Friday, October 30, 2009

In the Limelight!

A new month at Flourishes means a new face to introduce to the fans of Flourishes and a fond farewell to a very talented designer who has given us a glimpse into her creative world!

I don't know about you, but Asela Hopkins blew me away this past month with her stunning tutorials. I have always, always, always been a fan of her use of color. When you look at her work, you just see her art background in every creation! Thanks Asela! We've so enjoyed having you here in our "home" on the web!

Now.... an introduction of sorts! I've known this "Krafty Kat" for a while now and each time I see a new creation of hers, I think -- unique! She always puts a little something extra into her creations that makes you think.... 'Now, why didn't I think of that?'

So,without further ado, meet..........

We asked Jenny to share a wee bit about herself before she jumps in tomorrow with her first Limelight project!

A little about me..... I'm 36, married to the love of my life and we are completely controlled by one nine pound cat who runs our house. I just left my job after 15 years and plan on devoting my time to stamping/papercrafting and working with a local stamp store, Impressive Ideas. I am looking forward to having more free time and enjoying this wonderful hobby daily.

I originally was a scrapbooker, I have to admit... I would walk down the stamp aisle in the craft stores and think... "What??? I totally had no clue!". I slowly started embellishing my scrapbook pages with very simple stamp images. It was all stamping basics. I was a scrapbooker after all. Well, not too long after that, I went to a stamp show, thinking no biggie, I'll cruise around and maybe pick up a few small things. OMG! I saw stamping demonstrations everywhere I turned. I was amazed at the possibilities and techniques involved with stamping ..... and after several trips to the car to unload all my purchases........ my scrapbooking slowly ceased. I was hooked and a full blown stamping addict! Several years later, I am still totally addicted and loving every minute of this hobby. Sharing it with other creative minds is the icing on the cake!

I am thrilled to be working with Flourishes this month, the Flourishes artists really have knocked my socks off this year, creating some stunning images to work with. I immediately leaped for joy, did a happy dance and responded 'YES', when I was asked to participate! I hope the mojo doesn't go MIA! I look forward to sharing some creative ramblings and projects with you and I hope I don't disappoint!!!


Jenny, there's no way you'll disappoint! We know you'll rock it! :-) So come back tomorrow and see this Krafty Kat cooked up! I know I can't wait!

Thanks for stopping by!

~Julie

How would you like to be on the Wall of Fame???

Are you a member of FLIP? A.K.A. Flourishes Loyalty Incentive Program? Well then, How would you like to be on the...........




As a member of our royal and loyal court, we want to see the beautiful things you do with Flourishes Stamps! We want you to be on our Wall of Fame! We have a start showcasing some of the beautiful cards sent to us from Flourishes loyal customers....


All this wall needs now is a dash of your artistic style! We'll be honoring FLIP members right here on the Flourishes blog! And, if your card is chosen as the monthly winner to land on the Wall of Fame, we'll have a special surprise... just for you! Simply upload your cards to Splitcoast Stampers using the key word FLIPWOF or link up some of your favorite Flourishes cards right here on this post using the Mr. Linky box below! Before our December FLIP sale, we'll pick one lucky card maker to be the next honoree on the FLIP Wall of Fame! Good luck! We can't wait to see your works of art!

KEEP IN MIND! You must be a FLIP Member to submit. Just another reason to get your 'membership card' today! :-)



Flourishes Focus: Coloring up the Season

Hello Flourishes fans, Latisha here.  Today the design team is coloring on their cards, a Coloring in the Season if you will.  I am showing you a couple of cards that have a fall theme, but some of the ladies will have a Christmas feel to their cards.  When I think of fall, my mind goes to really earthy rich tones, like orange, red, brown, gold and green.  Have any of you seen the new Indian Summer paper from Basic Grey?  Wow is that some beautiful fall paper or what!  For my first card that is where I got my inspiration from.  If you look closely, you will notice that the trees have been paper pieced using the Indian Summer paper.  After I paper pieced the trees, I started to color in my image using some Copic markers.  Its easier to see the blending I did on the grass and stone walkway than on the house.  The way I blend is from lightest marker to darker.  I add a little bit of a darker color, then I go back with my lighter color to make the blending seem more natural.   I distressed the edges of my paper, and sponged the edges with some brown ink, this look can also be accomplished by taking the edge of your Copic marker and running it along the edge of the paper, its a lot quicker too.  Before I adhered my stamped image panel, I ran some ribbon around the front of my card and tied a bow.  This is a clean and simple card, but with the coloring and paper piecing its makes the card seem like is has more depth and dimension than it really does.



For this card, I stamped my leaf images onto paper, colored them in, again with Copic markers and then cut them out.  Once I cut my leaves out, I popped them up with foam tape/dimmensionals, it just give the card a little more depth to it.  Oh, before I adhered the leaves, I tied my ribbon and stamped my sentiment.   The best advice I can give you, on becoming better with the Copic markers is to practice, practice, practice.  You can even go onto Youtube and search Copic markers, there are many tutorials on there.  Before I became Copic Certified that is what I did along with going to Marianne Walker's blog, she is the queen of Copics.  I hear through the grapevine that Flourishes is adding more Copic color collections!!  Stay tuned for more information on that!



For more coloring inspiration head on over to the rest of the designers blogs.  Christine is not playing along today, but go to her blog and wish her a Happy Birthday please, yesterday was her birthday.  Happy Birthday Christine!!!

Pay these talented ladies a visit:

Thursday, October 29, 2009

Welcome Convention Goers!


It's time for the Virtual Rubber Stamp Convention over at Rubber Stamp Chat. And, that means a little something special...... just for YOU!

Join us for our Fall Convention Sale where we are offering YOU 10% off everything and anything! All you need to do is add the special promo code rsc09 in the promotional code box at the time of check out.

You have to act fast though! This offer is only good during the Rubber Stamp Chat Convention and will end at the close of November 2nd.

Click HERE to shop! Remember, FREE SHIPPING on all orders in the United States over $60!

Monday, October 26, 2009

Flourishes Timeless Tuesday Challenge(FTTC39)!

It is time for Flourishes Timeless Tuesday Challenge(FTTC39)!!! Thanks so much to you all for playing along in last week's sketch march challenge!!! Keep reading to find out who won!

The Friends of Flourishes blog design team are bringing you exciting and different challenges each week. Flourishes gives away a store gift certificate each week. Random.org decides who wins!! Everyone can PLAY and anyone can WIN! Make sure you continue reading to find out how.

It is the last Tuesday of the month so we have a guest challenge host this week. Our challenge host is Kathy Jones(Wattle) all the way from Australia. Please give Kathy a warm welcome! Thanks so much, Kathy for hosting a challenge with us. Kathy is challenging us to use border punches or borderabilities. You decide if you want to use just one border, mix different patterns, or layer several for a fanciful look. Whatever you decide, we would love to see what you create! Have fun with this one! The skies the limit!

Let's see what Kathy Jones created using borders! She is using Flourishes Gerbera Daisy set. She colored the daisies using Flourishes Copic Color Collections in Crocus. Kathy cut out the entire arrangement and popped it up on a textured oval center. She then layered that with the Spellbinders label 5. I love all the beautiful cut work detailing and dimension. Kathy accented the whole arrangement with fleur de lis punch border frames. She finished her gorgeous card with some kaiser pearls. Beautifully done, Kathy!!!







To see what the rest of the blog design team created for you using borders, please click the

blog links to check them out.

Dee Jackson

Kimberly Crawford

Maki Jones

Silke Ledlow

Betty Wright

Cindy Haffner

Kathy Jones

Flourishes Timeless Tuesday Winner(FTTC38)!!!




Random Integer Generator
Here are your random numbers:15
Timestamp: 2009-10-27 03:32:28 UTC


Marsha Drain (Watercolor Thanksgiving) Congratulations!!! You Won!!! Please email: private message gbedwright at SCS for your coupon code!!!!




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 keyword code FTTC39 when linking to SCS or public gallery.
  • Be sure to use the Mr. Linky to be eligible for the gift certificate drawing!
  • If you use either your blog link or online gallery, please give an active Flourishes Blog link.
  • By all means combine this challenge with other blog challenges.
  • The challenge runs from Tuesday, 12:01 am until Monday at 8 pm EST Enjoy yourself!!!







We also have the Flourishes Timeless Tuesday blog button working properly again. If you need the code, check here.


As always, thanks so much for stopping by and playing Flourishes Timeless Tuesday Challenge with us! Your comments are alway greatly appreciated, too!!!

Your Flourishes Friends!

Sunday, October 25, 2009

Watercoloring Doves and Holly

Great minds think a like! I had no idea that Tuesdays challenge was watercoloring when I was working on my card for todays post. It's Asela again and I'd love to share how I watercolored this gorgeous image Dove and Holly using watercolor pencils. You will need pencils in these colors (or similar to these) Ultramarine, Peacock Blue, Dark Green, Crimson Red, Terra Cotta and Sunburst Yellow. I also used a round Sable brush and clean water. For the paper I
used Flourishes Classic White paper. Versmamark and Detail Black Embossing Powder were used to create the image for coloring.

Stamp the image twice using Versamark and then heat embossing it with detail black Embossing powder. It's important to use DETAIL embossing powder on this image. The illustration has a lot of fine lines and you don't want to lose them when you melt the powder. Regular power will be too thick.

When I watercolor I always like to wet the areas that I will be coloring first using clean water and my brush. This way when I start to add color to the areas they will bleed out into the areas that I wet and the colors will be soft. When you
watercolor always think of going light to dark. You can't remove color, but you can always add more color to make an area darker.

I wet my brush and then touch it to the tip of the watercolor pencil. I make sure to scrub the brush on the tip of the pencil. This picks up the pigment and then I can apply it to the paper. If you use an Aquapainter brush make sure to dab the tip on a napkin to remove some of the water, it may be really soaking wet. Since I wet the areas that I want to color first with water if you don't remove some of the water off of the Aquapainter brush you may soak the fibers of the paper too
much and cause it to bleed out side of the lines.

Watercolor around the outside of the birds and the holly. Color in the berries red. This yellow is very bright but you will mute it by adding Terra cotta over some of it. This will create an antiqued look.

Add the Terra cotta a little bit at a time, lightly wetting the paper. Since this is NOT watercolor paper it may warp a bit because it isn't that thick. I apply plenty of glue on the backside when I adhered it to the red panel. Or you can lightly wet the back side and place it between 2 sheets of white paper and set heavy books on it overnight.

Color in the 2 birds first using the lighter blue and then adding the darker blue for shading.

Cut out the smaller bird and adhere it to the larger stamped image using dimensional tape.

Cut out the bird, a panel measuring approximately 4 x 3 inches. Sponge around the edges with a mustard color dye ink. Adhere to a red panel that is 1/8 inches larger around then the bird panel. Create a card base that is 4 1/2 x 4 1/4 (folded size). Add scrapbooking paper and embellishments. Adhere panel to the front of card leaving 1 inch above the fold of the card base. Paper pierce one corner.

I have really enjoyed being a part of Flourishes team this month and I hope
that you enjoyed my tutorials. Thanks for all the sweet comments!

I have included one last PDF file of this tutorial for you to print out and save.

Thursday, October 22, 2009

Friday Focus - Fancy Folds

Hello Flourishes Friends! It's Christine here today with another Friday Focus. Do you ever have those times when you'd like a really special, or really fun and different card for an Occasion? Today I'm going to show you a couple of Fancily Folded cards that would fit the bill wonderfully.

I call this first card the"Christine Tri-Fold Book". I was playing around with an idea one day and this is what I came up with, I first did this card HERE if you'd like to see another example. Essentially it is a graduated height Tri-Fold that you can do open like an accordian or closed and sealed like a book.

Here is what the finished card looks like...then I'll show you how to get there!

Closed (excuse my finger holding it together :)



And slightly open:



Alright to start with you'll need the following paper sizes cut:

5 1/2" x 12" panel for your base (here in Soft Sky)
a 4 1/4" x 2 3/4" panel to add to this (also in Soft Sky)

Then you'll need smaller panels for each section after you've assembled it as accent pieces to decorate.



I scored the 5 1/2 x 12 panel at 4 1/4, 7 3/4 and 11 1/4. Then I added the extra 4.25 x 2.75 inch panel to that little leftover fold. Adhere with something like Sticky Tape or Scor Tape to hold it firmly together. Below are the pieces adhered together.



Then you want to create your graduated heights. First begin by trimming of the tiny piece above the lowest level. I trim right in the crease right past the fold line, so it will lie flush with the seam and not show any of the scored edge.



Then you want to take that middle layer, the one next to the lowest panel and trim it down about 3/4 of an inch, this way you've created your graduated layers.



Next I did all my "pretty-ing", I created layers for each panel in 1/8" smaller sized pieces, rounded the corners with my corner rounder, and added all my stamped accents. On this card I used the new set Drummer Boy and colored all the instruments and Holly and bows with Copic Markers accenting with a white gel pen.

You have 2 options with this style of card, one you can leave it openable like an accordian as below:



Or you can seal the middle panel shut to be more like a book. Which I did here:



Here are some closeups of the panels:



See how the ribbon disguises the front panel attachement?



And the last panel:



And just for good measure, how about another style of Fancy Fold? This is a Z-Fold done vertically rather than how many of you may have done it in the past - horizontally. This idea is from the very talented Valerie Stangle . She did a tutorial for this style on World Card Making Day link is HERE. (see the first post).



These doves from the beautiful new Dove and Holly set are watercolored and sponged, I just followed all of Val's steps to create a real show-stopper style of card. (I'll have more pics of this one on my blog if you're interested).

Alright...the very talented Design Team girls have also jumped into this challenge of creating Fancy Folds today, so be sure to give them a visit!

Christine Okken (that's me :) !)
Cindy Lawrence has done an Easel Fold Card
Julie Koerber made a fun card in a box with some fancy folds
Latisha Yoast has made a Criss-Cross Fold Card
Leslie Miller has an Accordian Gate Fold
Stacy Morgan has a Wallet Tri-fold to show you.

Monday, October 19, 2009

Flourishes Timeless Tuesday Challenge(FTTC38)

It is time for Flourishes Timeless Tuesday Challenge(FTTC38)!!! Thanks so much to you all for playing along in last week's sketch march challenge!!! Keep reading to find out who won!


The Friends of Flourishes blog design team are bringing you exciting and different challenges each week. Flourishes gives away a store gift certificate each week. Random.org decides who wins!! Everyone can PLAY and anyone can WIN! Make sure you continue reading to find out how.

Dee Jackson is our challenge host this week. Dee is challenging us to watercoloring. You can use any medium for watercoloring that you like and any theme you want. Pretty simple and straight forward. Looking forward to seeing what you create with the watercolor challenge!


Now, let's see what Dee Jackson created for you with watercolors this week. Dee decided to make a beautifully watercolored Christmas card for you this week. Dee is using one of the newly released sets called Dove and Holly. Dee stamped the image on European watercolor paper. She colored the image with watercolor crayons using a brush. She layered some black and green cardstock, added a decorative punched border edge, and a black satin bow, and it was finished. Just gorgeous, Dee! Beautifully done!!!






To see what the rest of the blog design team created for you with the watercoloring challenge, please click the blog links to check them out.


Kimberly Crawford

Maki Jones

Silke Ledlow

Betty Wright

Cindy Haffner

Dee Jackson


Flourishes Timeless Tuesday Winner(FTTC37)!!!



Random Integer Generator
Here are your random numbers:9
Timestamp: 2009-10-20 01:05:45 UTC

Alison (21 Century Pillow Book) Congratulations!!! You Won!!! Please email:
flourishesllccustomerservice@cox.net for your coupon code!!!!



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 keyword code FTTC38 when linking to SCS or public gallery.
  • Be sure to use the Mr. Linky to be eligible for the gift certificate drawing!
  • If you use either your blog link or online gallery, please give an active Flourishes Blog link.
  • By all means combine this challenge with other blog challenges.
  • The challenge runs from Tuesday, 12:01 am until Monday at 8 pm EST Enjoy yourself!!!






We also have the Flourishes Timeless Tuesday blog button working properly again. If you need the code, check here.



As always, thanks so much for stopping by and playing Flourishes Timeless Tuesday Challenge with us!

Your Flourishes Friends!

Sunday, October 18, 2009

Strawberries with Copics




Hi again! It's me, Asela, I'm so excited to be back to share with you another card I created this time using Flourishes gorgeous set "Strawberries". Oh my! The illustrations in this set are to die for. I love to color. And one of my favorite mediums to use are Copic markers.

They are so versatile. I can get beautiful looks from them or just use the colors without blending for really cool modern looks.

I used Copic Markers RV10, RV14, RV29, YG03, YG63, BG96 and a white gel pen. I love Flourishes Classic White card stock. It really works great with the copic markers and blending technique.

I began to color the image using RV10 for the strawberries and YG03
the leaves and smaller strawberries. I have to tell you that we were stationed in Southern California for 4 years and when ever I would drive to the base I would have to go right through fields and fields of strawberries. The aroma was wonderful. And the strawberries there were the best I have ever had!

Next I begin to add the darker colors in the leaves and the fruit. If you've ever seen strawberries in the fields you would notice that the smaller fruits were really green and even the larger ones aren't fully red. It's not until later on that they turn that beautiful deep red that we associate
with them. I used YG63 on the leaves and RV14 for the fruit.

I start to blend my colors together using the lighter markers RV10 and YG03 over top of the darker colors. Notice that I've added a bit of YG03 to the center of the fruit. When you are blending RV10 over top of RV14 it can really wash out the color. So, you will want to take the tip of your RV10 and touch it to the tip of RV14 and then apply the RV10 to the areas where the darker colors meet the light colors. This will help the two areas blend without having the lighter marker completely remove the darker areas color.

When you are finished blending the reds add white gel pen to the seeds. (I added just a touch of RV10 to the center of the white flowers.)

For greater contrast I also added RV29 around the outer edges of the strawberries and BG96 on the inner parts of the leaves. Using my medium tone markers to blend.

Stamp the single image of the strawberry and color it in using RV10 and YG03. Follow along with the strawberry images so you can get a better look at how the colors blend so nicely together to achieve an almost watercolored look. Remember, if you work while the area is still saturate with ink the colors will bleed into each other easier and you will have that really soft look that you get when you watercolor with a brush. If you apply your markers and then later try to blend
the areas later on, it will work, but it doesn't blend as easily.

Add RV14, YG63 and blend using YG03 and RV10. You keep blending over the same areas until you get the desired look. Copics don't make the paper pill, that is, it doesn't damage the fibers like water based products do. So don't worry. Blend away! (Caution: Stay away from the edges of the image if you are applying lots of ink because the fibers of the paper can
soak the ink past the stamped black lines.)

Add white gel pen to the seeds. And cut out the strawberry.

I cut the piece of paper that the strawberries were stamped and colored on to fit the front of my card front. Take a ruler and measure the center of the panel, on the back of the paper draw a line vertically dividing the paper in half. Divide the paper in thirds horizontally and draw 2 lines. (If the paper size doesn't divide evenly make sure that the top third and bottom third are the same size - center can be the odd man out!) Use an exacto knife to cut apart the squares. Sponge the edges of the squares using a light brown ink pad. Add to the front of
your card using dimensional tape. Adhere the single strawberry to the front of the squares using dimensional tape.

I've included a PDF page for you to print out as reference.


Download Strawberries Tutorial Flourishes

Saturday, October 17, 2009

A Season That Sparkles... the final winners!

As we wrap up this week with a beautiful Christmas bow, we've got to fill you in on who won all SIX of our new releases from the Season that Sparkles Challenge! We had some fabulous entries! And..... after all the names were thrown into a hat, the winner is..........

Betty Benton

Betty, you will win the Musical Score and Words, Christmas Drummers, the Holly and the Ivy, Santa, I Believe, the Holly Background... AND the Christmas Wreath sets! CONGRATS!

Betty, all you need to do is email us at flourishesllc@cox.net and put Season that Sparkles Challenge Winner! in the subject line. Be sure to share your snail mail address and we'll get your stamps sent right out to you!

And, now to the winner of yesterday's candy drawing for the Christmas Wreath set. Random.org drew the number 22 which means..... Crystal is the winner!

Crystal said...
Another stunningly gorgeous set ! I can not wait to see the whole release ! Beautiful job, ladies on all the preview samples.

Friday, October 16, 2009 6:35:00 AM

Crystal, all you need to do is email us at flourishesllc@cox.net and put Christmas Wreath in the subject line. Be sure to share your snail mail address and we'll get your stamps sent right out to you!

Thanks everyone who joined us for all the fun this week! We had a blast! Don't forget, Asela Hopkins will be here tomorrow for another fantastic tutorial. This one is downright mouth watering! :-)

See you back here soon!

Friday, October 16, 2009

A Season That Sparkles is.... HERE!

After almost a week of tempting you with sneaks of some GORGEOUS art from some of the most talented stamp illustrators in the land.... we're going to just pull the lid off and unveil these beauties! Thanks to those of you who joined us for our POWER HOUR Release Party! We had a blast!

And now.... the moment you've been waiting for! Say "hello" to....

Christmas Drummers
Musical Score & Words
The Holly & The Ivy

Christmas Wreath

Santa, I Believe...


Holly Background


Thanks for joining us this week! If you want to get your hands on these beauties, all you need to do is click HERE! Remember, the best deal by far is our New Release Bundle. It's a one week only special -- all six sets for 10% off!

Happy Stamping!

A Season That Sparkles.... the final day!

This week has flown by and today brings the final day of sneak peeks for Flourishes' October release! This set is a true classic! It's an image that, when you look at it, you can almost smell the cloves and a hint of mulled cider!

Introducing.....


This set is the second offering from the talented Marcella Hawley. It is just a beauty and will create such elegant Christmas cards. It's a pair of images that truly stand on their own with out a lot of extras! Want to check out the other creations as we wind up our DT hop for the week? Just take a trip to visit....

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

Do you want to win this set? All you need to do is leave a comment here on this post and you'll be in the running! Random.org will draw a number and we'll have the winner in tomorrow's post!

Now for the winner of yesterday's goodies! Random.org drew the number 31, which means the winner is.....

Monica said...
I love, love, love this Santa! He is a definite "must have"! Thanks again for the chance to win!
Thursday, October 15, 2009 8:17:00 AM

Monica, all you need to do is email us at flourishesllc@cox.net and put Santa, I Believe and Holly Background Winner in the subject line. Be sure to share your snail mail address and we'll get your stamps sent right out to you!

And remember! Tonight is our big POWER HOUR RELEASE PARTY!! It's an hour full of fun with games, goodies, and prizes up for grabs! We'll host it in the Flourishes Forum over on Splitcoast HERE from 9 to 10 PM Central Standard Time. As the party wraps, all of our sets that we peek this week will be put in store for your shopping pleasure!

    And... it's almost last call for our Season That Sparkles Challenge! If you play, you will have a chance at winning all SIX of our new releases for October. Click HERE for the details. You have until 5 Eastern to get your card linked up to Mr. Linky on the challenge post!

    We hope you've enjoyed our sneaks this week! We can't wait to show you the full sets! Join us tonight for fun and you'll get the first look! :-)

    Thursday, October 15, 2009

    A Season That Sparkles...Day 3!

    We hope you've been enjoying this week's sneeks! We can't tell you how excited we are about this collection and today's offering comes with a special surprise by way of an introduction. We have a new illustrator that has joined the Flourishes team. Some of you might already know this "face" in the papercrafting world.....


    Becky is what you'd call a scrapbooking superstar! She not only runs her own free on-line scrapbook and cardmaking resource site called PageMaps (it's a gold mine for scrapbooking and card sketches!), but she's the author of a wildly popular idea book - almost by the same name - Scrapbook PageMaps: Sketches For Creative Layouts. She's literally traveled the world teaching scrapbooking classes. Come on - who can say they've taught in Dubai, New Zealand or Tokyo? Becky can! She's a graphic designer by trade, which means it's only natural to see her creativity flow like this through the creation of stamps for cardmakers! With the flick of her pen, she gave life to a well-loved character that is about as heartwarming as they come.

    Introducing.....
    This stippled Santa is so classic and as you'll see when you tour the Design Teams' blogs today - can be done up in an ornate way, with a touch of gold or even just stamped in one color. He looks absolutely perfect each and every way. Becky also designed a coordinating background called Holly that takes that beautiful leaf cluster in Santa's hat and makes it into a background that you can use for so many different things around the holidays!

    Before you hop on over to the DT's sites, we wanted to share some of Becky in her own words!

    Q.What's fun about creating images for stamping?

    A. The creative possibilities are endless, not only in the actual creation of the stamp designs themselves, but what card makers and stampers do with the designs. I'm not a very good stamper, so I am constantly impressed (and pea-green with envy!) when I visit stamp galleries and see what crafters are creating.

    Q. What inspired you do illustrate such a beautifully vintage Santa Claus?

    A. As a lover of anything and everything vintage, nothing beats a charming, old world Santa. It also allowed me to work in one of my favorite mediums-stippling with a rapidograph pen!

    Becky even made a darling card using the Holly background to share. It's fun. It's festive! It's perfect for the holidays! Don't you love all the little extras?

    Thanks Becky for the introduction and a fun look into the creative process! If you like what you see here, take note, Becky is already working on her next bit set! Stay tuned! It's another set with a vintage and very classic feel!

    Want to hop to the rest of the DT and see what they crafted for this classic? Head on over to see.....

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

    Do you want to win this set? All you need to do is leave a comment here on this post and you'll be in the running! Random.org will draw a number and we'll have the winner in tomorrow's post!

    Now for the winner of yesterday's goodies! Random.org drew the number 72, which means Melanie wins!

    Melanie said...
    What a beautiful stamp set! The cards made by the DT are just stunning! Thank you for the chance to win.


    Melanie, all you need to do is email us at flourishesllc@cox.net and put The Holly and the Ivy Winner in the subject line. Be sure to share your snail mail address and we'll go and slip those stamps in the mail for you!

    MORE FUN AT FLOURISHES...



    • Did you see our A Season That Sparkles Challenge? If you play, you will have a chance at winning all SIX of our new releases for October. That's one valuable prize - you could even call it an early Christmas present! Click HERE for the details.

    • Mark your calendars for our RELEASE PARTY coming up this Friday! It's our power hour of fun with games, goodies, and prizes up for grabs! We'll host it in the Flourishes Forum over on Splitcoast HERE from 9 to 10 PM Central Standard Time. As the party wraps, all of our sets that we peek this week will be put in store for your shopping pleasure!

    The fun continues tomorrow right here! We wrap up the week with a beautiful set that has a real homespun flair. Come back and see the second offering from the ever-so-talented Marcella Hawley! See you then!

    Wednesday, October 14, 2009

    A Season That Sparkles... Day 2!

    Welcome to day two of Flourishes sneak peeks! Today we take a step back in time to honor one of the worlds' oldest Christmas carols.....

    Introducing.....


    This gorgeous set drawn by the ever-so-talented Marcella Hawley is named after a hymn that has been around for upwards of one thousand years! I didn't know this but, way back when, the druids used holly as a symbol of the winter solstice. Today's offerings feature a classic look complete with two gorgeous turtle doves!

    As you make your way around to see what the designers created, you'll see there are plenty of artistic interpretations of these beautiful birds! They're grey, brown, blue and even pink! :-) So, fly along and take a peek!

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

    Do you want to win this set? All you need to do is leave a comment here on this post and you'll be in the running! Random.org will draw a number and we'll have the winner in tomorrow's post!

    Now for the winner of yesterday's goodies! Random.org drew the number 15, which means Donna wins!

    Donna said... Love that Christmas carol and this looks like a wonderful set to go with it! Thanks for the chance to win it! Tuesday, October 13, 2009 7:29:00 AM


    Donna, all you need to do is email us at flourishesllc@cox.net and put Musical Score and Christmas Drummers winner in the subject line. Be sure to share your snail mail address and we'll go and slip those stamps in the mail for you!

    MORE FUN AT FLOURISHES...

    • Did you see our A Season That Sparkles Challenge? If you play, you will have a chance at winning all SIX of our new releases for October. That's one valuable prize - you could even call it an early Christmas present! Click HERE for the details.
    • Mark your calendars for our RELEASE PARTY coming up this Friday! It's our power hour of fun with games, goodies, and prizes up for grabs! We'll host it in the Flourishes Forum over on Splitcoast HERE from 9 to 10 PM Central Standard Time. As the party wraps, all of our sets that we peek this week will be put in store for your shopping pleasure!

    It's going to be a fun week at Flourishes! Tomorrow's release is one that will have you looking for cookies and saying... "I believe!" :-) You'll see why when you come back tomorrow!

    Tuesday, October 13, 2009

    A Season That Sparkles.... Day 1!

    Come, they told me pa rum pum pum pum. Just those few words bring the sounds of a Christmas classic. It's one that Flourishes wanted to bring to the table to help card makers worldwide revel in this beautiful holiday imagery. But, Flourishes did it with a twist! In our debut sneak peek for our October release, you'll see we combined the beautiful imagery of the Nutcracker Suite with the age old story of the Little Drummer Boy. This combination of two Christmas Classics is sure to bring that touch of whimsy to your Christmas cards and creations!

    Introducing....

    This gorgeous set drawn by Lauren Pope features a handful of images that are sure to add a rich and regal touch to your Christmas cards! We even have an added bonus, a background stamp that will be unveiled with this set on Friday called Musical Score. It's a timeless classic featuring the words of "Angels We Have Heard On High." Now, don't forget to march on over to visit these fine designers! And, just a note... the Friends of Flourishes Team also have done amazing samples with these two sets! You can see them all HERE.


    Leslie Miller
    Christine Okken
    Julie Koerber
    Latisha Yoast
    Laura Fredrickson
    Stacy Morgan
    Cindy Lawrence
    Jan Marie Caruso

    Do you want to win this set? All you need to do is leave a comment here on this post and you'll be in the running! Random.org will draw a number and we'll have the winner in tomorrow's post!

    MORE FUN AT FLOURISHES...

    • You'll want to keep scrolling down to the next blog post! It is Tuesday afterall, and that means another Timeless Tuesday challenge! Today our Friends of Flourishes team used this set and background for a super duper fun sketch that you can try and play along with! There is even a $10 Gift Certificate on the line! Click HERE to go right to that post!
    • Since we are talking about challenges, did you see our A Season That Sparkles Challenge? If you play, you will have a chance at winning all SIX of our new releases for October. That's one valuable prize - you could even call it an early Christmas present! Click HERE for the details.
    • One last fun fact to throw your way.... Mark your calendars for our RELEASE PARTY coming up this Friday! It's our power hour of fun with games, goodies, and prizes up for grabs! We'll host it in the Flourishes Forum over on Splitcoast HERE from 9 to 10 PM Central Standard Time. As the party wraps, all of our sets that we peek this week will be put in store for your shopping pleasure!

    It's going to be a fun week at Flourishes! Tomorrow's release is one that might have you singing a little bit of the 12 days of Christmas! You'll see why when you come back tomorrow!