{Happy Anniversary}

Hi everyone,

I have two silver wedding anniversary's in my family coming up this year so I'm in desperate need of some cards. Came to find out - I don't have a lot of wedding themed cards so I had to get a little creative but I thought Sprinkles and Poochie on the swing from Just Let it Happen (TCP) would make a really cute anniversary card. 

So...for this card I started out with blending some Distress Ink (Mermaid Lagoon) into my paper. I then stamped some splatter using  the Watercolor Basics Set from TCP. I love this set because you know exactly what your splatter will look like. Very handy! Then I stamped Sprinkles and Poochie on top of my background and colored in the swing with Copic Markers. The sentiment I took from the Simply Said Set. As a final touch I added some Clear Jewel Dew Drops and a little bit of glitter to Sprinkles collar.

Closer look:

thanks so much for stopping by,

Sonja

{One Lifetime} November Divainspiration Blog Hop

hi Everyone,

and Welcome to Verve's November Diva Inspirations Hop. I'm showcasing another card I made for my friend's wedding last month. I wasn't entirely happy with the first one I made so I decided to make one more and then see which one I liked better. I ended up giving her this one. I liked how it resembled a book cover in a way which reminded me of how my friend is opening a new chapter in her life and I just really liked the symbolism of that. 

Well that's all I have for you today...I'm in the middle of moving and boxes are everywhere around here. You don't even want to know how many boxes I had to dig through to find the hard drive that had the picture for today's post on it....last night. I built up a good sweat let me tell you lol but thankfully I found it and here it is. :) Yay!

 Be sure to check out what the rest of the Diva team has come up with for inspiration with their Verve stamps! Leave some comment love along the hop spots for a chance to win a prize, then grab some stamps and play along with our November inspiration challenge for another chance to win!

This month's challenge is entitled Naturally Navy:

Classic, bold, timeless...navy is naturally elegant! Go nautical or pair with neutrals for a creation sure to impress.

Need a little inspiration? Check out the blogs linked below to see what the other Divas did with the challenge! It's sure to be a treat, and speaking of treats, we've got a prize for one lucky commenter along the hop! Check out the Verve Blog today for all the prize info and deadlines!

	1. Amy	7. Sarah
	2. Anya	8. Sony
	3. Betty	9. Susan
	4. Jen	10. Maureen
	5. Karen	11. Stacey
	6. Sankari	12. Marisa

{Wedding Wishes} Diva Inspiration Blog Hop

hi Everyone,

Welcome to Verve's October Diva Inspirations Hop. 

I am SO sorry but I'm afraid I lost track of time this month so I didn't get around to creating a theme inspired card this month...instead I'm showing you one of the cards I created for my friend's wedding a few weeks ago. Stay tuned for the one I actually ended up giving her...but in the meantime:

It's time for the Divas to serve up some fresh inspiration with their Verve stamps! Leave some comment love along the hop spots for a chance to win a prize, then grab some stamps and play along with our October inspiration challenge for another chance to win!

This month's challenge is entitled Fall Fancy:

The air is crisp and the colors are warm – celebrate fall with a spook-tacular creation or a thoughtful thank you using Fall as your inspiration! 

Need a little inspiration? Check out the blogs linked below to see what the other Divas did with the challenge! It's sure to be a treat, and speaking of treats, we've got a prize for one lucky commenter along the hop! Check out the Verve Blog today for all the prize info and deadlines!

	1. Julee	7. Sarah
	2. Amy	8. Sony
	3. Anya	9. Maureen
	4. Betty	10. Laurie
	5. Karen	11. Marisa
	6. Sankari	12. Jen

{Happily Ever After} Diva Inspiration

Hi everyone,

I have been gone for a minute there...I'm so sorry but my term at school is coming to an end and we've got exactly one week to get all our final projects done so needless to say I've been working overtime and it's been one heck of a week so far: models exploding, having to redo and start over, programs crashing, computer freezing....oooh the joys of 3D. lol Oh but I'm not just taking 3D classes this term I'm also taking a few analog classes, one of them being Clay Sculpture...now you wanna talk about a class taking up a lot of time this is definitely the one. I spent nine hours in the studio today and I'll be back for more tomorrow. Whew...I'm exhausted.

Okay...now thankfully I sorta knew this was coming so I worked a little ahead so I have a little something to share with you guys because let's face it...I haven't gotten any stamping time in this past week and probably won't get any in this coming week either. Two friends of mine from church are getting married this month and I thought a clean, simple and fresh card would be just perfect for them so I used Charmaine's Viva La Verve sketch from last week I believe and came up with this little card here.I used stamps from the set Love Story, some Nesties, ribbon and a Cuttlebug Embossing Folder for some added texture.

thank you so much for stopping by!!

Sony

Stamps: Love Story (Verve)

Paper: Old Olive (SU),  Spring Moss (PTI), Lemon Tart (PTI)

Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black,  Lemonda (Adirondack)

Accessories: Nesties, Ribbon, Twill Tape, Copics, Stickles Glitter, Seeing Spots Embossing Folder (Cuttlebug)

{a whole lot a Drama} Verve Card Making Day

well hello there from a real rainy Cali,

yup...it's officially fall...well for today at least, tomorrow it could be a 100 degrees and sunshine again like last week. lol
Life has gotten really busy for me all of a sudden, which is in way a good thing but it also means I haven't had a whole lot of time for crafting soo I'm super excited that I was able to sneak in one card for Verve's World Card Making Day Release challenge...whew, say that ten times fast. lol

I just picked the very first sketch and went for the sorta shabby vintage feel with a whole lot a drama...haha kinda like how my life has been lately.
Oh it's been a real mess...here are two quotes actually that describe it perfectly: Tis better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all.  Well...that's all nice and good but let's face it when we're heartbroken it sounds like a bunch of you-know-what and this is where another favorite quote of mine comes in handy, one that has really helped me get through this past week: If you cry because the sun has left your life, your tears will prevent you from seeing the stars.
It's such an honest quote, acknowledging that sometimes yes, we do go through hard times but then it also shifts our focus away from the one seemingly gigantic negative thing and refocuses it on the many perhaps smaller but countless beautiful things in our life. I just love it and it was exactly what I needed to remind myself of last week!!

But you came here to hear something about cards sooooo let me see what I can tell you about this one here ..oh I know...let's start with stamps: the sentiment I used here, which I stamped in Cloudy Blue and then embossed with clear embossing powder, is from the Verve set Framed Wishes and the frame around it is from the set Love Story.

The blue paper is by Tim Holtz, the black and white polka dotted paper is from Petite Pages by Webster's Pages and the black and white striped paper is from the Basic Pack by DCWV. To make them all go together I distressed the edges pretty heavily with ink and scissors.

I also ruffled a part of my black ribbon using this fabulous tutorial by my dear friend and fellow Cat Packer Joanne. The final touch to it all: some black chipboard stickers!

thanks so much for stopping by!!
Have a great week and if you feel as though your sun has left you - focus on the stars and know that whatever it is...it'll be all right!

~ Sony

Stamps: Framed Wishes (Verve), Love Story (Verve)
Paper: Vintage Shabby (Tim Holtz), Basic Black & White (DCWV), Petite Pages (Webster's Pages), Basic White and Black
Ink: Brilliance Black, Slate (Adirondack), Cloudy Blue (Adirondack), Versamark
Accessories: Heat Gun, Clear Embossing Powder, Sponges, Chipboard Stickers, Ribbon, White Thread and Sewing Machine, Deco Fan Border Punch

{The Best Day Ever}

Here's another one of my Verve Sneak Peek cards I had made

for the amazing release Julee just had this month!!

I had soo much fun playing with these stamps here, it

was really hard for me to put them down. lol

So for this card I used the small but fine set Framed Wishes, which you

can only get as a little gift for purchasing $35 worth of stamps at this point but I do believe Julee is going to make this set available for purchase as well at some point.

I went a little nuts with my unfurry Linen Thread (available over at the Cat's Pajamas), adding a double bow to the big button on the right, having some longer pieces sticking out

from the smaller buttons and then adding two knots to the thread that's wrapping

around my card on the left. It worked and I had fun...what can I say?! lol

~ til next time,

Sony

Stamps: Framed Wishes

Paper: Petite Pages (Webster's Pages), Kraft, Basic White Pad (BG)

Ink: Frayed Burlap (Ranger Distress Ink), Soft Suede (SU), Versamark, Antique Linen (Ranger Distress

Ink)

Accessories: Clear Embossing Powder, Heat Gun, Buttons, Beige Linen Thread (TCP), Notebook Style

Punch, Twill Tape, Kraft Thread, Sewing Machine, Rounded Corner Punch, Sponges, Hot Glue Gun

{A Fairytale Wedding Gift Organizer} Verve Sneak Peek

*** Please scroll down for my SFYTT Post***

Hi Guys,

I am sooo excited to share with you this little Sneak Peek project I made for Julee's latest release over at Verve.

I'm so lucky to have been invited to play along with the Divas this month...and what a fabulous month it is for Verve: 3 year anniversary and 8 new, stunning stamp sets!!!

Sooo mark your calendars:

The Release Party will be on Friday August 20th

starting at 8pm EST/5pm PST at the Verve SCS Forum!!!

Ohh and before I forget: one lucky commenter on a randomly chosen official Sneak Peek will win the sets being peeked that day so be sure to leave as many comments as you can. {wink wink}

Are you ready to get started with the Sneak Peeks??

Well ready or not...here's the very first one: these gorgeous stamps are from the set Love Story, an absolute must have for all the romance lovers out there.

This set couldn't have come at a better time for me because I have 3 weddings coming up in the next 9 months!! I see a lot of parties and hairspray coming my way lol

So I decided - the eternal organizer - to make a Wedding Gift Organizer for my friend who's getting married in Miami but lives out here in Cali, that way she won't lose her list on her way home.

This Wedding Gift Organizer is about 4.25" x 5.75" and it has a Bridal Shower and Wedding section with pockets for receipts for both events. I did sneak in the notebook page from the Blue Skies set (one of my all-time faves) but other from that all the stamps you see here are from Love Story. Oh and the words Bridal Shower, Wedding and Receipts are printed out from the computer.

here's what the divider pages look like:

and the pocket for the receipts:

Well you have another 10 stops to make so I don't want to keep you any longer. Thank you so much for stopping by!!! I hope I was able to put a little romance in your day today {wink} but if not then surely the rest of these fabulous Verve Divas will be able to do so...

• Mercy Kerin
• Jen Tapler
• Susan Liles
• Tosha Leyendekker
• Laurie Schmidlin
• Julee Tilman
• Teresa Kline
  
• Amber Hight
• Maureen Plut
  
• Lynda Benden
  

see you soon for another Sneak Peek ;)

~ Sony

Stamps: Love Story, Blue Skies

Paper: Winter Wishes digi (Sweet Shoppe), Rustic Cream (PTI), Kraft (PTI)

Ink: Frayed Burlap (Ranger Distress Ink), Sand Beige (Versamark), Soft Suede (SU), Versamark

Accessories: Kaleidoscope Embossing Powder, Beige Linen Thread (the Cat's Pajamas), Lace Ribbon, Deco Fan Border Punch, Mulberry Paper Flowers, Antique Brads (SU), Platinum Liquid Pearls, Tab Die (Tim Holtz), Kraft Thread, Sewing Machine, Chipboard, Binder Rings, Circle Punch, Rounded Corner Punch, Computer, Hot Glue Gun, Heat Gun, Scor-Pal

{Marriage...} SFYTT & Totally Stampalicious

Hii guys,

thank heaven for Blogger having an automated post function, right? Could you even imagine what it would be like without??
Well I can tell you I wouldn't have my post up because I took a two-day job on The Whole Truth (a new TV Show) and that's where I'm at right now as you're reading this. :)

It's kinda like cell phones isn't it? I mean I don't think I got my first cell phone until I was at least seventeen and before that I got a pager at sixteen but my how times have changed lol.

Now that you got an earful of my chatter let's get to the excitement shall we?
It's SFYTT Saturday and Jen has yet another fabulous may I even say TOTALLY STAMPALICIOUS Sponsorship lined up for y'all.
hehe yup our Sponsors are none other than TOTALLY STAMPALICIOUS and they have a fab prize up for grabs so be sure to check Jen's Blog for all the deets.

So you may have noticed that I do a lot of monochromatic cards and yes I can admit it - I love monochromatic cards but boy are they a pain in the butt to photograph at night...and I consider myself pretty savvy in that area but not a chance...especially if it's in the kraft color family as this card here.

This hysterical set is called Gus and Stella and it comes with another guffaw sentiment but I won't spoil the surprise. ;)
The Argyle paper is from the Winter Wishes Digi Pack by Zoe Pearn (available at Sweet Shoppe) and the polka dotted paper is from the Basic Grey's basic manila paper pad.
The yummy ribbon was a special find at my local Joann's store and the netting underneath that is something I found at Michaels in the fabric flower department. I can't for the life of me remember the name but it's not ribbon, it's not soft...it can poke you...trust me I know.

thanks so much for stopping by!!!
Don't forget to check out all the eye candy my stampalicious Sisters have come up with:

• Jen del Muro and Guest Designer Sandra McLean
• Amber Hight
• Amy Rohl
• Amy Sheffer
• Carole Burrage
  
• Jenn Diercks
• Jodi Collins
• Kelly Lunceford
• Leigh O'Brien
• Megan Lock (on mommy leave)
  
• Susan Liles

see ya later :)

~ Sony



Stamps: Gus and Stella Bugaboos (Totally Stampalicious)
Paper: Winter Wishes (SweetShoppe), Basic Manilla Paper Pad (Basic Grey), Kraft
Ink: Brilliance Black, Frayed Burlap and Antique Linen (Ranger Distress Ink)
Accessories: Copics, Ribbon, Poky Netting Thingie, Jolee Lace and Pearl Stickers, Nesties, Sponges, Deco Fan Border Punch, Pop-Up Dots, Hot Glue and Hot Glue Gun