Sites of the week

That’s right, it’s Anni-VERVE-sary time again! Verve Stamps is celebrating 3 years today! I am so happy to say that I have been with Verve for these 3 years and it has been a wonderful ride. It’s rare that I meet someone that is not familiar with Verve, but when I do I get to tell them about the beautiful stamps and the ABSOLUTELY AMAZING SENTIMENTS! There’s no way I could pinpoint one thing that’s my favorite, but I have to say that the sentiments are right at the top of the list. They give me a chance to make scrappy type cards that I might not otherwise make, but adore creating. With that in mind, I created my card for our Anni-VERVE-sary Blog Hop.

Yep, I said HOP! That means that you should have started at the Queen of “V” Julee’s blog and come here via Tosh’s blog. There’s lots of Verve eye candy and candy along the way. Yep, I said CANDY…meaning that there are some special prizes hidden along the way, so be sure to give some love at each of your stops for a chance to win! You’ll be checking out creation from all of us Divas, as well as awesome Verve fans and customers.

Here’s my card using a sentiment from the set SWEET ON YOU, which you have a chance to win just by leaving a comment on this post!…

If you check out the other sentiments in the set, you will see that these are all meant to be paired up with some sort of popular candy like “You’re a Lifesaver” and “Love You to Pieces”…as in Reese’s Pieces. The sentiment that I used can be paired up with just about any candy that comes multicolored. I actually used this sentiment and pattern paper idea on THIS project. I paired that with the ricrac idea that I had on THIS project.

See why I love Verve sentiments??

Ok, did I do enough BLAH BLAH BLAH? Just kidding

It’s time to hop, hop, hop on over to Libby’s blog for more Anni-VERVE-sary greatness.

Hey there! This is the last SKETCH FOR YOU TO TRY of the month and the last chance at the GIGANTIC prize package that is going to be won by a very lucky SFYTT participant. A new Designer of the Month will also be chosen from the participants. Just want to put up the deets one last time…

1. A new sketch will be posted here each Saturday in February
2. There will be a Slide Guest Book that you can post your creation(s) at the end of each of those posts.
3. You will have until March 2nd to post your creations to the corresponding sketch. Be sure that each of your creations is posted to the correct Slide Guest Book.
4. You can enter as many times as you like, but must upload each creation separately. All entries should be posted to your blog or online gallery, as well. Please use the keyword “SFYTT” for all online galleries.
5. All participants will also be considered for next month’s Designer of the Month, as well.
6. A RANDOM participant will win the prize package and will be announced on March 3rd. Winner will have five days to contact me via email to claim prize.
7. The March Designer of the Month will be chosen and contacted March 3rd, but will not be announced until the first Saturday of March here.

Ok, so here’s the sketch…

Here’s my take on it using some American Crafts paper that I just got from Emma’s Paperie and a My Favorite Things sentiment…

***********REMOVED FOR PUBLICATION*********

Detail of the flower, which was cut out using my Slice Wedding Design Cartridge…

A very special Thank You to Mona Pendleton for joining us this month. As always, she has created a beautiful sample…

You can check out more fabby creations from my SKETCH FOR YOU TO TRY sisters…
Amy Rohl
Amy Sheffer
Leigh O’Brien
Susan Liles
and Kelly Lunceford

PSST…There’s gonna be some new faces to the SFYTT Sisters next week! Stay tuned!

Finally, here is where you upload your card. PLEASE use the Slide guest book ONLY for uploads; comments may be left in the comments section of this post below. THANK YOU!!!

Hey Everyone! Nicolas is ONE MONTH old today! Wow, that went by fast! I’ve enjoyed the time off, but it’s time to get back into the swing of things again. SKETCH FOR YOU TO TRY is back and this month is extra sweet! “How’s that?” you ask. Well…

1. There is a PRIZE PACKAGE worth well over $200 up for grabs!
2. We’re looking for next month’s Designer of the Month!

First, let’s talk about this GINORMOUS PRIZE PACKAGE that’s up for grabs. Several {and I mean LOTS} of GREAT companies have donated fabby stamping and crafty products. I would like to give a HUGE THANK YOU to the crafty donors; please visit their sites by clicking the links below…

My Favorite Things
The Cat’s Pajamas
Verve Stamps
Skipping Stones Designs
Stamping Bella
The Stamps of Life
Our Craft Lounge
Stamper’s Dream
There She Goes
Lizzie Anne Designs
My Time Made Easy
eclectic Paperie
Gina K. Designs
Jacksonbelle Embellishments
Taylored Expressions
Prism Papers
Splitcoast Stampers {one year Fan Club membership}

Want to win and/or be the next Designer of the Month? Check out these guidelines…

1. A new sketch will be posted here each Saturday in February
2. There will be a Slide Guest Book that you can post your creation(s) at the end of each of those posts.
3. You will have until March 2nd to post your creations to the corresponding sketch. Be sure that each of your creations is posted to the correct Slide Guest Book.
4. You can enter as many times as you like, but must upload each creation separately. All entries should be posted to your blog or online gallery, as well. Please use the keyword “SFYTT” for all online galleries.
5. All participants will also be considered for next month’s Designer of the Month, as well.
6. A RANDOM participant will win the prize package and will be announced on March 3rd. Winner will have five days to contact me via email to claim prize.
7. The March Designer of the Month will be chosen and contacted March 3rd, but will not be announced until the first Saturday of March here.

Here’s this week’s sketch {which was based on THIS card}…

Here’s my sample…

This month’s Designer of the Month is the super talented MONA PENDLETON…

A little bit about Mona, in her own words…
I have a passion for papercrafting and a strong desire for inspiring others. I started paper-crafting approximately 7 years ago when I began scrapbooking my children’s photos and creating any occasion greeting cards & haven’t stopped since. I have developed a sort of shabby chic, vintage style.

Her gorgeous take on the sketch…

You can check out more fabby creations from my SKETCH FOR YOU TO TRY sisters…
Amy Rohl
Amy Sheffer
Leigh O’Brien
Susan Liles
and be sure to visit theother new mama on our team, Kelly Lunceford

Here’s where you upload your creation…

As any mom knows, there are lots of thank yous to give out to family and friends when a little one arrives. We have been blessed with a darling little boy {good thing I’m not writing this in the middle of the night, because I am not sure what words I would have for him} and great friends and an awesome family. That being said, I have made a few thank yous and want to share those today…

This card uses a Verve sentiment paired with a bear that I cut from my Cricut…

Detail shot…

The snout was cut out of Bazzill Swiss Dotted paper and paper pieced on top of the original die cut for added detail/dimension. Also, for added detail I distressed the edges of the pattern paper and stitched the edges. For a finishing touch, I added the buttons with twine.

This second card has a floating sentiment that was die cut using the Slice machine. My sleepless brain can’t think of what this kind of card is called, so if anyone can help a girl out and clue me in again to the name, I’d appreciate it. Added detail was created by stitching the edges and adding buttons and ribbon…

I’m off to relax and hopefully get another card or two done today. See ya soon

There is something crafty later in this post, but I wanted to chit chat for just a second before I get to that.

A little over a year ago I got on Facebook and, of course, started reconnecting with some old friends. I got a chance to catch up with one of my high school girl friends and her family over a Chuckee Cheese dinner. I had kept up with a few people after college, but then moved away and lost many of those connections. As most friends would, we talked about who was doing what and we couldn’t believe that so-and-so actually did whatever. Then, 2 very sad things came up…

One of our classmates had died of melanoma at the age of 28. She was one of the first people I met when I moved to a new high school and, as I remember, one of the nicest that I knew through high school. She was one of those people that everyone liked and had a lot to offer this world, so even though I had not stayed friends with her, it was difficult to grasp this terrible news. More about her and the foundation that has been set up in her name HERE.

The second bit of sad news that came up was one of the guys in our group of friends had a son, Dax, that had cancer. It seems like you always hear about this on the news or it’s a friend of a friend of a friend, which almost makes it not real. Having known the people in this story at one point in my life makes this real. This morning at 2:15 Dax’s 2.5 year old body could no longer fight this evil disease and he passed away. Read more about little Dax HERE. Don’t forget the tissues!!
Please remember to hug your little ones today {and everyday}! I can’t even imagine the pain that his family is suffering right now. I look at Ellie and am so thankful for what I have. I look down to my huge belly and am thankful for what I have/will have. In reading the Caring Bridge journal for Dax, I am amazed at the strength his mom has shown and even in the face of the death of her son she is so openly thankful for the St. Jude’s staff and continues to campaign to raise enough money to run St. Jude’s for a day {$1.6 million}. I hope that their family’s love will continue to keep them strong and that they reach their goal {ps…help if you can!}.

I did promise something crafty and it does still fall into the “Little Ones” category, in 2 ways actually. First it is sort of a mini “album.” I use “album” loosely here, because it’s not really, but it has pictures and does fold into a little book. Second, it’s all about Ellie…my little one. This is a kit that I created for my LSS, Scrapper’s Boutique. I couldn’t get a real good pic of all the panels together, so here they are in 2s…

The right panel is the front cover…

The left panel is the inside of the front cover…

The last 2 inside panels…

Back and inside center panels…

I need to go back to bed now! This “I can’t sleep” thing is driving me crazy…and something tells me that it’s not going to get better anytime soon! Ahhhh!!