Holiday Diva Dare ~ Day 9

---

Welcome to the Holiday Diva Dare!  It's Andrea here and I'm so glad you've stopped in for a visit! A quick rundown of the deets and then we'll get to the good stuff...

For those of you that are new to this challenge, here is how it works...following each release, we will post a theme that we dare you with, and you'll have two weeks to complete the challenge. During those two weeks, the release team will post their creations and tell you how they answered the dare!

This month's theme is A Handmade Christmas! The theme is pretty broad and can be interpreted in so many different ways...from a lovingly made card, to heartfelt gifts and homemade decorations!  With the Holidays right around the corner, this will be the perfect time to get a jump start on your card and gift making!

So, we DARE you to make a Handmade Christmas card or gift!

 I answered the dare with this sweet, vintage envelope...suitable for gift cards, holiday cards or any kind of sweet treat:

A little peek of the inside:

 I used Verve's Charming Oval die for my Santa's Helper sentiment on the front and the inside stamp is from the new Bright Spirits set. The finished envelope measures 4" X 5 1/2". I took a piece of Vintage Cream card stock, cut it down to 5 1/2" X 11" and then scored at the 4" mark, twice, starting at one end. The envelope lid ended up being 3".  I wanted it to be a bit smaller because I wanted to fancy it up with a Martha Stewart French Scroll punch. To do that, I measured exactly the middle of the edge of the flap and marked it with a pencil. I then aligned my corner punch and cut. I then laid the card stock diagonally on my cutting board and cut from that first punch towards the closest score line. Next, I aligned my border punch and punched away! There are lots of perimeter pearls, sewn and distressed edges.

Want to know how you can win some fabulous new VERVE GOODIES?

1. Play along with us and link up your new A Handmade Christmas creation (posted November 18 or later) to the linky widget on Laurie's Day 1 post before 9PM Mountain on Thursday, December 8. One lucky stamper will win a $30.00 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 A Handmade Christmas creations. One lucky commenter will win the Verve stamp set of his or her choosing! Winners will be announced on Friday, December 9 right here on the Verve blog.

Now it's YOUR turn! We DARE you to show us your creations!

---

Holiday Diva Dare ~ Day 8

Hi everyone!  It's Jackie here and I'd like to welcome you back to day 8 of the Holiday Diva Dare!  

For those of you who are new to this challenge, here is how it works: Following each release, we will post a theme that we dare you with and you'll then have two weeks to complete the challenge. During those two weeks, the release team will be posting their creations and sharing how they answered the dare!

This month's theme is A Handmade Christmas! The theme is pretty broad and can be interpreted in so many different ways...from a lovingly made card, to heartfelt gifts and homemade decorations! With the Holidays right around the corner, this will be the perfect time to get a jump start on your card and gift making!

So, we DARE you to make a Handmade Christmas card or gift!

I'll give you one guess as to how I answered the dare.....Give up?  TAGS, of course!

My Mom and Dad are in a couples Bible study group and she asked if I could make her some gift tags to spruce up the simple gift bags she had picked out for the other couples in the group.  Of course I said yes!  I love to make tags this time of year!

I used the new Cross Set dies and die cut four crosses from patterned paper.  The poinsettia/snowflake in the center of the cross is from Bright Spirits.  It was stamped in Memento Tuxedo Black, colored with Copics and cut out.  I finished off each one with an adhesive pearl.  The sentiment is from Richly Blessed.  It was stamped in Cherry Cobbler ink and made into a sentiment "flag".  I finished the tags with some black twill ribbon tied with a ivory linen thread bow and a bit of zig zag stitching.  All of the patterned paper is 12 Days of Christmas by Simple Stories.

A detail shot.....

Thank you and Happy Holidays!!!

---

Want to know how you can win some fabulous new VERVE GOODIES?

1. Play along with us and link up your new A Handmade Christmas creation (posted November 18 or later) to the linky widget on the DAY ONE post before 9PM Mountain on Thursday, December 8. One lucky stamper will win a $30.00 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 A Handmade Christmas creations. One lucky commenter will win the Verve stamp set of his or her choosing! Winners will be announced on Friday, December 9 right here on the Verve blog.

Now it's YOUR turn! We DARE you to show us your creations!

Holiday Diva Dare - Day 7

---

Welcome to Day 7 of the Holiday Diva Dare!  It's Charmaine and today is my turn to bring you my take on this month's challenge! 

For those of you who are new to this challenge, here is how it works: Following each release, we will post a theme that we dare you with and you'll then have two weeks to complete the challenge. During those two weeks, the release team will be posting their creations and sharing how they answered the dare!

This month's theme is A Handmade Christmas! The theme is pretty broad and can be interpreted in so many different ways...from a lovingly made card, to heartfelt gifts and homemade decorations! With the Holidays right around the corner, this will be the perfect time to get a jump start on your card and gift making!

So, we DARE you to make a Handmade Christmas card or gift!

When I was thinking about what to create for the challenge, I started thinking of things that my kids could help with since they LOVE to create gifts. . .especially my two oldest.  I came across these adorable ornaments at marthastewart.com made with a pipecleaner and buttons!  They are SO simple and perfect for kids to create!  I don't know about you, but I have a TON of buttons, so the girls had their pick and it was a great way to use up some surplus!  ;) 

So, my answer to the dare was the ornaments and some pretty packaging for the ornaments!  I created the snowman box using a downloadable template, and the Santa box was created with a die.  I stamped each box with the snowflakes from Glad Tidings.  I stamped the snowflakes on the box in white craft ink, then I stamped some on white cardstock in Crumb Cake ink and die cut them using the Snowflake Tidings Die Set.  The sentiment panel uses the frame from Tag Time, a sentiment from Bright Spirits and the Curvy Bookplate Die.  The window in the snowman box was die cut using the Rounded Scallop Frame Die.  The snowman is suspended from the lid of the box.  I added tissue paper to the bottoms of both boxes. 

Hope you've been inspired today!  There's more Diva Inspiration to come, so stop back tomorrow!

---

Want to know how you can win some fabulous new VERVE GOODIES?

1. Play along with us and link up your new A Handmade Christmas creation (posted November 18 or later) to the linky widget on the DAY ONE post before 9PM Mountain on Thursday, December 8. One lucky stamper will win a $30.00 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 A Handmade Christmas creations. One lucky commenter will win the Verve stamp set of his or her choosing! Winners will be announced on Friday, December 9 right here on the Verve blog.

Now it's YOUR turn! We DARE you to show us your creations!

---

Holiday Diva Dare - Day 6

Welcome to the Holiday Diva Dare! I have been so inspired by both the Diva creations and the challenge entries uploaded so far. I hope you have too!

For those of you who are new to this challenge, here is how it works: Following each release, we will post a theme that we dare you with and you'll then have two weeks to complete the challenge. During those two weeks, the release team will be posting their creations and sharing how they answered the dare!

This month's theme is A Handmade Christmas! The theme is pretty broad and can be interpreted in so many different ways...from a lovingly made card, to heartfelt gifts and homemade decorations! With the Holidays right around the corner, this will be the perfect time to get a jump start on your card and gift making!

So, we DARE you to make a Handmade Christmas card or gift!

I answered the dare with an ornament that I created using the tree die from the new Winter Fun Die set and a sentiment from Glad Tidings.

I started with a decorative oval chipboard frame, then added a Classy Label diecut, a paper rosette, a layered felt tree, and a sentiment flag. I attached a rusty jingle bell at the bottom and some ivory vintage buttons at the top. I distressed the chipboard and paper elements with Frayed Burlap Distress ink for a somewhat rustic look.To create the layered felt tree, I die-cut three trees from green felt, stacked them, and then stitched vertically through the center. Press open the seams for a more 3D effect if desired. Fairly quick and easy to make! I think these will work especially well with kraft gift bags or packages wrapped in kraft paper. For the recipient, the ornament can go right from the package to the tree for a gift that keeps giving.

---

Want to know how you can win some fabulous new VERVE GOODIES?

1. Play along with us and link up your new A Handmade Christmas creation (posted November 18 or later) to the linky widget on the DAY ONE post before 9PM Mountain on Thursday, December 8. One lucky stamper will win a $30.00 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 A Handmade Christmas creations. One lucky commenter will win the Verve stamp set of his or her choosing! Winners will be announced on Friday, December 9 right here on the Verve blog.

Now it's YOUR turn! We DARE you to show us your creations!

Holiday Diva Dare - Day 5

Monday Greetings everyone!!  I hope you had a wonderful SUPER LONG Thanksgiving Day weekend.  This Canadian Diva is always a little jealous of the way you celebrate Thanksgiving right!  Now onto Day 5 of the Holiday Diva Dare!  For those of you who are new to this challenge, here is how it works...following each release, we will post a theme that we dare you with, and you'll have two weeks to complete the challenge. During those two weeks, the release team will post their creations and tell you how they answered the dare!

This month's theme is A Handmade Christmas! The theme is pretty broad and can be interpreted in so many different ways...from a lovingly made card, to heartfelt gifts and homemade decorations!  With the Holidays right around the corner, this will be the perfect time to get a jump start on your card and gift making!

So, we DARE you to make a Handmade Christmas card or gift!  Oops!! Did you hear Christmas?  I'm working a little backwards...so stay with me!  Today just happens to be my son's 23rd birthday (AND btw Diva Andrea's!! Happy B-Day sistah!).  I wanted to make him a birthday card that would house a Starbucks card and a "little" cheque from Mom :)  I used a Small Phrases sentiment to let Jake know, once again, how deeply loved he is by his Mama.

 

Here is the inside of the gift card holder, using 2 stamps from Birthday Bash along with the leaves from Bloom and Grow.

Okay, here's where the "Christmas" comes in.  It's a busy time of year and I wanted to show you how you can save time (and hair pulling) by using a card layout you've used or seen before and just change it for the present occasion.  With full time work, the pending move to the new house, Jake's birthday AND Christmas, this Diva is more than willing to save a bit of time by reusing a card design...here's the Christmas version...

 

I just changed the papers, dies and sentiment and voila!  Christmas Gift Card card done!  Here's a peek inside...

I had a fun time mixing last year's stamp sets (Glad Tidings, Frosty Flakes, Christmas in the Air) on the outside with the latest stamp set, Bright Spirits, on the inside....they all work together so well! Here's a last photo with both cards so you can see how similar and different they are...

Thanks so much for sharing a special day with me...now onto the details of the DARE!

---

Want to know how you can win some fabulous new VERVE GOODIES?

1. Play along with us and link up your new A Handmade Christmas creation (posted November 18 or later) to the linky widget on the DAY ONE post before 9PM Mountain on Thursday, December 8. One lucky stamper will win a $30.00 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 A Handmade Christmas creations. One lucky commenter will win the Verve stamp set of his or her choosing! Winners will be announced on Friday, December 9 right here on the Verve blog.

Now it's YOUR turn! We DARE you to show us your creations!

---

Holiday Diva Dare-Day 4

Good morning Verve peeps, it is Teresa and I bringing to you my project for the Diva Dare.  We are taking a break from the Diva Dare after today until Monday November 28; to give everyone time with their families.  I hope your Thanksgiving is filled with lots of love.

For those of you that are new to this challenge, here is how it works...following each release, we will post a theme that we dare you with, and you'll have two weeks to complete the challenge. During those two weeks, the release team will post their creations and tell you how they answered the dare!

This month's theme is A Handmade Christmas! The theme is pretty broad and can be interpreted in so many different ways...from a lovingly made card, to heartfelt gifts and homemade decorations!  With the Holidays right around the corner, this will be the perfect time to get a jump start on your card and gift making!

So, we DARE you to make a Handmade Christmas card or gift!

 

I answered the dare with Christmas tags to add to my special Christmas gift wrapping this year.  Half the fun for me is the wrapping, I am using kraft paper, with red, and creams.  

Here is a close up of the tag.  My first gift wrapped for the season is for my MIL, I usually have her gifts ready to go before any others.  The to:/from: is from the O Christmas Tree set.

Here is a photos of a few more of the tags; I have used stitching, buttons, and my beloved glass glitter.  The snowflakes are from the Glad Tidings set and I used the new Snowflake Tidings Die set to cut the snowflakes.  I cannot wait to see what you create!

---

Want to know how you can win some fabulous new VERVE GOODIES?

1. Play along with us and link up your new A Handmade Christmas creation (posted November 18 or later) to the linky widget below before 9PM Mountain on Thursday, December 8. One lucky stamper will win a $30.00 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 A Handmade Christmas creations. One lucky commenter will win the Verve stamp set of his or her choosing! Winners will be announced on Friday, December 9 right here on the Verve blog.

---

You can link up your Handmade Christmas creation on Laurie's post here.

Holiday Diva Dare - Day 3

Welcome to the Holiday Diva Dare!  It's Sankari here with the details of the challenge and then my project for the Diva Dare this month:

For those of you that are new to this challenge, here is how it works...following each release, we will post a theme that we dare you with, and you'll have two weeks to complete the challenge. During those two weeks, the release team will post their creations and tell you how they answered the dare!

This month's theme is A Handmade Christmas! The theme is pretty broad and can be interpreted in so many different ways...from a lovingly made card, to heartfelt gifts and homemade decorations!  With the Holidays right around the corner, this will be the perfect time to get a jump start on your card and gift making!

So, we DARE you to make a Handmade Christmas card or gift!

I answered the dare by making a little banner to hang on our front door. I have always enjoyed making handicrafts that can be hung on our door and our kids get so excited for the next season with a new doorway banner or wreath. After Thanksgiving, I am excited to hang up this little snowy banner on our door using the Bright Spirits Stamp set. I love this sentiment: "May your Spirits be Bright" and the sweet little star shape that can be both a flower or snowflake. I created a little ornament that I saw while surfing awhile ago and then saw again made in our LSS (hi Cynthia!) and couldn't wait to add as a big rosette to the banner:

Here is the center piece of the banner - I created a double star and used the Winter Fun Die set that has this beautiful tree to create little icicle pennants for the top: 

 

I had some glittery snowflakes from a previous project that I added to the center of the large rosette and then layered the sixpoint snowflake (large and small) from the Bright Spirits stamp set into the middle and added a little button to the center:

Here is a side view of the banner and the layers:

Project Ingredients:

Stamps: Bright Spirits from Verve Stamps

Papers: Yellow Bicycle Winter Twig

Inks: Memento Danube Blue

Accessories: Winter Fun Die Set from Verve Stamps, snowflake punch from MS, dimensionals, Spellbinders, red tacky tape, pearl embellishment from Want2Scrap, ribbon, jumbo eyelets from WeRMemory Keepers, Chipboard and liquid pearls

I loved this challenge and love making home decorations! I am so excited to hang this on the door after Thursday and surprise my little ones with a new door hanger and get ready a beautiful season of Merry and Bright Spirits!!! 

__________________________________________________________________________

Want to know how you can win some fabulous new VERVE GOODIES?

1. Play along with us and link up your new A Handmade Christmas creation (posted November 18 or later) to the linky widget on Laurie's Day 1 post before 9PM Mountain on Thursday, December 8. One lucky stamper will win a $30.00 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 A Handmade Christmas creations. One lucky commenter will win the Verve stamp set of his or her choosing! Winners will be announced on Friday, December 9 right here on the Verve blog.

Now it's YOUR turn! We DARE you to show us your creations!

---

Holiday Diva Dare ~ Day 2

Welcome to the Holiday Diva Dare! For those of you that are new to this challenge, here is how it works...following each release, we will post a theme that we dare you with, and you'll have two weeks to complete the challenge. During those two weeks, the release team will post their creations and tell you how they answered the dare!
This month's theme is A Handmade Christmas! The theme is pretty broad and can be interpreted in so many different ways...from a lovingly made card, to heartfelt gifts and homemade decorations! With the Holidays right around the corner, this will be the perfect time to get a jump start on your card and gift making!
So, we DARE you to make a Handmade Christmas card or gift!
Here's how I answered the dare:

I've enjoyed decorating gift bags and making toppers for them this season. So I thought it would be fun to make a snowflake gift bag with some of Verve's fabulous wintery images!!! You can find a tutorial for the topper HERE. I made the topper first and decorated it with some snowflakes from the Verve sets: Frosty Flakes and Glad Tidings.
I made the sweet little tree by using the new Verve tree diecut from the set Winter Fun, and running it through a crimper.

The Sentiment is from one of the newly released sets, Bright Spirits. I made the medallion using the Tim Holtz Mini Paper Rosettes die along with the 2011 Snowflake Pendant and the Petite Scallop Circle dies by Spellbinders.
See the little snowflake ornament? That was made with the medium snowflake from the Glad Tidings set along with a new Verve die called Snowflake Tidings. And the icicles were made with a Martha Stewart Punch.

---

Want to know how you can win some fabulous new VERVE GOODIES?

1. Play along with us and link up your new A Handmade Christmas creation (posted November 18 or later) to the linky widget on the DAY 1 POST before 9PM Mountain on Thursday, December 8. One lucky stamper will win a $30.00 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 A Handmade Christmas creations. One lucky commenter will win the Verve stamp set of his or her choosing! Winners will be announced on Friday, December 9 right here on the Verve blog.

Now it's YOUR turn! We DARE you to show us your creations!

---

Holiday Diva Dare - Day 1

---

Welcome to the Holiday Diva Dare!  For those of you that are new to this challenge, here is how it works...following each release, we will post a theme that we dare you with, and you'll have two weeks to complete the challenge. During those two weeks, the release team will post their creations and tell you how they answered the dare!

This month's theme is A Handmade Christmas! The theme is pretty broad and can be interpreted in so many different ways...from a lovingly made card, to heartfelt gifts and homemade decorations!  With the Holidays right around the corner, this will be the perfect time to get a jump start on your card and gift making!

So, we DARE you to make a Handmade Christmas card or gift!

This is how I answered the dare...  I created felt ornaments to be given as gifts!  Using just some felt, dies, a sewing machine, and some minimal embellishments, I was able to create these handmade ornaments in no time at all!

These little guys are just over 2 1/2" inches in diameter...perfect size to tuck away in a mini gift bag!

For the packaging, I started with some mini notebook printed paper bags.  I then stamped three different sentiments as well as the star image from the Bright Spirits set.  The label was created by using the Curved Bookplate die to cut around the stamped sentiments.

To make the little stars, I stamped them, colored them in with Copics, then used the Winter Fun Die Set to cut them out!
Not only were the ornaments quick and easy to make, but I kept the packaging simple as well!  Perfect for mass production!

---

Want to know how you can win some fabulous new VERVE GOODIES?

1. Play along with us and link up your new A Handmade Christmas creation (posted November 18 or later) to the linky widget below before 9PM Mountain on Thursday, December 8. One lucky stamper will win a $30.00 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 A Handmade Christmas creations. One lucky commenter will win the Verve stamp set of his or her choosing! Winners will be announced on Friday, December 9 right here on the Verve blog.

Now it's YOUR turn! We DARE you to show us your creations!

{Click the link above for the entry form.  Please type your name or screen name in the Caption or Title field, then choose the link and photo you'd like to enter.  Please link directly to your specific blog post with your card in it, and not your general blog url.}

Note: If  you have trouble linking, try entering the link to your card, then choosing From File instead of From Web. Then just browse to where your picture is saved on your computer to get your thumbnail.  Sometimes it takes a few minutes for your picture to appear in the list after you've used the widget. If it doesn't appear right away, click the control button + F5 to refresh the images on the page.

---