Delicious Washington Apple

One of my favorite new SU paper packs is Washington Apple!! I love the patterns AND the colors! Here are a few cards I whipped out today... soooo simple!!

All of the cards use the Washington Apple DP paper and the same basic color combo of Bashful Blue, Riding Hood Red, So Saffron, and Basic Black. I used the stamp sets Absolutely Fabulous, Wow Flowers (new) and Cute and Curly (with the new bracket punch that comes with the set - LOVE it!!!). I also added some Basful Blue grosgrain to the first card layered over some Basic Black CS that I trimmed with the Scallop Border punch. The other 2 cards both use Riding Hood Red ribbon. The 3rd card uses the Scallop circle punch and 2 of the circle punches. I love how these turned out. Seriously, these new paper packs make quick, clean cards like this soooo easy! And the nice thing is that by changing paper packs and color combos but keeping the same basic design I get a whole new card!!!! So what do you think?

Sugarplum Challenge

Hey all you digital scrappers...want to win a Sugarplum gift card??? Well, here's your chance!! Crystal is this week's challenge hostess over on the Sugarplum blog and she's cooked up a great scraplift challenge for us. Head on over to this post and check it out. You have until Sept 5 to upload your layout for a chance to win!!! I'll be playing along this weekend, so check back later to see my layout!

SU Gift Set

I made this cute little "Good Luck" gift set for my blogging buddy, Nancy Riley, who recently started a new job. I wanted to wait to post it until I knew she had received it so I didn't ruin the surprise!
I used SU Summer Picnic DP, Real Red, Old Olive & Bashful Blue CS. The little notebook was made by covering a couple of coasters and cutting several sheets of Whisper White CS for pages, then binding with my bind-it-all. I think the giant paperclip bookmark think is self-explanatory - I used the new SU set Wow Flowers and added some Bashful Blue grosgrain. For the card, I got to try out my new Top Notes die in my new SU Big Shot machine - I love this die!!! I first cut the Real Red CS, then cut a piece of the DP that has the polka dot bashful blue print. I but the piece of printed blue in half. The sentiment on the card is from Short & Sweet. I used the same papers and again the Top notes die to make the little goodie bag topper - I just folded the bracket shape in half and added my scallop, circles & sentiments (which was from the One of a Kind set). Oh, and those are some yummy Maui Caramacs in the goodie bag!!! - Chocolate & Caramel covered macadamia nuts ---mmmm!!!

SU Altered Composition Book

I just love these altered composition books!!! This one is a full-size Comp book, unlike this post, which was a mini book. Once again, I used the new Washington Apple DP from SU - all of the new paper packs are so yummy!!!! I added a strip of Baja Breeze that I had trimmed with my Scallop border punch and some Baja Breeze ribbon. I used SU's stamp set Think Happy Thoughts, stamped in Basic Black and Riding Hood Red on So Saffron CS, punched with a circle punch and layered on top of Baja Breeze circle and Basic Black textured scallop circle. So simple and so cute!!! This will make a really cute back-to-school gift I think!!

Elegantly Simple CASE

When I saw these cards by Becky Carafa of the Lakeshore Stamper, I couldn't WAIT to get my new SU goodies so I could CASE them!!! They are so simple, but so elegant. As with all of Becky's cards, so much WOW factor there I think!!!
My cards are different only in that I used a smaller notecard (3.5x5) size and rounded my bottom corners. Other than that, they're almost identical!! I used Riding Hood Red and Baja Breeze ink and ribbon and also Close to Cocoa ink. The stamps are from one of my favorite new SU sets, Pocket Silhouettes.

Sugarplum Paperie Goodies

First, off, head on over to the Sugarplum Paperie blog and check out this post - YAY ME!!! I can't tell you how happy I am to have joined this fabulous team! It's only been a few days and I feel like I've known some of them for years! What a great group - I'm so fortunate to be a part of this team. I'll be adding a new blogroll in the right column of my fellow hybrid team members' blogs, so you can check out all of their cool projects too! And how lucky am I to get to work with Nicole's TOTALLY AWESOME digital goodies!?!?!? WOW. She is absolutely amazing. I can't wait to see what she comes up with next!!!

Anyway, here are a few projects I was working on today with the new Mango Sorbet collaboration with Andrea Burns, which will be available tomorrow (Thursday, Aug 27) at the Digichick. (AND it's 20% off Thursday only, so hurry!!!!) It is such a cool kit - I have so many projects planned for this weekend, so be sure to check back to see what else I have in store with this kit!!

This first card was a special request for my Mom, who needed a 50th Anniversary card for some friends - she is CONSTANTLY asking me to make her "Hawaiian-loooking" cards, which is very hard because there aren't that many cute Hawaiian / Tropical kits out there (hint hint hint Nicole if you're reading this!!!!!) :-) Well, that super sweet swirly flower image reminds me a lot of a ginger blossom for some strange reason. And aren't these colors GREAT?? The flower image, the striped paper, the peachy colored paper strip, and the plum paper with the "50" (which is from Nicole's Clear White Alpha) were all printed on SU Whisper White textured CS - which turned out surprisingly well!! I sponged all of the edges with Chocolate Chip ink, used my nestabilities dies to cut out the "50" circle and a Chocolate Chip scallop circle, and added some Chocolate Chip grosgrain ribbon. Finally, the sentiment is from Verve's Anniversary Birds set, stamped in chocolate chip ink on the printed digital paper. So ya see - traditional paper crafters CAN go digital!!!!!!

This next project is also for my Mom, mostly to get her off my back about those damn "Hawaiian-looking" cards she keeps asking for!!! :-). This is a set of 6 notecards (3.5x5 inches) - soooo simple - just printed on white CS and folded in half. Really, that's IT. Then I printed out some more of the Mango Sorbet papers, adding a bracket box thing from Twitter Blossoms with the word "Aloha" for the box top, and put together a very simple box to hold the card set in. Now hopefully my Mom will leave me alone for awhile!!!

Another Set of Altered Onesies...

Ok, these onesies were just too adorable and way too easy - I couldn't resist making another set. Besides, I had another idea for packaging the gift I wanted to try out. I think it turned out great. All digital elements from the Queen of Hearts kit by Sugarplum Paperie.

Once again, once I was done sizing and arranging the individual digital elements for the onesies, I printed them on Avery 3302 Stretchable Fabric Transfers and then ironed them on according to instructions (however, do NOT let it cool before peeling off the backing - you want to go ahead and peel while it's still VERY hot - believe me).

I rolled up the finished onesies and stuffed them into cleaned out baby food jars that I had altered with bits of printed digital papers from the same kit. After printing, I used matte mod podge to coat all of the papers, both to seal my printer's ink and to give the paper a little more ooomph! I used my SU circle scallop punch and circle punches for the jar lids and my SU scallop border punch for the striped paper border at the top of the box. I added some Tempting Turquoise grosgrain ribbon as a handle, threaded through a few jumbo eyelets. I hand-cut the heart (I added the text "Congrats! Love, the Taplers" to the center of the heart before printing), punched a hole and used some hemp twine to hang from the handle.

OK, here's my sorry attempt at a tutorial on how to make the box. This box will hold 2 of the Step 3 Earth's Best Organics baby food jars. Score lines are shown in black, cut lines shown in red.

I'll be back tomorrow with another hybrid project and a few cards with some of my new SU goodies!!!!

Altered Baby Onesies

OK, last post with Twitter Blossoms today!!! I couldn't resist trying my hand at using the Avery 3302 Stretchable Fabric Transfers for Inkjet Printers with some of the super cute graphics from Nicole's kit. I think they turned out pretty awesome!!! I also printed out a "belly band" to trim the gift. The left onesies says "100% Natural" under the leave sprig and flower stems. The right onesie says "hi." next to the little birdie. So what do ya think? Cool gift idea, huh? And soooo easy!!

Altered Frame

Here's another Hybrid project I did using digital elements from the Twitter Blossoms kit by Sugarplum Paperie, available at the Digichick.

The 8x10 canvas frame is by EK Success. I printed out the finished digital project, then handcut the hole for the pic. Then I converted the picture of Season and Sophie to a nice sepia tone that matched the Twitter Blossoms brown, printed it, and slipped it in the frame - and yet another Twitter Blossoms item to add to Season's big box of gifts!!!

Altered Mini Composition Book

Here's a cute little Mini Composition book & large paper clip I altered using some of the new SU paper, Washington Apple - I LOVE this paper!!!

The book measures 3.5x4.5 inches, so it's pretty tiny, but this was super easy to cover! Cute little gift.

REALLY REALLY REALLY Excited!!!

I have been walking around in a daze all day today - I am so excited!! Nicole Seitler, owner of Sugarplum Paperie, has asked me to be a member of her Hybrid Creative Team!! YAY ME!!! Can you believe it?? I don't even know what to say! I love love love Nicole's digital kits and I've already made several projects with them before getting this great news. I'll have lots more to share with you in the future!! Now, I realize that right now the majority of my blog readers are "traditional" papercrafters, but not to worry - I'll still be doing my "regular" stuff. And the great thing about hybrid projects is that they can easily be done old school style with whatever tangible products you already have. But, who knows...maybe some of you will be inspired to try your hand at this new SUPER fun Hybrid thing!

So, to start things off right, I thought I'd share one of my first projects as a member of the Sugarplum Paperie Creative Team...

I keep a little notebook on my desk that I jot down my creative ideas in. I also write down things I need to remember: where I purchased a particular digital element, measurements for a card sketch I really like, ideas for card sketches or scrapbook layouts, etc etc etc. Well, my little notebook is full and getting pretty worn out. I figured as a new, important DESIGNER, I needed an official "Book of Ideas". I used one of my favorite of Nicole's kits, Twitter Blossom, to make this cover for a plain old composition book. I used Mod Podge to attach it to the front cover. I also made a matching pen cover!! Oh, and because it doesn't really show up in the picture, the quote on the cover reads "The world is a canvas to the imagination - Henry David Thoreau". Hope you like it!!

Another CD Magnet

Last hybrid project of the day, I promise!!! I enjoyed making the cute little CD magnet for my friend Rebekah (here) so much, that I decided to make one for my friend Brandi as well. I used these adorable pictures of her son Balin and one of the templates from the Cuddlebug CD Album from the Shabby Shoppe - once again, soooo easy! So when I was finished adding the images to the digital template, I printed it out on HP Premium Soft Gloss photo paper, cut it out and glued it to an old CD using Mod Podge. I added a few adhesive magnets to the back and it's done - such a cute gift!!

Another Hybrid Mini Album

Are you getting tired of my mini albums yet?? Or of my friend Season and her adorable daughter Sophie? You see, I only have Dean (a boy) and there are so many cute girlie digital kits out there that I just couldn't resist making another little album for Season.

I used the Twitter Blossoms digital kit from Sugarplum Paperie to create the pages, which fit the Cosmo Cricket Jack's Blackboard album perfectly! Here are a few of the digital images of some of the inside pages...

I wanted to add a little depth to the finished project, so on a couple of pages I added some buttons and a few of these little half pearls.
And here's the back cover....

Hybrid CD Magnet

Here's another fun hybrid project I did this afternoon. This was a super easy, super quick little project. This could easily be done with "regular" paper for all you traditional papercrafters out there! I made this cute little CD magnet for my friend Rebekah's oldest child, Cameron, who started preschool this month. I used the pics she took on his first day of school.

The digital portion of the project was done in Photoshop Elements 6. All of the digital elements were purchased from Sweet Shoppe Designs. I used one of the templates from the Circle Brag Book by Darcy Baldwin and used clipping masks to add my digital papers and photos to the template - SOOOO easy! The paper, word blocks, & paperclip are from the Build a Dream kit by Traci Reed. I used fonts School Script Dashed and Rough Typewriter, both downloaded for FREE from dafont.com!! Once I was finished with the digital layout, I printed it out on HP Premium Soft Gloss Photo Paper, cut it out, and used Mod Podge to glue it to an old scratched CD. Finally, I attached some adhesive magnets to the back and it's done!

Hybrid Clipboard

I made this cute little clipboard and matching pen for my friend Season. You might remember the little mini album I created for Season's adorable baby girl, Sophie, a few months ago. Well, Sophie is growing like crazy and as you can see, getting cuter by the day!! I've been wanting to try this hybrid project for awhile and I downloaded this beautiful Flirty Skirty kit from Sugarplum Paperie earlier this week and it was PERFECT!!!

I converted the picture of Season and Sophie to black and white in Photoshop Elements 6 by first creating a new Adjustment Layer for Hue/Saturation and moving the Saturation slider all the way to the left. Next, I created another new Adjustment Layer for Levels and adjusted the highlights, lowlights and midtones until the photo really popped (it was such a great picture to start with, it really didn't need much adjusting - thank you natural light). I then flattened the image and saved it as a black & white copy, keeping the original for later use. All of the digital elements for this project are from the Flirty Skirty kit from Sugarplum Paperie. I especially love the scalloped border and the vintage layered frames!! I also printed out a small strip of the green patterned background paper, handcut and used it to wrap the inside of a clear pen. Last, I tied a few pieces of coordinating ribbon to the hole in the clip. Here's a closer view of the Beautiful Season & Sophie (oh, and the pen)...
Now, what does someone actually DO with a clipboard like this you might ask??? Well, I figure a new Mom like Season could put it to good use in Sophie's nursery. I remember the early days of diaper counts and keeping track of feedings. If Season's anything like me (and since I'm officially her personal scrapbooker, I'm hoping she is!!!), she could also use it to jot down all of Sophie's little accomplishments and amusing antics for future journaling. When I was still breastfeeding Dean, I used to keep a small notebook next to my "nursing nest" and while he was eating, I would write him little notes or journal about all of the amazing feelings (both positive and negative) I experienced as an amateur Mom. So those were my thoughts when creating this little clipboard for Season. I'm sure she'll find something to do with it. If nothing else, grandparents LOVE anything with a photo of their only grandchild!!! :-)

Summer Mini Hybrid Album

You may remember the cute little digital Summer mini album I shared with you in THIS POST. Well, I finally printed it out and assembled the album. I thought I'd show you all the finished project. I LOVE LOVE LOVE how this turned out and I think my mother-in-law will like it when she gets it in the mail in a few weeks (I don't think she reads this blog, so hopefully the surprise will be safe). Here are the front and back covers. You can click on the link to the earlier post above to see all of the inside pages.

I used the Tiki Wiki Jack Quick Album from Sweet Shoppe Designs - SUPER easy!!! The quick pages are predesigned to fit the Cosmo Cricket Jack's blackboard album (one of my FAVORITE chipboard albums on the market!!!). I printed the pages at home on HP Premium Soft Gloss photo paper, cut them out, and adhered to the album pages with Tombow adhesive. I added some SU ribbon in Soft Sky, Real Red, Tempting Turquoise, Pumpkin Pie and Navy to the jump ring and VOILA! - Super cute, super easy gift for the MIL that I know she'll LOVE!!!

{I use Photoshop Elements 6 for all of my digital projects and ACDSee for organizing all of my digital files.}

Serenity Now & A Sketch for You To Try

First off, my DH got me a huge stash of Copics for my birthday (which was almost a month ago!!!) and I have to admit that I've actually been AFRAID to use them! I'm no artist and I see so much wonderful Copic ART out there on fellow crafters' blogs that I have been so intimidated by these markers. Please keep in mind that this was my FIRST ever attempt at coloring with Copics and don't look too closely....

Card details...One of my oldest friends, Rebekah, is an accomplished Yoga instructor in the Phoenix area and for some reason every time I see this MFT stamp set, I think of Bek. I'm not really sure why. I'm a meditator (is that even a word???) and I'm pretty sure this chick is meditating, not doing yoga. But oh well. Bek will understand. Anyway, I finally broke down and ordered a few MFT stamps when I got my Copics and this set was on my list specifically so I could make Bek a card or 2 (or 3). Bek will also appreciate the Serenity Now sentiment as we used to watch hours and hours of Seinfeld and one of our favorite episodes is the one where George's Dad is constantly yelling "Serenity Now" as a stress relief technique. I still yell that sometimes when I feel myself getting grumpy from stress and it always perks me right up!!! :-) Anyway, the card uses Riding Hood Red, Wild Wasabi and Basic Grey CS. I stamped the image in Archival Brilliance Graphite Black ink on Papertrey Ink Stamper's Select white paper and colored with Copics. Once I'm good enough to think people might actually care which copic colors I choose (or if someone requests it before then for some reason) I will start listing copic colors. I also used my nestabilities and some Wild Wasabi striped ribbon.

And now on to my card for Jen del Muro's Sketch for You to Try...Another fun sketch this week! I'm trying to force myself to use some much neglected SU paper (that's now retired and I need to get rid of to make room for my HUGE order that should be arriving soon!!!) and lonely stamp sets. So for this card I went with Jersey Shore DP (still one of my faves) paired with a Wild Wasabi card base and Brilliant Blue mats. The main Image is from SU's Pun Fun, my 2nd ever attempt at coloring with Copics. My color matching needs some work, but oh well. I added a nesties scalloped circle mat in Bashful Blue, some Bashful Blue striped ribbon, and Hodgepodge Hardware around the sentiment. Finally, I decided at the last minute to round all of the corners.
That's it for today! Have a great week!!!

A Couple of Sketch Challenges

It's been a productive weekend!! I was able to complete cards for several sketch challenges and I'm going to share 2 of them with you today.

The first card is for Our Creative Corner's Saturday Sketch Challenge. Be sure to head on over to the blog and check out everyone else's awesome creations!! For my card, I used a Chocolate Chip base and some great Creative Imaginations DP from my LSS, Island Paperie. I used my new SU scallop border punch to create the scalloped edge and added some Bashful Blue grosgrain ribbon. The embellishment, popped up on dimensionals, is a scallop circle punch with a Making Memories circle tag layered on top. The aloha sentiment is from a fiskars set, stamped in chocolate chip ink. Finally, I busted out my old sewing machine, adding some zigzag stitching to the top and bottom of the DP.

The second card is for Taylor's Cupcake Challenge #29. (obviously I didn't use cupcakes!!). I'm not too crazy about my finished card, but it fits the sketch, so it works. I used some of the new In Colors for this card - Baja Breeze and Riding Hood Red paired with Chocolate Chip. I LOVE this color combo!!! I stamped the flower image from the new SU set Wow Flowers in Baja Breeze and Riding Hood Red and then the Happy Birthday sentiment from the same stamp set. I inked the sentiment in Riding Hood Red, then used a baby wipe to clean off all but the flower. Next I used my Chocolate Chip SU marker to ink up the rest of the image. Lots of silver brads finished it up.
Sorry for the dark pictures...I'm still trying to figure out the lighting situation in my new crafty space. Check back tomorrow for my card for Jen del Muro's Sketch for You to Try!!!

Summer Days Mini Album

Awhile back I purchased one of Andrea Walford's demonstrator Class Planners, the Family Treasures Scrapbook Class, which used half a Simply Scrappin' Kit and the On Board Book Basics (small). I had great success offering the class to customers. I decided to change it up a bit and used the Summer Days Simply Scrappin' Kit and my Bind-it-All to add spiral binding. I LOVE how it turned out!! This will make a great gift for the little one's great grandparents!

Be sure to check out Andrea's other great Demonstrator Planning Services!! You can also click on the Demo to Demo link in my sidebar. The great thing about her classes is that they come with EVERYTHING you need to do the workshop - she calculates the cost, how much product to order, she outlines the cutting directions, gives suggestions for class fees, provides marketing materials, customer handouts, etc etc etc. It really is AWESOME!!! Well worth the small fee! (and as you can see, you can easily use alternate paper packs or stamps to create a whole different class!!!).

Catalog Party

I'm having a come & go Stampin' Up New Catalog Party at my house on Saturday and am so excited!! The new catalog is AMAZING! So many new things on my wish list!!! I'll be demonstrating the new Big Shot, going through the catalog, and the guests will be making these 2 simple make-n-takes:
This first card's sketch is a case of my Upline, Crystal Kondo. I'm not sure if the original idea is hers? I used Riding Hood Red, Baja Breeze, Chocolate Chip and Whisper White CS; Scallop border punch; Heard from the Heart and Wow Flowers stamp sets; silver brads; Riding Hood Red, Baja Breeze and Chocolate Chip ink.
The second card is a simple 3x3 card on a Kraft base. I also used Riding Hood Red, Baja Breeze, and Whisper White CS; Riding Hood Red and Versamark Ink; White embossing powder; scallop border punch; paper piercer; dimensionals.

Should be a fun Saturday afternoon!!

Taylor's Cupcake Challenge #28

I've missed SEVERAL weeks of Taylor's Cupcake Challenges, but I was on such a roll this weekend and still had all of my scraps from my card for AVS09 out, so I threw this together. My creative juices have run dry for the weekend (this card makes 14 cards in 1 weekend!!!!), so I cased myself again. But it's done!

I used more Scenic Route DP along with Very Vanilla, Wild Wasabi and Chocolate Chip CS. The tree image & sentiment are from Papertrey Ink's Father Knows Best set. I added some Hodgepodge Hardware and it was done! Simple.

A Rockin' SFYTT

I just thought I was done for the day! I loved Jen DelMuro's Sketch For You To Try this week and thought that the general theme of my card for AVS05 would work well for it, so I gave it a shot! What do you think?

Once again, I used this great Scenic Route DP along with Verve's Starlight Starbright and Seeing Stars. The stars were stamped on Riding Hood Red, Certainly Celery and Baja Breeze CS and punched out with my SU punches. I added some large brads to the center of each and popped them up on dimensionals. I'm pretty happy with it!

DONE - Anni-Verve-Sary Sketch Challenge

Whew! I finished up my last 3 cards for Verve's Anni-Verve-Sary Sketch Challenge - that's 12 cards in 3 days...may be some kind of record for me! Overall, I'm very pleased with all of my cards except one of them (I don't like the palm tree card...ugh). Here are the final 3....

AVS10: I flipped this sketch around - it just seemed to work better that way with the paper and sentiment I chose to use. Once again, I used some of my new Chatterbox DP along with Old Olive, Kraft and Pink Pirouette CS. The main image, from Verve's Floral Whimsy, was stamped in both Chocolate Chip and Ruby Red ink on Pink Pirouette and is popped up on dimensionals. I added some pearls and a crochet flower for a little dimension. I REALLY REALLY love this paper!!

AVS11: My husband's aunt had surgery last week and I needed a card to send her. I wanted to use this new (at least new for me) Basic Grey paper (from the LilyKate line) and this sketch was perfect!! The flower image, from Thankful Blossoms, was stamped on the same patterned paper as the larger background (which is also the inside of the card) and cut out by hand. The largest petals were cut all the way to the center and popped up on dimensionals (I stole this idea from the Verve Queen herself, Julee - see this card!!). You can't really see it in the picture, but those curved petals give the flower a ton of depth. The "smile" sentiment is actually from Starlight Starbright, I just inked up the smile from "Your Smile Lights up the Stars" with my Chocolate Chip SU marker. I topped the card off with a strip of Kraft CS, some Chocolate Chip ribbon, a half pearl for the flower center and stamped one of the smaller flowers from Thankful Blossoms on the inside.

AVS12: Lastly, I needed a boy's birthday card for my friend's son who is turning 5 in a few weeks. I've had this idea running through my head for his card and I thought this sketch worked out quite well for it! Once again, I flipped the sketch around to make it a horizontal card. I used some great Scenic Route DP paper and my Cricut (Base Camp Cartridge) to cut out the numbers in Whisper White CS. I stamped Happy Birthday, from Verve's Happy Thoughts in Basic Black ink on Whisper White CS and cut out with nestabilities. The oval around the 5 and the scalloped circle, both from Bashful Blue CS, were also cut with nestabilities. Finally, some small silver brads along the right side.
There you have it...the last of my 12 Anni-Verve-Sary sketches!! Hope you enjoyed them and have had a chance to play along. Be sure to head over to the Verve Forum on Splitcoast and check out everyone else's awesome creations!!!

Happy Anni-Verve-Sary Sketches #7, 8 & 9

Wow! I can't believe I've made 9 cards in 2 days!!! I'm never this productive! Of course, Julee comes up with such great sketches, that it's almost too easy to create a really great card! So here are my next 3 cards for Verve's Anni-Verve-Sary sketch challenge....hope you like them!

I've really been feeling it with the printed paper this week. I got a new stash from a mini online shopping spree and it's really helped the creative juices!! :-)

AVS07: This card uses some really cute DP from a baby boy pack called Nana's Nursery from DCWV. It matched perfectly with Baja Breeze, so I went with my new favorite color combo with Chocolate Chip. The main image is actually a combination of stamps from Anniversary Birds and Filagree Fantasy. I extended the small filagree with my Chocolate Chip marker to make it more "branch-like". The bird was stamped first with Baja Breeze, then re-stamped on scrap paper in Chocolate Chip. I cut out and paper-pieced (on dimensionals) the chocolate wing to give the bird a little more depth. Initially I stamped the bird on the DP and tried paper-piecing that, but it just looked a little over the top to me! This works. The sentiment is from Verve's Petals & Stems, stamped in chocolate chip on Baja Breeze CS. Some Chocolate Chip poly-twill ribbon finished it up.

AVS08: This card is one of my fave's! I used Old Olive CS for the card base and the scalloped oval (cut with nestabilities). The DP from Chatterbox Inc's Scrapbook Walls line (beautiful! - the redish color on top is the reverse side of the stripe) was paired with a strip of Kraft and layered on top of a Pink Pirouette mat. The main image (stamped with Old Olive, Rose Red, Pink Pirouette and More Mustard) and the sentiment are from Petals & Stems. Finishing touches included paper piercing, pink ribbon and some pearls. I love it!!

AVS09: I wanted to make at least one masculine card and this is it. Once again, I used some great Scenic Route DP paired with Chocolate Chip, Wild Wasabi and Very Vanilla CS. The tree (stamped in Chocolate Chip & Wild Wasabi) is from Papertrey ink's Father Knows Best. The sentiment is from Verve's Feeling Groovy. I added some Hodgepodge Hardware and large brads as well as stamped some individual leaves on the inside.

Well, there you have it...only 3 more sketches to go. I hope to get those done and posted tomorrow. Have a great weekend!!

Blog Candy Winner!!!

Watch this video to find out who won the blog candy...

ETA: If you're a subscriber, I think you actually have to click on the blog link and go to the blog at http://jentapler.blogspot.com to watch the video. Sorry!!

Sorry, but I wanted to be a little more creative than just typing a name!! :-) Thanks for bearing with me! If you're the winner, e-mail me your mailing address at JenniferTapler@msn.com and I'll get your goodies out to you!!

Anni-Verve-sary Sketches 4, 5 & 6

I've been cranking out the cards for Verve's Anni-Verve-Sary celebration going on over on Splitcoast. Here are 3 more...halfway there!!

AVS04: I do NOT like how this card turned out! I've been wanting to use this stamp though to try out my new Copic markers (I need some practice!!). The palm tree stamp is from Mindy's Zoo by Autumn Leaves that I picked up a few days ago at Ben Franklin. The "aloha" is from an old Fiskar's set (sorry I don't have the name). I used Chocolate Chip, Whisper White, Close to Cocoa and Wild Wasabi CS and embossed the Close To Cocoa piece with my cuttlebug folder. The background piece of white is stamped in Close to Cocoa with the SU Linen background stamp. Ugh. Oh well. I might try again later with this sketch.

AVS05: I am LOVING this one!! I used some great Scenic Route paper I've been hoarding, which matches perfectly with the new SU Baja Breeze as well as Old Olive. The Red CS is actually the back side of the polka dot paper. The stars were stamped with Verve's Seeing Stars and then punched out with the 2 SU star punches. I added a large silver brad to the center and popped each one up on dimensionals. The sentiment is from Verve's Starlight Starbright.

AVS06: This is my favorite of the 3!! I used some more Scenic Route DP paper for the background on a Chocolate Chip base. The sentiment, from Verve's Asian Flair, was colored with Chocolate Chip and Ruby Red SU markers and stamped on Very Vanilla CS. I also used a cute little stamp from Filagree Fantasy. The layered circles were cut out with nestabilities. Last, I added a couple of pearls.

I'll have more to share with you tomorrow. Also, check back late tonight (6:00 Hawaii Time) for the Blog Candy winner!!!!