Flourishes Finale

Today brings with it a sad ending… my last post as a member of the Flourishes team.  I’ve had the privilege of being a member of the Flourishes family for a number of years now, starting out as the coordinator of the Timeless Tuesday team, and progressing to the Sr. Design Team and it’s been a great and wonderful experience.  But I’m feeling the need to move on in several aspects of life and have some great plans in my future!  One of these days, I’ll share them with you!
I thought I’d share with you today one last card created with the beautiful Apple of my Eye stamp set.  I made this card during my time on the Dirty Dozen at Splitcoaststampers, but never had a chance to share it here with you.  The apples were stamped on Flourishes Classic Ivory cardstock with Memento Tuxedo Black ink and colors with Copics from the Poppy, Beehive, Sweet Pea, Olive Green and Walnut collections.  The papers used are from a variety of companies, and I finished off the design with some gorgeous dark grown gingham ribbon and a sentiment tag.
So, to Mike and Jan Marie Caruso I say thank you so very much!  To Sharon and everyone down at home base in Florida, to Julie Koerber for being the BEST design team coordinator any company could have (as well as a wonderful friend!) and to all the Flourishes designers…. thank you all for being a sweet friend!
Happy stamping!

Cards for Sale

Hi everyone!  In an effort to try to clear our some of the hundreds of cards I have taking up space in my stamp room, I'm selling some at rock-bottom prices.... all cards listed HERE on my Cards for Sale page are only $2.00 each!  Stop by soon, and tell your friends!

THANKS!

The Sweetness of Friendship

Did you catch my Create with Me Monday post over on the Flourishes blog yesterday?  I did a whole tutorial on how to do the chalkboard technique!
Here’s one more card I made as part of the tutorial…

This card uses some really pretty new paper I picked up recently from My Mind’s Eye, and the beautiful Sweetness of Friendship single stamp from Flourishes.  For the chalkboard effect, I used some Flourishes Classic Black cardstock,
Versamark ink, Versamagic Cloud White ink, an embossing buddy and white embossing powder.  To finish my card I added some rolled roses, a seam binding bow and some Kaisercraft pearls colored with the W3 Copic marker from the Warm Neutrals collection.
And here is the card that actually appears in the tutorial…

This card uses new Crate Paper and the Just My Type stamp set from Flourishes, which is SO ideal for this technique.  Again, I’ve used the Flourishes Classic Black cardstock,
Versamark ink, Versamagic Cloud White ink, the embossing buddy and white embossing powder.  My design is finished with some machine stitching, a Poppy button and some Ivory Jute.
I really hope you’ll give this technique a try!  If you do, please link up your creation in a comment so I can see your beautiful work!
Happy stamping!

Paper Pads for Sale

I've got some 6x6 paper pads for sale... check 'em out HERE on my sale page, or click the page tab above!

Thanks!

Flourishes Tutorial – Chalkboard Technique

Hello friends!  I’m sharing a Create with Me Monday tutorial over on the Flourishes blog today, demonstrating how to do the wildly popular Chalkboard Technique!

I’d love it if you hop on over to the Flourishes blog today and check it out! 
And to whet your appetite, here’s another card I made using the technique…

This card uses a sentiment from the darling Heartlines mini stamp set.  I liked this sentiment because of the open letters within it that gave me space to add a little color with a Prismacolor pencil.  I was also able to add the little row of hearts at the top, also from the stamp set.  To create this look, you need some Flourishes Classic Black cardstock,
Versamark ink, Versamagic Cloud White ink, an embossing buddy, and white embossing powder.  Items also used on my card today include new Valentine papers I just picked up from Pink Paislee, a red felt heart die-cut with the Classic Heart Nestabilities, some Kaisercraft black rhinestones and a cream leaf stick pin.  The layout for my card comes from an old Mojo Monday sketch.
Want to give this technique a try?  Please stop over at the Flourishes blog today and check out my tutorial!  Then…. get inky!
Happy stamping!

Take Time to Celebrate

It’s time again for Flourishes Free-for-All Friday and today I decided to pull out a favorite set, Moments in Time.  I knew it was the perfect set to use when I saw the Deconstructed Sketch #86 for this week, with all those circles… perfect for a big clock face!  I used some Versafine Onyx Black ink (*new* in the Flourishes online store!) to stamp the clock face, then embossed with clear embossing powder.  The Versafine ink is SO nice for images with fine detail like this clock, and embossed so nicely… if you’ve never tried it, pick it up with your next order.  I promise you’ll love it!  The papers I used on my card are Bo Bunny’s “Serenity” collection, and I embellished my card front with some black Kaisercraft rhinestones, and also embossed the one little black circle with a Houndstooth embossing folder.

On the inside of the card, I stamped the hourglass from the Moments in Time set with Versafine Smoky Gray ink (again, GREAT ink…. I highly recommend!) and then stamped the sentiment with the Onyx Black.
Need some inspiration?  Stop and see what the other Sr. Design Team members have cooked up for you today….

• Christine Okken   —She is taking the week off. Her hubby had surgery and could use some prayers!
• Cindy Lawrence
• Danielle Kennedy
• Heather Jensen
• Julie Koerber
• Silke Ledlow
• Stacy Morgan
• Tammy Hershberger

Also, we have some BIG news for you if you are a bargain hunter! We had put our Gambler’s Sale on hold over the holidays because there were so many different sales. Well, we’ve resumed it to try to further clear the shelves at Flourishes’ home base. So now, many of our items on the Sale Page HERE 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 water coloring – so if you need a water-based marker, now is the time to stock up!
Thanks for stopping by today!

Color Throwdown #226

It’s Color Throwdown time again this week, and Denise is our hostess with this really pretty color combo!

Isn’t that a pretty picture?  I’m not a purple fan, but I really think these colors are lovely.  But…. I struggle with tone-on-tone colors like this, so I decided that less is more for my card today.

I saved this card months ago on one of my Pinterest boards and loved the simple wow-factor of it, so I decided to CASE the design for my card today.  I cut my frame by using my Rounded Banner STAX Die-Namics and added the Medium Leafy Flourish and the Butterflies Die-Namics.  The butterfly is accented with some lavender Kaisercraft rhinestones, and the sentiment is from the Vintage Cameo stamp set, stamped with Ranger Dusty Concord distress ink.
Be sure to visit my Throwdown sisters for more inspiration…
Barbara Anders Broni Holcombe Denise Marzec Joan Ervin Kerri Michaud Lori Tecler Lynn Put Wanda Cullen Miriam Napier, January Guest Designer
Thanks bunches for stopping by!

Love by Candlelight

I was digging around in my stamp room a few days ago, looking for something and came across a package of battery-op tea lights I forgot that I had.  It got me to thinking about a way to use them, and after seeing another idea on Pinterest, I got this idea to make these little boxy tea light holders!
I found a simple box pattern in the Silhouette store, then used my High-Rise Lowercase Alphabet Die-Namics to cut out the letters.  On the opposite side from each letter, I used my heart-shaped Nestabilities to cut out a heart, then adhered vellum to both sides and stamped a few hearts from the Lovey Dovey Sentiments stamp set before assembling the boxes.

I embellished the boxes with a few hearts from the Hearts a Plenty Die-Namics, some buttons, baker’s twine and silver cord.  Here are some additional views that show the heart cut-outs and the papers I used (My Mind’s Eye “Love Me”)…

Around the top of each little box I added a scalloped border using the Small Scallop Border Die-Namics die.  However, my first box I just cut four little strips of the scallops and adhered to the four sides…. and it did NOT look good!  The edges didn’t match up and it looked terrible to me.  So I decided I needed to cut one long strip and score it to fit around the perimeter of the box top.  Trouble was, my strip needed to be 7 1/2 inches long, and the die is only 6 inches.  So here’s what I did!
I started with a 7 1/2” x 1 1/2” long strip, and scored it at the halfway point…

then I scooted over to my Cuttlebug and folded that strip in half…

and cut the folded strip!
 
Then all I had to do was score the strip in two more spots….

and glue to the inside of my boxes!
Now…. as soon as I get my mind set, I might finally put away the last few Christmas decorations on my front entryway table, and decorate for Valentine’s Day with this to display!
Feel the love! Happy stamping!

To the Moon & Back

It’s time for Flourishes Friday Free-for-All and this week you’ll find the Sr. Design Team reviewing some of the recent newly released stamp sets for your enjoyment!

For my card this week, I just had to use the new Just My Type stamp set, because I simply adore it!

The “to the moon & back” and “to infinity and beyond” parts of the sentiment were really speaking to me this week, so I decided to make a space-themed card.  I used papers from the Echo Park “For the Record 2” paper pad, and stamped the sentiment with Versafine Onyx Black ink.  The moon was cut out with a Nestabilities circle die and embossed with an old Cuttlebug embossing folder, then I sponged a little Scattered Straw distress ink on the raised dots.  I colored in the heart with a YR18 Copic marker from the Burnt Orange Copic collection, and the little doo-hickeys at the top and bottom of the sentiment with BG53 from the Emerald Coast collection.  I sponged some Tumbled Glass distress ink on the clouds, and embellished with a few Kaisercraft aqua rhinestones.  The layout for my card is based on the sketch 001 from I {heart} Card Sketches. (I flipped it upside down.)
Take some time to hop over to the other Sr. Design team members today to see what they’ve created with the new release stamps…

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

Don’t forget, today is your last chance to take advantage of the New Release Bundle and save 10% when you buy all three of the new stamp sets!  Don’t miss out!
Thanks for stopping by today, and happy weekend!

Happy Birthday

Hello there!  I’ve got a clean and simple card to share with you today using a few supplies from the eclectic Paperie online store!

Have you checked out the wonderful Spellbinders D’Lites that Kim has in stock?  These are beautiful dies… so intricate and detailed!  I used the Whimsical Tree today to create this simple birthday card, pairing it with a sentiment from Flourishes.  The tree and banner behind the tree were cut out with Echo Park “For the Record 2” papers, and I embellished the tree with some lavender Kaisercraft rhinestones (I don’t think these are in stock anymore in the eP store, but just ask Kim if you’re interested!)  Then I added a little Orchid baker’s twine to finish my card.  Just a little something, sweet and simple.
I’m finding a lot of inspiration in Chupa’s Sketchbook Saturday sketch #87 this week… this card was also based on the sketch!
Thanks for stopping by today!

Color Throwdown #225

Welcome to Wednesday, and Color Throwdown #225!  This week Kerri is our hostess with this sweet color combo…

I can’t wait to see what everyone does with these colors!  For my card, I got a little Lovey-Dovey…

and used my Lovey Dovey Sentiments stamp set from My Favorite Things!  I stamped the sentiment on gingham paper from LilyBee Designs “Head Over Heels” using Versafine ink, then embossed with clear embossing powder.  I added a second sentiment from the set down below my row of hearts, also stamped in Versafine and embossed.  the dies used on the big sentiment are the Layered Label Die-Namics and the Designer Labels 3 STAX.  The row of hearts is this cut file I found in the Silhouette online store.  The layout for my card is based on the Sketchbook Saturday #87 sketch.
Be sure to visit my Throwdown sisters for more inspiration…
Barbara Anders
Broni Holcombe
Denise Marzec
Joan Ervin
Kerri Michaud
Lori Tecler
Lynn Put
Wanda Cullen
Miriam Napier, January Guest Designer
Thanks bunches for stopping by!