Viva la Verve!

Good morning! I'm dropping in to post this card before I hit the road once more. Yup, I'm leaving this crazy heatwave behind and headed home to the mountains. I really couldn't be more excited! My plans for the next week include: going for a morning kayak ride (or two, or three...), reading on the front porch overlooking the roaring waterfall, enjoying the Mountain Music Festival, taking some pictures with the camera, avoiding the rabid mosquitoes, and spending some quality time with family and friends. Not a bad week in the making, eh? It's alright to be jealous. ;)

Before I go, here is my final Viva la Verve card for the month of July. I finished all four! Woohoo! I pulled out some recently neglected PTI dps, stuck with a monochromatic theme (apparently I was in a purple mood... hmmm..), and relied on my computer once more to create the heart. To do: Order star and heart die cuts. Goodness! When it rains it pours! I've never needed stars or hearts before, and now I've used them both in one week. It could be a sign. I drew, traced, and cut out a heart off of my computer. Then I stenciled it onto my patterned paper. Covered it liberally with glossy accents and sprinkled some glitter over it to make it really shiny. :)

The tag was also hand cut (really, this must be "use shapes Kristina doesn't have" week). I added some purple bling along the bottom which is cut a bit concave. I haven't used the 'ole ribbon/button/twine/bow combo for a while, so it's also making its grand reappearance.

This card also qualifies for this month's Diva Dare over on the Verve blog. This month's challenge was to give our dp and sentiments some love. No images, just words. Well, with my gorgeous Verve stamps, with THE most gorgeous fonts, that wasn't hard to do!

Well, that's it for me. It's going to be a little quiet here on the blog until next Tuesday-ish. I'll see you back here then!

Supplies-
Stamps- Verve: Enjoy Today
Paper- PTI: Pretty Pastels, Polka Dot Basics; Echo Park: Little Girl dp
Ink- Plum Pudding
Accessories- ribbon, button, baker's twine, nestabilities, jewels, glossy accents, glitter, computer

Papertrey Ink Blog Hop!

Goodness it's been a long time since I've played along with Papertrey's blog hops. Probably over a year. It was high time to join back in. Especially with such a great inspiration piece this month.

I mean, really. Look at these colors! Gorgeous! So summery and light. I pulled out my Stella & Rose Mabel dp which has oodles of these colors in it. I based the card on kraft cardstock to mimic those wooden shades. I pulled out on of my favorite PTI sets, Blooming Button Bits, stamped it and cut it out, then added a few flowery buttons (with a little baker's twine). The sketch is this week's Deconstructed Sketch. It took me a little bit to figure this one out (that circle image was throwing me off!). Thank goodness for big buttons!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Supplies-
Stamps- PTI: Blooming Button Bits, Mat Stack 1 Collection
Paper- Kraft, Vintage Cream, MME Stella & Rose Mabel dp
Ink- Spring Moss, Close to Cocoa
Accessories- baker's twine, buttons, scallop edge punch, apron lace punch, corner rounder punch, tea dye stain

Viva la Verve!

Good evening! I spent an unusual amount of time today putting together this card and felt it only fair (to myself and the time spent!) to post it right away. It's a little out of my normal style (read: LOTS of details, distressing, layers...), but I'm kind of smitten with the result. This card uses last week's Viva la Verve sketch, by the one and only Maureen! LOVE this sketch!

I started with some of the gorgeous Stella & Rose Hattie dp, pulled out a few coordinating papers, and went a little crazy with the stitching. Next, I liberally stained every conceivable edge with my tea dye stains. Twine was lovingly wrapped around two of the corners. And of course, I added a little bow for good measure. The flower from Great friends was stamped twice with some blues and popped up the layers to add some dimension. Lastly, a few different sized pearls decorated the center of the flower to add just a little bit more of the shabby elegance to the card.

I think this card is going to head out to my cousin and his wife. She was just diagnosed with thyroid cancer, but amidst the scariness of this all, God really has been bringing victory after victory! Surgery is scheduled for next month, and Lord-willing, she will be cancer free by October! If you have a spare minute, please keep them in your prayers and they go through these next few months. :)

That's it for me today. Now that I've finished this card, I'm itching to try my hand at another sketch, which hopefully won't take as long! Not to mention, I've been playing around with the HTML codes for the blog, trying to make it a little wider and the pictures just a little larger. And I am in no way, shape, or form a computer techie. Google is my friend. :)

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Supplies-
Stamps- Verve: 1 Cor. 15:57, Great Friend
Paper- Kraft, Vintage Cream, MME's Stella & Rose Hattie dp
Ink- Night of Navy, Baja Breeze, So Saffron
Accessories- twine, pearls, tea dye stains, nestabilities, sewing machine, dimensionals

Mojo Monday

Good afternoon! It's been a busy last few days around here. But the good kind of busy, you know? The kind where I've been visiting good friends, going to Disneyland, church potlucks, visiting the grandma, supporting a friend who just lost her mom, baking, cleaning. The good kind of busy.


But I have card to share with you today. This card uses this week's Mojo Monday sketch. Can you believe this is number 200?! I remember participating in the hoopla for sketch number 100! Where does time go? I was a little stumped the first time I saw the sketch, and it definitely took some staring to get it figured out. I pulled used more Out of the Blue dp (it was still on top of the dp pile from the last card), a doily die to fancy up that bottom circle, and some stars. Oh, the stars. See, I don't have any star dies or punches. Why? I'm not really sure. We're going to need to remedy that really soon. So instead, I jumped onto my computer, drew a few, printed them, cut them out, and then used them as stencils. Sheesh! All that work for a few measly little stars. And I would do it again. :) I added some stardust stickles to the gray rim of the center star for some shine. I was clean out of red jewels, so I used a red copic to color some clear jewels. And tadah! Done!

Now I'm off to go check some more items off of the "to do" list (including baking some banana bread, yum!). Thanks so much for stopping by!

Supplies-
Stamps- Verve: Happy Birthday
Paper- Smokey Shadow, Whisper White, Simple Chartreuse, MME's Out of the Blue dp
Ink- Basic Gray
Accessories- ribbon, doily die, jewels, copic marker, dimensionals, stickles, nestabilities, apron lace punch, computer

Sweet Sunday Sketch #125

Good afternoon. It was a little bit of a late start for me this morning. Too much fun was had at Disneyland last night with the roomie. I don't think we got home until after midnight! That's way after my normal bedtime. :) But it was so worth it!


Today's sketch stays with yesterday's less is more theme. It's a bit more on the simple side. Perhaps another masculine card? The sketch is this week's Sweet Sunday Sketch. I pulled out more Out of the Blue dp, and my Everyday Button Bits set. The little bicycle was calling my name after watching the Tour de France this morning. I was guessing a breakaway would survive today, and sure enough, that's exactly what happened. In the end though, it was a lone bicycle crossing the finish line first, which is what I ended up with today on the card. Odd where inspiration can come from....

A group of us girls are off to go see the final Harry Potter tonight in theaters. I have such mixed emotions! I'm really excited to go see the movie, but am sad to see it all come to an end. It's bittersweet. So many of my friends dressed up in costumes and went to the midnight showings last night, but I just can't be awake and alert that late! I want to be awake to enjoy the movie! And you know we purchased our tickets three days ago, lol. We will take no chances of the movie selling out before we get there!

Well, enough out of me. Thanks so much for stopping by!

Supplies-
Stamps- PTI: Everyday Button Bits
Paper- Not Quite Navy, Whisper White, Pure Poppy, MME's Lime Twist Out of the Blue dp
Ink- Pure Poppy, Basic Gray
Accessories- ribbon, scalloped edge punch, nestabilities, copics, buttons, baker's twine, tea dye stains

Sketch For You To Try

Good morning! I'm just dropping in with my card to share with you today. This is another moldy oldie that I've been hanging on to, oh, since May. Yes, believe it or not, this card was actually made way back then, but then got slightly lost in the chaos of Open House, field trips, the end of the school year, and Italy. So, it's finally seeing the light of day.


This was a pretty quick and simple card. It uses some Lime Twist Out of the Blue dp, some buttons in lieu of a second circle, and some twine. Does this actually qualify as a masculine card? It quite possibly could be my first, lol!

The roomie and I are off to Disneyland again this evening. We're going to ride the new Little Mermaid ride (which is adorable!), catch the summer fireworks (good, but not as good as the regular fireworks), and watch Fantasmic (my favorite!). So excited!

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies-
Stamps- PTI: Say It With Style
Paper- Kraft, Whisper White, MME's Lime Twist Out of the Blue dp
Ink- Really Rust
Accessories- twine, buttons, dimensionals, nestabilities

The Deconstructed Sketch

Good morning! It's another gloriously cool morning and isn't supposed to warm up too much (can you say HELLO low 80s!). Therefore, I am hitting the road and going to Disneyland today. I've had the itch to go for a little while now and finally found some friends with passes that were available. Yay! I think the roomie and I may head down Disneyland way again on Thursday to catch the fireworks and Fantasmic. My favorites. :)

But for today, I have a new sketch challenge/card to share with you! I stumbled across The Deconstructed Sketch a few days ago and thought I would give it a try. With summer being around, and with oodles of free time during the day, I need more sketches to keep my mojo flowing! I have to admit that it was the half circle in the background that got this card off of the ground and running. I know. Who knew? Circles aren't so scary anymore. Well, most of the time. LOL

I've been wanting to try the little frame from To the Moon for a while now, and figured this was the perfect opportunity. I colored the elephant with my copics, added a little sentiment (Sorry again for the influx of baby cards!), and of course some ribbon. All of the dp on this card are from MME's Stella & Rose Hazel. I am so in love with these coordinating paper packs! They just make cards WORK! Know what I mean?!

Thanks so much for stopping by today!

Supplies-
Stamps- Verve: To the Moon
Paper- Whisper White, Smokey Shadow, MME Stella & Rose Hazel dp
Ink- Memento Tuxedo Black, Basic Gray
Accessories- ribbon, copics, nestabilities

Sketch For You To Try

Good afternoon! I need to take a moment and be thankful for the blissfully cool weather we are having today. This is the first day where it has not been 90 degrees before ten in the morning in, well, I don't know how long. The house is cool. The windows are open. There is a delightful breeze blowing. I wish it would stay like this all summer long!


I sat down to play with Jen's Sketch for You to Try this morning, and pulled out some Stella and Rose Gertie dp to help the sketch along. I played with a few sentiments in the panel, but ended up with this beautiful sympathy sentiment from Verve's Forever in our Hearts. I hate making these kinds of cards at the moment when they are necessary, so it's good to be able to stash a few away for a rainy day.

The three little circle images in the corner truly had me stumped. I ended up with some buttons, but I'm not sure if they'll stay there for long, lol. I many photograph the picture and then take them off. Shh! Don't tell! Or, well, maybe not. They're kind of growing on my the more I look at the card.... Hmmm...

I am off to book club this evening. We read the book "Mudbound" this last month, and though I really enjoyed the book, it was also a frustrating, aggravating read. You see, the book takes place in the deep south during the height of segregation. I guess that fact that I became so angry with the blatant racism is a testament to how far we have all come since not so long ago! I am excited for our discussions tonight, and to find out what book is next! Did I mention that one of our gals just had a baby on Friday?! I can't wait to meet the little guy tonight!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Supplies-
Stamps- Verve: Forever in Our Hearts
Paper- Kraft, Vintage Cream, MME Stella & Rose Gertie dp
Ink- Chocolate Chip
Accessories- ribbon, edge punch, buttons, twine, jewels

Viva la Verve!

I am on the ball with my Viva la Verve sketches this month! This is going to be only the second or third month this entire year I've finished all of the sketches. It's been a busy year...

When I first saw the sketch, I had a mild panic attack about the number of different panels on it. That's a whole lot of coordinating dp! Fortunately, dp comes in lovely little packs nowadays with papers that already coordinate with themselves. Saved! I pulled out some of this darling Life of the Party dp from My Mind's Eye. I love the sweet girly colors! I stamped a flower from Verve's Many Blessings three times: Once for the stem, and twice for the flower itself. I then colored both with my copics and popped up the center flower on dimensionals. I have to admit that I love how this card turned out. Sweet and simple. The dp does most of the talking. :)

Today is jam-packed, but with all sorts of summer goodness. I'm off to church this morning, and then heading over to my grandma's house to share my pictures from Italy with her. Then I'm off to another friend's house for some swimming and BBQ! With this heat wave, I've been dying to get into someone's pool.

I hope your weekend has been and remains relaxing and enjoyable! Thanks so much for stopping by today!

Supplies-
Stamps- Verve: Many Blessings, Thankful Accents
Paper- Sweet Blush, Dark Chocolate, Whisper White, MME's Lime Twist Life of the Party dp
Ink- Memento Rich Cocoa
Accessories- ribbon, apron lace punch, nestabilities, copics, dimensionals, jewels, spica glitter pen

Sweet Sunday Sketch #124

I think I just missed the deadline for this sketch. Oops! This is last weekend's Sweet Sunday Sketch from over on Karen Giron's blog. I battled with this sketch for a few hours yesterday. I think ovals may be my new nemesis. Circles, I've mostly conquered with the help of nestabilities and some great stamps. But ovals? *sigh* I need some big stamps that involve coloring with copics to rest this little dilemma... At least, that's what I keep telling myself. ;)


The card features more of my new MME dp, a whole lot of green bling, and some cheery colors. This is definitely a bit out of my "color comfort zone." But it's fun! My white gel pen decided to die halfway through making the dots on the scalloped oval (great!), so some stickles came to my rescue. Everything was already glued and dimensionaled onto the card and I really didn't want to rip everything up to make a new scalloped nestie oval.

I had some amazing snuggle time with little Jaelynn last night. Oh how I love her! She's just getting cuter and cuter with each passing day. Not to mention bigger! I last saw her three weeks ago, and there was definitely a noticeable difference. If only they would stay tiny forever! There was definitely lots of drooling on my shoulder, cooing, and of course the dreaded 8 o'clock bewitching hour. I even survived the always pleasant spit up. :)

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Supplies-
Stamps- PTI: Beyond Basic Borders
Paper- Rich Razzleberry, Whisper White, MME's Lime Twist Happy Go Lucky dp
Ink- Rich Razzleberry
Accessories- ribbon, jewels, stickles, dimensionals, nestabilities, corner rounder punch

Mojo Monday

Good afternoon and Happy Friday!


Here's a moldy oldie for you. This is the Mojo Monday sketch from, oh, a month or two ago. Lol! I actually made this card a month of two ago (can't remember the details with all that has gone on in between), but love how it turned out. I found out recently that my other former college roommate is having a baby boy this October. We're already arranging the marriage between baby Smith and baby Jaelynn of roommate #1. Confused much?! It's definitely baby season around here.

Well, baby season meant another baby card (Hey, I was inspired!). I love this little sentiment from Verve's Over the Moon set and was itching to use it. Thanks to Alesha, I finally was able to use it! Some new dp also found it's way on this card. It's a pretty straight forward card.

Speaking of babies, I get to go see little Jaelynn this evening! She and her parents (ah, how the roommates get bumped down the ladder, lol) are down for a few days helping with a church camp. I have a few shirts they left at our house last visit and I informed them I was holding them ransom. My desired form of payment? Cuddle time with the little princess. Yay! I think it's a pretty fair trade. ;)

Thanks for stopping by today!

Supplies-
Stamps- Verve: Over the Moon
Paper- Wild Wasabi, Whisper White, MME Lime Twist Fly a Kite
Ink- Tangerine Tango
Accessories- nestabilities, ribbon, button, twine, brown marker

Viva la Verve!

Good afternoon, everyone! It's great to be home (though, trekking around the country of Italy is nothing to complain about) and enjoying sleeping in each morning. I finally sat down and whipped up a few cards to share with you. I also have a few that were made back in the madness of May and June that I'll use as fillers.

But first up, we have this week's Viva la Verve challenge from Verve's forum on Splitcoast Stampers. I loved this week sketch, circle and all, and immediately had an idea to put little sailboats in three of the squares and the sentiment in the third. It was perfect! Well, it was was perfect until I actually tried it... And, well, let's just say it didn't quite look like what I had pictured in my head. Ah, welcome back to stamping after a break... Time to jump start the rusty mojo.

As you can see, the sailboats were ditched and buttons took their place! I obviously still have babies on the brain! I just found out two more of my friends are pregnant. Sheesh! But I have to admit, I am so loving cuddling with all these adorable little pudgy bundles!

Some tiny pearls around the edges and little twine bow finished off this card. I know what you're thinking... No ribbon! I KNOW! First card back and I've already ditched the ribbon?! We could be off to a bumpy start, people. LOL

Guess twine will have to do for the time being. Twine with some long ribbon tails....

Thanks so much for stopping by! I'm off to retreat into the air-conditioned portion of our house (it's HOT outside!) and read for a while before Zumba tonight. Gonna get sweaty. Well, I've been sweaty most of the day, so I guess I'm just going to get sweatier! Got to burn off those yummolicious Italian cookies I feasted on while in Italy. I mean, just look at these things! Pinenuts and almond paste?! Um, YES! They were incredible. I've already stock piled the ingredients to try making my own. I've even bookmarked a few recipes to see which will get the closest to the original taste.

Ok. Enough rambling for one day. I think I'm slightly excited to be back. :)

Supplies-
Stamps- PTI: Bitty Baby Blessings
Paper- Not Quite Navy, Terracotta Tile, Whisper White, Fly a Kite dp
Ink- Not Quite Navy
Accessories- twine, buttons, nestabilities, pearls

I'm Back!

The school year wound up, report cards are done, the room is hibernating for the summer, and I've already been to Italy and back!

My Mom and I ventured off to Italy for two weeks and just got back a few days ago. I've been working on a few cards and just need to snap some pictures of them and get them uploaded to the blog. But in the meantime, here are a few glimpses of Italy, as seen through my camera lens. :)

These were the Tivoli gardens at the Villa d'Este. Absolutely GORGEOUS! Did I mention that there were over 500 fountains at this villa?

A cruise down the Grand Canal in Venice. This is the Rialto Bridge built in the 1500s.

The little canals in Venice. We boarded our gondola here (with a singer, accordian, and wine!).

Looking up into the dome in St. Peter's Basilica.

The small hilltop town (and amazing well preserved Medeival towers) of San Gimignano.


Pompei (with Mount Vesuvius in the background).


I was hands-down the most excited to visit Pompei. It was everything I hoped and more. Here is one of the plaster casts (with the bones still inside) of a body found while exscavating.

Looking up into the Pantheon's dome in Rome.


The Roman Forum. This happens to be the Temple of Vesta with the Vestal Virigins home located right behind it.

Ponte Vecchio bridge in Florence.

I fell in love with the tiny alleys and streets in Florence. So perfectly picturesque.

Duomo in Florence.

Colosseum. It was so magical to be standing in front of this building! We also went inside, but there were way too many pictures to sift through. And then to choose only one to share? Impossible!

On top of Monte Solaro on the Isle of Capri.

Talk about a trip of a lifetime! I was so blessed to have shared this memory with my Mom! And we're already planning next summer's trip. Yay!

I'll be back in the next day or two with some cards to share. Ah, summer vacation is good. :)