Another card for a kiddo!

Hi all and happy Tuesday! I have been on a kick lately to create some kid cards for my mom's Card 4 Kids ministry and today... I have a lemon that I tried to mix into lemonade! ;-)

On to my card!

I'll start by saying that this little robot is one of Birdie Browns and you can find him HERE! Now, you might look at my image and say... "What's up with that? It started like this....

So, you can imagine my distress when I went to die cut this little guy and my die moved, causing him to accidentally lose his little robot legs! EEK! That's where the making lemonade out of lemons comes into play! I decided to make it appear as if my little guy was peeking out of a tunnel. I used my Copic markers and picked up C00, C01, C03, C05 and C07 and just progressively got lighter as I moved toward the center.  After I was done coloring, I matted onto a larger circle cut from decorative red paper and then, added my sentiment with some fun screw style brads.I did add some paper piercing and a little silver leaf around one of the decorative paper edges. And that, my friends, is it! 

Here's a close up!

So this little guy will go in the Cards 4 Kids stack and hopefully make a little guy smile as he is recovering in the hospital. If you want to read up about my mom's mission to send smiles to the children at Children's Hospital of Michigan, just click HERE! 

Hope you are having a fabulous Tuesday! I have some more creative things up my sleeve and will be back to share.... SOON! Happy stamping!

~Julie

Another Christmas Creation!

Hi all! I don't know about you but I think it is a wee bit funny to show snowmen when the thermometer outside is reading in the 90s! But, with the new Penny Black Christmas stamps illustrated by Becky Fleck that are now available, I thought it would be fun to share one of the  new images... and get a head start on my Christmas creation! 

On to my card! This card was created using Penny Black's Build a Snowman set. What I love about this set is the fact that it contains all the pieces and parts to create all kinds of snow people! See?

So, after I started stamping the first snow guy, I masked him and added all the other pieces and parts as I went. 

I used my Copic markers to color them up and used R20, R24, R27, R29, YG61, YG63, YG20, BG0000, BG000, BG01, C01, C03, C05, C07 and RV00 for those fun rosy cheeks. I matted it all up using the Madison paper pack from Penny Black. Add some paper piercing, some red and white twine, a bit button and some punched corners and... almost done! One thing I love to do with snowmen is add, of course, a little sparkle! See?

In real life these snow guys really sparkle, which is super fun. And, like I said, I have another fun creation to send off this Christmas! It's a win-win! Hope your Monday is off to a fabulous start! I will be back tomorrow to show off a fun-filled creation that will benefit my mom's Card 4 Kids program. Can't wait to show you -- so you'll have to stop by and see what I whipped up!

See you then!

~Julie

A Splash of Watercolor!

Hello all and happy Friday! Today the Flourishes Senior Team is taking this Friday to share a bit of a technique focus that we think you'll love! It's one that's very "hot" in the card making industry right now, watercolor! And... here's the fun part! Not only will we share some great card ideas, the product that many of us used today is actually on sale through Sunday with Flourishes' OVERSTOCK SALE! It's the Letraset Aqua Markers, which are perfect for water coloring!

Ok, on to my creation!

I have to say when I started and stamped with the Chrysanthemum set on my watercolor paper, I had no idea what I was going to do. I literally started coloring with the Letreset markers and.... kept going! Instead of picking up the color from a palette with a water brush, I used the colors below (listed in my supplies section) and just colored. I started with the lightest shades first, added darker colors as I went and then, when I was done, I took my water brush and blended the colors with a lightly damp brush. After I was done, I scribbled my marker onto an acrylic block like this....

I then took my waterbrush, and wet down a really loose area around my image. This would prevent my wash from bleeding into my flower. You can see the voids/white areas around the outside of my image. I like that look, so that's what I was aiming for! I started by picking up just a wee bit of the yellow color with my brush and kept adding until I was happy. Then, when I was done with the yellow, I picked up a bit of the Scarlet with a really wet brush and flicked on some reddish splotches by literally flicking close to the nib of my brush. You can see here what happened! I love the look.

After I was done, I matted it up on some orange card stock, added some decorative paper, rhinestones, paper piercing and my sentiment on a shape cut from the Flourishes Classic Keyhole Die. You can see above that I took the yellow marker and did outline just the "sunshine" part of the sentiment. And that, my friends is it!

Before you hop on over and see all the loveliness that the design team whipped up -- you should know that these markers aren't the only items on sale! You can click HERE, to take a trip to Flourishes' SALE page. You'll find hundreds of items with prices that will be slashed at the time of check out! Just add the coupon code OVERSTOCK25 and 25% will be deducted from your total. This coupon code will ONLY work on SALE PAGE items. There are inks, paper, embellishments, ribbons and even overstocked stamp sets. THAT SALE ENDS SUNDAY! And... while you're shopping, you should know that today is the last day to get your hands on the August New Release Bundle at a discount.

So hop on over and see the beautiful creations from these ever so talented ladies!

• Christine Okken
• Cindy Lawrence
• Heather Jensen
• Julie Koerber
• Maki Jones
• Silke Ledlow
• Stacy Morgan
• Tosha Leyendekker

Thanks for stopping by! Hope you have a fabulous weekend and I'll see you  back here soon I'm sure!

~Julie

SUPPLIES:

Another one for Cards 4 Kids!

Not too long ago, I shared a new find that one of my friends, Christine Okken shared with me -- Birdie Brown Digital Stamps.  Just like most things, when I see something I like -- I have to dive in. That day I think I downloaded a dozen images and spent the last weeks just coloring them up! So, I'll share a card here and a card there and ALL will go to my mom's Cards 4 Kids program, which donates cards to kids recovering and being treated at Children's Hospital of Michigan.

Ok.. ready to see the latest creation?

I have to admit, this is a CASE of one of Torico's own cards! My style is a wee bit different. You'll have to click HERE and see! That link is also where you can download this free image! I printed the image out, colored it up with the Cool Neutrals Copic Collection (Flourishes) and then accented my little dolphin guy with a white gel pen. The "waves" were created just cutting decorative paper into those free-form shapes. Punch the sentiment with a 1-1/4" circle punch. Mat it up on a punched decorative orange scallop, add some paper piercing and... almost done! I did cut out my dolphin and pop him up using foam tape. If you look at Torico's card -- she had some fun rhinestones added on the waves. I thought I would keep those off since these cards were for little kids. I just had a nightmare about maybe a little one picking them off and trying to eat them! ;-) 

Here's a close up of the 'fin-tastic' dolphin!

And that, my friends, is it! Super fun, super easy, super cute for kids! Hope your week is off to a great start! I'll see you all back here soon!

~Julie

Winter Blossoms

Hello folks and happy Monday! Not too long ago at Summer CHA, Penny Black unveiled a whole new round of stamps just in time to get those Christmas creations started early! Well, Becky Fleck designed a handful of new stamps for this collection and yours truly got a chance to play and have some fun with these new images! Today, I'm going to be sharing one of the creations I made with the Winter Blossoms set! First, here's a peek at the set and all it has to offer!

And now... on to my creation!

I stamped that pretty poinsettia using Memento Tuxedo Black ink and then colored it up with Copics (see below for the colors I used!) I added some glitter glue to the center of my flower for a little extra razzle dazzle! The rest is simple -- cut out the flower, mat it on a Spellbinders Classic Circle Die cut from decorative paper, add a fun doily, some Christmas themed decorative paper, a crystal button and a wee bit of gold cording and... done!

Here's a close up of the flower....

 And here, you can see I popped up my layers with foam tape!

And that, my friends, is it! Before I go, you should know last week Penny Black kicked off a Colorful Christmas preview last week! For all the details and see some more sneak peeks, just click HERE and head on over to the Penny Black blog! AND, Becky is also giving away all of the sets she's released! Just click HERE to get in on this fun blog candy! See you back here soon!

~Julie

SUPPLIES:

It's the final day of Flourishes' Release!

 

Welcome to our last day of August New Releases at Flourishes!  We're thrilled with your response to these beautiful fall-themed sets, and to finish our week out we know you'll love today's little treasure too!  You can celebrate all that Autumn has to offer with a spirit of thanksgiving. This beautiful and earthy set penned by Marcella Hawley features three main images, two accent images and six mix and match sentiments. Set measures 4 by 6".

On to my creation! This card below is actually one of the creations in this month's Class in a Box kit! Have you ever tried this system? Flourishes cuts the card stock, decorative paper and even includes die cut shapes, ribbon and embellishments. You simply stamp, color and assemble!

I kept it simple this this design and let the beautiful image take center stage! After stamping in Tuxedo Black Memento ink, I colored it up with Copic markers.

Here's a close up!

And with the Class in a Box comes two other card designs using this set -- here's a peek!

If you like what you see with the cards above, you should click HERE and pick up our August Class in a Box Kit. The last one sold out in a matter of hours! Each kit comes with detailed instructions to make the three cards and 2 of each design for a total of six cards. When you’re done, save the full-color, glossy instructions to make all of these cards on your own in the future. It's inspiration delivered right to your door! The kit comes with the Autumn Blessings stamp set (SS256) embellishments, twine, buttons, trims and pre-cut decorative paper, the remaining Autumn Harvest 6 by 6″ paper pack plus card stock for card bases.You can check it out HERE!

Want to see what the design team created with this set that has such a warm and wonderful homespun feel? Hop on over and see these fine ladies and remember, one of them is the mystery blogger, meaning comment on that designer's blog and you could win today's set!

• Allison Cope
• Christine  Okken
• Cindy Lawrence
• Heather Jensen
• Julie Koerber
• Maki Jones
• Silke Ledlow
• Stacy Morgan
• Tosha Leyendekker

Before I go....  have you heard about our Overstock Sale? All sale items are an additional 25% off when you use the code OVERSTOCK25 in the coupon code box at the time of checkout. Keep in mind, this discount only applies to Sale Page Items. We have paper, ink, ribbon and even overstocked stamp sets! Click HERE to see for yourself and pick up some goodies before they are gone!  

Do you want to win Flourishes' August Release?

If you would like a chance at winning all three of our now released August sets…

• You can play in our Colorful Creations Challenge – we will have multiple winners there! Deadline for entries is TODAY FRIDAY August 16th at 5 PM EST. Check out the link for the official rules!
• All three of our August sets are NOW AVAILABLE and you can check them out HERE.  Take advantage our New Release Bundle and get 10% off when you purchase all three together in a bundle. And, for even more creative options, there are Silhouette Cut Files for some of the stamp sets in this release -- Chrysanthemum Silhouette Cut File and Autumn Blessings Silhouette Cut File!
• Join us back here on the Flourishes Blog tomorrow for the Winner’s Circle where we’ll announce all of our winners of this weeks’ challenges!

Thanks for your great support, and encouraging words again this month and we look forward to what you create with our August Releases!

~Julie

Flourishes Sneaks Day 2: Mountain View

  

There is something so majestic about seeing mountain wildlife in their element, and today we have an amazing scenic set to show off to you.  It's an elk standing ready with a beautiful mountainside in the background - that's the centerpiece of this 4" by 3" set penned by Lauren Pope. Perfect for the guys in your life, this set features one main image as well as three sentiments.

It's funny because not too long ago, some of the Flourishes gals got together and went to Yellowstone and this picture was one Cindy snapped! We all laughed saying how much seeing this big guy would inspire our creations!

On to my creation! I have to admit, when I first saw this image, I was a bit overwhelmed. I thought -- there is no way I could color that elk and have it look realistic! After staring at the image, I thought -- why try? So instead of adding a full dose of color, I picked up some of the lightest shades of my Copic Markers and used them to add shadows instead! I figured Lauren's image was so pretty all on its own -- no need for "heavy lifting" in the coloring department! 

After stamping the image using Rich Cocoa onto Flourishes Classic Ivory paper, I used BG90, W00, W02, G20, YG61 and YG63. Just that simple! The decorative papers were in my scraps bin, so I am not sure where they came from but I have a feeling the wood grain was from the My Mind's Eye Miss Caroline collection. I added some twine, a wood button and then cut my image using the Spellbinders Curved Rectangles Die. Mat it all up on some of Flourishes Classic Kraft and... done!

Here's a close up! 

And that, my friends, is it! We think it's an impressive and stately image and our Design Team is ready to show it off to you bringing it to life!  Don't forget to look for:

 

Hidden among the Design Team's blogs today is our Mystery Blogger of the day.  Comment on her blog and you could be chosen to win today's set! The more you comment, the better your chances.

• Allison Cope
• Christine  Okken
• Cindy Lawrence
• Heather Jensen
• Julie Koerber
• Maki Jones
• Silke Ledlow
• Stacy Morgan
• Tosha Leyendekker

Do you want to win Flourishes' August Release?

If you would like a chance at winning all three of our soon-to-be released August sets…

• You can play in our Colorful Creations Challenge – we will have multiple winners there! Deadline for entries is FRIDAY August 16th at 5 PM EST. Check out the link for the official rules!
• All three of our August sets can be pre-ordered now, even before you see them all! Take advantage our New Release Bundle and get 10% off when you purchase all three together in a bundle, this discount will be available for only 1 week following the release.
• All sets will be live first thing Friday morning along with the coordinating cut files for this release.
• Come back to the Flourishes Blog Saturday for the Winner's Circle where we'll announce all of our winners of this weeks' challenges!

And... as you are hopping and making your wish lists -- don't forget about Flourishes....

 

 .....Overstock Sale! If you click HERE, you can take a trip to our SALE page you'll find hundreds of items with prices that will be slashed at the time of check out! Just add the coupon code OVERSTOCK25 and 25% will be deducted from your total. This coupon code will ONLY work on SALE  PAGE items.

You'll have to join me back here tomorrow for a thankful Autumn set that will bless you!

~Julie

SUPPLIES:

Flourishes Sneak Peeks Day 1: Chrysanthemum

Hi all! I am so excited to be back with a new round of beautiful Flourishes stamps for you this August! Today's very first stamp set is a new offering from illustrator Sam Pickard and it showcases the unique blooms of the Chrysanthemum flower that is a staple for fall color and bouquets!  This 4 x 6 set contains several arrangements of single or grouped flowers, a buzzing bee, plus wonderful sentiments around a sunshine theme.  It's sure to bring wonderful cheerfulness to your designs on those crisp Autumn days that are coming. And for even more creative options, Flourishes will have a cut-file available for this set as well on Friday.

On to my creation! I have no idea what has gotten into me lately but I crave making simple cards. I think after battling this so much, I need to conquer my fear of making a good CAS card! I look back at some of my first cards, they were all this way -- clean and simple.  Funny how our styles and thoughts change! Ok, moving on! Here's what I came up with!

I stamped my image on Flourishes Classic White and then started coloring it up with Copic Markers. (See below for list of Collections used!). I did shade and blend around the image using BV0000 and BV000. After I was done, I matted the main image on some brown card stock from the Rich Browns Collection and then again on some rust decorative paper from My Mind's Eye. Add some sparkle to the bee's wings thanks to some glitter glue, some paper piercing and add the sentiment thanks to a flag-style sentiment strip. I also added three little clear rhinestones that I colored up with the YR07 Copic marker. Easy peasy lemon squeezy!

Here's a close up!

Want to see some of the other Chrysanthemum creations from the design team? Scroll down, and keep in mind if you comment on their creations there's a chance for you to win today's set! All you have to do is find:

    

Hidden among the Design Team’s blogs today is our Mystery Blogger of the day.  Comment on her blog and you could be chosen to win today’s set!  The more you comment, the better your chances.

• Allison Cope
• Christine Okken 
• Cindy Lawrence
• Dina Kowal
• Heather Jensen
• Julie Koerber
• Maki Jones
• Silke Ledlow
• Stacy Morgan
• Tosha Leyendekker

 

Do you want to win Flourishes' August Release?

If you would like a chance at winning all three of our soon-to-be released August sets…

• You can play in the Colorful Creations Challenge – there will be multiple winners! Deadline for entries is FRIDAY August 16th at 5 PM EST.  Check out the link for the official rules!
• All three August sets can be pre-ordered now, even before you see them all! Take advantage our New Release Bundle and get 10% off when you purchase all three together in a bundle, this discount will be available for only 1 week following the release.
• All sets will be live first thing Friday morning along with the coordinating cut files for this release.
• Come back to the Flourishes Blog Saturday for the Winner’s Circle where we’ll announce all of our winners of this weeks’ challenges!

Along the way this week as you're hopping you'll notice the beautiful goodies from our new 123 Create Kit called Isabella.  Be sure to check it out. It's our way of pulling together all of your design elements so you can create beautiful things!

   

 If you want to see this kit and all it has to offer in the store, just click HERE. And, one more piece of fun news for you! Just in time for release week shopping, Flourishes is sweetening the deal by offering an..... 

 

Overstock Sale! If you click HERE, you can take a trip to Flourishes' SALE page where they've added hundreds, yes hundreds of items! Keep in mind, some items are listed at retail prices. It's only when you add the coupon code OVERSTOCK25 that the 25% will be deducted from your total. This coupon code will ONLY work on SALE  PAGE items. They have inks, paper, embellishments, ribbons and even overstocked stamp sets. On those items with sale prices, you will be able to take an ADDITIONAL 25% off! It's the deal of the season! So click HERE to shop early for the best selection! 

Join me back here tomorrow where I'll show you a gorgeous set with a view!

~Julie

SUPPLIES:

Time for a Colorful Christmas!

Not too long ago at Summer CHA, Penny Black unveiled a whole new round of stamps just in time to get those Christmas creations started early! Well, Becky Fleck designed a handful of new stamps for this collection and yours truly got a chance to play and have some fun with these new images!

This set called Build-A-Snowman is just that, a set where you can add all the little lovelies to make your own snowman! Isn't this little snow guy the cutest ever? There are hats, different carrot noses, even accessories like this darling little birdie! After I stamped my snow guy, I colored him up with Copic markers and used these colors (R20, R24, R27, R29, BG0000, BG000, BG10, BG11, BG15, YR04, YR09 and RV00) After I was done coloring, I cut out the snow guy and added a dash of glitz thanks to some diamond glitter glue. I matted it all up on some Penny Black decorative paper that is a part of the Madison paper pack. The shape I matted the snowguy on was cut using the Spellbinders Labels Fourteen die. Add a punched snowflake (Martha Stewart), some lace and a Blueberry Pave rhinestone (Queen and Company) and... ta da! Done! 

Here's a close up.....

And that, my friends, is it! Before I go, you should know that today Penny Black kicked off a Colorful Christmas preview! For all the details and see some more sneak peeks, just click HERE and head on over to the Penny Black blog! Good news -- the stamps will be available starting August 16th -- so you don't have to wait too long if you like what you see! 

~Julie

A Colorful Challenge, just for you!

The month of August has rolled in and many of us are beginning to think ahead to Autumn (oh Summer, please stay a little longer!). How about we throw a fun color challenge at you that mixes Summer and Autumn colors together and challenge you to create something with the potential to WIN our August New Releases! Here's a peek at the colorful palette!

   

.....a lovely teal, a rich rust and a neutral gray. What we love about this challenge is that all of these colors can be found in our Flourishes Color Made Easy Collections. Emerald Coast, Terra Cotta and either Cool Neutrals or Tonal Neutrals, isn't that great? 

Now, on to my card! I decided to keep my hues of this color combo just a little more vibrant. You can see that I did use the teal from the Emerald Coast Collection as a slight mat and my card base is the medium shade of the Cool Neutrals paper collection. 

As you can see, I started by using the Silhouette Cut File for Old Tea Rose. After my image was cut, I stamped using Memento Tuxedo Black and then picked up my Copic markers and started coloring! (See supply list below for a peek at what colors I used!) I knew I wanted to keep the layout a bit "different" so I just went to my paper cutter and started cutting angles. I moved over and added some paper piercing. and then let the layering begin. I added the sentiment, a button with twine and that was pretty much it for the front. Here's a close up....

And on the inside, I added a strip of grey decorative paper and then added the rose and some ink splatter on the inside. It's funny, my teammate Heather Jensen made a BEAUTIFUL creation (she can't show you yet) with some mixed media techniques and I asked her -- how do you get that fun ink splatter. I was nervous to even try. Well, she shared and I took the leap and tried it! I kind of dig the effect. Might need to try this more! 

And that, my friends, is it! Now you'll have to hop on over for some lovely inspiration using these colors! Here's what the design team has to show off.... 

• Allison Cope
• Christine Okken
• Cindy Lawrence
• Heather Jensen
• Julie Koerber
• Maki Jones
• Silke Ledlow
• Stacy Morgan
• Tosha Leyendekker

THE OFFICIAL RULES:

• Simply create a card using these colors in the graphic above
• Entries need to be in by Friday August 16th at 5 PM EST
• Those entries using Flourishes Stamps will be counted twice
• You must link your creation on our InLinkz Widgit HERE to be counted
• You must have a link to our challenge in your blog post or gallery post
• Please DO NOT combine challenges. Only those entries that don't combine will be in the running
• If you upload to SCS please use the keyword FLLCAUG13
• Winners will be announced on Saturday August 17th over on the Flourishes Blog!

Thanks for stopping by today and we look forward to seeing what you create! We'll see you here on Wednesday August 14th when our wonderful August Sneak Peeks start! Enjoy creating with these colors!

~Julie

supplies:

The hostess.....

Hey all! I'm the hostess for Flourishes 10 Minute Thursday HERE over on the Flourishes blog, so head on over and see what I cooked up! Want a little sneak peek?

There you have it! See you back here tomorrow with a fun-filled way that could have YOU walking away with Flourishes entire August Release! Until then!

~Julie