Project Parade Day 10 and a Winner!!

Before I get going with my project, I have in my hand the envelope announcing the winner for Best Actress....ooops, sorry, that's next month. But I do have the name of a Random Winner from the posts made over the past three days!!

katy said... I just love this, these would be great to make for my students.March 27, 2009 8:53 PM

Congratulations Katy! You've just won your choice of a Verve stamp set (up to $24 value)!


Now onto the next order of business! It's Laura, and it's my day on the Verve Egg-stra Special Easter Project Parade! I have to say all the projects have been so fun and Easter-y, I've been lovin' every minute of it! Now it's my turn to share! I've had my little project done for a while now, and I'm so glad I finally get to share it! I love cool cards and these little stair step cards are just so cute! I had never done one before, although I loved all the one's that inspired me, so I decided it was time to make and Egg-stra Special Easter card!



I pulled out three sets for this card; Floral Symphony, Miracles Blossom, and of course Chocolate Bunnies! I stamped and coloured in the flowers and bunnies, and arranged them so it would appear as though the bunnies were hiding amongst the flowers. The big "eggs" in the background are cut with oval nestabilities, strategically placed so the sentiment from Chocolate Bunnies will show through.

The front, lower panel is tied with grosgrain ribbon and "Happy Easter" from Chocolate Bunnies is popped up over a pink oval. I stamped an coloured a set of Easter eggs to embellish and that's about all there is!


You can find the instructions for the stair step card here. And just a note, as you are making this type of card, you want to pay attention to the height of the items you attach so that it doesn't go beyond the size of envelope you want to use. My "eggs" ended up being too high, so I'll need to search out a 6"x6" envelope!!


So do you want some new Verve??? Play along with us during our Project Parade for a chance to win a $25 gift certificate to the Verve Stamps store. All you have to do is create an egg-stra special spring project or card and link it up with the Mr. Linky form HERE. Entries will close at 8PM Mountain on Saturday, April 4! Verve Stamps are not required, but we do LOVE to see 'em if you've got 'em!


Have a Happy Tuesday, and we'll see you tomorrow for another Egg-stra Special Easter Project on Parade!

Spotlight on Kelly Lunceford

Welcome to our second March Guest Diva Spotlight!

Today we're celebrating the amazing-ness of Kelly Lunceford{aka atomicbutterfly} from Flutter By Atomicbutterfly. I've been a huge lurker fan of Kelly's since I first joined SCS about 2.5 years ago. She has amazing layout sense and her vintage chic style and muted color palettes just blow me away. Everything she produces looks like it should be on the cover of a magazine. Truthfully, I was a little nervous to even ask her to guest design for us, but I'm so glad she said yes! I'm sure you'll agree that she's got talent oozing from her!

First off, I'll show you one of my favorite projects Kelly made for this release. This little 3x3 card box uses Floral Symphony, and isn't it just fabulous? I adore the soft colored flowers, and the gorgeous attention to detail on every layer. The coordinating cards are just delightful.


Here are Kelly's answers to our Verve-i-view questions:

1. When/how did you get hooked on stamping?
I have been stamping since high school, but didn't really get "hooked" until I attended my first Stampin' Up! workshop in 2000. I placed an order and immediately started creating with my new stamps and inkpads. I still remember my first set and I love it. I think the reason why I got hooked was because of the "stamp set" concept. It was easy for me to create a project and having everything "go".

2. How often do you stamp?
I try and stamp daily, but there are times when the family needs to come first or I am too busy, but I find the more I stamp, the more the creative juices flow. I participate in weekly challenges that help the juices flow as well


3. Tell me about your funniest or most embarrassing stamping related injury?
I have been injured quite a few times over the years. I have been cut with my paper trimmer blade, paper cuts, pin pricks, etc. I can't think of any that were too embarrassing, I guess more dumb luck. Now look, I am going to jinx myself! LOL!


Okay, time for more eye candy. Here's another ADORABLE project that Kelly made with Chocolate Bunnies. I just love this little box. A total work of art! And those buttons.... eek! This project is cute, cute, CUTE! Okay, intermission over, back to the questions...

4. How long does it take you to create a project that you're happy with?
It takes me about an hour to an hour and a half these days to get something that I am happy with. I have realized that the slower I take it, the better my projects end up!


5. I am usually a little messy in my creating. Tell me about your creative space.
I absolutely love my creative space. It is a place where I can go and stamp and be inspired. My creative space is combined with my family room, so it is nice to be where the family is, but also doing what I like to do. I also am messy when I create. I find that my creativity really gets going once I have all of the colors, supplies and embellishments all around me. Sometimes a design will just come together and take an unexpected turn depending on what is out. Even though I make a mess while I am creating, organization is still important to me. Everything has a place and it all will eventually make it back! I have my work space set up so I can sew, do my needle art or paper crafting.

6. If you were stranded on a deserted island, which craft tool could you not live without? Why?
Hmmm....that is a tough one. Maybe a paper trimmer because it seems useful. I am not very creative with this one.

The last project I have to share of Kelly's just makes me sigh. I love the softness of this baby card that features Practically Perfect and Little Star. And the perfect amount of sponging on each layer gives it a hint of a vintage look. Just stunning!

So let's wrap up this Verve-i-view:

7. What is your biggest source of inspiration?
The world around me. I try and find inspiration everywhere; from the colors in nature to an ad in a magazine. It is nice to carry a notebook so that ideas can be jotted down before they are forgotten.

8. Who in the stamping world do you want to be when you grow up and why?
Wow! This is a fun one. I have been inspired by so many people. This person isn't necessarily in the "stamping" world, but in the papercrafting world in general: Becky Higgins. She has inspired me for so many years and I absolutely love her style, her take on life and also her success in the industry.

9. What is your favorite set from this release?
Can I say all of them! LOL! I guess if I had to pick one it would have to be Practically Perfect!

So, basically, Kelly ROCKS, right?!? If you want to see more of her gorgeous Verve-i-ness, check out her Guest Diva Gallery HERE. That wraps up our Guest Diva Spotlights for this month. Tune in next week for a new challenge and the kick-off to our Verve Project Parade.

Sneak Preview - Floral Symphony and Miracles Blossom

Hey there Verve fans! It's the 5th and final day of previews for the upcoming Verve Release! Like what you've seen so far? We have some more fabulous eye candy for you today!!

From Jen Tapler:

If you're a long-time Verve fan, you know that Julee does flowers like nobody's business!! And these two floral sets are some of her best yet! You won't believe how many different combinations of individual and grouped flowers and stems these two beautiful sets will give you. Now I'm sure at some point in one of my early math classes I learned some kind of formula for actually calculating the number of combinations you can get based on the number of each element you have...but it's been awhile since I've had to think that hard. I tried just counting, but I gave up at 20 with Miracles Blossom. That's right. I know there are at least TWENTY different combinations of "floral arrangements" using the stamps in Miracles Blossom. And you'll get 5 more combinations with Floral Symphony!!! Now that's a lot of floral variety!! And you know both sets include the perfect sentiments as well!!

I decided to use some of those combinations to create a tag and plant cutting bag for a Spring planting gift box. The cardboard box from my stash was covered with American Crafts DP and I added some Chocolate Chip ribbon to wrap it up. The tag, actually a page from a Maya Road chipboard album, was decorated with the "Where hope grows, miracles blossom" sentiment (it's hard to see in the pic) and a flower/stem combination. I used a Big Shot die to cut out a bag to hold a cutting from a Hawaiian Ti plant (a good luck plant in Hawaii, thought by natives to ward off evil spirits and to be a symbol of divine power) . I added some ribbon, hemp twine and a button to a flower pot and the gift is ready for giving!


From Bethany Paull:
Have you been getting these couple of days of sun that are shining down on me? It makes me so ready for SPRING! And on top of that, would you just look at the inspiring new stamp sets being released by Verve just in time to enjoy with this great spring like weather!? For this simple, happy creation, I stamped the flower stems in Old Olive and the tulips in Rose Romance. Then I stamped the tulips again and cut them out to adhere with pop dots, and that yummy, swirly sentiment is done in cool caribbean. The circle patterns are two rows of Doodlebug paper frills lined up together. And that ribbon is my favorite...FREE! It came tied on to my shopping bag on a recent trip to the mall. Recycle, reuse, go green! Butterfly punch by Martha Stewart, patterned paper Urban Prairie by Basic Grey.

From Jen del Muro:
When I think of Easter, I think of soft pastels, hopping bunnies and fuzzy chicks, along with jellybeans and other various goodies. So, when I got this set, I made myself think outside the box and used non-traditional colors to create this Easter Gift set. The black cardstock sets off the palette of kraft, pink and green. The Basic Grey DP incorporated all the colors and brings the project together. Of course, I couldn't go without a little something on the "traditional" side of things. For this, I used a soft green polka dot ribbon.



Like what you see? Well, this Verve-alicious set could be coming home to you! Just leave us a comment with the answer to the following question (see below) by Sunday March 8 at Noon (Mountain Time) and you could be the lucky winner! Winners will be announced at our release party on Sunday night (it starts at 8 PM ET in the Verve Forum on SCS - so mark your calendar NOW)! And for even more chances to win Verve goodies, be sure to participate in this week's Mojo Monday sketch contest on the Mojo Monday Blog. Thanks for stopping by!

Your Question: What's your favorite flower or plant? (Mine is tuberose, which was in my head lei, or haku, at my wedding - the scent of tuberose instantly reminds me of my beach wedding)