Hi there friends old, new and yet to be!  Today I'm participating in the Season's Givings Blog Hop.  Each and every blog along the hop is giving something away as a way to thank our readers for the wonderful ways you touch our lives.  So a great big thank you to all of you who read my ramblings and follow my erratic postings, brightening my day with comments and emails of support.  Without you I might not have anything but twinspeak from my boys running through my head all day!  {grin}

So I've put together two giveaways.  One is en entire box filled with brand new stamps and supplies.  The second is a gift certificate to Verve Stamps.  To be eligible for the prize drawings, just leave a comment on this post before 10:59pm Mountain on Jan. 5.


Giveaway 1: {winner must have a US shipping address}

Wings of Love, Chevron Love, Wavy Hearts Die Set, Twitterpated, No Matter What, and the Hearts & Swirls Die Set from Verve Stamps, several background rubber stamps by Christy Tomlinson and Art McKracken, Heirloom Patterns background clear stamp set from Waltzingmouse Stamps, paper and embellishments from Crate Paper and Basic Grey, Stampin' Up! ribbon, Dear Lizzy roller date stamp and random embellishments

Giveaway 2:  {winner must have a shipping address in one of the countries Verve ships to... Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom or the United States.}

Hi friends!  It's the final Monday of the month (and of 2013) and that means it's Round or Square week at Mojo Monday.  This week's sketch is based on this card I made for Verve's November release.


I used the birdie from the Christmas Joy set.  Since he has those spindly little legs, he was Tiny Tim in my mind when I was designing the set, so I thought the God bless us, everyone sentiment would be perfect for a new year's card.  He's got a shimmery red Stickles coat and I popped up the snowflake on his hat and added a bit more glitter.  The sentiment is stamped inside the Scroll plain jane and cut with the coordinating Scroll Die.  I accented with a snowflake from the Holiday Treats set and cut with the Winter Fun Die Set.  A couple jingle bells and some twine finish things off.


Tomorow (Dec. 31) is the last day of Verve's Good Buy 2013 sale.  Everything in the store is 10 - 60% off and there's a special coupon code to save even more!  Just enter SHOPHOP in the gift code at check out to receive an extra 10% off!  Things are selling out quickly, so if you haven't strolled over to Verve in a while, now's the time!

Thanks so much for stopping by!  I've got to skedaddle... lots of work and orders to pack!  :)
Hope you have a fabulously creative start to your week!

Enabler's List:
Stamps: Christmas Joy, Scroll, Holiday Treats (Verve)
Paper: 'Tis the Season (Echo Park), basic black, basic gray, cherry cobbler (SU!), white
Ink: Black
Accessories: Scroll Die, Winter Fun Die Set (A Cut Above by VERVE), red, green, orange and frosted lace stickles (Ranger), white scrapper's floss (Karen Foster), mini jingle bells (JoAnn)

Hi friends!  I'm back with the second installment of my year in review posts.  Today I'm featuring my favorites from March and April of this year.

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Thanks so much for stopping by today! Just a reminder that there are only a few days left of Verve's Good Buy 2013 Sale.  We've got tons of HUGE discounts, with everything in the store on sale!  Plus, use gift code SHOPHOP at checkout to receive an additional 10% off!

Hi friends!  Life is crazy busy around our house and I don't see any free time in my future, so I thought I'd pop in and share a few of my favorite cards from this year.  But first a little enabling...

Verve's annual end of year sale is going on through December 31 and the savings are BIG!  Everything in the store is 10 - 60% off! 

Plus, there's a special coupon code for an EXTRA 10% off your purchase!  Just enter SHOPHOP in the gift code box in our shopping cart and click apply.  The sale is limited to stock on hand and things are selling out quickly, so head on over and take a look!

Last year when I got to the end of the year, I vowed to keep better track of my favorites throughout the year and pretty much I think it might have been the only personal goal I was able to accomplish in 2013!  I picked three favorites from the previous month at the first of every month, and made a little spreadsheet with links so I'm happy to say this post is going to be super easy for me!  Hooray!  So, without further ado... here are my favorites from January and February of this year...

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{Click here for original post} Stamps: Grace Plain Jane (Verve Stamps) Paper:  brown paper bag, white cardstock Ink: Black, Versarmark, white, pink and coral Gelatos (Faber-Castell), blank canvas studio paint (Claudine Hellmuth), pencil Accessories: Hollyhock Stencil (Donna Downey), linen thread, rhinestone, white embossing powder, Tonic Distressing Tool (Ranger)



{Click her for original post} Stamps: Hope Blooms (Verve Stamps) Paper: White, silver, vellum Ink: Black Soot, Stormy Skies and Pumice Stone Distress (Ranger), White acrylic paint Accessories: Pennant Trim Die (A Cut Above by VERVE), Stormy Skies ribbon collection (Verve Stamps), Curlique embossing folder (Sizzix), Stripes & scallops border punch (American Crafts), glossy glaze, dazzling diamonds glitter, distressing tool.



February 2013

{Click here for original post} Stamps: Surely Goodness (Verve Stamps) Paper: 5 x 7" canvas board (Art Advantage) Ink: Archival black, Pumice Stone Distress (Ranger), Big Brush Pens, Gelatos (Faber-castell) Accessories: Poppies & Peonies Donna Downey stencil, light modeling paste, clear tar gel, acrylic paints, gesso, Koi watercolors, waterbrush, Mr. Huey Mint Julep spray (Studio Calico), clear embossing powder



{Click here for original post} Stamps: Borderline (Verve Stamps) Paper: brown paper bag, Scoot (Echo Park), ruled index card, black cardstock Ink: Vintage Photo, Black Soot (Ranger Distress), Copic marker Accessories:  Mini Classy Label Die Set (A Cut Above by VERVE), paper crimper (Fiskars), mini library clip (SU!), twine (Hemptique), gesso, wood veneer stars (Studio Calico), paper distresser (Tonic)



{Click here for original post} Stamps: Seeing Stars, Small Phrases (Verve Stamps)  Paper: Pool Party, So Saffron, Early Espresso (SU!), white  Ink: Early Espresso, Pool Party (SU!)  Accessories: Starry Die, Flag It Die Set (A Cut Above by VERVE), Chevron embossing folder, Large Star punch (SU!), hemp thread (Hemptique), button

Hi friends!  Happy Christmas Eve!  This holiday season has flown by for me.  Not a minute to spare any day of the week.  The boys are climbing the walls, scaling the furniture and generally showing me just how old I am every waking moment (and that's a lot of moments).  A 30 second bathroom break usually means that every pot in the house is pulled out of the cupboards, while someone has scaled the baby gate and lined up all the snacks in front of it so they can "hide" on the second pantry shelf.  Never a dull moment!  But they're pretty cute, and it's pretty hard to stay upset with these adorable little grins, don't ya think?

Photo credit: Memory Lane Photography

Supply List
Stamps: Hope Blooms, Bloom & Grow (Verve Stamps)
Paper: Bundle of Joy Girl (Echo Park), soft sky (SU!), white
Ink: strawberry slush, soft sky (SU!), white pencil (prismacolor)
Accessories: Elegant Leaves Die (A Cut Above by VERVE), sponge, pink pearls

Hi friends!  It's Monday again, and this week Teresa has come up with another Mojo Monday sketch for us to play with!  I used a few stamps from Verve's last couple releases.


All of my stamping is early espresso on crumb cake. For the Every Heart sentiment, I first embossed the hearts onto the panel, then stamped on the side.  I added a little flag with the Christmas Wishes sentiment from Christmas Joy.  Then I stamped the chevron heart from Chevron Love and cut with the coordinating Jotted Heart Die.  The other hearts are all cut with the Heart Quartet Die.  I finished with a bit of liquid pearls and a teeny rhinestone.

Thanks so much for stopping by!  I hope you have a fantastic Christmas!

Enabler's List
Stamps: Every Heart, Christmas Joy, Chevron Love (Verve Stamps)
Paper: crumb cake, cherry cobbler, early espresso (SU!), 'Tis the Season (Echo Park)
Ink: early espresso (SU!)
Accessories:  Heart Quartet Die, Jotted Heart Die (A Cut Above by VERVE), liquid pearls (Ranger), hearts embossing folder (Sizzix), teeny rhinestone

Hi friends!  It's Monday again and time for another Mojo Monday sketch!  This week is a darling sketch by Teresa with an optional banner up in the corner.  So fun!  I pulled out an older Verve Christmas set and had a little fun!


First I stamped the larger ornament from Holly Jolly in cherry cobbler, then masked it off with a 1-3/8" circle punch and stamped the smaller ornament in Old Olive.  The hooks are stamped with smoky slate and then I colored with a colorless blender pen.  I also stamped two of the holly sprigs, then colored with Copics, accented with a little stickles and hand cut out to add to my project.  The have a holly jolly Christmas sentiment is stamped onto smoky slate, and I cut the banner from smoky slate as well. Some silver embellishments that looked like fun little ornaments finished things off.

That's all for me today.  Thanks so much for stopping by!  I hope you have a wonderful week!

Enabler's List
Stamps: Holly Jolly (Verve)
Paper: cherry cobbler, old olive, smoky slate (SU!), white
Ink: cherry cobbler, old olive, smoky slate (SU!), black
Accessories:  Pennant Trim Die (A Cut Above by VERVE), silver embellishments, red stickles

Hi friends!  Happy Thursday!  Today I have a quick little clean & simple card to share with you.  I made this last weekend and this is my first free moment since then to sit down and type up a post. Things are moving at warp speed in our neck of the woods... if you see a blur streaking across my post, it's probably Kellan or Trevor. LOL! They have ENDLESS energy and are into EVERYTHING!


Anyhow, on with the card...  I cut a piece of crumb cake cardstock with the Heart Quartet Die, then layered a piece of red vellum behind it.  The Every Heart plain jane is stamped in Early Espresso onto the crumb cake panel and then I wrapped some silver & white baking twine around it and popped up on dimensionals.  Three sparkly jingle bells and some Stardust Stickles edging each of the hearts adds shimmer and I add a couple little leaves I found in my Christmas drawer.  The plain white base is scored a couple times at the top and bottom for accent, and I was done.  Easy peasy!

Enabler's List
Stamps: Every Heart (Verve Stamps)
Paper: crumb cake (SU!), red vellum, white
Ink: early espresso (SU!)
Accessories: Heart Quartet Die (A Cut Above by VERVE), baker's twine, jingle bells, stardust stickles, leaves, Scor-Pal

Hi friends!  It's Monday again and time for a brand new Mojo Monday sketch.  This week's sketch is simple and just perfect for Christmas cards.


For my card, I stamped the birdie from the new Christmas Joy on crumb cake, then colored with prismacolor pencils and gamsol.  I also used a white pencil around the edge of the circle and my sentiment rectangle, for a snowy frame.  The sentiment is stamped in black, then I framed both stamped pieces in black.  The soft sky layer is torn, then stamped in soft sky with the Christmas Wishes sentiment and I wrapped a little black twine around it, then layered my stamped pieces over it.  A little embossing and a rounded corner on the card base finishes things off.

Thanks so much for stopping by!  I hope you have a wonderful start to your week!

Enabler's List
Stamps: Christmas Joy (Verve Stamps)
Paper: soft sky, crumb cake, basic black (SU!), white
Ink: black, Prismacolor pencils
Accessories:  Classic Circles & Rectangles Nestabilities (Spellbinders), black twine, snowflakes embossing folder (Sizzix), tiny rhinestone, black twine

Hi friends!  It's the 5th of the month and that means the Divas are HOPPING today!  I'm the start of this shindig, so settle in, grab a treat and let your fingers do the clicking to some Verve-alicious inspiration!  As usual, there's a comment prize hidden along the hop, so be sure to leave some love for the Divas as you hop about for a chance to win some shiny Verve! Head on over to the Verve Blog for another card from me and all the prize details!



Speaking of shiny new Verve, I'm using a little bit of old that's new again for my project today.
Last week Verve released four compilation sets of some of our faith based smaller sets and plain janes, consolidating space in our stock room and streamlining things a bit for both packing and shipping.  In the process, I was able to add in one scripture that I designed a long time ago but for whatever reason never made it to stamp form.  It's Proverbs 3:6, which is included in Scripture Medley 2 and I've used on today's card.  It coordinates perfectly with the Proverbs 3:5 verse in Scripture Medley 1, so I just had to make a matching bookmark!


The card was inspired by Deconstructed Sketch #128.  I originally wanted some map paper to go along with the direct your paths reference in the scripture, so I pulled out World Traveler by Teresa Collins.  But as soon as I saw this damask paper in the pad, my heart was set on a black and cream card!  I stamped the Proverbs 3:6 stamp from Scripture Medley 2 onto a classic circle die cut, then cut another circle from DP, trimmed it off so the sentiment would show and layered a bit of the Flourished Trim Die as a divider, then accented with black liquid pearls.  I used the same technique for the side trim on the card, then finished things off with a fun little damask butterfly from the $1 section at Michael's and some Polka Dot Basics Ribbon.


I went for a similar look for the matching bookmark using the Proverbs 3:5 stamp from Scripture Medley 1.  The bookmark shape is the new Tag Me Confetti Cuts from Reverse Confetti and I again used the Flourished Trim Die as a divider.  So easy and a fun little homemade gift for a book lover!

Alrighty, before I go, just thought I'd mention the new sale that started today.  We're celebrating another year coming to a close by offering all of our stamps released in 2013 (and their coordinating dies) at 25% off through December 24!

	1. Julee	11. Andrea
	2. Amy	12. Teresa
	3. Anya	13. Charmaine
	4. Betty	14. Laurie S.
	5. Jessica	15. Stacey {Guest}
	6. Karen	16. Jen
	7. Sankari	17. Maureen
	8. Sarah	18. Marisa
	9. Susan	19. Christyne
	10. Tiffany

Enabler's List
Stamps: Scripture Medley 1, Scripture Medley 2 (Verve Stamps)
Paper: World Traveler (Teresa Collins), black, cream
Ink: black, vintage photo
Accessories: Flourished Trim Die (A Cut Above by VERVE), Polka Dot Basics Ribbon Collecion (Verve), Tag Me Confetti Cuts (Reverse Confetti), Classic Circles Nestabilities (Spellbinders), liquid pearls (Ranger), Damask Texture Fades (Sizzix), butterfly

Hi friends!  It's the first Monday of the month and that means it's contest time over at Mojo Monday!  Play along this week for a chance to win a Verve stamp set of your choosing.  The more entries we have, the more prizes we have, so that's the perfect excuse to stamp, stamp, stamp all week, right?!  {grin}


This week's sketch is based on this card I made for last week's release.  I've paired the brand new Every Heart plain jane with one of the hearts from Chevron Love, stamped on a Rounded Rectangle die cut, then layered onto the Rounded Scalloped Frame Die (which I embossed in white using the coordinating stamp in Making a Statement).  The blushing bride layer was embossed with a candy cane stripe, but wasn't quite the look I wanted, so I then embossed it again using a Tim Holtz snowflakes folder and rubbed some jasmine white Mix'd Media Inx on it.  I love the result... lightly textured stripes with snowflakes that pop!  I embellished with some ribbon from the Truly Madly Deeply Collection and finished off with some glittery white jingle bells and liquid pearls.

Thanks so much for stopping by!  I hope you have a fabulous start to December!

Enabler's List
Stamps: Every Heart, Chevron Love, Making a Statement (Verve Stamps)
Paper: 'Tis the Season (Echo Park), blushing bride, basic gray, cherry cobbler (SU!), white
Ink: cherry cobbler, blushing bride (SU!), Versamark, Jasmine White Mix'd Media Inx
Accessories: Rounded Scalloped Frame Die, Rounded Rectangle Die (A Cut Above by VERVE), Truly Madly Deeply Ribbon Collection (Verve), jingle bells (Michael's), diagonal stripes and snowflakes embossing folders (Sizzix), scallop trim border punch (SU!), white embossing