Project Parade Day 14 - The Last Hurrah!

Have you been having fun watching the Divas kickin' it Easter style? I don't know how many times my jaw has dropped when I've tuned in over the course of the parade. Today is the last day of our parade, and I have a special little project that Guest Diva Jodi Collins made. Can you say ADORABLE? Couldn't you just pinch her DD's little rosy cheeks?

But, oh, I'm getting ahead of myself! First off I've got a winner to announce!

Vickilyn said...
These are adorable!! I still need to get some of those March sets!!

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



Okay, now back to the adorable little cheeks! Isn't this Easter frame pure CUTENESS? Jodi plans to take a photo of her daughter all dolled up on Easter morning and give it to her mom. What a perfect little gift. I absolutely love all the gorgeous little details on this project. The wavy border, the rhinestones, the ribbon, the colors, all work in perfect harmony. And that little sentiment treatment in the corner? Divine! Jodi stamped a flower from Miracles Blossom in the center and then stamped over it with the Happy Easter sentiment from Chocolate Bunnies. These are layered on some Nestabilities circle die cuts in chocolate and regal rose, and then she added little tabs of ribbon all around the back of the circle to form a flower shape.

What's In It?
Stamps: Practically Perfect, Chocolate Bunnies (sentiment) and Miracles Blossom (the flower behind the sentiment) (Verve Stamps)
Paper: Regal Rose (SU!), Chocolate Chip (SU!), Choice White (Taylored Expressions), Sweet Always Designer Series Paper (SU!)
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black
Accessories: Wood Frame (Darice), Circle and Scallop Circle Nestabilities (Spellbinders), Valet Ribbon Originals (SU!), Regal Rose Grosgrain Ribbon (SU!), Rhinestones (unknown), Dotted Wave Punch (EK Success), Copic Markers and Dimensionals

Today is the last day of the parade, so that means it's the last day for all you procrastinators (like me!) to get your inner Diva on and win some VERVE! One lucky participant will 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 (that's tonight!) Verve Stamps are not required, but we do LOVE to see 'em if you got 'em!

Thanks so much for visiting us for another parade! We had a blast and hope you did too! Stay tuned on Monday for a very special Verve announcement, plus the winner of the Project Parade drawing!

Project Parade Day 13 - Cupcakes!

Hey everyone, it's Julee here. I've been enjoying this parade so much! I just can't believe the amazing projects the Divas have come up with. Aren't they great? Don't forget that your Egg-stra Special Spring projects or cards are due Saturday, April 4 by 8PM Mountain. {Click here} to link up your creation!

Today's scrumptious project comes from Guest Diva Kelly Lunceford. I didn't think I could love cupcakes any more than I already do until I saw Kelly's awesome project! Here's a little bit about her adorable cupcake toppers in her own words...




As I thought about what I would be making for the Project Parade, my mind was racing. I couldn't decide on the *perfect* project until I was at the grocery store last week on the Easter aisle. I saw the selection of cupcake liners, sprinkles and frosting and the light bulb went on! Cupcakes! Who doesn't love cupcakes?

I have fallen in love with all of the new images from the March release, so I thought it would be fun to combine a few of them for a fun Easter presentation. I used images from the Chocolate Bunnies set, Floral Symphony and Miracles Blossom. I have been making my own cupcake toppers for years now, partly because they are so easy and I love how I can make everything coordinate! Who wouldn't love a plate full of delicious cupcakes with delightful Easter toppers? They only take a little bit of time, but the recipient will know how much they are loved!



You can use toothpicks or sucker sticks, depending on how tall you would like them. I chose to use toothpicks, because the designs I was using are delicate and small. I stamped the various images onto white cardstock using Palette Noir ink. Each image was then colored with an assortment of Copic and Prismacolor markers. Once I had them all colored, I punched them out with various punches. I kept the color palette simple and springy for a cohesive presentation.



The toothpicks are adhered to the back of each topper using a small piece of clear tape. Once you have your cupcakes frosted and sprinkled, simply add your toppers. I chose to use lemon cake and lemon frosting with a simple nest of coconut topped with a trio of chocolate eggs. Yummy! I hope you have fun personalizing your Easter festivities this year!

So have you made your Egg-Stra Special creation yet??? Play along with us 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, so don't be late! Verve Stamps are not required, but we do LOVE to see 'em if you've got 'em!

And we'll be picking one more random commenter during the parade who will win her choice of any Verve Stamps set. So if you see a project you like, be sure to leave some love! :) Good luck and have FUN!

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 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 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.

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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