July Project Parade-Day 12

Good morning, it is Teresa.  I am luvin all the divas projects, aren't you?  I hope that you will play along with us, you know there is always prizes to be won!  I new as soon as I heard the theme this month what I wanted to do.  I do know people in the service, my Dad, other family members, and lots of people in our church have served and are still serving.  I help with doing care packages for them throughout the year.  I turned my attention to the men and woman whom I have done nothing for.

I have been wanting to donate cards to a wonderful organization, Operation Write Home.  This was the perfect timing and I must say that I kept these cards so simple because of the guidelines, but I am more proud of these than most of my other cards.  I really thought about who may receive one of these and there need to send  a note of love back home.  I hope whom ever will choose one of my cards to send home will see the effort I made to make it special!

As I mentioned there are some guidelines, it is super important that you take the time to read them in your effort to help.  You can read all about it here.  NO glitter is a huge guideline, you can read about that here.  The cards must be marked Operation Write Home on the back, I made labels on my computer.  Only A2 sized cards and the tuck of the envelopes are also important, you can read about that here and watch the video.  These ladies put forth a huge effort to stay organized and keep it uniform, lets help them help the men and woman in the service....true hero's!

I kept all of the cards similar, using Carolyn Gavin's designer paper from K & Company.  I chose it because of the fun patterns and wonderful colors, I wanted them to be light and cheery.  For the card on the left I used Always On My Mind, Blue Skies, and the tiny heart is from Wild Thing.  I used one of my favorite sketches from Jen d.  For the card on the right I used Blue Skies, Beautiful You, and Floral Whimsy, this sketch is from the Dirty Girl Challenges.   

I did not use ribbon on these cards, I wanted them to be lighter and not as bulky.  I used yarn and a crocheted flower on these two.  For these I used Always On My Mind and  Blue Skies.  The sketch for the one of the left is from a Verve Challenge way back when and the one on the right is one of Amber's Viva la Verve sketches.

I used Always On My Mind and Blue Skies for these two also.  These sketches are from the Dirty Girl Challenges and a favorite of Mercy's sketches.  I hope you like my "Hero" project and take time out of your day to thank a hero in your life!

As with all of our project parades, there are prizes!!!!

1. Play along with us and link up your new My Hero creation (posted July 12th or later) to the linky widget on the DAY ONE parade post before midnight on July 30th. One lucky stamper will win a $30.00 gift certificate to the Verve Store. Verve Stamps are not required, but we LOVE to see ‘em!

2. For another chance to win, be sure to give the Divas a little shout-out in the comments section as we parade our My Hero creations. One lucky commenter during the course of the parade (July 12 ~ July 28) will win the Verve stamp set of his or her choosing!

A Surprise Pop-up!

We've got power! It's been out since last night and I was worried about posting this today, but the power is back on!
A few months ago I downloaded these directions to make a pop-up box that had its own lid built right in. I played around with it for a bit, but nothing seemed to be right, so I put it aside.

Well, when my Verve Visual stamps arrived I immediately had an image in my head that was a perfect fit for that box!

Here I stamped and embossed one of the heart images from the Wild Things stamp set onto my black box base.

Then I put together my box using sticky strips to be sure it would hold. I added two layers of ribbon around the lid, and stamped a front piece for the box using the Wild Things stamps the way I had envisioned it.

So, wanna see how it opens? *grin* This is my favorite part!

The lid is built right in! You don't have to take it off and lose it, you just lift up, and the center opens and you can pick out your goodies! when the lid is down, the top is closed tightly, so nothing will fall out. And if you don't glue the bottom flaps down, it can be folded up flat for storage or mailing.

I filled this one with lots of pink embellishments and ribbons and plan to send it to my best friend.

So, as Bethany pointed out in her post below, when you find yourself in a slump, think outside the box ! (or at least think of a new box!)

Sweet Valentine Treats

Do you remember playing with those folded paper fortune tellers when you were a kid? I totally remember making these and playing with my friends in the 4th grade. Who knew that if you flipped them over they would be a super cute candy dish. I first saw this idea a while back on the Martha Stewart site. Click HERE to go to her project, which also has the directions. When I first got the Wild About You set, I had the idea to do this as a Valentine centerpiece. I started out with SU! Kraft cardstock cut down to 8"x8". I stamped it with the small hearts in white Craft ink after making my score marks. After I had it all folded, I turned down the edges. The scalloped edges are from a scalloped square punch that I cut in half and adhered to the bottom side of the fold. The pink bling bling are Swarovski crystals that I picked up at Michael's. For the "flagpole" of this project, I punched a hole out of the center of the candy dish and stuck in the decorated lollipop stick.

Guest Designer: Karrie Baker

I'm so excited to show you the projects Karrie cooked up for Verve this month! Karrie is one of my all-time favorite bloggers. She has an infectious enthusiasm for all things stamping that leaves you happy, inspired and wanting to see more of her fabulous creations! I don't think a day goes by when I don't check for a new post on her blog, Burnin' Rubber. Her passion for life spills over into her stamping, and I'm sure you'll agree that her creations with Wild Thing are mojolicious! So on with the eye candy... Just click the photos below to see Karrie's creations close-up with an ingredient list.

Karrie's answers to my nosy virtual interview cracked me up. Who knew that BUYING could be a super stamping strength? LOL! Okay, on with her answers...

How did you get hooked on stamping? This is so funny. My cousin brought a CTMH and SU! catalog with her to Thanksgiving dinner forever ago. I remember looking through those catalogs for HOURS!! Then, a few years later, my friend hosted a SU! party and I was hooked! My very first "stamp set" was Happy Winter from SU! that bought on special for $1!!! WOOHOO. It has gotten more expensive since then... :)

How often do you stamp? No less than 5 days a week. The majority of my stamping is done on Sunday though. While everything else in my house practices "slug Sunday" I am busy doing laundry and stamping the day away. I love it. If I could do it more, I would but that means I would have to give up the day job that pays for all this fun stuff!!

Do you have your own stamping space or do you share it with the cat, dining room, coat closet, etc . ? This is a touchy subject. I actually have to share a 10x10 room with my husband, his three computers and our three labs. It is a little cramped in here. He complains I am taking up too much space but really, it is him and the dogs. :)

Do you stay true to a stamping budget, or are you swayed by all the enabling out in stampland? You know, I say that I try to be good about all the spending but the truth is, I am a bad, bad girl. I should get discounts everywhere for being such a good customer. I need a frequent buyer card or something.

What is the latest stamping toy you've picked up that just made your heart go pitter patter? Hands down, it has to be "JJ" my new Janome Mini Sewing Machine. I can't stop sewing on my cards. Sigh...it has really become a problem for me. Just like all those Nestabilities, I can't seem to stop using them either.

Name one stamp or stamp set that you don't think you'll ever part with. Well, that will have to Nellie the Nest Lady from Stampin' Up!. I don't know what it is about her but I will NEVER be able to part with her and the one stamp that I will never be able to part with is the Teddybear stamp that my Dad gave me. It is what REALLY started all this craziness! :)

What do you love most about papercrafting? I get such a high off creating whether it be a card, altered item, snowglobe, tag, whatever... I just love it. I feel so relaxed, so in the "me" it is wonderful. I just wish I could get my husband to do it with me, then I could have access to a stamping buddy 24/7, now THAT would be a GREAT thing!! :)

What do you consider to be your stamping strengths? What? Huh? Are you seriously asking me this question? I don't really know how to answer this. My strength in stamping is BUYING!! Hello!! LOL

Who is your stamping hero (someone whose work inspires you challenge yourself creatively)? There are so many, I don't think I can name just one. But if I am forced to, well, it would have to be Anna Wight. Someday I am going to color like that girl. Every time I see her work I am just blown away. Sigh...someday... :)

Okay, be sure to leave a comment and let Karrie know how much you love her Wild Thing cards! I'll be back tomorrow to show you Julie Campbell's projects using Swirly Stars!

Red, White and Black...

I love these colors together. First, red is probably my favorite color. When papercrafting with red, I like to compliment it with the brightness of white and the contrast of black. When these heart sets arrived in my mailbox I already knew what I wanted to do with them. Well, at least I had my color palette chosen. From there it was just a matter of layout and stamping. If you know me at all, you know I love to keep my lines clean and simple, yet still deliver a dynamic layout. The easiest part of the whole project was the stamping. OMG!! Julee knew what she was doing when she switched over from unmounted red rubber to clear stamps!! I am very impressed with the quality. Of course the design is to die for, too! I must admit, after seeing these images over the computer, my foot was tapping for them to arrive. So without further adieu, here are a couple sneak peeks for the release on Thursday. Don't miss the samples that have already been posted below. Also, be sure to keep an eye out for all the upcoming peeks this week!

Be Mine!

What a happy coincidence that Laurie and I both chose the Wild Thing set to feature! We even selected the same sentiment. In the spirit of sharing, I'll let you know that there are two more terrific sentiments in the set that share the same pair of fonts that look so great together. Just wait 'till you see them!


Supply List:
Stamps: Wild Thing (Verve Visual)
Ink: VersaFine Black (Tsukineko)
Paper: Basic Black (Stampin' Up!), Currant Sensation (Bazzill Basics Smoothies Collection)
Accessories: Pewter Heart Photo Corners (Making Memories); Pink Gems (Mark Richards); Black Grosgrain Ribbon (May Arts)


This release will feature two heart sets -- and while Wild Thing is wonderful, you won't want to miss Heart to Heart. It features seven wonderful mixed-font sayings and two gorgeous large hearts. Both of these love-centric sets are perfect for Valentine's Day, but they'll also be sets that you reach for when you need cards for weddings, anniversaries, encouragement, and the occasional "I Love You" out of the blue.


Stay tuned to this blog, because more eye candy is scheduled to appear here every day until the big release on the 10th. And then, on the 10th, even more samples will be shown in the Verve Visual Gallery. Make sure you're here for all the fun!


Happy Stamping!

Want To See A Sneak Peek?

Happy New Year!! I hope you all had a wonderful Holiday season! I can't think of a better way to ring in the new year than with some *brand new* stamps!! Verve has 5 amazing new stamp sets that will be released on January 10th! I have to tell you...I have had the privilege of "working" with these new sets and I am totally smitten!!!

I wanted to mention to you something that really impressed me about these stamps. I've used clear stamps before and have had problems getting a good ink coverage using water based dye inks. That was NOT the case with these new Verve stamps...the coverage was wonderful with all of the inks I used with them (including the water based dye inks)!

Here is a sneak peek of the new Wild Thing stamp set (set of 8). After I finished this card, I was convinced that this was my favorite of the new sets....that is, until I stamped with the others! LOL! I drew my colors from this yummy Daisy Bucket patterned paper. For the swirly panel, I ran a piece of Soft Sky c.s. through my Cuttlebug using the Divine Swirls embossing folder then "highlighted" the swirls with my white gel pen.

For this ensemble, I used the new Swirly Stars & Seeing Stars sets. Swirly Stars is a set of 8 stamps and Seeing Stars is a set of 12.

The Swirly Stars set has two different types of swirly stars and each comes in two different sizes...which is perfect for layering! This little gift card was so fast and easy to put together! After stamping my stars, I used Stampin' Up!'s large and small star punches to punch them out. They are a perfect fit!

I stamped one of the small stars (from Seeing Stars) on the lid of the tin with White Stazon ink. I created another star "duo" (like the one on the gift card), wrapped a stamped piece of cardstock around the side and Voila! This set was so much fun (and very quick and easy) to put together!

Make sure to stop back by tomorrow for another "peek" at these must-have new sets!!

~Laurie

Recipe for Valentine Card

Stamps: Wild Thing (Verve) Paper: Garden Gate patterned paper (Daisy Bucket), Whisper White, Soft Sky, Cranberry Crisp (Stampin' Up!) Ink: Soft Sky, Cranberry Crisp (Stampin' Up!) Accessories: Cuttlebug and Divine Swirls embossing folder (Provo Crafts), Dbl. Stitched Soft Sky ribbon (Stampin' Up!), Micro Twinkle Stickers (A Muse), White gel pen

Recipe for Star Tin & Gift Card

Stamps: Swirly Stars, Seeing Stars (Verve) Paper: Brilliant Blue (Stampin' Up!), Shiny metallic silver c.s. Ink: Encore Silver pigment pad, Brilliant Blue (Stampin' Up!) Accessories: Micro Twinkle Stickers (A Muse), Lg & Sm Star punches, Elastic silver cord (Stampin' Up!)