The Feel of Fall --- day one!

I have to say my favorite time of year is fall - when the crisp air takes over and those gorgeous colors start to sprout on leaves all over town. Oh... I could talk forever about all the things I love about fall. Now, I have two more reasons with some gorgeous images perfect for this time of year thanks to the talented folks over at Flourishes!

Introducing....

And....

Both of these sets were masterfully drawn by Flourishes' resident artist Marcella Hawley. Each one in a style that only Marcella can do! They richly define the feel of the season! Both the Falling Leaves and the Seasonal Wreaths sets will hit the Flourishes store right after our Power Hour Release Party Friday night! Woo-hoo! So, mark your calendars! The party starts at 9 Central right HERE on the Flourishes forum over on Splitcoast!

Want to see what I cooked up? I decided to ink up the Seasonal Wreaths set and chose rustic colors that are actually more holiday like than fall!

I love the wreath of roses in this set and wait 'til you see all of these beauties! There is a wreath for every season-- thus the title! ;-)

Now to the mechanics! I stamped my wreath using Memento Rich Cocoa ink and then colored them up with the Dusty Rose and the Fields Copic Collections. The pussy willow in the wreath was colored with the Cool Neutrals set. I only used the two lightest colors in the collection though to spot on some color. After that, I sponged on some Antique Linen Distress Ink around the edges of my circle that I cut out using a Classic Circle Nestabilities die and then I matted it on to a shape cut with the Labels Three die. After I embossed my shape, I used a light sandpaper to rough out the edges. The rest of the card - I added some Kaiser Craft pearls, added some stiching, a decorative border punch, some fun BasicGrey paper (Wassail) and some gorgeous olive silk ribbon.

Here's a close up of my wreath. I just think this image is such a classic!

The Senior Design Team created some gorgeous projects that truly capture the beauty of this time of year! So, be sure to hop on over and see!

Christine Okken
Faith Hofrichter
Latisha Yoast
Laura Fredrickson
Leslie Miller
Stacy Morgan
Nancy Kirk
Sharon Doolittle

Do you want to win the Falling Leaves or Seasonal Wreaths sets? All you need to do is leave a comment on today's post over on the Flourishes Newsletter! DON'T FORGET, you still have a chance to win all four new releases by entering our the Feel of Fall challenge! You can read all about it HERE!

Tomorrow, we'll continue our sneak peeks! You'll love this set! It's one that just proves, the road to a friend's house is never long!

See you tomorrow!

Get ready for the 'Feel of Fall!'

I can't believe that it is almost that time already! It's time for a new release from Flourishes and..... to get you in the "mood," we have a fabulous challenge for you! Follow this sketch, and link HERE onto the Flourishes Newsletter, and you could walk away with all FOUR of Flourishes New sets! Woo-Hoo! FYI: We'll start sneak peeking the sets next Wednesday! So... stay tuned!

But first...here's a peek at the sketch......
And, here's what I came up with! I used a mix of "sea-tone" decorative paper for my main mat and my strip of paper down the middle. The image from Beach Life was stamped in Taupe Vivid ink, I masked the chair and then stamped the background sea scene using Memento London Fog ink. From there, I colored my scene entirely with the brand new Copic Pastel collection! Did you see these markers? WOW! They are a perfect compliment to any image and allow you to add your shading in soft and subtle tones instead of just using the Warm and Cool Neutrals Collections. You can click HERE to see! I ended up with a very soft and serene looking image that... I LOVE! After I was done coloring, I sponged the edge of my image with some Antique Linen Distress ink. I used a strip of decorative brown paper, wrapped it with some fabulous Burlap string, strung on a fun charm and tied a bow! That's it!

I sure hope you make time for play time and join us with this fun sketch! Remember--- Free stamps on the line! ;-) Here are the basic details on how to play! Just make a card using the sketch above. That's it! Link your creation onto our new Mr. Linky link box on the post HERE on the Flourishes Newsletter and... you're in the running! If you upload to Splitcoast Stampers, please use the keyword FLLCSEPT. Remember though, in order to be in the running, you have to link up your card by clicking on the Mr. Linky logo. The contest closes Friday, September 11th at 4:00 PM CST. The winner will be announced during our Power Hour Release Party which kicks off that night at 9 PM Central time!

If you need a little more inspiration, don't forget to hop on over and see what these fine gals cooked up!

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

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

Stamp Simply -- I'm so over it!

So, you like my title for today's challenge?? :-) Today - Miss Sharon challenged us to stamp over our main image with a sentiment! Very simple. If you upload to SCS - it's ssnotime103. And, you can read up on all the official details HERE over at Sharon's place!

And so.... here's my card!

Pretty Easy Peasy! I stamped my tree from Flourishes Forest of Trees in Olive Vivid! ink and then, stamped my sentiment from Flourishes Holiday Greetings over top in Red Vivid Ink. The rest is so super duper easy, it almost doesn't need an explanation! :-) Paper pierce the edge and fold up a corner of your main image. Add a little pop of red scrap paper in the corner, add a rhinestone brad and a fancy Finishing Touches Ribbon Slide at the top with some Gingham Ribbon and... Voila! You're almost there! I matted my main image onto a dark olive and then adhered this to some light olive decorative paper (Lasting Impressions).

That's it my friends! Make sure to hop on over to see what the rest of the Stamp Simply gals came up with!

Charlene --- our September Guest Designer!
Janine
Jennifer
AJ
Tammy
Deb
Barbara
Jenny


Have a great weekend! I'll see you all back here soon! ;-)

Thinking Out of the Box!

Hi all! It's time for another Impression Obsession challenge and this one had us all thinking a little bit "out of the box!" Our mission was to take a stamp set and use it in a way that was different from what the illustrator intended!

So, here's what I did! I took the Noah's Ark Set (a clear set from Sarah Phelps) and mixed it up with the Make a Wish set (also from Sarah Phelps)......

To create this card!
When I saw these cutie patootie animals, I just knew that I wanted to use them for something other than baby cards! So, I gave them balloons, horns and even a party hat! TOO FUN! I colored them all up with Copic markers, punched them out with a 1-1/4" circle layered them onto a slightly larger circle using fun coordinating decorative paper (DCWV). Add a little ribbon, some paper piercing, some sparkles and a fun Mini Message.... and you're pretty much done!

Since my daughter is 6 and is full swing into birthday party mode - getting invited here and there - I want to make up a bunch of these just to have on hand! Creating them will definitely put a smile on my face!

Want to see what the other IO gals came up with when they thought out of the box?

Daniela Dobson
Dina Kowal
Jeanne Streiff
Jenny Gropp
Laura Fulcher
Shirley Ross
Deborah March


Also, don't forget to check out the IO blog! You can learn more about the challenge and find out how your work just might be recognized on the Impression Obsession Blog! Woot-Woot!

Thanks for stopping by!

More from Pagemaps!

This quarter there's tons of fun going on over at Pagemaps.com! There's a whole new batch of creative inspiration for card makers! I was lucky enough to make a sample for this latest round of quarterly card maps! You can click HERE to see September's Cardmaps! Want a peek at the sketch I did?

Here goes.....


And, here's one of the cards I came up with!

This card was easy peasy! All of the stamps are from Impression Obsession. Paper is K and Company and My Mind's Eye. The ivory paper is Flourishes Classic Ivory. I used Tombow markers in two shades of red and two shades of green to color up my flowers (Impression Obsession Peony), huff and stamp! Stamp the sentiment (Fragrance by Impression Obsession)and sponge around the circle with some Antique Linen Distress Ink. That's pretty much it! The punched border is the Apron Lace border from Fiskars. I also did something fun -- I punched the border on a piece of green cardstock and then cut it into strips and used those strips to edge my circle and create a scalloped border. I thought this was fun to do! Add a silk ribbon bow (created thanks to the Bow Easy!) and... you're done with a quick and easy card for any occassion!

Hope your week is going well! I'll see you back here tomorrow for another IO challenge! So... stay tuned!

I'm a friend of Pagemaps!

Ever find yourself searching for a little extra inspiration??? Well, then today is your day! There's a brand new crop of cardmaps over at my friend Becky Fleck's Pagemaps site!

If you're not familiar - quarterly Miss Becky comes out with new sketches for card makers! If you also scrapbook - you can check out her site Pagemaps.com for monthly scrapbook layouts of ALL kinds! It's WAY fun!

For this latest round of card sketches, I was honored to make a sample! If you want to see all the sketches -- plus the one I used -- you can click HERE

And... here's my card!

Here are the quick and simple details!

I used a mix of Foofola, BasicGrey and SU decorative paper scraps. My birdie image (Home Tweet Home from Flourishes) was stamped on Flourishes Classic White with a mix of dye inks: Vivid Storm Blue, Vivid Cottage Ivy, and Vivid Brown and then blended with a water brush to "color" my image. The birdie's chest was just given a wash of Vivid Tea Rose. I stamped the bird a second time and popped up his body so that I didn't have to mask in order for him to look like he was perched! It also added a little more dimension. The ribbon is May Arts Pink Silk Ribbon and the ribbon slide is from Flourishes' Finishing Touches line. Both can be found HERE

I'll have another sample using this fun sketch tomorrow too! So.... check back! See you then!

Clean and Simple!

Sometimes all you need is a great image, a nice sentiment, and a quick and easy technique to create a clean and classy card! I can't claim credit for this one though! I made this card recently at a Stampin' Up class that I went to! I hate to admit this... I have absolutely no details as to the sets I used on this card! I am so sorry! I guess my main point of sharing was to show the very simple and striking layout! I used the oval and scalloped oval SU punches with a little bling added to some satin ribbon! The background was stamped not with Versamark, but a complimentary color of ink in a darker tone. The flower was stamped with permanent black ink and colored by picking up color with a blender pen from the lid of an ink pad and then lightly adding the color to the stem, leaves, petal and center of the flower. Just that simple!

Well folks.... hope you are enjoying your weekend! It's been a nice one here in my neck of the woods. And, for that, I am thankful! See you all back here soon!

Flourishes Focus.... put on the mask!

Hi all! TGIF! With Friday comes another Flourishes Focus. This time... it's all about putting on the mask! Flourishes sells this fabulous tape called Eclipse and if you head on over to the Flourishes Newsletter, Cindy Lawrence gives us all a fabulous tutorial on just how to use it! This paper is a low-tack tape -- kind of like a giant Post-It! So, instead of having just that little strip at the top that's tacky - you have a 6" by 33' Post-It! Pretty cool huh? Imagine how long that would last! And, you can re-use your masks. Just keep them with your stamp sets and use over and over again!

I digress! Here's a look at my creation for this week! I wanted to keep it simple because I honestly didn't have a ton of time to stamp this week. I know... terrible isn't it? I didn't have time to color my roses! So, I decided to keep it monochromatic and use sponging to add a punch of color!


So, to explain how I masked -- I wanted to show you the set, so you could see what I was talking about!!! I used the I Love Roses set by Flourishes....

See that large rose up in the upper left corner? I wanted that rose to be stamped repeatedly as my main image. But, I wanted it to look like the roses were all overlapped. So, I stamped that rose onto my Eclipse tape, cut it out and then used this tacky sheet as a mask so that I could shield the rose that I just stamped, and stamp new roses over top. Sometimes you need two masks to do this - but I managed with just one.

After I was done stamping all my roses with Tea Rose Vivid Ink, I then put the Labels 8 die that I used for my main image shape back on and sponged on some more Tea Rose ink with the die on to keep the edge of my main image crisp. I also did this with my larger pink mat as well. Here's a shot of my main image so you can see what I mean!

Paper pierce the edge and then, it's time for your sponged sentiment! I used the new Ribbon Tag Trio dies that are brand new in the Flourishes store! I love these dies! They are a bit larger than the other ribbon slide tags, so they can accomodate a little larger sentiment or whatever else you'd like! This die also has embossed dots around the edges that I later added some pink Liquid Pearls to! I also threaded some of that lucious May Arts pink satin ribbon through as well.

See?
That's it my friends! I hope you have a fabulous weekend! Be sure to head on over to the Flourishes Newsletter to see Cindy's tutorial. And, don't forget to hop on over to these ladies places to see what they cooked up as well!

Christine Okken
Cindy Lawrence
Faith
Latisha Yoast
Leslie Miller

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

Stamp Simply-- No Comfort Zone Here!

Hi all! It's almost the weekend, which means, it's time for one of my favorite challenges -- the Stamp Simply Challenge (ssnotime102) courtesy of the fabulous Sharon Johnson!

This one is all about getting uncomfortable! :-) Well, not really. Here's the scoop. We all have our stamping "comfort zones." We might not even realize it -- but we do! So, today Sharon is challenging us to get away from it - use something that you've never used. Do something that is not characteristic of what you do on your cards!

And, my card, has no stamping on it whatsoever!

I decided to get "scrappy!" I took beautiful Basic Grey papers, some fun ribbon (Hobby Lobby), a button (the Paper Studio), a Martha Stewart border punch and some stickers and I went to town. The papers and stickers are all from the Basic Grey Lemonade collection. I mean to tell you -- this card was so hard. I have to admit - I am really bad at getting out of my comfort zone! I think this card turned out OK. Something looks a little out of balance. And, stickers? Hhhhmm. I don't really use them much. Then, I don't really do "cutesy" well either. So, there you have it. I got out of my comfort zone but I'm not really comfortable with the results! LOL!

I do think the little bee is darling though! I added some sparkle to his little wings! See?
So, if you stop by and want to say "hi" but don't really dig the card -- don't worry! I won't be offended! Just say -- Hope all is well! And, I'll get your drift!! LOL!

If you want to see how the rest of the team got out of their comfort zone, be sure to stop by and visit the rest of the gals! Be sure to wish my mom Pat a fond farewell! This is her last week with us as the guest designer! Sniffle. Sniffle! It was so much fun to have her around and have her with us for these challenges!! I still think she should be the team cheerleader! ;-)

Pat Adam, August Guest Designer -- My mom... YEAH!!
Janine
Jennifer
AJ
Tammy
Deb
Barbara
Jenny

Thanks for stopping by! Hope you can get out of your creative zone and join us this week! :-)

My DD has been gettin' crafty!

Well my friends, I have to tell you, my daughter is stealing the show today! She's had more time to get crafty than I have as of late!!

She got an invite with one of her friends to a party at one of my local scrapbook stores. It was geared toward kids and this is what they made!
I thought I would share because I thought it turned out darling and I know there are a lot of moms out there that like to do crafty things with their daughters. Here's all it took-- some stickers, some punched circles, bling, punched flowers, some chipboard letters, strips of paper, a good glue, some edging or ric rac, a handful of fun ribbons in vibrant colors, a clip board and a note pad! And above, is what you get after about 45 minutes! The girls loved it! I forgot to mention that they did sponge a wash of acrylic paint to color up the clip board. You can't really tell, but my DD decided to make hers yellow.

When I asked my DD what she loved about making this project, she said... "I liked painting the board and putting on all the bling!" Yes, my friends, she IS my daughter! LOL!

Here she is... gettin' crafty! How cute! Sorry, I'm biased!
Thanks Ellie for stealing the spotlight! You can do it anytime!

I'll be back soon with another Stamp Simply challenge AND a fun little Flourishes Focus that is all about taking off the mask! Yep, that was your hint! See you all back here soon!

With Gratitude....

I got some time to stamp today! When my mojo is low, I love to take in a challenge to light that creative spark! Today, I picked jjjjjo-jo and the sets (the theme of today's Featured Stamper on SCS!) I also decided to try a new technique featured on the Flourishes Newsletter courtesy Makiko Jones! It is the coolest thing I have seen lately!! It's Modge-Podging with Mulberry Paper! You can click HERE to check out her fabulous tutorial!

Joanne Grzelak was today's featured stamper. After flipping through her fun gallery, I decided to CASE this card HERE.

Since I didn't have the SU die for the main shape, I decided to swap that out and use Spellbinder's Curved Rectangles die. I used a different CB embossing folder for my background and instead of using a CB folder for the center strip like Joanne did, I used some silk ribbon that I matted to a strip of black paper. Instead of brads in the corner, I used self stick pearls. Plus... I used different stamps! The basic layout of the card is the same though! ;-)

The stamps I used were Bird and Vine and Thank You... both from Flourishes! The background was done with some ivory distressed paper in the Basic Grey Wisteria pack and then accented with Scattered Straw and Tattered Rose Distress Inks. I used Lettuce and Pesto Adirondack inks for my vine and accented with some Ranger Liquid Pearls.

To find out how I got that background texture, you really need to stop on over and see Maki's tutorial! It is a WOW technique! And, for more on the Featured Stamper challenge, just click HERE!

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

Twice As Nice Friday -- Let's De-stress and Polka!

The Stamp Simply party from last week may be over... but we're still dancing! Polka anyone? No? You don't want to roll out the barrel? Well, how about a polka dot??? :-) That is what this week's Stamp Simply challenge (ssnotime101) is all about and I am going to make it a twice as nice Friday and combine this one... with the focus over on the Flourishes Newsletter!

Before I get to the fun with my creation.... be sure to check out what the other SS gals cooked up! You can check out Sharon's challenge by clicking.... HERE!

Pat Adam, August Guest Designer -- My mom... YEAH!!
Janine
Jennifer
AJ
Tammy
Deb
Barbara
Jenny

This week, fellow Flourishes SDT gal pal Stacy Morgan is de-stressing with distressing! Mix that up with a few polka dots and... this is what you've got!
I used the brand new Cherries and Peaches set from Flourishes. I love this set! I stamped my cherries using permanent black ink onto Flourishes Classic Ivory and then colored them up with the Poppy and Fields Copic collections packaged by Flourishes! After I added the color, I also added some Crystal Lacquer to make my cherries shine!

From there, it's simply matting and having some fun with my layout! For my "distressing" I actually took some rustic polka dot paper and then sanded it to really mute the color and make it look aged! It's a different way to distress but I love the vintage feel!

You can also see that I stamped my cherries a second time and then lined it up for a kind of different effect. I also used some Tea Dye Distress Ink (Ranger) on the strip that I put my sentiment on to sponge on an antique feel. Add some paper piercing and a fun sheer polka dot ribbon and... DONE!

You'll have to check out Stacy's wonderful tutorial over on the Flourishes Newsletter as she shows us the different levels of distressing! And, be sure to hop on over to the rest of the DT's places in blog land to see what they cooked up!

Christine Okken
Cindy Lawrence
Faith Hofrichter
Latisha Yoast
Laura Fredrickson
Leslie

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

Eat, Drink and.... Be Scary!

Hey all! It's time for another Impression Obsession challenge and this one... is downright scary! :-) All you need to do is pull out your Impression Obsession stamps out and make up a Halloween card!

I chose some of the new Leigh Hannan stamps for my card. I just LOVE these little skeletons that are all ready for a party!

I stamped my skeleto n crew -- Skulls About Town -- out on Flourishes Classic White cardstock using Memento Tuxedo Black ink and then colored with a mix of Copics and Copic Spica pens. Add some bling, a fun ribbon side, a beautiful silk ribbon and a fun little clip with my sentiment - Eat Drink and be Scary! - and... done! For my background paper, I actually took some scraps of Halloween paper and - on the top piece - I stamped the Cover a Card Harlequin background stamp, embossing with black detail powder.

Here's a close up of those cute little skeletons! If you want to know more about the challenge and how your work could be featured on the Impression Obsession blog... just click HERE.

And, don't forget to see what the rest of the DT whipped up for this spooky challenge! ;-)

Daniela Dobson
Dina Kowal
Jeanne Streiff
Jenny Gropp
Laura Fulcher
Shirley Ross
Katarina Menzies

Thanks for stopping by! See you all back here soon!

Sharing some happy mail!

Gosh, blog world is so fun... especially when your friends send a little love to your mail box! I have had a lot of cards sent my way this summer and I realized the other day, I have yet to share them here!! I thought I'd post them here so that you can be just as inspired as I am by these fabulous works of art!

This first one is just a creative genius at work! I keep telling Barb Schram that she is too talented for her own good! This card is actually a window card. You can't see it very well but the table and chairs are behind an acetate style shadow box and the "overhang" she created with decorative paper comes down over the "window!" Isn't that incredible?
I've held on to this one from Flourishes Owner, Sharon Doolittle because the set she used just was released last weekend (Cherries and Peaches)! Isn't her coloring AMAZING?

Speaking of amazing coloring, Christine Okken truly has a way with color and I admire her work immensely! I have to tell you, her artistic edge is even more impressive in person!

I got this beauty from Nancy Kirk (also an owner of Flourishes) and I loved how she created her background with color! Even after holding the card in my hands, I have no idea how she did it! Copics? Maybe. Watercolor? Hhhmmm... don't know! One thing I do know is... it is beautiful!

As many of you know, in mid-July, I hopped on an iron bird to meet up with some stamping buddies and we met up in Shipshewana, Indiana. Well, when we were there, we actually found this paper below that is the base of Darlene Pavlick's card! Isn't that hysterical! I thought it made up the cutest Thank You card! Thanks Dar!

This next card by my coloring buddy Denise Gooch has a funny story behind it! I open the card and see this beautiful wreath with my favorite shade of plum. I thought, 'With Kind Thoughts?' How sweet! What did I do to deserve this?
Then, I opened up the card and nearly threw it across the room! I screamed when I found this hopper inside (see photo below)! You see, I was telling Denise that our neighborhood has been literally overrun by grasshoppers. It's so gross! So, this was Miss Denise poking fun. After I nearly threw the card, I did laugh hysterically. Only Denise!

When Dee Jackson sent me this beauty, I couldn't believe the richness of her creation! She did this card using chalks and it is truly a stunning card not only in blog land but in real life! I wish she lived closer because I'd tell her to come over for a play date to show me how she made it!

Speaking of southern gals... Betty Wright mailed out this gorgeous card after she got her hands on some of the Copic collections that Flourishes put together. This card is just as beautiful and vibrant as Betty herself!

And last, but NEVER least is this java lovin' creation from my bud Janine Orchard. She is really my BFF in blog land! And, she knows my weakness--- COFFEEEE!! She is too sweet. Every now and then she'll send me some of the best beans ever for my afternoon coffee. So, this creation was very sweet!

I'm happy to say that each and every one of these creations is now on my inspiration wall....so I can look at these cards to help the creative juices flow!

Thank you ladies! You have no idea how much each and every one of your cards brightened my days! Thanks for stopping by! See you back here soon!