A Monochromatic CCEE Challenge

It's Thursday!! Woot! Hopefully today is better than yesterday (this is postdated). My IMAC decided to throw a temper tantrum and won't turn on. With technical support, I was able to get it back on a couple of times, only to have it spontaneously shut off again a few minutes later...thus a trip to the apple doctor. Hopefully it's only a minor ailment and will recover quickly. Therefore, I'm posting this on my laptop, which doesn't contain the proper watermark for my photos, and is slower at times with our wireless server. I'm thrilled to get this card posted. It was touch and go all day Wed.

Well, since it's thursday, it's time for a CCEE Stamper's challenge, and we have been challenged to make a monochromatic blue card since Spring is on its way bringing with it some beautiful blue skies. We're able to include some neutrals also. I chose ivory. Well, mine's more a blue/green...hope I don't get the buzzer....lol

For my sentiment I used the verse Ecclesiastes 3:11 Plain Jane by Verve. I love this encouraging verse!! It was diecut with Labels 4 (Spellbinders), and shaded with Antique Linen Ranger Distress Ink.

eta: When I was typing this up, I totally forgot to mention that I used Charmaine's fabulous VLV sketch found HERE!

I also used some new yummy papers by MME: Stella Rose Gertie and Mabel. Lastly, I added some Pearls by Kaisercraft, seam binding ribbon, a Rose by Wild Orchid Crafts, and some Candy Gems by Prima. The border was made with a Martha Stewart all around punch.

That's it from me today. Be sure to stop by the CCEE Stamper's blog to see what the other gals have come up with. We'd love to have you join us for this challenge too.

Thanks so much for stopping by!!

Happy Stamping my friends!!

Tosh

Stamps: Ecclesiastes 3:11 (Verve)

Paper: Vintage Cream (PTI), Stella Rose Gertie and Mabel (MME)

Ink: Smokey Gray (Versafine), Antique Linen (Ranger Distress Ink)

Accessories: Labels 4 Nestabilities (Spellbinders), Paper Rose (Wild Orchid Crafts), Seam Binding, Pearls (Kaisercraft), Candy Gems (Prima), All Around Punch (MS)

You Make Me Smile!!

I have another PC Go-to Sketches reject to share with you today. :) I used the Butterflies from the Verve set Blue skies for sketch #31, colored them with copics and added a touch of sparkle with some Stardust Stickles. These have to be my absolute favorite butterflies!! They're just so elegant!! Lastly, I added a few rhinestones.

That's it...easy peasy!

Have a Happy Tuesday!! Hope you got some crafting in today. A day's just not complete until you craft a bit, even if you only get to sift through some of your supplies!!

Happy Stamping my friends!!
Tosh

Stamps: Blue Skies (Verve)
Paper: White (PTI), Flutter Butter Honey (BoBunny)
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento), Onyx Black (Versafine)
Accessories: Stardust Stickles, Rhinestones (Melissa Frances), Copics

A Happy Hello!!

Hello everyone!! I hope you had a fabulous weekend!! I tried something new yesterday...fondue. Didn't turn out as well as I would have liked though. I'm going to have to try some different recipes.

Today I'd like to share a little 3x3 card that didn't get picked for the Paper Crafts Go-to Sketches for Card Makers that I entered. It was based on Sketch #64.

It's pretty easy and straight forward. I just stamped the sentiments, from the Verve set Happy Hello, onto Basics Manilla Paper by Basicgrey and assembled with a little library clip from SU! The card base is Kraft by Papertrey Ink.

I actually was blessed to have a few cards picked for publication, but also have a few that were rejected. So I'll be sharing those in the next few days.

Thanks so much for stopping by!
Have a super week and Happy stamping!!
Tosh

Stamps: Happy Hello (Verve)
Paper: Kraft (PTI) and Basics Manilla Paper Pad (Basicgrey)
Ink: Onyx Black (Versafine), Brushed Corduroy (Ranger)
Accessories: Library Clip (SU!), Binding Edger Punch (EK Success)

Butterfly Suite

March has arrived. And it's colder here than it was in January!! Crazy!! But I love it!! Cold and rainy weather just makes me feel all cozy when I'm in the house, and creating in my stamp room!! Now I just need an extra hot vanilla latte!! *sigh*

Okay...you probably came here to see a card, not listen to me ramble about weather. *grin* Since it's Thursday, it's time for another CCEE Challenge, and this week our fearless hostess Joanne has challenged us to include swirls on our cards. I used some swirly rhinestones for the butterfly trails.

I just fell in love with this Penny Black image when I saw it in the Stamper's Dream Store, and just had to have it. I mean seriously...it has music, flowers and butterflies!! Be still my heart. It's called Butterfly Suite. I stamped it with Tuxedo Black Memento ink, and colored it with my Copics, and then framed it with the Labels 10 die. I also added some lace, a punched and scored border, some ribbon, and a sweet little button. The sentiment along the bottom left is from a JustRite set called Fancy Tags. Lastly, I thought this sweet image needed a bit of sparkle, so I added some Startdust Stickles to top it all off. Oh, and that beautiful dp is from Echo Park's Springtime line!!! I'm in love with this collection!!!
Here's a close up so you can see a bit of the sparkle. If you click on the photo you can see the sparkle a bit more.

That's it for my card today my friends!! Be sure to check out what the other CCEE gals have to share over at the CCEE Stamper's Blog.

Thanks for Visiting!! And happy stamping!!
Tosh

Stamps: Butterfly Suite (Penny Black), Fancy Tags (JustRite)
Paper: White (PTI), Springtime (Echo Park)
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento), Tumbled Glass (Ranger Distress Ink)
Accessories: Copics, Labels 10 Nestabilities (Spellbinders), Border Punch (MS), Scor-Buddy, Stardust Stickles, Lace (Wild Orchid Crafts), Ribbon and Silver Cord (May Arts), Button (PTI), Rhinestone Flourish (ZVA Creative), Sewing Machine

An Irish Blessing

Hello my friends!! It's been awhile since I've posted, and I'm sorry. I've been busy stamping though and will have tons to share with you soon.

I made today's card for this months first Viva la Verve sketch designed by Amber, and for an uber talented stamping friend who has a St. Patrick's Day birthday. I thought this Irish Blessing from Verve's Blessings set would be perfect!! She also adores Shamrocks, and I'm sure she has quite a collection, so I included another sentiment on the inside.


Is this sentiment perfect or what?! Love it!! I found a photo of the shamrock online, printed it out, and cut it out of felt. I know it's not the traditional bright green, but I'm more of a "mellow" stamper. *grin*

Now, I should also let you know that this Blessings set that I used is the Stamp of the Month over at Verve, and you can get it for 30% off!!

That's it for today ya'll!! Have a super week!! And Happy Stamping!!
Tosh

Stamps: Blessings (Verve)
Paper: Vintage Cream (PTI), Steampunk Debutante (Graphic 45)
Ink: Onyx Black (Versafine), Antique Linen (Ranger Distress)
Accessories: Labels 17 Nestabilities (Spellbinders), Felt (Prairie Point Junction), Button (PTI), Lace (Wild Orchid Crafts), Pearls (Kaisercraft), Sewing Machine, Zutter Distrezz~it~All

Diva Inspirations Blog Hop

No card to share today (check back tomorrow), but I wanted to let you know that there's some Verve~a~liscious fun going on that you don't want to miss. First of all there's a Diva Inspirations hop, and there are prizes to be had. (the hop list is below) One lucky commenter will win a $30 gift certificate to the Verve store!! How awesome is that? But that's not all....if you participate in the Verve Fan Blog Hop, you'll be entered to win a $50 gift certificate to Verve!! And, to top all this goodness off, if you comment on the Verve Fan Hop entries, you'll be entered to win a $30 Verve gift certificate also. How cool is all of this? Seriously...that's a lot of Verve goodness.

Click HERE to read up on all the deets!

And Here's a list of the Divas participating in the hop.

1. Julee	6. Michelle
2. Betty	7. Lynda
3. Dawn	8.Shannan
4. Jen d.	9. Sony
5. Jen T.	10.Susan

I have another good thing to share. The Featured set over at Verve this month is Blessings. It will be 30% off for the month of March. I have a card that I made with that set to share with you tomorrow. So please stop by.

Thanks for the visit!! Hope your week is off to a great start. Our mountains are covered with snow, and the skies are a deep blue with a slight chill in the air!! Heaven on earth for sure!!

Happy stamping my friends!!
Tosh

Stamper's Dream Hop

Stamper's Dream is having a blog hop, and I hope you can hop along with us. If you came from the fabulously talented Amy's blog, you're on the right track. Otherwise, you might want to start at the beginning with Michelle.

The Stamper's Dream Team, along with some friends, is making projects with some of their favorite images from the Stamper's Dream Store. I tell ya, Michelle is getting more and more stuff in her store each week!! And you can win some of the fabulous goodies that Michelle is carrying right now too. The candy is hidden on one of the blogs. So, all you have to do to win one is leave a comment. The more blogs you comment on, the better chance you have of winning. I have photos of the candy at the end of this post.

For my card today, I chose to use a "Thanks" sentiment from the JustRite set You're so sweet. My daughter TA's for a wonderful 3rd grade teacher who is always surprising her with sweet little gifts. So she wanted to say "Thanks" with a card. I thought the Schoolhouse dp by October Afternoon was perfect. I also used this weeks Monday Mojo Sketch 179 as my inspiration.

Since it's also Thursday, I made this card for the CCEE challenge which was to use some form of distressing on your card/project; whether it be ink distressing, or paper distressing. I used both. I ink distressed with Antique Linen Ranger Distress ink, and I distressed the sides of my center panel with my Zutter Distrezz~it~All. We'd love to see your distressing too. Just head on over to the CCEE Stamper's Blog for all the details. The gals have some wonderful examples to show you too.

Next up on the hop is the sweet and talented Mariana.
Here's a list of what you can win?? :o)

Blog Candy #1 includes:
Epiphany Crafts Heart Punch and Epoxy Bubble Caps Stickers
A LaBlanche Rubber Stamp
The Rubber Café stamp
Webster’s Pages designer vellum pack
Webster’s Pages Sentiment Sheet
Mini 3-D Puzzle
Cosmo Cricket Togetherness Paper Pad

log Candy #2 includes:
Stampavie Rubber Stamp (new release) by Gillian Roberts
Stickles Tropical Tangerine (new color)
Basic Grey Wander 6 x 6 Paper Pad
La-La Land Crafts Panda rubber stamp
Stampendous Clear Stamp Set
Sassafras Lass felties puddle jumpers
Mini 3-D Puzzle
Webster’s Pages designer vellum pack
Webster’s Pages Sentiment Sheet
Handmade heart pin from Fabscraps

Here's a list of those Hopping with us in case you get lost along the way:

Michelle
Becca
Jerri Kay
Amy
Tosh ~ you are here
Mariana
Cindy
Leslie
Kim
Teresa
Lea
Christina

Here's a list of everything I used on my card, along with links to where you can find the product.

Stamps: You're So Sweet (JustRite)
Paper: Vintage Cream, Black and Kraft (PTI), Schoolhouse (October Afternoon)
Ink: Onyx Black (Versafine), Antique Linen (Ranger Distress)
Accessories: Lacey Circles, Circle Nestabilities (Spellbinders), Saddle Stitched Ribbon and Buttons (PTI), Rhinestones (Kaisercraft), Scalloped border (EK Success)

Thank you so very much for stopping by. I hope you're having a fabulous week, and that your weekend is fun and relaxing!!

Happy Stamping!!
Tosh

VLV February Week 4 ~ You make me smile

Andrea has provided a fantastic sketch over in the Viva la Verve Forum on Splitcoaststampers. Check it out HERE. There are prizes involved too, so you might want to check it out!! I used sentiments from the Love Notes (Verve) set for my card today, and framed the first with the Classy Label Die (Verve), and Labels 10 (Spellbinders). The flowers were made with Stampin' UP! dies Birds and Blooms, along with some Punch Bunch punches. The leaves were made with Sizzlits Little Leaves (SU!), and the little tag was punched out with the Martha Stewart tag punch. I also added some May Arts Plaid ribbon and Burlap String, along with a PTI button. Everything was ink distressed with Brushed Corduroy Ranger Distress Ink, and the dp is from Graphic 45's Curtain Call.

Here's the sketch.

That's about it for my card. Don't forget to check out the Viva la Verve Forum.

Thanks so much for stopping by.
Happy Stamping!
Tosh

Stamps: Love Notes
Paper: Black, Kraft and Vintage Ivory (PTI), Curtain Call (Graphic 45), Birchtone Dark (Prismatics)
Ink: Onyx Black (Versafine), Brushed Corduroy (Ranger Distress)
Accessories: Classy Label Die, Labels 10 (Spellbinders), Birds and Blooms Sizzix and Little Leaves (SU!), Ribbon and String (May Arts), Button (PTI), Punch Bunch punces, Dimensional tape

VLV Sketch ~ Birthday Wish

Hello everyone! It's raining here right now, and it's expected to continue for a few days. Now, I may be the odd duck, but I love rain and cold, so I'm loving the weather.

Since it's Thursday, I have a CCEE challenge card to share with you today. I used the Viva la Verve Sketch (designed by Teresa) from last week as my starting off point. For the CCEE challenge, we were to use scoring. Now if you don't have a Scor-Pal, you can use a foam mat under your card stock and a stylus, and sometimes cutters have ridges for the blades. That's a good guideline also. For my card, I just used my Scor-buddy and made lines every 1/4 inch on my back panel. Because of the gloomy weather here, I had a horrible time photographing this mostly white card. So, if you click on the photos, you can see the details a bit better.

I used Verve stamps for as my focus. The sentiment is from the set Birthday Bash, and the Butterfly (my favorite ever!!!) is from the Blue Skies Set.



You can't see it, but I sprayed some Iridescent Pearl Mist (Maya Road) all over the white panels and the butterfly, and added some Viva Decor Transparent Gel and glitter around the distressed edges.

I know this photo is dark, but you can see where I added the glitter and mist a bit better.


Lastly, I added some Lace that I got from Wild Orchid Crafts, some Jillibean Soup twine, ribbon, and a sweet little PTI button.

That about sums it all up. Now be sure to check out the VLV Sketch Challenges, and also head on over to the CCEE Stamper's Blog to see what the rest of the gals have done with scoring this week.

Happy Stamping my friends!!
Tosh

Stamps: Birthday Bash, Blue Skies
Paper: White and Blue (PTI)
Ink: Onyx Black (Versafine), Tuxedo Black (Memento)
Accessories: Circle and Lacey Circle Nestabilities (Spellbinders), Copics, Scor-Buddy, Swiss Dots Embossing Folder (Cuttlebug), Lace (Wild Orchid Crafts), Twine (Jillibean Soup), Ribbon (SU!), Button (PTI), Viva Decor Transparent Gel, Glitter, Iridescent Pearl Mist (Maya Road)

With Sympathy

A friend of mine needed a Sympathy card, and when it comes to sentiments, one of my favorite "go to's" is Verve. Julee has such a fabulous way of putting the most perfect words, in such beautiful fonts. For this card I used Forever in our Hearts. I'm also a huge fan of Waltzingmouse images. Especially their Labels that fit in the Spellbinders dies. So, I included the scripted Labels 4 Frame from their Very Vintage Labels No. 4 set.

I used this week's Mojo Monday Sketch 178.

I added a sentiment to the inside also, also from the Forever in our Hearts set.

That's it for today. I hope your week is off to a fabulous start!!
Happy Stamping!
Tosh

Stamps: Forever in our Hearts (Verve), Very Vintage Labels No. 4 (Waltzingmouse)
Paper: White and Black (PTI), MeadowLark (MME)
Ink: Onyx Black (Versafine), Pumice (Ranger Distress)
Accessories: Labels 4, Circle and Beaded Circle Nestabilities (Spellbinders), Border Punch (EK Success), Flower and Clear Crystal Droplets (Wild Orchid Crafts), Ribbon, Vintage Brad (Creative Charms), Flourish (Sizzix)

New Stamp Room and a Mojo card

Hello my stamping friends!! It's a new week, and I'm excited to say, my Stamp Room remodel is finished, and I'm all moved in again. In fact, this is the first card I've made in my room since its completion!! Woo-Hoo!! I used last weeks Mojo Monday Sketch #177, because I loved the angles so much. I also used a huge variety of products that I got from Stamper's Dream. If you've never been to this on-line store before, you really need to check it out. Not only does Michelle carry a large variety of stamps, but she also has many different embellishments, papers, ribbons, and dies. Here's a list of what I used on my card: Kraft Envelope (Maya Road), Newsprint Cover-a-Card (IO), Lg Open Dot Tag (IO), Fancy Tags and Nested Frame Custom Dies (JustRite), Burlap String, and Walnut Stain (Ranger Distress Ink). I also included a button (PTI), a charm, and some staples, along with Making Memories Ledger Paper Pad dp. That about sums up my card for today. Now I'd like to share my new Stamp Room with you. Click Here to see the before pictures (you need to scroll down a bit)

I painted all my cupboards white, the walls Herbal Garden Light (Prismatics), and the shelf interiors Baby Blue Light (Prismatics). I also added some more lighting (although the pictures were taken with the lights off because it yellowed the green too much). I had some shelves added to an existing closet and had the doors removed too. Here's a 360 of the room starting with a view from the door, then from the left.

I displayed some of my favorite cards and projects on the shelves, along with some cards from friends. I also have my Perfect Pearls and Stickles on the Silver Lazy Susan on the third shelf from the top, and magazines on the top and bottom shelves.

Here you can see my buttons, sewing station (with the chair my Shih tzu "Bear" has to sit on while I'm in here...it's his throne.), and my CD carousel that I store my Verve images in. I also store my Spellbinders Dies in one. I purchased these CD carousels at Racks and Stands.com. My sweet husband is going to make a couple of plaques with antique glass knobs for me to hang the Verve image cards on. Right now they're stacked next to the CD's. Unfortunately he wasn't able to finish it before today.

Here you can see my island that I stamp on, and how I store my inks, Copics, Tombows and Spellbinders dies. I used to store my Tombows in the Storage Center on the left, but I just had too many markers...*sigh*. I got this storage center from Storage Units Ink and More. I got the Cubbies to store my Copics in from Studio 3 Solutions.

In this photo, you can see my closet. I have Martha Stewart Storage Units, as well as boxes that I have cards categorized by Theme (Birthday, Friend, Holiday, etc.). On the bottom I have all my ribbons stored by color, lace, string and seam binding.

My husband made a wall piece for some of my punches. Unfortunately I out grew it quite fast. The rest are stored on shelves and in some cupboards.

Here you can see where I store my papers, punches, and more. The baskets on the left have my embossing folders in them, and I also have my Verve Dies stored in one of the white boxes, and my MFT dies stored in another box along with other miscellaneous dies. The little basket on the bottom shelf holds all my Versamagic inks. Stored in the little clear drawers are the following: Sponge daubers large and small, double stick tape, acrylic blocks, signature stamps. I also have my Grand Calibur, Cuttlebug, Scor-pal and Scor-Buddy, Fiskars Rotary Cutter, and other stamping tools on the counter.

Here you can see the entrance, as well as my scrap paper storage that is arranged by color.

Lastly, this is the view from my room. If you look closely you can see the snow caps of the mountains.

Whew!! That's finally it for the tour. I hope you all enjoyed seeing where I spend quite a bit of my days. Now that it's all white, it's brightened it up considerably. In fact, I photographed my card in there...not in the usual photo tent. The natural light was perfect.

Happy stamping my friends!!
Tosh

Embrace Life CAS style

Wow, the weekend is almost here!! But, today is Thursday, and that means another CCEE Stamper's Challenge. This week we were to use Embossing Folders somewhere on your card. If you don't have embossing folders, you could use a stencil and a stylus.

I used a Sizzix Embossing folder for my bg, and framed it with some scored lines that I made with my Scor-Buddy. I used an EK success punch along the border.

I made this a CAS card because my stamp room is still in the works. The painting is done, I'm just moving stuff back in and organizing. Man...it sure was a lot faster moving everything out. :)

For the main image, I stamped the flower from Verve's set Great Friend, onto some K&Company dp with Versamark, and embossed it with white ep. I then cut each layer out and popped it up with dimensional tape. I used a sentiment "Embrace Life" from Verve's set Dream Big. The stem was made with the Sizzix Flourish #9 die.

For the flower center, I added some Viva Decor Transparent Gel and glitter. I also added some glitter dots along the stem. They're hard to see since they're white on white, but if you click on the photos, you can see them, and the flower center better.

That's it for my simple card today. Be sure to head on over to the CCEE Stamper's Blog to see what the other girls came up with. We'd love to have you join us also.

Happy stamping!!

Tosh

Foggy Sunrise

I don't have a card today, but I wanted to share a couple of pictures of our sunrise this morning. We've had quite a bit of fog this winter, but never a sunrise this beautiful to go along with it. I'll have a Verve card to share in a couple of days that I made before the renovations started on my stamp room. It's supposed to be finished on Tues. "fingers crossed"

It's all about "Tools"

This month, I have the honor of providing the challenges for the CCEE Stamper's Blog. And I've decided that I want to focus on tools. Cause I'm a girl who loves her tools!! This first week of February, I challenged the girls to use punches. They can be border punches, corner punches, a flower, a circle, whatever punch they can dream up, as long as it isn't a die. Oh, you can have something cut with a die on your card. I would never dream of eliminating that from a project. There are very few, if any, projects that I don't diecut something. However, a punch must be included somewhere also.

I used my punch along the bottom border. I tend to do that a lot, but I love the finished look it gives it. I also often add one or two score lines right above the punched border. I added a sentiment from the Verve set Love Notes, and all the dp is from Webster's pages.

Now for the flower. This past summer I bought a purse that had the coolest flower on it, and I thought, shoot, I could make a felt flower along that idea, and use it on a card.


Well, I made one, and forgot that I had until I was cleaning out my stamp room to remodel it. So I included it on today's card.


I diecut the base with Spellbinders' Nesting Flowers. I then folded over a strip of felt, sewed it together, snipped even strips and wrapped it around each other for the center. I cut a hole through the center of the base to give room for the floral center, and hot glued it together, and added some Frosted Lace Stickles. The felt leaves were diecut with a Sizzix Bigz die called "Vine with Leaves".

Lastly, I added some Perfect Pearls around the frame, a sweet little MS punched butterfly, and a Lacey Circle Spellbinders frame around the sentiment.

That's it for my card, be sure to check out what the rest of the gals have done with punches this week. We'd love to see what you come up with too, so head on over to the CCEE Stamper's Blog.

My stamp room is still "under construction". I've been told I won't be able to move in until Tuesday of next week. *sniff* It will definitely be worth it though.

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

Verve Sale and Inspiration Blog Hop

No card from me today, but I can point you in an awesome direction towards some yummy inspirational creations!!!

Each month the Verve Diva Inspirations team will be starting your month off right with a little Verve inspiration! There's a little mystery prize on one of today's hop spots too, so be sure to leave a little comment love as you hop around. One lucky commenter on the mystery hop spot will win a $30 gift certificate to the Verve Store! The deadline for comment entries is Saturday, February 5.

1. Betty	6. Michelle
2. Dawn	7. Lynda
3. Jen d.	8. Shannan
4. Jen T.	9. Sony
5. Julee	10.Susan

You might have noticed that there are some new fantastic Inspiration Divas added to the team too!! Betty Wright, Dawn Easton and Sony Christoph! Talk about inspirational. These guys are sure to inspire with their creative uses of the Verve images!!

And in addition to new faces, there's a new sale starting! During the month of February, treat yourself right with some Sweet Savings on all sorts of sweet stamps and dies from Verve! If it's for your sweet tooth or just has the word sweet in it, it's on sale! Check out our sale page for all the info. Plus don't miss the February stamp of the month, Sweet on You, which is on sale this month for 40% off! That's all for now on the Verve front. Until next time... happy hopping!