New life, new hope, new joy He brings...Won't you listen to the angels sing...Glory, Glory, Glory to the new born King...

Happy Wednesday, sistahs! The holidays are finally catching up with me...and I'm a teensy bit frantic! Anyone else with me out there in blog land? It's time for me to get MOVING! So as I get moving, this will be a quick post. *wink* My mojo was going full speed the other night so I made a few cards to share this week. I pulled out Sweet Sunday Sketch #146 from a few weeks ago as a starting point.


I colored this Choir image from Stamping Bella at LEAST a year ago, and it has been hiding in my stash since then. But it's still one of my favorites. Here's my card:


I flipped the sketch a little, but you can still see it. I really REALLY love how it turned out. I cut and embossed the main image & mat with Nestabilities, and added the Season's Greetings sentiment in a pattern on one of the background panels. I love doing this when there isn't really a "place" for a sentiment, or you don't have one that's the right size for the card front. I also added some glitter and Liquid Applique to the image. Here's a closeup:


To finish it off, I tied a little bow with seam binding and added some glitter dots...love those things! Well, now I've gotta run! Thanks for stopping by to say hi...I hope you have a fabulous day!

The Choir Rubber Stamp by Stamping Bella	Memento Tuxedo Black Ink	Bella's Bestest Paper	Copic Markers	Season's Greetings Rubber Stamp from Stamping Bella
Kraft Cardstock from Canvas Corp	25 Days of Christmas 6x6 Paper Pad by Simple Stories	Hug Snug Seam Binding	White Liquid Applique	Glossy Accents
Distress Ink	Crystal Fine Glitter by Martha Stewart Crafts	Dark Cocoa Glitter Dots from Stamping Bella

InLinkz.com

And I'm not the girl that I intend to be...but I dare you darling, just you wait and see...but this time not for you, just for me...

Hey, guys! Happy Wednesday and welcome to the June Diva Inspirations Blog Hop! Our Diva Inspirations team and several special guests from the Release team are here to start your month off right with a little Verve inspiration! Take a little peek at each of the fabulous blogs below for some Verve-alicious eye candy and you just might win some Vervey goodness of your very own!

1. Julee 9. Andrea 2. Betty 10. Sankari 3. Dawn 11. Maureen 4. Jen d. 12. Teresa 5. Jen T. 13. Tosh 6. Lynda 14. Amy 7. Shannan 15. Charmaine 8. Susan 16. Amber

Now, on to my blabbering...and a CARD! I know...you are shocked...I haven't done anything crafty all month! This is not acceptable, and I know I deserve to get lashed with a wet noodle...but that will change, I promise. I did, in all defense, clean my stamp room out, and move my stuff into another room. I've had withdrawal in a bad way. And I've missed y'all!!

Ok, I know, you just want to look at the pictures. I don't blame you. Here's my card, using Karen's sketch from last Sunday.


This little main image worked its way through about two hours of moving, trying, and reworking before it ended up on this card. A labor of love, but hey, I had fun! I definitely embraced the wabi-sabi aesthetic here...which is basically the Japanese art of finding beauty in imperfection. It goes completely against my perfectionist nature in some ways, but the free-wheelin' side of me gets to stretch and have fun! I am intrigued by all the art journaling and mixed media fun (and of course all the new and yummy goodies that come with them like gesso and gelatos) going on in the crafty world these days, so this is me playing...just with ink and a waterbrush.

Here's a closer look:


I hope it's not too scary...I like how it ended up!

We've hidden a little mystery prize on one of today's hop spots, so be sure to leave a little comment love as you hop around for a chance to win!
Comment Deadline: 11:59pm Mountain, June 5
Prize: $30 gift certificate to Verve

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Since it's a new month, that means we've got a new Stamp of the Month to reveal! In June we're having double the fun and featuring two sets... Dad's Day and American Hero!

And at 40% off during the month of June, these two sets are a super big deal!

I hope you have a fabulous day...and I'll be back SOON, I promise!!!

And there's a perfectly good island somewhere...where a ride that floats and don't grab your coats...you won't need them where we are going...

Hi, y'all! Thanks so much for coming back to visit me...posting will be pretty sporadic for the next few weeks while we move and get settled into our new place. We aren't going far, but the thought of packing up my craft room makes me get hives! *shudder*

ETA: This card is for all of you who called, emailed, texted, sent cards, sent cheese ;), prayed, or thought of us during the last couple of months. I couldn't have made it through without all of you.

I remembered that I hadn't shared this card with you, so here ya go! I created this at a crop night at The Crafty Scrapper back in February, and I love how it turned out. I think I created it for a Sketch Challenge... AHA!!! I found it!! It was for Karen's Sweet Sunday Sketch #54. Here's the sketch (since it has been FOREVER ago!):

And here's my card, packed FULL of Papertrey goodies:



This was just me, playing with new goodies, "Cards Gone Wild" if you will. *giggle* I am going to try the "instruction list" type thing...tell me how you like it rather than a blurb of words. I love how Joan does it... she cracks me up. Love her. I will try to come back and link things, but there is so much here, that I'm feeling lazy and not wanting to do it now. But you can find everything at Papertrey Ink.

Step 1: Stamp 5" square of Sweet Blush CS with Polka Dot Basics 2 in Sweet Blush ink
Step 2: Stamp over Polka Dots with Background Basics: Petal Power in Berry Sorbet ink.
Step 3: Sponge edges with Berry Sorbet ink, and mat with Dark Chocolate CS.
Step 4: Add texture with a tracing wheel around all four sides.
Step 5: Cut strip of Aqua Mist for side panel, spong with Close to Cocoa ink.
Step 6: Mat with Dark Chocolate cardstock, punched with SU Scalloped Punch on one side.
Step 7: Use tracing wheel again.
Step 8: Stamp square of Ripe Avocado CS with Turning a New Leaf image in Ripe Avocado ink.
Step 9: Sponge edges with Close to Cocoa and distress with edge of bone folder.
Step 10: Mat with Dark Chocolate and use tracing wheel again.
Step 11: Cut and emboss circle from Vintage Cream CS with Circle Nestabilities.
Step 12: Stamp sentiment from Signature Greetings in Chocolate Chip ink in center of circle.
Step 13: Sponge circle with Berry Sorbet ink, then outside edges with Close to Cocoa ink.
Step 14: Pierce around inside of embossed circle using circle template.
Step 15: Cut larger Dark Chocolate circle and mat.
Step 16: Pop circle up on foam dimensionals in center of Avocado square.
Step 17: Cut card base to 5 1/4" x 10 1/2", fold, and adhere card to base.

See how long that would have taken me to explain with more words?? EEK!! Really, though, be honest, tell me which you prefer...the sentence-paragraph thing, or the step by step one. Promise?

Ok, I will try to be back soon...maybe soon I will get my craft room clean-ish so I can get to my stuff. It has become the "catch-all" again...sigh...but I am hopeful! *wink*

Thanks for visiting me. Have a good one!

Dumb Law for today comes to us from Hawaii:

Coins are not allowed to be placed in one’s ears.

Off in the night while you live it up I'm off to sleep...waging wars to shake the poet and the beat...

Good morning, y'all! Happy Monday! I hope you all had a wonderful weekend. We had a great one...just catching up on some rest and laundry. Good stuff! *wink*

I had a few minutes last night to stamp, so I grabbed one of my pre-colored images and decided to play along with Karen Giron's Sweet Sunday Sketch #33. I love her sketches! Here's what I came up with:


I used another one of my new stamps, Harriet Lulu from Stamping Bella. She was stamped in Memento Black ink on Bella's Bestest Paper and colored with Copic markers. I cut and embossed her and a black mat with my Circle Nestabilities, then did a bit of doodling around the edges. I also decided to hand-write my sentiment on the circle panel.

The Blush Blossom card base measures 4 1/4" square, and I added a black strip on the left side to mat a Berry Sorbet strip, both punched with the Scallop Dot border punch from Martha Stewart. To add a little bit of interest, I decided to thread some white taffeta ribbon through the holes in the Berry Sorbet panel. Once those were adhered to my card base, I popped my main image panel up on dimensionals. The finishing touch was some Diamond Stickles to accent the image.

Well, folks, I gotta run...hope you have a wonderful Monday!