August Release Project Parade--Day 11

Hi there ladies!! It's Amber here! Are you BLOWN AWAY by the projects so far on this project parade?? I sure am! I am always SO inspired by my team mates, each and every one of them are fabulous and each have a style SO unique that you could see them all in an anonymous gallery and KNOW what card belongs to who, I LOVE that! I am SO lucky to be on this team with these girls. And I'll never have a nicer, sweeter, more lovely "boss" than Julee! And behind every successful woman is a sweet, supporting man right? So of course we love Mark too! Love them all:)

Okay, I'm gushy today, I don't know why, but I guess it's better than being in a BAD mood, lol!

This month, our theme is Something OLD and Something NEW! We've all heard this little rhyme for weddings, but we wanted to pair some OLD favorites with some NEW favorites!

I am LOVING this color combination, I've been using alot of this green lately and I'm not slowing down anytime soon, ha!

I used the super fabulous "Fabulous You" set just released! I just adore the fonts in this set, it's a fun mixture of formal and whimsy. What's not to love?

I also used the fun flourishy circle from Thankful Accents and stamped the flowers from Because of You. I stamped these flowers in Kiwi Kiss and I love how it makes the sentiment pop off the card.

Here's a fun detail shot of some awesome pearl string I found in my craft store on base! It comes in a really long length and I was able to just cut pieces to fit around the square.

And since I'm a sucker for ribbons, bows, flowers, and pearls, here is another fun detail shot:)

Are you ready to play with us? I hope so! There is a HUGE prize in it for you if you do!

The Deets:

1. Play along with us and link up your new SOMETHING OLD, SOMETHING NEW creation (posted August 25th or later) to the linky widget on the DAY 1 PARADE POST before midnight on Wednesday, September 15th. One lucky stamper will win a $30.00 gift certificate to the Verve Store.

2. For another chance to win, be sure to give the Divas a little shout-out in the comments section as we parade our SOMETHING OLD, SOMETHING NEW creations. One lucky commenter during the course of the parade will win the Verve stamp set of their choosing!

January Guest Divas

Welcome to 2010! I'm so excited to start off the new year with the announcement of our January Guest Divas! Our next release is just two weeks away (January 15) and we've got 2 fabulous designers playing along with us this month.

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First up is Melissa Sauls of In Stamping Mode. Melissa caught my eye quite a while back with her gorgeously elegant entries for our Mojo Monday challenges. I just love her use of embellishments and beautiful pastel combinations for that perfect shabby chic look. A peek into her blog will have you drooling, not only at her cards but her wonderful props and photography. Below are links to a few of my favorite Verve cards from Melissa, plus a special card she made just for today's announcement...

You're the Best
You Color My World


Sample features Because of You & Bountiful Backgrounds

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Next up is Rosie Hughes of Love My Craft Room. Rosie has been participating in Mojo Monday and Verve challenges for quite a while and I'm really drawn to her fun take on sketches and beautiful embellishing. She's got a super fun style and I'm sure you'll just love what she creates for this release! Here are a couple of my favorites from her blog, as well as a gorgeous card she made to ring in the new year...

You've Got Style
The Perfect Example


Sample features Wishing You

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Okay, that wraps it up for our Guest Diva announcement. Welcome Rosie & Melissa!

I'll be back Monday (hopefully) with the winner of our Winter Mittens Digi Contest. I've been busy packing orders and haven't had time for much else this week. If you ordered during our sale, be sure to check out this thread in our forum for an update on shipping status - we're a bit behind our usual schedule.

Project Parade ~ Day 9!!!

Hi Verve fans, Lynda here! Today is my day to share with you my project based on this month's Project Parade them of "It's a Guy thing". I am SURE I am not the only woman in the world that has a husband that wouldn't know how to buy a gift unless it jumped in his cart at Home Depot or Gander Mountain!!! LOL!! I have already received my fill of fishing poles, Waders, yard tools, etc... so for this challenge, I took a different route since my husband is different!! LOL!!!

To help him APPEAR to be thoughtful and giving, I made an Origami box along with matching cards for his Dad, Mom, our Son and our Daughter. I felt like an idiot making a card for myself so I'll just do without!! LOL!!! He may not be the best shopper but he is a fantastic Father and a wonderful Husband! LOL!!!

I found the instructions for this box on SCS HERE for one of their Technique Challenges. The instructions are really easy to follow! The decorative paper I used on the box as well as all of the cards if from SU!'s "To the Nines" Collection. The card stock I used were the colors that coordinated with the DP. What I will do is provide a shopping list for each card & the box so you won't get tired of reading while I ramble on!!! LOL!!!

Origami Box Shopping List ~

Stamps ~ Verve ~ Protector (used on the Frame) and World's Best (used for the sentiment inside the label hardware) Ink ~ Sahara Sand, Bravo Burgundy & Chocolate Chip
Paper ~ Sahara Sand, Bravo Burgundy, Sage Shadow and To the Nines DP Other ~ SU! Pewter Hodgepodge, Sticky Strip, Martha Stewart Sage Twill, dimensionals, Square Nestabilities, sponge, Chipboard sheet, glue stick, Scor-pal, Picture of CUTE kids!!!

Here is a closer look at the frame I made with my square Nestabilities and my Verve Protector stamp ~


The 4 cards are all 4x4 and fit perfectly inside the box! Of course the envelopes don't fit but that's ok because I am sure I will be the one sending them and luckily, I know where the envelopes are!!!



Floral Symphony Shopping List ~

Stamps ~ Verve ~ Floral Symphony and Miracles Blossom (the flower pot), Ink ~ Sage Shadow, Pink Pirouette, Sahara Sand, Paper ~ Whisper White, Sage Shadow, Pink Pirouette and Sahara Sand CS and To the Nines DP, Other ~ SU! Scallop border punch, Cotton Candy Stickles, Prismacolor Pencils, Martha Stewart Sage Twill




Whimsy Tree Birthday Wishes Shopping List ~

Stamps ~ Verve ~ Whimsy Tree and Wishful Elegance (Birthday Wishes sentiment inside), Ink ~ Chocolate Chip, Sage Shadow, Paper ~ Whisper White, Chocolate Chip, Sage Shadow and To the Nines DP, Other ~ Prismacolor Pencils, Chocolate Chip grosgrain, Oval Nestabilities, SU! Pewter Hodgepodge buckle, EK Success tree border punch, Dew Drops, dimensionals.


Because of You Birthday Wishes Shopping List ~

Stamps ~ Verve ~ Because of You and Wishful Elegance (sentiment), Ink ~ Bravo Burgundy, Sage Shadow, Paper ~ Shimmery White, Sahara Sand and Sage Shadow CS and To the Nines DP, Other ~ Square Nestabilities, dimensionals, Burgundy Swarvoski Crystals, Photo Corner Punch, Scallop Square Punch (SU!), Mellow Yellow Shimmerz, blender pen


Up, Up and Away...Shopping List ~

Stamps ~ Verve ~ Up, Up and Away, Ink ~ Bravo Burgundy, Sahara Sand, Sage Shadow Paper ~ Whisper White, Sahara Sand, Bravo Burgundy and To the Nines DP, Other ~ Martha Stewart fine clear glitter, dimensionals, square pewter brads from We R Memory Keepers, EK Success border punch

So, how would you like to play along with us? Do you have a special guy in your life (Dad, Husband, Grandpa, etc...) that you'd like to create a project for? This is the time to do it! To play along, just make a project or card that fits your style and celebrates a man in your life. 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 --->{THIS}<--- post before 8PM Mountain on Saturday, June 20. 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!

June Project Parade-Day 2!

Hello, hello! Hope everyone's weekend is going wonderfully! Mine has gone by TOO FAST, as always:)

My project for this months Project Parade, It's a Guy Thing, is this layout I made of my sweet husband, Billy. He makes me happy every day of my life and I am still so amazed that I have this incredible man to share my life with. It's good to capture those thoughts and hold on to them for those days that don't go quite right. I

I used alot of fun Verve stamps for this layout. That's what's great about Verve, alot of the sets are really versatile and work well together!

The kraft paper with black dots and the saffron colored dp are from a digital paper pack from The Digi Chick, the paper is called "Our Story".

The "Best Husband Ever" stamp is from "Dad's Day". I stamped the sentiment in the oval frame and cut the frame out. It's mounted on dimensionals. I also stamped a sentiment from "Feeling Groovy" on the saffron colored panel. One of my favorite little sentiments ever! The "I'm so blessed" sentiment on the title is from "Because of You" and then I also used the hearts border from "Hearts on Fire" randomly around the edge of the layout. I'm not sure if you can see all the details good enough of this photo so I also took some close ups.

So, how would you like to play along with us? Do you have a special guy in your life (Dad, Husband, Grandpa, etc...) that you'd like to create a project for? This is the time to do it!

To play along, just make a project or card that fits your style and celebrates a man in your life. 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 --->{THIS}<--- post before 8PM Mountain on Saturday, June 20. 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 - 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 11!

Happy Mother's Day to all the momma's out there! That goes for REAL kid momma's and FURR kid momma's (like me, hee!) Hope you all had a wonderful, relaxing day and that your family's treated you like the queen's you are:)

Ready to get back to some more "It's a Girl Thing" projects? I made this little ensemble for my mom.

I made her this card and a matching magnet for her refrigerator! My folks live up north and I know from experience that people in the north have a habit of COVERING their fridge's in magnets and photos, lol! So I know this magnet will be loved:) For the magnet, I cut a piece of Melon Berry cardstock with my Labels 1 die and then sewed some patterned paper on top. I stamped the flourishy corner from Because of You in Espresso ink and then stamped it again and cut out the flower and popped it up on dimensionals. The sentiment was stamped off once and then I stamped it on the main panel so it would show up behind the "Mom" stamp. The bottom of the melon berry piece was stamped with the background stamp from Wishful Elegance. Also, I added rhinestones cause I love some bling:)

The card I created using the same main elements and another stamp from Because of You.

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!

Project Parade Day 10 ~ It's a Girl Thing!

Hi! Laurie here, and it's my turn to share with you what I've created for this month's Project Parade! I created a Card Organizer for my mom...and plan on filling it for her throughout the year!

I used THIS tutorial on Splitcoast, some K & Co. papers, & Verve's Beautiful You stamps to create an ensemble that I hope she will love!



Here's a peek at the inside...


Instead of using 12 x 12 cardstock for the inside pages as the tutorial directed, I decided to use some coordinating patterned paper (from the same K & Co collection as I used on the card and outside of the organizer).

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 9

Hi there! It's Laura, and welcome to day nine of our Project Parade. I'm quite excited to share my project with you today. You see, Jen's challenge this month to create something to honour the women in our lives, was just the push I needed to tackle a project that I'd had in the back of my mind for some time now.

I made this for my sister, who is not a cardmaker, despite many attempts to lure her over to the world of stamping. Now, she does like and appreciate handmade cards, and I don't think she buys store bought cards, because Mom keeps her supplied with as many cards as she might ever need. Except, what about the cards she gives Mom? I know she often pulls out a card Mom made and gives it right back to her, so I thought I would give her a selection of cards that covered all the occasions she might want to give Mom a card for.

I pulled out some old designer paper from my stash, and stamped the flowers from Wishful Elegance on a 4 1/4" x 12" panel. I pulled the stem from Thankful Blossoms one of my favorite Verve sets to create a garden effect. The flowers were coloured in with an SU! marker, then adhered to the tin with Modge Podge. I filled the flower centres with Gunmetal Stickles, and added some black trim to the top.

The lid was covered in the same manner, using two 2"x7" pieces of the designer paper, with small cut outs for the handle attachments. I added some flowers to the top and ribbon around the handle. The word "cards" are chipboard letters covered in Gunmetal Stickles. In hindsight, I wish I had coloured them black first, but the sparkles is still there, although it doesn't show well in the photograph.

I couldn't finish without creating a matching card, so using a scrap of the left over designer paper, I created the same scene on the lower portion with Wishful Elegance and Thankful Blossoms, and added the sentiment from Because of You above. I separated the two components with a strip of black satin ribbon. The flowers were coloured with a marker again, and their centres filled with Gunmetal Stickles.

I am looking so forward to giving this to my sister, and I think I met Jen's challenge head on! After all this honours two amazing women in my life!

So are you gonna play too? 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!

Have a fabulous day, and thanks for popping by!

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 6: It's a Girl Thing!

Hey there Verve Fans!! It's Jen Tapler here with Day 6 of this month's Project Parade. The other Divas have been showing off some pretty amazing projects, huh?

When Jen d. challenged us with this month's "It's a Girl Thing" theme and I still had a Mother's Day Gift to make for my Mother-In-Law, I knew just what I wanted to do - this cute little keepsake photo block and matching card:

I had picked up a wooden block at my local craft store several months ago and hadn't used it yet, but it was begging to be painted and altered for this project!!! So I broke out some Chocolate acrylic paint and gave it a good once-over before covering each side with a piece of printed digi paper from the Hello Mutha, Hello Fatha kit by Libby Weifenbach & Christy Lyle (Sweet Shoppe Designs).

I used the Mother's Day Plain Jane combined with some of the flowers from Because of You on both the card and one side of the block. I added large and small Very Vanilla brads (SU) to the flower centers and popped them up on dimensionals for depth. I sponged the edges of the digi papers and printed the photos in a sepia tone to go with the "shabby" feel of the digi kit I used. And finally, I printed out the dates for each of the photos I used, punched them with my Word Window punch (SU), and attached with dimensionals. When it comes to gifts for my Mother-in-Law, I'm pretty much guaranteed a hit as long as it involves photos of my son Dean (her only grandchild)!!

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 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!