September Diva Dare - Day 7

Hello Verve fans!  Christyne here, sharing with you today how I answered this month's Diva Dare! 

So what we're daring you to create this month is a card or project using inspiration from a tic-tac-toe board. For example: x’s and o’s, hugs & kisses, squares, circles, grids, you get the idea. 

Wow, this month's Diva Dare was a bit of a challenge for me.  I decided to use Verve's So Fluttery stamp set with all of those uplifting, floating sentiments.  Using Verve's Mini Classy Labels dies and Mini Vintage Oval dies, I was able to combine these sentiments into my stitched tic-tac-toe grid along with some of the adorable butterflies from this set.  I added some touches of velum in my grid as well as behind my butterflies using the Flutterby die. Finally, pearl and glittery embellishments were added for some bling!!

I hope your creative juices are flowing for this dare!   Here's some info on how you can play along:

Deadline to link your cards is 8PM Mountain on Wednesday, September 25th.  Entries must be new (posted 9/6 or later), include at least one Verve product, include inspiration from a tic-tac-toe board, and be linked up to the linky widget by 8pm Mountain on 9/25/13.

During this month's Diva Dare, there are 2 prizes up for grabs!

Win a $40 Gift voucher to Verve Stamps! Take our "Tic-Tac-Toe" Dare and link up your card (created September 6th or later) to the linky widget below to be eligible to win.  One participant will be randomly selected to win the gift voucher.  You can enter as many times as you like, but each card needs to be in a separate post.

Win a set of your choice! For another chance to win some new Verve, leave a little comment love on our design team's "Tic-Tac-Toe" Diva Dare posts!  One lucky commenter will win a Verve stamp set of his or her choice, so be sure to tune in each day!  Comment deadline to be entered in our prize drawing is September 25, 2013.

You can link up your take on the dare here.

Winners will be announced on September 26, 2013.

April Diva Dare - Day 12

Hi Verve fans!  I'm here wrapping up this month's Diva Dare mash-up of Charmaine and Marisa.  If you haven't played along you still have until Wednesday, May 1 to join in the fun for a chance to win some new Verve!  I'll add the linky form to the bottom of this post so it will be easy to find when you come back to link up. {grin}  And don't forget there's a comment prize picked from all the comments along the Diva Dare blog posts!  You can find links to each post in the series over on the sidebar. -->

For my little homage to Charmaine, I picked an embossing folder (which I'm pretty sure Charmaine has enabled me to buy every single one in my collection!) and a clean fun layout, with lots of white space and contrasting bold colors.  For Marisa, I went with a butterfly die, some super flowery paper, a fun little bow and an angled square because she's learning to embrace tilted panels so well!  {grin}.

The butterfly was the start to my card, stamping the butterfly from So Fluttery in gumball green and cutting out with the Flutterby Die.  I've been on a washi kick lately, so I adhered a fun colorful bity of it to a patterned paper square, doodled a little frame around it and stamped the hello sentiment from Remember This directly on the tape in archival ink.  The ribbon is from SU! and I added a button, twine and a fun little stick pin for embellishment.  Liquid pearls and some rhinestones finish my accents and the card base is embossed in chevron for just a hint of texture.

All of the stamps and dies I've used on today's card are on sale!  If you haven't seen it, be sure to check out the April SALE going on at Verve through the end of this month!  There's a whole bunch of stamps & dies marked 10 - 30% off! 
   
Enabler's List
Stamps: So Fluttery, Remember This (Verve Stamps)
Paper: On Trend (Crate Paper), Gumball Green (SU!), white
Ink: Black, Gumball Green (SU!)
Accessories:  Flutterby Die (A Cut Above by VERVE), Classic & Scallop Square Nestabilities (Spellbinders), ribbon & button, Chevron embossing folder (SU!), white linen thread (TCP), rhinestones (My Mind's Eye), liquid pearls (Ranger), crystal clear stick pin (Pizzazz Aplenty)

And as a little re-cap here are two ways you can win some shiny new Verve! 

1. Win a $40 Verve gift certificate! Play along with our March Diva Dare and link up your creation to the linky widget entry form.  A winner will be chosen by random draw. To be eligible, your entry must:
• Be a new creation - posted April 12th or later.
• Be a card or project using bright colours and having a flower and/or butterfly (or other die shape) as your focal point.
• Use at least one Verve product.
• Be added to the linky widget before 5pm Mountain on Wednesday, May 1.
2. Win a Verve set of your choosing! Leave a little shout-out for the Divas in the comments section as we post our answers to this month's dare weekdays through April 29th.  A random comment winner will be chosen from all the comments over the course of the Dare.
3. Winners will be announced on Friday, May 3rd.

- Go forth and get inky! We DARE you! -

April Diva Dare ~ Day 10

Hey there!! Amber here with the next Diva Dare project! Have you been hopping along with us each day so far? Aren't the projects amazing? I love what these Diva's pull out of their sleeves every month, they're truly amazing!!

This month, we are being inspired by two of our Divas - Marisa and Charmaine and our theme for the month is "Bright Blooms and Butterflies"!  Think bright colors, flowers, butterflies...basically all of my favorite things, ha! Add some ribbon and some bling and I'm a happy girl:)

I have a little bit of all of our challenge requirements on this fun card! I had so much fun with it, just stampin', die cuttin, and glueing away!! The sentiment and flowers are from Surely Goodness. I stamped the sentiment in Melon Mambo ink on a banner cut out using my Banner Bundle Die Set. I cut some flowers out with the Goodness Flowers die set and stamped the coordinating flowers from Surely Goodness. The leaves are from Bloom and Grow and cut out with the Elegant Leaves die. You can also see where I used the scalloped heart border die from the Scalloped Trim Trio die, SUCH a fun die!! The butterfly is from So Fluttery and is cut out with the coordinating Flutterby die.

Well that's it from me! Want details on how you can win BIG??? 

1. Win a $40 Verve gift certificate! Play along with our March Diva Dare and link up your creation to the linky widget entry form.  A winner will be chosen by random draw. To be eligible, your entry must:
• Be a new creation - posted April 12th or later.
• Be a card or project using bright colours and having a flower and/or butterfly (or other die shape) as your focal point.
• Use at least one Verve product.
• Be added to the linky widget before 5pm Mountain on Wednesday, May 1.
2. Win a Verve set of your choosing! Leave a little shout-out for the Divas in the comments section as we post our answers to this month's dare weekdays through April 29th.  A random comment winner will be chosen from all the comments over the course of the Dare.
3. Winners will be announced on Friday, May 3rd.

April Diva Dare ~ Day 5

Greetings Verve fans!  Maureen here with you this morning for Day 5 of this month's Diva Dare!   This month we are challenging you to "Bright Blooms and Butterflies", a combination of Diva Charmaine's (Oodabug Alley) and Marisa's (Rosemary Reflections) signature styles. Charmaine often uses wonderful, bright colours on her cards and Marisa uses lots of flowers and butterflies. So this month, we dare you to create a colourful card using either a flower or butterfly image, (or if you'd prefer... a fun die shape) as the focal element. 

When I visit Charmaine's blog, her colour and paper choices always make me smile :)  I noticed she used this particular patterned paper on her sweet creation HERE.  So that was my starting point.  I also wanted to put one of the  sentiments from Remember This onto gray cardstock with white embossing powder for a chalkboard-ish look like Charmaine has done a few times.  The other sentiment was stamped onto the small banner image which fits perfectly onto one of the banners in the Banner Bundle Die set.  I also tucked two Flag It banners onto the side of the note page panel.  Marisa loves butterflies so it was easy to reach for the Flutterby die again using balsa wood.  AND to make things a little more sparkly, I stamped the coordinating image from So Fluttery with Stampin' Up's heat and stick.  Then I sprinkled on some pink glitter and heat set it.  Some sparkly stars from the Starry die and some more of that delicious, buttery Spring Fling seam binding were fun additions to these 2 Divas' styles.  This is how I answered the Dare, how will YOU?

Click Here To Link Up Your Creation!

Finally, noted below are two ways you can win some shiny new Verve!  

1. Win a $40 Verve gift certificate! Play along with our March Diva Dare and link up your creation to the linky widget entry form.  A winner will be chosen by random draw. To be eligible, your entry must:
• Be a new creation - posted April 12th or later.
• Be a card or project using bright colours and having a flower and/or butterfly (or other die shape) as your focal point.
• Use at least one Verve product.
• Be added to the linky widget before 5pm Mountain on Wednesday, May 1.
2. Win a Verve set of your choosing! Leave a little shout-out for the Divas in the comments section as we post our answers to this month's dare weekdays through April 29th.  A random comment winner will be chosen from all the comments over the course of the Dare.
3. Winners will be announced on Friday, May 3rd.

- Go forth and get inky! We DARE you! -

April Diva Dare Day 4

Howdy everyone! Jen here with you this morning for Day 4 of this month's Diva Dare!   This month we are challenging you to "Bright Blooms and Butterflies", a combination of Diva Charmaine's (Oodabug Alley) and Diva Marisa's (Rosemary Reflections) signature styles. Charmaine often uses wonderful, bright colours on her cards and Marisa uses lots of lowers and butterflies. So this month, we dare you to create a colorful card using either a flower or butterfly image, (or if you'd prefer... a fun die shape) as the focal element. 

 

For my card I started with an old sketch I had sitting around on my desk that I wasn't quite sure what to do with and a background I made a while back but didn't end up using because it was too bright for the card I was making. It just so happens that the two seemed to be meant for each other. :) The background is made using the large flowers from Surely Goodness embossed on watercolor paper with white embossing powder and then I used all the warm yellows, oranges and reds in my Distress Marker set to color over the the entire paper. I activated the ink with a paint brush and water to make the colors flow a little bit. I then used a baby wipe to clean up the white embossing where the color stuck a little extra. The top panel is embossed with a Sizzix embossing folder. The sentiment is from Surely Goodness and die cut with one of the Flag It Dies. The three little flags are a portion of the Pennant Trim Die and the wonderful butterflies are die cut using the Flutterby Die and embossed with a Cuttlebug embossing folder.

That's my take on Charmaine's wonderful bright colors and Marissa's flowers and butterflies! I can't wait to see what YOU make!

Click Here To Link Up Your Creation!

Finally, noted below are two ways you can win some shiny new Verve!  

1. Win a $40 Verve gift certificate! Play along with our March Diva Dare and link up your creation to the linky widget entry form.  A winner will be chosen by random draw. To be eligible, your entry must:
• Be a new creation - posted April 12th or later.
• Be a card or project using bright colours and having a flower and/or butterfly (or other die shape) as your focal point.
• Use at least one Verve product.
• Be added to the linky widget before 5pm Mountain on Wednesday, May 1.
2. Win a Verve set of your choosing! Leave a little shout-out for the Divas in the comments section as we post our answers to this month's dare weekdays through April 29th.  A random comment winner will be chosen from all the comments over the course of the Dare.
3. Winners will be announced on Friday, May 3rd.

- Go forth and get inky! We DARE you! -

April Diva Dare-Day 3

Hello Verve Fans!  It's Charmaine and today I'm bringing you Day 3 of this month's Diva Dare!!  This month we are challenging you to "Bright Blooms and Butterflies", a combination of mine (Oodabug Alley) and Diva Marisa's (Rosemary Reflections) signature styles. I often use wonderful, bright colors on my cards and Marisa uses lots of flowers and butterflies. So this month, we dare you to create a colorful card using either a flower or butterfly image, (or if you'd prefer... a fun die shape) as the focal element. 

It's funny. . .when I sat down to make my card, I felt so much pressure!  LOL  The flower and butterfly part of the challenge was easy, but when I thought "make a card in my signature style", for some reason the pressure was on.  I never really thought I had a "signature style".  When I create, I don't usually think "hmmm. . .where's my bright papers?"  So I thought about it and yes I do LOVE color!  I love bright, fun colors. . .I love soft, sweet colors and I really love pops of color.  I decided to go with a pop of color for my card.  I used the So Fluttery set for my card along with a flower from the Surely Goodness set.  The butterflies were die cut using the Flutterby Die and then stamped with the Flannel Kaleidacolor pad.  When I was thinking about "my signature style", I felt like I stamped and embossed in white on black cardstock a lot, so I incorporated that into this card.  The flowers were stamped in Versamark and embossed in black.  

So, that's my take on the April Diva Dare!  Hope you'll play along because we LOVE to see what you create!

Click Here To Link Up Your Creation!

Finally, noted below are two ways you can win some shiny new Verve!  

1. Win a $40 Verve gift certificate! Play along with our March Diva Dare and link up your creation to the linky widget entry form.  A winner will be chosen by random draw. To be eligible, your entry must:
• Be a new creation - posted April 12th or later.
• Be a card or project using bright colours and having a flower and/or butterfly (or other die shape) as your focal point.
• Use at least one Verve product.
• Be added to the linky widget before 5pm Mountain on Wednesday, May 1.
2. Win a Verve set of your choosing! Leave a little shout-out for the Divas in the comments section as we post our answers to this month's dare weekdays through April 29th.  A random comment winner will be chosen from all the comments over the course of the Dare.
3. Winners will be announced on Friday, May 3rd.

- Go forth and get inky! We DARE you! -

March Diva Dare - Day 1 (Entry Form)

---

Hi there, this is Marisa kicking off this month's Diva Dare entitled "Just Give Me Stamps, Buttons and Bling".  If you recognize a few blog names in the title, you are well on your way to figuring out this month's dare.  So with no further adieu, this month, "we dare" you to create a card combining Diva Laurie (Just Give Me Stamps) and Diva Maureen's (Buttons and Bling) styles.  For insight into their styles and inspiration galore, you can find Diva Laurie's Verve creations here and Diva Maureen's Verve creations here.

When I think of Laurie, skewed panels, lots of layers and vellum, come to mind. When I think of Maureen, double sentiments, grosgrain ribbon bows and buttons and bling come to mind.  After mixing them together, here is the card I came up with. 

I skewed the main panel, and then used the Flutterby die to cut out three paper and three vellum butterflies. I embossed one of the butterfly  images from So Fluttery on the paper butterflies and then overlay each one with a vellum butterfly for a "softer" look  (sorry, I was unable to capture the vellum in the photo).  I added a scalloped heart border from the Scalloped Trim Trio die set along the bottom of the chevron panel, but it pretty much got covered up by the ribbon in the photo - my bad.  Next, I added a double sentiment using two of the phrases from So Fluttery, one on the main panel and one on a tab from the Flag It die set.  A grosgrain bow and some buttons finished things off and my Diva Dare card was complete.  
 
To get your wheels a turnin', the Divas will be posting their Diva Dare creations using our newly released products right here, each weekday, for the next two weeks.  Winners will be announced on Thursday, March 28th. 

Finally, noted below are two ways you can win some shiny new Verve! 

1. Win a $40 Verve gift certificate! Play along with our March Diva Dare and link up your creation to the linky widget entry form.  A winner will be chosen by random draw. To be eligible, your entry must:
• Be a new creation - posted March 8th or later.
• Be inspired by a Verve card or project combining Diva Maureen and Diva Laurie's style.
• Use at least one Verve product.
• Be added to the linky widget before 5pm Mountain on Wednesday,  March 27.
2. Win a Verve set of your choosing! Leave a little shout-out for the Divas in the comments section as we post our answers to this month's dare weekdays through March 25th.  A random comment winner will be chosen from all the comments over the course of the Dare.

- Go forth and get inky! We DARE you! -

August Diva Dare - Day 5

---

It's Friday, Tosh here to share with you what I've made for day 5 of this month's Diva Dare. For those of you that are new to this challenge, here is how it works...following each release, we will post a theme that we dare you with, and you'll have two weeks to complete the challenge. During those two weeks, the release team will post their creations and tell you how they answered the dare!

This month's theme is Sending Some Sunshine! If you all are anything like me, you have tons of cards sitting at home all piled up! I thought it would be fun to make an uplifting & cheerful card and actually send it to someone! There's nothing like opening your mailbox and seeing a handmade card...especially with some of Verve's encouraging sentiments on it! :-)

So, we DARE you to make an uplifting and encouraging card AND send it to someone in need of a little pick-me-up!

I started off by using Amber's fun Viva la Verve sketch for today. You can find it HERE. For each medallion, I used the Curvy Bookplate die with the matching image from the Tag Time set. I also used a variety of other Verve dies: Jotted Heart, Flutterby, and the little heart from the I Heart U die set. The leaves at the top are from the Verve set Sunny Days, as well as the middle sentiment, and the other two sentiments are from Faithful Phrases and Happy Phrases. I added a Spellbinders Beaded Circle behind the sentiment flags, some buttons, and lastly some burlap string.

Here's a closer look at each sentiment medallion:

---

Want to know how you can win some fabulous new VERVE GOODIES?

1. Play along with us and link up your new Sending Some Sunshine creation (posted August 26 or later) to the linky widget at the bottom of THE DAY 1 POST before 9PM Mountain on Sunday, September 11. One lucky stamper will win a $30.00 gift certificate to the Verve Store. Verve Stamps are not required, but if you've got 'em we would LOVE to see ‘em!
2. For another chance to win, be sure to give the Divas a little shout-out in the comments section as we share our Sending Some Sunshine creations. One lucky commenter will win the Verve stamp set of his or her choosing! Winners will be announced on Monday, September 12 right here on the Verve blog.

Now it's YOUR turn! We DARE you to show us your creations!

---

July Diva Dare ~ Day 10

Good morning Verve fans!!  Maureen here and I have the honour of tying things up after 10 days of seriously stunning projects by the Divas.

This month we dare you to make a card, project, layout, or whatever fits your stamping style using this month's theme - Sentimental About Paper!  It's time to dig into all that gorgeous patterned paper you've been hoarding saving (we know you have some!!)!  Showcase all those amazing sentiment stamps (no images) to create a new and never before seen project!  Paired with pretty patterned paper, Verve's famous sentiments will take center stage!  While it is not necessary to useVerve stamps to enter, we would love to see them if you've got 'em!  To sweeten up the challenge even more, stay tuned to learn how you could win some brand new Verve!

I was thrilled with this month's Dare...I have quite the delicious collection of patterned paper...in fact, I had put some out ready to make this card before my trip to the States...then I went to ARCHIVERS!  It was literally worse than being a baby in a candy store.  I told my friend Lynn that her job was to say to me every so often, "Do you really need that?"  I picked up 3 more pads of paper, one of which was this Basicgrey Out of Print (it was actually on my shopping list so yes, I needed it!).

I inked up this sweet sentiment from New Mercies as well as the butterfly image from Chicks Rule for my balsa wood butterfly. I stitched around all the panels to help frame everything. Have you made YOUR project yet?  You have a few more days to link it up!!  I double dog DARE you!! ;)  Here are the deets one last time...

---

Want to know how you can win some fabulous new VERVE GOODIES?

1. Play along with us and link up your new Sentimental About Paper creation (posted July 15 or later) to the linky widget on the Diva Dare Day 1 post before 9PM Mountain on Sunday, July 31. One lucky stamper will win a $30.00 gift certificate to the Verve Store. Verve Stamps are not required, but if you've got 'em we would  LOVE to see ‘em!
2. For another chance to win, be sure to give the Divas a little shout-out in the comments section as we share our Sentimental About Paper creations. One lucky commenter will win the Verve stamp set of his or her choosing!  Winners will be announced on Monday, August 1 right here on the Verve blog.

Now it's YOUR turn!  We DARE you to show us your creations!

Click here to go to the Diva Dare Day 1 post and link your blog post up on our Linky Tool!

 

July Diva Dare - Day 3

Good morning!  It's Charmaine bringing you Day 3 of the July Diva Dare!  This month we dare you to make a card, project, layout, or whatever fits your stamping style using this month's theme - Sentimental About Paper!

I LOVE using just a Verve sentiment on a card. . .especially with an embossing folder!  It really lets those wonderful Verve sentiments take center stage!  My answer to this month's dare did not use an embossing folder, though.  I decided to go with patterned paper.  I used the Uncommon Collection from Authentique paired with a sentiment from the New Mercies set.  I also used the Flutterby Die with black cardstock along with some ribbon and pearls.  The sentiment panel is die cut with the Wonky Rectangles Nestabilities.   

---

Want to know how you can win some fabulous new VERVE GOODIES?

1. Play along with us and link up your new Sentimental About Paper creation (posted July 15 or later) to the linky widget ON THE DAY 1 POST before 9PM Mountain on Sunday, July 31. One lucky stamper will win a $30.00 gift certificate to the Verve Store. Verve Stamps are not required, but if you've got 'em we would  LOVE to see ‘em!
2. For another chance to win, be sure to give the Divas a little shout-out in the comments section as we share our Sentimental About Paper creations. One lucky commenter will win the Verve stamp set of his or her choosing!  Winners will be announced on Monday, August 1 right here on the Verve blog.

Now it's YOUR turn!  We DARE you to show us your creations!  Can't wait to see them!

Click here to go to the Diva Dare Day 1 post and link your blog post up on our Linky Tool!

---

March Diva Dare ~ Day 10

Welcome to Day 10 of the March Diva Dare!! Here's how our Diva Dare works... following each release, we post a theme we dare you with, and you'll have two weeks to complete the challenge. During those two weeks, the release team will post their creations and tell you how they answered the dare!

This month we dare you to make a card, project, layout, or whatever fits your stamping style using this month's theme -Color Me Spring! Whether you are shoveling snow off of your sidewalks and only dreaming of warmer weather or you are already enjoying the first blooms of the season, this challenge is sure to put a spring in your step! How you interpret the challenge is up to you! Stay tuned to learn how you could win some shiny new Verve!!

Here's how I answered the dare:

 

Like most of you, I LOVE Spring!  I am lucky to live in California when the weather is nice most of the year,  however, we've had some pretty gloomy weather as of late and sitting down to make a card using Spring colors had me excited for the new weather to come!

I chose to use the new Hope Perches Plain Jane for my card.  I love this sentiment.  I paired it with the new beautiful butterfly image from Chicks Rule with it's coordinating Flutterby Die.  The patterned papers are from lilybee design and are called Picket Fence.  They SCREAM Spring to me.   The sketch is Amber's Viva la Verve sketch from the first week in April.  I love all the layers.  The Hope Perches Plain Jane was stamped in Memento Tuxedo Black, was cut out with Labels 18 Nestabilities and was sponged with Lime Pastel Fluid Chalk Ink.  The butterfly was paper pieced and popped up on foam tape.  Some adhesive pearls and machine stitching finish the card!

I also need to apologize for the late post.  I had my scheduled day wrong on my calendar!

Want to know how you can win some fabulous new VERVE GOODIES?

1. Play along with us and link up your new Color Me Spring creation (posted March 28 or later) to the linky widget on the DAY 1 POST before midnight MST on Sunday, April 10. One lucky stamper will win a $30.00 gift certificate to the Verve Store. Verve Stamps are not required, but if you've got 'em we would  LOVE to see ‘em!
2. For another chance to win, be sure to give the Divas a little shout-out in the comments section as we share our Color Me Spring creations. One lucky commenter will win the Verve stamp set of his or her choosing!  Winners will be announced on Monday, April 11th right here on the Verve blog.

Now it's YOUR turn!  We DARE you to show us your creations!!