Happy New Year with a Stamp Simply Twist!

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!!! Welcome 2010!

And just in time for a new year comes a challenge... with an emphasis on.... NEW! Create a project using something new, try a new technique, use a new paper, anything -- as long as it's new! You can click HERE to head on over to Sharon's place for all the official details!

For my 'something new' I decided to use some of my new distress inks. I actually bought them a month ago but hadn't broken them in yet. I had a few but thanks to a 50% off sale at one of my local haunts, I was able to pick up about 10 new colors with the reinkers to match! YIPPPEE!

For the card below, I stamped my image (new stamp I just picked up from Impression Obsession. It's called Pansy Vase but I thought it looked like a rose!) on watercolor paper and then began to paint with my Distress Inks.

Here's a peek at how I made it work. I used the reinkers and put a drop of each color in the palette. I used a waterbrush to help move the color on my image. I actually got my inspiration HERE from Yvonne's fabulous tutorial!!
The petals were done with Worn Lipstick, the leaves with Peeled Paint, the water with Broken China and the shadow with weathered wood. I also have Antique Linen in the photo but I must have been having a blonde moment -- I didn't use that for this creation! :-)

For the card mechanics -- pretty simple! I used some K & Company paper and sewed around some of the edges, a Fiskars edge punch, some pearls and some beautiful silk ribbon! Voila!!

Want to see what the rest of the Stamp Simply gals cooked up that was exciting and new??? Just hop on over and see......

Sharon
Michelle Woerner -- our guest designer!
Janine
Jennifer
AJ
Tammy
Deb
Barbara
Jenny
Barb

Thanks for stopping by! Be sure to come back soon! Either Sunday or Monday I plan to post some MAJOR BLOG candy for hitting the half million hit mark! WHOOOPPPEEEE! It will be good... trust me! ;-)

See you then!

Just checkin' in!

It's been kind of quiet around here on my little old space on the web. I've been just chilling with the family and really enjoying some down time.

So.... no cards to share yet! I have some works in progress though! Flourishes January release is just a few weeks away! And, some fabulous new images from Impression Obsession will soon be released at winter CHA. Once again, my cards will go to CHA... not me! LOL! Needless to say, the paper is flying! So, stay tuned!

I did want to share some fun images that my hubby and I took yesterday on a walk in our backyard winter wonderland! We have this undeveloped island that is about a half mile away that we walk to just to get some fresh air. While we were there, we realized that someone decorated one of the trees on the island for Christmas. I couldn't resist taking a few photos....

Isn't this photo fun? Yep... that's me and hubby. I have to laugh at how distorted we are in the glass bulb. My camera looks HUGE!

And, this is a shot of the mighty Yellowstone in winter. I always think how neat it is to reflect on early explorers like Lewis and Clark traveling down parts of this river.
And hubby thought I was nuts crouching down to get this photo. I don't know why but this lone little leaf stuck in the snow looked kinda beautiful to me!

Hope you are all enjoying some R & R and... promise.. I'll be back soon with some card "stuff!"

Merry Christmas!

A Christmas Prayer
by Robert Louis Stevenson

Loving Father,
Help us remember the birth of Jesus,
that we may share in the song of the angels,
the gladness of the shepherds,
and worship of the wise men.

Close the door of hate
and open the door of love all over the world.
Let kindness come with every gift
and good desires with every greeting.
Deliver us from evil by the blessing
which Christ brings,
and teach us to be merry with clear hearts.

May the Christmas morning
make us happy to be thy children,
and Christmas evening bring us to our beds
with grateful thoughts,
forgiving and forgiven,
for Jesus' sake.

Amen.

Wishing you all the blessings possible this season... and then some!

Merry Christmas!

Have yourself a merry little Stamp Simply challenge!

As I write this, kidlets are getting all snuggled up in their beds with visions of... presents and candy running through their heads! The big fat man in a suit is ready to hit chimneys far and wide. YIPPPEE! My daughter told me a cute joke the other day -- What did Santa say to the chimney on Christmas Eve?

.
.
.
.
.

You really shouldn't be smoking!! HAHAHAHAHA! Gotta love kid jokes!

Moving on! Christmas comes with a little extra present, a challenge to say thanks! Sharon's Stamp Simply challenge (ssnotime119) is to create some clean and simple Thank You Notes to send out. Any theme goes -- whatever you are in the mood for!


For my card, I chose to make a simple Christmas Thank You. I actually whipped up a bunch yesterday and already sent some out!
This card was so easy to create! I took the Winter Bouquet set from Flourishes, some ribbon, a Martha Stewart Edge Punch, some Flourishes Classic Ivory paper, Fired Brick Distress Ink, a burnt red cardstock (SU) and some Copper Ribbon Slides and... that's all it took!

And above is the finished product! Easy peasy! I think I made all of the cards in the group picture in about 45 minutes. Want to see what the rest of the Stamp Simply team created for their clean and simple thank yous? Just click on over and see......

Sharon
Michelle Woerner -- our guest designer for December!
Janine
Jennifer
AJ
Tammy
Deb
Barbara
Jenny
Barb


And don't forget to check out Sharon's post on how to participate in the challenge and link up to our new Mr. Linky feature! Hope you are enjoying the holidays! Blessings to you and yours!

Show me,... white space!

Hi all! Time for another Flourishes focus and this one... hosted by the lovely and talented Stacy Morgan is all about white space! Stacy has such a wonderful way of making her cards look so crisp and clean and effortless. Well, I found out -- creating a card with lots of white space that looks balenced and beautiful takes, well, effort!

That's why I'm so glad she gave us some tips and tricks this week over on the Flourishes Newsletter!

I am laughing because I went for lots of white space with this card and it really didn't give me the same effect - I honestly should have dumped the mats and kept it all white! Oh well, I'm new at this! ;-)

Ok, here are the quick and dirty details! I took the All that Glitters set and gold embossed them, added some gold stitching for the hanging strings, a quick knotted bow and colored them up with Copic Markers. Gold leaf the edge of the white paper, add some red and green mats and a sentiment and..... done!

Check out Stacy's tutorial HERE and then.... see how the other gals in the Flourishes DT bathed their creations in white!

Christine
Cindy
Latisha
Laura
Leslie

Thanks for stopping by! Have a fabulous weekend!








Stamps: All that Glitters, Holiday Greetings
Ink: Versamark with gold detail embossing powder
Paper: Flourishes Classic White, Red and Green (unknown)
Ribbon: May Arts
Extras: Kaiser Craft red rhinestones

Stamp Simply.... Let it SNOW!!

Hi all! TGIF!!! It's time for another Stamp Simply Challenge (ssnotime118) and this one is hoping to give you all... a white Christmas! All you need to do is incorporate some snowy element into your creation! Use anything that says snow - winter, ice, snowflakes - whatever your little wintery heart desires! And, while you're at it - try to make it a "clean and simple" a.k.a. CAS design!

So... here's what I have!

I have to admit, this is -- kind of-- a "repurposed" card. The main image was a part of a card that I made in a SU class that I took with my friend Sheila. Well, I got home and realized all of my layers were crooked! Don't you hate that? I swear, I need glasses! I loved the main image - cute, clean and mod! So, I ripped that off my card front and redesigned! Add some dp, a mat, some stitching, some sheer ribbon and a 1" circle punch for your "Warm Wishes" message (Hero Arts) I wish I knew the SU stamp set! I can't recall! But - basically, I stamped the tree four times - one on the base, and then one on a small, medium and large circle punch and layered it up using foam tape. I cut a shwoopy do for my snowy ground, add some sparkly "snow" and that's pretty much it!

Now, please humor me and stick with me for this next part of the post. I was making my card and my hubby comes in and says -- "What cha doin'?" Well, I tell him that the Stamp Simply challenge is snow -- anything snow. He says, 'Oh, that would be easy'. I raise my eyebrow (yes, only one) and say, 'Really... Come on. Seriously?' He's got this goofy smile on his face and I say, "Ok, have at it. You do the challenge this week too." Well, my friends, this is hubby's attempt.

It's a snowman in a snow storm. Yep -- I thought most of us left that joke back in 1st grade. Not hubby! I think he's still laughing. Ahhhhh..... well, at least he pays attention to my stamping addiction! Could be worse! ;-)

Thanks for stopping by!! Be sure to check out the rest of the Stamp Simply gals.....

Sharon
Michelle Woerner -- our guest designer for December!
Janine
Jennifer
AJ
Tammy
Deb
Barbara
Jenny
Barb

If you play, don't forget to link up your creation to Mr. Linky over on Sharon's blog HERE!

Have a fabulous weekend! See you back here soon!

Another Easy Peasy Card!!

Ok, after yesterday, now I am on a kick to crank out some more Christmas cards with ease! I pump up the Christmas Carols on my i-pod and... voila... just the fuel I need to create! Love it!

This is one I came up with over the weekend. I love the elegant design of the stamp and love that fact that this image is so beautiful on its own, you don't need a lot of "stuff" on the card to send a powerful message!

This card was super duper simple - stamp the nativity using Adirondack Denim Ink - trim 1/4" around edge, edge with silver leafing pen and then mat onto navy cardstock. Use a denim blue cardstock base, attach your nativity piece and then, using a Quickie Glue pen add the die cut corner image (Cuttlebug Vintage Die). After my card was together, I did add a hot fix rhinestone for my star. The inside was done by matting a piece of white card stock that measured 4 by 5-1/4" on the inside.

Here's a peek at the sentiment.....
And... this is how many you can make in an hour!

That's it my friends... another easy peasy Christmas card... just in case you needed some last minute inspiration! ;-) I should mention, this card qualifies for Penny's Paper Challenges! The challenge this go round was "Christmas Stars" -- well I think my little rhinestone bling over the nativity qualifies! :-) Click HERE to check out the challenge! It runs until December 23rd!








Stamps: Inkadinkado (Nativity), Stampabilities(sentiment)
Paper: Bazzill, Flourishes Classic White
Ink: Adirondack Denim
Extras: 3mm hot fix rhinestones, Pilot silver leafing pen
Dies: Cuttlebug Vintage Dies (corner die)

Thanks for stopping by!

p.s. I almost forgot.... check this out! Click HERE to check out the sale! :-)

Need a last minute Christmas Card.... or two.. or six?

Can you believe I am still working on Christmas cards? I laugh because now I'll be lucky to get them sent by New Year's! So, if you're like me and need to make a few more -- I have a fabulously easy design that I actually CASED!

This card is very similar to one that was in the Stampin' Up Holiday Mini Catalog. I loved the clean lines - the pop of red and the trees. Well, I had a lot of the elements -- only my stamps are from Impression Obsession!

The details are pretty easy to see! Iused a nesties die for my main shape. Stamp a small and large tree and emboss with white detail embossing powder on some red and green paper. Cut out -- layer (the small tree has foam tape behind it). Add some red ribbon, some bling and a fun sentiment (also from IO) and... bam.. before you know it... you have 6 cards! I actually did all of these in less than an hour!

Thanks for stopping by! I have a few more easy peasy cards to share this week. So, if you need a few designs -- stick around! I've got you covered!

Stamps: Swirl Tree, Small Swirl Tree by Impression Obsession

Ink: Versamark and white detail embossing powder, Vivid Olive Green

Ribbon: Martha Stewart

Bling: Kaiser Red Rhinestones

Extras: Spellbinders Nestabilities Labels 8

Paper: Bazzill and Stampin' Up decorative paper

Happy Monday everyone! Hope you have a great start to the week!

A shopping we will go! :-)

We had a blast this week sneak peeking the gorgeous creations by Marcella Hawley! After enticing you all week, we are happy to report that the sets are now in the Flourishes store!

Need a little more eye candy? Check out....

A Year of Flowers, Calendar Set 1 or click HERE to see it in the store!


A Year of Flowers, Calendar Set 2... or click HERE to see it in the store!

A Year of Flowers, Calendar Set 3... click HERE to shop!

Thanks everyone for joining me this week!!! See you back here soon! I have some super duper easy Christmas cards I'll be posting soon! So, if you need some last minute ideas.... be sure to hop on back! :-)

A Year of Flowers... the final day!

You can almost smell fall in the air when you look at these beauties drawn by Marcella Hawley! This set... our final sneak peek of the week for Flourishes features four beautiful flowers and the months they represent! Marcella even created a customizable and downloadable calendar that you can deck out with these florals! The calendar was created just for these sets so it is a perfect match with fonts and colors! The download will be available tonight on the Flourishes store-$2 on its own or FREE with the purchase of all three sets!

I printed it off for my post today to show you just how beautiful these flowers are and how these blossoms paired with the calendar would make the most perfect gifts! Above is a peek of the fall set I made, and I made it to fit in a small picture easel. It's perfect for your desk top!

September's month is Aster and I found some fun My Mind's Eye and SU paper to pair up with my flower! I used the Violet, Daffodil and Fields Copic Collections grouped by Flourishes to color my image and outlined with the palest yellow in the Daffodil group and then blended with a blender pen. The tag was done with Spellbinder's Fancy Tags.

October is actually my favorite month of the set! I love those rich shades of rust! To color up my mums, I used the Falling Leaves and Fields Copic Collections grouped by Flourishes. The paper is 7 Gypsies.

Here's a closer look at the flower. I just love Marcy's take on a mum!

November is Cyclamen with it's beautiful red or even pink tones! I colored up my flower with the Poppy and Fields Copic Collections. The paper is Making Memories - Sabrina collection.

Here's a closer look at this unusual and beautiful flower!

And last, but not least is the beautiful buds found in the amaryllis.. gasp! I just think this illustration is to die for! This flower is just so elegant looking! I used the Dahlia and Fields Copic Collections to color it up. The paper is K & Company.

And that, my friends is it! All you need is this download, some pretty decorative paper, an oval die cut shape and a fun tag. Then, you can stamp and just enjoy coloring up these beauties!

Moving on....the anticipation is already building too for tonight's POWER HOUR RELEASE PARTY! It starts at 9 PM CST with fun, games and giveaways! We'll host it in the Flourishes Forum over on Splitcoast HERE! As soon as the party wraps up, all of our sets for December will be in the Flourishes Store for your shopping pleasure!

Want a closer peek at the flowers of fall? Hop on over and pay a visit to.....

Christine Okken
Latisha Yoast
Stacy Morgan
Cindy Lawrence
Laura Fredrickson
Leslie Miller

Would you like to win this set? Jump on over to the Flourishes Newsletter and leave a comment to be in the running! One more note! Time is running out to enter our Floral Finesse Challenge. Click HERE for the details! You could win all three of the sets we'll show this week. You have until this Friday at 5 PM Eastern to enter!

We hope you had as much fun as we did this week! See you tonight at the big party! :-)

A Year of Flowers.... day 2!

A bouquet of summer sweetness.... that's the offering today from day two of Flourishes' A Year of Flowers sneak peeks! This second beautiful set drawn by Marcella Hawley offers up the perennial beauties you know and love!

You might have noticed that the Flourishes Design Team is also using a down loadable calendar with these gorgeous sets! When our stamps are unveiled and in the store, this download will also be available for order on Friday. It will be $2 on its own, or FREE if you order all three sets! I made up part of a calendar and will share that with you tomorrow... so stay tuned!


For my creation today, I actually wanted to use the beautiful rose in the set to make a gift set!

First things first, the card is actually a 4 by 4 creation. I used the Labels 1 Nestabilities die and kind of color blocked it by strategically cutting the pink piece so it would serve as a layer. Do some paper piercing, add a strip for your sentiment (from the Doves in Holly set) and a button and... almost done! The image was stamped and embossed with gold detail embossing powder and colored up with Copics -- the Dahlia and Fields Copic Collections grouped by Flourishes! My base card is actually Flourishes European Watercolor Paper -- not only is it a dream to paint on -- it's a beautiful weight for card bases too!

Now to the box! I cut two strips of European Watercolor Paper measuring 3" wide and 6-1/4" long. Then, I scored at 2-3/4", 3-3/4", and 5-1/4." You will layer the 2.75" sides to create a sturdy bottom for your box. For those visual folks -- here's a peek at the process!

And, here's what it looks like done up!

You can see above that the pink piece is actually the base of your box. I cut it to measure 4.75" square and scored one inch around my box, cutting and folding in the flaps. Then, you glue it to your watercolor paper strips to actually form the jacket for your box. The handles were created by the Labels 1 die shape that I cut in half, sewed with gold thread along the bottom and then used a small Stampin' Up oval punch for the handle holes.

Now, the tricky part was how to keep the box closed! Thankfully, there's Basic Grey Small Magnets! These are on order with Flourishes and will be in the store soon! I used them on both sides of my handles...

Then, I created an exact opposite to my handle and covered up the magnets by covering them with paper.

Here's a peek at the inside of my box! I lined it with text weight gold paper and set a rose shaped scented soap inside! You might remember the soaps from THIS post! ;-) I made some more!

And that, my friends, is it! I have a decorative box and a matching small card to deliver to one of my friends!

Want a closer peek at the flowers of summer? Hop on over and pay a visit to.....

Christine Okken
Latisha Yoast
Stacy Morgan
Cindy Lawrence
Laura Fredrickson
Leslie Miller


Would you like to win this set? All you need to do is travel over to the Flourishes Newsletter and leave a comment! Time is running out on the Floral Finesse Challenge! Click HERE for the details! And, mark your calendar for Flourishes' POWER HOUR RELEASE PARTY this Friday! We'll host it in the Flourishes Forum over on Splitcoast HERE from 9 to 10 PM Central Standard Time! Get ready for fun, games, giveaways and of course... lots of chatter! ;-) As soon as the party wraps up, all of our sets for December will be in the Flourishes Store for your shopping pleasure!

That's it my friends! See you all back here tomorrow! :-)

A Year of Flowers... let the sneaks begin!

It's sneak peek week at Flourishes!! And, today the DT is giving you peeks at a stamp set that will be released on Friday! It's one that beautifully captures the flowers of the year and does so in a way and in a size that can be incorporated into gift sets, calendars, or card sets! Marcella Hawley put her pen to paper and created this truly beautiful series of sets! Today, we "meet" the first set in the series -- the flowers from January through April! If you'd like to see the beautiful creations that our DT has to offer, head on over to these fine ladies and take a peek!

Christine Okken
Latisha Yoast
Stacy Morgan
Cindy Lawrence
Laura Fredrickson
Leslie Miller

For my creation, I wanted to do a card set that had the same look but mixed up the colors a bit... so I got to "sketching!" I came up with this basic layout....

And... then I went to town! Here's how the whole set turned out! Every card was done sewing along the sides of a strip of decorative paper. The oval was done by using two Stampin' Up oval punches - I punched the small oval and used it as a mask to sponge ink and then used the larger punch to actually punch the shape. January is Crocus! I used Memory Box decorative paper and Basic Grey Eskimo Kiss. The crocus was sponged with blue ink while the Labels 1 Nestabilities die was still on and then colored with the Crocus and Spring Greens Copic Collections put together by Flourishes! Add some Kaiser pearls and.. done! For the Primrose, I used Basic Grey Porcelain and Lime Rickey. The set up is basically the same! I sponged on some Memento Angel Pink while the Nestabilities Labels 1 die was still on. The flower was colored with the Dahlia, Fields and Falling Leaves Copic Collections. Add some champagne pearls and... done! For the Pansy, I wanted a softer look, so I actually used watercolor pencils and blended with a blender pen. The ink I sponged around my Pansy was Memento Lulu Lavender. Again... add pearls and... done!
For my Daffodil, I used Lime Rickey and Porcelain paper from BasicGrey. The ink I used to sponge is Memento Canteloupe. For my Daffodil, I used Copics in the Daffodil and Tigerlily collections for the flower and the Fields collection for the leaves.

And that, my friends, is it! Would you like to win this set? Head on over to the Flourishes Newsletter, leave a comment and you'll be in the running!


DON'T FORGET....

Time is running out to enter our Floral Finesse Challenge! Click HERE for the details! You could win all three of the sets we'll show this week! You have until this Friday at 5 PM Eastern to enter!

And... mark your calendar now! There will be some serious fun brewing for our POWER HOUR RELEASE PARTY this Friday! We'll host it in the Flourishes Forum over on Splitcoast HERE from 9 to 10 PM Central Standard Time! Get ready for fun, games, giveaways and of course... lots of chatter! ;-) As soon as the party wraps up, all of our sets for December will be in the Flourishes Store for your shopping pleasure!

Thanks for stopping by! We'll have more fun to unveil tomorrow!