From the front porch....

I don't know about you, but I love the older homes, rich in character and rustic in their own right. So, when I saw this new stamp that is fresh off the press from Impression Obsession, I sighed. It's just such a classic image! And.... it was a blast to color!

I stamped my image using Memento Tuxedo Black and then started to color with colored pencils and blending with odorless mineral spirits. I use Prisma color pencils but I was moving so quickly, I didn't write down which colors I used! I know I used a mix of greens, reds, browns and grays in order to give my steps a pop of color.

Here's a close up of the coloring! From there, the rest is just matting it up! I used a mix of Bazill (green) K and Company (Newsprint and dark scalloped paper) and Kraft (SU!), the ribbon is May Arts and I used my Bow Easy to tie my ribbon into a bow. Add the scalloped edge with the help of an SU border punch and... voila! Not much to the layout - with an image this detailed and large though -- I'm thinking less is more! ;-)

This stamp is being released as we speak at CHA in Cali right now. Once the new stamps are in the Impression Obsession store, I'll be sure to let you know! ;-)

Happy Monday everyone! I'll see you back here soon!

Very Vintage... Stamp Simply Style!

Hi all! TGIF! This week for the Stamp Simply Challenge, it's all about going back in time -- on your cards that is -- to create a very vintage look in your creation. Ruffle the edges, use some classic embellishments, a vintage stamp or image... just that simple! You can click HERE to hop over to Sharon's place for all the official details!

When I heard that vintage was the theme this week, I knew exactly which stamp I wanted to use. I just got my hands on this beautiful tea cup . It's from Impression Obsession. It's funny, I never noticed that the name of the stamp was Lemon Tea cup. So, when I was coloring this image up, I colored the fruit as oranges because my mother-in-law drinks herbal orange tea and that was what came to my mind first. But, in thinking about it - I've never seen anyone put an orange slice in their tea! Guess I need to become a tea drinker!

So, to create my card, I stamped the tea cup onto European Watercolor Paper and then colored it up with a Niji water brush and my distress inks. I am loving the way distress inks flow on watercolor paper. They have an oily base, so they are very forgiving! I used Broken China, Worn Lipstick, Dried Marigold, Antique Linen and Peeled Paint. After coloring up my image, I cut it out and popped it up on my card. The rest is just layering, sewing, adding a punched edge (EK Success), some satin ribbon and a fun hat pin. That sparkle is actually the light shining off the Swarovski crystal on the pin. After my card was assembled, I took a sponge and dabbed on some more distress ink around the edges. The paper is a mix of Crate Paper and K & Company. So, there you have it - my take on 'very vintage!'

Want to see what the other Stamp Simply gals created this week for ssnotime123, just hop on over and see.....

Sharon
Janine
Jennifer
AJ
Tammy
Deb
Barbara
Jenny
Barb

Well my friends, if you haven't gotten enough 'vintage', Cindy Lawrence, one of my fellow DT members on the Flourishes team is heading up a vintage inspired tutorial over on the Flourishes Newsletter. Just click HERE to check it out!!!

Have a great weekend everyone! See you back here soon!

IO Shaped Card Challenge!

Hi all! Hope your week is going smashingly! I can't believe it's already Thursday... woah! With Thursday comes another fun-filled Impression Obsession challenge. This one bent my brain a bit -- don't worry, I didn't sacrifice too many brain cells! ;-)

It's an "Anything but a Rectangle" challenge! Just head on over to the IO blog -- HERE -- for all the official details! There's a $25 gift certificate on the line for the week's winner!

For my card, I used my Labels 8 Spellbinders Nestabilities die for my main card shape. Then, add an oval shape and let it bleed off the card and.. bam... not a rectangle at all! ;-)

I used one of the brand new Leigh Hannan stamps that will be released this week at Winter CHA. Isn't it fun? After stamping it in black on my main white oval, I colored the base with grey Copic Markers. I thought it would be best to paper piece the dresses and add some pizazz with some Liquid Pearls. The paper is some of my favorite - BasicGrey Porcelain. I stamped the image three times on three different decorative papers. After that, I cut each dress out and then adhered it to my base image. Add a scalloped oval border, some beautiful silk ribbon, and buttons and... you're almost there! The sentiment is also a new release from Impression Obsession but instead of using the whole sentiment, I used just a piece. I used an oval punch to punch it out and then a scalloped oval punch for my mat. Voila!!

Here's a close up to show the pearls. I just love the sparkle and dimension... And that, my friends, is it! Be sure to check out the rest of the IO DT's fabulous "Anything but a Rectangle" creations!

Shirley
Daniela
Kathy
Jeanne
Dina
Jenny
Kelli
Deborah
Rosemary
Laura

Thanks for stopping by! I'll be back tomorrow with another Stamp Simply challenge. See you then!!

Cards 4 Kids Needs YOUR Help!

Every year around this time, my mom A.K.A. the Rubber Maid, puts out a call for Valentine's Day Cards for the children at the Children's Hospital of Michigan. Cards 4 Kids is my mom's volunteer work. She provides handmade cards so that the kiddos have Valentines to exchange. But, this call is much too big for her alone! The hospital would like a couple thousand Valentines!!!

I have to say, it's amazing to see the reaction from the kids -- knowing that someone cared enough to brighten their days. Some of the children are there for cancer treatment. Some are in the burn unit. Some are there for surgery. But bottom line -- ALL are kids going through a tough time. If you'd like to help -- the cards need to arrive at my mom's place in Michigan by February 8th so that they can be distributed by the hospital. They can be with or without envelopes, they can be ATC size, they can be like a post card! It all works!

The card above is one that I'll soon be sending along for the drive! You might say - well that doesn't look like a "kid card!" Well, here's the scoop - the kids range in age up to 21! So, I like to make a few that are more like "adult" cards too!

This card is fun because it is really just some fun decorative paper, a stitched edge and then scraps of decorative paper that I used to punch circles from. The daisy is actually brand new stamp called Heartfelt Daisy that was just released Impression Obsession illustrated by Alesa Baker. I used Copic markers to add some color to it. After that, add a sentiment, some buttons and ribbon and boom... done! It was a fun one to create because it's not my normal "style!" We've all got to break out of our comfort zone every now and then... right?

I have to tell a fun story that my mom shared about this program. She said the doctors and nurses just went crazy running from room to room delivering these valentines to the boxes on the kids doors. Isn't that just a fun mental picture? I think so! If you'd like to donate, just email me at juliekoerber@bresnan.net and I can pass along my mom's address! Thank you so much in advance! The stamping community is one of the most kind hearted and generous communities out there!

I'll see you back here soon!

The stamps have been unveiled!

Thanks everyone for joining me this week as Flourishes sneak peeked their January release! I'm happy to report, the lace has been pulled back to reveal this fabulous set of stamps! And, you can find them all HERE!

Classic Lace

Clouds Background
Angelic Love

Tag Lines - a perfect match to Spellbinder's Fancy Tags!
Before I go, I wanted to show one more card with the Angelic Love set. I just think this set is far too sweet and I can't wait to use it over and over again! The angel card you saw earlier this week but the locket card... all new!
I just love the locket image in this set -- I wanted it to look like a silver locket so - I used the Cool Neutrals set grouped by Flourishes and stamped the BFF sentiment that is also in the set. Match it up with some Jenni Bowlin and Making Memories paper, a Fiskar's corner punch, some bling and some Martha Stewart ribbon and ... bam.. done! A sweet and simple card to give to one of your gal pals!!!

Well that, my friends, is it for now! Happy shopping! ;-)

More Sneaks... and a Stamp Simply Challenge!

It's the final day of the Flourishes January Release sneak peeks! And, this set brings back such memories --- it reminds me of the beautiful lace tablecloths that my grandma always seemed to have on hand when we'd visit for supper. This gorgeous set drawn by the ever so talented Becky Fleck offers 8 different designs of beautifully orchestrated lace. It may come in a 4 by 6 stamp set but, each design was made to repeat from here to eternity! Create a border, a background, an accent, a frame... the sky is the limit with this one-of-a-kind set!

And, I thought I'd use it to dish out some spring for this week's Stamp Simply challenge! Why? Ssnotime122 is all about flowers in fresh springtime colors --for a mid-winter -perk-me-up! You can click HERE to head on over to Sharon's blog for all the details!

Now, to my card! I can't tell you how good it felt to pick up the colors of spring to create!

I embossed one of the lace edges using Versamark Ink and Ultra Fine Detail Embossing powder to make sure I didn't lose any of the fine definition of this set. I also embossed my Sweet Peas onto some European Watercolor paper and then picked up some Distress Inks to watercolor my flowers. I used a paint palette and the distress ink reinker (using just one drop of each color in my palette) and then picked up the color with a Niji waterbrush. I used Worn Lipstick and Peeled Paint for my flowers and Broken China as a watercolor wash behind my flower. The rest is just layering up, adding some zig zag stitches, some pearls, some velvet ribbon and an oval and oval scallop punch (SU). The sentiment is from the Tag Lines set that will also be released tonight with the Lace Edges set! YIPPEEE!

Want to see how the rest of the Stamp Simply Team ushered in spring? Check out:Sharon,Michelle Woerner -- our guest designer!, Janine , Jennifer , AJ , Tammy, Deb, Barbara , Jenny , and Barb

And, while you're hopping, you have to check out the rest of the Flourishes design team's fabulous Lace Edges creations!

Christine Okken
Latisha Yoast
Stacy Morgan
Cindy Lawrence
Leslie Miller

Want to win this set? Be sure to head on over to the Flourishes Newsletter and leave comment to be in the running! Thanks for stopping by... it's been a fun week! TGIF and I'll see you back here soon!

Love & Lace... day 2!!

Do you ever find yourself looking for that small, power-packed sentiment that will fit perfectly on a tag? Well, look no more... Flourishes has got you covered! ;-)

Introducing!

This set FULL of sentiments showcases those pint-sized wonders that deliver just the right words on your cards and projects! And, because you can mix and match them -- there are more than 20 potential sentiments!

For my project, I wanted to do a quick and easy set that I could give as a gift. I love it when a fun tag, a great sentiment, beautiful paper and bling can create a quick and easy creation that still has a dash of elegance. So, that's what I aimed for!

I grabbed my BasicGrey Lemonade paper pack, a decorative edge punch, some ribbon, some bling, black ink and my Spellbinders Fancy Tags die and that's all it took! On some of the cards, I stitched a bit around the edge, others I added some paper piercing! Oh, and you can't forget some prima flowers!

Card #1

Card #2

Card #3
There, my friends, is all she wrote! Easy, peasy, lemon squeezy! Be sure to hop on over and see how the rest of the DT used these small sentiments to make a BIG impact!

Christine Okken
Latisha Yoast
Stacy Morgan
Cindy Lawrence
Leslie Miller

Want to win this set? Just leave a comment over on today's post on the Flourishes Newsletter! Have you entered the Feel the Love challenge? Click HERE for the details. And, while we're at it, mark your calendar for our POWER HOUR Release Party in the Flourishes Forum HERE! It's always so much fun to chat it up with you and reveal even more about our releases!

The sneaks wrap up tomorrow with a classic edge for all your cards and creations. We know you will absolutely LOVE the latest offering from the talented Becky Fleck! So stay tuned!

Love & Lace... let the sneaks begin!

It's been a busy start to the week in my 'lil ole stamp room! That's because today marks the start of the sneaks for Flourishes January release!

Introducing......

Today's set is a beautifully drawn set from the artistic Lauren Pope that you can use not just for Valentine's Day, but for cards to friends and family the whole year through! I can't tell you how much I love the sentiments in this set! There are a few fit for the loves of our life, our BFFs, our sweet friends and those people who come to us as our angels here on earth! There's no question, creating a card with this set, you'll warm the hearts of whoever you send it to! And, the fun part? This set offers not one but two focal images and 11.. yes 11 sentiments you can use. What's better? It's a half set meaning - you get all of this for just $8!

For my creation, I had a friend in mind who I needed to send a thank you to. "You're an angel" works!

The decorative paper is a mix from my dp bin - I know the polka dot and the light blue pattern is BasicGrey (June Bug and Eskimo Kisses), the lined blue -- sorry, no clue! The sentiment was stamped and punched with an oval and blinged up with some red rhinestones.

I stamped my angel onto Flourishes Classic White, colored him up with Copics using the Flesh Tones 1 and Flesh Tones 2 Collections. The cloud was colored using the Pastel Collection B0000.

Afterward, I cut him out, added some Shimmerz Angel Wingz paint on his wings and popped him up on a heart that was cut with a heart shaped Spellbinders Nestabilities die. Can you see what's stamped on my heart?
It's a beautiful new background stamp that is also being released this month from the ever-so-talented Becky Fleck! I am so excited about this stamp because gosh, how many times have you stamped something and wanted some "clouds" to help ground your image. Well, my friends, this is the stamp for you!

Make sure you hop on over to see my fellow friends and designers. I got some sneak peeks of their creations over the last few days and... WOW! You won't be disappointed! ;-)

Christine Okken
Latisha Yoast
Stacy Morgan
Cindy Lawrence
Leslie Miller


If you'd like to win this set, hop on over to the Flourishes Newsletter and leave a comment on today's post! There's also details there about our Feel the Love challenge and our fun-filled Power Hour Release Party set for Friday!

I'll have more peeks tomorrow to be sure to swing on back!

The Calendar Finale!

Hi all! Hope your week is going splendidly! Time is whipping by. I blinked and Monday was gone! Why is it when you need time, it flies but when you want it to.... well, that's another story altogether! ;-) Such is life.... eh?

Today, as promised, the grand finale to my 2010 calendar! You might wonder why I am ending with the month August.. well, I actually started backwards with THIS POST here!

These last months follow the same layout as the other 8 months - an oval, stamped and colored with Copic markers, some gold paper as a base, a fancy tag and a dash of bling! Oh, you can't forget the calendar download that is on the Flourishes Website HERE!

Isn't this iris image above just beautifully drawn? Marcella Hawley... gotta love her artistic flair! I colored the iris up with the Violets and Spring Green Copic Collections arranged by Flourishes. The paper is Memory Box...

This month offers some Basic Grey Paper (Wassail) with the rose being colored up with the Dahlia and Fields Copic Collections!

For the tiger lily above, I used the Tiger lily and Fields Copic Collections and added a dash of Basic Grey Ambrosia paper.

And lastly...the delicate morning glory was colored up with Spring Greens, Crocus and Delphinium Copic Collections. And... here's a look at the entire set!

For a peek at any or all of these Copic Collections, just click HERE to take a look see! The colors are to die for and I love, love, love that Flourishes took the guess work out of matching up colors to get the right blend!

Well, tomorrow is the beginning of the sneak peeks for Flourishes January release! We kick it off with a beautiful set and a fabulous background! Want a peek???? Here goes!

Hhhhhhmmmm..... can you guess what it is???? hehehe!

See you back here soon! Also, I announced the winner of my blog candy on Sunday's post HERE. If I don't hear from the winner by Wednesday, I'll draw a new name. So, stay tuned, your chance at the winnings might not be over!

Unveiling my 2010 Calendar!

Hi all! Hope you're week is off to a good start! I have a fun finale for you to wrap up a project I first brought you HERE on this post.

When Flourishes unveiled it's A Year of Flowers Calendar Sets, it knew that stampers far and wide would want to use these gorgeous florals to create floral inspired desk calendars. Well, my friends, that's what I did!

I thought I'd show you the first four months (using the A Year of Flowers Calendar Set 1) and how they turned out first... and tomorrow - I'll bring you the rest!

This set started with the fun downloadable calendar created by Marcella Hawley to match these floral sets perfectly! You can find the calendar HERE. From there, I grabbed Spellbinder's Fancy Tags, a classic oval die, some Copic Sets and some fun patterned paper!

For my Crocus creation, I used some Basic Grey paper from the June Bug collection and the Spring Green and Delphinium Copic Collections grouped by Flourishes. For my Primrose calendar, I used some striped dp that I had in my stash along with some green chalk around my flower. Then, I colored it up with Copics with the Daffodill Collection, Dahlia Collection and the Meadow Collection for my greenery.

My pansy was colored up with Spring Greens and Delphinium collections. The decorative paper is Basic Grey.

And last, but not least... my daffodils! I love, love, love this image and know I'll use it time and time again on its own. I used Basic Grey decorative paper and the Daffodill and Fields Copic Collections.

So, there my friends is the first few months ready for 2010! I think these images are just too classy and timeles -- who knows -- this might be my yearly trend -- just cut, color and enjoy! I should mention, this one made it into the hands of a great friend!

Tomorrow, I'll be back to show you my next set to wrap up the year! I have to tell you... excitement is brewing in my stamp room! Flourishes is getting ready for its sneaks starting Wednesday... so this blog will be a hoppin'!

See you back here soon!

And the winner is...........

Hi all! Hope you are having a fabulous weekend! As promised, I have the winner for my blog candy for hitting 500,000 hits! I put the number of comments into random.org and this is the result.....

True Random Number Generator
Result:
44
Powered by RANDOM.ORG

That means the winner of my candy is.........

Sue from Oregon who said...
Isn't this Internet "thing" mind blowing? Congrats on half a mil! Wowser!

Sue, just shoot me an email with your snail mail addy. Here's my email...
juliekoerber@bresnan.net

Thanks everyone for your sweet and wonderful comments! I feel so blessed to have this little space on the web and love sharing the chit chat with all of you!

See you back here soon!

Stamp Simply... Love is in the air!

Love is in the air... everywhere I look around... love is in the air... every sight and every sound... Anyone remember that old tune? I just started singing it when getting ready for this love struck post. It's time for another Stamp Simply challenge! (ssnotime121 -- Love is in the Air)

With Valentine's Day our next major card-giving day on the horizon, let's get something ready to add to our stash. How about a card using a heart, Valentine or lovey-type theme? Let's just love it up this week! Be sure to click HERE to visit Sharon's Stamp Simply central and link up to Mr. Linky!

For my creation, I decided to use a new image from Impression Obsession that is going to be released for Valentine's day... any day now! It's a new one from Leigh Hannan that I... well.. love!

Even though I added some extras like sewing, scallops and buttons, I decided this card could be recreated relatively fast because I just used a hint of color on the hearts and balloons with a few different Copic Markers. I just outlined a few areas and then drew the color in with a blender pen. I used Rv00, RV02, RV32, RV34 and accented it with V000 around the edges. Then, add some Stickles on some of the dots in the image and some buttons to the floral centers and... voila! Done! The paper I used is a mix of Bazzill, Making Memories and SU!


Want to see what kind of love the other Stamp Simply gals whipped up? Just grab your heart and hop on over to......

Sharon
Michelle Woerner -- our guest designer!
Janine
Jennifer
AJ
Tammy
Deb
Barbara
Jenny
Barb

Thanks for stopping by! Remember -- you only have one day left to sign up for my blog candy HERE. All you need to do is leave a comment. The winner will be posted Sunday! See you back here soon!

Feeling Like Spring IO Challenge!

Gosh, it couldn't feel further from spring in my neck of the woods. I got stuck in the snow not 3, not 4, not 5, but - oh about - 6 times while trying to make it out of my neighborhood today! It was hilarious, when I picked up my 6 year old from school, she couldn't wait to tell me about the guy-jant-tick snow mounds they played on at recess! Funny stuff.

With the snow in full tilt, why not pull out those spring time stamps to warm our hearts! It's time for an Impression Obsession challenge! The only rules? Use IO stamps please and email your cards to this address when you're done! shirleyone@carolina.rr.com. There's a $25 IO Gift Certificate on the line and you can have your work proudly displayed on the IO Blog! You can visit the IO Blog HERE for more details!All participants' cards will be posted here and also permanently in our IO Customer Album.

For my spring time creation, I used one of the new Leigh Hannan stamps that will soon be released at Winter CHA!

After stamping my image, I colored it up with Copics - YG00, YG03 and YG63 on the grass, B00, B02 and B04 for the birds and V01, V03 for the purple flowers. I did use B000 (one from the Copic Pastel Collection) to add some highlights around my greenery and my birds following it up with a blender to soften the line of the marker. I added this blue around the edge of my creation too. After that, use a Spellbinders Ric Rac Borderabilities die for the bottom of the purple mat, a decked out strip of blue decorative paper (unknown maker) and a fun pink button tied up with string and... voila... a little dash of spring waiting to be sent to a mailbox near you!

Want to see how the rest of the DT ushered in a little spring? Hop on over to see.....

Kathy
Laura
Jenny
Deborah
Jeanne

And, don't forget to mark your calendar for the next IO challenge coming your way on January 21st! That's when the DT will be challenging YOU to make a card that is anything but a rectangle! ;-)

Thanks for stopping by! See you back here soon!

Some Sneaky Peaks to Show!

Cardmaking is, at times, the wierdest thing. One day you are making Christmas cards left and right and the next, it's all about the season of love! That's the way the rubber, paper and polymer flies! ;-)


With Winter CHA just a few weeks away, Impression Obsession is getting ready to unveil a bevy of new fun things for you to use to stamp your hearts out!! Speaking of hearts... check this fun new stamp out! ;-)

This is one of the new ones from Leigh Hannan. It's been colored up with a mix of Copics and Copic Spica Pens to give it a little dash of sparkle. Add some fun paper (checks and dots are from the Paper Studio from Hobby Lobby) Add some pink Bazill paper, fun gingham ribbon, some stitching and a button and.... voila! The punch I used on the pink piece is a SU border punch. Pretty easy peasy layout. With a fun, large image like this -- you really don't need a lot!

I have to say thanks to those that left comments on Saturday's post. OH MY GOSH! You people rock! I felt the love! I wish I could personally thank each and every one of you. Some of you said we "do coffee" each morning and believe me, that is such a fun thought... so thanks! If you haven't signed up for my blog candy, be sure to click HERE and leave a comment -- you have until January 8th!

Thanks for stopping by! "See" you back here soon! ;-)

The Half Million Hit Mark.....

As I type this, I am in awe! When I registered my little ole blog on Blogger, I had no idea the places it would take me and the friends I would make! There are some dear, dear people here in blog land. Some, I now call 'sister.' This little space on the web has been pretty amazing!

So... when I looked at my counter and saw that I hit the half million hit mark.... OH MY! That's fun stuff! I knew I had to gather up some goodies to say ONE BIG THANKS!

This is just one piece of the blog candy pile! Here's what's inside:

• Spellbinders Nestabilities Classic Scallop Circles
• Basket weave Background Stamp
• 'Mystery' soon to be released Flourishes Background
• Girlfriends mini stamp set
• Simple greetings mini stamp set
• Owl Bling it On by BasicGrey
• Ladybug Bling It On by BasicGrey
• Chip Stickers June Bug Alphabet by BasicGrey
• Chip Stickers June Bug by BasicGrey
• Flourished Elements Stamp Set by Flourishes
• Potted Tulips cling stamp by Impression Obsession
• Floral Background cling stamp by Impression Obsession
• JustRite self inked Thank You stamper

From here, I'll throw in some fun ribbon, bling and paper too! So, want to be in the running??? Just leave a comment and I'll draw a winner on January 9th - one week from today at 8PM Eastern! I'll announce the winner shortly thereafter. Good luck! And, thank you so much for sharing this time with me here! It's been a really fun ride!