Sale Extended and a Mojo Monday Contest

Happy January, friends! I'm just popping in to let you know that I've extended our sale through January 10. Here in Idaho, we're in the middle of a winter storm with more snow than we've seen in 30 years. School is closed yesterday and today, and one of my boys is sick with a fever and requires lots of holding. All of this means I have had no time to change out the website, so our sale continues.

Through January 10, save 35% off all current stamps and dies and 50% off all retiring products in the shop.  And save an additional 15% off your purchase with gift code SNOWDAY.  Sale prices and gift code valid on in-stock merchandise through January 10, 2017. Code must be entered to receive discount.

It's also contest week over at Mojo Monday! Come play along for a chance to win some Verve! We add a winner for every 50 entries, so the more the merrier. Hope to see you over there!

Mojo Monday 478 Card Sketch

To get you started, here's the card sample I created with the sketch and the Faith Medley stamp set.

Card by Julee Tilman

and here's a sample from Marisa using the Scripture Medley 3 stamp set.

card by Marisa Ritzen

August Diva Dare ~ Day 1

Pile On the Sweetness, August Diva Dare

Hello Verve fans!! Marisa here with this month's Diva Dare entitled "Pile on the Sweetness".

This month's dare pays tribute to Diva Andrea (Ewen Style), and Diva Christyne (Stampin' with Sugar).  Both Divas are known for the wonderful way they can add layer upon layer on a card.  So what we're daring you to create this month is a card using lots of layers.   

If you want to kick this month's dare up a notch, you can add a flower cluster as per Diva Andrea, or go with a "sweet" theme as per Diva Christyne's blog name "Stamping with Sugar".  These are not required elements, but fun options should you wish to use them.  Just remember to use at least one Verve product on your creation!  

Here is my card using this month's dare:

I used My Mind's Eye In Bloom paper pack and Diva Maureen's Viva La Verve sketch for my card.   A touch of lace and a sentiment from Love Story that was generic enough so I can use this card for multiple occasions.  Couldn't resist the heart on the sketch so out came the Wavy Hearts die and my crimper.  I have a total of nine layers so I think I'm good for the dare.

Deadline to link your cards is 8PM Mountain on Wednesday, August 28th.  Entries must be new (posted 8/9 or later), include at least one Verve product, include multiple layers, and be linked up to the linky widget by 8pm Mountain on 8/28/13.

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

Win a $40 Gift voucher to Verve Stamps! Take our "Pile on the Sweetness" Dare and link up your card (created August 9th 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 "Pile on the Sweetness" 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 August 28, 2013.

Winners will be announced on August 29, 2013.

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

July Diva Dare ~ Day 1

Tattered Pages, July Diva Dare

Hello Verve fans!! Marisa here with this month's Diva Dare entitled "Tattered Pages".

This month's dare pays tribute to Julee (Poetic Artistry), owner and creator of Verve Stamps and Diva Teresa (Paperie Blooms).  Julee has created countless, uplifting sentiments which have become one of Verve's trademarks, and Teresa knows how to rock distressing and "shabbiness" on her cards.  So what we're daring you to create this month is a card using an uplifting sentiment and some distressing and/or shabby element to it.  Kind of like an encouraging card you have received which you have read so many times the edges are a bit tattered.  Just remember to use at least one Verve product on your creation!  

Here is my card using this month's dare:

I started out with some Classic K McKenna paper from K & Company and just had to use this fabulous sentiment from Let It Be.  It's such a wonderful reminder of how faith can get you through seemingly insurmountable situations.  The fishtail banner was created by using the largest die from the Banner Bundle die set, and the yummy raspberry coloured seam binding from the Spring Fling ribbon collection.  A touch of lace, twine and some distressing brought in Teresa's side of this month's dare.

 


Deadline to link your cards is 8PM Mountain on Wednesday, July 31st.  Entries must be new (posted 7/12 or later), include at least one Verve product, an uplifting sentiment, and some distressing or shabbiness and be linked up to the linky widget by 8pm Mountain on 7/31/13.

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

Win a $40 Gift voucher to Verve Stamps! Take our Tattered Pages Dare and link up your card (created July 12th 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 "Tattered Pages" 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 July 31, 2013.

Winners will be announced on August 1, 2013.

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

June Diva Dare ~ Day 1

Puddles of Colour, June Diva Dare

Hello Verve fans!! Marisa here with this month's Diva Dare entitled "Puddles of Colour".

This month's dare pays tribute to Diva Jen (Deconstructing Jen) who is an amazing colourer (word can be found in any crafter's dictionary wink, wink) and Diva Janelle (Rain Puddles Design) who also colours 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 decided to go the mixed media route as I have never done it before, and well... a dare is a dare...and I'm not one to turn down a challenge!  Being a mixed media newbie, I'm not sure if I succeeded, but I sure had fun making this card.

I started out by creating the background paper using the emboss resist technique.  I stamped the wheel image from Strong Anchor in VersaMark on glossy paper, heat embossed it, and then sponged on a mix of Bashful Blue, Brocade Blue and Night of Navy.  In keeping with the sea/nautical theme, I die cut five Flourish Trims and stacked them one above the other to create "waves".  An up-cycled a Starbuck's sleeve became my tag and fulfilled the kraft element.  I added the Adjusted Sails Plain Jane sentiment to the tag, curled one corner of the sentiment panel and added a bit of distress ink around the edges.  Still needed a colouring / painting element so I swiped my white ink pad along the edges of the tag and then finger painted the white smudges on the word "hope".  The tag was then layered on to the burlap strip and I used the Nautical Die set for the wheel image.  Some distressed edges were in order and I finished things off by framing the card with some multi-coloured red, white and blue twine.    

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 below 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! -

April Diva Dare - Day 1

Hello Verve Fans!  It's Marisa here, kicking off this month's Diva Dare entitled "Bright Blooms and Butterflies".  This month's dare combines a bit of Diva Charmaine's (Oodabug Alley) and Diva Marisa's (Rosemary Reflections) signature styles:  Charmaine often uses wonderful, bright colours on her cards, and I use a plethora of flowers and butterflies on mine.  So this month, we dare you to create a colorful card using either a flower or butterfly image, (or if you'd prefer... a fun die shape) as the focal element.   Here is the card I created for this month's dare.

Bright colours and bold patterns are not something I use very often on my cards so this was a stretch for me!  I dug around in my paper stash and opted to go with this chevron paper from MME's Happy Day.  I used the circle die from the  Scalloped Trim Trio set to create a border and then heat embossed the fabulous flower from Surely Goodness in white on both Only Orange and Certainly Celery paper and then used the matching Goodness Flower Die Set to cut them out.  Of course, where there is a flower there needs to be a butterfly so I out came my beloved Flutterby Die.  I VersaMarked the solid image from So Fluttery on to the cut out and added some black pearls for the body.   A yellow ribbon finished things off nicely.

I must say this card is definitely growing on me.  It is always good to stretch yourself out of your comfort zone so you don't get stuck in a rut, and who knows, you may find you like what you tried -- I did :) 
 
Finally, noted 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! -