A DIY Challenge!

Hi all and welcome to another fun-filled Friday here courtesy of Flourishes! Today we have a special surprise for you -- it's a one of a kind challenge where YOU pick the course of your challenge. That's right, it's.....

    

If you play along, you could win Flourishes' entire February release! How do you play? We start with three different choices, and you need to pick one out of each three! So, let's get started! First up, there are three sketches....

 

 Next, three color schemes....

And finally, three embellishments...

On to my creation!

So, as you can see, I chose the last sketch, picked up the Sunflowers set and then some scraps of paper. This is really a mix of papers Flourishes has sold out of that I had little scraps of here and there. Since it was of the yellows and greens in the third color scheme, I thought -- perfect! Since I followed the sketch, the layout is pretty self explanatory!

I stamped the sunflower on a scrap of Flourishes Classic White using Rich Cocoa Memento Ink and then picked up my Copic markers (look below for a list of what colors I used). Add some stitching, some epoxy brads, some light yellow seam binding, a wooden button and.. ta da! All done!

Here's a close up! 

So there you have it -- a kind of DIY challenge where every card could, in essence, be different! Doesn't that sound fun? If you need a little inspiration, it’s never far away with our design team’s creations! Hop on over and see…

• Christine Okken
• Cindy Lawrence
• Danielle Kennedy
• Heather Jensen
• Julie Koerber -- you are here! 
• Silke Ledlow
• Stacy Morgan

  The OFFICIAL Rules…..

• Simply create a card using the Pick 1 formula!
• Entries need to be in by Friday, February 15th at 5 PM EST
• Those that use Flourishes stamps will be counted twice for their entry
• You must link your creation on this post using our inlinkz widget in order to qualify
• You must have a link to our challenge in your blog or gallery post
• Please DO NOT combine challenges. Only those that don’t combine will be in the running.
• If you upload to SCS, please use the keyword FLLCFEB13
• We’ll announce the winners Saturday in our Winner’s Circle Post on Saturday, February 16, so check back then to see if you’re one of the lucky winners!

Remember, Flourishes' release week sneaks start next Wednesday — so mark your calendar! See you back here soon!

 ~Julie

Supplies:

Shades of Green!

Hi all and Happy Thursday! I am back with another Impression Obsession Challenge and this one will have you seeing green! Shades of Green is the challenge - so pick up those IO stamps and get those fingers inky! If you play along, you could win a $25 gift certificate to the IO store!

On to my creation!

I have to say, I don't use a ton of green when I create, so this was a bit of a stretch for me -- in a good way! Instead of making the majority of my card green, I decided to just make that my pop color. I stamped the Daisy Dress Form in black on white card stock (I used Memento Tuxedo Black). Then, I picked up my Copic markers in shades of green and used G40, G43, G46 and G20. After I was done coloring it up, I cut my image out with the Spellbinders Labels Fourteen Die and while the die was still on, I sponged some light green ink around my image. I matted it onto a green piece that I cut with one of the larger dies in the same set. After embossing, I sanded the edges to reveal the paper's white core. Add a little flower, a rhinestone, some soft green lace, a rhinestone button and -- almost done! You can see I matted up my image onto some black and ivory decorative paper that I grabbed from my stash. I also added this sentiment called A Sweet Note.

And, here's a close up of my main image.....

Want to see what the other IO ladies did for the Shades of Green Challenge? Hop on over and see...

• Daniela Dobson
• Dina Kowal
• Jeanne Streiff
• Laura Fulcher
• Vicki Garrett
• Kittie Caracciolo 

Keep in mind, you have until February 13th at 10PM EST to enter. Just click HERE for more details! Thanks for stopping by everyone! I'll be back tomorrow with some more creative fun!

~Julie

A Quickie Creation!

Hi all! It's my turn to post the 10-Minute Thursday over at Flourishes!!! If you need a quickie card, this one has the "season of love" in mind! :-) Here's a peek....

And if you want to see the full post, just click HERE! Thanks for stopping by!!! See you back here soon!

~Julie

Little Springtime Fun!

Hi all! Hope the weekend is starting out right in your neck of the woods! I have some fun news to share! Recently, one of my creative friends - Becky Fleck - launched a new venture and will be designing stamps for Penny Black! It's funny, I remember when I first started stamping, Penny Black was one of the companies that I gravitated toward. I loved the images and taught many a class using those designs (and even stickers!)

So, imagine my surprise when Becky asked if I would like to create using some of her new designs! Well, twist my arm! ;-)

So, here's a peek at one of my first creations! I have to admit, this one is a little different from -- no make that A LOT different --  from the cards I usually make. I had a ton of fun!

 

First up, the set is called Home Sweet Home and features a handful of darling little houses to color up, plus some other accents! So, I stamped all of the images on my card base (except for the house) and I did so in a way that I could create my "hills" of decorative paper! I cut slopes out from the paper and then added stitched and paper pieced accents to add a little texture. After that, stamp the house, color it up using Copic Markers (see list below for colors that I used) and add some fun accents. I used a mish-mash of paper from my scrap bin, so I really can't tell you what I used. The red ribbon is some red seam binding, add a button, some turquoise and white twin and almost done! 

You can see in the close up below that I did add some fun effects to the trees. I colored them dark to light from bottom to top and then, when I was done, I used the brush tip of my mid-range and darker shades of green to just stipple in some color. I thought it turned out cute!  You can also see that I popped up the house by cutting it out and mounting in on my card base with some foam tape.

 

And then, for the fun little sentiment, I ended up stamping and cutting out using Spellbinders Classic Circles and matting it on a shape cut from Spellbinders Classic Scalloped Circles. Add some red marker to the center of the heart and bedazzle it with glitter glue and... ta da!!!!

And that, my friends is it! Would you like to win Becky's entire new collection? Well, leave a comment HERE.  Becky's going to draw a winner MONDAY! 

Thanks for stopping by everyone - have a fantastic weekend!

~Julie

supplies:

 

A Year in Flowers... for YOU!

 

Hi all and Happy Friday! Today, the Flourishes Design Team is serving up a bit of floral fancy! Each one of the Flourishes designers picked up their favorite from the A Year in Flowers Collection. Have you seen these stamps? If not, you're missing out! Each of the three sets offers a different flower of the month to last the whole year long. Here's a peek... 

 

On to my creation! I have to say, of all the flowers, my absolute favorite is the sprig of daffodils in the A Year in Flowers 1 set. 

I started with THIS sketch from the Deconstructed Sketch blog. I loved the way the main image slanted to and fro! I stamped my flowers on Flourishes Classic White using Memento Rich Cocoa Ink and then colored up my image using these collections...

After I was done coloring it all up, I took some kraft card stock (coming soon to the Flourishes store!) and stamped on the Vintage Wallpaper background stamp using Rich Cocoa ink. I matted it up on the darkest shade in the Rich Browns Color Made Easy paper collection.  The decorative paper is Teresa Collins Now and Then (sold out from the Flourishes store.. :-( ). The matching enamel stickers are also from that collection. The ribbon is the Golden Rod seam binding from the Sunflower Color Made Easy Collection. Add some paper piercing, a sentiment from the Life Lines set stamped on a punched circle and that, my friends is it!

Are you ready for some floral creativity? Head on over and see our ever-so-talented Flourishes designers!

• Christine Okken
• Cindy Lawrence
• Danielle Kennedy
• Heather Jensen
• Julie Koerber
• Silke Ledlow
• Stacy Morgan

Thanks for stopping by everyone! TGIF -- hope your weekend is creative and fun! See you back here soon!

~Julie

Dogwoods in Bloom

Hi all! It's DT Thursday over on the Impression Obsession blog and I'm sharing a creation that is an oldie but goodie! It's one I made forever ago and never blogged. What was I thinking?

On to my creation....

 

I just love this trio of dogwood flowers called ---Dogwood 3 -- and I decided to make the flowers just a soft splash of color. After stamping, I did use the "Out of the Box" technique where you cut out portions of your image that would otherwise be cut off by the die and you pop those portions of the image above the die so that they are kept intact. (I hope that makes sense!). After cutting out my image, I colored the blooms up with Copic Markers. I used YG03, YG05, YG00, RV34, RV32, RV02, RV00, YG63, YG61 and R0000.

Here's a close up....

As you can see, I did stamp the flowers a second time on ivory card stock, cut it out and raised it up on my card. After that, it's just matting it all up! I added some light brown decorative card stock that I scored and sanded along the embossed lines. Add some ribbon and bling and... ta da! All done!

Thanks so much for joining me today! I'll be back tomorrow with some more fun from my stamp room, so be sure to stop by!

~Julie

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

Hi all -- hope your week is off to a good start! Thanks to all the folks who commented on my Saturday post. I drew 2 names from those that were in the running for my magazine giveaway and....

Winner#1 is... (my daughter drew the number 19)

Mary Ann who said... Congrad!your cards are very pretty,very glad to hear your cards were publish.. scrappinggg.blogspot.com January 26, 2013 at 3:49 PM

Winner #2 is.... (my hubby drew the number 12) 

Stephanie said... WOW 2 cards published, but that is no surprise your card are beautiful! Thanks for a chance to get a copy.... January 26, 2013 at 8:34 AM.

Ladies, email me at juliekoerber@gmail.com with your snail mail addy and I'll get your goodies in the mail this week! If I don't hear from the winners in 48 hours, I'll draw new names! So, stay tuned just in case!

In Other Fun News.....

I have a fun little project to share that my mom and I are undertaking. In our home town in Michigan, one of my mom's dear friends is heading up a fundraising for Catholic Social Services. It's a non-profit that lends a hand to children waiting to be placed in an adoptive family. This luncheon also sends foster kids to camp -- a much needed respite for those kiddos! So, part of the lunch involves a craft sale. Items are donated and all the proceeds go to help the cause. So, feast your eyes on our project called.... My Pet Fish! So, this is how the project started --- with dozens upon dozens of colorful "fish!"

What are we going to do with all those fish??? Well, how about "dunking" them in some colored water i.e. soap! Here's our scented soap in progress....

The goal is, when we're done, to have the fish look like they are swimming in a bag, ready to find a home of their own!

And, when the afternoon was done, we had this many......

Twenty-some fishies ready to rock and roll! But, we're not stopping there. We decided as these fishes rub-a-dub-dub in the tub, they need a partner. How about some home-made and colorful wash rags too! So, my mom got started knitting.....

And, by the end of the weekend, we were OFF! We have about 7 as we speak!

 

And... we hope to knit up about 23! Luckily, we have until April! ;-) Hopefully we'll get the job done and these little fishies will swim their way to Michigan to help raise funds for kids in need! Wish us luck!

Have a great day and thanks so much for stopping by!

~Julie

Want to win a copy?

Hi all and happy Saturday! Recently, I got this little number in the mail and found that I had not one, but two cards published in the Spring edition of Paper Creations! YAY!

 

Since the magazine gives you 2 complementary copies and I already have a subscription, I decided to give those two copies away for someone else to enjoy! Want one? Just leave a comment on this post and you'll be in the running! I'll draw a name Monday and announce soon thereafter. I might even put some other goodies in the envelope too! :-) 

Have a good rest of your weekend! 

~Julie

Flourishes' Friday Faves!

Hi all and Happy Friday! Today, the Flourishes Design Team has something special for you all! We decided instead of featuring a certain set or a certain challenge, we would just grab some of our favorite sets and... create! 

On to my creation!

 

I decided to pick up the set Garden Dreams for my creation. I just love the sweet images in this set and I honestly haven't had much time to use this one. So, no time like the present, right? And, I decided to also pair this up with this week's Timeless Tuesday Challenge. It was a recipe Cindy Haffner shared that was simple - a circle, 4 pearls (I cheated and used rhinestones) and a fishtail tag.

I started by cutting my shape out thanks to the Garden Dreams Silhouette Cut File. I stamped using Rich Cocoa Memento Ink and then, grabbed my Copic Markers and used the collections listed below. Mat it up using a mix of Prima, My Mind's Eye and Authentique papers, add some bling and a fun sentiment that is a part of the Tiny Flowers and Tags set and... almost there! For one the the mats, you can see I used the Perfectly Pierced Classic Window die set. I love, love, love the shape in that die set! 

Here's a close up!

And that, my friends, is it! So, as you make the rounds today, you'll see a little bit of everything -- and hopefully it inspires some creativity in your own crafting spaces! So, grab a cup of coffee and head on over to see....

• Christine Okken -- is taking the week off! Her hubby needed surgery and now needs prayers!
• Cindy Lawrence
• Danielle Kennedy
• Heather Jensen
• Julie Koerber -- you are here!
• Silke Ledlow
• Stacy Morgan
• Tammy Hershberger

Also, we have some BIG news for you if you are a bargain hunter! Flourishes had put their Gambler's Sale on hold over the holidays because there were so many different sales. Well, they've resumed it to try to further clear the shelves at Flourishes' home base. So now, many of our items on the Sale Page are....

That's right -- 55% off! You will see some additional items on sale. As a limited time special, all Aquamarkers are 20% off. These water-based markers are fabulous to have on hand for coloring and watercoloring - so if you need a water-based marker, now is the time to stock up! 

Thanks for stopping by,  I hope you have a fun weekend planned! See you back here soon!

~Julie

SUPPLIES:

 

Need a quick and easy creation?

I'm the hostess over on the Flourishes blog today for 10 Minute Thursday -- a post where we show you how to make a quick and easy creation - in just 10 minutes!

Here's a peek at what I whipped up!

If you  have time, click HERE and see what I whipped up this week!
See you back here soon!

~Julie

It's Free for all Friday!

 

Hi all and welcome to another Free for all Friday, when the Flourishes designers get to pick up one of their favorites from the recent release and.... give you some more ideas on how to use this new and wonderful set! It's also the last day of our special January New Release Bundle. This special deal gives you 10% off all three of our new sets when you purchase it in a bundle! So, click HERE to see this deal in the store and remember -- today's the last day! 

On to my creation!

I had this idea in my head for a while now and really thought this set would be perfect to give it a try! It was such an easy peasy card but I love the bold pop of color. All I did was use the largest floral cluster from the Roses Are Red stamp, stamped on kraft card stock using Versamark ink. I embossed using a detail white embossing powder and then grabbed some Aquamarkers. I didn't want to use Copics because the nib on the Copic marker can get damaged by touching the areas with embossing powder. Then, I literally took the fine point nib on the marker and scribbled! Yep, scribbled. I added color closest to the embossed lines and then drew the color out using the Aquamarker blender pen.

I matted it all up on a piece of medium red paper from the Poppy Color Made Easy paper collection, added some white seam binding ribbon, a punched tag and a sentiment from the Mix-n-Mug set and... ta da!

Here's a peek at that darling little tag (from the Perfectly Pierced Victorian Ovals die set).... 

 

And, if you wondered how I added the white embossed line, I used a Versamark Pen and a straight edge from my paper trimmer. I simply lined it up at the 1/4" mark all the way around my card and drew on my line, adding embossing powder afterward and embossing! I might use this trick more often!

Want to see what other creativity the Flourishes gals whipped up this week using the new sets? Just hop on over and see....

• Christine Okken
• Cindy Lawrence
• Danielle Kennedy
• Heather Jensen
• Julie Koerber
• Silke Ledlow
• Stacy Morgan
• Tammy Hershberger

Hope you have a fabulous weekend! I have a fun one ahead. My daughter (who is in 4th grade) is in her first ever basketball tournament with some girls from her class. They are a hoot to watch because they are all just spit-fires. Should make for a fun weekend! Hope life is good wherever you are! Until next time!

~Julie

SUPPLIES:

Sweet Thoughts!

Hi all! Happy Thursday! I'm back today with more fun from Impression Obsession and today it is all about "Sweet Thoughts!" That's the focus of this week's challenge, so grab your IO stamps and get those creative juices flowing! You can find out more about this week's challenge by clicking HERE and heading over to the IO blog!

On to my creation!

 

When I first set eyes on this darling little fruit and veggie container, I knew that I wanted to stamp off some of those sweet strawberries to set inside! And, to add dimension, I stamped my container and then stamped over top using the Cover-A-Card background called Distressed Lines.  I stamped using Vivid! Taupe ink and then, while the ink was still drying, I went over the lines with a blender pen to add a little shading in places.I stamped the stamp Three Strawberries a handful of times, colored them up with watercolor pencils and then cut them out layering them behind my little berry basket. The rest is adding a sentiment on a strip of paper -- the stamp used is called You're a Sweetie. I made my circle card thanks to a large circle die cut and matted it up with smaller shapes and a little doily. Add a ribbon, a button and OF COURSE some glitter glue and... ta da! All done!

Here's a close up of my berries -- too cute!

One thing I forgot to mention is -- if you play along with us -- the randomly drawn winner gets a $25 shopping spree over at the Impression Obsession store! All you need to do is link up your creation over on the January 17th post there.

Need some inspiration? Hop on over and see these IO designers and their "sweet" creations!

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

Thanks for stopping by! See you back here soon!

~Julie