Abundantly Krafty!

I don't know about you, but after seeing all the Diva's krafty projects, it's been making me pull the kraft cardstock out alot more! For my card, I chose to pair it with Kiwi Kiss and Chocolate Chip!

The base of my card is {obviously} kraft and then I cut a piece of the green floral print paper from the Urban Garden collection by SU! I mounted this on a piece of Chocolate Chip and then sewed them together. I also sewed a border around the whole background panel. The main image stamps are from Abundant Blessings. I stamped then in Chocolate Chip and in Versamark. The sentiment is from So Happy. I tied a piece of May Arts green satin ribbon around the background panel, added some Bazzill brads and wa-la! Super easy and elegant card! That's what I love most about Verve Stamps. They're all so elegant, I just love the fonts!

SO, if you're in a "krafty" mood, please feel free to join us! Upload your krafty creations to THIS post no later than noon on the 30th of September! If you upload to SCS, use the keyword "VVPP06" so we can all see your project! A random winner will be chosen on October 1st from all participants to win $15 Verve Bucks to spend in the Verve Stamps store! Yeah baby, that'll buy you some fun stamps! Good luck and have fun gettin' Krafty!

Gettin' Krafty Day Eight

Oh my, this has got to be one of my most favorite parades to date! I love the look of Kraft. For the longest time, I didn't even own any Kraft paper (gasp!). Surely, Stampin' Up's Creamy Caramel was close enough, I thought? NO!! Not even close. If you haven't picked up some Kraft before, do your neutrals a favor and add some Kraft to the mix - you won't regret it!

Like most of the other Divas, I chose to work with Abundant Blessings, a set that just begs to be paired with Kraft card stock and all things natural. Along with my Kraft card stock, I mixed in some of Stampin' Up's Ivory Naturals card stock, which has a nice, earthy, speckled look to it, and some retired Vintage Violet (for Jen's "Meet the Verve Diva" PURPLE challenge).

The flower images are stamped in Chocolate Chip craft ink, clear embossed, then colored with a water brush and a Vintage Violet reinker. In keeping with the natural theme, I added in some dry embossing using the Forest Branches Cuttlebug folder, tied on some natural hemp twine and linen thread, and then distressed the edges of most layers.

Wanna get Krafty, too? Just upload your creation to THIS POST no later than noon on September 30th. If you upload to SCS, please use keyword VVPP06. We can't wait to see how Krafty you can get! A random participant will be drawn on October 1st to receive $15 in Verve Bucks to spend at the Verve Stamps store! Good luck!

Thanks for stopping by today!

~Amy S~

Guest Diva Spotlight - Suzanne Dean

Today I'm happy to introduce you to another Guest Diva for September... welcome Suzanne Dean! I fell in love with Suzanne's designs from her blog Scrap Bitz...her coloring and style is amazing! You may have seen her on Splitcoast as suzannejdean as well. Let's get to know her, shall we?


1. When/how did you get hooked on stamping? I have been stamping for 5 years ever since one of my good friends became a Stampin' Up Demo. I had been scrapbooking for many years, but I really loved the selection of stamps and variety of ways you could use them. I have a degree in Computer Science but art has always been my true love and this allows me many ways to express it.

2. How often do you stamp? At least a couple of hours a day (mostly while my kids are in school or at night)--it's truly my escape and form of relaxation.

3. Tell me about your funniest or most embarrassing stamping related injury. I don't know if it's that funny but I actually stabbed a hatpin underneath my thumb nail and out the other side of my finger--a result of rushing to finish a project so I could start dinner. It is still hurting me--my left thumb is out of commission for awhile!

I love the feel of this card Suzanne created using So Happy and Abundant Blessings. The soft colors , the shimmer of the embossing powder, and the little pearl accents all make this card gorgeous!

Here's some more of Suzanne's Q & A:

4. How long does it take you to create a project that you're happy with? It can take me anywhere from 1 to 5 hours. I usually have an idea of what I want to do, but sometimes the execution takes me awhile.


5. I am usually a little messy in my creating. Tell me about your creative space. When I start a project my craft room has to be spotless and everything in its place or I can't think. After a project it looks like a tornado swept through, but I clean it all up before I start my next project. Crazy I know, but my mind doesn't work well when faced with lots of clutter and mess, not too mention losing things (which I have done)!

6. If you were stranded on a deserted island, which craft tool could you not live without? Why? My Copics and Stampin' Up paper snips. This way I could color all the stamped images I brought with me and cut them out. I love to cut my images out and pop them up with dimensionals--I love the 3-D layered look. And 99% of the time, my images are colored with Copics--I just love them! This way when I got off the island I'd be able to go home and finish lots of projects--hee hee!!

I absolutely love this little scalloped circle card Suzanne made using the birdie from Birthday Surprise. He sparkles and shimmers, and she even created a little accent using Shrink Plastic and one of the birthday sentiments. So cute!!

And here's the end of Suzanne's Verve-i-view:
7. What is your biggest source of inspiration? Everything inspires me from gorgeous patterned paper to a beautiful ad in a magazine. I also love to visit other's blogs and see what they are creating--there are so many talented artists, how can you not but be inspired by them.

8. Who in the stamping world do you want to be when you grow up and why? Let's see...any of the wonderful women who own their own stamp companies (Julee, Kim, Gina, etc.). That's been a dream of my own for awhile, someday maybe!

9. What is your favorite part of the creative process? Hands down it would be coloring. I have loved to color since I was a kid and it's just so relaxing. I love to pick out my patterned paper and then "decorate" my images the way I like them--there is nothing better!

This last project is probably my favorite of Suzanne's...I love the way she paper pieced the vase from Abundant Blessings and captured the softness and elegance with the sheer loopy bow and the added glimmer with the flowers.

Thanks again to Suzanne for playing with us this month. You can continue to see more of her Verve creations and other fabulous designs on her blog, Scrap Bitz. We're so lucky to have two fabulous guests for September!

We hope you have a wonderful weekend, and don't forget to mosey back here on Tuesday... Susan is kicking off a new Project Parade Challenge!!

Guest Diva Spotlight - Jennifer Meyer

Hello Verve Fans! We hope you had a great time at our Release Party on Tuesday night...we sure did! Thanks to all of you for making this a fabulous release!

Today is the day we turn the spotlight on Jennifer Meyer, who is one of our Guest Designers for September. You may know her from her blog, Jennifer's Sweet Designs, or from Splitcoast as Lovetostamp6. Today we get to learn a little about her and see some fabulous creations using the new Verve stamps!

I asked Jennifer a few fun questions about herself...here are the answers!

1.  When/how did you get hooked on stamping?

I got hooked on stamping about 5 years ago.  A friend of mine had several parties going on all on the same night.  While everyone was watching a Home Décor demonstration, I was in the other room playing with stamps from Stampin’ Up!  Needless to say, I was hooked immediately and about 6 months later I became a Stampin’ Up!  Demonstrator

2.   How often do you stamp?

I try to stamp every day but most of the time, it’s every other day.

 
3.   Tell me about your funniest or most embarrassing stamping related injury.

This is pretty silly, since I am left handed; I have to use my paper cutter upside down.  If anyone out there is reading this, I would LOVE a left handed paper cutter. LOL

Jennifer created this gorgeous card using the Abundant Blessings set. I love the soft colors she chose, and how she attached the tag with twine to create a natural feel. Simply gorgeous!!

Now, here's more of our Verve-i-view with Jennifer:

4.   How long does it take you to create a project that you're happy with?

It usually takes a good hour or so.

5.   I am usually a little messy in my creating. Tell me about your creative space.

Being a busy mom of 4, you know I can’t sit around and stamp all day so what is the next best thing… I power stamp, which then leads to a BIG mess everywhere!  Since my husband has to look at it, I clean my stamping space weekly and start all over again the following week! LOL

 6.  If you were stranded on a deserted island, which craft tool could you not live without? Why? Lately it’s been my Janome sewing machine but pretty much all of it!

I absolutely ADORE this card that Jennifer made with Black Tie Birdies. If you read Jennifer's blog or follow her SCS Gallery, you'll know that she loves the Verve Birdies! These are no exception...look how she created a cute little scene with these two lovebirds! I love every detail, down to the velvet ribbon and the balloon strings!

Now for the last few questions:

7. What is your biggest source of inspiration?  My biggest source of inspiration comes from the stamp itself and then the paper.  I LOVE when I see a stamp and know exactly what I am going to create with it.
8. Who in the stamping world do you want to be when you grow up and why? That is way to hard to answer, if you LOVE stamps like I do, you LOVE it all!!

9. What is your favorite part of the creative process? My favorite part is the final piece and then putting it in an envelope and sending it out to someone special. 

The last card of Jennifer's that we're sharing today uses the So Happy set. I love how you can mix the stamps in this set to create your own sentiment...there are dozens of possibilities! Jennifer used her Nestabilities to show off the sentiment and added a little layered butterfly as an accent. Too gorgeous!

We're so lucky that Jennifer agreed to play along with us this month! You can read more about her and see more of her creations on her blog, Jennifer's Sweet Designs. Thanks for stopping by, and don't forget to come back tomorrow for another Guest Spotlight!

Have a great day!

So Happy For Abundant Blessings

Actually, the title should read "So Happy AND Abundant Blessings." These are two of the sets that will be available on Wednesday, September 10. We hope that you will join us for the release party tomorrow evening in our SCS Member Company Forum HERE. We'll kick off the party at 10pm EST and you'll get to see set reveals, more sneak peeks and it wouldn't be a Verve party without some PRIZES!! Right now you have a chance to win the ENTIRE RELEASE by participating in the OSW (One Sheet Wonder) challenge. You can see all the details HERE.

We have several sneak peeks for you today, plus a chance to win these two sets, so I'll get on with the show...

From Verve Guest Designer, Suzanne Dean:

When I first saw this stamp set I knew I had to make a "Gratitude" Notecard Box with it. We all need these cards on occasion and what better gift to give someone. The great thing about this set is you can mix it up and make so many different sayings and sentiments with it. I also used Verve's Filigree Fantasy and Fairy Tales stamp sets for this project. That's what I love best about Verve, you can easily mix and match so many of their stamp sets. The notecard box is actually from Verve's own DT member Laurie Schmidlin's tutorial on SCS. Quick and easy to make, but wow what a lovely gift for someone to show your own gratitude.

From Verve Diva, Susan Liles:

When I first saw this set, Abundant Blessings, I fell instantly in love with the flower images in it! I love that there are three different sizes, making it easy to cut them out and layer them in so many ways. I had a really hard time choosing how I was going to stamp it with so many possiblities: Stamp in black and color? Then, Copics or Prismacolor pencils? Stamp them onto colored cardstock? Make my own background paper? Sponge them around the edges? Emboss the outline only? Seriously!! Endless possibilities here!! So as you can see I used a couple of those methods and I really like the simplicity of my end result! Much more playing to be done with this set...stay tuned!!

From Verve Diva, Bethany Paull:

I fell in love with Abundant Blessings the first moment I saw it, especially the silhouettes.  They make for such quick and elegant cards, like this one.  I knew I wanted sophisticated, so I chose my color palette of vanilla, black and kraft.  After stamping the florals (those are three separate stamps), I layered the panel with different sized borders.  The solid black vintage dies, as well as the vanilla strip behind them, add to the graphic feel of the card.  I added a few softening accents with the ribbon and tiny gemstones on the flowers and by the sentiment, which is from Artful Elegance.

From Verve Diva, Amy Sheffer:

The variety of images in Abundant Blessings is amazing, but I have to say it's the silhouette images that make this my all-time favorite Verve set to date. I've always wanted to try a Michelle Zindorf-inspired brayered scene, so I chose two of the Abundant Blessings silhouettes to frame an ocean horizon under a moonlit night sky. The water is coated with Stardust Stickles to make it glisten, just like the real thing. The moon, which is an ivory circle sponged with hints of yellow and blue, holds a sentiment from So Happy. With its mix-and-match format, So Happy is destined to become a staple in many stamp rooms!

From Verve Diva, Amy Westerman:

This new Verve set has the biggest images yet, and that makes me really happy! If you love large images like I do, Abundant Blessings is sure to please. The set is simplistic and filled with elements of nature, so my card took a simplistic turn too. No designer paper, and for the most part, no layers. Only two ink colors, white and brown, combined with two cardstock colors, Baja Breeze and Whisper White (on a Kraft base). What I love most about this set is the flexibility it gives you to take your cards in so many different directions. You can go simplistic and organic or bold and beautiful. The options are endless!

I like the options this new set, So Happy, gives me to mix and match my card sentiments! You can use the words as is, singly, or you can build your own small meaningful sentiments that are sure to touch the heart your recipient. This set contains only 12 words, yet the possibilities are endless. As you can see, I made a card that lets my recipient know that I am so thankful for them. Images from Abundant Blessings were used to create my own background paper, as well as a big, bold, beautiful layered flower! I love it! I am so excited to see all the fun cards and projects I can make using both these sets!

From Verve Diva, Laurie Schmidlin:

There are so many things that I like about this set...but my favorite is this flower! I love how there are different sizes...perfect for layering. This set is sure to become a Verve "classic"!
I paired the flowers with some more of my favorite things...red and white (I added some Kraft for contrast), an apple cinnamon candle, vellum, a tag, and of course some bling!

From Verve Diva, Jen del Muro:

The first thing that I thought when I saw these sets is "Oh the possibilities!" As I am sure that you have noticed, there are many! In a recent post on my own blog, I mentioned KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid). There are so many times when I think that more is more, but some times the power of less stuff paired with vibrant colors is actually the more that I am looking for. Whatever your style is, I am sure that these stamps will be a perfect match!

We hope that you have enjoyed the previews of these 2 sets. Are you still wondering about that CHANCE TO WIN??? Just leave a comment on this post telling us one thing you're thankful for before Tuesday, September 9 at 8:00 Mountain time (10 PM ET, 9 PM CT, 7 PM PT) and we'll pick a random winner to receive both So Happy and Abundant Blessings. The winner will be announced during our release party that night on the Verve SCS Member Company Forum.

Be sure to check back tommorow when Verve Stamps will take flight with more sneak peaks! See you then!