It's a Celebration!!!

Hi all! TGIF! Today is a special day over at Flourishes! This week Flourishes turned two years old and because of it, they have set aside the entire month of August to celebrate! There's a BIG announcement set for tomorrow on the Flourishes Newsletter detailing all the fun... so be sure to check it out! Some even say it's an announcement that you'll FLIP over!!

Today, the entire design team along with some of our Friends of Flourishes cooked up creations to honor this special day! Be sure to check out their fabulous and festive handiwork... Christine Okken, Cindy Lawrence, Faith Hofrichter, Latisha Yoast,Laura Fredrickson, Leslie Miller, Stacy Morgan, Jan Marie Caruso, Dee Jackson, and Silke Ledlow. Guess what? You can play along too and there is a free set of your choice on the line! You can check out all the official details - HERE!

So, here's my creation! I just love the new BasicGrey Lemonade paper pack. It's so fun and festive! So, naturally I wanted to reach for that and my Birthday Celebrations set for this creation!


This one is really quite simple! Layer up some paper, use a 1-3/4" circle punch to create your window in your card, add a decorative edge punch, some sewing, some paper peircing and.... the fabu cupcakes! I stamped one cupcake and then made a few masks to add the others. I used Vivid Chocolate and Tea Rose inks and then topped off the cupcake with some Stickles Diamond Glitter Glue and some hot fix crystals. The sentiment was done thanks to the Sweet Violets set! I LOVE those sentiments!

This card also qualifies in a round about way for this week's Stamp Simply challenge courtesy of the fabulous Sharon Johnson! This week's challenge is.... Lace! You might be scratching your head wondering where the lace is on my card! Well, I searched my craft room high and low for something lacy and it hit me -- this edge punch is called.... Apron Lace! So, there you have it my friends - my interpretation! :-) You can click HERE for all the official Stamp Simply details! And, don't forget to hop around and see all my Stamp Simply buds who cooked up something fabulous -- I am sure!

Rose Ann, July Guest Designer
Janine is taking this week off — have fun, Janine!
Jennifer
AJ
Tammy
Deb
Barbara
Jenny

Thank you so much for stopping by and making my place a part of your day! It makes me smile! See you back here soon!

Yes.... I'm alive!

Hi all! Hope all is well in your corner of the world! If you couldn't tell, I have been a bit scarce lately! Work and kids home for the summer are really taking most of my time and rightly so. I just laughed today. You know it's bad when your mom wonders when you are going to post next! She called and said - You haven't posted since last Monday... what's up?? Gotta love moms! :-)

Well, with CHA in full swing, I thought I'd show off some more of the goodies that will soon be available over at Impression Obsession. In fact, this card here is sitting in the IO booth as we speak! Isn't it funny how my cards get to travel the world but... not me! Oh well... maybe someday!

This cutie patootie is part of both a clear set and also available on rubber and is designed by one of IO's newest illustrators - Sarah Phelps. She really pulled out all the stops for the holidays and has created some darling images featuring whimsical witches, ghosts, snowmen, reindeer and this jolly man-- Santa!

The mechanics of my card are rather simple. I stamped my Santa with permanent black ink and colored him up with Copic markers in shades of green and red. Add some fun decorative paper (SU), a little mini sentiment, a decorative punch border and some great ribbon and... almost done! Because I wanted to add a bit of glitz for a true holiday flair, I did go over some of the parts with some Copic Spica glitter pens.

See?Just an FYI... I'm told these stamps will be up in the store August 1st! Thanks for stopping by! I'll be back tomorrow with a double dose of challenges. One that is full of fun - the other has a prize on the line - so you won't want to miss out!

See you then!

A fun and friendly challenge!

Hi all! Happy Monday! I have a fun little bit to show you this morning. Last weekend while I was with some of my stamping buds off for a little R & R, we were purusing some of the local stamping/scrapping offerings. That's when I hatched a plan to do a brown bag challenge. What's that you ask? Well, you take some paper scraps, some ribbon, maybe a few embellishments, rub-ons or stickers. Basically, you stuff some goodies in the bag and the challenge is to make a card with it all!

I have to be honest, I was going to make my challenge a bit of a "white elephant" card challenge just to see how much fun we could have making a card out of less than desirable objects but - when we got to the Scrapyard (that was the store), I fell in love with one of the new Brenda Walton lines from K & Company. I picked up some pearls, some rhinestones, ribbon, rub-ons and paper and then shoved it all in the bag - mixed them up and doled them out! It was a fun one!

Here's what the ladies - Darlene, Tammy, Joan, Sharon, Janine and my mom- came up with!

And here's a peek one of my cards!

I just love these K & Company stickers! They even had some razzle dazzle on them with a bit of glitter!

And, here was a second card...

I loved the fact that these were so quick and easy. It just goes to show that when you need a card in a hurry, it's not a bad idea to have some color coordinated items like this on hand!

Thanks for stopping by! With CHA starting this week, I'll have some more sneaky peeks to share from Impression Obsession... so stay tuned!

Gettin' Fruity!

Hi all! Hope your week is sailing to a nice finish! I have another Stamp Simply challenge for you courtesy of the fabulous Sharon Johnson! This time we look to those lucious fruits that ripen on the vine this time of year!

It's time for ssnotime97! You can get the official details HERE but to break it down for you - all you need to do is whip up some type of fruity creation!

So, here's what I whipped up!

I absolutely love these new Strawberries from Flourishes and I absolutely love this new paper from BasicGrey! It's called June Bug and the patterns inside are just ADORABLE! I got mine as a gift from a very nice lady affectionately called the "Fleckster" :-) but you can find it right HERE if you like!

I stamped my berries in permanent black ink and then used the Poppy Collection and Spring Greens Copic Collections from Flourishes to color up these sweeties! FYI: These collections are sold out but... I'm told.. more are on the way and they will be in the store soon! After coloring, I used a 1-1/4" circle punch to punch out my berries and I matted them up with a scalloped circle punched from a SU punch. I also took the little flower from the set, stamped it, colored it up and cut it out to add a little pizazz to my berries. I love how this turned out! I even added some Stickles to the centers of the flowers for a little razzle dazzle.

You might notice, the card size is a bit smaller. I have some of those "banker envelopes" and wanted to use that style for this card - so my card is only 6 by 3". It's really a fun size! From there, add some fun buttons, a punched border edge, and a sweet sentiment and... done!

Here's a close of of that darling little flower!

Want to see the sweet creations from the Stamp Simpy team? Just hop on over to.....

Rose Ann, July Guest Designer
Janine
Jennifer
AJ
Tammy
Deb
Barbara
Jenny


Thanks for stopping by! Hope you make time for play time and join us this week! And, if you want some more eye candy, you should hop on over to the Flourishes Newsletter as the team wraps up Shimmerz week! Gotta love that sparkle!


See you back here soon!

Holiday Shimmer!

All this week on the Flourishes Newsletter, the DT is cooking up fun by mixing up some of the company's designs--- with Shimmerz paints! If you missed any of the action, you need to head on over and see some of the beautiful creations that were unveiled Monday and Tuesday! Just click HERE!

Here's a peek at the card I have over on the blog today! Yes... it's Christmas in July!

For the details, all you need to do is head on over to the Flourishes Newsletter! Faith Hofrichter has a gorgeous sample today as well-- you don't want to miss it!

See you back here tomorrow!

I'm back!

I've been MIA for a bit because this past week I got a chance to hop on a big iron bird and head east to visit my mom. Well, we decided a while back that we would pull a Thelma and Louise, get in a car and take a road trip to hook up with some other fine stamping ladies! Boy did we have a blast!!!! We met up with......

From L to R: My mom, Joan Fricker, Sharon Johnson, Darlene Pavlick, Tammy Hershberger and Janine Orchard!

I cannot tell you how fun it was to meet these ladies in real life! Since we've all been chatting it up for well over a year -- it was like a homecoming - even though we had never met in person! We all arrived at the same time to the hotel in Shipshewana Indiana and -- isn't it funny how you can recognize someone -- just after seeing a few pictures on the Internet?

We stamped. We shopped. We ate. We stamped. We ate. We laughed and then laughed some more! It was sad to see these ladies go! Janine even ordered these fun shirts!!! It says... "I got stamped in Shipshewana!" Too fun! You might wonder, where the heck is Shipshewana? Well, it is a little Amish town in Northern Indiana. It is very quaint with a homespun feel. It was beautiful country and very relaxing. The only traffic was at the end of the work day when cars shared the roads with the horse drawn buggies!

Here's another pic of the whole crew (minus Darlene who took the picture!)
We wrapped up the weekend promising to do it all over again and I actually felt sad that it will be a year at least before we can all get together!

Thanks ladies for such a FUN weekend! And.....
Thanks Mom for making the trek with me! I loved our "Thelma and Louise" weekend! :-)

p.s. I'll be back tomorrow with some actual stamping! Stay tuned!

Flourishes Focus --Highlights of White!

Hi all! Time for another Flourishes Focus! I have to tell you, one of the little tools in my arsenal of stamping stuff is a gel pen that is just $3 but honestly, packs a lot of punch. It's one of Faith Hofrichter's favorites and that's why she is the hostess over on the Flourishes Newsletter showing you how she uses the Inkssentials pen!

Here's my card!

I started by stamping my Strawberries with permanent black ink and then coloring them up with these Copic collections:

After coloring and blending, I took out the Inkssentials pen and went to town! I wanted to give my image a bit of whimsy and add some white highlights. Now, if you look closely, you'll see I didn't add any on my large berries, just on the leaves. And, artistically, they aren't really in highlight areas. But, that's ok. I just wanted to add a little pop in places!

Here's a close up so you can see!

I like the whimisical effect it gives! Do you want to see what the other members of the DT created with their Inkssential pens? Just hop on over to see.....

Cindy Lawrence
Latisha Yoast
Laura Fredrickson
Leslie Miller

And, don't forget to visit Faith over on the Flourishes Newsletter for her wonderful tutorial!

I would say I will see you back here soon, but I am headed east to visit my mom and some of my other stampin' buds for a weekend of girl time and fun! I'll be incommunicato for the next few days! So, enjoy and I'll be back next Wednesday for a special *sparkly* project with the other gals of Flourishes!

Stamp Simply -- the 'lil black dress!

Every woman has one, or has wanted one sometime in her life. And this little desire has nothing to do with stamping!!! I'm talking about the 'little black dress!'

That's what today's Stamp Simply challenge is allllllll about --- making a card/project of understated elegance using black and white. If you need to add in a little pop of another color, that's fine, as long as the project is primarily black and white and its overall feel is that of understated elegance. The SS Crew knows this one will produce some real beauties!

And, here's mine!

When I saw this challenge, I knew I wanted to use this paper that I picked up forever ago at Hobby Lobby on sale. I knew it was going to make a great card as a focal point and... I think it does! I matted up the butterfly paper and edged with the help of a Martha Stewart edge punch and then matted it again on some pretty musical notes paper.

The only stamping done was THIS sentiment from Impression Obsession!

After putting on the sentiment with a bit of foam tape, all you need to add a little silk ribbon, and a little bit of bling and.. VOILA -- 10 minute card! I do have to say that for my bow-- I tried the new Bow Easy! OH MY GOSH! Does this make tying bows beautifully easy (just like the name suggests)! Don't look to close at my bow because after I marveled at how perfectly this little creation makes them, I went and stuck the glue dot to attach my bow to the wrong side. UGH! So, better luck next time! LOL!

Want to see the other 'little black dresses' of the stamping world? Be sure to check out....

Rose Ann, our July Guest Designer!
Janine
Jennifer
AJ
Tammy
Deb
Barbara
Jenny

Have a fun and fabulous weekend! I'll see you back here soon!

It's Christmas In July!

It's about that time for another Impression Obsession Challenge served up by the Design Team! It's a challenge you can play in! All you need to do is click HERE to find out about all the fun!

This beauty of a stamp is called Ice Skate Stockings (F2354 by Leigh Hannan) and will be released in about two weeks at CHA! Isn't it pretty? I love the crisp and clean look! I stamped it in permanent black ink and then stamped with a mix of Copic markers and accented it with some Copic Spica glitter pens. I did stamp the top of this twice so that I could cut out the bow and pop it up a bit! Use a Curved Rectangle die from Spellbinders for the main image and mat and... you're almost done! All you need now is some fun decorative paper in Christmas Colors! I also added a self stick silver pearl as my "nail" that was holding up my stocking. I know it is a bit shocking to see a Christmas card in July -- but I am going to "glass half full" it and say I am just one step closer to getting my Christmas cards done this year! :-)

Want to see how the other IO gals packaged up some fun for our Christmas in July challenge? Just click on and see....

Deborah March
Dina Kowal --- She has blog candy too!
Jeanne Streiff
Jenny Gropp
Kelli Richardson
Laura Fulcher
Shirley Ross
Tina Werner
Kathy Menzies

I'll be back with another twice as nice Friday -- the Flourishes Focus will be a 'highlight' and you just might want to pull out your little black dress for this week's Stamp Simply challenge! Do you like those hints?

See you back here tomorrow!

Witchy Woman!

Hi all! As the Impression Obsession gang gets ready to prep the display boards at CHA, the DT is giving you a little eye candy before the big show!

In my case, it could be Halloween candy! Sarah Phelps has done it again and has created some darling images just in time for the fall and winter holidays!



I think this little witch is darling and what's fun is the fact that she comes in both rubber.... and in a new clear stamp set full of fun images like that cutie pa-tootie spider! I colored her up with Copic markers and then sponged on a bit of purple and blue ink around her while using a Nestabilities die to mask the edges. Add a scalloped Nestability shape for a mat, some fun embellishments and ribbon and... done!



And, this is another image using that darling witch! Both are from the set called Which Witch? (CL241) and will be available after CHA! I also colored up this one with Copic markers and then added a bit of sparkle in places with a Copic Spica clear pen.

Here's a close up!

Want to see what some of the other IO gals created with some of the new stamps? Click on over to Laura and Deborah's places and see! You can also log onto the IO blog for a look at all the fun that is being cooked up this week!

Thanks for stopping by! See you back here soon!



p.s. Did you see, the artistic queen of papercraft comedy, Miss Paperlicious, is putting together a survey and needs your help? You can click HERE to find out how you can participate! The more the merrier she says!

IO gets ready for CHA!

The paper is flying in the craft room again! This time it is to help Mitra and the rest of the Impression Obsession gang get ready for a HUGE CHA! This year comes with a few surprises! I'll give you some hints! If you love backgrounds -- you are going to LOVE the company's new line of cover-a-card backgrounds! There are more than TWO DOZEN styles and... yep...they cover the whole card front with ease! And, there is a brand new block that will fit these mega backgrounds. One that you won't have to strain yourself to use!

For my sneak peek today, I chose one of Alesa Baker's beautiful new images for Christmas. Because it is a non-traditional image, I chose a non-traditional color scheme!

I paired my pear up with a mix of decorative paper (Basic Grey Porcelain and Lasting Impressions) and solid paper (Bazzil and SU). Both the pear and the sentiment are new offerings that will be unveiled in just a few weeks at CHA!

I stamped my pear on Classic White paper and colored it up with Copic markers (YG00, YG03, YG06 with a touch of E29). The flowers were colored with watercolor pencils and then the centers were dotted with some Liquid Pearls in a pale pink. Add a decorative edge punch (SU) and some beautiful May Arts ribbon and ... done!

Here's a close up of my pear... I really love how this turned out!

Make sure to hop on over to Daniela's place and also the IO blog for some more sneaks to the new IO collection! While you are on the IO blog, check out some of the peeks showing the new Mega Mount acrylic block AND the cover-a-card backgrounds!

See you back here soon!

Happy Trails.. I mean.. shopping!

This week and tonight's release party was an absolute BLAST! The designers showed off their best samples and had fun just chatting it up! Now, the fun part! You get to shop! Here is a peek at all three new sets that are now in the store!

Seaside Life


Strawberries

Beach Life

Thanks so much everyone for making this another fun-filled release week! I do have to tell you though -- the fun isn't over yet! If you played in the By The Sea challenge, check back tomorrow at noon central time right HERE on the Flourishes Newsletter! We have yet another surprise in store. Trust me, you won't want to miss this!

Until then....

Summer Classics Day Three!!!

I wish I could say the beach is my great escape but living in the mountains... I don't see it often. That's why when I set eyes on the new set by Lauren Pope, I thought, well at least I can stamp the beach if I can't sit on it!

Introducing...

This set features a handful of elements that you can use to create your own summertime beach scenes. I can't share too much because this set won't be released until Friday night at 10PM Central, but let's just say it has a little something for everyone - from easy to color elements to those that you can use to just let your creativity flow!!

Here's what I dreamed up!
I wanted a card that had that sand blasted look with a hint of a surfer feel! I picked decorative paper that was white core so that if I scored lines into it, I could go back over it to sand it down to look like a kind of beach house bead board.

I used the two middle colors from the Copic Delphinium Collection and also two of the lightest colors from the Flesh Tones 2 collection for the sand and the lightest shade from the Water Collection for the sky. After I colored it up-- do you know what I did? I took a 400 grit sandpaper to it! Yep. I did. I lightly rubbed the paper over it so that I would get a more muted serene look instead of a real brightly colored beach scene.

Do you see what else I added?

Real sand! A friend of mine (Denise G.) took a trip to the ocean not too long ago and sent along some sand from her adventure. My husand and I were laughing because when it arrived, the envelope was leaking sand! We were wondering if at any point in it's journey if it was quarantined as a mail threat! :-) I love using the sand on the card though! I just dabbed on some clear drying glue and stuck it down!

After I matted up my card, I added this fabulous twine and then added my sentiment from the set thanks to a 1" circle punch.

The rest of the DT also hit the beach with this set and delivered some sunshine with a little paper and ink! You can hop on over to check them all out!

Christine Okken
Cindy Lawrence
Faith Hofrichter
Latisha Yoast
Laura Fredrickson
Leslie Miller
Stacy Morgan
Sharon Doolittle
Jan Marie Caruso
Nancy Kirk

Would you like to WIN this set? Hop on over to the Flourishes Newsletter and leave a comment on the Beach Life post! They will announce the winner tomorrow!

Don't forget to clear your social calendar! FRIDAY NIGHT - JUNE 10TH - is the FLOURISHES SHORT 'N SWEET RELEASE PARTY! It kicks off Friday night at 9PM CST over on the Flourishes Forum on SCS! It's just one hour so -- don't be late! We don't want you to miss out on the fun! We'll have more samples from our talented DT, games, fun and suprises!

Also..... you still have some time to compete in our By the Sea challenge! All you need to do is make one card and you have a shot at winning all three of our new releases! Click HERE to read up! You have until Friday at 5 PM Eastern time to enter!! Don't miss out on all the fun!

Thanks for stopping by! See you back here soon!

Summer Classics-- day 2!

As a kid, my family would pack up the car each spring and hit the road. It was Florida or bust! I think I actually made a sign that said that one year! The destination was always Orlando. We have wonderful memories of walking on sandy beaches and taking in the sea and sand. When I first saw this new set from Flourishes, I was flooded with all of those fun memories.

Introducing...

This is another big winner from Marcella Hawley. She sure has the magic touch when it comes to creating stamp sets! So when I inked up my stamps, I knew that I wanted to take the treasure trove of images and make my own kind of treasure map!

I made this fast and fun fold card using some fun K and Company decorative paper that is just that... a map!

Want to see how I did it? I'll start by saying this is from a book by Mary Jo McGraw called Creative Card Making. FYI: I didn't buy this book! I checked it out from my local library! Have you checked yours? Might want to! :-)

For this card, you start with an 11 by 11" piece of light card stock or text weight paper. Fold it on the diagonal. (After I realized you might like to see this -- I grabbed a spare piece of decorative paper to show you all)
Then from each corner - score at the point that is 5" from the point on both sides and fold in - like this! See the top point that is laying off to the left? You are going to fold this back toward the right and line up your fold with the natural "v" that is created by folding over your flaps in the first place. Like this....
Now, a tricky part that is hard to explain. You will fold the point of this up toward the "v" I mentioned before. When you fold this - it will create a new kind of pocket fold that will form a square. This is what it looks like...
This is how it works....

I just love the seashells in this set! I embossed them with detail gold and colored them up with some of the lighter shades of Copic in the Tigerlily and Water collections along with the W1 marker in the Warm Neutrals set.

This is what the card looks like when you unfold it! Just so you know, I did clip my corners that should have been between all of the flaps.
And, you can see.... this card features a fun accordion fold! Each panel features another seashell! Here's a close up of the seashells...

I masked the clam shell so that I could make the seaweed behind it. After I masked, I also used a texture stamp (tiny dots) to create "sand" underneath all of my shells.

Here's what it looks when you unfold the accordion center! And here is the priceless sentiment... Whew! That was a lot to digest, if you have any questions, please feel free to leave a comment and I will try to answer them in tomorrow's post!

Speaking of friends you treasure.... I had the pleasure of meeting one of my Flourishes team mates the night before we started our sneak peeks!Christine Okken was passing through and her family was able to set up camp here at the Koerber house for the night. I was giddy! I have to tell you too -- her coloring -- is even more beautiful in person! Her family is charming... to say the least!

Here's a pic of us hanging out! It was so fun meeting her!

Back to the stamps! Want to see what the rest of the design team cooked up? Hop on over and see....

Christine Okken
Cindy Lawrence
Faith Hofrichter
Latisha Yoast
Laura Fredrickson
Leslie Miller
Stacy Morgan
Sharon Doolittle
Jan Marie Caruso
Nancy Kirk

And, if you'd like a chance to win this set, Simply leave a comment over on the Seaside Life post on the Flourishes Newsletter! The winner will be announced tomorrow! While you are there, check out the rest of the fun happenings going on over at Flourishes!

See you tomorrow!