Verve's Get Your Diva On Challenge

This month's Get Your Diva On Challenge over at Verve is to incorporate a tag on your card or project OR make a set of tags. I chose to make a set of tags. I scored a fabulous deal on some Lost and Found goodies by My Mind's Eye at my LSS the other day and decided to sit down and play with those. I like how my little tags turned out and may even make some more! If you want to play along with the challenge, you have until Sunday the 14th to get your submissions in!

I am off to go camping with my cousins tomorrow on our annual Cousin's Camping Trip, and won't be back till late Sunday, so have a good weekend y'all! Thanks for stopping by!

Stamps: Hope Blooms, Circular Sayings (Verve), Daily Junque (Pink Paislee), Lost and Found Madison Avenue "Pretty" (My Mind's Eye)
Paper: Lost and Found Madison Avenue (My Mind's Eye), Velvet Paper (SEI)
Ink: Fountain Pen (jenni bowlin), Victorian Velvet Distress Ink, Spun Sugar Distress Stain (Ranger)
Accessories: bling (Prima), trims (Maya Road, May Arts), charm (Tim Holtz), die (Tim Holtz))

Happy Birthday for my Nephew

Yesterday we celebrated my nephew's birthday. He will be 11 on the 11th. It's kind of a hard age for making cards... not too cutesy or too grown up... and I remembered about half an hour before I was supposed to leave for the party that I had forgotten to make him a card. Well, that would never do. They always expect a handmade card from Auntie Cresta! So, I found some October Afternoon paper lying on my desk from my last project and remembered that I had some super cute paper with animals on it somewhere!! After I found it, I went to the October Afternoon website for some inspiration because I was RUNNING OUT OF TIME and I found this cute card by Jill Cornell and voila! a birthday card was born!


I used October Afternoon's Campfire papers and stickers, and their Kraft Mini Market Stickers, and a rub-on by Daisy D's.

Thanks for stopping by! Enjoy your day!

Mojo Monday 202

Here is my card for this week's Mojo Monday contest. I have had all of these October Afternoon 5 and Dime goodies on my desk for weeks now just begging to be used, so today was the day to get them out and create with them. I just love October Afternoon, they are one of my favorite companies, and I cannot wait till all of their new lines are available! Especially Farmhouse, have you seen that?! So lovely!

So anyway, here it is: all October Afternoon, with a Verve Hello Friend stamp, Papertrey Ink sentiment, a little May Arts ribbon and some Kaiser bling.


Thanks for stopping by, have a fantastic day!

Thank you, from my heart...

Here is a card that I made for my dear friend, Jill, who, along with my BFF, Donna, threw me the most amazing surprise birthday party this past week! It was so much fun! Apparently they had been scheming together for a couple of months to make this the best birthday EVER and they totally pulled it off! Jill is the owner of the local scrapbook store and they had the party in the basement with all of my family and friends hiding down there waiting for me, and they all gave me Stamping Bella stamps as gifts. (based on a crazy dream I had--and then forgot about--a couple of months ago!)

So, this card is to tell her that I really appreciate her and all of the effort that she went to to make my day so very special! I based it on this week's Viva la Verve sketch:



This card is for Donna's mom who was also instrumental in making the day a success (I am told), I based it on a Viva la Verve sketch from July:



And, finally, here is the card I made for my best friend Donna based on the Shabby Tea Room Challenge for this week:



Thank you to all who made my birthday so special, whether by helping or by coming to be part of my big day, it meant so much to me!

Thanks for stopping by today, have a wonderful day!

Just some stuff I have been working on...

Here are some cards I have made recently while apparently still in my Authentique phase. I still can't seem to get enough of this fabulous new company. If you haven't seen their products yet, be sure to check them out! Their paper is such great quality, I love to work with it!
this one is made with the Blissful line of products for Viva La Verve's Week 1 Challenge

this is made with the new Splendid line of products

another card made with Splendid

Finally something different! :) This one is made with Hometown Summer papers by Pink Paislee and 5 & Dime Chip n' Stick by October Afternoon for Viva La Verve's Week 2 Challenge


Thanks for stopping by today! Have a great day!

Mojo Monday 198

Hello there! Well, here is my card for Mojo Monday... I have been sick for nearly two weeks and my mojo has been missing, so I thought I would try Julee's fabulous sketch to see if my mojo would return! I have been loving the new Authentique papers--can't seem to put 'em down, so this card is created with the Uncommon line. One of these days I will try to create with something else again, but for now I am having a lot of fun with these new lovelies! So without further ado... here is my card:

based on this sketch:

Thanks for stopping by, enjoy your day!

Authentique!

I have found a new paper love! A new company called Authentique. They just released 3 collections: Uncommon, Journey and Blissful. I was lucky enough to win a Blissful sampler pack from Facebook and received it today so I sat right down to create. The papers are delicious! Heavyweight, beautiful colors and one of my favorite things: made right here in the USA! They also have fun little cardstock embellishments that are printed on both sides and nifty little word stickers to match. I am such a detail girl that I just love everything about this new company! My first card is made with the Blissful goodies that I won, the second is made from the Uncommon line that I purchased from my LSS because Jill is awesome and got these new products in as soon as they were available!

Thanks for stopping by, enjoy your day, and check out Authentique!

Mojo Monday 194

Well, here I am at long last, back from my wanderings across the States. I have to say that I really like where I live and I am glad to be back home! I missed my craft room so much... I had to jump right in and make a card for this week's Mojo Monday challenge at my very first opportunity! :)

I challenged myself to use only paper from my scrap stash so I found some Girl's Paperie, SEI velvet paper, PTI Kraft and Fine Linen and some random pink cardstock that I ran through my Cuttlebug with a Tim Holtz Embossing folder. I distressed all the edges with my handy dandy Heidi Swapp Edge Distresser and Tim Holtz Tea Dye Distress Ink. The corrugated piece is by Jillibean Soup painted with Antique White acrylic paint and sprinkled with some glitter glass by Melissa Frances. The stamp is from the Girlfriends stamp set by Crafty Secrets. The lace trim is from my stash and the silk ribbon is Maya Road. The little bird is Tim Holtz, the buttons are sweet blush by PTI. The scallop is made with an EK Success punch.


Thanks so much for stopping by, enjoy your day!

Thinking of You...

Hello Friends!

Well, I have been away for awhile, down with a nasty old migraine for a while, and getting ready to head out for another couple of weeks, so I don't have much to share right now!

I do have this card that I created a couple of days ago in between everything that is going on around here. Sometimes you just HAVE to CREATE! I dreamed this one up while I was lying in bed with miserable head pain, and it turned out just and I imagined! :)

I am not sure if I will have anything new to share before I leave on Wednesday, so hope you all have a wonderful couple of weeks, and I will "see" you when I get back!

Stamps: Blessings (Verve)
Paper: Portrait (Crate Paper), Kraft, Fine Linen, Smokey Shadow (PTI)
Accessories: Birds and Botanicals (Crafty Secrets), Embossing Folder (Provo Craft), Labels 18, Small Ovals Nestabilities (Spellbinders), Ribbon (unknown), crochet trim (May Arts)

Thanks for stopping by, enjoy your day!

Feel Better Soon...

I have had these lilybee design papers for awhile now, but couldn't seem to be able to use them, but I pulled them out again the other day and they just seemed to WANT to create this card! :) I used the Viva la Verve Week 1 sketch for this one. I got my layers a little backwards, but oh, well! I like how it turned out and I am deciding that is all that matters!



Stamps: Hope Blooms, Blossom and Grow (Verve), Background Basics: Text Style (PTI)
Paper: This & That: Milk Bottle (Lily Bee Design) Lost and Found (My Mind's Eye), Kraft, Vintage Cream (PTI), Java (Bazzill Basics), Cork (unknown)
Ink: Tim Holtz Vintage Photo, Antique Linen Distress Inks (Ranger), Fountain Pen (jenni bowlin)
Accessories: Elegant Leaves, Floral Circles Dies (Verve), Lace, Silk Ribbon (May Arts), Ocean Tides Button (PTI), Heidi Swapp Edge Distresser

Thanks so much for stopping by! Enjoy your day!

Mojo Monday 189

Just got back in time to post my card for Mojo Monday 189!
Used all of the 7 Gypsies Lille goodness I could find for this one:

I felt like doing some kind of collage type project, so this is kind of what this one turned out to be. :)

Stamps: All About You (Verve)
Paper: Lille (7 Gypsies), Ruby Slipper, Black Orange Peel (Bazzill Basics)
Ink: Vintage Photo, Walnut Stain Distress Ink Tim Holtz (Ranger), Fountain Pen (jenni bowlin)
Accessories: Brads (Making Memories) Twine (unknown), scalloped edge (lost and found, My Mind's Eye)
Thanks for looking, enjoy your day!

Bright and Cheery Mother's Day Card

So my roommate decided to venture into the craft room (something she rarely does) the other day to make a card for her parents, and ended up making a really fantastic card! I loved the papers she chose to work with, so I had to use them too, since they were still scattered all over the desk!

Here is what I came up with:

I still haven't decided who this one is going to, but I still have a few days to figure it out! Hope you all are having a wonderful day!

Stamps: Love Deepens, Bloom and Grow {Verve}
Ink: Noir Black {Palette}, Mister Huey's Color Mists: Piglet {Studio Calico}, Tim Holtz Distress Ink: Peeled Paint {Ranger}
Paper: Hot Pink {Core'dinations}, Green at Heart: Recycle, Basics: Table {Basic Grey}, Ecriture {7 Gypsies}
Accessories: Scalloped Squares, Blossom Nestabilities {Spellbinders}, Elegant Leaves Die {Verve}, Flowers {Prima}, Chipboard Butterfly {jenni bowlin}, Tim Holtz Distress Paint: Worn Lipstick {Ranger}

Happy Birthday!

Today is my youngest niece's birthday. She is 7 years old. How time does fly! I made this card for her using Shannan's fabulous Viva La Verve Week 4 Sketch Challenge. It is super fun! She has a tutorial on her blog if anyone wants to try it out. I am still loving the new My Mind's Eye papers I got last week. They just make me happy!

Stamps: Verve Hope Blooms, Bloom and Grow
Paper: MME Lime Twist Happy Go Lucky
Ink: Tim Holtz Peeled Paint Distress Ink, Palette Noir Black, VersaMagic Malted Mauve
Accessories: Maya Road Pleated Trim, Maya Road Crocheted Trim, Verve A Cut Above Elegant Leaves Die, Spellbinders Nestabilities Blossom and Standard Circles Large Dies, Jenni Bowlin Chipboard Butterfly, Tattered Angels Pink Lipstick Glimmer Glam

Thanks for stopping by, enjoy your day!

I Love New Paper!

So I went to my fabulous LSS yesterday and Jill was kind enough to let me dig through the newly arrived boxes to pick out and purchase the new My Mind's Eye Lime Twist collection. LOVE! There are 4 new lines and all of them are so fun! I have been playing in the craft room since I got the new stuff... so I thought I would share one of my latest creations using the Happy Go Lucky line. So fun and bright and cheerful. Yum!

I used the Viva La Verve Week 3 sketch for this card.

I also used the new Hope Blooms set and Floral Circles dies from Verve.

Thanks for stopping by, enjoy your day!

A little more Verve...

Here is another card that I made for Verve's release week that I thought I would share. It is out of my color comfort zone, but I like how it turned out nonetheless. I used the newly released Proverbs 31:28 Plain Jane and the leaves from Bloom and Grow along with the Elegant Leaves die.



Stamps: Proverbs 31:28 Plain Jane, Bloom and Grow, Happy Phrases (Verve)
Die: Elegant Leaves (Verve), Classic Scalloped Ovals Large and Small Nestabilities (Spellbinders), Classic Ovals Small Nestabilities (Spellbinders)
Paper: Stamper’s Select White (Papertrey Ink), Lime Sherbet (Bazzill Basics), Concord Double Dot (Bo Bunny), Picket Fence: Fresh Air, Porch Swing (lilybee design)
Ink: Peeled Paper, Crushed Olive, Antique Linen Distress Ink (Tim Holtz), Fresh Snow (Papertrey Ink)
Accessories: New Leaf Buttons (Papertrey Ink), Vintage Lace, Twine (source unkown), White Embossing Powder (Mark Enterprises)

Thanks for stopping by, enjoy your day!

Verve Countdown: Day Four!

Well, here we are at the last day of sneak peeks! Tonight marks the big reveal of the April release! Every set is a must-have in my opinion. I know I will be using them over and over again. Today I am sharing a project made with the Proverbs 16:9 Plain Jane and lots of Tim Holtz goodness.

It's the last time to shine our sneaky Verve spotlight on some brand new stamps! We're counting down to Verve's release party which will be going on TONIGHT! And since we love to share, there's a prize hidden on one of today's hop spots! Just leave a little shout-out in the comments as you hop about for a chance to win some new Verve of your very own! You can check out the Verve Blog for all the prize details and deadlines.

1. Julee 8. Jackie 2. Tosh 9. Charmaine 3. Amber 10. Janelle 4. Amy 11. Teresa 5. Maureen 12. Laurie 6. Cresta 13. Sankari 7. Andrea 14. Melissa TODAY'S PRIZE: Hope Blooms, Proverbs 16:9 Plain Jane and Floral Circles Die Set

Thank you all for sharing this amazing experience with me and for all of your sweet comments. They all mean so much to me!

Stamps: Proverbs 16:9 Plain Jane (Verve)
Paper: Java, Maraschino (Bazzill Basics), Vintage Cream (Papertrey Ink), Cork (source unknown), Kraft Resist, Kraft Glassine (Tim Holtz)
Ink: Fountain Pen (Jenni Bowlin), Vintage Photo Distress Ink (Tim Holtz)
Accessories: Ruler Ribbon, Philosophy Tags (Tim Holtz), Antique White Acrylic Paint (DecoArt), Frame (Fetco)

Thanks for stopping by, enjoy your day!

Verve Countdown: Day Three!

Here we are at Day 3 of the Verve Countdown and I have to say that today's spotlight set may have to be my favorite... no, who am I kidding? I love them all! If you are looking for the perfect Mother's Day set, look no further! Julee has thought of everything with this one. It has sentiments for nearly every woman in your life!

For today's card I used the Viva la Verve Week One sketch and couldn't resist sneaking in some more of those fabulous flowers and leaves that you saw yesterday! They are so great to work with, I know that I will be using them a lot more in the future too.

It's time once again to shine our sneaky Verve spotlight on some brand new stamps! We're counting down to Verve's release party this Friday night, April 15, with FOUR days of Spotlight Hops! And since we love to share, there's a prize hidden on one of today's hop spots! Just leave a little shout-out in the comments as you hop about for a chance to win some new Verve of your very own! You can check out the Verve Blog for all the prize details and deadlines.

1. Tosh 8. Janelle 2. Teresa 9. Jackie 3. Maureen 10. Charmaine 4. Laurie 11. Andrea 5. Julee 12. Amber 6. Cresta 13. Melissa 7. Sankari 14. Amy TODAY'S PRIZE: Love Deepens, Proverbs 31:28 Plain Jane and Elegant Leaves Die

Stamps: Love Deepens {Verve}

Dies: Floral Circles, Elegant Leaves {Verve}

Designer Paper: 5th Avenue {Melissa Frances}

Cardstock: Brandywine {Bazzill Basics}, Whitewash Collection {Core'dinations Core Impressions Basic Grey Ornate Collection}, Green {Core'dinations}, Vintage Cream {Papertrey Ink}

Ink: Vintage Photo Distress Ink {Tim Holtz}, Coffee {Ranger Archival Inks}, Olympia Green {Versafine}

Embellishments: Sweet Blush Buttons {Papertrey Ink}, Paper Doily {We R Memory Keepers}, Lace/Ribbon {May Arts}, Plum Pearl {Kaiser Kraft}

Other: Vintage Pink, Tattered Leather Glimmer Mist {Tattered Angels}, Heidi Swapp Distress Tool, Paper Piercer, Scalloped Circle {Nestabilites}

Thanks for stopping by, enjoy your day!

Verve Countdown: Day Two!

Hi everyone! Welcome to day 2 of the Verve countdown! Today's spotlight is on Bloom and Grow, a fabulous new set with lots of flowers to play with! We are also spotlighting 2 new die sets: Floral Circles and Elegant Leaves. I love them both! These are my first sets of Verve dies and I must say, they are FABULOUS! They cut so beautifully!

My card today features both die sets and the spotlight stamp set which coordinates exactly with the dies!

We're counting down to Verve's release party this Friday night, April 15, with FOUR days of Spotlight Hops! And since we love to share, there's a prize hidden on one of today's hop spots! Just leave a little shout-out in the comments as you hop about for a chance to win some new Verve of your very own! You can check out the Verve Blog for all the prize details and deadlines.

	1. Amber 8. Julee 2. Amy 9. Laurie 3. Andrea 10. Maureen 4. Charmaine 11. Teresa 5. Cresta 12. Tosh 6. Jackie 13. Sankari 7. Janelle 14. Melissa
TODAY'S PRIZE: Bloom & Grow, Elegant Leaves Die and Floral Circles Die Set

Stamps: Bloom and Grow {Verve}

Dies: Floral Circles, Elegant Leaves {Verve}

Cardstock: Core'dinations, Bazzill

Designer Paper: Hazel: Special Fine Floret, Stella and Rose Collection {My Mind's Eye}

Ink: Olympia Green {Versafine}, Versamark, Vintage Photo Distress Ink {Tim Holtz}, Noir Black {Palette}

Embellishments: Plum Pearls {Kaiser Kraft}, Clear Embossing Powder {Jo-Ann Craft Essentials}, Lace {May Arts}, Edge Distresser {Heidi Swapp}

Verve Countdown: Day One!

It's time to shine our sneaky Verve spotlight on some brand new stamps! We're counting down to Verve's release party this Friday night, April 15, with FOUR days of Spotlight Hops! And since we love to share, there's a prize hidden on one of today's hop spots! Just leave a little shout-out in the comments as you hop about for a chance to win some new Verve of your very own! You can check out the Verve Blog for all the prize details and deadlines.

I am soooo excited to be a Guest Diva this month for Verve! You are going to love what Julee has designed for April. I squealed with delight when I opened my package and have had so much fun working with the new stamps and dies!

Today we are spotlighting Bunny Shake, Birthday Phrases, Faithful Phrases and Happy Phrases. For my card I used Faithful Phrases and Happy Phrases. I love these little sentiment sets. They will be a great addition to anyone's collection. I love how well they pair with the ones that Verve has already released!



Here are the links for the other Divas also showcasing today's sets:

1. Andrea	8. Julee
2. Jackie	9. Tosh
3. Charmaine	10. Amber
4. Janelle	11. Amy
5. Teresa	12. Maureen
6. Laurie	13. Cresta
7. Sankari

Stamps: Faithful Phrases, Happy Phrases {Verve}
Cardstock: Scarlet Jewel, Fine Linen {Papertrey Ink}, Ballet Dotted Swiss {Bazzill Basics}
Designer Paper: Cabbage Rose: Paper Girl {The Girl's Paperie}
Embellishments: Corrugated Butterfly {jillibean soup}, glitter glass {Melissa Frances}, Antique White acrylic paint {Deco Art}, Plum pearls {Kaiser Kraft}, Ribbon {May Arts}, Tulle {Bazzill Basics}, Punches {Fiskars, Stampin' Up!}, Ink {Jenni Bowlin}

Thanks for stopping by, enjoy your day!

Changes...

Well, things have been a little crazy on the home front and a little quiet on the blog front for the last couple of weeks. I have some new and exciting things happening in my life: the biggest of which is that I quit my job (I was kind of forced to), but am using this as a springboard to just go ahead and chase some of my dreams! I am excited to see how it all works out and a little apprehensive too. But, I just found this great quote by Eleanor Roosevelt that gives me courage: "The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams".

So, here I go!

I am also a Guest Diva for Verve's April release, so that is super exciting and keeping me busy. Can't wait to share!

Hope you all have a great weekend, and I hope to be back with some crafty stuff soon!

Thanks for stopping by, enjoy your day!

God is our Refuge

I made this card for a Verve sketch challenge... using the new Graphic 45 Le Cirque papers I recently purchased at my favorite scrapbooking store! (Don't know if you have seen this one yet, Jill). The stamp is one of my favorite Verve Plain Jane stamps.



Thanks for looking, enjoy your day!

Mojo Monday 183

Hmmm. Home from work and nothing to do... Mojo Monday to the rescue! I got some new Lawn Fawn stamps last week and have been itching to play with them, so I thought that this week's Mojo sketch would work perfectly. I used Cosmo Cricket's Material Girl DP, some trims and buttons I had lying around, and Voila! a card has come to life!



Thanks for looking, enjoy your day!

Get Your Diva On Challenge - March

I created this card for Verve's Get Your Diva On Challenge for this month. The challenge was to use a neutral color (I chose grey), with a pop of color. I used some new Maya Road Rose Trim to create a big flower for my big pop of color!



Thanks for looking, enjoy your day!

DP: Making Memories{Wedding}
Stamps: Verve{Love Story}
Other: Maya Road Rose Trim, Prima Bling, Bazzill Cardstock

Mojo Monday 181

I got these new Teresa Collins Posh papers this week and HAD to use them for this week's FABULOUS Mojo Monday sketch! This is probably my favorite one ever!

Here is my take on the sketch:


Thanks for looking, enjoy your day!

Designer Paper: Teresa Collins {Posh}
Stamps: Papertrey Ink {Signature Greetings, Damask Designs}
Other: Tim Holtz Distress Paint {Worn Lipstick}, Chipboard Butterfly {Melody Ross}, Pink Rick Rack, Bling {Recollections}, Flourish Die {Tim Holtz}

Get Your Diva On Challenge

This card was created for Verve's Get Your Diva On Challenge. The challenge was to make a card inspired by this photo:


I was inspired by the plate for the circular feature, the roses for the crepe paper flowers I created, the pearls in the cupcake and of course all of the pink!



I used my new favorite line of paper: Stella and Rose by My Mind's Eye. LOVE!!! and one of Verve's awesome sentiment stamps.

Thanks for looking, enjoy your day!

Mojo Monday 177

Here is my submission for Mojo Monday. My roommate needed a specific thank you card, so this is what I came up with! I love Stamping Bella: she has an image for nearly every profession! And of course, Julee's sentiments are second to none! I love the October Afternoon paper... so bright and cheery. I painted the wooden apple with Tattered Angels Glimmer Glam and some Tim Holtz Pearl Alcohol Ink.



Thanks for stopping by! Enjoy your day!

PTI Make it Monday

Here is my entry for Papertrey Ink's Make it Monday. I used 6 colors of PTI cardstock, 1 of their dies, 7 different stamp sets, PTI buttons and ink for this card! ALL PAPERTREY! It was a fun card to make.



Thanks for looking, enjoy your day!

You are the Beat of My Heart

I have been spending a little bit of time in the craft room lately since I have not been able to go to work (don't want to pass this nasty bug around) so I have been making some Valentine's cards! I love this set that I got from Papertrey Ink a month or so ago. It is called Love Birds.



I also used some Lush paper from Making Memories and some Prima pearls.

Thanks for stopping by, enjoy your day!

SFYTT

Well, here I am getting in my card for Jen's Sketch For You to Try for January just in the nick of time! I have been sick (and still am!), but really wanted to play, so here is my interpretation using this month's sponsor's (The Cat's Pajamas)stamps... one of only 2 sets that I have!



Thanks for stopping by, have a great day!