A Polar Christmas

Okay, I LOVE polar bears. I don't know why. Maybe it all started with the Coca~Cola commercials. But I think they are just adorable!! So I was thrilled to see this darling bear by Stampendous in the Stamper's Dream on-line Store. This Polar Christmas Set comes in cling with this very charming sentiment. I colored her with copics and added a bit of glitter and dimension to the dots on the package with a new fun product called Opac Gloss Gel. I just sprinkled a bit of glitter over it while it was wet.

Now, see that lined paper in the back? That was made with the Notebook Cover~A~Card bg image from Impression Obsession. I love that I can have any color notebook paper at my fingertips. For this piece, I just stamped it on Ivory cs and used my Ranger Distress inks to dirty it up with a variety of colors. I then punched the border with my EK Success Paper punch border. I love the look and it's so easy to make.

That's about it for the card. The rest is pretty self explanatory. I do have a heads up for ya though!!


Check this out!! Stamper's Dream is offering an additional 10% off all merchandise listed in the Sales and Specials Category. All you need to do is enter the coupon code 10OffToday at checkout. The order minimum is only $25 to activate the coupon code. And there is some pretty awesome stuff on sale. Go see for yourself!

Thanks for stopping by today. I hope you have a super week this week!
Happy Stamping!
Tosh

Stamps: Polar Christmas Set (Stampendous)
Paper: PTI, Webster's Pages
Ink: Black Onyx Versafine, Ranger Distress
Accessories: Rectangle Nestabilities (Spellbinders), Copics, Distrezz-it-all (Zutter), Twine, Gloss Gel (Viva Decor), Button (Buttons Galore), Embossing Folder (Cuttlebug), Quickie Glue Pen, Glitter (Glitter Ritz)

You are Amazing!!

Can it be Thursday already? WOW!! This week is almost done already. My how time is flying. And that's not a good thing. My son heads back to college all too soon!! *sniff*




Enough of the pity party. Today's post is all about this week's CCEE Challenge, and this is the last week with the panel sketches. I used some of Verve's newest images from the sets Kind Words and Fabulous You. I added some Gunmetal Stickles to the flowers, and some Rhinestones to give it a bit of sparkle. The yummy paper is all Webster's Pages.

To see what the other gals have come up with, head on over to the CCEE Stamper's Blog. We'd love to see what you do with this sketch too.

Thanks so much for stopping by!! Hope the rest of your week is super fantastic!!
Happy Stamping!
Tosh

Stamps: Kind Words and Fabulous You
Paper: Webster's Pages, Black Ivory (PTI)
Ink: Black Onyx Versafine and Black Soot Ranger Distress Ink
Accessories: Border punches (SU! and Fiskars), Silk Ribbon, Rhinestones (Zva Creative and Kaisercraft), Gunmetal Stickles

Dream Big with Verve!

I love this weeks Mojo Monday sketch 153, and couldn't wait to work with it. I used the gorgeous flower from the new Verve set Dream Big, for my squares, added some texture to the bg with a Tim Holtz embossing folder, and finished it off with an EK Success punched border, some black Kaisercraft Rhinestones, ribbon, and a PTI button.

Thanks so much for stopping by. I have a CCEE Sketch to share with you tomorrow.
Happy Stamping!
Tosh

Sledding with Popcorn the Bear

Isn't this bear and his little friend just the cutest? I adore all the Popcorn Bears by Crafter's companion. Their faces are just so precious. And his little duck friend is so sweet and charming!! I have two cards to share with you today. Both were made with images from the Just For You Popcorn the Bear set, both were made with Snugglebug dp by The Little Yellow Bicycle and both were stamped with Versamark, embossed with Detail Black ep, and watercolored with Tombows. The blue panel behind the images was made with the Tim Holtz Ornamental Die, and I added some borders with EK Success and Martha Stewart punches.

I also added some Fun Flock to the hat brims, and some glitter to the Snowflakes which were made with Spellbinders' Snowflake borderabilities.

The next card is pretty straight forward. I used Karen Giron's Sweet Sunday Sketch #82 found HERE., and did some fun stitching around the panels. They're all ink distressed with Vintage Photo Ranger Distress ink.



That about sums these guys up. I hope your week is off to a great start. Stop by tomorrow for some Verve - a - liscious eye candy. I LOVE this weeks Mojo Monday sketch and can't wait to show you what I did with it.

Happy Stamping!
Tosh

Verve Release Party Tonight!!

For the last week, the Verve Divas have been peeking the newest releases, and I'm sure you're dying to see what the entire sets look like. As usual, Julee's outdone herself with design and style. I decided to show the flexibility of Julee's images, as I'm sure many of you have already figured out. That's one of my favorite things about Verve. They all work together yet have their own distinct flavor. And tonight is the Release Party you won't want to miss. Click HERE to join the party at 8:00 pm Eastern.

Now, for the little 3 x 3 1/2 cards I made using a variety of the newest Verve images.

Happy Hello was used on each card, along with one other set.
I'll show you each card individually and tell you the sets I used with them.

First is the cupcake: It comes from Birthday Bash: colored with Copics

Second is the Sunshine (Flower): The images are from Dream Big ~ Notice the sparkle?

Third is the little flowers: These images are from Carpe Cupcake

And finally, the Fourth with the leaves: They come from Great Friend

So, be sure to join us at the Verve Forum on SCS found HERE.

Thanks so much for stopping by!!
Happy Stamping!!
Tosh

Verve Sneak Peek ~ Great Friend

Wow!! I can't believe today is the final peek for Verve's newest releases!! Aren't these sets just the dreamiest? Seriously, I've enjoyed working with each one, and I have even more ideas floating around in my head. Julee's images just bring out the mojo!! Today we're showcasing Great Friend; A set with an absolutely stunning flower, leaves and perfect sentiments.


I chose to paper piece the flower and since I wanted to cut out my leaves, I used the leaves from the Dream Big set. I also kidnapped one of the sentiments in that set to add to the bottom of my card.

Everything was stamped with Smokey Gray Versafine and ink distressed with Pumice Stone. I used Lullaby Lane and Life's Portrait Papers from Webster's Pages, and a bit of lace and pearls to dress it up. Since it's Thursday, I also used the CCEE sketch. To participate in the CCEE Stamper's Challenge, go to their blog Here.

Don't forget to check out what all the other Verve Divas have created with this release. They have some pretty terrific creations to share and inspire. Here's the list:

Laurie
Amy
Michelle
Mercy
Susan
Maureen (Guest Diva)
Sankari
Teresa
Jen T.
Tosh (Me)
Julee
Jackie
Lynda
Amber

JustRite at Stamper's Dream ~ Day three

It's day three for the JustRite showcasing, and have the privilege of using the snowman from the Vintage Christmas set. I stamped the snowman with Versamark onto watercolor paper, embossed it with Detail Black ep, colored him with Tombows and added some glitter and some Liquid Applique to the hat. The sentiment is from the Christmas Nested Sentiments and was stamped with Black Onyx Versafine.


The dp is all from Kaisercraft's Tis the Season Collection, the snowflake was made with Spellbinders' Snowflake Borderabilities, the fabric button is from Prima, and the ribbon is Stampin' Up!.

That about sums things up. Be sure to check out what the other Dream Team members have today. Here's the list:

Laurie , Leslie , Karen , Christina and Me

JustRite at Stamper's Dream ~ Day Two

It's JustRite week for Stamper's Dream, and I'm excited to share one of the birds from the new set called Backyard Birds. I stamped the image onto watercolor paper, embossed it with Detail Black ep (Judikins), and watercolored it with my Tombows. The cardinal and ribbon are papertoled with some Polar White Flower Soft added to the branches, and the dp is from Kaisercraft's Secret Bird Society Collection. All the edges were ink distressed with Pumice Stone Ranger Distress Ink.



I used Sizzix's #3 Ornate Frame Backs for the background, the ribbon is May Arts, and the antique button is from Making Memories. The borders were made with Martha Stewart punches, with the bottom border being made with the Quilted Edge. Finally, I added some piercing to the corners.

I think that about sums it all up. For some more JustRite inspiration, check out what some of the other Dream Team members have to share:

Denise , Cindy , Amy , and Cammie

Thanks so much for stopping by today. Be sure to stop by each day this week. I have a whole lot more projects to share!!

Happy Stamping!!
Tosh

Verve Sneak Peek Day Three ~ Birthday Bash

It's day three of Verve's Sneak Peeks, and there are two new sets being showcased by the Divas today. Birthday Bash and Seize the cupcake. Birthday Bash has 13 images with a fantastic variety of Birthday sentiments along with a cake, stars, cupcakes and balloons. Seize the Cupcake has a charming cupcake along with 5 darling decorations and a perfect sentiment. I chose to use Birthday Bash, and there's a story behind why, too.

You see, it's my son's birthday today. He is now 20 years old; no longer a teenager. (*sniff*) Now, Sundays are normally family time days, but we just got back from camping Saturday, and I still hadn't made a card for him yet because I had been working on DT commitments before our trip. He wanted to play a game but I told him I was going to make a card for him instead, and that I was sacrificing game time for him. I didn't say that to make him feel guilty, I just wanted him to know how special he was and that I was making a card special, just for him. You see, I wasn't going to use any DT images, and that's very rare for me. I was going to make a card either with a tractor or jeep, two things he loves.

He wanted none of that. He instead challenged me to use Verve images to make his card. I was like..."do you know what you're asking? They're cupcakes, flowers and balloons....for a 20 year old." He then replied, "yep, challenge yourself to make a masculine card with one of those images, fit for a 20 year old." YIKES!!

This is what I came up with.

I started off by Stamping the balloons and stars from the Birthday Bash set onto Kaisercraft dp and paper pieced them onto Kraft cs. The sentiment was stamped with Versamark and embossed with Detail Black ep on My Mind's Eye.

For the background, I did something a little different. I divided a piece of doublesided dp (Kaisercraft) into panels by sewing strips. I then sliced between every other sewed line and distressed the edges with my fingernail. I then layered that panel on top of another piece of dp that is lighter in color so it would show through.


I made the pennants by diecutting the dp with Spellbinders' Octagon Nestabilites. By cutting each piece in half, you get perfectly sized pennants. So easy!!

That's it for my project today. Be sure to check out what all the other Divas have to show you today. Here's some links for ya.

Julee, Michelle, Jen D. Sony (Guest Diva), Jackie, Teresa, Maureen (Guest Diva), Jen T. and Amber


Stamps: Birthday Bash
Paper: Kraft and Black (PTI), Kaisercraft, MME
Ink: Versamark, Black Soot (Ranger Distress)
Accessories: Oval, Octagon and Long Rectangle Nestabilities (Spellbinders), Rhinestones (Kaisercraft), Border Punch (EK Success), Sewing Machine

Verve Sneak Peek Day Two ~ Framed Wishes

Alright, it's day two of sneak peeks of Verve's newest releases, and there's so much more to come!! 6 whole days of peeks!! Woot!! Now, these two sets are just scrumptious. Framed Wishes contains a beautiful frame and sentiment, and Fabulous You has eight sentiments that fit perfectly in the included frame, or the Framed wishes set. Talk about versatility!!


So, for today's peek, I used Framed Wishes. I thought it would be fun to make an acetate card. I haven't made one in such a long time. I stamped the frame with Black Onyx Versafine directly onto Memory Box dp, and the sentiment onto some PTI cs, and diecut with Spellbinders' Label s 4. For the flower I used Brillance Pearlescent Rust and layered it. (The flower is from a set that will be peeked later this week....*grin*...just a little tease)

The back flowers were stamped with Platinum and Copper Stazon ink.

Check out the blogs of the following Divas. You won't want to miss what these talented girls have come up with, that's for sure!!

Julee, Shannan, Amy, Amber, Jackie, Teresa, Maureen,


Stamps: Framed Wishes, Dream Big
Paper: Memory Box, PTI
Ink: Black Onyx (Versafine), Pearlescent Rust (Brilliance), Copper and Platinum (Stazon)
Accessories: Labels 4 Nestabilities (Spellbinders), Border Punches (EK Success, Stampin' UP!), Rhinestones (Kaisercraft), Silk Ribbon (May Arts), Rhinestone Center (Prima)

Verve Sneak Peek ~ Love Story

Oh my goodness!! I'm so excited I can hardly contain myself!! It's Verve's 3rd anniversary and Julee didn't hold back one iota!! She's pulled out all the stops with one amazing set of stamps after the other. Today a few of us lucky divas have the honor of Peeking Love Story for you. It's filled with 20 gorgeous images and sentiments in stunning Verve style.

I chose to make a gate card. A dear friend of mine's daughter got married this weekend, and I thought the gate with the two doves represented two separate lives joining. Thus the interlocking gate too. That was made with the Snowflake Borderabilities diecut by Spellbinders.

Here's what the inside looks like:



The frame is colored with a Spica Pen, and the dove was stamped with Red Brick Versamagic.

Now, there are more peeks to check out, so head on over to my uber talented teammates' blogs.

Mercy, Jen T., Susan, Sony, Laurie, Julee, Teresa , Amber, Maureen and Lynda

A CCEE Sketch Challenge

It's Thursday, and that means it's time for another CCEE challenge. We'd love to have you join us too, so head on over to the CCEE Stamper's blog for all the details.

For today's sketch, I used Stampendous' Ornament Greetings that I got from Stamper's Dream. I LOVE this fabulous set of ornaments. They're so elegant and versatile. I also stamped a bg image, from Tim Holtz's Urban Tapestry set, over the Ornament Panel bg to give it some texture.

Just a heads up....It's Verve's Anniversary this month, and Starting Sat., I have a bunch of sneak peeks to share with you. Also, Stamper's Dream is having another JustRite week to introduce you to their newest releases. So, drop by often this next week, because I'll have a slew of cards and projects to share with you.

Thanks so much for stopping by! Have a super weekend!!

Stamps: Ornament Greetings (Stampendous), Urban Tapestry (Tim Holtz)
Paper: Kraft (PTI), Spiceberry (MemoryBox)
Ink: Tuxedo (Memento), Vintage Photo (Ranger Distress), Versamark
Accessories: Oval and Scalloped Oval Nestabilities (Spellbinders), Rhinestones (Kaisercraft), Copics, Glitter, Leaf Punch (Martha Stewart), Sewing Machine, Detail Black ep, Piercing Tool

Winter Friends

Okay, I have to confess, I'm a snowman aholic. I just can't resist these cute little guys!! So when I got these JustRite Groovy Snowmen from Stamper's Dream, I was in snow heaven!!

For the inside, I used one of the Spellbinders' snowflake diecuts and JustRite's Holiday Cheer.



This card is pretty straight forward. This chubby little guy was stamped with Versamark, embossed with Detail Black ep, and watercolored with Tombows. The dp is Basic White by Basicgrey, the cs is PTI, and the inside snowflake images were stamped with Smokey Gray Versafine. For the rest of the supplies, see the list below.

Hope you're week is off to a super start!!
Happy Stamping!
Tosh

Stamps: Groovy Snowmen
Paper: Basic White (Basicgrey), PTI
Ink: Versamark, Smokey Gray (Versafine) Pumice Stone (Ranger Distress)
Accessories: Snowflakes, Circle and Circle Scalloped Nestabilities (Spellbinders), Border Punch (EK Success), Ribbon (May Arts), Rhinestones (Kaisercraft), Tombows.

We have a winner!!

I just wanted to to take a moment to Congratulate Lauren (ready.set.love) . By leaving a comment on the Verve Anniversary card Blog post of mine found HERE, she was entered into a random drawing. Her comment, "oh man, i love it! the framing is perfect." has won her the Verve set Blue Skies. Woo-Hoo!!

A big Congrats to Melissa and Deb for their big Verve~aliscious gift certificate wins too!! I'm so excited for you guys!! That is an awesome prize to win!!

Happy Stamping everyone!!

Amazing Grace

You know what's really sad? When you struggle with the very sketch you designed. *sniff* It's Thursday, and time for another CCEE Challenge. Now, I'm in charge of the challenges this month over at the CCEE Stamper's Blog, and decided to create sketches that all have some sort of panel arrangement on them. Boy was the first one a DOOZY!! I couldn't make the side panel work. *sigh* Oh well, let me show you what I finally came up with.

First of all, here's the sketch:



Here's my take on the sketch:

I used Verve's Plain Jane Sentiment Amazing Grace for my main panel, and all the edges are ink distressed with Broken China Ranger Distress Ink. It's hard to see, but I sewed down the leaf stems. If you click on the card, you can see it better.

I'm sorry the rhinestone looks black. It really matches the purple perfectly in person. In fact, I'd like to share with you really quickly where I got this sweet rhinestone and how it's attached.
There's a new fun tool called an I-Rock tool. It's used to heat I-Rock Hot Rocks Rhinestones that have adhesive on the back. Way fun to use. I got mine at Elclectic Paperie, HERE. The store is filled with amazing goodies, and Daisy is just the sweetest evah!!!

Now, We'd love to have you join us with out sketch challenges. Just head on over to the CCEE Stamper's blog for all the details. I can't wait to see what ya'll come up with. Hopefully you don't struggle as much as I did. LOL

Happy Stamping!!
Tosh

Stamps: Amazing Grace (Verve)
Paper: Bo Bunny, PTI
Ink: Black Onyx (Versafine), Broken China (Ranger Distress)
Accessories: Long Rectangle Nestabilities (Spellbinders), Border Punch (EK Success), Rhinestone (I-Rock Hot Rocks), Sewing Machine

A JustRite Ornament

I just recently received some JustRite Ornament images from Stamper's Dream, and thought Monday's Mojo Sketch would enhance this one perfectly. This particular Ornament is one of four and can be found in the set Christmas Ornaments 3, which contains a wonderfully beautiful variety of ornament shapes and designs. It was actually hard for me to choose which one to use. I framed the image with a Circle and Big Scalloped Circle die by Spellbinders.



I chose to use Lush Blue MME for all my panels, paired with PTI ivory cs. All the edges are ink distressed with Pumice Stone Distress Ink, and I added some glitter covered Spellbinders and Martha Stewart snowflakes along with some Zva Creative Rhinestones, Kaisercraft Pearls, and a bit of Teal Organdy ribbon.

The beautifully scripted sentiment is actually by Waltzingmouse and can be found in the Secret Stamp set from Nov. of 2009.

That about sums up my card for today. I hope your week is off to a fabulous start!!
Happy Stamping!
Tosh

If you're looking for the Anni-Verve-sary Blog Hop post, click HERE.

Anni-Verve-sary Blog Hop

Welcome to Verve's Anniversary Blog Hop. If you've come from the uber talented Jackie's Blog, you're on the right track. If you've started here, you'll want to head on over to the wonderfully talented, and most generous, Julee's blog for the beginning of the hop. Here's a master list in case there's a glitch along the way.

Can you believe it? It's been three years since Julee first introduced her Verve~alicious images!! And I don't know how she does it, but each new release is just as fantastic, if not more, than the one before it. And, since it's Verve's Anniversary, Julee has some super fantastic deals going on. First of all, she's having a sale that runs from Aug. 1 through Aug. 14: 30% off all Year 1 sets, 20% off all Year 2 sets, and 10% off all Year 3 sets. Click Here for the link to see the sets by year.

And that's not all. A random commenter, from each Diva's blog, will receive the set used during the hop. How cool is that?!?!? For my card today, I chose to use one of Verve's newest releases called Blue Skies.

Here's the card I made for today's hop.

I thought it would be fun to make a cork bulletin board to hang the sweet notebook paper image on. The edges are ink distressed with Pumice Stone Ranger Distress ink.

And, I love how Sankari frames many of her pieces with Liquid Pearls, so I thought I'd try my hand at it. I didn't get the perfect results Sankari always does, but I like the look.

For the thumb tacks, I stamped the largest butterfly onto black Shrink Plastic with Platinum Staz-On. Here's a close up of one of the sentiments and the butterflies.

That's about it. Here's the rest of my supply list:

Stamps: Blue Skies (Verve)
Paper: PTI, Jubilee (Memory Box), Cork
Ink: Black Onyx (Versafine), Shabby Shutters and Pumice Stone (Ranger Distress), Platinum (StazOn)
Accessories: Liquid Pearls, Flourish diecuts (Sizzix), Leaf punches (Martha Stewart), Shrink Plastic, Flower (Prima), Border Punch (EK Success)

Now, head on over to Jen D's blog to see what she's cooked up for today's hop. You won't be disappointed. And remember to comment on all the Diva's posts in order for a chance to win the set used. All the prize details can be found in the first stop (Julee ~ Poetic Artistry) on the hop. You've got until 11:59pm on Wednesday, August 4 to comment for a chance to win, so happy hopping!


Happy Hopping!!
Tosh