Verve Release Challenge Card- C

Ah, I love the first day back in my classroom after a vacation. Sure, it's hard to find motivation to get out of bed when rudely awakened by my alarm clock.... Yeah, I always wish there was one more day of vacation.... But the kids are amazing the first day back! They are always so quiet, nail all daily routines, and work so diligently. They're just as tired as I am! :)

I survived the first day of parent conferences. The nerves were there just a few minutes prior to beginning, but quickly dissipated as soon as that first parent walked in the room. It helped that my first conference today was also a parent that comes into the classroom each week and I talk to all the time.

But, it's still good to be home. And yes, I'm going to be early tonight! :) But before I do go to bed, here is the final card I made for this month's Verve Release Challenges. This third challenge was to create a "V.E.R.V.E." themed card. I combined this challenge with Karen's Sweet Sunday Sketch. I hereby admit that this one took a day of thinking before tackling. Darn that circle!

My Verve elements:

• V- Verse
• E- Embossing powder (It's hard to see, but it's there on the verse. I stamped in Versamark first and then in Not Quite Navy. It's embossed with clear ep.)
• R- Ribbon
• V- Verve stamps (I'm stealing this one from Julee herself!)

I added some pearls to the scalloped circle and two side pieces. I tried to use rhinestones, but I didn't have enough tiny clear ones... Guess I need to order more. OK. I'm off to make dinner and then hit the sack. After watching Heroes, course.

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies-Stamps- Verve: Bountiful Backgrounds, 1Peter 5:7

Paper- Whisper White, Not Quite Navy, Old Olive

Ink- Versamark, Not Quite Navy, Moonlight White (Archival)

Accessories- nestabilities, ribbon, pearls, clear ep

Verve Release Challenge Card- B

Four down and one more to go! This second challenge was a sketch challenge, but with a little twist. It had to be some kind of "thankful themed" card. Well, that's easy! I definitely make more thank you cards than anything...

I immediately reached for one of my little single Verve thank you stamps I received in an order some months back. I love this little thing. Apparently, I was in the mood for brighter colors when making this card. I wasn't really sure what to do with those two horizontal lines... Those always throw me for a loop. I played around with a few things, but settled for some ribbon strips.

And I finally got my hands on the elusive apron lace punch! I think I've stopped in at every Michael's and Joann's within a 40 mile radius before finally locating it, lol. I just had to sneak it onto this card somehow!

I'm off to go finish that last card and prepare for school tomorrow. It's always so hard to get motivated after having so much time off. But I am excited to fly through the next few weeks. There are so many holiday projects to do, glitter to glue, etc. And this week is parent conferences. We have minimum days all week, but I'll be there for hours afterward each day meeting with parents. Hopefully nothing is too much of a surprise to them. :) I always get nervous in the hours leading up to conferences, but once they start I slip right into my role and they're a breeze. But I'm still anxious to be over and done with them. :)

Thanks for stopping by today!
Supplies-
Stamps- Verve: Thankful Thoughts, Filigree Fantasy
Paper- Pure Poppy, Ocean Tides, Summer Sunrise, Very Vanilla, Cosmo Cricket dp
Ink- Pure Poppy, Ocean Tides, More Mustard
Accessories- ribbon, apron lace border punch

Verve Release Challenge Card- D

Good evening! I'm back with my second post for today. I figured I had better crank out the projects from Verve's Release Challenges before the completely overwhelmed me and never got completed. :) Also, I have time this weekend, and with the challenges being due by Monday evening, there's no time to waste!

Thank goodness Jen's tutorial over on SCS was really easy to follow. I actually put this project together on my first try! Definitely something I can use again and again. Especially as a teacher, I'm always looking for little gifts for co-workers and parent helpers. What a great, personal way to wrap up a little something special!

I pulled out some of my new PTI dp, Turning a New Leaf. Don't you just love green and brown together? I added a line of brown jewels below the sentiment and a big, green bow smack dab in the middle. I actually really like how this turned out! It was pretty quick too... Maybe 30 minutes. Not too shabby!

Thanks for stopping by, again!
Supplies- Stamps- PTI: Giga Guide Lines
Paper- Ripe Avocado, Dark Chocolate, Whisper White, Turning a New Leaf dp
Ink- Chocolate Chip
Accessories- ribbon, jewels, corner rounder punch, MS edge punch

Verve Release Challenge Card- E

I'm skipping around a bit with my Verve Release Challenge cards. Gotta follow the inspiration wherever it leads. :)

This challenge was to create a gift card holder. I've made a few of these at stamp camps, but never on my own. I chose to work with this tutorial to guide me along. It was nice and easy to follow, with great step-by-step pictures for the assembly-challenged like myself.

I kept the front pretty simple, more due to lack of time than inspiration. I'm off to a bridal shower in just a little bit, but I really wanted to get some stamping in this morning before departing. I added a bunch of pearls around the scallop and the corners for some decorative touches, but that's really it. Nice and simple.

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies-

Stamps- Verve: Circular Sayings

Paper- Orange Zest, Very Vanilla, Autumn Abundance dp

Ink- Certainly Celery

Accessories- ribbon, buttons, pearls, circle punch, scallop circle punch

Verve Release Challenge Card- A

Good evening! I'm back after another day of stuffing myself full of turkey and visiting with my incredible family. I headed over to another aunt and uncle's house today to join more family in celebrating the holiday. I picked up my grandmother on the way, and it's always wonderful to have that half hour drive together to chat and catch up. She's such an amazing woman!

Verve released a few more stamps this evening, and since the holiday yesterday didn't really promote a week-long challenge frenzy (too many people travelling, etc.) the party was all held today on the blog. Five challenges were posted, but we have until Monday to finish them all. Thanks goodness! I never would have finished them all today... And since a few of the challenges this time are actually projects, who knows if they will ever get finished. I'm a big project shy, lol. Let's just say assembling things isn't my forte. ;)

This first challenge, however, was a color challenge and I can definitely put that onto a card. Though, I do admit that it did take me a little manipulating and playing to figure out how to use this combo... It's a bit out of my norm. Thank goodness I had Mercy's Tuesday Sketch to come to my rescue! Sweet and simple, just how I like 'em!

I ended up clear embossing the polka dots in the background. I also added some black rhinestones as accents. I popped up the sentiment and stamped one of the images from PTI's Giga Guidelines in the corners. I'm still in love with that set. I felt like the turquoise needed a little something, but a bow was too much, so I just put a strip of black ribbon. Done!

There's no rest for the socially weary around here, hehe. I'm off to my cousin's bridal shower tomorrow afternoon. I'm going to be so excited for Sunday to come and other than church, just stay home. I really am a home-body. I love my quiet down-time, and that will also be my last day of vacation before returning to work. I'm going to milk it for all it's worth. :)

Thanks for stopping by and have a great weekend!

Supplies-

Stamps- Verve: Happiness Found, PTI: Polka Dot Basics, Giga Guide Lines

Paper- Basic Black, Bermuda Bay, Old Olive, Whisper White

Ink- Basic Black, Bermuda Bay, Versamark

Accessories- ribbon, jewels, scallop edge punch, dimensionals, clear ep

Viva la Verve!

Happy Thanksgiving! I am completely stuffed full of turkey, mashed potatoes, and some pretty amazing pumpkin pie. And I'm doing it all again tomorrow, lol. I love Thanksgiving. I always look forward to spending time with my extended family. We all grew up really close to each other distance-wise and therefore are very close relationally as well. My cousin Tim (aka Timmy to me) and I joke constantly that we really truly grew up more as brother and sister than cousins. I am so incredibly blessed to have each and every member of my family, both close and far away.

We did a light Thanksgiving with my dad's mom for lunch. Turkey sandwiches were on the menu. I whipped up a yummy Paula Dean salad for that one. Immediately afterward, we headed over to the other side of the family, my mom's brother's house for the traditional Thanksgiving meal. I totally conked out on the couch afterwards... I think I read somewhere that turkey can make you sleepy... And being at Disneyland until midnight last night probably didn't help either, lol.

I think I'm just squeezing inside the time cut-off with my last Viva la Verve card for November. The deadline is tonight for submittal. I actually made this card yesterday, but with the rush of Thanksgiving didn't have a chance to post it until tonight.

Amber gave us a color twist this week. We had to use purple, chocolate, and vanilla on our cards. I love this color combo and actually created a whole set of cards about a month back using it! So gorgeous! I went a slightly different route than a month ago with this card, using two different shades of purple. I love how it turned out though. And I got my new PTI goodies in the mail on Tuesday, so those just HAD to make it onto this card in some way, shape, or form. :)

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving here in the US, and are richly blessed with things to be thankful for. Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies-

Stamps- Verve: Psalm 51:10, PTI: Turning a New Leaf, Text Style

Paper- Rich Razzleberry, Orchid Opulence, Chocolate Chip, Very Vanilla

Ink- Chocolate Chip, Rich Razzleberry

Accessories- ribbon, twine, button, pearls, dimensionals, scallop edge punch

Viva la Verve!

Good evening! Well, it's a little later than evening now, but it was evening when I started this post. I had to take a little break to watch So You Think You Can Dance. What a fun night! There were some amazing dances.

I'm playing catch up on my Viva la Verve challenges at the moment. I was waiting for my order of some holiday paper to arrive before creating this card for last week's Viva la Verve sketch. Amber's twist that week was to create a winter holiday card (e.g. Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, Christmas...). I kept mine rather simple, only adding some stardust stickles to the dp, and a row of stardust dots around the ribbon to add some shimmer to the card.

Sorry to keep this post short, but I've been baking for Thanksgiving all evening and still have to put everything away, clean up... Not to mention make another Viva la Verve card. :)

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies-

Stamps- Verve: Ornamental Christmas

Paper- Pure Poppy, Spring Moss, Rustic Snowflakes dp

Ink- Basic Black

Accessories- ribbon, stickles, button

From Oregon, to Washington, and Back Again...

Good evening! I am back from my whirlwind weekend in the Pacific Northwest. It was so wonderful to get some quality visiting in with old friends, family, and new family. It was pretty typical Northwest weather and rained pretty much the whole time I was there, but it was a welcome difference from our Southern California "fall" weather (aka 80s during the day). I actually got to wear my coat!

I simply have a few pictures to share with you all today of my trip up north and then to Disneyland for the last part of Sunday. It was so wonderful to be surrounded by good friends for my birthday. I can't think of a better way to be blessed than to have them around on my special day.

On Saturday, Sharon and Luke's family drove us down into the Columbia Gorge to view some of the waterfalls. The colors and the water were absolutely stunning.

We definitely made sure to stop at Multnomah Falls. Do waterfalls get more gorgeous than this? Or sisters, for that matter?

Family photo time. It's been several years since we've been all together for our birthdays, so this weekend was all the more special.

I awoke Sunday morning in Washington, but went to sleep in California. Technology amazes me sometimes. I met several of my friends at Disneyland to help celebrate my birthday. It was all decorated for the holidays. These beautiful snowflakes were above the main entrance.

Disneyland's GIANT Christmas tree on Main Street. I think it's 100 ft tall. My friend Chris brought the crown that I was forced to wear. At least Disneyland is one of the few places a person can get away with walking around wearing a fuzzy pink crown. :)

Sleeping Beauty's castle after being lit at 5:30. Soooo pretty!

It's a Small World. I love the lights on this ride. For the holidays the inside is decorated as well and the dolls all sing "Jingle Bells."

After the holiday fireworks, it snows! It's really little tiny foamy bubble clusters. But as a person whome grew up in the snow, let me assure you that when the snow is falling, it looks exactly like real snow. And that makes me happy. :)

Well, that's my adventure weekend. Tomorrow it's back to stamping! Woohoo! Though, I am going to take an afternoon break to go see New Moon. So excited!

Thanks for stopping by!

Happy Birthday, Sister!

I have a completely random card to share with you today. It's slightly inspired by some more "earthy" colors... Mellow and calm. And yes, they're the same colors from my card a few days ago. I'm lovin' this color combo! My sister practically lives in the great outdoors, preferrably in the backcountry, so earthy colors were perfect for this card.

Today is my sister's 24th birthday... And really, no matter how old she gets, she'll always be my little sister. So Happy Birthday, Sharon!!! I can't wait to see you in 2 days!

I'm officially down to one more day of work before my vacation begins. My flight leaves at 5pm tomorrow and I am Portland, OR bound. It's definitely going to be a whirlwind weekend, but most enjoyable. As mentioned, my sister's birthday is today and mine is this Sunday. My parents are flying up as well, so this will therefore be the first time in many years the whole family has been together for our birthdays. I think we're going to all go out to dinner on Saturday night and hang out most of Saturday. I know Sharon and her boyfriend have some fun sightseeing arranged for us. Not to mention the So You Think You Can Dance performance Friday evening, visiting my friends, and much more.

And there is no break upon my return to Southern California on Sunday afternoon. Since it's my birthday, a bunch of my friends and I are heading to Disneyland. They are having a special all this year where you can get in free on your birthday. Since I'm already an annual pass holder, they give me a $72 gift card(the cost of a one day admission) instead! Yay! Shopping in Disneyland is always fun!

Well, off to finish packing! See you back here on Monday!

Supplies-

Stamps- PTI: Giga Guide Lines

Paper- Ocean Tides, Aqua Mist, Spring Moss, Kraft, Whisper White

Ink- Ocean Tides, Certainly Celery

Accessories- EK Success edge punch, jewels, nestabilities, ribbon, button

Sweet Sunday Sketch #44

Good evening. It's officially two days (well, technically 1 1/2) until my vacation begins and I can hardly wait! I did manage, however, to calm myself for long enough this evening to make a card for Karen's Sweet Sunday Sketch.

I hereby admit that I nearly had a heart attack when I first saw this sketch on Sunday. Giant circle?! Two small circles?!!! This one took some serious contemplation... and I almost walked away from it. Circle.... ah! But then I remember while at work today that I picked up some of this really bright and fun dp back in October at the scrapbook convention. This seemed like the perfect card to break it in! Saved by dp!

I added a few buttons as the smaller circles, added a few more layers than my normal, and this card actually came together rather quickly. Weird!

Well, my roomie just walked in the door with the new Star Trek DVD... I am now obligated (and go oh-so-unwillingly, hehe) to go watch it with her. Guess I'm taping So You Think You Can Dance tonight. :)

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies-

Stamps- PTI: Giga Guide Lines

Paper- Carribean Breeze, Whisper White, Berry Sorbet, BoBunny dp

Ink- Red Riding Hood

Accessories- buttons, twine, ribbon, nestabilities, dimensionals

Mojo Monday

Good evening. I'm swinging in here to post a quick card I made this evening. I was really inspired by this week's Mojo Monday sketch and figured I'd better follow my mojo where it was leading. I stumbled across this card by Jackie Pedro a few days ago and absolutely fell in love with the color combination she used. I decided to case her colors for my Mojo Monday card... and maybe more cards in the future. ;)

I think I threw in everything but the kitchen sink on this card, lol. There are more layers, embellishments, textures than I ever use! Weird day.... But I love how it turned out. The colors are so soft and mellow, the buttons... Well, how can you go wrong with buttons?! The jewels, the ribbon... All of my favorite things made it on to one card!

And to make this even more impressive, I actually completed a Mojo Monday sketch on Monday! I can't remember the last time that happened. I'm usually the last minute entry on Sunday night, lol!

Well, I officially have three more days of work until my Thanksgiving break begins. I'm flying out to Portland on Thursday evening, so the kids have a sub on Friday. I feel bad... sort of, hehe. My mom, sister, and I will be attending the So You Think You Can Dance tour performance in Portland, OR on Friday evening, and hanging out, getting some girl time in on Saturday. My sister's birthday is on Wednesday and mine is one Sunday, so we're also going to be celebrating our birthdays while we're all together. Did I mention my dad is coming up, too? Not to the show, of course, but for the visit.

I've also got a car reserved just for me Thursday night into Friday so that I can drive down into central Oregon and visit some friends of mine originally from Mammoth. Their son is still one of my good friends and his parents have been begging me to come visit them in their new home for over a year or two now. But it's only so often I actually make it up to Oregon. :) I couldn't think of any reason not to visit them on this trip. It should be wonderful.

Ooh, I getting all excited for vacation! I don't think I ever realized as a kid that my teachers were just as excited (if not MORE) as myself for vacation!! hehe My report cards are done, so I can now sit back and take a deep breath. Of course, parent conferences start the day we return (the 30th), but I'll cross that bridge when it gets a little closer. For now, I'm switching into vacation mode! Well, I'm switching in three days. :)

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies-

Stamps- Verve: Bountiful Backgrounds, Beautiful Kindness, Budding Blossoms

Paper- Aqua Mist, Ocean Tides, Spring Moss, Whisper White

Ink- Ocean Tides, Certainly Celery

Accessories- cb embossing folder, jewels, ribbon, buttons, dimensionals

Mercy's Tuesday Sketch Challenge #47

I can't stop making cards with my new Giga Guide Lines set! I love how amazing this stamp makes every card look. I think this is the third card I've made with it today, but the only one I can show you. :) It's holiday time...

I used Mercy's Tuesday Sketch Challenge to launch this card. I had these colors in mind lately, don't really know why, but I really like them together. I might have to whip up a few more of these! Or at least more cards in this color combo.

I punched some little flowers with a MS punch and added a jewel in their middles for some sparkle.

Sorry this post is so brief. I'm slaving away at report cards this weekend. This card only happened because I was going to go crazy without a break, hehe. I officially have all of the grades done and am now working on all of the comments. It's always tricky to get the wording just right to effectively get my point across. It will help that at my new school I actually get to conference over the report cards, so I can explain any questions there on the spot.

Enough procrastinating. :) Thanks for stopping by! I'm off to type some more comments!

Supplies-

Stamps- PTI: Giga Guide Lines

Paper- Basic Gray, Barely Banana, Whisper White

Ink- Barely Banana, Basic Gray

Accessories-ribbon, MS flower punch, EK Success border punch, corner rounder punch, jewels

Viva la Verve!

This week's Viva la Verve challenge was definitely easier than last week's, but not by much. Amber challenged us all to a technique challenge this week: Cracked Glass. I think I read through the instructions about ten times before attempting it, lol. It's a good thing I made two main images because I shattered my first attempt at cracking the glass. Oops!

After cracking, I sponged on some Close to Cocoa ink to make some of the cracks stand out a bit more. I also added a vertical stripe of text and an orange saddle stitch bow. Overall, this card makes me happy. I admit I was slightly intimidated by the challenge, but am so glad that I tried it. It's definitely a technique I can see myself using again someday.

Lastly, here's the pumpkin bread recipe my roomie and I have been using. It's out of the Better Homes & Gardens cookbook. It's super yummy, and very light and airy... The perfect combo. And isn't everything pumpkin wonderful this time of year?

Pumpkin Bread (Makes 2 loaves)

*Preheat oven to 350F.

3 c sugar
1 c cooking oil
4 eggs
3 1/2 c all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground nutmeg
2/3 c water
1 15-oz can pumpkin

1. Grease pans. In a bowl, beat sugar and oil. Add eggs and beat well; set aside.
2. In a large bowl combine flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Alternately add flour mixture and water to the sugar mixture, beating until just combined. Beat in pumpkin.
3. Pour into pans. Bake at 350F for 55-65 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted near the center comes our clean. Cool at least 10 minutes before serving.

Easy peasy! And oh-so-yummy! I'm thinking I might whip up yet another batch to send off to Beth in Iraq in our huge care package box tomorrow. Along with the cookies, of course. :)

Thanks for stopping by!
Supplies-
Stamps- Verve: Tall Oaks, PTI: Text Style
Paper- Orange Zest, Aqua Mist, Dark Chocolate, Whisper White, Bitty Box dp
Ink- Orange Zest, Memento Rich Cocoa
Accessories- ribbon, utcc, sponge, nestabilities, copics

Taylor's Sketch Challenge #90

Ah, what a lovely day off! Today is Veteran's Day here in the US... and I for one want to make sure and say thank you to each and every man and woman whom have served or are currently serving our country. I told my kids yesterday that it is because of people giving their time and lives, we can go to school without being afraid... A huge big hug goes out to my friend Beth whom is currently serving a tour of duty in Iraq. Care package coming your way!! :)

I really loved Taylor's sketch this week, and it was the perfect sketch for a little flower as the main image. I used my flower nesties, crunched them up, antiqued them a little with some Creamy Caramel ink, and added a button/bow in the middle.

Whomever found out and declared that red and green are complimentary colors was a genius! I love how this card came together. Sweet and simple. I used mostly die-cuts to create this card, including the leaves from SU, and the word label from cuttlebug. I used a flower MS border punch and a little ribbon for some contrast in that middle piece.

Well, it's off to lunch for me! My roomie and I are joining Janice again to grab some In-n-Out!! Yummy! Then it's off to the teacher supply store for a little browsing before dropping Amy off at work (her car's in the shop again... boo!).

Thanks for stopping by today, and enjoy your middle-of-the-week break!

Supplies-

Stamps- PTI: Mega Mixed Messages

Paper-Pure Poppy, Spring Moss, Tea Leaves dp

Ink- Creamy Caramel, Basic Black

Accessories- nestabilies, cuttlebug dies, SU leaf die, MS border punch, button, twine, ribbon

Sweet Sunday Sketch #43

Good evening! Well, it's not Friday, but better late than never. I was having too much fun this weekend being healthy! I ran a bunch more errands on Saturday morning, had a little stamping party with some friends in the afternoon, ran some more errands afterward, and came home to actually hang out with my roommate. We ended up renting the movie, "My Life in Ruins." It stars the same gal from "My Big Fat Greek Wedding." MLinR was so fun! We definitely laughed out loud at several parts, groaned a few times, and had some fun.

Sunday finally found me back at church for almost the first time in a month. I'm still trying to find a new home church to attend. It's only about a 30 minute drive to my old church, but I really feel convicted that I need to find something in my new community... Where I can become involved in studies and ministries. Know what I mean? Sunday was such a gorgeous day I just couldn't bear to sit inside and watch it pass. So, back outside we went.

I did manage to do a ton of unpacking Sunday evening and can officially say that I am just about unpacked from our move... finally, lol. Just one or two more tubs to go... and they're mostly the "last minute junk" tubs. Nothing immediately crucial. Good news, though! In the midst of my digging and unpacking, I found my scalloped edge punch! Woohoo! Therefore, in honor of it's resurfacing, I just had to use it on this card. :)

I love tilted panels and use them all the time when I'm scrapbooking. So often I forget that I can use them on cards, too. Thankfully, Karen's Sweet Sunday Sketch had a fun tilted panel on it to play with this week.

I pulled out a new stamp set that I picked up at the class I went to with Taylor VanBruggen last month. I fell in love with this image in particular. I love the swirls, and the branch... So much so that I just had to add another branchy swirl behind it! I stamped an additional bird, popped it up, and folded out the top wing for a little 3D-ing. Some pearls and a little ribbon finished it off.

All right. I'm gonna run. My roomie just called from our good friend's house and apparently we are in need of more pumpkin bread. Amy and I made some about two nights ago and, well, it's gone. ;) It's soooo good! It seems Amy has been boasting about how yummy it is to Janice, and it is now necessary for me to go over there with our recipe and whip up another batch. You don't have to ask me twice to bake something. It might be my biggest addiction... next to stamping. I did tell them I would come after I finished this card, lol.

Well, thanks for stopping by!

Supplies-

Stamps- SASI: Christmas Blessings

Paper- Close to Cocoa, Rich Razzleberry, Very Vanilla, dp from my stash

Ink- Rich Razzleberry, Chocolate Chip

Accessories- pearls, dimensionals, ribbon