July 2017 Spotlight Hops Day 4 - Release Day

Hi Verve fans! Welcome to Day 4 of our July New Releae Spotlight Hops! The Divas and special guests have been pumping out the inspiration with our new sets all weekend long and they're back for one last hop as we celebrate the release of three brand new sets and two coordinating die sets!

All of the stamps we've been sharing this week are 

on sale in the Verve shop now!  Hooray!

Shipping note:
Due to an unforeseeable manufacturing delay our new release shipment hasn't arrived. It's on its way and is expected to be here by end of day Tuesday. That means all orders with new release items will start shipping on Wednesday, July 12. Thanks so much for your patience!

In addition to a little sale on our brand new release, we've also kicked off our Christmas in July sale, with all winter holiday sets 25% off through July 31.  I know no matter how soon I start, I never get it all done by Christmas!  Sadly, last year none of my handmade cards made it out the door. I'm determined to do better this year!

If you missed any of the hops, be sure to check them all out. To make it easy for you, I've added a little inlinkz at the bottom of this post of all the hop spots so far.  I've also extended the deadline for commenting on all the hops until Tuesday, 7/11. I'll announce our lucky winners on Wednesday.

Okay, on with the hop! Today's featured focus is designer's choice, so you might just sneak a peek at a whole bunch of must-haves! I know I can't wait to hop along and see what everyone's sharing... and since we love to share, we're hosting one last fabulous giveaway this release...

Want to win some shiny new Verve? Today's prize is a BIG one. We'll be picking a random commenter on one of the hop spots below to win our ENTIRE new release! Just leave a little shout out in the comments at each stop along the hop and you'll be in the prize drawing to win the entire July Release Collection. Deadline for commenting is Tuesday, July 11.

1. Julee	7. Teresa
2. Kathy (Guest)	8. Maureen
3. Sheri (Guest)	9. Betty
4. Wanda (Guest)	10. Christyne
5. Charmaine	11. Laurie
6. Marisa	12. Lesley

For my card today, I pulled out the Fill My Cup set again. I love this fuled by Jesus and coffee sentiment and stamped it on a piece of watercolor paper that I smooshed with fired brick, picked raspberry and worn lipstick Distress Oxides.  I used some of the same paper to paper piece the striped heart cup and picked a fun paper from Graphic 45 to paper piece the other straw cup. I used the same paper for the heart on the pink cup, then added a splash of it behind to complete the layout. The cups are both cut with the coordinating Happiness in a Cup Die Set and then I finished off with a polka dot embossed background, some white seam binding and a hint of stickles.

Enabler's List
Stamps: Fill My Cup (Verve Stamps)
Paper: World's Fair (Graphic 45), watercolor paper
Ink: onyx black (Versafine), copic markers, picked raspberry, fired brick, worn lipstick Distress Oxides (Ranger)
Accessories: Happiness in a Cup Die Set (A Cut Above by VERVE), polka dot embossing folder (QuicKutz), seam binding (Hug Snug), stardust stickles (Ranger)

Thanks so much for stopping by today! I hope you've thoroughly enjoyed these inspiratonal hops! We so appreciate your support and your wonderful comments!

If you're still with me, the hop starts over on my blog, Poetic Artistry.  Come say hi!

An InLinkz Link-up

July 2017 Spotlight Hops Day 3

Welcome to Day 3 of Verve's July New Release Spotlight Hops!  We're excited to be back shining our sneaky little spotlights on another set and die that will release on Monday, July 10. Each day through Monday we'll be putting on a daily blog hop to showcase the new products and also give you a chance to WIN some new Verve! Hooray!

If you missed the last couple hops, there still time. Here are the Links to the Day 1 post and the Day 2 post. The Divas have been killing it with their awesome cards, so you definitely don't want to miss a thing!

All of the stamps and dies you see along the hops will be available for ordering in the store on Monday, July 10.  Today is the final day to pick up  the entire release collection at a pre-order discount of 25% off. So if you know you need it all, go snatch one up! {grin}

Today we're sharing our first projects featuring the Fill My Cup stamp set.  This set also coordinates with the Happiness in a Cup Die Set we sneaked yesterday.

Want to win some shiny new Verve? We'll be picking a random commenter on one of the hop spots below to win today's featured products! So be sure to leave a little comment on all the blogs below to increase your chances! Read on for the full hop list, a little more about our new products and all the prize info and deadlines!

1. Julee 7. Teresa 2. Kathy (Guest) 8. Maureen 3. Sheri (Guest) 9. Betty 4. Wanda (Guest) 10. Christyne 5. Charmaine 11. Laurie 6. Marisa 12. Lesley

Comment deadline for prize drawing is Monday, July 10.

First up in the spotlight today is a brand new set called Fill My Cup  It's a fabulous little faith-inspired set designed around the theme of Jesus and coffee. Perfect for cards, gift giving, scrapbooking and faith journaling this little coffee set packs a big punch. And with matching dies that also coordinate with the Happiness Is set, there are so many possibilities.

I shared this card over on my blog, Poetic Artistry when the pre-order for the July Release Collection went live on the 1st. If you've been following my cards for a while, you know I love coffee and Americana and this little heart cup was screaming to be made into a red, white and blue thank you card. The cup is cut with the Happiness in a Cup Die Set and I also used the Stitched Pennants Die Set, for one of the paper layers.

Enabler's List

Stamps: Fill My Cup (Verve Stamps)
Paper: Liberty Collection (BoBunny), cream (Neenah)
Ink: archival black, antique linen and frayed burlap distress (Ranger), early espresso (SU!)
Accessories: Stitched Pennants Die Set, Happiness in a Cup Die Set (A Cut Above by VERVE), glossy accents (Ranger), linen thread, star rhinestone, glitter

Fill My Cup is a 4 x 8 set of 12 clear photo polymer stamps that will retail for $18. I've been wanting a stamp that says fill my cup, Lord for quite a while, so that was the inspiration for this set.  The set includes a couple icy beverage cups, a mug, a sun and cloud image, as well as some fabulous fueled by Jesus and Coffee sentiments, as well as a couple sentiments that are not religious in nature. I particularly love the option to pair the lots and lots of coffee sentiment with the sentiments from the Happiness Is set for even more possibilities. The stripes and  heart straw cup was part of the Three Cheers Digital Set we offered last summer. I thought it would tie in perfectly with the Jesus in my heart sentiment in this set.

Okay, if you're still with me, the hop starts over on my blog, Poetic Artistry! Come say hello.

July 2017 Spotlight Hops Day 2

Welcome to Day 2 of Verve's July New Release Spotlight Hops!  We're excited to be back shining our sneaky little spotlights on another set and die that will release on Monday, July 10. Each day through Monday we'll be putting on a daily blog hop to showcase the new products and also give you a chance to WIN some new Verve! Hooray!  If you missed yesterday's hop, here's the link to the Day 1 post.

All of the stamps and dies you see along the hops will all be available in the store on Monday, July 10.  Before then, you can pick up the entire release collection at a pre-order discount of 25% off. So if you know you need it all, go snatch one up, as the sale ends when the release goes live. {grin}

Today we're sharing our first projects featuring the Happiness Is stamp set and coordinating Happiness in a Cup Die Set.

Want to win some shiny new Verve? We'll be picking a random commenter on one of the hop spots below to win today's featured products! So be sure to leave a little comment on all the blogs below to increase your chances! Read on for the full hop list, a little more about our new products and all the prize info and deadlines!

1. Julee 7. Teresa 2. Kathy (Guest) 8. Maureen 3. Sheri (Guest) 9. Betty 4. Wanda (Guest) 10. Christyne 5. Charmaine 11. Laurie 6. Marisa 12. Lesley

Comment deadline for prize drawing is Monday, July 10.

First up in the spotlight today is a brand new set called Happiness Is.  It's a sentiment builder set themed around the different things that might bring you happiness. Since the twins were born, a teensy bit of silence is definitely on my list of happy things! Chocolate, coffee, books and you are right up there, too!

If you hopped along for the Summer Coffee Lovers Blog Hop. you might have already seen this card over on my blog, Poetic Artistry. I had a bit of fun watercoloring the mug from Happiness Is, then some masking of sentiments to build my own word picture sentiment. I also paired it with the previously released Coffee Helps set and the Partly Cloudy Die Set. The steam is from the Always Time set.

Enabler's List

Stamps: Happiness Is, Always Time, Coffee Helps  (Verve)
Paper: dp scraps, 7 gypsies tag, watercolor paper
Ink: early espresso (SU!), ground espresso (Ranger Distress)
Accessories: Springtime Stitches Die Set, Partly Cloudy Die Set (A Cut Above by VERVE)

Happiness Is is a set of 12 clear photo polymer stamps that will retail for $15. It includes an outline large mug for the coloring and paper-piecing lovers and a solid patterned mug for those who don't. It also includes a starry straw cup, which was part of the Three Cheers Digital Set we offered last summer. I just love this image and simply had to have it in stamp (and die) form.

Happiness in a Cup Die Set is the coordinating die set for Happiness Is. This set includes dies to cut the cups in this set as well as cups from the Fill My Cup set we'll be showcasing tomorrow. I love it when a die set can work for multiple stamp sets, don't you? It also includes a happiness word die in the same font style as our other word dies. This versatile die set of 4 steel dies will retail for $13.

Okay, if you're still with me, the hop starts over on my blog, Poetic Artistry! Come say hello.

July 2017 Spotlight Hops - Day 1

Welcome to Verve's July New Release Spotlight Hops!  We've got a delectable new release coming your way Monday, July 10 and we're so excited to share our first looks at the new stamping goodies with you! The next four days we'll be putting on a daily blog hop to showcase the new products and also give you a chance to WIN some new Verve! Hooray!  The stamps and dies you see today will all be available in the store on Monday, July 10.  Before then, you can pick up the entire release collection at a pre-order discount of 25% off.

Hopping along with our talented crew of Divas this month are three very special guests. If you missed their announcement, you can read a bit more about these talented ladies on the guest announcement here. I'm also super excited to have Lesley Croghan back with us after the birth of her sweet little baby girl. Welcome back, Lesley!

Today the Divas and special guests are sharing inspiration featuring the new Always Time stamp set and coordinating Kettle Time Die Set. Look for an in-depth look at these stamps and dies later in this post.

Want to win some shiny new Verve? We'll be picking a random comment on one of the hop spots below to win today's featured products! So be sure to leave a little comment on all the blogs below to increase your chances!

1. Julee 7. Teresa 2. Kathy (Guest) 8. Maureen 3. Sheri (Guest) 9. Betty 4. Wanda (Guest) 10. Christyne 5. Charmaine 11. Lesley 6. Marisa

Comment deadline for prize drawing is Monday, July 10.

First up in the spotlight today is a brand new set called Always Time.  As in there's always time for coffee or tea. {grin} Since the retirement of our A Cup of Life and Delightful and Delicious sets, I was feeling like we were in need of some new tea and coffee cups and kettles. So that was the inspiration for the set. I threw in a couple sentiments you may have seen earlier this year in our limited time Rise and Shine digital set, then finished off with some all new sentiments as well.

If you hopped along for the Summer Coffee Lovers Blog Hop. you might have already seen this card I made with today's featured set and dies. I had a lot of fun coloring the kettle and adding in some fun little flowers and butterflies. 

Enabler's List

Stamps: Always Time (releasing 7/10/17 from Verve)
Paper: soft sky, tip top taupe, basic black (SU!), white (Neenah)
Ink: black archival, spiced marmalade, scattered straw distress (Ranger), Copic markers
Accessories: Kettle Time Die Set (releasing 7/10/17 from Verve), Graceful Butterflies Die Set(A Cut Above by VERVE), rhinestones, polka dot embossing folder (Quickutz), white gel pen

Always Time is a set of 22 clear photo polymer stamps that will retail for $24. It includes cups and kettles that could work for tea or coffee lovers alike, as well as some fabulous tea and coffee sentiments in a classic font combination. There are a couple of flower images included that can be used as decoration on the kettles, as well as some steam and a cup liner stamp to round out the set. This is surely a set to perk up your stamping!

Kettle Time Die Set is the coordinating die set for Always Time. This set includes dies to cut the two kettles, 4 cups and the two flower images in Always Time. This set of 8 steel dies will retail for $23.

Okay, if you're still with me, the hop starts over on my blog, Poetic Artistry! Come say hello.

July Guest Divas and a Sale

Hi Verve fans! We've got a release just around the corner, with three new sets releasing on July 10. In the meantime, it's a holiday weekend here in the States, and we've got a storewide sale going on! Through July 4, 2017, all Verve stamps, dies and embellishments are marked 25% off, no coupon needed.  We hope you have a fabulous 4th!

Today I also get to introduce the three lovely ladies who will be guest designing for us this month. You'll see them in our spotlight hops July 7 through 10th, and then they'll each do a guest post right here on Mondays to finish out the month. A little something to look forward to on a Monday right? So without further adieu, here's our talented lineup of special guests!

You can read a bit more about them below, and then be sure to go give them a shout-out on their blogs for the lovely cards they made for today's post.

Kathy Schweinfurth of Stamps at Play has been a favorite stamper of mine for a while. I feel a kindred spirit with her coffee loving soul and am delighted to have her as a guest for this release I love her bold color choices and fun embellishing accents in this gorgeous card she made with the Surely Goodness stamp set.

Below is a little bit more about her and a little Q&A session about her stamping style.

I’ve been married to my honey, Mark, for 22 years and we have a beautiful daughter, Danielle, who is a college junior.  Since I was little, I enjoyed all kinds of crafting, but then stamping found me and it was love at first inking. Stamping and paper crafting make me just plain happy and I’m inspired everyday by the amazing talent of others who share my passion. I’m SO excited and honored to be a Verve Guest Diva – thank you, Julee, for this fabulous opportunity

1. How/when did you get hooked on stamping?  About 20 years ago, I went to a Stampin Up party my neighbor hosted and I was hooked!

2. How often do you stamp? Daily!  If I don’t get time in my craft room everyday, I get cranky.

3. What style(s) are you most drawn to creating? I tend to create clean, layered cards using pattern papers and touches of bling/ribbon.

4. What do you love most about paper crafting? The creativity and endless possibilities to be artistic.  It really is therapy for me and I can get ‘lost’ for hours creating one card!

5. What technique or product is currently making your paper crafting heart go pitter patter? Using inks to watercolor like the Distressed Oxide inks and discovering the many ways to use stencils.

---

Sheri Gilson of Paper Crafty's Creations is a master at layered elegance. Her crisp, well balanced designs with the perfect finishing touches are constantly leaving me inspired to hit the stamp room. She was a guest for us a few years back and I'm so happy she agreed to do a return tour with us!  The card she made for today featuring the American Hero set is a perfect little tribute to the red, white and blue!

My name is Sheri Gilson and I live in Northern California.  I have been married to my best friend and high school sweetheart for almost 24 years. e have an 18 year old son that just graduated high school and will be starting school to become a firefighter.  I've been blessed to have been able to be a SAHM that loves to create.  I'm super honored to be here as a guest designer.

1. How/when did you get hooked on stamping?  It's been just a little over 18 years now. I was first introduced to stamping & scrapbooking before the birth of my son. I immediately fell in love with   stamping and have never stopped.

2. How often do you stamp? As much as I possibly can. 

3. What style(s) are you most drawn to creating? I was once told that my style is considered Classy & Elegant.  I love to use lots of layers and everything has to be popped up.  That being said my cards don't usually fit in a standard envelope.

4. What do you love most about paper crafting? I love being creative and being able to put a smile on someones face.  

5. What technique or product is currently making your paper crafting heart go pitter patter? I would have to say that my favorite all time product is pattern paper.  I'm a complete paper junkie and use pattern paper on 99% of my cards. 

---

Wanda Cullen of Cullen-ary Creations is a long time paper crafting friend. I fondly remember chatting at Verve release parties way back when and have had the great honor of designing alongside her on the Mojo Monday team for the last several years. Her versatility as a stamper is so inspiring. She can wow you with a simple pastel beauty, then rock a bright and bold design.  She is also a returning guest diva, and I'm so excited for you to see her wonderful creations with this release.  For her card today she made this stunning floral creation combining Button Best, Be Blessed, Simply Amazing and the retired Sunny Days sets.

My name is Wanda Cullen and I'm from Shenandoah, VA.  When I'm not in my stamp room, I'm probably working at my full-time job as a rehabilitation RN. 

1. How/when did you get hooked on stamping? My love for stamping started in 1997 at a friend's SU party.  I joined her monthly stamp club and pretty much CASEed her cards until I discovered Splitcoaststampers in 2005 and started playing in their challenges.  My creativity was then sparked to venture out and create new designs on my own.  I was honored to be chosen for the Dirty Dozen team on SCS in 2011 and have enjoyed designing for a variety of challenge teams over the years.

2. How often do you stamp?After all these years, I'm still in my happy place when I can spend time in my craft room getting inky!  I probably average stamping 5 days out of the week.  I'm thinking I might be addicted!

3. What style(s) are you most drawn to creating? My card style varies, but I'd say I typically use a clean, layered style and you're bound to see florals on the majority of my cards!

4. What do you love most about paper crafting? I love the instant gratification of cardmaking!  In the past, I've dabbled in counted cross stitch, tole painting, calligraphy and other crafty ventures, but the projects took so much time to complete.  Beyond the actual cardmaking, I LOVE the people that I've met in the stamping community!  It's been so much fun to meet some of my cyber stampy friends in real life...there's so much to talk about and always so little time!

5. What technique or product is currently making your paper crafting heart go pitter patter? 
Watercoloring techniques with paints, distress inks and Zig Clean Color brush markers are currently my favorite go-to things to explore.

Well, that wraps up our July guest announcement. I'm so excited to share the new release with you all starting next Friday, July 7!  See ya then!

Summer 2017 Coffee Lovers Blog Hop

Hi there friends, old and new! It's one of my favorite times of year... Coffee Lovers Blog Hop time! We're celebrating everything coffee (and tea and cocoa) with a fun, summer vibe. Verve is proud to be a Super Sponsor once again, and I hope you'll play along and link up your own summer themed coffee creations for a chance to win some fabulous prizes!

The hop starts today and runs through Friday, June 30 at 11:55 pm pacific. To be eligible for any of the sponsored prizes, you must link up a newly created summer themed coffee, tea &/or cocoa project over on the Summer Coffee Loving Cardmakers blog post.

We're sponsoring a SUPER fun prize for the hop, so you'll definitely want to play along! Especially if you love coffee (or tea) and new Verve!  We've got a fabulous new coffee themed release headed your way on July 10, but one of you could win the entire release before you can buy it, just by participating in the hop with a summer coffee themed card of your own! Want a sneaky peek?

Verve's July Release Collection... available July 10, 2017!

So now you'll just have to play along and link up to the hop, right?

Special Bloghop Savings! For those of you who just can't wait for the new sets, Verve has a nice assortment of coffee, tea and cocoa stamps and dies in stock. And you can create your own sale with this special limited time gift code...

Use offer code SCL2017 in the gift code box at checkout to receive 20% off your entire order!

Okay, on with my project. I just had to play with the tall kettle for my first card using the soon to be released Always Time set. I stamped the kettle in archival black, then colored with Copic markers and cut with the coordinating Kettle Time Die Set. I added some flowers behind, accenting with a few teeny rhinestones. The sentiment is stamped onto tiptop taupe, then I added a scalloped border up top to mimic the scallops on the kettle. I accented with a couple butterflies cut with the Graceful Butterflies Die Set, then finished off with a softy sky embossed polka dot background and a strip of black down the side.

Enabler's List
Stamps: Always Time (releasing 7/10/17 from Verve)
Paper: soft sky, tip top taupe, basic black (SU!), white (Neenah)
Ink: black archival, spiced marmalade, scattered straw distress (Ranger), Copic markers
Accessories: Kettle Time Die Set (releasing 7/10/17 from Verve), Graceful Butterflies Die Set (A Cut Above by VERVE), rhinestones, polka dot embossing folder (Quickutz), white gel pen