Release Day Spotlight Hop

Welcome to Day 4 of Verve's Anni-VERVE-sary Spotlight Hops! It's release day and that means all the new Verve that we've been sharing this week is available in the store.  To celebrate, we're putting on another hop and the prize is the ENTIRE release. Woohoo!  Today's featured focus is designer's choice, so you might just sneak a peek at a whole bunch of must-haves!  I'm the first stop on today's hop, so let's get to it!

For today's card, I pulled out the Kindness Matters stamp set.  I really wanted to use the kind and brave sentiment, so started by stamping the two sentiments on stitched circle die cuts and then sponging with broken china ink. I just adore these sentiments together. It seems like I tell my boys to be kind approximately 100 times a day. I hope the repetition sinks in and they turn into little humans with a heart for others. And ones that are brave enough to stand up for what's right when they see others being unkind.

Okay, on with the card... next I pulled together some neutral prints, distressing the edges with tip top taupe ink and rounding one corner.  The flower is embossed in white on tiptop taupe and cut with the coordinating Great Kindness Die Set.  I layered all three sizes of flowers one on top of each other and just love the look.  To finish, I added some black leafy spray die cuts from the Great Kindness Die Set and a teeny library clip on one of the sentiment circles.

Thanks so much for stopping by and thanks for all the wonderful support and comments the past few days.  I love sharing new goodies with you and it's so fun to hear your thoughts. Next up on today's hop is the fabulous Stacey!

Want to win some shiny new Verve? Today's prize is a BIG one. We'll be picking a random commenter on one of the hop spots below to win our ENTIRE new release! So be sure to leave a little comment on all the blogs below to increase your chances! Check out the Verve Blog today for the full hop list and all the prize info and deadlines!

1. Julee 7. Betty 2. Stacey 8. Charmaine 3. Maureen 9. Laurie 4. Lesley 10. Christyne 5. Marisa 11. Autumn (Guest) 6. Hillary (Guest)

PS. Laurie's card will be a little late today. 

Enabler's List 
Stamps: Kindness Matters  (Verve Stamps)
Paper: tip top taupe, basic black (SU!), white, dp scraps
Ink: broken china (Ranger Distress), tip top taupe (SU!), black, versamark, Copic marker
Accessories: Great Kindness Die Set (A Cut Above by VERVE), Stitched Circles Stax (MFT), mini library clip (SU!), Stardust Stickles (Ranger)

Potters Clay Spotlight Hop Day 3

Welcome back to  Day 3 of Verve's Anni-VERVE-sary Spotlight Hops! Today, our sneaky little spotlight is shining on the Potter's Clay stamp set and coordinating Pottery Die Set. These lovely little products will be releasing this Friday, August 26, but you can hop along today for a chance to win them! I'm the first stop on today's hop, so let's get to it!

For my card, I started with a piece of white cardstock, stamping the Ephesians 2:10 verse on the right side.  Next I stamped the two vases.  I achieved a shaded look by stamping using my MISTI stamping tool first with pool party, then swiping just part of the stamp with pacific point ink and stamping again.  A couple of repeat stampings really builds up the texture and interest.  Both vases are cut with the coordinating Pottery Die Set.

The floral spray was next, stamped in tiptop taupe, then lightly brushed over with a watercolor brush and some watered down walnut stain ink.  I went over it quickly with a glue pen, then dusted with glitter for a sparkly effect. It's hard to catch that golden shimmer in the photograph, but it does add such a nice effect.

To put it all together, I did a quick quick hand cutting around the edges of the spray with scissors, then tucked it into the vase with a slit I made with an X-acto knife. I added just a hint of a white rim around where I tucked it in with a white gel pen to complete the look. Before I glued my pieces down, I masked off the sentiment and splattered watered down walnut stain and tumbled glass reinker for a fun background.  Then I finished things off with some distressed edges and a bit of seam binding ribbon.

Thanks so much for hopping along with us today! You next morsel of Vervey goodness is waiting for you over at Stacey's blog.  Have fun, and if you get lost along the way, the full hop list is below.


Want to win some shiny new Verve? We'll be picking a random commenter on one of the hop spots below to win today's featured products! So be sure to leave a little comment on all the blogs below to increase your chances! Check out the Verve Blog today for the full hop list, a little more about our new products and all the prize info and deadlines!

1. Julee 7. Betty 2. Stacey 8. Charmaine 3. Maureen 9. Laurie 4. Lesley 10. Teresa 5. Marisa 11. Christyne 6. Hillary (Guest) 12. Autumn (Guest)

Enabler's List
Stamps: Potter's Clay (Verve Stamps)
Paper: white
Ink: pool party, pacific point, tiptop taupe (SU!), walnut stain, tumbled glass (Ranger Distress)
Accessories: Pottery Die Set (A Cut Above by VERVE), Signature Ribbon Collection (Verve), glue pen, glitter, paper distresserpowder, heavy gesso (Prima)

Kindness Matters Spotlight Hop

Welcome to  Day 2 of Verve's Anni-VERVE-sary Spotlight Hops! Today, our sneaky little spotlight is shining on the Kindness Matters stamp set and coordinating Great Kindness Die Set. These pretty little flowers will be releasing this Friday, August 26, but you can hop along today for a chance to win them!  I'm the first stop on today's hop, so let's get to it!

For my card, I started with a piece of white cardstock coated with heavy gesso, then pulled out some Color Burst powders in yellow, orange and violet.  There are several layers here, repeating and dripping and drying until I achieved a result I was happy with.  I then stamped the sentiment in Versamark ink and embossed in white, masking off the kind, so I could stamp again in a different color.  I inked the kind with a purple marker, then embossed in clear.  It didn't stand out quite as much as I had hoped, so I outlined the entire word with a white gel pen.

Next I embossed the big flower from Kindness Matters in white on another section of the Color Burst background and cut with the coordinating Great Kindness Die Set. I then decided I wanted another flower, but had already used up my background and put my Color Burst mess away, so embossed the smaller flower in white on white cardstock and watercolored with the Prima Tropical watercolor confections.  I added some diamond stickles for a sparkly flower center, then distressed all my edges and accented with a touch of cheesecloth behind the flower.

Thanks so much for hopping along with us today! You next morsel of Vervey goodness is waiting for you over at Stacey's blog.  Have fun, and if you get lost along the way, the full hop list is below.



Want to win some shiny new Verve? We'll be picking a random commenter on one of the hop spots below to win today's featured products! So be sure to leave a little comment on all the blogs below to increase your chances! Check out the Verve Blog today for the full hop list, a little more about our new products and all the prize info and deadlines!

1. Julee 7. Betty 2. Stacey 8. Charmaine 3. Maureen 9. Laurie 4. Lesley 10. Teresa 5. Marisa 11. Christyne 6. Hillary (Guest) 12. Autumn (Guest)

Enabler's List
Stamps: Kindness Matters (Verve Stamps)
Paper: white
Ink: Versamark, Color Burst powders (Ken Oliver), Tropicals Watercolor Confections (Prima), Wilted Violet (Ranger Distress), white gel pen
Accessories: Great Kindness Die Set (A Cut Above by VERVE), cheesecloth, diamond stickles (Ranger), stars & swirls embossing folder (Sizzix), paper distresser, white and clear embossing powder, heavy gesso (Prima)

Scripture Medley 4 Spotlight Hop

ETA: If you're here looking for my OCTOBER release Day 1 spotlight hop, click here.  Made a little boo-boo in the hop list links and caught it late!


Welcome to Verve's Anni-VERVE-sary Spotlight Hops! There's a new Verve release just around the corner and for the next couple of days we'll be shining our creative spotlights on the new Verve sets and dies releasing this Friday, August 26!  I'm the first stop on today's hop, so why not settle in for a fresh little dose of inspiration?

Today we're sharing inspiration featuring the new Scripture Medley 4 compilation.  Our plain jane line of stamps is retiring, and this compilation includes 7 previous plain janes and two verses from the retired Everlasting Life stamp set. Check out the Verve Blog post today for more on this set and a little bit about our fabulous Guest Divas, Autumn Clark and Hillary Harris!

Since it's Anni-VERVE-sary, I decided to make my card for today in Verve's signature colors... aqua and brown.  I used the Psalm 94:18 verse , embossing it  on a stitched circle die cut and adding a bit of distressing with a stencil and some distress ink.  There are a handful of the Psalm 94:18 plain janes left in the store, but once they're gone this verse will only be available in the  Scripture Medley 4 set.

The flowers are from the previously released Great Friend set, and colored with copics.  One exciting part of this release is a new die set that coordinates with flowers in a new set as well as the beloved Great Friend set. A die for Great Friend has been our most requested product, and I'm super happy that I was able to make it work for a new set as well! Here I used the smallest flower in the set and cut it with the Great Kindness Die Set. The leaves are also part of the die set and I added a few details with a marker.  A bit of white paint, stenciling, and some embossed chicken wire gives it a fun distressed, mixed-media flair.  I finished off with  just a bit of twine behind the flowers and some liquid pearl accents on the flower center.  If you recognize the layout, it's the current sketch by Maureen for Viva la Verve!

Okay, that's all from me today.  Thanks so much for stopping by!

Next up on today's hop is the fabulous Stacey!

Want to win some shiny new Verve? We'll be picking a random comment winner on one of the hop spots below to win today's featured product! So be sure to leave a little comment on all the blogs below to increase your chances! Check out the Verve Blog today for the full hop list, a little more about our new products and all the prize info and deadlines!

1. Julee 7. Charmaine 2. Stacey 8. Laurie 3. Maureen 9. Teresa 4. Marisa 10. Christyne 5. Hillary (Guest) 11. Autumn (Guest) 6. Betty

Enabler's List 
Stamps: Great Friend, Scripture Medley 4 (Verve Stamps)
Paper: early espresso (SU!), cream (Neenah), dp scrap
Ink: Kelly Purkey Coffee & Donuts ink (Hero Arts), antique linen, (Ranger Distress), copic markers, white acrylic paint
Accessories: Great Kindness Die Set, (A Cut Above by VERVE), chicken wire embossing folder (Cuttlebug), linen thread (TCP), dot fade stencil (Tim Holtz), liquid pearls (Ranger), stitched circles stax (MFT), classic circles Nestabilities (Spellbinders)