No Time To Stamp?

Keyword ssnotime44 - There is no time limit. You can play this challenge and upload your project at Splitcoast and/or your Blog, anytime at all!  You (and that means anyone and everyone, blogger or not!) can play as many times as you like!!!  The point is to keep it simple, quick and have fun!!!  Please link back here.

The challenge this week is to make a card that has BOTH a flower and the color purple.  Now, just how easy is that!!!  The flower need not be purple, as long as there is purple used in the card — Flowers + Purple — that’s it!!!  I LOVE Almost Amethyst and haven’t used it in a bit, so just wanted to — no other reason!!!  Can’t wait to see what you do and, as always, try to keep it simple.   Most importantly — have fun!!!

Here are some samples (please be patient as we are uploading and linking tonight):

Check out Julie Koerber’s sample here . 

Check out Dee Jackson’s sample here.

Check out Tammy Hershberger’s sample here. 

Check out Jennifer Buck’s sample here.

Check out Janine Orchard’s sample here.

Check out Becky Oehlers’ sample here.

What a fabulous Stamp Simply Team!!!   Thank you girls!!!  Much appreciated!!!

And here’s my sample:

There is a bit more stamping on this card than on my normal cards for this challenge, but I just felt like it — and it is all simple stamping.   I used the latest Stamp Simply set called Thank You, and I used Palette Hybrid Charcoal ink (gray) to stamp my background script (included in the set) along the entire left edge of the card.  I then white embossed the parrot tulip from the set over the scripted background in a diagonal formation as shown in the photo.  Then I took my Craft White pad and DTP’d (direct to paper — take the ink pad in your hand and apply it directly to the paper from the pad) the edges of the card to soften it.  I do this often with snowy/winter cards, but I just thought today’s card called for it.  I love the way it softens the overall look. My main image tulip is colored with Copics, holes punched for the Lavender Sheer Ribbon to run through, sentiment stamped in the same Charcoal ink, and tiny Pearls added to the ticket punched corners.  A very soft and lovely card IRL, much softer than it comes across in the photo.  My photo skills still lack, no matter how hard I try — LOL!!!  I am so absolutley in love with this single stem tulip, I can not tell you.   I hope I don’t begin to bore you with it all!!! 

This card is a good representation of my vision for a Stamp Simply set.  Lots of different things and interest in this card, all done with the contents of one small set!!!  My kind of stamping!!!

• Stamps:  Thank You by Flourishes
• Paper:  White, Basic Gray, Almost Amethyst
• Ink:  Palette Hybrid Charcoal, Craft White, Copics for coloring — BV000, BV02, BV04, G40, G21, YG03, C1,0.
• Accessories:  Lavender Sheer Ribbon, Pearls, Ticket Corner Punch, White Embossing Powder, Hole Punch.

Remember when you upload to use the keyword above, followed by a comma.  Please come back here to post (as a comment) that you’ve played, and provide a link so we can check out your card right away. You can find all cards uploaded for this challenge by clicking Gallery Submissions Here.

Some wanting to play said they have never uploaded before.  If that’s you and you need help uploading,  just go to my Challenge No. 1 here.

Thank you all so much for stopping in.  I do so much appreciate it!!! Hope you all have a safe and wonderful  weekend!!!  And hope you find some time to stamp or do whatever it is that pleases you!!!

Today I have a card I made using the newly released Poppy Patch by Flourishes —  what a fun set!!!  All the various stems are separate so you can create your own cluster of Poppies, however you like!!!  Here’s the set:

And here’s the card I made — much brighter colors than my normal choices, but I just thought a Poppy card needed some bright colors.

To create my main image, I first stamped the large center poppy on a piece of white cardstock.  I then stamped the image again on my Eclipse Masking Tape and cut it out.  This Masking Tape is wonderful for those who like to mask.  The entire back has a low-tack adhesive so you can  press it on over your image and it stays tight, but then you can just pull it off when you’re done and save it for next time — really works great!!!  Anyway, once my mask was over my large center poppy, I then stamped on the remainer of the poppy stems, pulled off my mask and colored in my images using Copic markers and then stamped on my  SU Sanded background.  Then I cut and embossed the image using my Petite Oval Nestability Dies by Spellbinders, matted again in black and framed with the yellow scallops.   

For my background the lower green sheet is from the Scarlet’s Letter pad by Basic Grey and it is stamped with the background from the newly released Stamp Simply set called Thank You.  Love that little background stamp!!!  The upper half is run through the Cuttlebug with the Swiss Dots embossing folder.  I punched the corners and the butterflies, and after wrapping with the Black Sheer Ribbon and adhering it all together, I was done.  The oval is on with mounting tape to elevate it a bit and I used Zots to adhere the butterflies. 

• Stamps:  Poppy Patch and Thank You by Flourishes.  Sanded b/g by SU.
• Paper:  Black, White, YoYo Yellow, Scarlet’s Letter by Basic Grey.
• Ink:  Palette Charcoal and Noir Black.  Copic to colors:  Y-15, YR09, R14, R27, R29, YG03, YG63, G99, C-1, 0.
• Accessories:  Black Sheer Ribbon, Brad, Petite Oval Nestabilities, Photo Corner Punch by SU, Butterfly Punch by Martha Stewart, Mounting Tape, Zots.

And here are some reminders:

To see more samples using this weeks new releases by Flourishes, you can access the Flourishes Design Team Blogs here:  Leslie Miller, Linda Duke, Faith Hofrichter, Susan Roberts, Julie Koerber, as well as Sharon Doolittle, Nancy Kirk.

Voting is currently taking place for the Paper Crafts Gallery Idol contest, and Flourishes own Julie Koerber is in the running, being one of 20 finalists.  You can find the link and instructions on Julie’s Blog.  Please vote NOW as time is of the essence.

Tomorrow, Friday, you can expect a fun and really easy Stamp Simply Challenge here.

And you have until 6:00 p.m. EST today,  Thursday, 7/10, to enter a card or project using Coffee with Friends in our Coffee Time Challenge.  You can’t hope to win unless you enter — check out the link for the challenge rules and a photo of the prize.

And I think that wraps it up for today.  Thanks so much for stopping in and I hope you all are having a wonderful week!!!!

Keyword ssnotime40 - There is no time limit. You can play this challenge and upload your project at Splitcoast and/or your Blog, anytime at all!  You (and that means anyone and everyone, blogger or not!) can play as many times as you like!!!  The point is to keep it simple, quick and have fun!!!  Please link back here.

The challenge this week is SOME LIKE IT HOT .. or cold!!!  Hot or cold, as in liquid.  There has to be some liquid aspect to your card, even though we may not always see the liquid. For example – Hot = coffee (of course!) or other drinks, tub bath, etc.  Cold = rain water, water in vase, lake, etc.  Let your creative juices flow!!!  Most importantly — have fun!!!

Here are some samples:

Check out Julie Koerber’s sample here . 

Check out Dee Jackson’s sample here.

Check out Tammy Hershberger’s sample here. 

Check out Jennifer Buck’s sample here.

Check out Janine Orchard’s sample here .

Check out Becky Oehlers’ Sample  .

What a fabulous Stamp Simply Team!!!   Thank you girls!!!  Much appreciated!!!

And here’s my sample:

I made this card to go with the kitchen towels and hot pads, using Coffee with Friends, the first set in the Stamp Simply line by Flourishes.  This will be a gift for another challenge  (see below).  I’m also real excited to tell you about the little saucer under my cup — it was so easy to do!   Let me tell you how I created this entire colorful little panel.

• Stamp the cup on white cardstock
• Draw on saucer as described below***
• Using a 1/2″ strip of cardstock as your guide, place it over the cup and draw your line dividing wall from countertop, then just keep moving up with your guide strip to draw other horizontal lines
• Using the same strip, place it vertically over the center of the cup and draw the lines on both sides of the strip, then move out in each direction drawing your lines. 
• Color as desired.  I used Copics and drew my colors from the towels and hot pads.  After it is all colored, stamp on steam with White Kraft Ink.
• I then used a Rectangle Nestability to cut out and emboss my main image (my colored panel was larger than the Nestability I chose to use).  Then cut and emboss a frame with the Scalloped Rectangle Nestability.   Accent scallops with white dots. 
• Mount the colored image to the scalloped frame with mounting tape or squares, being careful of their placement so you can run the Chocolate Sheer Ribbon between the colored image and the scalloped frame, which is then mounted to the black panel with mounting tape as well.
• The flourishy steam stamp is used to create the background on the black panel, using White Kraft ink.

***This cup in the Coffee with Friends set does not have a saucer with it, so to make one I punched an oval with my SU small oval punch, placed that punched oval where I wanted it over my cup, then traced the oval shape with my SU Black Journaler, using the fine tip.  It looked perfect — one would never know it wasn’t a part of the stamp!!

This was a really fun card to make, and having the towels and hot pads to use as a guide took the wonder out of the project — I knew what I was doing, just had to figure out how!!!!

• Stamps:  Coffee with Friends by Flourishes
• Paper:  Black, White.  Dark brown and yellow by Prism.
• Ink:  Palette Noir Black, SU Kraft White, SU Black Journaler, Copics, Inkksentials Opaque White Pen.
• Accessories:  Chocolate Sheer Ribbon, SU Small Oval Punch, Rectangle Nestabilities by Spellbinders.

Would you like a chance to win these towels, hot pads and card?  We have a Coffee Challenge in the Flourishes Forum at SCS.  All you have to do is create a card or project using Coffee with Friends,  upload it at SCS by July 10 and then link back to the challenge thread so we can find your project.  A winner will be selected from all entries on July 10 by a random number generator.  And it could be you!!!  And if you don’t have Coffee with Friends, there is still plenty of time to order it and play!!!  You can find it here.

Remember when you upload to use the keyword above, followed by a comma.  Please come back here to post (as a comment) that you’ve played, and provide a link so we can check out your card right away. You can find all cards uploaded for this challenge by clicking Gallery Submissions Here.

Some wanting to play said they have never uploaded before.  If that’s you and you need help uploading,  just go to my Challenge No. 1 here.

Thanks so much for stopping in everyone — I truly appreciate it!!  Hope you can find some time to play!!!  Thanks much!!!

Keyword ssnotime39 - There is no time limit. You can play this challenge and upload your project at Splitcoast and/or your Blog, anytime at all!  You (and that means anyone and everyone, blogger or not!) can play as many times as you like!!!  The point is to keep it simple, quick and have fun!!!  Please link back here.

The challenge this week is to GO BOLD!!!  With color, that is!!!   So the theme is to use BOLD colors — bolder than you would typically use — and this means either cardstock OR designer paper OR ribbon OR any embellies — whatever you have to add that bolt of extra bold color to your project. With summer approaching (where I live, we wonder!), it just puts me in the mood for bolder colors!!!  That’s it — an easy one again!!!  Most importantly — have fun!!!

Here are some samples:

Check out Julie Koerber’s sample here . 

Check out Dee Jackson’s sample here.

Check out Tammy Hershberger’s sample here. 

Check out Jennifer Buck’s sample here.

Check out Janine Orchard’s sample here .

Check out Becky Oehlers’ Sample here .

What a fabulous Stamp Simply Team!!!   Thank you girls!!!  Much appreciated!!!

And here’s my sample:

The bright pink comes from the Sultry pad by Basic Grey.  I combined it with Certainly Celery, which is certainly not a bold color, but for some reason it seems a bit bolder here today!!! And that gorgeous ribbon is the Apple Green Wide Satin — I was really surprised at how well this goes with  SU’s Certainly Celery — I really like the 2 together!!!  The ribbon is a bit brighter than the Celery, but they work together just fine!!!  My coffee cup is from Coffee with Friends, the first in the new Stamp Simply line by Flourishes, and I used my Petite Oval Nestabilities to cut and emboss the main image and mats.  The scalloped frame was pierced as well, with a brad being added on top.  It is mounted with Pop Dots.  The Chocolate Dotted Sheer, tops if off!  This paisley-ish print is my favorite piece in the Sultry pad - I just LOVE it!!!  OH, and this cup in the set sure reminds me of Fiesta Ware!!!  That’s why I chose it for my BOLD color card today!

• Stamps:  Coffee with Friends by Flourishes
• Paper:  White, Chocolate Chip, Certainly Celery, Sultry by Basic Grey
• Ink:  Palette Noir Black and Charcoal.  Copics  in RV11, RV17, RV34, E27, C1, 0.
• Accessories:  Ribbons, Brad, Petite Oval Nestabilities, Pop Dots

Remember when you upload to use the keyword above, followed by a comma.  Please come back here to post (as a comment) that you’ve played, and provide a link so we can check out your card right away. You can find all cards uploaded for this challenge by clicking Gallery Submissions Here.

Some wanting to play said they have never uploaded before.  If that’s you and you need help uploading,  just go to my Challenge No. 1 here.

Thanks so much for stopping in everyone — I truly appreciate it!!  Hope you can find some time to play and that you have a wonderful weekend!!!

Hi everyone!  Today I’m starting a new Wednesday feature called May I  Suggest…  I’ll be showing you a card and then giving you a better view of the things I’ve used to make the card, with some additional suggestions as to things that would work well with the selection of product used.  I needed a feminine sympathy card for today, so here it is:

The paper I am showcasing on this card is one of my very favorite Basic Grey 6 x 6 pads, called Lily Kate.   It has such lovely prints and colors so suitable for spring.  I’ve also used one of Flourishes latest releases, Lilac, and my sentiment is from Flourished Words.  I used Nestability Dies by Spellbinders to cut and emboss my main image as well as sentiment.  My lilacs were colored with Copics, and here are the colors:

As I said above, Lily Kate has been one of my very favorite of the Basic Grey pads, and that’s what I’d like to give you a better look at today.  I spread the sheets out so you can see them better and I’ve paired them up with some of the fabulous May Arts ribbons that Flourishes carries.  Here’s the 1st photo:

Aren’t these just the most gorgeous prints and colors!!!  The ribbons I’ve selected that work well with the Lily Kate colors are the Olive Green Scalloped Edge Satin hanging on top, the White and Ivory Wide Satin, and the Dotted Sheers in Light Blue, Apple Green, Maize and Lavender.  Just looking at these makes me want to go and do something with them!!!

And these gorgeous prints and colors finish off the pad.  There are 2 sheets of each in the pad, for a total of 36 sheets per pad.  Hanging from the top are again, the Olive Green Scalloped Edge Satin, Chocolate Velvet and the Pink Scalloped Edge Satin.  The Wide Satins are shown in Pink, Chocolate, Ivory and White.  The 1″ wide Sheers are shown in Pink and Chocolate, and the Dotted Sheers are shown again in Light Blue and Maize.

And I can not, in all clear conscience, make ribbon recommendations without showing you my all time favorite ribbons.  Yes, black ribbons are a staple in my stamp room — I just could NOT design without them.  My theory is simple — when all else fails — add black!!!  Or if you’re in a hurry, just add black!!!  You can never go wrong with black accents and black ribbon — a fool proof winner, every time!!!  The ribbons shown here are the Wide Sheer, Dotted Sheer, Scalloped Edge Satin and Velvet. 

I also wanted to recommend these soft and pretty colors in the LuminArte Twinkling H20’s, which are beautiful, shimmery little pots of watercolors.  They are sold in 12 packs, and this pack is number 1256.  Although I have not used the H20’s on the project shown in this post, this magnolia card shows how just a bit of H20’s added on as an accent after coloring can spruce up an image.  Fun little pots of color and they are so easy to use — just like watercoloring with a wet brush when you were a child, only our paints are so much prettier, plus they shimmer!!!  The H20’s are hard cakes in these little jars.  You need to wet them to paint.  You can take a waterbrush (which is a brush filled with water) and dip it into your pot of H20’s, or you can take a little spray bottle and spritz some water into your pot and use a regular paint brush if your prefer.  Whatever works for you — just get the hard cake dampened and paint.  And you can control the intensity of the color by how much water you have on your brush.  Once you load your brush with color, just dab it on a scrap paper first to get off that first “blob” of water so it doesn’t mess up your project, and then paint away. They are SO FUN to play with — GUARANTEED FUN — no matter what your age!!!  You can use them to entirely paint your image or you can color it first and then just use the H20’s as a shimmery accent — pretty much anything goes!!!  They are new to me and I am still experimenting.  The instructions say you can also apply this paint directly to your rubber stamp — which I will be trying later this week — so stayed tuned to see how that turns out - LOL!!!  Can’t wait to try!!!  Oh, also, it was recommended to me by the manufacturer that once you get your cakes of color wet, that you DO NOT recap the jars, just keep them open so the cake can dry up again.

Now, there is just one more item I’d like to recommend today, and that is the sentiment set called Flourished Words.  This is a set of 27 individual words that can be used alone or together to form phrases, all done in a small, elegantly scripted font.  It is what I used on the card above.  As an example of how versatile this set is, by combining the words, here are some of the options you have for a sympathy sentiment:  Sympathy, Our Sympathy, All Our Sympathy, With All Our Sympathy, My Sympathy, All My Sympathy, With All My Sympathy — so you get the idea.  And realize, these are only sympathy options — there are TONS of other words in the set so you can create endless sentiments.  This is just one of those timeless and classic sets you will use forever and ever once you have it!!!

And this wraps up today’s May I Suggest…

Thank you so much for stopping in and I hope you are all having a wondeful week and are enjoying some warm spring temps — something we are still waiting for!!!

Keyword ssnotime36 - There is no time limit. You can play this challenge and upload your project at Splitcoast and/or your Blog, anytime at all!  You (and that means anyone and everyone, blogger or not!) can play as many times as you like!!!  The point is to keep it simple, quick and have fun!!!  Please link back here.

The challenge this week is to use a bug on your card — and I will be liberal in the interpretation of a bug — butterflies and dragonflies will count — or any kind of animal or thing that *bugs* you — LOL.  Just run with it, have fun and, as always, try to keep it simple!!

Here are some samples:

Check out Julie Koerber’s sample here. 

Check out Dee Jackson’s sample here.

Check out Tammy Hershberger’s sample here. 

Check out Jennifer Buck’s sample here.

Check out Janine Orchard’s sample here.

Check out Becky Oehlers’ Sample here.

What a fabulous Stamp Simply Team!!!   Thank you girls!!!  Much appreciated!!!

And here is my sample:

I used the newly released Lilac set by Flourishes because this set has two adorable bugs with it — this elegant looking grasshopper (LOL!!!) and an adorable ladybug!!!  How fun!!!  Everything was stamped in black and colored with Copics, shown below.

I accented all of the little lilac petals with my Clear Stardust Pen, and they shimmer so nicely IRL, but I could not pick that up in the photo — so sorry!!!  I couldn’t even get it to show up on the close-up below.

This card measures 6 1/2″ x 3 3/8″ and is made to fit the small SU open end envelopes — a fun size for a change!!!  The grasshopper was cut and embossed with the Circle Nestabilities and the ribbon is the fun new Apple Green Sheer by May Arts — it also comes in a lot of other fun colors!!!  I punched two holes with my eyelet setter and hammer to run the sheer ribbon through.

• Stamps:  Lilac by Flourishes
• Paper:  White, Elegant Eggplant
• Ink:  Versa Fine Onyx Black (heat set), Copics to Color
• Accessories:  Clear Stardust Pen, Sheer Ribbon, SU Brad, Circle Nestabilities by Spellbinders, Pop Dot

Remember when you upload to use the keyword above, followed by a comma.  Please come back here to post (as a comment) that you’ve played, and provide a link so we can check out your card right away. You can find all cards uploaded for this challenge by clicking Gallery Submissions Here.

Some wanting to play said they have never uploaded before.  If that’s you and you need help uploading,  just go to my Challenge No. 1 here.

Thanks much everyone for stopping in — hope you get time to play!!!  Have a wonderful Memorial Day Weekend!!!

My apologies – 10 Minute Tuesday just did not happen this week.  First I was a day behind schedule, then I lost internet service on Tuesday for 13 hours  — so I’m just moving on – and what fun I’ve had!!!  I had a chance to just play and try something I haven’t used before – and what fun!!! I created THE most gorgeous shimmer paper EVER!!!!  And it was soooooo easy!!!  Here’s the card I made:

I used Rock-a-Bye Baby which was released last week by Flourishes and Two Scoops DP by Basic Grey.   I just LOVE this vintage baby set — just darling!!! And can you see all the shimmer on my main image oval panel?  Here’s a close up so you can really see it sparkle and shimmer:

It almost looks as though it had been embossed with Iridescent Ice Embossing Powder, but it wasn’t - what I did was much, much easier!!!  I first stamped my image with Versa Fine Onyx Black (heat set) onto white cardstock and then colored with Copics.  Here’s the colors (much easier to photo the markers than to write down all those numbers — LOL!):

Then to make my *Shimmer* I used products by LuminArte — the Pure Mica Metallic in Luster Pearl and the Simple Solution #2.  This is what they look like:

Using the Miniature Spoon, take just a tad bit of the Mica from the jar and mix it with just a drop or two or three of the Medium from the bottle.  Stir it up with a paint brush and literally paint it on your card — I just painted it onto my oval.  It is wet, just like when you paint, and it took maybe 15 - 20 minutes for my oval to dry.  And I might add, this is very forgiving.  I had my first coat a bit too thick, so I just made a second batch much thinner, and painted over my first coat and thinned out the application — worked perfectly!!! When it was wet it looked a bit streaky, and I wondered, but it dried to a beautiful, even sparkle and sheen!!! This is the ULTIMATE SHIMMER PAPER!!!!  I am a happy camper!!!  So fun!!!!  I used the Luster Pearl here as I wanted a moonglow effect, but I can envision how fun using all the other colors available will be!!!

One thing I wish is that you could touch the oval I painted with the Mica and Solution.  It is totally smooth, nothing flakes off, it feels like a coated/protected surface.  This is a dream come true, especially if that glittery *fall-off* ever bothered you!!!  LOL!!!  I can’t wait to try this out in more colors and more applications!!!

Now, just so you realize,  this is the same jar of Pure Mica Metallic that I used when I did the Cuttlebug embossed background with the high sheen on this magnolia card.  You can read that post to see how I used it there.

This card is 5.5″ square, the yellowish DP sheet is Cuttlebug embossed with the Baby folder, the ovals are cut and embossed with the Oval Nestabilities by Spellbinders, the scalloped oval is paper pierced to give a lacey effect, the stick on pearls were in my stash and I just love using the 1″ Satin Ribbon by May Arts on baby cards — it is so soft and supple, it feels just like the satin binding on a baby’s blanket, and I think it just gives that satiny/babyish look to a card!!!  Mounting tape is used to pop the main image/pink ovals up above the scallop and over the ribbon.

• Stamps: Rock-a-Bye Baby by Flourishes
• Paper:  White and Two Scoops DP by Basic Grey
• Ink: Versa Fine Onyx Black and Copics to Color
• Accessories:  Satin Ribbon, Pure Metallic Mica and Simple Solution #2 by LuminArte, Cuttlebug, Baby Embossing Folder, Oval Nestabilities by Spellbinders, 1/2 Pearls, Mounting Tape, Paintbrush.

I think that’ll do it for this card!!!  Thanks so much for stopping in, and I’m trying real hard to get back on track!!!  Hope you are all having a great week!!!

Good Wednesday morning, everyone.   I write to you today officially as a Flourish.  Yes, I am a Flourish!!!  Flourish #4 to be exact!!!    I have joined forces with Jan Marie Caruso, Nancy Kirk and Sharon Doolittle and share partnership with them in Flourishes, LLC.  I am so excited about this new venture and can’t wait to share with you all the fun and exciting things we have planned.

I was lucky enough to be chosen for the Charter Design Team when Flourishes (FLLC) opened its doors last year, and I have served as one of their designers since.  My *connection* with the style of the Flourishes images was instantly apparent to me – I just loved their timeless and elegant designs and felt so totally at ease working with them.  I truly felt that these flourishy images were made just for me — LOL!!!   Likewise, the 3 Flourishes (Jan Marie, Nancy and Sharon) and I also share so many similar thoughts, likes, desires and goals, that it just seemed to be the perfect match, and I am truly honored that they accepted me into their partnership!!! 

One of the aspects about FLLC that I admire so much and feel very strongly about, is that FLLC images are, for the most part, drawn by artists from concepts of the FLLC team, and many of the sentiments are hand done by a calligrapher.  The personal touch that this gives the FLLC images can not be replaced and is so evident in each and every set offered.  FLLC images are truly works of art, as well as works of the heart!!!

And I am super excited about the Stamp Simply line of stamps that will be debuting in June!!!  I think you are going to really like our first offering, and I just can’t wait to be able to show it to you!!!!  But, that’s a month away, so let’s concentrate on this month’s new releases, which are super fabulous!!!

The first set offered this month is a baby set called Rock-a-Bye Baby.  And do you remember when I just said FLLC sets are not only works of art, but works of the heart?  Well, this set was developed by Jan Marie, I guess you could say many, many years ago.   Jan Marie had painted these beautiful Moons and Babies on the walls of a child’s bedroom in her home, and this set is a miniature reproduction of that child’s bedroom she had painted so long ago.  Now, is that cool, or what!!!  I think it is amazingly cool!!!  And WHAT a gorgeous set – truly timeless and elegant!!!  My sample using Rock-a-Bye Baby will be posted tomorrow, so today I would like to show you some of the samples made by the Fabulous Flourishes Design Team (all links will be completed in the morning as the posts pop up):

Sharon Harnist, Leslie Miller, Tracy Durcan, Natasha Trupp

And now on to the sample that I have prepared for you today.  My card is made from the newly released set called Lilac, drawn by artist Marcy Hawley, whose work we have all come to know and love.  This set features the most gorgeous lilacs, but for today’s card I chose to use the magnolia blossoms that are also included in the set — talk about a bonus!!!

The magnolia blossoms are separate stamps and I stamped them individually into this branch formation — lots of options with these beautiful blossoms!!!

My magnolias are first colored with Copic markers (colors listed below), and then highlighted and gone over partially with a waterbrush and my new Twinkling H20’s by LuminArte.  The H20’s are sparkly, beautiful watercolors that you paint on your project, and do they sparkle!!!!  Just wonderful!!!  They are available at Flourishes and they come in sets of 12 pots of color to a set.  To use as I have done here, merely spray some water into the pot to moisten the color to your desired thickness, and paint away!!!!  The more water you add, the softer the color becomes — when you are finished, just cap it up, put it away, and it’ll be back to normal (a cake) for your next use — amazing little things!!!  Adding sparkle in a variety of colors has NEVER been easier!!!

After I colored and highlighted my stamped image, I then stamped on the word *Magnolia*, and cut and embossed my image with an Oval Nestabilities by Spellbinders, also available at Flourishes.  I then created a mat in black with another of the Oval Nestabilities — love the classy look black always seems to add!!!  (And if anyone is not familiar with what Nestabilities are, just click here to get to my last post which offers an explanation and some links.)  I then punched a small hole in the left portion of the oval with my Cropadile so I could run the ribbon under the panel and up and through the hole to tie the ribbon.  The ribbon I used is the 1″ Black Sheer by May Arts.  I always refer to this type of ribbon as organdy, but this Sheer is truly so much finer and more soft and supple than any organdy I have ever seen — I LOVE the way it ties up into a pretty, fluffy bow!!!  Flourishes carries many wonderful lines of ribbon by May Arts.

The background panel (SU Blush Blossom) was first run through my Cuttlebug with the Textile embossing folder.  I then ran my Versa Mark pad across the top of the entire panel, and then I brushed on another of the LuminArte products that are now being carried by Flourishes.  This is Pure Mica Metallic in Luster Pearl.  After brushing on just a tad bit, I wiped off the excess with a Swiffer cloth, and then sealed it all with a light spraying of Krylon Fixatif that I purchase at Wal-Mart.  It might sound like a lot of steps, but it truly only takes a couple minutes to create a background panel with such luster and sheen!!! It is truly captivating and worth every minute it takes!!!

• Stamps:  Lilac by Flourishes
• Paper:  Blush Blossom, Black, White
• Ink:  Versa Fine Onyx Black.  Versa Mark.
• Copics:  Pinks:  R20, RV11.   Greens:  G21, G40, YG63.  Brown:  E09.  Gray:  C1.  Colorless Blender:  0.
• Accessories:  Twinkling H20’s in Cherry Sorbet and Sea Glass, both from set #1256.  Pure Mica Metallic in Luster Pearl.  Oval Nestabilities. Cropadile.  Black Sheer Ribbon.  Cuttlebug with Textile embossing folder.  Swiffer.  Waterbrush.

Thank you so much for stopping in today and sharing my big news with me.  I hope you head over to the FLLC forum at SCS and take part in the challenge we are offering there, with a great prize for the randomly selected winner on Saturday night!!!!  I’ll be back tomorrow with more offerings from our newest sets!!!

Thank you so much and I hope you have a wonderful day!

I just love Michelle’s gallery (sf9erfan), so when I saw that she was today’s Featured Stamper at SCS, I just had to make time to play.  This is the card of Michelle’s that I cased.  As you can see I made a few changes — I changed it from a standard A2 card to a 5.5″ square card and I changed the placement of the sentiment, but for the most part I stayed with the layout and the flower placement.  Here it is:

OK, now don’t laugh — I know this isn’t typical for me — but I sure had fun!!  This idea has been in the back of my head for weeks, and today was the day it just HAD to come out — the layout from Michelle was perfect, so I took a much needed break and went for it!!!  LOL!!!  This is also for my Friday’s Stamp Simply Challenge to think out of the box – so see, I have permission to be a bit goofy with this today - LOL!!!

As for thinking out of the box — can you guess which Flourishes stamp I used on this card?  Well, here’s the set – it is Flourished Elements, one of my all time favorite classics from Flourishes.  Did you see the oval frame in the set?  Well, that’s it.  I colored her face in with the skin toned Copic and drew in her hair with the black Copic.  Her facial features were drawn in with the fine tip of the SU Black Journaler.  The cheek blush is SU Pastels applied with a Q-tip.  The flowers are all from the SU Pretties Kit, some colored with the SU pink marker.  The hair ribbon is SU Taffeta.  The sentiment is from Open to Love by Flourishes, and the White Satin Ribbon and Pink Scalloped Edge Ribbon by May Arts are from Flourishes as well.

• Stamps:  Flourished Elements and Open to Love by Flourishes
• Paper:  Black, White, Pretty in Pink and Pink Prints DP by SU
• Ink:  Adirondack Pitch Black, Copics, Pretty in Pink SU marker and black SU Journaler
• Accessories:  Ribbons, SU Pretties Kit, Brads, Mounting Tape, SU Pastels, Q-tip.

Update on my Copic coloring experienes:  Well, it’s coming, though I really haven’t had much time to color of late.  I am feeling a bit more comfortable with my Copics; however, my biggest struggle lies in coloring larger spaces, like this girl’s face.  I have a hard time getting it to look really smooth and well blended.  On this face, for the first time, I used the wide tip of the marker, and I really thought I did a pretty good job getting her skin tones nice and even as they look pretty good IRL — LOL!!!  Uploading it and putting it on the screen tells me differently — back to the drawing board!!!  I definitely see some Copic lessons as being a necessity in my future!!!

Anyway, I had great fun with this card!!!  I encourage you all do something a little silly, to think out of the box, just for the pure fun of it!!!  Thanks much for stopping in and hope you all have a great week ahead. 

And 10 Minute Tuesday begins this week - so say tuned for super quick samples on Tuesdays!!!  Thanks much for stopping in!!!

As summer approaches our thoughts often go towards weddings, and Flourishes has come out with 2 wedding sets this month — Wedding Party and Wedding Essentials.  If you liked to play paper dolls as a child, you will love Wedding Party with the bride and her party all ready to be dressed up!!!  And if you are planning a wedding, then the sentiments in Wedding Essentials will be a necessity.  My first card combines the two sets.

Well, look at them, all dressed up - how fun!!!  This is one stamp with all 3 bride’s maids on it.  I colored them with Copics, added Dazzling Diamonds and diamond necklaces.  And there are even glittery swirls adorning the bottom of their dresses.  Truly, dressing them is just like playing paper dolls!!!  The background is done with the flourishy stamp in Wedding Essentials.  It is stamped in Versa Mark onto Blush Blossom paper and then dusted with a pearly colored Pearl Ex — just  love that effect!!!  That technique is called Poppin’ Pearls and you can read the tutuorial for it, written by Beate, at SCS.  The sentiment is also from Wedding Essentials.  This card is 5.5″ square. 

And here’s a wedding card I made, using the same background technique on Blush Blossom paper once again.  My rings, from Wedding Essentials, are silver embossed on white paper, narrowly framed in Blush and mounted onto a 3″ square that was first covered with Versa Mark and then embossed with Irridescent Ice Embossing Powder — how pretty and sparkly.  This panel was then narrowly framed in another Blush layer before adhering to the card with mounting tape.  This is such a simple to make, yet elegant, wedding card — just love it!!!  Certainly one I will repeat again and again.  And just to clarify - this IS Blush Blossom paper — I was having a very bad photo session tonight and it appears way too pinkish in color — sorry.  This card is 5.5″ square.

This card uses another sentiment from Wedding Essentials  — Save the Date!!! A fairly simple card to reproduce in quantity.  Again, the Poppin’ Pearls technique, 1/2 pearls from SU’s Pretties Kit, and this is the Ivory Wide Satin Ribbon by May Arts from Flourishes — great ribbon!!!  The ivory looks so soft and pretty.  The sentiment is silver embossed.  The base paper is Brushed Metallic Silver, also available at Flourishes.

Again, I apologize for color issues — all these card samples are Blush Blossom, which is reflected accurately in the first card with the bridesmaids on it — sorry!

Both Wedding Party and Wedding Essentials are available through Flourishes, as is the metallic paper and satin ribbon.

Thanks much for checking in — I truly do appreciate it!!! Tomorrow we have another super easy Stamp Simply Challenge lined up for you — and I mean SUPER simple — LOL!!!  Come back and check it out!!!  Hope you all have a great day!!!  The snow is melting here today after many fresh inches yesterday, so that makes it a good day!!!

 Editing on 4/11 to Add:  I must clarify myself here — I use the term *pearl-ex* generically, when truly, it isn’t.  Pearl-Ex is a brand of  pigment powder.  SU used to sell it and I’m sure it can be found in various places. However, what I actually used on these cards is a pigment powder made by Ranger, called Perfect Pearls.  It comes in a variety of colors, and the color I used is called Perfect Pearl — confusing — the color is Perfect Pearl, and the product is called Perfect Pearls, with an S on the end.  I LOVE the soft shimmer and sheen it gives — that is my FAVORITE color, especially for wedding projects.  Here is the link to the Perfect Pearls page on the Ranger website.  Hopes that helps — didn’t mean to lead anyone astray –