September Diva Dare

For my Our Daily Bread Designs card, click HERE.

Good morning friends! I'm hosting Day 5 of the Fanspiration Diva Dare over at the Verve Blog!

This month, the dare is to create something 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!) {grin}. To get your wheels a turnin', the Divas will be posting their Fanspiration creations using our newly released products right here each weekday for the next week and a bit :)

Oh my was it ever hard to choose a paper crafter, let alone one single card. Ya'll work magic with Julee's images and dies!! Well, while perusing the Verve Gallery in Splitcoaststampers, I ran across Colleen Dietrich's White Wedding card found HERE. I fell in love with the pure white design with such a variety of textures. And thought it would be fun to incorporate a Verve die as the focal image. So, I just turned my card on it's side and added the Flutterby die to it. I also finished the inside.

I've packed quite a bit of dies and images into this card...inside and out: Verve Stamps:Borderline (Sentiment), Lean On Me (Flower), Brighter Days (Inside Sentiment) andStronger Love (butterfly and flight path on tag) A Cut Above Dies: Tiny Sweet Scallop,Pointed Flowers, Flutterby, and Jotted Heart die

I used Core'dinations Whitewash cardstock for the entire card for texture. The Flutterby butterflies were embossed with a Sizzix embossing folder and sanded to bring the texture to the forefront.

I embossed the Lean On Me flower with White ep, added a bit of color with a Copic Marker, then diecut it using the Pointed Flowers die. I also added a little butterfly, from theStronger Love set, to the Tiny Sweet Scallop tag, but it's hard to see with the flower over it.

For the inside, I framed the sentiment, from the Brighter Days set, with the Labels 3 die by Spellbinders, and colored the "happiness" banner with a Copic. The background is embossed with Sizzix and Cuttlebug embossing folders and I added a Velum heart diecut using the Jotted Heart die.

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 first day of ourFanspiration Diva Dare! Join us on Monday to find out who Laurie 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! -

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Stamps: Borderline, Lean On Me, Brighter Days, Stronger Love (Verve)
Paper: Whitewash (Core'dinations), Vellum, White (PTI)
Ink: Gray Flannel (Memento), Versamark
Accessories: Tiny Sweet Scallop, Pointed Flowers, Flutterby and Jotted Heart dies (A Cut Above), Labels 3 die (Spellbinders), Embossing Folders (Sizzix and Cuttlebug), Border Punch (EK Success), Scor-Buddy, Ribbon, Lace, Embroidery Thread, Button (PTI), Cream Pearl Pen (Viva Decor), White Embossing Powder, Copic

Verve Diva Dare July 2012

Hello my friends! I'm hosting the Diva Dare challenge over at the Verve Blog today, and this is the card I made in answer to the Birthday Theme. I usually go all embellishment crazy on a card, but as I was creating this one, I ended up with a pretty clean and simple look using the Ribbon Banner die, Plain Jane Fringe Flower, and a birthday sentiment from Joyful Blooms.

I love texture, so I stamped the Fringe Flower image, using Black Stazon, onto some felt and added a button, as well as a sweet little canvas tag with the birthday sentiment on it. As a backdrop to the sentiment, I added a little banner using Verve's Ribbon Banner die.

You could win some Verve Goodies too, so be sure to stop by the Verve Blog to see how.

Thanks so much for visiting. I hope you've had an awesome week and are looking forward to a nice weekend!

Happy Stamping!

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Stamps: Plain Jane Fringe Flower, Joyful Blooms (Verve)

Paper: Country Boutique (Fancy Pants Designs), Vintage Cream (PTI)

Ink: Jet Black (Stazon), Pumice Stone (Ranger Distress)

Accessories: Ribbon Banner die (Verve), Mini Canvas Tag (Maya Road), Rhinestone Flourish (Zva Creative), Snowflake Fancy Floss (We R Memory Keepers), Button, Quickie Glue Pen, Crystal Glitter, Border Punch (EK Success), Sewing Machine, Lace (Stamp Simply Ribbon Store)

April Diva Dare 2012

I'm hosting the Diva Dare over on the Verve Blog today. And there are prizes to be won, so ya might want to head on over there for all the details. My card was made using this week's Viva la Verve sketch designed by Shannan. Yet another chance to win ya some verve. :)



Here's a close up of the flower I made using some burlap, organza fabric, fiber paper, a rose ribbon and vintage button.

Thanks for stopping by. I hope you're having a very nice weekend!!
Happy Stamping!!

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Stamps: Joyful Blooms (Verve)
Paper: London Market (Pink Paislee), Kraft and Vintage Cream (PTI)
Ink: Smokey Gray (Versafine) and Pumice Stone (Ranger Distress)
Accessories: Primitive Hearts die and embossing folder (Sizzix), Handmade flower, Corrugated shapes (Jillibean Soup), Blingage Pins (Teresa Collins), Gesso, Organza Fabric, Burlap, Fiber Paper, Rose Ribbon, Sewing Machine, Distrezz~it~All (Zutter)

A Diva Dare Case

A Diva Dare's been thrown out by Laurie this month. The dare is to CASE a Diva, and I have the honor of CASEing Jackie. What fun to be "Jackie" for awhile. Channeling her diva skills, using her sketch...and ideas....*grin*. Pure stamping fun!!

Now comes the really hard part. Choosing one of Jackie's stunning cards. No easy task, let me tell you. I finally settled on THIS ONE, because I liked the layout and shapes she used. I don't normally think vertical like this sketch suggests, so it was fun to work with. She also has a fabulous way of working with colors and patterns. I loved the horizontal striped panel in the back.



So, for my CASE, I used the same set, Sunny Days, for the flowers and leaves, and added a sentiment from the set Making a Statement. I changed my shapes up a bit, and added some Webster's Pages flocked netting behind the main panel. I also changed my color palette.

That's it for my card. Let me remind you how these dares work. If you make a card and link it to the first diva dare post HERE, you have a chance to win a $30 Verve gift certificate. By leaving comments in you have an opportunity to win a Verve set of your choice. Now doesn't that sound fun? So, head on over to the Verve Stamps blog for all the details.

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Stamps: Sunny Days and Making a Statement (Verve) Paper: PTI, Breeze (Lost & Found MME) Ink: Rich Cocoa (Memento), Brushed Corduroy (Ranger Distress) Accessories: Leafy Sprigs die (Verve), Labels 1 and Fancy Tags 3 dies (Spellbinders), Cream Viva Decor Gel Pens, Netting (Webster's Pages), Sewing Machine

Verve Diva Dare for August

I made this card for the Verve Diva Dare over on the Verve blog. For a closer look at the medallions, and for information on how you can get yourself some fabulous Verve goodies, be sure to head on over there!!

Here's all the Verve goodness that I used on this card:

I started off by using Amber's fun Viva la Verve sketch for today. You can find it HERE. For each medallion, I used the Curvy Bookplate die with the matching image from the Tag Time set. I also used a variety of other Verve dies: Jotted Heart, Flutterby, and the little heart from the I Heart U die set. The leaves at the top are from the Verve set Sunny Days, as well as the middle sentiment, and the other two sentiments are from Faithful Phrases and Happy Phrases. I added a Spellbinders Beaded Circle behind the sentiment flags, some buttons, and lastly some burlap string.

Thanks so very much for stopping by!! I hop you have a fabulous weekend!!
Happy Stamping!!

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Stamps: Tag Time, Sunny Days, Faithful Phrases, Happy Phrases (Verve)
Paper: Londonerry (Prima), Bazzill, PTI
Ink: Smokey Gray (Versafine), Vintage Photo (Ranger Distress)
Accessories: Jotted Heart, Flutterby, and I Heart U dies (Verve), Beaded Circle die (Spellbinders), Buttons (PTI), Burlap String, Sewing Machine, Distrezz-it-All (Zutter)

Verve Diva Dare for July

(Click on the photo to see how much the Tag frame really sparkles)

It's my turn for the Diva Dare over on the Verve Blog today. The theme this month is "Sentimental about Paper". The challenge is to use sentiments (no images), with some of our favorite decorative paper. Head on over there for close-ups of the sentiments, and more details on how you can join the challenge.

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You could win some Verve stamps too!!! Here's how:

1. Play along with us and link up your new Sentimental About Paper creation (posted July 15 or later) to the linky widget on the Diva Dare Day 1 post before 9PM Mountain on Sunday, July 31. 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 Sentimental About Paper creations. One lucky commenter will win the Verve stamp set of his or her choosing! Winners will be announced on Monday, August 1 right here on the Verve blog.

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

Click here to go to the Diva Dare Day 1 post and link your blog post up on our Linky Tool!

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May Flowers

It's my turn to share, over on the Verve Blog, how I interpreted this month's them for the Diva Dare: April Showers Bring May Flowers

I mixed one of Verve's newest releases Hope Blooms, with May's Stamp of the Month set Dare to Be. One of the many beauties of working with Verve images is that they all mix and match so well!!

My daughter graduates from High School next week, so I thought "Dare to be You" was the perfect sentiment to use to make a card for her with a frame of bright and cheerful flowers. All I did was stamp the largest Hope Blooms flower with Rocket Red Gold Brilliance ink, and shade the edges a bit with Persimmon VersaMagic. After the sentiment panel and flowers were dry, I added a layer of Shimmer with some Sparkle Sheer Shimmer Spritz by Tsukineko. If you click on the photo below you can see it a bit better. It's very subtle.


Lastly, I added some Stardust stickles dots around the flower centers, some basic vertical embossing stripes with my Scor-Buddy, a button with embroidery thread and a punched border. Very easy!

Now, be sure to head on over to the Verve Blog to find out how you can win some fabulous new VERVE GOODIES!!!

Thanks so much for stopping by!! I hope you are having a wonderful week filled with sunshine and new Spring growth!!

Happy Stamping!!

Stamps: Hope Blooms, Dare to Be (Verve)
Paper: Vintage Cream (PTI)
Ink: Rocket Red Gold (Brilliance), Persimmon (VersaMagic), Onyx Black (Versafine)
Accessories: Wonky Rectangles (Spellbinders), Button (PTI), Border Punch (Martha Stewart), Ribbon, and Embroidery Thread, Scor-Buddy

Diva Dare for March

Hello everyone!! I can't believe we're mid-week already. There's so much going on, I'm having to check my notes and calendar regularly to make sure I don't forget anything.

I made this card today for the March Diva Dare going on over on the Verve Blog. I'm Day 3, so if you haven't visited there yet, be sure to go check out Laurie's and Sankari's projects. They're fabulous!! The dare this month is titled "Color me Spring", and if you decide to take the dare, you could just be the lucky winner of some Vervaliscious goodies!! So be sure to check out all the details over on the Verve Blog.

Spring is one of my favorite seasons. Not too hot, and color everywhere!! When I think spring, I think of flowers, birds, butterflies, and new life. So, I made a wedding card (new life together) with flowers and butterflies. And since I was thinking about all things new, I thought I'd try a new technique. Now, I've made easel cards before, but never a Circle Easel. So this was fun!

I'm a die and punch-a-holic, so while designing this card, I knew I was going to use the new A Cut Above dies. Julee thinks of everything when she designs. I LOVE how each die in the Charming Oval and Charming Banner dies works with each other. I have a perfect mat around each shape (no more cutting...ye-haw!!), and the banners fit perfectly inside the ovals. How sweet is that!!! Then there's the sweeeeeeeet Flutterby die!! Love the two sizes of these butterflies too. You can find the large one in the Chicks Rule set, and the smaller one in the Egg-stra Special set. I added a bit of Stardust Stickles to the centers to make these flying beauties pop. And, since I wanted to make this a wedding card I combined images and dies from the newest release with sentiments from a previous release called Love Story. Julee's designs work that way...mixing and matching is not only a breeze, but oh so fun!!

Here's a close up of the smaller Charming Banner Die paired with the Charming Oval Dies, along with the sweet Flutterby image that I cut with the Flutterby die.

And here's a close up of the Charming Oval dies that I included on the inside of the card.



That's it for my Diva Dare project. Be sure to head on over to the Verve Blog to see how you could win some Verve goodies!!

Happy Stamping!!
Tosh
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Stamps: Chicks Rule, Egg-stra Special, Love Story (Verve)
Paper: Botanical dp (Prima), Vintage Cream (PTI)
Ink: Onxy Black and Smokey Gray (Versafine), Old Paper (Ranger Distress)
Accessories: Dies: Charming Oval, Charming Banner and Flutterby (Verve), Standard Circle and Scallop Circle (Spellbinders), Tag and Embossed Circle (Marianne Design Creatables), Flowers and Heart Floral Gems (Wild Orcid Crafts), Pearls (Kaisercraft), Stardust Stickles, Velvet Lace (Prima), Border Punch (Martha Stewart), Wired Loopy Ribbon

Diva Dare

There's a new challenge going on over at the Verve Blog. On the Friday following each release, we'll post a theme we'll 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!

I created an encouragement box for my baby girl who goes off to college next Fall. For more details and to see what's inside the box, head on over to the Verve Blog.


Thanks so much for stopping by. I hope you've had a fabulous week so far!!
Happy Stamping!
Tosh

Stamps: Sweet Treats, To the Moon, Love Notes, Blue Skies, Feel the Sun, To Risk, Psalm 121:1-2, Hebrews 11:1, 1 Peter 5:7
Paper: Twinkle, Twinkle Little Boy (My Mind's Eye), Brown and White (PTI), core'dinations
Ink: Onyx Black and Vintage Sepia (Versafine), Red Brick (Versamagic)
Accessories: Dies: Classy Label and Embossed Oval (Verve), Labels 5 Classic Oval and Rectangle (Spellbinders), Styled Labels and Tattered Florals (Tim Holtz Alterations - Sizzix), Scribbles Swirls (Sizzix), Copics, Star Dust and Frosted Lace Stickles, Quickie Glue Pen, Glitter, Rhinestones (Kaisercraft), Memo Pins (Tim Holtz Idea-ology), Pearl Brad, Chipboard, Dimensional Tape, Paper Doilies, Organza Ribbon, Lace