Another IO Challenge, just for MOM!

Hi all and Happy Thursday! It's time for another IO challenge and this one, is wrapped up with a bow just for mom! That is the challenge, to pick up our Impression Obsession stamps and create a card for Mother's Day!

Because every mom loves roses, I thought this card would be perfect for my mom. She peeks here, so unfortunately-- the surprise is blown! :-)

I stamped the rose (Alesa Baker's Butterfly & Rose) on watercolor paper. The stamp actually features a rose and a butterfly - but I just wanted the flower for this card. After I stamped and heat set, I painted with a waterbrush and reinkers. I used Ranger Distress inks in Worn Lipstick and Peeled paint. After that, mat this beauty up with some patterned paper, a Spellbinders Labels 8 nestie, some crocheted lace, velvet ribbon and pearls! Voila! A flower perfect for mom!

This is an open challenge! All you need are a few IO stamps and you can make a card and have a chance at winning a $25 gift certificate to the IO store! Click HERE for all the deets!

Want to see how the other IO gals honored their dear mothers? Hop on over and see...

Daniela Dobson
Deborah March
Dina Kowal
Jeanne Strieff
Jenny Gropp
Kathy Menzies
Laura Fulcher

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

Simple Card Set....

Hi all! Hope you've had a great start to your week! Not much going on here. Call it the calm after the storm (the storm being my mom's visit) HA! Just kiddin' Mom!! :-) We actually had a lovely, lovely visit having coffee talk and stamping and just visiting. It's just not fair that she lives 1800 miles away. (sniff sniff!)

Today I'm sharing a card set that I made for some of the ladies in my Bible study. I just love the peace and serenity that this set from Our Daily Bread Designs delivers. It's called Sing to the Lord.

Card #1: After stamping in Black Versafine Onyx ink, I just watercolored this little guy and the flowers by using some dye based ink. I used Summer Sky Memento and Tea Rose Vivid. The branch was just colored up with Tombow markers. (dp is Basic Grey Figgy Pudding and Crate Paper)

Card #2: I wanted to use the bird on this second card without him taking center stage -- enter some Versamark ink! I like the softness of this card. I added some paper piercing and a pinked edge border and... voila!

Card #3: Super duper simple! I just used an oval punch to let this flower "sing" all on it's own jazzing it up with just a few pearl accents and pearl paper. I added some blue chalk around the flower to help make it pop a bit.

Nothing too complicated with any cards in the bunch. It's funny -- sometimes we, as stampers, can build so many layers on our cards that when we give these out -- friends are afraid to use them! :-) So, sometimes simple is good!

Hope life is calm and simple in your neck of the woods! I'll be back later this week with another Impression Obsession challenge that's all about moms! You can click HERE to find out the details and get a jump start if you like!

See you back here soon!

A few sweet treats for you!

Hi all and Happy Friday! It's a freebie day with the gals at Flourishes -- and that means we all dug into our stamp set stash and pulled out one for a free for all creation!

And, with Easter about a week away, I picked up the new Easter Basket set for some sweet treats! I just think this set is too fun for words because of the fact that you can build your own basket with treats you like! Jelly beans, chocolate bunnies, eggs... even PEEPS!
I colored my basket with Copics. I honestly just grabbed a marker here and a marker there. The only thing I am certain of is that the basket was done with Flourishes Flesh Tones 2 collection. the paper is from my dp stash -- just bits and pieces here and there. And, when all was said and done, I did glitz up the basket goodies with a dash of glitter glue!

The ribbon was paper pieced and... here's a fun effect! I stamped the basket, colored it a second time and cut just the basket portion and popped it up -- like this! I did that so that when you look at it, it looks more three dimensional! FUN! And that, my friends is it!

Be sure to stop by and say hi to the other Flourishes gals and see what set they picked up for their Friday creations!

Christine Okken
Cindy Lawrence
Dawn Burnworth
Laura Fredrickson
Leslie Miller
Stacy Morgan
Danielle Kennedy

As we speak, I'm off soaking in some "hot wadda" as they say! I kidnapped the family and we are taking a dip in the hot springs that aren't too far away. Every now and then you just have to say -- ok -- everyone get in the car!!!!! Don't you think?

See you back here soon!

Just go faux!!

Hi all! It's been a while before I've had the time to play in a Flourishes Timeless Tuesday challenge but with my mom visiting (she's an avid FTTC fan), she told me she had to get down to the stamp room to whip up a card before to much time passed.. .so... off we went! :-)

It was Betty's challenge today and her challenge was to go faux! She had a great link HERE to SCS tutorials and I picked up THIS one on faux mother of pearl. I had never heard of this technique so I couldn't wait to try it! You'll have to read the tutorial for the step-by-step because Beate Johns' instructions are super duper easy to understand!
Basically-- in a nutshell, you use pearl acryllic paint and some saran wrap. The wrap is scrunched and used to apply the paint onto your white card stock (you have to leave some of the cardstock showing). Let it dry and then sponge some light antique looking ink over top (I used Tattered Rose and Antique Linen). The next part is where you use a damp rag to remove the ink from the paint -- so you don't lose that mother-of-pearl look. I then stamped my image (Easter Blessings from Flourishes) over top with archival ink and then painted on color with ranger distress inks. I used Fired Brick, Tea Dye, Brushed Courdoroy, and Peeled Paint. After you are all done, you use a damp rag again to remove the ink that is sitting on the pearl paint. And, this is how it looks.... pretty cool huh?

From there, I added some stitching, a fancy corner, some pearls and matted it all on some 7 Gypsies decorative paper... voila! And, that my friends is it! Hope you make time for play time!

See you back here soon!

Miss You....

Hi all, happy Monday! I thought I'd share a quick card to jump start your week!

This card actually has a really funny story behind it. I used the new Friendly Reminders set from Flourishes. I had a card style in my mind, a sketch and so set out to stamp (Flourishes Classic White, Memento Tuxedo Black Ink) and color. After I colored my image (Copic collections in Fields, Water, Cool Neutrals, Warm Neutrals, Flesh Tones 2, and Dahlia). I picked up an oval Nestabilities die, got my image all set and rolled it through. Well, wouldn't you know, my image shifted and I ended up cutting off part of my coloring job. Let's just say my reaction wasn't exactly PG or even PG13! LOL!

So.... I set out to make lemonade out of lemons!

I thought the only way to save this was to make sure something else was put on my card to make it look like an off center image was the plan the whole way! So, I used a pair of oval punches, a message from the set and added a little bit of burlap string and filled the void with a tag style sentiment. The rest is just putting the pieces together -- a little dp, a little stitching, a punched border, some paper piercing and... voila! I actually like this layout better than the one I scribbled out and planned! Do you ever sketch out your cards? I'd love to know!

As they say in France -- C'est Tout! Have a fabulous day and I'll see you back here soon! :-)

It's an Easter Parade!

With Easter fast approaching, the gals at Flourishes thought we’d have a little ‘Easter Parade’ to showcase some fun creations perfect for this time of year.

So, without further ado, I picked up Flourishes very first Easter set for my creation-- Easter Bunnies -- isn't this little chick and bunny super duper sweet?

I decided to make my card a 4-1/4 by 4-1/4" shape and used some Spellbinders Nestabilities to give the front of my card a little bit of a pop - I used the Oval, Scalloped Oval and Labels 1. Add a punched border and -- almost done! I did use the Basket Weave Background on the Labels 1 shape to give it that Easter Basket feel! After stamping on Flourishes Classic White, I colored with Copics, using the Flesh Tones 1 (plus E53) Dahlia, Daffodil, and Tigerlily collections. Add a sheer polka dot ribbon, a button and some glitter glue and.... done!

Here's a close up to show the sparkle! Oh, I almost forgot, I did add a dot of white from the Inkssentials pen for both the chick and bunny's eyes.

If you like the Easter Bunnies set, you should know.... it's on it's way to retirement. It's being offered right now at 40% off! So hop on down the bunny trail and take a peek at our Easter offerings!

Christine Okken
Cindy Lawrence
Dawn Burnworth
Laura Fredrickson
Leslie Miller
Stacy Morgan
Danielle Kennedy

Thanks for stopping by! Happy Friday... have a good weekend! Today is my baby boy's 13th birthday! Holy cow! Do you ever wonder why time has to go by so fast? Don't worry, I'll eat a piece of cake for you!! :-)

See you back here soon!

It's a 'Me' Day IO Challenge!

Hi all and Happy Thursday! It's time for another Impression Obsession challenge and this one is downright fun! The challenge is to create a card that showcases what you would do on a "me" kind of day -- something you enjoy! Just that simple!

So, want to see how I would love to spend part of a "me" day?
We live in a part of town where nature is king and country roads rule -- perfect for a leisurely ride! And, I LOVE when I have time to just ride until my legs can't take it any more. My kids hate it sometimes but I will have everyone helmet up and we'll grab water bottles and snacks and hit the road. We've ended up in the strangest places (cow fields, 10 miles away at a camp ground, and even Target!) Sometimes the kids win and we end up at an ice cream place! :-)

So, when we were issued this challenge, I knew I needed to use one of Alesa Baker's new stamps! I used this fun new clear set called Riding Pretty. I love how you can fit different fun items in the basket! The possibilities!


To make my card, I just stamped using Versafine Black Onyx, colored with watercolor pencils and then blended with a Tombow blender pen. The metal parts of the bike, I did color with a fine tip silver pen and I added some glitter glue to the flowers for some pizazz. And that, my friends is it! If you want to learn more about the challenge, all you need to do is click HERE. There's a $25 gift certificate that will be given to the winner! Don't forget to hop on over to the rest of the IO DT to see what they consider fun on a "me" kind of day!



Dina
Jeanne
Daniela
Jenny
Laura
Deborah


See you back here soon! My mom is coming into town today so... you can bet the paper will be flying in the stamp room between the two of us! ;-)

Irish Blessings....

Ok, let the record reflect I am 0% Irish, but on this day -- St. Patty's Day -- everyone can "pretend", can't they? So, that's what I am doing! And, I'm wishing a little luck O' the Irish to YOU!

I wanted to make a quick and easy card to send your way! I used Flourishes Irish Blessings set!

Really, this card couldn't be easier... just cut some paper - add some stitching, stamp some of the clover on a piece of green paper using darker green ink (Cottage Ivy Memento) and then mat it up. I did sponge some Shabby Shutters Distress Ink around my sentiment. Add some ribbon, a bow and some bling and... voila!

Here's a close up of the sentiment -- I love this saying, so beautiful for any occassion.

And that, my friends, is it! Hope you have a fabulous day and -- whether you are Irish or not -- have nothing but luck headed your way!

See you back here soon! :-)

The Sneaks Are Over!

This week was full of fun as Flourishes unveiled not only it's brand new webstore but a whole host of challenges! Keep in mind, you have until Monday, March 15th at 6 PM to enter these challenges and there are some fantastic goody bags on the line with free stamp sets, decorative paper and ribbon! So, we hope you play!!!

As we wrap up the week, the sets we've been peeking are now officially in the store! Take a gander at.............

Easter Basket

Lily of Hope



Friendly Reminders

Thanks for stopping by and sharing in the fun this week! See you back here soon! ;-)

Flourishes Grand Opening Celebration -- the final day!

We hope you’ve enjoyed this week of fun and games with Flourishes as much as we have! If you click on the new web store, you’ll notice its awash in shades of pink and green. So, as we wrap up our week of Grand Opening challenges, all you need to do is create a card using these two colors!

GRAND OPENING CELEBRATION CHALLENGE 5: How to Play!

It's a pink and green color challenge! Simply create and link up here on this post using our cute little InLinkz gadget and you’ll be in the running for a goody bag from Flourishes! Use Flourishes stamps if you have them but if you don't, please play along! If you upload to SCS, please use the keyword FLLCCEL5. You have until Monday, March 15^th at 6 PM EST to link up your cards.

And, as you hop on over to visit our talented designers, you’ll see a soon-to-be-released set called Easter Basket. This set drawn by senior artist Marcella Hawley is just overflowing with possibilities – and as you make the rounds, you’ll see why! This set will be released right after our Power Hour Release Party TONIGHT. The party starts at 9 PM CST in our SCS Member Company Forum HERE!

Here's a peek!

I love how this set offers fun Easter images that you can stuff in the classic basket (also in the set) or use on their own. I love the saying -- Sweet Easter Wishes --- because what's sweeter than jelly beans, a peep, and a chocolate bunny? The images were colored with a mix of Copic markers, cut out and popped up on decorative pink cardstock. Add some paper piercing, some ribbon, bling and a punched oval for my sentiment and.... voila! You can't see it, but all of my items have a dash of glitter glue on them for a little razzle dazzle.

To see how the rest of the Flourishes designers used this fun and whimsical set, please pay them a visit!

Barbara Anders
Betty Wright
Cindy Haffner
Makiko Jones
Christine Okken
Cindy Lawrence
Dawn Burnworth
Laura Fredrickson
Leslie Miller
Stacy Morgan

We hope you've had as much fun as we have this week celebrating Flourishes' brand new look with some fun-filled challenges! We have loved the creations we've seen so far and can't wait to see the rest of you get in the game! See you tonight at our POWER HOUR Release party! It promises to be one heck of a good time! :-)

Flourishes Grand Opening & Sneak Peek - day 3!

As we continue Flourishes' Grand Opening Celebration, the company is honoring the talented designers who truly make Flourishes shine! Today's challenge is all about letting the Flourishes designers and Friends of Flourishes inspire YOU!

FLOURISHES CELEBRATION DAY 3 ~ How to Play

You'll find our designers and Friends of Flourishes links on my blog roll off to the left and down a bit. Pay them a visit, pick a designer, and choose one of their cards to CASE. Just that simple! Then, you can link up on this post HERE to be in the running for a goody bag full of fun stuff! If you upload to SCS, use the keyword FLLCCEL3.You have until Monday, March 15th at 6 PM EST to upload your cards.



And it was THIS card that inspired me - from Ms. Maki Jones! I love the way she used a Labels 1 Nestabilities die and spun it on the diagonal. I loved the corner accents and all the little extras she added. She made it look too easy! I used a mix of decorative paper, used the same corner punch as her (CB Vintage Dies), added some pearls and I was almost done! The hat in the new Friendly Reminders set (this will be released Friday) was stamped on some Flourishes Classic White card stock, colored with a mix of Copics from the Flesh Tones 1 collection plus Y21. I then added some RV30 and RV32 for the ribbon. I cut it out and matted it with foam tape onto a Petite Oval Nestabilities die that I had masked (with the die) and sponged some Angel Pink Memento ink on. Before I put it all together I used some Rose Silk Ribbon and added my little message! Just that easy peasy! Thanks Maki for the inspiration!

FUN FYI: Most of the designers playing in this challenge today are showing off a brand new, soon-to-be-released set called Friendly Reminders! It will be live in the Flourishes Store right after our Power Hour Release Party which begins Friday night at 9 PM CST in our SCS Member Company Forum! This darling set features three fun-filled focal images plus more than a half dozen sentiments to add to some great "snail mail" for friends!

Want a little sneak peek at Friendly Reminders illustrated by Lauren Pope? You'll just have to hop on over to the rest of the Flourishes Designers!

Christine Okken

Cindy Lawrence

Dawn Burnworth

Laura Fredrickson

Leslie Miller

Stacy Morgan

Barbara Anders

Betty Wright (she'll be uploading later on Wednesday)

Cindy Haffner

Dee Jackson

Maki Jones

You'll want to swing back tomorrow as we sneak peek another new set that is full of HOPE and BEAUTY! This gorgeous set drawn by Marcella Hawley is one you won't want to miss! See you then!

Flourishes Celebration Day 2!!!

Welcome to day 2 of the Grand Opening Celebration for Flourishes! It's a celebration for their new home on the web! Today's challenge actually gives you TWO chances to win!

FLOURISHES DAY 2 CHALLENGE:
Today, the Friends of Flourishes Team is challenging you all to get in the spirit and create a card full of celebration. Simply create and link up here on this post and you’ll be in the running for a goody bag from Flourishes (a mix of embellishments, paper and a stamp set)! Just click on over to the Flourishes blog for all the details!

For my creation, I wanted to do an easy peasy 10 minute card. I love when you can make a card that has pizazz but it doesn't take all evening to make! :-)

Here's how easy it is! I took a piece of red card stock, cut it to measure 5-1/4" by 4" and then cut that in half. The top half went in my Swiss Dots Cuttlebug folder and the bottom I stamped with the Lace Edges set. Add a fun silver edge ribbon, a fancy tag, some rhinestones, and a Tag Lines sentiment and... you're almost done! I simply matted this up onto some silver paper and then again on my black card stock base. Done! Now I have a super simple Congrats! card to add to my stash!

I did use a Stampin' Up oval punch to create the center oval. Here's a close up!

Want to see how the rest of the DT and Friends of Flourishes team is helping Flourishes celebrate? Head on over and see.....

Cindy H.
Barb
Dee
Cindy L.
Betty
Silke
Stacy
Christine
Dawn
Leslie

Thanks for stopping by! Hope you can join us in some of the celebration fun! I'll be back tomorrow with another challenge AND a sneak peak at a brand new set that will soon be available at Flourishes!

Join the Celebration!

If you haven't clicked over to Flourishes.org lately, what are you waiting for? There's so much to explore -- my favorites are the tutorial library and the fabulous gallery! Flourishes has been waiting to officially unveil their new home on the web for months and this week, they are kicking off five days of fun and games to celebrate this big event! The fun starts to today, continues with sneak peeks of Flourishes' March release and wraps with our Release Party! What fun!

FLOURISHES CELEBRATION CHALLENGE #1

Today, we issue a challenge that's a bit sketchy.... literally! Pagemaps.com hostess and Flourishes artist Becky Fleck whipped up a special sketch just for our celebration! Use it for your own creation, link it up here on this post by clicking on the cute little blue "inlinkz" icon, and you could walk away the winner of our day one drawing for a goody bag from Flourishes (it’s a fun-filled surprise -- trust me it's good!). If you upload to Splitcoast, please use the keyword FLLCCEL1. You have until Monday, March 15^th at 6 PM EST to link up your cards!

Here's a peek at my card!

And, without further ado, here's the sketch!

As you can see with my card, I kind of put my own spin on it. While I was layering, I kind of misjudged where the strips should go! :-) Call it creative license! I used the Gerbera Daisies set, stamping it on Flourishes Classic White card stock with Memento Tuxedo Black ink. I then colored with Copics using the Daffodil, and Spring Greens Collections and then I used the lightest blue from the Sky Collection for the highlights on my flower and the darker shades to add some shadows around my flower. Mat it up, add some pearls, some beautiful velvet ribbon and a fun ribbon side and..... voila!

Want to see how the rest of the talented Flourishes Designers make this sketch their own? Hop on over and see.....

• Dawn Burnworth
• Leslie Miller
• Stacy Morgan
• Barbara Anders
• Betty Wright
• Cindy Haffner
• Dee Jackson
• Maki Jones

Hope you make time for play time this week! We have some fabulous surprises that you won't want to miss! I'll be back tomorrow with day two of our celebration. See you back here then!

Flourishes Focus.... time to get well!

Hi all! Every now and then you'll have a friend who is a little under the weather and you really want to drop a note in the mail to let her know you are thinking about her. Thankfully, Flourishes has plenty of sets that give you a chance to let your friends or loved ones know that you wish them well! That was the challenge today to the Flourishes Senior D.T. -- let's make a card to add to our stash of get well cards! For my creation, I chose to give a pot of flowers!

I used the From the Garden set released earlier this year. Have you seen this set? If not, you need to check it out. I love the fact that you can swap out the flowers in the pot for different cards -- it could be geraniums, tulips or even petunias! Not to mention, there are six different sentiments. While the sentiment I used is not a traditional "get well" sentiment, I really thought "nurture yourself" sent a nice message to "take care." The geraniums were colored with a mix of Copics from the Spring Greens, Poppy, Falling Leaves and Flesh Tones 2 Collections. Add some Spellbinders Nestabilities (Circle and Labels 3) dies and punched borders and you are almost done! After I embossed the circle, I left the die on my shape and outlined the inner part of the circle with one of the light blue markers (B00) in the Sky Collection and then blended to fuzzy the line a bit with the Copic Blender Pen. The sentiment was added thanks to a punched oval and a bit of burlap string. And there you have it.... a card ready to send to a friend in need of a little cheering up!

Want to see what the rest of the D.T. created to add to their Get Well stash? Please stop and visit....

Christine Okken
Cindy Lawrence
Dawn Burnworth
Leslie Miller
Stacy Morgan

Be sure to tune back in here Monday! Flourishes is celebrating the Grand Opening of its new web store and there is so much in the way of fun planned! Look for daily challenges with prizes on the line - you won't want to miss it! Then on Wednesday,the DT kicks off the sneaks for our March release. This release is full of spring time fun! So come back and join us for all the festivities!

It's all about Easter IO Challenge!

Hi all! Happy Thursday! It's time for another Impression Obsession Design Team challenge! We're hopping along to share a bit of Easter inspiration with you all! The fun part is, if you join us and make an Easter creation using IO stamps, you could win a $25 gift certificate to the IO store! What fun! You can check out the IO Blog for all the details!

For my creation, I decided to pick up the stamp called Garden Fence along with some distress inks to watercolor my image. There is something so peaceful and serene about this image. And, while it's not an Easter scene, I thought a spring scene was perfect for this time of year. Easter is all about renewal and growth and that's what this scene says to me!

I stamped the image onto watercolor paper and then colored with Distress Ink Reinkers by adding a few drops of each color to a paint palette and picking it up with a water brush. I used Tea Dye, Worn Lipstick, Broken China, Mulled Lavender, Dried Marigold, Peeled Paint, Scattered Straw, and Antique Linen. After I was done with my image, I wet the paper above my image and added a bit of watered down Broken China ink for my watercolor washed sky. Mat this onto some fun decorative paper, add some crocheted lace, a button and some pearls and done!

I do have to admit that I forgot to take a picture of the inside where my sentiment is but this is what it says!

I really, really love this sentiment! While this card was on the subtle side, I do have quite a few Easter projects and cards using IO stamps to "re-share!" There was THIS project that was a ton of fun for my daughter's class at school. THIS little treat pouch! And last but not least, THIS fun little card!

There you have it a bit of Easter inspiration for you! If you want to see more, be sure to hop along to the rest of the Impression Obsession design team to see what they created with an Easter flair!

Daniela
Dina
Kathy
Kelli
Jeanne
Jenny
Tina
Laura
Rosemary

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

Just dream.....

This is an old to me... new to you card! I made it forever ago for Impression Obsession's booth at Winter CHA and it stayed on my computer until now!

Watercolor pencils used to be my all time favorite medium for coloring. I would use them to teach classes, do demos with them -- I loved the gradation of color and the soft feel. Sadly, my watercolor pencils have been ignored a lot lately for my Copic markers and watercolor inks. :-(

For this card, I stamped the Dream Butterfly using Black Versafine Onyx ink and then heat set before starting to scribble in the color. I say scribble because I love to color and leave white spaces so that the color isn't uniform....

If you look at the image above, you might be able to tell that I use a couple shades of the same color. The leaves are colored with two greens, the petals two yellows and the barn two reds. Then, when it comes time to blend, I simply use a Tombow blender pen and blend the colors, cleaning my marker tip in between colors. I love the results! After that, I paper pierced, added an embossed edge, and some antique linen distress ink around the edge and... voila! the rest is really just matting it up with some fun decorative paper, some burlap twine and a button.

Ta da!!!! And that, my friends, is it! Hope you're enjoying your week so far. It's been so nice and sunny that I am actually feeling like spring might just be around the corner! Hope the same for you in your neck of the woods!

See you back here soon!