Encouraging Words - Day 13

Hello! It's Charmaine finishing up this month's Project Parade! Haven't all of the projects been awesome? What great projects for words of encouragement and friendship!

The project I'd like to share with you today has to do with my kids. My kids (especially the girls) have always been pretty "theatrical", or "dramatic" is maybe a better word. :) I shouldn't be surprised since their parents are always involved in some kind of show. . . and the kids have attended MANY a rehearsal with us! Even though I always had hopes that my kids would be involved in theater and music as much as my husband and I, I never wanted to "force" anything on them that they didn't enjoy. Whatever it is that they enjoy, I try to encourage as much as possible. So, when Savannah and Arwen set up a "show" in the back yard with their stuffed animals, I had to capture that moment in the hope of encouraging their theatrical abilities! I used the Starstruck set to add stars all over the side panel, and to stamp the most fitting sentiment "Headed for Stardom".

So, now it's your turn! We'd love for you to play along with us and show us your card or project focused on encouraging words or friendship. Verve stamps are not required, but if you've got 'em, why not use 'em? ;) And, as with all of our project parades, we've got prizes! To enter, just link up your creation focused on encouraging words or friendship to the Mr. Linky widget on the DAY 1 POST before midnight MST on Sunday, October 18. One lucky stamper will win a $35 gift certificate to the Verve Store. For another chance to win, be sure to give the Divas a little shout out in the comments as they parade their fabulous creations inspired by this month's theme. One lucky commenter during the course of the parade (Oct 5 - 17) will win their choice of any Verve set. Can't wait to see your lovely projects!!!

Encouraging Words ~ Day 12

Hi everyone! It's Jackie here and I am so excited to show you what I made for this month's Project Parade! When Jen told us this month's theme I knew I wanted to create something for my 10 year old daughter, Lauren. Lauren LOVES to stamp just about as much as I do and loves to send her cards to her friends, so I decided to make her something that she could use to store her cards! She is so creative and I wanted to encourage her creativity! What better way then with Verve's stamps!

I made this darling card box and even a card to match! Don't you love the colors? I'm not normally much of a purple person, but it is so growing on me!!

I made the card using today's Taylored Expressions Sketch Challenge. I used the beautiful new Verve set, Starstruck. I stamped one of the starbursts from Starstruck in Bashful Blue on PTI White cardstock and then overstamped the sentiment in Plum Pudding Ink (PTI). It was cut out using Circle Nestabilities and just before removing from the die, I sponged it with Bashful Blue ink....leaving a white edge. I layered the circle on a piece of Plum Pudding cardstock that was cut out with the Labels Nine Nestabilities. The polka dot stars are from another Verve set called Polka Stars. The DP is from the 2008 Bitty Star Basics (PTI). A little machine stitching, some gems and Plum Pudding Polka Dot ribbon and the card was done!

I purchased this card box recently and was itching to alter it and make it pretty! The box is made of sturdy white cardboard and has a magnetic closure. It fits A2 sized cards perfectly! I used the same supplies as the card, but also added some ZVA Crystals to the box. I know Lauren will love it!! I hope you do, too!

So what do you think? I know you have enjoyed the fabulous work that the other Divas have been sharing during our Project Parade, but now it's your turn! Create a card/project that is focused on encouraging words, and link up your creation to the Mr. Linky widget on the DAY 1 POST before midnight MST on Sunday, October 18. As with all of our project parades, we've got prizes! One lucky project parade participant will win a $35 gift certificate to the Verve Store. Be sure to show some love for the Divas each day (Oct.5-17) for another chance to win, because ONE lucky commenter will also win their choice of any Verve set. We can't wait to see your creations...Happy Stamping!

Encouraging Words Challenge: Day 4

What a fabulous challenge this month. Julee has such a wonderful gift of coming up with encouraging sentiments! That's one reason I've always been drawn to her images. So when I found out that this month we were to make a project to encourage someone, I got excited. I knew the exact person I wanted to make something for. I've been blessed to have a personal trainer since March, and she's a sweet little thing. She brings the *hurt*, believe me, but with a smile and encouragement. On two occasions, she commented that she loved the color of nail polish I had on and that she was going to go look for that very color. So I thought I'd get some for her. I also included a base and top coat. Of course I had to make a gift box for it. The bottles are oval and the Standard Oval Nestabilities worked beautifully to hold the bottles in place with an insert.

I combined a few different images for this project. The Fleur de lis and striped backgrounds are from the Bountiful Backgrounds Set, the Star is from You Rock, and believe it or not, there's a star on the bg tag too (if you click on the photo, you can see it better) from the Starstruck set, as is the sentiment on the inside. The tag shape is Labels 5 (Spellbinders), and I added some ribbon, bling, and a decorative border. That's it. I hope you've enjoyed this project as much as I enjoyed making it!!
Tosh ~

So, now it's your turn! We'd love for you to play along with us and show us your card or project focused on encouraging words or friendship. Verve stamps are not required, but if you've got 'em, why not show 'em a little love? ;)

As with all of our project parades, we've got prizes! To enter, just link up your creation focused on encouraging words or friendship to the Mr. Linky widget in THIS post before midnight MST on Sunday, October 18. One lucky stamper will win a $35 gift certificate to the Verve Store. That'll buy you a whole lot of encouragement;) For another chance to win, be sure to give the Divas a little shout out in the comments as they parade their fabulous creations inspired by this month's theme. One lucky commenter during the course of the parade (Oct 5 - 17) will win their choice of any Verve set.

Happy stamping!We can't wait to see what you create!

Encouraging Words Challenge: Day 3

Hey everyone! It's Julee, here with day three of our project parade focusing on encouraging words. I'm filling in for my girl, Shannan, who has been extremely sick and could use a few encouraging words herself. The first person I told about Verve (besides Mark, of course!), Shannan has been my #1 cheerleader and has helped me every step of the way through this Verve journey. I couldn't ask for a better friend, encourager and inspiration. She truly is a ROCKSTAR, which is what inspired my project for today - a little Encouraging Words Card Candy.


For the card candy base, I took a 4.25 x 11" strip of heavy cardstock, scored at 2" and punched with the Martha Stewart Half Spiral punch. Next I rounded the bottom corners of the sheet, and folded on the scored line. I added a 4.25" x 1" strip of pink cardstock, embossed with the Stars Cuttlebug folder. Next I cut a 4.25 x 9" strip of acetate and adhered behind the fold with sticky strip, to make a carrier sheet, so the card embellishments can be pulled off. I tied a grey taffeta bow around the whole ensemble, then made a little you're a star title embellishment.

All of the embellishments use either the Starstruck or Dare to Be You sets and a myriad of punches and diecuts. Here's a list:

SU! Punches: Large Oval, Scalloped Oval, Word Window, Modern Label, Tag, Large Tag, Small Star, Large Star
Dies: Lots of Tags (Sizzlets/SU!), Fancy Tags (Spellbinders)

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So, now it's your turn! We'd love for you to play along with us and show us your card or project focused on encouraging words or friendship. Verve stamps are not required, but if you've got 'em, why not show 'em a little love? ;)

And, as with all of our project parades, we've got prizes!
To enter, just link up your creation focused on encouraging words or friendship to the Mr. Linky widget on the DAY 1 POST before midnight MST on Sunday, October 18. One lucky stamper will win a $35 gift certificate to the Verve Store. And for another chance to win, be sure to give the Divas a little shout out in the comments as they parade their fabulous creations inspired by this month's theme. One lucky commenter during the course of the parade (Oct 5 - 17) will win their choice of any Verve set.

Happy stamping!
We can't wait to see what you create!

Sneak Preview: Starstruck and You Rock

Welcome to Day 2 of our Sneak Previews! Today we’re featuring cards made with Starstruck and You Rock. These two sets offer an updated approach to a theme we just love here at Verve – stardom! They’ll be available for purchase immediately following our Release Party this Friday night, so you don’t have long to wait! And be sure to read all the way to the end of this post to find out how you can have a chance at winning these sets for your very own!

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Designed by Julee Tilman

Since we first released Starlight Starbright & Wonderful Wishes in October 2007, I've had many requests to have some of these sentiments available in a bigger size. As my styles and tastes as an artist have changed over the past two years, I thought it would be good to revisit these two sets with a fresh perspective and Starstruck and Wishing You (which was peeked yesterday) are the result. I'm so excited about the possiblities of mixing and matching these sets with some of our older star sets for a whole new look. My card uses a flourishy star image, a smaller star, and a fabulous new sentiment from the Starstruck set.

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Designed by Amber Hight

Hey everyone, Amber here with a peek at Starstruck! When I first saw this *amazing* stamp set, I had all kinds of ideas for it, especially to create my own patterned paper with this awesome swirly star! I stamped it several times on a piece of cardstock and then used the medium-sized star to stamp in the middle of the large swirly star. I outlined the swirls with Gold Ice Stickles and then to finish off the fancy pattern I added some red pearls by Kaiser Krafts. I hated to cut this piece of paper up because it's just so dang pretty, but I like it on my card too;) I stamped the sentiment, inked all the edges, and then added a strip of cardstock cut with my Apron Lace edge punch (by Fiskars).The ribbon, button, and jute were added before I adhered the sentiment panel but I felt like the card still needed something....hmmm...what to do?! I decided to add a couple jute stitches along three sides of the card and it was complete!

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Designed by Jen del Muro

"You Rock." That's what I want to tell Julee each month when I get my DT package. Always filled with A-MAA-ZING stamp designs that are fun to work with. This month is no exception. It's an eclectic mix of fun, funky and elegant...quite the combo, right? The set that has my heart all a flutter this month is You Rock. It's a small set, but so much fun! When I sat down to make the card, I wanted to something that would really "POP." So I decided to combo black and white with a pop of pink and some bling-bling to make this a card appropriate for any true rockstar!

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Designed by Amy Sheffer

Warning, Verve fans: You Rock may be a small set, but the two stamps in it are likely to capture your heart in a big way! I never would have thought to put stars and fleurs-de-lis together, but just look at this star image with the fleur-de-lis pattern in it. Isn't it GORGEOUS?! What an enchanting fusion of geometric on the one hand and frilly elegance on the other! And then there's Starstruck, with even more star images and uplifting sentiments you will melt over. For my peek, I created a tall, skinny card (3 1/4" x 6 1/2"). The color combo was pulled from the Amy Butler designer paper I used, and the combination of elements - the polka dots, dry embossed swirl pattern, scallops, dp, and bling - hopefully have captured the fun, modern, yet super classy look and feel of these wonderful new Verve sets. Can't wait until Friday!

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Like what you’ve seen so far? Just leave a comment here on this post before 6 PM Eastern on Friday, September 18 and you’ll be put in a drawing to win these two sets! Winners will be announced at our release party that night.

And for even more chances to win, be sure to check out the Release Week challenges going on in the Verve Forum for your chance to win our entire release! Okay, that’s it for today, we’ll see you back here tomorrow for another peek at some more new sets!