September 2014 Diva Dare Day 3

Hey folks! Chaitali here with Day 3 of the September Diva Dare! ITs Terrific Trios this time so we have to use 3 of something on our card.

Here is my card...

I used the Verve Teachers Count stamp set for the card and paired it up with some pretty patterned paper. Colored the apple with some copics and finished with a great sentiment from the set.

I have 2 Terrific Trios on my card today - the 3 little hearts below the sentiment and 3 loops in my bow.

Now its your turn to create! Enjoy!

Two ways to win prizes for double the fun!

Win a $40 gift voucher to Verve! Take our Terrific Trios dare and link your card up to be eligible to win.  Entries must have 3 of something on your card or project, be posted 9/12 or later, include at least one Verve product and be linked up to the linky widget by 8pm Mountain on 10/01/14.  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 Celebrate Good Times 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 October 1, 2014.

Winners will be announced on October 2, 2014.

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! -

December Diva Dare - Day 9

"Playing Favourites", December Diva Dare

Welcome to the last Diva Dare of 2013!  This month's Dare is entitled "Playing Favourites" and it is a fun one indeed!

 

What we're daring you to do this month is to post your favourite Verve Stamps 2013 creation OR make a new card using your favourite Verve stamp set.

 

Though this Diva does not like to play favourites either, it was easy to pick my favourite Verve set of 2013...Teachers Count!  Are you surprised? LOL  Julee took my idea for a teacher set and created the most beautiful stamps with sweet apple images and the most heartfelt sentiments.  I took this set and put a Christmas twist on it!

 

 

I've used a sentiment from Merry & Bright and the Winter Tree Plain Jane with coordinating Winter Fun die to create a sweet teacher Christmas card.  Here are some of the cards I made throughout the year with Teachers Count.  My set is very brown and well loved! 

 

 

  

This first card was for a teacher who retired last June.

 I left this card on a new staff member's desk in September.

 A colleague bought this card to give to her daughter's teacher!

 

What are your three favourite Verve products? 

Well, I love it all!  The dies that match specific stamps, the stamps, and all the yummy seam binding ribbon.  Julee's ribbon is super soft and a dream to tie!

 

What is your current go-to colour combo?

Hmm, I really don't have a favourite!  I'm a lover of colour and my choices come from the beautiful paper pads I use.  I do, however, love non traditional colours for Christmas and Valentine's Day.

 

What is your current go-to embellishment?  

Are you ready?!  Doilies, bakers twine, jingle bells (continuing for 3 years now!), gems, seam binding ribbon, tags, oh my! 

 

What is your favourite stamping or organizational tool?

I would have to say that my Big Shot and Stampin' Up guillotine cutter are the two tools I use for every card I make.  I also love my jewellery organizer that I bought at Michaels.  It sits by my Big Shot and holds all my Verve dies.

  

What is your favourite treat to eat while stamping? 

 I rarely eat in the studio as my hands are too busy!  BUT you'll often find a coffee, or latte, or glass of water on my desk.

Deadline to link your cards is 8PM Mountain on Thursday, December 26th.  Entries must be posted 12/6 or later, include at least one Verve product, be your favourite Verve Stamps creation of 2013 or a new creation using your favourite Verve Stamps set, and be linked up to the linky widget by 8pm Mountain on 12/26/13.   As an reminder, last month's $40 gift certificate winner did not use any Verve stamps on her card so she was not eligible to win and we had to draw another winner.

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

Win a $40 Gift voucher to Verve Stamps! Take our "Playing Favourites" Dare and link up your card (created December 6th 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 "Playing Favourites" 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 December 26, 2013.

Winners will be announced on December 27, 2013.

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

 

September Diva Inspirations Hop Winner

Hi Verve fans! It's Julee, interrupting our Tic-Tac-Toe Diva Dare series to announce the winner of our September Diva Inspirations Hop. Thanks to everyone for hopping along with us on the 5th! It's always so fun to give a little love to a set that's been sitting on the shelf!

This month our prize was hidden on Sarah's post.  I just adore her paper pieced apples from Teachers Count.  A random commenter on her blog hop post wins a $30 gift voucher to Verve Stamps.  Drumroll please.... and the winner is....

Diva Inspirations Hop Winner: Elizabeth Sarkisyan
Prize: $30 gift voucher to Verve 

Congrats Elizabeth!  Send Katrina an email at contests@vervestamps.com to claim your prize.

Okay, back to our regularly scheduled September Diva Dare, already in progress!

June Diva Dare ~ Day 5

Puddles of Colour, June Diva Dare

Hello Verve fans!!  Maureen here starting a fabulous new week of inspiration for this month's Diva Dare.
 

 This month's dare pays tribute to Diva Jen (Deconstructing Jen) and Diva Janelle (Rain Puddles Design) both have an amazing eye for colour. Jen's colouring is phenomenal and Janelle's showcases mixed media like no other. So what we're daring you to create this month is a card using colouring and/or painting.  If you want to kick the dare up a notch, you can add kraft card stock to the mix (Jen's specialty) and/or make a mixed media card (Janelle's specialty).  Here is the link to Splitcoast Stamper's "Mix-Ability" Forum for some tutorials and ideas on Mixed Media should you want to try it out.  This is not a requirement but a fun "extra" should you wish to add it to your card. Just remember to use at least one Verve product on your creation!

Today's card is for a retiring teacher at our school.  My school's P.A.C. (Parent Advisory Council) approached me last week to make 2 commissioned cards for retiring staff members.  I knew that the Teachers Count set would be perfect for our Grade 7 teacher, finishing a career full of dedication, enthusiasm, caring and love.   Answering this month's Diva Dare was a thrill!  Jen's use of kraft with colour is always yummy!  So that's where I started with the base of my card along with some My Mind's Eye Kraft Funday paper.  Then I chose some alphabet paper with gorgeous colours.  THEN it was play time channelling Janelle with making the little faux chalkboard using The Occasion Frame die and coordinating frame image from On Occasion.  I embossed the frame and sentiment with white embossing powder, then smudged some white craft ink over everything to give it a chalky look.  Then I took a white pencil crayon and added some light colouring details.  I tucked 2 golden delicious apples under the frame using the Apples Die set, tied some lovely Signature Collection seam binding ribbon with a scrap of pink ribbon around the card and let all those twine and thread ends run wild! LOL  Now it's YOUR turn...

 

 

 

 

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

 

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

Win a $40 Gift Certificate to Verve Stamps! Take our Puddles of Colour Dare and link up your card (created June 11th or later) to the linky widget to be eligible to win.  One participant will be randomly selected to win the gift certificate.  You can enter as many times as you like, but each card needs to be in a separate post.

Win a set of your choice! For another chance to win some new Verve, leave a little comment love on our design team's "Puddles of Colour" Diva Dare posts!  One lucky commenter will win a Verve stamp set of his or her choice, so be sure to tune in each day!  Comment deadline to be entered in our prize drawing is June 27, 2013.

Winners will be announced on June 28, 2013.

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

June Diva Dare-Day 3

Puddles of Colour, June Diva Dare

Hello Verve fans!! It's Charmaine with Day 3 of this month's Diva Dare entitled "Puddles of Colour".

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

Here is my take on the dare.

I used the Teachers Count set along with the coordinating Apples Die Set.   I started with Jen's Specialty, Kraft cardstock, and stamped the apples using acrylic paint daubers in Red Pepper and Lettuce.  The sentiment was stamped in white onto black cardstock and embossed.  I used some corrugated cardboard to die cut the apples using the Apples Die Set and also the scallop heart border using the Scalloped Trim Trio.  

I used the the Red Pepper and Lettuce paint daubers to color the corrugated apples and used Snow Cap to color the scalloped border.  I added a little tab to the right side of the sentiment using the NEW Red, White and Beautiful Ribbon Collection.  I added some Snow Cap acrylic paint to the edges of the Kraft cardstock as well as to the edges of the black cardstock of the base of the card.  Now it's YOUR turn!!

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

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

Win a $40 Gift Certificate to Verve Stamps! Take our Puddles of Colour Dare and link up your card (created June 11th or later) to the linky widget to be eligible to win.  One participant will be randomly selected to win the gift certificate.  You can enter as many times as you like, but each card needs to be in a separate post.

Win a set of your choice! For another chance to win some new Verve, leave a little comment love on our design team's "Puddles of Colour" Diva Dare posts!  One lucky commenter will win a Verve stamp set of his or her choice, so be sure to tune in each day!  Comment deadline to be entered in our prize drawing is June 27, 2013.

Winners will be announced on June 28, 2013.

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

May Diva Dare ~ Day 7

Hello Verve fans! Andrea comin' to you with my take on 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!

Here is my take on this month's Diva Dare:

I couldn't help myself...as soon as I heard 'stars and stripes' my brain automatically went to the good ol' red, white and blue...so I went with it! The main sentiment is from a previously released Verve set called American Hero. I stamped that on a white panel and raised it up on a Occasion Frame die. I stamped the frame from the On Ocassion set and then heat embossed with white embossing powder. The blue and white star strip were cut with a Verve Ribbon Banner die and the left and right sides were stamped with a border from the Strong Anchor set. At the bottom, I stamped 'thank you for all you do' from the Teacher's Count set, because really that would work for anyone you're thankful for. Lastly I added some stars which were cut out using Verve's Starry 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! -