Kristina's Color Inspiration #50

All right, straight to business today. I had a terrible time trying to get the turquoise in this photo to actually look turquoise! Every time I would take a picture, the teal-turquoise would come out blue! I tried inside, I tried outside, I tried just about every setting I could think of on my camera, and nothing worked! Is teal-turquoise just impossible to capture? If anyone has any suggestions, please let me know! The perfectionist in me is going crazy! Therefore, this is going to be a short and sweet post, due to the frustration! lol

Kristina gave us a doozy for her 50th color challenge this week. Red, yellow, brown, white, and turquoise. I actually had a little idea for this one and decided to let that little bit of mojo flow. I popped up the entire color panel, embossed the flowers with white ep, and combined a few stamp sets to make this card.

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies-

Stamps- SU: Garden Greetings, PTI- Polka Dot Backgrounds, Scattered Showers

Paper- Chocolate Chip, Taken with Teal, Summer Sun, Whisper White

Ink- Versamark, White (Archival)

Accessories- White ep, scallop edge punch, ribbon, dimensionals

Sweet Sunday Sketch #15

Good afternoon. It's a beautiful spring day here is Southern California, and I have every door and window open in the house to let some fresh air in. I love these days, not too hot and not too cold. I wish it would stay like this forever... but I know that summer is knocking on our door and will be here all too soon.

I loved Karen's Sweet Sunday Sketch for this week the second I laid eyes upon it! I knew exactly what dp I wanted to use and the colors that would go with it. I also decided to take a nod from Karen and create a Mother's Day card. (Mom, be surprised when this shows up in your mailbox!)

This also fits the theme for Verve's April Project Parade: It's a Girl Thing- Celebrating the Women in our Lives. I have another project up my sleeve, but can't reveal it until after Mother's Day. :o)

I got some new stamps in the mail yesterday and think I'll spend some time this afternoon playing around with them... There's something magical about inking up a new stamp for the first time. It's undiscovered potential, the crisp smell, unstained rubber... It's a great thing! lol

This is a pretty straight forward card. I did add a small jewel to the middle of the flower in the sentiment and colored the flower with my copic markers.

Thanks for stopping by!


Supplies-
Stamps- Verve: Mother's Day PJ
Paper- Kraft, Barely Banana, Paper Loft dp
Ink- Red Riding Hood
Accessories- Ribbon, jewel, dimensionals, slot punch, copic marker, nestabilities, cb

Viva la Verve!

Good morning! Wow, I feel like it has been forever since I've had a moment to sit and stamp. This week may have been one of the longest weeks ever. I had meetings almost every day after work, often not getting home until 8:30-9:00 at night! Eek!

Then on Tuesday, we in Southern California had this lovely heat wave. We're talking a sudden 102 degrees outside out of nowhere. And guess which city lost all power for 18 hours?! The one I work in! So, all day long at school, we had no electricity, no air conditioner, and we had to leave our classroom doors open all day so that the kids could see while they were working. We did all right until about 12:30 and then it just became miserable. We were all sweaty, the kids started complaining about being hot, the air was stale and muggy, and (here's the best part) it started to smell. Don't you just love the smell of a sweaty kid? Now multiply that by 20 and stick them in a room with no AC and no moving air at all. Yeah, I'd prefer not to relive that day, thank you very much.

Yesterday was the first day I was actually home before 8:30pm. Crazy. I decided to stamp for a little while, and found the mojo was slow in coming. Somehow the picture in my head didn't quite make it onto the card, but I gave up, took the picture, and decided to read for the rest of the evening.

Today, it's off to my cousin's house for a little birthday shindig. His two youngest daughters have birthdays really close together and we're celebrating them together this year. From left to right are Sawyer Lee (6), Campbell (3), me, and Mackay (5). Seriously the cutest kids on the planet... and I am slightly biased. My name to them is "Cousin Kristi." If you tell them Kristi is coming over, they will have no clue who that is. Ha!

So, here is the card I whipped up for this week's Viva la Verve challenge. The twist this week was simply to make a "spring-y" card. I decided to pull out some more of my new Bloom & Grow dp from My Mind's Eye. I love this stuff!! I moved the sentiment and used it as my main image instead. The colors on this card just feel spring-y to me; all the flowers, the white and aqua. I need to get some more skinny white grossgrain. I've used it up on the last few cards. Do you ever find that you never used something, have a ton of it, and then suddenly you use it all up in one sitting?! Seriously, I think I'm developing bad habits. Well, enough out of me. Happy Saturday!!

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies-
Stamps- Verve: Beautiful Kindness
Paper- Whisper White, PTI- Aqua Mist, My Mind's Eye dp
Ink- Versamark, Tangerine Tango
Accessories- Clear ep, ribbon, twine, button, dimensionals

Mojo Monday on a Sunday

I played some more with my stamps yesterday and really wanted to use more of my Bloom & Grow paper from My Mind's Eye. I love this stuff! I love the colors, the pattern.... I've yet to find a piece I haven't liked.

This is my card for this week's Mojo Monday sketch challenge. I'm a bit of a last minute entry, today being the last day to submit, but better late than never!!

I wasn't sure how I what I was going to do with that center image, but I really like how it turned out! I decided pretty quickly that I needed something bigger there rather than a tiny image. I decided to stamp the gorgeous flower from Verve's Everlasting Life and then double-stamp the blossom to have it jump off of the page. I colored it with my copics and used my spica glitter pen on the blossom.

I'm off to stamp camp later today, so that will probably such up all of my mojo for the day. I'm usually pretty wiped afterwards and don't stamp at home. But it's worth it!

Have a great rest of your weekend! Thanks for stopping by!
Supplies-
Stamps- Verve: Everlasting Life
Paper- Whisper White, Tangerine Tango, My Mind's Eye dp
Ink- Memento Tuxedo Black
Accessories- copics, ribbon, button, twine, spica glitter pen, dimensional, EK Success punch

Viva la Verve!

Good afternoon. It's a glorious day here. The sun is out, it's in the 80s, and not a cloud in the sky! I think I'm going to wash my car later today while the sun is out... I just can't not be outside (love those double negatives!).

Meanwhile, this morning, I whipped up my card for this week's Viva la Verve sketch challenge. The twist this week was to create our own designer paper (dp). Well, lucky me, my new PTI stamps just came in the mail and I was really anxious to ink up my Guidelines set. I love how versatile it is, and thought it would make some great dp for this challenge! I also stamped Philippians 4:4 as my main image, deleted the sentiment location and put rhinestones there instead.

I love how this challenge was really an easy one to dress up or down. Of course, I chose down... love that negative space!

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies-

Stamps- Verve: Philippians 4:4, PTI- Guidelines

Paper- Perfect Plum, Kraft, Whisper White

Ink- Moonlight White (Archival), Perfect Plum

Accessories- ribbon, rhinestones, scallop punch

Verve Release Challenge Card #4

Good morning. This is my final card that I whipped up for Verve's Release Challenge. This was actually the second challenge out of four, but I loved the sketch so much I decided to save it until the end as a reward! I just love my Verve stamps and want to jump at any chance to get some more!

I am completely in love with this new dp from My Mind's Eye. I couldn't find it at my local store, so I searched it out online. I'm definitely going to have to order another pack... I'm going to fly through this one. This could definitely lead to a color rut! lol

This is a pretty basic card. I popped up the image panel and used some white brads, but other than that there's nothing too tricky about this one.

Our hearing is tomorrow for those of us whom received pink slips at work. It doesn't start until 10, but I have an all-day sub at no expense to me! Sweet! I'm soooo sleeping in! Then in the evening I'm off to see Mama Mia at the Pantages Theatre in downtown Los Angeles! So excited!! That musical just makes me happy. It's going to be a late night, but well worth it!

Thanks for stopping by!


Supplies-
Stamps- Verve: Jeremiah 29:11
Paper- Whisper White, PTI Aqua Mist, My Mind's Eye dp
Ink- Tangerine Tango
Accessories- brads, dimensionals

Verve Release Challenge Card #3

Yup, number three! One more to go! Phew! I decided to change up the color palette a little bit for this card. I picked up some great Paper Loft dp at a scrapbook convention a few months back, and it was calling my name. The dp also allowed me to used some much neglected Bravo Burgundy. Great color, seldom use it. This is one of my favorites from Verve stamps. It makes me sing every time I read it.

It's a pretty basic card. I double stamped the butterfly, cut out the top one, and popped up its wings. I also traced the outline of the butterfly and the word "God" with my Spica glitter pen to give it some sparkle.

I'm bracing myself for our "hearing" tomorrow with lawyers and vs. the district office. The lawyers were hired by CTA to make sure that the district isn't just walking all over us, but rather that everything is being handled legally and fairly. I'm definitely taking a book as I'll mostly be sitting in the audience to show my support. We had a pre-trial meeting yesterday and the lawyer said he might call me up the witness stand to talk about a few things... eek! This whole process probably isn't going to save many, if any, jobs, but it could help my resume out a little bit. The whole "job" issue is looking more and more dire as time goes by. LA Unified just approved the laying-off of over 6500 positions! Ack! Meanwhile, I'm turning in more applications, anywhere and everywhere there is a chance they'll take me.

Well, I'm to crank out the last card for the challenge! Thanks for stopping by!




Supplies-
Stamps- Verve: Beautiful Kindness, Psalm 46:10
Paper- Bravo Burgundy, Apricot Appeal, Very Vanilla, Paper Loft dp
Ink- Chocolate Chip, Bravo Burgundy
Accessories- brads, circle punch, scallop circle punch, spica glitter pen, dimensionals

Two Birds With One Stone

Good evening! It's been a long day here. Work and then more meetings after school. I always feel wiped out when I get home from days like this.

I'm still working on whipping out the cards for the Verve Release Challenge. The fourth challenge is a color challenge, and it has to be a separate card from the other three. So, I hopped on over to Karen Giron's blog for this week's Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge. Have I mentioned that I love her simple layouts?! They allow for so much potential and they also allow me to keep things simple. I definitely took the simple route on this card, but I love how sweetly it turned out.

The Verve card challenge was to use a light brown, light blue, and light yellow on a card. I used Baja Breeze, Barely Banana, and Kraft for my card. It's a pretty simple card, as cards go and came together really quickly, thank goodness. With the time crunch, I don't have to time to debate and hash over cards this week.

Ooh! And check out my incredibly amazing new watermark for my pictures! Isn't it gorgeous! Thanks, Karen for making for me!

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies-

Stamps- Verve: Beautiful Kindness

Paper- Kraft, Baja Breeze, Barely Banana, Whisper White, Urban Garden dp

Ink- Baja Breeze, Summer Sun

Accessories- jewels, ribbon, MS punch

Verve Release Challenge Card #1

Good evening! One of my favorite stamp companies is releasing some new stamps this Friday. In celebration, Verve has posted four card challenges that must be completed by Friday... The reward?! Stamps! Yay! This is definitely going to keep me busy for a while, but I can't complain about something I love!

For this card, I went with some soft tones, Baja Breeze, Kraft, and Whisper White. I stamped the verse in Chocolate Chip, wiped off some of the words and then sponged on some Baja Breeze ink.

I decided to give the bow with a button technique another try. This time I tried twisting the ribbon around a little bit more and had some success! I'm lovin' this new way to embellish my cards! Now I just need to stock up on buttons!

I'm back at work, and am definitely feeling like I need a vacation from my vacation. It's always harder to wake up on day 2 back. The first day is full of adrenaline. Day 2 is crash and burn. But I am enjoying being back in my classroom with my kiddos. We're cramming before state testing in two weeks. Definitely no time to waste!

I'm off to Bible study in a few hours. We're having a potato social this evening since we're on Spring Break from out actual study. I'm bringing the bacon!

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies-
Stamps- Verve: Psalm 51:10 PJ
Paper- Whisper White, Kraft, Baja Breeze, My Mind's Eye dp
Ink- Chocolate Chip, Baja Breeze
Accessories- ribbon, button, EK Success punch, twine

Viva la Verve!

Happy Easter! He is Risen! I love Easter mornings. I love going to church and seeing everyone bust out in their "spring attire." I just love that there's no where to park, and you have to walk a block to get there, amen! I'm off to my Aunt and Uncle's house for an Easter meal and quality time with the extended family this afternoon, but I have a little lag time right now and decided to show you the card I made last night.

I've given up taking pictures at night. Just can't get a good light that shows the authentic colors.

Anyways, this is my card for this week's Viva la Verve sketch challenge over on the the Verve forum at Splitcoast. This week's twist was a color challenge: More Mustard, Summer Sun, and Baja Breeze. What yummy colors together! I especially love the more mustard and baja breeze (as you can see by my card). I double stamped the flowers, first in Summer Sun (in the middle), and then in More Mustard. I added some stickles over the Summer Sun color for some shimmer.

I tried a new bow-tying technique on this card. I think I still need a little bit more practice, but it wasn't bad for the first try. I love the way the button looks in the middle of the bow and found a little tutorial (can't remember where, sorry!) the other day on tying bows with a button. Definitely going to give this one another try!

Have a wonderful Easter and thanks for stopping by!


Supplies-
Stamps- Verve: Meditations
Paper- Baja Breeze, More Mustard, Whisper White, Autumn Vines dp
Ink- Summer Sun, More Mustard
Accessories- ribbon, button, stickles, circle punches, pearls, twine

Kristina's Color Inspiration #49

Good afternoon! It's gloriously overcast today, and threatening to thunder, so I'm going to make this a quick post. I love participating in Kristina's color challenge whenever I have a spare moment, and since I'm on break, spare moments I have!

These are some seriously bright colors this week! I've had a few pieces of Pacific Point for months, but this is the first time I've ever used it. Not quite sure if I'm a fan yet, but it seems to have turned out well for this card. I loved the layers on the card I did a few days ago, and decided with a 5-color challenge, layers was a safe way to go.

I popped up the entire color panel, stamped a tiny flower and put a dot of black stickles in the centers, added some buttons and twine and called it a day!

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies-

Stamps- SU: Priceless

Paper- Whisper White, Rose Red, Pacific Point

Ink- Memento Tuxedo Black, Kiwi Kiss

Accessories- buttons, twine, ribbon, stickles

New Toys!

I've been eyeing this Sizzix set at Michael's for a while now, and finally decided to use my 40% off coupon to buy it this week. I just had to make a card to break it in!

I was cruising through blogs yesterday, and stumbled across this card by Heather Nichols. I just loved the colors on it! I decided a *very* obvious CASE was needed. I just love everything about her card. Well, I kept the colors, the "general" layout and the colors, but changed the location of the sentiment (and the sentiment), punched the bottom with my EK Success punch, omitted a layer of ribbon, and obviously used my Sizzix die instead of stamping. I did lots of sponging with white ink to give it a softer look.

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies-
Stamps- Verve: Heartfelt Phrases, SU: Polka Dot Background
Paper- Not Quite Navy, Certainly Celery, Groovy Guava, Kraft, Very Vanilla
Ink- Moonlight White (Archival), Not Quite Navy
Accessories- Sizzix die, EK Success punch, ribbon, button, twine

Salvage & Complete

That was the mission. I've apparently been in a very indecisive color mood lately when making cards, and I have several just-begun, partially stamped, pieced together cards lying in a pile. I was bound and determined to finish a few of them.

This one was inspired by a card Dawn McVey made last week. See it here. I just loved the simple layers and the main single, simple image. I thought it would make a great CASE for one of the scraps I had lying around. I had begun this card for a Viva la Verve challenge, but promptly switched angles. I kept the stamping at the bottom, but added a few more layers and some punching. Got to use my new EK Success punch that I bought the other day! LOVE it! I also clear embossed the scallop image for some sheen.

Thanks for stopping by!


Supplies-
Stamps- SU: Polka Dot Punches, Short & Sweet, Verve: Filigree Fantasy
Paper- Groovy Guava, Wild Wasabi, Ginger Blossom dp
Ink- Groovy Guava, Memento Tuxedo Black, Versamark
Accessories- ribbon, EK Success wavy punch, SU scallop punch, clear ep

A Somber Mojo Monday

Good morning. Doesn't it just seem like, in life, when it rains, it pours? I just received an e-mail from one of my good college friends telling us that his father passed away on Saturday after battling leukemia. This is after being told he would have up to six months to live. So quick! I don't think any of us were prepared for it to be so sudden. Quinn's father is the third person I know whom has passed away this week. I'm ready for this trend to end.

Meanwhile, I'm still on vacation and playing away with my stamps. It's a good thing there are a lot of sketch challenges out there to keep me busy!

This is my card for this week's Mojo Monday Sketch Challenge. I love the tilted images in the middle! Though, the small circle one gave me a little run for my money. I finally ended up with one of my new crocheted rosettes. I picked them up at a convention a few months back and have yet to crack them open.

I decided to follow my somber mood and made a sympathy-esque card. I'll need to whip up a more masculine one here within the next few days... I double stamped the flower and then cut out the blossom to pop it up.

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies-

Stamps- Verve: Everlasting Life, Circular Sayings

Paper- Sage Shadow, Chocolate Chip, Very Vanilla, Paper Loft dp

Ink- Memento Rich Cocoa

Accessories- Copics, ribbon, brads, crochet flower

My Green Thumb

I actually escaped from my desk and making cards today and planted my summer veggie garden! I plant this every spring break. Yeah, be jealous all you people still drowning in snow! My mom was laughing that she won't get to plant anything for another two months! So Cal does have its advantages...

Unfortunately, I don't exactly have a spot in my backyard that gets enough sunshine and open dirt to plant them in, so I have to plant everything in pots... but its better than nothing!

What made the cut this year? Tomatoes, bell peppers, jalapenos, burpless cucumbers, pickling cucumbers, green beans, artichoke. Still looking for that mini watermelon I tried last year...

There is nothing better than fresh fruits and veggies during the summer. It makes the heat bearable. My beautiful plants are itty bitty for now, but in a few months, I'll be in veggie heaven!

Sweet Sunday Sketch #12

Good morning. I'm on stamping binge! It's really fun to have time during the day to play with all of my fun toys! I've been hitting up the great coupon sales at Michael's this week and got some of those amazing new EK Sucess border punches! I love how they store flat! What a brilliant idea! Now I'm itching to use them and I actually have time to do just that!

Unfortunately, no punches made it onto this card. While I was at Michael's, I grabbed some of this fabulous paper by Basic Gray. I've been eyeing them for a while, but just wasn't sure how to use them. Apparently, today I figured it out! And thanks to Karen Giron for the perfect sketch to use them on!

Karen posted this week's Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge over on her blog yesterday, and I immediately sat down to create this card. This was one of those rare moments where the picture in your head looks EXACTLY like what you created! Love it when that happens! And apparently I was thinking layers and business today! Weird! But I love it too!

I stamped the verse in Going Gray, sponged Basic Gray around the exterior, and then some Tangerine Tango on the words "O Lord." The fab ribbon is from American Crafts... I wish I could buy it in bulk!

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies- Stamp- Verve: Meditations
Paper- Basic Gray, Tangerine Tango, Basic Gray Ambrosia dp
Ink- Going Gray, Basic Gray, Tangerine Tango
Accessories- ribbon, brads, sponges, dimensionals

Viva la Verve!

Good morning. Ah, I love vacation. It's like you can finally unwind, de-stress, and stop to smell the roses for a change. That is until THIS sketch challenge. Geez Louise! I think this card took me two hours to make! For some reason, I just could not settle on a color pallette with a background stamp. I didn't want my card to feel too busy and the layers didn't lend themselves to a whole lot of patterned paper without becoming "too much."

I finally gave up on the colors and just went with what was in front of me. Still not sure if I like them or not. But, it's too late now! I decided to go with a soft background and stamped my polka dot background in white. I colored with copics and added a few jewels for sparkle.

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies-
Stamps- Fun & Fast Notes
Paper- Whisper White, Regal Rose, Apricot Appeal, Chocolate Chip
Ink- Memento Rich Cocoa
Accessories- Pink jewels, white gel pen, dimensionals, SU scallop punch, copics