It's a Retirement Party!

Yesterday, Flourishes kicked off one heck of a Retirement Party and today the hoopla continues! Just like many of us expected... at 65% off, these sets are going fast! To take a peek at these bargains, be sure to click on our SALE PAGE to see for yourself the fun, fast moving deals!

On to my creation! Funny story, I made this card set earlier in the week because I knew we would be showcasing retiring sets and I love the silhouettes in the Summer Blossoms set. Well, apparently everyone loved Danielle's creations HERE that she showcased yesterday because -- the set sold out! I guess that just goes to show when the deals are good -- they get grabbed up fast!

I thought I'd go ahead and show the set anyway because the concept is kind of fun and Flourishes has a couple other silhouette sets -- like Kid's Play or even Spring Ephemerals. For my set, I wanted a real white on white look, and I wanted to use the same basic layout for each card. Check it out!

Card 1

 Card 2

 Card 3

 Card 4

For all, I used the stamp Vintage Wallpaper as a background, and then spiced it up with sentiments from both the Life Lines and Tag Lines sets. Add some black ribbon, and a mix of bling and... voila! I used not only black rhinestones, but THESE and THESE black mosaic stickers. On the larger one, I set a violet rhinestone in the center to accent it and I really like that touch -- kind of fun! So, there my friends you have it! One sketch, four ways to create one clean and simple card set!

For the next two days, our DT is putting some of these sets in the spotlight to give you some creative ideas! So, hop on over and see....


Cindy Lawrence
Leslie Miller
Stacy Morgan


The fun will continue tomorrow.. so stay tuned! Thanks for stopping by!

Free for all FRIDAY!!

Hi all and Happy Friday! Today the Flourishes gals decided to take their favorite sets from last week's release and show them off again.

So.... on to my creation today!

For my card, I used some of the goodies from the Prima Botanical Kit that Flourishes unveiled and promptly sold out of a few weeks back. :-)The pleated ribbon, the pretty decorative paper (Prima Botanical), the swirl of pearls... it was all a part of the kit. Have you checked out the latest kit? You should! It's gorgeous and you can find it HERE. The die cut shape was made thanks to one of the new Spellbinders Nestsabilities Die called Labels Eighteen.  I just love this classic shape. I used my Grand Calibur to cut it and then, while my die was still on the paper, I used it as a mask as I sponged on some Antique Linen Distress Ink.

I also used one of the new Copic Collections to color up the center of my flower. YES, I said a new Copic collection grouped by Flourishes. Stay tuned for the details! I colored using the Blue Jeans, and Spring Greens collections and then highlighted portions of the flower using B000. Add some stitching and some pearls and... voila! I did stamp the flower twice so that I could color, cut and pop up the centers of the flowers with some foam tape.

Here's a close up!

And that, my friends, is it!  Like I said, there is plenty of eye candy out in blogland today! So be sure to hop on over and pay them a visit to see their latest batch of creativity!!

Barbara Anders
Christine Okken
Dawn Burnworth
Leslie Miller
Stacy Morgan
Danielle Kennedy

Have you been following Flourishes' Gambler's Sale? Well, Flourishes is getting ready to make one more final price drop and then -- the Flourishes gals are going to help us throw one heck of a Retirement party! We'll be sharing samples with these retired sets and will be ushering in some fun! So, stay tuned next Thursday for our big announcement! In the meantime, you can check out our sale page by clicking HERE! This is also the last day to take advantage of the April New Release Bundle -- that's where you can buy all three of the new sets for 10% off! Click HERE to check that out!

Now to the promised peek at some of  Flourishes brand new Copic collections! They have 10 BRAND NEW COLLECTIONS that truly add to the 40 collections they've already released! So, click HERE to visit the Copic page and take a gander at the new collections!

Well folks, hope you have a fabulous weekend!  I am praying for some nice weather so that we can enjoy an Easter Egg hunt.. or two! ;-) Blessings for a beautiful Easter to all who celebrate.

Let's do the Polka!!

Do the polka... dots that is! That's at the center of this very fun Impression Obsession Challenge! Pick up your IO stamps, use some polka dots and link up your creation HERE and you could be the lucky winner of some Impression Obsession goodies with the help of a $25 gift certificate!

On to my creation! I have to admit, my polka dots aren't really "in your face!" They are more like tiny dots on my 7 Gypsies background paper but.. hey.. a dot is a dot, right?

For my creation, I used the Leigh Hannon stamp called Three Windows. I just think this stamp is fun in such a mod way. After I stamped it (Tuxedo Black Memento Ink), I colored it up using copic markers and used the colors R83,R85, YG63, and YG00. I did highlight using the color B000 and then added some sparkle - even though you can't see it - thanks to a Stardust Gellyroll pen. For my sentiment, I picked up the Mini Messages set -- I love this set!! It has 12 different cute little sentiments that are perfect for tags. After that, just add a punched border (Martha Stewart punch), some paper piercing, a cotton white ribbon, some bling and ... ta da!  Want to see how the rest of the IO team took on this "let's do the polka --- dot challenge?" Just click on over to the IO blog and you'll find links to their creations!

I hope you have all had a great weekend and make time for stamping play time! I'll see you back here soon!

Grey skies are going to clear up....

... So put on a happy face! While spring showers crop up to usher in that ever-so-green grass and those beautiful spring blossoms, Flourishes is hoping you let a smile be your umbrella with their brand new set!



April showers bring May flowers and that's exactly the cheerful flair that is behind this set illustrated by Marcella Hawley. It features whimsical umbrellies and decked out wellies perfect for making a splash in springtime puddles. Add in some perky, fresh picked tulips and rays of sunshine and you have a set that is ready to brighten anyone's day! This set also features 4 fun-filled sentiments. Want to win this set? All you need to do is leave a comment here on this post. The winner will be announced tomorrow over on the Flourishes blog!

On to my creation!

I kept it pretty simple with my creation because I just loved that little bucket of tulips so much! After stamping my tulips on Flourishes Classic White Card Stock using Tuxedo Black Memento Ink, I colored it up using the Poppy, Cool Neutrals and Spring Greens Copic Collections grouped by Flourishes. I cut it out and then popped up my tulips onto some decorative paper that I had cut out using my Grand Calibur and Spellbinders Classic Circles dies. After, I matted it up on a shape cut thanks to Spellbinders Labels Three. The rest is simple... add some more decorative paper, some twine, a pennant style sentiment, some stitching, some bling and... voila!

The design team whipped up some cheerful creations with this set, so you'll want to jump on over and see....

Barbara Anders
Christine Okken
Cindy Lawrence
Danielle Kennedy
Dawn Burnworth
Julie Koerber -- that's me!
Leslie Miller
Stacy Morgan
Jan Marie Caruso

It was so much fun sharing Flourishes new goodies!! Keep in mind, if you still want a chance to win the new sets, you have until 5 PM Eastern tonight to get your entries in for the Spring Has Sprung Challenge! You can click HERE for all the details. You'll want to check it out! ;-) Thanks for stopping by!

It's time for the big reveal!

Wow… did this week go fast! As Flourishes wrapped up YET ANOTHER fun and fabulous Release Party, it’s time to report that all of their sets being released for April are now in the store and are ready for YOU! Want to see them in their full glory? Stay tuned to find out how you can QUICKLY win our entire release!!!

Orchids



April Showers



Motherly Love

You’ll have to stay tuned for samples of the April Showers set! Look for the FLLC Design Team to show off their creations tomorrow!

Now for the details on Flourishes fun, fast paced, heart racing, get those creative juices pumping challenge! It's their SPEED CHALLENGE! And, if you have some time to play along, you could win our entire April release! Follow this sketch below and get your card linked on this post by 12 Noon Central Standard Time on FRIDAY and you could be the lucky winner! Below is the sketch you need to be inspired by! So, let the paper fly and see if you can nab Flourishes new release for trying! Use Flourishes stamps if you have them, but play along anyway if you don’t… the clock is ticking!

Thanks for stopping by! See you back here tomorrow!

Some Motherly Love....

It's day two of Flourishes sneaks and today, they are tipping their hats to the moms in our lives!

Introducing....



When Flourishes came up with these sentiments just for moms, it knew that in addition to six beautifully scripted sentiments, their customers could turn to any one of their beautiful botanicals to bring these sentiments to life! And, that's just what the Flourishes design team did to showcase this new 4 by 3" set in our release! Want to win this set? Simply leave a comment on this post and you'll be in the running!

On to my creation!

For my card to honor my dear mom, I stamped the hyacinth from the Hello Hyacinth set and colored with watercolor pencils. It had been forever since I've used this medium. I am such a Copic girl, it seemed almost foriegn! ;-) After coloring my image up and adding some sparkle thanks to some glitter glue,  I did add some highlights with the B000 and B0000 copic markers. I cut my flower out with a Spellbinders Classic Circle die, matted it up on another circle and then again on one of Spellbinders new Doily Heart Circles -- I thought this die was a perfect match to this sentiment! Add some fun coordinating ribbon, a strip of decorative paper, an embossed panel, some paper piercing and... voila!

 And that, my friends, is it!

OTHER FLOURISHES FUN THIS WEEK!

• Flourishes’ Spring has Sprung Challenge is in full swing! You could win Flourishes’ ENTIRE April release! Check it out HERE.
• Save a BUNDLE with Flourishes new release bundle! Purchase the entire release for 10% off! You can check it out HERE!
• Would you like to get your hands on our new sets NOW? Pre-order them HERE!
• Did you check out our SALE page? It’s a Gambler’s sale and each week prices drop another 5% until everything is gone! Prices are now at least 60% OFF!! Click HERE to see what’s on sale!!

Now be sure to hop on over and see all the beautiful creations our design team and design guests whipped up using this set that’s perfect for the moms in our lives!

Barbara Anders
Christine Okken
Cindy Lawrence
Danielle Kennedy
Dawn Burnworth
Leslie Miller
Stacy Morgan
Jan Marie Caruso

Oh, before I forget — THERE’S A PARTY TONIGHT AND….

Join our DT with some chatter, fun, games and prizes! Our Power Hour Release Party starts tonight, April 14th at 9 PM Central Time! You’ll find the party at the Flourishes’ Member Company Forum on SCS! And… after the party, you can check out the new sets live in the Flourishes store! How much fun is that?

Thanks for stopping by! I'll be back tomorrow with one final that's full of sunshine featuring whimsical images that are sure to dry up those 'April Showers!' Stay tuned!

Let Flourishes April Sneak Peeks Begin!

With April, new stamps are starting to sprout for your creative pleasure and today, marks day one of Flourishes Sneak Peeks. Starting today the Flourishes gals will unveil one of our three new sets that you are sure to fall in love with!

Introducing...

If you love the sleek and mysterious look of orchids, you'll love bringing this stamp set penned by Marcella Hawley to life. This set features two varieties of this beautiful bloom -- Phalaenopsis and Cattleya Orchids. With this set, comes six words and sentiments to properly dress your cards and creations for many different occassions! Would you like to win this set? Simply leave us a comment here on this post and Flourishes will announce the winner Saturday at noon central standard time in the Winner’s Circle Post!

On to my creation! When I first laid eyes on Marcella's artwork, I knew I had to go searching to see what I could come up with for a color scheme, and this beautiful work of art is what I found. Isn't it just gorgeous?

Now, I have to admit, I have some work on my coloring to get it to look just like the photo above! I am going to try again, but for now, I chose to be inspired just by the colors and not necessarily how it was colored! :-)

On to the mechanics of my card! I grabbed some Prima Sparkling Spring paper and some Flourishes Classic White and went to town! I stamped my orchids with Tuxedo Black Memento ink and colored it up with the Fields, Tea Rose and Hollyhock Copic Collections grouped by Flourishes. After I colored it up, I did highlight using B000 and B0000 Copic markers and cut it out using the Spellbinders Labels Eight Nestabilities die and my Grand Calibur Die Cut machine! Add some cotton linen ribbon, crochet lace, a fun vintage button and you're almost done! I also added some stitching and bling for an extra little pop!

Here's a close up....

And that, my friends, is it! I just love how elegant this stamp set is and I'm sure you'll feel the same way once you see what some of the other Flourishes gals created!

OTHER FLOURISHES FUN THIS WEEK!

• Flourishes’ Spring has Sprung Challenge is in full swing! You could win Flourishes’ ENTIRE April release! Check it out HERE.
• Join our DT with some chatter, fun, games and prizes! Our Power Hour Release Party starts tomorrow night, April 14th at 9 PM Central time! You’ll find the party at the Flourishes’ Member Company Forum on SCS! And… after the party, you can check out the new sets live in the Flourishes store!
• Save a BUNDLE with Flourishes new release bundle! Purchase the entire release for 10% off! You can check it out HERE!
• Would you like to get your hands on our new sets NOW? Pre-order them HERE!

Now be sure to hop on over and see all the beautiful creations our design team and design guests whipped up using our breathtaking new set called Orchids.....

Barbara Anders
Christine Okken
Cindy Lawrence
Danielle Kennedy
Dawn Burnworth
Leslie Miller
Stacy Morgan
Jan Marie Caruso

Tomorrow’s set pays tribute to the mom's in our lives, so you'll want to be sure to swing by and see what Flourishes has in store for day 2! See you back here tomorrow!

Time for another fun-filled way to 1,2,3 Create!

As Flourishes gets ready to kick off its April release, its ushering in another 1,2,3 Create Kit for your creative pleasure! This kit offers everything you need to create all in one -- embellishments, beautiful paper and fabulous ribbon! This kit features 48 sheets of 6 by 6" Prima Botanical decorative paper Paper (2 each of 24 color coordinating designs), 2 decorative swirl pearl embellishments, a variety of 9 vintage button sparklers, 3 yards of 1/2" red two toned May Arts ribbon, 1 yard of 1" silk pleated ivory, and 1 yard of 1/2" tea stained crochet lace. This kit is just too elegant for words! You can check it out HERE!

On to my creation!

It's funny, the blue decorative paper I chose has white roses on it so -- having a lightbulb moment, I decided to give my I Love Roses set a little love by pulling it out of my stamp storage. I thought it was brilliant. But, after I colored up my white rose and matted it up, you can't even see the white rose paper!! Bot so brilliant afterall - huh? :-) Regardless, I wanted to show you how pretty the items in the new 1,2,3 Create Kit are and how well they really coordinate!

For the mechanics of my card -- I stamped the rose using Memento Rich Cocoa ink on Flourishes Classic Ivory Card Stock and colored it up with Copic markers using the Spring Greens collection, the lighter shades of the Sunflower collection and then B0000 to highlight around my flower. I also used the Fanciful Flourishes set and used the Damask on a die cut shape just to add a little pizazz. After that I added a punched border, one of the beautiful sparkling buttons from this kit and a pennant style sentiment from the Hello Hyacinth set. Add a little stitching and... fini!


Cindy Lawrence and Christine Okken have also been working on samples to show you just how many ways you can use these items together! So, be sure to pay these gals a visit!


Wednesday, Flourishes kicks off the sneak peeks to its April release! Sounds like a super fun week, huh? I sure think so! See you back here soon!

Need a little challenge?

Well folks, in just a few days, Flourishes will be taking the lid off it's April release and I can't wait for you to see what they have in store. It's so great, I know you'll want to get in on their Release Week Challenge! It's a challenge that could have you walking away with all three of our soon-to-be released stamp sets!

HOW TO PLAY: Let's see some signs of spring in your creations for this challenge! Use a little robin egg blue, some green grass and a dash of daffodil. Use this color combo and you'll be in the running to win the entire new release bundle! Use the keyword FLLCAPR11 if you upload to Splitcoaststampers. You have until next Friday, April 15th at 5 PM EST to enter. The winner will be announced Saturday as a part of Flourishes' Winner's Circle post, on the Flourishes blog! Don't forget, in order to be in the running, you have to have a direct link to your creation HERE using their inlinkz widget!

On to my creation! Ok, I have a confession. It's not like I love breaking the rules... but I just really wanted to use some of my BasicGrey Hello Luscious paper. So, instead of going heavy on the daffodil -- I just used yellow to put it in the centers of my clematis. It's there... I promise!

For this creation, I used one of Flourishes old kits (sold out) called Hello Luscious. I loved all the papers and in fact, I even used one of the distressed solid papers to stamp my image on. After stamping the image from the Butterflies and Blossoms set with Memento Black ink, I colored it up with Copic markers and used a few of the Copic Collections grouped by Flourishes - Peony, Spring Green, and the Sunflower. The rest is simple! Add a little punched border, a little paper piercing, some fun raspberry colored crochet lace and a dainty little silver ribbon slide. I also stamped a sentiment from the set in the lower right corner and intentionally paper pierced around it. Not a lot to this card, but you know, sometimes that's a great thing!

Need a little inspiration to get those creative juices flowing? Just check out the fabulous creations from our senior design team!

• Barbara Anders
• Christine Okken
• Cindy Lawrence
• Danielle Kennedy
• Dawn Burnworth
• Leslie Miller
• Stacy Morgan

Flourishes is kicking off a brand new kit Monday and so, the paper is about to fly in my craft room so I can share some samples with you then! I'll see you back here soon!

A few words of encouragement...

Hi all and Happy Thursday! It's time for another Impression Obsession challenge and this one is all about sharing a little encouragement. All you need to do is pick up your Impression Obsession stamps and show us how you share these words of encouragement -- whether it be thinking of you, get well or a card to give someone a little pick me up! If you want to read more on the challenge, just click HERE!

On to my creation!

I have to say, this set -- Gardening  -- is one of my favorite IO sets of all time. It comes as a cling set and features not only the garden gloves and garden shovel, but a darling pair of garden overalls, a watering can and a sentiment too! After stamping my images, cutting them out and popping them up -- I wanted to have a more "encouraging sentiment" than just say --"Just for you" - so I picked up THIS one called Enjoy a relaxing day. I did color my images with Copic markers and used these numbers: C01,C03,C05, RV32, RV34, Y21. Y23, YG01, YG03, YG06. Mat it all up with the help of some decorative paper (a mix of BasicGrey, Making Memories and 7gysies), some fun ribbon, a punched border and a button and... voila!

You'll have to be sure to play along with the rest of the IO gals. You can always hop on over and see what they whipped up for the challenge!

Daniela
Deborah
Dina
Jeanne
Jenny
Laura
Shirley
Kathy

Thanks for stopping by! Have a fabulous rest of your week!

BBB-- the beauty of springtime colors

With spring officially here, that's what this month's Bring Back Beautiful challenge is ALL about! We want to see you infuse those beautiful spring time colors into your stamping creation!

HOW TO PLAY: Soft shades remind us of spring flowers sprouting from the ground - these shades are the focus of this month's BBB challenge! the color choice is yours! Link your Bring Back Beautiful Challenge card HERE on this post. If you upload your creations to Splitcoaststampers, please use the keyword BBB09. You have until April 30th to enter! As we unveil our challenge next month, we’ll share our True Beauties — those card makers who wowed us with this challenge! Winners will be featured right here on the Flourishes blog and will recieve a Bring Back Beautiful Winner blog button to proudly display on their blogs!

On to my creation!

This card was created using one of Flourishes new stamp sets called Lenten Rose along with one of the 1,2,3, Create Kits (click the link to check out their current kit!) called Sparkling Spring. I just love how Flourishes takes the guess work out for you! I am becoming a "kit addict!" HA! The paper was layered and the pink decorative paper on the left was scored and the embossed lines were sanded a bit to reveal the paper's white core. I stamped my image on Flourishes Classic White paper using Memento Tuxedo Black ink and colored up the Lenten rose using Copic Collections grouped by Flourishes and I used the Fields and Peony collections and then highlighted with B000 and B0000 markers. I also sponged some Spun Sugar Distress Ink around the edges of my image. Add some pearl mosaics and some ivory silk ribbon and... fini!

Be sure to check out all the beautiful creations our challenge team whipped up this month all with springtime colors in mind!

• Beate Johns
• Cindy Coutts
• Heather Jensen
• Kathy Jones
• Laura Fredrickson
• Yvonne Hagane

Thanks so  much for stopping by! Hope you have a great start to your week and I'll see you back here soon!