Anni-VERVE-sary Blog Hop!!

Welcome to the first ever official Anni-VERVE-sary Blog Hop. Verve turns two today and we’re celebrating with a hop, hop, hop! The party kicked off over on the Verve blog, so if you’ve just happened along, be sure to hop on over there to start from the beginning! And to make this party a real shindig, there’s a mystery jackpot hidden at one of the stops along the hop. One lucky commenter on that blog will win Verve’s entire August release! But of course, it wouldn’t be a mystery if you knew which blog, would it? So if you’re feeling the love, give a little shout out to the bloggers in the hop and you just might have a reason to jump for joy!

Here's what I came up with for the hop. My mom and I are going to start our "craft fair circuit" (haha, we've only ever been to one!) soon, and I'm busy preparing. I've been making coasters (like for drinks). I started with those because they are the easiest!! I've done eight sets so far. The last two are with my Verve:

I LOVE this butterfly!! I first stamp in Staz-On and then bake at 375 for 15 minutes to set the images. When cooled, I color with a Versamarker and pastels. I find that if you wait a half a minute or so to let the Versamark dry a little, you will have better results with the pastels. If you don't wait, the color doesn't transfer and you just get empty spots.

I then stick them back in the oven at 375 for another 10 minutes to set the color. When cooled (usually the next day), I seal them with two or three coats of matte acrylic sealer. This ensures they don't run or fade. The coasters I made last year for myself and my mom and sisters are still going strong. They don't run, and the color doesn't fade.

I used a variety of quotes on each set--sometimes, I have a hard time using some of the quotes for cards, because I'm never really sure I would need a card that would say that. They are WONDERFUL quotes, I guess I just don't know that many people in unique situations!! But, these coasters are perfect for the quotes--they look nice and you get a nice variety.

Thanks for stopping by! Now it’s time to hop on over to Cheri's blog, for a little more Verve-y goodness.

***Coaster Ingredients***
Paper: n/a

Stamps: Verve- Fluttering By, Beautiful You, Because of You

Ink: Staz-On

Other: tiles (menards), stampin up pastels, acrylic sealer, oven
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