Swing Into Spring! Day 1

Gosh, time flies when you are having fun! I can't believe we are ready to release a handful of new and beautiful stamp sets again courtesy of Flourishes!

As we kick off a few days of sneak peeks, we start with another amazing set from the talented Marcella Hawley!

Introducing......
I know this is just a teaser -- but honestly, I can't wait until you can see this whole set! These flowers are gorgeous and the sentiments that go with this set are just perfect add ons for all kinds of cards!

So, here is what I whipped up...

I used my Curved Rectangles Nestabilities, cut a piece and then stamped my violets on top. After I stamped, I used the die to mask the outer edges and sponged on some Antique Linen and Tea Dye Distress Inks. Afterward, I used Copic Markers to color it up. I used RV19, V06,V09, and V15 on the flower and FYG2,YG06 and G07 with a touch of E33 on the leaves.

You can also see that I stamped, colored and cut out a number of the leaves to pop it up a bit! Mat it up on some green paper edged with a gold leaf pen, mat again on some violet decorative paper and then add a ribbon slide tag punched from a Spellbinder's die. The sentiment and accent are also part of the set! Weave in some ribbon and.... done!

I can't wait to hop and see what the other DT members created with this sweet set!

Christine Okken
Cindy Lawrence
Faith Hofrichter
Latisha Yoast
Leslie Miller
Stacy Morgan
Jan Marie Caruso
Sharon Doolittle

Here's what else is coming up this week!

• Click on the Flourishes Newsletter for daily giveaways of the featured set!
• Don't forget about the Swing Into Spring challenge! You could win all three new sets being released! Click HERE and scroll down to the end of the post to find out more!
• Mark your calendars for our release party this Friday in the Flourishes Forum on SCS! We'll kick things off from 8 to 10 PM CST with games, giveaways and even more samples showcasing this month's sets!

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

We're Back!

Hi all! Happy Monday! Hope you all had a restful and relaxing weekend. We made it back after the state bowling tourney and DS did well. He pretty much bowled his average - which is ok! Let's face it, his average is higher than any game I'll ever see! So, all in all it was a great experience!

Here he is... on his approach... ;-)

And, here is DH and DS just being goofy! Fun times!

Moving right along......when I got back, I had the cutest little gift from my bud Stacy Morgan. Isn't this the cutest thing? How on earth did she know my favorite candy is Butterfinger?? :-) The little clear box and tin were both full of the little candy bars! YUM!
Aren't these bunnies colored up so cute? I wish I knew who made these images! Maybe Stacy will let us know!
This clear box is just darling!

Here's a closer look at one of the bunnies!

THANKS STACY! You're the best!

Since we're less than a week away from Easter -- I just had to share Stacy's cute project because, I don't know about you, but I am always looking for those darling last minute projects!

Hope you all have a great start to you week! I'll see you all back here soon!

A Friday Two-fer!

Hi all! TGIF! I cannot believe it's Friday already! But, with that realization comes a whole lot of fun! We have Stamp Simply courtesy of the fabulous Sharon Johnson and.... we have the Friday Flourishes Focus which just so happens to be all about paper peicing!

So, first things first - I'm going to start singing..... "The incredible, edible egg!" Remember that jingle? Well folks - that's your inspiration for this week's Stamp Simply challenge! (ssnotime 81) Since Easter is fast approaching, the challenge is to take a look at the traditional Easter Egg - any way - any how -- in a decked out egg, a bird's next, or even in a frying pan!

If you stopped by yesterday, you saw my "chick parade." Today, I used the same set called Happy Easter from Impression Obsession, masked it and made the chicks sit on top of, carry and push all the larger than life eggs.
I stamped the chickies where I wanted them and then, masked and stamped the eggs so that one would be carrying it, one would be sitting on top and the last would be doing a sommersault off it! I just love these little chicks! Afterward, I colored them up with some watercolor pencils, blended with a blender pen and added some Crystal Stickles for a little sparkle! Stamp "Happy Easter" on a punched circle and mat it on a scalloped SU circle! Add some dp, a ticket corner punch and some bling and..... done!

You'll have to check out all the "egg"stra special cards the rest of the Stamp Simply team cooked up! Delish!

Jenny -- our new guest designer!
Dee
Tammy
Janine
AJ
Jennifer
Julie
Becky

Next up.... The Flourishes Focus,which is being hosted this week by the lovely Faith Hofrichter, who gives us an inside look at how to make our paper pieced creations pop -- literally! Stay tuned -- at the end of this post, I'll fill you in on how you can WIN all three of the new sets to be released next week!! You won't want to miss it!!

First off, Faith challenged the rest of the Senior DT to come up with our own paper peiced creations and so... here goes!

These cutie patootie stamps are from the newly released Gigi & Chloe set from Flourishes. I just love those little shoes! So, I stamped them mutliple times on the new Memory Box Rhubarb Tart paper. Stamped them a second time on a 1-1/4" punched circle and then started to layer them up! Layer on a 1-1/2" punched circle from a coordinating color in the MB paper pack and then layer again on a punched scalloped circle. The rest is easy peasy -- layer - add a little ribbon, a scalloped edge, paper pierce the edge and add a fun sentiment! Almost done! On two pairs of the shoes, I added some silver studs and bling! Too fun!

Here's a close up! I added some shading with a Cool Grey #1 Copic Marker.

Swing Into Spring Challenge!
Do you want to use a little of your creativity to get your hands on all three of the soon to be released sets from Flourishes? All you have to do is make a card with a little paper piecing on it! Upload to SCS with the keyword FLLCAPR or leave a comment here on this post. We can't wait to see what you piece together! We'll accept entries until Friday, April 10th at 5PM CST. A winner will be drawn from all the entries during our RELEASE PARTY which is set for April 10th from 8 to 10 PM CST!! WOO-HOO!!!!!! Can't wait for that!

Want to see what the rest of the Flourishes DT pieced together?

Christine Okken
Cindy Lawrence
Faith Hofrichter
Latisha Yoast
Leslie Miller
Stacy Morgan

Thanks so much for stopping by! We have big plans this weekend - so I won't be back until Monday! My son, bless his little heart, qualified for a state bowling tournament. It's about 300 miles away and we are hitting the road! There are even scholarships on the line so we are pretty darn proud that he made it this far! Wish him luck! The good thing is - we are just 20 minutes from some of the state's fabulous hot springs which means good year round swimming! Yes -- swimming in April! Should be nice and relaxing!

Enjoy your weekend!

Let's Hear It For The Chick Parade!

Hi all! It's time for another Impression Obsession DT challenge and this one is all about those sweet signs of Easter. Just a few months ago, IO released some darling Easter images from the talented artist - Sarah Phelps.


So, I grabbed one of them, some post-it notes, some watercolor pencils and I went to town!

If you click HERE, you'll see the set and how I masked the chicks to add some flowers in their wings! The flowers are also in the set but are in a row. I just inked up a few of the individual flowers. It was a little time consuming -- but fun!

After masking and stamping, I used watercolor pencils to color up my chicks and eggs, blending with a blender pen. Add the sentiment (also from the set) and the rest is just a scalloped edge punch, some paper piercing, and a ribbon tied up and off to the side! Just that simple!

Want to see the other IO gal's Easter creations?? "Chick" them out! Sorry, I couldn't resist!

Jeanne Streiff -- our new guest designer! Woo-hoo!
Dina Kowal
Daniela Dobson
Laura Fulcher
Tina Werner
Shirley Ross

Thanks for stopping by! See you back here soon!

Guess What I Found!

Ok, I admit - I've been hanging with the "girls" in my stamp room lately, and let me tell you--- it's been fun!

Introducing.....

These little gals are the cutest things and they will make such fun all occassions cards! I see using this set for my neice, my daughter, my gal pals - you name it! This set is flirty, fun and 100% girl!

See?

This set is available right now --- HERE!

Now for a peek at some of the things I whipped up with this set. I have to say, paper piecing has been my all time favorite with this set! I love making the girls have different patterned clothes! Too fun!

This is Chloe.....
After coloring her up with Copic Markers, I started right in -- paper piecing her clothes with Basic Grey Urban Prairie papers. Then... after I used my glue pen to tack it all down, I went over pieces of her outfit with Shimmerz! I did her headband and some of her packages with Pink and then, her handbag and some of her shopping bags with Sky Blue. Add some scalloped ribbon and a button and... done!

Want to see the sparkle?

Another thing that I love about this set? The fun little sentiments!
Next, is Gigi! Don't you just love her sheepish smile? Too cute! For this card, I also used Urban Priarie paper, some Kaiser Craft rhinestones, and, then stamped the sentiment in pieces so that I could fit it on a 1-1/4" punched circle.

Here's a close up so you can see all the paper piecing. I even added some silver "studs" to Miss Gigi's purse!

Hope you love these "gals" as much as I do! And, speaking of gals, want to see what the rest of the Flourishes Senior DT cooked up with this set? Hop on over to these lovely ladies places....

Faith Hofrichter

Cindy Lawrence

Christine Okken

Laura Fredrickson

Latisha Yoast

Stacy Morgan
Sharon Doolittle

Oh, and before I go, you'll have to also head on over to the Flourishes Newsletter to hear the inside scoop on this set from the lovely Sophie herself!

And the winners are......

Well, the celebration is over and the winners are in! After seeing some fabulous cards in Laura and I's CASE challenge, we threw the names in a hat and......

The winner of the Impression Obsession Easter Seals set is....

And, the winner of a Flourishes stamp set of her choice along with a $10 gift certificate to the Flourishes store is......



Congratulations ladies! All you need to do is email me at juliekoerber@bresnan.net and I will get your goodies sent to you!

Remember -- Laura has winners too so just click HERE and she'll have a post on how to collect your winnings!

Thank you so much for playing everyone! It was so fun looking at all of your creativity!

You'll have to stop by tomorrow! A brand new set is being released by Flourishes and, trust me, it's fun, spunky and 100% girl! It's perfect for the girls of all ages in your life!


See you then!

Chick It Out!!!

Want a fun little project that is perfect for boxing up some small Easter Treats? Well, this little "tag" box is easy peasy to make! Want to see how it's put together?

First, here's a peek at the supplies you'll need to get started!

• ¼-Hole Punch

• Sm. & Lg. Oval Punch - Stampin Up
• Urban Prairie Paper by Basic Grey
• 1/4" hole punch

• Sheer Yellow Polka Dot Ribbon - May Arts
• Ruler

• 1" wide Pink Satin Ribbon - May Arts
• Palette Noir Ink

• 1/2" wide Pink Scallop Ribbon - May Arts
• Fine Tip Orange Marker

• Fine tip back pen
• Yellow Ink Pad

Next, to whip through this box in a flash, I like to cut my paper/decorative paper before I even get started. I used Basic Grey Urban Prairie for my patterned paper!

• Start by cutting 2 strips of white card stock to measure 2-1/2” by 11”. From the long side, score at 1-3/4”, 4 - 1/4”, 6-3/4”, and 9-¼”. Do this to both pieces.
• Corner round all of the edges of your strips.
• Cut dec. paper #1 into 4 pieces that measure 2.5” by 1.25”
• Cut dec. paper #2 into 4 pieces that measure 2.5” by 2.5”
• Cut dec. paper #3 into 1 piece that measures 2.5” by 2.5”
• Cut dec. paper #3 into 4 pieces that measure 2.5” by 1.75”
• Cut pink satin ribbon to measure 11” (this includes excess)
• Cut scalloped pink ribbon to measure 11” (this includes excess)
• Cut yellow sheer ribbon to measure 11”

Let's Get Started!

Rememer the two long strips that you created and scored? You'll want to criss cross them adhering them in the center square. Mark the center of each end and punch a 1/4" circle roughly 1/2" from the top.

Next, adhere decorative paper #2 so that it looks like the picture below.

Adhere decorative paper #1 so that it overlaps decorative paper #2 and looks like the picture below.

Adhere the decorative paper #3 so that it looks like the picture below...

Next, it's time to deck out part of your box. I stamped the little chicks from the Signs of Spring set from Flourishes using Yellow Ink (Memento Dandelion). After I stamped my chicks in yellow, I went over the beak with a fine tip orange marker and the feet with a fine tip black marker like this.....

After that - wrap your box with 1" pink satin ribbon and 1/2" pink scalloped edge ribbon and secure using a high tack tape - cutting off excess.

Stamp the words Happy Easter and For You also from the set onto some scrap decorative paper using black ink. Then, using a small and large oval punch (SU) punch out both phrases and punch a hole at the top of both of these ovals to make a kind of tag.

Knot the 1/2" wide yellow polka dot sheer ribbon and thread through all four flaps. To keep the flaps secure, slide the ovals over the ribbon like this....

All you need now are some fun treats to stuff inside! If you make one of these boxes, be sure to link it up so I can see! I had a blast making mine and can see making some for the kiddos in my life!

p.s. I'll be back with the winner of all of Laura and I's blog candy tomorrow---- so stay tuned!

Friday 2-fer!

Hi all! TGIF! I have another Friday two-fer....for you!


STAMP SIMPLY

First things first, it's Sharon Johnson's Stamp Simply challenge! This week it was all about breaking the rules! Stripes, polka dots, and lots of patterns! You know, kind of like when you were a kid and wanted to dress yourself!

So, I grabbed a new set from Flourishes called Gigi and Chloe that will be released April 1st (make sure to check the Flourishes Newsletter for details then!) Then, I went to town!


Meet GIGI! Isn't she the cutest thing? I can't wait for you to see this whole set! Because she has her shopping bags and is ready to go, it really lent itself to lots of patterns. I knew that I wanted to paper piece like mad! So, I stamped my main image in black ink, colored up her skin, hair and gave her a blushing glow! After that, I stamped her on black and cream print, a dusty red paisley and again on a blue paisley. Then, get out your detail scissors and glue pen and piece away!


Here's a close up of her!

I colored her handbag and shoes with two shades of light brown Copic markers and then used a Zig fine tip silver pen to add some studs on her purse. I love how she has this demure look on her face as if to say -- 'Don't worry! I got it all on sale!'

Don't you just love this saying???? I think it's too fun! Perfect for the SU Word Window punch!

Add some more decorative paper, a ribbon tab, and some threaded orange buttons and you are good to go! Shopping anyone?

For this week's Stamp Simply challenge, check out all the official details at Sharon's place, then visit these fine ladies.....
Barb, March Guest Designer
Dee
Tammy
Janine
AJ
Jennifer
Becky

FLOURISHES FOCUS

This week on the Flourishes Newsletter, the "focus" is on ribbon. Latisha is heading things up over there! She has a great tutorial on how she ties a bow! She challenged all of us to make a card WITHOUT decorative paper and instead focus on simple elegance - with a nice fancy bow!

So, away I went! I have to admit, this was a bit hard for me! I don't often make bows - I might knot - but not make a flouncy bow!

I started by cutting out some white cardstock with a Curved Rectangle Nestie. Then, I did one of my favorite things, I left the die on and then sponged on some Antique Linen Distress Ink. This masks the edge and almost looks like a faux mat.

Stamp the large daffodil from the Signs of Spring set on some scrap white twice, color it up with some watercolor pencils, blend with a SU blender pen, cut it out and layer some of the petals over top! One of my biggest tips --- ditch the foam tape when you do this kind of 3-D layering. Afterall, you really don't have a lot of control on how you can angle your pieces on top if you use foam tape- it's just a raised layer. Instead, I use THIS glue. It's a silicone glue that allows you to manipulate your piece of paper to actually be angled.

Here's a close up!

After that - add some bling and a big bow and BAM.... done! As you make your way out into blog land... you have to check out Latisha's fabulous ribbon tutorial HERE. And, then hop your way around the rest of the DT!

Christine Okken
Cindy Lawrence
Faith Hofrichter
Laura Fredrickson
Leslie Miller
Stacy Morgan

Have a fabulous weekend!

p.s. Don't forget Laura and I's Celebrating 300K blog candy! There are just two challenges and lots of randomly drawn prizes on the line! you have until Monday, March 30! Case Laura and link to this post on Laura's blog, or upload to SCS with the keyword CEL300L. OR, case me and link to this post here on my blog, or upload to SCS with the keyword CEL300J. The clock is ticking!! ;-)

Got A Button???

Today I'm sharing an O2M, N2U (old to me, new to you!) project! Last fall, I submitted this project to Crafts 'N Things when one day Dawn Gehring, the magazine's Editor gave me a ring and asked if I would whip up a coordinating button jar using the same Gina K. Designs set!

Well, after I wrapped my mind around it - this is what I came up with!
I kind of chuckled when I printed out the Have a button? Give a button phrase thanks to my printer. I thought of it after a trip to the gas station and saw one of those penny jars! I thought -- it works! Don't you just love that measuring tape twill ribbon?

Here's a peek at the top! Thanks to a scalloped circle Nestie and classic circle Nestie, I came up with a decorative way to deck out the lid!

If you want the actual directions for my button jar and card, it's actually an on-line extra project for Crafts 'N Things! All you need to do is click HERE to print off your copy!

Don't forget, you have until next Monday at midnight to take part in Laura and I's celebrating 300,000 hits challenges! You can check out her challenge HERE and mine HERE! That's also where you can read up on the prizes that are on the line! There are some serious goodies up for grabs!

I'll see you back here tomorrow!

Celebrating 300K -- Day 2!!

If you stopped by yesterday you know that my friend Laura Fredrickson and I are celebrating a blogging milestone with 300,000hits!

Yesterday, we asked you to CASE a Laura creation to be in the running for one of two drawings from both of us. Well, today, I am your CASE target!

All you need to do is find a card on my blog or in my SCS gallery, CASE it or be inspired by it and let us see what you came up with! All you need to do is share your link on my Mr. Linky widget on this post or upload to SCS using the keyword CEL300J.

So.... let's cut to the case!

I chose THIS card of mine to case. BUT, when I remade it, I changed up the size to be a 4-1/4" by 4-1/4" size! I am loving these minis - especially now that I have a source for fun little matching envelopes!

The paper I used is a mix of scraps that I had in my stash. It's amazing how little green/yellow I have! When I found some that kind of matched the scheme I had going on in my head -- I quickly grabbed it up! It's a mix of Bo Bunny dp, SU dp, Yellow Bazzill and some old Kaliedoscope dp.

Put it all togethere and.... here's what I came up with!

I used the Mixed Greetings set for my main image and the word is from the old Fantasy Floral Garden set -both from Flourishes! I stamped the floral image using Palette Hybrid ink, colored with watercolor pencils and then blended with a SU Blender pen. I stamped one of the bowls from the Mixed Greetings set using Bamboo Leaves Memento ink and stamped it onto a patterned paper in the Basic Grey Urban Prairie pack. I wanted it to have a little more dimension than just the bowl stamped on plain white paper. I think it worked! Layer it all up, add some decorative corner accents and bling (Heart corner punch from Fiskars), add your message "tag" thanks to two oval SU punches and... done! The message and pot was popped up with some foam tape.

Here's a close up!

The winner of my drawing will win not only a Flourishes stamp set of your choice, but a $10 gift certificate to the store to pick up some other goodies as well! Keep in mind, Laura will be drawing too from this list for a giveaway ofher own. Check out her blog HERE for those details!

Want to take part in the fun??? You have until next Monday (March 30th) at midnight to make and upload your card for each of the challenges. We'll announce winners of each set of goodies sometime on Tuesday! Play as many times as you like!

You can leave a comment, but I'd love it if you left the link to your creation here....



Thanks for stopping by! See you back here soon!