Thanks a bunch...

For the "Diva Dare Challenge" at Verve this week,

when given the options of using chipboard, kraft, and/or corragated cardboard, I simply couldn't decide on just one!

So....   All Aboard!

I chose Paper Studio kraft paper as my background and to stamp and heat emboss my Verve flower images onto chipboard!

These pretty flower stamps and the sentiment are from the Verve, "Bloom and Grow" set.

This card is also entered in the challenge at
Oldie but a Goodie Challenge (In the Garden)
Shopping Our Stash (B - Butterfly)

DYSU Challenge #67- Glitter!

Check out the DYSU blog to see the terrific sponsors!

For my card, I chose the adorable "Download Diva"

from:

And to think that I would have NEVER considered using bling or glitter as recently as only a few years ago on a card or layout!

I loved adding the little hoop earring! (jump ring)

She was just crying out for some stylin' jewelry!

I love this little image, and her message is appropriate for any age.

Yes, even someone MY age! LOL!

Enjoy your day!

What does this mean?

I saw the sketch challenge at Skipping Stones Design this week and immediately knew what I wanted to do.

I have friends who have NOT had a mammogram in, well,

let's just say a very long time.

Hopefully this card will reach one of them,

and the others (and you know who you are),

will see this post and consider what's at risk here.

I absolutely love this stamp set, Bras Volume 1.

It was my very first Skipping Stone,

and still remains my favorite!

Because I wanted to get to the heart of the problem,

I used a sentiment from another stamp set.

It just brought the message home so well.

I love the way the little stamped hangers popped off the embossed cardstock after I heat embossed them in black. And those bras are so much fun to stamp and color!  I can pretend I'm shopping at Victoria's Secret! I can also pretend I would buy a $60 bra! LOL!

So, no matter who you are reading this,

you are someone's daughter,

maybe someone's mother,

or sister...

Get a mammogram!

You DO matter!

And, go check out the challenge at Skipping Stones Design!

They have the coolest sketches and products!

Supplies:

Stamps: Skipping Stones Designs, "Bras Volume 1"; Verve, "Words of Wisdom"

Papers: Bazzill, Pattern Paper (unknown)

Embossing; Cuttlebug, "Swiss Dots"

Twine: The Twinery

Merry Mistletoe!

The current Holiday Diva Dare challenge at Verve is to make

 "A Handmade Christmas" project,

using your Verve stamps,

of course!

 I love the way the "Leafy Sprigs" die works with the "Bloom and Grow" stamps to make a perfect mistletoe branch! I simply cut and stamped 7 of the larger sprigs, and layered them with pop dots between to give it dimension. I wanted berries with some "umph" too, so I used round pearl buttons I had saved from an old sweater that had long ago been discarded.  I think it came out really nice.  I won't mind at all hanging this up over the entry during the holidays!  Off to my closet to find more buttons!  LOL!

Fall's not over yet!

Let's not jump into Christmas just yet!  It's only the end of November...almost another month until Christmas.  Fall always gets cheated when it comes to celebrating.  We put up our Thanksgiving decorations and 2-3 weeks later, we take it all down.  I like to enjoy this season as long as possible.

I love owls.  I'm not obsessed like some folks (and you know whooo you are!) , but I like them.  When I moved to the desert, I was only acquainted with very different type of owls that I knew back in the Midwest.  In Arizona, you have the tiny little burrowing owls that live everywhere; in school yards, along freeways, in our subdivisions.  Then we have these amazing, huge desert creatures that fly over and leave a shadow to be feared on the ground!  I have long been aware that they could easily attack and pick up my little dog.  But, they are still so cool!

So, let's not say "goodbye" to Fall just yet!

Enjoy!

Supplies:

Papers: Jillibean Soup

Stamp; Studio 112

Die; Verve

This card will be entered in the challenge at:
Wee Memories  (woodland animal, esp. OWLS!)

Verve CASE-A-DIVA Card!

The September challenge at Verve is to CASE a DT member! (CASE means to copy and share everything.) And that is just fancy talk for copying! 

Well, when I decided to use my Kindred Spirit stamp set for a birthday card,

I went straight to the

Verve Design Team Gallery for inspiration!

And I found this gorgeous card!

Kindred Monogram

by Susan Liles

I changed it up a bit by leaving off the bow and adding a few more

trim pieces and the black pearls.

I also used a sheet music print paper rather than the solid black.

Supplies used:

Paper: 7 Gypsies, "Avignon"

Stamps: Verve, "Kindred Spirit"

Dies: Cricut, "Art Philosophy"

Bling: Want2Scrap

Others: Momento black ink, Stampendous embossing powder, Helmar 450 Adhesive

This card is entered in the challenge at:

Verve (CASE-a-Diva)
Simon Says Stamp (Use a die or punch)
City Crafter Challenge (Let's face the music!)
Stamptacular Sunday (Just Sayin')

For a Dear Friend...

I have a longtime friend who has been having difficulties "health wise", and as many of us have done, gotten jerked around by the medical field long enough.  She is undergoing surgery on the 16th and having a hysterectomy. I must admit, there have many times I had wished I could just go in and have everything that WAS or COULD cause problems later removed.
But now that she's actually scheduled, it's pretty worrisome.  I will be on pins and needles (oh, don't say needles!) on that day until I hear she's ok and nothing serious was found.
I hope my card makes her feel a bit better and she'll know I'm here for her, even if it is 1500 miles away! If she needs me, I can be on a plane in hours.

This card was made for the Verve "SENDING SOME SUNSHINE" challenge to encourage everyone to actually SEND their cards out.   I must admit, about half of mine are earmarked for someone before I even finish them.  I do have a few "Sympathy" cards put aside for those unforeseeable times... and a "Get Well" or two...

I love the way the little added pearl makes the cameo look so elegant!

Supplies used: 
Paper; K & Co.
Stamps: Verve, "Kindred Spirits"
Momento Ink, Recollections pearls, Helmar 450 Adhesive
Cameo purchased online.

For this card, I also used the inspiration from the sketch challenge at
Card Positioning Systems. This is the first time I've been to the blog,
and they have a great  Design Team and wonderful sketches!  I believe the prize this week is a Unity Stamp set! How cool would that be?  I really need sentiment sets!

Botanical Part Three, a Lily Tea Cup!

Ok, I keep saying the last one was my LAST one...but I have really, truly enjoyed working with these botanical stamps so much that I can't STOP! Each card has been so different, and the message so varied, that I feel like each one has a personality of it's own!  These are the ones I have a hard time parting with...LOL. But when I started making cards, I told myself that they are not for me to look at for years to come, but to bring joy and happiness to someone, even if only for a day. 

Between the sparkle green background paper and the heat embossed tea cup, this card really looks terrific IRL!  I am getting my use out of my Copics these days, and really think I am ready to take some serious classes.  It's hard to see in the photo, but even the wires are shaded slightly to appear more 3D.  This cup stamp is one of my favorite purchases this summer, so far....  Of course, the Stampin' Up botanical stamps that I picked up at a yard sale for almost nothing is WAAAY up there, too!

Supplies:
Paper:  DCWV, "Songbird" and "All About Girls"
Stamps:  Stampin' Up, "Lilies"; October Afternoon, "Vintage Labels"; and Verve, "Kindred Spirits"; Layers of Color, "Chicken Wire Tea Cup"
Copics Markers
Zva pearls

So, once again, this card is for the Moxie Fab World "Fanatical about Botanicals" challenge.

Also entered at : Crafty Catz (No Pink or Blue)
Paper Cutz (Anything Goes)

Birthday Wishes!

My DIL loves dogs (they have three) and she likes nothing more than birthday cards with any kind of animal on them.  This card is cute, but what makes it better is the sentiment inside.

She works long, hard hours and I think a reminder to "slow down" is a very reasonable and helpful birthday tip!

And it seems that "Animals" are very popular this week with some of the challenges, which works wonderfully well for me! Also, this week's Verve Stamp challenge is to use a paper you have been "hoarding" saving for a while. The background paper is Cosmo Cricket paper that already has these wonderful inked and stamped images on it. For the flower shape behind the colored image, I simply ran the die cut flower shape through my Cuttlebug with the Swiss Dots, and it added some needed texture.  I used Verve's "Elegant Leaves" die cut along with one of the the "Bloom and Grow" stamps!  I love this set. It makes lining up the die with the stamped image SO easy!  And the leaves look so nice heat embossed!  POP!

Entered in:
Verve Stamps July Dive Dare (Sentimental about Paper)
Stamptacular Sunday Challenge (Animal Antics)
Creative Card Crew (Animal Antics again)
Fab n Funky Challeges (Animal Magic)
Crafting for all Seasons (Furry Friends)

I haven't been chosen for a challenge win is some time, so perhaps the little dog will bring me luck!  Unfortunately, I can't even give the digital artist credit. This image has been on my computer for a long time with no label...Sorry!  But I do take credit for coloring him!

Happy Mother's Day!

I started out thinking I was going to make a card for my Mom, and then I decided to make an altered birdhouse this year! She loves the outdoor ones and I thought bringing a bit of whimsy into her family room would be fun!  She has gone through so very much these last few months, with hip replacement surgery and my Dad not being in the best of health. Thanks, Mom, for all the times you were there for me.

Sketch I had drawn for my card - turned 3D birdhouse.

My fave Skipping Stones Butterfly stamp!

The stamped and punched butterflies were moved from the front of a card, to the sides and roof of the house...  nothing is ever written in stone with me!

Supplies used:
Paper, K & Co.; Nestabilities Labels Nine; Unity "Because of You" stamps; Verve, "Bloom and Grow" leaf stamps; Martha Stewart , "All Over the Page Butterfly" stamp; Prima flower;  Delta Crackle paint; Zva rhinestones applied with I-Rock tool; Helmar 450 Adhesive.

Challenges entered:
City Crafter (Color Challenge)
Creative Card Crew (Mom)
Kaboodle Doodle (Something with a "B"- bling, butterflies, birdhouse, birdcage...)
Shabby Tea Room (Sweet Dreams #60)
Skipping Stones Design (My own sketch)
Flourishes (Word to your Mom)

To every mother out there, have a wonderful Mother's Day!

April Showers...

I have relatives and friends back in Illinois, Missouri, Iowa, and Wisconsin who have been experiencing horrendous weather.  My hometown, Granite City, Illinois, was hit by more tornados last week and many homes were lost or badly damaged.  Fortunately, my own aunts and cousin's homes were not affected.  But it must seem to them that the storms will never end. 

I have one Aunt who has been sleeping in her basement due to the fact that the storms usually occur after dark.  Poor thing....  I would be scared all alone when the winds are reaching 80 mph and higher, too! 

                 So, enough background info!
I made some quick cards to send out with the promise that the storms will end and Spring will bring the flowers!

I just received this Verve set of stamps the other day and was dying to ink them up! They work so well with heat embossing, and the dies are so easy to use! 

There is also a great tutorial about Line Framing on Papertrey's blog.  Not as easy to get it perfectly straight as one would think!  Thanks, Nichole!

And the leaf ribbon takes the ink so well, you can darken it to match your layout! (See version 2)

Version 2 , with inked leaf ribbon  added....

I love the way the leaf ribbon works with the stamped leaves, but not with this sketch.  I'm liking the simpler version more. 

This card will be entered in several challenges:

Verve Stamps - April Showers Bring May Flowers

Papertrey Ink, {capture the moment} - Line Frame Card

I would love to win some of those delicious PTI stamps !!!