April Diva Inspiration Hop From Verve

 
Well, I'm sure ya'll have seen the devastation caused by all of the 10-15 tornadoes that swept through our area the other day.  My mom and I had the TV on the whole time and saw it unfold live from a helicopter viewpoint, 18-wheelers flying through the air, sirens blaring near our backyard and our plan in place to take cover.  (One of those trucks landed on top of a lady's house 100's of yards away in that town, but thankfully no one was hurt.)   Our girls were even on lock-down at their schools and had to huddle and cover their heads in the safest classrooms and ride it out just in case, while Eric's office went to a more "inside" area of their high-rise in Fort Worth.  Luckily, we are northwest of where most of it hit, although the skies were pretty scary looking and the clouds were really swirling overhead.  Arlington is the closest city to us that was hit and it's only about 20 minutes away.  The massive losses are mind-boggling and some of the sheer images of the damage are simply unbelievable (one that stands out were some fence slats sent through a 2-story house window like spears that stabbed through interior walls of the house--crazy!).  Please pray for all of those who were affected by this storm!  Anyway, today the weather is beautiful, but that's springtime in Texas for ya!

	1. Betty	5. Lynda
	2. Jen d.	6. Sony
	3. Jen T.	7. Susan
	4. Julee

On a brighter note, today is the 5th of the month and that means it's time for another inspiring Diva Inspiration Hop from VERVE!  First some navigation tips:  If you're just joining us, jump back a minute and take a peek at the Verve blog to get the 411 on what we do for this hop every month--there's prizes!  If you've been traveling along with us, then hopefully you came from Sony's blog and left her a little love (and some for everyone else on the way, since I'm the last one on the hop!).


So many times when I start stamping, I have a plan in mind.  Not with this card.  Other than the fact I thought the "March Week 3 Viva la Verve" Sketch that Maureen designed was "interesting", but not layer-y enough for me and was convinced that it was going to be so plain no matter what I did.  So I went to my magical VERVE stamps drawer of my Elfa cart and closed my eyes and pulled out the Starstruck set.  Ok.  That was a start.  Considering I still had Shelbie, our oldest daughter on the brain with her becoming all of a sudden a "responsible adult" in her new apartment, I thought this sentiment commemorated the new phase in her life well so I chose it and matched it up perfectly with the Classy Labels Die, the coordinating line stamp for it from the Love Notes set (I'm pretty sure it's my all-time favorite Verve set), and a few Elegant Leaves die cut and stamped with Bloom & Grow set.  Then I topped off the little flower rosette with one of those cute hearts from the From the Heart Die set.  Pretty soon the sketch wasn't so plain anymore and everyone lived happily ever after.

Guess what?  YOU could win a little Verve-y goodness!!

Wanna know how?

All you have to do is leave a little comment love on all our blog hop spots 

and you're automatically entered in our drawing!! For all the details please check out the

Verve Blog.

So there ya'll have it...I'm the end of the line today for the hop.  I've enjoyed sharing with ya'll today and I hope you've enjoyed hopping along as well. Thanks for hopping and I'll see ya'll soon!

SUSIE Q-TIP:  The moral of this story is to never underestimate the power of a sketch.  You can make it as plain or fancied up as you want it when you take into consideration the patterned papers, textures and embellishments you add. 

Stamps: Starstruck, Bloom & Grow, Love Notes (Verve)
Paper : White, Kraft, Aqua Mist (PTI), Orange Fizz (MFT), On the Bright Side (MME)
Ink : Brilliance Graphite Black (Tsukineko), Old Olive (SU!)
Accessories : Classy Label Die, Elegant Leaves Die and From the Heart Die Set (Verve), Easy Rosette CutUps Die (TCP), Scallop Circle Nestabilities, Swiss Dots Embossing Folder, Circle Punch, Sewing Machine/Thread, Mango Seam Binding Ribbon (TCP), Orange Divine Twine (TCP), Button, Adhesive Rhinestones, 3D Glue Dots, Jody Boosters 
Finished Size:  A2