No Time To Stamp?

An artist, a hottie, and a peony – what could they possibly have in common?  Well, far more than meets the eye!!!

You’ve heard all of us at Flourishes mention Marcella Hawley from time to time.  I’d like to introduce you to her today.  Marcy is the artistic talent behind so many of the beautiful images in Flourishes stamp line, the latest being our series of beautiful botanical images.  Marcella Hawley was founding art director of Mary Engelbreit’s Home Companion, a pioneering art-centered decorating magazine. Previously, as assistant to the art director at Martha Stewart Living, she was part of the creative team that launched Martha Stewart’s premiere television show and Weddings magazine. Now home in St. Louis, Missouri, Marcella is a devoted gardener, illustrator, decorator, and maker of things. Husband Patrick Hawley is her partner in life and business, as web developer and IT maestro for MHCreative. They have two children, Tallulah and Finn.   For more information on her work, please visit www.marcellahawley.com.

OK, so that’s who Marcy is on a professional level.  Some pretty impressive names listed on her resume, but on a personal level, she’s just like the rest of us – a devoted wife and mother who loves her husband and her children – and she’s also someone who likes to have a little fun!  And in that vein she nominated her husband, unbeknownst to him, as the Hottest Husband of 2008 through Redbook Magazine.  And Patrick OBVIOUSLY is hot, as he was one of the finalists in the contest!!!!  Huge Congrats!!! to both Patrick and Marcy!!! How fun!!!  You can see the Redbook article along with an adorable photo of Patrick and their children by clicking here.

We at Flourishes are so honored and privileged to be able to work with both Marcy and Patrick.  Patrick was instrumental in helping Flourishes get their original site up and running and he still lends a technical hand from time to time!!!  Not only is this couple hot, hot, hot!!! in many respects, but they are a part of what makes Flourishes what it is today, and we’re so pleased to share this fun news with you!!!  Thank you, Marcy and Patrick, for your part in Flourishes success!!!!

OK, so we’ve covered the artist (Marcy), the hottie (Patrick), now what about the peony?  Well, that would be our Peony stamp set, drawn by Marcy, of course!!!  I just wanted to share a card with you today and I thought this newly released Peony would be just perfect for the occasion!!!

The card base is 5.5” square.  The main image panel is 5 3/8 x 4 1/8 and is set askew on the card intentionally – just for fun!!!    I use 6″ square envelopes so it still fits in the envelope just fine.  The pink strip is Cuttlebug embossed, the Peony sentiment is run through the Cuttlebug with the Tags Trio dies by Spellbinders, and the bee, also from the Peony set, is cut with a Petite Circle Nestability die and then matted with a punched 1 ¼” circle using a SU punch.  The main image panel with the Peony was created in the following steps:

• Ink peony stamp, direct to stamp, using ColorBox Chalk Inks, and stamp onto white cardstock.
• Using SU markers I filled in areas on the leaves and stem.
• Using the Inkksentials Opaque White Pen, I colored in all white areas on the peony and accented the leaves a bit.
• Using a C1 Cool Gray Copic marker I outlined the entire image.
• I made a mask of the peony using Eclipse Masking Tape, adhered it over the peony and then stamped my scripted background in Palette Hybrid Charcoal.
• I then heavily sponged the edges of the panel with the Charcoal ink.
• I then matted the panel in gray and then pink before adhering to the card.
• I then attached my Peony tag and bee with dimensional products.

Here’s my supply list:

• Stamps:  Peony by Flourishes and retired SU Script
• Paper:  Black, White, SU Pixie Pink, SU Basic Gray Textured
• Ink:  Palette Hybrid Charcoal and Noir Black, ColorBox Chalk Inks in Orchid Pastel, Dark Brown, Olive Pastel, SU markers in greens, browns and yellow, C1 Cool Gray Copic marker, Inkksentials Opaque White Pen, Stardust Clear Glitter Pen (on wings).
• Accessories:  Black Sheer Ribbon, Black Dotted Sheer Ribbon, Tags Trio and Circle Nestabilities by Spellbinders, SU 1 ¼” punch, Cuttlebug, Textile Embossing Folder, Mounting  Tape, Dimensionals, Zots, Glue Dots, Sponge.

Thanks so much for stopping in today.  Hope you enjoyed this fun story about Marcy and her Hottie!!!  Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!!!

What a fun post to write — not only the reveal of a brand new Design Team for Flourishes, but also the release of a bonus set this month!!!  A win/win situation for everyone!!!  So, here’s the news you’ve all been waiting for — I am SO PLEASED to announce Flourishes Newest Design Team:

Leslie Miller returns as our Senior Design Team Member, and we warmly welcome

Julie Koerber, Faith Hofrichter, Susan Roberts, and Linda Duke.

Welcome, ladies!!!

Please check out the Flourishes Newsletter Blog for photos and complete biographies on each member of our Design Team.  What interesting and varied backgrounds they all come from and what talent they bring to Flourishes!!! We couldn’t be happier!!!

Well, now that you know who our new DT members are, let’s get on with the new release.  As our typical release date isn’t until the 2nd week of the month, this is pure bonus!!!  And what a fun set it is!!!

Spring Ephemerals is a solid image stamp set with 4 gorgeous springtime flowers, each with its own beautifully scripted name — Bleeding Heart, Forget-me-not, Checkered Lily and Shooting Star.  I’ll be showing samples of all these stamps over the next few days, but for today I have the Forget-me-not image to show you.

This is such a fun set to work with.  I chose to ink my stamp today with my Color Box Cat’s Eye Chalk ink pads.  I didn’t fuss a lot (you know me - LOL!), just first inked my blue flowers, then quickly went over the tips with the purplish color, then did the leaves in  green (actually 2 shades of green).  After stamping onto white paper I then used my Nestabilities by Spellbinders to cut and emboss the main image and to make the Amethyst mat for it.  The small Forget-me-not sentiment was stamped and then cut and embossed with the smallest of the Labels Trio by Spellbinders - it makes such a full little sentiment panel that’ll fit just about anywhere!!!  The simple strip of Designer Paper is from the Lily Kate pad by Basic Grey.  And both ribbons, the Wide Satin and the Dotted Sheer are by May Arts.

This was just a quick little card to show you one of the simpler options available to you when you use this set.  Since these are solid image stamps, they also make beautiful silhouette type images, which I LOVE and will upload later in the week.  And I KNOW our new DT listed above will have a ton of great options and ideas to show you as well, so be sure to check out all of their blogs, which are linked by clicking on their names.

• Stamps:  Spring Ephemerals by Flourishes
• Paper:  White, Bashful Blue, Almost Amethyst, Lily Kate Designer Paper by Basic Grey
• Ink:  Color Box Cat’s Eye Chalk Ink in:  Wisteria, Azurite, Olive Pastel, Warm Green.  Palette Noir Black.
• Accessories:  White Satin, Lavender Dotted Sheer, Nestabilities and Labels Trio by Spellbinders, Mounting Squares.

Thank you so much for stopping in!!!  Check back for more samples daily — OH, and one more thing –

BLOG CANDY — does that peak your interest?  Be sure to mark your calendar for Monday and check out Leslie Miller’s Blog to find out what she has to offer — you’ll like it!!!

Wishing you all a wonderful Sunday!!!

This is a note to all Flourishes customers.

Flourishes had big news this week,  a fabulous release of new sets and, unfortunately, some very frazzling experiences regarding our email campaign that ran concurrently with these events.  You may read the entire story in the Flourishes Newletter.

Also, today is the last day to participate in May’s Challenge in the Flourishes Forum at SCS.  Check it out for a chance to win any Flourishes set of your choice PLUS a ribbon bundle package!!!

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend!!!