February Verve Diva Inspiration Hop

Well, it's the 5th of the month and time for the Verve Divas to bring you our monthly Diva Inspirations Challenge and Blog Hop! There are two ways to win Verve prizes.. comment on the design team's blog hop posts (linked below) to see their take on the inspiration, then go get inky and link up your take on the challenge to be eligible in our prize drawings!

The hop started over on Julee's blog HERE and you should have hopped all the way through to SARAH's Blog and then here.  I'm glad you made it!

Our February challenge is Vivacious Valentine...

Nothing says "I love you" like a handmade Valentine in your signature style.
Use the inspiration graphic as a starting point, or head off in your own direction  - just make us swoon with a fabulously flirty creation!

Earlier this week, Julee posted THIS CARD on her blog and I was blown away by the watercoloring on it!  I commented on it on Facebook and said she was 'making me want to watercolor'.  She told me to do it, so I accepted the challenge and came up with this.  I started with the latest sketch from Freshly Made Sketches (172) because I love the simple design. 


I did a watercolor wash for my background piece using water and inks on the lids of my Stampin' Up pads in various pinks onto Canson watercolor paper.  I wanted a subtle "band" across my card, so I stamped off in gray once and then stamped my watercolored piece with the background from the BETTER TOGETHER stamp set.  I stamped the heart from the LOVE NOTES set and filled it in with the XOXO and the "hugs" sentiment, and then cut it with the JOTTED HEART die. 


I love the touch of green in the inspiration photo, so I just had to add a flower from the PETALS & WINGS stamp set (I couldn't find my dies for these, so they are handcut), with the leaves cut from patterned paper using the DREAMY LEAVES die.  Once I got it all layered up and adhered, I wanted some sparkle, so I just ran a line of Rock Candy Distress Stickles across the top, bottom and top of my big heart (yes, I have a big heart), and "painted" them on out with a paintbrush. Super easy and super sparkly! 

So how do y'all think I did with the watercoloring?  I'm not quite ready to say I know what I'm doing yet, but I am looking forward to getting some real watercolors and playing around!  It's time to keep going on the hop, so head on over to see what MARISA did for your inspirational enjoyment.  I'm sure it's nothing less that gorgeous! 

Click here to link up your challenge entries
Challenge deadline: Thursday, Feb. 19.
Prize: $40 gift voucher to the Verve online store!

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. Julee	7. Sankari
	2. Amy	8. Sarah
	3. Anya	9. Susan
	4. Betty	10. Marisa
	5. Jen	11. Maureen
	6. Karen	12. Verve Blog

SUSIE Q-TIP:  Don't forget about that "stamping off" technique.  If your ink color is a bit too dark or saturated, just ink up your stamp with it, stamp it "off" once onto scratch paper, and then immediately stamp onto its intended destination.  In this case, I did it twice and overlapped the gray dotty background.  It gave it a little more concentration in a few areas, but doesn't overwhelm the soft look of the card. 

Stamps:  Better Together, Love Notes, Petals & Wings (Verve)
Paper:  Vintage Cream (PTI), Steel Blue (MFT), Watercolor Paper (Canson), Dots and Stripes (Echo Park)
Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black, Pixie Pink, Rose Romance, Pretty in Pink (SU!)
Accessories:  Jotted Heart, Dreamy Leaves (A Cut Above Dies by Verve), Rock Candy Distress Stickles (Ranger), Hemp Twine, Linen Thread, Pearl Flatbacks (Pizzazz Aplenty), Foam Boosters
Finished Size:  A2