Color Throwdown #176

The Color Throwdown team, with Joan Ervin as our hostess, has another challenge for you this week!  This color combo has some beautiful options, and we can't wait to see what you create!  Stop at the Throwdown blog for all the challenge details, and to link your own creation.

For my card, I decided to combine the Throwdown challenge with the TCP Tuesday challenge #194 this week from The Cat's Pajamas.  I used the Heart Trio Cut-Ups die for my embellishment, cutting the large heart from felt, and a smaller one from Kraft cardstock.  And I used the Ewe Complete Me stamp set.  The papers I used here are "Love Story" from Fancy Pants.

See what my Color Throwdown sisters have created using today's colors, too...

Barbara Anders	Broni Holcombe	Danielle Kennedy	Joan Ervin	Kerri Michaud	Keva Brown
Kristin Eberline	Lori Tecler	Lynn Put	Wanda Cullen	Stacy Morgan, January Guest Designer

InLinkz.com

Happy stamping, and thanks a bunch for stopping by!

Timeless Tuesday #153

It's Tuesday again, and that brings us to another Timeless Tuesday with the Friends of Flourishes blog team! Cindy Haffner is our hostess this week, and she's challenging us to create Center Step Cards.  You may think these are really hard to do, and I did too the first time I tried to make one, but they're super easy and fun to do!  Check out Frances Byrne's great tutorial on Splitcoaststampers HERE.  I decided to scale my card down and make it so it'd fit in an A2 envelope.  My card base measures 5 1/2" x 8 1/2".  In Step 1 of the SCS tutorial, my cuts were made from 1" to 5 1/4" (instead of 6 1/2").  In Step 2, I still scored at 1" and 2" at the bottom, but scored the top folds at 5 1/4" instead of 6 1/2".  And in Step 4, I scored at 4 1/4" (instead of 5 1/2").  I hope that makes sense!  If not, just email me!

I used the beautiful Pears stamp set for my card, coloring on Flourishes Classic Ivory cardstock with Copics from the New Leaves, Sunflower, Evergreen and Flesh Tones 2 collections.  My sentiment is from the Tag Lines stamp set, and this designer paper is from the Picadilly 6x6 paper pad from Basic Grey.  I cut out my pear image with the Labels 8 Nestabilities die.  Below is a side view of my card, showing the "steps."

Be sure to visit the Timeless Tuesday team members for plenty of Center Step inspiration...

Cheryl Lea, January Guest Designer

Silke Ledlow

Mona Pendleton
Makiko Jones

Heather Jensen

Cindy Haffner

Beate Johns

And stop over at the Flourishes blog for all the challenge details!  Just by playing along with this fun challenge, you can be in the running to win $10 to spend in the Flourishes online store!

Happy stamping!

Flourishes Friday

Since it's Friday, that means it's time for the Flourishes gals to share some inspiration with you using stamps from the recent new release!  Be sure to check out all their blogs links below for some great reminders of the new release from last week!

For my card today, I'm using the beautiful new "From the Heart" set.  I just can't get enough of the stunning heart in this set!  I stamped the heart in Victorian Velvet distress ink on paper from my Glitz "Pretty in Pink" 6x6 paper pad.  I cut out the heart and mat with my Classic Heart and Classic Scalloped Heart Nestabilities dies, and embellished with some rhinestone flourishes and a seam binding bow.

See what the other Sr. Design Team members have created for today as well...

Barbara Anders

Christine Okken

Cindy Lawrence

Danielle Kennedy

Dawn Burnworth

Julie Koerber

Stacy Morgan

And don't forget, today is the last day that you can take advantage of 10% savings by purchasing all three of the new stamp sets in the New Release Bundle!  Check out all the details here.

Clean and Simple Thanks

I needed a couple of thank you notes recently, so I came up with these three quick, clean-and-simple designs using a variety of my favorite stamps, dies and cut files!

This first card uses Vegtastic from Paper Smooches, and some assorted scraps of designer paper.

This second card uses the Rainbows & Clouds dies from Lil' Inker Designs with the coordinating stamp set. The clouds are cut from white felt.

And this last card uses my favorite Occasional Labels cut files from My Time Made Easy and a stamp from Stampin' Up! and paper from October Afternoon.

Thanks for checking out my CAS cards!  I'm pretty happy with how they turned out!

Color Throwdown #175

It's that time again.... Color Throwdown day!  Danielle is our hostess today, and she found this photo of a very romantically-set hammock that inspired our colors.  We'd love to see what you do with these colors, so stop by the Throwdown blog and play along with us!

For my card, I decided to use a brand new Tiddly Inks image, Wryn New Nest!  Wryn is a newly illustrated character at Tiddly Inks and SO freakin' adorable!  Check her out in seven different images on the TI website!  I paired my image with some Simple Stories "Happy Day" papers, and some twill ribbon. The "Tweet" sentiment on the tag is from the "Spring is Sprung" stamp set from Flourishes.

Again, stop over at the Color Throwdown blog for all the challenge details, and please join us!  For more inspiration, visit my Throwdown sisters, too!

Barbara Anders	Broni Holcombe	Danielle Kennedy	Joan Ervin	Kerri Michaud	Keva Brown
Kristin Eberline	Lori Tecler	Lynn Put	Wanda Cullen	Stacy Morgan, January Guest Designer

InLinkz.com

Wryn and I say thanks for stopping by today!

Timeless Tuesday #152

It's Tuesday again, so we're ready to roll out another Timeless Tuesday challenge with Flourishes!  With Valentine's Day approaching, his week Heather is our hostess and she's challenging us to anything but a card.  Maybe you could make a Valentine treat box or bag, or make a tag to go on a basket or other item!

I recently got this neat clear tubes, so I decided to make a quick little heart-shaped tag to tie on my tube full of candy red hots!  My heart was cut from the Classic Heart and Classic Scalloped Heart Nestabilities dies, available in the Flourishes online store.  I stamped the sentiment from the new Heartlines stamp set, embossed with clear embossing powder, then stamped some hearts from the Love Notes stamp set over the sentiment in shades of pink and red.  I embellished with a pearl flourish (colored with an RV25 Copic marker from the Dogwood collection, and some metallic white curling ribbon.

On the inside I stamped the Happy Valentine's Day sentiment from the Love Notes stamp set.

See what the rest of the Timeless Tuesday team has created for today's challenge by visiting their blogs!  And then don't forget to head over to the Flourishes blog, and play along with us for the chance to win $10 to spend in the Flourishes online store!

Cheryl Lea, January Guest Designer

Silke Ledlow

Mona Pendleton

Makiko Jones

Heather Jensen

Cindy Haffner

Beate Johns

Thanks so much for stopping by today, and please play along with us this week!

Happy stamping!

Flourishes New Release Day 3

We've got the final day of sneak peeks today for the January New Release at Flourishes with the final stamp set Love, Sweet Love.  There are fabulous images in this set, and I know you're going to love it!  And the best news is, this set as well as Heartlines and From the Heart are now available for purchase in the Flourishes online store!  If you want all three sets, take advantage of the New Release Bundle and save 10% off your purchase, too!

I created my card with the heart-shaped candy box from the stamp set, and paired it with some "Love Me" papers from My Mind's Eye.  My image was stamped on Flourishes Classic Ivory cardstock and colored with Copics from the Peony, Dahlia, Hollyhock, Copper and Warm Neutrals collections.  My image is die cut and layered with Petite Oval Nestabilities, and the Labels 18 Nestabilities.  I embellished with some Prima rhinestone flourishes and Ivory Crochet Trim.

I didn't leave room on the front of the card for the sentiment, so I put it on the inside this time.

Want to win this set?  All you need to do is leave some love in the form of a comment on the blogs below because you need to try to figure out...

One of the ladies on our link list below will be picking a name from the comments on her blog post today.  We don't know which one it is, so the more blogs you leave comments on the better your chances are to win!

Barbara Anders
Christine Okken
Cindy Lawrence
Danielle Kennedy
Dawn Burnworth
Julie Koerber
Stacy Morgan
Tammy Hershberger <-- that's me!
Sharon Doolittle
Heather Jensen
Beate Johns
Cindy Haffner
Mona Pendleton
Jan Marie Caruso

Thanks so much for hopping by today, and all the fabulous comments this week!  This release has been wonderful, and I'm so glad to hear how much everyone loves the new stamps sets!

Happy stamping!

Flourishes New Release Day 2

It's day two of the sneak peeks for Flourishes' January New Release and I hope that you've enjoyed the offerings so far!  This next set we're peeking is all about creating a note or two for the friends you truly care about, both near and far.  These messages are from the heart and perfect for Valentine's Day, but also good for the whole year through!

My card uses my most favorite sentiment from the "Heartlines" set because I love the "open" letters that I can color in!  I stamped my sentiment on a Labels 11 Nestabilities die cut, added some die-cut Spellbinders hearts, and some rolled roses.  Then I embellished with some black rhinestone flourishes for a great finish.  The papers I used here are "Yours Truly" from Echo Park.

Want to win this set?  All you need to do is leave some love in the form of a comment on the blogs below because you need to try to figure out...

One of the ladies on our link list below will be picking a name from the comments on her blog post today.  We don't know which one it is, so the more blogs you leave comments on the better your chances are to win!

Barbara Anders
Christine Okken
Cindy Lawrence
Danielle Kennedy
Dawn Burnworth
Julie Koerber
Stacy Morgan
Tammy Hershberger <-- that's me!
Sharon Doolittle
Heather Jensen
Beate Johns
Cindy Haffner
Mona Pendleton
Jan Marie Caruso

Did you know you could win the entire January New Release?  Check out our New Year Challenge HERE.  You can also play in our Noontime Challenges!  The first one, The Year of the Dragon, can be found HERE.  The second one will be unveiled at noon Central time today, and you can check it out on the Flourishes blog.  These challenges are all fast-paced and designed to quickly spark your creativity, hence the deadline of Friday, January 13th at 5:00 p.m. Eastern time to enter.  Just upload your creations to an online gallery or your blog and link them to the appropriate post on the Flourishes blog using the Inlinkz widget.  Winners will be announced on Saturday!

Can't wait until all the sets are revealed on Friday morning?  You can pre-order them all now if you like what you see on the designers' blogs!  Just click HERE for the New Release Bundle, and get 10% off by buying them all together!

Good luck, and happy stamping!

Flourishes Noontime Challenge: The Year of the Dragon

Since it's New Release Week at Flourishes, we've got a couple of Noontime Challenges for you to participate in for a chance to win ALL the new stamps!  Here's the first one...

HOW TO PLAY:  According to the Chinese Zodiac, 2012 is the Year of the Dragon, which begins on January 23, 2012 and ends on February 9, 2013.  So, what does this predict for 2012?  Success and happiness!  To play, simply be inspired by the colors of this beautiful dragon with rich shades of red, orange and even pink.  If you upload to Splitcoaststampers, please use the keyword FLLCJANRW1.  You have until Friday, January 13th at 5:00 p.m. Eastern time to enter.  Once you're done with your creation, be sure to link it up to this post on the Flourishes blog using our Inlinkz widget to be eligible to win!

For my card, I was highly inspired by the red of the dragon and paired it with a lot of pink.  I LOVE how the swirly flourishes of this heart from the new "From the Heart" stamp set so nicely mimic some of the dragon's features, don't you?  My heart was stamped second generation with Melon Mambo ink, then I stamped my sentiment with Riding Hood Red ink and embossed with clear embossing powder to make it stand out.  The heart and sentiment are stamped on a piece of paper from the Basic Grey "Kissing Booth" 6x6 paper pad.  I added a couple more flourishes to the card front, did some distressing on the edges, and embellished with some Kaisercraft rhinestones and a seam binding double-bow.  I spritzed the whole thing with some Perfect Pearls too for added shimmer, and added a little gold heart button to my bow with some baker's twine.  (That little gold heart button is a leftover from a Valentine jumper I sewed for my oldest daughter years ago!)

See what some of the other Sr. Design team members have created using the inspiration piece for today's challenge...

Barbara Anders

Christine Okken

Cindy Lawrence

Dawn Burworth

Stop by the Flourishes blog for all the challenge details, and please play along for your chance to win some spectacular stamps!

Flourishes New Release Day 1

It's that wonderful time of the month again.... Flourishes New Release week!  This week, love is most definitely in the air as we've got some beautiful Valentine-themed, lovey-dovey stamp sets to share with you starting with "From the Heart" today!  This heart is designed to fit with the Spellbinders Classic Heart and Classic Scalloped Heart.  I paired this beautiful heart stamp with some new "Kissing Booth" paper from Basic Grey, and added some Prima rhinestone flourishes, some Ivory Crochet Trim, a seam binding bow and a heart button from my stash.  The heart is stamped on Flourishes Classic Ivory cardstock with Riding Hood Red ink and embossed with clear embossing powder.

Would you like to win this set? All you need to do is leave some love in the form of a comment on the blogs below! Why? You need to try to figure out…..

One of the ladies on our link list below will be picking a name from the comments on her blog post today. We don’t know which one it is… so the more blogs you leave comments on, the more chances you have to win!

Barbara Anders
Julie Koerber
Cindy Lawrence
Christine Okken
Danielle Kennedy
Dawn Burnworth
Stacy Morgan
Tammy Hershberger <-- that's me!
Sharon Doolittle
Heather Jensen
Mona Pendleton
Cindy Haffner 
Jan Marie Caruso

DID YOU KNOW YOU COULD WIN THE ENTIRE JANUARY RELEASE?  Have you checked out our A New Year Challenge? Just click HERE to find out how to play!  Or check out the Timeless Tuesday challenge for this week by clicking HERE. You can also play in our Noon Time Challenges this week! To do that, all you need to do is check in on the Flourishes blog Wednesday and Thursday at  noon! These fast-paced challenges are designed to spark creativity and give you another chance to win some wonderful goodies! All challenges will close this Friday at 5:00 PM EST (except for Timeless Tuesday) and winners will be announced Saturday in our Winner’s Circle blog post! So get those fingers inky and good luck!

Can’t wait until all of our sets are revealed Friday morning? Well, you can pre-order them now if you like what you see on our designers’ blogs! Just click HERE. You’ll also see that we are offering our special New Release Bundle again – 10% off if you purchase all three stamp sets in one bundle!