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A New Month, A New Year for VERVE

Wow! I can't believe a year ago I was launching Verve with a tiny little red rubber set called Thoughtful Phrases. Look at us now! The time has gone by so quickly and I feel so blessed that my little venture has been so rewarding. I absolutely love designing stamps and finally feel like I've found that thing I want to do "when I grow up". LOL Anyhow, our one year Anni-VERVE-sary celebration kicks off today in the Verve forum, with sketches, and previews and prizes... oh my!

So, since I have two exciting things I was responsible for posting today, I have two cards to show you. The first is for Day 1 of our 12 Days of Anni-VERVE-sary sketches. For all the details on this challenge and for the sketch, click here. This card is totally my style. Layers galore! My inspirationwas this gorgeous olive argyle ribbon I got on my Archiver's shopping spree. It made me think of my new Argyle Cuttlebug folder, and since I was on a roll, I also pulled out my old Prints Pack from 2 years ago and found the Celery Argyle patterned paper. Stamps used are Serenity and Wonderful Wishes. The top "awning" was made using the Threading Water border punch by Fiskars and the side triangles were made using a 1" square that I cut in 1/2 from corner to corner. To finish off the card with a little sparkle, I added some Angel Wings Shimmerz.

The second card is a preview of a very special Verve set that releases on August 13. To read about the set, click here. Everyone on our design team contributed a saying to this set, and they'll be previewing their chosen saying over in the Verve forum through August 12. And twelve lucky people will win this set just by commenting on the daily threads the gals post, so be sure to check out the forum regularly!

The quote I chose is from The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost. This excerpt has a lot of meaning for me. Looking back at life a year ago, I can see very clearly those two roads diverging in front of me. I did choose the road less traveled, and it has absolutely changed my life. Every now and then I look back with a twinge of remorse, especially when I see so many of my friends finding stamping success on fabulous design teams and knowing that that's one of those roads I didn't take. But it's by far eclipsed by the feeling I get when I see a card someone made with Verve Stamps that's going to a person who really needs it. To make a difference in the lives of others is something I've always dreamed of, and Verve allows me to do that. So thanks for letting me share my work with y'all.

Okay, sorry about all the sappiness - it's 5 AM and I still haven't slept yet. For this card, I stamped the sentiment, and cut out and embossed with Nestabilites Rectangles. Next I stamped the flower from Beautiful You, colored with Copic markers and then cut out. To play on the wood theme in the quote, I used the Forest Branches cuttlebug folder to emboss the Ginger Blossom paper. Everything is matted with Basic Gray and then dotted with a Signo white gel pen. I added some dew drops, some Shimmerz on the flower, and a vanilla taffeta knotted bow before gluing everything to a Cameo Coral card base. This card measures 3.5" by 6.5", making it fit Laurie's "Tall & Skinny" Challenge for this week's Meet The Verve Divas challenge. There's a prize for some lucky participant, so be sure to check out the challenge! :)

21 comments

Amy said...

Congratulations on your 1-year anniVERVEsary! What a ride it's been. I'm so proud to say I'm on your team, you are the best!

Hugs,
Amy

Anonymous said...

Happy Anniversary - Julee!!! I love your Verse Visual Company and your blog!!!
Can't wait to play along on your challenges!!! Have a fun week!!!

Love the new Verse that will be released - can't wait to see more!!! Hugs ~Silke~

Denise Marzec said...

Happy anniversary, Julee! Both cards are so pretty...but I LOVE the coloring on that flower...wow, the shades of red/orange are gorgeous!!

Denise ~ Paper Ponderings said...

Beee yooooo teeee full!! Oh wow, that layered card is amazing. Love the second one too. Congrats on your verveversery!

Lila H said...

huge CONGRATULATIONS!!!! on your 1 year anniversary!!! It's been an awesome accomplishment - continue with your path and dream - can't wait for the next anniversary celebration.

Jackie Pedro said...

Congrats on your one year anniversary! I'm so glad you chose the road less traveled because if you didn't we wouldn't have your incredible stamps to play with! I'm looking forward to what you have in store for all of us Verve fans!!

Love both of your cards, BTW! They are beautiful!!

Dawn Easton said...

OK now you made me teary eyed too...lol!

Congrats on your one year anniVERVEsary! I totally adore your stamps and grab them whenever I can!

Your cards are wonderful!

I can't wait to see what you all have for this month...so exciting~!

Shannan Teubner said...

These are both gorgeous! I can't wait to play!

Bethany Paull said...

How gorgeous is that ribbon with your embossing?!? And I just love how you colored the flower in your anniVERVEsary card.

Anonymous said...

Congrats Julee and Verve! I've been visiting your blog for a year now and although I don't comment much, you are so inspiring. Best of luck in the next year with Verve!!

Pat S. said...

Congratulations on your Anni-VERVE-sary!

Both cards are just gorgeous!

What a beautiful quote...and thanks for sharing your sappiness...You've come such a long way, and changed so many lives along the way :)

Unknown said...

Girl, I would have never looked at what you have and what you could have had (DT, etc.) and thought you got the bum deal! Ok, so I know you didn't say that, but hopefully you know what I mean. I'm sure what you are doing with Verve is a TON of work, but we all love you for it! Happy Anniversary! I can't wait to see what's in the rest of that 8/13 set. I'm all a twitter just thinking about it, because I love me some sentiments! Speaking of which, I used another from the Feeling Groovy set this week if you have time to check it out (if not, I totally understand).

Ok. WOW. That's a long comment. Sorry! :)

Have a good weekend!

dasimonds said...

"Congrat"..on your One Year!!!
Your stamp sets are wonderful..
Your Cards are Beautiful!!
I enjoy your Blog..so inspiring!!
TFS

Karen W said...

This is gorgeous and I love the color combination. Thanks for the ideas.

Lesly said...

Gorgeous card! What a beautiful story. It touched my heart this morning.

Denise said...

Happy anniversary Julee! Two beautiful cards!!

Laura (scrapnextras) said...

Congratulations Julee, on your Anni-Verve-sary, and on taking the road less travelled! I believe it has made all the difference! You know I love your stamps and everything Verve stands for! Woohoo, I can't wait to party with you! Love your cards too BTW!!

Charmaine (CharmWarm) said...

Both cards are just beautiful, Julee! LOVE your poem choice. . .so inspirational!

Anonymous said...

I am so happy you took the road you did because I get to enjoy your cards and your stamps. You are so talented and inspire me to work on my cards. Happy Anniversary and I can't wait for the release of this set to add to my others. Beautiful card as usual. Sandy B.

Anonymous said...

There's nothing better than to have a job doing something you really enjoy and love, and I'm so happy you're able to do that. I love all these challenges you put out there for us, it really helps us to grow and learn. Having the chance to participate & win stamps is a real joy for all of us as well. Congrats and may your success continue well into the future. Lucky us!!!

Libby Hickson said...

Love both cards, and congrats on your anniversary!! This is so incredibly cool that you let your DT pick quotes for the set. Love the four I've seen so far - especially Susan's! :-)