The sneaks are over!

After almost a week of tempting you with sneaks of some GORGEOUS art from some of the most talented stamp illustrators in the land.... Flourishes is pulling the lid off and unveiling these beauties! And now.... the moment you've been waiting for! Say "hello" to....

Christmas Drummers

Musical Score & Words

The Holly & The Ivy

Christmas Wreath

Santa, I Believe...

Holly Background

Now... one final card to show you to cap off the week! :-)

An easy peasy lemon squeezy for you! I stamped my santa from Santa, I Believe on Flourishes Classic Ivory card stock using Memento Rich Cocoa. I cut him out using the Labels 8 Nestabilities die and then sponged on some distress inks (Tea Dye and Antique Linen) while the die was still on my paper. I colored up his cheeks and lips with Tattered Rose Distress ink. I stamped the holly onto a scrap of paper, colored it up with Copics from the Fields Collection and Poppy Collection, cut it out and then popped it up using foam tape. Add some decorative paper, a fun Spellbinder's tag and a great sentiment from the Musical Score and Words set, some rhinestones, a fun ribbon and you're pretty much done!

Thanks for joining me this week for the sneak peeks! If you want to get your hands on these beauties, all you need to do is click HERE! Remember, the best deal by far is the New Release Bundle. It's a one week only special -- all six sets for 10% off!

Happy Stamping!

Flourishes Sneaks... the final day! Plus.. a challenge!

This week has flown by and today brings the final day of sneak peeks for Flourishes' October release! This set is a true classic! It's an image that, when you look at it, you can almost smell the cloves and a hint of mulled cider!

Introducing.....

This set is the second offering from the talented Marcella Hawley. It is just a beauty and will create such elegant Christmas cards. It's a pair of images that truly stand on their own with out a lot of extras!

Want to check out the other creations as we wind up our DT hop for the week? Just take a trip to visit....

Leslie Miller
Christine Okken
Julie Koerber
Latisha Yoast
Laura Fredrickson
Stacy Morgan
Cindy Lawrence
Sharon Doolittle
Jan Marie Caruso

Now to my creation! Because I thought this image was just too pretty on it's own, I wanted to keep my layout simple.

I stamped the wreath, which is lovely and large (about 4" square) using Palette Hybrid Burnt Umber ink onto Flourishes Classic Ivory paper and then I used the Spring Greens, Tiger Lily, Poppy and Fields Copic collections to color up my wreath. I colored the balls up as oranges, but they could easily be sparkly ornaments too! After I was done coloring, I added a fun edge thanks to a gold leaf pen, a fun corner punch, some pearls that I colored red with one of my red Copic markers and then I added some dimension. I stamped a piece of the bow a second time, colored it up, cut it out and then popped it up on my card. I also used the "for you" sentiment from the Holly and the Ivy set and stamped that on a small die cut tag. I attached my tag with some gold cording.

Here's a close up! You can also see I added some Stickles glitter glue to add a little razzle dazzle!
For my second creation, I wanted to get in on this week's Stamp Simply challenge, which is all about "opening the gate!!" with a gate fold! You can read all the official details HERE over on Sharon Johnson's blog! Gosh, it's been years since I have done a card with a gate fold like this! I also staggered my images so that they were aligned on different sides of my gate! FYI: I took a piece of 7 by 10" green cardstock. The 7" was my height and the 10 was my width. I scored width-wise 2-1/2" in on each side so that my finished card measured 5" by 7".

I stamped my small wreath from the Christmas Wreath set three times on Flourishes Classic White card stock using the same burnt umber ink. I colored it up almost exactly the same only I used G09 and G17, the Daffodil Collection and the Poppy Copic collection to color up the balls on the wreath as ornaments. After I was done coloring, I punched my wreaths out using a 1-3/4" circle punch. Then, I matted them onto a small die cut mat from the Labels 3 Nestabilities set. The red strips on my card front were also stamped with the new Musical Score background. Add some gold wrapped ribbon and some gold self stick pearls and... done!

Here's what my card looks like closed...

And, here's a close up, so that you can see the glittered wreath!

Be sure to check out the rest of the Stamp Simply team to get a glimpse at their fancy folds!

Amy, October Guest Designer
Janine
Jennifer
AJ
Tammy
Deb
Barbara
Jenny

I hope you make time to play! Don't forget -- if you want to win this set, all you need to do is head on over to the Flourishes Newsletter and leave a comment there! There's also all the details on tonight's release party! Woo hoo! Thanks for stopping by! See you back here soon!

A Season that Sparkles with.... Santa Baby!!

We hope you've been enjoying this week's sneeks! Today we usher in an entirely classic holiday set with a real vintage feel...

Introducing.....

This gorgeous stippled Santa is so classic and it was drawn by a brand new illustrator for Flourishes... Becky Fleck! You'll have to head on over to the Flourishes Newsletter to read about this new artist on the Flourishes team. She has an amazing resume and we couldn't be more excited to have her in our corner!

When you tour the Design Teams' blogs today - you'll see this gorgeous Santa can be done up in an ornate way, with a touch of gold or even just stamped in one color. He looks absolutely perfect each and every way. Becky also designed a coordinating background called Holly that takes that beautiful leaf cluster in Santa's hat and makes it into a background that you can use for so many different things around the holidays! Head on over to see.....

Leslie Miller
Christine Okken
Julie Koerber
Latisha Yoast
Laura Fredrickson
Stacy Morgan
Cindy Lawrence
Sharon Doolittle

For my creation, I turned to a technique I haven't done in ages... crayon resist! It's a fun technique and it's perfect for this stamp set! Here's a peek at how you can get started! I stamped the Santa on a piece of glossy cardstock using the Hybrid Palette Ink in the Burnt Umber shade. I heat set it before I began.
You can see, I chose a light, medium and dark shade of distress ink. I have a sponge and also a white crayon. Before I continued, I ended up coloring all the areas that I wanted to stay white. I colored Santa's beard, hair and eyebrows.

Then, I sponged on all three shades of distress ink. when I was done, I used a soft paper towel to remove the excess ink that was laying on the wax of the crayon, It looked like this....

The next part is the fun part! I picked up some Copic Markers to give a photo tinting effect to my Santa. I used RVo2 from the Hollyhock Collection for Santa's rosy cheeks. I used G82 and G85 to color up the Holly Leaf from the Fields Collection and I used R24 and R27 from the Poppy Collection to color up the berries. I did use a clear Copic Spica pen to add some razzle dazzle to Santa's glasses! After I was finished, as you can see, paper pierced the edge around my Santa. The rest is simply matting my Santa up and adding a tied piece of ribbon for a bit of embellishment!

And here... is my finished product! You can see that I used the new Holly Background stamp to embellish a piece of green text weight paper to make an envelope liner. I think it is so fun to create liners that match your holiday cards!

Do you want to win this set? All you need to do is leave a comment on the Santa, I Belive post over on the Flourishes Newsletter and you'll be in the running! Random.org will draw a number and we'll have the winner in tomorrow's post!

MORE FUN AT FLOURISHES...

• Did you see our A Season That Sparkles Challenge? If you play, you will have a chance at winning all SIX of our new releases for October. That's one valuable prize - you could even call it an early Christmas present! Click HERE for the details.


• Mark your calendars for our RELEASE PARTY coming up this Friday! It's our power hour of fun with games, goodies, and prizes up for grabs! We'll host it in the Flourishes Forum over on Splitcoast HERE from 9 to 10 PM Central Standard Time. As the party wraps, all of our sets that we peek this week will be put in store for your shopping pleasure!

The fun continues tomorrow right here! We wrap up the week with a beautiful set that has a real homespun flair. Come back and see the second offering from the ever-so-talented Marcella Hawley! See you then!

A Season that Sparkles.... day 2!

Welcome to day two of Flourishes sneak peeks! Today we take a step back in time to honor one of the worlds' oldest Christmas carols.....

Introducing..... This gorgeous set drawn by the ever-so-talented Marcella Hawley is named after a hymn that has been around for upwards of one thousand years! I didn't know this but, way back when, the druids used holly as a symbol of the winter solstice. Today's offerings feature a classic look complete with two gorgeous turtle doves!

It was funny, I had no idea what a turtle dove even looked like! I had to email Marcella and say... how do I color this bird? I have seen those gorgeous white doves, I often hear pigeon doves outside coo-ing -- but a turtle dove? No clue! Thankfully she sent me a picture.....


And this was my artistic interpretation!

I stamped my doves and holly using Versafine Black Onyx. I heat set it and then added some sky blue chalk around my image making sure to erase the stray chalk that ended up on my image. After that, I colored the birds, holly and berries up using watercolor pencils. After I got the color exactly where I wanted it, I blended the pencils using a Tombow blender pen. Easy peasy!

Here's a close up....

The rest is simply matting! I did stitch some of my dp with some pretty gold thread to add a little extra sparkle! I also added some gold self stick pearls in the upper left corner of my image.

And that, my friends is it!

As you make your way around to see what the designers created, you'll see there are plenty of different artistic interpretations for these beautiful birds! They're grey, brown, blue and even pink! :-) So, fly along and take a peek!

Leslie Miller
Christine Okken
Julie Koerber
Latisha Yoast
Laura Fredrickson
Stacy Morgan
Cindy Lawrence
Sharon Doolittle

Do you want to win this set? All you need to do is leave a comment over on the Flourishes Newsletter! here on Holly and Ivy post and you'll be in the running! Random.org will draw a number and we'll have the winner in tomorrow's post!

MORE FUN AT FLOURISHES...
Did you see our A Season That Sparkles Challenge? If you play, you will have a chance at winning all SIX of our new releases for October. That's one valuable prize - you could even call it an early Christmas present! Click HERE for the details.

Mark your calendars for our RELEASE PARTY coming up this Friday! It's our power hour of fun with games, goodies, and prizes up for grabs! We'll host it in the Flourishes Forum over on Splitcoast HERE from 9 to 10 PM Central Standard Time. As the party wraps, all of our sets that we peek this week will be put in store for your shopping pleasure!

It's going to be a fun week at Flourishes! Tomorrow's release is one that will have you looking for cookies and saying... "I believe!" :-) You'll see why when you come back tomorrow!

A Season That Sparkles.... day 1!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas over at Flourishes! In the debut sneak peek for Flourishes' October release, you'll see they combined the beautiful imagery of the Nutcracker Suite with the age old story of the Little Drummer Boy. This combination of two Christmas Classics is sure to bring that touch of whimsy to your Christmas cards and creations!

Introducing....

This set is drawn by Lauren Pope and will add a rich and regal touch to your Christmas cards! And.. as a bonus, a background stamp will be unveiled with this set on Friday called Musical Score. It's a timeless classic featuring the words of "Angels We Have Heard On High." Now, don't forget to march on over to visit these fine designers!

Leslie Miller
Christine Okken
Latisha Yoast
Laura Fredrickson
Stacy Morgan
Cindy Lawrence
Jan Marie Caruso

Now, to my creation! I had so much fun whipping this up. My son actually collects nutcrackers so I raided his stash to serve as my inspiration!

I stamped my nutcracker using Memento Tuxedo Black ink on Flourishes Classic White cardstock. I then masked my image and sponged a mix of Antique Linen and Tea Dye distress inks all over. I took off the mask and then used Copic markers to color up my nutcracker! I used these collections: Warm Neutrals for the boots, the lightest peach marker from the pastels set,
the Poppy collection for the red tones, Spring Green for the lighter green shades along with Y28, G17, and G28 to finish off the detail! I also used the Copic Spica gold pen to add some razzle dazzle to the crown and drum. I added some red rhinestones to give some sparkle to my drummer. Add some fun ribbon and a little pizazz with the help of a silver Finishing Touches Stunning Slide. Then, it's time to mat it all up! I used June Bug Basic Grey for the polka dot and the other paper was one I had in my decorative paper drawer. It was a distressed ivory that I then stamped the new Musical Score background on using Vivid Red ink! I love, love, love this background -- so classic! The sentiment is also from the Muscial Score set! Yes -- there are sentiments included with this background!

Do you want to win this set and the Musical Score background? All you need to do is leave a comment HERE over at the Flourishes Newsletter on the Christmas Drummer post and you'll be in the running!

MORE FUN AT FLOURISHES...

• It is Tuesday afterall, and that means another Timeless Tuesday challenge! Today our Friends of Flourishes team used this set and background for a super duper fun sketch that you can try and play along with! There is even a $10 Gift Certificate on the line! Click HERE to check out the challenge!


• Since we are talking about challenges, did you see our A Season That Sparkles Challenge? If you play, you will have a chance at winning all SIX of our new releases for October. That's one valuable prize - you could even call it an early Christmas present! Click HERE for the details.


• One last fun fact to throw your way.... Mark your calendars for our RELEASE PARTY coming up this Friday! It's our power hour of fun with games, goodies, and prizes up for grabs! We'll host it in the Flourishes Forum over on Splitcoast HERE from 9 to 10 PM Central Standard Time. As the party wraps, all of our sets that we peek this week will be put in store for your shopping pleasure!

It's going to be a fun week at Flourishes! Tomorrow's release is one that might have you singing a little bit of the 12 days of Christmas! You'll see why when you come back tomorrow!

A card for a friend...

I have this sweet lady who is a friend that has mentored me on all things knitting. We chat via email and she always has a colorful story to share. Well, sadly, it's been awhile since her last email and I'm kind of starting to worry. She's an older lady and is not in the best of health. I had some time today and dug through some of my "cheer me up" images. It's one of the first stamps I ever bought--- about 10 years ago! I'm hoping this little card brings a smile to her face!

The image is called Bending Chicken from Inky Antics. I stamped him with Memento Ink on Flourishes Classic White and colored him up with Copic Markers (the Daffodil collection and the Flesh Tones 2 collection to color my "ground -- both from Flourishes. The beak was colored with the Tiger Lily Collection). Before I assembled my card, I stamped my chicked a second time and colored just the head so that it could pop up on my card.

The inside is the fun part! I just thought this little saying was too cute! Both the saying and the little chick are from Inky Antics too..

Well, my friends, I hope you had a fabulous weekend! I hope my Canadian friends had a fabulous Thanksgiving! I'll be back tomorrow with day one of a handful of sneak peeks from Flourishes! It's the company's biggest release EVER and they have a ton of fun surprises! So.... be sure to check back!

See you then!

A Season that Sparkles!

In a matter of days, the package over at Flourishes will be unwrapped unveiling a bunch of new surprises just in time for your Christmas cardmaking marathons! And, to get ready, Flourishes is ushering in a one of a kind challenge that could land YOU with their whole October release. It just so happens to include six... yes six..new stamp sets!

So, here's the challenge! Glitzy packages, the new fallen snow, a Christmas ornament shimmering from the lights on the tree - all of these things equal magic during the holiday season! Capture that sparkle on a card and share your creativity for our A Season That Sparkles Challenge! Once you make your card, you just need to use Mr. Linky and add your name to the list on THIS post! This contest will close Friday, Oct. 16th at 4PM CST. Winner gets our entire release for October!

So... now to my sparkly creation!

For my card, I wanted it to look like one of those holiday flags -- so I clipped the bottom of a strip to create that "V". I used gold detail embossing powder to stamp the Christmas Wreath from the Seasonal Wreaths set and then colored up the glass balls with the bright collection of Copic Spica pens. I love the micro sparkle from these pens! I will say, it's really hard to capture this on camera! You might just need to trust me. Here's a close up......

The rest was matting up my image. I used some deep red Bazzill card stock and a really old piece of Christmas decorative paper from Penny Black that has sat in my dp drawer forever. I guess it was waiting for just the right moment! I also added some small self stick gold pearls at the top and .... voila!

Want to see the glitzy creations from the rest of the Flourishes DT? Hop on over and see....

Christine Okken
Latisha Yoast
Laura Fredrickson
Leslie Miller
Stacy Morgan
Cindy Lawrence

Hope you make time to play! Once you see the new sets, you might not be able to resist! :-) Thanks for stopping by. Hope you have a fabulous weekend! :-)

Stamp Simply.... Getting 'Krafty!"

Hi all and TGIF!!!! Hope you had a fabu week! Time for another one of Sharon Johnson's fun weekend challenges and this one has us all getting krafty! You know the latest trend these days-- where kraft is the new white? :-) The second part of the challenge is to use a pop of black too. You can check out all the Official deets HERE...

And now, for my creation!

I actually picked all the elements of my card before I even knew what stamp I would use! I loved this Jenni Bowlin paper and was amazed it's been sitting for... well... quite a while! This one is uber simple! I layered up my paper and added some stitching around the bottom. Add some lush silk ribbon, a fun sentiment matted up with the help of some SU punches and some gold self stick pearls and you are almost done! The focal image is the butterfly from the Butterfly Moments set from Flourishes. I stamped it twice - once on my kraft circle (cut from Nesties) and then a second time on some coordinating cardstock from that same paper pack. I cut out the butterfly and paper pieced it on my circle. You might also notice I colored some of the butterfly's spots with a white gel pen. Add some sponging with the help of some Antique Linen Distress Inks and mat it again on a shape cut from the Blossom Nestie die.

And that... my friends is it!

Can't wait to see how the rest of the Stamp Simply team got krafty!

Amy, October Guest Designer
Janine
AJ
Tammy
Deb
Barbara
Jenny
Barb

Have a fabulous weekend everyone and I'll see y'all back here soon!

Shopping with my Gal Pals!

I have some more of the after party going on here from World Cardmaking Day! This creation was from the Girls Just Wanna Have Fun Challenge from Stamping Bella over on SCS! It was hysterical - you were supposed to show something that you and your gal pals like to do together AND since the song Girls Just Wanna Have Fun is from those wild 80s years, you had to make sure the colors had an 80s flair. What's more 1980s than pink and green???

So... here we go!

I actually had this image from my pal Jackie who sent me some fun images a while back! I colored her up with Copic Markers (B26,B29,E26,E29,RV00,RV02, RV14,YG00) and after I was done, I masked the edge of my image and then sponged on some Ballet Pink Memento Ink around her to make her even more "pink!" I love this paper it's from Making Memories. Team that up with some fun flowers, some bling and... that's pretty girly!

Sorry to make this so short and sweet... I have a kiddo that needs homework help! :-)

Hope you're all having a fabulous week so far! I'll be back soon with some more fun!

Did you have a happy WCMD??

Gosh the paper was flying this weekend for World Cardmaking Day and what fun it was!!! Did you do a challenge or two or start on your holiday cards for this year??

It's so nice that we get a little reminder on when it's time to really start your Christmas or Holiday cards!! Trust me... I need it!

One of the challenges on SCS was from Unity and it was to make a quote a focal point of your card. I dug through my sticker/rub ons drawer and found a fun and perky rub on that just "needed" to be used! I have no idea what company even made this one! Sorry!

This card really isn't my "style" but I had a blast making it! I rubbed the rub on to a strip of Flourishes Classic White card stock and then, with some lime green thread, let my sewing maching do the driving to produce this fun and squiggly line around my quote. Add some bling to the rub on flower. Mat it onto a sparkly piece of cardstock (Pebbles). Mat that onto an uber large silk flower and then mat this onto your card front. I had a piece of pink cardstock (Radiant pack from Crafty Secrets) that I also edged with lime green thread as well to try to tie it all together!

And that.. my friends.. is it! Hope you had a fabulous weekend and a great start to your week!

I have more fun to share so, I'll see you all back here soon!

Stamps for Sale!!!!

Remember that huge clean up I did in my stamp room? Well, I have TONS of stamps that now need new homes! I have single stamps, background stamps, border stamps, alphabet stamps, plenty of sentiments, plus clear and rubber sets..... all offered at BARGAIN BASEMENT prices!!! Seriously - well below wholesale - many of them are like new! Simply click HERE to see, or click on the Stamps For Sale icon on my sidebar. If you are interested, all you need to do is email me at juliekoerber@bresnan.net and we'll work out the details!

Thanks for looking!

Just the right 'Finishing Touches'!

TGIF! With Friday comes another Flourishes Focus! This one is being hosted by the uber talented Laura Fredrickson and the topic... is Finishing Touches! You'll have to check out her tutorial over on the Flourishes Newsletter!

Just in case you aren't aware, Finishing Touches are those fun pieces of "jewelry" for your card creations. If you've never checked out the line of embellishments that Flourishes carries.. OH MY.. you really should! You can click HERE to see what I mean!

For my card, I used two of these embellisments! After stamping my lilies onto some Flourishes Classic Ivory card stock using Memento Rich Cocoa ink, I colored them up with the Fields and Tiger Lily Copic Collections.

I stamped the stems using Memento Bamboo Leaves and New Sprout. Then cut my lilies out and popped them up with some foam tape. The paper was some that I found in my decorative paper scrap bin. I cannot remember what it is! I used a EK Success Border punch and then slipped some of that luscious Olive Silk Ribbon through one of the Finishing Touches Ribbon Slides. To add my hanging tag, I used a jump ring and attached it right to my slide. The message is from the Strawberries set and was cut out to fit my mini message tag with the help of a 3/4" circle punch.

And that, my friends, is all she wrote! Hope you hop on over to the rest of the DT to see what they cooked up!

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

Just a quick note... did you know that tomorrow is World Cardmaking Day???? Well, Flourishes is cooking up some fun! They've teamed up with Splitcoast Stampers for a fun challenge and there are some great prizes on the line! So.... stay tuned! More on that to come!

Do you know your ABCs and 1-2-3s?

ABC.... easy as 1-2-3. I've got that little ditty in my head now! And, lucky for you -- there's a reason for it! :-) That's the topic for today's Stamp Simply challenge! All you need to do is make letters or numbers a focal point in your card!

You can see Sharon Johnson's lovely card and read up on the challenge HERE for ssnotime107!

For my creation, I played it really, really simple. I had an old Hero Arts set that featured the letter "A" and I loved it because it had the word appreciation. I thought it made up a cute Thank You card.

This card couldn't be any easier. I stamped the large "A" onto some Basic Grey Urban Prairie paper, cut it out and then used the flourish and appreciate in the set to stamp on a white strip. I used Pear Tart Memento Ink and Vivid Aqua. Mat it up on a strip of blue from the Lime Rickey Basic Grey pad and you're done with the strip! The card was created my layering and paper piercing other pieces from the Lime Rickey pad. Add a prima flower and a sparkly button and... done! I think I am going to give this to my son for showing him I appreciate some of the help he's been giving me around the house. I know it has a flower on it but maybe he'll over look that!! :-)

You can check out the rest of the Stamp Simply Team by clicking on their links!

Amy, October Guest Designer (Amy’s upload will be early Friday morning)
Janine
Jennifer
AJ
Tammy
Deb
Barbara
Jenny

Thanks for stopping by! Hope you make time for play time and join us!

IO DT Challenge.... Gratitude!

It's challenge time again for Impression Obsession and this one is all about being thankful! With Thanksgiving and Christmas on their way, it gives us time to reflect and make up some cards that are perfect to slip into the mail for family and friends.

For my creation, I just made a card that I could send as a thank you. I just love the sentiment I used. IO has the BEST sentiments! You can find the one I used HERE.

This card was easy peasy to make. I grabbed gold detail embossing powder and embossed the Victorian Rose all over a speckled piece of ivory paper. Afterward, I colored the rose and leaves with a light wash from my watercolor pencils. Then, I took some Tattered Rose distress ink (Adirondack) and sponged it all over my image (even the colored pieces). I edged with a goldleaf pen, embossed my sentiment, matted it up, added some gold self stick pearls. You can see too that I added some gold thread just by wrapping it around my rose piece before attaching it to my ivory card base. Like I said -- easy peasy! This card is actually something I would have done years ago. I hardly ever heat emboss anymore! And, that is what got me started in stamping! I was fascinated with heat embossing! Funny--huh?

Well my friends, that's it! If you'd like to participate in the challenge... it's open to all! Just click HERE for a peek at the rules and what you might get a chance to have your art featured on the IO blog! :-)

You'll also have to hop on over to the rest of the DT to see what kind of gratitude they exuded with this challenge!

Dina... she has blog candy! Check it out HERE!
Daniela
Laura
Jeanne
Shirley
Jenny