Make a Wish

Good morning!  It’s a gorgeous Easter morning with continued sunshine the weather man promised us for the long weekend.  March came in like a lion so it’s only fitting it goes out like a lamb :)  Today’s card uses the first April Viva La Verve sketch :)  Big circles usually mean “doily” to me!  So I went all girly, girly with lace, buttons, twine and bling :)  Head over to the Viva La Verve forum to see how you could win $100.00 in Verve bucks if you play all month long with our weekly sketches.  Have a very blessed Easter :)  Hugs!

 

what’s in it?

stamps; Doodled Occasions (Verve)

paper: rustic cream, aquamist (PTI), HeyDay (Studio Calico)

ink: onyx (Versafine)

accessories: oval limitless layers, tag dies, rustic twine, buttons (PTI), paper doily (Wilton), stitching

Life is Sweet

Greetings everyone!  I’m thoroughly enjoying my extra long weekend with sunshine, shopping, stamping, reading and watching movies.  Seeing as it is Easter weekend, I thought I should make something Easter-ish as I don’t send out Easter cards.  I took some inspiration from the current Moxie Fab World’s Tuesday Trigger …

I threw some pastel coloured cardstock onto my desk and then made a flower out of circles.  I flipped through some stamp sets I hadn’t used for awhile and came to this sentiment.  “Life is Sweet” perfectly reflects how I feel on a sunny day off :)  Thanks so much for stopping by.  What’s making your life sweet today?

 

what’s in it?

stamps: pti the sweet life

ink: versafine onyx

paper: pti white, spring moss, aquamist, bazzill yellow, crate paper on trend

accessories: cream burlap, spellbinders circle dies, pti leaf print dies, pti button, twinery bakers twine

Joyous Noel ~ Festive Friday Guest Designer

Good Friday morning!  Literally!  It’s Good Friday and according to the calendar it’s March and our second week of Spring.  I’ve got the pleasure and honour of being the Guest Designer over on the Festive Friday Challenge Blog.  It’s a colour challenge this time and wowzers, aren’t these beautiful colours!  I was just about to stamp the sentiment in Basic Grey ink when it dawned on me that I should be using "gold.”  So out came the embossing powder.  I was VERY VERY careful as I had already stitched the edges of the patterned paper and added the doily and ribbon.  I don’t usually do that, but had to with the late decision to using gold embossing. 

My Christmas paper and embellishments had been long put away but when Meredith (the blog owner) contacted me a few months ago, it was one of those “say yes!” moments.  She’s got quite the line up of A List designers on her team.  Head over there and join in the fun!  Have a lovely Good Friday!

 

what’s in it?

stamps: Joyous Noel (Verve)

paper: rustic cream (PTI), City Sidewalks (Pink Paislee)

ink: versamark

accessories: gold embossing powder (SU), vintage doily (second hand store), seam binding (Memriemare), jingle bells (Michaels), gold cording (SU), gems (Kaisercraft), stitching

Great Job! CASE Study #134

Hi everyone!  It’s a the last week of March which means we have one more week of inspiration from our adorable March Muse, Julie Ebersole, over on the CASE Study blog.  Julie is giving us a CAS treat…
Now, truth be told, I’m not good at one layer cards and have maybe only ever created one “proper” one layer card in my card making career (okay, maybe when I was 10, but that was unintentional!)  But I think I’m getting the hang of CAS-ish cards.  The colours and greenery were my jumping off points and I was inspired to play some more with my Paper Smooches stamps and dies.  What is inspiring you?  Head over to the CASE Study blog or visit each of the Design Team Members directly on their blogs below and then join in the fun!  Thanks for visiting! 
p.s. Check out the new CASE Study graphics and blog reno!

Brandi (Guest Designer)

Amy Wanford

Andrea Ewen

Clare Buswell

Debby Hughes

Iwona Palamountain (Chupa)

Jean Martin

Jeanne Jachna

Maureen Plut (you’re here!)

Teneale Williams

what’s in it?

stamps: paper smooches leafy greens and good gab, hero arts ledger

ink: versafine onyx, su wasabi, navy, soft sky

paper: pti rustc white, fancy pants the good life

accessories: paper smooches notebook basics, hickory leaf, loopy leaf dies, pti buttons and twine

Courage

Good morning!  Today’s card is for the Simon Says Stamp and Show this week.  The challenge is to use a favourite quote.  Hmm, that is an impossible task as I’m a words gal.  So I picked a card I made recently with this beautiful and inspiring quote.  To me this talks about perseverance.  Perseverance is a virtue that is so underrated in our “get it now, instant gratification, disposable, text me now” world.  I love watching my little students persevere and try harder each day.  How inspiring to me!  Have a lovely day!  Be Courageous!

 

what’s in it?

stamps: Making a Statement, Blue Skies (Verve)

paper: white (PTI), Lively (Authentique)

ink: onyx (Versafine), autumn rose (PTI)

accessories:  rounded scalloped frame (A Cut Above by Verve), seam binding ribbon (Etsy shop), wood veneer bird (Studio Calico), button/twine (PTI)

From the Heart

Good morning!  Just sharing a quick little card I made as I was cleaning the studio last week.  I go through my old cards and tags and see if I can rework any of them.  The tag part of this card was a “reject” for a birthday tag submission call but in a way I’m kind of glad as I think it makes a fantastic birthday or Mother’s Day card!  I just made a card base for it with some pretty BoBunny paper and a doily :)  Do you ever redo cards and tags?  Have a great Tuesday :)

Here’s the tag all by itself…

Papertrey Ink March Blog Hop

 

Good morning!  Welcome to my Papertrey Ink March Blog Hop post.  AGAIN, I was going to sit this one out, hoping and praying that this sequins trend doesn’t last very long. I’m still in love with gems and enamel dots.  BUT, in the spirit of making an informed decision,  I headed to Michaels and found a beautiful little rainbow pack…

Right beside it, though, I saw these pretty little flowers that I added to my card today and thought they might be the route to go in convincing me to jump on this trend.  I do love all the glitz!  Thanks for visiting!  What’s your opinion on sequins?  Love it, will try it, too finicky, not into it at all? 

 

what’s in it?

stamps: clearly besotted stamps Spring Blooms, pti botanical silhouettes, inside and out: birthday

ink: versafine onyx, su basic grey, kiwi kiss

paper: pti rustic cream, bobunny isabella

accessories: Michaels sequins flowers, clearly besotted Spring Blooms die, pti wine hanger die, lil inkers stitched mat, bakers twine, gems

Birthday Blog Candy Winner

Hi everyone! Just stopping in to announce the winner of my birthday blog candy!  Here’s what the random number generator drew minutes ago…

Lucky #16 was…

Barb said...

First of all, Happy Birthday to you, Maureen! Hope you're having a very special day! Love your adorable shamrock - so clever! My answer is going to be quite boring, I'm afraid - I just love white cake with chocolate frosting! Thanks for the chance to win some fabulous goodies! :)

 

Congratulations, Barb!  Please send me (moeplut@shaw.ca) your mailing address and I’ll pop your goody bag into the mail :)  Thanks to everyone for all the kind words and some new ideas for cake!  I think we can all agree that this was one yummy comment week!  See you tomorrow :)

Festive Friday Fun!

Good morning! Yes, you are viewing a new card from me, not a delayed post from last Christmas!  I’m playing along with the Festive Friday Challenge this week.  The challenge is all about creating Christmas cards throughout the year so there won’t be a mad dash come December to make 50+ cards.  This week there is a trigger…the word “merry.”

I love that word and went straight to my PTI merry word die to cut out the word in a sparkly gold/silver glitter cardstock.  Then I “merrily” went back into my Christmas box and dug out a few of my beloved jingle bells.  Now, when I made this card on Friday, it really was snowing here so it wasn’t too far a stretch to get into the Christmas spirit :)  I’m also using some “Make it Merry” paper from October Afternoon so you see, this card literally has “merry” all over it!  LOL  What’s the weather been like where you are?  Really, I have nothing to complain about.  After the little snow flurry, we were back to sunny skies :)  Thanks for stopping by and have a lovely Sunday :)

 

what’s in it?

stamps: verve merry wishes

ink: su basic grey

paper: pti soft stone, rustic cream, october afternoon make it merry. recollections glitter cardstock

accessories: pti holiday words die, spellbinders circle die, october afternoon seam binding ribbon, Michaels jingle bells, twinery bakers twine, stitching

Love Comforts

Click here to enter my Birthday Blog Candy!

Good morning!  I’m playing along with the Simon Says Stamp and Show challenge this week.  The challenge is to use WATER somehow on your project.  They left it pretty wide open to include technique, colour, or anything that refers to water.  I immediately dug out this beautiful stamp from Verve’s Stronger Love that has the word “rain” in it.  I think it’s perfect for sympathy cards or for someone going through a difficult time.  Thanks for stopping by!  I’m off to the gym and food shopping this morning.  What are you up to?

what’s in it?

stamps: Stronger Love (Verve)

paper: rustic white (PTI), On Trend (Crate Paper),

ink: onyx (Versafine)

accessories: Spring Fling seam binding (Verve), ribbon rose (Memriemare Etsy Shop), circle die (Spellbinders)

Wishing You Much Happiness

Click here to enter my Birthday Blog Candy!

Happy Friday, everyone!  Although, I’ve been on Spring Break this week so every day felt like Friday :)  I had more leisurely time in the studio this week with a few new paper pads from our small, local Scrapbook Store.  I really wanted some new paper and couldn’t wait for my online order so I picked up a few here in town.  This one is Bo Bunny’s Isabella paper.  It’s all girly, girly, so that was the inspiration for this week’s Viva La Verve card.    After checking out the details on how YOU could win $100 in Verve money over in the Viva La Verve forum, check out the current Verve Sale!  Lots of Spring stamps on sale :)  Hope your weekend starts out right.  Hugs!

 

what’s in it?

stamps: Borderline, Brighter Days, Bloom and Grow (Verve)

paper: soft stone, rustic white (PTI), blush (SU), Isabella (BoBunny)

ink: onyx (Versafine), wisteria, basic grey, going grey (SU)

accessories: Scalloped Flowers, elegant leaves dies (A Cut Above by Verve), Signature seam binding (Verve), spiral notebook page, journal tab dies, buttons (PTI), grey bakers twine (Twinery), gems (Kaisercraft), staples

Happy Birthday ~ CASE Study #133

 

Click here to enter my Birthday Blog Candy!

Hi everyone!  It’s a new week of inspiration over on the CASE Study blog so let’s get straight onto another gorgeous CAS card by our March Muse, Julie Ebersole.

If this doesn’t scream Spring, I don’t know what does! I was inspired by the colours and strips of patterned paper.  I was itching to get this new Clearly Besotted Spring Blooms stamp set all inked up.  I don’t have any jar sets so I was very excited to get this one!  I love daffodils in the Spring so that was the flower of choice for this card.  We’d love to see your take on Julie’s card.  Head over to the CASE Study blog or visit each of the Design Team Members directly on their blogs below and then join in the fun!  Thanks for visiting!

 

Brandi (Guest Designer)

Amy Wanford

Andrea Ewen

Christina MacLaren

Clare Buswell

Debby Hughes

Iwona Palamountain (Chupa)

Jean Martin

Jeanne Jachna

Maureen Plut (you’re here!)

Teneale Williams

 

what’s in it?

stamps: clearly besotted spring blooms

ink: versafine onyx, summer sun, kiwi kiss (SU)

paper: pti white, mme lime twist, american crafts soho garden

accessories: clearly besotted spring blooms die set, may arts ribbon, twinery bakers twine

Enjoy

 

Click here to enter my Birthday Blog Candy!

Good morning!  I’ve been having a lovely Spring Break so far, doing all the wonderful things during the week that I can never do until summer…breakfast downtown, watching curling, drinking coffee in my jammies.  I’m also stamping in daylight! Oh, I love that!  I thought I should play along with the latest Tuesday Trigger over on Moxie Fab World as it’s Elegant Emerald in honour of St. Patty’s Day and the Pantone colour of the year :)  I have a full roll of this Maya Road emerald rose trim so I have to start using it!  I don’t know what was happening with this card…there seems to be a lot of different styles on it…but I just went with the flow…zen card making if you will :)  LOL Thanks for stopping by!  Happy Hump Day!

 

what’s in it?

stamps: surely goodness (Verve)

paper: rustic white (PTI), soho garden (American Crafts)

ink: onyx (Versafine)

accessories: butterfly dies (My Favourite Things), doily, tiny tag dies (PTI), rose trim (Maya Road), rustic twine, buttons (PTI), coffee sleeve

Diva Dare Day 8

 

Click here to enter my Birthday Blog Candy!

Good morning!  I’m hosting today’s Diva Dare over on the Verve Blog!  This month we are looking at the styles and blog titles of the talented Laurie Schmidlin and myself since we are the birthday Divas this month.  Head over to the Verve Blog for more on my card AND how you could win some shiny new Verve! See you there!

 

what’s in it?

stamps: Smile plain jane, So Fluttery (Verve)

paper: rustic white (PTI), Victoria Park (Lilybee Designs)

ink: onyx (Versafine), pretty in pink(SU), raspberry fizz, springmoss (PTI)

accessories: banner bundle die set, flutterby, classy label die (A Cut Above by Verve), Spring Fling seam binding (Verve), chipboard heart (Pink Paislee), button (PTI), bakers twine (Twinery), gems (Kaisercraft), paper doily (Etsy shop), stitching

An Irish Blessing on St. Patrick’s Day

Top o’ the mornin’ to you and a thousand welcomes! Happy St. Patrick’s Day!  We are whooping it up here on the blog with a couple of special treats :)  First up is my card for the Waltzingmouse Stamps Blog Hop.  It’s on the 17th of every month which eventually leads us to March 17th and St. Patty’s Day!  No complaint here!  It seems appropriate that and Irish company take centre stage for my birthday celebration :)  The challenge this month is to show some “Luck.”  Easy to do with the Irish Blessings set.  So that’s where I started.  Then I thought it would be fun to add a little rainbow to one of the shamrock’s leaves.

If you’ve been here before on St. Patrick’s Day, you know that I love to offer up some Birthday Blog Candy.  It’s not a party without  presents, right?  So here’s what’s up for this year… a collection of some of my favourite stamps, dies and embellishments.

1. Stronger Love stamp set by Verve Stamps
2. Lucky You stamp set by Verve Stamps
3.  Shamrock Die set by Verve Stamps (coordinates with the Lucky You set)
4.Thanks a Bunch stamp set by Clearly Besotted Stamps
5. Bakers Twine pack from We R Memory Keepers
6. Gemstones Ritz Collection in green
7. 1 meter of green organza mini roses trim by Maya Road

And it’s easy to enter!  Just leave me a comment on today’s post with your favourite type of cake! YUM! My mom always made me a cake with green icing :) 
I’ll pick a winner next Sunday at noon (March 24th).  Please make sure you leave an email in your comment if your name is not linked to an email address through Blogger.  The winner will have 3 days to contact me, otherwise I’ll randomly pick a new winner.

Thanks so much for visiting and have a glorious GREEN DAY!

what’s in it?

stamps: wms irish blessings

ink: versafine onyx

paper: pti soft stone, white, su kiwi kiss, crate paper on trend

accessories: ek success heart punch, cuttlebug and stampin up embossing folders, pti button, bakers twine, organza ribbon, mft fishtail banner die, su tag edge and ribbon punches, corner rounder, paper doily

Happy St. Patrick’s Day

Good morning!  If all has gone well, the dh and I are on our way to a nearby city for a little romantic birthday weekend :)  Shopping, wining, dining, dancing and kanoodling are all on the agenda, not necessarily in that order! LOL  I had an extra Viva La Verve card for this week so wanted to share it before the BIG DAY!  Head over to the Viva La Verve Forum to see all the details. 

I had a few followers ask to see my feather boa I wore to school yesterday…

You can also see my naughty leprechaun’s footprints on my chart paper! LOL  We had a great day and all my kids were in GREEN (under the threat of a pinch and big, wet sloppy kiss from me! lol).  Hope your weekend is lovely too!  Make sure you wear green tomorrow!

what’s in it?

stamps: Lucky You (Verve)

paper: rustic cream (PTI), Peaceful (Authentique), Lime Twist (My Mind’s Eye)

ink: onyx (Versafine), wasabi (SU)

accessories: scalloped trim trio, shamrock set, banner bundle die (A Cut Above by Verve), bakers twine (Twinery), gems (Kaisercraft)

Lucky U

Good  morning!  It’s going to be a super FUN day at work…GREEN DAY in my class, the last day before Spring Break, AND there’s a new Viva La Verve sketch and inspiration photo hosted by yours truly…check it out as well as all the deets about how you could win $100 worth of Verve products!  Wow!  That would be lucky for sure!  I was of 4 or 5 minds trying to narrow down the inspiration photo.  Finally, I went with a yummy St. Patrick’s Day photo.  We’ll be having cupcakes and cookies in class today :)  YUM!  So this picture seems very fitting.

photo credit: The TomKat Studio

I mimicked the white dots on the circle with my Uni-ball Signo pen.  I’ve tried other gel pens and nothing compares to this pen.  Seriously, take my word and don’t try the cheapo white gel pens.  Go for the best!  Right, now off to get my green feather boa and head off to work!  Enjoy your day and thanks for visiting :)

 

what’s in it?

stamps: Lucky You (Verve)

paper: kraft, white (PTI), gumball green (SU), shamrock paper (craft supply)

ink: gumball green (SU)

accessories: I Heart U (A Cut Above by Verve), bakers twine (Twinery), button (PTI), stitched sentiment flag (Lil’ Inkers Designs), circle and scalloped circle dies (Spellbinders), Uniball Signo gel pen