Verve Diva Inspiration Hop: World Card Making Day Edition!

Hi Everyone,

Welcome to the World Card Making Day edition of the Verve Diva Inspirations Hop!  Along the hop this month we're debuting FIVE brand new plain janes that just hit the store today, so grab a drink and hop along to see a fresh mix of old and new Verve and maybe even win a prize! You can find out all the prize details and see the full reveal of the new plain janes over on the Verve Blog today. If you are coming over from the amazingly lovely Julee's blog - then you are in the right place and if you just arrived here and want to start in the beginning - you can start with the beautiful Betty's blog!

For my project today, I used the new PJs So Sweet and the Loopy Ribbon stamp set to create a little giftset. I found these two tins in a garage sale (2 for a $1, Score!). They are such a nice size - big and flat and perfect for chocolate bars (that was the first thing that came to mind!! LOL!). I kept the layouts the same for both the card and the tins and layered the sentiment onto a circle punch, EK success punch,  Verve dies (Classy Label die, Vintage Oval die, Ribbon Banner Die),  Spellbinders and circle punches and then added some embellishments around the sentiment.

 Here is a closer look at the card - the vertical one standing up is how the tin looked like before alteration - and then on the after, I adhered some paper from MME that matched the sides of the tin and then applied a layer of Mod Podge over it so that it could seal the papers onto the tin.

I wrapped the burlap ribbon over the tin and with some red line tacky tape. There are these delicious little chocolate bars that fit perfectly into the tin container (I love it when things fit in perfectly!)  and I wrapped them inside the tin with some tissue paper.

The card layout was kind of the same as the tin. I stamped the Loopy Ribbon stamp set and colored in the ribbons and cut out the smaller circle and adhered it to a butterfly punch with a brad. I also added a little circle of liquid pearls and some a prima flower to the side and popped up the whole thing with some dimensionals:

Project Ingredients:
Stamps: So Sweet PJ, Loopy Ribbon PJ from Verve Stamps
Papers: My Mind's Eye
Inks: Memento Tuxedo Black
Accessories: copics, dimensionals, Large and small butterfly punches from MS, prima rose, Spellbinders, twine, burlap ribbon, EK success small scallop border punch, brad, liquid pearls and circle punch 
A Cut Above Dies from Verve: Classy Label die, Vintage Oval die,, Ribbon Banner Die

It was so much fun making this set – and I can’t wait to see what all the lovely ladies have created with all the Verve sets in da house! Next up on the hop is the sweet and talented stylings of the wonderful Sony!! And don't forget to leave a little love on everyone's blog as you hop because your lucky comment might just win some Verve!!

	1. Betty	9. Andrea
	2. Jen T.	10. Charmaine
	3. Julee	11. Janelle
	4. Sankari	12. Laurie
	5. Sony	13. Maureen
	6. Susan	14. Teresa
	7. Amber	15. Tosha
	8. Amy

Thanks so much for stopping by today!
Big hugs,
Sankari :)

Just Rite Blog Hop - Some things for a Coffee Lover :)

Good Morning Everyone (again!!)

Are you ready for some hopping?

Blog Hopping that is? Well, I am so excited to be part of a Just Rite stamps blog hop that Taylor VanBruggen has organized! You probably know the wonderful Stamp a Sweet Impression line, the Whimsical Wishes line and the Lasting Impression stamp line that Taylor has in her store - but she also has a ton of Just Rite stamps too!

I have been totally fascinated by the Just Rite system after seeing some of Taylor's wonderful projects and totally loved that you can create your own stamps with this system - from Monograms, to Wedding/Baby announcements to taylored ;) gift ideas! And speaking of gift ideas - here are two projects that I made with this fun stamp system!

I made two projects with the Caffeine Centers and Borders stamps of Just Rite from the Taylored Expressions store - one for my friend and the other for my MIL:

1. An under $5 Hostess gift :) (gotta love those!)
I love going over to a certain friend's house (you know who you are!) for fun game nights - and she happens to be a coffee lover :) so I thought it would be fun for Friday nite game nights- to bring a little thank you present over - a four pack of Frappucino's :) But just giving the present as is doesn't look very pretty. This is really a quick little makeover that I gave this Starbucks 4 pack - to make it look like a little more nice looking gift:


I covered the cardboard with some orange and then used a threading punch to cover the corners. I love this sentiment and ran it through my spellbinders - and popped it up in the center. I LOVE this sentiment: Caffeine and Friends - the Perfect Blend:

It didn't look finished without a little bottle top make over too! So, I also punched out some circles to put on the bottle caps - the sentiment reads: Make it a Grande!" - and to finish it - I ran some ribbon around it and tied a little bow for a finishing touch :)

I really love how this turned out - and love that i can give a nice looking gift without having to spend a lot of moola :)
Project Details: Paper: from the March KI and green from K and Company Ink: Chocolate Chip from SU! Stamps: JUst Rite Caffeine Centers and Borders Accessoresi: Ribbon stash, sponger threading punch from fiskars, spellbinders, circle punches from SU and CM.


2. The second project is a little coffee basket goodies for my MIL!

My Mother -in -law (MIL) loves a cuppa in the morning! And I wanted to give her a little fun sampler pack to use in her daily morning coffee routine so that she can decide which ones she likes the best - also added in a little coffee grinder, a scoop (on the ribbon for some accent) and also a sample of some chocolate covered treats. WHo doesn't like a little treat with their morning java?
I used the Times Roman font that the Just Rite system has (to see more font options - check out this link here) and spelled out the different kinds of coffee - this is just a little sampler pack - so its just enough for a cup of java and to figure out which one she likes to have more of :) .


and also to stamp a little tag for her with the sentiment: for Trudy attached to a little scoop - I LOVE this little scoop - I love making this personalized!

I used Taylor's latest sketch from her Friday Cupcake sketch challenge to make a coordinating card for my MIL. I flipped the sketch 90 degrees counter clockwise and I know all the circles are of even size - but I made my center one a little teeny bit bigger to fit with the stamps I wanted to use (tweaks are allowed right? :)

 I used the image from the Downtown Diva set that has a little cafe on it created a little scene :) I love this little cafe scene and used colors that I know that my MIL will like :)

Its so much fun to make gifts for the ones you love - especially when it is personalized :) 

Card and Project details:
Paper: stash
Ink: Chocolate chip from SU!
Stamps: From both the Downtown Diva stamp set and the Just Rite stamps Caffeine Centers and Borders.
Accessories: Corner rounder, sponger, tag punch from CM, prisma color pencils, ribbon from stash, SU! Scallop punch, basket from Target

I really LOVED making these projects and have a ton of ideas floating around in my head for more things to do with these fun stamps!! And for more samples please hop on over to some amazing fellow DT members and see what wonderful creations they have created!!! And Check out all the awesome Just Rite stamp sets, accessories at Taylored Expressions

Donna Baker
Jodi Collins
Laura Fredrickson
Karen Giron
Karen Motz
Jami Sibley

Thanks so much for coming over for a visit - hope it was a virtual Java shot of energy :)
Happy Monday Hugs,
Sankari :)

PS - check out the Beary Special Holiday Bear card that I made earlier today by scrolling down! hugs!

Taylored Expressions - Day One of Sneak Peeks!!!

Good Morning Everyone, 

I am so excited to be able to show you some sneak peeks from the newest release at Taylored Expressions! The sets being released this month are so perfect for some important occaisions. These projects are made with the set called Doctor's orders. I love this set for the versatility that it offers in making cards/projects for get well soon cards and these images are sooo perfect for children too!

I didn't have a chance to play along with this sketch from Taylor's Friday sketch Challenge 55 - so I thought I would use it for this card. (You can find all of Taylor's sketch challenges from the past at this link). This is one of my favorite images from this stamp set (I say that about each image!lol!) and its of Cuppie in bed with a little thermostat. How cute is that - that Cuppie is in bed with his fluffed up pillows catching up on some reading? Love this cute image!!!

I used the March Key Ingredients kit to make this card (the Key Ingredients kit comes with DP and coordinating cardstock, ribbon and accessories they are really such an easy way to pull a card together :) I paper pieced the bed spread and pillows and then used dimensionals to pop the bed up. I am so excited to have some cards on hand that are get well cards - because I never have any when I need them. I love these cute cuppie images - its nice to be able to make some get well cards for kids from this set. 

. Here is another card that I made using another image and sentiment - I lOVE these too (see they ALL are my favorite :). As you guys know - I love working with bright cheery colors - and thought that they would work well together for a get well card. I simply adore this tissue box - I stamped it a few times on orange and pink and then paper pieced them - cut the top open to insert a little bit of actual tissue paper :) and then lined them up in a row... I also paper pieced the lozenges with the blue DP.

And then I thought - it might be fun to decorate a real tissue box and put these two together as  gift set - so I got a little extra tissue box and started to decorate it up:

I can't tell you how much fun I had making this little tissue box - isn't this little image of Dr. Cuppie sooo cute (wouldn't it be great if the Doctor insisted that eating more chocolate was the best thing to get you healthy again!) I paper pieced the cuppies and adhered them on a Spellbinders nestie set and decorated with some liquid pearls, faux stitching and buttons from Taylor's Bag O'Buttons. 

Here is a picture of the whole gift set:

Well, I totally had a blast making these - love these sweet images for get well cards - they would totally bring a smile to my face if I was under the weather :)

Don't forget to check out my amazing fellow DT members from Taylor's Baker's Dozen:

Ana Wohlfahrt
Donna Baker
Jodi Collins
Jen del Muro
Dawn Easton
Laura Fredrickson
Karen Giron
Charmaine Ikach
Denise Marzec
Karen Motz

and of course! Taylor VanBruggen

Thank you so much for checking out my little corner :)

Ciao for now,

Sankari :)

PS - Don't forget to check back tomorrow for Day 2 of sneak peeks - tomorrow's set is absolutely perfect for some special people in your life!! Have a great sunday!

Taylored Expressions: Sneak Peeks - Day One

Happy Friday Everyone,

YAYAY! Its time for a new release at Taylored Expressions!!!

Welcome to the first day of sneak peeks for the April release of two new stamp sets plus a whole lot of amazing new products over at Taylored Expressions!! I am soooo excited to be able to show you some samples from Taylor's newest release called Fresh Flowers from her Whimsical Wishes line. This set is really an incredible assortment of flowers and containers that are just amazing to color and put together in different ways.

I love the versatility of the sentiments in this stamp set and for today's sneak peek I decided to create my Mother's Day Cards for my wonderful mother and mother-in-law (and if either one of you are reading this - you can pretend to be surprised :) love you both!!) . For both cards, I used the Mother's Day Key Ingredient's kit - this kit is absolutely wonderful and has beautiful heavy cardstock with coordinating Designer paper (double sided) with coordinating ribbon and rhinestones and flowers - it makes making a card so much easier because everything is right there.

A Card for my Wonderful Mother

My mother adores flowers - she just loves loves loves anything that is bright and that is blooming. And she is an amazing gardner - I am always amazed by how she can create a mini greenhouse in our patio at home - and no matter how many plants she gives me for our home here... they invariable succumb to my lack of green thumb-ness :). So for this little card and gift set is for my wonderful mother! I used Julee's beautiful sketch from Mojo Monday#80 for this card .

I also made a little packet of petite marigold seeds with a matching marigold-ish pot (marigolds are hugely popular in India - its such a happy bright and cheery flower isn't it?) I used the same papers from the Mother's Day kit and also used some Flower Soft for the flowers in the planter... it gives such a wonderful feel and texture to the project. I used a little dot of velcro to close the packet.

Here is a picture of the complete little gift set for my mother... I can't wait to see these marigolds bloom... it will be like our gardens in India :)

Card Details: (I will go thru and edit all these with the link to Taylor's store after the release on Sunday)

Paper: Mother's Day Key Ingredients and Choice Buttercream Cardstock

Stamps: Fresh Flowers

Ink: Stampin Up! Old Olive

Accessories: All accessories from the ribbon to the rhinestones are in the Mother's Day Key Ingredients Kit - other supplies include: velcro dot, corner rounder, SU! Scallop punch, SU! Circle punch, flower soft, crimper, Pebbles Pearlescent Chalks, Taylor's Tiny Twinkles and liquid pearls

Special Ingredient: Flower Soft on the planter on the seed packet (more on that on Sunday!)

A card for my wonderful Mother-in-Law

My second card is for my wonderful mother-in-law who I love to eat chocolates with! It is just so much fun to snack on a few pieces here and there as we chat and have some tea - its always funny to see how bar of chocolate suddenly disappears :) So for my gift set to my mother-in-law who also has a beautiful garden - I thought I could create a little card and coordinating gift set full of her favorite sweets: maple fudge! YUM!

I used Taylor's beautiful sketch #42 for this card and had a lot of fun putting together some more of the elements in this awesomely versatile stamp set into this card:

Card Details for the Card and the Gift set:

Paper: Mother's Day Key Ingredients Kit and Choice Buutercream cardstock

Stamps: Fresh Flower stamp set from Taylored Expressions! Woo-hoo!!!

Ink:Old Olive SU!

Accessories: All accessories from the ribbon to the rhinestones are in the Mother's Day KeyIngredients Kit - other supplies include: corner rounder, SU! Circle punch, vellum paper and liquid pearls

I cut out all the window frames in the window set and then put a piece of vellum behind it for the look of transparency. I cut out all the flowers and adhered them with dimensionals. The window and the window box were also popped up on dimensionals.

Here is the little gift set that I created for her using the matching coordinating papers and ribbon from the Mother's Day Key ingredients kit. You have to check out all the amazing Favor Boxes that Taylor has in her store - they are just amazingly wonderful to have on hand - because they are already cut out and scored - they can be assembled and decorated quickly and in just minutes you have a coordinating gift set :)

I have to tell you that it was hard to create this little set and not eat all the yummy goodies in it!! I might have to refill it before Mother's Day! Lol!!! Here is a picture of the Mother's Day gift set for my mother-in-law:

Well, I hope you had fun checking out these samples as much as I did putting it together !!!!

And speaking of awesome - you have to go and check out my amazing fellow DT members from Taylor's Baker's Dozen:

Ana Wohlfahrt
Donna Baker
Jodi Collins
Jen del Muro
Dawn Easton
Laura Fredrickson
Karen Giron
Charmaine Ikach
Denise Marzec
Karen Motz

and of course! Taylor VanBruggen

Thank you for visiting me in my litter coner :)
sending you all LOTS of sunshine!!!

Sankari :)

PS - My fellow DT member Laurie Schimdlin is sick with the stomach flu and was unable to play along with us for the sneak peeks - but I know she would love it if you stopped by and wished her a speedy recovery!

PPS - Head on back over here tomorrow morning for Day Two of sneak peeks! All I have to say... is this next set is just awesome!