Flourishes Friday!

Hi all! It's another Flourishes Friday full of fun inspiration for all of you! This week, it's a mix of Christmas and every day creations! Today, get ready for some commentary from my 5-year old daughter who joined me today for the trip around blog land!

First up is Becca! When I first set eyes on her creation, Ellie said, "oooOOoo, that's brilliant! She added a red jewel lto the noses!" Well, I tend to agree, pretty brilliant use of a border punch too! I love the ribbon, the tag, the layout, pretty much everything about this card! Stamps Used: Flourishes Sleigh Ride, Flourishes Holiday Greetings . Next up is Christine! Ellie said she loved the flowers on this one and the way they were colored. She asked, "If I practice, maybe I can color that good!" Well, we can all aspire can't we??? I have to break out my Lilac set soon and give it a try! This card is a real stunner! The inking around her flower image just gives the card so much depth! Stamps Used: Lilac

This next creation by Cindy is one that mixes a contemporary edge with some classic, elegant images. The layout is stunning and both us girls here at the Koerber house loved the antique heart she added for a little extra pop! The paper piercing is a great addition too! Stamps used: Flourished Christmas
When we saw Betty's beautiful card, Ellie said," ooOOoo, she's pretty good! I like the bow. How did she get that bow? Did she buy it at Michaels?" When I said, no honey, she made the bow she looked at me almost shocked and said, "She made the bow? Wow!" Funny girl! Betty used this week's color challenge for her inspiraion and I have to say- I love the bold look! Looks like a breath of spring! Stamps Used: Poppy, Thank You, Spring Ephemerals
Thanks for stopping by! We hope these creations help inspire some creativity in your craft room! If it does, please link up your creations! We'd love to see what YOU do with Flourishes stamps!

Until next time!

~Julie (and Ellie)

Did You See the SCS Weekly Inkling?

News alert! If you don't subscribe to Splitcoast Stampers Weekly Inkling, you really need to. Today, Jenn Balcer did a fabulous tutorial on creating paper pins and she used the poinsettia from our Poinsettia and Boxwood set. It is absolutely stunning! You can check out the full tutorial HERE. Jenn even created a fabulous little box to place your pin inside for a wonderful gift! Be sure to check it out!

Flourishes has landed on "The Planet!"

Have you checked out Paper Craft Planet yet? Well, you should! This online community is hopping! Membership is up well over 1,000 and guess what? Flourishes has a group there now for you to chat with designers and other Flourishes fans. Who knows, maybe we'll even spill a few secrets of what's brewing back at Flourishes home base! Click HERE to join and while you're there, check out Flourishes place on "The Planet!"

Flourishes Featured Stamper 24!

Hi all! This is going to be short and sweet- I am under the weather! :-( Since this was a biggie, with the winner of the drawing announced, I didn't want to leave you hanging! So, here goes!

After perusing all the fabulous entries in the SCS Gallery, two really caught my eye! One for her crisp layout and color. The other - for her creativity!


So without further ado, this weeks Featured Stampers are.....


Lois and Stacy!


The card Lois created really made me say, "Now, isn't she just too clever!" She mixed the All that Glitters set with the JustRite Christmas Ensemble to create a fabulous card! The outside circle is the JustRite part! Like I said, "Clever!"
Stacy has such a knack for creating cards that are so crisp and elegant and this week - she offered up another one! I love the blue she chose, the paper piercing and the gem. Add some cut out birds for a little extra pop and you have a fabulous card!

Ladies, your names will be entered for the November drawing! And, now, drum roll.....

The winner of last month's drawing is ---- Lois again! When I pulled her name from the hat I thought, Gee- she's a lucky duck this week!

Lois, just PM me your choice and we'll get that shipped out to you! Until next week, happy creating!

Want to be like Becca?

Well, this week you can! Our own Friends of Flourishes, Becca Feeken is the Featured Stamper today on Splitcoast Stampers! She's FS91! Click HERE to see her fabulous gallery!

If you've never played before - here's how it works! Take a trip to her gallery and CASE a card by following these rules -- You have to change two or more things on the card i.e use a different color combo, change up the stamps, use different embellishments. After that, post to SCS and list the changes you made making sure to link up to Becca as well to give her credit! Don't forget the keyword - FS91! For all the details, click HERE!

Way to go Becca! I can't wait to surf the gallery to see which card I am going to try to imitate-- as if that is even possible! :-)

Flourishes Fresh New Faces!

This is the best part of my job- the part where I get to share exciting news about great people joining the Flourishes family! We have some fabulous designers joining our Senior Design Team, a couple of classy and talented ladies that are now "Friends Of Flourishes" and one spunky and uber creative stamper who I think the world of who will join us for the next three months as our Guest Designer. That's a lot of news -- right? So, let's get to it!

New Senior Designers! When these two ladies joined our Friends of Flourishes Blog Team, I was continually in awe of their work. When they hinted that they might want a spot on the Senior Design Team - the wheels started spinning. We are so happy to have Cindy Lawrence and Laura Fredrickson on our design team! These ladies are sure to inspire for our next Flourishes release! I can't wait to see what they cook up and I know you probably can't either! (Only 11 days!!!)

New Friends of Flourishes

When Flourishes began it's Friend of Flourishes Blog Team, the goal was to showcase the fine creations from talented bloggers using Flourishes sets. This team has truly been fabulous. If you're a fan of Flourishes Friday, you've already seen this team's handiwork. Well, now we are welcoming two new fresh faces to the team!

Betty Wright When Betty's creativity started to show up in the Flourishes gallery over on Splitcoast, she definitely turned some heads! So much so, we kept an eye out and decided this former member of the SCS Dirty Dozen needed to be a part of our team! Thankfully, she said yes! She has such an elegant style and is a fabulous concept designer!

"I am so excited to be a part of the Friends of Flourishes blog team. I am so honored to be a part of a group of very talented ladies. I have always done some sort of crafts, but it was not until I moved to Indiana that I was introduced to stamping. One of my friends invited me to a Stampin Up party. I thought I would go just to “get out of with the girls.” In less than an hour, I was hooked. I have been stamping for over six years. Aside from stamping, I love to cook, read, and knit. I am currently a SAHM. I live in North Carolina with my husband, Greg and two children. We also have two dogs, two cats, and a hermit crab."
~Betty

Betty wanted to share one of the cards she made with the Stamp Simply Thank you set for her "reveal." Can you see what I mean about her elegant style? We can't wait to see more!

Christine Okken

Christine Okken is the other talented stamper who has agreed to be a "Friend of Flourishes!" She's a former "dirty girl" who has been stamping for about five years. Christine admits that stamping is a creative outlet that has given her much joy and great friendships! She is married to a wonderful supportive man (14 years!), and is the mom of 3 great kids, a daughter 12, a son 9 and another son 5. She and her husband work together as Student Ministries Pastors and work with Junior High, High School and College-age students. For fun outside of stamping she loves to ride her bike, go to the mountains and drink yummy Coca-cola!

For her reveal, Christine worked up this beautiful card using the Spring Ephemerals set. This card with is crisp black, white and red look is such a stunner! It will be fun blog hopping to see what Christine cooks up next!


And last, but certainly not least is our next Guest Designer! She's a familiar face in the Flourishes Forum and has felt like a member of our family for quite a while! She's already inspired me and I know she will you too!

Let's give a warm welcome to.....

Latisha Yoast! "Adults call me Latisha, but I'm known as "mommy" to my two children (12 & 7) and "Teesh) by my husband. I am a native California girl born and raised. I am a stay at home Mom & actually love it. My husband is a Naval Aviator in the USN and flies the H60F (its a helicopter), this means we tend to move a lot. In April of 2007 I found a website called Splitcoaststampers and it opened up my world to stamping, before then I really didn't know too much about the stamping world. I have grown and learned so much as a stamper from that site. My stamping style is clean & classy with a younger modern twist. I love working with neutrals and then popping the card with bold luscious ribbon. My advice to stampers is to create for yourself, and stay true to your style, it will never fail you. I have had the wonderful experience in meeting and stamping with all 3 Flourishes, Jan Marie, Nancy & Sharon. All three are amazing women. So "thank you Flourishes & Julie" for this amazing chance to design for a company that I love and will always be loyal to. "
~Latisha

For Latisha's reveal, she chose to actually showcase a gorgeous project that is perfect for the holidays! She whipped up this portfolio with cards using the All That Glitters set! Can you say.. lovely?

We hope you are as excited as we are about the new faces to the Flourishes family! We know the creativity these ladies bring is off the charts and we know it's only a matter of time before they get your creative juices flowing! Stay tuned, there are lots of exciting times in store here at Flourishes. We've only just begun!

Flourishes Friday!

Happy Haunting everyone! One thing that won't scare you is this post! Get ready to be amazed at another handful of creations that are out of this world!

When I went blog hopping this morning, I had to do a double take and a triple take at Becca Feeken's card. I knew the Cuttlebug embossing folder that she used. I own it -- but how did she get the image all over her card front? After I read her post, I was amazed. She is really too stinkin' creative for words! After you're done reading up here, you'll have to click on over to her site and see how she did it! She has a fabulous tutorial and all! She used the wonderful wreath at the center of her creation from the Poinsettia and Boxwood set and also a greeting from the Holiday Greetings set!

Laura's creation today is crystal clear! I cannot believe how stunning this design is! Oh my! I would never have thought to lay the Clear Cardstock Flourishes sells over a patchwork of patterned paper. I would have thought it would be too busy. Laura proves me wrong with this stunning card using the Spring Ephemerals set! Cindy Haffner took one card layout and did it up three ways! Here's one of her creations with the lovely gold embossed poinsettia (from Poinsettia and Boxwood) and the fabulous decorative paper (Glittered Christmas Paper). If you want to see how she twisted and turned this layout for different creations, you'll find her link on our Friends of Flourishes Blog Roll! Too fun!

And last, but not least is Cindy Lawrence's card! She took kind of non traditional Christmas colors and gave it a fresh new look with this poinsettia. I love, absolutely love the layout of her card! If you want to see another version using the Poinsettia and Boxwood set, you'll have to click on over to her place and see the card she did yesterday! oooooOOOOoo, is all I have to say!

Well, that's it my friends! Another fabulous Flourishes Friday! I do have to say, if you want to hear some truly fun Flourishes news, you'll have to swing back tomorrow. There is so much going on at Flourishes and we can't wait to share! IT'S HUGE! Seriously. It is! :-)

Until tomorrow!

~Julie