Winter CHA Top Ten Countdown: #3

Fiskars makes the list again, hitting this time at Number 3! For all those who have a hard time cutting precisely with an exacto knife, Fiskars offers a solution.





These cute little knives are comfortable to use and easier to control. The three options include a fixed blade, swivel blade (fabulous for intricate cutting), or a rotary blade.

The rotary blade even cuts through fabric nicely. These tiny wonders offer a solution for people with arthritis. Even without arthritis, my hand gets tired of gripping so tightly while cutting with an exacto knife. Now, I'm free to cut away! Would you like to see these little cutting beauties in the store?

Winter CHA Top Ten Countdown: #5

"I perhaps owe having become a painter to flowers." ~Monet

If you look around CHA, you'll see many were inspired... just like Monet! And, that's why these floral finds made it into our top ten... to inspire you in your creations!

We saw beautiful florals made from fabulous decorative paper...

We saw it punched and layered....


And we saw these beauties sewn on for a dash of fun "fashion!"

Flowers are inspiring so many people right now. Maybe we are itching for spring. Perhaps flowers are just timelessly lovely.

Just a hint.... we did let this floral fantasy inspire us! You'll soon be seeing some fabulous florals arrive in our store -- they will be PERFECT for your card creations! We also paired these florals up with some amazing bling that might have some of you drooling!

More to come on that! ;-)

Winter CHA Top Ten Countdown: #7

Do you ever struggle with ribbon storage? I know I do. My stash of ribbon definitely proves the second law of thermodynamics: Left to themselves, the ribbons are a mess. I've tried several systems trying to organize my ribbons, but I'm not satisfied with them. I finally found a fool-proof system! And that's why this one makes the CHA Top Ten List hitting at #7!!!





Ladies and Gentlemen: I proudly present my fight against entropy.... The Best Craft Organizer's Ribbon Organizer and Dispenser! There is a small contraption (spooler) that rolls the ribbon quickly, and then you store 5 rolls in a ribbon bin that dispenses it.

Don't you love how each organizer can fit nicely in a drawer? And, you can see each color and pattern clearly. No more digging through buckets or baskets or watching your ribbon get tangled up into knots!

Now I'm inspired to clean up my studio!

Winter CHA Top Ten Countdown: #8

This next high point with CHA isn't about a product... it's about a person! Maarten from Daylight. I stopped to discuss the lighting issues we've been having in the Flourishes studio especially with photography, and he was the most delightful and helpful chap. Can't you just see how darling he is?

If you'd like to check out what Maarten was up to at CHA, you can check out Daylight's full line of natural light lamps HERE. We love the fact that these natural light lamps produce a full spectrum of light so that when we are using those fabulous colors with our Flourishes stamps, we can see every one of them! So congrats Maarten for making our top ten! Maarten, next time you are in Florida, stop by for tea please!

Winter CHA Top Ten Countdown: #9

Hi all! CHA is wrapping up but we're continuing our countdown. And today, #9 is all about a little tip I picked up from the Spellbinder's booth!

About 3 months ago, I suddenly couldn't get my Spellbinders's Wizard to work! I couldn't remember how it had worked for me so long. I love Spellbinders but, at that moment, I was hating my Wizard. I'd have my knee up on the table holding down the base, my two hands struggling to push the boards through. More than half the time it yanked, I listened to the cursing coming from my mouth!

When I stopped by the Spellbinders booth, I casually mentioned I was having a bit of trouble feeding my wizard, and the dear ladies showed me two tricks

1. Make sure the handle is laying toward you

2. After putting your boards in, give the metal dowel a little roll with your hand before you start cranking that baby through.

Just that simple! I can't tell you what a difference those two little actions made when using my Wizard. No more cursing my Wizard! I can't wait to get home and create beautiful cards with their new products! (You'll be able to do the same after our fun order here at CHA!) Thanks, Spellbinders!

p.s. More to come later!!

Winter CHA Top 10 Countdown.....

This week we will be sharing our top ten finds here at CHA. Oh, I am just giddy over these goodies!

So, starting at #10......

How have I missed this? Fiskars has had a product out for TWO YEARS that I stumbled upon today. It is such a treasure! It is called the Stamp Press and it's a gridded press with cushions on each corner that allow you to have greater control over where you place your stamp--perfect for stamping letters or stamping on a pre-cut piece of paper. If you don't get a perfect stamp, this wonder also allows you to restamp exactly the same space again. I don't know if it's too much coffee or that I'm not as young as I used to be--but my hands appreciate the control this nifty find offers!


Here's a pic showing how the stamp can line up with my paper below.....
And here's a side shot showing how the cushions really help with the actual stamping process!

The CHA floor is a buzz with activity, so stay tuned! You won't want to miss the rest of our countdown! We know some of the items on this list will one day make it into the Flourishes store!

It's all in the details!

When you look at a really great card, one thing you might not notice right away are all the little elements that go together to make a really fabulous design. You know you love the images and the colors, but do you really look at all those little extras? This weekend, I spent some time looking at some of our designers work to show you just what I mean. Not to mention, all of these things I am about to point out are very inexpensive additions. Without these extras, these cards would still be pretty but with them, they are over the top fabulous!

Take a look at what Cindy Lawrence did with a few pearls. Her gorgeous hanging ornaments now take on a very regal flair! All thanks to some Kaiser Craft Pearls! Did you know these little cuties come in a handful of different colors? Hhhhmmmm..... ;-)

Just look at the razzle dazzle Christine Okken created with a few rhinestones! It makes her gorgeous poinsettia even more lovely!

Leslie Miller wanted to create some shine on her Christmas wreath, so what did she do? She picked up her Inkssentials pen and let it do the work! Do you see what can happen with a gentle flick of the pen? So much dimension can be created in seconds!And, last but not least, just look at the fun created when you add a little sentiment on a fun metal tag! These Mini Messages Tags come in three metal colors - copper, silver and gold and can really add pizazz to your cards and creations! I just love how Laura Fredrickson added it to the point off of her Nestabilities shape! The image and sentiments are from our Think Pink set!

Now... another fun thing to fill you in on! We can't tell you just how popular our clear boxes are. They come in two sizes and the small one -- will fit two of our 4 by 6 stamp sets! The larger one is perfect for backgrounds. One question we've heard time and time again is - how do you store them? Well, they fit perfectly in those decorative photo boxes! Organize the boxes according to theme and you'll never have to search again to figure out where you put one of your favorite Flourishes sets! Here's the fun part! With every purchase you'll now be given a index sheet to use on your clear boxes!

See? Just peel the backing off and it fits perfectly on our clear storage box!

So, as you gear up for one of the busiest card making times of the year, just think about some of these tools of the trade! I know that I am planning to stock up so that whatever I need to create that card in a flash... is right there at my fingertips! :-)

Happy Stamping!

~Julie

Product Focus

When Flourishes decided to add a line of embellishments to the store, we wanted to think beyond brads and found these great mini tags we call Mini Messages, which are perfect for cards, scrapbooks, altered items and smallest shape can even be used for a charm on a bracelet!

Each pack contains 12 tags - two of each shape shown below, along with mini jump rings. They come in three different finishes: Antique Copper shown here, as well as gold and silver.

While testing these mini tags we found that some of the nestability dies will cut shapes that fit with the tags! Here are the tags with paper cut with the corresponding nestability die.

For the ovals, the mini message tags were just a tad different in shape, so I used the closest nestability oval die and then used a bone folder around the inside edge to fit the shape - it now looks like it was embossed to fit! For the smallest circle tag (not shown below), I could not find a punch or die cut that small - but I'm sure there is one somewhere!! That small tag is just under 1/2 inch - about 7/16th's. If you don't have nestabilities, then cutting a square or rectangle is simple enought with a paper cutter. For circles and ovals you can try putting a small piece of paper on the tag and cutting it out with a craft knife.

Many Flourishes stamp sets include small images that work well with these shapes - you''ll be amazed at what you can find to fit these once you start looking!

In the photo below I stamped a flower from the Sweet Violets set and a sentiment from the Strawberries set then I place the stamped shape on the tag - note that you want to stamp before you adhere the paper to the tag. I used a paper glaze product to add a glossy finish to the tag - ArtQuest Perfect Paper Adhesive was used here but there are many others that are on the market and you probably have something similar in your craftroom!

Using the paperglaze opens up so many possibilities - make glazed charms for a charm bracelet, or just use it over pretty paper - you may not even need to stamp! Mini Messages are great for card fronts, ATC's, scrapbook or altered items.

Here is a look at my finished card - I paired the antique copper mini message tag with one of the brads from the Beautiful Brads collection. I love how the leaf brad looks not only with this tag, but with the card as well! Designer Paper - Basic Grey Perhaps was paired with suede and melon papers for this quick card.

I hope you'll take a look at the entire Flourishes Finishing Touches collection - they're the perfect accessory to dress up your cards!

Thanks for stopping by!