June 2014 Diva Dare-Day 3

A Man's World - June Diva Dare

Welcome to June's Diva Dare!  It's Charmaine here with Day 3 of our June Dare, which is entitled A Man's World.  This month we're daring you to create a stamped card or project with a masculine theme.

Masculine cards don't always come easy to me since I love pretty ribbon and bling.  It's easier for me to create a masculine card with no embellishments because then I'm not tempted with those girly embellishments!  ;)  For my card I used the  Wonderful Marvelous set along with papers from the Down By the Shore Collection from Fancy Pants Designs.

I used a polka dot embossing folder to counter the stripes in the paper.  I also used a few Verve dies for my card:  Starry Die,  the Flag It Die Set and the Award Banner Trim Die.  Instead of ribbon, I used some hemp cording to make it a little more manly!  :)   

Two ways to win prizes for double the fun!

Win a $40 gift voucher to Verve! Take our A Man's World dare and link up your card to be eligible to win.  Entries must be masculine in theme, posted 6/6 or later, include at least one Verve product and be linked up to the linky widget by 8pm Mountain on 6/25/14.  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 Verve set of your choice! For another chance to win some new Verve, leave a little comment love on our design team's A Man's World 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 June 25, 2014.

Winners will be announced on June 26, 2014.

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

May 2014 Diva Dare - Day 6

"Petals and Wings" - May Diva Dare

Welcome to May's Diva Dare!  In honor of the newest release, this month's Dare is entitled "Petals and Wings".    

What we're daring you to do this month is create a card with both a flower and a butterfly on it. 

Here's my take on this month's Diva Dare!  A few flowers & a lots of butterflies, as well!

I couldn't help but use the brand-spankin' new stamp set Petals & Wings along with the coordinating dies, A Cut Above Wings & Petals Die Set for this fun challenge!  A few banner tails from the Award Banner Trim Die and Pastel Sequins Mix make a splash to finish the card!

Deadline to link your cards is 8PM Mountain on Wednesday, May 21st.  Entries must be posted 5/2 or later, include at least one Verve product, both a flower and a butterfly, and be linked up to the linky widget by 8pm Mountain on 5/21/14.   

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

Win a $40 Gift voucher to Verve Stamps! Take our "Petals and Wings" Dare and link up your card (created May 2nd 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 "Petals and Wings" 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 May 21, 2014.

Winners will be announced on May 22, 2014. 

I was additionally inspired by Janelle's fabulous Viva la Verve sketch this week!  LOVE the angled panel and trio of accents...perfect for "petals and/or wings!"

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

January 2014 Diva Dare - Day 6

"Smitten", January Diva Dare

Hello Verve Daresters! Janelle here posting yesterday's Day 5 on the weekend. For some reason I thought there was one more day in the school week or apparently two Friday's this week. My apologies for leaving you all waiting for the post, but now you can relax on this weekend day and get ready to work your mojo for the dare.  Here we go.

What we're daring you to do this month is to make a card or project with a heart, whether it's for the one you love, a sweet Valentine or a lunch note for a child.  Let's get smitten! 

I've just returned from my hometown where I was influenced this time by my brother's rench style. (That's pronounced "ranch" for us city folks.) It's only fitting then that my mojo would will me to pull together this style of card. 

I'm using Verve that is on sale right now like the Chevron Love Stamp Set (on sale!), ribbon from the Red White and Beautiful Ribbon Collection, and Jotted Heart Die. Just a couple more Verve goodies for my card, Award Banner Trim Die and Banner Bundle Die Set, before roping in the design. Hee-hee.

Yes, I did make a lasso for the heart. It just had to be done.

Now it's your turn!

Deadline to link your cards is 8PM Mountain on Wednesday, January 22nd.  Entries must be posted 1/3 or later, include at least one Verve product, include a heart, and be linked up to the linky widget by 8pm Mountain on 1/22/14.  

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

Win a $40 Gift voucher to Verve Stamps! Take our "Smitten" Dare and link up your card (created January 3rd 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 "Smitten" 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 January 22, 2014.

Winners will be announced on January 23, 2014. 

December Diva Dare ~ Day 11

"Playing Favorites", December Diva Dare

Welcome to the last Diva Dare of 2013!  This month's Dare is entitled "Playing Favorites" and it is a fun one indeed!

What we're daring you to do this month is to post your favorite Verve Stamps 2013 creation OR make a new card using your favorite Verve stamp set.  

Hi Verve Fans!  It's Charmaine here and I'm excited to bring you Day 11 of this month's Diva Dare.  All of the Divas have been posting their favorite Verve creations of the year, but it would take me too long to decide which ones are my favorite!  I used this week's Mojo Monday Sketch and created a new card using a favorite Verve set!   I have LOTS of favorite Verve sets, but Verve sentiments have always been my fave.  Out of all of the sentiment sets at Verve, Words of Wisdom is probably the one I grab most.  I love the sentiments and I adore the fonts.  As I was looking through past Verve creations, I realized that I also have the most cards using this particular sentiment as well!!  So, I guess I really do have a single favorite!  LOL  This sentiment just makes me happy and is a great reminder for me to "not sweat the small stuff"!  The papers are from the Here and Now Collection from Echo Park. This card also uses the Award Banner Trim Die. 

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

1. Your three favorite Verve products--My three favorite Verve products are any of the ribbons, probably the Classy Label Die (since I seem to use that a lot) and I'm going to go vague and say Verve sentiments!  :) 

2. Your current go-to color combination--I don't really have a go-to color combination.  I tend to always use bright, happy colors and that color combination really depends on the patterned paper set I'm using. 

3. Your current go-to embellishment--I use Verve's seam binding ribbon A LOT!!  I just LOVE it!  I don't usually add a ton of embellishments to a card, but if I do add something, it's usually the seam binding!

4. Your favorite stamping or organizational tool--my favorite stamping tool would probably be my Big Shot.  I use it for every card I make whether I'm embossing something or diecutting.  Couldn't live without it!  ;)

5. Your favorite treat--I don't eat while stamping.  I never have.  When I'm stamping I'm usually so focused on what I'm creating I can't even think about eating.  I've tried to bring my coffee into the studio with me when I stamp first thing in the morning, but it ends up getting cold because I forget about it!  LOL

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 on Day 1 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! 

December Diva Dare-Day 8

Welcome to the last Diva Dare of 2013!  This month's Dare is entitled "Playing Favorites"and it is a fun one indeed! 

What we're daring you to do this month is to post your favorite Verve Stamps 2013 creation OR make a new card using your favorite Verve stamp set. 

Janelle is in the Dare seat today and by the end of my post I'll have taken over Marisa's spot in the Diva time-out chair. Let's see how I get there with my favorite creation.......s.

Julee gave us chevrons that made my heart twitterpated with new images and previously release Verve dies.

Chevron Love, Heart Quartet die set, Jotted Heart die, All Aflutter die set, Scalloped Trio Trim die set, Award Banner Trim die and Banner Bundle die set

How about flowers that put you in a dream world? Verve's Poppy stamps and coordinating dies this year are my dreamy state.

Poppy Birthday and Build A Poppy die set

Verve's ever-loving and jaw-dropping sentiments. 

Let It Be

Abundance of verses and new luscious ribbon! Remember all those Plain Janes are now in Scripture and Faith Medley sets! Woo-hoo!

Surely Goodness, Goodness Flowers die set, Flag It die set and Olive Green ribbon

As a fun extra this month, the Divas are answering "The Diva Fab Five Questionnaire".  You can read my answers below...

What are your three favorite Verve products? Plain Janes, Sentiments and flowers! Plain Jane stamps are what first drew me into the blissful world of Verve Stamps. I was infatuated with them enough to make a verse box for my mom one year. Verve sentiments, flowers? Need I say anything more?

What is your current go-to color combo? I'm pretty sure my color combo is kaleidoscope wrapped up with kraft. If it's a bright contrast and toned down with kraft somewhere, I'm good.

What is your current go-to embellishment?  Verve Seam Binding Ribbon. It's the easiest thing in the world to make into bows and comes in just the right color... always.

What is your favorite stamping or organizational tool? Oh the mention of organization is giving me hives right now so I'll stick with my Tombow Liquid Glue. It's the only thing that has been holding all my cards together.

What is your favorite treat to eat while stamping? Chocolate with a mug of coffee or tea. Allegedly it's been said that I can go through a container of chocolate covered almonds within a week when I'm deep in the crafting studio. I'll neither confirm nor deny that statement.

And now it's your turn to show us your favorite, if you can contain yourself to just one, Verve card from 2013 or a new creation using a favorite Verve set!  

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 a 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.

December Diva Dare - Day 3

"Playing Favorites", December Diva Dare

Welcome to the last Diva Dare of 2013!  This month's Dare is entitled "Playing Favorites" and it is a fun one indeed!

What we're daring you to do this month is to post your favorite Verve Stamps 2013 creation OR make a new card using your favorite Verve stamp set.  

Stacey here!  I'm having ball as the Fall/Winter Guest Designer here at Verve!   Thanks a "latte," Julee, for having me here for the holiday season...it has been a thrill to work with you, your amazing team and those fabulous Verve goodies!

Here are a few other favorite projects that I've created this year using Verve goodness!

All Things

Goodness of Life

Cup of Cheer

Remembering You

Merry Christmas

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

What are your three favorite Verve products?

Tough question!  There are so many favorite Verve products that I can't possible choose only three!  I'll choose three favorite Verve products that first come to mind...they are Holiday Treats (of course), Award Banner Trim Die (use it on almost every Verve creation), and the Sweet Scallop Tag (a fantastic basic tag).

What is your current go-to color combo?

I LOVE color/pattern, bold and contrasting color/pattern!  I adore aqua, kraft and pink together...but notice there's an additional splash or coral on my card today, too!  There are so many fabulous color combinations, I have several favorite combos?!  Many times, I take a 6x6 paper pad and find a yummy combination of color and pattern right from there!  The coordinating papers take some of the guess work out of putting colors together.  

What is your current go-to embellishment?
I use loads of SEQUINS and TWINE...so, you can imagine how excited I was when Verve began offering their own sequins!  Sequins and twine are definitely my go-to embellishments these days!  Just a few months ago, my answer would have been seam binding and buttons...but, I still LOVE them, too!

What is your favorite stamping or organizational tool?

I don't think I could live without my Fiskars Paper Cutter, My Scor-Pal and Big Shot (though, I just bought a Vegabond and can't wait to see if I love it).

What is your favorite treat to eat while stamping? 

I don't usually snack on anything while I'm creating, but I do enjoy a cup of coffee with french vanilla creamer!

My card features those coffee/latte cups from one of my favorite stamp sets, Holiday Treats.  and the coordinating Cup of Cheer Die Set!  I adore the chevron rectangle image that fits snuggly into the Tagged Rectangle Die!  The Award Banner Trim Die peeks out from behind the focal panel and there's a sprinkling of the delicate Pastel Sequins Mix.

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! -

November Diva Dare ~ Day 9

"Shape Up", November Diva Dare

What day is it? It's Day NINE of our Dare and I'm so excited to share how I took the challenge this month.

What we're daring you to do is to create a card or project including a common shape.  For example:  hexagons, chevrons, arrows, triangles, hearts, stars etc.  Lots of fun ways you can go with this dare and I can't wait to see what you create!

For me the shape of a coffee take-out cup is pretty common and I'm in the mind set for money gift card holders, so I've combined those two for my take on the dare to "Shape Up".

It helps that my inspiration is the new Holiday Treats stamp set and it's Cup of Cheer coordinating die set and I loved the idea of the card holder in the same shape as a take-out coffee cup. I used my Pazzles Inspiration Cutter and one of the Library cutting files to make the card base and cut out the Bundled Up pattern paper by Crate Paper. Then it was time to embellish with Verve goodness.

I stamped the chevron tag and gorgeous "From Our House to Yours" sentiment from the stamp set in Crumb Cake then die cut the tag out with the Tagged Rectangle Die. A flag makes for a more festive look so I added a second "Have a Cup of Cheer" sentiment and cut it out with the Flag It Die Set.

This all sits on top of the sleeve over the cup shaped card base and that is even Verve embellished with the Award Banner Trim Die and a bow made with Grapefruit color seam binding ribbon from Truly Madly Deeply Ribbon Collection.

Love the chevron latte cup a whole "latte"! Stamped in Garden Green the latte cup is die cut out using the coordinating A Cut Above, Cup of Cheer Die Set

Add a sleeve for a gift card or money and there's still enough room for a personal note.

That's it from me! Now here's the details to get your Dare in shape.

Deadline to link your cards is 8PM Mountain on Wednesday, November 27th.  Entries must be new (posted 11/8 or later), include at least one Verve product, include a common shape, and be linked up to the linky widget by 8pm Mountain on 11/27/13. 

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

Win a $40 Gift voucher to Verve Stamps! Take our "Shape Up" Dare and link up your card (created November 8th 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 "Shape Up" 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 November 27, 2013.

Winners will be announced on November 28, 2013.