Ready for Spring

Wow, the snow has been crazy here on Long Island and now that it's starting to melt it's all a huge mess! I am so ready for the spring-which is was inspired this set that I created for this weeks Limelight design.


I started by altering a plain lined notebook with a piece of paper from Imaginisce. I used some luscious purple silk ribbon which matched wonderfully with the purple Prism cardstock I used to mat all of my images. The images are all from the set Sweet Violets. I used the larger image for both the center of the journal and the bookmark and the smaller image for the plant marker. All are stamped on Flourishes white card stock and colored with Copic markers. On both larger images I used a touch of purple and green Stickels for a tiny bit of sparkle and depth and shaded around the images with Prismacolor pencils and odorless mineral spirits. They were all cut out using Nestabilities dies and inked around the edges with Distress Ink in Antique Linen.


Here is a close up of the front cover. The dp has a faded script design running across it giving it an aged feel. I stamped and cutout an additional leaf and used it and buttons to adorn a computer generate label I made for the journal. You can also see some of the sparkle at this angle.


This is the plant marker I created. I used a craft stick that I stamped violets onto. I knew that bag of craft sticks would come in handy some day! I'd better start making more markers...


And finally I created a bookmark to keep my place in my journal just in case my dirty fingerprints don't show me the way ;) Again I used that luxurious silk ribbon! Ooh, I love this stuff! It makes the most stunning bows too!

Grouped together this makes a wonderful gift set...and I have a wonderful neighbor this would be perfect for, unless of course I keep it for myself, lol! Have a great weekend!

Inspired by Color

It's Sunday and that means I get to share another project with you from one of Flourishes' beautiful stamp sets called Sweet Violets.

Last week I shared a couple of the places from which I get my inspiration, and I want to continue with that theme for this week as well. As stampers, we love color, and some colors we tend to use and gravitate to all the time. They are comfortable for us. Sometimes, I choose a color that is uncomfortable as a starting point, and then work my card from there.

The main color in this card is an bright orchid color - not one I choose often! I started with the cardstock base first, and then used a similar color to watercolor my violets. I think the contrasting greens add a nice pop of life to these beautiful spring flowers!


Thank you for stopping by today! Next week I will be using two sets to show you a fun tutorial on my favorite technique. Don't miss it!

p.s. If you have a tough time with color, there is actually a great resource online called Color Blender. You can find it HERE. At the bottom of the site, there is a link that says "load a random blend," click on it for a color coordinated mix. Or, move the R,G,and B sliders yourself to "audition" colors together. Once you find color combos you can't live without, you can print and save for ideas in your card making down the road!

Swing Into Spring - Day 1!

They say April showers bring May flowers. At Flourishes, we say... 'Why wait?' We need flowers now - especially, when you have beautiful buds drawn by the talented Marcella Hawley.

Introducing.....

This set is a gorgeous bouquet of violets complete with lovely little sentiments perfect for all types of card occasions. If you loved Sweet Peas, this set is a perfect companion! This set features sweet little flowers illustrated in such a delicate way.

Would you like to win this set? Please, just leave us a comment on this post! That's all you need to do! We'll announce the winner tomorrow when we unveil the second set in our release. Trust me, this set will truly get you in the swing of things! (Yes, that was your hint!)

Before you go, you'll need to hop a long to the rest of our talented design team to see their sneak peeks!

Julie Koerber
Leslie Miller
Faith Hofrichter
Cindy Lawrence
Latisha Yoast
Stacy Morgan
Jan Marie Caruso
Sharon Doolittle

One last note! Mark your calendars, our release party that promises to be chocked full of games, prizes, and more fabulous samples from our designers is set for Friday, April 10th from 8 to 10 PM CST in the Flourishes Forum over on SCS!!

And, if you'd like to try your hand at WINNING all three of our new releases -- don't forget our "Swing Into Spring"challenge! All you need to do is give paper piecing a try! Use Flourishes stamps if you have them, but if you don't -- play anyway! We'd love to see what you create! See the end of THIS post for all the details!

Thanks for stopping by! We'll see you back here tomorrow for DAY 2 of our sneak peeks!