was also a free stamp and some gorgeous ribbon in the package!

So...I've already made a card - my first Verve card ever! I'm off to take a photo and will be back soon!

Find Joy.....Five Times!

I had so much inspiration for this set of cards.....these are for a card swap over at The Sketchbook. The challenge was to use BLING - how could I resist?! Luckily All That Glitters is the Fan Club theme at SCS this month too. The colour scheme(s) come from Charmaine's Diva Challenge in the Verve forum - to use Black, White and a "splash" of one other colour! I did five different colours for the swap. I wanted to do a simple card with the focus on the sentiment. For my bling I've used Kaiser Rhinestones as well as some watercolour shimmer paints on the flowers. This might be hard to see in some of the photos.
I used my Square Nestabilities to cut out everything except the card base, which measures 4"x4" I also embossed the layers.
The colours are Certainly Celery, Real Red, Bashful Blue, Lavender Lace and Pretty in Pink. I used my Polka Dot background for the dots.
As for finding joy in the little things....today I'm happy that I've finished my cards and my stamp room is STILL lovely and tidy, I'm grateful the sun is shining and that I'm going out for coffee (and chocolate!) tomorrow, and I'm psyched that there's only two more days before I have Shanan home for the weekend again...I miss him when he's at work! (sappy, huh?)

Hope you have a joyful day!


Stampin Supplies:
Stamp Sets: Polka Dot Background, Polka Dots and Paisley
Ink: Basic Black, Pretty in Pink, Lavender Lace, Real Red, Certainly Celery, Bashful Blue
Card stock: Basic Black, Pretty in Pink, Lavender Lace, Real Red, Certainly Celery, Bashful Blue, Whisper White
Accessories: Square Nestabilities, Kaiser Rhinestones, Watercolour Shimmer Paint (from MFT), Assorted Grosgrain Ribbon, Stampin’ Dimensionals, SNAIL adhesive.
Stamps and some supplies available from Stampin' Up!

Whoooo Hoot!

Janine has the coolest feature on her blog....Whoo Hoot Wednesday - I love reading what's making everyone happy, so thought I'd join in this week!

~Meeting lots of fun, creative people in Wellington - I'd missed having people to create with!
~A parcel arriving from Stampin' Up! today....new rubber!
~Getting my set of Rectangle Nestabilities finally....can't wait to have a play.
~The ducks that come to visit every morning, they get a piece of bread for breakfast then waddle off back across the road again.
~Getting a phone set up upstairs finally, was always missing calls because I'd forget and leave the phone downstairs!
~Most of all....winning THE most beautiful set from Verve today during their release party....what a lucky gal! It's called Beautiful You and I so can't wait to get it inky!

Funky & Fresh!

Another bright one today! This is for Kristina's Color Inspiration #18. I used another of Julee's wonderful sketches for Anni-Verve-Sary, can you tell I'm addicted! This is also for Amy's Meet the Verve Diva's challenge, to use Butterflies!
I don't do bright that often, but I really like the way this turned out. The black just makes it pop! The sentiment is a rub-on from the Eastern Elegance pack by SU! Flower by Petaloo, Rhinestones by Kaiser. Making this was a fun way to brighten a gray day!



Stampin Supplies:
Stamp Sets: Priceless
Ink: Pumpkin Pie, Rose Red, Summer Sun
Card stock: Basic Black
Paper: Summer Picnic and Rose Red Prints DP
Punches: 1/2" Circle, Corner Rounder punches
Accessories: Petaloo flower, Kaiser Rhinestones, Pumpkin Pie Grosgrain, Eastern Elegance Rub-ons, Stampin’ Dimensionals, SNAIL adhesive.
Stamps and some supplies available from Stampin' Up!

Long, Tall Thanks

There are just so many cool challenges out there at the moment! This covers three, another sketch from Julee for Anni-VERVE-sary, Laurie's Verve Diva challenge and this week's Colour throw down challenge . The hardest thing about this card was def. the colours for me - Wasabi and I just don't see eye to eye! Not sure what it is, maybe I'm just not a green girl!
All pretty straightforward, Stickles on the popped-up tulip and scallops, reverse Cuttlebug inking technique thingee (seriously...what is that technique called?!?) and yay...another bow!

In sad news....ok...well, not really....but kinda....a BIG parcel arrived from Verve today....but it's addressed to hubby and I can't open it till my birthday in September! Complete torture.

Stampin Supplies:
Stamp Sets: Garden Whimsy, Short and Sweet
Ink: Wild Wasabi, Purely Pomegranate
Card stock: Purely Pomegranate, Very Vanilla
Paper: So Saffron Prints DP
Punches: Small Oval, 1/16" Handheld, Slit
Accessories: Styled Silver Hodgepodge, Double Stitched Wasabi ribbon, Stardust Stickles, Floral Screen embossing folder, Brayer, Paper Snips, Stampin’ Dimensionals, SNAIL adhesive.
Stamps and some supplies available from Stampin' Up!

Heartfelt For You

Ok, so I'll refrain from boring you again by raving about Julee's sketches...but aren't they just amazing? Her pretty graphics are always an inspiration too!
This is one of the sketch challenges for Anni-VERVE-Sary, the 3rd of 12! The most amazing part of this card for me was.....I tied a bow!!! Yippee! I couldn't have done it without Kristina's awesome video tutorial - so worth a watch if you're bow challenged!

I used Nesties for the large square, SU! punches for the smaller squares and the slit punch for the scallops. The scalloped layer and the large square are up on dimensionals. Teeny bit of Baby Blue Stickles on the popped up flower and Kaiser pearls for bling. I was so happy to find this ribbon in my stash, it worked perfectly with this card!



Stampin Supplies:
Stamp Sets: Heartfelt Thanks, Occasional Greetings
Ink: Soft Sky, Blue Bayou, Always Artichoke, Basic Black
Card stock: Very Vanilla, Soft Sky, Always Artichoke
Paper: Apple Cider & Le Jardin DP
Punches: 1 1/4" Square, 1 3/8" Square, Slit
Accessories: Nesties, Kaiser Pearls in Bliss, Baby Blue Stickles, Discount store satin ribbon, Stampin’ Dimensionals, SNAIL adhesive.
Stamps and some supplies available from Stampin' Up!