Happy Easter!

Happy Easter everyone. This weekend has been jam-packed with so much family fun! So much so, I had to share a funny story and some pictures! I woke up this morning (it was only 7:30-- which is sleeping in for me), and I walked out in to our living room and my daughter is fully dressed, jeans, shirt, shoes and all. I said, "Ellie, what are you doing?" She tells me with the most serious of voices, "I'm all ready for the Easter Egg hunt." Bless her heart -- it wasn't until 10 AM! Since we have some green space in our neighborhood, we have a egg hunt in some of the park areas.

Look at all those eggs just waiting to be picked up! My son told me that there were 2,000 eggs!

And the kiddos waiting.... this was just a handful. There had to be at least 50 kids.
Here's Ellie going for it! And, my 13 year old, Cal, proving you are never too old! ;-)
And, here's Ellie - post face painting....

Later in the day, we colored eggs and I have to tell you that this year's offerings for Easter egg coloring was hysterical. Who knew you could give your egg a "fro!" Check it out! I cracked up!

And, before I bid you ado, here's a card I made this weekend for a friend of mine that we go to church with. I just love this Easter lily and the sentiments that are in this Lily of Hope set from Flourishes -- just beautiful sentiments that are perfect for this time of year. This card is really an easy card. I used my Labels 8 Nestabilities die (after embossing, I used a sanding block to distress the edge a bit), a petite oval die (and while the die was still on, I used my paper piercing tool to add a pierced frame). The flower was colored with the B000 Copic marker plus the Sunflower and Spring Greens Copic Collections grouped by Flourishes. Afterward, I added some Stickles glitter glue to the stamens in the flower. Add a fun flocked ribbon, some crocheted lace and a pearl and voila!

Here's a close up!

And that, my friends, is it! I hope you all have a wonderful Sunday and a blessed Easter. I'm making a ham with all the fixings and I can almost smell it just thinking about it! YUM!

I'll see you back here soon!

TGI-Flourishes Friday!

Hi all and happy Friday. Hope you have had a nice week! It's Easter break for us so I've had kidlets home and it's been so nice to just chill out with them and have some down time.

Now on to my card! This one was actually done with an image that I stamped and colored when my mom was in town. She used her daffodil to make a book mark. I used mine for this... a relatively easy springtime card!

Really easy peasy! I used my Labels 11 die and cut around my daffodils. The dafodils were stamped on Classic White cardstock from Flourishes and colored with the Spring Green, Daffodil and Sunflower Copic Collection grouped by Flourishes. With the die still on, I sponged on some Scattered Straw ink. Add some bling, a fun ribbon and mat it all on decorative paper and.... voila! The paper is a mix of Bazzill and Basic Grey. The sentiment is from the From the Garden set. I absolutely love the sentiments in that set!

Here's a close up of the flowers with a peek at the sparkle I added with a bit of Diamond Stickles!

And that, my friends, is it! You'll have to check out the Flourishes Blog today because Laura Fredrickson has an amazing tutorial on paper piecing. She calls it paper piecing out of the box! You'll have to click HERE to see what she's talking about! :-) And since it's Flourishes Friday, the other gals in the DT have some fun cardmaking eye candy for you to peek at! Be sure to visit...

Cindy Lawrence
Dawn Burnworth
Laura Fredrickson
Leslie Miller
Stacy Morgan
Danielle Kennedy

Before I forget, Flourishes is having a sale on more than a dozen of its older sets -- call them oldies but goodies that are on their way to retirement! They are 50% off!! With limited supplies, if you have your sights set on any of Flourishes older releases, you should check it out HERE before they are going, going, gone! They also have more than a dozen older Spellbinder dies on 35% off. Great deals!!

Thanks for stopping by everyone. Happy Easter and I'll see you back here soon!

Another IO Challenge, just for MOM!

Hi all and Happy Thursday! It's time for another IO challenge and this one, is wrapped up with a bow just for mom! That is the challenge, to pick up our Impression Obsession stamps and create a card for Mother's Day!

Because every mom loves roses, I thought this card would be perfect for my mom. She peeks here, so unfortunately-- the surprise is blown! :-)

I stamped the rose (Alesa Baker's Butterfly & Rose) on watercolor paper. The stamp actually features a rose and a butterfly - but I just wanted the flower for this card. After I stamped and heat set, I painted with a waterbrush and reinkers. I used Ranger Distress inks in Worn Lipstick and Peeled paint. After that, mat this beauty up with some patterned paper, a Spellbinders Labels 8 nestie, some crocheted lace, velvet ribbon and pearls! Voila! A flower perfect for mom!

This is an open challenge! All you need are a few IO stamps and you can make a card and have a chance at winning a $25 gift certificate to the IO store! Click HERE for all the deets!

Want to see how the other IO gals honored their dear mothers? Hop on over and see...

Daniela Dobson
Deborah March
Dina Kowal
Jeanne Strieff
Jenny Gropp
Kathy Menzies
Laura Fulcher

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

Simple Card Set....

Hi all! Hope you've had a great start to your week! Not much going on here. Call it the calm after the storm (the storm being my mom's visit) HA! Just kiddin' Mom!! :-) We actually had a lovely, lovely visit having coffee talk and stamping and just visiting. It's just not fair that she lives 1800 miles away. (sniff sniff!)

Today I'm sharing a card set that I made for some of the ladies in my Bible study. I just love the peace and serenity that this set from Our Daily Bread Designs delivers. It's called Sing to the Lord.

Card #1: After stamping in Black Versafine Onyx ink, I just watercolored this little guy and the flowers by using some dye based ink. I used Summer Sky Memento and Tea Rose Vivid. The branch was just colored up with Tombow markers. (dp is Basic Grey Figgy Pudding and Crate Paper)

Card #2: I wanted to use the bird on this second card without him taking center stage -- enter some Versamark ink! I like the softness of this card. I added some paper piercing and a pinked edge border and... voila!

Card #3: Super duper simple! I just used an oval punch to let this flower "sing" all on it's own jazzing it up with just a few pearl accents and pearl paper. I added some blue chalk around the flower to help make it pop a bit.

Nothing too complicated with any cards in the bunch. It's funny -- sometimes we, as stampers, can build so many layers on our cards that when we give these out -- friends are afraid to use them! :-) So, sometimes simple is good!

Hope life is calm and simple in your neck of the woods! I'll be back later this week with another Impression Obsession challenge that's all about moms! You can click HERE to find out the details and get a jump start if you like!

See you back here soon!

A few sweet treats for you!

Hi all and Happy Friday! It's a freebie day with the gals at Flourishes -- and that means we all dug into our stamp set stash and pulled out one for a free for all creation!

And, with Easter about a week away, I picked up the new Easter Basket set for some sweet treats! I just think this set is too fun for words because of the fact that you can build your own basket with treats you like! Jelly beans, chocolate bunnies, eggs... even PEEPS!
I colored my basket with Copics. I honestly just grabbed a marker here and a marker there. The only thing I am certain of is that the basket was done with Flourishes Flesh Tones 2 collection. the paper is from my dp stash -- just bits and pieces here and there. And, when all was said and done, I did glitz up the basket goodies with a dash of glitter glue!

The ribbon was paper pieced and... here's a fun effect! I stamped the basket, colored it a second time and cut just the basket portion and popped it up -- like this! I did that so that when you look at it, it looks more three dimensional! FUN! And that, my friends is it!

Be sure to stop by and say hi to the other Flourishes gals and see what set they picked up for their Friday creations!

Christine Okken
Cindy Lawrence
Dawn Burnworth
Laura Fredrickson
Leslie Miller
Stacy Morgan
Danielle Kennedy

As we speak, I'm off soaking in some "hot wadda" as they say! I kidnapped the family and we are taking a dip in the hot springs that aren't too far away. Every now and then you just have to say -- ok -- everyone get in the car!!!!! Don't you think?

See you back here soon!

Just go faux!!

Hi all! It's been a while before I've had the time to play in a Flourishes Timeless Tuesday challenge but with my mom visiting (she's an avid FTTC fan), she told me she had to get down to the stamp room to whip up a card before to much time passed.. .so... off we went! :-)

It was Betty's challenge today and her challenge was to go faux! She had a great link HERE to SCS tutorials and I picked up THIS one on faux mother of pearl. I had never heard of this technique so I couldn't wait to try it! You'll have to read the tutorial for the step-by-step because Beate Johns' instructions are super duper easy to understand!
Basically-- in a nutshell, you use pearl acryllic paint and some saran wrap. The wrap is scrunched and used to apply the paint onto your white card stock (you have to leave some of the cardstock showing). Let it dry and then sponge some light antique looking ink over top (I used Tattered Rose and Antique Linen). The next part is where you use a damp rag to remove the ink from the paint -- so you don't lose that mother-of-pearl look. I then stamped my image (Easter Blessings from Flourishes) over top with archival ink and then painted on color with ranger distress inks. I used Fired Brick, Tea Dye, Brushed Courdoroy, and Peeled Paint. After you are all done, you use a damp rag again to remove the ink that is sitting on the pearl paint. And, this is how it looks.... pretty cool huh?

From there, I added some stitching, a fancy corner, some pearls and matted it all on some 7 Gypsies decorative paper... voila! And, that my friends is it! Hope you make time for play time!

See you back here soon!

Miss You....

Hi all, happy Monday! I thought I'd share a quick card to jump start your week!

This card actually has a really funny story behind it. I used the new Friendly Reminders set from Flourishes. I had a card style in my mind, a sketch and so set out to stamp (Flourishes Classic White, Memento Tuxedo Black Ink) and color. After I colored my image (Copic collections in Fields, Water, Cool Neutrals, Warm Neutrals, Flesh Tones 2, and Dahlia). I picked up an oval Nestabilities die, got my image all set and rolled it through. Well, wouldn't you know, my image shifted and I ended up cutting off part of my coloring job. Let's just say my reaction wasn't exactly PG or even PG13! LOL!

So.... I set out to make lemonade out of lemons!

I thought the only way to save this was to make sure something else was put on my card to make it look like an off center image was the plan the whole way! So, I used a pair of oval punches, a message from the set and added a little bit of burlap string and filled the void with a tag style sentiment. The rest is just putting the pieces together -- a little dp, a little stitching, a punched border, some paper piercing and... voila! I actually like this layout better than the one I scribbled out and planned! Do you ever sketch out your cards? I'd love to know!

As they say in France -- C'est Tout! Have a fabulous day and I'll see you back here soon! :-)

It's an Easter Parade!

With Easter fast approaching, the gals at Flourishes thought we’d have a little ‘Easter Parade’ to showcase some fun creations perfect for this time of year.

So, without further ado, I picked up Flourishes very first Easter set for my creation-- Easter Bunnies -- isn't this little chick and bunny super duper sweet?

I decided to make my card a 4-1/4 by 4-1/4" shape and used some Spellbinders Nestabilities to give the front of my card a little bit of a pop - I used the Oval, Scalloped Oval and Labels 1. Add a punched border and -- almost done! I did use the Basket Weave Background on the Labels 1 shape to give it that Easter Basket feel! After stamping on Flourishes Classic White, I colored with Copics, using the Flesh Tones 1 (plus E53) Dahlia, Daffodil, and Tigerlily collections. Add a sheer polka dot ribbon, a button and some glitter glue and.... done!

Here's a close up to show the sparkle! Oh, I almost forgot, I did add a dot of white from the Inkssentials pen for both the chick and bunny's eyes.

If you like the Easter Bunnies set, you should know.... it's on it's way to retirement. It's being offered right now at 40% off! So hop on down the bunny trail and take a peek at our Easter offerings!

Christine Okken
Cindy Lawrence
Dawn Burnworth
Laura Fredrickson
Leslie Miller
Stacy Morgan
Danielle Kennedy

Thanks for stopping by! Happy Friday... have a good weekend! Today is my baby boy's 13th birthday! Holy cow! Do you ever wonder why time has to go by so fast? Don't worry, I'll eat a piece of cake for you!! :-)

See you back here soon!

It's a 'Me' Day IO Challenge!

Hi all and Happy Thursday! It's time for another Impression Obsession challenge and this one is downright fun! The challenge is to create a card that showcases what you would do on a "me" kind of day -- something you enjoy! Just that simple!

So, want to see how I would love to spend part of a "me" day?
We live in a part of town where nature is king and country roads rule -- perfect for a leisurely ride! And, I LOVE when I have time to just ride until my legs can't take it any more. My kids hate it sometimes but I will have everyone helmet up and we'll grab water bottles and snacks and hit the road. We've ended up in the strangest places (cow fields, 10 miles away at a camp ground, and even Target!) Sometimes the kids win and we end up at an ice cream place! :-)

So, when we were issued this challenge, I knew I needed to use one of Alesa Baker's new stamps! I used this fun new clear set called Riding Pretty. I love how you can fit different fun items in the basket! The possibilities!


To make my card, I just stamped using Versafine Black Onyx, colored with watercolor pencils and then blended with a Tombow blender pen. The metal parts of the bike, I did color with a fine tip silver pen and I added some glitter glue to the flowers for some pizazz. And that, my friends is it! If you want to learn more about the challenge, all you need to do is click HERE. There's a $25 gift certificate that will be given to the winner! Don't forget to hop on over to the rest of the IO DT to see what they consider fun on a "me" kind of day!



Dina
Jeanne
Daniela
Jenny
Laura
Deborah


See you back here soon! My mom is coming into town today so... you can bet the paper will be flying in the stamp room between the two of us! ;-)

Irish Blessings....

Ok, let the record reflect I am 0% Irish, but on this day -- St. Patty's Day -- everyone can "pretend", can't they? So, that's what I am doing! And, I'm wishing a little luck O' the Irish to YOU!

I wanted to make a quick and easy card to send your way! I used Flourishes Irish Blessings set!

Really, this card couldn't be easier... just cut some paper - add some stitching, stamp some of the clover on a piece of green paper using darker green ink (Cottage Ivy Memento) and then mat it up. I did sponge some Shabby Shutters Distress Ink around my sentiment. Add some ribbon, a bow and some bling and... voila!

Here's a close up of the sentiment -- I love this saying, so beautiful for any occassion.

And that, my friends, is it! Hope you have a fabulous day and -- whether you are Irish or not -- have nothing but luck headed your way!

See you back here soon! :-)

The Sneaks Are Over!

This week was full of fun as Flourishes unveiled not only it's brand new webstore but a whole host of challenges! Keep in mind, you have until Monday, March 15th at 6 PM to enter these challenges and there are some fantastic goody bags on the line with free stamp sets, decorative paper and ribbon! So, we hope you play!!!

As we wrap up the week, the sets we've been peeking are now officially in the store! Take a gander at.............

Easter Basket

Lily of Hope



Friendly Reminders

Thanks for stopping by and sharing in the fun this week! See you back here soon! ;-)

Flourishes Grand Opening Celebration -- the final day!

We hope you’ve enjoyed this week of fun and games with Flourishes as much as we have! If you click on the new web store, you’ll notice its awash in shades of pink and green. So, as we wrap up our week of Grand Opening challenges, all you need to do is create a card using these two colors!

GRAND OPENING CELEBRATION CHALLENGE 5: How to Play!

It's a pink and green color challenge! Simply create and link up here on this post using our cute little InLinkz gadget and you’ll be in the running for a goody bag from Flourishes! Use Flourishes stamps if you have them but if you don't, please play along! If you upload to SCS, please use the keyword FLLCCEL5. You have until Monday, March 15^th at 6 PM EST to link up your cards.

And, as you hop on over to visit our talented designers, you’ll see a soon-to-be-released set called Easter Basket. This set drawn by senior artist Marcella Hawley is just overflowing with possibilities – and as you make the rounds, you’ll see why! This set will be released right after our Power Hour Release Party TONIGHT. The party starts at 9 PM CST in our SCS Member Company Forum HERE!

Here's a peek!

I love how this set offers fun Easter images that you can stuff in the classic basket (also in the set) or use on their own. I love the saying -- Sweet Easter Wishes --- because what's sweeter than jelly beans, a peep, and a chocolate bunny? The images were colored with a mix of Copic markers, cut out and popped up on decorative pink cardstock. Add some paper piercing, some ribbon, bling and a punched oval for my sentiment and.... voila! You can't see it, but all of my items have a dash of glitter glue on them for a little razzle dazzle.

To see how the rest of the Flourishes designers used this fun and whimsical set, please pay them a visit!

Barbara Anders
Betty Wright
Cindy Haffner
Makiko Jones
Christine Okken
Cindy Lawrence
Dawn Burnworth
Laura Fredrickson
Leslie Miller
Stacy Morgan

We hope you've had as much fun as we have this week celebrating Flourishes' brand new look with some fun-filled challenges! We have loved the creations we've seen so far and can't wait to see the rest of you get in the game! See you tonight at our POWER HOUR Release party! It promises to be one heck of a good time! :-)

Flourishes Grand Opening & Sneak Peek - day 3!

As we continue Flourishes' Grand Opening Celebration, the company is honoring the talented designers who truly make Flourishes shine! Today's challenge is all about letting the Flourishes designers and Friends of Flourishes inspire YOU!

FLOURISHES CELEBRATION DAY 3 ~ How to Play

You'll find our designers and Friends of Flourishes links on my blog roll off to the left and down a bit. Pay them a visit, pick a designer, and choose one of their cards to CASE. Just that simple! Then, you can link up on this post HERE to be in the running for a goody bag full of fun stuff! If you upload to SCS, use the keyword FLLCCEL3.You have until Monday, March 15th at 6 PM EST to upload your cards.



And it was THIS card that inspired me - from Ms. Maki Jones! I love the way she used a Labels 1 Nestabilities die and spun it on the diagonal. I loved the corner accents and all the little extras she added. She made it look too easy! I used a mix of decorative paper, used the same corner punch as her (CB Vintage Dies), added some pearls and I was almost done! The hat in the new Friendly Reminders set (this will be released Friday) was stamped on some Flourishes Classic White card stock, colored with a mix of Copics from the Flesh Tones 1 collection plus Y21. I then added some RV30 and RV32 for the ribbon. I cut it out and matted it with foam tape onto a Petite Oval Nestabilities die that I had masked (with the die) and sponged some Angel Pink Memento ink on. Before I put it all together I used some Rose Silk Ribbon and added my little message! Just that easy peasy! Thanks Maki for the inspiration!

FUN FYI: Most of the designers playing in this challenge today are showing off a brand new, soon-to-be-released set called Friendly Reminders! It will be live in the Flourishes Store right after our Power Hour Release Party which begins Friday night at 9 PM CST in our SCS Member Company Forum! This darling set features three fun-filled focal images plus more than a half dozen sentiments to add to some great "snail mail" for friends!

Want a little sneak peek at Friendly Reminders illustrated by Lauren Pope? You'll just have to hop on over to the rest of the Flourishes Designers!

Christine Okken

Cindy Lawrence

Dawn Burnworth

Laura Fredrickson

Leslie Miller

Stacy Morgan

Barbara Anders

Betty Wright (she'll be uploading later on Wednesday)

Cindy Haffner

Dee Jackson

Maki Jones

You'll want to swing back tomorrow as we sneak peek another new set that is full of HOPE and BEAUTY! This gorgeous set drawn by Marcella Hawley is one you won't want to miss! See you then!

Flourishes Celebration Day 2!!!

Welcome to day 2 of the Grand Opening Celebration for Flourishes! It's a celebration for their new home on the web! Today's challenge actually gives you TWO chances to win!

FLOURISHES DAY 2 CHALLENGE:
Today, the Friends of Flourishes Team is challenging you all to get in the spirit and create a card full of celebration. Simply create and link up here on this post and you’ll be in the running for a goody bag from Flourishes (a mix of embellishments, paper and a stamp set)! Just click on over to the Flourishes blog for all the details!

For my creation, I wanted to do an easy peasy 10 minute card. I love when you can make a card that has pizazz but it doesn't take all evening to make! :-)

Here's how easy it is! I took a piece of red card stock, cut it to measure 5-1/4" by 4" and then cut that in half. The top half went in my Swiss Dots Cuttlebug folder and the bottom I stamped with the Lace Edges set. Add a fun silver edge ribbon, a fancy tag, some rhinestones, and a Tag Lines sentiment and... you're almost done! I simply matted this up onto some silver paper and then again on my black card stock base. Done! Now I have a super simple Congrats! card to add to my stash!

I did use a Stampin' Up oval punch to create the center oval. Here's a close up!

Want to see how the rest of the DT and Friends of Flourishes team is helping Flourishes celebrate? Head on over and see.....

Cindy H.
Barb
Dee
Cindy L.
Betty
Silke
Stacy
Christine
Dawn
Leslie

Thanks for stopping by! Hope you can join us in some of the celebration fun! I'll be back tomorrow with another challenge AND a sneak peak at a brand new set that will soon be available at Flourishes!

Join the Celebration!

If you haven't clicked over to Flourishes.org lately, what are you waiting for? There's so much to explore -- my favorites are the tutorial library and the fabulous gallery! Flourishes has been waiting to officially unveil their new home on the web for months and this week, they are kicking off five days of fun and games to celebrate this big event! The fun starts to today, continues with sneak peeks of Flourishes' March release and wraps with our Release Party! What fun!

FLOURISHES CELEBRATION CHALLENGE #1

Today, we issue a challenge that's a bit sketchy.... literally! Pagemaps.com hostess and Flourishes artist Becky Fleck whipped up a special sketch just for our celebration! Use it for your own creation, link it up here on this post by clicking on the cute little blue "inlinkz" icon, and you could walk away the winner of our day one drawing for a goody bag from Flourishes (it’s a fun-filled surprise -- trust me it's good!). If you upload to Splitcoast, please use the keyword FLLCCEL1. You have until Monday, March 15^th at 6 PM EST to link up your cards!

Here's a peek at my card!

And, without further ado, here's the sketch!

As you can see with my card, I kind of put my own spin on it. While I was layering, I kind of misjudged where the strips should go! :-) Call it creative license! I used the Gerbera Daisies set, stamping it on Flourishes Classic White card stock with Memento Tuxedo Black ink. I then colored with Copics using the Daffodil, and Spring Greens Collections and then I used the lightest blue from the Sky Collection for the highlights on my flower and the darker shades to add some shadows around my flower. Mat it up, add some pearls, some beautiful velvet ribbon and a fun ribbon side and..... voila!

Want to see how the rest of the talented Flourishes Designers make this sketch their own? Hop on over and see.....

• Dawn Burnworth
• Leslie Miller
• Stacy Morgan
• Barbara Anders
• Betty Wright
• Cindy Haffner
• Dee Jackson
• Maki Jones

Hope you make time for play time this week! We have some fabulous surprises that you won't want to miss! I'll be back tomorrow with day two of our celebration. See you back here then!