December Diva Dare - Final Day

Hi Verve fans!  Have you enjoyed our Playing Favorites Diva Dare as much as I have?  I just love seeing all the fun things each person chooses to highlight and reading a little bit more about their crafty faves.  A super fun Dare, indeed!  I'm wrapping up the Dare today, but there's still a little bit of time to post your old or new favorite Verve card to be in the running for our prize drawing!  Deadline to play along is Thursday, December 26.

Although I have lots of favorites with Verve, the set I always come back to when I get to stamp just for stamping's sake is Hope Blooms.  I just love these shabby flowers and the fun all occasion sentiments.  So when I stole a few moments to stamp last week, that's the set I reached for.

I stamped the flower twice in Strawbery Slush on designer paper, then hand cut and sponged the edges with the same color of ink.  The leaves are cut with the Elegant Leaves Die from soft sky cardstock and I stamped the coordinating image from Bloom & Grow in soft sky, then highlighted softly with a white prismacolor pencil.  The birthday sentiment is stamped in strawberry slush and I gave it the same sponged treatment as the flowers, handcutting a little banner edge on one side.  I finished off with some pink pearls in varying sizes for the flower center.

Supply List
Stamps: Hope Blooms, Bloom & Grow (Verve Stamps)
Paper: Bundle of Joy Girl (Echo Park), soft sky (SU!), white
Ink: strawberry slush, soft sky (SU!), white pencil (prismacolor)
Accessories: Elegant Leaves Die (A Cut Above by VERVE), sponge, pink pearls

Here are a few of my favorite cards from this year, as well..

using Relax  {original post}

using No Matter What {original post}

using Joyful Blooms {original post}

 As a fun extra this month, the Divas are answering "The Diva Fab Five Questionnaire."  Here goes!

1. My three favorite Verve products...  they all have near and dear spots in my heart, but I'd have to say Hope Blooms, Words of Wisdom and No Matter What are the ones I gravitate toward the most.

2. My current go-to color combination...  I love aqua with just about anything, but particularly love aqua, grey and red together.

3. My current go-to embellishment... I used to be really big on embellishments, but have taken a simpler approach to stamping lately (mostly because naptime doesn't allow me the time to dig through supplies to find the perfect embellishment).  I do love flatback pearls and rhinestones and liquid pearls.  One of those seems to make it on every one of my cards.  Love those little mini library clips SU! used to sell, too.  Now I'm hoarding my last package since they don't carry them anymore.

4. My favorite stamping or organizational tool... I've recently fell in love with the Envelope Punch Board.  Love making little envelopes and gifties.  I also just love my two-tier Clip It Ups.  I have one for for storing my Verve stamp sets and one for storing baggies filled with different seam bindings, lace, ribbon, flowers and other fun embellishments.

5. My favorite treat...  I usually have a mixture of Hot Tamales and Red Hots on my stamping desk.  I also love Lily's Dark Chocolate Coconut bars, but they normally don't stick around the craft studio very long!  LOL  During the holidays, I usually trade in my cinnamon dish for candy canes, peppermint nougats or white chocolate peppermint pretzel crisps.

Deadline to link your cards is 8PM Mountain on Thursday, December 26th.  Entries must be posted 12/6 or later, include at least one Verve product, be your favorite Verve Stamps creation of 2013 or a new creation using your favorite Verve Stamps set, and be linked up to the linky widget by 8pm Mountain on 12/26/13.   As an reminder, last month's $40 gift certificate winner did not use any Verve stamps on her card so she was not eligible to win and we had to draw another winner.

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

Win a $40 Gift voucher to Verve Stamps! Take our "Playing Favorites" Dare and link up your card (created December 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 "Playing Favorites" 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 December 26, 2013.

Winners will be announced on December 27, 2013.

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

July Diva Dare 2012 - Day 5

Happy Friday Verve fans! It's me, Janelle, here for another take on this month's Diva Dare right before the weekend! 

This month, we dare you to make a card or project using a BIRTHDAY theme. Did you know that July is a big birthday month here at Verve? Five of our Divas have July birthdays, including the boss lady, Julee. Let's celebrate with some fun birthday projects!  We can't wait to see how you answer the dare! (Stay tuned to see how you could win some shiny new Verve!)

So, this is how I took the dare.

There is always a need for a card to send your girlfriends (or man-friends), but sending a card sometimes just isn't enough. So I created a brown gift bag with a tea bag and special note slipped inside. It's just under the size of an A6 envelope so I can still send it in the regular mail. You know the size of those outer envies when sending traditional wedding invitations or announcements? That's the size!
This birthday card is brimming with Verve goodness. I colored flowers from Feel the Sun Stamp Set with Copic markers and fussy cut them out. They are warming up next to A Cut Above Rounded Scallop Frame die and tagged with a tea cup and tag combo from the Cup of Life stamp set and the A Cut Above Tiny Sweet Scallop Tag die. The Happy Birthday wishes is from the Hope Blooms Stamp Set. I added some lace ribbon under the tea cup and across the band to complete the bag. Inside the bag is tea bag nestled in some tissue paper edge punched with a lace pattern. The insert is labeled with a tea bag tag and sentiment from the Cup of Life set. A little shaved ice sparkle around the band is the last touch on this challenge project. All the pattern paper is from Pretty Party paper pad by Crate Paper.

Have a wonderful weekend and be sure to come back on Monday to see another week of Diva Dare takes on the challenge!

---

Would you like a chance to win some fabulous new VERVE GOODIES? There are two ways to win:

1. Play along with our Birthday Diva Dare. Link up your creation (posted July 16 or later) to the linky widget below before 6:00 pm MT on Sunday, July 29. One lucky stamper will win a $30 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 birthday creations. One lucky commenter will win the Verve stamp set of his or her choosing.

Winners will be announced on Monday, July 30 right here on the Verve blog.

---

Click the "Click here to enter" link at the bottom of this post for the Diva Dare entry form. Please type your name or screen name in the Caption or Title field, then choose the link and photo you'd like to enter.  Please link directly to the specific blog post or gallery page where we can view your creation.  If you're having problems linking, try entering the link to your card, then choosing From File instead of From Web. Then just browse to where your picture is saved on your computer to get your thumbnail.

---

August Diva Dare ~ Day 9

Good morning, it's Maureen with the ninth installment of our August Diva Dare! For those of you who 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: we DARE you to make an uplifting and encouraging card AND send it to someone in need of a little pick-me-up! There's nothing like opening your mailbox and seeing a handmade card...especially with some of Verve's encouraging sentiments on it!  :-)  I'm actually pretty good about sending birthday and thank you cards out, but as soon as I heard this month's dare, I knew I wanted to make a very special project and send it to my dear blog friend, Janelle, who has a very serious medical condition.  Back in March, Janelle made this VERY cool project for a coworker.  I fell in love with it and tucked the idea in the back in my mind.  Little did I know I would bring it out for Janelle.  So here's the set of inspiring tags along with the card I made for her (both of which are already on their way to her :)

I started with deciding on the papers I would use on the card, then chose the colours for the tags.  There are 12 altogether. Then I went through my Verve Plaine Janes and a few other sets (Hope Blooms and Serenity) for the inspiring tags that were eventually put together with a little key chain and decorated with some coordinating ribbon.  Here are all the tags before I put them together. I also used the Blessings, Believe, and  New Mercies sets to decorate the tags a bit.  Everything was kept simple and flat so that they wouldn't be too bulky when put together.

As you can see, I used several different die cut shapes including Verve's Rounded Rectangle and Curvy Bookplate Dies.  And here they are all tied up together.

After making the tags, I started on the card.  I picked this verse from Jeremiah .  I just love the comfort it talks about.  I also added "You inspire me," from Dare to Be because that is exactly what Janelle is doing to me and so many others touched by her story (not to mention the gorgeous projects she creates with love and thoughtfulness).

 

Whew! Are you still with me?  Thanks for letting me share my special gift :) 

Okay now that I'm done, here are the details...

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!  

And then DARE you to send it away!!

April Diva Dare ~ Day 8

---

Hi Verve fans! Welcome to Day 8 of the April 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 we dare you to make a card, project, layout, or whatever fits your stamping style using this month's theme - April Showers Bring May Flowers! With the warmer weather, new growth, and all the fresh and beautiful blooms that abound, it is easy to be inspired by Spring! How you interpret the dare is completely up to you! To sweeten up the challenge, stay tuned to learn how you could win some brand new Verve!

Here's how I answered the challenge:

I mixed one of Verve's newest releases Hope Blooms, with May's Stamp of the Month set Dare to Be. One of the many beauties of working with Verve images is that they all mix and match so well!!

My daughter graduates from High School next week, so I thought "Dare to be You" was the perfect sentiment to use to make a card for her with a frame of bright and cheerful flowers. All I did was stamp the largest Hope Blooms flower with Rocket Red Gold Brilliance ink, and shade the edges a bit with Persimmon VersaMagic. After the sentiment panel and flowers were dry, I added a layer of Shimmer with some Sparkle Sheer Shimmer Spritz by Tsukineko. If you click on the photo below you can see it a bit better. It's very subtle.

Lastly, I added some Stardust stickles dots around the flower centers, some basic vertical embossing stripes with my Scor-Buddy, a button with embroidery thread and a punched border. Very easy!

---

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

1. Play along with us and link up your new April Showers Bring May Flowers creation (posted April 22nd or later) to the linky widget on the DAY ONE post before midnight MST on Saturday, May 7th. 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 April Showers Bring May Flowers creations. One lucky commenter will win the Verve stamp set of his or her choosing!  Winners will be announced on Monday, May 9th right here on the Verve blog.

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

---

April Diva Dare - Day 7

Hi Verve fans, welcome to Day 7 of the April 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 we dare you to make a card, project, layout, or whatever fits your stamping style using this month's theme - April Showers Bring May Flowers!  With the warmer weather, new growth, and all the fresh and beautiful blooms that abound, it is easy to be inspired by Spring!  How you interpret the dare is completely up to you!  To sweeten up the challenge, stay tuned to learn how you could win some brand new Verve!

I chose to answer the dare with my newest favorite floral set -- Hope Blooms. I love fussy cutting these flowers and manipulating the petals for some fun dimension. And the sentiments in Hope Blooms are so representative of Verve -- uplifting, versatile, cheery, and done in the most fabulous font combinations. I've used a mixture of papers from Crate Paper's Portrait collection along with some Spellbinders dies and a paper doily. The layout is the gorgeous Viva La Verve (May, Week 1) sketch by Amber:

---

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

1. Play along with us and link up your new April Showers Bring May Flowers creation (posted April 22nd or later) to the linky widget on the DAY ONE post before midnight MST on Saturday, May 7th. 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 April Showers Bring May Flowers creations. One lucky commenter will win the Verve stamp set of his or her choosing!  Winners will be announced on Monday, May 9th right here on the Verve blog.

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

April Diva Dare-Day 3

Hi Verve fans!  It's Teresa here and I want to welcome you to Day 3 of the April 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 we dare you to make a card, project, layout, or whatever fits your stamping style using this month's theme - April Showers Bring May Flowers!  With the warmer weather, new growth, and all the fresh and beautiful blooms that abound, it is easy to be inspired by Spring!  How you interpret the dare is completely up to you!  To sweeten up the challenge, stay tuned to learn how you could win some brand new Verve!

For my turn at the dare, I knew I wanted to use the flowers from Hope Blooms.  I luv layering these and making them shabby.  I stamped them onto Stella Rose designer paper by My Mind's Eye and then randomly cut part the way down the blooms.  Then I took my stylus and curled the edges. I kept the rest of my card super simple, because I wanted the flowers to pop in the gorgeous red!  I added a little stitching, distressing, and bakers twine.  The Hope Blooms set is full of wonderful sentiments, the "life is good" is also from that set.  I cannot wait to see what you create, have a wonderful day...enjoy!

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

1. Play along with us and link up your new April Showers Bring May Flowers creation (posted April 22nd or later) to the linky widget below before midnight MST on Saturday, May 7th. 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 April Showers Bring May Flowers creations. One lucky commenter will win the Verve stamp set of his or her choosing!  Winners will be announced on Monday, May 9th right here on the Verve blog.

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

 

April Diva Dare - Day 1

---

Hi Verve fans!  Welcome to the April 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 we dare you to make a card, project, layout, or whatever fits your stamping style using this month's theme - April Showers Bring May Flowers!  With the warmer weather, new growth, and all the fresh and beautiful blooms that abound, it is easy to be inspired by Spring!  How you interpret the dare is completely up to you!  To sweeten up the challenge, stay tuned to learn how you could win some brand new Verve!

This is how I answered the dare!  No, your eyes are not playing tricks on you.  I actually made a clean and simple card!  :-)  I adore this flower (from the newly released Hope Blooms set) so much and wanted to give it center stage on my card.

I started with a small 4 x 4 square card base.  I then stamped the sentiment Enjoy Life (also from the Hope Blooms set) four times and then connected them with a thin black marker.  The flower is colored with Copics and then glitterfied (teeheehee)!  To finish it off, I added a button and some string!

---

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

1. Play along with us and link up your new April Showers Bring May Flowers creation (posted April 22nd or later) to the linky widget below before midnight MST on Sunday, May 8th. 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 April Showers Bring May Flowers creations. One lucky commenter will win the Verve stamp set of his or her choosing!  Winners will be announced on Monday, May 9th right here on the Verve blog.

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

April After Party!

Welcome to the April After Party!  The Monday after each release, we will share all the latest sale info and some of our favorite Diva creations using the newly released stamps! 

Spring has sprung here at Verve!  The April release is bursting with beautiful blossoms, elegant leaves, and sentiments galore!  Right now through the end of April, you can save 15% when you purchase the April 2011 Stamp Collection!

And now, prepare yourselves for eye-popping inspiration as we share our favorite projects made with the newly released stamps and dies...

Created by Amber Hight, using Proverbs 16:9 Plain Jane, Swirling Hearts, and the Charming Oval die.

Created by Amy Sheffer, using Happy Phrases and the Charming Oval Die set.

Created by Andrea Ewen, using Proverbs 16:9 Plain Jane, Bloom & Grow, Elegant Leaves Die, Floral Circles Die set, & the Classy Label Die.

Created by Charmaine Ikach, using Happy Phrases and the Charming Banner Die set.

Created by Jackie Pedro, using Bloom & Grow, Love Deepens, Elegant Leaves Die, & the Floral Circles Die set.

Created by Julee Tilman, using Bloom & Grow and the Elegant Leaves Die.

Created by Laurie Schmidlin, using Bloom & Grow, Elegant Leaves Die, and the Floral Circles Die set.

Created by Maureen Plut, using Hope Blooms and the Floral Circles Die set.

Created by Sankari Wegman, using Boom & Grow, Elegant Leaves Die, and the Jotted Heart Die.

Created by Teresa Kline, using Hope Blooms.

Created by Tosha Leyendekker, using Love Deepens and the Floral Circles Die set.

We sure hope you have enjoyed seeing some of our favorites!  We would love to hear what were some of your favorite products from this release! 

Want a chance to win some shiny new Verve?  Participants that enter all of the April Viva la Verve Challenges will be entered to win the ENTIRE next release!