July Project Parade-Day 12

Good morning, it is Teresa.  I am luvin all the divas projects, aren't you?  I hope that you will play along with us, you know there is always prizes to be won!  I new as soon as I heard the theme this month what I wanted to do.  I do know people in the service, my Dad, other family members, and lots of people in our church have served and are still serving.  I help with doing care packages for them throughout the year.  I turned my attention to the men and woman whom I have done nothing for.

I have been wanting to donate cards to a wonderful organization, Operation Write Home.  This was the perfect timing and I must say that I kept these cards so simple because of the guidelines, but I am more proud of these than most of my other cards.  I really thought about who may receive one of these and there need to send  a note of love back home.  I hope whom ever will choose one of my cards to send home will see the effort I made to make it special!

As I mentioned there are some guidelines, it is super important that you take the time to read them in your effort to help.  You can read all about it here.  NO glitter is a huge guideline, you can read about that here.  The cards must be marked Operation Write Home on the back, I made labels on my computer.  Only A2 sized cards and the tuck of the envelopes are also important, you can read about that here and watch the video.  These ladies put forth a huge effort to stay organized and keep it uniform, lets help them help the men and woman in the service....true hero's!

I kept all of the cards similar, using Carolyn Gavin's designer paper from K & Company.  I chose it because of the fun patterns and wonderful colors, I wanted them to be light and cheery.  For the card on the left I used Always On My Mind, Blue Skies, and the tiny heart is from Wild Thing.  I used one of my favorite sketches from Jen d.  For the card on the right I used Blue Skies, Beautiful You, and Floral Whimsy, this sketch is from the Dirty Girl Challenges.   

I did not use ribbon on these cards, I wanted them to be lighter and not as bulky.  I used yarn and a crocheted flower on these two.  For these I used Always On My Mind and  Blue Skies.  The sketch for the one of the left is from a Verve Challenge way back when and the one on the right is one of Amber's Viva la Verve sketches.

I used Always On My Mind and Blue Skies for these two also.  These sketches are from the Dirty Girl Challenges and a favorite of Mercy's sketches.  I hope you like my "Hero" project and take time out of your day to thank a hero in your life!

As with all of our project parades, there are prizes!!!!

1. Play along with us and link up your new My Hero creation (posted July 12th or later) to the linky widget on the DAY ONE parade post before midnight on July 30th. One lucky stamper will win a $30.00 gift certificate to the Verve Store. Verve Stamps are not required, but we 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 parade our My Hero creations. One lucky commenter during the course of the parade (July 12 ~ July 28) will win the Verve stamp set of his or her choosing!

July Project Parade - Day 8

Happy Wednesday, Verve Fans! It's Shannan here, and I'm ready to show you my creation for the July Project Parade. I have to admit that when Jen announced this month's theme, I was pretty stumped. After looking at my stamps, I was inspired by the stamps in American Hero, so I pulled it out and got to work!


I decided to create a little box to hide some goodies in, and a matching card. Kraft, White, Real Red, and Not Quite Navy seemed like a fun combo for my little set.


I created the box with my Scor-Pal, then stamped the kraft paper with the three stars in the set in Vintage Photo Distress Ink, sponging the edges as I went. I stamped the sentiment in Walnut Stain ink on white cardstock, then stamped a second generation star image from Always on My Mind in Real Red. After sponging the edges, I matted the panel with Not Quite Navy cardstock, then popped it up on the front of my box with foam dimensionals. You can't see it, but there's a little jute handle on the box as well.


I wanted the card to be a little smaller than normal, so I created a 4 1/4" square kraft card base. For the main image panel, I stamped the frame from American Hero in Thatched Straw VersaMagic chalk ink, then stamped the sentiment in Walnut Stain Distress Ink. I thought the Not Quite Navy panel would look cool embossed with the Candy Cane Stripe embossing folder, so I matted it with a white piece to make it pop off the kraft base. To tie the card and box together, I wrapped some jute around the card, then popped the main image on top. The finishing touch was some Diamond Stickles on the star corners, which were colored with a red Copic Marker.

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As with all of our project parades, there are prizes!!!!

1. Play along with us and link up your new My Hero creation (posted July 12th or later) to the linky widget on the DAY ONE parade post before midnight on July 30th. One lucky stamper will win a $30.00 gift certificate to the Verve Store. Verve Stamps are not required, but we 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 parade our My Hero creations. One lucky commenter during the course of the parade (July 12 ~ July 28) will win the Verve stamp set of his or her choosing!

July Project Parade - Day 7

Hey there Verve fans! Jen Tapler here with Day 7 of this month's Verve Project Parade. As always, the rest of the Divas have been providing lots of fabulous inspiration so far!!

When I started thinking about this month's theme - My Hero - my thoughts initially went to my favorite girlhood hero, my amazing father. I was always the quintessential Daddy's Girl growing up and from the time I could form the words until now, if anyone asked me who my hero was, my answer has always been, without hesitation, "my Daddy, of course". Many of you know of my family's heartbreaking journey the last several years as my too-young father (58 years old) has slipped into the end stages of Alzheimer's disease and dementia. It is very unlikely that he will survive the next year. I will spare you all the gruesome details of his traumatic story and instead focus on the surprise ending of my family's saga - the character who has risen up to shine through as the real Hero throughout all of this - My Mom. The courage and strength she has shown through my Dad's illness is unreal. Don't get me wrong, she's definitely had her moments - but they don't last long. For the most part she has continued to have her characteristic optimistic, sassy attitude throughout the last few years of watching her best best friend, her partner, her lover, her husband of 37 years slip away from her - but not just slip away from her. That's the real kicker about Alzheimer's disease - you don't just lose your loved one, you have to watch them be replaced by someone else, someone altogether different - someone unappreciative, sometimes downright mean, sometimes even combative - but she's still there day after day - usually with a laugh - for a long time taking care of him herself (bathing him, changing diapers, feeding him, etc) and now making sure others are caring for him properly and just spending time with him so he's not lonely (even though he doesn't know who she is and won't know she was there). This is not how her "Golden Years" in paradise were supposed to be. This is not what they worked so hard to achieve in their early retirement. But she still does it. Because somewhere deep inside that man is the amazing father and husband she fell in love with and married, because that man is still deserving of love and respect and kindness, but in reality it's because the real Hero in our family is my Mom.

Whew. Sorry about that. I might have got a little carried away. So anyway....I wanted to make a little gift for my Mom to let her know that even though my Dad is the one who usually gets all the attention, we really love her and appreciate all she does and all she is going through and all she is about to go through as we have another difficult but necessary transition in my Dad's care coming up in August. So I put together this little "Relaxation Bucket" for her.

Ever since I can remember, my Mom has taken a nice long bubble bath at the end of the day - that's always been HER TIME, even when we were kids. She still does this today. So I included some little bath beads and bubble bath in some Martha Stewart test tube things along with a little votive candle and some of her favorite tea, all inside a little tin bucket I picked up on clearance after Easter at K-Mart.

I stamped the "Hang in there" sentiment from Always on My Mind on a small label for the candle and added a little button. I also created a tag that I attached to the tin using some Maya Road chipboard (it's actually a page from a Luggage Tag album, just cut down to make it a little shorter) and DP from the Thrift Shop line by October Afternoon. The sentiment, butterflies, notebook paper and flourish stamped on the tag are all from Blue Skies. Some stitching and scallops finished it up.

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As with all of our project parades, there are prizes!!!!

1. Play along with us and link up your new My Hero creation (posted July 12th or later) to the linky widget on the DAY ONE parade post before midnight on July 30th. One lucky stamper will win a $30.00 gift certificate to the Verve Store. Verve Stamps are not required, but we 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 parade our My Hero creations. One lucky commenter during the course of the parade (July 12 ~ July 28) will win the Verve stamp set of his or her choosing!

New Release Spotlight - Day 2!

Hello everyone, it's Teresa and I am thrilled to be able to introduce the new set Always On My Mind.  Jen d, Mercy, Sankari, and myself are bringing you the peeks for today.  This release is amazing, full of great quotes and sentiments using fantastic fonts.  Be sure to leave a comment for a chance to win this set!

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From Diva Jen d.


I just {heart} this set!  It's inspirational, caring and fun all in one.  I thought that this sentiment would make a good baby card and since baby blue decorates most of my house these days, I went ahead and made a boy{ish} card.

I used my pinked circle and star Nesties to create the focal point with the sentiment.  Each of the rectangular panels is stitched around the edge...I love doing that on baby cards!  And how about this FONT!!...oh my!  I love it and will be reaching for this set often because of it! 

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From Diva Mercy

Julee always has such a great eye for design, and always comes up with the best fonts in the whole world! This release is very whimsical and fun with lots of swirly fonts and fantastic images. Every set is a winner, but I wanted to peek one of my favorite sets called Always On My Mind.

I stamped one of the hanging elements three times in Black Ink onto a piece of PTI Cream Cardstock, then colored them with Copics Sketch Markers.  I stamped one of the sentiments in the set into the lower right corner, then added some Hot Pink Rhinestones for a little sparkle.  I reached for my October Afternoon Farm Fresh and Fly A Kite paper pads to coordinate with the colors of my little hearts.  A little stitching, distressing, numerous Dimensionals, and Spiral Punch later...you have my completed card.

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From Diva Sankari

HI Verve Fans - its Sankari here - and I simply adore this awesome release that Julee has created! The sentiments in this (like every) release are so perfect - they express exactly what is in your heart! I loved this sentiment "You're in every one of my thoughts today" - it really expresses something so heartfelt and full of love and its almost like you are sending a piece of your heart when you give this to someone.

I wanted to create a feeling of the love from my heart emanating outwards - so I created little rays and waves flowing out by curing some paper and popping it up with dimensionals - of course I had to add a little liquid pearls to embellish (what can I say - I am addicted to liquid pearls and Verve :)) I love this sentiment - and can't wait to create more cards with the beautiful stamps in this lovely set!

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From Diva Teresa


This set is a must have, but hey all Verve is a must have, don't ya think?  I adore the sentiments, they are perfect for lots of occasions.  I could not help but think about those men and woman who are serving in the Armed Forces and the family members who are back home waiting for there safe return while making this card.  I had to add the heart from Hundred Hearts, I even made it blue to symbolize the missing you.  

I used one of the sketches for the Verve Release Challenges, this is from Viva la Verve Archives May '10 Week 1.  I used Chloe's Closet designer paper from Making Memories, I stamped the sentiment and flower onto the designer paper and heat embossed them.  I added a gemstone to the center of the flower and to the blue heart.  Enjoy!

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To celebrate this new release, there are some Release Week Challenges going on over at the Verve Forum!  Not only are they a fun way to jump start your creativity, but if you complete all of them, you will be entered for a chance to win the ENTIRE VERVE JUNE RELEASE!  OH yeah, that's what I'm talking about!  :-)

Speaking of the new release, we would love for you to join us for the Release Party over at the Verve Forum this Friday (June 25th) at 9 p.m. ET!!  We will be there chatting it up, sharing projects made with the new stamps, announcing all the contest winners, and of course revealing the new sets!

Like what you’ve seen so far? Just leave a comment here on this post before 6 PM Eastern on Friday, June 25th and you’ll be put in a drawing to win this set! Winners will be announced at our release party that night.