September Diva Dare today

Yesterday while I was suppose to be finishing up my post I was running around the house getting ready for a new piano to be moved to our house. It came all the way from our friends of 9 years home. Thankfully they live just across the street so there wasn't much to do in way of scheduling.

I'm amazed at how proficient piano movers are and as I'm sitting on the stairs watching them I image how I too could be proficient at cardmaking if I "moved" through multiple cards in one day. I have tried that, but those who've read this blog know that it was a disaster to try and make multiple cards in a day.

The movers were done and already trucking down the road to their next job and it was time to run on to my next task before my kids came home from school, so I could be poised for optimal viewing. I imagined my kids would run in the front door, drop everything and swing around to see the new piano.

What happened however was a 15 minute monologue to the kids giving them clues as to what I thought they really wanted to see when they got home from school. I'm not sure how long after my banter had stopped that my son exclaimed from the front of the home, "PIANO!".

It's my turn to share the how I took the challenge this month for Verve's Diva Dare, Terrific Trios! Simply use three of something and it ended up being three flowers for me.

I share a little bit about the making of this card on my Diva Dare post so if you are interested in even more of me you can jump on over there. Be sure to take the challenge and link your creations in the gallery!

Details:
Stamps: Happy Place (Verve Stamps)
Paper: So Saffron (Stampin' Up), Gray (Strathmore), watercolor paper, Balsa (Wausau)
Ink: Dark Cashmere, Photogenic Black (Graphics 45 Decades Ink, Clearsnap)
Accessories: Happy Doodles and Pennant Trim Die (A Cut Above Dies, Verve Stamps), Cherry Ribbon (Truly Madly Deeply Signature Ribbon Collection, Verve), acrylic paint

July Diva Dare ~ Inside and Outside

Today I'm sharing my take on this month's Diva Dare, Inside Outside! Here on my blog you can see the outside of the card and enabler's supply list. To see the rest of the dare, the inside of the card, you will need to take a look over on the Verve Stamps Blog.

I'm still recovering from back issues so I apologize for not giving you all the details to how I made the card. If you have any questions, just drop them in a comment and I will get back to you. :)

Details:

Stamps: Happy Place, Button Best (Verve Stamps)
Paper: Yours Truly (Pebbles), Kraft (Wausau), watercolor paper, white (Neenah)
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento, Tsukineko), Rose Red (Stampin' Up), black permanent pen (Sharpie)
Accessories: Sky Blue (Summer Sailing Ribbon Collection, Verve Stamps), Onyx Pearl (Liquid Pearls), vintage lace edging, pinking shears scissors (Fiskars), honeycomb stencil, warm gray acrylic paint, Dimensional Effects (DecoArt), washi tape, pink pearl adhesives (Want 2 Scrap)

June Diva Dare, Man

I'm sharing my take on the June Diva Dare... It's a Man's World! Go check out the details on the Verve Stamps Blog and come back here to see more about my card today.

Details:
Stamps: Wonderful Marvelous (Verve Stamps)
Paper: Honky Tonk (Cosmo Cricket), Balsa and Charcoal (Wausau), yellow pattern scrap
Ink: Black (Archival, Ranger)
Accessories: Starry Die and Scalloped Trim Trio Die Set (A Cut Above, Verve Stamps), sewing machine, black button thread, corner chomper (WRMK), circle thin dies (Sissix)

It's Wednesday and time for a Dare!

Today I'm sharing this card over on the Verve Stamps blog for this month's Diva Dare. I created mine almost literally! Can you guess the dare? Find the answer by clicking on over to the Verve blog.

I was in the mood for a little collage style CAS card and I knew I needed to have the dare covered, but I also chose the Color Challenge on Splitcoaststampers.

Verve's May Special
The birds are chirping and the flowers are blooming here in Idaho, so we're having a 25% of sale on pretty little sets with flowers and butterflies and birds and all things spring.  Check it out on our Deals page.

And last but not least, we'll be releasing some brand new Verve later this month!  Woohoo!

Details:
Stamps: Petals and Wings (Verve Stamps)
Paper: Loolah (Creative Imagination), Picadilly (Basic Grey), kraft (Wausau)
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Tsukineko), Gelatos Guava, Bubblegum, Lemon, Cotton Candy, Lime and Pistachio (Faber-Castell DesignMemoryCraft), PITT Black artist pen (Faber-Castell)
Accessories: Wings and Petals, Build a Poppy, and Flag It Die sets (A Cut Above Die, Verve Stamps)

Robots are Awesome Dare

Are you in agreement that spring is showing up in a tiny little way? It's slowly showing all around our yard. Little leaf buds, flowers and our grass! Whoa, that's one thing that didn't stay asleep for very long. It's amazing what a little organic fertilizer and a few weeks of rain will do.

In honor of spring (in a few regions in North America) the Diva's dare you to a spring like challenge. You can find out all about it on the Verve blog, including deadlines and details. Just jump in and have some fun with the theme, "Little Things" - create a baby or kid themed card.

Here are the Copic® colors for you.

Details:
Stamps: Birthday Bots and Geared Up (Verve Stamps)
Paper: The Escape (Little Yellow Bicycle), white (Neenah)
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento, Tsukineko), Copic markers, Black felt marker (Le Pen, Marvy)
Accessories: Metal Mix Sequins (Verve Stamps), washi tape

Diva Dare "Perk Up" Coffee Sleeve Redux

It's a new Diva Dare over on the Verve Stamps blog. Get your mojo rolling with something to "Perk Up" someone. Today I'm sharing how I took the dare with this little coffee cup treat and what might be a redux on the DIY coffee sleeve or is it the "Design your own mug" insert.

This cup is filled with K-cup® pods and long stir sticks and kept warm with a DIY pocket sleeve to keep the sentiments fresh every time you have a new cup. Hey, it's just another way to send those little sticky note reminders but using your crafting supplies.

Details:
Stamps: More than Love, Poppy Birthday, Small Phrases (Verve Stamps)
Paper: Kraft, White (Wausau), Real Red, Basic Black (Stampin' Up), green pattern paper stash, clear acetate (from my art store roll)
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento, Tsukineko), Real Red (Stampin' Up)
Accessories: Pastel Polka Ribbon Collection (Verve Stamps), Heart Quartet Die, Flag It Die Set, Build a Poppy Die (Verve Stamps), Sewing machine, clean latte cup, K-cup® pods, drink stir sticks, circle punch, Crop-a dile, black brads (Prima Marketing or Maya Road)

A New Year a New Dare!

Happy New Year! 

It's been a long time off from my blog and quite unannounced unfortunately, but I'm so excited to get back in to the swing of things. Let's just say that my hip recovery/therapy and the holidays were putting limits on my creativity and mobility.

Enough of that though. I'm posting today for the first of the year Diva Dare on Verve's blog. You can jump over there and get the details to play along as well as link your "Smitten" projects.

Last weekend I made a surprise trip back to my hometown for two birthdays in my family. The surprise was for my mom and it went well with me walking in her door without invitation behind the known arrival of my older sister. The other birthday was my oldest sibling, Randy. He's started up a cattle business late in life and that seeps into our family conversations. It's what has inspired my card for this month's Diva Dare, "Smitten". 

One of our conversations during my visits was around the hardship of creating advertisements for his business. His tagline is "Building Better Beef" and part of that is creating genetic lines that hopefully get better and better with every generation. While there is a lot of back story to this I'll just say that his dilemma isn't in the photo taking but in his cattle. They are "smitten" with him and follow him every where always within arms reach. He nor his wife can get a click of the shutter in time before the cattle are too close for a full shot. It's probably not that they are smitten with him but more the hand that feeds them is the lead of their desire.

So the next time your trying to take a picture of your sweet kids or pets and they just can't stay away from you, they just might be smitten with you. Or just really hungry.  

Rope in that mojo and link up your "Smitten" project this month. We'd love to see you in the gallery!

Details:
Stamps: Chevron Love (Verve Stamps)
Paper: Chocolate, Haute Red, Sundance (Wausau and Neenah), Honky Tonk (Cosmo Cricket)
Ink: Chocolate Chip , Real Red (Stampin' Up)
Accessories: Awards Banner Trim, Jotted Heart, Banners Bundle dies (A Cut Above Dies, Verve), Red, White and Beautiful Ribbon Collection (Verve Stamps), hemp twine

Last Verve Diva Dare of 2013

It's my day to share a favorite Verve creation made in 2013. Pffttt... yeah it wasn't easy to pick just one, but I reluctantly narrowed it down to 4 cards.

Go check it out on the Verve Stamps blog today!

November Diva Dare to "Shape Up" your Project

I'm sharing my take on the Diva Dare Challenge this month, to "Shape Up" your project. Here's a photo gallery of my project and if you want the details of the challenge head on over to The Verve Stamps blog today for more information.

Verve goodies are adding a sweet touch to this shaped gift card holder. Check out the end of this post for product details.

For the shape of the card I used my Pazzles Inspiration Cutter. I've been using that for many, many projects this last month. I'm afraid it'll call in sick one of these days.

Here's the technical steps for taking a single shape and magically changing it so you can create a shaped card base. Of course you can always just use two single shapes and glue them together on one edge for a shape card, too.

Using the options in my Inspiration Cutter software here are the steps to go along with the image above.

(1) Mirror and Duplicate the shape. (2) Rotate the shape. (3) Align both shapes so they barely touch at the bottom. (4) Rotate both of them so they have a new baseline. (5) Open path on the inside of the shapes  and delete solid lines. (6) Create new cut and kiss cut lines between them. The kiss cut lines will help fold the card.

Now for the gallery...

All this goodness fits into an A2 envelope for mailing out to friends across the miles or those right next door.

If you're further interested in getting a cutting machine, please visit the Pazzles store through my affiliate link. That way they will know I sent you. :)

Details:
Stamps: Holiday Treats (Verve Stamps)
Paper: Bundled Up (Crate Paper), white and Balsa cardstock (Neenah)
Ink: Crumb Cake and Garden Green (Stampin' Up)
Accessories: A Cut Above Dies: Cup of Cheer, Flag It, Award Banner Trim, Tagged Rectangle (Verve Stamps), Grapefruit Seam Binding Ribbon (Truly Madly Deeply Ribbon Collection (Verve Stamps), Pazzles Inspiration Cutter and Latte Library File

Dare you to a game of Tic, Tac, Toe

It's my turn to share on this months Diva Dare, "Tic, Tac, Toe". You can find more out on the Verve blog today!

Details:
Stamps: Peace on Earth (Verve Stamps)
Paper: Cream and Pewter (Wausau), Crushed Curry  (Stampin' Up)
Ink: Chocolate (CTMH)

Accessories: Banner Bundle Die Set (A Cut Above, Verve)

August Diva Dare

OOPS! I created this post last week, but it never went live and I somehow didn't notice that it's missing from my blog. There is still time to join the Diva Dare this month so take a look at my post intended for last week and then head on over to find out the details of the Dare!

---

Hey, hey blogging friends! It's been hot and smoky around our area lately which isn't all that fun, but I'm making do with lots of rest and creativity dreaming.

What, dreaming? I've been a bit shy to mention my August activities because it's been a drawn out saga for me, but I'll let you in on the news. For a year I've been fighting some hip pain, the kind that is deep down and twiney with feelings of giving way to falling. I've worked through my chiropractor, orthopedic doctor, physical therapist to see if I can live with the condition and then finding a surgeon that best fits my Labral tear. With a lot of hesitation from myself and a whole lot of encouragement and prayers from family and friends, I decided to to have surgery. So instead of limping around with my kids in August, I've given way to a life of bed, PT, recliner and bed again. It's the life! lol.

Hey now that I've thought about it, I should have bought a pair of those famous lounge pants from the Verve Release Party conversations, Ahem, {Diva Sister Moe}! Anyway, it's going to be a while before I am dripping with creative puddle projects on the blog. I'll be dropping in with projects that were made before my surgery and if there is any way to get started on more projects you'll know it when you see it! Thanks for your patience and keep crafting in my stead.

So today is my day over on the Verve Stamps blog to showcase the August Diva Dare ~ Pile On the Sweetness.

Go over to the Verve blog to see the details on how you can participate and have a chance to win some new Verve!!!!!!  

Want more inspiration? Each Diva creation is thumbnail linked on the sidebar so you can click on each day to catch up!

There's a lot of sale going on at the Verve shop, too.

Details:
Stamps: Making a Statement (Verve Stamps)
Paper: Loolah (Creative Imaginations), Sundance (Neenah), So Saffron (SU!), chipboard
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Tsukineko)
Accessories: Loopy Blooms Die Set, Rounded Scallop Frame Die, Ribbon Banner Die (A Cut Above, Verve), Lacy Circle, Oval and Classic Circle die (Spellbinders), Black Pearl liquid pearls (Viva Decor), sewing machine

Beloved cards are the muse for Verve's July Diva Dare

Tattered pages and uplifting sentiments are the elements of this month's Diva Dare and today I'm sharing my card designed by the inspiration of two of our Diva sisters. Find out who they are over on Verve Stamps' blog. 

Details:
Stamps: Words Cannot Express (Verve Stamps)
Paper: Ginko (Wausau), Time for Spring (Fancy Pants Design), lined paper
Ink: Chocolate Chip (Stampin' Up), Old Paper and Worn Lipstick (Ranger Distress Ink)
Accessories: Joyful Blooms Die Set (A Cut Above, Verve), Banner Bundle Die Set (A Cut Above, Verve), Scalloped Trim Trio Die Set (A Cut Above, Verve), Grapefruit ribbon ( Truly Madly Deeply Ribbon Collection, Verve), chevron embossing folder (Stampin' Up), liquid pearls (Viva Decor), white pearl (Stampin' Up), 1-ply of yarn, mini stapler (Tiny Attacher, Tim Holtz Idea-ology), paper distresser (Tonic, Tim Holtz), sewing machine

May Diva Dare with Verve Stamps

Verve's May Diva Dare is winding down and I'm honored to be posting today on the US holiday of Memorial Day. Thank you for all those who have served our country and those who are continuing to serve today.

The details for the Diva Dare are over on the Verve Stamps blog! If you have some time today go see all the wonderful samples from the rest of the Release Team Divas on the side bar.

A CAS card for Laurie Willison's style. I started with the card below and had some extra paints so I made up this card. I added the texture by painting a scrap piece of cardboard for the stripes and then good ol' bubble wrap for the dots.

For this card, I started with a full sheet of kraft cardstock and in three sections I brushed on white paint then with bubble wrap and corrugate board stamped red and blue paint. I used the Banner Bundle Set to cut out the red and blue banners, but when it came to the white painted kraft I stamped a sentiment from Let It Be on first before cutting out with the banner die. Because the sentiment was longer than the largest die I let the top edge of the die hang off the edge of my cutting plate and trimmed the rest with scissors.

I stagger-layered the banners using the star trim die from the Scalloped Trim Trio Set as a guide for the width and then before putting them all down straight stitched across the scallop trim for embellishment. The background is glued crumpled tissue paper onto dark blue cardstock and stitched around the edges. I did some sponge distressing and then adhered it to the kraft card base. Added my banner collage to the base with foam dots and glued some random stars cut with the Starry die.

Hope all those in the US have a sweet day, however you choose to spend it.

Details:
Stamps:  Let It Be (Verve Stamps)
Paper: Kraft (Hobby Lobby), white (Neenah), white tissue paper, blue cardstock
Ink: Jet Black (Archival, Ranger), Antiqued White (Ranger)
Accessories:   Scalloped Trim Trio Set, Banner Bundle Set and  Starry die (A Cut Above, Verve Stamps), cardboard scrap, bubble wrap, sewing machine

Verve Diva Dare ~ Bright Blooms and Butterflies

It's time for me to share how I took the Diva Dare over on Verve Stamps blog. See you over there!

Diva Dare ~ Day 8

If you think you don't want to take the link to the Dare, then here's a bit of incentive. There are two ways to win some shiny new Verve! Yeah, k.

I used the Mojo Monday sketch #290 and was inspired to let my flowers and butterfly grow wild. :) They didn't want to stay in place, I tell ya.

Details:
Stamps: So Fluttery and Surely Goodness (Verve Stamps)
Paper: Miss Caroline Dolled Up (My Mind's Eye), Night of Navy (Stampin' Up)
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Tsukineko), markers (Copic)
Accessories: Scalloped Trim Trio Die Set, Banner Bundle Set,  Loopy Blooms Die Set, Essentials Paper Piercing Pack (Stampin' Up), twine (The Twinery)