sMOOches!

Friday, September 27, 2013


Last card today, I promise! ;)
I have a great niece who is turning one year old, so I made this fun card for her. As has been the case all day today, the layout is from a Viva la Verve Sketch.
Here's a look at the inside.

That's it for me. I'll be spending a good part of the rest of today reorganizing my stamps. I'm switching to Jennifer McGuire's stamp storage method, and while I know I'm going to love it once it's done, it is quite a chore switching over!

Thanks for visiting my blog, and have a fantastic day!

I'm entering this card in the following challenges:
Viva la Verve Sketch Challenge VLVSep2013, Week 2
Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge: Use a Simon Says Stamp Exclusive Product (the Circle Border die and Happy Birthday sentiment are both SSS products)

~Hugs,
 
Supplies:


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A Little Chocolate


I'm back with another card. And, again, I'll be brief. ;)
This is another Viva la Verve sketch. Don't you just love the layout! I enjoy having lots of layers on a card. The card recipe is below. I don't have a pic of the inside, as it's just another postage stamp die cut, sponged inside the die, without any text. Since this card could be used for just about any occasion, I'll wait until I have one to add my sentiment. 

I'm entering this card in the following challenges:

Viva la Verve Sketch Challenge VLVSep2013, Week 3

~Hugs,
 
Supplies:
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You Make Me Smile


Hello, and Happy Friday! I hope you had a fab week and are looking forward to an even better weekend! I'm going to be brief here, as I have two more cards to post in a little while. This card was pretty simple to put together, so I won't go much into what I did. The card recipe is at the end of the post.

I made this card for my DD, who recently had her first AR celebration. She earned a whopping 440 points! It took her about 3 months to do that last year! Needless to say we are really proud of her.
I love this sweet image, and it colored up nicely, but I have to confess that the "dirt" was not my original intention. I've been working on my shading, and it didn't go too well on this image, so rather than have it look like bruises, I turned my mess into dirt. It ended up being cute, but for a sec there, I thought I was going to have to start all over! :) I used a sketch from the September 2013 Week 2 Viva la Verve Sketch Challenge for the layout of the card.

The swirl background on the inside of the card was made with Faded Jeans Distress Ink and a swirl stencil.

That's it...short and sweet! I'll be back later with another card. 

I'm entering this in the following challenges:
Viva la Verve Sketch Challenge VLVSep2013, Week 2

~Hugs,
 
Supplies:
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Timeless Tuesday #239: "Build It With Dots"

Tuesday, September 24, 2013

Hello! And, welcome back for another Timeless Tuesday Challenge (FTTC239)!


Our hostess this week is the Amazingly Talented Allison, and she is challenging us to:

"Build it with Dots"

Just what does that mean, you ask? Well, it's simple. All you have to do is create a card using dots to color your background and/or image. Here are a couple of examples, here (notice how the ground is made of dots) and here (See how the leafy tree is colored).
I made this card for a friend who needed a baby card for a mommy-to-be who is a ballroom dancer. The onesie and booties are from the Hello Baby stamp set. I stamped them on Flourishes Classic White cs with Memento Tuxedo Black ink, and colored them with dots using the Ice Blue and New Browns Copic Sketch Collections. The new baby's name is going to be Landon, so I typed it up in Word, then printed it onto a transparency and rubbed it onto the front of the onesie. I then fussy cut the colored images and popped them up with foam dots. The Hello Baby sentiment is from the same stamp set. The sentiment in the circle die cut is one that I created in Word, also. The card base, scalloped circle, and accent strip are all made using the Quick Sand cs from Flourishes Rich Browns Color Made Easy Paper Collection, and the "It's a boy" text on the strip was stamped in Memento Desert Sand Ink. You can barely see it in the photo, but there is a layer of vellum, that I dry embossed with a bubble embossing folder, that is just in front of the card base. I added a couple different dp's, which I distressed with a Distrezz-It-All, then sewed along the edges. Tiny silver nailheads are in opposite corners of the card.
On the inside, on Flourishes Classic White cs, I stamped the sentiment, from the Hello Baby stamp set, in Desert Sand ink first, then again in Tuxedo Black ink, for give it a slight shadow effect, then I stamped the booties in Desert Sand. I cut banners from scraps left over from the front of the card, distressed the edges, then zigzagged them to the upper left corner. A bit unusual for a baby card, maybe, but my friend loved it, and she said that mommy-to-be did, too! :)

Alrighty...now, it's your turn to get your dots on! ;) I can't wait to see what you come up with. And, remember, you don't have to use Flourishes stamps, but if you do, you get two ballots toward the weekly prize! You can find all the details for the challenge here.

Be sure to take a moment to visit all our designers' blogs, too. 
Thanks for stopping by, and have a fantastic week!

I'm entering this card in the following challenges:

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge: Celebrate Stampember-use a product that is available from the SSS Store (I used a Spellbinders Scalloped Circle Nestie)
~Hugs,

Supplies Used:

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Timeless Tuesday #238: "Let It Shine"

Tuesday, September 17, 2013


I can feel myself switching into Christmas card mode now that there are only
99 days left until Christmas!

Well, before you panic, just know that 15 of those days are Tuesdays, so if you play along with us in Flourishes Timeless Tuesday Challenge every week between now and Christmas, you could easily have 15 extra Christmas cards finished, and you just might win a Flourishes prize, too!


I'm your hostess for this week's Timeless Tuesday Challenge, and I'm challenging you to...

"Let It Shine"

Just incorporate a light source in your card: a candle, lamp, lighthouse, fire, the sun---anything, as long as you "Let It Shine!"

I decided to use porch lighting for my light source, which gave me a chance to use the new Home for the Holidays stamp set. I love that you can change up the look of this stamp just by coloring different wall designs. And, since I've been working on my coloring skills, both with Prismacolor pencils and Copic markers, I made two cards, using each of those coloring mediums. Looking at the photo here, I'm thinking I should have made one more card, using pencils for the wall, and Copics for the rest...just to see what it would look like, ya know. ;)
First off, on this card, notice how my bricks slant a little to the left? Well, that's because this house is very old, and the foundation has shifted and settled. ;) That's my story, anyway. (At least I thought to use a ruler in my second card!) This entire image is colored with Prismacolor pencils, and besides having the porch light, I also colored the windows yellow for the ambient light inside the house. :) Everything is matted with Red Devil and Quick Sand cardstock, from the Poppy and Rich Browns Color Made Easy Paper Collections. (If you haven't tried Flourishes Color Made Easy Paper Collections, you really should. They are exceptional, and you'll love the delicious textures on them.) I used a couple of different Christmas papers, a die cut border, gold Stickles, and a bit of sewing for a nice homey feel. I added Glossy Accents to the light and the panels of glass, but it doesn't show up too well here. Also, the lines of the door are thicker than normal because I went over them with a sharp black pencil. Some of the detail had been lost when my pencils strayed over them. :)

I embossed the wreath and door panels with a stylus, then added Stickles to the wreath for some lively sparkle.
Inside, I stamped the sentiment with Memento Bamboo Leaves Ink, sponged Aged Mahogany Distress Ink inside the die, and added a little flourish die cut, all on a Red Devil cardstock background.

I colored this card with Copic markers. While I wanted this to be similar to the Prismacolored image so I could compare them, I did change it up just a little bit, with a different brick design. To make the bricks here, I masked the entire image, except for the wall area, then used my Copic airbrush system to color the brown for the bricks. I first sprayed it using the chisel end, for smooth coverage, then went back with a slightly darker brown and airbrushed using the brush end, which gives a splattered coverage. I used a Colorless Blender, and a ruler!, to draw in the mortar lines. For the gray concrete porch, I colored it first with a marker from the Cool Neutral Copic Collection, then wet a piece of denim with Colorless Blender and laid it on the colored area to get a textured look. If you do that, be sure to do it before coloring anything that is near it so you don't have to worry about texturizing something you want to remain smooth. I tell you this from experience. ;) To give the illusion that the porch light is on, I used my airbrush again. With a marker from the Daffodil Copic Collection, I airbrushed, radiating out from the light fixture, so the top of the door is more yellow than the bottom. Also, I added a bit of a scene inside the sidelight windows, with a Christmas tree and a view of the hardwood floor (I did that on the Prismacolor colored image, too, but it's very faint). The image is matted with a Spellbinders die cut that I colored with a gold Krylon marker. And, of course, I added some sparkle on the gold frame and the wreath with red Stickles.

You can see the Glossy Accents added to the glass and light here, as well as the texturized brick. I didn't do any dry embossing on the door or wreath on this card, but left a highlight on the wreath to give the illusion of dimension. 

Die cuts, dry embossing, Christmas paper, and a Christmas sentiment, stamped with Memento Olive Grove ink, finish the inside of this card.

So, I'm wondering...did you prefer the Prismacolor card or the Copic card? :) 

Well, now it's your turn to "Let It Shine!" And, remember, you don't have to use Flourishes stamps, but if you do, you get two ballots toward the weekly prize! You can find all the details for the challenge here.

Be sure to stop by the rest of the team's blogs and leave them some blog love, too! :)
Thanks for stopping by, and have a wonderful week!

~Hugs,

Supplies Used:

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Celebrate the Wonder

Saturday, September 14, 2013


Flourishes' silhouette stamps have always been some of my favorites, and they just released a brand new one: Snow Scenes! I couldn't wait to use it!
I used Viva la Verve's September 2013 Week 1 sketch for the layout for this card (Viva la Verve and Mojo Monday are my go-to sites for sketches!), and distressed and stitched cute Bo Bunny dp for the background. The white circle is embossed with a snowflake embossing folder and matted with another white circle. For the image, I heat embossed it with a tan embossing powder on Flourishes Classic White cardstock, masked the ground area, painted masking fluid on the snowman and fur on the boy's hat, then, while still in the die, sponged Weathered Wood Distress Ink for the sky with a sponge dauber, making for a darker, snowy sky. I then stamped one of the trees from the set in Memento Rich Cocoa. After removing all the masking fluid, I added Snow Marker for snow drifts and snowflakes. I used a Gold Krylon marker around the edge of the die cut. The sentiment, from the same stamp set, is stamped on a Verve Curvy Bookplate die and is edged with the Krylon Gold marker. The metal snowflake is from my stash (I think it is a K&Co embellie). The base is an ivory cs.
On the inside I used a gold pigment ink to stamp snowflakes randomly on a square of ivory cs, then sponged Antique Linen on the edges. On a Flourishes Perfectly Pierced Classic Frames Template die cut, I sponged Old Paper, Antique Linen, and Weathered Wood Distress Inks just inside the die, then stamped the sentiment, which is from the Holiday Topiaries stamp set, in Memento Rich Cocoa. Then, I edged the die cut with my Krylon Gold marker.

This was such a fun card to make, but if you want to see more cards made with this set, click here. The Flourishes Design Team is amazing!

Thanks for stopping by, and have a "Wonder"-Filled week!

I'm entering this card in the following challenges:
Viva la Verve Sketch Challenge: September 2013 Week 1
Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge: Embossed
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge: Emboss It

~Hugs,

Supplies Used:

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Timeless Tuesday #237: "Make a Good Impression" & A Sneak Peek!

Tuesday, September 10, 2013


Happy Tuesday! Didn't you just love Flourishes new Home for the Holidays stamp set that was revealed yesterday? Well, just wait until you see today's reveal! Gorgeous! Oh, what am I saying...every day this week there will be a new stamp set revealed, and there is no way I could choose a favorite among them. You'll just have to see them for yourself. ;)

Holiday TopiariesWelcome to Day 2 of our fabulous September release week! Today both our Friends of Flourishes Team and our Design Team will be showcasing a wonderful new stamp set created by our beloved artist Marcella Hawley. Marcella has packed this beautiful 4x6 stamp set called "Holiday Topiaries" with an array of beautiful holiday decorated greenery and 3 seasonal sentiments to match their holiday vibe. This sweet holiday stamp set will surely make an appearance on your homemade cards, handmade gifts, tags and more this season! Don't forget...


Mystery-Blogger-GraphicHidden among the Design Team's blogs today is our Mystery Blogger of the day. Comment on her blog and you could be chosen to win today's set! The more you comment, the better your chances, so comment away!
Now, for this week's Timeless Tuesday Challenge, my sweet friend, Katie, is our hostess, and she is challenging us to...

"Make a Good Impression"

So, incorporate dry embossing somewhere on your card or project. It could be an embossing folder, stencils, or even a household item for your embossing...just make sure you "Make a Good Impression!" (FTTC237).
I started my card by dry embossing a piece of Flourishes Classic White Cardstock with a brick embossing folder and an embossing diffuser to keep the oval area unembossed for my image. Then, I stamped the conical topiary from the new Holiday Topiaries stamp set inside the oval with Memento Tuxedo Black ink. I colored it with Copic markers and added tiny white hightlights on all the berries with Copic Opaque White and a toothpick. I cut an oval from a piece of copy paper, then used the negative die cut as a mask so I could sponge Antique Linen Distress Ink just inside the edges of it. The sentiment is stamped onto an oval cut with Flourishes Perfectly Pierced Victorian Oval Template Die, and sponged with Antique Linen, also. The holly leaves were cut with a Spellbinders die and the berries were punched with a 1/4" hole punch, then covered in Glossy Accents. After heavily distressing the edges of the white, embossed cs, I matted it with a Christmas dp, added a strip of glitter ribbon, then popped up the sentiment over it. Finally, I glued it to the Capers card base, which is from the Color Made Easy Evergreen Paper Collection.
On the inside, I used the same embossing folder for the background layer and cut the larger Victorian Oval die for the sentiment, which is from the Sentimental Christmas stamp set, and is stamped in Memento Olive Grove ink. I added a fancy rectangle die cut for personalization, and matted it with an oval cut from the same dp I used on the front of the card.

I hope I made a good impression. ;) And, I hope you'll play along and "Make a Good Impression, too! And, remember you don't have to use Flourishes stamps, but if you do, you get two ballots toward the weekly prize! You can find all the details for the challenge here. But, wait...

DO YOU WANT TO WIN OUR ENTIRE RELEASE?

If you would like a chance at winning all five of our soon-to-be released September sets:
  • You can play in our Get in Shape Challenge. We will have multiple winners there! Deadline for entries is FRIDAY September 13th at 5 PM EST. Check out the link for the official rules!
  • All five of our September sets can be pre-ordered now, even before you see them all! Take advantage our New Release Bundle and get 10% off when you purchase all five sets together in a bundle. This discount will be available for only 1 week following the release.
  • All sets will be live first thing Friday morning along with the coordinating cut files for this release.
  • Come back to the Flourishes Blog Saturday for the Winner's Circle where we'll announce all of our winners of this weeks' challenges!
Thanks for stopping by, and have an "impressive" week!

I'm entering this card in the following challenge:
Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge: Embossed

~Hugs,

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Wishing You a Perfect Day

Tuesday, September 3, 2013


(If you are looking for this week's Timeless Tuesday post, click here.)

Hello there! Hope you had a good weekend, and for those of you in the states, a nice, long, holiday weekend! I was able to get caught up on some blog housekeeping, so I'm happy...whoo hoo! ;)
I needed a birthday card for a friend, and this week's Mojo Monday sketch was calling my name, so I got to work and made this card. It's really a simple card, but I made the bg paper using Dylusions Ink Sprays, Distress Inks, acrylic paint and a stencil, so it took longer than it probably should have--especially since I had to make 3 of them to get the look I wanted. I do like the end result, though.
A bit of stamping, Distress Ink sponging, and a few punched butterflies finished off the inside easily. I only glued the butterflies along the center of each one. They will lie flat when the card is closed, but pop back up when it's opened.

Thanks for stopping by, and have a Perfect Day!

I'm entering this card in the following challenges:
Mojo Monday #309
Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge: Stamping All-Stars (Distress Ink, an absolute necessity!)
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge: Anything Goes

~Hugs,
 
Supplies:

Plus: Vintage Verses Stamp Set (No longer available--Stampin Up)
         Signature Greetings II Stamp Set (Papertrey Ink)

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Timeless Tuesday #236: Double Wrap


Happy Tuesday! It's time for another Timeless Tuesday Challenge


The amazingly talented Jenny is our hostess this week, and she is challenging us to...


Two times the Ribbon! Some ribbon is good, more is always better! Use more than one kind of ribbon on your creation.
For my card, I stamped the pinwheel image and sentiment from Flourishes Pinwheels and Popsicles stamp set in Memento Tuxedo Black ink, onto Flourishes Classic White cs, then stamped it onto dp from the My Mind's Eye Happy Days paper pad, fussy cut, and paper pieced it. For the card base, I used the light pink Emma Burlap cs, from the Flourishes Color Made Easy Candy Pink Paper Collection. I embossed the bottom two inches of the bottom front of the card base, added a cute pinwheel design dp to the upper portion, along with the sentiment panel, then used a strip of red Prima Bloomers and a sweet satin bow for my "Double Wrap." ;)  I finished it off with a sparkly embellie on the bow, a few Stickles dots on the sentiment panel, and silver pearls.
On the inside, I sponged Spun Sugar Distress Ink inside the die, then stamped the birthday cake image and sentiment from the same stamp set, with Memento Summer Sky ink.

Well, that about wraps it up for me! (I just HAD to say that!) ;)  I hope you'll play along with us this week! And, remember you don't have to use Flourishes stamps, but if you do, you get two ballots toward the weekly prize! You can find all the details for the challenge here.

Be sure to visit the rest of the design team, including Kathy Roney, our September Guest Designer, to see their beautiful creations, and leave them a little blog love while you're there!
Thanks for stopping by, and have a wonderful week!

I'm entering this in the following challenges:
Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge: Stamping All-Stars (my Grand Calibur for embossing and die-cutting is my All-Star!)
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge: Anything Goes

~Hugs,

Supplies Used:

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