Verve sketch challenges......

I just had to play one more time before I left for our big trip out west--here are my 5 cards for the June 2009 Release Week challenges over at Verve Stamps.

Sketch #1

Sketch #2

Sketch #3

Sketch #4

Sketch #5
We are down to the final pack for our trip and the excitment has really built!! I will miss stamping and posting with all my friends in the stamping blog world. I will be back!!

VivaLaVerve challenge #4 for June

Here is my card for this week's VivaLaVerve challenge. The twist this week was to use a piece of DP for our inspiration. That was a fun twist!! Since the limited supply challenge was to us a foreign language on our card I decided on this piece of DP that I think has an Asian flare. So here you have it......I cut out two "stalks" from the DP and used them to create the background--my focal point was stamped in Choc. Chip and cut out using the circle punch--I colored it in using my aqua painter and reinkers--I also stamped the bamboo background stamp to go along with the cut out pieces--added brads and ribbon to finish it off. Thanks for looking!! Let me know what you think!!

Notice: I am not sure if I will get to post again before we leave for our trip out West. We are heading to the Grand Canyon--we are driving from here in Virginia and will be gone for 3 weeks!! I am so looking forward to this trip but I will say that I will miss all of you and the abillity to stamp. Maybe I can post tid-bits from our trip even if I can't do any stamping.

VivaLaVerve Challenges for week 2 &3

Well we made it back from Florida!! We had an awesome trip!! We drove 15 hours from VA to South Florida to visit my sister and her family. We had so much fun with them--4 little boys with lots of energy!! We also stopped at Sea World on our way home. My kids (14 & 13) loved it!! We spend two day there and then headed home. The first card is a thank you card that I want to send to my sister. I used the VivaLaVerve challeng for my sketch and the twist with this sketch was to use something new--I decided to use the rub-ons that I got at Sea World to scrapbook with. I figured the boys would get a kick out of getting a card with Shamu on it!! My second card is also a VivaLaVerve sketch--the twist for this one was to use lots of white!! So there you have it!! I am hopeing that I will get to stamp this week--I really missed it while I was on vacation and I missed all of you!!

Mojo Monday #89

I created this card for Monday's Mojo Monday sketch challenge.  I love this Fishy Friends stamp set (it is retired from Stampin Up! but I just had to hand on to it) and the sketch for some reason made me think of the beach.....go figure!!


I used Creamy Carmel for my sand--made it look even more like sand by stamping Itty Bitty Backgrounds on it and sponging the edges.  I stamped my star fish in Ruby Red and layered it on Ruby Red cardstock.  My Jellyfish is stamped in Not Quite Navy and layered on Not Quite Navy cardstock.  My background is Bliss Blue cardstock that I ran through the CB with my Swirls folder.  I finished off my card by adding two mini shells tied with hemp.  Thanks for taking time to stop by and check it out.  Happy Stamping!!

2 Sketch 4 You showdown sketch challenge

2 Sketch 4 You is having a Ulitmate Card Showdown to celebrate their anniversary.  It sounds like it is going to be loads of fun.  Stop by their blog and play along.  Below you will find the sketch that Laura gave us for this day 1 of the showdown.  I used a hostess set from Stampin Up!'s current catalog--God's Beauty.  I used Always Artichoke and Rose Red along with Whisper White.  I did alot of cutting--the butterfly and flowers are cut out and glued onto my card.  The sentiment panel was cut out using my nessties and cuttlebug--I modified the image--it is a Lable One nesstie but I cut off the top and bottom of it to change the look just a bit to fit with what I was trying to do with my card.  I also did alot of sponging.  Each flower was stamped in Rose Red and then sponged with Pirouette Pink.  The butterfly was stamped in Rose Red and sponged with Always Artichoke.  My edges were also sponged with Always Artichoke.  I added dew drops to each of my flowers and metal wire antennes to my butterfly.  Thanks for looking--let me know what you think!!

Express yourself

Everyone at my house is still sleeping so I had to take this photo in my kitchen instead of in my normal set up.  I think it turned out pretty good for no better lighting then I had.  

This spring has been so very busy that I have not gotten to stamp like I would like.  I used to be able to stamp just about everyday and post very regularly here but life has thrown some "lemons" and while I am trying to make "lemonade", I do miss my stamping!!

This card was very hard for me mainly because of th sketch I was trying to use!!  I thought it was an extra hard one.  If you want to give it a try swing on over to SCS and give it a whirl--most of the gallery entries made it look easy but I struggled with it.  I also incorporated the Ways To Use It challenge--beautiful buttons--into this card.

The DP is from Sweet Always, I also used Not Quiet Navy, and Whisper White.  The heart on my mug is paper pieced with a scrap.  The flowers die cuts from Stampin Up! and the stamps are from a retired set that I just love--Express yourself!!  I stamped the inside with this sentiment:  "Friends are the coffee breat in the business of life".  That is how I feel about all my friends here in blog land!! Thanks for stopping by to visit my blog.  I am hoping that I can get back into stamping and visiting you all!!  Have a great weekend!!

Mojo Sketch #88 & SCS Color Combo Challegne

Here is the card I made for this week's sketch challenge from Julee over at the Mojo Monday blog.  I loved this sketch--very easy and very fun!!  I also used the color combo from Emily over at the SCS Color challenge.  I think the two made a nice combination for this card.  

The color combination was: So Saffron, Bashful Blue, and Pumkin Pie.  As usually (that is why I like color challenges--they really challenge me!!) I would not have put these colors together but I do love how the card turned out.  And I thought they were perfect for this plain jane stamp from VERVE.  I colored in the stars with my Stampin Up Pumkin Pie marker--Added some brads to the long rectangular panels and the ribbon knot--Layered my dp onto an embossed white piece of cardstock and layered it all onto Pumpkin Pie.  Thanks for stopping by to have a look-see!!

So, did you have a good Memorial Day weekend?? We did we went camping with some of our friends and had a fantstic time away.  The weather was perfect and it couldn't have been more relaxing!!  I hope you all had a great weekend too!!