January Project Parade - Day Seven

Hi everyone, it's Michelle! WHOA! Have the Divas have been dazzling us all with their projects so far or what?!? Every day I have been BLOWN AWAY!

Well, I am taking it down a notch. The theme is Kid at Heart and I took it a different direction. You see, my friend's mom is in her 70s and her birthday is ON Valentines Day! Over the years, things get all mangled up as they tend to do when a birthday falls on a holiday. She is a bit tired of the traditional pink Valentine cards doubling as birthday cards. She doesn't mind combining the day celebrations, she justs likes things a bit separate. Hey, she wants her cake and to eat it to! So, keeping this in mind I made her a dual card.

The outside of the card is a Valentine's card (using NO pinks or reds at all) and on the inside is a surprise birthday card (with room to write something)!

The outside of the card uses Sweet Valentine stamped in Chocolate Chip. I colored the hearts with Copic markers and covered them with Crystal Effects. The DP is SU! Baja Breeze DSP. The inside uses Birthday Surprise birdie and sentiment, the balloon strings and bow are from Black Tie Birdie, and the hearts are from Sweet Valentine.

The inside and outside are designed to flow together using lots of the same elements -2 brown brads on the nestie panels, the same blue/green bling, hearts colored the same, and Baja Breeze DSP.

I hope she likes it!

So, you want to play along and be "A Kid At Heart?" Each participant that links their project to THIS POST will be entered to win a $25 gift certificate to Verve Stamps. Please be sure that your entries are linked there no later than 8PM (Mountain) on February 5th. The winner will be announced here on February 6th. Have fun and good luck!

Kraft Obsession

Over the past few months, I have become obsessed with kraft cardstock! So needless to say, I was overjoyed when Shannan told the Verve team that the Project Parade for this month was going to be all about "Gettin' Krafty"! Yippee!!!

I like to use kraft cardstock as the base for a lot of my cards. It's such a great neutral, and a nice change from the Whisper White or Very Vanilla cardstock. The first thing I did was use my SU scallop punch to make a scalloped edge on the right side of my card only. I really liked the look of the scallops only on one side. Then I ran it through my Cuttlebug using the Swiss Dot embossing folder.

The Abundant Blessings flower image was stamped directly onto designer paper and then cut out and mounted onto the Kiwi Kiss embossed layer using dimensional tape. I tied some natural colored hemp cording through a button and used that as the center of my flower. Then sentiment comes from the Verve Birthday Surprise set. Both of these sets are so versatile and can easily be used interchangeably.

Are you thinking about getting krafty with us too? Then upload your card to this post no later than Tuesday, September 30th to be eligible to win $15 in Verve Bucks! If you upload your card to SCS, be sure and use the code VVPP06 so we everyone can see it. A random participant will be drawn on October 1! Get Krafty!!!

Gettin' Krafty Day Seven

I LOVE Kraft cardstock! I usually use it in a very "clean" way, but this time I "dirtied" it up a bit. I sponged white craft ink all over the edges and distressed the focal piece of cardstock as well. I stamped the balloon image from Birthday Surprise in white craft ink and then stamped the sentiment over the image in Onyx Black Versafine. I think the stitching around the edges and the hemp twine tied through the buttons gives this card a very earthy feel, which contrasts the elegant feel of the Birthday Surprise stamp set.

Wanna get Krafty, too? Just upload your creation to THIS POST no later than noon on September 30th. If you upload to SCS, please use keyword VVPP06, so we can all drool over your Krafty loveliness! A random participant will be drawn on October 1st to receive $15 in Verve Bucks to spend at the Verve Stamps store! Good luck and go get Krafty!

SUPPLIES USED: Stamps- Birthday Surprise (Verve Stamps); Ink- Whisper White Craft (SU), Onyx Black (Versafine); Paper- Kraft (Papertrey Ink), Certainly Celery (SU); Accessories- clear buttons (Foofala), white gel pen, paper piercer, hemp twine; Finished card measures 4.25" square

Guest Diva Spotlight - Suzanne Dean

Today I'm happy to introduce you to another Guest Diva for September... welcome Suzanne Dean! I fell in love with Suzanne's designs from her blog Scrap Bitz...her coloring and style is amazing! You may have seen her on Splitcoast as suzannejdean as well. Let's get to know her, shall we?


1. When/how did you get hooked on stamping? I have been stamping for 5 years ever since one of my good friends became a Stampin' Up Demo. I had been scrapbooking for many years, but I really loved the selection of stamps and variety of ways you could use them. I have a degree in Computer Science but art has always been my true love and this allows me many ways to express it.

2. How often do you stamp? At least a couple of hours a day (mostly while my kids are in school or at night)--it's truly my escape and form of relaxation.

3. Tell me about your funniest or most embarrassing stamping related injury. I don't know if it's that funny but I actually stabbed a hatpin underneath my thumb nail and out the other side of my finger--a result of rushing to finish a project so I could start dinner. It is still hurting me--my left thumb is out of commission for awhile!

I love the feel of this card Suzanne created using So Happy and Abundant Blessings. The soft colors , the shimmer of the embossing powder, and the little pearl accents all make this card gorgeous!

Here's some more of Suzanne's Q & A:

4. How long does it take you to create a project that you're happy with? It can take me anywhere from 1 to 5 hours. I usually have an idea of what I want to do, but sometimes the execution takes me awhile.


5. I am usually a little messy in my creating. Tell me about your creative space. When I start a project my craft room has to be spotless and everything in its place or I can't think. After a project it looks like a tornado swept through, but I clean it all up before I start my next project. Crazy I know, but my mind doesn't work well when faced with lots of clutter and mess, not too mention losing things (which I have done)!

6. If you were stranded on a deserted island, which craft tool could you not live without? Why? My Copics and Stampin' Up paper snips. This way I could color all the stamped images I brought with me and cut them out. I love to cut my images out and pop them up with dimensionals--I love the 3-D layered look. And 99% of the time, my images are colored with Copics--I just love them! This way when I got off the island I'd be able to go home and finish lots of projects--hee hee!!

I absolutely love this little scalloped circle card Suzanne made using the birdie from Birthday Surprise. He sparkles and shimmers, and she even created a little accent using Shrink Plastic and one of the birthday sentiments. So cute!!

And here's the end of Suzanne's Verve-i-view:
7. What is your biggest source of inspiration? Everything inspires me from gorgeous patterned paper to a beautiful ad in a magazine. I also love to visit other's blogs and see what they are creating--there are so many talented artists, how can you not but be inspired by them.

8. Who in the stamping world do you want to be when you grow up and why? Let's see...any of the wonderful women who own their own stamp companies (Julee, Kim, Gina, etc.). That's been a dream of my own for awhile, someday maybe!

9. What is your favorite part of the creative process? Hands down it would be coloring. I have loved to color since I was a kid and it's just so relaxing. I love to pick out my patterned paper and then "decorate" my images the way I like them--there is nothing better!

This last project is probably my favorite of Suzanne's...I love the way she paper pieced the vase from Abundant Blessings and captured the softness and elegance with the sheer loopy bow and the added glimmer with the flowers.

Thanks again to Suzanne for playing with us this month. You can continue to see more of her Verve creations and other fabulous designs on her blog, Scrap Bitz. We're so lucky to have two fabulous guests for September!

We hope you have a wonderful weekend, and don't forget to mosey back here on Tuesday... Susan is kicking off a new Project Parade Challenge!!

It's a Black Tie Birthday!

Are you ready for more fun? I hope so! The divas have cooked up some Vervalicious previews for you again today...this time using Black Tie Birdies and Birthday Surprise, two new sets being released tomorrow, Sept. 10th! Hopefully you're planning to join us for the release party tonight in our Splitcoast Member Forum. The party starts at 10pm EST, and we've got lots planned including set reveals, more sneak peeks and of course some PRIZES!! You still have time to play in the OSW (One Sheet Wonder) challenge, which will give you chance to win the ENTIRE RELEASE! . All of the details are HERE.

Ok, enough blabbing...let's get on with the peeks!!

From Diva Charmaine Ikach:

I don't know about you, but the Black Tie Birdies set made me think of "fancy schmancy" parties. I decided to use the female bird for a bridal shower invitation. I created it to look a bit like "the envelope please." :) The organdy ribbon is weaved through the flaps of the card to be tied in a bow on front. All of the party detail are embossed in gold on the inside!

From Diva Michelle Woerner:

Yahooo an amazing Verve birthday set is coming your way! And, wow is this birthday set is so super cute and versatile.! I LOVE all the little details Julee put into it -you will love it when you see it! I really love the balloons and wanted to make them stand out, so I stamped them in Versamark and embossed them with silver embossing powder. I then cut them out and popped them up. I stamped the hat and wing on pink cardstock and pieced them for some contrast. The designer paper is from my new Basic Grey Eva pack -such elegant and fun colors. Lastly, I looped several ribbons and fastened them in the middle with a green gem brad to make a layered bow.

From Diva Amber Hight:

If you love the birds from the set Anniversary Birds, you will LOVE the birds in this set and Birthday Surprise as well! Julee has taken the sweet little bird and dressed him up! They're looking mighty good lately in their tuxedos and hair bows. For my sample, I chose to work with Black Tie Birds. Aren't their fluffy tails awesome? The balloon in this set also has the flourishes and this fun sentiment. I think this set would be perfect for a lot of occasions!

From Diva Laura Fredrickson:

I knew when Verve introduced a birthday set it would be elegant as well as fun, and I couldn't be happier with it. When I designed this card, I had a little girl in mind, but the images are so elegant it would work for anyone! I worked with fellow Diva, Jen del Muro's sketch, (also SC182 on SCS). I stamped the little gifts and embossed them in gold, then cut them out and popped each gift up on a square. The sentiment was embossed in gold and then cut and layered with Nestabilities, and voila!. A fun and elegant card with a fun and elegant set!

From Diva Shannan Teubner:

This new birdie set from Verve totally makes me smile! I love to celebrate, and I think this set will get used a LOT in my stamp room! One of my favorite things about Birthday Surprise is the selection of images and sentiments...it's very versatile!

From our Guest Diva, Jennifer Meyer:

I fell in love with Birthday Surprise the first moment I saw it. There are so many things I love about this stamp set, but my favorite is the bird and the variety of sentiments! I picked rich colors for my design and added lots of fun layers to the bird and balloons. Birthday Surprise was just a wonderful set to design and be creative with!

Did you enjoy today's projects? You can win the two sets we're previewing by simply leaving a comment on this post telling us about your favorite Birthday Surprise before Tuesday, September 9 (that's tonight!) at 8:00 Mountain time (10 PM ET, 9 PM CT, 7 PM PT). We'll pick a random winner to receive both Birthday Surprise and Black Tie Birdies. The winner will be announced during our release party tonight on the Verve SCS Member Company Forum. We hope to see you there!