A Little More Verve

Here’s the next installment of my cards for this week’s Verve Stamps release challenges. I managed to get to them all in plenty of time to meet the deadline.

This cute 4 ¼” square card was for one of the sketch challenges. I used the Floral Symphony set for the main image. The flowers were first stamped in Pumpkin Pie ink, then I stamped the outline image over them in black ink. Quick and easy! The rest of the panel is embellished with some kraft taffeta ribbon and a button.

I picked my colors for the card based on the strip of striped patterned paper from My Mind’s Eye that I used across the cardfront. To add some texture and interest, I embossed only the top portion of the Baja Breeze panel on the cardfront with my Swiss Dot embossing folder.

Materials Used:
Floral Symphony and Circular Sayings stamp sets (Verve Stamps); Tuxedo Black ink (Memento); Pumpkin Pie and Kiwi Kiss Classic inks, Baja Breeze, Certainly Celery, Kraft, and Whisper White cardstock, kraft taffeta ribbon (Stampin’ Up!); button (Papertrey Ink); twine (Walmart); patterned paper (Wild Asparagus-My Mind’s Eye); Swiss Dot embossing folder (Cuttlebug)

This card was for a color challenge using soft blue, soft yellow, and soft brown. I chose Baja Breeze, Barely Banana, and Kraft as my colors.

I used the same tulip image from Floral Symphony, this time stamping in Barely Banana ink. I coated the flowers with Dazzling Diamonds, too.

The panel that's on an angle behind the image panel was embossed with the Swiss Dot embossing folder to match the dotted patterned paper that covers most of the cardfront.

Once I added the strip of kraft taffeta ribbon to the bottom of the card, I didn't have much room left for a sentiment. I fit in the "thinking of you" sentiment from Circular Sayings, stamped in brown ink, to finish the card.

Materials Used:

Floral Symphony and Circular Sayings stamp sets (Verve Stamps); Barely Banana and Close to Cocoa Classic inks, Barely Banana, Baja Breeze, Kraft, and Whisper White cardstock, kraft taffeta ribbon, scallop edge punch, Dazzling Diamonds (Stampin' Up!); patterned paper (K & Company); Swiss Dot embossing folder (Cuttlebug)

This card isn't part of the Verve release challenge, but it is for last weekend's Viva la Verve sketch challenge. In addition to the sketch, there was a color challenge to follow--More Mustard, Summer Sun, and Baja Breeze. That's a tough color combination!

I decided to try to make it work for a masculine card. I had some scraps of patterned paper in Summer Sun and Baja Breeze, so I arranged those to fit the sketch, filling in with some solid papers, too, on a More Mustard card base.

I used my Polka Stars set for the image panel. I stamped the stars in Summer Sun ink, then trimmed around them. I layered them on stars punched out of Summer Sun cardstock using a dimensional. I added the "superstar" sentiment from the Great Expectations set at the bottom of the card. It turned out better than I thought it would, given the challenging colors.

Materials Used:

Polka Stars and Great Expectations stamp sets (Verve Stamps); Summer Sun Classic ink, Summer Sun, More Mustard, and Baja Breeze cardstock, Baja Breeze Patterns and Good Morning Sunshine designer series papers, silver brads, large star punch (Stampin' Up!); Tuxedo Black ink (Memento)