Just sitting here dreamin'........

Don't you find that there are times when you just have to dream of the ocean. And, since I live in Montana -- the ocean seems worlds away. So, what do I do to combat that? Well, I "stamp" the ocean instead!

I dug deep and picked a stamp that is long gone when it comes to images. It's a retired PSX stamp called Portland Head. Here's a little history for you. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow often visited this area and wrote a poem about this very lighthouse....

The rocky ledge runs far out into the sea
And on its outer point, some miles away,
The lighthouse lifts its massive masonry,
A pillar of fire by night, of cloud by day.

- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, "The Lighthouse"

Enough dreaming.... here's my card! I made it pretty simple because my image is so pretty. I colored it up with Copic markers using Flourishes Copic Collections - I used the Water, Poppy, Spring Greens and Flesh Tones 2 collections. I added some Snow Green from the Pastels Collection to the clouds and while my Nesties Labels 1 die was still on my shape, I sponged some baby blue and Antique Linen inks around the upper edges for my sky. Add a sentiment, on a punched oval, some rustic cord and you're almost done! The papers are from Prima and Crate Paper (blue). I also paper pierced the edge of the blue for a little extra pop.

Voila! Now if only I could zap myself to the coast to smell that ocean air in real life. Oh well.... I can dream! :-)

Thanks for stopping by! I'll see you back here soon!

Happy Thanksgiving to my American friends!

I love today! I love waking up in the morning, cuddling up with my kiddos and watching the parades on TV as I start baking pies or desserts and getting those wonderful smells floating through the house. I love the sounds of football and savor the scents of roasting turkey! I am thankful for friends, family and all the wonderful blessings that land on our doorstep! So, to those reading this post today, I raise my glass to you and wish you just the same!

The card I made for today is one featuring an old PSX stamp that I colored with Prismacolor pencils and accented with chalks. I used a mix of oranges, reds and greens and then blended with odorless mineral spirits. You might also see a bit of sheen. I always spray my work with workable fixative to prevent what's called "wax bloom." When you work with colored pencils that have a wax base, over time, you can get a white chalky appearance to your work -- so-- to prevent this -- you spray it! That's a little tip for you! The saying "Happy Thanksgiving" is from the new Autumn Flourishes set by Flourishes!

Before I go....the candy trail of Just Rite goodies continues! The Flourishes DT is showing you all the fun ways to use Just Rite products to get ready for Monday's big sale!!! Starting December 1st, all of the Just Rite products in the Flourishes store will be 25% off!

Before then, stop by and say hi to these DT members and check out the goodies they will be offering up on these days!
Sunday - Faith
Monday - Susan
Tuesday - Cindy
Wednesday - Laura
Thursday - Flourishes Newsletter
Friday - Latisha
Saturday - ME!
Sunday - Winner’s Roundup on the Flourishes Blog

I'll be back later tonight with a sneak peek at Sharon's Stamp Simply challenge -- so after turkey time - check back!!! :-)

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

~Julie

Forgotten Flowers....

Do you ever do this---- you stamp something and really like it but aren't really inspired to put it into a card so you take the stamped and colored image and you stuff it in a drawer of cards waiting to be finished? I do! Well, I was cleaning out some of those drawers recently when I stumbled upon an old hydrangea image I had colored. It is an old PSX stamp that I still love. I used watercolor pencils to color it and added some stickles to the flowers' centers. Well, I recently got my hands on the Radiant paper pack from Craft Secrets and I thought the green paisley paper in the pack was perfect for my card. It was classic-- just like a hydrangea!

All I did was distress my main floral image, mat it on some lavender, add some sheer ribbon and then attach it to my card front on a slant. If I knew a card would be so easy to put together, I would never have "forgotten" about these flowers in a drawer!

Hope life is treating you all well. Here at the Koerber house, we are getting ready for Halloween! Tonight we decked out the house and tomorrow we start to bag up goodies for the kiddos classes. My mom and I are making chocolate witch suckers. They are too cute! I'll have a show and tell later this week!

Until then.... Happy Stamping!