Viva La Verve July Week 1 Recap and Viewfinder

Hello Verve fans, Marisa here.  We are into a new month of Viva La Verve sketches and today I am recapping Julee's wonderful Week 1 sketch.

We'll have 5 July challenges... play along with us and link each of your challenge creations to our Entry Form link list. The link list will be up for the whole month and we'll choose a random winner at the end of the month to win a $100 gift voucher to Verve. Challenge rules can be found on the Rules tab at the top of the blog or by clicking here.  You don't have to complete all of the sketches to win, but the more cards you enter, the greater your odds of winning.   Verve stamps are not required to play, but we do love to see 'em!  We'll also be highlighting a couple of our favorite link-ups each Tuesday, so be sure to get your links in if you're crafting over the weekend.

Here is the Week 1 sketch....

Click here for our July Challenge Entry Form

Here's my take on this week's sketch.

Multiple panels on sketches can cause me grief at times, so my go to "cheat" is to use a paper pad since the manufacturer has done all the hard work and made the papers all matchy, matchy for you!  All you have to do is decide which ones to use {grin}.  In this case, my favorite and hoarded In Bloom MME paper pad came to the rescue.  I used up some scraps and added this wonderful Hello Friend Plain Jane for my sentiment.  The focal panel was a bit stark, so a few leaves from Bloom and Grow softened things up and the tiny butterfly added some dimension.

Here are a few beautiful cards I spied in the link-up this week...

Love how Ellen outlined her panels in black, and her butterfly is amazing, as is the flourished mat for her Hope Blooms sentiment panel.

 
Lyn created this darling card using one of my favorite colour combinations along with two retired sets.  Lovely touch with the stitched edges and sequins.

  Adore the black and yellow colour combination Nancy used and the touch of chevron embossing down the side.  The sentiment is from Scripture Medley 1 and this fabulous butterfly from Happy Place which has the coordinating Happy Doodles die.

Thank you all for sharing your wonderful creations with us! Be sure to join us on Friday for some brand new inspiration for our second Viva La Verve July sketch created by yours truly.