Clean and Simple!

Sometimes all you need is a great image, a nice sentiment, and a quick and easy technique to create a clean and classy card! I can't claim credit for this one though! I made this card recently at a Stampin' Up class that I went to! I hate to admit this... I have absolutely no details as to the sets I used on this card! I am so sorry! I guess my main point of sharing was to show the very simple and striking layout! I used the oval and scalloped oval SU punches with a little bling added to some satin ribbon! The background was stamped not with Versamark, but a complimentary color of ink in a darker tone. The flower was stamped with permanent black ink and colored by picking up color with a blender pen from the lid of an ink pad and then lightly adding the color to the stem, leaves, petal and center of the flower. Just that simple!

Well folks.... hope you are enjoying your weekend! It's been a nice one here in my neck of the woods. And, for that, I am thankful! See you all back here soon!

Flourishes Focus.... put on the mask!

Hi all! TGIF! With Friday comes another Flourishes Focus. This time... it's all about putting on the mask! Flourishes sells this fabulous tape called Eclipse and if you head on over to the Flourishes Newsletter, Cindy Lawrence gives us all a fabulous tutorial on just how to use it! This paper is a low-tack tape -- kind of like a giant Post-It! So, instead of having just that little strip at the top that's tacky - you have a 6" by 33' Post-It! Pretty cool huh? Imagine how long that would last! And, you can re-use your masks. Just keep them with your stamp sets and use over and over again!

I digress! Here's a look at my creation for this week! I wanted to keep it simple because I honestly didn't have a ton of time to stamp this week. I know... terrible isn't it? I didn't have time to color my roses! So, I decided to keep it monochromatic and use sponging to add a punch of color!


So, to explain how I masked -- I wanted to show you the set, so you could see what I was talking about!!! I used the I Love Roses set by Flourishes....

See that large rose up in the upper left corner? I wanted that rose to be stamped repeatedly as my main image. But, I wanted it to look like the roses were all overlapped. So, I stamped that rose onto my Eclipse tape, cut it out and then used this tacky sheet as a mask so that I could shield the rose that I just stamped, and stamp new roses over top. Sometimes you need two masks to do this - but I managed with just one.

After I was done stamping all my roses with Tea Rose Vivid Ink, I then put the Labels 8 die that I used for my main image shape back on and sponged on some more Tea Rose ink with the die on to keep the edge of my main image crisp. I also did this with my larger pink mat as well. Here's a shot of my main image so you can see what I mean!

Paper pierce the edge and then, it's time for your sponged sentiment! I used the new Ribbon Tag Trio dies that are brand new in the Flourishes store! I love these dies! They are a bit larger than the other ribbon slide tags, so they can accomodate a little larger sentiment or whatever else you'd like! This die also has embossed dots around the edges that I later added some pink Liquid Pearls to! I also threaded some of that lucious May Arts pink satin ribbon through as well.

See?
That's it my friends! I hope you have a fabulous weekend! Be sure to head on over to the Flourishes Newsletter to see Cindy's tutorial. And, don't forget to hop on over to these ladies places to see what they cooked up as well!

Christine Okken
Cindy Lawrence
Faith
Latisha Yoast
Leslie Miller

Thanks for stopping by! See you back here soon! :-)

Stamp Simply-- No Comfort Zone Here!

Hi all! It's almost the weekend, which means, it's time for one of my favorite challenges -- the Stamp Simply Challenge (ssnotime102) courtesy of the fabulous Sharon Johnson!

This one is all about getting uncomfortable! :-) Well, not really. Here's the scoop. We all have our stamping "comfort zones." We might not even realize it -- but we do! So, today Sharon is challenging us to get away from it - use something that you've never used. Do something that is not characteristic of what you do on your cards!

And, my card, has no stamping on it whatsoever!

I decided to get "scrappy!" I took beautiful Basic Grey papers, some fun ribbon (Hobby Lobby), a button (the Paper Studio), a Martha Stewart border punch and some stickers and I went to town. The papers and stickers are all from the Basic Grey Lemonade collection. I mean to tell you -- this card was so hard. I have to admit - I am really bad at getting out of my comfort zone! I think this card turned out OK. Something looks a little out of balance. And, stickers? Hhhhmm. I don't really use them much. Then, I don't really do "cutesy" well either. So, there you have it. I got out of my comfort zone but I'm not really comfortable with the results! LOL!

I do think the little bee is darling though! I added some sparkle to his little wings! See?
So, if you stop by and want to say "hi" but don't really dig the card -- don't worry! I won't be offended! Just say -- Hope all is well! And, I'll get your drift!! LOL!

If you want to see how the rest of the team got out of their comfort zone, be sure to stop by and visit the rest of the gals! Be sure to wish my mom Pat a fond farewell! This is her last week with us as the guest designer! Sniffle. Sniffle! It was so much fun to have her around and have her with us for these challenges!! I still think she should be the team cheerleader! ;-)

Pat Adam, August Guest Designer -- My mom... YEAH!!
Janine
Jennifer
AJ
Tammy
Deb
Barbara
Jenny

Thanks for stopping by! Hope you can get out of your creative zone and join us this week! :-)

My DD has been gettin' crafty!

Well my friends, I have to tell you, my daughter is stealing the show today! She's had more time to get crafty than I have as of late!!

She got an invite with one of her friends to a party at one of my local scrapbook stores. It was geared toward kids and this is what they made!
I thought I would share because I thought it turned out darling and I know there are a lot of moms out there that like to do crafty things with their daughters. Here's all it took-- some stickers, some punched circles, bling, punched flowers, some chipboard letters, strips of paper, a good glue, some edging or ric rac, a handful of fun ribbons in vibrant colors, a clip board and a note pad! And above, is what you get after about 45 minutes! The girls loved it! I forgot to mention that they did sponge a wash of acrylic paint to color up the clip board. You can't really tell, but my DD decided to make hers yellow.

When I asked my DD what she loved about making this project, she said... "I liked painting the board and putting on all the bling!" Yes, my friends, she IS my daughter! LOL!

Here she is... gettin' crafty! How cute! Sorry, I'm biased!
Thanks Ellie for stealing the spotlight! You can do it anytime!

I'll be back soon with another Stamp Simply challenge AND a fun little Flourishes Focus that is all about taking off the mask! Yep, that was your hint! See you all back here soon!

With Gratitude....

I got some time to stamp today! When my mojo is low, I love to take in a challenge to light that creative spark! Today, I picked jjjjjo-jo and the sets (the theme of today's Featured Stamper on SCS!) I also decided to try a new technique featured on the Flourishes Newsletter courtesy Makiko Jones! It is the coolest thing I have seen lately!! It's Modge-Podging with Mulberry Paper! You can click HERE to check out her fabulous tutorial!

Joanne Grzelak was today's featured stamper. After flipping through her fun gallery, I decided to CASE this card HERE.

Since I didn't have the SU die for the main shape, I decided to swap that out and use Spellbinder's Curved Rectangles die. I used a different CB embossing folder for my background and instead of using a CB folder for the center strip like Joanne did, I used some silk ribbon that I matted to a strip of black paper. Instead of brads in the corner, I used self stick pearls. Plus... I used different stamps! The basic layout of the card is the same though! ;-)

The stamps I used were Bird and Vine and Thank You... both from Flourishes! The background was done with some ivory distressed paper in the Basic Grey Wisteria pack and then accented with Scattered Straw and Tattered Rose Distress Inks. I used Lettuce and Pesto Adirondack inks for my vine and accented with some Ranger Liquid Pearls.

To find out how I got that background texture, you really need to stop on over and see Maki's tutorial! It is a WOW technique! And, for more on the Featured Stamper challenge, just click HERE!

Happy Monday everyone! Thanks for stopping by and I'll see you back here soon!

Twice As Nice Friday -- Let's De-stress and Polka!

The Stamp Simply party from last week may be over... but we're still dancing! Polka anyone? No? You don't want to roll out the barrel? Well, how about a polka dot??? :-) That is what this week's Stamp Simply challenge (ssnotime101) is all about and I am going to make it a twice as nice Friday and combine this one... with the focus over on the Flourishes Newsletter!

Before I get to the fun with my creation.... be sure to check out what the other SS gals cooked up! You can check out Sharon's challenge by clicking.... HERE!

Pat Adam, August Guest Designer -- My mom... YEAH!!
Janine
Jennifer
AJ
Tammy
Deb
Barbara
Jenny

This week, fellow Flourishes SDT gal pal Stacy Morgan is de-stressing with distressing! Mix that up with a few polka dots and... this is what you've got!
I used the brand new Cherries and Peaches set from Flourishes. I love this set! I stamped my cherries using permanent black ink onto Flourishes Classic Ivory and then colored them up with the Poppy and Fields Copic collections packaged by Flourishes! After I added the color, I also added some Crystal Lacquer to make my cherries shine!

From there, it's simply matting and having some fun with my layout! For my "distressing" I actually took some rustic polka dot paper and then sanded it to really mute the color and make it look aged! It's a different way to distress but I love the vintage feel!

You can also see that I stamped my cherries a second time and then lined it up for a kind of different effect. I also used some Tea Dye Distress Ink (Ranger) on the strip that I put my sentiment on to sponge on an antique feel. Add some paper piercing and a fun sheer polka dot ribbon and... DONE!

You'll have to check out Stacy's wonderful tutorial over on the Flourishes Newsletter as she shows us the different levels of distressing! And, be sure to hop on over to the rest of the DT's places in blog land to see what they cooked up!

Christine Okken
Cindy Lawrence
Faith Hofrichter
Latisha Yoast
Laura Fredrickson
Leslie

Thanks so much for stopping by! I'll see you back here soon!

Eat, Drink and.... Be Scary!

Hey all! It's time for another Impression Obsession challenge and this one... is downright scary! :-) All you need to do is pull out your Impression Obsession stamps out and make up a Halloween card!

I chose some of the new Leigh Hannan stamps for my card. I just LOVE these little skeletons that are all ready for a party!

I stamped my skeleto n crew -- Skulls About Town -- out on Flourishes Classic White cardstock using Memento Tuxedo Black ink and then colored with a mix of Copics and Copic Spica pens. Add some bling, a fun ribbon side, a beautiful silk ribbon and a fun little clip with my sentiment - Eat Drink and be Scary! - and... done! For my background paper, I actually took some scraps of Halloween paper and - on the top piece - I stamped the Cover a Card Harlequin background stamp, embossing with black detail powder.

Here's a close up of those cute little skeletons! If you want to know more about the challenge and how your work could be featured on the Impression Obsession blog... just click HERE.

And, don't forget to see what the rest of the DT whipped up for this spooky challenge! ;-)

Daniela Dobson
Dina Kowal
Jeanne Streiff
Jenny Gropp
Laura Fulcher
Shirley Ross
Katarina Menzies

Thanks for stopping by! See you all back here soon!

Sharing some happy mail!

Gosh, blog world is so fun... especially when your friends send a little love to your mail box! I have had a lot of cards sent my way this summer and I realized the other day, I have yet to share them here!! I thought I'd post them here so that you can be just as inspired as I am by these fabulous works of art!

This first one is just a creative genius at work! I keep telling Barb Schram that she is too talented for her own good! This card is actually a window card. You can't see it very well but the table and chairs are behind an acetate style shadow box and the "overhang" she created with decorative paper comes down over the "window!" Isn't that incredible?
I've held on to this one from Flourishes Owner, Sharon Doolittle because the set she used just was released last weekend (Cherries and Peaches)! Isn't her coloring AMAZING?

Speaking of amazing coloring, Christine Okken truly has a way with color and I admire her work immensely! I have to tell you, her artistic edge is even more impressive in person!

I got this beauty from Nancy Kirk (also an owner of Flourishes) and I loved how she created her background with color! Even after holding the card in my hands, I have no idea how she did it! Copics? Maybe. Watercolor? Hhhmmm... don't know! One thing I do know is... it is beautiful!

As many of you know, in mid-July, I hopped on an iron bird to meet up with some stamping buddies and we met up in Shipshewana, Indiana. Well, when we were there, we actually found this paper below that is the base of Darlene Pavlick's card! Isn't that hysterical! I thought it made up the cutest Thank You card! Thanks Dar!

This next card by my coloring buddy Denise Gooch has a funny story behind it! I open the card and see this beautiful wreath with my favorite shade of plum. I thought, 'With Kind Thoughts?' How sweet! What did I do to deserve this?
Then, I opened up the card and nearly threw it across the room! I screamed when I found this hopper inside (see photo below)! You see, I was telling Denise that our neighborhood has been literally overrun by grasshoppers. It's so gross! So, this was Miss Denise poking fun. After I nearly threw the card, I did laugh hysterically. Only Denise!

When Dee Jackson sent me this beauty, I couldn't believe the richness of her creation! She did this card using chalks and it is truly a stunning card not only in blog land but in real life! I wish she lived closer because I'd tell her to come over for a play date to show me how she made it!

Speaking of southern gals... Betty Wright mailed out this gorgeous card after she got her hands on some of the Copic collections that Flourishes put together. This card is just as beautiful and vibrant as Betty herself!

And last, but NEVER least is this java lovin' creation from my bud Janine Orchard. She is really my BFF in blog land! And, she knows my weakness--- COFFEEEE!! She is too sweet. Every now and then she'll send me some of the best beans ever for my afternoon coffee. So, this creation was very sweet!

I'm happy to say that each and every one of these creations is now on my inspiration wall....so I can look at these cards to help the creative juices flow!

Thank you ladies! You have no idea how much each and every one of your cards brightened my days! Thanks for stopping by! See you back here soon!

It's Release Time!

Gosh, this week seemed to fly by! We hoped you enjoyed the Flourishes sneak peeks shared this week! If you made it to the release party, didn't we all have a blast????

So, without further ado! Meet this month's releases!

Cherries and Peaches

Basketweave
Baby Love
Gerbera Daisies

Remember, Flourishes is offering a special new release bundle! Pick up all three sets and our new background stamp for 10% off! Click on over to the Flourishes store to find out more! Keep in mind, this special will only last one week -- so get it while it's hot! :-)

Happy Shopping!

Final Fresh Picks... and a Stamp Simply Celebration!

Hi all! Today is one heck of a party in stampin' cyberspace! First up, we have the final peek at Flourishes releases for August. Can you say WOW? Every release I say - this is the best one and every release the artists outdo themselves!

We also have a bash going on with Stamp Simply! This is the 100th challenge! So, a bunch of SS designers past and present are combining their creative talents to give you a BUNCH of eye candy and ideas that you can sock away for a creative rainy day! We have tag ideas, card ideas, projects, gift ideas and even some tasty treats! To see the full list of everyone playing, you need to click on over to Sharon Johnson's place!

My project is a card set that you could use as a gift using Flourishes brand new set called......

This beauty is another one hand drawn by Marcella Hawley. I swear, we should dub this lady a flower girl - because every type of petal she draws turns into pure magic! I loved the idea of using this set for a grouping of cards!

I figure one of the biggest challenges in card making is deciding what layouts to use? So, I'm making it easy for you! I came up with three layouts and am giving you the sketches to try!

Card #1

On this creation, it is really rather simple! I stamped my image using Memento Tuxedo Black ink onto Flourishes Classic White card stock, cut it out with an oval Nestabilites die by Spellbinders, and colored it up using the Violet, Fields and Daffodil Copic collections! The paper I used is from October Afternoon. Dress is up with a Finishing Touches Beautiful Brad and some bling, add some stitching, a scalloped edge and... bam.. card one is done!

Card #2

This one is literally just stamping, coloring and strategically stamping the butterfly so that it looks like it is perched right there on your sentiment! I love all the elements in this stamp set that allow you to do this! To color up my butterfly, I used black and then the Tiger Lily Copic collection. I also added some dots from my Inkssential pen for the little white dot on the wing! I should point out, the front part of the wing was stamped and colored a second time to pop it up!

Card#3

This one is a fun one because I used an envelope to house my tag card! Above, I took a regular A2 sized envelope, sealed it and then I cut the top off - about 1/16" off. After that, cover it with some decorative paper, paper pierce and stamp your flowers in a darker green to give a subtle effect on your card front. I used a large oval punch to create the opening for my tag and then used the same punch to punch an edge for my curved opening.

Here's a peek below of the tag card that slips inside!

These daisies were colored up the same way as the others and just stamped off the lower corner. Add a half circle at the top, a grommet, some deep plum ribbon tied up in a bow with some burlap string! Done!

I hope you've enjoyed the sketches and the cards! If you try this, I would LOVE to see what you do!

FYI: This gorgeous stamp set will be live in the store FRIDAY NIGHT-- yes.. tonight right after the release party! The party starts at 9 Central right HERE on the Flourishes forum over on Splitcoast! If you click on the link... the chatter is already underway! :-)

When you make the rounds to the design team, you'll see a full rainbow of colors - each just as beautiful as the last!

Christine Okken
Cindy Lawrence
Faith Hofrichter
Latisha Yoast
Laura Fredrickson
Leslie Miller
Stacy Morgan
Nancy Kirk

Do you want to win this set? All you need to do is leave a comment over on the Flourishes Newsletter! And, remember, the clock is ticking on our Fit For Royalty challenge! THE CONTEST CLOSES FRIDAY AT 5 PM EASTERN! Enter and you could win all four of our new release sets. You can read all about it HERE!

If you think the fun ends after the release party wraps... well, we have something a little extra for you! Did you enter our Fit for Royalty challenge??? If so, you'll want to check back tomorrow (Saturday) -- right here at noon central time for a little extra something! We can't spill the beans now - but trust us - you won't want to miss it!

Thanks everyone for stopping by! See you at the RELEASE PARTY!

Fresh Picks.... Day 2!

Baby love.. my baby love... Sorry! I got distracted right off the bat! If you loved Day 1 of our Fresh Picks release, today will bring a warm fuzzy! This set is full of cuddles and toys for baby girls and baby boys!

Introducing....

This darling set drawn by Lauren Pope is full of beautiful, almost vintage looking baby items that are perfect to welcome in a brand new bundle of joy! Baby Love will be live in the Flourishes store after our Power Hour Release Party Friday night! The party starts at 9 Central right HERE on the Flourishes forum over on Splitcoast! If you click on the link... the chatter is already underway! :-)

The Senior Design Team wrapped up their creations and tied it with a bow for you all to see!

Christine Okken
Cindy Lawrence
Faith Hofrichter
Julie Koerber
Latisha Yoast
Laura Fredrickson
Leslie Miller
Stacy Morgan
Nancy Kirk

Now, to my creation! I am coming to be known as the baby sweater lady in my neighborhood! I absolutely love making baby sweaters and love to shower a new mom and babe with them. It's fun for me to knit and purl and know that one day a darling new addition to someone's family will wear it!

I love to also make a card to go along with the project and up until now, I haven't really found a set that I love. Baby Love is PERFECT for baby gifts! See? This one is actually is going to my mom for a charity auction that she helps put together through her church. Edited To Add: Some of you asked what pattern I used and what yarn I used. Here goes! I took this from a pattern in the 101 Designer One-Skein Wonders book by Judith Durant. The pattern is called the Feather and Fan Baby Sweater. I used Caron Simply Soft yarn in Soft Pink. It's inexpensive yarn and knits up very nice -- and washable!

How fun is it to have a great little sentiment and small images perfect for tags?
The card was a blast to create! I took my lead from this week's Timeless Tuesday challenge hosted by Silke Ledlow, which was to score! I scored a criss-cross design onto my Flourishes Classic White card stock and then filled the "diamonds" with the smaller images in this set! The sentiment is also part of the new set. Add a fun punched border and you're almost done! The sentiment was layered with the help of some SU punches and some of that gorgeous May Arts Satin Ribbon. I also added some of the smallest Kaiser pearls to the areas where my diamonds meet.

Do you want to win this set? All you need to do is leave a comment over on the Flourishes Newsletter! A winner will be announced tomorrow! And, remember, the clock is ticking on our Fit For Royalty challenge! Enter and you could win all four of our new release sets. You can read all about it HERE!

Tomorrow brings our final day of peeks leading up to our full of fun Release Party! Tomorrow's set is a fresh pick straight from the garden! You won't want to miss it!

See you tomorrow!