Category Archives: Verve Stamps

You Make a Difference – yes… YOU!

Posted on May 17, 2017 | 3 comments

I’ve revisited the old “trading card” concept lately because I’ve been mailing a lot of packages, trades, supplies and family stuff. And, it seemed like I wasn’t even taking time to scribble a note on a piece of paper to stuff into the box. <sigh> If someone was really lucky, they’d get a “hi – I love ya!” on a recycled post-it note. <not kidding>

A quick note on the back of a cute trading card lets me brighten a day much better than a recycled post-it, don’t you think?! I’ve loved having a stash and using these!

My flowers and leaf are from the beautiful Bloom and Grow set from Verve. They were stamped with the Clearsnap Petal Point Pigment pads from Sunset collection. Love how they coordinate. Super quick and easy.

If you are like me, you’ve stayed a way from pigments for a while because you were impatient for dry time or you didn’t want to emboss, but our Splitcoaststampers Product Focus review this week was a game changer. I loved the tips and tricks for working with them, because there really is nothing else like the rich, opaque look of a pretty pigment pad. Check it out HERE!

What are some papercrafting ideas you’ve recently re-visited and fallen in love with again? I’d love to know!

3 Comments

Posted in Clearsnap, Splitcoast Stuff, Verve Stamps

Beauty from Ashes – Pantone Color of the Year 2017

Posted on January 27, 2017 | 3 comments

He gives beauty for ashes. ~ Isaiah 61:3

Sending a simple note of encouragement today, it doesn’t even matter who it is for… I don’t know many people right now who don’t need a smile and a friendly hello, a nod of assurance…let’s make a collective effort be the smile. be that nod.

It’s a new year and time to explore new trend, this month the Copic team was challenged to explore the Pantone Color of the Year 2017… And, the Copic match for this year’s color is the beautiful YG25!

I always find the color of the year inspirational, and apparently so do many other people because we will soon find it splashed everywhere!

From the Pantone website, a little explanation to this year’s color selection… encouragement and reassurance. I like that!

And, I certainly like looking at this beautiful color palette in the dark days of winter!

Here is how I made my card: After I had stamped my flower images from Beautiful Things set from Verve Stamps, I stamped a single flower on XPress It Mask It Film and trimmed. I use Staz-On to stamp on the film – only because my Copics will never touch the actual mask.

I apply the cut mask over the flowers stamped on my base layer of cardstock – XPress It Blending Card. The Mask It Film puts a tight seal around the edges of the stamped image, allowing me to get a crisp airbrush halo while keeping the flower itself clean.

When finished airbrushing the background, lift the film and continue with your card. Personally, I color the flowers with Copic first, and airbrush last, but wanted to show you the white flowers so you can see the crisp, clean contrast.

After coloring and airbrushing, I applied my image panel to a black cardstock border and popped it up on Foam Mounting Squares – a fun new CHA product – to mount to the card front in apple green.

Give it a try… share some encouragement with the Color of the Year and link me here so I can see it! I know it will make me smile!

Thanks for stopping by! Have a great weekend!

3 Comments

Posted in Copics, Imagination International, Verve Stamps

Christmas Delivery

Posted on November 30, 2016 | 1 comment

I have two more Christmas cards to share with you today! I am getting excited for the Christmas holidays. I love the time with my family, and the laid back calendar, but I have several things to tackle between now and the 20th for that to happen… don’t we all? 🙂

This cute stamp is one I’ve loved from Verve for several years. Such a cute image to color! I used colors from my favorite custom Copic set (you can see the color list here!) to color my reindeer and then cut my pieces with Taylored Expressions Build-a-Tag 4.

When I had my general layout done, I added some pizazz with XPress It Deco Green Glitter Tape. I really like using this tape for a few reasons: 1) It sticks… sounds crazy, but some don’t, and I’ve had good luck with this! 2) It is easy to apply, it doesn’t wrinkle or stick so tight to anything other than your paper – the application is smooth and bubble free. 3) It is smooth to the touch. You’d think with the shimmer and shine this has that the feel would be chunky and scratchy – it’s super smooth. 4) It is super easy to lay rows of the thinner tape next to each other without visible seams – this is two pieces of the green glitter tape side-by-side.

This next card is one that I started at my stamping retreat in October…The design was a swap from the uber-talented Tracy McNeeley I stamped the elements at our retreat and then came home to finish assembly. The poinsettias are from Birch Press. Stamped and then die cut… These were super easy for me to line up – and with my MISTI, I was able to make several flowers without any trouble. The die cut flower pieces are popped up for dimension with XPress-It Double Sided Foam Tape.

I have accented the left side of my card with silver Deco Glitter Tape from XPress-It. This comes in a wide 1″ roll, and I LOVE it! It has the same features that I like about the skinnier tapes, but it cuts like butter – even with scissor. I trimmed the far left edge of this glitter tape with scissor after applying to my card front. Nice, clean and straight cut… So easy…

I’m off to the phone store. Both of my girls needed new phones so I can reach them when I want to talk to them. So, in the spirit of nothing is ever fair, I got an upgrade and we played the hand-me-down phone swap-a-roo. I detest the phone store, so if I’m not back in a day or two… give me a shout. Make sure I survived!

Thanks for stopping by!

1 Comment

Posted in Christmas, Copics, Imagination International, Verve Stamps

Krafty Christmas and Gift Guide

Posted on October 29, 2016 | Leave a comment

This might be my favorite challenge of the Falliday Fest at Splitcoaststampers from our Artist in Residence, Dina Kowal. The challenge was to make a gingerbread themed card using kraft cardstock and white embossing!

This stamp set is called Sweet Christmas – Sunny Day Doodle line from MFT. I’m sure it’s retired, and I can’t part with it, though I can’t remember using it before. I love how this turned out! Easily duplicatable with a MISTI for mass production. Well — thinking about it, I did fussy cut the gingerbread man. Hire a child for that part!

These tags were for Jacqueline’s Falliday Fest challenge – Monogram It! A snowflake stamp and the Flourished Tag Die set from Verve paired up with Sophisticated Script from Concord & 9th made quick work of that challenge! The doily background die is retired from MFT. (I can’t find the packaging and don’t know the name – it is in a set of 4 small doily dies.) I’m going to have the girls help me mass produce these for our family Christmas. Red for the guys and green for girls!

Still a few days left to join the Falliday Fun and play some of the challenges. We do have lots of great prizes up for grabs from our sponsors. We tried something fun and functional this fall and put together our first ever Holiday Gift Guide at Splitcoast – it’s full of special offers and great ideas for holiday shopping for everyone on your list – especially YOU! Take a peek:

SPLITCOASTSTAMPERS HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE!

I’m off to the final marching band competition of the fall season today! My girl sure loves being on the Color Guard, but I’m looking forward to a few Saturdays at home before the busyness of the holidays hits!

Have a beautiful Saturday!

Falliday Feathers

Posted on October 21, 2016 | 1 comment

I wanted to share two cards I’ve made for the Falliday Fest at Splitcoaststampers! We’ve partnered with some amazing sponsors for a fun event for October! Still plenty of month left to join us for challenges and inspiration, wonderful card-drive opportunities and prizes!

This was a card that I made for Dina Kowal’s Masquerade challenge. This was a new idea to me, and it was so fun…and easy. I’m definitely going to be trying this technique again! My sentiment came from the Autumn Splendor set from Verve, and the feathers are a die-cut from MFT.

This fun card was for Lydia’s challenge, Start Spreading the News! I used the Give Thanks stamp and die set from Concord and 9th for this one. Love the clean look here. I tied to keep it clean and simple. That is something about Lydia’s style that I really admire: clean and classy! The woodgrain is an embossing folder from Taylored Expressions.

I’m off to a marching band competition this weekend, but plenty of cards to share in the next few days! Hope you squeeze some crafty into your weekend! Thanks for stopping by!

1 Comment

Posted in Concord & 9th, My Favorite Things, Splitcoast Challenges, Splitcoast Stuff, Taylored Expressions, Verve Stamps

Dare to Get Dirty is HERE

Posted on August 3, 2016 | 1 comment

It’s my favorite card making week of the year! A week that we celebrate the Fan Club at Splitcoaststampers with a lot of fun challenges and PRIZES from amazing sponsors! YAY!

This is a card that I created for the challenge that I’m hosting. I love the blues in this with the soft green leaves and sentiment – all from Verve Stamps! (Happy 9th Birthday, Verve!)

I created this card by sponging Peacock Feathers ink from Ranger onto a white card stock and embossing flowers over the top. The images and sentiment are all from a beautiful Verve set called Surely Goodness (which is onsale right now 30% off!). I added Shine Bright sequins (Verve) and some dyed ribbon (seam binding with BG11 Various Ink refill to dye).
The Dare to Get Dirty challenges run July 30 through August 6th, with 5 or more challenge each day to celebrate our awesome FAN CLUB. So many Dirty Girls providing inspiration for an amazing week!

Click here for the Dare to Get Dirty Chat Thread.

You must be a Fan Club member to join in the Dare to Get Dirty challenges. Click here for the details on how to join the club.

I hope you have time to play along and win some fun prizes!

1 Comment

Posted in Splitcoast Challenges, Verve Stamps

Everlasting Love – MISTI video tip & a blog hop

Posted on May 27, 2016 | 51 comments

Welcome to Verve’s May Release Retrospective Blog Hop!

I love the colorful simplicity of this card and the perfect alignment of these sweet hearts. And… I created a short video to show you exactly how I did it!

It’s been a fabulous post release week at Verve and today the Divas and Guest Divas are back with another dose of inspiration using the brand new release! All of our new products are available to order in the Verve Store and are 25% off through the end of May! Plus, we’ve got a sweet hop prize in store!

I used the Love Everlasting set for this card – specifically the two heart image and the Jeremiah 31:3 sentiment.

I have loved you with an everlasting love!

I don’t know about you, but I could never line those hearts up without help, and the honest truth is that my MISTI has helped and really made me fall in love with stamping again. I can obtain crisp, perfect alignments that look great with little to no extra effort on my part.

I created a short video to show you how I did it. Please be kind, I didn’t realize the perspective was skewed until watching the video back, and then I was out of daylight to reshoot. I tried, and I think you’ll still understand the process. 🙂

[youtube]https://youtu.be/2A4sdACE_T8[/youtube]

Want to win some shiny new Verve? Julee will be picking a random comment winner on one of the hop spots below to win a $40 gift voucher to Verve! To be entered in the giveaway, leave a little comment love as you hop around to the blogs linked below! Check out the Verve Blog today for all the prize info and deadlines!

I hope you’ll enjoy hopping. Your next stop is with beautiful Betty!


1. Julee	7. LauraJane {guest}
2. Lori {guest}	8. Marisa
3. Betty	9. Maureen
4. Charmaine	10. Stacey
5. Laurie	11. Teresa
6. Lesley

Thanks for stopping by today! Have a wonderful weekend!

Free first class shipping on US orders over $35 May 27 – 31, 2016.

51 Comments

Posted in MISTI, Verve Stamps, Videos

You Were Made for Amazing Things

Posted on May 20, 2016 | 54 comments

Welcome back to Day 3 of Verve’s May Spotlight Hops! It’s Verve‘s Release Day, 2 new stamp sets, 3 die sets and a beautiful sequin mix are all available in the store.

The blog hop theme today is designer’s choice! You didn’t think I could let this series go by without a single stitch of kraft cardstock did you??? Swoon for more beautiful sentiments in Julee’s Beautiful Things stamp set and Beautiful Flowers Die.

Here I’ve paired them with the Stitched Pennants Die Set, leaves from the Beautiful Flowers die set and my most favorite white sequins – Shine Bright Sequin Mix. It’s like looking at a pouch of sparkling star dust. Love.

I colored my flowers on X-Press It Blending Card (my smooth finish favorite!) with a YR04 Copic Marker and added a little hint of white glitter to the center of the flowers, then popped them up with X-Press It Double Sided Foam Tape for interest!

Want to win some shiny new Verve? Today’s prize is a BIG one. We’ll be picking a random commenter on one of the hop spots below to win our ENTIRE new release! So be sure to leave a little comment on all the blogs below to increase your chances! Check out the Verve Blog today for the full hop list and all the prize info and deadlines!

Here’s your full hop list of inspiration!


1. Julee	7. Lesley
2. Lori {guest}	8. LauraJane {guest}
3. Betty	9. Marisa
4. Charmaine	10. Maureen
5. Christyne	11. Stacey
6. Laurie

I can’t wait to take a peek at the work from the other Verve girls today. I love the stamps, I have really enjoyed working with them. Many, many thanks to Julee for asking me to participate this month. It has been a true honor.

I still have more to share over the next week or so from this release, but I’m still this morning I’m still folding Yosemite laundry… <blech>

I hope you’ve enjoyed my projects and that you are inspired to make beautiful things!

Thanks for stopping by!

54 Comments

Posted in Copics, Verve Stamps

forever be my always…

Posted on May 19, 2016 | 45 comments

Day Two of the Verve Stamps release previews with the Verve Divas and guests (me!) …Everything previewed this week will be available to order in the Verve online store on Friday, May 20.

I’m just heading home today from a short get-away with my husband in Yosemite, we had a wonderful time.

I’m sharing a sentiment and the sweet heart duo stamp from the new Love Everlasting set that will be available from Verve tomorrow. Here the bright yellow and black lets you make mushy stuff speak manly – you know, for the manly man who doesn’t want anyone to know how mushy he really is. 😉

I cut several flags from the Stitched Pennants Die Set, also being released by Verve tomorrow! The smaller flags and the die cut Everlasting Hearts are popped up with XPress-It Double Sided Foam adhesive – the XPress It Foam has a tight hold and tears easily.

Next I wanted to share another card in a similar color scheme to the card I shared yesterday featuring theBeautiful Things flowers, Beautiful Flowers Die Set and Stitched Pennants Die Set along with another sentiment from the Love Everlasting set.

I have plenty of people in my life that are worthy of the sentiment, “how sweet it is to be loved by you”… I’m sure you have many, as well! This card makes me happier than anything I’ve created in a long time. These flowers are just so easy to use!

I’ve used the same color combo as yesterday, coloring my flowers with Copic Marker (Yo4, RV04 and YR04). I used XPress It Double Sided Foam Tape to pop my cut blooms for depth. Finally, I accenting the flower blooms with leaves and tiny blossoms from the Verve Bloom & Grow set and some fun sequins from the new Copper Blush Sequin Mix (also available tomorrow).

Want to win some shiny new Verve? We’ll be picking a random commenter on one of the hop spots below to win today’s featured products! So be sure to leave a little comment on all the blogs below to increase your chances! Check out the Verve Blog today for the full hop list, a little more about our new products and all the prize info and deadlines!

I hope you’ve enjoyed my cards today. I sure enjoyed making both of them! Tomorrow is release day for all of the new Verve products, and I’ll be back with another project for you…*IF* I can get all of my stinky Yosemite camping laundry going in the washing machine! 🙂

Have another beautiful day, my friends.

45 Comments

Posted in Copics, Verve Stamps

Amazing Things Splitcoaststampers Tutorial

Posted on May 18, 2016 | 2 comments

In the hustle and bustle of all of the new Verve, Dina Kowal asked me if I’d be interested in creating a masking fluid and Copic Airbrush Stamped Masking tutorial for Splitcoaststampers… How can I say no to her?

Check out my tutorial for Stamped Masking and Copic Airbrush at Splitcoast to learn how I made this quick and easy variegated tag – I even shot a video! What! What? Try this and let me know what you think!

I paired the Flourished Tag with pretty plaid from Lawn Fawn and a beautiful sentiment from the new Verve release set called Beautiful Things. This set is full of beautiful sentiments, and I know I’ll be using it over and over and over. The sequins are from Verve’s Copper Blush and Lots of Love Sequin Mixes.

I hope you enjoy my tutorial! Thanks for stopping by today…

2 Comments

Posted in Copics, Splitcoast Stuff, Verve Stamps

Category Archives: Verve Stamps

You Make a Difference – yes… YOU!

Beauty from Ashes – Pantone Color of the Year 2017

Christmas Delivery

Krafty Christmas and Gift Guide

SPLITCOASTSTAMPERS HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE!

Falliday Feathers

Dare to Get Dirty is HERE

Everlasting Love – MISTI video tip & a blog hop

You Were Made for Amazing Things

forever be my always…

Amazing Things Splitcoaststampers Tutorial

All About Me

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