June 2015 New Release Spotlight Hops Day 4

Welcome to Day FOUR of Verve's June 2015 Spotlight Hops!  Wasn't yesterday's hop just lovely? I can't wait to see what the Divas have come up with today! If you're just popping in, you can click these links for our Day 1 and Day 2, and Day 3 hops.  Commenting on all of our spotlight hops is open until June 21. There's a chance to win new products each day, so be sure to hop around and leave a little love for the oh-so-talented Divas and special guests this week!  Everything we preview this week will be available in the Verve online store tomorrow, 6/19. So come hop along with us and see what's new at Verve!

I intended to make another card for today's hop, but time has just not been on my side this week. Release weeks are always super busy, but my toddlers are having a rough week as well and I'm spending a lot more time holding them instead of working.  :)  I did however make another post-it note holder like the ones I shared yesterday, this time featuring The Buzz stamp and coordinating die set.

The base is crumb cake, and I stamped the front with the BE and BLESSED sentiments in opposing corners, leaving room in the center for some ribbon to tie the folder shut.  Next I stamped the bee in black, and cut with the coordinating die from The Buzz Die Set.  I colored the bee with markers, then accented with glossy glaze and dusted some glitter on the wings before it dried. I then stamped the teeny bee from the set on crumbcake, colored with colored pencils and then punched out with a 3/4" circle punch, matted with black and added some white gel pen accents.

The bee die in this set is an exact cut of the stamped image (no border) in The Buzz stamp set.  I've made a short little rambling of a video showing an easy trick for lining up dies that don't have alignment holes, especially tricky ones that are solid (like the honeycomb) or that have little to no border (like the bee).  Hope you enjoy it! Sorry about the low video quality.  It was high def when I recorded it, so not sure what went wrong.  A great big huge thanks to Mr. Verve who got it working (despite much technical difficulty) when I was ready to scrap it all!  :)  View below or directly on YouTube at  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=blD_Oo2FNJk

Want to win some shiny new Verve? We'll be picking a random commenter on one of the Day 4 Hop spots to win today's featured products!   Our prize drawing will be open until 8pm Mountain on Sunday, June 21.  Just leave a comment on the blogs linked below and you'll be entered to win!

The hop starts over on my blog, Poetic Artistry.  

1. Julee 7. Charmaine 2. Stacey 8. Andrea 3. Teresa 9. Christyne 4. Amber 10. Maureen 5. Laurie 11. Shantaie 6. Marisa

Today's spotlight is shining on The Buzz illustrated by Julee Tilman and the coordinating The Buzz Die Set.

The Buzz is a 4" x 8" set of  15 clear stamps and will retail for $18.  

I've had a bee set on my mind almost as long as Verve has been around.  I didn't want it to be like all the other bee sets, so I kept thinking.  Then I ran across a beautiful art deco piece of jewelry with a bee image that made me stop and stare.  I HAD to illustrate it, and the set grew from there.  Honeycomb needed to be involved and I wanted some sentiments that were both congratulatory and fit some occasions that would pair nicely with our other art deco set.  The beehive image was one I illustrated way, way back while I was designing the now retired Cupcake Affair.  This particular cupcake attempt looked more like a bee hive to me, so I filed it away for future use, along with the all things are possible sentiment.

Coordinating dies for the large bee, honeycomb and beehive are available in The Buzz Die Set (sold separately).

The Buzz Die Set is a set of 3 open style dies and will retail for $17. 

Two of the dies in our The Buzz Die Set are open style in the center, so you can just lay them on top of  your stamped image for easy alignment.  The bee die is an exact cut of the stamped image (no border when cut), the beehive leaves a 1/16" border all around the coordinating image.  The honeycomb is an exact cut on the inner hexagons and leaves a 1/16" border around the outer image.

The Proverbs 16:24 plain jane  will retail for $3

That's all for today!  We'll see you back here tomorrow for the big release and another day of hopping! 

December Diva Dare ~ Day 10

"Playing Favorites", December Diva Dare

Welcome to the last Diva Dare of 2013!  This month's Dare is entitled "Playing Favorites" and it is a fun one indeed!

What we're daring you to do this month is to post your favorite Verve Stamps 2013 creation OR make a new card using your favorite Verve stamp set.  

Hello Verve lovelies! It's Andrea here with you today! Over the past few years at the end of the year, I've posted my favorite cards, month by month as a recap. I have to say that probably 11 out of 12 of those cards feature Verve stamps..only because they are my VERY FAVORITE! I'm going to narrow down my list just a little so I hope you enjoy!

This card features the No Matter What set...which was a new release in January. Here's the original post.

Guess what?! I love No Matter What so much, I used it again in February. Here's the post from my blog with the deets.

This card came about from our March Diva Dare challenge. I created this beauty with the Beautiful Plain Jane merged with Maureen's Buttons and Bling and Laurie's Just Give Me Stamps. A very nice marriage...I must say!

 This card was Pinterest inspired (one of my very favorite inspiration sites!) I love the type-written font from the Twitterpated set. This is how I made it.

 A bold burst of color for me...the idea was to feature yellow, so I had this bright gingham ribbon and matched it up with some pretty yellow and green flowers. The Verve set I used is Take Note. Here's the original post.

And...lastly...another Diva Dare creation! This one paid homage to our wonderful leader, Julee and the always uplifting Teresa! I inked up Words of Wisdom and shabbed up some Truly Madly Deeply seam binding to make this vintage gem. Here's where you can find the original post.

Ok, time for a little Q & A:

What are your three favorite Verve products?
Like my fellow Diva sisters...how do you pick just three (or just one hundred)? Let me see...I really love Julee's stamps, dies and ribbon...but to be a tad more specific...I do reach for the Pennant Trim Die quite often, the Truly Madly Deeply ribbon collection is the most cut into and my inkiest stamp set would have to be Celebration of Thanks.

What is your current go-to colour combo?
Ah, that's easy. Every color, though muted down to almost colorlessness. Well, not that extreme, but I do love my pastels and almost every card I make has earthy tones, brown, tan, cream with muted accent colors.

What is your current go-to embellishment?
Past, present and future will always be flowers. I absolutely adore the sweet, delicate feminine look of flowers...in truth, they just make me happy. :)

What is your favorite stamping or organizational tool?
Currently...two pencils. What? I've devised a way (my resourceful side coming out) to make the tightest, prettiest bows using two pencils. I have a tutorial for that here. Of course, this card features a beautiful Verve stamp...Harvest Blessings.

What is your favorite treat to eat while stamping?
That's easy. Life cereal. Yummy wheat squares with a smidge of sugar in the middle. I can put those things away by the handful!

I hope you all have a wonderfully Merry Christmas and Happiest of New Years!

Deadline to link your cards is 8PM Mountain on Thursday, December 26th.  Entries must be posted 12/6 or later, include at least one Verve product, be your favorite Verve Stamps creation of 2013 or a new creation using your favorite Verve Stamps set, and be linked up to the linky widget by 8pm Mountain on 12/26/13.   As an reminder, last month's $40 gift certificate winner did not use any Verve stamps on her card so she was not eligible to win and we had to draw another winner.

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

Win a $40 Gift voucher to Verve Stamps! Take our "Playing Favorites" Dare and link up your card (created December 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 "Playing Favorites" 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 December 26, 2013.

Winners will be announced on December 27, 2013.

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

November New Release Blog Hop and a SALE!

Hi Verve fans!  The Divas are blog hopping today to celebrate a brand new mini release!  This morning we released a new set and a new plain jane and also added 4 compilation sets of discontinued faith and scripture stamps to the store!  Woohoo!

If you've been hopping along with our New Release Hop, this is the final stop.  If not, just head on over to my personal blog, Poetic Artistry, to start from the beginning, because you don't want to miss a thing!  Our brand new November Release is now available in the Verve store!  As an added bonus, all Verve stamps and dies, INCLUDING the new release are 25% off through December 4, while supplies last!

For my card today, I made a super quick CAS card with one of the sentiments from the new Christmas Joy set, paired with the frame from Love Story and some snowflakes from Holiday Treats.  The frame and sentiment are embossed in white on black cardstock and cut with the Lovely Marquee Die.  The snowflakes are stamped in soft sky on soft sky card stock for a subtle background.  Finished card size is 4.25" square.

Supply List:
Stamps: Christmas Joy, Holiday Treats, Love Story (Verve)
Paper: soft sky, basic black (SU!), white
Ink: soft sky (SU!), Versamark
Accessories: Lovely Marquee Die (A Cut Above by VERVE), white embossing powder

Here's a little link up to the new stamps ...

Christmas Joy	Every Heart Plain Jane	Faith Medley
Scripture Medley 1	Scripture Medley 2	Scripture Medley 3

We'll be drawing a random comment winner from all of the comments along today's hop to win a $75 gift certificate to the Verve Store, so be sure to leave a little shout out at each stop as you hop around!

Today's Blog Hop Prize:  $75 Verve Gift Certificate

Comment Deadline for Prize Drawing:  Sunday, 12/1 at 5pm Mountain

	1. Julee	8. Laurie W.
	2. Amber	9. Marisa
	3. Andrea	10. Maureen
	4. Charmaine	11. Stacey
	5. Christyne	12. Teresa
	6. Janelle	13. Verve Blog
	7. Jen

Okay, one last thing!  We've also got a little 4 day sale starting today, where I've marked down 50 products 50% off through November 30!  Woohoo!  The sale is while supplies last, so shop early for the best selection!

May Diva Dare - Day 12

Hi Verve fans!  It's Julee here wrapping up the design team posts for our Stars & Stripes Diva Dare.  Have you been following along?  There's a chance at one of 3 prizes for leaving comments along the Dare, as well as the possibility of winning Verve's ENTIRE May release for playing along with our Stars & Stripes challenge!!!  So what ya waitin' for?  The deadline is this Thursday, May 30!!!

For my Diva Dare card I went with a traditional take on Stars & Stripes.  I absolutely love Americana and so I kept my look a bit shabby with the idea of making a card suitable for sending to someone in the military.  I thought this sentiment from Let it Be was just perfect for that.  I kept things pretty simple,  using the Viva la Verve! May Week 4 sketch. (Are you playing along with VLV???  There's a chance to win a $100 gift voucher to Verve if you participate in all 4 of this month's sketches.) I used the Starry Die to cut through my two layers of paper, then popped the panel up on dimensionals to really make the background under the stars shine through.  The little border is made with the Scallop Trim Trio Die Set and I finished off with some cluster stars and sort of stripey blue ribbon.

Enabler's List:
Stamps: Let it Be (Verve Stamps)
Paper: Glory (Authentique), Brown Paper Bag (Paper Accents), Cream
Ink: Cherry Cobbler (SU!), Vintage Photo Distress (Ranger)
Accessories: Starry Die, Scallop Trim Trio Die Set (A Cut Above by VERVE), star cluster pearls (Recollections), ribbon (SU!), paper distresser (Tonic)

Stars & Stripes May Diva Dare
This month's dare pays tribute to Diva Amber's (Stamping Scrapbooker) military service and Diva Laurie Willison's (Soapbox Creations) wonderful use of stripes on her cards. So we're daring you to create a card using stars and/or stripes. While the title may conjure up visions of red, white and blue any stars and stripes will do! If you're feeling pretty in pink, go for it! Just remember to use at least one Verve product on your creation! If you want to get really daring, you can add the extra challenge of making it a CAS card with stars and/or stripes, as that is Diva Laurie's signature style. However, that is NOT a requirement, just an optional twist to the Dare if you're feeling daring!

During this month's Diva Dare, there are 4 prizes up for grabs!
Win Verve's ENTIRE May Release! (1 winner)
Take our Stars & Stripes Dare and link up your card (created 5/13 or later) to the linky widget below. One random participant will be drawn to win all of the stamps, dies and ribbons in our May 2013 release. You can enter as many times as you like, but each card needs to be in a separate post. Here's a little look-see at what the winner will receive..

May Stamp Collection	May Die Collection	Black Beauty Ribbon Collection	Polka Dot Basics Ribbon Collection
Deadline to link your cards is 5PM Mountain on Thursday, May 30. Entries must be new (posted 5/13 or later), include at least one Verve product, use stars and/or stripes and be linked up to the linky widget by 5pm Mountain on 5/30/13.

Win a set of your choice!  (3 winners)
For another chance to win some new Verve, leave a little comment love on our design team's Stars & Stripes Diva Dare posts! THREE lucky commenters will win a Verve stamp set of his or her choice, so be sure to comment on each of the 12 posts! Comment deadline to be entered in our prize drawing is May 30.

Winners will be announced on May 31, 2013.

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

 

May 2013 Spotlight Hops - Day 3

Hi there Verve fans!  Welcome to Day 3 of our new release spotlight hops!  We'll be releasing 5 new sets, 4 plain janes, 3 dies and 2 ribbon collections this Friday, May 10.  As we countdown to our release, the Divas and our 2 special guests are strutting their new Verve with daily blog hops now through Friday!

And since we LOVE to share our Verve, we've got a giveaway every day this week!  Just hop around to the blogs on today's hop and tell us what you think in the comments at each stop and you'll be entered in a drawing to win today's featured stamps!  Woohoo!

Day 3 PRIZE: Strong Anchor, Adjusted Sails Plain Jane and Nautical Die Set
Comment Deadline:  Sunday, May 12 @ 5PM Mountain

1. Julee 8. Andrea 2. Charmaine 9. Jen M. 3. Teresa 10. Laurie W. 4. Stacey 11. Laurie S. 5. Amber 12. Janelle 6. Christyne 13. Maureen 7. Marisa 14. Jen S.

Before I get to the reveals, I have a little announcement about our dies.

As of this release, we will no longer include plastic alignment tools with our A Cut Above dies.  Anything that is in our inventory that has plastic tools will be shipped with the tools until we run out, but we will not be re-ordering any tools or including them with our new dies.


Our manufacturer originally included these tools for free, but have since added a charge for each plastic piece, and I'd rather keep our costs affordable than have you pay for something that you could just as easily do without.  The plastic tools are easy to lose and not as accurate as the new method I'm excited to show you, especially for the smaller, more intricate dies.  I've been making my own die alignment templates from scratch paper for the past year and I think it is so much easier and more accurate. Here's my first ever video explaining this method along with a sneak peek of the Strong Anchor and the Nautical Die Set...

Okay, on with the reveals...
 
Strong Anchor is an $18 set of 12 nautical themed sentiments and images.  I've been a long time fan of anything nautical, collecting lighthouses for many years and planning my dream retirement by the beach.  I'm so excited to see the paper crafting industry trending on everything anchors lately!  I couldn't wait to add my take on this fun theme and expand our masculine set offerings in the process.  It's perfect for Father's Day, masculine birthdays and for anyone who's a guiding force or solid anchor in your life.  And of course, it was the perfect excuse to put one of my favorite scripture verses into stamp form... Hebrews 6:19.

Production Note:  We discovered a typo in the scripture reference on this set after the set had gone to production.  I'm blaming it on two sweet little twin boys that are always stealing me away from the task at hand. {grin}  Anyhow, our replacement stamps should be in-house early next week, so if you order this set, just know that it might be delayed a few days so we can include the corrected stamp.


Here's the sweet little CAS card I made in the video featuring Strong Anchor and the Nautical Die Set.

Our plain jane feature today is the Adjusted Sails plain jane.  Coordinating beautifully with Strong Anchor, I just love this quote and the hope and perseverance it symbolizes.  I can't wait to add a page to my art journal with this stamp and I know I'll be using it for encouragement cards for some of the amazingly strong women who have crossed my path.  This stamp measures 1.75" (w) x 2.25" (h) and will retail for $3.

Stamp reads, "She stood in the storm, and when the wind did not blow her away, she adjusted her sails. - Edwards".

To finish off our nautical theme, we're releasing a Nautical Die Set that coordinates with the anchor and ship's wheel images in the Strong Anchor set.  This die set will retail for $6.

Size reference:  Anchor 1" (w) x 1.5" (h), Ship wheel 1.375" (w) x 1.375"(h)

All of the stamps, dies and ribbons featured this week will be available for purchase in the Verve Store on Friday, May 10.

Thanks so much for hopping with us today!  Have a great day and we'll see you back here tomorrow for some more fresh new looks at VERVE!