July Diva Dare 2012 ~ Day 3

Hi ya!  Laurie here, and I'm here to share how I answered the latest Diva Dare! 

This month, we dare you to make a card or project using a BIRTHDAY theme. July happens to be a big birthday month here at Verve...five of our Divas have July birthdays, including the boss lady, Julee. Let's celebrate with some fun birthday projects, shall we? We can't wait to see how you answer the dare! (Stay tuned to see how you could win some shiny new Verve!)

When I sat down to create a birthday card...well, let's just say that I was having too much fun to stop at one!  So, I have three birthday cards to share with you!

I created this first card in the shape of something that I personally love....a cupcake!  I used my Silhouette machine to create the card base (the top is some pink cardstock and the bottom is from the Happy Travels Collection from Glitz Design).  I embossed the sentiment (from the Sunny Days set) on the bottom and added some stamped leafy sprigs (also from the Sunny Days set and cut out with the Leafy Sprigs die) under the pink bow.

For my second card, I cut out a birthday cake using my Silhouette and some papers from the Nostalgia paper pad by My Mind's Eye.  To complete the card, I added a stamped focal image created from the Making a Statement stamp set along with the Rounded Scallop Frame and Loopy Blooms dies.





For my third card, I again used my Silhouette to create another birthday themed shape...a gift box complete with a bow!  To decorate the outside, I added some polka dots as well as a stamped border along the bottom (using the star from the Birthday Bash set).

The inside (actually, the insert) is decorated using a sentiment and stamped stars also from the Birthday Bash set.

Would you like a chance to win some fabulous new VERVE GOODIES? There are two ways to win:

1. Play along with our Birthday Diva Dare. Link up your creation (posted July 16 or later) to the linky widget below before 6:00 pm MT on Sunday, July 29. One lucky stamper will win a $30 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 birthday creations. One lucky commenter will win the Verve stamp set of his or her choosing.



September Diva Dare ~ Final Day!

Hi everyone!  It's Jackie here and thanks to a major mix up on my part I am bringing you the final day of the September Diva Dare!  You see, I confused my post day and completely missed it so I am the cabooose on the September Diva Dare train!

This month, we've come up with a fun challenge, we DARE you to Case-a-Diva!  With nineteen Divas (see the photos and links on the right sidebar), the inspiration is vast!  For those of you that are wondering...CASE means to copy and share everything.  And that is just fancy talk for copying!  What you copy is up to you!  It can be a layout, color scheme, or even something more subtle like a certain embellishment cluster!    

You will find the links to all the Diva's blogs on the right sidebar, or you can visit their individual Verve galleries!


I had the PLEASURE of CASEing my friend, Charmie, or Charmaine to all of you!  Charmaine has such a fun style, always using fun colors and layouts!  It was a toughie trying to choose a card, but I finally settled on this card.  I just loved the layout and all the pink she used!  Hope I did Charmie proud!

So I followed the sketch almost exactly!  LOVE how Charmaine overlapped two of the Tagged Rectangles!  I kept my overall color pink, but added in some of my fave Chocolate Brown.  I also changed up the image, using my favorite flower and sentiment from Sunny Days.  I stamped the flower twice, cutting out a portion of the second and popping it up for dimension.  An ivory linen thread tied button tops the flower.  I used some chocolate crinkled seam binding for my bow.  Some machine stitching and some scallops finish the card!

Well, that's all from me today!  I hope I've inspired you to play along!  There's still time!

Here are the details:

1. Play along with us and link up your new Case-a-Diva creation (posted September 16 or later) to the linky widget below before 9pm Mountain on Sunday,October 2nd. 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 Case-a-Diva creations. One lucky commenter will win the Verve stamp set of his or her choosing! Winners will be announced on Monday,October 3rd right here on the Verve blog.

Now it's YOUR turn! We DARE you to show us your creations!

You can post your card here.

September Diva Dare ~ Day 9

Happy Wednesday, Verve fans! It's Amy here today, checking in with Day 9 of our September Diva Dare! This month, we've come up with a fun challenge, we DARE you to Case-a-Diva!  With nineteen Divas (see the photos and links on the right sidebar), the inspiration is vast!  For those of you that are wondering...CASE means to copy and share everything.  And that is just fancy talk for copying!  What you copy is up to you!  It can be a layout, color scheme, or even something more subtle like a certain embellishment cluster!   

You will find the links to all the Diva's blogs on the right sidebar, or you can visit their individual Verve galleries!

I am honored to be CASEing the amazing Tosha! Her style is elegant and gracious and always filled with expert details. And she can seriously do it ALL! Multi-layered and dimensional, clean and simple, heavily distressed, crisp and clean all-white, 3D/altered -- it's all there! 

Some things that jump out most when looking through her gallery: distressing, vintage elegance, sheer beauty, layers, and lots of embellishing (we're kindred spirits there!). She's a genius with stamps and dies, using them in surprising and uber-creative ways that leave me scratching my head wondering why I didn't think of that.


Here's what I came up with ...  

... based on this recent beauty in Tosh's gallery. I used Tosh's overall layout and combination of elements, changing the colors and theme to Christmas. Tosh is a big fan of My Mind's Eye papers, so I stuck with MME, just a different line than the one she used. I love Tosh's punched border along the bottom and was tickled to have the same Martha Stewart punch in my aresenal. 

For the focal point, I started with a Rounded Scallop Frame that I die-cut from one of the rich burgundy patterns in My Mind's Eye's Lost & Found Christmas collection. On top of that is a Curvy Bookplate diecut that I stamped with the matching frame in Tag Time and a sentiment from Merry Wishes. As a CASE of Tosh's out-of-the-box thinking, I used the larger of Verve's Leafy Sprigs dies, the corresponding leafy sprig image from Sunny Days, and some white pearls to creative a mistletoe accent for the tag cluster (at least I hope it looks like mistletoe!):

That's it for me today! I can't wait to catching up on all of your gorgeous challenge entries so far! If you haven't played along yet, there's still plenty of time!

Want to know how you can win some fabulous new VERVE GOODIES?

1. Play along with us and link up your new Case-a-Diva creation (posted September 16 or later) to the linky widget on the DAY ONE post before 9pm Mountain on Sunday,October 2nd. 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 Case-a-Diva  creations. One lucky commenter will win the Verve stamp set of his or her choosing!  Winners will be announced on Monday,October 3rd right here on the Verve blog.

Now it's YOUR turn!  We DARE you to show us your creations!

Have a fabulous day!!

September Diva Dare - Day Four

Welcome to day 4 of this month's Diva Dare. This month, we DARE you to Case-a-Diva! With nineteen Divas (see the photos and links on the right sidebar), the inspiration is vast! For those of you that are wondering...CASE means to copy and share everything. And that is just fancy talk for copying! What you copy is up to you! It can be a layout, color scheme, or even something more subtle like a certain embellishment cluster!

You will find the links to all the Diva's blogs on the right sidebar, or you can visit their individual Verve galleries!

I have the distinct honor of CASEing Jackie. What fun to be "Jackie" for awhile. Channeling her diva skills, using her sketch...and ideas....*grin*. Pure stamping fun!!

Now comes the really hard part. Choosing one of Jackie's stunning cards. No easy task, let me tell you. I finally settled on THIS ONE, because I liked the layout and shapes she used. I don't normally think vertical like her sketch suggests, so it was fun to work with. She also has a fabulous way of working with colors and patterns. I loved the horizontal striped panel in the back.

Here's what I came up with.

I used the same set, Sunny Days, for the flowers and leaves, and added a sentiment from the set Making a Statement. I changed my shapes up a bit, and added some Webster's Pages flocked netting behind the main panel. I also changed my color palette.

Want to know how you can win some fabulous new VERVE GOODIES?

1. Play along with us and link up your new Case-a-Diva creation (posted September 16 or later) to the linky widget below before 9pm Mountain on Sunday,October 2nd. 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 Case-a-Diva creations. One lucky commenter will win the Verve stamp set of his or her choosing! Winners will be announced on Monday,October 3rd right here on the Verve blog.

Now it's YOUR turn! We DARE you to show us your creations!

September Diva Dare - Day Three!

Hello and welcome to September's Diva Dare!  This month, we've come up with a fun challenge, we DARE you to Case-a-Diva!  With nineteen Divas (see the photos and links on the right sidebar), the inspiration is vast!  For those of you that are wondering...CASE means to copy and share everything.  And that is just fancy talk for copying!  What you copy is up to you!  It can be a layout, color scheme, or even something more subtle like a certain embellishment cluster!   


You will find the links to all the Diva's blogs on the right sidebar, or you can visit their individual Verve galleries!


So, Andrea had the task of matching all of us Diva's up to the talented girl we'd be case'ing. No matter who we got paired up with was going to be a challenge because every single one of these Diva's is full of talent. I happened to get Laurie! OMG, right? Nothing like a little pressure to get your mojo going, haha! I always love her elegant, distressed, shabby style. I was MUCHO intimidated, but as I started going through Laurie's gallery, I was also MUCHO inspired:) After alot of "hmmmm'ing" and "haw'ing" I decided on THIS beauty! I loved the diagonal panel and wanted to see what I could do with it!

I knew I had to have distressing, inked edges, and fabulous sewing to even come CLOSE to making Laurie proud! The sentiment is from "Making a Statement" and the leaves are from "Sunny Days" and cut out with the "Leafy Springs Die Set".  The heart behind the sentiment is cut out using the Jotted Heart die. The diagonal panel is paper from MME's Lost and Found Two line. I also used some fabulous SU! ribbon and a Recollections rose! 

Want to know how you can win some fabulous new VERVE GOODIES?

1. Play along with us and link up your new Case-a-Diva creation (posted September 16 or later) to the linky widget on the DAY ONE post before 9pm Mountain on Sunday,October 2nd. 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 Case-a-Diva  creations. One lucky commenter will win the Verve stamp set of his or her choosing!  Winners will be announced on Monday,October 3rd right here on the Verve blog.

Now it's YOUR turn!  We DARE you to show us your creations!

August Diva Dare ~ Day 8

Hi everyone!  It's Jackie here and today is my day to answer this month's Diva Dare!  But before I get to my card, haven't the projects from the Diva's been amazing?  I tell you, these are a talented bunch of ladies!  They make me want to do my best everytime I sit at my craft table!!  They are an uplifting and encouraging bunch of ladies, just as all of you are!  But I digress.....

For those of you that are new to this challenge, here is how it works...following each release, we will post a theme that we dare you with, and you'll have two weeks to complete the challenge. During those two weeks, the release team will post their creations and tell you how they answered the dare!

This month's theme is Sending Some Sunshine!  If you all are anything like me, you have tons of cards sitting at home all piled up!  I thought it would be fun to make an uplifting & cheerful card and actually send it to someone!  There's nothing like opening your mailbox and seeing a handmade card...especially with some of Verve's encouraging sentiments on it!  :-)

So, we DARE you to make an uplifting and encouraging card AND send it to someone in need of a little pick-me-up!

Here is how I answered the dare:

I just loved the the last release and couldn't wait to get a couple of the sets inky again.  For my card I used the new Sunny Days and You and I along with the I Heart U die set.  The "U" was stamped in Riding Hood Red ink and was cut out with the coordinating die.  The flowers were stamped in Dark Chocolate, were cut out and finsihed with a wooden button, the center flower being tied with some thick linen thread.  The sentiment was cut out with Charming Banner die set.  The sketch is September's Sketch For You To Try from Jen del Muro.  I didn't round all corners as her sketch was, but rounded only one.....kind of my thing lately!  The card was finished with some machine stitching.

A detail shot....

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Want to know how you can win some fabulous new VERVE GOODIES?

1. Play along with us and link up your new Sending Some Sunshine creation (posted August 26 or later) to the linky widget below before 9PM Mountain on Sunday, September 11. 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 Sending Some Sunshine creations. One lucky commenter will win the Verve stamp set of his or her choosing!  Winners will be announced on Monday, September 12 right here on the Verve blog.

Now it's YOUR turn!  We DARE you to show us your creations!
You can link to Day 1 here to add your creation.

August Diva Dare-Day 7

Welcome to the August Diva Dare!  Hi, it is Teresa and I have to tell ya, I luv this months dare!  I try to send as many cards out as I have time.  When this months dare was introduced to us, diva Maureen shared that she was sending her card to a Verve customer and blog friend, Janelle Hayes.  I encourage you to go to her blog and read all about her story, it is uplifting and gives a tremendous amount of hope!  Thank you Maureen for sharing about Janelle and thanks to Janelle for being a trooper and making my day a little brighter.  My card is going out to you.!

For those of you that are new to this challenge, here is how it works...following each release, we will post a theme that we dare you with, and you'll have two weeks to complete the challenge. During those two weeks, the release team will post their creations and tell you how they answered the dare!

This month's theme is Sending Some Sunshine!  If you all are anything like me, you have tons of cards sitting at home all piled up!  I thought it would be fun to make an uplifting & cheerful card and actually send it to someone!  There's nothing like opening your mailbox and seeing a handmade card...especially with some of Verve's encouraging sentiments on it!  :-)

So, we DARE you to make an uplifting and encouraging card AND send it to someone in need of a little pick-me-up!
 

I went with pinks and rose colors, so sweet and comforting, I used the darlin flower from the Sunny Days set.  I heat embossed them and then colored in lightly with copics and some sponging, added the cutest leaves evahhh to them and popped them up.  The sentiment is from Words of Wisdom set which is also heat embossed.  That is it from me, I do encourage you to send your wonderful handmade created cards to others, it is a great way to spread love and sunshine to others!

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Want to know how you can win some fabulous new VERVE GOODIES?

1. Play along with us and link up your new Sending Some Sunshine creation (posted August 26 or later) to the linky widget below before 9PM Mountain on Sunday, September 11. 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 Sending Some Sunshine creations. One lucky commenter will win the Verve stamp set of his or her choosing!  Winners will be announced on Monday, September 12 right here on the Verve blog.

Now it's YOUR turn!  We DARE you to show us your creations!
You can link to Day 1 here to add your creation.

 

August Diva Dare - Day 5

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It's Friday, Tosh here to share with you what I've made for day 5 of this month's Diva Dare. For those of you that are new to this challenge, here is how it works...following each release, we will post a theme that we dare you with, and you'll have two weeks to complete the challenge. During those two weeks, the release team will post their creations and tell you how they answered the dare!

This month's theme is Sending Some Sunshine! If you all are anything like me, you have tons of cards sitting at home all piled up! I thought it would be fun to make an uplifting & cheerful card and actually send it to someone! There's nothing like opening your mailbox and seeing a handmade card...especially with some of Verve's encouraging sentiments on it! :-)

So, we DARE you to make an uplifting and encouraging card AND send it to someone in need of a little pick-me-up!

I started off by using Amber's fun Viva la Verve sketch for today. You can find it HERE. For each medallion, I used the Curvy Bookplate die with the matching image from the Tag Time set. I also used a variety of other Verve dies: Jotted Heart, Flutterby, and the little heart from the I Heart U die set. The leaves at the top are from the Verve set Sunny Days, as well as the middle sentiment, and the other two sentiments are from Faithful Phrases and Happy Phrases. I added a Spellbinders Beaded Circle behind the sentiment flags, some buttons, and lastly some burlap string.

Here's a closer look at each sentiment medallion:

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Want to know how you can win some fabulous new VERVE GOODIES?

1. Play along with us and link up your new Sending Some Sunshine creation (posted August 26 or later) to the linky widget at the bottom of THE DAY 1 POST before 9PM Mountain on Sunday, September 11. 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 Sending Some Sunshine creations. One lucky commenter will win the Verve stamp set of his or her choosing! Winners will be announced on Monday, September 12 right here on the Verve blog.

Now it's YOUR turn! We DARE you to show us your creations!

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August Diva Dare - Day 4

Good morning, it's Amy here today with the fourth installment of our August Diva Dare! For those of you who are new to this challenge, here is how it works...following each release, we will post a theme that we dare you with, and you'll have two weeks to complete the challenge. During those two weeks, the release team will post their creations and tell you how they answered the dare!

This month's theme is Sending Some Sunshine: we DARE you to make an uplifting and encouraging card AND send it to someone in need of a little pick-me-up! There's nothing like opening your mailbox and seeing a handmade card...especially with some of Verve's encouraging sentiments on it!  :-)

I answered the dare with a bold creation for a dear friend of mine who is going through a really rough stretch right now. For month's she's been saying she can't handle one more thing and then not one, but two or three more things end up in her lap. I see her in person regularly, so I think she'll be extra surprised and pleased to find this in her mailbox. I used flower images and a sentiment from Sunny Days, a fabulous set for pick-me-up cards! I also used Verve's Curvy Bookplate and Charming Oval dies. The layout is last week's Mojo205 sketch.

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Want to know how you can win some fabulous new VERVE GOODIES?

1. Play along with us and link up your new Sending Some Sunshine creation (posted August 26 or later) to the linky widget at the bottom of THE DAY 1 POST before 9PM Mountain on Sunday, September 11. 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 Sending Some Sunshine creations. One lucky commenter will win the Verve stamp set of his or her choosing! Winners will be announced on Monday, September 12 right here on the Verve blog.

Now it's YOUR turn! We DARE you to show us your creations!

August Diva Dare - Day 2

Good morning everyone!  It's Charmaine and today I'm sharing my answer to the August Diva Dare with you!  For those of you who are new to this challenge, here is how it works...following each release, we will post a theme that we dare you with, and you'll have two weeks to complete the challenge. During those two weeks, the release team will post their creations and tell you how they answered the dare!

This month's theme is Sending Some Sunshine!  So, we're actually going to SEND our card to someone for this challenge.  :)  When I was thinking of who I would send my card to, I thought of this sweet, sweet girl who is ALWAYS making cards and sending them to sick children.  Her name is Emersyn, she is 9 years old, and she is such a sweetheart.  She also has a Cards For Kids Facebook page. She loves crafting and loves putting a smile on a child's face.  I am going to send my card to her (along with others in my stash) so that she can pass them along to more sick children. 

For my card, I used the Sunny Days set along with papers from the Early Bird Collection from Cosmo Cricket.  I stamped the flowers onto patterned papers and cardstock and cut them out.  Then I added buttons with twine to the centers.  I stamped the sprigs onto Kraft cardstock in black ink and die cut them with the Leafy Sprigs Die Set. 

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Want to know how you can win some fabulous new VERVE GOODIES?

1. Play along with us and link up your new Sending Some Sunshine creation (posted August 26 or later) to the linky widget at the bottom of THE DAY 1 POST before 9PM Mountain on Sunday, September 11. 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 Sending Some Sunshine creations. One lucky commenter will win the Verve stamp set of his or her choosing! Winners will be announced on Monday, September 12 right here on the Verve blog.

Now it's YOUR turn! We DARE you to show us your creations!

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Anni-VERVE-sary After Party!

Welcome to our special Anni-VERVE-sary After Party!  The release party may be over, but we are still celebrating!  Each Monday following a release, we will share some of our favorite Diva creations using the newly released stamps along with all the latest sale info!

We're celebrating four wonderful years of Verve with a SALE! Now through August 31, save 10 - 40% on all stamps & dies, including new releases.
Sale limited to stock on hand. No price adjustments for prior purchases.

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And now, some yummy Anni-VERVE-sary eye candy!

Created by Tosha Leyendekker using the Making a Statement set along with the Loopy Blooms, Curvy Bookplate, and Jotted Heart dies.

Created by Teresa Kline using the Making a Statement set along with the Loopy Blooms and Rounded Scalloped Frame Dies.

Created by Sankari Wegman using Tag Time, Sunny Days, Making a Statement, Words of Wisdom sets and Curvy Bookplate Die, Tagged Rectangle Die, Rounded Scallop Frame Die, Loopy Blooms Die Set.

Created by Maureen Plut using You and I, Making a Statement, Tag Time sets and  Rounded Scallop Frame, & Curvy Bookplate dies.

Created by Laurie Schmidlin using the Sunny Days set and From the Heart Die Set.

Created by Julee Tilman using the Sunny Days set.


Created by Jackie Pedro using the Making a Statement set along with Loopy Blooms, Rounded Scallop Frame, & Rounded Rectangle Dies.


Created by Charmaine Ikach using Sip and Savor, Tag Time,  Curvy Bookplate Die, Charming Oval Die Set, & From the Heart Die Set.

Created by Andrea Ewen using  Making A Statement, Words Of Wisdom, Notebook Paper Plain Jane, Loopy Blooms Die Set, Rounded Scallop Frame Die.

Create by Amy Sheffer using the Words of Wisdom set and  Flutterby Die.

Created by Amber Hight using the Sunny Days set along with Tiny Sweet Scallop Tags and Curvy Bookplate dies.



Thanks for joining us here today!  Make sure to check back later this week as we will be kicking off our August Diva Dare!  See you then!