August Diva Dare ~ Day 10

Morning Verve fans! I'm here with this month's Diva Dare entitled "Pile on the Sweetness".
This month's dare pays tribute to myself, Andrea (EwenStyle), and Diva Christyne (Stampin' with Sugar).  Both of us Divas are known for major layering on our cards,  so what we're daring you to create this month is a card using lots of layers.   

If you want to kick this month's dare up a notch, you can add a flower cluster since I am so fond of them AND use them quite often , or go with a "sweet" theme as per Diva Christyne's blog name "Stamping with Sugar".  These are not required elements, but fun options should you wish to use them.  Just remember to use at least one Verve product on your creation!  

Here is my card using this month's dare...a la LOTS of layers:

Sooo...maybe I took the layering thing off the grid? Well, as a rule, I don't throw out any paper...down to the smallest of scraps. I keep all of my paper collections in plastic zip-lock bags and as I'm done with a collection, I put all of the scraps into the bag. So here, for Maja Design's Vintage Summer collection, I pulled out all those strips that I have saved and added them to this card, after I distressed them a bit. This technique works well with all card making styles, not just shabby. I used Verve's Swirling Hearts stamp for my greeting, a bit of pearl accent in the form of pearl lines and stamens and lastly a pretty metal flower.

Deadline to link your cards is 8PM Mountain on Wednesday, August 28th.  Entries must be new (posted 8/9 or later), include at least one Verve product, include multiple layers, and be linked up to the linky widget by 8pm Mountain on 8/28/13.

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

Win a $40 Gift voucher to Verve Stamps! Take our "Pile on the Sweetness" Dare and link up your card (created August 9th 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 "Pile on the Sweetness" 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 August 28, 2013.

Winners will be announced on August 29, 2013.

Here's the stamp set I used:

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

January Diva Dare - Day 1

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Hi Verve fans!  Welcome to the all new Diva Dare challenge!!  On the Friday following each release, we'll post a theme we'll 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!

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

This is how I answered the dare... I created a custom cover for a box of chocolates that I will be giving to my daughter for Valentine's Day.  Don't let the words "custom cover" fool you though...this was not a difficult project to make in the least!  In fact, I was actually feeling a little guilty at how quickly I was able to finish it!  You know, something from the heart should take a loooong time to make, right?  LOL!  I quickly got over that guilt though...because I will be making three more for my other kiddos!  Teehehee!

To create the cover, I placed the lid to the chocolate box upside down on the patterned paper and then traced around it.  After cutting it out, I then decorated it with some more patterned paper, ribbon, flourishes, and the stamped frame I created (using images from the Swirling Hearts set and the Vintage Oval Die).

So...do you want to see what the box looked like before I covered it? 

(You can click on any of the photos to see them larger.)   Teeheheee!  This might just qualify as an Extreme Chocolate Box Makeover!!  LOL!

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 Here's how you can win some shiny new Verve!

1. Play along with us and link up your new Baby Love creation (posted January 14th or later) to the linky widget on the DAY ONE Diva Dare post before midnight MST on January 29th. One lucky stamper will win a $30.00 gift certificate to the Verve Store. Verve Stamps are not required, but if you've got 'em we would  LOVE to see ‘em!

2. For another chance to win, be sure to give the Divas a little shout-out in the comments section as we share our Baby Love creations. One lucky commenter will win the Verve stamp set of his or her choosing!  Winners will be announced on Monday, January 31st right here on the Verve blog.

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

January Release After Party

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Welcome to Verve's very first "After Party"!  The Monday after each release, make sure to check in here for all the latest sale info and to see some of our favorite Diva creations using the newly released stamps!

Verve has definitely started the New Year with a bang!  Four new sets, two Plain Janes, & three A Cut Above Dies made their debut last Friday at the Verve Release Party! 

Right now through the end of January, you can save 15% when you purchase the January Stamp Collection bundle!

And now for your viewing pleasure, here are some of our favorite projects that the Divas created using the new stamps...

Created by Amber Hight, featuring the Love Notes set and Jotted Heart Die

Created by Amy Sheffer, featuring both Sweet Treats & Love Notes sets

Created by Andrea Ewen, featuring the To the Moon set

Created by Charmaine Ikach, featuring both To the Moon & Swirling Hearts sets

Created by Jackie Pedro, featuring the To the Moon set and Sweet Scalloped Die

Created by Julee Tilman, featuring the Swirling Hearts set and Vintage Oval Die

Created by Laurie Schmidlin, featuring both Love Notes & Accent Notes sets and Jotted Heart Die

Created by Maureen Plut, featuring the Love Notes set and Jotted Heart Die

Created by Sankari Wegman, featuring the Sweet Treats set and both Classy Label Die & Embossed Oval Die

Created by Teresa Kline, featuring the Love Notes set and Jotted Heart Die

Created by Tosha Leyendekker, featuring the Smallest Things Plain Jane and Classy Label Die

We hope you have enjoyed seeing some of our favorites!  Now, we would love to hear from YOU!  Which new set and/or die is your favorite?

Before I go, I wanted to remind you to check out both January Viva La Verve Sketch Challenges!  Participants that complete all the sketches will be entered to win the ENTIRE next release!!