Verve New Release Spotlight - Glad Tidings

Hey there! I'm back from vacation and super excited to jump right in and play with new Verve!! Today is the 4th day of New Release Spotlights and the Divas are sharing creations using the new Glad Tidings stamp set that will release on Friday!!

My MoJo seems to still be on vacation, but I did manage to create at least one card that I LOVE since I returned and I'm happy to share it today!!


I used some yummy new October Afternoon DP I picked up on the mainland while I was traveling and created a large medallion thing, adding some silver glitter to the outer edge for a little bling. I stamped the wreath image from Glad Tidings on some vanilla cardstock and colored in with Copics, adding a little stickles to the berries. I glued some stitched trim (after tearing off some of the tissue paper edging it because it was just too much) to the wreath circle panel and then the stamped sentiment on top. But my favorite touch? Those clear embossed snowflakes on the card base - those are also from the Glad Tidings set! I just love how they really finish the card! There are a few other touches that are self explanatory I think (scallop border, stitching, etc).

Be sure to join us in the Verve Forum this Friday, Oct 29 at 9 PM Eastern Time for our Release Party! And if you missed the previous 3 days' worth of Spotlights, head on over to the Verve Blog and get hopping!!

Now, don't forget to check out the rest of today's Spotlights using Glad Tidings!!

Here's the official link list of today's spotlight hops. Happy hopping!

1. Amy	8. Tosh
2. Jackie	9. Sankari
3. Mercy	10. Teresa
4. Michelle	11. Jen T.
5. Lynda	12. Andrea
6. Charmaine	13. Amber
7. Laurie	14. Julee

Be sure to leave some comments along the way for a chance to win!
Have fun and we'll see ya tomorrow!

TE Key Ingredients Challenge - October

It's the 15th of the month and that means it's time for another Taylored Expressions Key Ingredients Challenge!! Taylor's done it again this month - she's put together a FABULOUS kit full of perfectly coordinated goodies that will make card and fall project-making a breeze!! The kit this month includes some seriously yummy DP called Apple Cider by Imaginisce as well as Cinnamon Stickles, coordinating buttons and of course beautifully matched cardstock and ribbons. You can see a photo of the kit contents and read more details about the kit on the Key Ingredients Blog.

The October Key Ingredients Challenge is to make Simple Cards. Easy enough for me as my style tends to be clean and simple. However, the Key Ingredients Design Team really wanted to create a sample of cards that would be easily and quickly reproduced by beginner stampers, people who may not have a large supply of tools. So we were really challenged to limit ourselves to very basic tools and only the supplies in the KI kit. It was surprisingly easy and if I wasn't so pressed for time to prepare for my vacation (I'm still on the mainland as you read this!!), I could have easily mass-produced several of these cards with the kit and the pumpkin image from Gobble Gobble:


I also could have quite easily made a whole set of fall themed cards, each slightly different, by using a different image from the Gobble, Gobble set and changing up the DP slightly or even the orientation of the card (vertical vs. horizontal).

Now, Taylor and some of the DT girls decided we'd also share a "stepped up" version of the same card so you can see how easy it is to take a very simple card and make it a bit more jazzy. (ha! I totally just said "jazzy" for real. dude. lame.)


Anyway, I created the same card and added some messy stitching around the outer edges, a flagged sentiment strip - also from Gobble, Gobble, a couple of popped up pumpkins on the image panel, and a button cluster for a totally different look! I have to say I much prefer this second card, but if I was mass-producing or pressed for time - the first card is completely acceptable!!

The rest of the Key Ingredients Design Team are sharing their version of Simple Cards with you today as well, so be sure to stop by each of their blogs to see what they've done and I know several of the other girls are also sharing a "stepped up" version of their cards too. Check them out:
Jessica Diedrich
Lisa Hjulberg
Lynn Put
Melody Rupple
Rosie Hughes
and of course Taylor VanBruggen

If you're not already familiar, each month, Taylored Expressions mails out a new Key Ingredients Kit to subscribers. When you subscribe, not only do you receive your kit on your doorstep each month, you also get a 10% off coupon delivered to your inbox - good for anything in the TE store! We also have a special Key Ingredients Gallery full of fun project ideas using the kit.

Digital Scrapbooking - Picasso Junior

It's been awhile since I've shared any digi-scrap layouts, and since I'm on vacation I thought this was as good a time as any to get some of these posted. I'll divide them into a few posts and share several layouts with you over the next few weeks. I know a lot of you aren't digi scrappers, or even scrapbookers at all - but bear with me. Maybe you can appreciate the creative process?

All available at Sweet Shoppe:
Carnival Thrills by Julie Billingsley
Artist's Canvas by Kristin Cronin-Barrow
Teeny Tiny Type by Zoe Pearn
Font - DJB Tweenybopper by Darcy Baldwin
Half Pack #1 Templates by Cindy Schneider

Verve-y Halloween

Hi there! So did you stock up on those fabulous Verve New Releases yesterday? So much goodness, right?

Well, as this posts I am on a plane, probably somewhere above the Pacific Ocean - hopefully sleeping soundly as we are in the middle of 14+ hours of travel time to make it to our destination in Wichita, Kansas to visit the in-laws. I'm really hoping that by this point they haven't had to turn the plane around to head back to Maui to remove an unruly 3-yr-old!! LOL. But seriously, I am nervous about the flight - we haven't gone ANYWHERE since Dean was 2 months old and this is a VERY long trip (and in the middle of our vacation we are taking a 3-hour road trip to our alma mater in Norman, OK - a very long car ride for a child who lives on a small island, AND another flight to New Jersey to visit Joel's grandparents!! That's a lot of travel for an island boy). Don't worry though, I left prepared with lots of kid-drugging goods (can you say dramamine? and yes, we tested it at home first to make sure it didn't have the opposite effect) for the long overnight flight - we left Maui at 9:00 pm last night and don't arrive in to Wichita until like 1:30 PM today. ugh. And let me tell you, I was TIRED when we left the house - I was scrambling to get blog posts scheduled, work stuff wrapped up, DT stuff done, etc. But I'm really looking forward to this trip. I have several posts scheduled while I'm gone, and who knows, maybe I'll stop in and give you guys a few updates on our adventures. I don't know. Does anyone even care? I mean I'm not exactly Dawn McVey here. LOL.

OK, on to the Verve goodness.... I used one of Julee's World Card Making Day sketches to whip up this fun Halloween card using the new Bountiful Harvest set:


I stamped the triple pumpkin image on watercolor paper and "painted" it with a wet watercolor brush dipped in Stampin' Up inks. I also used the moon image from the same Bountiful Harvest set and the "Happy Halloween" sentiment from Happy Fall. And how about that fun DP? Look familiar? It's actually printed digi paper from the Happy Halloween Paper Pack #1 by Echo Park that I picked up from JessicaSprague.com a few weeks ago. (SO excited Echo Park has gone digi!!). I added some purple ribbon and called it good.

Have a great weekend! Keep your fingers crossed we have mild weather on the mainland (you know, for us Maui Weather Weenies!!) and that we all survive traveling with a 3-yr-old!! :-)

Verve New Release Spotlight - Autumn Splendor

It's Day 2 of the Verve Stamps New Release Spotlights and today several of the Divas are sharing projects with the fabulous new Autumn Splendor set. This is my new favorite leaf-y set and I'm sure it will soon be yours too! It's a set of 27 (yes 27!!) stamps including both solid and outline leaves (perfect for 2-step stamping!), beautiful Verve-style sentiments - and let me tell ya, you better grab this one quick because I have a feeling it's going to sell out FAST!!

When I saw all those fabulous different leaf stamps I knew I wanted to create a card with a fall wreath on the front and this is pretty much what I was imagining...


I used a few of the outline stamps (but not anywhere near all of them!) on some fall colored cardstock and then cut them all out with my hobby knife, attached them randomly in a circle on some Kraft CS that I had stitched to a dark brown mat, then adhered the whole thing to a Kraft CS base. I added the "Autumn Greetings" sentiment popped up on a few dimensionals as a final touch.

I can see re-creating this wreath in the spring in pastel colors and adding in some tiny little flowers - wouldn't that be fun!? Or using more of the "sprig-like" leaves in all shades of green and gluing on some little red berries for a holiday wreath this winter. I can't wait to try some of these ideas!!

Be sure to stop by the other Divas' blogs listed below for more peeks at this and a few of the other new sets (Be sure to leave comments along the way for a chance to win some Verve goodies!!):

1. Mercy
2. Charmaine
3. Michelle
4. Jen T. (that's me!)
5. Tosh
6. Teresa
7. Lynda
8. Amy
9. Susan
10. Andrea
11. Jackie
12. Sankari
13. Amber
14. Julee

Want another chance to win some Verve? There's still time to play along with Verve's World Card Making Day / Release Week Challenges! There are a total of 5 challenges and each challenge has a $25 gift certificate to the Verve Store up for grabs!! Complete all 5 to be eligible to win the ENTIRE Autumn Release!! More details HERE on the Verve Blog.

CASE of myself

Just Because...I was cleaning out my craft room a few weeks ago and across THIS card of mine that I made awhile back that I absolutely loved and decided to CASE myself. I thought the card would lend itself well to Verve's Great Friend, and boy was I right (if I do say so myself)! I clear embossed the flower and sentiment, which looks fantastic - clean and elegant. I also used one of my all-time favorite (and most-used) Verve sets, Bountiful Backgrounds to create the tone-on-tone gray polka dot background. I gave this card a little bit of an updated look over the original by rounding that top right corner and matting the entire card front. Overall I much prefer this new version. Here's a list of all the supplies:

Stamps: Bountiful Backgrounds, Great Friend (Verve)
Paper: Basic Black, Basic Gray (SU); Aqua Mist (PTI)
Ink: Basic Gray (SU); Versamark
Accessories: Clear Embossing Powder; Scallop Border Die (PTI); Corner Chomper (We R Memory Keepers); Pearls (Kaiser)

I'm still on vacation. We've been in Kansas for almost a week now and are having lots of fun!! It's been a little chilly for us Maui people with night-time temps down in the 50s and daytime temps staying in the low 70s, but really the weather has been pretty nice. We've done some shopping - I found the most FABULOUS little scrapbook store EVER here in Wichita called Forever in Time. Seriously, if you are in the Wichita area, you need to check them out. Joni, the owner, was the sweetest thing ever and they have an awesome selection. I'm hoping I can stop back in before we head home!!

We went to the mall and Micheal's on Sunday, the Sedgewick County Zoo on Monday, more shopping and Buffalo Wild Wings with my girl Libby Weifenbach on Tuesday, and today we spent all day at the Kansas Cosmosphere (Dean LOVED the Planetarium!!). Tomorrow we head out bright and early to drive down to Oklahoma, first stop is the OKC Zoo, then on to Norman so Joel can drop in on an OU Wrestling practice (he wrestled for the Sooners not too many years ago). We'll spend Friday in my hometown of El Reno and have some professional family photos taken by an old childhood friend. Then Saturday is a full day of Sooners brainwashing for little Dean, culminating in his first OU football game under the lights Saturday night. Then Sunday we'll meet up with some friends before heading back to Wichita. Next week we fly to New Jersey for several days before heading home to Maui on the 25th!!

Verve New Release Spotlight - Many Blessings

It's almost New Release time at Verve!! Friday there will be a whole slew of fabulous new sets available and believe me, you won't want to miss this release!! Today begins a series of daily mini blog hops with several divas sharing projects each day for the next 3 days using some of the new releases. Today we're sharing projects featuring some of the new Plain Janes, Happy Fall, and Many Blessings.


I whipped up a quick and easy hybrid card using the new Many Blessings set and my favorite "Go To" layout (I use this simple layout on A LOT of cards because it's so quick and easy and is a great way to use up lots of scraps!!). The Many Blessings set features this adorable stemmed flower in 3 different sizes as well as the "Many Blessings" sentiment. I stamped the medium flower 3 times in a row and colored with Copics to match the printed digi paper from the Life is Good kit by Fee Jardine (Sweet Shoppe). I added a simple bow with the sentiment on a tag and it was done! Like I said, quick and easy!!

I just love these fun flowers in this set! I can see them in so many fun color combinations - colored with Copics or watercolored or even paper pieced with patterned paper. So many possibilities!!

Be sure to stop by the other Divas' blogs listed below for more peeks at this and a few of the other new sets (Be sure to leave comments along the way!!):

1. Mercy
2. Jen T. (that's me!)
3. Tosh
4. Teresa
5. Andrea
6. Lynda
7. Amy
8. Laurie
9. Jackie
10. Sankari
11. Shannan
12. Amber
13. Julee

Want to win some Verve? There's still time to play along with Verve's World Card Making Day / Release Week Challenges! There are a total of 5 challenges and each challenge has a $25 gift certificate to the Verve Store up for grabs!! Complete all 5 to be eligible to win the ENTIRE Autumn Release!! More details HERE on the Verve Blog.

Sweet Sunday Sketch #87

Man, I can't believe it's Sunday again already!! I feel like a crazy person around here scrambling to get everything done before we leave for the mainland next week. We had a HUGELY successful garage sale yesterday (you have NO IDEA how glad I am to have that over with!!) that I would NOT have chosen to have the Saturday before a big trip, but the Maui Lani Community Association "strongly suggests" that homeowners in our subdivision only have garage sales on designated days (they have 2 per year) and yesterday was one of those days. It's kind of nice though because the Association takes care of all the advertising and there's a TON of a traffic. We got rid of SO MUCH crap too! I far exceeded my goal and I have lots of extra "fun money" for our trip! Yay! So now I just have about a million DT assignments to complete this week on top of my unfortunate "real" job, a preschool fieldtrip to the Wailea fire station with Dean, cleaning my house to prepare for our fabulous House Sitter Jayci, a hair cut, shopping for new clothes for all 3 of us for family photos we're having taken while on the mainland, and spending as much time as possible with my Dad before we leave (just in case he's no longer with us when we get home) - oh, and I should probably pack some suitcases at some point!

So anyway, enough jibber jabber - it's Sunday and you're really here to see my Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge creation, right? Well, we have a super fun sketch today:


I made a fun hybrid birthday card with some Taylored Expressions stamps I was dying to get inky and some printed digi goodness by Zoe Pearn (Sweet Shoppe) - I took some creative liberties with the sketch, shifting the horizontal panel and embellishment thingy down a bit just because it worked better with the focal image I chose to use:


I used my new Make a Wish stamp set, paper piecing the balloons (so easy!!). And in case you didn't already know - the Make a Wish set is part of the TE Giving Tree program from September through November 2010 where Taylored Expressions will donate $7.00 for each Make a Wish stamp set sold to a national children's charity. All of the patterned and solid papers (except for the Kraft and dark brown) used on my card are printed digi papers from the new Birthday Boy kit by Zoe Pearn (Sweet Shoppe), but I actually picked up the Birthday Bundle!

Be sure to check out the other Sweet Sunday Stampers' blogs and see what they've done with their favorite sketch.

• Karen Motz
• Karen Giron
  
• Laura Fredrickson
  
• Lynn Put
• Sarah-Jane Kale'
• Vicki Burdick
• Joanne Basile

Then play along with us and post your own creation using InLinkz over on today's post on Karen's Blog!

Restoration Birthday

Hi there! I have another quick birthday card to share with you today using some of that FABULOUS Restoration paper from the September Key Ingredients kit. I can't seem to stop using this kit and I'm amazed at how many projects I've already been able to create with the kit and I still haven't even used half of it!!


I kept this card pretty simple - I was literally finished in about 15 minutes!! - my favorite kind of card!! I used a Kraft cardstock base, but all of the other supplies on this card are included in the kit (well, besides the stamp set and cut file for the layered flower). I picked out 3 of my favorites from the patterned paper and cut some strips, adhering them to that beautifully textured coordinating plum cardstock with some zigzag stitching. I used my Silhouette to cut the layered flower from some more of the textured cardstock from the kit and added one of the large brads from the kit to the center. The stamped sentiment is from the In The Park stamp set from Taylored Expressions.

That's it. Like I said - nice and simple! The rest of the Key Ingredients Design Team has been sharing projects using the September Key Ingredients the past several weeks, so be sure to stop by their blogs to see what they've done with the kit:
Jessica Diedrich
Lisa Hjulberg
Lynn Put
Melody Rupple
Rosie Hughes
and of course Taylor VanBruggen

For those of you who may not already be familiar, Each month, Taylored Expressions mails out a new Key Ingredients Kit to subscribers. When you subscribe, not only do you receive your kit on your doorstep each month, you also get a 10% off coupon delivered to your inbox - good for anything in the TE store! We also have a special Key Ingredients Gallery full of fun project ideas using the kit.

OK, that's it from me today! Happy End of September!! (Wow - can that really be true!?)

Sweet Sunday Sketch - Favorite

It's time for another Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge, but we're doing things a little different this week. The challenge this week is to look back through all the sketches and pick you favorite and create a new card! I think the hardest part is picking a favorite!! I decided to work with Sketch # 39:
And take a look at my creation this time:


I pulled out my September Key Ingredients kit from Taylored Expressions - I thought that clear acrylic doily was perfect in place of the oval image panel! I off-set the doily thing and stamped the flower image from Fresh Flowers on watercolor paper and colored them in with a watercolor brush and ink pads. I added some zig-zag stitching with my sewing machine and the little Happy Birthday sentiment (also from Fresh Flowers) and called it good! I'm having so much fun playing with this month's Key Ingredients kit! So much coordinating stuff in one kit - I love it! You can suscribe to the monthly Key Ingredients kits HERE. (Don't forget subscribers receive a monthly coupon code good for 10% off everything in the Taylored Expressions store and free shipping along with their kit!).

Be sure to check out the other Sweet Sunday Stampers' blogs and see what they've done with their favorite sketch.

• Karen Motz
• Karen Giron
  
• Laura Fredrickson
  
• Lynn Put
• Sarah-Jane Kale'
• Vicki Burdick
• Joanne Basile

Then play along with us and post your own creation using InLinkz over on today's post on Karen's Blog!

MoJo Monday #157

Gosh, it seems like FOREVER since I had a chance to play along with a MoJo Monday Sketch Challenge! I have what seems like a million of the sketches printed off and in my pile of "can't-wait-to-play-with-these", but finding the time is my problem lately. Somehow this week I've been able to squeeze in a little extra stamping time and was able to create something with Sketch #157 - and it's a fun one!!


I used Verve's Framed Wishes stamp set on my card - clear embossing the frame on some More Mustard CS and stamping the sentiment on a little flagged strip of Crumb Cake. (after I finished my card Wednesday morning I was doing some blog browsing and noticed how similar my card was to Amy's MoJo creation this week! Well, not THAT similar - hers is WAY more awesome! It's funny how sometimes a particular stamp set just works almost too perfectly for a sketch. I have to say I felt pretty good that I had an idea so similar to THE Amy Sheffer! LOL). The rest of the paper is printed digi paper from Libby Weifenbach's beautiful kit Aquiver with Ebullience (Sweet Shoppe). I added a bunch of crumpled up, layered Prima flowers, some pearly stamens and some seam binding ribbon as embellishments. Overall, it was a surprisingly quick and easy card!

That's it for me! My weekend has officially started and I'm spending my Friday morning at the beach!! The rest of the weekend will be not so much fun - filled with cleaning out closets and the garage to prepare for our neighborhood-wide garage sale the following weekend. Perfect timing though as we will be leaving on October 8 for 3 weeks on the mainland!! I can't wait!! I'll actually get to go to a Micheal's and Hobby Lobby and a REAL mall and Target and my favorite LSS in my old college town (Norman, OK). We'll be spending a couple of weeks with my in-laws in Wichita, KS, then it's off to Norman to visit college friends and take my son to his first Sooners football game and show him where Mom and Dad met (aka the smelly Oklahoma Sooners Wrestling room), then a week in New Jersey visiting Joel's grandparents. So apparently the answer to the common question "Where do you go on vacation when you live in paradise??" is Kansas, Oklahoma and New Jersey - yes, those tourist meccas of the mainland U.S. ;-)

Waltzingmouse Sketch Challenge #15

I found some time today to play along with the Waltzingmouse Stamps Sketch Challenge #15. I got my new stamps earlier this week and couldn't wait to get them inky, especially that adorable Half Pint Heroes set!! I had so much fun creating this card for my Space-Obsessed 3-yr-old Dean using the sketch:


Cute, yeah? I even gave the little Space Cadet inside the rocket tousled blonde hair just like Dean! He's gonna love it. And how about that paper? Pretty perfect, right? It's printed digi paper from the Another Galaxy kit by Traci Reed & Julie Billingsley (Sweet Shoppe). I colored the spaceship image with Copics and cut out the inner part of the ship and popped it up on dimensionals to give it a little more depth. I just love that little rocket!! And I can't wait to use all the other adorable images in the Half Pint Heroes set!

That's it. You can check out the sketch and play along HERE on the WMS sketch blog. I'll be back tomorrow with a MoJo Monday card!!

Perfect Pair Blog Hop

Hey there! Today is the 2nd day of the Perfect Pair Blog Hop! Clear and Simple Stamps and Creative Cuts & More have teamed up for this amazing hop and you won't want to miss all of the fabulous inspiration along the way! Oh, and did I mention there are PRIZES? Creative Cuts & More and Clear & Simple Stamps are both giving away two sets of prizes - all you have to do to be entered is stop by and leave a comment on each of the Blog Hop Participants' posts!

So, if you're following the hop from the beginning you should have made your way here from Steph's Blog. If not, head on back to the Creative Cuts & More Blog to start at the beginning!

I have some super fun Baby themed projects to share with you today featuring the Little One stamp set from Clear & Simple Stamps!


For the card, I used the Circle Window A2 Card with Mat from Creative Cuts & More and stamping only part of a larger sentiment from the Little One stamp set onto a flagged strip on the front so that it says "Cute as a Button". I then added LOTS of CSS buttons (A Blank Check, I'm a Princess Pink, Simply Blue-tiful, & You're a Natural Darling) inside the window of the card.


And how about those shoes? Pretty adorable huh? Those are the Baby Shoe die cuts from Creative Cuts & More. I lined the inside of the sole with some October Afternoon DP and added a little ribbon tab to the back.


I stamped a cute little Welcome Baby gift tag (from the Little One stamp set) and attached it to the shoes. Don't they look like the real deal? Love them!


Well, that's it from me! Head on over to Melissa's Blog for some more yumminess! Believe me, you won't be disappointed!

Taylored Expressions Blast from the Past Blog Hop

Well, here we are - time for another Blast from the Past Blog Hop with Taylored Expressions and friends! I'm having so much fun with these hops each month and just love seeing what everyone creates with those stamp sets from the past!

The Amazing Sankari designed another fun sketch for the hoppers to play with again this month and I decided to use it for my card, making a few changes here and there of course! Take a look at the sketch:


And with that sketch, I decided to play with a new-to-me TE stamp set, Sprinkled with Love, getting it inky for the first time!


That yummy DP is actually printed digi paper from the Alphabet Soup for Girls collection by Zoe Pearn (Sweet Shoppe). I paper pieced the ice cream cone image from the Sprinkled with Love set from some of the solid papers from the same digi kit - I just love how that image turned out! I added some chocolate sprinkles to the top with Espresso Dimensional Pearls - they look so real! I also opted to add a little bit of Brown Pom Pom Trim for added embellishment. I'm really lovin' how this one turned out!!

Now, be sure to stop by all the other Hoppers' blogs to see what they've created this month. There's some amazing talent on that list so you're sure to find some inspiration!!

Sweet Sunday Sketch #86

Well, here we are - Sunday again already! You know what that means - it's time for another Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge! This week we have another awesome sketch designed by the fabulous Nancy McKinney, who is playing along with us again this week:


I went hybrid with my sample card - I couldn't wait to print out some of this yummy new goodness from Zoe Pearn that showed up a few weeks ago at the Sweet Shoppe! Take a look:


All of that DP is printed digi paper from the new School Days kit by Zoe Pearn (Sweet Shoppe). The apple and star are also printed digi embellishments from the same kit. The little "for a special teacher" stamped sentiment is from the Year of Sweet Sentiments stamp set from Taylored Expressions. One of the most versatile stamp sets in my collection! I added a scalloped border and some machine stitching as finishing touches. I'm really happy with how this one turned out and am sure Dean's preschool teacher will love it!

Be sure to check out the other Sweet Sunday Stampers' blogs and see what they've done with the sketch.

• Karen Motz
• Karen Giron
  
• Laura Fredrickson
  
• Lynn Put
• Sarah-Jane Kale'
• Vicki Burdick
• Joanne Basile
• Nancy McKinney

Then play along with us and post your own creation using InLinkz over on today's post on Karen's Blog!