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!

Project Parade - Day 9: Easter Keepsake

Hey! Jen Tapler here with another Egg-stra Special project to share with you! Have you been enjoying the fabulous Divas' projects so far?

Dontcha just love holiday traditions? Since starting my own family a few years ago, these traditions have become even more special!! It's been so fun for Joel and I to not just pass on old traditions to our son, but to start new ones as well. Something I try to do before each major holiday is get out a few of my favorite holiday photos from the previous year and create a small keepsake item to capture that year's holiday memories before they're overshadowed in our minds by new ones . I imagine us years from now, each holiday pulling out a giant basket full of these little handcrafted keepsake items and reminiscing about holidays past.

Today I'm going to share with you my Easter Project for this year. I created this sort of circle-coaster-accordian-mini-album thing using heavy weight 4-inch diameter coasters. The finished, "wrapped up" projects looks like this:


Coasters similar to what you'd find at a bar or restaurant were used for the base of each "page". Using Mod Podge, I adhered Bashful Blue CS (SU), after embossing it with my Swiss Dots Embossing Folder, to the front and back of each coaster. For my cover page, I stamped the Happy Easter Plain Jane in Night of Navy ink (SU) on white CS and matted on Night of Navy, then white textured CS (American Crafts), all cut with my circle nestabilities. The covered coasters were lined up with a little space in between and I glued a long piece of white satin ribbon (SU!) across the middle. I adhered my matted "title" and photos over the ribbon using 3-D adhesive. Back to the front cover, I hand-cut a piece of Wild Wasabi CS to look like grass. After adding some paper-pieced (from various SU DP in Night of Navy, Bashful Blue and Wild Wasabi) stamped eggs from the new Chocolate Bunnies set on top, my keepsake was finished!! Here's a look with the album opened up:


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!

And to put a little spring in your step, we'll be picking five random commenters over the course of the parade who will win their choice of any Verve Stamps set. There are still a few winner left to choose...You never know which Diva will be drawing, so if you see a project you like, be sure to leave the girls some love! :) Good luck and thanks for stopping by!!

{Project Parade - Day 8} Egg Holders!

Hi Everyone! It's finally my turn here on the parade route. Aren't the Divas just blowing you away with their cool Egg-stra Special Spring projects? When Jen first approached me with this month's theme, I knew exactly what I wanted to make.

One of my favorite Easter traditions growing up was lining up all the beautifully colored Easter eggs on the little punch-out cardboard things that come with the Easter egg dye kits. I especially loved the ones with cute little characters, so I thought I'd put my grown-up crafty spin on a beloved childhood tradition.



I started these little eggholders by cutting two strips of coordinating papers. For this project, I used printed papers from the digi In the Meadow Collab by Sugarplum Paperie and MGL Studios. The bottom strip I cut 1 1/2" tall by 5 3/8" wide. I then punched it with the Stampin' Up! scallop edge punch. (If you're not using a border punch, just adjust the measurement to 1 1/4" tall) For the top strip I used a 3/4" tall x 6" wide strip and glued them together with one end flush. Then to form the egg holder, I just added sticky strip to the back of the overhanging piece and looped it around so the two ends of the bottom strip met to form a circle.



Next I stamped the bunny from Chocolate Bunnies and colored with Copic markers. For a little extra pizazz, I doodled in some designs on the eggs and added the Hoppy Easter sentiment in the largest egg. I trimmed out the image and added it to the front of the egg holder with dimensionals. Since it's a little early to dye Easter eggs, I decided to go with some plastic ones for the photo. I filled mine with some Cadbury mini eggs for treats for my nephews, but I think they would also make super cute place cards for Easter dinner. To attach the tags, I simply pierced through the top of each plastic egg with a paper piercer then knotted two strips of ribbon and pulled the open ends through the hole. The tag is cut with the Tags 5 Nestabilities and I stamped sentiments from Chocolate Bunnies on them, but you could easily add a name instead. Then I just threaded the ribbons through the hole in the tag and tied a bow. Easy, breezy beautiful!

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!

And there are still three random commenters who'll be drawn throughout the rest of the parade to win their choice of any Verve Stamps set! You never know which Diva will be drawing, so if you see a project you like, be sure to leave the girls some love! :) Good luck and thanks for stopping by!

Project Parade - Day 7!

OMGosh!! Aren't you loving all of these amazing Spring and Easter ideas the Verve Divas have shared so far??!! Wow!

I'm so in the mood to create Easter goodies right now! The fresh colors, pretty flowers, fun new Verve stamps, and oh, ....CHOCOLATE bunnies!! Oh yeah!!



When I saw this hilarious (but true :-) sentiment (in the new Chocolate Bunnies set), I knew I needed to go shopping for the *perfect* chocolate bunny! To give away as a gift, of course...



I kept my card simple and fairly small (4 1/2" x 4 1/2") so that the sentiment could take center stage! I dressed my card up with some pretty patterned paper, swirls, Dew Drops, and a velvet flower.


I wanted to spruce up the inside of the card as well. I stamped the bunny (from the Chocolate Bunnies set) onto white c.s., colored it in with my Copics, and then used my Circle Nestabilities to cut out just the face...kind of like a portrait! :-)



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 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 got 'em!

And to put a little spring in your step, we'll be picking five random commenters over the course of the parade who will win their choice of any Verve Stamps set. You never know which Diva will be drawing, so if you see a project you like, be sure to leave the girls some love! :) Good luck and thanks for visiting!!

Recipe - Stamps: Chocolate Bunnies Paper: White c.s., White Linen Vellum c.s. (PTI), Patterned paper ( Melissa Frances) Ink: Versamark, Tempting Turquoise (Stampin' Up!), London Fog Memento Ink Accessories: Clear detail e.p., Oval and Circle Nestabilities, Doodle Parts and Tag Trio Spellbinder dies, Dew Drops, Ribbon, Velvet flower (Maya Road), Copic markers

Project Parade - Day 6

Hello and welcome to Day 6 of the Egg-stra Special Spring Project Parade! Before I get started I’d like to announce one of our random winners!

Tricia, come on down! You’re the lucky winner of any Verve Stamps set of your choice (up to $24 value)! Congrats Tricia! Please send an email to info@vervestamps.com with your set choice and shipping address to claim your prize!

Now back to your regularly scheduled Project Parade. Can you believe the amazing projects the divas have shown you so far? When Jen told us the theme for this month, I knew exactly what I wanted to do. I saw these pieces that Keri Lee Sereika did in person back in February, and I've been itching to try my hand at them.  Whaddyathink?

And she was right....it was super easy! First, I cut a piece of cardstock to fit inside the necklace blank, and then I stamped the image from Miracles Blossom onto it in Brilliance Graphite Black. After coloring the image with Copic markers, I sponged the edges with Close to Cocoa ink to distress it a bit. Once that was done, I glued the image down into the blank and filled it up with Ranger's Crackle Accents. I had to come back a few times to "refill" because the glue shrinks as it starts to dry, but after a good night's rest it was dry and beautifully cracked like you see here! I am still pretty tickled with it...I hope you like it, too. :)

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 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 got 'em!


And to put a little spring in your step, we'll be picking five random commenters over the course of the parade who will win their choice of any Verve Stamps set. You never know which Diva will be drawing, so if you see a project you like, be sure to leave the girls some love! :) Good luck and have a fabulous day!

Project Parade--Day 5!!

Are you in the Easter spirit yet? I am getting there! Seeing all these adorable baskets and card sets is getting me excited for Easter! I have never been much of an altered art/gifty type stamper so I stuck with an Easter card because I *LOVE* the little Easter bunnies just recently released!
I used two new releases for this card, Chocolate Bunnies and the Happy Easter plain jane! I started out using the Mojo Monday 79 sketch but added an extra panel.

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 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 got 'em!


And to put a little spring in your step, we'll be picking five random commenters over the course of the parade who will win their choice of any Verve Stamps set. You never know which Diva will be drawing, so if you see a project you like, be sure to leave the girls some love! :) Good luck and thanks for visiting!
Card Recipe:
Stamps: Chocolate Bunnies, Happy Easter pj (Verve)
Paper: Crate Paper dp, Choc Chip, Whisper White, Watercolor Paper (SU!)
Ink: Pale Plum, Summer Sun, Baja Breeze, Sage Shadow, Close to Cocoa (SU!), Rich Cocoa (Momento)
Accessories: Scalloped Lace punch, Photo Corner punch (SU!), Ribbon (Martha Stewart), Shimmerz, Prima flower, Button (PTI)

Project Parade--Day 4!

Hello and welcome to Day 4 of the Egg-stra Special Spring Project Parade! Before I get started I’d like to announce one of our random winners!

GRACE (Scrappigramma2), come on down!
You’re the lucky winner of any Verve Stamps set of your choice (up to $24 value)! Congrats Grace! Please send an email to info@vervestamps.com with your set choice and shipping address to claim your prize!

Now, onto my project--For this parade I just couldn't get the idea out of my head to do something with EGGO waffles as a little play on words as my "Egg-stra" Special project, but it just didn't ever make it to fruition (wonder why? I know, it was a dumb idea!). So I then decided to make some sort of basket to hold candy or eggs in. I came across M. J. Albright's wonderful tutorial for making a woven Easter basket. Her tutorial calls for certain SU! envelopes. Well, I didn't have any of those so I did a little measuring and came up with my version just out of some cardstock. I created four woven sides and then adhered them together with Tacky Tape.

I have to confess that I could not decide what color or ink color to make the butterflies from the Beautiful Kindness set. I ended up embossing eight different ones and cutting out ten other butterflies until I settled on these embossed in clear EP onto the Certainly Celery cardstock. My hand hurts now! I then made 4 scalloped rectangles and cut them to fit inside the basket with the scalloped edge folded over the outside, added the ribbon handle, (went to the store for some more Easter candy since we can't seem to be able to keep any around here), and finally added the candy bag and tied the tag on it (it says "for you" from the Chocolate Bunnies set). I really love how it came out! I know it will be appreciated by someone who is very "Egg-stra" special!

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 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 got 'em!

And to put a little spring in your step, we'll be picking five random commenters over the course of the parade who will win their choice of any Verve Stamps set. You never know which Diva will be drawing, so if you see a project you like, be sure to leave the girls some love! :) Good luck and thanks for visiting!

Project Parade Day Three ~ Spring Card Set

Hi everyone! It's Jackie here and it's my turn to take a walk down the project parade!! Every Spring I make one or two sets of cards that I donate to the silent auction fundraiser that is put on by my girls' elementary school. The project parade came at the perfect time for me to make a set!

I am always on the lookout for packaging for my sets and while blurfing last week, I came across this tutorial by Lauren Meader. What I loved about the set of cards she created was that they were not the normal A2 sized cards. These cards are 2 3/4" x 4". I even made the envelopes!! The packaging was made using Lauren Meader's Captured Card Case Timeless Template, and holds eight of these cards with the eight matching envelopes.

The picture on the left is a close up of the box itself. The picture on the right is of the entire set of cards. I used the retired Haiku Designer Series Paper from Stampin' Up! It just screams spring to me! The flower is from Verve's new beautiful set called Miracles Blossom and the sentiment is from another new Verve set called Circular Sayings. The ovals were cut with the Oval Nestaiblities and the scalloped border was done with the Stampin' Up! Scallop Edge Punch. I added some Star Dust Stickles to the outside edge of the tulip for some sparkle. I used Taylor Van Bruggen's Cupcake Sketch #60 for the cards and the box.

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 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 got 'em!

And to put a little spring in your step, we'll be picking five random commenters over the course of the parade who will win their choice of any Verve Stamps set. You never know which Diva will be drawing, so if you see a project you like, be sure to leave the girls some love! :) Good luck and thanks for visiting!

Project Parade Day Two: Hoppy Easter!

It's Eggstra Special Spring-time on the Verve blog for the next couple of weeks, so we hope you'll enjoy seeing all of the Diva's Eggstra Special creations! We especially hope you'll play along and share your own Eggstra Special project!

For today's project I decided to use my new Baskets and Blooms die to create this cute little Easter basket. I filled the basket with edible Easter straw (yep. . .edible!) and my FAVORITE Easter candy, Cadbury Mini Eggs! The adorable bunny with eggs and sentiment are from the Chocolate Bunnies set. The little basket is the perfect size to give a little treat to a special someone. I've already been instructed by my daughers to make them each one! LOL

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 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 got 'em!

And to put a little spring in your step, we'll be picking five random commenters over the course of the parade who will win their choice of any Verve Stamps set. You never know which Diva will be drawing, so if you see a project you like, be sure to leave the girls some love! :) Good luck and thanks for visiting!

Project Parade Day One: Eggstra Special Spring

With Spring and Easter just around the corner, we thought it would be fun to have a Project Parade with the them of EGGSTRA SPECIAL SPRING. For today's post, I am showing you a quick project that can be easily mass produced for classmates, friends and church groups.

I started off with a small (approx. 2.5" x 3.5") kraft sack that I purchased in a package at Hobby Lobby. I added the clipped grass along the bottom and then adhered the paper pieced eggs just under the edge of the top of the grass. The sentiment is stamped on polka dot patterned paper and matted with white cardstock. All images are from the Chocolate Bunnies set, one of my favorite releases from March.
Inside the sack, are a few jellybeans. I estimate that the total cost for this project to be well under $1, making it not only fun, but also affordable.

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 and link it up with the Mr. Linky form at the bottom of this post. Entries will close at 8PM Mountain on Saturday, April 4! Verve Stamps are not required, but we do LOVE to see 'em if you got 'em!

And to put a little spring in your step, we'll be picking five random commenters over the course of the parade who will win their choice of any Verve Stamps set. You never know which Diva will be drawing, so if you see a project you like, be sure to leave the girls some love! :)

Links are now closed for this contest.
Thanks for playing!

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.

Spotlight on Jodi Collins

Welcome to our first March Guest Diva Spotlight!

Today we're celebrating the amazing-ness of Jodi Collins {aka Kharmagirl} from Stamping a Latte. I first started tuning into Jodi's work last fall when I saw this card she made from a stamped image she'd received. Wow! Where had I been? This girl has MOJO oozing out of her, and such a fabulous personality to match. She's just a dream to work with and her fabulous layered style, mad coloring skills, and eye for finishing things off with the perfect details, make her a paper crafter extraordinaire!

First off, I'll show you one of my favorite cards Jodi made for this release. This one uses Everlasting LIfe, and isn't it just gorgeous? ! I love the fabulous way she paper pieced the cross and how the pattern in the papers she chose really lend to the swirliness of the image. The color combo is classic and fabulous and I love all the little piercing details.

I asked Jodi a few Verve-i-view questions, and here's what she had to say:


1. When/how did you get hooked on stamping?
I started stamping in high school (which was quite some time ago!) after being entranced by the stamp aisle in my local craft store. The only thing I knew how to do was stamp and emboss, so every single thing I made was an image embossed in silver and colored in! Thank Goodness I got away from that! It wasn't until about four years ago that I got back into stamping. I attended a home stamping party and within a week spent more than I care to admit, signed up to become a demo, and have been happily stamping (and hoarding supplies!) since!

2. How often do you stamp?
I stamp at least once a day, and I usually try to participate in the challenges on Splitcoaststampers. At night, once my daughter goes to bed, and my husband is entranced by the television, I head downstairs to my "stamp chalet" and start stamping!


3. Tell me about your funniest or most embarrassing stamping related injury?
This isn't an injury, more just really funny!! Last summer, it was super hot in my basement, and I was in the middle of a project that involved Dazzling Diamonds...alot of Dazzling Diamonds. I didn't even think about what I had open on my stamping space, and I turned on the fan. You can only imagine the glittery stamp space I had for months! Now that I am thinking about it, it is quite shocking that I do not have a stamping related injury story...I am not the most coordinated girl around!

We interrrupt this Verve-i-view to bring you another fabulous favorite from Jodi. I just love the clever way she used the hat from the snowman in Snow Wonderful to dress up this little bunny bride and groom from Bunny Duet. The cosmpopolitan color combo is both elegant and contemporary, and really sets off the card. She finished off with a sentiment from Practically Perfect and some classy pearls to give it that extra something something.

And now back to your regularly scheduled Verve-i-view, already in progress:

4. How long does it take you to create a project that you're happy with?
Wow...this is a tough question!! I would say, on average, it takes me about an hour to put a card together that I am happy with. It may take a bit longer if I am trying to follow a sketch or specific layout, but most of the time it's about an hour.

5. I am usually a little messy in my creating. Tell me about your creative space.
My stamping space, affectionately known as the "stamp chalet" is in the unfinished portion of our basement. A few years ago, my parents renovated their kitchen and gave me all of their cabinets and countertops, which make up the majority of my chalet. While I am stamping it looks like a tornado has blown through...and I always lose something while I am in the middle of a card or project! I do have one rule though...I do not go to bed for the evening until my chalet is clean...all my ink and papers (including scraps!) are put in their proper place, and I always sweep (I have a very bad habit of flinging off the paper from the dimensionals onto the floor as I stamp!)

6. If you were stranded on a deserted island, which craft tool could you not live without? Why?
Ok...this is SO easy for me! My paper piercing tool! NO question! First of all, I have come to the realization that I simply cannot live without it, and I bet it would come in handy on a deserted island too! Perhaps I could spear a fish or something with it? Hmmm...then I would need my embossing gun to cook the fish...ok, this could get crazy! Just one???

The last card I have to share of Jodi's is just breathtaking. I love how she made these butterflies from Beautiful Kindness fly! The colors and patterns are so trendy at it just makes me want to go pick up my stamps and play!

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

7. What is your biggest source of inspiration?
Splitcoaststampers...without a doubt. I am constantly amazed and inspired by the talent of the SCS members. I have learned so much since I joined and I feel like all the inspiration on SCS has made me a better (and more adventurous) stamper.

8. Who in the stamping world do you want to be when you grow up and why?
There are SO many stamping rock stars out there...but if I have to choose one person, I would say Beate Johns! She amazes me with each and every one of her creations! I can look at her cards for hours and always see something fabulous I didn't see before! She is amazing!

9. What is your favorite set from this release?
Oh! This is the toughest question of all! I think I would have to say Practically Perfect! I LOVE baby sets and the bunnies in this set are just the cutest! I also love all the different sentiments included in this set! When I first saw this set, I knew it was going to be my favorite! I always tell my daughter that she is "Perfectly Perfect In Every Way". Coming in a CLOSE second would be Beautiful Kindness. I love the elegant butterflies and the sentiments in this one as well!

See, what did I tell you? Jodi's amazing, right? If you want to see more of her gorgeous Verve-i-ness, check out her Guest Diva Gallery HERE. Tomorrow I'll be spotlighting the work of our 2nd Guest, Kelly Lunceford, so stay tuned!

March Release and WINNERS

Our March release is finally here! We've got eight new sets and 5 new Plain Janes to pick from, with a couple of bundles with a little discount. First off, check out the second post in {this thread} to see the winner's list for our Sneak Preview giveaways and the Verve Release Sketch Challenge! Thanks to everyone who celebrated this past week with us!


In addition to the bundles below, there's an extra 10% discount if you buy both the Fun With Flowers Pack and the Bunny Bundle together! Just add them both to your cart and the discount will automatically adjust. You'll get all 8 sets for $99 - that's a total savings of $24! Sale prices and additional discounts are good through March 31, while supplies last.

Fun With Flowers Pack - on sale for $67
Includes: Miracles Blossom, Everlasting Life, Floral Symphony, Circular Sayings and Beautiful Kindness

Bunny Bundle - on sale for $43
Includes: Bunny Duet, Practically Perfect and Chocolate Bunnies

March Plain Jane Pack - on sale for $13.50
Includes: Philippians 4:4, Psalm 51:10, Flowers of Tomorrow, Happy Easter and Little Star


Okay, that's it for today, Peeps! Check back tomorrow for a spotlight on one of our fabulous March Guest Divas!

Verve Release Sketch Challenge

Hi everyone! Happy Saturday! This weekend I thought we'd have a little fun and I'd post a special sketch challenge as we countdown to our release on Sunday night. I'll be picking three random winners from cards using today's sketch to receive their choice of any one of our new release sets for free. Entries will close at 6:00PM Eastern on Sunday, March 8, so tell your family you NEED to stamp today! :)

To play along, just make a card with the provided sketch and upload to an online blog or gallery. Then leave a link in the Mr. Linky form below to the place where we can see your creation! Links will close at 6:00PM Eastern on March 8 and winners will be announced that night during our release party on SCS. Verve Stamps are not required, just go get inky! ;)

The release party starts at 8PM Eastern tomorrow (Sunday) night and we'll be chatting up a storm and giving you the first looks at all the new sets. Come join the fun!

If you need a little inspiration to get your wheels a turnin', here's my sample using the sketch. Remember, you can always change the shapes up to fit your mood. In this case I wanted to use my new EK Success fleur de lis punches and thought a circle went better with the elegant feel of the card. The Psalm 51:10 stamp is one of the new Plain Jane stamps that will release tomorrow night!

And if you're just tuning in, be sure to look back through and comment on each Sneak Preview post this week for your chance to win that day's set. For even one more chance at free Verve Stamps, hop on over to the Mojo Monday Blog and play along with this week's sketch contest! Have fun and good luck!

Links are now closed! Thanks for playing! :)

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)

Sneak Preview - Everlasting Life

Hi Verve friends! It's Day 4 of the Sneak Peeks for Verve's next release. Have you been enjoying the sets so far? Today Amy and I are featuring Everlasting Life, a traditional religious Easter set. Be sure to check out the details at the bottom of this post for your chance to win this gorgeous set!


By Julee Tilman:
Everlasting Life is one of my new favorite sets. Easter has always held such special meaning for me and I wanted to design a set that would convey a message of hope and new life. For this card, I chose to work with the this springy flower image and the John 3:16 verse. I felt the verse said it all, so I chose a classic, one-layer look to let the stamps take center stage. Both images are stamped on watercolor paper and the flower is colored with Copic markers. To spice it up just a bit, I added a few score lines above and below and then used a Stardust gel pen and blender pen to give it a nice little sparkle.

After depriving myself of embellishments on that card, I felt the need to make a card with a little more pomp & circumstance. So I embossed the cross image from Everlasting Life in white on Kraft cardstock, then used some reinkers and a toothbrush to add a wood grain effect to the cross, before sponging it with some Tea Dye distress ink. The sentiment is from another new set, Circular Sayings, which coordinates with your smaller circle punches and die cuts. I layered on a prima that I painted with Pixie Dust Shimmerz and added a bunch of piercing, sponging, and embossed texture to jazz up the card.



By Amy Sheffer:

I love all the cute chicks, bunnies, and colorful Easter egg images we start seeing this time of year, but when it comes to Easter cards specifically, my favorite images tend to be those of a more religious nature. Everlasting Life is a wonderful combination of religious imagery, Scripture, and floral elegance. I could not ask for a more perfect Easter set! I love, too, that many of the stamps in this set will work equally well year-round. For this card, I used markers to ink the image in two colors. I stamped the flower sections a second time, trimmed them out, and popped them up with foam adhesive. The main image panel is cut with a Labels 1 Nestability die. After cutting, I left the die in place while I did some light sponging in Pink Pirouette and Antique Linen Distress ink. I removed the die to reveal the narrow ivory border. All of the edges are roughed up with a distressing tool, then machine-stitched around the perimeter with dark brown thread. The patterned papers are all from Basic Grey's lovely new Porcelain collection. Hope you're enjoying all the peeks this week!

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 is/was your favorite children's story?
(Mine was The Velveteen Rabbit, although I also went through a spell where Jiggers, was all I would read. I still have the book - it's all dog-eared and has duck tape on the spine to hold it together, because I read it so much it fell apart!)

Sneak Preview--Bunny Duet and Chocolate Bunnies

Hi Verve friends! Here we are on Day 3 of Sneak Peeks for Verve's newest additions to your stamp collections. Today Jackie, Michelle and I are featuring two sets, Bunny Duet and Chocolate Bunnies. Hop this way and take a look...

Here's my (Susan's) Sneak Peek:
Here's the new Bunny Duet single stamp (it comes by itself) which is so fun! There are so many possibilities for this one, but when I first looked at it, it made me chuckle! Who ME, chuckle? (Yep, at just about everything!) It made me think about those old timey pictures where the folks are just standing there in their best duds...(kind of Victorian?), but so serious! So I thought these bunnies needed a little vintage feel to them. There's lots of sponging and distressing going on here with a little bling added to the mix (she had to dress up for her big picture day, don't you know!). The Prima flowers and bunny bows have Shimmerz painted onto them to dress them up even more. These bunnies are all decked out for ya'll and their big "premiere"!

Jackie Pedro's Peek:
When I saw this new set, Bunny Duet, I couldn't wait to get it inky!! I have always loved the adorable bunnies that Julee has come out with, and this adorable little couple is no exception. Don't they look like they are all dressed in their Sunday's finest? The sentiment is from another new soon to be released set called Circular Sayings. I used the "Thanks" because each year my hubby's Aunt and Uncle host a huge Easter Brunch and egg hunt for the entire family and this card will be going to them for stuffing our faces with fantastic food and providing my kids a wonderful Easter tradition!!!

Michelle's Chocolate Bunnies Peek:
Can I just say I LOVE these cute little bunnies!?! This one is from the new set coming called Chocolate Bunnies. Julee hit it out of the park again. I don't have any Easter stamps and about fell off my chair when I saw these sets. Sooo cute and versitile. I wanted to make a fun bold bright Easter card and when I saw the new Citrus matstack by DCWV I couldn't get it in my shopping basket fast enough. I started out by chosing a brightly patterned piece for the background. The bunny is colored with Prismacolor pencils and all of the Easter eggs are pieced with some more subtle patterns. Everything was painted over with Angel Wings Shimmerz and I used a blue glitter Sakura pen for the swirls. I used some of the SU! SAB 5/8" Saffron grosgrain ribbon and threaded one of my beaded corsage pins through it. The yellow pearls on the pin were colored yellow by a copic marker, the rest are beads from my collection.

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 Easter Candy? (I love Cadbury Eggs!)
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Sneak Preview - Beautiful Kindness & Circular Sayings

Good morning, Verve Fans! I hope you enjoyed yesterday's preview of Practically Perfect. If you missed it, you can check it out HERE. Today we have even more eye candy for you! This time we're previewing two sets - Beautiful Kindness and Circular Sayings - both are sets you're sure to fall in love with. Ready?

From Diva Amber Hight:

Verve has gone and done it again! Another release full of unbelievable stamps! My jaw dropped just a little more each time I pulled a set out of the box! This set, Beautiful Kindness, has got to be at the top of my list! Look at those butterflies! I'm in such a spring/butterfly mood lately that it just really made me smile to see this set.

I started with a piece of Regal Rose (SU!) cardstock and added a piece of Lemon Tart (PTI) that I ran through my cuttlebug. I stamped the sentiment in Regal Rose on Whisper White and then layered it on a piece of Kiwi Kiss cardstock. The border punch I used is from SU! The butterflies were cut out and mounted with mini glue dots! I also added some Kiwi Kiss corduroy brads as an after-thought and love them there!






From Diva Shannan Teubner:

Just when I thought Julee couldn't make me love another butterfly more than Fluttering By...here comes Beautiful Kindness! I've been in such a shabby-chic mood lately, and these butterflies were just perfect for that. I can see them being retro, funky, clean and simple, and elegant...versatility is everything I love in a stamp set! With 3 images and 3 sentiments, this set is definitely going to stay close to my desk. I also used a sentiment from Circular Sayings, which is a fantastic set to add to your Verve collection.



From Guest Diva Kelly Lunceford:

I don't think it is any secret how much I love butterflies. I am always on the "hunt" for a great butterfly stamp set. I couldn't be more thrilled with the new Beautiful Kindness set. It fulfills all of my requirements. Not only does it have darling butterflies, but inspiring and thoughtful sentiments. It is a set that I will reach for again and again!














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 color combination?

Sneak Preview - Practically Perfect

Are you ready for another VERVEalicious release? On Sunday, March 8th, Verve is releasing 8 new sets and 5 Plain Janes!!!! Can you stand it? Stay tuned this week to catch a peek at the new sets! Today we have a sneak preview of Practically Perfect for you!

from Diva Laura Fredrickson:

You knew when Verve introduced a baby set it would be classy and adorable and chock full of fabuous sentiments! Well that's exactly the way it is!

I chose to go with the girl and pink, since both my babies fell into that category! I pulled out some old designer paper, added pearls, flowers and Cotton Candy stickles and tied it off with pink ribbon! Don't you just love all those "girlie" things? A perfect little acknowledgement for a new little bundle of joy! Recipe: Stamps: Practically Perfect (Verve), Paper: PTI Whte, Pirouette Pink, Holiday Happenings DP, Ink: Versafine Onyx Black Accessories: Labels one (Spellbinders), Watercolour crayons & aquapainter, Pirouette Pink ribbon, dimensionals (SU), Prima Flowers, adhesive pearls (Michaels), Cotton Candy Stickles (Ranger)

from Guest Diva Jodi Collins:

Practically Perfect is my favorite set of this release!! I just adore this sassy little bunny with her big hair bow and fancy necklace and she is so much fun to color! This set is full of wonderful sentiments that just make my heart melt! I just know I will use this set over and over making cards for all the little people in my life.

from Diva Charmaine Ikach:

I thought the Practically Perfect set was not "practically" perfect, but absolutely perfect! The ADORABLE bunny images (both boy and girl bunnies) and the perfect sentiments (14 of them to be exact!) to go with the bunnies make this set a "must have" for all your baby needs. Not only is it perfect for the "welcome" and "congrats" cards you need to make, it's perfect for the "little miracle" and "praying for baby" cards too!

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 was your favorite childhood toy?