VLVOCT04 Window Wreaths

When I saw the sketch for this weeks VLVOct04 challenge, I immediately visualized 2 wreaths hanging above a double window for some reason. I set out to create that image I had in my head and this is what I came up with. I used an old Fiskars shape cutter to cut the window..........a tool I rarely used since I bought it several years ago, but today it was the perfect item to have on hand. I cut the window out of SU! dsp and layered a background in the window from Basic Grey's Figgy Pudding. The overall background dsp is from a DCWV luxury stack. I made the wreaths with a MS fern punch and dotted them with liquid applique and red liquid pearls. The sentiment panel was done with a G Studio stamp, and layered on a Nestability tag done with BG and SU dsp. I tried to drape the teal colored sheer ribbon to look like a swag, but I'm not sure if I acheived the look I was going for?!

Thanks for stopping by and have yourself a fine Monday!

VLVOct03 and StampinB's challenges

I made this box for the StampinB's #28 challenge, where Vicky Gould asks us to make a Halloween card. OK, I cheated - this is not a card, but it is for Halloween :) This box holds 2 pair of Halloween socks for my 3-yr old DGD that's going in the mail next week. I used the twick or tweet set on the tag punches and adhered them onto a 2x4 tag I made. The papers were from a glitter stack from Jo-Annes and the box was made from Tangerine Tango.
This card was made for the VLVOCT03 sketch challenge with a twist to use fabric on our cards. I used a couple pieces of denim and cut them out with Nestabilities. I colored the image (from stampabilities) with derwent wc pencils, embossing the whole image with clear after coloring. I used ballet blue, navy and PTI dsp, adding twill and some punched circles. I added a HOTP button brad and some punched navy cardstock, covered the CTMH liquid glass. The sticker is by DCWV.

Thanks for stopping by and have a great Friday!

Viva La Verve Oct01 & Oct02

I had time yesterday to play catch-up with the VLVOct challenges 1 & 2. This is the first sketch challenge, and the twist is to make it "shabby chic." I struggled with this, probably because I tend to create on the more dramatic side. I was pleasantly surprised when it was finished, because I actually like it! All the dsp was from HOTP, and the pastel cardstock is from a DCWV pastel stack. The stamps are by Verve and stamped in Cameo Coral and Sandy Beige. I used the MS doily punch, and stitched everything with my machine. I added some primas after sponging them and added a few buttons and ribbon. The darker circular panel was done with the faux suede technique and looks more like cloth than paper.

This was the VLVOct02 sketch challenge and the twist was to use no orange or brown on your card. No problem!! This pink passion card was actually much easier for me to create. I heat embossed the black panel first with Versamark and clear ep, and then dry embossed it with a CB herringbone ef. The stars were cut with a sizzix die, and gemstones are by Kaiser and Heidi Swapp. The pink ric-rac was from my stash and the brads were green, but I dipped them in versamark and embossed them twice with white ep. The stamps used are by G Studio.

Thanks for dropping by on this chilly Monday. Have a great day and Go Phillies!!

VLVSep04

The VLVSep04 sketch challenge with a twist is to use only black and white on a card. I don't know that I ever used just these 2 colors before, but I tend to lean toward the dramatic side of creating, so this works for me. I went a little Fleur de lis crazy, using the Fleur de lis embossing folder, the fleur de lis border punch AND the Fleur de lis single image punch! The black panel is embossed with clear powder for that shiny look, as are the larger individual single punches. The smaller black Fleur de lis were made with the border punch and glued on the white panel. I used a Cuttlebug floral ef for the 3 flowers and put black brads in the centers. I used a chipboard button and sewed one of those embossed, punched images on with white embroidery floss and adhered it to the white grosgrain ribbon. The sentiment is by Inkadinkado.
Wishing you all a wonderful Monday...........make it a good one :)

Carol

VLVSep03

The "twist" this week over at the VLVSep03 sketch challenge is to add a girlfriend to your card...... moms, grandmas, sisters, etc. I made a card for a Mom. I used all Cottage Wall dsp along with Razzleberry, Pale Plum, and Olive. The sentiment was done with an Inkadinkado stamp, the word window and modern label punches. 2 gemstone brads were added along with some tiny matching gemstones on the top. The Nestabilities scalloped circle was pierced, and the inner circle was stamped with a Verve (Because of You) stamp in Razzleberry. The vertical panel is a piece of olive ribbon matted with razzleberry cardstock.
Wishing you all a fantastic Monday, and thanks for stopping by!

Carol

VLVSep02_Something Tiny

The VLVSept02 challenge this week is to make something "tiny." That could include a scrapling, 3x3, 4x4, tag, etc. Anything but the standard A2 card. I chose to make a scrapling again. Since I discovered how to make them in the challenge last week, I want to make lots more! I made a card for the VLVSept01 challenge in the same colors, so here's a picture of the card and scrapling together.

If anyone has an anniversary I'm well prepared now with a card and gift tag! The colors are pale plum, plum, olive and cottage wall dsp. I used an impressability on the plum and sanded it and punched out a flower. Then I added a Kaiser lavender pearl and some PTI plum satin ribbon, an eyelet and silver cording. The borders were created with a MS doily punch.

Thanks for spending a little time with me again today............have a good one!!

Carol

VLVSep01

I made a card for the Viva La Verve sketch challenge with a twist. The twist is to use little round things. I chose to use Kaiser lavender pearls for the twist. For this card I used olive and eggplant cardstock from a DCWV mat stack, along with pale plum and cottage wall dsp from SU! I punched the borders with a MS doily punch and embossed the focal panel with an Impressabilities and sanded it. I should note that the eggplant cardstock has a white core which is why you see the pattern after sanding. The ribbon is pale plum from PTI and the sentiment is from Verve, encased in some vanilla hodge podge hardware.
I hope you're all having a wonderful weekend so far. It's gloomy in PA today so it's a good day to stay indoors and stamp! Thanks for stopping by :)

Carol

VLVAug04

Here's my card for the Viva La Verve Aug04 sketch challenge with a twist. The twist this week is to use our favorite color combination. That narrows it down to about twelve! LOL I chose red, white and black since it's one of my of favorite combos. I used the Verve "Because of You" stamp set and stamped the floral spray in Versafine Black on SU really red dsp. I stamped the spray again on real red cardstock and cut out the larger flower and popped it up after curling the petals around a paintbrush handle. The main image ovals were cut with shape cutters. I took another floral image from the set and stamped it off once in warm grey, then I took the sentiment stamp and curled it around on the block to create the oval sentiment and stamped that in Versafine Onyx black. The word "Mom" was stamped in Real Red, and the horizontal panel was done with Making Memories dsp and black cardstock. A large MS pearl was added to the popped up flower, while smaller Hero Arts pearls were added to the smaller flowers. The white dots were done with a white gelpen. The taffeta ribbon is by SU! and the white cardstock is by PTI.
Thanks so much for stopping by, and have yourselves a great Monday!

VLVAug03

This weeks Viva La Verve sketch challenge with a twist is to add a tag. I stamped the white cardstock base with various leaf images in caramel, beige and close to cocoa, all stamped off once. The leaf is a Nestabilities die cut (a Christmas gift from my DDIL) done on Kraft. I rubbed several colored inkpads all over it, and spritzed it with water. After it dried, I still wasn't happy with it, so I got out 3 tiny pots of H20's and painted here and there. After it was dry, I curled the portions around my cutting knife to give it dimension, and popped it up on foam tape. The acorns were also a diecut, and I rubbed them with a brown inkpad to add some color. The dsp is by PTI, the panel is Chocolate chip, punched with an EK small scallop border punch and the orange ribbon and brown twill are from my stash. The sentiment tag was hand cut and stamped with a Paper Store stamp (thanks Heidi). I added some brown yarn and fibers with an eyelet. If you click the picture, you might see the tiny topaz colored bling on the chocolate chip panel too!

Speaking of Heidi, has anyone seen her lately? Helloooooooo??? echo.........echo.......echo..........

Carol

Happy Haunting { a wee bit early }

I made this for the VLVAug02 sketch challenge with a twist. The twist this week is to use border or edge punches. I decided to use a MS goo punch and the rest of the card was built around that punch. I used scraps of green, gold, yellow, and purple and used a scrap of Bo Bunny dsp from last year. I layered the goo borders for a real drippy effect, and punched the spider with a MS spider punch. I dotted his eyes with a white gelpen and layered the mats with Nesties. I hand drew the spider web with a souffle pen because it was just too much black in that corner. The sentiment was stamped with Versamark and embossed with white EP. The ribbon was from my stash.
I know it's early for Halloween, but I'll be ready for it when it arrives now:)
Have a great day!

Carol

CTD#54, VLVAug01 double challenge

This week it's LeAnne's turn to choose the colors for the CTD#54 found here. She asks us to use Blush Blosson, Tangerine Tango (or Pumpkin Pie), Basic Grey and Really Rust. These colors are so pretty that I didn't have any trouble putting them together to make my card. I'm out of Really Rust cardstock, so I substituted a piece of dark brown cardstock......the closest match I had on hand. I started with a panel of Tangerine Tango and embossed it with the Flower Impressabilites. I lightly rubbed my Really Rust inkpad all over it to give it a distressed look. The floral image is from the Ever After SU! set, and that was stamped in Basic Grey and colored with glaze pens. The sentiment panel was stamped in blush on blush cardstock with the "Because of You" Verve stamp set, then the sentiment itself (also from Verve) was stamped in Really Rust. The 4 "faux" brads you see are actually punched pieces of Blush cardstock, covered with CTMH liquid glass. This card also qualifies for the VLV sketch challenge with a twist for the first week of August found here.
Thanks for stopping by today, and have a great Wednesday!

Viva La Verve Jul05 sketch with a twist

Here's my take on the VLVJul05 sketch challenge with a twist found here. The twist this week is to add texture. I added texture by embossing and piercing, as well as adding pearls and flowers. I started with a card base of blush blossom and stamped it with the stitched background stamp in Cameo Coral. The punched border was done with a MS doily punch in Ruby Red. I finally got a good photo for a change, dashing out last evening before the storms struck to quickly get this shot.
Wishing you all a wonderful weekend, and thanks so much for stopping by and spending a little time with me:)

Carol

stamps - Stitched, Because of You (Verve)
paper - blush blossom, ruby red, cameo coral, SU raspberry tart
inks - cameo coral, ruby red
accessories - SU ivory taffeta ribbon, Kaiser blush pearls, MS doily punch, flower, brad, cb swiss dots ef

Viva La Verve Jul04

I've been taking a little time off from cardmaking lately..........I tend to burn myself out now and then. I made this card for the VivaLaVerve Jul04 sketch challenge with a twist to use vellum. The only vellum is the little butterfly. Vellum totally challenges me and I rarely use it. My border punches don't like it very much and it almost always gets chewed up in them, so I normally don't reach for it. The Martha Stewart butterfly punch worked perfectly with it however, so I was able to add the vellum "twist" to my card this week. I'm embarrassed to mention how many of these challenge cards I've made and forgot to add the "twist!"
I used all Haiku dsp on this one. I'm so sad that it's been retired, but hopefully I'll like something as much (if not more) from the new SU selections this year. Right now I have my eye on that Cottage Wall dsp and that incredible color of Razzleberry!
Thanks for spending a little part of your Monday with me and have yourself a fine day!

Carol

stamps - Verve (because of you)
paper - Haiku dsp, old olive, tangerine tango, white, so saffron, orange vellum
inks - creamy caramel, old olive, apricot (for shading the flower)
accessories - HP hardware, saffron ribbon, sizzix flower diecut, nesties circles, hero arts 3mm pearls, MS butterfly punch

VLVJul03

I had time today to make my VLVJul03 sketch challenge card with a twist. This week's twist is to add scoring. I stamped the navy cardbase with an Anna Griffin b/g stamp using Versamark, and then heat embossed it with white ep. The white panel was diagonally scored and you can click on the picture to see it better. I took the same stamp and used Sprout ink to create a background on the sentiment panel, and stamped the actual sentiment with Navy ink. The sentiment is one of those single stamps on the back page of the SU catalog. I LOVE those stamps but unfortunately this one has already been retired. The green galore panels were leftover scraps from a card I made the other day, so they were already embossed with an Impressability. I added some ribbon, a button and navy hemp, and a few silver beads to finish this one off.
Viva La Weekend everybody!

Carol

Extremes!

If you saw my card yesterday, you know I was supposed to add distressing to meet the Viva La Verve July01 sketch challenge. I forgot to distress, so when I saw today's technique challenge over on SCS to make Faux Burnt Edges I thought hmm......... I wonder if I could combine both challenges in one card? Well this is that extreme result and I hope you get a chuckle or two out of it. I took this card a slight bit {LOL} over the top with the burnt edges look, but this is just where my mind went with it. After I sponged the first top note diecut piece with inks, I thought wow, that looks like it really went through a fire! I decided to take a piece of bright orange cardstock to make the bottom top note layer since that reminded me of flames. After I sponged that one, I thought wow, this looks like it burnt to a crisp! I took a piece of orange ribbon and sponged that with black and walnut inks to give it that crispy look too :) Then I wondered what on earth I'd use for a sentiment for something like this?! As I looked through my stamps, I found this little chihuahua stamp and remembered posting a card with this image on SCS some time ago. One lady commented that it looked like Paris Hilton's dog Tinkerbelle. Ok, we all know Paris's trademark answer to everything, right? THAT'S HOT! That was an aha moment for me. Honestly, I never planned on making a card like this......especially for a VERVE challenge! Verve makes the most elegant stamps while this one might be categorized as shabby grunge! I computer generated the sentiment since Verve makes nothing appropriate for this type of card! *snort* Oh well, I had a good laugh over the results and I hope it brings a smile to your face too :) We once had 2 chihuahuas and they brought so much joy to our lives, so perhaps that's why I find this one so amusing. I miss those little guys too!
Thanks for stopping by, and have a great Monday :)

Carol

stamps - Doggie Bag by A Muse artstamps, Technique Tuesday
paper - cottonwood, orange, black
inks - versafine Onyx Black, Ranger Distress Walnut, Antique Linen, and Black , White Craft Ink, Soft Gray Wool
accessories - top note die, TOmbow markers, Clear ep, ribbon, sponges

A Big Oops!

I made this card for the Viva La Verve July1 sketch challenge with a twist, but there's one gigantic mistake. The twist this week was to use distressing. That's right, I followed the sketch meticulously, but as I was creating this one, I completely forgot to add distressing! *sigh* Oh well, I liked this card just the way it turned out, so I'll have to try the challenge a 2nd time the RIGHT way! I think I'm sleep deprived?!
Have a wonderful Sunday and thanks for stopping by.

Carol

stamps - Verve
paper - gable green, black, cottonwood, lovely leaves dsp (unknown mfr)
inks - Versafine onyx black
accessories - crocheted lace, Swiss dots and leaf branches CB folders, sheer ivory ribbon, mini flower, Kaiser pearl

VLVJun04 Sketch Challenge w/twist

Good Monday morning everyone!
I finally found time to make my 4th and final card for the Viva La Verve June sketch challenges with a twist. The twist this week was to add just one piece of dsp and draw inspiration from it. I chose a piece of Basic Grey Wisteria because it has my favorite color purple in it! I love the purple and blues together. I stamped off the small flowers once in eggplant and added some 3mm pearls to the centers. I used my coluzzle to cut the dsp and then used a Nestie to cut the scalloped mat behind it. The ribbons are both by SU! and the stamp set I used is called "because of you" by Verve. The embellishments are cardstock pieces cut with a hole punch and covered with CTMH liquid glass.
I hope you all had a great weekend and I wish you a great week ahead. It's Monday and the sun is actually shining, could it be any better?!

Carol

Viva La Verve June week 3

Here's my card for the VLVJune03 sketch challenge with a twist of white! Amber wants to see lots of white space on our cards this week. My DH came in the room when I was wrapping this up and said "Oh, that's a nice card, but it's too much white!" ROFL!!
I used Cuttlebug happy birthday and swiss dots embossing folders. The sentiment is by Verve and the crocheted flower is by yours truly. I added some red Geo Sparklers here and there for interest and a piece of SU ribbon.
Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful Friday!

Carol

Viva La Verve June week 2

I made this card for my granddaughter to give to her Mom on her birthday later this month. It was made for the VLVJun02 sketch challenge with a twist. This week's twist is to use something "new". What's new on this card are 2 Verve stamps I just bought. One is the Because of You set, and the other is a single flower image that matches those in the set. I stamped them with Versamark, embossed them with white ep and then colored them in with some Cool Caribbean reinker and an aqua brush. I cut them out and popped them up on foam tape and added a couple turquoise gemstones. The leaves were made with an oval punch and run through the crimper. The blue dsp is by Basic Grey (2 scoops) and I also used Prismatics Birchtone in shades of light and dark. The tiny scalloped border was done with an EK border punch, and if you click on the photo to enlarge it, you'll see the piercing I did along the edges of the white cardstock base. Ribbon was from my stash.
Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!

Carol

Viva La Verve June week 1

Happy Saturday everyone :)
I made this card for the Viva La Verve challenge for week #1 of June. These are weekly sketch challenges with a "twist" and this week's twist is to triple up on 3 (or more) things. 3 different colors of cardstock, 3 different embellishments, and 3 stamp sets. Verve stamps are not required to play along. It's beautiful outside today, so I'm heading back out to soak up a little sunshine! Have a great weekend everyone!

Carol