Thursday, September 27, 2012

The Leaves are Falling!

Hi all and happy Friday! We have a fun treat for you today! Since Autumn was officially ushered in less than a week ago, we decided to pick up one of Flourishes' sets that honors the season and our design team is all using it today in their creations! We're talking about the set.....

Falling Leaves

Isn't it a beauty? Even in black and white you can visualize the bold colors that will soon appear (and in some cases) are already appearing in real life!

On to my creation!

I used the leaves in this set to create a frame around my sentiment. I stamped the Japanese Elm first (the green and red leaves), masked and then stamped the other two leaves. It looks hard but honestly, it was a breeze. I do have a secret weapon when it comes to masking, however, and it is THIS pen to fill in any gaps left behind by my post-it note! After stamping on Classic White with Tuxedo Black Memento, I used Copic Markers to color up my image. Add some twine, a button, some paper piercing and mat it all up on some fun decorative paper and.... ta da! (Check out my supplies list below for details on what I used to create!)

Here's a close up! I have to tell you, this did take a while to color but I have no idea how long because my mom invited me down to her house for coffee and it's amazing how you lose track of time when you're just hanging out, drinking coffee and chatting it up! :-)

And that, my friends, is it! Below you'll find a link list to all the fine designers on Flourishes Senior Design Team. But first.... Flourishes is having a.....

Need to stock up on decorative paper? Well, now is your time! All decorative paper in the Flourishes store has been marked down a whopping 25%! No codes needed, the price has already been marked down. So, hit the store and stock up! We have some beautiful papers with shades of autumn, Christmas papers, plus some oldies but goodies as well! Click HERE to see! This sale will take place for 48 hours -- FRIDAY and SATURDAY ONLY! So, head on over before some of your favorite papers are gone! ;-) And... while you're hopping, be sure to check in to see all the creativity our design team whipped up!

Thanks for stopping by! I've been busy in my craft room this week so I'll be back this weekend with some more fun for y'all! ;-) Happy Friday!

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InLinkz.com

All About The Dies... day 2!

Hi all! I'm back with day two of a fun-filled hop showing off some of Impression Obsession's new dies! The IO design team is putting on quite the show for the rest of this week, giving you a peek at some of the new offerings and all the fun ways you can use them! It's an All About The Dies Blog Hop!

On to my creation!

When I saw THIS die -- a fun mitten and accessories -- I just knew it could make a fun card. The mitten is big enough that you can actually make a card out of it! I made the card in white, attached my die cut mitten and then cut a slightly larger edge around it for a little pop. The snowflake and twine dies are all in this die set as well! There is a coordinating stamp called String Bow Bell that is a perfect match to the twine and bell die. I added some bling to the snowflake and then.. tucked in a little sentiment from the set called Sentiments 1 that I stamped on THIS die that is a part of a trio of dies called Flags. Easy peasy lemon squeezy!

Here's a close up!

Want a chance to win three dies of your choice? All you have to do is comment on each designer's blog today. We'll be hopping each day through Friday and so.. you'll have three chances to win! You can CLICK HERE to read all the official rules!

Thanks for stopping by! I'll be back with another post tomorrow..... so be sure to check back and I'll see you then! :-)

Wednesday, September 26, 2012

It's All About the Dies!

Hi all! Have you seen the wonderful new dies in the Impression Obsession online store? Well, if you haven't -- the IO design team is putting on quite the show for the rest of this week, giving you a peek at some of the new offerings and all the fun ways you can use them! It's an All About The Dies Blog Hop -- just for you!

On to my creation!

I have always loved this tree stamp and when I saw there was a die to match? Squeal! What fun to add that kind of dimension on a card and not have to cut it all by hand? That's divine! The stamp is from a set called Solid Tree. I stamped in brown (Memento Rich Cocoa ink) and then die cut using the Bare Tree Die. Before I attached my tree to my card front, I did trace out where some of the branches would fall so I could add some little leaves for color. (That stamp is also in the Solid Tree set) I stamped in green (Pistachio Memento Ink) and then colored them with Copic markers (G40 and G43). The sentiment is from one of my favorite IO clear stamp sets called Build-A-Tree. The papers are Stampin' Up, add some crochet lace, twine with a button and some stitching and.. ta da!

Here's a close up....

Thanks for stopping by! I'll be back with another post tomorrow that's... "All about the Dies!" So, be sure to check back. I'd love to see you again! ;-) Have a fabulous and creative day!

Thursday, September 20, 2012

Free for All Friday!

Hi all and welcome to a Flourishes DT Free for All Friday! It's a time when the design team picks one of the newly released sets and.... creates! Today, I have a fun and super simple creation to share using the Trimmed with Love stamp set.

On to my creation!

Ok... this is confession time. I literally used bits and pieces from my desk. Yep! I did! I had that beaded circle cut in half sitting on my desk. I have no idea what happened to the other half. I had that sanded Blossom die shape stuck on my bulletin board. I had that little strip of Fa La La paper on my desk too. I had already colored the Joy to the World with the Fields and Poppy Copic Collections. I was going to make it into a tag but decided against it. So, with all these goodies that matched, I decided to use them all to make a quick and easy 4" square card. I grabbed some green May Arts wrinkled ribbon, some ivory lace trim, some gold cording and then accented my main image with some glitter glue. (See links below for all products used!). I added some stitching and attached my main image with foam tape and... ta da!

Here's a close up! I will say, if you look at the Trimmed with Love stamp set, you'll see the words A Gift For You in the center of this mistletoe wreath. Well, to put the Joy to the World wording in, I carefully inked my wreath, stamped and then stamped these words in the center instead!

And that, my friends is it -- a "What's on Your Desk" kind of challenge to myself to use bits and pieces that really didn't have a "home" yet! :-)

Just a little note for you.... TODAY is the very last day to take advantage of the September New Release Bundle — when you can get all four sets for 10% off the retail price. Just click HERE to see the bundle in the store! Also....

This just in! The paper version of the brand new Flourishes Christmas catalog is... HERE! This offers and vivid and vibrant look at not only the currently released Flourishes Christmas stamps but gives you a sneak peek at stamp sets that will be released in the months to come! There are other secrets packed inside as well! Need some ideas for the gift giving season, well we even put in three tutorials that are perfect for the holidays! This.. and more than 20 samples to inspire... all for just $8.

Want to see what the other Flourishes Designers whipped up this week? Click on over and see.....

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

SUPPLIES USED:

InLinkz.com

Inspired by Nature!

Hi all and happy Thursday! It's time for another Impression Obsession Challenge and this one is inspired by nature! Just that simple -- grab your IO stamps and create with nature in mind! You can click HERE for all the details over on the IO Stamps Blog!

On to my creation! I have to tell you, I have been having a blast with some of IO's solid stamps and matching dies!

And... that's why I grabbed a few of those solid stamps, and a few Cover-A -Card backgrounds for a quick and easy creation! I stamped the Large Solid Leaf Stem in two shades of green (Pistachio and New Sprout Memento). I stamped the Dare to Dream sentiment on the bottom of my main panel with Rich Cocoa Ink and then... the fun began! I inked up the butterfly (Solid Frilly Butterfly Pair) with Teal Zeal Memento and while the ink was still wet, I stamped on the back of my stamp with THIS Cover-A-Card stamp called Lg.Paisley. So, when I stamped, you can see a faint impression left behind by the paisley backgrounder. See?

You can also see that I added a wood grain background -- Cover-A-Card Wood Grain -- on the base of my card for a little extra pop. Add some ribbon, and a button with some twine and almost done! I added a punched border below my main panel and... ta da! I think that this is truly a 10 to 15-minute card. An easy peasy creation that you could make in a jiffy and pop in the mail!

Want to see what some of the other IO gals whipped up for this Nature Inspired Challenge? Click on over to see...

Daniela Dobson
Dina Kowal
Jeanne Streiff
Jenny Gropp
Julie Koerber -- you are here!
Kittie Caracciolo
Laura Fulcher
Vicki Garrett

Thanks so much for stopping by -- hope you make time to create and find a little inspiration in nature! :-) See you back here soon!

Thursday, September 13, 2012

Flourishes' New Release is HERE!

Hi all! I hope you’ve enjoyed this week’s Flourishes sneak peeks with a Christmas flair and guess what? All of the stamp sets that the design team has been showing off this week are in the Flourishes Store HERE! On to today’s last stamp set to be unveiled! It is truly an elegant way to send holiday wishes!

Wonderful words surrounded by flourishy swirls create an elegant and contemporary look to send Christmas wishes. This set called Peace and Joy, illustrated by Becky Fleck offers two main images plus two accent stamps to create just the most unique holiday creations. What's more fun? You can find the coordinating Silhouette Cameo cut file HERE for perfectly cut swirls! And.. some EXCITING NEWS about cut files! For those of you that have other digital cutting machines, Flourishes now has these files in an SVG format - just for you! Just click HERE to visit these files in the Flourishes store!

On to my creation!

I used a mix of decorative papers from my scrap bin to start, matting it all on some pearl paper for a little extra shimmer. I stamped my main image on Flourishes Classic White with Tuxedo Black Memento ink and then, colored up my image using Copic markers (see supplies list below for colors used!). After I was done, I did add some pizazz with a clear glitter pen. Add some sheer scalloped ribbon, a trinket pin and some silver cording and... almost done! I should point out the die cut is an oldie but goodie called Mega Scalloped Rectangle from Spellbinders. And that... my friends.. is it! ;-)

Here's a close up so you can see a bit of that sparkle...

Would you like to win our new Peace and Joy stamp set? All you need to do is guess...

One of the ladies on our link list below will be picking a name from the comments on her blog post today. We don’t know which one it is… so the more blogs you leave comments on, the more chances you have to win! So what are you waiting for? Head on over and see…..

And.. don't forget, there are a trio of ways to win this release. Just click HERE to today's Flourishes post to read up. Challenges close today at 5PM EST!

If you don't win, you can still be a winner in savings with our special, limited time offer called our New Release Bundle! 10% off the retail price of this release if you purchase all five in a bundle!

And last, but certainly not least -- Starting now, you can download our BRAND NEW 2012 Christmas Catalog! We will have printed copies that you can order starting next week, but if you prefer a digital copy, you're in luck! For just $5 you can purchase a downloadable PDF with 20 full color pages packed with not only all of our Christmas stamp sets but samples and a handful of tutorials that are perfect for gift giving!

Just click HERE to visit our catalog in the Flourishes store! I hope you have had a blast with me this week, getting into the Christmas spirit a wee bit early. But just think, with all this inspiration floating around, don't you want to get a jump start on your Christmas cards for this year? :-)

See you back here soon!

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