Guest Post with Wanda Cullen

Hi Verve friends! Today we have a special guest blog post from the super talented Wanda Cullen. Didn't you love seeing her fabulous cards for the release last week? In cased you missed them, I've added a photo collage of a few of her projects at the bottom of this post. Now let's hear from her about the card she's sharing with us today...

One of the things I love about Verve products is their versatility in the way they mix and match so well. My card for today uses the new Happiness Is stamp set and the Happiness In A Cup Die Set along with Bloom & Grow and four previously released dies: Jotted Heart, Elegant Leaves, Rounded Scallop Frame and Floral Circles.

I had so much fun creating this little collage as the focal point for my card! For my background, I used the bokeh technique after sponging some inks on paper with blending tools. I made my own ghetto stencil (a lovingly termed name by a fellow stamper!) by cutting six different sized circles out of a 5 1/2" x 6 1/2" piece of acetate. To tone down the vivid colors a bit, I lightly sponged white pigment ink using the stencil and overlapped many of the circles. I ran the heart die through a crimper tool then sponged some white ink around the edges. My tip for getting bold, crisp sentiments with black ink is to use my MISTI and stamp it at least 2 or 3 times.

I want to thank Julee again for the opportunity to guest design along with the divas for the July release!  Happiness is stamping with Verve stamps!  💕  ☕️

Happiness Is	Happiness in a Cup Die Set	Bloom & Grow	Elegant Leaves
Floral Circles Die Set	Rounded Scallop Frame Die	Jotted Heart Die

A beautiful card, don't you think? I definitely need to try out some bokeh backgrounds in the near future. Be sure to check out Wanda's blog for more projects with Verve stamps, and while you're there give her a shout out for being a wonderful inspiration to us this month! Here's a collage of a few of her amazing release projects.  Thanks Wanda!

December Diva Dare-Day 3

 Favorite Things - December Diva Dare

Welcome to December's Diva Dare, it's Charmaine and it's my day to share this month's dare entitled Favorite Things.  

So this month, we are daring you to share your favorite Verve creation(s) for this year OR create a new one with one of your favorite Verve products.

It really is hard to choose a favorite because I have favorites for different reasons, but I did settle on two favorites from this year!   The first one uses Swan Song, which I believe is now retired.  :(  I just love the layers on this card because I'm usually a clean & simple kind of gal and this card is out of my "norm".  I also used the Elegant Leaves Dies along with the coordinating leaves image from Bloom & Grow.  

My second favorite uses the Coffee set along with the Cuppa Joe Die Set and the Coffee Word Die.  I created the background by embossing the Coffee Word Die onto white cardstock and then brayered with dark brown ink.  It left the outline of the word coffee since the ink didn't touch the embossed parts of the word. 

Two ways to win prizes for double the fun!

Win a $40 gift voucher to Verve! Take our Favorite Things dare and link your card up to be eligible to win.  Entries must include your favorite Verve creation(s) of 2014 (maximum of 3 entries) OR be an entry using your favorite stamp set, be posted 12/8 or later, include at least one Verve product and be linked up to the linky widget by 8pm Mountain on 12/21/14.  One participant will be randomly selected to win the gift voucher.  You can enter as many times as you like for a new creation (each card needs to be a separate post), and a maximum of 3 times for previously created cards.

Win a Verve set of your choice! For another chance to win some new Verve, leave a little comment love on our design team's Favorite Things 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 21, 2014.
  

Winners will be announced on December 22, 2014.

April 2014 Diva Dare - Day 6

Hello there! Amber here with my take on this month's Diva Dare!

"Little Things" - April Diva Dare

Welcome to April's Diva Dare!  In honor of Spring's arrival (in some parts of North America anyway!), this month's Dare is entitled "Little Things".    The challenge is to create a baby or kid themed card, how fun!

I wanted to make a super girly card so I pulled out pinks, aquas, greens, and yellows and went to town on this card! I pulled out my old trusty favorite, Bloom and Grow and stamped the different flowers and leaf images on the cream card base.

Next, I stamped the sentiments from Practically Perfect on a circle die cut. The layout is loosely based on this week's Viva la Verve sketch, just on a smaller scale:)

The scallops on the right side is one of the borders from Scalloped Trim Trio, and the banners were all cut out with the Banner Bundle die collection

Deadline to link your cards is 8PM Mountain on Wednesday, April 23rd.  Entries must be posted 4/4 or later, include at least one Verve product, be a baby or kids themed card, and be linked up to the linky widget by 8pm Mountain on 4/23/14.   

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

Win a $40 Gift voucher to Verve Stamps! Take our "Little Things" Dare and link up your card (created April 4th 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 "Little Things" 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 April 23, 2014.

Winners will be announced on April 24, 2014.  

December Diva Dare - Final Day

Hi Verve fans!  Have you enjoyed our Playing Favorites Diva Dare as much as I have?  I just love seeing all the fun things each person chooses to highlight and reading a little bit more about their crafty faves.  A super fun Dare, indeed!  I'm wrapping up the Dare today, but there's still a little bit of time to post your old or new favorite Verve card to be in the running for our prize drawing!  Deadline to play along is Thursday, December 26.

Although I have lots of favorites with Verve, the set I always come back to when I get to stamp just for stamping's sake is Hope Blooms.  I just love these shabby flowers and the fun all occasion sentiments.  So when I stole a few moments to stamp last week, that's the set I reached for.

I stamped the flower twice in Strawbery Slush on designer paper, then hand cut and sponged the edges with the same color of ink.  The leaves are cut with the Elegant Leaves Die from soft sky cardstock and I stamped the coordinating image from Bloom & Grow in soft sky, then highlighted softly with a white prismacolor pencil.  The birthday sentiment is stamped in strawberry slush and I gave it the same sponged treatment as the flowers, handcutting a little banner edge on one side.  I finished off with some pink pearls in varying sizes for the flower center.

Supply List
Stamps: Hope Blooms, Bloom & Grow (Verve Stamps)
Paper: Bundle of Joy Girl (Echo Park), soft sky (SU!), white
Ink: strawberry slush, soft sky (SU!), white pencil (prismacolor)
Accessories: Elegant Leaves Die (A Cut Above by VERVE), sponge, pink pearls

Here are a few of my favorite cards from this year, as well..

using Relax  {original post}

using No Matter What {original post}

using Joyful Blooms {original post}

 As a fun extra this month, the Divas are answering "The Diva Fab Five Questionnaire."  Here goes!

1. My three favorite Verve products...  they all have near and dear spots in my heart, but I'd have to say Hope Blooms, Words of Wisdom and No Matter What are the ones I gravitate toward the most.

2. My current go-to color combination...  I love aqua with just about anything, but particularly love aqua, grey and red together.

3. My current go-to embellishment... I used to be really big on embellishments, but have taken a simpler approach to stamping lately (mostly because naptime doesn't allow me the time to dig through supplies to find the perfect embellishment).  I do love flatback pearls and rhinestones and liquid pearls.  One of those seems to make it on every one of my cards.  Love those little mini library clips SU! used to sell, too.  Now I'm hoarding my last package since they don't carry them anymore.

4. My favorite stamping or organizational tool... I've recently fell in love with the Envelope Punch Board.  Love making little envelopes and gifties.  I also just love my two-tier Clip It Ups.  I have one for for storing my Verve stamp sets and one for storing baggies filled with different seam bindings, lace, ribbon, flowers and other fun embellishments.

5. My favorite treat...  I usually have a mixture of Hot Tamales and Red Hots on my stamping desk.  I also love Lily's Dark Chocolate Coconut bars, but they normally don't stick around the craft studio very long!  LOL  During the holidays, I usually trade in my cinnamon dish for candy canes, peppermint nougats or white chocolate peppermint pretzel crisps.

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! -

August Diva Dare - Day 8

Hi Verve fans!  It's Charmaine bringing you Day 8 of the August Diva Dare!

This month's dare pays tribute to Diva Andrea (Ewen Style), and Diva Christyne (Stampin' with Sugar).  Both Divas are known for the wonderful way they can add layer upon layer on a card.  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 as per Diva Andrea, 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!  

So, layers aren't normally my thing.  As much I LOVE and admire heavily embellished and layered creations, my brain just doesn't think that way.  I'm a Clean & Simple kinda gal!  ;)  When I read this challenge, I started looking at all of those cards I admire and tried to pick apart the different layers.  What I came up with isn't exactly heavily embellished, but it does have more layers than I usually use on a card!  :)   I used the Swan Song set along with the leaves from Bloom & Grow.  I paper pieced the swan using patterned paper from the Vintage Bliss Collection from Simple Stories and then colored the body of the swan with Copic markers.  

The larger sentiment from the set was stamped on a piece of cardstock die cut with the Banner Bundle Die Set.  The leaves were die cut using the Elegant Leaves Die.  I added some seam binding from the Spring Fling Collection as well as some adhesive pearls to add some "sweetness" to the card.  

So, how about YOU joining in the challenge??

 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.

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

 

August Diva Dare-Day 2

Pile On the Sweetness, August Diva Dare

Good morning Verve fans, it is Teresa and I am sharing my take on this months Diva Dare; Pile On The Sweetness! What is not sweet about Verve flower stamps? I did kick it up a notch and added the flowers to honor Andrea and added a "sweet" sentiment to honor Christyne! Both divas are amazing and it was a pleasure to show tribute to their styles!

This month's dare pays tribute to Diva Andrea (Ewen Style), and Diva Christyne (Stampin' with Sugar).  Both Divas are known for the wonderful way they can add layer upon layer on a card.  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 as per Diva Andrea, 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 how I answered the dare:

I have used today's Mojo Monday Sketch and I must say it was perfect for layering; and layering I did...fun! I even added the lace trim and seam binding layers to the sketch. I layer stamped the flowers too, you can never have to many layers...tehehehehe. I used the stamp sets Bloom and Grow and Sweet Valentine. I have used these A Cut Above Verve Dies; Charming Ovals, Elegant Leaves, and Floral Circles. I had a blast with this months Diva Dare, I sure hope you join us and I cannot wait to see how you answer the dare!

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.

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

April Diva Dare ~ Day 10

Hey there!! Amber here with the next Diva Dare project! Have you been hopping along with us each day so far? Aren't the projects amazing? I love what these Diva's pull out of their sleeves every month, they're truly amazing!!

This month, we are being inspired by two of our Divas - Marisa and Charmaine and our theme for the month is "Bright Blooms and Butterflies"!  Think bright colors, flowers, butterflies...basically all of my favorite things, ha! Add some ribbon and some bling and I'm a happy girl:)

I have a little bit of all of our challenge requirements on this fun card! I had so much fun with it, just stampin', die cuttin, and glueing away!! The sentiment and flowers are from Surely Goodness. I stamped the sentiment in Melon Mambo ink on a banner cut out using my Banner Bundle Die Set. I cut some flowers out with the Goodness Flowers die set and stamped the coordinating flowers from Surely Goodness. The leaves are from Bloom and Grow and cut out with the Elegant Leaves die. You can also see where I used the scalloped heart border die from the Scalloped Trim Trio die, SUCH a fun die!! The butterfly is from So Fluttery and is cut out with the coordinating Flutterby die.

Well that's it from me! Want details on how you can win BIG??? 

1. Win a $40 Verve gift certificate! Play along with our March Diva Dare and link up your creation to the linky widget entry form.  A winner will be chosen by random draw. To be eligible, your entry must:
• Be a new creation - posted April 12th or later.
• Be a card or project using bright colours and having a flower and/or butterfly (or other die shape) as your focal point.
• Use at least one Verve product.
• Be added to the linky widget before 5pm Mountain on Wednesday, May 1.
2. Win a Verve set of your choosing! Leave a little shout-out for the Divas in the comments section as we post our answers to this month's dare weekdays through April 29th.  A random comment winner will be chosen from all the comments over the course of the Dare.
3. Winners will be announced on Friday, May 3rd.

Fanspiration Diva Dare ~ Day 8

Hi Verve fans and friends!  Andrea here continuing with this month's exciting Diva Dare theme!  I have to say that as I was perusing our fan gallery and seeing all the fabulous entries for our recent card carnival I was very inspired as well!  I can certainly see how this inspiration led to Julee's decision to make this month's Diva Dare theme...Fanspiration!   This month, we "dare" you to show us your new creations inspired by projects made by Verve fans!  You can pick any little Verve project to inspire you, as long as it is not by one of our design team members (or yourself!) {grin}.  To get your wheels a turnin', the Divas will be posting their Fanspiration creations using our newly released products right here daily for a total of 2 weeks!
I have long since admired one of our Verve fans' work (among others) and what really draws me to Olena's creations is her incredible use of color. I tend to make things more on the neutral/pastel side, but wow! When you see how color can be used, particularly on this card....my goodness, it really inspired me to make this card here:

I started off by heat embossing with clear powder, the flowers from the newly released Lean on Me set. After embossing, I sponged color, starting from the middle with Sunflower yellow ink, then working outwards using Really Rust and then the outside perimeter is colored with Walnut Stain distress ink. I cut out each flower with the coordinating Pointed Flowers die. I cut out 3 large and 4 small designs, layered them, curled up the edges and added a rhinestone to the middle. The leaves are a combination of the previously released Bloom and  Grow, cut out with the Elegant Leaves die and also leaves from the Dream Big set, cut out with the new Dreamy Leaves die.  The sentiment is from the With Love set, stamped on the Scroll Plain Jane  and cut out with the coordinating Scroll die. The last colorful details added were some orange organdy ribbon, orange rhinestone flourishes, a doily and a raffia adorned wooden button. The perimeter was paper pierced as well.

 Read on to see how you can win some shiny new Verve!  There are two ways to win...

1. Win a $50 Verve gift certificate! Play along with our Fanspiration Diva Dare and link up your creation to the linky widget entry form. Winner will be chosen by random draw.  To be eligible, your entry must:
• Be a new creation - posted September 7 or later
• Be inspired by a non-design team created Verve card or project
• Include a link to the inspiration piece you used, as well as a brief explanation of what inspired you
• Use at least one Verve product
• Be added to the linky widget before 5pm Mountain on Sunday, September 23.
2. Win a Verve set of your choosing! Leave a little shout-out for the Divas in the comments section as we post our answers to the Fanspiration dare each weekday through September 20.  A random comment winner will be chosen from all the comments over the course of the Dare.

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

July Diva Dare 2012 - Day 4

Hi there!  It's Charmaine bringing you Day 4 of the July Diva Dare!!  I don't know about you, but I've really been enjoying what the Divas have been posting so far! 

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!)

I love to create little birthday packages.  The smallest things can seem THAT much bigger just by how they're packaged, don't you think?  ;)  I created this little scalloped basket using my Silhouette.  I stuffed it with some filler so it's all ready for a gift of some kind.  The papers are from the Alphabet Soup Collection from My Mind's Eye.  I started with the Hearts & Swirls Frame Die and the coordinating frame stamp from Twitterpated.  I stamped the Happy Birthday Plain Jane sentiment onto the die cut frame.  Then I got out my Bloom & Grow set and coordinating Elegant Leaves Die and Floral Circles Die Set to stamp and die cut some flowers and leaves.  I added some glitter, bling and ribbon to finish off the birthday basket. 

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 ON THE DAY 1 POST 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.

Winners will be announced on Monday, July 30 right here on the Verve blog.

Can't wait to see what you create!

Back in Stock

Hi Verve friends! I just wanted to quickly note that our re-stocking shipment arrived much earlier than expected. So if you've been waiting on an out-of-stock set it's more than likely back in stock and on sale 20% off through October 16, during our Think Pink Sale!

Here's a little refresher on some of the beautiful sets that are back in stock today...

Bountiful Harvest sample by Diva Tosha Leyendekker

Bloom & Grow sample by Diva Amy Sheffer

Words of Wisdom sample by Diva Andrea Ewen

New Mercies sample by Diva Julee Tilman

Hebrews 11:1 sample by Diva Amber Hight

Psalm 121:1-2 sample by Diva Maureen Plut

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