Verve October Release Sketch Challenges

I've made these images a bit smaller since I'm posting 5 at once but you can always click on them to enlarge them. These are for Verve's October09 release challenges forum found here. Julee posted 5 sketches to be completed by Friday night before the new sets are released. Why don't you check it out and play along? She's even added a FREE digital d/l of one of her new images until Friday evening!! There's still enough time to complete your cards and get them entered and you just might win some free stamps! The above image is VSOCT09E, and as you can tell, I used the same dsp and cardstock for all of my cards. It's called Bamboo and from a CTMH paper kit that I've had for quite some time. I used the Flourishes basketweave stamp on the main image panel, along with Verve's Because of You floral image. A punched border with a MS arched lattice punch and finally a paper flower, a flower made with the Nestabilities blossom die and a HPH vanilla brad.

This card is for VSOCT09D. For this one I stamped the panel first with the Baroque Motifs in bamboo ink, and then overstamped it with a stamp from Echoes of Kindness in Versafine Onyx Black. The clip is HPH antique brass with a little piece of raffia, and the half-circles were done with 2 different punches. A touch of sponging, distressing and piercing finished this one.

This is for VSOCT09C. I used the UpsyDaisy image, embossed with Versamark and black ep. The sentiment panel was done with an Inkadinkado stamp and the Modern label and word window punches. 2 black Kaiser pearls and a couple pieces of ribbon were the finishing touches for this one.

This is my favorite of them all and it's for VSOCT09B. For this I used a Verve stamp, some old buttons from my grandmothers button box and a beautiful piece of silk ribbon. I tied some tan hemp in the larger button. The corners of the sentiment panel were notched with a pair of scalloped scissors.

And finally this card is for VSOCT09A. I stamped the floral spray on a piece of softly colored dsp and added a few Champagne Kaiser pearls The larger flower is a single Verve stamp which I stamped on dsp and embossed with a mixture of black and brown ep. The dark brown papers in this pack are too dark for brown and too light for black - they're somewhere right in the middle, so it was difficult to match the embossing powder color. The sentiment is a Verve stamp that came with an order and I just love the fonts!!
All I need to do now is make a little box, and perhaps a couple more cards and I'll have a nice gift set of cards for someone:)

Thanks for stopping by and spending a little time with me :)

Carol

ETA: The designer paper I used on all these cards is by CTMH, and it's called Silhouette, not Bamboo. It coordinates with Bamboo colored ink.

Verve Release Kick-Off Challenges

First is a Sep09A sketch challenge card for Verve's kick-off release party. Julee gave us this great sketch and I used blush blossom, soft yellow and light blue. The b/g panel was done with Baroque Motifs in Versamark on glossy cardstock, and embossed with white ep, then sponged with blush, saffron, and blue inks. The rest was done with a combination of Nestabilities die cuts, punches and embellishments.
Next is the Sep09D challenge where Jackie challenged us to use distressing on our card. I stamped 3 different sized Verve flowers on Pomegranate with Versamark, then embossed them with white ep and cut them out. I layered them and attached a brad, and popped them up on foam squares after curling a bit for interest. The sentiment is by Verve, black pearls by Kaiser, and border punch by MS. Pink pirouette is the card base color.
Lastly is the Sep09E challenge where Lynda challenged us to bling it up by adding shine or sparkle. That's where these gold beads come in. I used a vintage cream cardstock base and BG dsp, with a scrap of rust textured cardstock matted beneath the sentiment panel. The sentiment was stamped with peach ink using the floral image, and the sentiment is from the same stamp set by Verve called Because of You. The sentiment was stamped in Close to Cocoa and then cut with a Nestability. The doily border punch is by MS. The flowers were punched using a SU 3 flower punch, and the circles beneath them were punched with a large hole punch. Some Ivory satin ribbon and lots of gold beads completed this card.
If you'd like to enter these challenges, they need to be completed by this evening, so hurry hurry! You can find all the information to enter here. There are 2 other cards I made for this challenge that were posted earlier.
Have yourselves a wonderful Friday and thanks so much for spending part of your day with me :)

Carol

Verve Sep09C color challenge

Michelle chose a color combo for the Sep09C Verve new-release kick off challenge found here. The colors are orange-yellow, cream, deep brown, and grey-green. I chose the trendy trees stamp set with these great fall colors. I used scraps of bazzill textured cardstock that perfectly match Pumpkin Pie, Chocolate Chip, and Mellow Moss. I stamped the trees on Vintage Cream cardstock in Chocolate Chip, Pumpkin Pie, Sand Beige and Mellow Moss. I layered the trees on a piece of paper cotton cardstock and matted it with Chocolate Chip. I added 2 pieces of Mellow Moss grosgrain ribbon and stamped the sentiment in Chocolate Chip. Quick and easy - my kind of card!
Thanks for spending a little of your day with me here, I appreciate it :)

Carol

A Triple Play!

My card today meets a triple challenge! First is the Verve Sep09 color challenge Charmaine gave us, to use Teal, Durango, Olive and Razzleberry. Next is the SC#246 sketch challenge found here. Thirdly it's for the Cuttlebug Spot challenge #48 to make paper confetti. I used 3 different embossing folders on this - the Herringbone, Diamondplate, and Pebbles. The confetti pieces were embossed with the Pebbles folder, and then run through a crimper and shaved on my paper cutter. I curled some of the ends after adhering them beneath the pumpkin image panel. I used circle punches, a scalloped punch, Nestabilities, and a white sharpie pen to dot the scallops. The pumpkin image was stamped on Durango with versamark, and embossed with black ep. The dsp is from a mat stack and the stickers were in my stash forever. I rarely use stickers, but they seemed perfect for this card.

Thanks for stopping by today, make it a good Wednesday if you can!!

Carol

VSJUN04 and VSJUN05 Verve Sketches

Here are my final 2 cards for the Verve Release 5 sketch challenges. This one was done in shades of teal and pale green. I used a sheet of My Mind's Eye dsp and flipped it for the top portion. The image is from Penny Black, and was colored using Tombows. I used always artichoke and taken with teal, and the cupcake was made with a MS punch, using liquid applique and dazzling diamonds for the frosting. The corners were made with a Quickutz. The sentiment is from a G studio stamp. I used a white gel pen to draw lines on the cupcake, making it look like crimped paper cupcake liners.

This is the 5th and final sketch in the challenge. I used Cool Caribbean and Chocolate Chip for this one. I found this AWESOME ribbon at AC Moore the other day and it perfectly matches the cool caribbean and even has a tiny brown diagonal stripe to match the chocolate chip! I have just a tiny scrap of the Sweet Always dsp left and I thought it worked well with this card. The sentiment is by SU! from Seeing Spots, the small flower in the sentiment circle is from Verve's Because of You set. It's embossed and popped up with a Kaiser chocolate pearl in the center. The larger flower was white and I colored it with Cool Caribbean reinker and an aquapen. The border was done with the MS doily punch and the ribbon bow was made with the bow-easy. I hope that gets easier to use in time........for now I can't seem to get my center piece to lay flat. I'll keep trying though!

Have a cool day wherever you are. We're getting some serious humidity today in PA, so I think I'm just going to chill indoors.

Thanks for stopping by!

Carol

Verve Sketch Challenge June Release

I've been working on some sketch cards for Verve's new release for June 2009. Julee has left 5 sketches to be done by week's end before her latest release, and I love playing along with Verve whenever I can. Their sketches are fantastic to work with, and their stamps are awesome too! If you want to play along, there's still time and you can find all the information here.
The first sketch is VSJUN01 and was done with Fancy Pants dsp and 2 sets of Verve stamps. I added some tiny paper flowers, gemstones and SU taffeta ribbon (I LOVE that ribbon!) I colored the stamp with Tombows because it matched the dsp better to be a little lighter in areas. Very quick and easy to make.
Next up is the VSJUN02 sketch. It's all done in black, white, and Cool Caribbean. The sentiment is by Imaginisce, and the flower is from the Because of you set by Verve. The flower was stamped with Versamark on white cardstock, embossed with black ep, and colored with reinker. I colored the loops in the sentiment with the reinker, and added some Kaiser bliss pearls.
This is the VSJUN03 sketch. All done in Baja Breeze, Parisian Breeze dsp, Chocolate Chip and Cottonwood. If you click on the photo, you'll be able to see the soft floral image on the sentiment panel that I stamped in Beige Sand. That's from the Because of You stamp set by Verve. The sentiment is done in Chocolate Chip and that's from the Thoughts and Prayers set by SU!. The ribbon is from SU! and I made it with the Bow-Easy. I have quite a learning curve to master with that tool, but it should get easier as I go along. The sentiment panel was cut with Nesties petite ovals.
Thanks for stopping by today and have a great Wednesday.
Since our counter went past 10,000 hits already, the blog candy has now closed. The winner will be announced as soon as one of us can round up our granddaughter to draw a name! Thanks for playing along!

Carol