March 2014 Diva Dare - Day 11

Hi there! Jen here, bringing you Day 10 of the March Diva Dare challenge, "Do The Polka".  

What we're daring you to do this month is to use polka dots somewhere on your card. Whether you choose to strut your polka dot stamps, paper, ribbon or all of the above, we want to see you do the polka! 

I was so happy when I found out this challenge involved polka dots because it meant I had another excuse to use the fabulous background stamp from Better Together. I just love stamps that let me step away from patterned paper for a bit to just focus on stamping. I combined the dots from Better Together with the flowers from Lean On Me (colored with Copic markers) and the leaves from Dream Big along with their respective dies, Pointed Flowers Dies and Dreamy Leaves Dies. The sentiment is stamped on a bit of cream cardstock cut with with Rounded Rectangle Die. Underneath it all I die cut the Pennant Trim Die from a bit of pale pink cardstock. To finish it all off I added a few teeny tiny rhinestones in a pale pink. 

Deadline to link your cards is 8PM Mountain on Wednesday, March 26th.  Entries must be posted 3/7 or later, include at least one Verve product, polka dots, and be linked up to the linky widget by 8pm Mountain on 3/26/14. 

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

Win a $40 Gift voucher to Verve Stamps! Take our "Do The Polka" Dare and link up your card (created March 7th or later) to the linky widget 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 "Do The Polka" 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 March 26, 2014.

Winners will be announced on March 27, 2014. 

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

February 2014 Diva Dare - Day 6

"Perk Up" - February Diva Dare

Welcome to Day 6 of February's Diva Dare!  This month's Dare is entitled "Perk Up."    

What we're daring you to do this month is make a card or project to perk someone up, whether it’s with a warm beverage or just a heartfelt sentiment to brighten someone’s day.  No shortage of options as Verve has some wonderful coffee and tea sets as well as a plethora of uplifting/heartfelt sentiments.

For my card, I well all-out with the sunshine and blossoms!  Verve's Brighter Days set is so full of "Perk Up" sentiments that I had some trouble choosing one.  Once I settled on my sentiment, I used the beautiful blossoms from the set with their coordinating Scalloped Flowers dies and some Prismacolor Pencils in order to bring them to life.  The Dreamy Leaves, Arrow, Banner Bundle, and Scalloped Trim Trio dies were also put to use for this project, adding layers, life and embellishment.  Once all the layers were in place, I sprinkled the card with a few Pastel Sequins and, as usual, I just couldn't resist a giant seam binding bow using the Truly Madly Deeply Ribbon Collection.  

Deadline to link your cards is 8PM Mountain on Wednesday, February 26th.  Entries must be posted 2/7 or later, include at least one Verve product, a warm beverage or heartfelt sentiment, and be linked up to the linky widget by 8pm Mountain on 2/26/14.   

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

Win a $40 Gift voucher to Verve Stamps! Take our "Perk Up" Dare and link up your card (created February 7th 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 "Perk Up" 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 February 26, 2014.

Winners will be announced on February 27, 2014. 

August Diva Dare - Day 9

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!  

My card for you today features the Every Season PJ combined with a flower cluster for Andrea using flowers from the Let it Be stamp set. I obviously had a great time with this dare, piling on all the layers using this week's Mojo Monday sketch (307). Among the layers, I used many Verve accents such as the Dreamy Leaves dies and seam binding from the Polka dot ribbon collection, the Black Beauty ribbon collection, and the Signature ribbon collection. I hope you all have as much fun piling on the layers as I do!

 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! - 

July Diva Dare - Day 8

Hi Verve fans!!  Jen here bringing you Day 8 of this month's Diva Dare entitled "Tattered Pages".

This month's dare pays tribute to Julee (Poetic Artistry), owner and creator of Verve Stamps and Diva Teresa (Paperie Blooms).  Julee has created countless, uplifting sentiments which have become one of Verve's trademarks, and Teresa knows how to rock distressing and "shabbiness" on her cards.  So what we're daring you to create this month is a card using an uplifting sentiment and some distressing and/or shabby element to it.  Kind of like an encouraging card you have received which you have read so many times the edges are a bit tattered.  Just remember to use at least one Verve product on your creation!

 

 

As I was planning out my card I went back through Teresa's blog and decided I wanted to highlight her gorgeous use of pattern and vintage/shabby elements like twine, seam binding and flowers. I used seam binding from the Signature Ribbon Collection and highlighted the flower with leaves from Dream Big die cut with the Dreamy Leaves Dies. I didn't distress my card but I think it still has a bit of shabby feel to it with the flower cluster and patterned paper.

To highlight Julee's uplifting sentiments I chose New Mercies. I love this stamp set and was in need of a sympathy card for a close friend and I new this set would be perfect to lift her spirits.

To created the scalloped edge I used the Flourish Trim Die. The sentiment is die cut with the Classy Label Die.

 

My card layout is based on Viva La Verve July Week 4 sketch!

 

 

Deadline to link your cards is 8PM Mountain on Wednesday, July 31st.  Entries must be new (posted 7/12 or later), include at least one Verve product, an uplifting sentiment, and some distressing or shabbiness and be linked up to the linky widget by 8pm Mountain on 7/31/13.

 

 

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

Win a $40 Gift voucher to Verve Stamps! Take our Tattered Pages Dare and link up your card (created July 12th or later) to the linky widget on the day one post 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 "Tattered Pages" 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 July 31, 2013.

Winners will be announced on August 1, 2013.

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

June Diva Dare ~ Day 7

Hello Verve fans!! Andrea here with this month's Diva Dare entitled "Puddles of Colour".

This month's dare pays tribute to Diva Jen (Deconstructing Jen) who is an amazing colorer (word can be found in any crafter's dictionary wink, wink) and Diva Janelle (Rain Puddles Design) who also colors beautifully, often uses paint on her cards and is a wonderful mixed media artist. So what we're daring you to create this month is a card using coloring and/or painting. If you want to kick the dare up a notch, you can add kraft card stock to the mix (Jen's specialty) and/or make a mixed media card (Janelle's specialty). Here is the link to Splitcoast Stamper's "Mix-Ability" Forum for some tutorials and ideas on Mixed Media should you want to try it out. This is not a requirement but a fun "extra" should you wish to add it to your card.Just remember to use at least one Verve product on your creation!

Here is my take on the dare:

In honor of Jen...I added kraft and lots of color (noun), but kept my coloring (verb) to a minimum (she's also a school teacher, so she should appreciate my use of the same word in two different forms :) The flower is from Verve's Surely Goodness set. I heat embossed the design in white embossing powder and colored in the petals with an Aqua painter and dye inks. To add a bit of pizazz, I also dotted the petals with Liquid Pearls dimensional paint. (That's about as far as my 'mixed media' tribute goes {tips hat to Janelle}.) The leaves are stamped from the Dream Big set and punched out with the coordinating Dreamy Leaves die. They got doused with liquid pearls, too! The sentiment is also stamped/heat embossed and that phrase is from Let It Be. The heart border down the right side is from Verve's Scalloped Trim Trio set and I used negatives of the punched out hearts to add to the sentiment. The ribbon is a new collection from Verve, this one is from the Red, White and Beautiful set. Some paper piercing, a button and twine bow and it's all good!

I used this week's Mojo Monday sketch for my design:

Deadline to link your cards is 5PM Mountain on Thursday, June 27.  Entries must be new (posted 6/11 or later), include at least one Verve product, include some type of coloring/painting (with an option of adding kraft cardstock or mixed media, but this is not required) and be linked up to the linky widget by 5pm Mountain on 6/27/13. 

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

Win a $40 Gift Certificate to Verve Stamps! Take our Puddles of Colour Dare and link up your card (created June 11th or later) to the linky widget below to be eligible to win.  One participant will be randomly selected to win the gift certificate.  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 "Puddles of Colour" 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 June 27, 2013.

Winners will be announced on June 28, 2013.

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

April Diva Dare -Day 6

Hello Verve friends! Andrea posting here today with not one but two challenges...rolled into one! Not only is today my day to share my Diva Dare project, but I've also combined it with this week's Viva La Verve sketch which I'm hosting!
When I heard the name of this month's Diva Dare "Bright Blooms and Butterflies" I knew it would be a great combination as Charmaine whips those bright colors together in short order to make some delightfully cheery, uplifting cards and Marisa...'Queen of Darling Die Cuts'... I mean have you seen how she assembles paper flowers? Don't even get me started on her fondness for maple leaves! :)
Here's my combo card, using bright colors (by my standards :) and lots {and I mean LOTS} of Verve die-cuts:

I generally use muted, neutrals on my cards so this was really a step out the box for me. It felt refreshing to add some good old-fashioned color to my card (thanks, Charmaine!). I also wanted to duplicate the small rolled flowers that Marisa expertly creates for her cards, so my project also shows my attempt at those sweet things.

 I used Crate Paper's colorful Farmhouse collection and added loads of Verve dies, namely the Curvy Bookplate die which encompasses both a Mini Bookplate die and a Flag-It die for the sentiment. That overlays two Banner Bundle dies, matted and attached to the sentiment panel. Also tucked in there is an All Aflutter die. There are also Dreamy Leaves dies which were stamped with the greenery from the Dream Big set. The 'hello' sentiment is from Remember This, part of Verve's latest release.

{By far not a mailable card, by normal standards anyway, but then it wouldn't be an Andrea card if it were flat...  :)}

Here's the Viva La Verve sketch for this week:

And an inspiration pic to get your creative juices flowing:

(For the Viva La Verve challenge, you can use just the sketch, just the inspiration (pick colors, a layout, a theme, etc from the inspiration picture), or you can combine both challenges into one card!)

Below are two ways you can win some shiny new Verve!  

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.

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

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! -

Fanspiration Diva Dare ~ Day 7

Hi there!  It's Charmaine bringing you Day 7 of our Fanspiration Diva Dare. 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 each weekday!

I really had a tough time with this dare because I couldn't decide on A card.  It took me a while just to narrow it down from all the fabulous Verve Fan creations in the gallery. . .but I still ended up with two that I just couldn't decide between!  One of the cards I was so inspired by is THIS CARD from girlgeek101.  This card is totally my style.  I LOVE how Audrie used the embossing to add detail to this simple but elegant card along with that pop of color with the flower image.  I created my card using the Learning To Sail set.  Since the stamps I used to stamp behind the sentiment were line stamps and not silhouette, I added a border of cardstock in the same color as the ship to bring it out a little more. 

I used the Beaded Oval Nestabilities for my focal piece.  I'm not sure how well it shows in the picture, but I added a tranparent pearl on each "bead" with a Viva Pearl Pen.  I thought it would be a neat detail that added to the water theme.  :)

The other card that I just couldn't decide between was THIS CARD from Jen Mitchell.  I just LOVED the colors that Jen used in her card.  I LOVE the warm, Fall colors with a pop of red!  I also loved Jen's layout.  I just changed the stamps and the papers for my card and added a sentiment using the Lean On Me set with the leaves from Dream Big. 

I die cut the flowers using the Pointed Flowers Die Set, stamped them in red ink and then used a blender pen with the ink pad to color them.  The leaves were die cut using the Dreamy Leaves Die Set.  I also used the Rounded Rectangle Die as well as the Rounded Scallop Frame Die with the border stamp from the Treasured Words set. 

How fun is this Dare? Don't know where to start? Head over to the Verve Fan Gallery to peruse some projects, pick one then join in the fun...here are the details...

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! -