Viva La Verve - Determined!

Hello!

I hope you've all had a fabulous Christmas and have some good plans for New Years Eve tomorrow :)

It's been a quiet, but very nice Christmas here.  Just myself and my other half and a few good friends - what more can a girl ask for?!!  The other good thing about having a quiet Christmas is that I have had the opportunity to make good use of my new work space - no more sitting on the floor for me!

I have been unable to join in with the Viva La Verve sketches over the past few months, but I am DETERMINED to do my utmost to complete every sketch challenge this year - this is my personal challenge anyway!  :)  With this resolution in mind I have already created my card for week one! I'm hoping that this is how the rest of the year will go on, we will have to see :)

VLV has been shaken up a bit and it is no longer just a sketch challenge, but there is an inspiration board that can be used alongside the sketch, or not, it is optional.  I have decided to use both the sketch and the inspiration board - I hope it shows!

 

 

And here is my take;

This card actually turned out more yellow than I expected - I was aiming more for the orange and turquoise, but there you go, these things happen! 

As always, thank you for dropping by and enjoy your New Year celebrations ;)

Supplies
Card:     Paper Mill Direct - Pale Turquoise, Orange, Primrose Yellow, Teal, White;  K&Co Best Of
Stamps: Verve - Thank You So Much complimentary stamp
Ink:        VersaColor - Black
Other:    Spellbinders - Fleur De Lis Motifs, Scalloped Cirlces, Classic Circles; Craft Concepts ef -
              Grunge Circles; Tonic corner punch; WOW Embossing Powder - Ebony; Crafty Ribbons -
              Sunshine seam binding; thread, pearls

Merry Christmas!

It arrived so quickly this year - it's Christmas once again!

I would like to wish everyone a very merry Christmas :) I don't have a pretty image to post today and I have been somewhat MIA of late - life has thrown a whole bunch of stuff at us over the past few months - but we're still here fighting strong! But this is a feel good message!

I would like for anyone who reads this to have an absolutely fabulous day today - eat and drink too much, laugh until your sides hurt and treasure all your loved ones, may it be spending the day with them or from afar :)

I shall try and make sure my next post isn't too far away and has a pretty picture in!! That's why we're all here after all!

Merry Christmas everyone! :)

Siân

Viva La Verve and WOW! Overload!!!!

Hey!
 
I know, I know, it's been a long time!  I've been snowed under with work just lately, but I'm hoping to be able to get more card time in now :)
 
I'm going to keep the chatter brief because there's a few pictures to look at today.
 
Ok, I have all of FIVE of my cards for this months' Viva La Verve.  As it was my birthday last week, I had a whole bunch of thank you cards to make.  This happily coincides with the challenge over at WOW! Embossing Powder this month which is 'Anything Goes - Thank You'.  Well...I've got a whole bunch of entries!!
 
As per usual, I'm cutting it really close for both deadlines, so without further ado - here are my cards!
 
Week 1

 

 
 
Week 2
 

 

 
Week 3

 

Week 4

 

WOW! Entry

Week 5

 

WOW! Entry

So there you have it - a bunch of thank you cards (which I hope will be well received!) and six challenge entries - phew!

I hope you have enjoyed this gallery post - have a good evening and thank you for dropping by :)

Supplies

Card One
Card:     White, Black, Teal, Pale Turquoise
Stamps: Verve - Bloom and Grow; Papermania - V&A Cornfield
Ink:        Versamark - Black
Other:    Spellbinders - Circles small and large dies; Universal embossing folders - Venus and
              Cottage Floral; WOW! embossing powder - Ebony; pearls

Card Two
Card:     White, Pale Turquoise; K&Co. Best Of
Stamps: Verve - Sunny Days
Ink:        SU! - Classic Black; Distress Inks - Victorian Velvet, Wild Honey
Other:    Spellbinders - Scallop Circles, Dahlia;  pearls, thread

Card Three
Card:     White, Black, Orange
Stamps: Verve - Bloom and Grow
Ink:        SU! - Classic Black; Distress Ink - Spiced Marmalade
Other:    Spellbinders - Scallop Circles large; Circles large; Crafty Ribbons - Orange and Black
              saddle stitch; pearls

Card Four
Card:     White, Black, Bright Red, Daffodil, Orange
Stamps: Verve - Bloom and Grow
Ink:        Ranger - Perfect Medium; Distress Inks - Wild Honey, Spiced Maralade, Barn Door
Other:    Spellbinders - Fleur De Lis Motifs, Circles; pearls

Card Five
Card:     White, Black, Lime
Stamps: Verve - Sunny Days; WMS - Big Day Essentials
Ink:        Versamark - Black; Ranger - Perfect Medium
Other:    Spellbinders -  Anenome Flower Topper; Verve - Leafy Sprig Die; WOW! embossing
              powder - Clear Matt Dull; pearls, rhinestones



 
 
 
 

Inspired Monochrome

Hey peeps!

I'm back with another entry for this months' WOW! Embossing Powder challenge - Monochrome.  I love monochrome and tone on tone cards.  I saw this card by Becca Feeken and was inspired to have a go at making my own version.  Becca just has the most fabulous way of looking at her tools and materials and is a real inspiration.  And, to top it off, she's really sweet :)

So, here's my interpretation;

I'm sorry if it's difficult to see in this photo?  Layering is not something I usually do and neither are intricate patterns, but I'm really pleased with the way this turned out :)

Once again, I used WOW!'s Violet Pearl embossing powder for the sentiment and it has a lovely sheen in real life :)  I love this stuff!

Thanks for dropping by :)

Supplies
Card:      Paper Mill Direct - White
Stamps:  Verve - One Person
Ink:         VersaColor - Cyan
Other:     WOW! Violet Pearl embossing powder; Spellbinders - Parisian Motifs, Fleur De Lis Motifs, Standard
               Circles Small and Large; V&A Hanover ef; Crafty Ribbons - Ivory seam binding, pearls

Viva La Verve - Weeks 2 and 3

Hey guys!

This time I AM here with my Viva La Verve post!  This is a two-fer too :)

The sketch for Week 2;

I'll be honest - I was petrified when I first saw this sketch!  Look at it!  All layers and details and not me at all!  Well, after having a moan, I sat down to make my card and I was surprised at how easily it came together! 

Here's my card;

I know I didn't put the little ribbon trim along the bottom, but I just couldn't add anything more - it was starting to hurt!  :) 

Then there was Week 3;

I was really looking forward to this sketch, but typically, this is the one that caused me a problem!  Doh!  However, once I got into it, I felt better :)

My sister will like this card so I think it will be headed her way soon :)

Thanks for dropping by, as always it's much appreciated :)

Supplies

Card 1
Card:     Paper Mill Direct - Off White, Forest Green, Bright Red; Stampingallday digi paper
Stamps: Papermania - Let It Snow; Waltzingmouse - Flourishes-Dots and Scallops
Ink:        Ranger - Perfect Medium; Distress Ink - Antique Linen, Barn Door, Vintage Photo
Other:    Spellbinders - Classic Scallop Edgeabilities, Labels 18; Crafty Ribbons - Greenbrier seam
              binding; doily, rhinestones; WOW! Apple Red embossing powder

Card 2
Card:     Paper Mill Direct - Off White, Pale Turquoise, Dark Brown; K&Co - Best Of
Stamps: Verve - Kind Words
Ink:        Distress Ink - Vinatge Photo, Broken China
Other:    Crafty Ribbons - Cream and Lilac seam binding; pearls; thread

SFYTT - August Sketch

Hello!

Ok, so I'm not here with my Viva La Verve just yet - I nearly forgot about this card!  I am entering the Sketch For You To Try challenge this month.  I have seen this challenge around on peoples' blogs, but after the Verve Anni-VERVE-sary blog hops, I had a lot of exposure to it!  Verve is sponsoring the challenge this month, so many of the Verve Divas used this sketch for their showcases of Verves' new stamps and dies (which by the way, are awesome and I want them all!)

So, I thought I'd have a go at this sketch.  I thought it looked kinda easy, but I was surprised!  I got there in the end and my card has been growing on me over the last few days :)

I turned the sketch 90 degrees clockwise;

This is another 'Julee' card - CASS :)

Like I said, this card is growing on me, but I'm still not 100% sure - let me know what ya think :)

Thanks for dropping by :)

Supplies
Card:     Paper Mill Direct - White, White Linen, Black, Peppermint, Daffodil, Apple Green, Citrus
              Orange
Stamps: Verve - Great Friend, Bloom and Grow, Wishful Elegance
Ink:        SU! Black; VersaColor - Evergreen; Distress Ink - Wild Honey
Other:    Verve Cut Above Die - Elegant Leaves; Crafty Ribbons - Pumpkin seam binding; pearls

Crafty Ribbons - Feeling Fruity!

Hello there!

I'm here today with an entry for the challenge over at Crafty Ribbons Challenge blog.  The fabulous theme for this challenge is 'FEELING FRUITY'!

This is an extra special challenge as it includes a DT call and I am chancing my arm and putting myself forward for it!  Fingers crossed, wish me luck!  The details are here if you fancy a go too :)

Ok, on to my card;

Unfortunately I had to take this photo with my phone as my darling other half has pinched my camera for the day to do a survey!  I mean, how rude!  It does mean that it's quite difficult to see the contents of the glass :(

So anyway - fruit...Lime and Olives in a nice Martini - the best way to have fruit, surely?!  Other than a nice glass of wine, of course ;)

I was lucky enough to win a £25 voucher for Crafty Ribbons a little while ago as part of their 'Crafting For Gold' event.  My parcel of ribbon arrived the other day and it was like Christmas!  The ribbon I used for this card was their grosgrain saddle stitch ribbon.  I have it in nearly all the colours and it's great, so versatile!

I drew the Martini glass with my WOW! embossing pen and embossed in Ebony.  Then I added the Martini and the fruit.  I really like how bright and cheerful this card turned out, and I'm hoping the gals over at Crafty Ribbons agree :)

That's all for now, I will be back shortly with my other Viva La Verve challenge entries :)

Thanks for stopping by :)

Supplies
Card:     Paper Mill Direct - White, Lime, Forest Green
Stamps: Waltzingmouse - Big Day Essentials
Ink:        WOW! Embossing pen; SU! Black
Other:    Crafty Ribbons - Lime/White Saddle Stitch ribbon; WOW! Ebony embossing powder;
              toothpick

Viva La Verve - August Week 4 - CASS!

Hey guys!

I'm back with a Viva La Verve post.

Well, my attempting to post these in order has failed already!!  Ah well, I wouldn't be me if I did things in the order they were intended :)

I still have the cards for the Weeks 2 and 3 to make - I'm a bit scared as the sketch for Week 2 is not me at all!  Having said that, Week 4 is the 'CAS sketch' and I've gone all out of sorts!  Something most peculiar has happened to me lately and my cards are coming out all girly and dare I say it, almost shabby!!?  (Shabby for me anyway, I'm sure most people would still say that it's fairly CAS!) Actually, I think I am going to steal Julee's description for this style - CASS - Clean and [sort of] simple!  I think it's brilliant and it'll really catch on :)

Here's the sketch and my card for this week;

I can only apologise for the ABSOLUELY dreadful photograph!  The light here is astonishingly poor and it didn't matter what I did in good ol' Photoshop, the light situation could not be entriely rectified.  You should've seen the original photograph - c'est terrible!!

Anyway, like I said, this was supposed to be the CAS sketch - well, my card is anything but somehow!  I don't really know how it happened, it's not like me at all to keep adding layers and embellishments but I actually quite enjoyed it :)  I made the flower using cardstock and tracing paper - it gave a full look but was just transparent enough to not be too heavy or overbearing - I think anyway :)

Let me know what you think about my departure from the CAS - I'm intrigued to know whether I've pulled it off or not?!

Thanks, as always, for stopping by :)

Supplies
Card:     Paper Mill Direct - White, White Hammered, Sky Blue, Pink Sorbet, Sky Grey; K&Co - Best Of;
              tracing paper
Stamps: Verve - One Person, Great Friend, Notepaper PJ
Ink:        VersaColor - Cyan, Charcoal
Other:    WOW! Clear embossing powder; Spellbinders - Fleur-De-Lis Motfis; Tim Holtz - Tattered
              Florals Dies; Crafty Ribbons - Lemonade seam binding; doily, rhinestones, sewing thread

Monochrome-ish :)

Hello there!

I'm here today with a card for this months WOW! Embossing Powder Challenge - Monochromatic.

The DT are also showcasing the pearlescent embossing powders.  I chose the Violet Pearl embossing powder when I won their June challenge with this card.  I love it!  By using a different base colour, it changes the effect the pearl powder has.  For example, if you emboss with the Violet Pearl onto white, it gives a white pearl finish with a shimmer of violet.  If you use it on a black background then the effect is a deeper, shimmering purple!  It's quite interesting trying it out on different coloured backgrounds!

I have taken a slight liberty with the term 'monochrome'.  Now, my card isn't strictly monochrome, but I'm hoping the wonderful guys over at WOW! will let me off a little bit :)

See what I mean?!  I should've done the sentiment in white and used white pearls, but I really wanted to show off the effects of the Violet Pearl embossing powder :)

The stripes at the top of the card were made by drawing them on using the WOW! Clear Embossing Pen and then I embossed using Violet Pearl powder.  I know it doesn't show very well in this photo - sorry about that!  I took a whole bunch of photo's to try and capture the shimmer, but it just wasn't happening!  The sentiment was also embossed using Violet Pearl, but I used black ink.  Here's a close up...

Again, not the greatest photo, sorry!  At least David Bailey can rest knowing that his job is safe :)

I also have something else to share with you that I am excited about, not sure anyone else will be mind you!!  Recently I made 100 wedding invitations for my best friends wedding.  I had them all finished (and they looked fab if I do say so myself :)  The bride to be was pleased which is no mean feat!!) and then it came to making my mark on the back of each one.  I have a 'made by' stamp which I have always used and then just written my name beneath it in calligraphy.  It's worked for me thus far.  I hadn't really thought about it when I began making the invitations, but I was going to have to write my name out 100 times!  Luckily it's only a short name, but after about 50 I was sick of writing it! 

So, they were all hand written and sent to the bride to be.  I then decided it was time for one of these...

He he!  I was so excited when this turned up!  I had ordered some stamps previously from Stampingallday and Nicky, the proprieter was nothing short of fantastic!  Her customer service is second to none and she even had the patience to put up with a fussy customer like me!  I sent Nicky my design via email, and after a lengthy email conversation (because I'm so fussy!) the design and dimensions were finalised and my little stamp was born :) As soon as it came through the door (which was the DAY after I ordered it!) I tried it out and it's better than I could have expected - no more writing my name!

I cannot stress enough how wonderful Nicky has been.  Her website is jam packed full of original stamp designs - I suggest you take a look :)  Here's a link to her personalised stamp service - definitely worth looking into if you need one making up!

Ok, I've calmed down again now!

Thanks for dropping in :)

Supplies
Card:      Paper Mill Direct - White
Stamps: Waltzingmouse - Big Day Additions
Ink:        WOW! Clear Embossing Pen; VersaColor - Black
Other:    WOW! Violet Pearl embossing powder; Crafty Ribbons - Ivory seam binding; Spellbinders -
              Butterflies Impressibilities; Snuggly Wool; pearls

Viva La Verve Week 1 meets Play Date Cafe Colour Spalsh

Hey there!

I hope you're all enjoying your weekend.  The sun is just starting to poke its head out from behind the bank holiday clouds - I'm not holding my breath mind you!

Poor weather + other half at work all weekend = peace and quiet time for crafting!  So that's what I've been doing :)

I am attempting to post this months' Viva La Verve challenges in order this time, even though I started off with Week 4's sketch!  One day...one day!

I was inspired by the colour story over at the Play Date Cafe this week.  It's been quite some time since I've entered a PDC challenge so I'm pleased that I've got round to it this week :)  I HAD to play along with this colour combination.  My best friend is getting married in three weeks time and I made all her wedding stationary.  Her colour scheme?  Black, white and lime!  I have a whole bunch of black, white and lime card around me so it would've been criminal not to enter this challenge!

So, here's my card;

I know it's not a 'splash' of lime per se, but I'm hoping that I'll get away with it :)  (I'm pushing my luck lately huh?!)

I have made this card for a dear friend of mine who lives in Australia.  We used to speak via email most days, but recently life has got a bit busy for both of us and we've lost touch a bit.  I got a wonderful email from her yesterday saying how much she misses our chats and so I thought I'd send her a card to let her know that I miss her too :)  Shame it's going to take so long for it to get to her!

Because I didn't want the bow to get ruined in transit, I have made this box for the card to go in;

I really hope she likes it :)

Enjoy the rest of your weekend guys, whether it be long or short :)

Thanks for dropping by,

Supplies
Card:     Paper Mill Direct - White, Black, Lime
Stamps: Verve - Hope Blooms, Glad Tidings
Ink:        Ranger - Perfect Medium
Other:    WOW! Green embossing powder; Crafty Ribbons - Ivory seam binding; Spellbinders -
              Standard Circles - Large, Scalloped Circles - Small; pearls

CASology - Green

Hey peeps!

I have managed to join in with the challenge over at CASology this week - woohoo!  I have also added another card to my Christmas pile, I love when challenges inspire cards that I actually need!

Now, I'm hoping the girls at CASology are going to let me off a little bit - cheeky I know!  :)  The inspiration word is 'GREEN'. 

Now, my card is green, however I have taken a liberty added a little tiny bit of red that I hope to get away with :)  I'm not how strict they're going to be, guess I'll find out soon!

Here's my card;

I sketched and cut out the little holly leaves - really should make a template, it would be much easier!  I heat embossed the sentiment with WOW! Clear Hologram embossing powder...I'm hoping you can kinda see it in this photograph, the light was absolutely terrible though!  It's bank holiday weekend in England in August, of course it's pouring with rain!

Can you kinda see the sparkles?!  Meh!

I hope that I don't get told off too much for adding my little berries :)

Thanks for stopping by :)

Supplies
Card:      Paper Mill Direct - White, Apple Green, Forest Green
Stamps: Penny Black - 'T' for transparent Crystalline
Ink:        VersaColor - Black
Other:    WOW! Clear Hologram embossing powder; Spellbinders - Classic Circles, large; Crafty
              Ribbons - Greenbrier seam binding; rhinestones; pearls

Card Carnival Pt III

Helloo!

I am sneaking another card in for Verve's Card Carnival!  (I have another idea floating around in my head, so there may be a Part IV, but I doubt I'll have time)

Here's an update of the rules;

 

Create a new card using Verve Stamps

Post your card to your blog or gallery

Include a link to the Verve store in your write up

Link your card here

 

 

I went CAS again this time (a real shocker, huh?!) and I was actually quite surprised it turned out as well as it did!  I kinda like it  :)

 

 

As you can probably work out, I just made a mask using Spellbinders Anenome Flower die and inked over the top to leave this white space.

Today is not the day for taking photographs of white cards (which are almost ALL of my cards!) it's too overcast to get a nice, white photograph - you'll have to let me off on this one :)  If it wasn't for the fact that I popped the focal layer up on foam tape, I guess this would be a one layer card, which I usually struggle with!

Verve release party tonight, it seems to have come around so fast?!!


Thanks for stopping by :)

Supplies
Card:     Paper Mill Direct - White
Stamps: Verve - Hope Blooms
Ink:        Distress Ink - Spiced Marmalade; SU! Black
Other:    Spellbinders - Anenome Flower Topper; rhinestones



Card Carnival Pt II

Hi guys!

As promised, here is my second card for the Verve Card Carnival.  For those of you who don't know (or haven't seen my blog at all this week!) Verve is celebrating its 5th Anniversary!  Woo!  As part of the celebrations, there are five challenges to take part in on SCS with the potential to win some fantastic prizes.  Then there's the spotlight blog hop showcasing the 23 new stamp sets and dies (today is day 8 of 9)  And finally, another fun challenge to partake in is the Card Carnival!

Tomorrow is release day, which unfortunately I will undoubtedly miss as I shall be tucked up in bed as it will be stupid o'clock here at 9pm EST in the states!  Boo to time differences!  It's ok, I think I'll just peruse the SCS release party thread on Saturday morning in the comfort of my bed whilst my darling other half is at work - he he!

Anyway, enough jabbering!  The rules of the Card Carnival are simple -

Create a card using Verve stamps - check!
Post your card to your blog and/or gallery - check!
Include a link to the Verve store in your ramblings - check!
Link your card here - check!

Ok, so here's my card;

I've gone with a personal favourite colour combination - rainbow, black and white.  It always makes me feel happy to see all the bright colours together and accentuated by the starkness of the black and white - don't ask me why, it just does!! 

My inspiration came from this John Lewis gift card envelope that my brother gave me :)

I also tried to do something a bit different (for me) with my dies.  I have seen so many people layer up their dies, or use them in innovative ways and it always looks so awesome!  So, I thought I'd give it a go :)  I cut two of the four point fleur de lis circles from Spellbinders Fleur De Lis Motifs and placed one on top of the other.  I was surprised at how pretty it looked - like a flower meets a doily!  I then honed my inner Andrea and placed pearls around the edge of my die cut.  I'm not as good as Andrea, so I used flat back pearls, not liquid ones!  Then I just embossed the just-fancy-enough sentiment for some extra glam :)

So there you have it, my second offering to Verves' Card Carnival - hope y'all like it!

Thanks for stopping by :)

Supplies
Card:     Paper Mill Direct - White, Black, Bright Red, Orange, Daffodil, Ocean Blue, Grape, Lilac
Stamps: Verve - Hope Blooms
Ink:        VersaColor - Black
Other:    WOW! Embossing Powder - Ebony; Spellbinders - Fleur De Lis Motifs, Circles-Large;
              Crafty Ribbons - Ivory seam binding; pearls