Chocolate is Good

I’ve been trying to use what I have on hand lately… rediscovering old paper pads I didn’t even remember I had, hoarded embellishments not being using… so I decided to use this old Echo Park paper for a card using the sketch from this past week from My Favorite Things.  I modified the sketch slightly to fit my taller image from the Dip Me in Chocolate a’ la modes stamp set.

I colored my chocolate gal with Copic markers, and used the Fishtail Flags STAX and Lead the Way Die-Namics, plus a retro pink button, Bo Bunny ribbon and some “chocolate” Kaisercraft pearls.

On the inside I added one of the sentiments from the stamp set, and some more Fishtail Flags.
Happy stamping, and thanks for stopping by!

Flourishes Let’s Hop Challenge

Hi everyone, and welcome to the kick off of Flourishes' December release! Today the entire Flourishes Design Team is ushering in a challenge and YOU could walk away winning all of our new sets for December! Here's how to get in on the fun. We're going to HOP and at each designer's blog is another clue for our progressive challenge! If I am your first stop on the hop, you'll need to travel back to the Flourishes blog HERE to get your first clue and follow the hop through each of the designers' blogs. By the end of the hop, you'll have 8 "ingredients" that you'll need to use when creating your cards for this Let's Hop Challenge. Follow the "recipe" and you'll be in the running!

 

So, let's get on to clue #6…

For this step of the progressive challenge, you'll need to add a rounded corner, or use a die with curvy edges.

And here’s my card which incorporates steps 1-6…

I used the beautiful Flowers & Frames stamp set for my main image and colored the flowers with Copics from the True Purple and Olive Green collections.  I also used the Antique Lace background stamp on my card base, stamped in Versamark ink.  On the Tailor-Made Classic Tags die  I stamped a sentiment from the Tiny Flowers and Tags stamp set.  That gorgeous oval behind my main image is the new Perfectly Pierced Victorian Ovals that is exclusive to Flourishes.  I completed my design with some Blush Kaisercraft pearls and I used papers from the My Mind’s Eye “Breeze” 6x6 paper pad.
Now… if you want to try your hand at winning Flourishes' December Release, you have until Friday, December 14th at 5PM EST to get your entry or entries in!  To enter, simply link your creation up to THIS POST over on the Flourishes Blog using the Inlinkz Widget. You can also check out that post for more on the official rules!
Again, if I was your first stop, be sure to go back to the Flourishes Blog for the first clue and the start of the hop! If you've already made it through - hop on over to your next clue, which will be…

DANIELLE

Also, don’t forget… If you’ve been watching our Gambler’s Sale, prices have dropped down to…

Just click HERE to check it all out!
Happy stamping, and thanks for “hopping” by!

Loads of Thanks

I had the need for one more thank you note this week, so I created this card using the Retro Sketch #40 for this week, and this Loads of Love Pure Innocence stamp set from My Favorite Things.  The papers I used are from Glitz (except the yellow gingham which is October Afternoon), and I added a few Fishtail Flags STAX Die-Namics for embellishment, along with a Sno Cone button.  To create the sentiment, I used the word “Thanks” from the Giraffe Girl stamp set, with the “Loads of” from the Loads of Love set!  Quite clever, eh?  :)
Loads of thanks for stopping by today!  Happy stamping!

Thanks a Latte – Color Throwdown #221

We’re winding down the year with the second-to-last Color Throwdown for 2012 and this week Barbara is our hostess with this great Christmas color combo.  I’m sure you can do a lot with these colors, and we can’t wait to see what you do!
Now….. I specifically needed a thank you note this week, so I opted not to do a Christmas card with these colors!

I’m a little late, but I used the Wednesday Sketch #100 from My Favorite Things from last week for the layout on my card, and the Miss You a Latte a’ la modes stamp set.  I did use some Christmas papers from the Authentique Festive 6x6 paper pad, and used the Fishtail Flags STAX and Little Open Scallop Strip Die-Namics.  For my sentiment, I used the large “Thanks” from the Thanks a Bunch stamp set, and the “a Latte” from the a’ la modes set! 
Be sure to visit my Throwdown sisters for plenty more inspiration with these colors, including our new December Guest Designer!
Barbara Anders Broni Holcombe Denise Marzec Joan Ervin Kerri Michaud Lori Tecler Lynn Put Wanda Cullen Miriam Napier, December Guest Designer
Thanks a latte for stopping by today!  Happy stamping!

Flourishes and CardMaps for December

The Flourishes gals have a special treat today!  We teamed up with Page Maps to give you some fun inspiration in the form of…. nearly a dozen card sketches!  Each quarter Becky Fleck with PageMaps releases 10 new card sketches — called CardMaps — to spark some creativity in your craft spaces and today, those sketches are being put onto paper with the help of Flourishes!
Here’s the sketch I used…

And here is my card…

The tree spoke to me immediately, so I just had to use the new Trimmed with Love stamp set that was released recently.  My tree was stamped directly on the My Mind’s Eye designer paper with Forest Moss distress ink, and I added some vintage-like glitter to the lights and some of the ornaments for sparkle.  Behind the tree, the polka dot paper was cut out with the new Perfectly Pierced Classic Window, an exclusive-to-Flourishes die set.  I added my sentiment on a flag from the Nested Pennants, and embellished with a Crystal Trinket Pin and some Chocolate Kaisercraft pearls.
Becky  picked ten of our designers and then doled out her CardMaps to get our take on each design!  So…what are you waiting for?  You’ll need to head on over and see….
Julie Koerber Cindy Lawrence Stacy Morgan Tammy Hershberger – you’re here! Ally Cope Broni Holcombe Heather Jensen Christine Okken Amanda Havon Cindy Haffner
And, before we go… we forgot — COMPLETELY – to share the news about our Gambler’s Sale!  If you’ve been watching the prices drop on our sale page, you should know that this week they dropped another 5% bringing the total discount to…

These deals are too good to pass up, don’t you think?  You can buy and stock up on what you need now at 35% or… take a gamble and see just how low these prices will go!  Click HERE to check out our sale page for yourself!
Thanks so much for stopping by!  Have a happy, creative weekend!

Joy on a Chalkboard

It’s Flourishes Free for All Friday and for my card today I decided to try something new.  I saw a link recently to some darling cards using the Chalkboard Technique on Betsy Veldman’s blog and definitely wanted to give this a try.  So here’s my take on it using the Peace & Joy stamp set…

I’m LOVIN’ how this looks… definitely need to try it more often!  For this, I just stamped the image on black cardstock using Versamark ink, then embossed with white embossing powder.  Then I inked the stamp again using a white pigment ink and stamped again, shifting just so slightly to give it a blurred look.  After the pigment ink dried (maybe hit it with your heat gun again to ensure complete drying time, but don’t do so much to reactivate the embossing!) I used a Ranger Ink Blending Tool and Blending Foam to sponge more of the white ink around the edges to give it that dusty, chalky look.  (I kid you not, I felt like I had chalk dust on my fingers as I worked on this!)  I embellished with some Color Made Easy buttons from the Poppy and Pistachio Light collections, some Basque Red seam binding, and a Vintage Kraft Flag Pin stamped with a sentiment from the Trimmed with Love stamp set.  (The papers I used are from the Authentique “Festive” 6x6 pad.)
For some more Friday Free for All inspiration, be sure to visit…

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

Thanks for stopping by today!  Happy stamping!

Christmas Candles

Hello everyone!  I wanted to quickly share with you today this Flourishes Christmas card I actually made last year.  This card was one that was included in my Splitcoaststampers Dirty Dozen gallery, and so therefore I’ve never shared it here on my blog and thought now would be a good time!
This card uses the beautiful Christmas Candles stamp set which I stamped in Memento Tuxedo Black ink on Flourishes Classic Ivory cardstock.  I die cut the image with a Nestabilities Petite Oval (I think they don’t make this die anymore, and I don’t know why… it’s always been one of my go-to dies…) and sponged inside the die with some Antique Linen ink.  The candles were colored with Copics from the Poppy, Pistachio, Iced Aqua, Sunflower and Tonal Neutral collections (shown below).  I added some bling with a gray pearl flourish and a glittery glow around the candles, and this rich burgundy ribbon.  These papers are an old Basic Grey collection that I can’t remember the name of… maybe Figgy Pudding?


Hope you’re getting into the Spirit of the season!  Happy stamping!

Color Throwdown #220

Wanda is our Color Throwdown hostess this week with this fabulous color combo… you could go all Christmas-y with this, or do something completely different, the option is yours!  Have fun and join us!
My card uses one of my most favorite Pure Innocence images…I just love this sweet scene from the Sending You a Little Christmas stamp set from My Favorite Things.  The papers I used here are My Mind’s Eye called Winter Wonderland, and my image is colored with Copic markers.  I used Die-Namics from MFT including the Fishtail Flags STAX and the Small Scallop Border.

I embellished the image by adding some Polar White Flower Soft to the hat and boots, and then the whole card is spritzed with Perfect Pearls for extra shimmer.

Check out the creations from my Throwdown sisters for more inspiration with these colors…

Barbara Anders
Broni Holcombe
Denise Marzec
Joan Ervin
Kerri Michaud
Lori Tecler
Lynn Put
Wanda Cullen
Lynn Mercurio, November Guest Designer
Thanks for stopping by, and happy stamping!

So Polished

I had some time last week to play around with some more Lily Bee Designs papers that I got from the eclectic Paperie store.  These papers come from the Persnickety 6x6 paper pad, and because I love nothing more than orange and pink together, they’re my favorites!  I paired them up with this not-yet-inked a ‘la modes stamp from My Favorite Things called Polished to Perfection.  The image is colored with Copics from the eP store, and I embellished with some black twill ribbon, Soft Pink Kaisercraft rhinestones, and a Berrylicious button.

On the nail polish bottle, I used a little Glossy Accents for added detail…

That’s all for today…. happy stamping!

Holiday Hugs

I made some time last week to play along with the sketch challenge last week from My Favorite Things using some supplies from the eclectic Paperie store.

I used papers from the new Lily Bee Designs Christmas Cheer 6x6 paper pad, and the Holiday Hugs Snowman from MFT, along with the Rounded Banner STAX, Fishtail Flags STAX, Small Scallop Border, and Let It Snowflake Die-Namics dies.  I stamped my image with Memento Tuxedo Black ink and colored with Copic markers from the eP store, and embellished my with a few buttons, some Maraschino Red twine, and some silver Kaisercraft rhinestones.

And here’s a little close-up of my uber glittery snowflake…



Sending YOU holiday hugs, and many thanks for stopping by today!

You’re the Best

It’s Flourishes Friday, so today you’ll find the Design Team focusing on stamp sets from our recent new release.  AND if you hop on over to the Flourishes blog, you’ll also find some great sales going on today… the Black Friday Sale and the Gambler’s Sale where there are some deeply discounted products just waiting for YOU!

For my card, I used two of the new sets… Inside and Out-Just Because and the Bloomin’ Aussie Florals.   I stamped the Sturt’s Desert Rose with Memento Gray Flannel ink and just lightly colored with the R00 Copic from the Sweet Pea collection and G40 from the Pistachio collection.  The papers I used here are from the November 123 Create Kit (Echo Park’s For the Record 2) and I cut out my rose image with one of the newly released dies, the Perfectly Pierced Victorian Ovals.  I embellished with a button from the Color Made Easy Poppy button collection, and some blush Kaisercraft pearls.

For more inspiration using the newly released sets, please be sure to stop and see…

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

NOW, don’t forget the Black Friday sale going on… visit HERE for more information on this great sale!  And the Gambler’s Sale still going on with items marked down 30%!  Check out the sale page HERE!

 

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday!  Thanks for stopping by today!

Color Throwdown #219

Hello there!  It’s time for Color Throwdown #219, and this week it’s my turn to host the challenge.  I guess I’m just partial to aqua blue… I seem to pick color combos with it a lot!  I hope you’ll like this challenge, too.  Stop by the CTD blog for all the challenge info and play along with us.

I have no clue where the idea came from, but the notion for this card popped into my head earlier this week so I gave it a try.  I pulled out my fabulous By the Letter Die-Namics die for the letters and ran them through my Xyron for adhesive then dumped on some ultrafine glitter.  The Christmas tree is from the Silhouette online store, and I sponged the edges of it with some Peeled Paint ink and wrapped some silver thread around it for garland.  I also used my Rounded Banner STAX Die-Namics and the Small Scallop Border on my card.  The white snowflake-embossed piece is spritzed with some Perfect Pearls for added sparkle, but darn if I couldn’t get that to show up in the photo!  :)

Check out the creations from my Throwdown sisters for more inspiration with these colors…
Barbara Anders
Broni Holcombe
Denise Marzec
Joan Ervin
Kerri Michaud
Lori Tecler
Lynn Put
Wanda Cullen
Lynn Mercurio, November Guest Designer

Thanks for stopping by!  Happy stamping!