Time Out Challenge

Hi friends! Verve is sponsoring Time Out Challenges this go round, and it's a lovely little excuse to CASE a fabulous card by Jenny Mullins.  There's a Verve set of choice up for grabs for a lucky participant, so be sure to head on over to Time Out and play along.  Not to mention take a fun little stroll through the post to see all the gorgeous Verve cards their design team has made!  It's truly a treat.

Here's the card we're CASE-ing.  Take your inspirations from the the layout, the colors, the theme, using dies, sponging... there are so many possibilities.

Time Out Challenge #79  CASE this card by Jenny

I've been under the weather with a pretty miserable sinus infection the past couple weeks and got mixed up and posted my take on the challenge over on my blog, Poetic Artistry.  So head on over there to read a bit more about the process that resulted in this sunny little CASE of Jenny's card. Then grab your stamps and make something to link up for this fun challenge!  I can't wait to see what you create.

January Diva Dare ~ Day 4

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Hello everyone, Tosh here, and it's my turn to share with you my interpretation of this months Diva Dare Theme, Baby Love, which is as follows:

We dare you to make a card, project, layout, or whatever fits your stamping style using this month's theme - Baby Love! The baby part could be for a new little someone...or a special someone! Be sure to look for the details on how you can win some new Verve goodies at the end of this post!

Well, I have two children. One is a college Junior out of state, and my baby girl is going out of state to college also: twice as far I might add. *sniff* Anyway, she has informed me that she would like a lot of cards sent her way while she's there, and that got me to thinking. Why not make her an encouragement box filled with 6 magnets that she can alternately display on her refrigerator depending on her mood. This is what I came up with:

First of all, here's what the box looks like. It's just a paper mache box painted with white acrylic paint. The dp is all from Twinkle, Twinkle Little Boy (MME) shhhhh...don't tell her I used boy paper. She likes blues/greens, and this paper fit perfectly. *grin*

The sides each have a panel using the Classy Label and Embossed Oval Verve Cut Above Dies. I won't inundate you with photos of each side because they all look the same with a different sentiment in the center: "Look out World" and "You Go Girl" - To the Moon, "Hugs" - Love Notes, "You Rock" - Sweet Treats


I added some glitter around the frame and to the swirls, along with the hearts for a bit of sparkle.

Here's a look at the top.
The flower was made with the Tattered Florals Tim Holtz die and some core'dinations paper. Some Frosted Lace Stickles and a pearl brad were added to bling it up a bit too.

The little pick was made with a Tim Holtz idea-ology Memo pin, Labels 5 and Classic Oval Nestabilities, and the Butterfly is from the Verve set Blue Skies. The "XOXO" is from the Love Notes set.

Here's a look at all the magnets I included inside the box. The Verve stamp sets used were:
Blue Skies, Feel the Sun, To Risk, Psalm 121:1-2, Hebrews 11:1, 1 Peter 5:7, I also used Tim Holtz's Styled Labels Dies for the shapes, Sizzix Scribbles Swirls, and chipboard to make the magnets sturdier.

Stamps: Sweet Treats, To the Moon, Love Notes, Blue Skies, Feel the Sun, To Risk, Psalm 121:1-2, Hebrews 11:1, 1 Peter 5:7
Paper: Twinkle, Twinkle Little Boy (My Mind's Eye), Brown and White (PTI), core'dinations
Ink: Onyx Black and Vintage Sepia (Versafine), Red Brick (Versamagic)
Accessories: Dies: Classy Label and Embossed Oval (Verve), Labels 5 Classic Oval and Rectangle (Spellbinders), Styled Labels and Tattered Florals (Tim Holtz Alterations - Sizzix), Scribbles Swirls (Sizzix), Copics, Star Dust and Frosted Lace Stickles, Quickie Glue Pen, Glitter, Rhinestones (Kaisercraft), Memo Pins (Tim Holtz Idea-ology), Pearl Brad, Chipboard, Buttons (PTI), Dimensional Tape, Paper Doilies, Organza Ribbon, Lace

That's it for my project. I can't wait to give it too my daughter. A lot of love went into it, and hopefully she'll think of that every time she looks at it while away.

So......will you answer the dare? If so, here are some details:

1. Play along with us and link up your new Baby Love creation (posted January 14th or later) to the linky widget on the DAY ONE Diva Dare post before midnight MST on January 29th. 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 Baby Love creations. One lucky commenter will win the Verve stamp set of his or her choosing! Winners will be announced on Monday, January 31st right here on the Verve blog.

So go ahead and show us your Baby Love creations...we DARE you!

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 11

Hello Verve fans!

Today it is my turn, Lynda, to show you my project for this months Project Parade!!! If you haven't been keeping up with the Diva's AMAZING projects, you can just scroll down here on the Verve blog and find TONS of inspiring projects! The theme this month is My Hero. I have to say, I had a hard time at first with the theme because I don't have any family members or close friends that are serving in the Military. Then I started to think outside the box and discovered that I DO have a hero in my life even though he doesn't serve in the military, he is a hero in my eyes as well as the City of Salinas where he is a police officer.

My Hero is my brother who is an amazing person, father, friend, etc... He is only 16 months older than me and I have to say, we have ALWAYS been close. Sure, we fought as all siblings do but I can't remember him EVER being hateful or mean to me or anyone. Our Mom, who we both loved with all our hearts, died when I was 18 and Dave was 19. This was a very difficult time for us but if anything, it brought us even closer.

He had always wanted to be a Police Officer and pursued that dream after we lost our Mom and has been serving ever since. I don't know if you all watch Cops but my kids love it so we watch it quite often. I don't know HOW these officers have the patience to deal with some of the situations they have to deal with. I truly feel that ALL Police Officers are Hero's and should be treated as such!

I actually already sent my project to Dave and he should receive it today!!! He loves Chocolate Chip cookies and Starbucks so it would only seem right to incorporate the two in to my project today!

The bag is actually a coffee bag and is from PTI. I stamped the stars from Verve's American Hero, directly on the bag using Snow White ink from PTI. The DP is from Making Memories Just Chillin' Collection. To make the window, I layered two different sizes from the Labels One Nesties. The clear acetate part was already there so I didn' t need to add anything. The large stars were punched using my SU! punch and on the gift card holder. I also used the small star punch on the gift card holder.

I used the same EK Success border punch on both the bag and gift card holder. I added the flourish, from Blue Skies stamp set, below the star using Antique Linen ink and then added some Zva clear rhinestones. The ribbon at the top is from May Arts.

I used the same products on the gift card holder except I added the sentiment from Verve's One Person stamp set and was stamped on another piece of paper from the same collection using Cocoa Momento ink. You can't see it but I added a silver star eyelet which is under where the tag is located.

Here is a picture of the inside ~

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 10

A great big happy Friday, Verve fans!  It's Laurie here, and I'm excited to share with you my project for this month's Project Parade!  The theme this month, My Hero, poses the perfect opportunity to create a little "sumpin', sumpin'" for the people that inspire others by their actions and character...at least in my opinion!!

Have you ever been around someone, even for a very short time, and immediately feel better?  The friend that I made this gift ensemble for is like that!  Not only is she inspiring to me by what she had accomplished, but the depth of character she has is remarkable!  I so want to be like her when I grow up!

Nothing says "you're awesome" quite like chocolate, don't you think?  {{grin}}  A quick bow and flower make the perfect packaging for this over-sized chocolate bar.

For my card, I combined the notebook and flourish image from the Blue Skies set with one of the sentiments from the American Hero set.   I just LOVE how the sentiments from American Hero and Always on My Mind fit into the the AWESOME little notebook image (from the Blue Skies set)!  :-)

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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 9

Hi Everyone! Sankari here - and what a wonderful theme we have this month in creating our projects: My Hero! This project could be about anyone you see as a hero, from someone in the service, a family member or a friend. It was a suprisingly difficult theme to do a project for because there are so many people around me who are my heroes - who inspire me to be a better person.

One person who is one of my biggest heroes is one of my bestest friends - she has gone through many challenges recently and has always faced them with such a positive spirt and a smile - always an inspiration. The past few weeks has been a rough one for her and her family and I wanted to create for her something special - and for her never to forget how strong she is and how brave she is as she journeys through this intense time. This quote that Julee has in the stamp set "Blue Skies" completely inspired me to create this project for her: "Courage doesn't always roar, Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying "I will try again tomorrow"." What a beautiful quote - and to me this is really what makes someone a hero - that even when life deals you cards that are tough and you want to give up and run away - instead - you quietly face your fears and the present circumstances. Just to be like this requires bravery and courage - and that to me is heroic. And this is how my friend is - every single day - I totally admire and love her to the very core. So I wanted to create for her something special and something that she can look at to remember her strength. I created a little gift set - a card and little magnet diorama - that she can put on her fridge/bulletin board with the "Blue Skies" stamp set:

The magnet diorama was created using a see through favor box from Martha Stewart (the box measures 2-3/4"x 1-1/4"). I covered the box with some Flower Child papers from Bo Bunny and created a little scene for the gorgeous butterfly in this stamp set which I popped up on dimensionals so that it seems like it is fluttering in the summery fields. I stamped and cut out the word "Courage" twice and adhered it to the sides of the box and finished it with a little chipboard, bling and ribbon.

The last step was adding a some strips of magnets to the back.

I created the card using this weeks beautiful Mojo 148 sketch designed by the beautiful Julee :) I simply adore adore adore the notebook stamp in this set, and created a little scalloped border and little chipboard on the bottom. I stamped the smaller butterfly and popped it up on the upper corner and finally added some liquid pearls (of course :)

I can't wait to give this to her - her heart is simply golden and she is simply my hero! I loved making this project for her - because I feel so grateful to have such a best friend who constantly inspires me. Like every stamp set, Julee always creates such gorgeousness and makes it so super easy to create the perfect card for that someone special :)

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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 1!

Hi there Verve fans!  Laurie here, and I'm SO excited to be able to kick off this month's new stamp previews!!  I should just start off by telling you all to hold on to your seats, because these new stamps will blow you away!!  In true Verve form, Julee has created new sets that are encouraging, classy, & unique!

Today, some of the Divas will be sharing projects made with the new Blue Skies set!  Along with several uplifting sentiments and quotes, this set of 16 has beautiful butterflies, both fancy and bold flourishes, and a fun new way to display all of it! Read on, for some delicious eye candy and a chance to win this set!
 

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From Diva Lynda

I’m SO excited to be sharing a sneak peek with you today using Verve’s NEW Blue Skies stamp set!! Let me say that you are going to LOVE this set! It includes 16 stamps and is SO versatile. I used the small butterfly and notebook (is it not the cutest thing EVER?!?!?). The stamp already layers the pages so I stamped the notebook twice, once on Basic Grey Kraft paper and then again on Select White. I cut just the top sheet from the Kraft Paper and then I cut out the entire white notebook and adhered the Kraft piece on top. I then added 3 jump rings for the 3 ring binder look! Julee has DEFINITELY done it again with the sentiments. The Courage sentiment I used here is amazing and believe me, there are more amazing sentiments included in this set!

I used some decorative Pink Paislee paper to mat the book as well as Select White and Dark Chocolate. The butterfly was stamped on Select White using Cocoa Momento and then colored using a blender pen and Raspberry Fizz ink pad. The rhinestone flourish is from Zva and the decorative brad is from Basic Grey. I also added some Raspberry Fizz CS!

I hope you enjoy the rest of the sneak peeks this week! Have a great day! ~Lynda

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From Diva Shannan

Good morning, y'all! I hope you're excited to see the new sets that Julee has for you this month...you'll love them, I'm sure of it! I had to use this quote for my first project with Blue Skies...it was one that I requested, and I couldn't have imagined it any better!

I paired the sentiment with one of the flourishes from the set, overstamped in Antique Linen Distress Ink. I also stamped the small butterfly in Tea Dye, colored it with Copics, and cut it out to "fly" off the edge of the card. I had to cover it with Stickles, of course! Some October Afternoon paper and silk ribbon were the perfect balance of shabby and chic, and I finished everything off with some sponging with various Distress Inks. Now it's ready to send to someone who I know could use a lift!

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From Diva Laurie

I was trying to be more "professional" in my description at the beginning of this post, but now I get to tell you in my own words what I think of this set!  AH-MAZING!!  I flipped when I saw this set!  For real.  Literally flipped!  I mean, just LOOK at that notebook page!!  Oh, and the flourishes and butterflies....{{{HUGE happy sigh}}}!  Honestly, I can't wait for you all to see this set!! 

For me, this card was all about that super cute notebook page image!!  Honestly, I was so giddy stamping with it, I barely noticed what other goodies I was adding to me card!  ((giggle))  I tried out some new Bo Bunny patterned paper using some "new for me" colors.  At first I thought the notebook page got a little washed out by the busy pattern (and since my card was ALL about the notebook page, that wouldn't do LOL!), so I threw on a piece of embossed vellum cardstock.  A few buttons, some ribbon and lace, and one heart later my card was finished!  :-)

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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.