JustRite Guest Designing...

I have long been a fan of JustRite, and have been stamping with their images for about 4 years. Well, at CHA, Kellie asked if I would like to be a guest designer for three days this week. Now, Kellie's super sweet, is a dear friend, and has a huge heart for papercrafting, and papercrafters themselves, so of course I jumped at the chance. JustRite has wonderful sentiments, and their designs that work with Spellbinders dies are fabulous!! So, I'd be honored if you'd head on over to the JustRite blog and check out the card I have to share with you today.

Happy Stamping my friends!!

Mojo Monday Surprise Blog Hop for Julee

Twins!! How exciting!! We're having a Mojo Monday blog hop shower of sorts for Julee and Mark (owners of Verve Stamps). They're expecting twins in a few short weeks!!

If you've arrived here from Janelle's blog, you're on the right track. Otherwise, you might want to start at Julee's blog and wish her congratulaions.

I thought it would be fun to use the giraffe from the To the Moon set and frame it with the star frame from the set American Hero. The star at the end of the sentiment tag is from that set also. I also added an "s" to the "precious little one" sentiment.

That's it for my card. Next up on the hop is the sweet and talented Jackie.

_____________________________________________________

Stamps: To the Moon and American Hero
Paper: Genuine (Authentique), White (PTI)
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento), Black Soot (Ranger Distress)
Accessories: Copics, Pearl Pen, Button (PTI), Twine (Olive Manna)

Waltingmouse's Feb. Blog Party

Wow!! I can't believe it's the 17th of February. This year is flying by already, and I feel like I'm just getting started. Well, it's time for another Waltzingmouse Blog Party, and I'm excited to be participating. The theme for this month is "Spring". And I love my flowers!!

(The card opens to the side. The fold is just under the lace on the left side.)

So, I got to combine a few of my absolute faves for this card: Flowers, Vintage Elegance, Ivory and black with a hint of color, bling, and of course, one of my ALL TIME FAVORITE sets by Waltzingmouse, Say It Loud!! If you click on the photo, you can see the butterfly stick pins and sparkle on the flowers a bit better.

You have time to play along too, and we'd love it if you did. All you have to do is make a card using Waltzingmouse images with the Spring Theme, and Link it over at the Waltzingmouse Blog found HERE. It's just that easy!! There is a time limit though. So be sure to read the instructions for what the cut off for linking is in your time zone.

Thanks for dropping by!!
Happy Stamping!!

_____________________________________________________________

Stamps: Say It Loud (Waltzingmouse)
Paper: PTI, decorative paper (Can't remember who by)
Ink: Versafine and Versamagic, Ranger Distress
Accessories: Flowers (Prima and Wild Orchid Crafts), Butterfly Stick pins (Webster's), Labels 20 and Standard and Scalloped Ovals (Spellbinders), Rinestones (Zva Creative), Buttons (PTI), Pearls (Kaisercraft), Lace

Paper Smooches Friend

Hello my paper crafting friends. I had the pleasure of working with my friend Laurie in the Paper Smooches stamps booth at CHA last month, and met some of the sweetest and most talented women. The owner and designer, Kim Hughes, started Paper Smooches a year ago, and has a fabulous array of the cutest and most charming whimsical, and geometric images. Since I worked in her booth for a short time, she's generously blessed me with a few of these sets, and I'll be sharing some projects, over time, that I made with them.




I fell in love with the this little tree set called Gently Seasoned (How cute a name is that!!!), the first time I saw it in their booth. I love the variety of leaves, and the charming bare tree. So many possibilities!!

I've also really been enjoying the clean lines of graphic art lately, so I thought I'd start by making a card with the leaf trio branch, and color them three coordinating colors. Now, for me, CAS cards take waaaaaaaay longer to make than Shabby Chic cards with tons of details!! So this collection took some time for me to get it the way I wanted. *sigh*

I included a trio of scored lines along the bottom of the card, and attached a tiny rhinestone to the center of the leaves. (If you click on the photo, the scored lines are much more visible.)



Now, I thought I was done. But then I thought, I had to share the sweet little tree too. Especially since being inspired by the blooming of our fruit trees right now. There are pink blossoms everywhere around here right now. They're so sweet and beautiful. Thus, the inspiration for this little tree using the Gently Seasoned set, as well as the little green oval of grass from the Vogue Abode set. I LOVE mixing and matching images from different sets, and Kim's work beautifully together. The "too kind" sentiment is from the Chit Chat set, and the "let's chat" sentiment is from Vogue Abode.



Now, I mentioned that I love the current graphic design style. But I'm also very vintage at heart. So I made a sweet little lacy box to hold all these cards along with some return address labels and stamps. I used the Labels 11 Grand die (Spellbinders) as my base, and added a couple of 2 1/4" squares to the sides for some stability. All the panels were embossed with a Sizzix Embossing folder. The medallion in the center was made with an Ironwork Accents die (Spellbinders), as well as some SU! Oval and Circle Punches. Lastly, I added some lace and Satin Ribbon (SU!), as well as a PTI button.

That about sums this project up. I hope you'll take the time to check out Paper Smooches. They have a variety of images that will appeal to any taste.

Happy Stamping my friends!!

______________________________________________________

Stamps: Gently Seasoned, Vogue Abode, Chit Chat (Paper Smooches)
Paper: PTI
Ink: Onyx Black (Versafine), Tuxedo Black (Memento), French Roast, Sage and Amethyst (a muse)
Accessories: Labels 11 Grand, Long Rectangles and Ironwork Accents dies (Spellbinders), Circle and Oval Punches (SU!), Copics (B93, BV11, YG93), Postage Stamp Border Punch (Fiskars), Rhinestones (Pizzaz Aplenty), Satin Ribbon (SU!), Button (PTI), Embossing Folder (Sizzix), Scor-Buddy

Wings of Love Tag

I am such a dork. Really and truly!! As Verve divas, we make samples for the Viva la Verve challenges. I had an open Thursday, so I thought, hey, I'm going to make a card using the sketch for the next day's VLV. So, I looked up the sketch, got to work, and emailed my finished product to the sketch designer for that week, letting her know I made a card for her post. She was gracious and emailed me back thanking me, with some kind words included. When I went to check in the VLV forum, I finally realized the "DUH" moment I had. I had made a card using a month old sketch. Hellooooooooo Tosh!!! Really?!?!?!? Andrea (the kind soul I emailed my card to) never mentioned a thing about my apparent obliviousness to the week we were currently in. I can only imagine the thoughts that were running through her brain. *sigh*

Anyway, all this to say, I made this card using Verve images and last month's, week two, sketch designed by the ever talented, and oh, so sweet Andrea Ewen. I had been struggling with my paper crafting mojo the last few weeks, and her sketch was quite an inspiration. Although using an old VLV sketch doesn't get you entered in to win some fabulous Vervaliscious goodness, it can get the creative juices flowing again.

I combined a new set with a slightly older set to get the soft, vintage shabby look that I was going for: Wings of Love and Tag Time

I stamped the gridded tag, with Smokey Gray Versafine, onto some dp, and diecut it with the Verve Tagged Rectangle die. The winged heart is paper pieced into three layers after stamping it directly onto some dp. There are some stardust stickles added to the wings too. Wings need sparkle, am I right? :) And the little "Thank You" sentiment, from the Tag Time was also stamped with Smokey Gray Versafine ink.

The dp and sweet little embellishments (chipboard butterfly, flower, and button), are all from one my absolute favorite paper companies, My Mind's Eye.

That about sums this little baby up. Thank you Andrea for the inspiration, and for your kindness in my "crs" moment. LOL

Happy Stamping my friends!!!

_____________________________________________________

Stamps: Wings of Love and Tag Time (Verve)
Paper: Be Happy (Follow Your Heart, Be Happy MME), Vintage Cream (PTI)
Ink: Smokey Gray (Versafine), Lemon Whip (a muse)
Accessories: Tagged Rectangle die (Verve), Chipboard and button embellishements (Follow Your Heart by Happy Buttons (MME), Rhinestones (Pizzaz Aplenty), Startdust Stickles, Seam Binding Ribbon, Border Punches (EK Success), Ruffled Lace Trim (Vintage), Sewing Machine, Distrezz-it-All (Zutter), Corner Rounder Punch, Scor-Buddy

Celebrate CAS style

Hello everyone!! :)
I have a quick post to share with you today. I realize I've been remiss in my postings, but I've been busy with life. kwim?

I made this card the same day I made THIS CARD for Shannan's VLV CAS challenge the last week of January. I thought, why not make the edges rougher, so I just teared a piece of copy paper in half, inked up the negative space, and stamped some sentiments, from the Waltzingmouse set Say it Loud, with Onyx Black Versafine. I have to say, this is one of my "go to" sets for many, many projects. The set is beautifully fonted, and has a gazillion little sentiments to go with the large ones. Perfect in my honest opinion. :) Claire's a genius!! Just sayin...

Lastly, I added a sweet little I-Rock Rhinestone at the end of the "celebrate" flourish.

That's it. Easy peasy, and it could be masculine, or feminine.
Thanks for dropping by. I'm still working on CHA faves to post. There's so many photos, I think I might break it up into two days.

Happy Stamping my friends!!

_________________________________________________________

Stamps: Say it Loud (Waltzingmouse)
Paper: Vintage Cream (PTI)
Ink: Antique Linene, Bundled Sage, Frayed Burlap and Milled Lavender (Ranger Distress), Onyx Black (Versafine)
Accessories: Copy Paper, Rhinestone (I-Rock)

Stampin' Friends at CHA

I had the most fabulous time at CHA last week meeting some of the most kind paper crafters. It's a treat each year to catch up with ladies I've met previous years, and meet some new ones, that I've wanted to meet for some time.

I started off, on Saturday, with a Copics class taught by Suzanne Dean. Suzanne is a miracle worker!! I kid you not. She starts the class by telling us all, by the end of class we will all be at the same level and will be able to color with Copics. Me, being the loyal pessimist that I am, had serious (and I mean serious) doubts. But I have to say, my confidence level has risen astronomically!! Her teaching techniques (and patience...lol), are fantastic!! I highly suggest taking her class if she's ever near you. Shoot, even if she's not, it's worth the traveling time.

I have many photos to share with ya'll. My favorite products (paper and embellishments), and photos of stampin' friends. Some I've known for awhile, and some new friends, just made. :)

First of all, I treasure this picture of Laurie Schmidlin and I. We met on Splitcoaststampers about 5 years ago, and have been the best of friends ever since. Since she lives in Montana, we treasure the times we get to see each other.


Linda Duke and I live only a few miles away from each other, and only just realized that a couple of years ago. Now, of course, we squeeze in lunch and coffee when ever we can. :) All three of us drove down to CHA together this year, and took the Copics Class from Suzanne.

Here's a photo of our uber talented teacher, Suzanne Dean. She's a crack up!! Too fun!! Not only did we learn tons, but we had a super fabulous time while learning. Who knew learning could be such fun!!

What a treat it was to meet these sweet, sweet Verve Divas: Susan Liles, and Jen Del Muro

Julie Comstock, President and Designer for Cosmo Cricket...she is just a hoot, let me tell you. LOVE Cosmo papers, and thoroughly enjoyed talking to her about the new lines!!

Tina Gilliland was one of Suzanne's helpers in the Copics class. She's a real crack up!! :)

Sweet Lynn Mercurio...our DT coordinator for Waltzingmouse Stamps!! She keeps us all organized and on the ball, and is just the sweetest ever!! :)

Jessica Diedrich...hilarious and sweet as ever!!

Val Stangle, Julie Ebersole and Cindy Lawrence. All true blue gems!! LOVE 'em!

Sweet, sweet ladies: Jami Sibley, Lori Craig and Ellen Hutson at the Dirty Dozen Dinner. Jami and Lori give the best hugs ever and are always the first to welcome everyone. Ellen is so charming too!!

Val Stangle, Cindy Lawrence, me and Dina Kowel. Dina is so kind and colors like no other. Seriously!!

(This is Dina's photo that she posted on fb. I didn't get one taken with my camera. )

That's it for the name dropping....*grin* There are many other charming and sweet paper crafters that I got to visit with, but didn't get a picture of...*sigh* CHA is always so much fun. Meeting paper crafters, and seeing all the new product...speaking of which...tomorrow I will be posting some of my favorite things. I'll tell ya now though...there was burlap everywhere!! LOVE it!!

Purge Blog Hop Winners announced!!

Hello!!
It's Monday, and I'm still at CHA checking out all the fabulous new "toys" that will be available soon. As you know now, due to this purge hop, I'm seriously addicted to paper, and after seeing some of the new lines of my favorite companies, I will seriously be able to feed that addiction soon....LOL....there's some yummy stuff comin' ya'll!!

Now, for the winners of the purge hop. I have the package that I pictured in my post, as well as 5 boxes of paper to share. If you see your name, please email me with your address, and I will get your packages in the mail later this week. I won't be home for a few days yet.


The goodies pictured winner:

Gabriela said...
What a lovely card, Tosh! Love your use of the tiny library clip. That's quite a generous stash of blog candy! My favorite item in your blog candy are the Spellbinders. Are you sure you want to include those in the giveaway pile?

Paper winners:

EllenaElizabeth said...
What a subtle but stunning card.Your giveaway looks wonderful .


Wanda Cullen said...
What a fun blog hop! Love this whole purge idea (different from my work-related purging of giving laxatives and enemas - lol)! Your definition of purging is so much better! :-)


Naomi said...
Tosha,
GORGEOUS card! I LOVE the tiny clip!
WOW....what an AMAZING prize package you have there!

Barbara A. said...
Whoaaa........my mouth is getting really watery just looking at this amazing purge pile! I love the colors of your card, so pretty! Thanks for the chance to win and for sharing your talents with us all!
January 22, 2012 9:55 AM

Conniecrafter said...
So pretty, great verse and I love the detail along the bottom under the buttons!!
Oh my I love crystal gems and die cuts and I don't have any of them... always love new paper too ;)
January 22, 2012 2:53 PM


I hope you've enjoyed this Purge Hop. Thanks so much for participating!!

Have a fantastic week and.....

Happy Stamping!! ;)

Viva la Verve Jan. Week 4

Hi stamping friends!! I have a quick post to share with you today. I'm heading to CHA tomorrow, and there's so much to get done before I leave. Two super sweet, and totally talented stamping friends are riding down to Anaheim with me: Laurie Schmidlin and Linda Duke. Talk about some serious stampin' skills. Wowsers!! I'm hoping that some of their mojo rubs off during our long driving time. (fingers crossed)

Anyway, Verve has made a small change in the Viva la Verve Sketch schedule. The last week of the month will be a CAS sketch. I think that is such a fun idea to take some of us out of our comfort zones. Today, Shannan has provided the sketch, and you can find it in the Verve Forum HERE. I used the Verve set World's best along with some Ranger Distress inks and 3 itty bitty Pizzaz Aplenty Rhinestones.

That's it for today!!
Have a super weekend my friends!!
Happy Stamping!!

_______________________________________________________

Stamps: World's Best (Verve)
Paper: Vintage Cream (PTI)
Ink: Antique Linen, Bundled Sage, Frayed Burlap and Milled Lavender (Ranger Distress), Onyx Black (Versafine)
Accessories: Rhinestones (Pizzaz Aplenty)

Purge Blog Hop

So, are any of you admittedly "paper-aholics"? Well, I am, and I have the stacks and stacks to prove it. But, it's a new year, and it's out with the old and in with the new. Therefore, I need to make room for my newest obsessions. :) That's where ya'll come in. A few of my blogging friends and I, have decided to "Purge" our stamping stash, by giving it away as blog candy. I have one package with a variety of goodies, and several boxes of miscellaneous papers by just about any dp company you can think of. We'll call those "grab bag" boxes. They may have 6x6 paper pads, 12x12 pieces of dp, or a combo of both, but, each box is FULL to the brim. (some paper pads have pieces missing, but very little if any. And there are random pieces of dp thrown in too.

All you have to do to win one of these boxes, is comment once on the hop spots you want a chance to win and tell us what you spy as your favorite item. The hop will stay open until January 28th, 5PM ET. Each of my friends will post a winner from their prize post on Monday, January 30th!

First, let me share a card with you that I designed using some of Verve's newest images: Zephaniah 3:17 Plain Jane, Twitterpated, and Wings of Love.

See the little clipped on heart? That was diecut with one of the hearts from Verves die set From the Heart.

The butterfly is from the Twitterpated set and was diecut with the All Aflutter die set

Here's a look at everything that's in the Grand Prize package. The other packages just have paper in them, but they are full, full, full!!!

Spellbinders Anemone and Daisy Flower Toppers, Martha Stewart Around the Page Punch, Tim Holtz Embossing Folders, Cuttlebug Embossing Folder, Authentique and BoBunny dp, Martha Stewart Twine, Crystal Stems (Wild Orchid Crafts), MME dimensional sticklers, ribbon, decorative tape

Here's the Hop list in case you miss anyone along the way. :)

Tosh

Andrea

Maureen

Sony

Laurie

Julee

Janelle

Betty

Jen

Teresa

That's it. Hope you've been inspired to create, and I hope you have fun hopping along!!

Happy Stamping!!

VLV Jan. 2012 Soar and Believe

Teresa has a fantastic sketch designed for Viva la Verve this week. Check it out HERE. I used one of Verve's newest releases called Wings of Love. I think the wavy heart is just precious, and thought the wings would be perfect with the sentiments I used. Julee also designed a sweet heart die, Wavy Hearts Die, which frames the heart beautifully!!. I put the Labels 18 framed sentiment inside the little envelope.



The sentiment flag was diecut with the Tim Holtz Tattered Banners die.

I also added a little Martha Stewart punched key, that I covered with some silver glitter.


Short post today. It's been a long day, and I'm ready to call it quits for the night.
Thanks so much for visiting!!
Happy Stamping!

____________________________________________________________

Stamps: Wings of Love (Verve)
Paper: Loolah (Creative Imaginations), Vintage Cream (PTI)
Ink: Smokey Gray (Versafine), Versamark
Accessories: Wavy Hearts Die (Verve), Kraft Envelope (Maya Road), Labels 18 die (Spellbinders), Tattered Banners die (Tim Holtz Alterations), Silver button stickers (EK Success), Rhinestones (Pizzaz Aplenty), Lace, Silver Glitter, Sewing Machine, White Acrylic paint, Heart Key Punch (Martha Stewart)

Waltzingmouse Stamps Blog Party ~ Jan.

It's time for Waltzingmouse Stamps' first Blog Party of the year!! I'm so excited to be able to participate with a card using this month's theme, "Sweet Things".



I'm hoping you'll be able to guess what about my card is sweet. My son didn't get it. He thought the image, from the set Teeny Trees (WMS), was a tree or flower. Which is exactly what this image was designed to be, so I can't hold that against him. But I thought it would be fun to make it into cotton candy by using my Quickie Glue pen and some Sparkly Flocking Powder by Martha Stewart. If you click on the photo, you can see the sparkle better.

Hope I've inspired you to join in the WMS Blog Party. All you have to do is make a card with WMS images, with the Sweet Things Theme, and link it to the WMS Blog. There is a time limit, so be sure to check the blog for all the details.

Thanks for visiting.
Happy Stamping!!

_________________________________________________________

Stamps: Teeny Trees (WMS)
Paper: Yours Truly (Echo Park), White (PTI)
Ink: Blush and Latte (a muse), Onyx Black (Versafine)
Accessories: Labels 2 die (Spellbinders), Flocking Powder (Martha Stewart), Quickie Glue Pen, Twine (Twinery), Button (PTI), Rhinestones (Pizzazz Aplenty), Border Punch (Fiskars), Scor-Buddy, Medium Scallop die (a muse)

Verve January Spotlight Hop

Welcome to our January 2012 After Party Hop! Last night we released 3 new stamp sets, 4 plain janes and 4 dies! All of the new products we've been showcasing this week are available now in the Verve store! Be sure to leave a little comment love as you take a stroll through the Diva blogs. One lucky commenter from today's hop will win the ENTIRE Release! Check out the Verve Blog today for all the prize details and deadlines.

If you've arrived here by way of Charmaine's blog, you're on the right path.

So, did you attend the Verve Release Party last night? Did you rush right over and get your new Verve? If not, we have another day of inspiration (temptation...*grin*) for you.

Today I want to share a little box of love I made with a variety of Verve dies and a Martha Stewart "All around the page" punch.


For the little 3x3 card, I used the smallest heart from the From the Heart die set, and the sentiment from the new Wings of Love set.


For the sentiment collage on my box, I used the following dies and stamp sets: Lovely Marquee die, Charming Oval die set, and the Floral Circles die set. The wings and sentiments are all from the Wings of Love set.

Here's a close up of the collage.

These sentiments are all included in the Wings of Love set.

And now you've come to the end of my post. :)
I hope you've enjoyed the inspiration this week. Thank you so much for stopping by. Be sure to stop by the Verve Blog for details on how you can win the entire release.

Here's the Hop order in case you've missed a stop along the way. Next on the hop is the ever inspirational, Laurie.

January 14, 2012
1. Amy	8. Tosha
2. Maureen	9. Laurie
3. Sankari	10. Julee
4. Andrea	11. Janelle
5. Teresa	12. Betty
6. Amber	13. Shannan
7. Charmaine	14. Jackie

__________________________________________________________

Stamps: Wings of Love (Verve)
Paper: Yours Truly (Echo Park), White and Smokey Gray (PTI)
Ink: Onyx Black (Versafine)
Accessories: Lovely Marquee Die, Charming Oval Die Set, Floral Circles Die Set, and From the Heart Die Set (Verve), Heart Clover punch (All over the page punch: Martha Stewart), Button (PTI), Black String (May Arts), Rhinestones, Border Punch (Martha Stewart), Houndstooth embossing folder (Cuttlebug), Scor-Buddy