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Showing posts with label Verve. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Verve. Show all posts

Wednesday, June 11, 2014

June Diva Dare, Man


I'm sharing my take on the June Diva Dare... It's a Man's World! Go check out the details on the Verve Stamps Blog and come back here to see more about my card today.




Details:
Stamps: Wonderful Marvelous (Verve Stamps)
Paper: Honky Tonk (Cosmo Cricket), Balsa and Charcoal (Wausau), yellow pattern scrap
Ink: Black (Archival, Ranger)
Accessories: Starry Die and Scalloped Trim Trio Die Set (A Cut Above, Verve Stamps), sewing machine, black button thread, corner chomper (WRMK), circle thin dies (Sissix)

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Friday, May 30, 2014

Faux Tile Wedding card


If today's project looks familiar it's because I just loved the background paper I made for this card last week so much that I wanted to create more with it. Read on to find out more about all the new Verve goodies on this card.


The pattern paper layer was made with my Creative Palette and acrylic paints in Purple Red, Yellow Green and Warm Grey. That was all done for a Viva La Verve card back in April and I still had some leftover after I stamped the flower from Button Best in black ink all over it last week for the release. I added some pink to the petals for highlight with a water-soluble oil pastel (I know that sounds odd and it is, but these little crayons are the bomb for intense color and are inexpensive as well). For extreme color I left the color alone, but to create a more transparent color I simply added water to it with an aqua pen. I added the Mix-Ability challenge MIX69: Faux Tile to the paper using repositional scotch tape for a mask before adding extra thick, because it's drying out, white gesso.

The sentiment and popped up flower are from the new release set Be Blessed. The sentiment is stamped in black ink and clear embossed. It's pennant tails have been hand cut and the whole thing is popped up on the card with glue dots. The Be Blessed flower is 2-step stamped with Positively Pink rocked around the edges with Rose Red then in black ink for the outline and cut out with the coordinating Petal Points die set. Extra monoprint paper is cut out with the Sprightly Sprigs die set with a couple of them stamped in black before the cutting step.

The sprigs and flower are popped up with adhesive foam dots as well as the tail edge of the pennant.

I hope you are enjoying the beginning of your weekend!


Details:
Stamps: Be Blessed, Button Best (Verve Stamps)
Paper: Pewter (Wausau), white (Neenah)
Ink: Tuxedo Black and Onyx Black (Imagine Crafts, Tsukineko), Positively Pink and Rose Red (Stampin' Up), Purple Red, Yellow Green, Warm Grey acrylic paints (Liquitex, Amsterdam), water-soluble oil pastels (Binney Smith)
Accessories: Sprightly Sprigs and Petal Points Die Sets (A Cut Above, Verve), tape, white gesso, Swiss Dots embossing folder (Provocraft)

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Wednesday, May 14, 2014

It's Wednesday and time for a Dare!


Today I'm sharing this card over on the Verve Stamps blog for this month's Diva Dare. I created mine almost literally! Can you guess the dare? Find the answer by clicking on over to the Verve blog.



I was in the mood for a little collage style CAS card and I knew I needed to have the dare covered, but I also chose the Color Challenge on Splitcoaststampers.

Verve's May Special
The birds are chirping and the flowers are blooming here in Idaho, so we're having a 25% of sale on pretty little sets with flowers and butterflies and birds and all things spring.  Check it out on our Deals page.


And last but not least, we'll be releasing some brand new Verve later this month!  Woohoo!

Details:
Stamps: Petals and Wings (Verve Stamps)
Paper: Loolah (Creative Imagination), Picadilly (Basic Grey), kraft (Wausau)
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Tsukineko), Gelatos Guava, Bubblegum, Lemon, Cotton Candy, Lime and Pistachio (Faber-Castell DesignMemoryCraft), PITT Black artist pen (Faber-Castell)
Accessories: Wings and Petals, Build a Poppy, and Flag It Die sets (A Cut Above Die, Verve Stamps)

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Friday, May 9, 2014

Mixing it up with Decollage and a VLV sketch


It's Friday! I've got another butterfly card. lol Well it's just that time of year and there is never enough signs of spring that one more butterfly on a card didn't hurt.

I've been enthralled in this technique and all the possibilities it holds for a while so I decided to make it a challenge the next time I hosted in the Mix-Ability forum. I made up a few options to get the idea across and you can find them in the MIX67: Take it AWAY! forum.

There are two main credits that I want to mention about this technique.

I was completely taken away with this video and how the acrylic paint was completely and cleanly removed from the canvas. It's a really amazing result! Watch the first couple of minutes and you'll see how those see-through rain drops are created and then it's explained later on in the video (~8:40).


The next credit is art history. This challenge is from the art form Décollage. Remember those movie posters that were pasted on a wall that had many layers of older posters underneath? Well I think some curious pedestrian started to peel away the layers to see what was underneath the top poster and then *poof*, it inspired an artist to hone it into an art form. Décollage was born. The accurate details of this can be found here.

Okay now for my project. I'm using the Viva La Verve sketch for my card which I am the host over on the Viva La Verve Blog. Play along with us if you can, it's a fun sketch.





I'm using Verve stamps, dies and ribbon were the names and links can be found at the end of this post. The sentiment is stamped on white paper painted with pink acrylic and then a clear coat of sealant was brushed on. Once dry clear candle wax was rubbed over the sentiment and painted with white acrylic. Once that was dry it was simple to rub off the paint where the wax was rubbed. This is a furniture distressing technique I've been wanting to try out and on a small piece of paper is exactly the right size for me.

The die cut butterflies were stamped and painted with water soluble oil pastels, rubbed and heat tool melted into the paper.

For the mixed media background, I painted a book page with the same pink acrylic and sealed it as I did the sentiment paper. I painted over the entire piece of paper with violet acrylic paint and let it dry completely. When that was dry I used a stencil over the paper and sprayed rubbing alcohol (you could also use water) into the open stencil areas. While the stencil was still in place I rubbed the paint away. If you want it done quickly you could use a small stencil brush or kitchen scrubber. Just make sure it's done lightly so the  layers don't come up too quickly.

The layers were glued together and a bow wrapped around the base where I adhered a trim die panel. Then it was time to add some journal style mixed media finishes. I used Sharpie markers for a border on the stenciled panel and the white soluble oil pastel on the pennant trim and base green layer.

We've made it to the end of my post! Have a great weekend and find some time to get crafty!

Here's the links to both challenges.


Viva La Verve Sketch Challenge for 


Details:
Stamps: Die Sidekicks, Being Awesome Plain Jane (Verve Stamps)
Paper: Kraft, White, Green (Wausau), plum (Stampin' Up), plum (Stampin' Up), book page ($1 bin, Michaels)
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento, Tsukineko), acrylic paints, WS oil pastels (Binney Smith), permanent markers (Sharpie)
Accessories: All Aflutter Die, Pennant Trim dies (A Cut Above Die, Verve), Pastel Polka Dots Ribbon (Verve Stamps), tealight candle for wax, matte sealant (Mod Podge), rubbing alcohol in a spray bottle, acrylic kitchen scrubbie ($1 Store package of 3)


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Tuesday, April 29, 2014

Wispy Butterfly Card


It's a butterfly bonanza on my blog so far this week. It wasn't planned, but then, any one would if these beauties staring at you. 

Today's card is sharing the revamped Petals and Wings set that Verve Stamps released last Friday. And even though you won't notice it on my card today, it comes with coordinating dies, Wings and Petals.


The polka dot butterfly is stamped in Jet Black and framed with a PITT artist black pen. My Gelatos were calling for me so I pulled out a trio of them and scribbled across the image. For some visual interest, I rubbed the color together and then for intensity I ran a pencil eraser in a few spots to pull the color together.

A layer of gray charcoal paper, tied with some Sky Blue ribbon is only complete with some new Verve bling from the Shine Bright Sequin Mix.

Details:
Stamps: Petals and Wings (Verve Stamps)
Paper: White (Neenah), Charcoal (Wausau)
Ink: Black (Archival Ink, Ranger)
Accessories: Sky Blue ribbon (Summer Sailing Ribbon Collection, Verve), Shine Bright Sequin Mix (Verve Stamps), Gelatos, PITT Artist Black and White Pen (Faber-Castell)
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Friday, April 25, 2014

Verve Release Day! Classic and Revisited


Welcome to our Classic Verve {revisited} Release Hop! Along with two brand new plain janes, we've got two classic Verve compilation sets, a coordinating die set and some shiny new sequins releasing today! Hop along with us to see some classic Verve made new again!

You have probably hopped from Christyne's blog and that means you are in the right spot. If you're getting started on the blog hop from my blog then you can keep going by scrolling down a bit and starting at the beginning with the link list provided. Have fun!


I saw these little butterflies from the old made new set, Petals and Wings, as such good travelers. They are signature Verve and such a great friend for us Verve fans, that I gave them a map to go to keep on their journey. A little bit of twine and then a stretched hand-cut banner for the new Hello Friend Plain Jane complete this little jewel.

Want to win some shiny new Verve? We'll be picking a random commenter on one of the hop spots below to win a $40 gift voucher to the Verve store! So be sure to leave a little comment on all the blogs below to increase your chances! Check out the Verve Blog today for all the prize info and deadlines!

Hop List:
1. Julee7. Jen
2. Amber8. Laurie
3. Andrea9. Marisa
4. Charmaine10. Maureen
5. Christyne11. Stacey
6. Janelle12. Teresa

Details:
Stamps: Petals and Wings and Hello Friend PJ (Verve Stamps)
Paper: Remember (Kaiser Craft), Blue (Wausau), black (Hobby Lobby)
Ink: Black (Archival Ink, Ranger)
Accessories: Wings and Petals Dies (A Cut Above, Verve), twine

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Tuesday, April 22, 2014

Verve Sketch and Inspiration Challenge


There's a sweet inspiration and sketch challenge this week that Laurie Schmidlin has for us with Viva La Verve. Have a go at it and see what sticks to your design.



Details:
Stamps: Dream Big, Better Together (Verve Stamps)
Paper: Park Bench (Fancy Pants), Balsa (Sundance Neenah), Charcoal (Wausau), So Saffron (Stampin' Up)
Ink: Basic Gray (Stampin' Up)
Accessories: Goodness Flowers die set, Dreamy Leaves die set (A Cut Above, Verve), stencil (Studio Calico), modeling cream (Viva Decor), mask (Mr. Hueys, Studio Calico)

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Monday, April 14, 2014

Robots are Awesome Dare


Are you in agreement that spring is showing up in a tiny little way? It's slowly showing all around our yard. Little leaf buds, flowers and our grass! Whoa, that's one thing that didn't stay asleep for very long. It's amazing what a little organic fertilizer and a few weeks of rain will do.

In honor of spring (in a few regions in North America) the Diva's dare you to a spring like challenge. You can find out all about it on the Verve blog, including deadlines and details. Just jump in and have some fun with the theme, "Little Things" - create a baby or kid themed card.


Here are the Copic® colors for you.


Details:
Stamps: Birthday Bots and Geared Up (Verve Stamps)
Paper: The Escape (Little Yellow Bicycle), white (Neenah)
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento, Tsukineko), Copic markers, Black felt marker (Le Pen, Marvy)
Accessories: Metal Mix Sequins (Verve Stamps), washi tape

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Saturday, April 5, 2014

Verve April Diva Inspiration Hop Today!


Welcome to Verve's April Diva Inspirations Hop. It's the 5th of the month and that means it's hopping time! This month we've got a fabulous challenge that's sure to put a string in your step! So in addition to a comment prize hidden along the hop, you can play along with the challenge and link up your creation for a chance to win another prize!

Our April challenge is Chic Chevrons:


Chevrons are the new polka-dots! Get groovy and use this popular pattern somewhere on your creation. Whether you draw inspiration from the graphic or zig-zag off on your own, just show us some chic chevrons!


As you've hopped here it's either been from Charmaine's blog (you've come to the right spot) or found the hop by happenstance. It doesn't matter though, I'm glad you made it!


My inspiration card is full of little hearts and swirls using Heartfelt Accents Stamp Set. You'll see the theme for this hop with random chevrons created with a sweet little stamp in the Better Together stamp set. I just couldn't help myself when I saw the new week one April sketch + color inspiration for Viva La Verve.

The background paper was done with Passion Fruit, Margarita and Charcoal + White acrylic paints made translucent with Slo-Dri Medium and used on my Creative Palette monoprinting plate. I started with Sahara Sand ink and the chevron stamp randomly around the background paper and then added white embossed chevrons and the filigree frame. Once all that was done I just kept adding layers of chevrons and gray paint around the edges. I finished off the sketch elements with pink paint chevrons, embossed hearts mixed with filigree medallion and Chance of Snow ribbon with bow. The edges were frayed with a scissor blade and repeated with the pink circle layer under the sentiment panel. I cut out the scallop circle from the Goodness Flowers Die Set from more monoprint paper and brushed my mixed gray paint around the edges as well as a wash of gray where the embossed Thank You sentiment was placed.

Had fun on the blog hop so far? It's not over you have one more hop to go. Go to Christyne's blog for more inspiration. If you jumped into the hop on my blog you can get started at the beginning from the hop list below.

Need a little inspiration? Check out the blogs linked below to see what the other Divas did with the challenge! It's sure to be a treat, and speaking of treats, we've got a prize for one lucky commenter along the hop! Check out the Verve Blog today for all the prize info and deadlines.
1. Julee9.  Susan
2. Amy10. Stacey
3. Anya11. Teresa
4. Betty12. Maureen
5. Karen13. Marisa
6. Sankari14. Charmaine
7. Sarah15. Janelle
8. Sony16. Christyne

Details:
Stamps: Heartfelt Accents, Better Together (Verve Stamps)
Paper: Pewter (Wausau), Pink (Stampin' Up), White Sulphite (Pacon)
Ink: Sahara Sand (Stampin' Up), Versamark Watermark Ink (Tsukineko)
Accessories: Goodness Flowers Die Set (A Cut Above Dies, Verve), Chance of Snow ribbon (Stormy Skies Ribbon Collection, Verve Stamps), Passionfruit, Margaherita, Charcoal Gray acrylic paints (Deco Art), monoprinting plate (Creative Palette, Stampendous), white embossing powder (Stampendous)

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Tuesday, March 18, 2014

Viva La Verve in my Viewfinder today


It's Recap + Viewfinder day on the Viva La Verve Sketch Blog today and I've picked a few sketch-tacular cards. Go take a peek!



Maureen has given us a great sketch to work with it's classic style and here's what I did with the sketch.


I used papers from K and Company, some yellow and ginkgo green from my stash to grab all the colors from the pattern paper and then I had a vision for my focal point and ended up pulling out three Verve Sets to get it just right. Glad I had them to make my vision a reality. Those set were Better Together, Each Day and Bloom and Grow. I had some fun with my sewing machine, a little adventure in the round for my focal point and then some pearls to polish this card off.

Thanks for stopping by today and I hope you have some time to join us for the sketch this week, but remember you can play along anytime with the sketch it's only if you want to get in on the prizes that you have a deadline. Check out the details on the link up page.

Details:
Stamps: Better TogetherEach Day, and Bloom and Grow (Verve Stamps)
Paper: Spotted Canary and Color Basics Radiant (K and Company), white, yellow and ginkgo green stash
Ink: Baroque Burgundy (Stampin' Up)
Accessories: doily, pearls (Queen and Co.), sewing machine and white thread

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Saturday, March 15, 2014

Verve's Better Together Release Day Hop


Welcome to Verve's Better Together Release Hop! 

There's a brand new Verve set releasing and that means it is time to party with a Hop. You have come from Christyne's blog if you are in the know about our hop, but never fear if you are just getting the news. Just scroll down to the master hop list and start at the beginning. I'll see you back here shortly!


Sometimes you just need to reward someone back with a note of thanks and this Better Together sentiment really says it adequately. When I saw the "awesome" at the end I could only see starbursts and colors so I made it so.

Have a great time hopping the rest of the way through! You'll be going over to Jen's blog for more inspiration.

Pssssstttt..... Want to win some shiny new Verve? We'll be picking a random commenter on one of the hop spots below to win a $40 gift voucher to the Verve store! So be sure to leave a little comment on all the blogs below to increase your chances! Check out the Verve Blog today for all the prize info and deadlines!
Hop List:
1. Julee
2. Amber
3. Andrea
4. Charmaine
5. Christyne
6. Janelle
7. Jen
8. Laurie
9. Marisa
10. Maureen
11. Stacey
12. Teresa



Details:
Stamps: Better Together (Verve Stamps)
Paper: Turqouise, Coral, Plum, Yellow and white cardstock
Ink: Tempting Turquoise (Stampin' Up), Colonial White (CTMH)
Accessories: Flag It Die Set (A Cut Above, Verve), Polka Dots EF (Cuttlebug), pop-up adhesive

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Wednesday, March 12, 2014

March Diva Dare and new Verve SOON!

Lost my attention and forgot to hit publish this morning, so here's my post a little late today. 

I'm sharing my take for this month's 'Do the Polka' Dive Dare. I really had a good time with this challenge. Let's take a tally of my DOTS, shall we?



I have miniature dots from the print on the pattern paper, Out of Print by Basic Grey, embossed dots from Sissix Dots embossing folder, stamped dots with the new Verve set Better Together, red rhinestones, and polka dots from the Basic Polka Dot Ribbon Collection.

When I first started stamping I made it to almost all of the workshops that a friend ran from her kitchen table. She would teach us to not use up all of our expensive patter paper buy cutting out the centers of our mat layers. So I brought that back to make a frame for my bottom mat layer. It's a nice twist and a way to remember the good ole' days. :)

Another thin trend I've been seeing is thread wind up around chipboard pieces or by bows. This is not the clean and perfectly placed twine and cord of a few years ago, but mangled and knotted version like it's in a bird's nest. So after I took my frame to the sewing machine I pulled red floss through the stitches and I also wrapped a few strands around my finger for another style. Not sure about how well I nailed that new look, but I had fun tangling it up anyway.

So are you ready for the dare? Create something posted March 7th or later and then link it up for a chance of two prize winners. Have fun with the polka dare this month!

Details:
Stamps: Better Together (Verve Stamps)
Paper: Out of Print by Basic Grey, Haute Red (Wausau)
Ink: Real Red, Really Rusty, Sahara Sand (Stampin' Up)
Accessories: Black/Cream Dot ribbon (Basic Polka Dot Ribbon Collection, Verve), Sissix Dots embossing folder, red rhinestones (Want 2 Scrap), sewing machine and black thread, cinnamon red floss (Sew Easy Floss - (red), We R Memory Keepers)
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