June 2014 Diva Dare - Day 8

Good morning Verve fans, Christyne here welcoming you to Day 8 of this month's Verve Diva Dare entitled: 

A Man's World 

This month we're daring you to create a stamped card or project with a masculine theme. 

For my masculine themed card, I decided to pull out the new Wonderful Marvelous set and play with some more word combinations.  I went a bit crazy adding pennants, banners and such, but it's a Birthday card so I could leave it feeling drab!  In line with this banner theme, I dusted off the Pennant Trim die and embellished it with some twine to satisfy the horizontal element of this week's Mojo Monday sketch (#350).  Some light distressing with a little ink and it's all ready for an upcoming masculine birthday!

Two ways to win prizes for double the fun!

Win a $40 gift voucher to Verve! Take our A Man's World dare and link up your card to be eligible to win.  Entries must be masculine in theme, posted 6/6 or later, include at least one Verve product and be linked up to the linky widget by 8pm Mountain on 6/25/14.  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 Verve set of your choice! For another chance to win some new Verve, leave a little comment love on our design team's A Man's World 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 25, 2014.

Winners will be announced on June 26, 2014.

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

May 2014 Diva Dare - Day 7

"Petals and Wings" - May Diva Dare

 

Welcome to Day 7 of May's Diva Dare!  In honour of the newest release, this month's Dare is entitled "Petals and Wings".    

What we're daring you to do this month is create a card with both a flower and a butterfly on it. 

Here's my take on this month's Diva Dare!  It's getting close to the end of the school year so I had to sneak in something from Teachers Count to go along with the flowers and butterflies!

 

Our school secretary asked me to make a special card for a retiring high school counselor.  I'm always excited to make teacher/educator cards because it means I can ink up Teachers Count again!  My inspiration started with the chalkboard paper and then I started adding notebook and ledger paper to the layers.  Primary colours seemed the perfect palette for the Petals & Wings flowers and the So Fluttery butterfly.  A plaid Pennant Trim Die banner, a splash of green
Pastel Polka Ribbon Collection, and a sweet mini bulldog clip makes this card recipient ready!

 

Deadline to link your cards is 8PM Mountain on Wednesday, May 21st.  Entries must be posted 5/2 or later, include at least one Verve product, both a flower and a butterfly, and be linked up to the linky widget by 8pm Mountain on 5/21/14.   

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

Win a $40 Gift voucher to Verve Stamps! Take our "Petals and Wings" Dare and link up your card (created May 2nd 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 "Petals and Wings" 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 May 21, 2014.

Winners will be announced on May 22, 2014. 

I was additionally inspired by Janelle's fabulous Viva la Verve sketch this week!  

 

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

April 2014 Diva Dare~Day 10

"Little Things" - April Diva Dare

Morning Verve friends...it's Andrea here with you today and I want to welcome you to April's Diva Dare!  In honor of Spring's arrival this month's Dare is entitled "Little Things".  

What we're daring you to do this month is to create a baby or kids themed card. I decided that this cute little monkey from the 'To the Moon' set would pair up perfectly with some 'Wander' paper to make a darling little baby boy card:

I stamped the sweet little monkey and colored him in with Prismacolor pencils. The sentiment is stamped on a Mini Bookplate die and matted on it's coordinating shape. The banners are made with A Cut Above dies Banner Bundles die set.  I added the Pennant Trim die down the vertical edge of the striped paper panel. I accented with lots of Liquid Pearls, a button, twine and a metal edge tag. And I added a little hand stitching, as well.

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

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. 

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

April 2014 Diva Dare - Day 5

"Little Things" - April Diva Dare

Welcome to April's Diva Dare!  In honor of Spring's arrival (in some parts of North America anyway!), this month's Dare is entitled "Little Things".    

It's Charmaine and I'm excited to bring you another day of "Little Things" inspiration!  

What we're daring you to do this month is to create a baby or kids themed card. 

 

 

I just LOVE making cards for kids or babies.  I love using cute patterned papers or fun colors, and a kid or baby-themed card is a perfect way to do that!   For this card I used the Chevron Love set along with some patterned paper from My Mind's Eye called Alphabet Soup-Girl. 

I just LOVE the fun animals and the colors in this patterned paper.  It can work for either a baby or an older child.  I used the coordinating Jotted Heart Die to die cut the heart.  Along the left edge of the card, I used the Pennant Trim Die from Verve. 

To finish the card, I used some ribbon from the Signature Ribbon Collection along with some Baker's Twine and bling!  Now it's your turn!!

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.  

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! -

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! -

November Diva Dare - Day 4

"Shape Up", November Diva Dare

Hey there Verve fans!! Jen here with my take on this month's Diva Dare entitled "Shape Up".

What we're daring you to do this month is to create a card or project including a common shape.  For example:  hexagons, chevrons, arrows, triangles, hearts, stars etc.  Lots of fun ways you can go with this dare and I can't wait to see what you create!

Here's my card:

 

I had so many ideas for how to take on this challenge it was a bit hard for me to pare it all down into one card, lol. I had arrows and stars and hexagons die cut but had to hold myself back a little bit, lol. 

To start off I knew I wanted to use Chevron Love and this gorgeous Chalkboard paper pad from We R Memory Keepers which is hands down my current favorite paper, though I've been hoarding it a bit so I don't use it up too fast. To go with Chevron Love I pulled out my Sweet Scallop Die, Banner Bundle Dies, Pennant Trim die and the smaller of the two Wavy Heart Dies. From there I honestly just let it all flow together. I started die cutting like crazy until I had all the pieces I wanted. I distressed it all up and added a bit of embossing to the tag and to the edges of the kraft heart and kraft background. The layout just kind of did it's own thing and I really didn't have a plan or a sketch which is odd for me. To finish up I added a bit of ribbon and a twine bow and button to the tag and it was done.

 

So there you have it! We'd love for you to join us this month for the Dare! It's such a fun one with so many possibilities! Here's how you can play along:

 Deadline to link your cards is 8PM Mountain on Wednesday, November 27th.  Entries must be new (posted 11/8 or later), include at least one Verve product, include a common shape, and be linked up to the linky widget by 8pm Mountain on 11/27/13. 

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

Win a $40 Gift voucher to Verve Stamps! Take our "Shape Up" Dare and link up your card (created November 8th 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 "Shape 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 November 27, 2013.

Winners will be announced on November 28, 2013.

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

November Diva Dare ~ Day 1

"Shape Up", November Diva Dare

Hello Verve fans!! Marisa here with this month's Diva Dare entitled "Shape Up".

What we're daring you to do this month is to create a card or project including a common shape.  For example:  hexagons, chevrons, arrows, triangles, hearts, stars etc.  Lots of fun ways you can go with this dare and I can't wait to see what you create!

Here is my card using this month's dare:

I used today's VLV sketch by Diva Christyne for my card.  Love this sketch!  The papers are from MME's Love Me paper pack. I used the Jotted Heart die, clear embossed the matching chevron heart on to it and then layered it with a crimped version of my beloved "U" die from the I Heart You die set.  I also added a heart from the Heart Quartet die set and finished it off with a bit of bling.  A few banners from the Pennant Trim die down the side and  some of the delicious, red seam binding from the Truly, Madly, Deeply ribbon collection.  

Deadline to link your cards is 8PM Mountain on Wednesday, November 27th.  Entries must be new (posted 11/8 or later), include at least one Verve product, include a common shape, and be linked up to the linky widget by 8pm Mountain on 11/27/13. 

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

Win a $40 Gift voucher to Verve Stamps! Take our "Shape Up" Dare and link up your card (created November 8th 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 "Shape 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 November 27, 2013.

Winners will be announced on November 28, 2013.

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

May Diva Dare - Day 6

Hello everyone, Christyne here on this wonderful Monday morning bringing you some more inspiration for this month's Verve Diva Dare. If you haven't already joined in the fun, there's still plenty of time to play along for some great prizes!!

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!

My Diva Dare inspiration pairs some classic stars and stripes colors with a sentiment for a special upcoming holiday.  The colors are an obvious nod to Amber's military service and I tried to leave a big patch of stripes exposed to highlight Laurie's CAS style.  The stamp set used was the new Strong Anchor set, including the fabulous circle border and many Father's Day sentiments.  I also used plenty of pennants, cutting them with the Banner Bundle Die Set and the Pennant Trim Die.  Finally, I added some accent stars using the Starry Die.  I also used plenty of hardware embellishments on one half of the card while leaving the other half a little cleaner in an attempt to blend these two Diva styles.  Finally, the sketch used for this card is this week's Viva La Verve sketch (May week 3) by Charmaine.  I hope that's enough challenges to inspire you all and I can't wait to see what you come up with!!

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 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! -

Fanspiration Diva Dare ~ Day 9

Good morning Verve fans, Janelle today sharing my fan-inspired card creation with you.  We are almost done with our daily inspiration from the Diva's that "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!) and that is why Julee appropriately titles this months Diva Dare theme...Fanspiration!  Join us if you dare!

Okay, you know YOU ALL are fantastic and it was SO much fun to go through the Fan Gallery to get inspired. I'm just bursting with fun ideas, so thank YOU! In the end I just kept coming back to this May 2012 Viva La Verve number by Gini Cagle {Beadz} 

She had so much fun with die cuts that I couldn't resist. The background is cut out with the Flourished Trim Die by measuring in 3/16 of an inch around all the edges and marking the center to align the die. It worked perfectly! I've also managed to use the Mini Classy Label Die, Pointed Flower Die, and Pennant Trim Die... all Vervey goodness. My images are stamped from the Lean on Me and Borderline sets. I'm most happy when I can get my hands messy with ink and paint so I brushed many acrylics, oil pastels, colored pencils and my new tool, a Wite-Out pen, until I just couldn't find another spot to messy.

So thank you Gini for inspiring me! Now how about YOU, Verve fans?

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...

 Well, hopefully you've enjoyed this ninth day of our Fanspiration Diva Dare! Join us on tomorrow to find out who Amber was inspired by!  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! -