Blog Candy Deadline extended

I hope nobody minds, but I've decided to extend the deadline to enter my Blogoversary Challenge to benefit the Alzheimer's Association. You all have amazed me with your positive feedback and support and I've heard from several people who are just now finding out about this. To allow more people to have a chance to participate and help me get the word out, I've decided to add a few more days before holding the drawing.

New deadline for the blog candy giveaway is 11:59 PM Central Time, FRIDAY, APRIL 3. But you may continue sending cards through the end of the month for me to use in the auction.

More details and the Mr. Linky post for the giveaway can be found HERE.

Thank you so much to everyone who has already participated and helped me spread the word. I can't tell you how much it means to me to see the outpouring of support from all of my papercrafting friends!!! You guys ROCK!!!

Raspberry Suite Color Challenge #2

Another super quick post tonight. Just got home from a super yummy dinner at Flatbread in Paia. My MIL leaves tomorrow and I go back to work tomorrow after having an entire week off thanks to my normal part-time schedule and those cool Hawaiian Holidays (courtesy of Prince Kuhio this time around)!

In case you haven't seen it yet, Dawn McVey posted another amazing color challenge this week:
And here's my take on it...(I LOVE these tulips...so fun to layer like this). I don't really have any teal paper, so I went with turquoise instead...

Stamps: Wishing You (PTI), Trendy Trees (SU)
Paper: Chocolate Chip, Certainly Celery textured CS (SU); white Pure Luxury CS (GinaK); Pink Flamingo DP (SU)
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Tempting Turquoise, Certainly Celery (SU)
Accessories: ribbon, word window punch, stampin' dimensionals (SU)

Reminder: Don't forget to enter my Blogoversary Challenge benefiting the Alzheimer's Association for a chance to win over $250 in Blog Candy!!! More details HERE. Deadline to enter is Wednesday, April 1 at 11:59 pm central time.

Verve Project Parade

Sorry for the multiple posts today, but I had several things that needed to be posted...I promise not to make a habit out of it!! :-)

Have you had a chance to stop by the Verve Blog lately? The Divas have been sharing some FABULOUS Spring projects in the "Eggstra Special Project Parade" and you don't want to miss it!! There's also a chance to win some Verve goodies, so head on over and check it out!!!

Today is my day and I am sharing this cute little Easter keepsake mini coaster album. You can see a photo of the inside and read all the details HERE on the Verve Blog!!!

Reminder: Don't forget to enter my Blogoversary Challenge benefiting the Alzheimer's Association for a chance to win over $250 in Blog Candy!!! More details HERE. Deadline to enter is Wednesday, April 1 at 11:59 pm central time.

Cupcake Challenge #61

I found some free time to myself today while Joel and Dean were hanging at the beach with my MIL and I made a card for Taylor's Cupcake Challenge #61. Yay!! It's an awesome sketch as usual and I'm barely getting this in before the deadline!! It's getting late here and I'm exhausted, so I'll get right to it:

Stamps: Women of Life (PTI)
Paper: Kraft CS, Washington Apple DP (SU); White Pure Luxury CS (GinaK)
Ink: Versafine Onyx Black (Tsukineko); So Saffron, Pumpkin Pie, Riding Hood Red (SU)
Accessories: Riding Hood Red ribbon, Stampin' Dimensionals (SU); Buttons (Basic Grey - various collections); hemp twine

Don't forget to enter my Blogoversary Challenge benefiting the Alzheimer's Association for a chance to win over $250 in Blog Candy!!! More details HERE. Deadline to enter is Wednesday, April 1 at 11:59 pm central time.

I'll be back in just a little while with my contribution to the Verve Project Parade!!

Stitched goodness

Aren't MILs awesome!?!? Well, OK - I know that I'm just lucky in that department and not ALL MILs are awesome. But mine sure is!! Jo (my MIL) is here until Tuesday night and in addition to the ADORABLE surfboard bedding and valance she made for Dean (I'll post pics of that later), she's been hard at work the past few days designing, sewing and building custom padded cornice board window treatments for the 4 large windows in our living room. YAY!!!

Anyway, I am so NOT a seamstress. I own a sewing machine specifically so I can sew on my papercrafting projects. While Jo is here using my sewing machine for it's intended purpose of sewing on fabric, she's made a few adjustments to the tension and other do-dads that I know nothing about and WOWZA - does that make a HUGE difference in my ability to sew!!! So today I'm showing you 2 super cute (in my humble opinion) cards that feature a zig-zag stitch that isn't completely wonky (only slightly)!!! :-)

Stamps: Flowers of Tomorrow (Verve)
Paper: Kraft, Riding Hood Red CS (SU); printed digi paper from Just Breathe by Kelley Mickus (the Digichick)
Ink: Fresh Snow (PTI)
Accessories: SEWING MACHINE!!!; circle nestabilities; mini library clip, ribbon (SU); 3-D adhesive.

Stamps: Nature of Friendship (TSG)
Paper: Kraft CS (SU); White Pure Luxury CS (GinaK); printed digi paper from Twitter by Robin, Zoe & Fee (Sweet Shoppe Designs)
Ink: Hibiscus (PTI); Versafine Vintage Sepia (Tsukineko)
Accessories: SEWING MACHINE!!!; cork board; sizzlits flower die; paper flower (American Crafts); large white brad (SU); 3-D adhesive

Finally, I'd like to thank all of you who have participated in my Blogoversary Challenge in support of the Alzheimer's Association and left such heartfelt comments. I tear up a little everytime I read your sweet comments and see the overwhelming support out there. I've already started receiving some fabulous cards in the mail and am so excited about the possibilities this challenge holds for a cause that is so important to me. So, THANK YOU so very very much!!! And if you haven't submitted your card yet, there's still time!!! The deadline is Wednesday, April 1 at 11:59 PM central time.

KWCI #47

Happy Aloha Friday!! Yesterday was Prince Kuhio Day, a state holiday in Hawaii, which means Joel and I were both off work - YAY!. My MIL is still here with her sister. Today while Joel is working, "the girls" and I are going to take Dean to Lahaina (Dean LOVES going to Lahaina because he can watch for whales on the way AND we get to drive through a tunnel on the way). I'm excited because a trip to Lahaina means I get to go to Barnes and Noble!!! :-)

I finally had a chance to participate in one of Kristina Werner's Color Inspiration Challenges again this week - it's been about forever!! The colors for this week were Chocolate Chip, Tangerine Tango (I substituted Pumpkin Pie because I was fresh out of Tangerine!!), So Saffron and Whisper White. Here's the Inspiration photo:And here's my card with the details following:

Stamps: Wishing You (PTI)
Paper: Chocolate Chip, Pumpkin Pie textured CS (SU); White Pure Luxury CS (GinaK); printed digi paper from Celebrate You by Penny Springmann (Sweet Shoppe)
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Pumpkin Pie, So Saffron (SU)
Accessories: Rectangle Nestabilities; Buttons (Basic Grey); Button Latte (SU); Hemp Twine

ETA: Don't forget to enter my Blogoversary Challenge benefiting the Alzheimer's Association for a chance to win over $250 in Blog Candy!!! More details HERE. Deadline to enter is Wednesday, April 1 at 11:59 pm central time.

Verve Goodness

Another quick post tonight as I'm out enjoying spending time with my MIL and her sister who arrived on Maui today for a little visit! I was so excited because Jo (MIL) brought my 2-yr-old son, Dean, a new surfboard quilt for his "big boy bed" that she made him along with matching sham and valance. It's soooo adorable!! I picked out the material when she was here visiting in December, but until I saw it all come together I had no idea how much I'd love it!! I just might have to use it as inspiration for a card later this week and share a photo!

OK, ok, on to the Verve....these are a couple of the projects I made for Verve's Release Party earlier this month. The new stamps are so much fun and these 2 projects make nice versatile, year-round gifts!!

Just Because goodie bag:

Stamps: Circular Sayings (Verve)
Paper: Baja Breeze textured CS (SU!); White textured CS (American Crafts); acetate
Ink: Momento Rich Cocoa (Tsukineko)
Accessories: Sizzix Bag w/ scallops die; Rectangle nestabilities; Scallop circle and circle punches, ribbon (SU!); hemp twine; Robin Eggs.

Simply Fab (and simply SIMPLE) card set:

Stamps: Beautiful Kindness (Verve)
Paper: Kraft CS (SU!); Brighton Collection DP (Scenic Route)
Ink: Fresh Snow (PTI Perfect Match)
Accessories: Scallop border punch, Baja Breeze ribbon, corner rounder (SU!); card box (clear bags dot com); hemp twine

If you missed my post about my AWESOME Blogoversary Challenge (with over $250 in Blog Candy up for grabs) to benefit the Alzheimer's Association, be sure to check out the details HERE.

Blogoversary Challenge + BIG blog candy

ETA: Please note that I've extended the deadline for the Blog Candy giveaway to FRIDAY, APRIL 3 at 11:59 PM CENTRAL TIME to allow more people to participate in this worthwhile cause. Thank you for your patience and understanding!!! :-) You all amaze me!!!

Today is my 1-year Blogoversary and I wanted to celebrate with a challenge and some BIG blog candy, but in a way that would benefit a cause that is very near and dear to my heart. If you've been following my blog for the past year, you probably know that my otherwise healthy 58-year-old father is in the late stages of Alzheimer's Disease. This disease is so common and I know most of you have experienced or know someone close to you who has experienced it's devestating effects. It is truly heartbreaking.

I will be hosting my Stampin' Out Alzheimer's Virtual Crop and Challenge again in May to honor my father and as a teaser to that event, I thought I'd introduce this exciting challenge and offer up some pretty awesome Blog Candy to one lucky winner!! What can you win? Well here's a list (and I may be adding to this list as the week progresses if I receive more offers of donations from additional companies, so check back frequently to see if the list has grown, but this is a pretty darn good start):

• $20 Gift Certificate to Verve Stamps
• Fun With Flowers pack from Verve Stamps ($67 value)
  
• Bunny Bundle Pack from Verve Stamps ($43 value)
• $15 Gift Certificate to Taylored Expressions
• $15 Gift Certificate + a mini set from There She Goes
• $10 Gift Certificate to Sweet Shoppe Designs
• $10 Gift Certificate to The Digichick
• 5 Stampin' Up hostess and Sale-a-bration stamp sets: Congrats, Yummy, Botanical Blooms, Polka Dot Punches, and Darling Dots

What do you have to do to be eligible to win this fantastic Prize Package worth over $250? {said in my best Bob Barker voice} Simply create a new, never before posted card for any occassion (birthday, thank you, sympathy, get well, etc), take a picture of the card and post it to your blog, PCP or SCS (along with a link back here to the challenge info to help me spread the word), then come back here and use Mr. Linky to link us up to your creation (please link DIRECTLY to the blog post containing your card for this challenge, not just to your blog as a whole). Then, mail the card to me along with a blank envelope at the address at the end of this post. I will be using Random.org to select one winner from all of the entries. You are welcome to create and mail me more than one card for the challenge, however I ask that you only link ONCE - only 1 entry into the prize drawing per person please. (I will remove duplicate links).

So what am I going to do with all of those cards? Well, you see, the Alzheimer's Association doesn't really have a great need for cards. What they need is MONEY for research, education and support for caregivers. Rather than simply ask all of you out-right for donations, I've decided to collect your cards and put together a few (actually I hope SEVERAL) decorated card tins / boxes full of your unique hand-crafted cards. In early May, to kick off my Stampin' Out Alzheimer's event, I will be holding a charity auction (either through e-bay, etsy or another site - I'm still working on the details but I'll keep you posted) in which I will auction off these card sets to the highest bidder. The proceeds from those auctions will go directly from the auction site to the Alzheimer's Association. Pretty cool, huh?

So there you have it folks. Deadline to be included in the drawing for the blog candy is 6:59 PM hawaii time (11:59 PM central time) FRIDAY, April 3. Winner will be announced Saturday morning, April 4 right here on my blog.

Please send your finished cards along with a blank envelope no later than April 20, 2009 (so even if you've missed the deadline for the blog candy, you can still participate and make a difference for the Alzheimer's Association) to:

Jennifer Tapler
211 Molehulehu St.
Kahului, HI 96732

Please take a minute to visit the sponsor links. This wouldn't be possible without their help. Thank you so much to everyone who has donated a prize and to those of you who will be participating!

Viva La Verve

Have you been playing along with the Viva La Verve challenges this month? Amber posted another great sketch on Friday, so be sure to stop by the Verve Forum on SCS and check it out!! Here's what I did with the sketch:

Stamps: Beautiful Kindness (Verve)
Paper: Basic Black CS (SU!); White Pure Luxury (GinaK); printed digi paper from Close to my Heart by Zoe Pearn (Sweet Shoppe Designs)
Ink: Versafine Black Onyx
Accessories: circles nesties

Don't forget to also stop by the Verve Blog and check out all of the Egg-stra special Spring projects the divas have been sharing. And be sure to let them know what you think - you never know when you're going to win some verve goodies!!

Raspberry Suite Color Challenge #1

Did you all see that Dawn McVey has posted a color challenge? I love it!! Here's her inspiration piece, from a Pottery Barn Teen catalog:And here's my take on the colors:

Stamps: Guidelines, Mega Mixed Messages (PTI)
Paper: Chocolate Chip, Pumpkin Pie textured CS; Good Morning Sunshine DP (SU!); Raspberry Fizz (PTI); White Pure Luxury CS (GinaK)
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Pumpkin Pie (SU!); Fresh Snow (PTI)
Accessories: Ribbon (SU!); Velvet Brads (Creative Imagination)
ETA: Sketch is based on Beate's WSC #69

That's it! So what do you think??

I'll be scheduling several posts for this week while I'm busy hanging out with my MIL. My 1-year Blogaversary is tomorrow and I'll be back in a few days with a VERY exciting challenge and giveaway with over $100 in stamping goodies up for grabs from multiple stamp companies and a chance for all of you to make a difference for a cause that hits very close to home for me....raising awareness and funds for the Alzheimer's Association. (if you're a stamp company owner and would like to donate goodies for the blog candy giveaway, let me know)....stay tuned for more information....

Easter Treat

Wow, is the weekend really already almost over? It just goes too fast!! We're cleaning like crazy today to prepare for my MIL and her sister arriving for a short week-long visit tomorrow, so I may be a little scarce the rest of the week. I'm super excited!

Before the week gets too crazy, I wanted to share this fun project with you. If it looks a little familiar, you're right!! I used the same tutorial that I altered for my Cheers! 2009 New Year's project. You can purchase the tutorial HERE from Andrea Walford. Andrea has tons of amazing projects and also offered an amazing Class Planning Service through her Demo to Demo website for Stampin' Up demonstrators.

Stamps: Chocolate Bunnies (Verve)

Paper: Chocolate Chip textured CS, So Saffron CS (SU!); White Pure Luxury CS (GinaK); printed digi papers from Celebrate Life by Penny Springman (Sweet Shoppe)
Ink: Momento Rich Cocoa (Tsukineko)
Accessories: Clear Tubes (PTI); acetate sheets; Copic markers; scallop border, scallop circle & circle punches, ribbon (SU!); jelly beans; Easter "grass"; hemp twine.

I kept to the tutorial instructions exactly for this project, just changing it up to fit an Easter project. It's hard to see it in the photo, but the little eggs around the bunny are paper pieced with coordinating papers from the same digi kit. I think it turned out SOOOO cute!! (aside from the fact that one of the tubes is badly tilting in the photo - ignore that!). And really it was much easier than it looks - the whole thing took less than 30 minutes, start to finish.

While I have you here....a couple of reminders:

This is the final week to play along for a chance to be the PaperCraft Planet Scrappy Sunday Guest Designer next month!!! At the end of the month, the PCP Super Novas will be voting on their favorite scrapper from all of the Scrappy Sunday weekly participants (must participate in the first 4 challenges in March)!!! You can see all of the weekly sketches and read the contest details HERE in the Scrappy Sunday group at PCP.

Have you had a chance to check out all the Egg-stra special projects the Verve Divas have been sharing over on the Verve Blog? Be sure to stop by and let the divas know what you think - you never know when you might win some Verve!!

First Publication

Ok, I know this is not a big deal to a lot of you, but this is my first publication, so I was pretty stoked to get this in the mail today....And here's my name in print with my little Halloween party invite and matching goodies...Funny thing is this is not one of my best projects. I love the digi kit I used (by Karen Lewis), but I just kinda threw it together. I never would have submitted it if it hadn't been for the urging of a friend. I mean, it's cute and all, but it's so NOT one of my best projects!!! Of course, I've submitted about a million things since then (things that in my opinion turned out way cuter than this little number) and not a darn one of them has been picked up for publication...so frustrating...{sigh}.

But I have to say, today was a pretty good day!!! :-)

And in case you're interested, here's what my photo of the project looked like...

I'm the Featured Cupcake Sampler!!

I was so excited when Taylor asked me to be this week's Featured Cupcake Sampler for her Cupcake Challenge!! You can see my card creation that earned me this coveted spot HERE. I always love her sketches and this week was no exception!! Here's the sketch:And here's my take on it...(sorry for the bad pic)

Stamps: Branching Out (Taylored Expressions)
Paper: Chocolate Chip CS, Blush Blossom textured CS (SU!); Scenic Route DP
Ink: Versafine Vintage Sepia; Perfect Match hybrid ink in Vintage Cream (PTI)
Accessories: Oval nesties; Word Window punch, Scallop Border punch, ribbon (SU); buttons (Basic Grey); hemp twine; dimensional adhesive

Be sure to stop by Taylor's Blog so you can check out what she and all of the Cupcake Crew created with the sketch!!

And guess what!?!? Sankari sent me this exciting information about this weekend's challenge:
How about a sweet Spring Treat? Taylor is giving away a FREE Tiny Twinkle to one random winner from among all the people who upload their sketch challenge cards to Paper Craft Planet using the same TECC60 keyword. So hop on over and upload your card at PaperCraftPlanet and you could be the winner of some cute twinkle bling! Its as easy as that!!!

Amy's Friday Sketch #53

I recently discovered Amy's blog and her weekly Friday sketches and I have to say...LOVE them!! I finally had a chance to participate this week (week #53, which is a blog candy week by the way) and this is what I came up with....

Stamps: Beautiful Kindness (Verve)
Paper: Baja Breeze, So Saffron CS; Sweet Slumber DP (SU); White Pure Luxury CS (GinaK)
Ink: Versafine Vintage Sepia; Versamark
Accessories: circles nesties; Detail white embossing powder; Riding Hood Red ribbon

So that's it!! I think I like these short and sweet posts!!! Ok, gotta run...Lost is on and I'm holding out for some serious shirtless Sawyer time tonight!!!! YUM-O!!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!

Super quick post tonight because it's late and I'm exhausted!! The initial inspiration for this card came from this one by Mary Fish - so cute! Here's my take on her heart-y clover:My friend Sarah stopped by tonight so we could get our craft on for a few hours and while we sat here talking story, I inked up my much-neglected PTI Heart Prints set and paired it with the sentiment from A Year of Sweet Sentiments by Taylored Expressions. The 4-leaf clover is actually 4 heart punches with a Basic Grey button center. I used Kiwi Kiss ink along with Very Vanilla CS, Kiwi Kiss textured CS and Muirfield DP. The sentiment is cut out with my Double-ended Tags nestabilities die and I finished up with some hemp twine.

When I showed this card to Joel, he responded with his usual unenthusiastic "that's really nice", but first gave me one of his "looks", a chuckle and said "when the s&*t have you ever sent anyone a St. Patrick's Day card?" (he is often amused at the holidays and events I will create a card in celebration of). Sarah got a good laugh out of this. I will say that later he sheepishly took another look at the card and gave me a slightly more enthusiastic "that's really nice". Ya gotta love him.

Taylor's Cupcake Sketch #59

It's been FOREVER since I was able to participate in one of Taylor's sketch challenges and I finally had some time today. I LOVE this week's sketch and since I received my new SASI stamps in the mail this week, I decided to get them inky!! I just love how this card turned out!!


I started with a Kraft CS base and added some printed digi papers from the Our Story kit by Kelley Mickus (the Digichick). I stamped the branch from SASI's Branching Out on Kraft CS and cut it out with my rectangle nesties. I stamped the birdhouse from the same set along with some flowers from the Branching Out Coordinates onto Pure Luxury White CS (GinaK), colored with my Copics and cut out. Some of the flowers are popped up on dimensionals for some added depth. The clouds, also from Branching Out Coordinates, were stamped on some of the printed digi paper, cut out and sewn onto the card. I added some Chocolate Chip ribbon and tied on my sentiment tag with some hemp twine and it's done!!

There She Goes and a sympathy card

Wednesday is normally my day to get lots of crafting done, but today was a fun-filled day of shopping! My Mom, Dean and I drove around to the West Side of the island to Lahaina to go to Barnes and Noble (this is a BIG deal when you live on Maui!!!), pick up a few essentials at the new Lush store on Front Street, and grab some lunch at Kimo's. It's been a few months since I've been over to the West Side and I had a lot of fun today! And the weather was beautiful - it's been so dreary and overcast for the past few weeks and today was a nice clear, sunny day!! We had lunch right on the water at Kimo's and watched for whales while Dean threw french fries at the crabs! AND I GOT SOME LUSH!!! I can't tell you how excited I am to have a Lush store on Maui, even if it is all the way over in Lahaina!! I used to have to wait for someone I knew to be making a trip to Oahu and then convince them to go to Ala Moana mall to pick up my goods for me - now I can just drive there myself!! AWESOME!

Anyway, despite my busy morning of shopping, I still managed to get a few cards done today. So want to see them?

I LOVE this first card! I used my new Nature of Friendship stamp set from There She Goes. This set is AMAZING. It took me a week just to ink it up because I couldn't decide what I wanted to do first!! So many possibilities!! You'll be seeing lots more of it I can tell ya!

Stamps: Nature of Friendship (There She Goes)
Paper: Chocolate Chip, So Saffron CS (SU!); Pure Luxury white CS (GinaK); Sonoma DP (Scenic Route)
Ink: Old Olive, Kiwi Kiss, So Saffron, Riding Hood Red, Chocolate Chip (SU!)
Accessories: Circle nestabilities; Chocolate Chip ribbon (SU!); half pearls (Island Paperie)

Unfortunately I needed a sympathy card this week for a dear friend and because I really don't like making these cards (only because I prefer making cards for happy occasions), I never seem to have them on hand when I need them. This card is actually a CASE of a card by Nicole Lechelt from a very long time ago. I'm sorry I don't have a link directly to the card I CASE'd, but Nicole's blog is full of tons of inspiration!!

Stamps: Stiched, Beautiful Borders (SU!)
Paper: Chocolate Chip CS, Baja Breeze textured CS (SU!); Textured White CS (American Crafts)
Ink: Palette hybrid ink in Fresh Snow (PTI); Chocolate Chip
Accessories: White Satin Ribbon, Baja Breeze Ribbon, Slit Punch (SU!)

Verve Release Projects

I thought I'd share a few of my projects for the Verve Release for you, starting with my card for MoJo Monday #77. This was such a fun sketch to work with and I decided to bust out some of my neglected SU paper...

Stamps: Floral Symphony (Verve)
Paper: Real Red & Bashful Blue textured CS, Whisper White, Wild Wasabi CS, retired DSP (SU!)
Ink: Real Red, Wild Wasabi (SU!)
Accessories: Swiss Dots cuttlebug embossing folder; circle nestabilities; Word Window punch & ribbon (SU!); 3-D adhesive

This next card was actually the first card I made when I received my new stamps in the mail a few weeks ago - I literally opened them up, sat down and had this card done in about 15 minutes. These stamps almost just stamp themselves!! (and it helped that I already had all that Scenic Route paper out on my desk!!).

Stamps: Everlasting Life (Verve)
Paper: Kraft, Basic Black CS (SU!); Pure Luxury white CS (GinaK); North Shore DP (Scenic Route)
Ink: Momento Tuxedo Black (Tsukineko); Versamark
Accessories: Copic Sketch Markers; Corner Rounder; Baja Breeze ribbon (SU!); Detail White embossing powder.

And finally, this little guy. I struggled with coloring him as I found out my Copics don't work so well on that textured American Crafts CS. And after I finished, I decided I should have colored his bowtie, but too late. It's done. I really like the colors and those eggs are super fun to paper piece!!

Stamps: Chocolate Bunnies (Verve)
Paper: Chocolate Chip, So Saffron CS, So Saffron DSP (SU!); White textured CS (American Crafts)
Ink: Momento Rich Cocoa (Tsukineko)
Accessories: Copics; Scallop border punch, oval punch, ribbon (SU!); Oval Nestabilities

That's it for today. I have several more Verve projects to share with you later this week, so be sure to check back!! And stop by the other divas' blogs (links are in the sidebar) and see all of their fantastic creations as well!!

Beautiful Kindness

Another super quick post today with another fun Verve new release card. For this one, I used the SCS sketch challenge #218 and some printed digi papers. The stamp set, Beautiful Kindness, is one of my very favorite of the new Verve stamps!!

I'll get right to it...

Stamps: Beautiful Kindness (Verve)
Paper: Chocolate Chip CS (SU!); printed digi paper from Deerest Spring by Dani Mogstad & Kristin Cronin-Barrow (Sweet Shoppe)
Ink: Versafine Vintage Sepia (Tsukineko)
Accessories: hobby knife, 3-D adhesive

Floral Thanks

So did everyone have a chance to check out the new Verve Releases? Pretty Fabulous, huh!?!?

Just a quick post tonight to share a simple card I whipped up this evening while watching one of my favorite TV shows with Joel - Rules of Engagement. Do you watch it? If you've ever wanted a glimpse into my life, just watch that show. My husband Joel - it's like the part of Jeff was written specifically about him. And Jeff's wife, that could be me. And their relationship? SPOT ON for my marriage. It's weird.

Anyway, on to the card....I used the extremely versatile Circular Saying set. There isn't much stamping, but sometimes all you need is that perfect little sentiment, ya know? This set is PERFECT for those times!!

Stamps: Circular Sayings (Verve)
Paper: Kraft, Whisper White, Riding Hood Red CS; Pink Pirouette Textured CS; Old Olive DSP (SU!)
Ink: Versafine Vintage Sepia (Tsukineko)
Accessories: Trio of Tags nestabilities; hemp twine; Ribbon, scallop border punch, button bouquet (SU!); Flower, Daisies #2 die (Sizzix)

Verve Release Day!!

Is everyone geared up for the Verve Release Party tonight!?!? It's going to be AWESOME! And believe me, you don't want to miss it!

Julee posted a special sketch challenge this weekend as we countdown to the release and she'll be picking 3 random winner from cards using the sketch to receive their choice of any of the new release sets for FREE!! You can check out the sketch and the details HERE on the Verve blog. And if you missed any of the Sneak Peeks last week, be sure to browse through those while you're there!!!

Here's the card I whipped up with Julee's sketch. I love how it turned out! I used one of the new Plain Jane stamps, Little Star. Isn't it cute!?!?

Stamps: Little Star Plain Jane (Verve); Seeing Stars (Verve)

Paper: Kraft & Chocolate Chip CS (SU!); Printed digi paper from Twinkle Twinkle Star Mouse by Libby Weifenbach & Bella Gypsy (Sweet Shoppe)
Ink: Versafine Vintage Sepia (Tsukineko)
Accessories: Nestabilities, star punch & ribbon (SU!); buttons (Basic Grey); hemp twine; sewing machine

Thanks for stopping by! I'll be sharing lots of new Verve creations with you in the next few weeks!! I just can't seem to stop with these new sets - they're all so fabulous!!

I'll also be back later today with my Scrappy Sunday post and a fun giveaway announcement, so stay tuned for that!!!

Verve Sneak Peek

It's the 5th and final day of the Verve Sneak Peeks before the big Release Party on Sunday night!! I hope you've had a chance to stop by the Verve Blog this week and check out all the fabulous projects the Divas have been sharing. Today is my Sneak Peek day and I created this Spring Planting gift set.I used 2 of the new sets, Miracles Blossom and Floral Symphony. I used a brown cardboard box from my stash that some Origins skincare products came in. Using Mod Podge, I adhered some American Crafts DP to the outside of the box, sanded all of the edges, and wrapped it with Chocolate Chip ribbon. Using some Baja Breeze ribbon, hemp twine and a button, I decorated a brown flower pot. The little bag, cut from So Saffron textured DP using the Scalloped Bag Bigz XL die, holds a cutting from a Hawaiian Ti plant (more on the cultural significance of the Ti later in the post).

Stamps: Miracles Blossom, Floral Symphony (Verve)
Paper: American Crafts DP; So Saffron textured CS, Chocolate Chip CS (SU!); Pure Luxury white CS (GinaK)
Ink: Momento Rich Cocoa (Tsukineko); Palette hybrid New Leaf (PTI); Copic markers for coloring flowers
Accessories: box from stash, ribbon (SU), nestabilities, page from Maja Road chipboard Tag Album, half pearls (Island Paperie), fower pot (home depot), Ti cutting from our yard.

You can check out what fellow Verve Divas Jen del Muro and Bethany Paull created with these sets (and enter for a chance to win some Verve goodies) HERE on the Verve Blog. And don't forget about our big Release Party Sunday Night at 8 PM Eastern Time in the Verve Forum at SCS.

And here's your cultural lesson for the day.... Even though Joel and I are both mainland-born haoles (or white), we have great respect for Hawaiian culture and tradition. We strive to raise our haole son to love and respect this beautiful culture as well. We feel very strongly that if you are going to make a place your home and raise your children in that place, you should embrace that culture and heritage. We are so fortunate that Dean is growing up in Hawaii where he can experience so many different cultures and learn to love and respect and be open and tolerant of everyone, regardless of background or lifestyle or spiritual beliefs. The Hawaiian Ti is a good luck plant, rich in Hawaiian lore. The early Hawaiians used Ti to make hula skirts, to wrap and store food, and also as roofing for their homes. It is thought to ward off evil spirits and is a symbol of divine power. Before we moved into our new home here on Maui, we had a traditional house blessing by a local Kupuna, or spiritual leader (this is extremely common in Hawaii). Just before the blessing began, we kept with Hawaiian tradition and planted Ti at all 4 corners of our new home to protect us from evil spirits. A few of our friends and family gathered with us as the Kupuna called upon Ke Akua (the Supreme Creator), the various spiritual entities associated with the land our home was built on, his own ancestors as well as my and Joel's ancestors. He also called upon our friends and family who were present to add their mana to the blessing, and then those who are to come after us. This is to remind us that the land was here before us, and will be here after us. We are merely current in a long succession of stewards. In some ways, in Hawaiian culture a land or house blessing is similar to a marriage ceremony. The responsibilities of the various parties are spelled out, and the new owners promise to cherish and protect this kuleana, or responsibility. Hawaiians believe that land ownership goes far beyond paper documents. Acquiring land puts one in a spiritual relationship with that land which can never be broken. It is up to us to work toward making that relationship a healthy one. And there you have it folks....consider yourselves culturally enriched!!!

I hope you all liked my Spring Gift box and maybe learned something new about a different culture today! Thanks for humoring me in this long-winded post!!!

Brotherly Birthday

Well, my little brother turns 30 on Friday (I guess you all now know I'm older than 30...not by much I tell ya, but I am. And no, 30 is NOT the new 20, believe me). My brother was born in 1979. You know what that means? That means that people born in 1980 - the EIGHTIES for crying out loud!!! - will start turning 30 next year. It's depressing.

So anyway, I needed a quick and easy masculine card to send to my brother, who spends the winters freezing his tail off in Whitefish, Montana. Talk about crazy. I was freezing all day today because the temp in Kahului didn't get over 76 degrees!!! So the quick and easy was necessary because I seriously doubt that my almost-30-year-old-but-still-thinks-he's-18 brother will have any true appreciation for the effort that goes into a handmade card. He'll appreciate the cash I put inside, use it at the local bar after the mountain closes for the day, and probably not even notice that I actually made the card with my own 2 hands!!! Ok, on to the card....

Stamps: Party Hearty (SU!)

Paper: Chocolate Chip, Brocade Blue, River Rock CS; DSP from old Home Again Simply Scrappin' Kit (SU!)
Ink: Chocolate Chip
Accessories: Scallop border punch, Chocolate Chip ribbon (SU!); EK Success Art Blanche Chipboard Numbers (Island Paperie); Nestabilities tag die.

Also, in case you haven't heard, Sneak Peeks started today on the Verve Blog!! Head on over there and check them out!! There's a chance to win some Verve goodies each day this week just for stopping by! I'll be sharing some of my Sneak Peeks throughout the week, so stay tuned!!

Scrappy Sunday 3/1/09

It's that time again - time for another Scrappy Sunday Scrapbook Sketch Challenge over at PCP. And this month, there are VERY exciting things in store for those who participate each week!!

Here's the sketch I came up with this week:It's actually based on this digital layout (my sample for the week) that I created several months ago, but I think it lends itself well to paper OR digi scrapping!!Credits:
Cheeky Boy by Zoe Pearn; Date Bits 5 by Misty Cato (Sweet Shoppe Designs)
Wordart by Ali Edwards (Designer Digitals)

If you'd like to play along, use the sketch to create a layout (paper, digi and hybrid are all welcome!!) and upload it to the PCP gallery using the tag sb030109 (all lower case). Be sure to join the Scrappy Sunday group and be the first to know when a new sketch has been posted each week!! I've also added a Master List of links to each week's sketch gallery in the discussion session of the Scrappy Sunday Group if you're in need of some Scrappy Inspiration!!

Now, I'm sure you're all wondering about that exciting announcement, huh? How would you like a chance to be a PCP Guest Designer for the Scrappy Sunday Challenge for the month of April!?!? All you have to do is participate in all 4 weekly challenges in March. At the end of the month, I'll post a thread in the Scrappy Sunday group for you to post links to all 4 of your creations and the PCP Super Novas will vote on the "Scrappiest" Scrapper!!! The winner will work with me for the entire month of April on all of the April sketches, creating sample layouts each week and have those layouts displayed on the main page of PCP as well as here on my blog!! So what do you think? Sound fun?