Serenity

Hello Friends! I seem to be back into a groove of creating and posting on Sundays! Feels good to create.

One of my special customers from work was sick a couple of months back and I made a card for everyone to sign and sent it out to him. When he got well, he came by and asked if I had made the card and I said yes. Well, he loved it so much, he asked me if I could make him a dozen of assorted cards and he would pay me. Now, I really am not into selling my cards. I just feel that you can never get the money for all the time that you put into them. Personally, I'd rather give them away. And I also did not want to commit to such a large order. I know twelve doesn't sound like much but, I don't really make clean and simple cards and I try to put as much detail into them as possible. However, he is also a long-time friend of our family and he has been so wonderful to call or send cards to my Mom during her times of illness that I just couldn't say no to him. So, last Sunday I created the first of a dozen cards for this special order. Today I am sharing the second one.

My card this week was inspired by May 2015 Viva la Verve Sketch Week 5.

Created with Verve Serenity Stamp Set (Archived)

Cardstock colors used in my card are Pool Party and River Rock from Stampin' Up!®. I used a patterned paper from a KAISERCRAFT paper pad called On This Day. It has some really beautiful soft tones in it. I stamped the leaves from the Serenity stamp set onto the patterned paper using the River Rock ink. The base of the card is pre-made by Recollections. I sponged the edges of the papers with Pool Party after distressing the edges lightly.

Thanks for stopping by! Hope you have a blessed week!

Have a Happy Day

Wow! It has been forever since I have been able to play with my pretty papers, stamps, and bling. I've had a lot going on in my personal life with personal illness and family illness. Things are finally starting to settle down again. Praise the Lord!

I'm here today with a card I created inspired by Viva la Verve May 2015 Week 4 Sketch.

using Be Blessed and Flag It die set from Verve Stamps

I was super excited when I saw this Viva la Verve Sketch! I just love me some tilted panels! I know it freaks some people out when they see a tilt but, I embrace it. LOL. However, I cannot tell a lie, it took me forever to put together this clean and simple card. It's hard to resist the urge to keep adding to the design. My little banner flags were die cut with some burlap which is new to me and I think I'm gonna love trying that in some other ways.

Thanks for stopping by today. I hope you and your loved ones have a very blessed Memorial Day!

He Has Risen!

Hello everyone. It's been a couple of weeks since I had a chance to create anything and post it. I hate it when life gets in the way of my creativity but, sometimes it just can't be helped.

The card I am sharing with you today was inspired by this month's Verve Inspiration Challenge Babies & Bunnies. The challenge was to create a card for Easter or a bouncing new Baby. I chose to go with the Easter theme.

Using Verve's Everlasting Life stamp set.

I wanted it to appear as if she sun was shining down on the cross. I created that effect by using the Texture Shine stencil by Memory Box and Squeezed Lemonade distress stain. This card is a lot more clean and simple than my usual style but, I did not want to cover up the pretty stenciling.

Thanks for stopping by!

Mojo 390: Merry Christmas

I'm back with one more post for this Sunday! I wanted to play along with this week's Mojo Monday Sketch.

I took a few creative liberties with my sketch and made it into a square.

using Verve's Pinecone Christmas stamp set

I sponged a little ink around the edges of my die cut label instead of mounting it on a larger label. It adds just the right amount of dimension and keeps the card on the semi-clean and simple side. I couldn't resist the urge to use my liquid pearls to create holly berries and for adding decoration to the edge of the label and the banner trim die.

That's gonna be all from me for this weekend. I hope you all have a very blessed Monday and a great week!

Mojo Monday 388

I'm finally getting back to playing along with Mojo Monday Sketches! I did really well with keeping up the month of January and then got behind in February. Since my goal is to complete them all, I have printed out the ones I missed and have set them aside to use in future card designs. This is the current week's Mojo Monday Sketch and my somewhat 'loose' interpretation of it.

I used Verve's Believe stamp set, Sprightly Sprigs die, and Award Banner Trim die.

I created this card for a friend of mine who is battling cancer. I created the card in this blue shade as that is the color of the awareness ribbon for the type of cancer she has.

I'd also like to share it at the Word Art Wednesday Challenge.

Thanks for stopping by. I hope you have had a blessed weekend. 

Chevron Birthday

Hello everyone! It's a dreary, rainy day in my neck of the woods today so, I have spent the better part of the day in my craft room. I created another birthday card inspired by several challenges.

I used the March Week 1 Viva la Verve sketch as an outline for the overall design of my card.

Since I created a birthday card it also fits in with the March Verve Diva Inspirations Challenge...

I used Chevron Love, All Aflutter Die, Flag It Die, and Birthday Phrases from Verve Stamps.

I made this card with a special person in mind. A young lady who loves polka dots, chevrons, and pearls. I think I got her covered!

Here are some other challenges I am playing along with:

Sister Act- Anything Goes

Polkadoodles- Birthdays

Blogger's Challenge- Birthdays

Crazy 4 Challenges- Bring on the Bling

Thanks for stopping by...

Birthday Dots

Hello blogging friends! It's been a few weeks since I've been able to create anything. February was a tough month for me. As many of you know, I've been having some health issues and I've been trying to focus on improving my health but, I ended up back in the hospital again. So, if you would say a prayer for me, I would appreciate it.

I have the next few days off from work and I decided to play along in a few challenges with a card that is fairly clean and simple for me.

First challenge is the B is for Birthday Verve Diva Inspirations Challenge

I was inspired by the polka dots in the background, the shades of pink, coral, and green and the black stripes.

From Verve Stamps I used On Occasion and Occasion Frame Die.

To create my background, I used the Texture Mini Dots stencil from Memory Box with Tim Holtz Distress Inks in Spun Sugar, Bundled Sage, and Spiced Marmalade.

Other challenges that inspired my card:

 

 Aud Sentiments Challenge : use a 'two-word' sentiment: Birthday Blessings

FHL Throw-Back Thursday: use a retired stamp or one that is a least a year old: On Occasion is from 2013

Moving Along with the Times: three in a row bingo: die, image, gems

Seize the Birthday: focus on the sentiment

It feels so good to be getting back on track with my crafting. Thanks for stopping by. God Bless...

Mojo Monday 383: O Holy Night

Hello blogging friends! I have a Christmas card to share with you tonight. My card design was inspired by the Mojo Monday 383 Sketch.

I pulled out some of my fun paper toys for this card! I'm really enjoying the stencil craze and last Friday I found these great new molding pastes at Michael's by Art-C and I am really enjoying working with these. First, of all they dry really quick and when you want to make a card in a couple of hours and add texture with your stencil and paste, this is the way to go! I have the embossing pastes by Dreamweaver and the original dries pretty quick but, in my experience the translucent, pearlescent, and metallic pastes take a couple of hours to dry. I don't always have that much time to allow when creating a card. So, I'm really glad to have this new option in 12 gorgeous colors! Tonight I used the white and silver pastes along with a Heiddi Swapp star stencil.

I used Peace on Earth from Verve Stamps along with their Flag It die set and Classy Label die. The paper is from the Candy Cane Collection by Bo Bunny. I used distress inks and paints on the edges of the card and each panel. I couldn't make up my mind so, I kept going back and forth with ink and then paint and then ink again (scowl). What can I say? It was not a good day for creative decisions.

Thanks for dropping by. God Bless.

Mojo 382: Be Still My Heart

Hello again! Second post for tonight. This is becoming a regular Sunday evening habit. I've got to start crafting more doing the week.

This week's Mojo Monday sketch was a 'tall & skinny' one. I usually shy away from these sketches because the tall & skinny part intimidates me. However, I promised myself that for 2015 I would broaden my crafting horizons (oh boy)!

Here is my first tall & skinny card.

I decided to go with the 3.5 x 5.5 version of the skinny card and I chose to create a skinny Valentine. I did include all the layers that are on the sketch but because I used black and coordinating paper, it has all blended together. My tiny sentiment is from Verve's Flirty Phrases (retired). It was stamped on a tag that a created using the Tags #1 from Sizzix Sizzlets. Does anyone remember those as well as the Sizzix Sidekick? I remember when I first started scrapbooking I couldn't afford the Original Sizzix so I bought the sidekick and every chance I got I would purchase a pack of the Sizzlets. (I still have every single one of those things, too.) That was such a big purchase back then! (LOL) Who would've guessed that years later I would have two Cricut machines, a Cuttlebug and companies would be making matching dies for stamps. My how the industry has grown! I also never thought I would be a cardmaker. Oh-no, not me! I was all about creating on that 12x12 canvas and it has taken me a long time to get accustomed to the smaller canvas of the card.

Sorry for babbling on. Feeling nostalgic tonight.

God Bless and have an absolutely awesome week!

Mojo 381 & Groovy Love

Hello again! This is my second post for this Sunday. I've been a very good little paper-crafter this weekend and created a total of 3 cards! That's a big deal for me. Can you tell it's football season and I am not a fan? So, while Mike is glued to the TV this is what I do.

It's my goal to play along with every Mojo Monday sketch this year. So far, so good! Here is this week's sketch.

I needed to make a 'get well' card for my Aunt. So I pulled out Verve's Wonderfully Made and Friendly Phrases (now retired) stamp sets. I'm a wee bit upset because when I pulled the cute little flower that comes with Wonderfully Made off the plastic sheet, I ripped it. (frown) I was able to piece it together in order to stamp the image and have attempted to glue it back together but, I'm not sure it will work. Note to self: be more careful when removing clear stamps from the backing!

This card was super fun to make and I'm quickly learning that I'm falling more and more in love with Verve's Trim Dies. This week I used the Pennant Trim Die. Wishing I had purchased this much sooner.

Card Recipe:

• Cardstock: Poppy Parade, Lucky Limeade
• Designer Paper: Graphic 45-Raining Cats & Dogs
• Dies: A Cut Above-Pennant Trim Die, Spellbinders-Tear Drop Circles & A-2 Fancy Ribbon Threader
• Ink: Black Soot Distress Ink
• Stamps: Friendly Phrases, Wonderfully Made-Verve Stamps
• Embellishments:Viva Decor Pearl Pen-Yellow

I have one more card to share tonight. This one was made for fun because I just had to play with one of my stencils--Texture Brilliant from Memory Box.

Isn't this just groovy! Because I ended up with a tie-die effect I just had to use one of the sentiments from Verve's Feeling Groovy stamp set (also retired). Playing with stencils and inks/sprays is uber cool! But, there is one product you must have to prevent your stencil from slipping and I learned this the hard way. Invest in some Krylon Easy-Tack Repositionable Adhesive. You spray the back of your stencil (outdoors) and you have this nice tackiness on the back that holds it in place. This is especially important with the more intricate stencils as they tend to move around with just the masking or painter's tape on the edges. The Easy-Tack keeps all those intricate parts lying flat as you sponge ink across them or embossing paste, whatever the case may be. It's $7.99 for a 10.25 oz. can at Hobby Lobby.

Card Recipe:

• Cardstock: Cherry Cobbler, Basic Gray
• Stencil: Texture Brilliant-Memory Box
• Dies: Cheery Lynn Designs-Lattice Heart n Vines
• Ink: Fired Brick, Worn Lipstick, Spun Sugar Distress Inks
• Stamps: Feeling Groovy-Verve Stamps Retired
• Embellishments: SU Photo Corner Punch, Viva Decor Pearl Pen-Black

Well, that's the end of my weekend crafting! I'm so glad you stopped by. God Bless and have a Awesome week!

Mojo 380: Majic

Hello my Friends! Hope you all are having a blessed weekend. I was able to get a little crafty time in last night and I was able to create my first Valentine for this year.

I used Mojo Monday Sketch 380 as inspiration for my card...

The only difference is I decided to do a square version of the sketch. Oh and speaking of Mojo Monday.... last week was a contest week and I was one of the lucky winners! Still reeling from excitement about that (smile).

For this card, I pulled some Verve stamps out of the archive. I used the Wild Thing stamp set which has been retired. Although it is retired, I am not ready to give it up yet and thoroughly enjoyed breathing new life into it. I feel the same way about the Bravo Burgundy CS I used from Stampin' UP!®. I just love that brownish-burgundy color and prefer it to the more 'purply' shades of burgundy. Something new-to-me that I used on this card is the Award Banner Trim Die from A Cut Above Dies by Verve. I just love the fun border it cuts out and know that I'll be turning to that time and time again!

Card Recipe:

• Cardstock: Bravo Burdundy, Bashful Blue, River Rock 
• Designer Paper: Key to My Heart-KAISERCRAFT
• Embossing Folder: Smitten-Anna Griffin for Cuttlebug
• Dies: Award Banner Trim Die-A Cut Above for Verve Stamps; Spellbinders Die D-Lites Fancy Label Tags One
• Ink: Bravo Burgundy-SU
• Stamps: Wild Thing-Verve Stamps
• Embellishments: Pearls-Recollections

Thanks for stopping by. God Bless...

Mojo 379: Comfort & Joy

Hi all! I'm so excited to be here today with my first card for 2015. I'm even more excited that it's a Christmas card! You see, I gave myself a challenge to create 2 Christmas cards a month this year so that when the holidays roll around, I'm not scrambling to get them done.

My card is inspired by three different challenges. The first one is this week's Mojo Monday Sketch.

The second challenge that inspired my card is from Winter Wonderland to use your favorite colour combo. I tend to gravitate towards pink and green or pink and teal color combos. For this card I used Pretty in Pink and Bermuda Bay.

Last but not least the challenge at Classy Cards N Such this week is Teal Snowflakes.

I started my card with a card base made from Bermuda Bay cardstock. I used patterned papers from the Frosted Lace collection by Wild Rose Studio. I stamped the classic oval frame in Bermuda Bay ink and cut it out with the Classy Label Die. My sentiment is stamped using Black Soot Distress ink. Using Bermuda Bay again, I stamped the snowflake and cut it out with the snowflake die from the Reindeer Fun Die Set. The classy label, sentiment and snowflake all come from a Verve stamp set called Unto Us. For finishing touches I added some white organza that I died to match with Bermuda Bay ink as well as liquid pearls in Peacock and some sequins.

Thanks for stopping by!

December Viva la Verve Sketch 3

Hello Everyone. This month for Viva la Verve, Julee created 4 great sketches that could be used with this 'one sheet wonder' pattern or you have the option to do all the sketches separately. I thought about it and since I have all these great stencils, mists, embossing pastes, and washi tape, etc. I decided to put them to use and create my own patterned papers to fit the sketches.

Here is sketch 3...

Here is my take on it...

I started with a card base made from Real Red cardstock by Stampin' UP!®. I cut a slightly smaller white panel and spritzed it with heidi swapp™Color Shine in Tinsel. I adhered two strips of washi tape in the upper left and lower right portions of the spritzed panel. Before adhering the panel to the card base I wrapped it in red cording and tied a bow. Using a horizontal strip of white card stock and the heidi swapp chevron spray stencil, I created the red chevron pattern with embossing paste and Real Red ink. I created a label for my sentiment by using Sentiment Tag 3 from Cheery Lynn Designs. My sentiment is from the Verve Stamp Set Peace on Earth. For finishing touches, I added the poinsettia to the corner of the label.

Creating this card with all those cool tools was such fun! I really need to take more time to use the things I spend the money on.

Thanks for stopping by...

Mojo Monday 375

Hello Everyone. Hope you all have had a blessed Sunday. I want to share a card with you tonight that was inspired by a Mojo Monday Sketch.

The linky widget for this sketch is now closed. I don't always get inspired to create within the timeline but, I do enjoy these sketches. This one was a bit on the clean and simple side and I think that is one reason that I struggled with it. I kept wanting to add to the card and I finally had to walk away from it and here I am a week later excepting that the card is fine the way it is.

I created my card using a Verve Stamp set called O Christmas Tree. My patterned paper is from the Tradition Collection by Authentique. My card base was created from the retired Glorious Green cardstock from Stampin' Up!® It paired nicely with Cherry Cobbler cardstock also from Stampin' Up! I stamped my Christmas tree on a diecut from Spellbinders Labels Twenty-Five. The edges of my card base and vertical panel were inked with Black Soot Distress Ink. For finishing touches I added a bit of bling to the right side corners.

Thanks for stopping by...

Viva la Verve November Week 4

Hello Blogging Friends! It's been quite awhile. I've missed you all so much and I've really missed creating, sharing with you, and hopping around to see what you have been up to. So much has been going on in my life; it's just been over the top crazy. So much so, that I ended up spending my Thanksgiving in the hospital. Praise the Lord, I am home now! Let me tell you, being hospitalized can really put things into perspective for you.

Anyways, I'm so grateful to be back home among my family, friends, and loved ones that I have vowed to start making time for things that I really treasure and enjoy and one of those things is creating cards. But, not just creating them...sending them out to people who need encouragement and "Letting my light so shine" for Christ.

So tonight, I'm getting it in just under the wire, but I really wanted to create something with one of the Viva la Verve sketches for November. I chose to go with this one...

I broke out one of my un-opened Verve Stamp Sets and finally inked it up. The set is called Let it Be and it is one of my favorites.

I hope you like my take on the sketch! Thanks for stopping by...

Grace/Praying for You

Happy Sunday Everyone! Lately, it has been so difficult to find time to create just for fun but, I did have some time this weekend and I chose that time to play along with the Mojo Monday Sketch, one of my favorite challenges.

 

I've been adding quite a bit of Verve Stamps to my collection over the last few years as well as some of the coordinating dies and I love how versatile the stamps are and the fun you can have with mixing them together. 

Supplies used:

• Verve Stamps: Each Day stamp set, Surely Goodness stamp set, Grace Plain Jane stamp
• A Cut Above Dies by Verve: Classy Label Die, Goodness Flower Die Set
• KAISERCRAFT Porcelain Rose paper pad
• kraft cardstock base

I would also like to share this card with my friends at Word Art Wednesday.