Warning: I am on a Verve Kick Again

Last month I joined in the Verve release challenges and made cards using Up, Up, and Away with the same color pallette (here, here and here). Someone on SCS left a comment that I was making the perfect gift set, so I decided to do just that. I needed to keep to a standard size, so some of the cards that I made last month can not go in the gift set. No worries though, because I found plenty of sketches to keep me busy!
First up is Jen's SFYTT: Then we have Card Patterns:And finally this week's MOJO Monday Sketch.
Warning, this is not the last time you will be seeing cards using this set and paper...I need at least 2 more:>). Plus, I will be sharing the perfect way to store these cards that is beyond cute!
Side note: I kept the layers to a minimum and even eliminated dimensionals on all these cards. These are all part of a gift set and I need to keep them at the normal postage weight. I recently sent a Halloween card to my parents that I thought was within the normal limit, hmmmm, I was wrong! My mom had to reimburse her postman 39 cents!!!! Hopefully she thought it was worth it LOL!
Smiles,
Julie
Details: Stamps - Verve Up, Up and Away, CS SU and PTI, PP SU Sweet Slumber, CB embossing folder, and SU Ink.

Ready, Set, It's a Wrap

Today I am sharing "purses" that I made for a friend. She will be using these as gift boxes for jewelry she makes. Most I kept simple, but I had to at least change it up on a couple :>)
For this first one, I decided to go with purple, because it is my friend's favorite color and Plum Crazy is also the latest challenge from Cath on Moxie Fab World.
The flowers are layered circles that I distressed, with french knots made out of embroidery floss in the center. My embroidery floss was a little brighter than I wanted, so after all the flowers were put together, I used a blender pen with an ink pad and colored my knots and also created shading at the flower center. (This was so much easier than trying to ink up my floss before I made the knots - that was a little messy!) I dressed up the sides by adding stripes to form a plaid PP.

Next is a raspberry quilt - I tried out the Raspberry Fizz Mix PP sample squares from PTI and cut each into .75" squares.Here are a couple with patterned paper...This candy paper comes across as a tweedy fabric to me :>)And finally another with the Baroque Motif stamp set from SU which was at the start of my idea to make purses back on this post.I can not tell you enough how easy these go together. So fast and yet so cute! Head over to PTI to check out all the fun templates, including Ready, Set, Wrap. I will have more templates for you this week, so stay tuned.
Smiles,
Julie

Details:
Plum Purse - Stamp Sets - SU Best Blossoms and Perfect Plaids, CS - SU Elegant Eggplant and Old Olive, Ink - SU Old Olive and Eggplant Envy, circle punches, blender pen and embroidery floss.
Raspberry Purse - CS - PTI Raspberry and White and PP - PTI Raspberry Fizz.
Light Blue Purse - CS SU and PP Basic Grey Urban Prairie.
Green - CS SU Artichoke and PP Basic Grey Eskimo Kisses.
Red Purse - CS SU - Real Red and PTI White, Stamp Set - SU Baroque Motif.

Sketch Girl 9

It's time to play along with Sketch Girl. Sketch #9 is up today and it is another great sketch from Leigh Ann. I went the CAS route and decided to make a Birthday card. I stayed pretty true to the sketch. It took me awhile before I pulled out my CB for the polka dot stripes. I first tried stamping rose red polka dots on rose red paper, but it was too much. Then I tried stamping directly on the ivory, but still did not like it. Finally the CB. The funny thing is, I realized when I went to take a pic of this card, that I have the rose red polka dots stamped on the back...ooops, I meant to grab a new card base :>)!
Now, go check out what the rest of the Sketch Girls came up with this time around and be sure to play along!
Annie
Alyssa
Bonnie
Chris
Eve
Harriet
Jennie
Jessica
Katie
Randee
Sara
Tiffany

My blog has been quiet the past week, but I have been crafting away. I am focusing on Christmas items so this card was a welcome break. I promise to share more this week!
Enjoy the rest of your weekend and thanks for stopping by!
Smiles,
Julie
Details: CS - SU Very Vanilla, Ink - SU Rose Red, Groovy Guava, & Rose Romance, Stamps - PTI Holiday Tree and Handwritten Notes, plus the swiss dots CB folder.

Mojo Monday 111

Here is another card with, you guessed it, Ocean Tides. If you can not read the sentiment, click on the picture to make it larger. The goblins have stayed around since Halloween and for whatever reason this picture looks good only in certain sizes LOL!!I am thinking about doing my Christmas cards with Ocean Tides CS, which is why I have been reaching for it so much lately!
This card is based on the Mojo Monday 111 sketch. Super simple, the snowflake PP fits with the sentiment.
Smiles,
Julie
Details: CS PTI Ocean Tides and SU Very Vanilla, PP Cosmo Cricket Jolly by Golly, Stamp Verve Christmas in the Air, and stash brads.

Clearly a Stocking

Tomorrow I am getting together with friends to craft. On the "to do" list are these cute stockings, which are made from a free template available from PTI.On my sample stocking I cut out a "J" with a craft knife and added some acetate, which meets this week's CCS challenge to have something clear.
I prefer to buy gifts, but there are definitely some people on my Christmas list which are hard to buy for. I think these stockings are perfect for holding a gift card and candy. Plus, I like the idea of being able add a personal touch to a gift card!
Smiles,
Julie
Details: CS - SU, PP - K&Co., Stamp - CCS Holdigay Sentiments, stash ribbon and button.

Soft and Floral and Feminine

Soft and floral is the Friday potluck challenge on Stamp TV. My color choices are soft and muted, plus the stamp is 100% feminine - GKD Retro Boutique. All the PP on this card is Cosmo Cricket Early Bird, which I love, love, love! It took me awhile to find one on-line store that had all the pads that I wanted. I plan on convincing my LSS that they need to carry Cosmo 6" pads!
The layout for this card is based on Jen's latest SFYTT. I tweaked it just a bit :>)
That is it for me tonight! I am so tired I am not even staying up for Project Runway!
Smiles,
Julie
Details: Stamp - GKD Retro Boutique, PP Cosmo Cricket Early Bird, CS SU Ivory and PTI, PTI Button, Prima Flowers, and SU Ink Brocade Blue and Close to Cocoa for distressing.

Button Tree

Today's card keeps is clean and simple - buttons are ok on a CAS, right? I need to feed my button addiction after all.

I took the color challenge from StampTV - burgundy, olive green and cream and combined it with the CCS challenge to use buttons. The only stamp on this card is the polka dot strip, which meets the Papertake Weekly Challenge: Spots and Stripes!

Quick and easy!

The countdown to Christmas has officially begun for me - it is November 1st! I have calendars to make and gift card sets to start. I hope to put my crafting supplies to good use and make as many gifts as possible!

So happy crafting and gift making!

Smiles,
Julie

Details: Stamp - GKD Ribbon Stripe, Buttons - PTI, PP - Basic Grey Eskimo Kisses, CS SU.