Saturday, October 25, 2008

Basic Grey and Memory Box paper

New and back in stock at Flourishes!
Basic Grey - Urban Prairie 6 x 6 paper and coordinating glazed brads! Urban Prairie is a kaleidoscope of blues, greens, pinks, yellows with elaborate, whiimsical designs!

















From Memory Box, we just received our shipment of Gingercake papers - a collection of 6 x 6 papers perfect for the holiday!

Finally, we've received another shipment of the popular Memory Box paper - Winterberry.
Supplies are limited on these items, so shop now!

Friday, October 24, 2008

Flourishes Friday!

This week's Flourishes Friday is all about the glitz and glimmer of Christmas. These ladies have outdone themselves---again!

Laura Fredrickson's card has a copper flair to it! She used the new Poinsettia and Boxwood set, just released this month along with the new Glittering Christmas papers. You have to love the sparkle this paper delivers! I love the way Laura embossed and watercolored her poinsettia. It is just so rich looking! The sentiment is from the Holiday Greetings set.




Cindy Lawrence continues the rich and elegant look with her use of the new All that Glitters set. I actually gasped when I saw these cards. From the embossed base to the decorative corners and the fabulous coloring - these cards have it all!



Cindy Haffner did a fun criss-cross card to make this little reindeer pop off the card! Her muted colors are just rich and the layout is too fun! FYI: Did you know this reindeer from the Flourished Christmas set is a tad bigger and a mirror opposite of the reindeer in the new set Sleigh Ride! There are tons of possibilities there!
This last creation from the lovely Becca Feeken is actually a set. She used the small poinsettia in the Flourishes Poinsettia and Boxwood set to create some paper weights and blank note cards for a gift! Can you believe she used votive candle holders for her paper weight? You'll have to click on her blog to see how she did it!

A special thanks to our team who continually inspires! If you want to see more in depth instructions, just click on their name on our Friends of Flourishes blog roll!


We do have a bit of sad news to report. You might notice there is a name missing in our weekly Flourishes roundup. Recently, Joan Bardee resigned from the blog team because life is just too chaotic right now. If you are a follower of her blog, you already know that she has a lot on her plate! We are just lucky to have spent a short time with her and we've already told her our door here at Flourishes is always open!


With Joan's goodbye comes a few "hellos!" Two very talented ladies will soon be joining the Friends of Flourishes Blog Team! These ladies have inspired me for a while now and I am absolutely sure they will inspire you too! Stay tuned for the official announcement!

Monday, October 20, 2008

Flourishes Featured Stamper #22!

I buckled again! I couldn't pick one winner for the Featured Stamper this week! Once I show you their projects, I am sure you'll see where I was coming from! Too much talent! So, without further ado... this week's Featured Stampers are...... Lois and Michelle!

Lois created this fabulous pocket card with dual tags that are just a perfect fit for the new All That Glitters set! I love her coloring on this creation!
Her second card uses the City of David set and is just so crisp! I love the pop of color on the wise men's clothing!
Michelle created a beautiful card using some Basic Grey paper and the Summer on the Patio set! I love the fold that she used! The saying, "Just because is actually from the Siberian Iris set!

Here's a look at her card from the side so you can see the way it folds! Isn't that fantastic?

Gosh, there were so many fabulous creations this week! Want to see some of my other favorites?


This one from Laurie just pops (no pun intended)! Those poppies are colored terrifically. Pair them with polka dots and a fun Spellbinders tag and this is one lovely card!

This card from Liz is just so soft looking! I love the muted colors she chose! It just makes the flowers in the Mixed Greetings set look so serene! That pop of brown ribbon is nice too!

Thanks everyone for some fabulous Featured Stamper entries! Michelle and Lois, you'll be entered for our October drawing for a free stamp set! Keep those creations coming! Week after week - you inspire!

Until next time....stamp and flourish!! ;-)

Friday, October 17, 2008

Flourishes Friday!

Hi all! Time for another fabulous Flourishes Friday with our uber talented Friends of Flourishes blog team! These ladies never, never cease to amaze! This one has a little new, a little old mixed in for some terrific weekend inspiration!

This first card is a beautiful, non traditional Christmas card. Who would have thought light blue and copper could look so good together for a festive card? Well, apparently Laura Fredrickson did! Her card mixes up fun elements to create a very striking creation! She used the new "All that Glitters" set, one of Flourishes' new releases this month! The sentiment is from the new set, "Holiday Greetings."

When creating this next card, Becca Feeken said, there's nothing like a beautiful poinsettia to get you in the Christmas mood. Wow! All it takes is just one look at her card! She used one of the Flourishes new releases, Poinsettia and Boxwood. Just beautiful! Joan Bardee's card also uses the All That Glitters set in a way that creates such a warm and cozy card. She admitted earlier that she is in love with the new Flourishes Glittering Christmas Paper and this is another fabulous sample using this lucious paper!!!
Cindy Haffner cracked open the Birds And Vine set for this almost glamorous card! Flowers, sparkles, birds and elegant vines combine to create a beautiful and very interesting design! I love those popped up circles that spotlight the birds!
Cindy Lawrence said her goal was a simple card to showcase the Bird and Vine set as well. I don't know how she does it! This is a pretty simple card that is.. well... pretty! She makes it look so incredibly easy-- doesn't she? Did you see the faux brads on the bottom? You'll have to click on her blog to read up on that!

As always, if you want to surf more of these ladies fine creations, just hit our blog roll showcasing our Friends of Flourishes team!

Have a wonderful weekend!

Monday, October 13, 2008

Featured Stamper 21--Wild Card Week

Hi all! As promised, we have a "fashion show" of sorts to show off all the fabulous entries we had last week for the Featured Stamper! Since I couldn't decide, I declared it a "Wild Card Week" which means everyone who made a card will be in the running for a free stamp set! That means Liz, Karen, Lois, Erin, Michelle, and Laurie will all be entered! We'll draw the lucky winner and announce the news on the first Monday of November! Thank you ladies for some awesome creations!

I had a few favorites this week! The first one by Michelle is just a classic "anytime card." I loved the colors she chose and the layout with the embossed layer is just too classy!

Lois's take on a sleigh ready ready to dash through the snow is such a soft and beautiful Christmas card. She used the brand new Sleigh Ride set and even put in one of the evergreen trees from the Forest of Trees set! It's a fabulous combo!
Erin spiced up the Birds And Vine set with this classic color combo that delivers a punch of contrast. I love the polka dot and stripes created all over the card! And the way she layered it up? Very unique and creative!
This last card from Laurie has a vintage look that I love with the inked edges, the classy tag sentiment and the embossed background. When it is all put together, you have a pretty Christmas card with a classic feel!
Thanks ladies for sharing your creativity with us! You do inspire!


Speaking of inspiration.... did you see this creation from Friends of Flourish team member Becca Feeken?

Oh my! Isn't it amazing? You have to click HERE to check out her blog and find out exactly how she made it. She used the new set called Sleigh Ride that is hot off the polymer presses from Flourishes! Becca really is too creative for words. Don't you think?

That's it for this Monday! Thanks for stopping by!

ALL THAT GLITTERS

Christmas and the Holiday Season is certainly a glittery time of the year. Those of us that would not normally have our homes decked out and sparkley certainly take on a new persona. All That Glitters is a new Marcella Hawley exclusive that features vintage ornaments. Each of the images in this Christmas-Holiday season stamp set is a stellar example of her abilities to capture these holiday ornaments at their best.

For my focus I took an unconventional look at both of the Christmas ornament images that I used to highlight today.

Here's a look at my first one:





I love the lady-like look of this card. It is so very pretty in real life. I know Marcella used vintage ornaments from her mother's own collection as the basis for this set, and here I go making it all contemporary and girlie. I just love the contrast....I love the sentiment-- SO SWIRLY-- the crispness of the hot pink and black -white check ribbon. The detail and depth are hidden here but again IRL the depth and tiny green rhinestones(Kaiser flat back from Flourishes too) make this card perfect for that very striking lady on your Christmas card list.

The card is a simple one layer card. I stamped the image using my Copic marker direct to the image (I know some say horrors) and I must say I had to work very quickly. Then using the Copic Colorless blender I gradually added the colors, line, and depth. I used only three Copics...Colorless Blender, RV17, and YG03. Star Dust Stickles added the wonderful glitter look. A Kaiser flat back rhinestone in green was the coup de grĂ¢ce ! The black "hanger" was done with a small punch to the card and then black embrodiery thread and a knoted tie of black and white gigham ribbon from Flourishes. Hum, very Girlie-Girl !!

For my second card I chose a more traditional look and used this set again in an other than intended approach when it was first conceptualized.



For this card I used both of the branches from the All That Glitters set as well. The techniques used to the best advantage for the card were masking and sponging of colors to highlight some branches that were stamped with Versamark and embossed in white EP, others were stamped with Handsome Hunter and simply highlighted with sponging in the same color. To add more depth in shading I used my Copic Spica Bright green pen. I did this quite liberally on the dark green branches and around the white. This is a case where a lighter color adds the required spolight and give the illusion of more depth on a flat image. After a few critically placed branches, I stamped the pinecone ornament on the card then masked it while I worked on the other parts. It was then colored with my Copics, highlighted and then touched with the Ranger White Essential pen for that frosty look. The sentiment was stamped and embossed, more ink (Creamy Caramel) smudging with a sponge. The ribbon was done with the SU two hole punch. The card is white cardstock to start. The second layer is the Brushed Gold Leaf metallic paper from Flourishes and finally the card itself is SU Handsome Hunter.

The next time I work with these sets I am definitely using the LuminArte Twinkling H2Os....After I finished these I was fiddling here in the Atelier on a scrap piece of paper with them and these ornaments and Oh My were they pretty. You can bet that you will be seeing them all done up soon. They were so simple and vibrant and already had the sparkle of the mica in them. My trial piece will be my inspiration board for an upcoming card at my work space.

Today's card stamps, ribbons and emblishments are all from Flourishes.

Thanks so much for looking in over my shoulder today as I worked. I know your time is precious and am so grateful that you spent a few moments with me. My "teacher-facilitator" hope is that you found something to take with you.

Don't forget that Flourishes is still having the 10% off sale...the ENTIRE STORE---but you must rush to place that order as the sale IS OVER MONDAY NIGHT AT 12:00P.M. CST....the Promo code is RSC88.

Ciao,



"A great teacher never strives to explain his vision. He simply invites you to stand beside him and see for yourself." My Chineese fortune cookie today!

Saturday, October 11, 2008

Paper Tin Tie bags

Look at what just came in, and in time for the sale, the white paper gift bags with a tin tie along the top for easy closure.

These bags measure 4 3/4 x 2 1/2 x 9 1/2. They meet the FDA requirements for direct food contact.....which means you can fill them with anything! They have a laminated clear poly inner liner with a clear display window. Easy to close with with the metal tie at the top.


I have not had time to "play" with the bag I have, but you can see what Jan Marie has done with a similar white bag and a whole gift ensemble . Take a look at what she has done using the JustRite Baking monogram.

Don't forget, you still have time to get 10% off, this and everything in the store. Use code RSC88 in the promo code at checkout until Monday.