VSN Fun!

I have to say, Beate Johns is a big enabler! :-) She was sharing some of her creations this weekend for the Virtual Stamp Night over on Splitcoast Stampers and after seeing some of her awesome handiwork....I got bit by the VSN bug. Before I knew it, I had whipped out 8 cards and uploaded them to SCS! I know this sounds odd, but it's kind of a rush when you're creating so fast that the paper is literally flying!


One of the challenges was called Color Me Sunny and you were supposed to use So Saffron, Coral and Kraft with your creation. I immediately thought of Flourishes Gerbera Daisies for my card!

It's funny, I started my card and when it came time to add the coral... well, I didn't have any.. not even a small scrap of something that might qualify! So, to help with my card, I opted for a coral colored button and then I colored the center of my daisies a coral color too with my Copic Markers (Y21,Y23,Y35,Y38, B0000, G40, YG63). I think it works! Add a fun ruffle and then some yellow gingham ribbon and... done!

Hope you are enjoying your weekend! For those reading that have loved ones serving in the military,please give them an extra hug from me. We will be eternally grateful for their service.

God Bless, Happy Memorial Day & I'll see you back here soon!

Cherry Blossoms....

Hi all and Happy Saturday! I can't believe that it's rainy here when most of America would love nothing more than a warm weekend of sunshine to enjoy for a three day weekend! Oh well, maybe I can make lemonade out of lemons -- or at the very least a few margaritas! :-)


I have a New 2 U card today. I made this one for Flourishes' recent release and haven't yet posted!

This one is super duper easy peasy. I stamped my Cherry Blossoms with Versamark Sepia ink onto Flourishes European watercolor paper and then spent some time just watercoloring! I used my Distress Inks to bring in the color and picked up Worn Lipstick, Spun Sugar, Peeled Paint and Tea Dye. I love to use the reinkers, and put a droplet into a paint palette picking up the color with a water brush. After I was done, I used the petite ovals to cut my shape. I matted it up on a piece of brown paper that I had stamped with the Basketweave stamp. The rest is just matting it up! Take Labels 8 die with some decorative paper and then sand the edges, add some dimension with a CB embossing folder to your main mat (Swiss dots) Add a little gold leaf edging, some pearls, and some ivory crochet lace trim and... voila! I love the vintage feel!

Hope you are able to kick your feet up and relax a bit this weekend! I have no idea why -- but when Memorial Day weekend hits, I think I NEED to do home improvement projects so hubby and I are in the middle of finishing a painting job and organizing our storage area. Sounds like a blast-- doesn't it??? :-)

See you back here soon (that is if all the stuff in storage doesn't fall on me and bring me to my early death! -- just kiddin'!! I hope.)

Take care!

Celebrating Summer!

Gosh, it's hard to believe it's the official kick off to the summer vacation season! That's what Memorial Day weekend brings and before I know it, my kids will be tugging on me and saying, "I'm BORED!" Ah.... summer! :-)

Today's Flourishes Focus is being hosted by the lovely Danielle Kennedy and she wanted to cook up some summer inspiration of her own! So, she challenged the DT to come up with some creations that could help kick off summer.

So... even though I live in a Rocky Mountain state, I chose flip flops and palm trees! :-)

I chose a really easy peasy layout. It is kind of summer afterall -- we want to be out in the sun having fun... right? I stamped the palm trees and hammock from the Beach Life set and then, to add my sky and sand, I just used a ripped Post-It note to mask and sponge. In a few seconds, I had my "scene!" I added color to my tree with Copic Markers from the Fields and Flesh Tones 2 collections grouped by Flourishes.

Then came a bit of fun paper piecing some fun paper onto my flip flops. I picked up Basic Grey's Green at Heart. I also used it for the sliver of orange dp behind my textured orange card stock. I also added some teeny tiny punched flowers and bling to those sandles! Add a sentiment on a fun little notched out piece of paper... mat it all up and... voila! A sand blasted and peppy creation perfect for summer!

Be sure to head on over to the Flourishes Blog to see what Danielle cooked up for her Celebrating Summer Flourishes Focus and... then hop on over to see...

Christine Okken

Julie Koerber

Cindy Lawrence

Dawn Burnworth

Laura Fredrickson

Leslie Miller

Hope you have a fabulous Memorial Day weekend and I'll see you back here soon!

Treasures found....

Hi all and happy Wednesday! I can't believe how fast this week is going! I'm looking forward to a long weekend... so, I guess the fact that it's going fast isn't all that bad! :-) We have no idea what we have planned as a family but I am thinking a good hike is in order to kick off the official start to summer!


I've been on a cleaning kick lately and recently went through some goodies (stamps) that needed some love and attention. One of those stamps was from THIS set from Impression Obsession. I just think it's charming!


So, I picked the watering can stamp and went to town with a really sweet and simple layout...

I colored up the watering can with my Copic Markers and used C1,c3,c5, C7, R49, R14, Y21,Y23, YG63,G40, RV00, RV02,Y17,Y19,E25, and E37. After coloring, it's just cutting an oval with the help of an oval Nestie, and matting it up with some fun decorative paper. I used some Webster's Pages (green and red) and some fun brown check that I've had forever. Add some fun twine and a button and... done! This card doesn't have a "home" yet but I figure when the time is right, a fun sentiment on the inside will just do the trick!

I hope life in your neck of the woods is grand! I'll be back Friday with a Flourishes Focus that has it's sights set on summer fun.... so stay tuned! :-)

Have a great rest of the week!

Blossoms for book lovers!

Have you checked out Flourishes Tutorial Library? If you haven't, you should really grab a cup of joe or tea to sit back and enjoy! There are dozens upon dozens of projects and techniques for when your mojo just isn't flowing!

A while back, Bonnie Sharp was featured as one of Flourishes Limelight Designers and she came up with a darling book mark project that I had been dying to try! So, here you go! I picked up Flourishes new Cherry Blossoms set and, here's my attempt....

If you want to see Bonnie's creation and get the template to this beauty of a book mark, click HERE to check it out! After stamping my cherry blossom branch with Memento Tuxedo Black ink, I colored up my branch with the Dahlia, Fields and Water (for shading) collections of Copic markers grouped by Flourishes. When I was done, I did add a bit of sparkle to the centers of my flowers thanks to some glitter glue. The sentiment is from the Tag Lines set.

You might wonder what my book mark is attached to. Well, i decided to use it for a journal that I embellished!



I colored it up the same way as I did my bookmark, added a die cut shape with my sentiment, then, added some bling, and some of this beautiful cotton linen pink ribbon. I love how light and airy this ribbon is!

Here's a close up! I just think this stamp is one of the most beautiful florals... ever!



And that, my friends,is it! A cute little journal that comes complete with a matching book mark to help you keep your place! It was a breeze to make, and I think it will make a cute little gift!

Thanks for stopping by! See you back here soon!

Beauty Within is in FOCUS!

When Flourishes' Becky Fleck designed the Beauty Within set, it was designed with Spellbinders' Labels 13 and Labels 11 Nestabilities in mind. I mean, how easy is it to color and then with a nestie as your guide, get a perfect shape each and every time? Well, I realize that while everyone LOVES their nesties, not everyone can have every one! That doesn't mean you still can't enjoy the Beauty Within set though!

So, that was this week's Flourishes Focus challenge ushered in by Laura Fredrickson! To use this set, without the Nesties -- just to show the versatility! And, this is what I came up with!

I stamped the stained glass roses using Memento Tuxedo Black on a piece of Flourishes Classic White, trimmed along one side and then, after marking with a ruler, I cut a line so that it looked like one part of my stained glass image was hanging off the side. Take some Copics and then... let the coloring fun begin! I used a mix of the Sweet Pea and Dahlia collections grouped by Flourishes for the roses. The leaves were done with the help of the Fields collection. The blue shading was done with the help of BG10 and BG000. On the tag, I did leave the die shape on and then using it as a guide, I colored the edge of the oval with R00 to give it a peach glow. Add a sentiment from the set, some ribbon, paper piercing, pearls (I colored these with the same peach copic markers to color coordinate!) and some crocheted lace trim and fun decorative paper and... voila! I thought this was a fun challenge and -- it did help me see all the potential packed into this beautiful set!

Want to see what the ever-s0-talented Flourishes DT came up with? Hop on over and see...

Christine Okken

Cindy Lawrence

Danielle Kennedy

Dawn Burnworth

Laura Fredrickson

Leslie Miller

Stacy Morgan

As always, if you want to see even MORE inspiration, it's only one click away in our Flourishes Gallery! Click HERE to see all Beauty Within creations. Thanks for stopping by and spending some time with me!

Just an FYI, if you like this set and the others released last Friday from Flourishes -- today's the last day to take advantage of the New Release Bundle, which delivers all four sets at 10% off. You can click HERE to check it out! :-)

You've got a friend....

Are you ready for another IO challenge?? This one is all about friends! Simply design a card using at least one IO stamp for a close friend, then be sure to mail it!

For my creation, I wanted to let one of my friends from high school that I have lost touch with that -- we need to talk! So, I plan to put this in the mail this week to her....

I don't know why, but I am a sucker for "build your own tree" style sets. THIS one is my favorite but after seeing the one I used above, I can see a lot of fun uses for it too! I used the solid tree, and then after stamping it in Brown Vivid! ink, I took the solid tree leaves and stamped that in two shades of Memento Ink - Bamboo and New Sprout. And, then, who can forget the tire swing? I think this is a darling set of stamps! The sentiment is called Mini Miss You. I have to say because it is all stamping and no coloring -- this is a pretty easy peasy card that doesn't really take a ton of time. Perfect for those times when you just want to get a cute card in the mail!

Want to play in the challenge? You have until Saturday at 9 p.m. EST. Players will have their cards posted on the IO blog and the winner of the drawing will walk away with a $25 gift certificate to the IO online store! Click HERE for the official details!

Need some extra inspiraton? Click on over and see the other IO DT member's creations!

Jeanne
Jenny
Kathy
Dina
Laura
Deb
Rosemary

Thanks for stopping by! I'll be back tomorrow with some more goodies to share! See ya then!

Playing in the Garden... part 3!

Hi all and happy Monday! If you've been following the blog, you know that I put myself on a mission to really think outside the box when it came to using the From the Garden set. I've been masking and manipulating the set to really get the most out of it and I have to tell you, it's been fun!

Today, I'm going to mix it with the DIY Topiary set so that I can create a scene with mix and match pots of flowers.

So, onward we go! I started by stamping the petunias on Flourishes Classic White paper using Memento Tuxedo Black ink....


Next, make a mask for your petunias, place it overtop and then stamp a pot of your choice at the base. I used one of the pots from the DIY Topiary set.

Make a mask for the pot and then stamp the terra cotta pot from the From the Garden set on one side and the other pot from the DIY Topiary set on the other side....



Stamp some tulips on those pots (no need to mask with this one) and... let the coloring begin! I used the Violet, Spring Greens, Fields, Hollyhock and Poppy Collections grouped by Flourishes to color up my flowers. You can find all of the Collections HERE. I also used the Cool Neutrals set to "ground" my image and add some shading. For the pots, I used the Falling Leaves, Flesh Tones 2 and Cool Neutrals sets. Then, I grabbed my favorite colors BG10 and BG0000 to add some shading and color around my flowers. After I was done adding the blues, I blended with a Colorless Blender to smooth out the edges.

After that, add some fun decorative paper (purple is unknown, green is from the Webster's Pages Triple Pack Collection). Add some paper piercing, ribbon bling and a tag sentiment and... voila!



Here's a closeup of the flowers, I did add some sparkle thanks to some glitter glue.



One more handy tip: reuse your masks! I keep mine stored with my stamp set in the Clear Boxes that Flourishes sells. I love these boxes because those little polymer stamps (that might otherwise fly off the cling sheet) are safe and sound inside.



And that, my friends, is it! Hope you had fun seeing just how versatile this set is and how fun it is to mix and match sets to find even more uses for it! Happy Monday and I'll see you back here soon!

... the peaks are OVER!

Oh have we had fun this week! The Flourishes' release party last night was a blast and we were so excited to "meet" some fabulous new stampers! As we wrap up the week with a bow, we "introduce" you to a set that we have been swooning over behind the scenes! I should mention, the sets are all LIVE now -- ready for the taking! Just click here to see!

Introducing....

What do you get when you mix the beauty of stained glass images with the fabulous shapes of Spellbinders Nestabilities? A fabulous new set from Flourishes called Beauty Within. This stamp set was designed by artist Becky Fleck to take the guess work out of cutting and trimming an elegant shape. With the help of Labels 11 and Labels 13, you can color to your heart’s content and then trim your image perfectly with these beautiful dies!!

Would you like to win this set? Simply leave a comment here on today's post and you’ll be in the running! Winners will be announced Saturday at 12 PM CST on the Flourishes Blog. If you jump on over to the Flourishes blog, you'll also see a small tutorial on just how easy it is to use the two Nestabilities die sets with this stamp set!

Moving on to my creation! I just love how, with this set, you really don't need a lot in the way of extras on your card, these stained glass beauties "sing" on their own!

After stamping, cutting my shape out with Labels 13 and then embossing, I colored up my image with Copics. I used the Violet, Spring Greens, Water and Delphinium collections grouped by Flourishes. I matted it up on some decorative paper, rounded some corners, added some silver leaf edging on the lower part of my card, added some silk ribbon, and then some bling and... bada bing... done!

And that, my friends, is it! We are so excited to say that some of the Spellbinders’ Designers have teamed up the Flourishes Design Team to show you the beautiful potential of Beauty Within! So, hop on over to see these ladies' cut above the rest creations!

Christine Okken
Cindy Lawrence
Danielle Kennedy
Dawn Burnworth
Julie Koerber
Laura Fredrickson
Leslie Miller
Stacy Morgan
Sharon Doolittle
Terre Frye
Beth Pingry
Margie Higuchi
Holly Simoni
Heidi Blankenship

Thanks so much for joining me this week and sharing in the fun! I'll see you back here soon! :-)

Flourishes Sneak Peeks... day 2!

Spring may be in full swing, but thanks to Marcella Hawley, you can have a breath of fresh air on your cards and creations.... all year long!

Introducing...

There's nothing like the sweet smell of cherry blossoms in bloom. This set artfully drawn by Marcella Hawley features a beautiful blooming branch, a single flower, two accent flowers, plus six sweet sentiments. It's a beautiful and timeless set that is sure to become one of your floral "go to" stamp sets!

Would you like to win this set? Simply leave us a comment over on the Flourishes Blog on today's post and you might walk away with this new blooming beauty! While you are over at the blog, you'll have to check out this week's happenings! Tonight is the POWER HOUR Release Party! We switched things up a bit so that we could throw in a few more surprises! So, join us TONIGHT, MAY 13th at 9 PM Central Standard Time HERE in the SCS Flourishes Forum!

Onto my creation!

When I saw the new Cherry Blossoms set, I just fell in love with this blooming branch - completely and utterly in love. I looked at the flowers and just saw them in my head colored up in really soft shades. So, I tried to recreate just that!

I stamped the branch using Versafine Sepia on Flourishes European Watercolor Paper and then, I picked up my Distress Ink Reinkers and watercolored the branch. I used Worn Lipstick, Spun Sugar, Tea Dye, Shabby Shutters and Broken China. I swear, there is nothing more relaxing than painting. And, there's nothing better than painting up a beautiful image like this! After I was done, I wanted to keep my layout sweet and simple. I added some pattern paper, a sentiment from the set, a stitched edge, a punched border, some sheer ribbon and my cherry on the top was a rose colored pearl.

And that, my friends, is it! Hope you join the DT and I for tonight's release party! Until then, the Design Team's creations are in full bloom and are waiting for your visit! So, be sure to hop on over and see...

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

Tomorrow, Flourishes wraps up the sneak peeks with a beautiful set that will have some of your Spellbinders Nestabilities Dies singing with joy! So much so, Flourishes snagged some of the Spellbinder's Blog Team to help us unveil this new, one-of-a-kind set! You can get a sneak peek tonight if you join us for our Release Party! :-) See you back here tomorrow!

p.s. Some of you know my mom The Rubber Maid -- she's that funny lady who loves to crack the jokes when she's showing off her fabulous cards. Well, today is her BIRTHDAY! So, if you have some time and want to make the old lady's day, please go over and wish her a Happy Birthday HERE! I won't tell you how old she is but let's just say she's 35 times 2 plus 3!! She was VERY old when she had me! :-)

Let the Flourishes Sneak Peeks Begin!

April showers are bringing more than May flowers! They are bringing a whole new crop of Flourishes stamps for you to enjoy! It's day one of our sneaks and today, it's all about the men in our lives.

Introducing...

A guiding light, a steady ship, a bottle on the shore ~ all are focal points in this brand new set called A Guiding Light from Lauren Pope. This set offers four focal images along with seven sentiments perfect to honor the men in your life - husbands, dads, grandads and more!

Flourishes' second offering is called Antique Map and we couldn't love this beautiful background any more for those masculine cards. Use it on its own to create a background or have it as a perfect companion to our A Guiding Light set.

Would you like to win this set and background stamp? Simply leave us a comment over on the Flourishes Blog on today's post!

Moving on to my card! I actually used both the A Guiding Light and Antique Map on this creation....

When I first laid eyes on this set, I just knew that the lighthouse in this set would create the most serene scene! I colored it with Copic Markers in the Water, Spring Greens, Cool Neutrals, Flesh tones 2 and Poppy Collection (just used R27 and R29 for the lighthouse top). I also picked up a few from the Daffodil Collection to create a warm glow in the windows. All of the markers are collections grouped by Flourishes and you can find them here.

After I was done, I cut out my lighthouse and popped it up on my card front....
Add some paper piercing and the rope from the set as an accent and you're almost done! I did use the Curved Rectangles die from Spellbinders from one of my layers and after embossing, I sanded the edges to give it that wind blasted look.

If you look at the finished card, you can see that I picked up some Antique Linen ink and stamped the Antique Map as a background on my card front. I distressed the edges and then attached it to my card base. I also used it on the inside of my card too! I did ink up my background and removed some of the ink so that it would look more distressed. I also sponged on some Antique Linen ink afterward too to make it look aged. The sentiment is from the Guiding Light set.

And that, my friends is it! I am going to use this card for my hubby as a surprise but I could see it being a great Father's Day card or even a nice thank you to that person who really is a role model in your life!

Before I go, some announcements....

WHAT'S NEW THIS WEEK AT FLOURISHES!

• You might notice that with each set above, there's a link to the Flourishes store. Starting today, all of our new release sets will be available for pre-order! You won't get to see the FULL set until Friday, but if you like what you see from the design team samples, and don't want to wait to get your hands on these new offerings, you can be the first to order! Just click HERE to visit our store home page to see all the pre-order sets.
• Flourishes' New Release Bundle is also making a comeback! From now through Friday, May 21st, when you purchase all four of our new sets, you'll be able to get them in a bundle for 10% off! Click HERE to check out this great deal!
• Flourishes' POWER HOUR Release Party is also being switched up a bit! Join the DT THURSDAY, MAY 13th at 9 PM Central Standard Time. Flourishes will not only take the lid off all of the new sets, but showcase cards and projects you've never seen before! All the chat, games and giveaways will wrap in 60 minutes when all the stamp sets we've been sneak peeking go live in the Flourishes Store! You can join the party HERE in the SCS Flourishes Forum!
• If you still want a chance to win all four of our new stamp sets, please click HERE to check out our Release Week Make It Manly Challenge!

So, be sure to set sail and see what the rest of the gals on the Flourishes DT created....

Christine Okken

Cindy Lawrence

Danielle Kennedy

Dawn Burnworth

Laura Fredrickson

Leslie Miller

Stacy Morgan

Sharon Doolittle

Tomorrow's set is sure to leave a sweet fragrance in the air. If you're anything like our Design Team, you might just say that this is your favorite floral yet from the ever-so-talented Marcella Hawley. Stay tuned for that sneak! See you back here tomorrow!

I've got a little secret!!!

And, it seems like I've been holding on to this one FOREVER! Recently, the lid was taken off this secret though when Amazon.com announced that it was starting pre-orders for Becky Fleck's second Page Maps book! It's called Scrapbook Page Maps 2 and this one has a little something for card makers! I'm over the top honored to have three cards inside based on Becky's super dooper fun sketches! And, in addition to cards, you'll find altered projects, even home decor pieces. You'll also find that snappy little sketch deck again that Becky had in her first book (love that!). With more than 180 projects inside, I can't wait to get my hands on the final copy!

You can check out the book on Amazon.com HERE and if you need a little inspiration before hand, you can always check out Becky's PageMaps site HERE.

Tomorrow kicks off Flourishes sneak peeks so... stay tuned! I'll be back with more tomorrow!

Playing In The Garden... part 2!

Hi everyone! I hope you had a wonderful weekend and to all the moms out there ~ I hope you had a fabulous Mother's Day! I sure did. What did I do? Nothing! And, I loved every minute of it! :-)

Last week, I used this set - From the Garden -below and showed you a simple way to mask to set the "scene" and create your own vignette. Today, I'm going to show you what happens when you combine this set with a couple others from Flourishes.


I started by first stamping the flowers that I wanted to put in a pot on the front of my card....

I created a mask for the flowers....

I stamped the flower pot over top....

Next, I created a mask for the pot so that I could "set" it on a table. I used the table from the Summer on the Patio set!

And, voila! Here's my flower pot looking pretty sitting on a table. But... there's more!

I wanted to add a piece of another set in the background, so I masked my table top....

And then, I stamped the hat on a hook from the Friendly Reminders set to create a charming little scene for the front of a card!

All that's left now is to color and mat it up! I used the Violet, Water, Sunflower, Dahlia, Spring Greens, and Cool Neutral Copic Collections that are grouped by Flourishes. Add some Boutique Cuts ribbon - Satin Finish Cotton in Avacado - mat it up on some beautiful Webster's Pages paper, add some bling, add a sentiment from the set and... voila!

With a few post-it notes and some masking magic, you can create a charming little scene for an all occassion card!

And that, my friends, is it for this week! I'll be back Monday with yet another way to mask and use this set to get even more mileage out of an already great set.

Wednesday marks the start of sneak peeks for Flourishes too -- so there will be a lot going on here on the ole blog! See you back here soon!

Thinking Out of the Box ~ An IO Challenge!

Hi all! It's time for another Impression Obsession challenge! All it takes is thinking a little out of the box. What do we mean? Well, the only rule is to use a stamp in a way that it wasn't intended and be sure to use those IO stamps! You can find out more about the challenge here on the IO blog! If you play, you could win a $25 gift certificate to the IO store!

I have to share this -- If you need some extra inspiration, you can check out this post by the lovely Dina Kowal. She turned a cupcake into a baseball player.... who would ever have thought??? You seriously have to check it out here! That girl is incredible in her creativity.

So, knowing my creative limitations -- I chose a literal interpretation for this challenge and used a background stamp in a way that wasn't intended! I used it to color!

Here's a peek at what I grabbed..... my Mega Mount, a Cover-A-Card background (I used Petals), some white cardstock, and some Peeled Paint, Worn Lipstick, and Rusty Hinge Distress Inks.

And next, I used the background and stamped three times - once in Peeled Paint, once with Rusty Hinge and one with Worn Lipstick. Next, I stamped my Rose & Butterfly stamp over top using Versafine Black Onyx ink.

Now what, you ask? Well, I am going to use these stamped images to do a bit of paper piecing and "color" up my main image! I stamped my image a fourth time on a white oval. Then, the cutting and pasting began! Below is a look at the finished product! It's a pretty easy peasy card, I just wanted to keep the layout simple because, in my humble opinion, this rose really needs to take center stage!

Here's a close up! You can see, I did add some definition to the rose by taking a blender pen and moving the ink around on my image in just a few areas for some shading.
And that, my friends, is it! You'll have to make time to give this challenge a try and be sure to stop by the other very talented IO Designers' Blogs to see how they thought out of the box!

Daniela
Dina
Deborah
Jenny
Jeanne
Rosemary
Shirley

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