The Twinery and Serendipity Stamps Blog Hop

Hi there!

Welcome to the Serendipity Stamps and Twinery blog hop! The festivities kicked off yesterday, and both teams will be sharing projects through tomorrow. Check out the Serendipity Stamps Blog and The Twinery Blog to find out who is posting.

There are also prizes available along the way - be sure to leave comments on the blogs for your chance to win goodies from both companies!

If you're following along the hop, you should have arrived here from Tifany's blog. 

Here is the list of today's line up:

Serendipity Stamps

The Twinery

Tifany DeGough

Anya Schrier

Rebecca VanDeMark

Vickie Zimmer

Stacey Schafer

Julie Warner

Melyssa Connolly

Karen Amidon

Melania Deasy

Cathy Weber

Suzanna Lee

I wanted to do something a little different than using the twine like I normally do - to tie a cute little button and bow to my card. I thought about one of Serendipity's new background stamps, and thought it would be fun to stitch some color onto the new Dandelion Background. I am partial to this big guy, and I can't wait to try out some other fun techniques using it. So here's my card..

I started by stamping the background onto Kraft cardstock. I used a hole punch to punch the center out of each flower that I wanted to stitch. At first I thought the holes would end up being too big, but they filled in nicely with the twine. Then I just stitched each petal, first using a piercing tool to make for an easier stitch. When I was done, I just used a bit of scotch tape to secure the loose end. I love the happy pop of colors! These solid color twines are especially fun!

The sentiment stamp is the large Hi There.

I won't keep you - don't forget to check the Serendipity Stamps and The Twinery blogs to find out all the details about the goodies along the hop!

Rebecca is your next stop along the hop!

Have a great day!

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Recipe
STAMPS: Dandelion Background, Hi There - Serendipity Stamps
CARDSTOCK: Kraft - PTI; Wild Wasabi - SU!
INK: Onyx Black Versafine - Tsukineko
OTHER: Strawberry, Marigold, Peapod Solid Twine - The Twinery

Verve Stamps Release Retrospective Hop

Good morning, and welcome to Verve's July Release Retrospective Blog Hop!

The Verve Divas and guests are hopping today and serving up some more inspiration using the July release stamps & dies! Besides a peek at some really cool cards, there are also a couple of prizes up for grabs!   You should have arrived here from sweet Sarah's blog.  Betty will be your next stop, and you can always refer to the master list below if you stray a little! :)   

1. Julee	10. Jen
2. Stacey	11. Sheri {Guest}
3. Maureen	12. Laurie
4. Chaitali	13. Andrea
5. Marisa	14. Amber
6. Teresa	15. Christyne
7. Kay {Guest}	16. Sarah
8. Janelle	17. Anya
9. Charmaine	18. Betty

Want to win some shiny new Verve? We're giving away a $40 gift voucher to one lucky commenter along the hop, so be sure to leave a shout out in the comments as you hop about.

I really love the new release, and am so excited to get these new sets inky!  I used this week's Viva la Verve Sketch challenge as a starting point for my card.

I used the Moments Remembered stamp set:

(Oh, the joys of trying to photograph something metallic! :)

The fonts and images are just so pretty in this set!  For my main card panel, I stamped the small peacock feather and then heat embossed it in silver.  Then I blended in a combination of distress inks, in what I thought made good peacock feather colors :)  The sentiment was heat embossed in silver, too. 

So pretty!

Want another chance to win? Now it's your turn! We'd LOVE to see what you've done with the July release. Link up your cards using at least one product from our July release and you'll be entered in a drawing to win our entire next release! All the details and the linkup widget are on the Verve Blog today. The deadline is August 23, so there's still plenty of time to get the July release if you haven't already.

Don't miss this weekend only discount offer in honor of Julee's birthday:

Thanks for popping in, I hope you have a great day!


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Recipe
STAMPS: Moments Remembered - Verve Stamps
CARDSTOCK: Taken with Teal - SU!; Oatmeal - Wplus9
PATTERNED PAPER: pb&j - Basic Grey
INK: Antique Linen, Crushed Olive, Peacock Feathers, Tumbled Glass, Chipped Sapphire Distress Inks - Ranger
OTHER: Detail Silver Embossing Powder - Stewart Superior; Doily - Wilton; Rhinestones - Recollections

Happy Birthday

Hi there! How are things?

I apologize for the lack of regular posts, but I have been staying busy with so many things going on around here. In a few short weeks we are going to start work on two of our larger room redos in the house - removing all the drywall, replacing the insulation, and then rebuilding it all. It is going to be huge, but I am really excited about it. The hard part is going to be finding a place to move all that furniture when the work starts. I don't seem to find those few minutes to squeeze in card making as much as I used to.

Today, though, I do have something I made for this week's Viva la Verve challenge. This week's sketch and inspiration photo were from Maureen Plut.

I switched it up a bit, making my card square, but here's what I came up with.

I used little bits from the Be Blessed, Wonderful Marvelous, and Peaceful Medallions sets. I really love the most recent releases from Verve - they have such great images and sentiments and I love how well everything goes together!

There is still some more time to join in with the sketch challenge fun, I hope you will!

Have a great day!

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Recipe
STAMPS: Be Blessed, Wonderful Marvelous, Peaceful Medallions - Verve Stamps
CARDSTOCK: Lake House - Wplus9; Rustic White - PTI
PATTERNED PAPER: Nostalgia - My Mind's Eye
INK: Lake House - Wplus9; Poppy Parade - SU!
OTHER: Banner Bundle Die Set - Verve Stamps; Circle die - Spellbinders; Caribbean Twine - The Twinery; Chevron Embossing Folder - Sizzix; Washi tape

Viva la Verve

Good morning!

Just wanted to let you know that I am hosting this week's sketch challenge on the Viva la Verve challenge blog. I hope you will stop over and check it out - the Divas made some fabulous samples using sets from the new release.

Here is the card that I created..

I hope you'll stop by and see the sketch and hopefully create a little something to play along! There are prizes! :)

And be sure to check out the new Verve release - the sets are just beautiful.

Have a great day!

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Recipe
STAMPS: Button Best - Verve Stamps
CARDSTOCK: Sahara Sand - SU!; Ballet Slippers, Oatmeal - Wplus9
PATTERNED PAPER: The Sweetest Thing (Lavender) - My Mind's Eye
INK: Always Artichoke - SU!; Antique Linen Distress Ink - Ranger
OTHER: Detail White Embossing Powder - Stampendous; Crocheted lace; Sewing machine; Button twine

July Verve Diva Inspirations Hop

Welcome to Verve's July Diva Inspirations Hop.

It's the 5th of the month and that means 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 July inspiration challenge for another chance to win!

Our July challenge is Red, White and You:

Red and white are always classic, pair this gorgeous color combo with a color of YOUR choice! Make a statement or keep it muted, it's all up to you! Feel free to use the graphic as inspiration or not, we just want to see you flash a little red, white and "up to you" color on your creation!

Here is the card that I created.  I also pulled a little inspiration from this week's Viva La Verve sketch challenge:

And here is what I created.  I used a yummy peachy coral to go along with red and white.

I used the Wonderful Marvelous set (which is both wonderful and marvelous!) for my card.  I also added some lovelies from the Shine Bright Sequin Mix. 

Need a little more 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	8. Sony
	2. Amy	9. Susan
	3. Anya	11. Maureen
	4. Betty	11. Stacey
	5. Karen	12. Chaitali
	6. Sankari	13. Amber
	7. Sarah	14. Marisa

Thanks for stopping by today, enjoy the rest of the hop!


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Recipe
STAMPS: Wonderful Marvelous - Verve Stamps
CARDSTOCK: Poppy Parade - SU!; Melon Berry - PTI; White - Wplus9
INK: Poppy Parade - SU!; Onyx Black Versafine - Tsukineko
OTHER: Shine Bright Sequin Mix - Verve Stamps; Washi Tape