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! -

June Get Your Diva On

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Happy Friday!  It's Julee popping in again with a little update before the weekend hits. 

Get Your Diva On Challenge

Have you had your heart set on being a Guest Diva for Verve?  Well, now's your chance.  Our monthly Get Your Diva On challenge is under way!  Play along for your chance to be a Guest Diva for one of our future releases.  It's a whole lot of fun working with the Verve Divas behind the scenes and all you have to do to be eligible is submit an entry with this month's theme, Bring on the Summer, Sunshine and Blue Skies.  And with summer getting into the swing of things, there's inspiration everywhere you look... sunny color combos, gorgeous little sundresses, beach themed decor and the list goes on.  Whatever summer, sunshine and blue skies means to you, we're down with it!   The deadline is this Sunday, June 19, so you best get inky this weekend, if you're planning to enter!  You can find all the details over in the GYDO challenge thread on our forum.  And to get your creative wheels a'turning, here are a few sunny inspirations from our design team:

Click the photos above to view these cards in their natural habitat. {grin}

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June Stamp of the Month

In June, along with our sale on masculine sets, we're featuring two sets at 40% off... Dad's Day and American Hero.  Check out this amazing home decor project using American Hero that Diva Jen del Muro created. It just makes my heart go pitter patter!  I can totally hear the Star Spangled Banner playing in my head as I stare at it.

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Viva la Verve!

It's Friday, and that means it's time for another Viva la Verve! sketch.  Play along with all of our June sketches for a chance to win a future Verve release.  All the details can be found in our Viva la Verve! forum.

	June Week 1 {6/3/11}	June Week 2 {6/10/11}	June Week 3 {6/17/11}	June Week 4 {6/24/11}

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That's all folks! Until next time.... happy stamping!

July Project Parade ~ Day 13

Hello…and happy Wednesday, everyone!  It's Mercy here, and I am bringing you Day Thirteen of the My Hero Project Parade!  I knew exactly what I wanted to do when the announcement was made regarding the theme of this month's parade.  As many of you know, I LOVE to cook!  I feel very “at home” in the kitchen, and I enjoy trying new and different recipes several times a week.  But I must admit that my favorite foods tend to be the “everyday Italian” kind, and I absolutely LOVE the recipes written by my culinary hero, Giada DeLaurentiis.  So in honor of the cooking queen I created a special recipe book specifically for her recipes!

I created the cover of the Chipboard Book by using a color photo of Giada (courtesy of the website Home Sweet Homme.net), patterned paper from My Mind’s Eye’s Ooh La La For Her Kit, Vellum Cardstock, Photoshop Elements 8.0, and the “hero” sentiment along with some stars from Verve’s set “American Hero” (as a matter of fact, all the stamped images are from this set).  I added a piece of Saddle Stitched Black Ribbon around the entire front cover to finish it off and to hold the vellum in place.  Is she not the prettiest little thing you’ve ever seen?  Don’t you just hate her?  LOL……just kidding, Giada! :)

The index above was handwritten, then embellished with more patterned paper and another sentiment from the same set that was used on the cover. 

The first recipe was also handwritten, and I stitched the tabs (which was part of a border that was included in the patterned paper kit) directly onto the 4X6 index cards to indicate the different sections of the book.  I used the small stars swag image to indicate how much I liked the dish after I made it…the White Bean Dip & Pita Chips received 3 stars out of 4.  I punched the score out with a Circle Punch, then attached it to the index card with some Mono Adhesive. 

This next recipe, Roasted Chicken With Balsamic Vinaigrette, received 4 stars out of 4.  I punched the rating out with a Square Punch, and attached it to the index card with more adhesive.  This specific recipe is my favorite chicken recipe of all-time…IT IS OUTSTANDING!  Thanks, Giada!!! :)
That’s it for me!  Be sure to read the rules below for a chance to win some amazing goodies!  Until later......
{{{Hugs}}}
Mercy
As with all of our project parades, there are prizes!!!!
1. Play along with us and link up your new My Hero creation (posted July 12th or later) to the linky widget on the DAY ONE parade post before midnight on July 30th. One lucky stamper will win a $30.00 gift certificate to the Verve Store. Verve Stamps are not required, but we 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 parade our My Hero creations. One lucky commenter during the course of the parade (July 12 ~ July 28) will win the Verve stamp set of his or her choosing!

July Project Parade ~ Day 11

Hello Verve fans!

Today it is my turn, Lynda, to show you my project for this months Project Parade!!! If you haven't been keeping up with the Diva's AMAZING projects, you can just scroll down here on the Verve blog and find TONS of inspiring projects! The theme this month is My Hero. I have to say, I had a hard time at first with the theme because I don't have any family members or close friends that are serving in the Military. Then I started to think outside the box and discovered that I DO have a hero in my life even though he doesn't serve in the military, he is a hero in my eyes as well as the City of Salinas where he is a police officer.

My Hero is my brother who is an amazing person, father, friend, etc... He is only 16 months older than me and I have to say, we have ALWAYS been close. Sure, we fought as all siblings do but I can't remember him EVER being hateful or mean to me or anyone. Our Mom, who we both loved with all our hearts, died when I was 18 and Dave was 19. This was a very difficult time for us but if anything, it brought us even closer.

He had always wanted to be a Police Officer and pursued that dream after we lost our Mom and has been serving ever since. I don't know if you all watch Cops but my kids love it so we watch it quite often. I don't know HOW these officers have the patience to deal with some of the situations they have to deal with. I truly feel that ALL Police Officers are Hero's and should be treated as such!

I actually already sent my project to Dave and he should receive it today!!! He loves Chocolate Chip cookies and Starbucks so it would only seem right to incorporate the two in to my project today!

The bag is actually a coffee bag and is from PTI. I stamped the stars from Verve's American Hero, directly on the bag using Snow White ink from PTI. The DP is from Making Memories Just Chillin' Collection. To make the window, I layered two different sizes from the Labels One Nesties. The clear acetate part was already there so I didn' t need to add anything. The large stars were punched using my SU! punch and on the gift card holder. I also used the small star punch on the gift card holder.

I used the same EK Success border punch on both the bag and gift card holder. I added the flourish, from Blue Skies stamp set, below the star using Antique Linen ink and then added some Zva clear rhinestones. The ribbon at the top is from May Arts.

I used the same products on the gift card holder except I added the sentiment from Verve's One Person stamp set and was stamped on another piece of paper from the same collection using Cocoa Momento ink. You can't see it but I added a silver star eyelet which is under where the tag is located.

Here is a picture of the inside ~

As with all of our project parades, there are prizes!!!!
1. Play along with us and link up your new My Hero creation (posted July 12th or later) to the linky widget on the DAY ONE parade post before midnight on July 30th. One lucky stamper will win a $30.00 gift certificate to the Verve Store. Verve Stamps are not required, but we 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 parade our My Hero creations. One lucky commenter during the course of the parade (July 12 ~ July 28) will win the Verve stamp set of his or her choosing!

July Project Parade - Day 10

A great big happy Friday, Verve fans!  It's Laurie here, and I'm excited to share with you my project for this month's Project Parade!  The theme this month, My Hero, poses the perfect opportunity to create a little "sumpin', sumpin'" for the people that inspire others by their actions and character...at least in my opinion!!

Have you ever been around someone, even for a very short time, and immediately feel better?  The friend that I made this gift ensemble for is like that!  Not only is she inspiring to me by what she had accomplished, but the depth of character she has is remarkable!  I so want to be like her when I grow up!

Nothing says "you're awesome" quite like chocolate, don't you think?  {{grin}}  A quick bow and flower make the perfect packaging for this over-sized chocolate bar.

For my card, I combined the notebook and flourish image from the Blue Skies set with one of the sentiments from the American Hero set.   I just LOVE how the sentiments from American Hero and Always on My Mind fit into the the AWESOME little notebook image (from the Blue Skies set)!  :-)

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As with all of our project parades, there are prizes!!!!

1. Play along with us and link up your new My Hero creation (posted July 12th or later) to the linky widget on the DAY ONE parade post before midnight on July 30th. One lucky stamper will win a $30.00 gift certificate to the Verve Store. Verve Stamps are not required, but we 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 parade our My Hero creations. One lucky commenter during the course of the parade (July 12 ~ July 28) will win the Verve stamp set of his or her choosing!

July Project Parade - Day 8

Happy Wednesday, Verve Fans! It's Shannan here, and I'm ready to show you my creation for the July Project Parade. I have to admit that when Jen announced this month's theme, I was pretty stumped. After looking at my stamps, I was inspired by the stamps in American Hero, so I pulled it out and got to work!


I decided to create a little box to hide some goodies in, and a matching card. Kraft, White, Real Red, and Not Quite Navy seemed like a fun combo for my little set.


I created the box with my Scor-Pal, then stamped the kraft paper with the three stars in the set in Vintage Photo Distress Ink, sponging the edges as I went. I stamped the sentiment in Walnut Stain ink on white cardstock, then stamped a second generation star image from Always on My Mind in Real Red. After sponging the edges, I matted the panel with Not Quite Navy cardstock, then popped it up on the front of my box with foam dimensionals. You can't see it, but there's a little jute handle on the box as well.


I wanted the card to be a little smaller than normal, so I created a 4 1/4" square kraft card base. For the main image panel, I stamped the frame from American Hero in Thatched Straw VersaMagic chalk ink, then stamped the sentiment in Walnut Stain Distress Ink. I thought the Not Quite Navy panel would look cool embossed with the Candy Cane Stripe embossing folder, so I matted it with a white piece to make it pop off the kraft base. To tie the card and box together, I wrapped some jute around the card, then popped the main image on top. The finishing touch was some Diamond Stickles on the star corners, which were colored with a red Copic Marker.

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As with all of our project parades, there are prizes!!!!

1. Play along with us and link up your new My Hero creation (posted July 12th or later) to the linky widget on the DAY ONE parade post before midnight on July 30th. One lucky stamper will win a $30.00 gift certificate to the Verve Store. Verve Stamps are not required, but we 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 parade our My Hero creations. One lucky commenter during the course of the parade (July 12 ~ July 28) will win the Verve stamp set of his or her choosing!

July Project Parade ~ Day 6

Hi there!  It's Jackie here with another day from the My Hero Project Parade!  Haven't the Diva's done a fabulous job so far?  Oh my....such inspiration!

The project I have to show you today was not made for a hero of mine, but for my husband's cousin Cherie, whose Son-in-law is serving as a marine in Afghanistan.  Let me give you a little back story and it might give you a little insight as to how I came up with my project....I promise not to bore you!

My girls went to stay with their cousin for several days about a week or so ago. (what a glorious quiet and stamping filled time it was for me....but I digress...)  While there, they made cookies for Joe, the Son-in-law, along with some cheerful cards.  Cherie (hubby's cousin) sends him (her Son-in-law) care packages every few weeks while he serves our country in Afghanistan.  My girls have been talking about how fun it was to package up his cookies and include the pictures and cards they'd made for him, so when I sat down to make something for this project parade, I thought I'd make something for Cherie! Clear as mud?  Hope so.....so let's get to it!

I made a 3x3 box with some darling little 3x3 cards that could be tucked into the care packages that Cherie makes for her Son-in-law, Joe!

The new set American Hero was PERFECT for this!  I didn't want to use the traditional Red White and Blue, so I opted for a somewhat masculine color combo using navy, kraft and a little October Afternoon Report Card DP.  The main image sentiments were all cut out with Classic Circle Nestabilities and while still in the die, sponged with some Ranger Distress Ink in Peeled Paint.  They were all layered on a Big Scallop Square Die and all corners were rounded with my favorite tool in the world....the Corner Chomper!

Here are the three different cards I made.  I actually made two of each, but I couldn't fit them all in the picture!  All six easily fit in the box with the envelopes.  I kept the cards pretty flat, the only dimension is on the main image.  I popped it up with foam tape.

And here is the box by it's little ole' self!  There is a great tutorial for this box by our very own Laurie Schmidlin on Splitcoaststampers.  I used some wide twill around the box and finished it off with a button threaded with some twine.  I paper pieced one of the stars from American Hero with the same dp.

So what do you think?  I hope Cherie likes it! 

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As with all of our project parades, there are prizes!!!!

1. Play along with us and link up your new My Hero creation (posted July 12th or later) to the linky widget on the DAY ONE parade post before midnight on July 30th. One lucky stamper will win a $30.00 gift certificate to the Verve Store. Verve Stamps are not required, but we 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 parade our My Hero creations. One lucky commenter during the course of the parade (July 12 ~ July 28) will win the Verve stamp set of his or her choosing!

Can't wait to see all the entries!

July Project Parade - Day 5

Hi Verve fans, it's Amy here today with Day Five of our My Hero Project Parade. I'm loving all the red, white and blue this week! And Charmaine's cutie-pie scrapbook page? So clever and adorable! I have a scrapbook page to share today, too, in some patriotic red. white, and blue attire, but first a little backstory ...

In 1941, at age 25, my paternal grandfather was a lieutenant with the Coast Artillery branch of the United States Army, stationed with his young family at Fort Kamehameha at the entrance to Pearl Harbor. On the fateful Sunday morning of December 7, he was standing in front of his bathroom mirror shaving when the Japanese attack began. "Air raid, Pearl Harbor. This is not drill." While my grandmother rushed my aunt and father (3 and 8 months old at the time) to an emergency shelter, my grandfather and his platoon set up a mobile anti-aircraft gun on a nearby tennis court. They shot down one of the first enemy planes. My heart swells with pride as I think of him and his service to our country. I'm also filled with sadness and regret that I never heard his first-hand account of his Pearl Harbor experience and that he passed away a mere two months before the 50th anniversary remembrance ceremonies.

When the Divas were given this month's Project Parade theme, I knew right away that my project would be some sort of tribute to my Grandad.

I didn't have a lot to work with, just a handful of low-resolution photo scans and some second-hand accounts. Even so, this 8x8 page will be proudly displayed in my home, not just as a reminder of my grandfather and all those who serve or have served our country, but also as a reminder to spend time with the elders among us both wisely and purposefully while we still have those opportunities.

I used two different sentiments and two of the star images in the American Hero set. The papers are from the "Old Glory" line by We R Memory Keepers and the Basic Grey Basics Manilla 6x6 pad. At the bottom right, I placed a Maya Road Kraft envelope to hold journaling and an additional photo. The Maya Road chipboard pennants are covered in designer paper, tied with twine, and adorned with accordian-fold rosettes, stamped stars, and the "u," "s," and "a" chipboard letters.

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As with all of our project parades, there are prizes!!!!

1. Play along with us and link up your new My Hero creation (posted July 12th or later) to the linky widget on the DAY ONE parade post before midnight on July 30th. One lucky stamper will win a $30.00 gift certificate to the Verve Store. Verve Stamps are not required, but we 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 parade our My Hero creations. One lucky commenter during the course of the parade (July 12 ~ July 28) will win the Verve stamp set of his or her choosing!

Can't wait to see all the entries!

Verve Project Parade - Day Four

It's Charmaine with Day 4 of Verve's July Project Parade. . .My Hero!  Haven't the projects so far been awesome?!  I've just LOVED them! 

I took a different direction with my project, and that direction came from a picture that I took.

This past weekend we had a joint birthday party for Isabelle and her cousin (my nephew) Ethan.  They were born hours apart, which was pretty funny because my sister wasn't due until the END of July!  :)  Anyway, I was taking a bunch of pictures of the birthday duo and this picture just made me smile.  With the look on Ethan's face and the way Isabelle's head is turned looking at him, all I could imagine her saying was "My Hero!"  LOL  So, that's where the inspiration came from for my project. 

And as with all of our project parades, there are prizes!!!!

1. Play along with us and link up your new My Hero creation (posted July 12th or later) to the linky widget on the DAY ONE parade post before midnight on July 30th. One lucky stamper will win a $30.00 gift certificate to the Verve Store. Verve Stamps are not required, but we 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 parade our My Hero creations. One lucky commenter during the course of the parade (July 12 ~ July 28) will win the Verve stamp set of their choosing!

We can't wait to see your creations! 

Verve Project Parade~Day Three...

Well, it's me, Susan. We've already reached Day Three of this month's Verve Project Parade! Last time (May), I think I was last in the Project Parade, and now here I am third up to bat! I've loved both Jen's and Amber's projects. I've actually seen Jen's in person and it's better than the pictures. I'm sure Amber's is too.


Here's mine. I just have to tell ya'll that the whole time I was putting this together, Lee Greenwood was singing, "Proud to be an American" in my head over and over. (There. Now he can be a broken record in your head too! Sorry, 'bout that!) It's a good song, though.


I love this month's theme--My HERO, so I thought I'd make something fun and patriotic...gotta love the RED, WHITE AND BLUE!!!


I've known from the minute I saw this stamp set, American Hero, that I wanted to make a little mini tag book using most of the sentiments from the set. So when Jen came up with this theme, I figured it would fit right in and be the perfect thing to make!


I started working on this a while back, but had to put it on the back burner to help out MY hero, my husband Eric, while he was in the hospital getting cancer treatments. I was glad to get to working on it again and see it come to fruition, which also meant he was feeling better!


I've had the acrylic tag book for quite a while, having good intentions to make something great of it someday. (Ya'll wouldn't know that habit, now would you?) So this little book was my first choice when I was deciding the format of my mini album. I only embellished the one side of each tag, so that pictures could be adhered to the other, but it's not even necessary, as it's cute just on its own!


What really helped this project along, was just "not thinking" too hard about layouts to begin with. I stamped the sentiments and stars (all from American Hero) randomly on various papers, cut them with different Nestabilities and made some embellishments using the patterened paper I had purchased for this project (Creative Imaginations), some adhesive rhinestones, brads and one Maya Road Star stickpin (couldn't resist).


Then I just started putting things together according to what went well and didn't blend too much with the papers I had already randomly adhered to the acrylic album (used the big 510 Xyron machine). It wasn't hard to make at all! I hope ya'll like it! I'm thinking of who I can send it to. Maybe I'll just give it to Eric. (smiles) No, he's not in the military, but to our family, he's a SUPERHERO!

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And as with all of our project parades, there are prizes!!!!

1. Play along with us and link up your new My Hero creation (posted July 12th or later) to the linky widget on the DAY ONE parade post before midnight on July 30th. One lucky stamper will win a $30.00 gift certificate to the Verve Store. Verve Stamps are not required, but we 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 parade our My Hero creations. One lucky commenter during the course of the parade (July 12 ~ July 28) will win the Verve stamp set of their choosing!

I can't wait to see all your Hero projects, so link 'em up!:)