I'm playing host!

Hey all.. I'm hosting Flourishes Ten-Minute Thursday! Just click HERE to check out the fun!

A Trip through the Poppy Patch!

Hi all and TGIF! Today the Flourishes design team has a special surprise for all of you! The team is showing off an oldie but goodie that still ranks on Flourishes top selling stamp sets list -- and that set is.....

Poppy Patch!

This set was among the first Flourishes offered and now, it's being given a revamp because it's one of the first older sets that now has a coordinating Silhouette Cut File to go with it! Just click HERE to see Poppy Patch in the store and click HERE for the coordinating cut file! What fun!

I used the new cut file for my creation and had a blast! I love the fact that I can click a few buttons and have the silhouette of my stamped shape cut for me .... in seconds with the Silhouette Cameo!

So... here's my bright and bold creation! I used a mix of patterned paper for my base and mats. I realize you might need sunglasses to look at it but.. hey.. you only live once, why not make it bold! :-) After cutting out my images, I did color the flowers using these Copic Collections...

After I was done, I added a sentiment flag thanks to the Lacey Pennants Die set, a fun bow using Basque Red Seam Binding- which is a part of the Poppy Color Made Easy Collection (a collection that perfectly matches the Poppy Copic Collection). I should point out -- the sentiment is actually from the With Gratitude set -- it just fit perfectly on that little pennant. Add a brad to my bow and that, my friends, is it! Just that simple!

Here's a close up so you can see how the cut images were layered on my card. I actually used some foam tape to lift up portions of it to give it a little "oomph."

Now be sure to head on over and see what the other design team members whipped up with this set! I know you won't be disappointed! :-)

Beate Johns
Christine Okken
Cindy Lawrence
Danielle Kennedy
Jan Marie Caruso
Julie Koerber
Sharon Doolittle
Silke Ledlow
Stacy Morgan
Tammy Hershberger

Thanks so much for stopping by! I hope you have some fun weekend plans. Mine is actually wide open so hopefully I'll live a little spontaneously and find some fun! ;-) Until we meet again... happy creating!

Fun little project!

I don't know about you but there are times when I seriously think I might need a 12-step program for Pinterest. I look for recipes. I look for craft ideas. I look for home inspiration. I just... well... look! But, not too long ago, I found a really fun idea. Want to see?

I just loved that this lady used tension rods and fabric to add splashes of color and hide what was on the shelves! Isn't this cute?

You can see more HERE.

While my craft room isn't as bold as that, I thought I could take some fabric and spruce up my room a bit. If you want to see the "Before" you can just click HERE   and see what I've done over the years. Keep in mind, this is not an earth shattering update, but just a little post on what a few bucks and some fabric can do!   Jo-Ann Fabrics recently moved to a new location here in town and so I managed to get the fabric dirt cheap. It was funny the lady said -- that's 30% off and then today you get an additional 50% off the 30%. Huh? I smiled and said.. OK! 

So, here's my take on the Pinterest Inspiration!

I measured out the insides of my shelves and multiplied it by 1-1/2 and that's the amount of fabric I used to create my little shelf curtains. I added a border of black and then stitched on some 2" satin ribbon for a little something extra. 

This is the other bookshelf. 

And you can see... this is what is underneath. It's not unruly or anything. I just really liked how the curtains almost make the room a little more "feminine." You know? Each of these bins has a different stamp set theme i.e. florals, celebrations, Christmas, sentiments, etc. 

And then, with some extra I bought, I covered two canvases to bring some pop on the wall. 

And there you have it -- one more way that Pinterest inspired my life. I just remembered that I need to grocery shopping today. Wonder if there's a recipe I can be inspired by? See... I told you I had an addiction! Hope you have a great day and thanks for stopping by! 

It's a Free for All Friday!

Hi all! Just as in release week’s past — the week after release the design team hosts a free for all — where they pick up their favorite sets of the release and play with any or all! So, get ready for a feast for the eyes today! And, TODAY is the very last day to take advantage of the August New Release Bundle — when you can get all four sets for 10% off the retail price. Just click HERE to see the bundle in the store!

On to my creation!

This card started after I started playing around with my new Silhouette. I knew I wanted to use the new cut file for With Gratitude. (You can find it HERE if you want to purchase the download!) I cut out of Flourishes Classic White, stamped with Tuxedo Black Memento and then... grabbed these Copic Collections!

From there, I grabbed some scraps from my decorative paper bin, added some ribbon, some stitching, a matching button and then... using foam mount tape, I attached my main image to a shape cut thanks to Spellbinder's Lattice Rectangles.  On the blue strip, I did stamp the border from the set using Danube Blue Memento Ink. I love the look it created! 

Here's a closeup..... 

And that, my friends, is it! Now be sure to hop on over and see what the design team has in store!

• Beate Johns
• Christine Okken
• Cindy Lawrence
• Danielle Kennedy
• Julie Koerber
• Sharon Doolittle
• Silke Ledlow
• Stacy Morgan
• Tammy Hershberger

Thanks for stopping by! Hope you have some fun plans for the weekend. This is my kids' last weekend of freedom.. School starts NEXT WEEK. I know I am going to sound like everyone else -- but I honestly do not know where the summer went! I'm praying for an Indian Summer -- so we can have some more nice weather before Old Man Winter arrives! How about you??? See you back here soon!

It's a Yellow and Gray kind of Day!

Hi all! It's time for an Impression Obsession Challenge! One that will give you a chance at winning a $25 gift certificate to the IO store. All you need to do is pick up your IO stamps... and join us! Today's challenge is all about color -- two of them actually -- yellow and gray! Just use those as your two main colors, and you'll be in the running! If you want to read up on all the official details, just click HERE!

On to my creation!

I started by stamping the stamp called Swing and Basket on white card stock and then, just colored the image up with Copic markers and used a mix of greens, yellows, reds, purples and browns. I matted my image up with some papers from Authentique and My Mind's Eye.The ribbon is from May Arts. Add some crochet lace and a fun mustard colored brad and .... ta da! Done! The sentiment is THIS one called Thinking of You Days stamped in London Fog Memento Ink.

Here's a close up!

The other gals from Impression Obsession added a splash of yellow and gray in their creations today! So, be sure to stop by and see....

Daniela Dobson
Dina Kowal
Jeanne Streiff
Jenny Gropp
Julie Koerber -- you are here!
Laura Fulcher
Vicki Garrett

Thanks for stopping by! Hope you join us and play! I'll be back tomorrow with some more creative fun, so be sure to tune back in. Happy Thursday!

Time for a Sweet Celebration!

Hi all! Since Flourishes is lighting the candles on it's fifth birthday cake, They decided to throw a little party to celebrate and the party is TODAY! The design team is hosting a day that we are calling.....

2-4-6-8....Help Flourishes Celebrate!

At 2PM, 4PM, 6PM and 8PM (Central Standard Time), Flourishes is going to be ushering in some fun-filled challenges and YOU could win some fun prizes! Are you ready for the 2PM Challenge?

HOW TO PLAY: This challenge is sweet as can be -- just use a focal image or sentiment that is SWEET! Just that simple! Use Flourishes stamps if you have them -- your entries will count twice. If you don't have Flourishes stamps, play along anyway, you could win some!

On to my creation!

When I think "Sweet" I think Flourishes' Strawberries set! So, I grabbed it for my creation today! I stamped my strawberry basket on Flourishes Classic White Card Stock using Tuxedo Black Memento Ink. And then, I picked up my Copic Markers using these collections...

The background was done using my Scor-Buddy. I just scored my lines by placing the "right side" of my paper face down and then after the lines were embossed, I sanded them to create this fun and funky background. Mat the image up thanks to some Spellbinder's dies - Classic Circles LG and Eyelet Circles. I added my sentiment on a pennant die cut created thanks to the Lacey Pennant Spellbinders set. I added a punched border, some crochet lace, some stitching and a fun button -- and -- ta da! Done! You can see that I also added a fun decked out envelope -- I used Memento Bamboo Leaves ink for that -- and now I have a card ready to send to a friend!

JUST A NOTE: This card is part of a four card set that comes complete with a card caddy. Stay tuned --- I'll have a tutorial on that coming up soon! ;-)

Guess what? This challenge lasts the rest of the month! You have until August 31st to enter and can enter as many times as you like! Some of our designers have helped us celebrate with a little sweetness! If you need some inspiration, be sure to hop on over and see...

Julie Koerber -- you are here!
Stacy Morgan
Tammy Hershberger
Denise Marzec 

Want the details on The OFFICIAL Rules?  Just click HERE!  Thanks for stopping by! Hope you get those fingers inky and join us!

The next challenge is coming your way in just 2 hours... at 4PM over on the Flourishes Blog!

The Flourishes August Release is HERE!

Hi all! I hope you've enjoyed this week's peeks and I am excited to say that all of the stamp sets that we've been showing off this week are in the Flourishes Store HERE! Flourishes also has some exciting news to share as well -- for three out of the four sets, there is a Silhouette Cut File available as well! These files made exclusively for the Silhouette Cameo offer the ability to custom cut images from the Garden Picks, Autumn Blossoms and With Gratitude stamp sets. Keep reading to learn more! Or, click HERE to visit these files in the Flourishes store!

On to today's last stamp set to be unveiled! It's one that pays homage to the beautiful blossoms of fall!

Part of The Blossoms Collection, this beautiful array of autumn blossoms illustrated by Marcella Hawley features a bouquet, corner stamps, and pieces to create your own borders or frames. Add in a trio of all occasion sentiments and you have the perfect set to create cards for every day correspondence. FYI: This set is the perfect companion to sister sets Happily Ever After SS199 and Letters in Blossom SS198. If you like this set, you might also like our Summer Blossoms set as well featuring summer florals!

On to my creation!

I had created a bunch of these card bases when I created THIS card and thought -- hey -- why not? It made creating this one easy peasy! I started by stamping the two corners from the Autumn Blossoms set on a 2-3/4" by 2-3/4" piece of Flourishes Classic White card stock using Tuxedo Black Memento Ink. Then, I picked up a TON of Copic markers and choose from these color collections:

From there... I added a strip of green decorative paper, a scalloped edge some deep red seam binding, and if you look in the corner, you can see I added a brad.It was originally a mustard color one that I changed to a rusty red with the help of a Copic marker -- fun huh?

Here's a close up!

As I mentioned earlier, this set does have a companion cut file that you can use with your Silhouette Electronic Cutter. This digital download is purchased from the store and upon completion of your order, you'll receive a link to download your Silhouette Cameo file. This file will only work using the Silhouette Cameo and the Silhouette Studio Software. This file offers cut file for all stamp images excluding sentiments. And the good news? While Flourishes only has a handful of cut files available now - in the future some of your favorite sets will have companion cut files!

Would you like to win our new Autumn Blossoms stamp set? All you need to do is guess....

One of the ladies on our link list below will be picking a name from the comments on her blog post today. We don’t know which one it is… so the more blogs you leave comments on, the more chances you have to win! So what are you waiting for? Head on over and see…..

• Beate Johns
• Cindy Lawrence
• Christine Okken
• Danielle Kennedy
• Jan Marie Caruso
• Julie Koerber
• Silke Ledlow
• Stacy Morgan
• Tammy Hershberger

DID YOU KNOW YOU COULD WIN OUR ENTIRE AUGUST RELEASE? Have you checked out our Birthday Wishes Challenge? Just click HERE to find out how to play! You can also play in our Noon Time Challenges! Try Wednesday’s challenge by clicking HERE to find out about the A Bit of Texture Challenge or click HERE for more on the Country Road Challenge! All challenges will close TODAY at 5 PM EST! So get those fingers inky and good luck!

One more note! Don't forget about the special, limited time offer called the New Release Bundle! It's a bundle of all four new stamp sets and for the next week -- it's 10% off the retail price! Thanks for stopping by. I'll be back here soon! ;-)

A Country Road Challenge!

Are you ready for a fun challenge inspired by your neck of the woods? That's right, this Flourishes noon time challenge is all about sharing your surroundings with the stamping world!

HOW TO PLAY: This one is fun because we get to share our OWN favorite country roads as inspiration! Share a photo, pick three colors in the photo and use them in your card or creation. Just that simple! If you upload to SCS, please use the keyword FLLCAUGRW2 and don't forget to link up your creation below using the Inlinkz Widget.

Need a little inspiration? I created a card that reminded me of a neck of woods near my house that my family uses to hike and bike on and I picked up Flourishes' brand new set called Country Road!

Here's my inspiration! This is a stretch of trail that sits right next to the Yellowstone River and it's just as peaceful as can be! I picked up on the blues and greens in this photo....

And... here is my creation! Creating was easy with Authentique Loyal Paper! It had all the right hues. Isn't this a great "guy" paper pack? I think so! I stamped using Memento Tuxedo black and added some highlights thanks to the Inkssentials White Gel Pen. Add some stitching, pinking and a fabby button and.. ta da! Done! 

You'll have to check out these fine ladie's creations as well! It will be fun to see a favorite spot of theirs as inspiration!

Cindy Lawrence
Julie Koerber
Stacy Morgan
Amanda Havon
Cindy Haffner  


The OFFICIAL Rules…..

• Simply create a card using a country road or scene near your home choosing colors from the photo for your creation!
• Entries need to be in by Friday, August 10 by 5 PM EST
• Those that use Flourishes stamps will be counted twice for their entry
• You must link your creation on this post using our inlinkz widget in order to qualify
• You must have a link to our challenge in your blog or gallery post
• Please DO NOT combine challenges.
• If you upload to SCS, please use the keyword FLLCAUGRW2
• We’ll announce the winners Saturday in our Winner’s Circle Post – check back Saturday, August 11 at noon CST to see if you’re one of the lucky winners!

Thanks for stopping by! I'll see you back here tomorrow to unveiil one final set that honors the flowers of fall! All of the stamp sets that I've been sneak peeking this week will be in the Flourishes store and I'll have news of another fun addition to Flourishes that you will want to check out! See you back here then!