Believe Blog Hop with Verve

Welcome to the Verve Believe Blog Hop. If you’ve just happened across my blog, you’ll want to start back at the beginning, Poetic Artistry, and hop your way along. Today we’re hopping for the Cure, sharing projects from a new set Verve just released called Believe. This set was designed in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness and Verve is donating $10 from the sale of every Believe set to the Susan G Komen For the Cure foundation. We believe that we can make a difference. We believe that each day should be celebrated, each moment cherished and that every little thing we can do in the fight to find a cure matters.

So, with great honor, I'm participating in Verve's Breast Cancer Awareness Blog Hop today. Here's the card I made with Verve's new set called Believe:


I LOVED the sweet, elegant ribbons Julee designed and thought I could make a charming pattern with them. So I stamped the ribbons onto white cardstock with SU!'s Positively Pink. I then added the small flowers with White Craft Ink and Detailed White ep. Finally, I colored some Kaisercraft Pearls with copics to match. The ribbons look a bit distortedin the close up, but I wanted you to be able to see the white on white embossing.

Thanks for hopping by! Next up on the hop is… Mercy. Oh, and we’ve got a special gift hidden along our hop for one lucky commenter, so if you see something you really love, give a little shout out and you just might win a $30 gift certificate to Verve!

Stamps: Believe
Paper: Neenah Solar White and Baby Pink Medium (Prismatics)
Ink: Positively Pink (SU!) Black Onyx (Versafine)
Accessories: Border Punch (Martha Stewart), Long Rectangle Nestabilities (Spellbinders), White Embossing Powder, Pearls - colored with copic (Kaisercraft), Dimensional Tape (Scotch)

Indian Corn

Last week our vet dropped off a tin bucket filled with goodies and a calf feeding milk bottle. I asked her what it was for. Well apparently, a neighbor had a sick calf on his beef cow ranch and needed a milk bottle to hand feed one of his calves. My husband sent over a bottle not giving it a second thought. Well, the neighbor was so appreciative of this minor act that he reciprocated with a gift. So, I made this card to thank he and his wife for their generosity. It's such a blessing to have neighborly neighbors.

Since they're farmers, and considering the time of year it is, I used this gorgeous Fall Corn image by Inkadinkado, framed it with the Labels 8 Nestabilities die (Spellbinders), and used Graphic 45 and Basicgrey decorative paper. I didn't have any more Chocolate colored Candy Dots (Pebbles, Inc.), so I colored my white ones with a very dark brown copic. It gave them a mottled look, which fit with the rustic feel of this card.

I LOVE the Thanks border punch (Martha Stewart). I thought it was kinda different and fun! Finally, I added some Natural Burlap String (May Arts), and a PTI Wooden button. Oh, I almost forgot, I ink distressed with Scattered Straw and Vintage Photo.

Hope your week is a good one.
I'm heading north to visit my son in college. I'll be gone for a few days, but have some posts scheduled during my absence. I also get to spend a day with my dear friend Laurie (Just Give Me Stamps)!! What a treat!!

Happy Stamping my friends!!

Come let us adore Him

Verve will be releasing 7 new sets at the Release Party this Friday. And each one is fabulous! I'm excited to share a sneak peek of the new Blessed Christmas set. I LOVE this cross! I embossed it in gold and colored it with Tombows. I used the Labels 4 (Spellbinders) die to cut the frame, and embossed it with a Sizzix embossing folder while the cardstock was still in the die. The next layer is was cut with a Labels 8 (Spellbinders) die, and the corners on the bottom layer were cut with a Marvy Corner punch. The sentiment was also embossed with gold ep and framed with the Fancy Tags die (Spellbinders.

Julee is also releasing a new set called believe, which she designed in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness, and will be donating $10 from the sale of every Believe set to the Susan G. Komen for the Cure foundation. It's an absolutely beautiful set!!

That's about it. You'll want to head on over to the Verve blog to see how you can win one of the new Verve sets. And for even more chances to win, be sure to check out the Release Week challenges going on in the Verve Forum for your chance to win the entire release!


Thanks for stopping!
Happy stamping!




Stamps: Blessed Christmas
Paper: Neenah Natural and Solar White, Melissa Frances
Ink: Versamark
Accessories: Labels 4 and 8 and Fancy Tags (Spellbinders), Sizzix Embossing Folder, Tombows, Flower Punches (Punch Bunch), Leaf Punch (Martha Stewart), Pearls (Kaisercraft), Corner Punch (Marvy)

A CCEE Feature and a Birthday

Monday seems to come faster and faster each week. But that's a good thing, because I LOVE Monday's. Seriously. It's always the day I organize things for the week, and I feel like it's the day I get the most accomplished.

Well, this week, I have two cards that I accomplished this weekend. The first is for the CCEE CNFS (Catchy Name Featured Stamper) that we feature once a month. This month I chose to feature a stamper that I greatly admire. Not only for her talent (which she has OODLES of), but for her kind and gentle spirit. Silke Ledlow, otherwise known as Sparklegirl on SCS.

So, for this challenge, I required everyone to use the following:
1. a girl
2. sparkle
3. square card (It is *shape up* month)
4. white space (Silke is well known for her clean style with a lot of white space)
5. Faux silk technique (Ummmmmmm....I actually forgot this one.) But, I made the challenge, so I can change the rules, right? *grin*

I tried to stay true to Silke's style. Talk about hard. I'm one that likes to fill every space up and you all know how I'm a distress addict. LOL For my girl image, I used this charming Whiff of Joy image called Dreamy Willow with Flowers, colored her with copics, and framed her with a Long Rectangle Nestabilities (Spellbinders)

The border was punched with a Martha Stewart Border punch. I added my sparkle with Zva Creative mini Rhinestones, alternating flowers with gems. The sentiment is from a Verve set called Enjoy, and the cardstock I used was Blush Red Dark, Papaya Puree Medium, and Neenah Solar White.
Stamps: Whiff of Joy
Paper: Prismatics
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento)
Accessories: Long Rectangle Nestabilities (Spellbinders), Copics, Border Punch (MS), Rhinestones (Zva Creative)

Now, for my next card:


It's my dear friend Cindy Motherway's birthday today. HAPPY BIRTHDAY Cindy!!
So, to honor her special day, the CCEEers along with a couple of guest stampers, each made her a card. We were all challenged to use teapots (if we have them) because of the teapot challenge that she posts on her blog, and polka dots, cause Cindy is addicted to polka dots. Just check out her blog *This is my story*, and you'll get the idea.

For her card I used the set A Cup of Life and Wishing You (Verve). The teapot is paper pieced with Graphic 45's Christmas Past decorative paper. The embossed bg is Sizzix, the button, basicgrey, and the ribbon, Martha Stewart. I ink distressed the edges with Antique Linen (Ranger Distress Ink). I decorated the inside too.

Stamps: A Cup of Life and Wishing You (Verve)
Paper: Christmas Past (Graphic 45), Kraft, Neenah Solar White
Ink: Rich Cocoa (Memento), Antique Linen and Vintage Photo (Ranger Distress)
Accessories: Long Rectangle Nestabilities (Spellbinders) EK Success Border Punch, Sewing Machine, Piercing Tool, Ribbon (MS), Button (Basicgrey), Embossing Folder (Sizzix), Dimensional Tape (Scotch)

Thank you so much for stopping by! Be sure to check out the fabulous creations that the other CCEEers came up with at our CCEE Stampers Blog.

Happy Stamping!!

I'll play my best for Him

The newest Flourishes images are now available at Stamper's Dream, and they're fabulous. A few of us have some projects to share with you to show you what's available.

I used the instruments from the Toy Soldier set. My two kids and I all play instruments. In fact, my daughter just taught herself how to play French Horn two years ago and loves it. So I was immediately drawn to the instrument images. They're stamped with Versamark onto watercolor paper, colored with Tombows, and framed with the Labels 1 Nestabilities (Spellbinders). The dp is Spiceberry (Memory Box), and the Ribbon is May Arts. Not sure about the brad in the center of the bow, it was in my stash, not labeled, and I think the rhinestone flourishes are Heidi Swapp. I also used Birchtone Light and Medium for matting and the card base, and Rhinestones on the drum and in the corners by Zva Creative and Kaisercraft.

For the inside, I sewed three panels together, and framed the sentiment with Labels 1 Nestabilities (Spellbinders). The border punch is by EK Success.

That about sums it all up for this card. Be sure to check out what the other girls have created. Amy, Laurie

Thanks for stopping by! Have a fantastic weekend!

Have Faith

I haven't had an opportunity to participate in SCS's sketch challenge for quite some time. So today I thought I'd give it a whirl. I created these medallions with the Fleur de lis center diecut (Spellbinders). The backdrop to the medallions is Labels 3 (Spellbinders). The sentiment in the center is from the set Tiny Words and Centers (JustRite). The gorgeous dp is Spiceberry (Memory Box). The flowers were made with punches by Punch Bunch, and the pearls are Kaisercraft.

For the inside, I rock 'n rolled the branch for the Inkadinkado set Winter Borders with Pesto and Espresso Adirondack Dye Inks. The Holiday Expressions sentiment (Inkadinkado) was rock 'n rolled with Vintage Sepia and Black Onyx (Versafine). The ribbon is May Arts, and the flowers on the inside were colored with Spica Pens.

That's it for this card.
Thanks for stopping by!
Happy Stamping!




Stamps: Tiny Words and Centers (JustRite), Holiday Expressions and Winter Borders (Inkadinkado)
Paper: Spiceberry (Memory Box), Birchtone Medium and Dark, Blush Red Dark and Herbal Garden Light (Prismatics)
Ink: Vintage Photo (Ranger Distress), Espresso and Pesto (Adirondack Dye Ink)
Accessories: Fleur de lis and Labels 3 (Spellbinders), Pearls (Kaisercraft), Ribbon (May Arts), Circle Punch, Sewing Machine, Dimensional Tape (Scotch), Spica Pens, Flower Punches (Punch Bunch)

Happiness along the way...

I love this sentiment! I'm reminded to count my blessings each day. I Rock 'n rolled this sentiment, from one of Verve's new sets called Happiness Found, with Cranberry and Espresso (Adirondack Dye Ink) onto Neenah Solar white, and used Indian Summer dp (Basicgrey) with Blush Red Dark, Spring Willow Medium and Suede Brown Dark (Prismatics). Thanks to Mercy thinking up the sketch found HERE, this card took very little time to put together. And I'm proud to say....."Look mom!! No distressing!!" *grin*

That's it...pretty straight forward and simple!!
Happy Stamping my friends!!




Stamps: Happiness Found (Verve)
Paper: Indian Summer (Basicgrey), Spring Willow Medium, Blush Red Dark, Suede Brown Dark (Prismatics), Neenah Solar White
Ink: Cranberry and Espresso (Adirondack Dye)
Accessories: Long Rectangles and Circle Nestabilities (Spellbinders), Border Punch (EK Success), Rhinestones (Making Memories), Button (PTI), Brown Burlap String (May Arts)

"Beary" tall card

It's a new week!! And I have a CCEE challenge card to share with you today. This month we're "Shaping Up!", and this week it's with a tall card. I used Jen's fabulous SFYTT sketch to help me get the mojo going.

I fell in love with this adorable Penny Black image, called Candy Cane Perch, the moment I saw it. Isn't he precious? And he's so much fun to watercolor too. I stamped this cutie with Versamark onto 140 lb coldpress watercolor paper and embossed him with Black Detail ep. I then watercolored him with Tombows and an aqua pen. The edges are all ink distressed with Vintage Photo (Ranger Distress), the snowflakes are from Spellbinders Create a Flake 1 and the Snowflake Borderabilities. The sentiment is from the set Holiday Expressions by Inkadinkado. I stamped it with Vintage Sepia (Versafine), and embossed it with Clear Detail ep.

Now you won't want to miss what the other CCEE gals have done for their tall cards, so head on over to the CCEE Stampers blog. We'd love to have you participate too. Just make a tall card and link it by using Mr. Linky. It's really quite easy!

That's it for today.
Thank you so very much for stopping by.
Happy Stamping!!




Stamps: Candy Cane Perch (Penny Black), Holiday Expressions (Inkadinkado)
Paper: Coastal Venice (Me & My Big ideas), Kraft and Suede Brown Dark (Prismatics), Watercolor
Ink: Versamark, Vintage Sepia (Versafine), Vintage Photo (Ranger Distress)
Accessories: Tombows, Oval Nestabilites, Create a Flake 1 , and Snowflake Borderabilities (Spellbinders), Buttons (PTI), Satin Ribbon (May Arts), Rhinestones (Kaisercraft), Frosted Lace Stickles, Sewing Machine, Corner Rounder Punch

Autumn Wishes

I have a very bold and busy fall card to share with you today. A funny thing happened right after I finished this card too. I was talking to my dear friend Laurie (Just Give Me Stamps), and she paused during the conversation after mentioning she had to emboss some leaves she stamped from the new Verve set Happiness Found. Here's a paraphrase of how the conversation went:

Tosh: "Don't tell me you're embossing them with clear."
Laurie: "Why yes, that's exactly what I'm doing" (And she proceeded to tell me the paper she was embossing on.)
Tosh: "No way!! That's exactly what I did this morning!!
Laurie: "I can change mine if you'd like." (She's a sweet one that Laurie)
Tosh: "Nah, don't change it, it's just odd that we both embossed the same image in clear on the same day."

I won't bore you with the rest of the conversation, but in the end, we decided to post our cards on the same day. So check out Laurie's blog (Just Give Me Stamps) to see her fabulous creation, cause, man can that girl stamp!!!

For this card, I used the Viva la Verve sketch for October's Week 1. The twist was to make it shabby. I distressed my card with Vintage Photo, and one of my favorite *go to* tools...my fingernail. *grin*

The wreath from the Harvest Blessings set (Verve), was stamped with Rich Cocoa (Memento), and colored with copics. The sentiment was Rock 'n Rolled with Cranberry and Espresso (Adirondack Dye Ink).

That about sums it up.
Hope you are enjoying your weekend. I sure am!
Happy Stamping my friends!!




Stamps: Harvest Blessings, Happiness Found
Paper: Indian Summer (Basicgrey), Suede Brown Dark (Prismatics), Neenah Natural White
Ink: Rich cocoa (Memento), Vintage Photo (Ranger Distress Ink), Cranberry and Espresso (Adirondack Dye Ink)
Accessories: Circle, Blossom 1 and Labels 5 Nestabilities (Spellbinders), Ribbon (SU! and Martha Stewart), Button (SU!), Clear Embossing Powder (Judikins), Multicolored Mini Rhinestones (Zva Creative), Dimensional Tape (Scotch), Corner Rounder Punch

Harvest Blessings

Today, I wanted to share with you a card I made for Verve's latest release party. I LOVE the wreath and gorgeous leaves that Julee designed for this charming set called Harvest Blessings. And the fonts and sentiments are simply beautiful. I stamped the wreath with Rich Cocoa (Memento) onto Neenah Natural White. I then framed it with various Nestabilities (Spellbinders), and colored the flowers and branches with Spica Pens.

The leaves were rock and rolled with Rust, Butterscotch and Espresso (Adirondack Dye Ink), and the edges were all ink distressed with Vintage Photo.

Thanks for stopping by!
I hope you have a fantastic weekend!
Happy Stamping!




Stamps: Harvest Blessings
Paper: Christmas Past (Graphic 45), Desert Coral Dark and Suede Brown Dark (Prismatics), Neenah Natural White
Ink: Vintage Sepia (Versafine), Vintage Photo (Ranger Distress ink), Rust, Butterscotch and Espresso (Adirondack Dye Ink)
Accessories: Copics, Spica Pens, Labels 3, Octagon, and Circle Nestabilities, Fleur de lis Borderabilities (Spellbinders), Chocolate Satin Ribbon (May Arts), Chocolate Candy Dots (Pebbles, Inc.), Dimensional Tape (Scotch)

October Project Parade with Verve

There's a project parade going on over at Verve, and today it's my turn today to share what I made for the theme Encouraging Words. To see more about this project, click HERE.

And, as with all of Verve's project parades, there are prizes!
To enter, just link up your creation focused on encouraging words or friendship to the Mr. Linky widget on the DAY 1 POST before midnight MST on Sunday, October 18. One lucky stamper will win a $35 gift certificate to the Verve Store. And for another chance to win, be sure to give the Divas a little shout out in the comments as they parade their fabulous creations inspired by this month's theme. One lucky commenter during the course of the parade (Oct 5 - 17) will win their choice of any Verve set.


Stamps: Starstruck, You Rock, Bountiful Backgrounds
Paper: PTI and Acetate
Ink: Black Onyx (Versafine), Pink Sherbet (Adirondack Dye Ink)
Accessories: Labels 5 and Oval Nestabilities (Spellbinders), Button (PTI), Ribbon (SU!, PTI and Miscellaneous), Rhinestones (Kaisercraft and Zva Creative), Border Punch (Martha Stewart), Scor-Pal, Lots of Tags (SU!), Nail polish

Thanks for stopping by!
Happy Stamping!!

A Vintage Christmas

Hello, Hello!! I'm excited to show you the card I made with this sweet Sarah Kay image called Noel Charity. I just love her winter outfit. Since it appeared vintage to me, I decided to stay true to the style....I know a far stretch for me. *grin* Anyway, the image is stamped with Tuxedo Black (Memento) onto Neenah Classic Crest Solar White. It's colored with Prisma color pencils and Gamsol. The background was created with a corner punch by allDeco. I framed the image with a Standard Oval and Labels 1 Nestabilities (Spellbinders).

The gorgeous paper is Spiceberry (Memory Box), the blue lace is Making Memories, the buttons are PTI, and the Burlap String in the buttons is May Arts.

Of course I had to ink distress, seeing as the card needed to be vintage...*grin*. So I used.....what else....Vintage Photo (Ranger Distress).

That about sums it all up. Thank you so much for stopping by.
Have a fabulous rest of the week!!
Happy Stamping!




Stamps: Noel Charity (Sarah Kay - Stampavie)
Paper: Spiceberry (Memory Box), Suede Brown Dark (Prismatics), Neenah Solar Crest and Natural White
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento), Vintage Photo (Ranger Distress)
Accessories: Prisma Color Pencils, Gamsol, Labels 1 and Oval Nestabilities (Spellbinders), Buttons (PTI), Lace (Making Memories), Burlap String (May Arts), Corner Punch (allDeco), Sewing Machine, Dimensional Tape (Scotch)

Shape up! and a JustRite Storage solution

A new month is upon us, and that means a new challenge hostess for our weekly CCEE challenge. This month it's little 'ole me. And the theme for this month is "Shape Up!" There will be no required images or colors, just shapes. And this week everyone was challenged to make a circle card.

When working with circles, I love using JustRite images. Most are designed as circles. Some are ovals, and of course you can use the Rectangular Stampers with the different fonts and make your sentiment horizontal or vertical with the Vertical Stamper. But the majority are circles.

I think this sleigh from the Old Fashioned Borders and Centers set is just charming. My great Uncle actually took me on a sleigh ride one winter during my early teens. We rarely visited in the winter, so it was quite the treat. He used one of his Belgians to pull it. They are the sweetest gentle giants. Well, at least his were.

Anyway, back to the card. I stamped the image onto 140 lb coldpress watercolor paper with Versamark, and embossed it with Detail Black embossing powder. I then colored it with my Tombows and an aqua pen.

The shapes are all Circle and Scalloped Circle Nestabilities (Spellbinders).
Don't forget to head on over the CCEE Stamper's Blog to see what the other gals came up with for circles.

I thought I'd share a storage idea with you really quick too. I have MANY JustRite images and was finding it a challenge storing them until I found these circle containers. Woo-Hoo!! The smaller ones are from WalMart. They fit every Circle except the 3 1/4" ones. Even the smaller ovals. The larger ovals fit beautifully in the large containers. The larger ones are even magnetized. You can get them from IKEA, but you have to purchase them "in house". I don't have an IKEA nearby, so I searched online and found these Grundtal containers at The City Pantry. The labels are really tiny. They're 2/3" x 1 3/4".

eta: I kept all the cards with the image photos on them and put them in a binder. It's easier to choose the borders and to see all the images.

That's it.
Thanks so much for stopping by!
Have a fabulous week!!

World Card Making Day

World Card Making Day has finally arrived!! And Verve is joining in on the celebration with a challenge on Splitcoaststampers!! Click HERE to see all the details.

WCMD INFO:
-You do not need to use Verve Stamps for this challenge, ANY supplies will do!
-You have until midnight (EST) on Sunday the 4th to upload to be eligible for the prize drawings.
-Winners will be posted on Monday, October 5th, here in the Splitcoast Challenges Forum.
-We are partnering up with Operation Write Home! If you'd like to donate your World Card Making Day cards you can find the info on their website on where to send them (look on the left sidebar).

Michelle (sf9erfan) has issued an fabulously clever inspiration challenge. She figured since this is World Card Making Day, she would challenge stampers to use the flags found HERE as an inspiration. All you have to do is make a card inspired by one of the flags, and upload it to the Verve thread found HERE, and include the keywords WCMD09E. Be sure to let us know which flag inspired you too.

Now here's the really super part!! Julee has wonderful prizes for the challenge participants!!
There will be 4 prize packages -2 will have the Verve sets Snow Wonderful and Snowflake Splendor and 2 will have the sets Enjoy and Bountiful backgrounds. How awesome is that?!?!?!

Now, about my card. I'm a very *in the box* thinker. So, when I saw this image from the Verve set Swan Song, I thought swan. Until, of course, Julee made a card (found HERE), showing that the swan can be a peacock too. So, I colored my *peacock* with Spica pens and layered it once. The sentiment is from the set Star Struck (Verve), and the sketch is Mojo Monday's Sketch 106.

The flowers were all made with Martha Stewart Punches, and the leaves are a Sizzix die. The lovely paper is Dewfrost (Memory Box), and the corner punches and the panel trio treatments were all made with a Fiskars Corner embosser/punch.

That about sums up my card!

Be sure to stop HERE to see Michelle and Teresa's gorgeous cards!!

Stamps: Swan Song, Star Struck
Paper: Dewfrost (Memory Box), Neenah Solar White, Nautical Blue Dark
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento), Antique Linen (Ranger Distress)
Accessories: Rectangle Nestabilities (Spellbinders), Lots of Tags (Stampin' Up!), Flower and Leaf Punches (Martha Stewart), Leave die (SU!), White Satin Ribbon (May Arts), Multicolored Mini Rhinestones (Zva Creative), Ticket Corner Punch (SU!), Blue Bliss Pearls (Kaisercraft), Spica Pens, Dimensional Tape (Scotch)

Christmas Cross

Happy Thursday!! I'm excited to share this card with you today because it combines two images that I think are just fabulous!! The Ancient Tribal Cross by Holly Berry House is so much fun to paper piece! And easy too. I just stamped the image 2 times on black, and 2 times on the burgandy and green (Eskimo Kisses - Basicgrey) with Versamark. I then embossed them each with Detailed Black ep (Judikins). Each piece is layered with Scotch Dimensional tape.

The pine flourishes are from Inkadinkado's Winter Borders Clear Set. I love these borders!! Each one works beautifully with other images, yet they could stand on their own too with a simple sentiment!!

Finally, before I assembled the card, I scored the White base with my Scor-pal.

Oh, before I forget, the little sentiment is from an Impression Obsession set called Lighten Up Mouse, and the corners were punched with a Fiskars Corner punch.

Hope you're having a fabulous week!!
Thanks for dropping in!!
Happy Stamping!!





Stamps: Ancient Tribal Cross (Holly Berry House), Winter Border Sets (Inkadinkado), Sentiment - Lighten Up Mouse (Impression Obsession)
Paper: Neenah Solar White, Black (Prismatics), Eskimo Kisses (Basicgrey)
Ink: Versamark, Antique Linen (Ranger Distress Ink)
Accessories: Scor-Pal, Detail Black ep (Judikins), Rhinestone (Melissa Frances), Spica Pens, Wizard Tags Trio (Spellbinders), Corner Punch (Fiskars), Dimensional Tape (Scotch)