Project Parade - Day 12

Good morning!  Laurie here, and I am bringing you Day 12 of the Project Parade!  When I first heard the theme was "Fun with Flowers", I had an idea of making a Wildflower Seed packet holder.  Well, when I checked to see what the Divas have been creating (I'm out of town and feel a little out of the "loop"), not only was I blown away with their creativity but saw that fellow Diva Amy was thinking along the same lines!  WOOHOOO!!  I have long been wanting to be on the same creative "wave-length" as her, so this was a wonderful surprise for me!! 

I used the Feel the Sun paired with some K & Co. patterned paper to decorate the front of my seed packet holder.  The wildflower quote that Julee included in the set, couldn't be more perfect for my project!!  :-)

After coloring the flower (hands down my favorite flower Julee has designed!!) with Copics, I layered it to give some added depth.  After adding a tad bit of Stickles to the center, I adhered a button with twine to the center!

The inside is where I have the seed packet.  I created a little "pocket" out of Kraft cardstock and punched a decorative border to pretty it up a bit.  :-)  To cover up the staples I used on the sides of the pocket, I added some coordinating patterned paper.

Well, that's all from me this time, but make sure to read on below to find out how you can WIN some wonderful Verve goodies!!  Hugs, Laurie

 As with all of our Project Parades, we've got prizes! There are two ways to win:

1. Link up your new Fun With Flowers creation (posted March 22nd or later) to the Mr. Linky widget on Jen's post before Midnight on April 8th. One lucky stamper will win a $25.00 gift certificate to the Verve Store.

2. Be sure to leave the Divas a little shout-out in the comments section as we parade our creations using this month's theme. One lucky commenter during the course of the parade (March 22 ~ April 7) will win his/her choice of any Verve stamp set!

August Project Parade - Day 8!

Wow! The Verve Divas have really outdone themselves this month! The projects and gift ideas are AMAZING!! Well, it's my turn (Laurie) to share with you what I have created!

I decided to create a gift that could be used by the hostess of a tea party (but you could easily change the sentiment on the card and it could be for a hostess).



I used A Cup of Life and Party Time (for the sentiment) sets paired with some pastel and very girly patterned paper. I whipped up some Lemon Biscotti (dipped in White Chocolate), packaged them in a white glassine bag, and attached a coordinating sticker tag. Biscotti is one of my most favorite things to bake - they are so easy, yet people are always impressed with them! I have a few of my own favorite recipes, but this time I wanted to try a new flavor. I found THIS recipe online and have to say it has been a hit! So much so that when I wasn't looking this morning my kiddos had devoured most of them! Yep, these pictured above would be my SECOND batch! LOL!


For my card, I stamped a "stack" of cups (from A Cup of Life set) using the masking technique, colored them with my Copics, and then added a vellum overlay with the "Time to Party" sentiment (from the Party Time set).

We would love for you to join us this month! To play along, just make a project or card that shows us your take on the Happiness for Hostesses theme. Verve Stamps are not required, but if you've got 'em we love to see 'em! Then just add a link to your creation to the Mr. Linky form in DAY ONE's POST before 8PM Mountain September 12. Two lucky participants will win a stamp set of their choice from the Verve Store. We've also hidden another $25 gift certificate somewhere along the parade for a random commenter. So if you like what you see, be sure and give a little shout out in the comments of each post! Have fun and good luck!

Project Parade - The Finale

It's the last day of our parade, and we're finishing off strong with a special little project by Guest Diva Teresa Kline. Remember, you still have until tomorrow night (5/14) to get your entries in to be eligible to win a $25 Verve gift certificate! Here's a little bit about Teresa's project in her own words...

Hello girls, it's Teresa and I am so honored to bring you the last project of the It's A Girl Thing Project Parade. Haven't the divas brought you some fabulous creations? I chose my Mother to honor, she has taught me so much and for that I am grateful. She started encouraging me as a young girl to write notes of care and thank you notes. I collected the pretty boxes full of stationary made by the gold crown company when I was very young. I would send notes to my friends, always send thank you notes after birthdays and holidays, and greetings cards to relatives as I got older.



I have always been attracted to boxes, tins and keepsake holders; which brings me to my keepsake box full of handmade cards. These boxes are totally awesome, I got them from Taylored Expessions. I used Verve's Because of You and Circular Sayings sets as well as the Matthew 11:28 and Psalm 46:10 Plain Jane stamps to embellish the box and create my cards. I used this beautiful dp from My Minds Eye called French Flea Market, a checkered brown ribbon and the gorgeous chocolate pearls from Kaiser. I hope you like my girly keepsake box, it was fun to create and reminisce about the past and the things my Mom has taught me.



It's been so exciting to be a Verve guest diva this month and I'm so excited that Julee asked me to stay as a guest diva for the May release as well! I'll see ya at the next release party!

You still have one more day to play along with us! Just make a project or card that fits your style and celebrates a woman in your life. It can be any woman ... mom, grandmother, daughter, sister, aunt, friend, teacher - you get the idea! To enter, add your project link to the Mr. Linky form IN THIS POST before 8PM Mountain on Thursday, May 14th. Two random participants will be chosen and win $25 gift certificates to the Verve Store. Have fun and good luck!

Thanks for stopping by!

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Project Parade - Day 12!

Happy Tuesday, Verve Fans! I hope you're enjoying all the eye candy from my fellow Divas...I know I am! The project I created was my gift to my Mom this Mother's Day. I managed to talk her into taking a quick photo for me, but when I get some photos myself, I'll come back and post them here. Sound good?

When I created this plaque back in November, I bought a whole slew of them, probably 30 or so. I painted them all with acrylic paint, and in a bag they sit in the floor of my stamp room, waiting for someone to decorate them and give them a loving home. As I was creating cards using Because of You, the idea for this project popped into my head, so I thought it would be perfect to share with you!

These 3 plaques were painted with Cream acrylic paint, and after they dried, I applied some Cosmo Cricket Dutch Girl papers to the front. I sanded around the edges to remove any excess paper and also on parts of the plaques for a distressed look. Once my adhesive was dry, I painted a small area with the same Cream color in the center of the paper, just large enough to have an area to stamp on. After that dried, I stamped the three sentiments from Because of You, one on each plaque, in Versafine Onyx Black ink. I added a few buttons to each one, and dry brushed some brown acrylic paint around the edges of the plaques to make them a little more distressed. As a finishing touch, I adhered a strip of Riding Hood Red striped ribbon to the back of each plaque with Score Tape and created a hanging loop at the top. The plaques are a little heavy, so I had to reinforce the very top and bottom of each one with a little staple to keep them from tilting forward.

This whole project, start to finish, took me about 25 minutes to make, and I had a nice, handmade gift to give. When I start to stress about purchasing "just the right thing," I remember what my grandmother said once. "The best gifts come from the heart and not the pocketbook." Even though this project was fairly quick, it was definitely heartfelt. This set is probably one of my all-time favorites.

So, do you want to play along with us? Just make a project or card that fits your style and celebrates a woman in your life. It can be any woman ... mom, grandmother, daughter, sister, aunt, friend, teacher - you get the idea! Just add your project link to the Mr. Linky form IN THIS POST before 8PM Mountain on Thursday, May 14th. Two random participants will be chosen and win $25 gift certificates to the Verve Store. Have fun and good luck!

Project Parade Day 8: It's a Girl Thing!

Hi everyone, it's Michelle! Welcome to Day 8 of this month's project parade. I have sooo been loving all the projects the Divas have shown so far, haven't they been amazing?!?

I love the idea of doing a project to honor the women in our lives. I chose to make a project for my sister! She is my best friend and my rock. I am lucky enough to live 4 miles away from her and what a blessing that is. It was fun to make a little something for her with these rockin' new stamps this month.

I went with something that had bright and fun colors. Recognize my candy box? It is actually a Prima Essentials box that I covered over. I was all set to make a box with acetate and instructions off SCS, then seriously, I looked in my recycle bin and there it was -my empty prima box!! I covered the bottom and top with Basic Grey Urban Prairie DP. All the flowers are from the Wishful Elegance set. I love, love, and I mean LOVE these starburst shaped flowers. They are fun to color and very easy to cut out. I used copic markers to color them and all the centers have some rhinestone bling in them. The sentiment on both the card and the box are from Because of You. Don't these Hershey's Kisses look yummy? Confession, I have eaten 4 since I started typing this post! LOL!

Here is the little card I made to coordinate. It measures 4 1/4" square. It's hard to see in the picture, but there are scored lines in between each DP panel. I think it adds just the right amount of umph!

Would you like to play along with us? Just make a project or card that fits your style and celebrates a woman in your life. It can be any woman ... mom, grandmother, daughter, sister, aunt, friend, teacher - you get the idea! Just add your project link to the Mr. Linky form IN THIS POST before 8PM Mountain on Thursday, May 14th. Two random participants will be chosen and win $25 gift certificates to the Verve Store. Have fun and good luck!

Thanks for stopping by!

Project Parade Day 7: It's a Girl Thing!

Hello Verve Addicts, Lynda here!!! Today is day 7 of this month's SPECTACULAR Project Parade and it is my turn to post!!! I hope you have enjoyed the awesome projects so far, I sure have!!!

I LOVE all of the stamps included in this release so it was difficult to decide which to use for my project!!! I took Jen's "It's a Girl Thing" challenge in a little different direction. Because I no longer have my Wonderfule Mom or MUCH LOVED Grandmother to make gifts for, I decided to make something for MYSELF for Mother's Day!!! LOL!!! I know there has been some disappointment that Because of You is sold out and won't be available for purchase until after Mother's Day, do not despair, Because of You is appropriate for ALL occasions and is a VERY versatile set! Here, I'll prove it to you!!! LOL!!!

I really need to stick to stamping because flower arranging is definitely not my thing! For the vase, I made a box out of a 12x12 piece of pink Bazzill CS by scoring at 3 7/8" on all 4 sides. I used Sticky Strip to hold the box together. I then added Making Memories Vintage Hip ivory frames on all 4 sides. Here is a closer look at the "Because of You" sentiment ~

I stamped the the corner flower bouquet on Vanilla Bazzill CS using my Versamark and then heat embossing with Silver EP. I stamped it again as well as the single large and small flowers included in the set again using the Versamark and embossing with Silver EP on MME Bella Bella DP. I cut all the pink flowers out, added some pink Taylors Tiny Twinkles and adhered them using a combination of Tacky Tape and dimensionals. The sentiment was stamped on a piece of vellum paper and then again on the frame itself using Timber Brown Stazon. I stamped the smaller floral silhouette included in the set, using Pink Pirouette ink, directly on the box so it would show through under the vellum. I LOVE this sentiment and thought it was PERFECT for my Mother's Day present!!! LOL!!!

Here is a picture of another side ~

I did the same with the flower bouquet on this side as the previous side.

Here is another side which I used the hearts from Hearts on Fire ~

I stamped the large and small hearts using Versamark and heat embossed with the same Silver EP. The sentiment is from the Because of You set which I used my Close to Cocoa marker to ink it up since the sentiment is in a straight line and I needed it to fit inside the small heart. I then cut the hearts out and adhered them using Tacky Tape and dimensionals. I added some ribbon because there was an empty space!!! LOL!!!

Here is a picture of the final side ~

It actually looks better IRL!! LOL!!! The heart is from Hearts on Fire, the chipboard was sponged with Chocolate Chip ink and Vanilla ink and then heat embossed with pink and silver EP. The charms are from Making Memories.

Here is my last picture ~ I promise!!!! I just have to show you the darling glitter Prima butterfly!


We'd love for you to play along with this theme! Just make a project or card that fits your style and celebrates a woman in your life. It can be any woman ... mom, grandmother, daughter, sister, aunt, friend, teacher - you get the idea! Then add your project link to the Mr. Linky form IN THIS POST before 8PM Mountain on Thursday, May 14. Two random participants will be chosen and win $25 gift certificates to the Verve Store. Have fun and good luck!

Project Parade Day Five: It's A Girl Thing

Hi Verve friends, it's Amy here today with another "It's A Girl Thing" project. What a fun parade this month! I've loved all the wonderful ideas the Divas have shared so far! Have you started on your creation yet? You'll find details on how to participate at the end of this post.

I decided to make a bookmark for my mom highlighting one of the quotes from Because of You. My mom is an avid reader, and I love the thought that every time she picks up her book, she'll be reminded of the influence she's had in my life.

This was a super easy and quick project to make. First I die-cut the different shapes from Basic Grey Porcelain designer paper. I used the Mega Curved Rectangle Nestabilities for the base, and Labels 4 Nestabilities for the two nested horizontal pieces. Each piece is mounted onto the same shape cut from heavy card stock (for added durability), and then sponged around the edges with Vintage Photo Distress Ink.

Next I added the long ribbon tail. With this bookmark style, it's the ribbon that slips between the pages, and the stamped piece rests on the book's cover. A ribbon length of about 12-15" will fit most hardbound books. The sentiment is stamped in Stampin' Up Always Artichoke craft ink onto the smaller of the Labels 4 shapes, heat embossed with clear powder, and popped up on foam tape. Last, I sewed and tied on some of Papertrey's Sweet Blush vintage buttons using a natural-colored burlap string, including one button at the end of the ribbon.

We'd love for you to play along with this theme! Just make a project or card that fits your style and celebrates a woman in your life. It can be any woman ... mom, grandmother, daughter, sister, aunt, friend, teacher - you get the idea! Then add your project link to the Mr. Linky form IN THIS POST before 8PM Mountain on Thursday, May 14. Two random participants will be chosen and win $25 gift certificates to the Verve Store. Have fun and good luck!

Project Parade Day Four ~ It's a Girl Thing

Hi everyone! It's Jackie here and today is my turn on the Project Parade! Haven't the girls projects been amazing? I've been blown away so far!!

When Jen announced this month's theme, I knew the three women I wanted to celebrate: my closest "Mom" friends. We met when my youngest daughter and their daughters were in kindergarten and we all hit it off immediately. My girls trust each one of these women and I know I can count on each of them if I need help with ANYTHING! Once a month we go out to dinner and another time during that month we all meet at the local Starbucks for coffee! I wanted to make them just a little something that told them what

they mean to me!!

I made three Rounded Wrap Up boxes from Lauren Meader's Timeless Templates line. If

you haven't tried these templates what are you

waiting for? They are fabulous for people like me who can't figure anything out!! LOL! I used the new beautiful Verve set, Because of You. I am so in love with this set! Each box was made with Kraft cardstock (thank you Jen T, Jen d and Julee!). I used just one color of ink, dp and ribbon on each box. The colors are Hibuscus Burst, Lemon Tart and Summer Sunrise (Papertrey Ink). I stamped the word "Friend" on the top portion of the box with Memento Tuxedo Black ink. The phrase, also from this set, was stamped in Memento Black then over stamped with the silhouette flowers from the set in the coordinating ink and finally cut out with Oval Nestabilities. I added some Angel Wings Shimmerz to each of the flowers and they are super shimmery in real life! The Hibiscus Burst flower was stamped off once to tone down the pink.

Here is a close up of the box. I will be tucking in a Starbucks Gift Card to each box along with a few chocolates! I'm sure they'll love them!

We can't wait to see what you come up with for this month's Project Parade! To play along, just make a project or card that fits your style and celebrates a woman in your life. Then just add a link to your creation to the Mr. Linky then just add a link to your creation to the Mr. Linky form IN THIS POST before 8PM Mountain on Thursday, May 14. Two random participants will be chosen and win a $25 gift certificate to the Verve Store. Have fun with this and good luck!

Project Parade Day 3: It's a Girl Thing

Well, it's me, Susan and I have to just say that I think this has been my favorite Verve Project Parade theme to date. I had a couple of different ideas for Jen's theme this time, but after talking to her a little more about it, I knew what direction I wanted to take and that it would be a perfect opportunity to make a heartfelt gift for my mom (so Mom, if you are reading this--Happy Mother's Day a little early!). The sentiment from the Because of You set seemed to be the perfect choice for a special gift and could be used for just such a gift for any special woman in your life--a mom, grandma, sister, or best friend.

The little wooden stand is an 8.5" card holder from Glue Art and Paper Studio. I found a little house-shaped chipboard album at Michaels for $1 (perfect for my mom since she works in a real estate office), but only needed the one piece from it for this project (Yay! I can make more!). Several punches, Nestabilities and shapes cut from my Slice machine were used to enhance my project, but it wouldn't be as special without the Elegant Flower stamp from Verve that I cut out and layered on each side of "mom" and on the house itself. I had a lot of fun making this and I know my mommy will just love it!

We can't wait to see what you create if you play along! To play along, just make a project or card that fits your style and celebrates a woman in your life. Then just add a link to your creation to the Mr. Linky form IN THIS POST before 8PM Mountain on Thursday, May 14. Two random participants will be chosen and win a $25 gift certificate to the Verve Store. Have fun with this and good luck!

Project Parade Day Two: It's a Girl Thing

When Jen announced this month's theme for the Project Parade, I knew exactly what I wanted to make. A little while ago, I saw a video that Lauren had posted on her blog for what she named a Versatility Box. I thought it was ADORABLE and since I had a bunch of the little planters from the Target $1 Spot, I decided to make these for little Mother's Day gifts. The great thing about them is, they don't have to be for your mom. They can be for a friend, sister or any other special woman you know who is a mom. What a nice little way to let them know they're special.

I used the Mother's Day Plain Jane and the Elegant Flower Plain Jane. The little planter inside is for a Sunflower, complete with dirt and directions! :)

We can't wait to see what you create if you play along! To play along, just make a project or card that fits your style and celebrates a woman in your life. Then just add a link to your creation to the Mr. Linky form IN THIS POST before 8PM Mountain on Thursday, May 14. Two random participants will be chosen and win a $25 gift certificate to the Verve Store. Have fun with this and good luck!

Project Parade Day One: It's A Girl Thing

Welcome to the first day of the April release Project Parade. This month's theme is:

It's a Girl Thing: Celebrating The Women in Our Lives

I am kicking off this Project Parade with a project made for Mother's Day. If you want to participate (details at the end of the post), please note that your project does not have to focus on Mother's Day. You can celebrate any woman in your life: friends, aunts, step-moms, grannies, teachers...the sky is the limit!

There is no doubt that times are tough right now and making our dollar go farther is what it is all about. With this in mind, I chose to do a project that would cost a minimal amount of money, but would be something that my mom would cherish for a long time. I started with a $1 frame from Michael's, which I painted white and then dry brushed light pink on to create a slightly distressed look. For the center of the frame, I stamped the "Because of You" sentiment on patterned paper and matted it with Chocolate Chip (SU!) cardstock. For added detail, I stitched around the edges and then matted it again (with dimensional glue dots) on Old Olive (SU!) cardstock that I had embossed with the Cuttlebug Swiss Dots embossing folder. The word "Mom" was also stamped on patterned paper and then punched out and matted with Chocolate Chip and Old Olive, as well. I used flatback acrylic accents to embellish around the frame opening.

For the flowers, I used a combination of paper flowers cut from my Slice Noteworthy design cartridge. These could very easily be cut by hand, if you do not have the Slice machine. I gave the flowers texture by crumpling them up several times. Finally, I topped the paper flowers with Prima flowers, rhinestones and buttons. The swirls were also cut from my Slice Machine (Basics 3 Design Cartridge). To finish the entire project, I wrapped Olive grosgrain ribbon (SU!) around the edge of the frame.

We can't wait to see what you come up with for this month's Project Parade! To play along, just make a project or card that fits your style and celebrates a woman in your life. Then just add a link to your creation to the Mr. Linky form below before 8PM Mountain on Thursday, May 14. Two random participants will be chosen and win a $25 gift certificate to the Verve Store. Have fun with this and good luck!

Links are now closed. Thanks to everyone who played along with our It's A Girl Thing Project Parade!