Viva la Chelsea Gardens

I haven't participated in a creative challenge in what seems like forever...until this past weekend!  I'm actually shocked that I am really blogging it now too, lol!  ;)

I made this A2 card for the January Viva la Verve Sketch Challenge.  This birthday sentiment from Verve is one of my favorites!

There are SO many things that I LOVE about this one.  That double bow tied with Verve ribbon is amazing.  I just cannot get enough of these new marble colored gems from Close to My Heart either!

I used the negative cut from a Mixed Mats Die Cut from PTI to frame out the card along with some matting in CTMH CS colors Mink and Pebble.  Those gorgeous pattern papers and the leafy sprig are found in the brand new Chelsea Gardens Paper Suite and Complements.

LOVED getting creative and adding this beauty to my card stash!  Thanks for the great sketch, Julee!  :)

Mojo Monday Means Coffee!

YES!!!  Summer means I have time to play along with Mojo Monday!!!

I grabbed some of my new Verve products and got to work PLAY!  :)

I just LOVE pulling different branded products together when creating...and I have quite the horde collection to choose from!  This cluster easily fell into place with CTMH Florence Paper, Vellum and Gold Bling Gem, Lawn Fawn wooden heart embellie, Studio Calico sequins, leftover die cuts(Cricut and Verve) from prior projects, and misc. ribbon from packaging! 

Oh. My. Word.  I really wanted to use my Verve Coffee die as the sentiment...but what do you add to that...ummmm...nothing!  Coffee?  YES, of course!!!  I actually cut the word twice on my Big Shot and used the little swirly part to create a question mark. That adorable coffee stain behind it is found on the Verve Better With You stamp set.

These sequins are a mix of my faves from Studio Calico, Close to My Heart, and Teresa Collins!

Here are some of the other products I used:

CTMH Colonial White Value Pack Cards
CTMH Cashmere CS
CTMH Chocolate and Whisper Exclusive Ink

Thanks for taking a peek this week!  :)

Only in June!

Flash sales every weekend in JUNE!!!

Mojo Monday 400 Makes Me Dream Big

Welcome to my little piece of the blog world!  I had a huge day creating yesterday and I just couldn't decide what to share first.  I am the MOST excited about my Mojo Monday 400 card, so lets just start there, shall we? 

With her 400th amazing sketch, Julee Tilman, the wonderfully talented creator of Verve Stamps, has announced that she is also going to be choosing new DT members, so I'm throwing my name in the hat with high hopes.  Actually, if I win some new product, I will be ecstatic even, so lets get to it!

My head was just swimming with ideas before I settled on the Dream Big flowers and a no sentiment card.  These types of cards are JUST the thing to have on hand when you need them...

I stamped in first and second generation Smoothie Inks from CTMH along with Sweet Leaf for the leaves.  Then I added some darker green with my ShinHan Leaf Green Alcohol Ink Marker.

The perfectly round stitched window is made using a circle die from MCT.  I adore stitched dies!  I really also wish I had that scalloped flower die that coordinates with these flowers from Verve, lol.  They are next on my shopping list, I believe.

The spray of peachy sequins are a mix of brands including CTMH, Studio Calico, and Verve.  I also added a couple of green epoxy bubbles on the right...

This fantastic background came together using the Botanical Backgrounds My Acrylix and adding some pops of color with the same green marker and adding Light Orange to the mix...

I just love the combination of colors with the Whisper CS in the background.  Thanks for taking a peek today!  Thanks for so many inspiring sketches, Julee and company!  :)

Freshly Made Sketches with Year Noted

Another unexpected crafty day with everyone home from school means I get to play along with Freshly Made Sketches this week!  I LOVE this one, too, so that's a double bonus!

FIRST of all, I am not a yellow person at all...but I could be after this card!  ;)

Those rectangles...let me tell you...they were tricky to size up and get laid out just right.  I think I cut waaaaay more paper from the Year Noted Kit for National Papercrafting Month than I used, lol.  But thank goodness this sentiment was straightforward.  It can be found on the Variety of Thanks Hostess Rewards My Acrylix Stamp from Close to My Heart.  All my hostesses can earn this gorgeous set for just $6 of their rewards!

The flowers are from the Lovely Birthday My Acrylix and stamped in Black CTMH Ink and then colored with the ShinHan Touch Twin Alcohol Ink Markers in Golden Yellow, Light Orange, and Marigold.  Those sparkly leaves are made using a Verve Wafer Die along with Close to My Heart Green Glitter Paper.  I was craving a bit of spring, you see, with the temps below zero here.  ;)

Thanks for taking a peek at what I'm up to!  :)

Celebrate National Papercrafting Month with Year Noted

January 2015 Stamp of the Month

Operation Smile, You're the Bomb!

LAST DAY OF SCHOOL!!!

We made it!  Today is the last day of school for my clan!  (besides that graduate still in bed, lol!)

I hit the easy button this year and bought each special teacher a gift card, so just had some cards to whip up to go along with them.  :)  I pulled out my favorite teacher card stamps from Verve...

I needed several cards since my kiddos have so many teachers, so I went with two sentiments, but just one pattern for all of the cards...

The paper is an awesome retired Close to My Heart packet called Typeset.  The letters and numbers are PERFECT for teachers!  :)  The zip strip from one of the papers actually made a cute little addition to the inside of the card.

I used my Close to My Heart Corner Rounder to give this card a unique shape.  I LOVE this new style corner rounder!  It lines up so easily and cuts through both layers of the card at once.

 This one is my personal favorite sentiment in this set...

How many days of school do YOU have left? 

Impromptu Workshop with the Kids Part Two!

Hi everyone!  I showed you the cards my kids made the other week HERE.  Now for one of the few I was able to squeak out while I was helping them!  ;)

I used one of my Verve stamps for this sentiment--Psalm 46:1.  It is stamped in CTMH Chocolate Ink Onto White Daisy CS matted in Desert Sand and Chocolate CS.  I distressed the edges of this unknown PP for the background in Chocolate Ink as well.

Close to My Heart Color Ready Seam Binding Ribbon is so easy to work with--you can use it as is or ink it up to match anything!  I like to ink it up with my CTMH Alcohol Ink markers to match my CS, but for this one, I left it alone.  I added a green button and some White Hemp.

You can barely see it, but I also used one of my new MFT doily dies behind the bow. 

I know just who to send this one to!  :)  I bet you know someone that could use a little bit of sparkle in their day too...why not make them a card?