March 2014 Diva Dare - Day 7

"Do The Polka", March Diva Dare

Hello Dare Challengers! It's your St. Patty's Day birthday Diva bringing you lucky Day 7 of the March challenge for "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 am always up for some bright Spring colours and a whole lotta gorgeous shamrocks!  I thought I'd mix it up a bit and use some non traditional colours for my St. Patrick's Day card :)  It was so fun to make a doily out of some light grey polka dot paper and a fun double bow with some green   Pastel Polka Ribbon.  I've made a cluster of Lucky You shamrocks stamped in Kiwi Kiss green and Bermuda Bay teal.  I made the sentiment panel with the Classy Label Die and matching label image from Love Notes.  Now, I have one more card for you!  It's actually the first card I made for the Dare and then I thought,"Hey!  It's St. Patrick's Day! I can't NOT post a St. Patrick's Day card!"  LOL  So here's another card using the just released Better Together stamp set, Curvy Bookplate die with matching frame image from Tag Time.  The polka dots on this one is courtesy of the Polka Dot Basics Ribbon Collection

Before I go I want to wish everyone a wonderful and happy St. Patrick's Day!  Erin Go Bragh!

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! -

April Diva Dare -Day 6

Hello Verve friends! Andrea posting here today with not one but two challenges...rolled into one! Not only is today my day to share my Diva Dare project, but I've also combined it with this week's Viva La Verve sketch which I'm hosting!
When I heard the name of this month's Diva Dare "Bright Blooms and Butterflies" I knew it would be a great combination as Charmaine whips those bright colors together in short order to make some delightfully cheery, uplifting cards and Marisa...'Queen of Darling Die Cuts'... I mean have you seen how she assembles paper flowers? Don't even get me started on her fondness for maple leaves! :)
Here's my combo card, using bright colors (by my standards :) and lots {and I mean LOTS} of Verve die-cuts:

I generally use muted, neutrals on my cards so this was really a step out the box for me. It felt refreshing to add some good old-fashioned color to my card (thanks, Charmaine!). I also wanted to duplicate the small rolled flowers that Marisa expertly creates for her cards, so my project also shows my attempt at those sweet things.

 I used Crate Paper's colorful Farmhouse collection and added loads of Verve dies, namely the Curvy Bookplate die which encompasses both a Mini Bookplate die and a Flag-It die for the sentiment. That overlays two Banner Bundle dies, matted and attached to the sentiment panel. Also tucked in there is an All Aflutter die. There are also Dreamy Leaves dies which were stamped with the greenery from the Dream Big set. The 'hello' sentiment is from Remember This, part of Verve's latest release.

{By far not a mailable card, by normal standards anyway, but then it wouldn't be an Andrea card if it were flat...  :)}

Here's the Viva La Verve sketch for this week:

And an inspiration pic to get your creative juices flowing:

(For the Viva La Verve challenge, you can use just the sketch, just the inspiration (pick colors, a layout, a theme, etc from the inspiration picture), or you can combine both challenges into one card!)

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! -

Holiday Diva Dare - Day 7

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Welcome to Day 7 of the Holiday Diva Dare!  It's Charmaine and today is my turn to bring you my take on this month's challenge! 

For those of you who are new to this challenge, here is how it works: Following each release, we will post a theme that we dare you with and you'll then have two weeks to complete the challenge. During those two weeks, the release team will be posting their creations and sharing how they answered the dare!

This month's theme is A Handmade Christmas! The theme is pretty broad and can be interpreted in so many different ways...from a lovingly made card, to heartfelt gifts and homemade decorations! With the Holidays right around the corner, this will be the perfect time to get a jump start on your card and gift making!

So, we DARE you to make a Handmade Christmas card or gift!

When I was thinking about what to create for the challenge, I started thinking of things that my kids could help with since they LOVE to create gifts. . .especially my two oldest.  I came across these adorable ornaments at marthastewart.com made with a pipecleaner and buttons!  They are SO simple and perfect for kids to create!  I don't know about you, but I have a TON of buttons, so the girls had their pick and it was a great way to use up some surplus!  ;) 

So, my answer to the dare was the ornaments and some pretty packaging for the ornaments!  I created the snowman box using a downloadable template, and the Santa box was created with a die.  I stamped each box with the snowflakes from Glad Tidings.  I stamped the snowflakes on the box in white craft ink, then I stamped some on white cardstock in Crumb Cake ink and die cut them using the Snowflake Tidings Die Set.  The sentiment panel uses the frame from Tag Time, a sentiment from Bright Spirits and the Curvy Bookplate Die.  The window in the snowman box was die cut using the Rounded Scallop Frame Die.  The snowman is suspended from the lid of the box.  I added tissue paper to the bottoms of both boxes. 

Hope you've been inspired today!  There's more Diva Inspiration to come, so stop back tomorrow!

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Want to know how you can win some fabulous new VERVE GOODIES?

1. Play along with us and link up your new A Handmade Christmas creation (posted November 18 or later) to the linky widget on the DAY ONE post before 9PM Mountain on Thursday, December 8. 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 A Handmade Christmas creations. One lucky commenter will win the Verve stamp set of his or her choosing! Winners will be announced on Friday, December 9 right here on the Verve blog.

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

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Holiday Diva Dare - Day 1

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Welcome to the Holiday Diva Dare!  For those of you that are new to this challenge, here is how it works...following each release, we will post a theme that we 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!

This month's theme is A Handmade Christmas! The theme is pretty broad and can be interpreted in so many different ways...from a lovingly made card, to heartfelt gifts and homemade decorations!  With the Holidays right around the corner, this will be the perfect time to get a jump start on your card and gift making!

So, we DARE you to make a Handmade Christmas card or gift!

This is how I answered the dare...  I created felt ornaments to be given as gifts!  Using just some felt, dies, a sewing machine, and some minimal embellishments, I was able to create these handmade ornaments in no time at all!

These little guys are just over 2 1/2" inches in diameter...perfect size to tuck away in a mini gift bag!

For the packaging, I started with some mini notebook printed paper bags.  I then stamped three different sentiments as well as the star image from the Bright Spirits set.  The label was created by using the Curved Bookplate die to cut around the stamped sentiments.

To make the little stars, I stamped them, colored them in with Copics, then used the Winter Fun Die Set to cut them out!
Not only were the ornaments quick and easy to make, but I kept the packaging simple as well!  Perfect for mass production!

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Want to know how you can win some fabulous new VERVE GOODIES?

1. Play along with us and link up your new A Handmade Christmas creation (posted November 18 or later) to the linky widget below before 9PM Mountain on Thursday, December 8. 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 A Handmade Christmas creations. One lucky commenter will win the Verve stamp set of his or her choosing! Winners will be announced on Friday, December 9 right here on the Verve blog.

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

{Click the link above for the entry form.  Please type your name or screen name in the Caption or Title field, then choose the link and photo you'd like to enter.  Please link directly to your specific blog post with your card in it, and not your general blog url.}

Note: If  you have trouble linking, try entering the link to your card, then choosing From File instead of From Web. Then just browse to where your picture is saved on your computer to get your thumbnail.  Sometimes it takes a few minutes for your picture to appear in the list after you've used the widget. If it doesn't appear right away, click the control button + F5 to refresh the images on the page.

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September Diva Dare ~ Day 9

Happy Wednesday, Verve fans! It's Amy here today, checking in with Day 9 of our September Diva Dare! This month, we've come up with a fun challenge, we DARE you to Case-a-Diva!  With nineteen Divas (see the photos and links on the right sidebar), the inspiration is vast!  For those of you that are wondering...CASE means to copy and share everything.  And that is just fancy talk for copying!  What you copy is up to you!  It can be a layout, color scheme, or even something more subtle like a certain embellishment cluster!   

You will find the links to all the Diva's blogs on the right sidebar, or you can visit their individual Verve galleries!

I am honored to be CASEing the amazing Tosha! Her style is elegant and gracious and always filled with expert details. And she can seriously do it ALL! Multi-layered and dimensional, clean and simple, heavily distressed, crisp and clean all-white, 3D/altered -- it's all there! 

Some things that jump out most when looking through her gallery: distressing, vintage elegance, sheer beauty, layers, and lots of embellishing (we're kindred spirits there!). She's a genius with stamps and dies, using them in surprising and uber-creative ways that leave me scratching my head wondering why I didn't think of that.


Here's what I came up with ...  

... based on this recent beauty in Tosh's gallery. I used Tosh's overall layout and combination of elements, changing the colors and theme to Christmas. Tosh is a big fan of My Mind's Eye papers, so I stuck with MME, just a different line than the one she used. I love Tosh's punched border along the bottom and was tickled to have the same Martha Stewart punch in my aresenal. 

For the focal point, I started with a Rounded Scallop Frame that I die-cut from one of the rich burgundy patterns in My Mind's Eye's Lost & Found Christmas collection. On top of that is a Curvy Bookplate diecut that I stamped with the matching frame in Tag Time and a sentiment from Merry Wishes. As a CASE of Tosh's out-of-the-box thinking, I used the larger of Verve's Leafy Sprigs dies, the corresponding leafy sprig image from Sunny Days, and some white pearls to creative a mistletoe accent for the tag cluster (at least I hope it looks like mistletoe!):

That's it for me today! I can't wait to catching up on all of your gorgeous challenge entries so far! If you haven't played along yet, there's still plenty of time!

Want to know how you can win some fabulous new VERVE GOODIES?

1. Play along with us and link up your new Case-a-Diva creation (posted September 16 or later) to the linky widget on the DAY ONE post before 9pm Mountain on Sunday,October 2nd. 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 Case-a-Diva  creations. One lucky commenter will win the Verve stamp set of his or her choosing!  Winners will be announced on Monday,October 3rd right here on the Verve blog.

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

Have a fabulous day!!

August Diva Dare ~ Day 9

Good morning, it's Maureen with the ninth installment of our August Diva Dare! For those of you who are new to this challenge, here is how it works...following each release, we will post a theme that we 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!

This month's theme is Sending Some Sunshine: we DARE you to make an uplifting and encouraging card AND send it to someone in need of a little pick-me-up! There's nothing like opening your mailbox and seeing a handmade card...especially with some of Verve's encouraging sentiments on it!  :-)  I'm actually pretty good about sending birthday and thank you cards out, but as soon as I heard this month's dare, I knew I wanted to make a very special project and send it to my dear blog friend, Janelle, who has a very serious medical condition.  Back in March, Janelle made this VERY cool project for a coworker.  I fell in love with it and tucked the idea in the back in my mind.  Little did I know I would bring it out for Janelle.  So here's the set of inspiring tags along with the card I made for her (both of which are already on their way to her :)

I started with deciding on the papers I would use on the card, then chose the colours for the tags.  There are 12 altogether. Then I went through my Verve Plaine Janes and a few other sets (Hope Blooms and Serenity) for the inspiring tags that were eventually put together with a little key chain and decorated with some coordinating ribbon.  Here are all the tags before I put them together. I also used the Blessings, Believe, and  New Mercies sets to decorate the tags a bit.  Everything was kept simple and flat so that they wouldn't be too bulky when put together.

As you can see, I used several different die cut shapes including Verve's Rounded Rectangle and Curvy Bookplate Dies.  And here they are all tied up together.

After making the tags, I started on the card.  I picked this verse from Jeremiah .  I just love the comfort it talks about.  I also added "You inspire me," from Dare to Be because that is exactly what Janelle is doing to me and so many others touched by her story (not to mention the gorgeous projects she creates with love and thoughtfulness).

 

Whew! Are you still with me?  Thanks for letting me share my special gift :) 

Okay now that I'm done, here are the details...

Want to know how you can win some fabulous new VERVE GOODIES?

1. Play along with us and link up your new Sending Some Sunshine creation (posted August 26 or later) to the linky widget at the bottom of THE DAY 1 POST before 9PM Mountain on Sunday, September 11. 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 Sending Some Sunshine creations. One lucky commenter will win the Verve stamp set of his or her choosing! Winners will be announced on Monday, September 12 right here on the Verve blog.

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

And then DARE you to send it away!!

August Diva Dare - Day 5

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It's Friday, Tosh here to share with you what I've made for day 5 of this month's Diva Dare. For those of you that are new to this challenge, here is how it works...following each release, we will post a theme that we 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!

This month's theme is Sending Some Sunshine! If you all are anything like me, you have tons of cards sitting at home all piled up! I thought it would be fun to make an uplifting & cheerful card and actually send it to someone! There's nothing like opening your mailbox and seeing a handmade card...especially with some of Verve's encouraging sentiments on it! :-)

So, we DARE you to make an uplifting and encouraging card AND send it to someone in need of a little pick-me-up!

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.

Here's a closer look at each sentiment medallion:

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Want to know how you can win some fabulous new VERVE GOODIES?

1. Play along with us and link up your new Sending Some Sunshine creation (posted August 26 or later) to the linky widget at the bottom of THE DAY 1 POST before 9PM Mountain on Sunday, September 11. 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 Sending Some Sunshine creations. One lucky commenter will win the Verve stamp set of his or her choosing! Winners will be announced on Monday, September 12 right here on the Verve blog.

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

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August Diva Dare - Day 4

Good morning, it's Amy here today with the fourth installment of our August Diva Dare! For those of you who are new to this challenge, here is how it works...following each release, we will post a theme that we 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!

This month's theme is Sending Some Sunshine: we DARE you to make an uplifting and encouraging card AND send it to someone in need of a little pick-me-up! There's nothing like opening your mailbox and seeing a handmade card...especially with some of Verve's encouraging sentiments on it!  :-)

I answered the dare with a bold creation for a dear friend of mine who is going through a really rough stretch right now. For month's she's been saying she can't handle one more thing and then not one, but two or three more things end up in her lap. I see her in person regularly, so I think she'll be extra surprised and pleased to find this in her mailbox. I used flower images and a sentiment from Sunny Days, a fabulous set for pick-me-up cards! I also used Verve's Curvy Bookplate and Charming Oval dies. The layout is last week's Mojo205 sketch.

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Want to know how you can win some fabulous new VERVE GOODIES?

1. Play along with us and link up your new Sending Some Sunshine creation (posted August 26 or later) to the linky widget at the bottom of THE DAY 1 POST before 9PM Mountain on Sunday, September 11. 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 Sending Some Sunshine creations. One lucky commenter will win the Verve stamp set of his or her choosing! Winners will be announced on Monday, September 12 right here on the Verve blog.

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

August Diva Dare - Day 1

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Welcome to the August Diva Dare!  For those of you that are new to this challenge, here is how it works...following each release, we will post a theme that we 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!

This month's theme is Sending Some Sunshine!  If you all are anything like me, you have tons of cards sitting at home all piled up!  I thought it would be fun to make an uplifting & cheerful card and actually send it to someone!  There's nothing like opening your mailbox and seeing a handmade card...especially with some of Verve's encouraging sentiments on it!  :-)

So, we DARE you to make an uplifting and encouraging card AND send it to someone in need of a little pick-me-up!
 
 

 Here is how I answered the dare...  I knew I wanted my card to be encouraging, and I do love me some vintage colors...so I combined them together!  I used the Curvy Bookplate and hope stamps from the Tag Time set, the Keep Fighting sentiment from the Words of Wisdom set, and the matching Curvy Bookplate die.  To carry out the vintage theme, I distressed all of the edges!

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Want to know how you can win some fabulous new VERVE GOODIES?

1. Play along with us and link up your new Sending Some Sunshine creation (posted August 26 or later) to the linky widget below before 9PM Mountain on Sunday, September 11. 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 Sending Some Sunshine creations. One lucky commenter will win the Verve stamp set of his or her choosing!  Winners will be announced on Monday, September 12 right here on the Verve blog.

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

Click the "Click here to enter" link above for the Diva Dare entry form.
Please type your name or screen name in the Caption or Title field, then choose the link and photo you'd like to enter. Please link directly to the specific blog post or gallery page where we can view your creation. 

Note: If you have trouble linking, try entering the link to your card, then choosing From File instead of From Web. Then just browse to where your picture is saved on your computer to get your thumbnail. Sometimes it takes a moment for your picture to show up after you've used the widget. If it doesn't appear right away, click the control button + F5 to refresh the images on the page.

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