Hi all and Happy Monday! I hope you had a fantastic weekend. We sure did! I think our family seized every second. Here's a recap.... fabulous Thanksgiving meal, shopping, birthday celebration for hubby, trip to a neighbors for a round of Apples to Apples and a snowman making competition (girls vs. boys), watching our neighborhood start to get decked out for the holidays and a few rounds of bowling... Whew!!! It was fun! On top of it all, I spent some serious time with my mom in the craft room whipping up cards to send to the Children's Hospital of Michigan. We literally had an assembly line rolling and we've got a box started! I'll show those creations soon...


Today, however, I wanted to share a Christmas creation using one of the new stamps Impression Obsession released for the holidays! This stamp is called Candy Cane Window and it is just plain -- I ended up stamping the sentiment inside the little sentiment window. The sentiment is from a set called Mini Messages.

I colored this up with a few Copic markers (YG00,YG03,R29, R24, G28, G19, Y21, y23, B0000 and then, where the leaded areas area, I used a grey Copic Spica pen to add some razzle dazzle. Add some decorative paper and some sheer ribbon and... voila! Easy peasy!


Before I go.... just an FYI from your bargain hunter here... Impression Obsession's annual sale is now extended through Friday, December 3rd. All you need to do is just enter "SALE" in the coupon code box when you go to check out. You have to click the button next to it - or your total won't adjust. This will take 20% off your entire cart. Mitra has been busy at the warehouse adding items so... you should check out her clearance page- you'll get 20% off the already discounted prices!


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

Warm wishes... on a chilly day!

Hi all! Hope you are enjoying your Thanksgiving weekend. I am! We are just chilling... kinda like this snowguy above! We "tried" to go shopping yesterday to no avail. There wasn't much on my lists that was on sale so I decided not to brave the crowd. I laughingly said I was going to buy a t-shirt that read..."WELL RESTED" and wear it all Black Friday. My husband thought that was a death wish among competitive and sleep deprived women looking for that almighty deal. Oh well... I still giggled.

So.. moving on to this fun little creation! All it takes is a darling little stamp.... from the Snow Happy stamp set! (Impression Obsession). I colored it up with Copic markers and then (although you can't really tell) added in some glitter glue to give the snow some razzle dazzle! Add in some decorative paper, an oval and scalloped oval die, some gingham ribbon and a button and... done!

And.... IO is having a huge sale through tomorrow night! What's the deal? 20% off your entire order and free shipping on all orders $35 and up in the U.S. and Canada! PLUS a free stamp (Snowy Tree Globe) with all purchases over $50! That's a great deal! Click Here to Shop the Sale!!!

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

A little bit of a SALE!

Hello Flourishes fans! Just a little note to say that Flourishes is having a.....




That's right... everything in the store FRIDAY ONLY is 15% off!! To shop, simply use the code SAVINGS4U at the time of check out in the promotional code box. Stock up for yourself or think of those crafty folks in your life that might want some Flourishes goodies under the tree. So, get shopping! This BLACK FRIDAY sale ends when Friday comes to a close -- 24 hours only!

Switching gears, I hope and pray that everyone out there that celebrated Thanksgiving enjoyed some time with their family! It was a VERY quiet day at my house. I think because this was the scene outside...
Yes, you can see we won't be out grilling on the patio anytime soon! So, instead, I cozied up and worked on a U.F.O. (unfinished object!) I've been working on this sweater forever and I am bound and determined to finish it up before Christmas!!! I have to knit the sleeves and collar and... done!

And, like I said, since it was quiet .... this was DH, who admitted today that he would be the king of the "duff sitters" with football on TV....

My mom's hands were going so fast with those knitting needles you can see a blur!!! Look at that look of concentration!

The little gal, DD, was busy reading in the bean bag...I'm not sure if I even brushed her hair in between knitting and making the Thanksgiving dinner... ;-)

And, DS just wanted to look cerebral. Um... ok. :-)

So, hope you and yours had a nice day and know that I'm wishing you all the BEST! See you back here soon!

A whimsical sketch!

Hi all! I'm a little late with this post! On Friday, Flourishes posted a sketch to try and some of the Flourishes gals used it along with some of the newly released sets. Well, I didn't want to let this sketch go by! So... I say, better late than never!


Here's a peek at the sketch....

And, here's a peek at my card!
I used a mix of BasicGrey and My Mind's Eye decorative papers and just went crazy with the patterns! After following the sketch, I added some pinked edges, a little cotton linen ribbon and some bling and... that's really all there is to the card itself. The stamped image (stamped on Flourishes Classic White) is from the Warm Winter Wishes set. I used one of the mittens. Stamped, masked and stamped the mitt again to look like a layered pair and then colored it up with Copic markers - BG11, BG0000, R29, C00 and C03. On the heart, I stamped the mitt again, colored the heart, cut it out, popped it up and then added TONS of glitter glue! ;-) See?

And that, my friends, is it! I tell ya -- I don't know about you but one pair of mittens just won't work in my neck of the woods right now. As I sit and type this, the weatherman is on the TV talking about the arctic blast that is headed our way. I thought it had already arrived when the thermometer read 14 degrees today! As the TV guy sometimes says -- it's a three cat day -- meaning you need three cats sleeping at your feet to keep your tootsies warm! ;-)

Hope life is good where you are! I have a free day today so I'll be busy in my stamp room for sure.... stay tuned! Oh, and if you stopped by here to comment on the Spellbinder's Holiday Hoppin' Blog Hop, be sure to hop on over to the Spellbinders Blog HERE today to see if you won!

Thanks for stopping by!

Spellbinders' Holiday Hoppin' Blog Hop!

Welcome to Day 2 of the Spellbinders™ Paper Arts Holiday Hoppin’ Blog Hop! Spellbinders, along with Flourishes are showcasing their newest products just in time for your Holiday crafting and gift giving. Lots of creative ideas are in store, as well as prizes galore! Each participating company has generously donated towards the prize package listed on the Spellbinders Blog. A total of two identical prize packages, one for each day, November 18 and 19 will be given away! To enter, just leave a comment on a participating blog! Comments in the first 48 hours of the post are eligible. One commenter each day will be randomly selected as the winner. Winners will be announced on November 22, on the Spellbinders Blog!

Be sure to see all of yesterday’s Holiday Hoppin’ blogs for inspiring projects and another chance to win! You can check out the list HERE on this post! Make sure to visit all of today’s Holiday Hoppin’ blogs!!

Mona Pendleton
Gina Hanson
Deborah Young
Becca Feeken
Julie Overby
Kimberly Crawford
AJ Otto
Margie Higuchi
Beth Pingry
Jennifer Holmes
Kerry Urbatch
Shona Erlenborn
Tammy Inman
Jessica Turner
Brenda Hurd
Julie Koerber >>>> you are here!
Rae Barthel
Rachel O’Crowley
Kellie Fortin
Kristen Cohen
Joy Dickson
Candy Rosenberg
Laura Craigie
Stephanie Hester
Leesa Crutcher
Nina Brackett

Today I am using Spellbinders S4-296 Nested Hearts die template, and some of Flourishes fabulous stamps! I created...

Project #1: Easy Wine Charms! All it takes is the Nested Hearts dies, a sanding block (to prep the Shrinky Dinks plastic), Shrink Plastic, the hardware for a wine charm, a fine tip permanent pen and a rhinestone!

After using the die to cut the Shrinky Dink plastic, I used a fine tip pen to add a decorative flair, cook the plastic, add the rhinestone and....you have a "ready to wear" wine charm! Use different rhinestones to keep one color per glass/guest!
Project #2: Photo Ornament

Take your favorite photo and make it an accent for a loved one's tree! I used the Nested Hearts, some rhinestones, gold rubb-a-buff (to accent the embossed areas of the die) and then accented with Flourishes' Dove and Holly (just the holly accent stamp). Add some sparkly ribbon and... done!

Project #3: Gift Tags
All you need is one stamp set -- A Gift for You -- by Flourishes and a handful of your favorite dies to create these easy gift tags! I used S4-290 Labels Fourteen, S4-301 Labels Sixteen, S4-291Labels Fifteen, S4-114 Classic Circles, and S4-292 Beaded Circles. And, here's a peek at what you can create....

Create a small box for your tags and a cumberbund label...

And... done! Easy tags you can give as a gift if you like!
Simply leave a comment on my blog to be eligible to win the Spellbinders Holiday Hoppin’ Prize Package! One winner will be chosen from all the comments on all the blogs participating today. Comments made in the first 48 hours of this post will be eligible to win. Winner’s names will be published on the Spellbinders Blog on November 22, and they will have 48 hours to reply to Spellbinders to claim the prizes. Fun stuff! Thanks so much for stopping by!

A few of my favorite things....

Hi all! It's time for another Impression Obsession challenge and this one is kind of nostalgic! I used to love as a kid when Thanksgiving would come and somewhere on TV, you could find and watch the movie, The Sound of Music. I just love it. So, you can tell why I would love this challenge!! It was to be inspired by the song -- My Favorite Things.

My inspiration? Girls in white dresses with blue satin sashes!

I used Ice Skate Stockings and stamped with Bahama Blue Memento Ink. Afterward, I used B41 and B00 Copic Markers and colored just parts of my skates, blending with a Copic Colorless Blender. I just wanted it to be a real light monochromatic look. Add an embossed background, mount it on some layered shapes (thanks to Spellbinders' Labels 14) add some blue satin ribbon and some bling and... done! I also colored a second bow and popped it up thanks to some foam tape. Easy Peasy!

Here's a close up! You'll have to stop by and see how the rest of the Impression Obsession DT was inspired by "My Favorite Things!"

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

Remember, if you play along with the challenge, you could win $25 to the IO online store! You can read up on the challenge HERE. Thanks for stopping by!

p.s. You'll have to stop by tomorrow for the FUN FILLED Spellbinders' Holiday Hoppin' Blog Hop! See you then!

Pretty Paperwhites

Hi all and Happy Monday! I have no idea where the time goes... I blinked and the weekend was gone. Anyone else feel that way?

Last week Flourishes released a GORGEOUS floral called Paperwhites and I can already tell that it will be my "go to" stamp set in the winter. Have you ever tried forcing Paperwhite bulbs? I did one year and OH MY! I love these flowers fragrance. I might try that again this year. They say if you plant your bulbs around Thanksgiving, you'll have blooms for Christmas.

Ok.. moving on to my paper Paperwhite creation!
Because these flowers are so beautiful and white, I wanted my card to have a feeling of white. So, I stamped my flowers on Flourishes Classic White card stock using Tuxedo Black Memento and then colored with just a few Copic Markers -- YG63, Y21, G40, Y15 and Y38. I highlighted with B0000 and then blended with the Colorless Blender. The rest is simple! Add a sentiment, some paper piercing a strip of decorative paper, an embossed background and a pearl and... done! Pretty easy peasy!

Here's a closeup... I did add some glitter glue to the yellow centers of the flowers...

And that, my friends, is it! Hope life in your neck of the woods is going well! It's starting to feel a little bit more like winter here-- only supposed to be in the 40s here this week. EEK! I guess I should get serious and pull out all those sweaters! :-)

Thanks for stopping by! See you back here soon!

Gosh, what a fun week we've had showing off the new stamp sets Flourishes is releasing this month! All have a wintery feel and all could be used for either winter creations or even Christmas cards. Today's set offers up heartwarming images that is sure to give whoever receives a card made with this set a warm glow!

Introducing...
This whimsical set, drawn by the ever-so-talented Marcella Hawley delivers not only the cutest snowman you've ever seen but some darling mittens and snowflakes to match! This set also has a handful of sentiments that will surely warm the heart!

On to my creation!

When I first laid eyes on this set, I swooned. You have no idea how much I LOVE snowmen! And, cute snowmen like this one just make my heart swell! So, I knew I wanted to make this guy the center of my creation. After stamping in black ink on my Flourishes Classic White card stock, I picked up my Copic markers and just lightly colored his hat, scarf, and the little birdie and then accented the snow with a soft blue marker. (I used B24, B26, B000, R29, E25, YR07, C03, C07 and a colorless blender pen). Then, after I was done coloring, I did add some glitter glue to give my snow guy some razzle dazzle!

I also added some silver stitching around my mat for my snow guy and then some fun 1/2" red ribbon. Add a few buttons and some fun baker's twine and... voila.. done!

Would you like to win this set? Please leave a comment on this post and we'll draw a winner and announce it on Saturday when we post our Winner's Circle for the week!

Want to see how our design team "played in the snow" with this set? You have to hop on over and see....

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

Thanks for joining us this week. We hope you had a blast! Remember, if you'd like to try your hand at winning Flourishes' ENTIRE RELEASE you still have time! The Warm Winter Wishes Challenge runs through tonight at 5 PM Eastern! So, let's get crafty and get those entries in! You can read all about the challenge HERE.

Thanks for stopping by! See you back here soon!

Say "hello" to Flourishes November Release

After being tempted and teased all week with the Design Team's delish samples, we are happy to report that the sets are now live and ready for the picking in the Flourishes Store! Here's a peek at....

Paperwhites


Vintage Postcard


Warm Winter Wishes

Keep in mind, if you buy all three in the New Release Bundle HERE, you get all three sets for 10% off! This offer is only good through November 19th!

We hope you had fun this week! Be sure to stop by tomorrow to see what our ever-so-talented design team whipped up with our new Warm Winter Wishes set! You won't be disappointed! ;-)

Snowy Delights!

Another day... another sneak peek for Flourishes' November stamp set release and this one is about as charming as it gets!

This beautiful winter scene, drawn by Lauren Pope takes us back to a quieter time when a day was enjoyed skating on the neighborhood pond or taking your honey on a sleigh ride for two. This set looks fabulous colored or as a stamp and go creation! It even has elements to create an actual postcard with a vintage feel! How fun is that? This set is available now for pre-order HERE!

Now to my creation!

I knew I wanted to make this seem like a winter scene with just a little light color -- so I colored up just the "important things" like the trees, skaters, pond and the frame. While I didn't add glitter, I think before I officially send this one out, I am going to had to add some sparkle! ;-)

After stamping on Flourishes Classic White card stock, I used Copic markers and instead of using layers of color, I really only used one marker here and there - YG63, Y21, R29, B000, W3, B24, Y13 and then blended with the Copic Colorless Blender.

The rest is just matting it up! I used some of the mirrored paper in red, some sparkly May Arts ribbon and some fabulous Webster's Pages decorative paper. Easy peasy!

Would you like to win this set? Head on over to the Flourishes blog and leave a comment HERE!

Would you like to see all the charming ways our Design Team took us back in time with this whimsical set? Just take a sleigh ride over to see.....

• Christine Okken
• Danielle Kennedy
• Dawn Burnworth
• Julie Koerber
• Laura Fredrickson
• Leslie Miller
• Stacy Morgan

Before I go.....

Join us for fun, games and giveaways as Flourishes takes the lid off its November Release. You’re invited to Flourishes' Power Hour Release Party set for TONIGHT at 9 PM Central! All of our fabulous designers will be there chatting it up, plus we’ll have never before seen samples of all of our new sets. The party ends at 10 PM CST when all three of our new sets will be on Flourishes’ store shelves! Join us here at Flourishes' Member Company Forum on Splitcoast.

And one more announcement! Did you check out our Warm Winter Wishes Challenge? You have a shot at winning all three of our new release stamp sets! Just click HERE to check it out!

Be sure to stop by tomorrow because our final set that Flourishes is unveiling may be cold and frosty but it will, no doubt, warm your heart! See you then!

Paperwhites & Snowy Delights!

It's day one of Flourishes' November release and it promises to offer up just what the title of this post suggests -- Paperwhites & Snowy Delights! Today, we start with the floral side of this beautiful release with a new set penned by the ever-so-talented Marcella Hawley!

Introducing....


Just in case you didn't know... this relative of the Daffodill is known for its bunches of fragrant, white and yellow flowers. This beautiful traditional Christmas flower blooms only once with flowers lasting about two weeks. The good thing about our Paperwhites is -- you can have them bloom all year long!

On to my card! When I saw this stamp set, I immediately thought of an art print that a friend of mine has hanging in her home. Here's a peek...
So, after looking at that as my inspiration, I really wanted to recreate this look! And, here's my take....

I stamped the flowers using Versafine Sepia ink and then went to town trying to get the white to pop on my darker cardstock. I actually used a technique that I haven't done in years! I painted on bleach and then using a heat tool, heated the bleach to remove the color on my card stock. After I was done, I added a little more white by highlighting with an Inkssentials White Gel Pen. Here's a closer look!

I added some color thanks to YG91 and YG63, along with Y17 and Y38 Copic Markers and then shaded with W01. Afterward, I sponged on some Antique Linen and Tea Dye Distress inks and also - using an old dotted stamp - added some dots with the same inks. I really like the way this one turned out! The decorative paper is a mix of K & Company, Webster's Pages and BasicGrey. Add in some cotton linen ribbon and some gold self stick pearls and... done!

Would you like to win this set? Please leave a comment here on this post and you'll be in the running! We'll announce the winner on Saturday when we post our Winner's Circle!

If you'd like to see all the beautiful ways our Design Team used these beautiful buds, please stop by and pay them a visit!

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

Other Fun Flourishes Happenings This Week!

• Join us for fun, games and giveaways as we take the lid off our November Release. You’re invited to our Power Hour Release Party set for Thursday, November 11th at 9 PM Central. All of the DT will be there chatting it up, plus we’ll have never before seen samples of all of our new sets. The party ends at 10 PM CST when all three of our new sets will be on Flourishes’ store shelves! Join us here at our Flourishes Member Company Forum on Splitcoast.
• Did you check out the Warm Winter Wishes Challenge? You have a shot at winning all three of Flourishes' new release stamp sets! Just click HERE to check it out!
• Just like in past releases, Flourishes has bundled up a great deal! If you purchase all three stamp sets in our New Release Bundle -- you save 10% But you have to hurry, this offer expires November 19th!

Hope you enjoyed day one of Flourishes' November sneek peeks! You've seen Paperwhites, now all that is left is snowy delights! Be sure to stop by tomorrow to see what I've got in store!

Alleluia Angel

Hi all and Happy Monday! I have a fun little surprise for y'all today! It's a new take on an old favorite from Flourishes and it's being re-released today! So, without further ado, take a peek at...
I have to say, when I chose red for this card, I was definitely influenced by THIS beautiful card by Barbara Anders. While Barbara chose a distressed look, I just loved that angel in red! I also loved that she used the Christmas Music stamp set with this image. How perfect, right?

So, I chose some decorative paper (Webster's Pages), and stamped my angel using Cranberry Adirondack ink. Add a decorative strip, thanks to one of the decorative elements in the set, a little gold leaf pen, some bling, some pretty two-tone ribbon and... voila! Done! I will say, after I stamped the angel, I did go over the shaded parts with a Tombow Blender Pen to darken those areas and add a little more shading. See?

Now a little bit about the stamp set! This set, which is available now HERE, was one of Marcella Hawley's very first stamp sets - that angel is her fabulous handiwork! I should point out that the images in this set are a little smaller than the original -- but are still perfect for cards (The angel measures roughly 2-1/2 by 3"). This is a half set - meaning all of these images are in a 4 by 3" set, and retails for just $8. Love that!

The D.T. was super excited to see this angel re-released and couldn't wait to jump in and create some samples for today's big unveiling! So, be sure to stop by and pay a visit to.....

Christine Okken

Dawn Burnworth

Laura Fredrickson

Leslie Miller

Stacy Morgan

Wednesday the sneak peeks begin for Flourishes' November release! You won't want to miss a second of the fun! See you back here soon!