April 2014 Diva Dare ~ Day 9

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

"Little Things" - April Diva Dare

Welcome to April's Diva Dare!  In honour 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 was inspired by Teresa's Week 2 Viva La Verve sketch and a patchwork quilt.  I made a baby girl card for the Inspiration Hop this month and wanted to make a baby boy card with the same Smallest Things plain jane.  The banners were created with the Flag It Die set.  A little wooden heart and some sequins finish off this sweet little boy's card.

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.  

February 2014 Diva Dare ~ Day 9

"Perk Up", February Diva Dare

Welcome Verve lovelies, it's Andrea with you here today to share with you my version of February's Diva Dare!  This month's challenge 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 multitude of uplifting/heartfelt sentiments. 

I always find it so hard to narrow down my options with my Verve stamps, but since I chose to go with the java theme...as well as the 'day brightening' theme...these two sets were the obvious choice:

I figured that Maja Design's Ska vi ta en fika collection would pair perfectly with Verve's Better With You set. I also borrowed the little coffee cup designs from Verve's Sip and Savor set. I roughed up all edges, made a pretty seam binding triple bow with a pearl accoutrement and some strategic liquid pearls. The sentiment was stamped on a Flag It die set from Verve's A Cut Above dies.

I modeled my project after this week's Mojo Monday sketch:

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. 

January 2014 Diva Dare ~ Day 1

"Smitten", January Diva Dare

Happy New Year everyone, and welcome to the first Diva Dare of 2014!  This month's Dare is entitled "Smitten".  I just love that word.  Makes me smile every time I hear it :)  

What we're daring you to do this month is to make a card or project with a heart, whether it's for the one you love, a sweet Valentine or a lunch note for a child.  Let's get smitten!

Since I love hearts, this challenge was right up my alley!  I used a VLV sketch from December's rewind sketches and MME's wonderful Valentine's Day paper pack called Love Me.  Lots of Verve dies on my card too:  Wavy Hearts, Heart Quartet, Pennant Trim and Flag It die sets (can you tell I like Verve dies wink, wink).

I'm going to give this card to my daughter in a few weeks as an encouragement because she has to write all three of her provincial exams at the end of January due to having all the exam subjects this term.  Poor punkin!  It's going to be a rough month and I want to let her know I love her and I'm there for her.

Deadline to link your cards is 8PM Mountain on Wednesday, January 22nd.  Entries must be posted 1/3 or later, include at least one Verve product, include a heart, and be linked up to the linky widget by 8pm Mountain on 1/22/14.  

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

Win a $40 Gift voucher to Verve Stamps! Take our "Smitten" Dare and link up your card (created January 3rd 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 "Smitten" 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 January 22, 2014.

Winners will be announced on January 23, 2014. 

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

May Diva Dare ~ Day 10

Hi everyone!  Maureen here winding up the week with Day 10 of  this month's Diva Dare.

Stars & Stripes May Diva Dare

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

 

 

I had plenty of inspiration this month...not only with our talented Divas we are highlighting, but with my son's graduation from Engineering next week :)  His university colours are gold and navy (my alma mater!) so that took care of the colour scheme.  Then came some stripes from Strong Anchor and a whole bunch of sparkling stars from the Starry Die and glitter cardstock.  I couldn't resist adding a little extra note from Small Phrases to let Jake know I am extra proud of him.  But the part I love best is the centre piece, Happy Graduation.  I was so excited that it was part of the latest Release...perfect timing for me! Then last, but not least,  I added some fun golden flag ends from the Flag It die set.

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

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

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

Winners will be announced on May 31, 2013.

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

May Diva Dare ~ Day 5

Hi there friends! Have you been loving the challenge so far this week? There is lots more fun to be had so keep on following our daily posts! Here's a little update on what this whole challenge is all about:)

Stars & Stripes May Diva Dare

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

I'm sure everyone knows by now (I talk about it alot, lol!) I was in the Air Force for 11 years, and my sweet hubby is still in the Air Force! The US military is so much a party of my life, I can't imagine not being around it. Scary to think of it actually! I do love my stars and stripes! So I had no problem with this challenge:) As with all challenges, they're meant to "challenge" you, so I didn't go the red, white, and blue path...I probably should have also challenged myself to CAS but that just isn't gonna happen, lol!

I used this beautiful pink striped paper from Simple Stories and some fabulous goodies from Verve!

The stamps are from "Take Note". I just cut the envelope out by hand, no die for that one! I also used the scalloped star border die from the Scalloped Trim Trio die set, and the small bracket tag from the Flag It die set.

I also used the Wrinkled Crepe ribbon from the new Black Beauty Ribbon Collection! This ribbon ties like a dream, I can't talk it up enough:) GOOOOOD STUFF! You need it;)

I used Charmaine's sketch for our Viva la Verve challenge this week!

Click HERE to play along!

During this month's Diva Dare, there are 4 prizes up for grabs!

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

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

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

Winners will be announced on May 31, 2013.

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! -

April Diva Dare ~ Day 5

Greetings Verve fans!  Maureen here with you this morning for Day 5 of this month's Diva Dare!   This month we are challenging you to "Bright Blooms and Butterflies", a combination of Diva Charmaine's (Oodabug Alley) and Marisa's (Rosemary Reflections) signature styles. Charmaine often uses wonderful, bright colours on her cards and Marisa uses lots of flowers and butterflies. So this month, we dare you to create a colourful card using either a flower or butterfly image, (or if you'd prefer... a fun die shape) as the focal element. 

When I visit Charmaine's blog, her colour and paper choices always make me smile :)  I noticed she used this particular patterned paper on her sweet creation HERE.  So that was my starting point.  I also wanted to put one of the  sentiments from Remember This onto gray cardstock with white embossing powder for a chalkboard-ish look like Charmaine has done a few times.  The other sentiment was stamped onto the small banner image which fits perfectly onto one of the banners in the Banner Bundle Die set.  I also tucked two Flag It banners onto the side of the note page panel.  Marisa loves butterflies so it was easy to reach for the Flutterby die again using balsa wood.  AND to make things a little more sparkly, I stamped the coordinating image from So Fluttery with Stampin' Up's heat and stick.  Then I sprinkled on some pink glitter and heat set it.  Some sparkly stars from the Starry die and some more of that delicious, buttery Spring Fling seam binding were fun additions to these 2 Divas' styles.  This is how I answered the Dare, how will YOU?

Click Here To Link Up Your Creation!

Finally, noted 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! -

April Diva Dare Day 4

Howdy everyone! Jen here with you this morning for Day 4 of this month's Diva Dare!   This month we are challenging you to "Bright Blooms and Butterflies", a combination of Diva Charmaine's (Oodabug Alley) and Diva Marisa's (Rosemary Reflections) signature styles. Charmaine often uses wonderful, bright colours on her cards and Marisa uses lots of lowers and butterflies. So this month, we dare you to create a colorful card using either a flower or butterfly image, (or if you'd prefer... a fun die shape) as the focal element. 

 

For my card I started with an old sketch I had sitting around on my desk that I wasn't quite sure what to do with and a background I made a while back but didn't end up using because it was too bright for the card I was making. It just so happens that the two seemed to be meant for each other. :) The background is made using the large flowers from Surely Goodness embossed on watercolor paper with white embossing powder and then I used all the warm yellows, oranges and reds in my Distress Marker set to color over the the entire paper. I activated the ink with a paint brush and water to make the colors flow a little bit. I then used a baby wipe to clean up the white embossing where the color stuck a little extra. The top panel is embossed with a Sizzix embossing folder. The sentiment is from Surely Goodness and die cut with one of the Flag It Dies. The three little flags are a portion of the Pennant Trim Die and the wonderful butterflies are die cut using the Flutterby Die and embossed with a Cuttlebug embossing folder.

That's my take on Charmaine's wonderful bright colors and Marissa's flowers and butterflies! I can't wait to see what YOU make!

Click Here To Link Up Your Creation!

Finally, noted 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! -

March Diva Dare - Day 4

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We are well on our way into March's Diva Dare today combining Laurie's blog name at Just Give Me Stamps and Maureen's from Buttons and Bling and I'm gonna double dare you to take the challenge! It's so much fun to catch onto a style from these two Diva's and create. You just have to try it!

So here is how I took the dare…

Laurie and Maureen's blog names plus their elegant use of posies, rounded corners and sewing are what inspired me for the dare. Here are the Verve-y highlights.

Starting with the Viva La Verve Challenge week 2 sketch from Diva Jen S., I used the new release stamp set So Fluttery and combined two of the text stamps for my sentiment. I added a side panel using a Flag It Die and attached it with some stitches. A circle trim die, one of three dies in the Scalloped Trim Trio Die Set, is attached with a quick straight stitch. My flower is handmade using the Scalloped Flowers Die Set where I cut both out, snipped in-between petals, wet the paper with water and scrunched it up, then gently opened and a quick dry with the heat tool. The bow is a combination of Espresso seam binding ribbon from the Signature Ribbon Selection, black and white twine and a blue button. And then it's bling time! I added black pearls around the flower and bow. That's all! Now...

Has that got your wheels a turnin'? The Divas are going to be posting their Diva Dare creations using our newly released products right here, each weekday, for a total of two weeks. Why, do tell? There are going to be winners!  We'll announce the winners on Thursday, March 28th.

Here 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 March 8th or later.
   • Be inspired by a Verve card or project combining Diva Maureen and Diva Laurie's style.
   • Use at least one Verve product.
   • Be added to the linky widget before 5pm Mountain on Wednesday,  March 27.
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 March 25th.  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! -

March Diva Dare - Day 2

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Hello Verve Fans!  It's Charmaine and I am excited to be bringing you Day 2 of this month's Diva Dare, "Just Give Me Stamps, Buttons and Bling"!!  This month, "we dare" you to create a card combining Diva Laurie (Just Give Me Stamps) and Diva Maureen's (Buttons and Bling) styles.  For insight into their styles and inspiration galore, you can find Diva Laurie's Verve creations here and Diva Maureen's Verve creations here.

When I was creating my card, one thing that made me think of Laurie (besides lots of layers) is how she embosses a line art image in white on patterned paper.  I love it when she does that!  :)  The image always looks great and there's no need to color!  I did that on my card with the flower image from Surely Goodness.  When I think of Maureen, I think of these big fluffy bows and the bling!!  I used some of the Truly, Madly, Deeply Seam Binding for my bow.
 

The papers are from the For the Record 2 Tailored Collection from Echo Park.  I also used the Flag It Die Set for the little red tab and the sentiment tab.  The flower pieces were die cut using the Goodness Flowers Die Set. 

To get your wheels a turnin', the Divas will be posting their Diva Dare creations using our newly released products right here, each weekday, for the next two weeks.  Winners will be announced on Thursday, March 28th. 

Finally, noted 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 in this post.  A winner will be chosen by random draw. To be eligible, your entry must:
• Be a new creation - posted March 8th or later.
• Be inspired by a Verve card or project combining Diva Maureen and Diva Laurie's style.
• Use at least one Verve product.
• Be added to the linky widget before 5pm Mountain on Wednesday,  March 27.
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 March 25th.  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! -

March Diva Dare - Day 1 (Entry Form)

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Hi there, this is Marisa kicking off this month's Diva Dare entitled "Just Give Me Stamps, Buttons and Bling".  If you recognize a few blog names in the title, you are well on your way to figuring out this month's dare.  So with no further adieu, this month, "we dare" you to create a card combining Diva Laurie (Just Give Me Stamps) and Diva Maureen's (Buttons and Bling) styles.  For insight into their styles and inspiration galore, you can find Diva Laurie's Verve creations here and Diva Maureen's Verve creations here.

When I think of Laurie, skewed panels, lots of layers and vellum, come to mind. When I think of Maureen, double sentiments, grosgrain ribbon bows and buttons and bling come to mind.  After mixing them together, here is the card I came up with. 

I skewed the main panel, and then used the Flutterby die to cut out three paper and three vellum butterflies. I embossed one of the butterfly  images from So Fluttery on the paper butterflies and then overlay each one with a vellum butterfly for a "softer" look  (sorry, I was unable to capture the vellum in the photo).  I added a scalloped heart border from the Scalloped Trim Trio die set along the bottom of the chevron panel, but it pretty much got covered up by the ribbon in the photo - my bad.  Next, I added a double sentiment using two of the phrases from So Fluttery, one on the main panel and one on a tab from the Flag It die set.  A grosgrain bow and some buttons finished things off and my Diva Dare card was complete.  
 
To get your wheels a turnin', the Divas will be posting their Diva Dare creations using our newly released products right here, each weekday, for the next two weeks.  Winners will be announced on Thursday, March 28th. 

Finally, noted 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 March 8th or later.
• Be inspired by a Verve card or project combining Diva Maureen and Diva Laurie's style.
• Use at least one Verve product.
• Be added to the linky widget before 5pm Mountain on Wednesday,  March 27.
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 March 25th.  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! -