I stamped the stained glass roses and just cut along the line, added some beautiful silk ribbon, some pearls (added a little color to the pearls with my Copic markers), matted it with foam tape onto a Labels 8 die cut shape and then matted this all onto a piece of decorative paper adorned with a small zig zag stitch. Just that simple! I did stamp two of the stained glass roses and popped up part of the image in places just for a little extra pop. To color my image -- I grabbed my Copics and went to town with RV32, RV34, YG00, YG03 and YG63. The image was accented with the help of a B000 marker. Easy peasy lemon squeezy for this 'Flourishes Friday!'
Speaking of Flourishes Friday, Leslie Miller has a great tutorial over on the Flourishes blog today showcasing the wonderful world of background stamps! So, be sure to click HERE to check it out and... don't forget to stop by the other Flourishes gals spots on the web to see what they cooked up this week!
Danielle Kennedy
Cindy Lawrence
Christine Okken
Dawn Burnworth
Laura Fredrickson
Leslie Miller
Stacy Morgan
Friday, August 27, 2010
Simple Roses...
Saturday, August 14, 2010
Timeless Tuesday... On Saturday!
Here's a peek at the sketch....
Isn't that fun???? And, here's a peek at my card!
The paper is a mix of C'oredinations, Basic Grey, and My Mind's Eye. Color the image up (Strawberries) on Flourishes Classic White paper (I stamped with Tuxedo Black Memento first) with Copic Markers (a mix of Grass Green, and Dahlia Collections plus Y13 and Y17 and B0000) and then accented with some Cotton Linen Ribbon, a bow, a button and a little 1" circle sentiment (also from the Strawberry set!) From there, add some stitching and a little distressing around the square by scoring and sanding... and voila!!!
I can't tell you how much I LOVEEEEEE sketch challenges. It just takes so much out of the work out of card design. I know. I know. It's all supposed to be fun but there are just some days when I blow far too many brain cells trying to figure out what might look nice! LOL!
Hope you can take some time to play Timeless Tuesday too!! Remember... it's Timeless! ;-) See you back here soon!
Friday, August 13, 2010
The Peeks are Over!
Introducing....
This set drawn and stippled by Marcella Hawley features different herbs that create just a beautiful "stamp and go" card. No coloring needed on this one, the flowers and herbs sing all on their own! Do you want to win this set? If so, please leave a comment here on this post.
On to my creation! It's super duper easy peasy! I love these stamp and go styles -- no coloring -- so you get an elegant and quick creation in record time!
Every now and then when I look at a creation -- I am stumped on layout. I decided I wanted this card to be a quick and easy one... so... I picked my decorative paper first and then, turned to a layout that you might have seen before HERE! I have to say when I created that sketch, it wasn't my typical sketch and that's why I had fun "recycling" it! It wasn't exact... but it was fun just the same. I inked up my scented geranium with two ink pads -- Rose Bud and Bamboo Leaves -- and stamped it on Classic White paper cut it with a circle die cut, add some chalk, and the rest is just matting it up! The decorative paper is from my scraps bin so... I couldn't figure out the maker... sorry! I did add some bling and some white cotton linen ribbon. And... done!
Here's a close up so you can see that beautiful flower!! After adding the chalk, you can see I added some paper piercing. I left my die cut shape on the image and used it as a guide to paper pierce!
And last... but not least! Some News!
If you would like a shot at winning all three of newly released sets, play along in our Kids Play Challenge! Just click HERE for all the details! You only have until 5 PM CST tonight! Winners for not only the daily drawings but this challenge will be announced TOMORROW on the Flourishes Blog at noon CST!
Thanks for stopping by! I hope you all had as much fun as we did!!
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Sneak Peaks Continue....
Introducing.....
This Sunflowers set amazingly drawn by Marcella Hawley, features not only a full sunflower but pieces that you can combine to create your own bouquet. Not to mention, she's added some fabulously casual sentiments that just remind me of a summer picnic -- laid back, relaxed and divine all rolled into one set! Do you want to win this set? If so, please leave a comment here on this post. The winner will be announced on the Flourishes blog on Saturday!
I have to say this set all started when I, on a whim, emailed Marcella and said -- what do you think of these flowers??? (hint, hint!) This is a photo I took in the field behind our house...
When Marcella saw them, she said that was just the inspiration she needed and now I am one happy stamper! :-)
Moving on to my project. I wanted to use this set to not only create a fun card but a cute matching notepad. I love these style of notepads that Michaels sells that has a pen included.They are perfect for purses when you just need something to jot a note down on!
Here's a peek at the card....
Now it's time to see the fresh picked creations from Flourishes' talented Design Team!
Christine Okken
Cindy Lawrence
Danielle Kennedy
Dawn Burnworth
Laura Fredrickson
Leslie Miller
Stacy Morgan
I'll see you back here tomorrow as we wrap up our peeks! Tomorrow's set about those sweet smelling bits of nature that are not only for beauty but can bring relief to the senses and give flavor to our favorite foods! Be sure to tun in tomorrow to see what I'm talking about! ;-)
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Let's HOP!
Are you ready for some fun? The Impression Obsession and Flower Soft Design Teams are playing together in a fun-filled HOP! Aside from seeing a little bit of cardmaking eye candy, there are also fabulous prizes on the line!
HOW TO WIN: As you make your way through the hop, make sure you comment on each and every post. Four random winners will be picked from those blog comments! Two $25 gift certificates from Flower Soft and two $25 gift certificates from Impression Obsession will be given away!! Winners will be announced on the Flower Soft and IO blogs on Wednesday August 18th! Now, if you didn't start at the beginning of the hop, be sure to start hopping from the Flower Soft Blog!
Moving on to my creation! I just used a little big of Flower Soft on a brand spanking new IO image just released at CHA called Winter View.
After stamping the image, I colored it up with Copic markers and used R46, R59, Y21, Y23, C01, C03, C05, B000, E33, E31, E25 and YG63. After coloring, then the Flower Soft fun begins! Lining the window wells and the base of each tree with a bit of Flower Soft Glue, I used the Flower Soft Diamond Range in Polar White. This is just incredible because it really does look like snow! After it was done drying, I did add a little bit of glitter glue here and there for a little sparkle!
Here's a close up! It's fine and fluffy and just adds that little extra something! What's fun is -- a little goes a LONG way!
Want even more inspiration? Do you like video tutorials? How about Challenges? Make sure and check out both Flower Soft TV and the Impression Obsession blog!!
For the next hop on the IO-Flower Soft tour, click on over and see Linda Beeson!
Thanks for stopping by!
Friday, August 6, 2010
It's Almost Release Time for Flourishes!
So, grab some creativity and take…
The Challenge:
With the dog days of summer winding down, kids far and wide are trying to squeeze in as much of the great outdoors as they can before fall rolls in. Remember those fun neighborhood games that your parents couldn't drag you away from as a child? Our challenge this month is to be isnpired by a kids game! For example, use a red and green combo that's inspired by a game of Red Light/Green Light. How about a tag on your card to tell some one "Tag... you're it!" Four square anyone? What about a little flag on your card to represent a game of capture the flag? Enter, and you could walk away with all three stamps in Flourishes’ August release! You have until Friday, August 13th at 5 PM EST to enter for your chance to win. Use Flourishes stamps if you have them but if you don’t, please play along anyway. If you upload to SCS, please use the keyword FLLCAUG10. Keep in mind, in order to be eligible, you need to link your creation HERE in this post using the inlinkz linky. We can't wait to see all the kids at heart!
For my creation, I decided to be inspired by a little "Hide & Seek!" A map is good for that... right??
This card isn't really what I'd call my normal style -- I wanted it to be a little rough around the edges and I wanted the Antique Map to really take center stage. Not much to share here in the way of details -- stamp the map on kraft card stock, crumple the page up, add some Antique Linen Distress ink to accent the creases, a sentiment from the A Guiding Light set, some twine, some antique brads and last but not least, I took the NEWS symbol from the map background, colored it up with markers and then set it on it's own as a kind of focal point for my card. That's it! Done!
Be sure to stop by the Flourishes Design Team’s homes on the web to see what childish fun they created! I know you won’t be disappointed!
Christine Okken
Dawn Burnworth
Laura Fredrickson
Leslie Miller
Stacy Morgan
Thanks for stopping by!
Thursday, August 5, 2010
IO Challenge -- Feeling Like Home
Moving on... (no pun intended), when I set out to create for this challenge, I knew I wanted to use a stamp that needed a little love. It's simply called Door. I think the art is just charming and would work well not only for all occassion cards but for "We've moved" or "Welcome to the Neighborhood" cards.
After stamping it up, I reached for my Copic markers (Y21,Y23, V04,V06,V01, YG00,YG03,YG63, Y35,Y38, E25, E27, C01,C05,C07) and colored this up. I shaded with the darker colors just a tad and then blended with the lighter markers in that color family. I kind of wanted a more watercolor look.
Here's a close up.... Because I wanted to let my image speak on this card, I tried to keep the layout low key. I used a Swiss Dots embossing folder and actually "debossed" instead of embossed. Add a pinked heart border, some fun purple dp and a couple buttons and... voila! Done!
You'll have to check out and see what some of the other IO gals created with this Your Home Sweet Home challenge!
Daniela
Dina
Deborah
Jeanne
Kathy
Laura
Remember, challenges are the first and third Thursdays of each month. Just use at least one Impression Obsession stamp and you'll be in the running for a $25 gift certificate to the IO store. You can click HERE for all the official details!
Thanks for stopping by! See you back here soon!
Monday, August 2, 2010
Bring Back Beautiful!
Hi all and welcome to the very first Flourishes Bring Back Beautiful Challenge! This team was started by Flourishes to truly showcase beauty in card making – whether it just be in a beautifully colored image, a fabulous way to incorporate an embellishment or a new twist on a card layout. Today kicks off the challenge team's first challenge with a look at one of the things that can evoke a lot of beauty in card making – COLOR!
FIRST Here’s your challenge: pick your favorite medium – watercolor, colored pencils, markers, Copics, alcohol inks… the sky is the limit! Show off your color and join us! Link up your Bring Back Beautiful Challenge creation here on the BBB post using the Inlinkz linky to enter. If you upload to SCS, please use the keyword BBB01. You have until August 31st to enter!
Now.. to my creation... I picked up my Copics for this one along with a brand new special edition stamp set just released yesterday by Flourishes called Fuschias in Bloom. This set is available now ONLY to FLIP members but will be released in mid-september during our September release.
I stamped using Tuxedo Black Memento ink and then picked up the Hollyhock, Peony and Petunia, and Evergreen Collections grouped by Flourishes. I just love these beautiful colors -- hot pink is one of my favorites in life!
After I colored it up, I added a sentiment from the Around the Arbor set, a punched border, some fun lace trim, cotton linen ribbon and, of course, bling! The paper is from the Green at Heart Collection from Basic Grey.
Here's a close up....
Beate Johns
Becca Feeken
Cindy Coutts
Kathy Jones
Michelle Woerner
Yvonne Hagane
So grab your favorite coloring medium and get those creative juices flowing! We'd love to see how you Bring Back Beautiful in your own creations!