May 2014 Diva Dare - Day 7

"Petals and Wings" - May Diva Dare

 

Welcome to Day 7 of May's Diva Dare!  In honour 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!  It's getting close to the end of the school year so I had to sneak in something from Teachers Count to go along with the flowers and butterflies!

 

Our school secretary asked me to make a special card for a retiring high school counselor.  I'm always excited to make teacher/educator cards because it means I can ink up Teachers Count again!  My inspiration started with the chalkboard paper and then I started adding notebook and ledger paper to the layers.  Primary colours seemed the perfect palette for the Petals & Wings flowers and the So Fluttery butterfly.  A plaid Pennant Trim Die banner, a splash of green
Pastel Polka Ribbon Collection, and a sweet mini bulldog clip makes this card recipient ready!

 

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!  

 

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

September Diva Dare - Day 7

Hello Verve fans!  Christyne here, sharing with you today how I answered this month's Diva Dare! 

So what we're daring you to create this month is a card or project using inspiration from a tic-tac-toe board. For example: x’s and o’s, hugs & kisses, squares, circles, grids, you get the idea. 

Wow, this month's Diva Dare was a bit of a challenge for me.  I decided to use Verve's So Fluttery stamp set with all of those uplifting, floating sentiments.  Using Verve's Mini Classy Labels dies and Mini Vintage Oval dies, I was able to combine these sentiments into my stitched tic-tac-toe grid along with some of the adorable butterflies from this set.  I added some touches of velum in my grid as well as behind my butterflies using the Flutterby die. Finally, pearl and glittery embellishments were added for some bling!!

I hope your creative juices are flowing for this dare!   Here's some info on how you can play along:

Deadline to link your cards is 8PM Mountain on Wednesday, September 25th.  Entries must be new (posted 9/6 or later), include at least one Verve product, include inspiration from a tic-tac-toe board, and be linked up to the linky widget by 8pm Mountain on 9/25/13.

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

Win a $40 Gift voucher to Verve Stamps! Take our "Tic-Tac-Toe" Dare and link up your card (created September 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 "Tic-Tac-Toe" 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 September 25, 2013.

You can link up your take on the dare here.

Winners will be announced on September 26, 2013.

April Diva Dare - Day 12

Hi Verve fans!  I'm here wrapping up this month's Diva Dare mash-up of Charmaine and Marisa.  If you haven't played along you still have until Wednesday, May 1 to join in the fun for a chance to win some new Verve!  I'll add the linky form to the bottom of this post so it will be easy to find when you come back to link up. {grin}  And don't forget there's a comment prize picked from all the comments along the Diva Dare blog posts!  You can find links to each post in the series over on the sidebar. -->

For my little homage to Charmaine, I picked an embossing folder (which I'm pretty sure Charmaine has enabled me to buy every single one in my collection!) and a clean fun layout, with lots of white space and contrasting bold colors.  For Marisa, I went with a butterfly die, some super flowery paper, a fun little bow and an angled square because she's learning to embrace tilted panels so well!  {grin}.

The butterfly was the start to my card, stamping the butterfly from So Fluttery in gumball green and cutting out with the Flutterby Die.  I've been on a washi kick lately, so I adhered a fun colorful bity of it to a patterned paper square, doodled a little frame around it and stamped the hello sentiment from Remember This directly on the tape in archival ink.  The ribbon is from SU! and I added a button, twine and a fun little stick pin for embellishment.  Liquid pearls and some rhinestones finish my accents and the card base is embossed in chevron for just a hint of texture.

All of the stamps and dies I've used on today's card are on sale!  If you haven't seen it, be sure to check out the April SALE going on at Verve through the end of this month!  There's a whole bunch of stamps & dies marked 10 - 30% off! 
   
Enabler's List
Stamps: So Fluttery, Remember This (Verve Stamps)
Paper: On Trend (Crate Paper), Gumball Green (SU!), white
Ink: Black, Gumball Green (SU!)
Accessories:  Flutterby Die (A Cut Above by VERVE), Classic & Scallop Square Nestabilities (Spellbinders), ribbon & button, Chevron embossing folder (SU!), white linen thread (TCP), rhinestones (My Mind's Eye), liquid pearls (Ranger), crystal clear stick pin (Pizzazz Aplenty)

And as a little re-cap here are two ways you can win some shiny new Verve! 

1. Win a $40 Verve gift certificate! Play along with our March Diva Dare and link up your creation to the linky widget entry form.  A winner will be chosen by random draw. To be eligible, your entry must:
• Be a new creation - posted April 12th or later.
• Be a card or project using bright colours and having a flower and/or butterfly (or other die shape) as your focal point.
• Use at least one Verve product.
• Be added to the linky widget before 5pm Mountain on Wednesday, May 1.
2. Win a Verve set of your choosing! Leave a little shout-out for the Divas in the comments section as we post our answers to this month's dare weekdays through April 29th.  A random comment winner will be chosen from all the comments over the course of the Dare.
3. Winners will be announced on Friday, May 3rd.

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

April Diva Dare ~ Day 10

Hey there!! Amber here with the next Diva Dare project! Have you been hopping along with us each day so far? Aren't the projects amazing? I love what these Diva's pull out of their sleeves every month, they're truly amazing!!

This month, we are being inspired by two of our Divas - Marisa and Charmaine and our theme for the month is "Bright Blooms and Butterflies"!  Think bright colors, flowers, butterflies...basically all of my favorite things, ha! Add some ribbon and some bling and I'm a happy girl:)

I have a little bit of all of our challenge requirements on this fun card! I had so much fun with it, just stampin', die cuttin, and glueing away!! The sentiment and flowers are from Surely Goodness. I stamped the sentiment in Melon Mambo ink on a banner cut out using my Banner Bundle Die Set. I cut some flowers out with the Goodness Flowers die set and stamped the coordinating flowers from Surely Goodness. The leaves are from Bloom and Grow and cut out with the Elegant Leaves die. You can also see where I used the scalloped heart border die from the Scalloped Trim Trio die, SUCH a fun die!! The butterfly is from So Fluttery and is cut out with the coordinating Flutterby die.

Well that's it from me! Want details on how you can win BIG??? 

1. Win a $40 Verve gift certificate! Play along with our March Diva Dare and link up your creation to the linky widget entry form.  A winner will be chosen by random draw. To be eligible, your entry must:
• Be a new creation - posted April 12th or later.
• Be a card or project using bright colours and having a flower and/or butterfly (or other die shape) as your focal point.
• Use at least one Verve product.
• Be added to the linky widget before 5pm Mountain on Wednesday, May 1.
2. Win a Verve set of your choosing! Leave a little shout-out for the Divas in the comments section as we post our answers to this month's dare weekdays through April 29th.  A random comment winner will be chosen from all the comments over the course of the Dare.
3. Winners will be announced on Friday, May 3rd.

April Diva Dare - Day 8

Hey there, Diva Dare fans! It's such a fun challenge this month with our Diva duo Charmaine and Marisa to look to for inspiration. How have you been dared in the challenge so far? It's a delightful combination with these two talented Divas and this is how I took the dare.

It all started with the trim. I tell ya my Scalloped Trim Trio Die Set has been missing in action so when I found it just in time for today, the rest of my card was wrapped around it. I'm so happy to have my Trim Trio back. I pulled out some pattern paper from the Miss Caroline Dolled Up paper pad by My Mind's Eye and layered it with some Night of Navy cardstock. The papers were layered and paper pierced where I then added my two Circle Trim dies. {happy grin}

The largest die from the Banner Bundle Set was used for the sentiment panel stamped in Tuxedo Black from the Surely Goodness Set. The So Fluttery butterfly is also stamped in Tuxedo Black and colored with Copic markers then fussy cut out. The next part is a little silly. I wanted to test out the flowers from the Loopy Blooms Die Set so I cut them out from white copy paper. I like the thin look to them and added enamel dots from the MME Honey Love set. I added the twine last, navigating all the flowers like a butterfly and strategically gluing it down in three spots. My card is definitely dolled up. 

My card is inspired by the Mojo Monday sketch 290 and loosely resembles it because those flowers and butterfly had a mind of their own.

Now it's time for you to take this dare to your crafty space and you know if you do there are two ways you can win some shiny new Verve!  Yay!

1. Win a $40 Verve gift certificate! Play along with our March Diva Dare and link up your creation to the linky widget entry form.  A winner will be chosen by random draw. To be eligible, your entry must:
• Be a new creation - posted April 12th or later.
• Be a card or project using bright colours and having a flower and/or butterfly (or other die shape) as your focal point.
• Use at least one Verve product.
• Be added to the linky widget before 5pm Mountain on Wednesday, May 1.
2. Win a Verve set of your choosing! Leave a little shout-out for the Divas in the comments section as we post our answers to this month's dare weekdays through April 29th.  A random comment winner will be chosen from all the comments over the course of the Dare.
3. Winners will be announced on Friday, May 3rd.

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

April Diva Dare - Day 7

Hey there everyone, Christyne here on this wonderful Monday morning bringing you some inspiration for this this month's Diva Dare over at Verve.  During April we are featuring the styles of Diva Charmaine (Oodabug Alley) and Diva Marisa (Rosemary Reflections).  Combining the cheerful, bright colors of Charmaine and the butterflies of Marisa'a work, we arrive at a "Bright Blooms and Butterflies" theme.  

To start my card, I decided to use the My Mind's Eye - Happer paper collection because the little bugs reminded my of Charmaine's blog theme and this paper is very "bright" by my standards.  To highlight Marisa'a use of butterflies, I have two from the new Verve So Fluttery set, all done up with pearls!! I also decided to keep my card clean, unsponged, and undistressed as a nod to these two ladies' clean styles.  The sentiment panel was created using the Scroll PJ and the Scroll die.  The "With Love" sentiment from the With Love set was just a perfect fit for inside the scroll PJ.  I also fit in a little piece of the Banner Bundle die set since that set no sooner gets put away before it's back on the stamp desk again (can you say addicted to pennants!).  I  decided to pair the Diva Dare theme with the April week four Viva la Verve! sketch and inspiration piece from Andrea (below).  Well, that's a bunch of challenges that we're throwing at you but who doesn't love "Bright Blooms and Butterflies" in the spring!!  I can't wait to see what you all come up with!!

Click Here To Link Up Your Creation!

Finally, noted below are two ways you can win some shiny new Verve!  

1. Win a $40 Verve gift certificate! Play along with our March Diva Dare and link up your creation to the linky widget entry form.  A winner will be chosen by random draw. To be eligible, your entry must:
• Be a new creation - posted April 12th or later.
• Be a card or project using bright colours and having a flower and/or butterfly (or other die shape) as your focal point.
• Use at least one Verve product.
• Be added to the linky widget before 5pm Mountain on Wednesday, May 1.
2. Win a Verve set of your choosing! Leave a little shout-out for the Divas in the comments section as we post our answers to this month's dare weekdays through April 29th.  A random comment winner will be chosen from all the comments over the course of the Dare.
3. Winners will be announced on Friday, May 3rd.

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

April Diva Dare ~ Day 5

Greetings Verve fans!  Maureen here with you this morning for Day 5 of this month's Diva Dare!   This month we are challenging you to "Bright Blooms and Butterflies", a combination of Diva Charmaine's (Oodabug Alley) and Marisa's (Rosemary Reflections) signature styles. Charmaine often uses wonderful, bright colours on her cards and Marisa uses lots of flowers and butterflies. So this month, we dare you to create a colourful card using either a flower or butterfly image, (or if you'd prefer... a fun die shape) as the focal element. 

When I visit Charmaine's blog, her colour and paper choices always make me smile :)  I noticed she used this particular patterned paper on her sweet creation HERE.  So that was my starting point.  I also wanted to put one of the  sentiments from Remember This onto gray cardstock with white embossing powder for a chalkboard-ish look like Charmaine has done a few times.  The other sentiment was stamped onto the small banner image which fits perfectly onto one of the banners in the Banner Bundle Die set.  I also tucked two Flag It banners onto the side of the note page panel.  Marisa loves butterflies so it was easy to reach for the Flutterby die again using balsa wood.  AND to make things a little more sparkly, I stamped the coordinating image from So Fluttery with Stampin' Up's heat and stick.  Then I sprinkled on some pink glitter and heat set it.  Some sparkly stars from the Starry die and some more of that delicious, buttery Spring Fling seam binding were fun additions to these 2 Divas' styles.  This is how I answered the Dare, how will YOU?

Click Here To Link Up Your Creation!

Finally, noted below are two ways you can win some shiny new Verve!  

1. Win a $40 Verve gift certificate! Play along with our March Diva Dare and link up your creation to the linky widget entry form.  A winner will be chosen by random draw. To be eligible, your entry must:
• Be a new creation - posted April 12th or later.
• Be a card or project using bright colours and having a flower and/or butterfly (or other die shape) as your focal point.
• Use at least one Verve product.
• Be added to the linky widget before 5pm Mountain on Wednesday, May 1.
2. Win a Verve set of your choosing! Leave a little shout-out for the Divas in the comments section as we post our answers to this month's dare weekdays through April 29th.  A random comment winner will be chosen from all the comments over the course of the Dare.
3. Winners will be announced on Friday, May 3rd.

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

April Diva Dare-Day 3

Hello Verve Fans!  It's Charmaine and today I'm bringing you Day 3 of this month's Diva Dare!!  This month we are challenging you to "Bright Blooms and Butterflies", a combination of mine (Oodabug Alley) and Diva Marisa's (Rosemary Reflections) signature styles. I often use wonderful, bright colors on my cards and Marisa uses lots of flowers and butterflies. So this month, we dare you to create a colorful card using either a flower or butterfly image, (or if you'd prefer... a fun die shape) as the focal element. 

It's funny. . .when I sat down to make my card, I felt so much pressure!  LOL  The flower and butterfly part of the challenge was easy, but when I thought "make a card in my signature style", for some reason the pressure was on.  I never really thought I had a "signature style".  When I create, I don't usually think "hmmm. . .where's my bright papers?"  So I thought about it and yes I do LOVE color!  I love bright, fun colors. . .I love soft, sweet colors and I really love pops of color.  I decided to go with a pop of color for my card.  I used the So Fluttery set for my card along with a flower from the Surely Goodness set.  The butterflies were die cut using the Flutterby Die and then stamped with the Flannel Kaleidacolor pad.  When I was thinking about "my signature style", I felt like I stamped and embossed in white on black cardstock a lot, so I incorporated that into this card.  The flowers were stamped in Versamark and embossed in black.  

So, that's my take on the April Diva Dare!  Hope you'll play along because we LOVE to see what you create!

Click Here To Link Up Your Creation!

Finally, noted below are two ways you can win some shiny new Verve!  

1. Win a $40 Verve gift certificate! Play along with our March Diva Dare and link up your creation to the linky widget entry form.  A winner will be chosen by random draw. To be eligible, your entry must:
• Be a new creation - posted April 12th or later.
• Be a card or project using bright colours and having a flower and/or butterfly (or other die shape) as your focal point.
• Use at least one Verve product.
• Be added to the linky widget before 5pm Mountain on Wednesday, May 1.
2. Win a Verve set of your choosing! Leave a little shout-out for the Divas in the comments section as we post our answers to this month's dare weekdays through April 29th.  A random comment winner will be chosen from all the comments over the course of the Dare.
3. Winners will be announced on Friday, May 3rd.

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

April Diva Dare - Day 1

Hello Verve Fans!  It's Marisa here, kicking off this month's Diva Dare entitled "Bright Blooms and Butterflies".  This month's dare combines a bit of Diva Charmaine's (Oodabug Alley) and Diva Marisa's (Rosemary Reflections) signature styles:  Charmaine often uses wonderful, bright colours on her cards, and I use a plethora of flowers and butterflies on mine.  So this month, we dare you to create a colorful card using either a flower or butterfly image, (or if you'd prefer... a fun die shape) as the focal element.   Here is the card I created for this month's dare.

Bright colours and bold patterns are not something I use very often on my cards so this was a stretch for me!  I dug around in my paper stash and opted to go with this chevron paper from MME's Happy Day.  I used the circle die from the  Scalloped Trim Trio set to create a border and then heat embossed the fabulous flower from Surely Goodness in white on both Only Orange and Certainly Celery paper and then used the matching Goodness Flower Die Set to cut them out.  Of course, where there is a flower there needs to be a butterfly so I out came my beloved Flutterby Die.  I VersaMarked the solid image from So Fluttery on to the cut out and added some black pearls for the body.   A yellow ribbon finished things off nicely.

I must say this card is definitely growing on me.  It is always good to stretch yourself out of your comfort zone so you don't get stuck in a rut, and who knows, you may find you like what you tried -- I did :) 
 
Finally, noted below are two ways you can win some shiny new Verve! 

1. Win a $40 Verve gift certificate! Play along with our March Diva Dare and link up your creation to the linky widget entry form.  A winner will be chosen by random draw. To be eligible, your entry must:
• Be a new creation - posted April 12th or later.
• Be a card or project using bright colours and having a flower and/or butterfly (or other die shape) as your focal point.
• Use at least one Verve product.
• Be added to the linky widget before 5pm Mountain on Wednesday, May 1.
2. Win a Verve set of your choosing! Leave a little shout-out for the Divas in the comments section as we post our answers to this month's dare weekdays through April 29th.  A random comment winner will be chosen from all the comments over the course of the Dare.
3. Winners will be announced on Friday, May 3rd.

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

March Diva Dare - Day 12

Hi Verve fans!  It's Julee here, your little caboose along our Just Give Me Stamps, Buttons and Bling Diva Dare series. Have you enjoyed the Diva mash-ups of  Diva Laurie and Diva Maureen's styles?  I think it's been so fun to see what each Diva have been inspired to create by these two gals' amazing cards.  So what will you create?  You have until Friday at 5pm to enter your answer to the dare for a chance to win a $40 Verve Stamps gift certificate!  I've added the entry form at the bottom of this post so you don't even have to go a lookin'.  {grin}

Okay, now it's time to share my little mash-up.  I  found quite a few similarities between these two gals, then blended in a few homages for each of them into my card.  Both of these gals have long been on my watch list for their use of buttons.  I must admit I am a button flunkie.  I love the way Laurie & Moe use them, but when I try to add them to a card they always feel forced.  LOL  They are also both "sprinklers".. as in sprinkles of bling or other embellishments here and there... a little surprise just hanging out smiling at you in the least expected places.  {grin}  And the two of them both almost always have a little bow and some designer paper on their projects.

 

In Laurie's style I embossed the sentiment, which is something she almost always does!  I also used a bit of vellum and a little mini clip.  For Moe, I chose the xoxo background paper (since she always signs her emails to me ox) and added in the banner tag and a bow with a button and twine.

The Much Love Plain Jane is stamped and embossed onto a vellum banner die, then I stamped it again on the chevron paper, cut out the layers and adhered them to the underside of the vellum.  This is matted on a white banner die cut (Both banners are cut with the Banner Bundle Die Set).  The top of the banner is from the Flag It Die Set and I sprinkled on some buttons and bling.  Most of it is covered up, but I  used the Flourished Trim Die as an accent on the pink chevron background strip, then layered a Pennant Trim Die cut underneath.  The butterflies are from the new So Fluttery set and stamped directly onto the patterned paper then die cut with the Flutterby Die. 

The circle is cut with patterned paper, then I layered a circle of vellum embossed with a chevron folder over the top of it and attached it with a mini clip.  The sweet little heart is a resist chipboard heart that I inked each side with pink and green to match the layout.  A bit more bling and pearls, plus a seam binding bow (from the Truly Madly Deeply Ribbon Collection) finish things off!

Enabler's List
Stamps:  Much Love Plain Jane, So Fluttery (Verve Stamps)
Paper: Fourteen (Crate Paper), White, vellum
Ink: Evergreen Bough, Spun Sugar (Ranger), Black
Accessories: Banner Bundle Die Set, Flag It Die Set, Flutterby Die, Flourished Trim Die, Pennant Trim Die (A Cut Above by VERVE), Truly Madly Deeply Ribbon Collection (Verve), Circle Nestabilities (Spellbinders),  buttons, chevron embossing folder and mini library clips (SU!), twine (hemptique), bling and pearls, heart chipboard (Pink Paislee), clear embossing powder, black liquid pearls

So you made it to the end!  Below is a recap of the two ways you can win some shiny new Verve! 

1. Win a $40 Verve gift certificate! Play along with our March Diva Dare and link up your creation to the linky widget entry form.  A winner will be chosen by random draw. To be eligible, your entry must:
• Be a new creation - posted March 8th or later.
• Be inspired by a Verve card or project combining Diva Maureen and Diva Laurie's style.
• Use at least one Verve product.
• Be added to the linky widget before 5pm Mountain on Wednesday,  March 27.
2. Win a Verve set of your choosing! Leave a little shout-out for the Divas in the comments section as we post our answers to this month's dare weekdays March 8 - 25th.  A random comment winner will be chosen from all the comments over the course of the Dare.

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

March Diva Dare - Day 9

Hey there! It's Jen S. here and I'm so excited to by sharing my first post here on the Verve blog. :) I'm sharing my take on this month's Diva Dare. This month's Dare is to make a card inspired by Laurie's blog, Just Give Me Stamps and Maureen's blog, Buttons and Bling.

To get started on my project I took a stroll around both Laurie's and Moe's blog and decided I need to incorporate the not only buttons and bling but a bit of brightly colored paper and distressed/sponged edges and ribbon inspired by both ladies. :) 

My card has a whole lot of Vervey goodness throughout so here are the details... I started with a sentiment from So Fluttery and I die cut it with an oval. Then I went Verve die crazy layering the Classy Label Die behind my oval, two little Charming Banner Dies under the buttons and the Flourish Trim Die as the base for my bling. :) To finish it off I used a bit of Stormy Skies seam binding ribbon to make a little bow above the sentiment. The papers I used are from My Mind's Eye Collectable: Memorable 6x6 pad, Bazzill's kraft cardstock and the white cardstock is all mixed up in my storage file right now after an 8 year old invasion so I can only speculate where it's from but I'm pretty sure it's Choice Snow White cardstock.

To get your wheels a turnin', the Divas will be posting their Diva Dare creations using our newly released products right here, each weekday, for the next two weeks.  Winners will be announced on Thursday, March 28th. 

Finally, noted below are two ways you can win some shiny new Verve! 

1. Win a $40 Verve gift certificate! Play along with our March Diva Dare and link up your creation to the linky widget entry form.  A winner will be chosen by random draw. To be eligible, your entry must:
• Be a new creation - posted March 8th or later.
• Be inspired by a Verve card or project combining Diva Maureen and Diva Laurie's style.
• Use at least one Verve product.
• Be added to the linky widget before 5pm Mountain on Wednesday,  March 27.
2. Win a Verve set of your choosing! Leave a little shout-out for the Divas in the comments section as we post our answers to this month's dare weekdays through March 25th.  A random comment winner will be chosen from all the comments over the course of the Dare.

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

March Diva Dare ~ Day 8

Good morning everyone!  Maureen here as your hostess for Day 8 of our Diva Dare challenge!  We're looking at the styles and blog titles of the Divas this year and first up in the spotlight are the March birthday girls,  Laurie {Just Give Me Stamps} and me {Buttons and Bling}!  I went straight over to Diva Laurie's blog to oogle and drool all over again at her stunning mix of papers and layers.  Then I threw some colourful paper on my desk and started creating my layers with the Banner Bundle Dies, the Flutterby die and matching So Fluttery images.  Laurie used the Classy Label Die during the last release on THIS CARD and I just had to replicate it with the Smile Plain Jane.  Some distressed and stitched layers, some gorgeous Spring Fling seam binding, a button and bling (!) and I think we've got a perfect marriage of my and Laurie's styles :)

The Divas are going to be posting their Diva Dare creations using our newly released products right here, each weekday, for a total of two weeks. And what does that mean? There are going to be winners, so you need to get your entries in! We'll announce the winners on Thursday, March 28th. Check below for the down-low on how to participate:

Here are two ways you can win some shiny new Verve! 

1. Win a $40 Verve gift certificate! Play along with our March Diva Dare and link up your creation to the linky widget entry form.  A winner will be chosen by random draw. To be eligible, your entry must:
   • Be a new creation - posted March 8th or later.
   • Be inspired by a Verve card or project combining Diva Maureen and Diva Laurie's style.
   • Use at least one Verve product.
   • Be added to the linky widget before 5pm Mountain on Wednesday,  March 27.
2. Win a Verve set of your choosing! Leave a little shout-out for the Divas in the comments section as we post our answers to this month's dare weekdays through March 25th.  A random comment winner will be chosen from all the comments over the course of the Dare.

March Diva Dare - Day 6

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Hi there Verve fans!  Laurie S. here, and I'm excited to share my take on this month's Diva Dare theme - "Just Give Me Stamps, Buttons and Bling"!!  This month, "we dare" you to create a card combining Diva Laurie (Just Give Me Stamps (hey, that's me :-)) and Diva Maureen's (Buttons and Bling) styles.  For insight into their styles and inspiration galore, you can find my Verve creations here and Diva Maureen's Verve creations here.

I'll admit it, this was not a tough challenge for me!  LOL!  I mean, I just had to make a card using my usual style combined with some goodies that Maureen is known for (and I LOVE her big, puffy grosgrain bows and use of embellishments)!!  I used a couple of sentiments from the new So Fluttery set, combined with the Scroll Plain Jane, Scroll Die, & Jotted Heart Die!  Oh, and lots of embellishments!  :-)


Has that got your wheels a turnin'? The Divas are going to be posting their Diva Dare creations using our newly released products right here, each weekday, for a total of two weeks. Why, do tell? There are going to be winners!  We'll announce the winners on Thursday, March 28th.

Here are two ways you can win some shiny new Verve!

1. Win a $40 Verve gift certificate! Play along with our March Diva Dare and link up your creation to the linky widget entry form.  A winner will be chosen by random draw. To be eligible, your entry must:
   • Be a new creation - posted March 8th or later.
   • Be inspired by a Verve card or project combining Diva Maureen and Diva Laurie's style.
   • Use at least one Verve product.
   • Be added to the linky widget before 5pm Mountain on Wednesday,  March 27.
2. Win a Verve set of your choosing! Leave a little shout-out for the Divas in the comments section as we post our answers to this month's dare weekdays through March 25th.  A random comment winner will be chosen from all the comments over the course of the Dare.
   
   

March Diva Dare - Day 4

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We are well on our way into March's Diva Dare today combining Laurie's blog name at Just Give Me Stamps and Maureen's from Buttons and Bling and I'm gonna double dare you to take the challenge! It's so much fun to catch onto a style from these two Diva's and create. You just have to try it!

So here is how I took the dare…

Laurie and Maureen's blog names plus their elegant use of posies, rounded corners and sewing are what inspired me for the dare. Here are the Verve-y highlights.

Starting with the Viva La Verve Challenge week 2 sketch from Diva Jen S., I used the new release stamp set So Fluttery and combined two of the text stamps for my sentiment. I added a side panel using a Flag It Die and attached it with some stitches. A circle trim die, one of three dies in the Scalloped Trim Trio Die Set, is attached with a quick straight stitch. My flower is handmade using the Scalloped Flowers Die Set where I cut both out, snipped in-between petals, wet the paper with water and scrunched it up, then gently opened and a quick dry with the heat tool. The bow is a combination of Espresso seam binding ribbon from the Signature Ribbon Selection, black and white twine and a blue button. And then it's bling time! I added black pearls around the flower and bow. That's all! Now...

Has that got your wheels a turnin'? The Divas are going to be posting their Diva Dare creations using our newly released products right here, each weekday, for a total of two weeks. Why, do tell? There are going to be winners!  We'll announce the winners on Thursday, March 28th.

Here are two ways you can win some shiny new Verve!

1. Win a $40 Verve gift certificate! Play along with our March Diva Dare and link up your creation to the linky widget entry form.  A winner will be chosen by random draw. To be eligible, your entry must:
   • Be a new creation - posted March 8th or later.
   • Be inspired by a Verve card or project combining Diva Maureen and Diva Laurie's style.
   • Use at least one Verve product.
   • Be added to the linky widget before 5pm Mountain on Wednesday,  March 27.
2. Win a Verve set of your choosing! Leave a little shout-out for the Divas in the comments section as we post our answers to this month's dare weekdays through March 25th.  A random comment winner will be chosen from all the comments over the course of the Dare.

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

March Diva Dare - Day 1 (Entry Form)

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Hi there, this is Marisa kicking off this month's Diva Dare entitled "Just Give Me Stamps, Buttons and Bling".  If you recognize a few blog names in the title, you are well on your way to figuring out this month's dare.  So with no further adieu, this month, "we dare" you to create a card combining Diva Laurie (Just Give Me Stamps) and Diva Maureen's (Buttons and Bling) styles.  For insight into their styles and inspiration galore, you can find Diva Laurie's Verve creations here and Diva Maureen's Verve creations here.

When I think of Laurie, skewed panels, lots of layers and vellum, come to mind. When I think of Maureen, double sentiments, grosgrain ribbon bows and buttons and bling come to mind.  After mixing them together, here is the card I came up with. 

I skewed the main panel, and then used the Flutterby die to cut out three paper and three vellum butterflies. I embossed one of the butterfly  images from So Fluttery on the paper butterflies and then overlay each one with a vellum butterfly for a "softer" look  (sorry, I was unable to capture the vellum in the photo).  I added a scalloped heart border from the Scalloped Trim Trio die set along the bottom of the chevron panel, but it pretty much got covered up by the ribbon in the photo - my bad.  Next, I added a double sentiment using two of the phrases from So Fluttery, one on the main panel and one on a tab from the Flag It die set.  A grosgrain bow and some buttons finished things off and my Diva Dare card was complete.  
 
To get your wheels a turnin', the Divas will be posting their Diva Dare creations using our newly released products right here, each weekday, for the next two weeks.  Winners will be announced on Thursday, March 28th. 

Finally, noted below are two ways you can win some shiny new Verve! 

1. Win a $40 Verve gift certificate! Play along with our March Diva Dare and link up your creation to the linky widget entry form.  A winner will be chosen by random draw. To be eligible, your entry must:
• Be a new creation - posted March 8th or later.
• Be inspired by a Verve card or project combining Diva Maureen and Diva Laurie's style.
• Use at least one Verve product.
• Be added to the linky widget before 5pm Mountain on Wednesday,  March 27.
2. Win a Verve set of your choosing! Leave a little shout-out for the Divas in the comments section as we post our answers to this month's dare weekdays through March 25th.  A random comment winner will be chosen from all the comments over the course of the Dare.

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