Summer Classics.... day 2!

If you liked yesterday's sneak peek, you are going to love this one too! It's a warm summer breeze. It's a walk along the beach searching for the perfect seashell. It's a treasure.

Introducing...

This set that evokes that peaceful easy feeling that reminds us of all the fun memories we've had on the beach in our lives. This set was also drawn by the talented Marcella Hawley. I don't think you need me to tell you -- she is a master at bringing out the best in a stamp set!

The design team sure had a blast with this set and wait til you see the gorgeous creations that they cooked up with this beautiful set.

Christine Okken
Cindy Lawrence
Faith Hofrichter
Julie Koerber
Latisha Yoast
Laura Fredrickson
Leslie Miller
Stacy Morgan
Sharon Doolittle
Jan Marie Caruso
Nancy Kirk

Would you like to WIN this set? Simply leave us a comment here on this post! We'll announce the winner tomorrow!

Want to know who won our new Strawberries set? Random.org picked the number 10 which means the winner is.....

NancyS said...
WOW, these stamps are GORGEOUS! Can't wait to get my hands on them to make cards for my 80-year-old Mom who loves strawberries and has them as a major decorating element in her guest bedroom and dining room. Thanks for the opportunity to win it...that would be fabulous.
Wednesday, July 08, 2009 12:37:00 AM

Nancy, simply email us at flourishesllccustomerservice@cox.net, make sure you have your address listed and we will get your new stamp set sent right out to you!

Don't forget about these Fun Flourishes Happenings!

• Did you see there is a By the Sea challenge where you can win ALL of the new releases from Flourishes for July? Click HERE to read up! You have until Friday at 5 PM Eastern time to enter!! Don't miss out on all the fun!
• The Flourishes "Short and Sweet" release party is set for Friday night at 9 PM central over on the Flourishes Forum on SCS! It's just one hour so -- don't be late! We don't want you to miss out on the fun! We'll have more samples from our talented DT, games, fun and suprises!
• And lastly, there is our ongoing project to help out the Wounded Warrior Project. There is a big challenge and card drive going on for the troops with prizes for YOU on the line! Click on HERE to check it all out!

Thanks for stopping by! Did you like the peaceful easy feeling from this set today? Tomorrow offers a bit more with a gorgeous set that will have you dreaming of far away places!

See you tomorrow!

Sweet & Summery - day one!

With July, we usher in a brand new set of stamps ripe for the picking! And today's stamps -- boy are they ripe!

Introducing...






This set hand drawn by the ever-so-talented Marcella Hawley is another sure fire winner in our book. It's got a sweet and innocent flair to it that is sure to be used for all kinds of projects! I can see this on labels for sweet summer jam, on a tag of a basket full of strawberry muffins, or as you'll see on one of our designer's blogs -- on clothes!

We just know you'll love this sweet batch of summer as much as our Design Team did! Hop around to see all the fun things they created with this sugary sweet set!

Christine Okken
Cindy Lawrence
Faith Hofrichter
Julie Koerber
Latisha Yoast
Laura Fredrickson
Leslie Miller
Stacy Morgan
Sharon Doolittle

And be sure to check out the fabulous coloring tutorial cooked up by our own Nancy Kirk!

Would you like to WIN this set? Simply leave us a comment here on this post! We'll announce the winner tomorrow!

Fun Flourishes Happenings!

• Did you see there is a By the Sea challenge where you can win ALL of the new releases from Flourishes for July? Click HERE to read up! You have until Friday at 5 PM Eastern time to enter!! Don't miss out on all the fun!


• The Flourishes POWER HOUR release party is set for Friday night at 9 PM central over on the Flourishes Forum on SCS! We hope you join us for samples, games, fun and suprises!


• And lastly, there is our ongoing project to help out the Wounded Warrior Project. There is a big challenge and card drive going on for the troops with prizes for YOU on the line! Click on HERE to check it all out!

Thanks for stopping by! We'll see you back here tomorrow when we take a trip to treasure hunt on the ocean shore! (Yes, that's your hint!) :-)

Flourishes Timeless Tuesday Challenge!!!

It is time for Flourishes Timeless Tuesday Challenge(FTTC23)!!!! Thanks so much to all of you who participated in last week's chalk challenge. Another big thank you, too, to Linda Lucas for hosting the challenge with us last week. Keep reading to find out who won! Also, the June monthly winner is posted, too!!!

The Friends of Flourishes blog design team are bringing you exciting and different challenges each week. Everyone can PLAY and anyone can WIN! Make sure you continue reading to find out how.

This week Dee Jackson is our challenge host!!! Dee is challenging us to cut it out and pop it up!!! We are cutting out items and popping them up to add dimension and interest to our cards!!! The sky is the limit with this one. Just remember to cut it out and pop it up!!! We would love to see what you create!!!

Let's go see what the blog design team has created with the cut it out and pop it up challenge this week.

Up first this week is our challenge host, Dee Jackson. Dee is using the Waterlilies and Thank You sets. Dee is using the Flourishes Classic cardstock in white. She colored the waterlilies using the Flourishes Copic Color Collections. She used the Delphinium and Fields color groupings. I love how she used the sentiment phrase from the Thank You set and added a crisp white sheer ribbon with bow to complete her card. Great cut work detailing and dimension!!! Beautiful colors and design, Dee!!!

Up next is Kimberly Crawford. Kimberly is using Sweet Peas and Sweet Violets stamp sets. Beautiful coloring and cut work detailing, Kim. Kim stamped the image, then stamped it again, colored it with the Flourishes Copic Color Collections in Violet, Crocus, and Fields groupings. She cut out the flowers and popped them up to add dimension and detailing to the card. A few pieces of lace and gingham ribbon and the card is finished. Just gorgeous, Kim!!!

Next this week is, Silke Ledlow . Silke is using Love Nest and Home Tweet Home stamp sets. Beautiful colors and design, Silke. Silke cut out the birdcage and bird and popped them up to add dimension. I love how she scored the background panel to mimic the grid pattern in the dp she used. Silke, also used the Flourishes Copic Color Collections in Delphinium, Fields, and Poppy. Love the sweet sentiment she used from the Home Tweet Home set. This is an adorable card, Silke!!!

Next, is Betty Wright. I am using the Waterlilies and Damask stamp sets. I am using the Flourishes classic white cardstock. I colored my waterlilis using the Flourishes Copic Color Collections in Buttercup, Daffodil, and Spring Greens. I cut out the flowers and popped them up to add dimension. I just love the damask background with this beautiful waterlily. I thought it gave the look of some very elegant water swirls. I finished my card using a Spellbinders tag with grosgrain ribbon detailing.

Up last this week is Cindy Haffner. Cindy is using the City of David stamp set. Cindy used one of the solid distressed pieces of paper from the basicgray collection. She stamped the City of David image, then stamped it again. The entire city is cut out and popped up to create a wonderful dimensional scene. I love the colors as it makes it look like an evening sky. Cindy also stamped and popped up one of the sentiments in the set. Beautifully done, Cindy!!! Cindy is also reminding us that it is never to early to start working on some Christmas cards!!!

Be sure to check out each designers blog links to get more detail card information!

Flourishes Timeless Tuesday Winner(FTTC22)

decided by
Random Integer Generator
Here are your random numbers: 11
Timestamp: 2009-07-07 02:21:58 UTC

Trina (mnfroggie) You Won!!! Congratulations!!! You need to email: flourishesllccustomerservice@cox.net for your coupon code!!!!

The June Monthly Winner is

decided by

Random Integer Generator
Here are your random numbers: 30
Timestamp: 2009-07-07 02:29:01 UTC

Emily Keaton (ejkeaton) You are the June Winner!!! Congratulations!! You need to email: flourishesllccustomerservice@cox.net for your coupon code!!!!

By the way, if you still do not have theTimeless Tuesday blog button for your blog, check here for the codes.

Now, it is your turn to play! Here is what you need to know!

• Anyone can play whether you have Flourishes stamps or not. Of course, if you have Flourishes stamps, by all means, use them.
• Use code word FTTC23 when linking to SCS or public gallery. Leave a comment on this post with a link to your creation. Please give a direct link to your blog post so we can see the Flourishes challenge post and not just the generic page. To get the full link, click to read the comments. Another page will open that will have just the one card and your comments. Copy and paste that link here in the comments section.
• If you use either your blog link or online gallery, please give an active Flourishes Newsletter link.
• You can combine this challenge with as many others as you want.
• The challenge runs from Tuesday, 12:01 am until Monday at 8 pm EST
  Enjoy yourself!!!

We cannot wait to see what you create!

As always, thanks so much for stopping by!

Your Flourishes Friends!

Limelight Week 1 with Theresa - Copic Coloring and Emboss Resist

Hello! I am so excited to be here with you for the month of July! What a fantastic time it is at Flourishes with the new Copic Markers Collections. I have to say I was so excited to see how Flourishes is offering Copics in color families, that I wanted my first project with you to focus on Copic coloring.

I used images from a brand new set by Marcella Hawley called, Life, Love and Lemons. I love the detailed images in this set and it lends itself beautifully to coloring.

For the lemons, I used Copics found in The Daffodil Collection.

I started by stamping the image on Flourishes Classic White paper. Then I used the Y17 Copic marker to go around the outer edges of the lemons.

Using the Y15 marker, I worked inward from the previous color, using small circular strokes.

Repeated the same process, using the Y13 marker, working my way further inward, again in small circular strokes.

I followed up with the Y11 marker, leaving just a tiny area white. Then I used my colorless blender pen to push some of the Y11 back, creating a smooth transition of color from white to pale yellow. On the two small flowers, I used Y11, with my blender pen, also.


For the leaves of the lemon branch, I used colors from The Spring Greens Collection and The Evergreen Collection.


To start, I used YG95 along the veins and stems.

Next, I colored over the entire leaves and stems with YG03, using small circular motions.

I added YG91 to the areas that I wanted shaded, then used the colorless blender pen to push back some color from the lightest areas, creating highlights on the leaves.

Before working on the background, I needed to heat emboss the image with clear embossing powder. First, I rubbed an embossing buddy over the entire piece of cardstock, to prevent stray bits of embossing powder to stick due to static cling. If you don't have an embossing buddy, a dryer sheet will work.

To get the embossing powder to stick I used a Versa Mark pen and used it over the entire image. Then I sprinkled my clear embossing powder over the image, shaking the extra off, then heated it with my heat tool, until melted. I like a nice thick layer on my embossed images, so I repeated the process for a second coat.

After embossing the image, I very lightly sponged over the background with So Saffron ink. Then I used some of the word sentiments from Life, Love and Lemons and stamped them repeatedly over the entire background using Versa Mark ink. Next, I embossed the stamped words with clear embossing powder.

After embossing, I sponged more yellow ink, then some light green and olive green inks. I used black and yellow cardstock to layer. The sentiment was cut out using oval Nestabilities from Spellbinders and layered with a scalloped oval.

Thank you so much for joining me today. I hope you'll come back next Sunday for an in depth sponging project with all my favorite sponging tips.

Have a great day!

New Limelight Designer!!!

With June ending and July sparking up some new talent, we thought we'd bid a fond farewell to Sherry Cheever who took the month of June to showcase some beautiful techniques and stunning cards! I learned quite a bit watching her in action and I hope you did too! Thank You Sherry!! Your talent is incredible!

July ushers in a brand new face to this blog!

Introducing....

While I have been watching Theresa Momber create for at least a year (and picking my jaw up off the floor after seeing her stunning works of art), I felt that everyone needed to see her in action! She has a fabulous way of adding light and depth to her cards. It is really off-the-charts beautiful! When you see her featured here each Sunday in July, I know you'll agree!

To get ready for her big debut, we asked her to share a few words about life and her love of stamping!

"I’ve been married to my husband, Mike, for 22 years and we have a 17 year old daughter and two dogs. I’ve always had an interest in arts and crafts and began drawing at a young age. Over the years, I’ve dabbled in many different crafts and even scrapbooked for a while in 2000, but no craft ever held my interest long until I started stamping.

My sister had to drag me into it kicking and screaming, but eventually I played around with her stamps, and then bought a few Stampin’ Up! sets. That was the beginning of a very happy addiction. I’ve been stamping now for just over a year and a half and am lucky enough to be on a design team and have even started illustrating my own stamp sets.

I’ve admired Flourishes stamps since I first discovered the member companies at Split Coast Stampers, but being familiar only with rubber stamps, it took me months to work up the nerve to try them. I had tried a few clear stamps from the local stores and couldn’t make them work for the life of me; so when I finally decided to try Flourishes, I was so so happy to find they stamped beautifully! The quality photopolymer that Flourishes uses really does make a difference.

I am so thrilled to be the Limelight Designer for July and can’t wait to share my projects with you!"


Thanks Theresa! We can't wait to see your projects! Theresa will be back tomorrow for her Limelight premier! I hope you'll come back to see what she cooks up!


Jan just posted a fabulous tutorial on shading and light when using Copics! Be sure to scroll down and check it out!

Thanks for stopping by!
~Julie

Shading and Highlighting with Copics

Today I am going to begin the study of light, highlights, shadows, and shadows cast.

You may ask yourself, ""what is she doing and WHY?"

Learning the affects that light has on our creations can take them from a flat one dimensional image to a three dimensional image that literally jumps off the page. With the introduction of Copics, Flourishes was careful to include the Neutrals in Warm and Cool Tones. With these colors you will be able to transform your creation into the three dimensional images that our world provides the human eye. Some people just have this natural ability to send that message to their talented hands; the rest of us need to learn and then put the techniques into practice.

The Anatomy of Light and Shadow


There are several important aspects that it will help you in creating fantastic and realistic images.

In my image note that the light source is coming from the left. The highlight is where the light is strongest and the shadows fall on the side furthest from the light source. The appearance of light and shadow tells us a lot about the surfaces and textures in the image.



Highlights
If you take a second look at the image of the lemon I inserted above you will notice that there is an area that is lighter or highlighted on the image. Highlights can help balance shadows and should be used on the edges of objects closest to the light source. Highlights are often overlooked but when used effectively you don’t even notice they are there. While not suited to every situation, a tiny highlight can make all the difference. The “sharper” the highlight, the shinier the surface will appear.

In coloring the basic image of the lemons I used Y11 and Y13 and put in a very light base coat of each allowing the bright white of the FLLC Classic White paper to show through. Here is a look at that image colored with only the basic colors. Using the tip of Y 11-my lightest color- to Y13 on the chisel tip, I will pick up color and then transfer to the image. This technique allows me to add the darker tone a little at the time.

I have added in Y17 in the areas along the outline of the lemon. Notice how it is losing its flat look and becoming more real looking. Amazing, considering I have only added in one color gradient for the natural blend.

I have left the second lemon with only a base coat of color for your comparison as we continue on with coloring, blending, and shading.

Basic Shadows
Like color gradations, shadows can really add visual depth and texture when used the right way. The key is not to overdo it. Again with the natural blend system you can start with the lightest color and add depth by progressing to the darker shades.

The qualities of a shadow depend on the light direction and intensity, as well as the distance between the object and the surface where the shadow is cast. The stronger the light, the darker and sharper the shadow. The softer the light, the softer the shadow. In the above work in progress, note that I added W1 directly to the lemon image along the outer edges and slightly inward. Marcella is great to give us stipple and lines to help us in the process of adding shadows and highlights. The lemon is becoming more and more real looking.

Advanced Shadows
You can do a lot beyond basic shadows to give elements a third dimension. Longer shadows are a great way to change the spatial relationship between objects on a page. I haven't really covered this but we all have seen the long skinny shadows that happen at different times, however this is a subject for a different day.

Using A Light Source
Perhaps the most important part of working with lighting is knowing where the light is coming from. The light source will most likely determine where the highlights and shadows fall. Shadows in real life can't be created without a light source.

Below is a tool that I often use in placing my highlights and shadows. I made it from a piece of the clear vinyl that we carry in Flourishes. I have put in the points that I need in placing lights, highlights, and shadows. This may look a bit crude but it works well for me.
In the image below you can see that I have overlaid the acetate on my image. I can turn the acetate and always locate just where the light, hight lights , shadows, and cast shadows should fall.


This helps controlling the source of light in your designs and can help create atmosphere in your creations. It can also help direct the eyes to a focal point on the card. These tips and useful tools will do the same for you.

I choose to work with the Love, Lemons, & Life today and I will be using these Flourishes Copic Collections in today's project.

Gradations -the slight variation in color from shade or tone to the next (Webster's dictionary).
I know that you all know the story of Columbus and the concept of the world being flat. In a sense that theory can also apply to your art in stamping. The images are flat and have only one dimension. The process of coloring, shading, and highlighting is the technique that we employ to create three dimensional objects.

As children we learned to color but most of our pages and drawing remained flat on the page. Some of us learned to outline and shade and give life to our images. Then I am sure you had a person in your class that was just a natural artist. Their work was all wonderful. Their natural "eye" and talents allowed them to transfer to their brain, to their hand, and ultimately like magic to the paper.

With practice and a little study this is something we can learn to apply to our one dimensional images.

Light and shade are on everything.

Subtly using gradations of color is a great way to provide depth and makes things come to life on your creations. By using gradiations in Copics color families,Flourishes did the task of narrowing the selections for good results easily. Look above at the Evergreen collection, notice the gradations of colors from light to dark. I suggest that working from light to dark in most instances and keeping in mind your light source you can have good results of these aspects show up in your images.

In the examples below, the same lemon is given completely different positions in space depending on its shading and shadow. Here I have cut the image out and am using a light source to cast a shadow from the image on to a piece of Classic White paper.

Here another position is used to create even more different shadows.
This is fun!

Just by repositioning the image, I can create shadows. By altering the light source I can produce different shadows. Here I allowed the cut image to just set lightly on the paper to catch the natural shadows.

Then using W1, I began to ever so lightly add gray color under the leaves and around the lemons and flower. In the photo on the right I have removed the image for you to see the shading that I placed into the composition.

Now I am ready to using my dimensional dots and adhere the image to my card stock and finish the card.

OK I am back from fiddling with my card. I have had this ribbon for some time and it reminds me of a summer table cloth....just fit for fresh lemonade....so herrrrrre's the finished card:

I hope you have learned something from this post today I know that I covered a lot about this top that can be confusing, but knowing this facts will make you more successful in all your coloring in all your images.

Thanks for visiting with me.

Ciao,

By the Sea! A Challenge for YOU!

Summer nights, sunsets, the sound of waves crashing on the shore – what could be more relaxing? Because these are the sights and sounds of life on the beach - what better way to challenge you all to a fun contest than to invite you to put a taste of of the ocean into one of your creations!


HOW TO PLAY: Try to incorporate the “feel” of the sea in one of your creations. It could be with a fun embellishment, a photo or even just a color scheme. Link your creation to this post or upload to Splitcoast using the keyword FLLCJULY. You have until Friday, July 10th at 5 PM Eastern to have your creation uploaded! We can't wait to see what you come up with!

WHAT YOU COULD WIN: All of our new releases that will be revealed starting next Wednesday, July 8th, right here on the Flourishes Newsletter.
To get ready for the big reveal and spark some ideas for our challenge, our Senior Design Team got their creative juices flowing! Here is a peek at a few of their "By The Sea" inspired creations!

Leslie Miller

Stacy Morgan

Christine Okken

Aren't those beautiful? For details on these cards and a peek at what the rest of the DT came up with, hop on over to their blogs!

Christine Okken
Cindy Lawrence
Faith Hofrichter
Latisha Yoast
Laura Fredrickson
Leslie Miller
Stacy Morgan
Sharon Doolittle
Jan Marie

We can't wait to see what you create!

Happy Stamping!
Julie