Come Boldly!!!!!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas!!! This card is for SCS Color Challenge (CC199). We had to use Bravo Burgandy, Handsome Hunter, and So Saffron. I am using some new stuff today!!! The stamp set is really a sneak peak!!!!! One of ODBD January 2009 release is Lift Up Our Hands. It is a wonderful set. I actually shrinky dinked the image that comes in the set. The image is so wonderfully detailed that after shrinking it, it still looks fabulous. I wanted the focus to be on the scripture for this card and the image as a major thought of prayer. I love praying hands. Something that is so basic, yet so very poignant.

Now, I have more NEW stuff on this!!!!! I always tell my kids NOT to wear their NEW school clothes the first day of school and right after Christmas as it always looks like they are trying to show off. Yet, here I am making my first card since Christmas and using something NEW. I am justifying the NEW because the item is NEW to me. It has been out for awhile. Can you believe I have NEVER owned any cuttlebug dies? I have many of the folders and the spellbinder shapes, but NO cuttlebug dies. So, on this card I used my new ornate corner die. It may look too busy, but I love the look. Actually, I love the swirls so much that I used a part of the punch out to make a little flourish above and below the scripture. How cool is that. There are so many little pieces in this set of four that just fall on my floor anyway.

Stamps

ODBD Lift Up Our Hands

Paper

Bravo Burgandy, Handsome Hunter, and So Saffron cardstock, So Saffron dp(retired)

Ink

Handsome Hunter, Ranger Fired Brick, and Antique Linen, black staz on for shrinky dink

Accessories

Cuttlebug dies, ribbon, gold pearl/domes, foam tape, Nestabilities label one and label two, cream shrinky dink, gold cording

Festive Flourishes Friday!!!!

I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas. On Christmas, I cook the ham, the turkey, and most of the fixings and other family members bring some more stuff. It is food and sweets all day!!!! We also make a Happy Birthday to Jesus cake and sing Happy Birthday to Jesus. My dd, Erica, made it this year. She is 14 yo and is starting to experiment more with cooking. We had both sets of grandparents over with my dh brother, his wife, and one year old baby. It was a wonderful family day!!!!

All of us girls at Flourishes were assigned a secret swapper by our fearless leader Julie Koerber. The card above is the card I sent to Cindy Lawrence.

Christine Okken was my secret swapper and sent me this card!!!!! I love it!!!! It is so dimensional and used the Flourishes, LLC All That Glitters set. All of the ornaments are cut out and popped up on dimensionals. The colors are wonderful, too!!!! Thanks so much, Christine!!!!

We've hit the end of the road for the Festive Flourishes Friday and this one is New To YOU! Help us usher in the new year with either a card to celebrate2009 or celebrate something new that you just got your hands on! If you usenew goodies, be sure to tell us which product/tool you used for your creation. Link your card to the Flourishes Newsletter or upload your card to SCS using the keyword FFFC4. Of course, we'd love it if you added the FLLC keyword too so that your work will show up in the SCS Flourishes gallery! Remember, you can join our challenge at any time and, if you make up past challenges andcomplete all four - your name will be thrown into the hat for a free stamp setof your choice! Next week the Friends of Flourishes team will reveal their NewTo You cards and we'll also pick the winner of our drawing. So get those entries in before Thursday at 11:59 PM! Thanks for playing and... HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Check out the other designer's blog and see what each created and for whom!!!!!

Cindy Lawrence
Jan Marie Caruso
Latisha Yoast
Laura Fredrickson
Nancy Kirk
Sharon Doolittle
Becca Feeken
Julie Koerber
Christine Okken
Cindy Haffner
Dee Jackson
Kimberly Crawford

Also, Flourishes, LLC is having a end of year sale!!!!! Everything in stock is 10% off!!!!! You must you the code yearend at checkout!!!!! The sale lasts until the 31st or while stock is still available.

STAMPS

Sleigh Ride, Poinsettia and Boxwood, JustRite

PAPER

Riding Hood Red, cream, MME dp

INK

Ranger Walnut Stain, vintage photo, antique linen, assorted permanent markers, red riding hood ink, blender pens and aqua painter

ACCESSORIES

Nestabilities, MS border, gold domes/pearls gold satin ribbon, gold cording, dimensionals, Sakura glimmer gel pen, red narrow satin ribbon, CAD

"Footprints in the Sand"

Congratulations, Paula Tracey!!!! This card is for Feature Stamper Challenge at SCS (FS98). Paula is this week's featured stamper. I loved perusing her gallery. I chose this card to case.

I changed the colors, but left the layout. I kept the card simple, but I did add a few flowers because Paula's card has a flower. I chose to use a poem as the focal image on my card. It is one of my favorite poems. I used ODBD stamp set Footprints in the Sand. I used a piece of printed dp for the background. My dp allow me to add another color instead of keeping it monochromatic like Paula did hers. I kept my card elements as simple as possible in keeping with the elegant simplicity of Paula's. I sponged the edges of the poem with Ranger antique linen because Paula's card appears to use a technique on the flower so I added some sponging to mine. What do you think?

STAMPS

ODBD Footprints in the Sand

PAPER

Prism by Prismatics Vibrant Teal, American Crafts a la Carte Florentine dp, vv, The Paper Company cream white for some subtle texture

INK

Always Artichoke, Ranger Antique Linen

ACCESSORIES

Retired SU ribbon, MM primas, Forever in Time paper flowers, standard gold brads, gold domes/pearls, dimensionals, sponges

Festive Flourishes Friday! and Blog Candy!!!!

Don't be so "blue" this holiday season! Join us for week three of the Festive Flourishes Friday Challenge! The theme is just as it sounds ~ "You'll be doing alright with your Christmas of white but I'll have a blue, blue Christmas!"Grab your favorite Flourishes stamp set and dress it up with a dose of blue! It doesn't have to be a Christmas card! Any style will do! Remember, you can join into our challenge at any time and, if you make up past challenges and complete all four - your name will be thrown into the hat for a free stamp set of your choice! Link your card to the Flourishes Newsletter or your SCS gallery. Don't forget the keyword FFFC3 on Splitcoast! Of course, we'd love it if you added the FLLC keyword too so that your work shows up in the company gallery!

Kandi (kandicejo) pm'd me with a link to a rose that does LOOK TEAL!!!! How exciting!!!! Thanks a bunch, Kandi!!!!
http://www.jamievoetsch.com/images/070711145149_Blue_Rose_Against_Blue_Sky_LG.jpg

Bluebird come fly away with me!!!! I went with a blue and teal combo. Still keeping with the blues!!! I used taken with teal and some DCWV Pearlized Metallic luxury stack in soft hues of blue. So, this card has a sheen. I think I created a new color of rose, but I really wanted a soft teal one....lol!!!! I used a fiskars edge punch, some stickles, and pearls to add some detailing. I finished it off with some touches of pearls in the corners to match my papers pearlized sheen. The ribbon really does match in real life.

You can visit Julie’s Festive Flourishes Friday Blog Team weekly roundup over at the Flourishes Newsletter, and also visit these Friends of Flourishes blogs to get the complete Flourishes Friday scoop Becca Feeken, Christine Okken, Cindy Haffner , Dee Jackson , and Kimberly Crawford. Also, introducing Silke Ledlow as the newest Friends of Flourishes. Two of the friends have BLOG Candy!!!!! You will not want to miss out so hop around and find out who!!!!

STAMPS
I Love Roses, Birds in Vines
PAPER
taken with teal, DCWV, Strathmore water color paper
INK
black staz on, taken with teal, old olive
ACCESSORIES
Nestabilities, stickles, oval punch, halfback pearls, fiskars border punch, ribbon, aqua painter, blender pens

Forget Me Not

This card is for two challenges. The first is for today's SCS color challenge CC197. We are to use baha breeze, kiwi kiss, basic gray, and night of navy(optional). I used mostly night of navy and kiwi kiss with some baja as accents and gray as some shadow effects on my tree. The color challenges never really focus on how much of a color one is to use. Maybe I am safe...lol!!!! This card is also for the Flourishes Twilight Challenge (FTC). The information can be found here.

I am an avid reader. I love all kinds of books, but I have never been fond of anything with horror, etc. etc. So, when my dd mentioned that a lot of her friends were reading the Twilight series and asked if I would read Twilight to see if it were okay for her to read as she really wanted to read the book and go to the movies with her friends, I thought...rats!!!! I have to read a book about a Vampire? Just NOT my thing. Well, I started the book and the story line was so good, and the writing so well planned, that I was hooked. So, four really thick books later, I am making a Twilight card for a challenge. It is a great series. For my card, I used Flourishes Forest of Trees and Spring Ephemerals. I wanted to created the look of the snowy final battle scene in the woods. The required element for this challenge was to use something sharp. I used my MS prickly branch punch. I also thought the sentiments bleeding heart and forget-me-not were appropriate on many levels for this series. Anyone can play!!!! Love to see what Flourishes Twilight cards you can create!!!!

While this sky may have the appearance of a Zindorf look....I could only wish I could do her technique.....I used NO brayers. Only sponges.

STAMPS

Flourishes Forest of Trees and Spring Ephemerals

PAPER

Night of Navy, Kiwi Kiss, Baha Breeze, gp white, brushed silver cardstock(back of snowflake)

INK

Adirondack lettuce, night of navy, bashful blue, brocade blue, gray, black staz on, versamark

ACCESSORIES

CB border ef, word window punch, MS snowflake and branch punches, navy grosgrain(RABOM), silver domes, clear dew drop, inksentials gel pen, silver cording, sponges

My Hope!

This card is for this week's SCS Feature Stamper Challenge (FS97) Congratulations, America!!!! I loved going through America's gallery at SCS. She has so many wonderful cards to choose from. I finally decided on this one here.

I tried to keep the same colors. I did use a piece of glittery MME dp that has a reddish backgroud. I kept the chocolate ribbon. I made the pearl brads with standard gold brads and halfback pearls from the SU pretties kit. I kept the scripture, but used one from Our Daily Bread Designs called I Wait on the Lord. I kept the oval, but I needed a longer style oval that was more narrow to fit my scripture. I did a technique I call...cheating the nesties to get this elongated narrow oval. I sponged the edges with rangers vintage photo and walnut stain. I also added some dots since that is what America has on her card. I opted for a cut out framed labels one nestability instead of a scallop circle. I added some dimension and my bow and my card was complete. What do you think?

STAMPS

ODBD I Wait on the Lord

PAPER

chocolate chip, cream, MME dp

INK

Ranger walnut stain, antique linen, vintage photo and brown permanent marker for the dots

ACCESSORIES

Petite Ovals, Label Ones, sponges, standard gold brads, 1/2" circle punch, foam tape, satin brown ribbon, glue dots, gold cording, SU pretties kit.

Merry Christmas!

This card is for the Inspiration Challenge (IC158) at SCS. Thanks Stef for a providing such wonderful inspiration! The inspiration site is Block Party Press. Since I still have a few more Christmas cards to do, I went through the the BPP gallery and found one item that really seemed to convey what I needed to create today. The item shown here showcases an embossed look with a white background. Now, I did opt not to do any edge distressing just focusing on the embossing. I love the combo of crisp white with red and gold. I have been doing a lot of gold embossing lately. Today's card uses a stamp set from Our Daily Bread Designs
called Worship the Lord. I wanted to just focus on the serenity of the scene and the season. I embossed the image in gold and loved the look so much that I did not want to do anything else to it. I added some brushed gold cardstock which I think offers a wonderful contrast with the crisp white and lends itself to picking up the gold in the Deja View dp. I finished with a few detailing elements and was finished. I think I can mass produce a few of these.

Here is a close up of the Christmas Church. I wanted you to see that this card is very shiny and wonderful. The image is so detailed.

STAMPS

ODBD Worship the Lord

PAPER

GP white, brushed gold, Deja View global dp

INK

Versamark

ACCESSORIES

Square nesties, gold domes, gold cording, white organdy ribbon, foam tape

Festive Flourishes Friday!!!!

It is Festive Flourishes Friday!!!!!!This week is all about the crisp and clean winter white - dress it down with a monochromatic theme or dress it up with a sparkly flair. It's up to you! The only requirement is dressing your favorite Flourishes set in winter white! If you want to play along, simply leave a comment on the Flourishes Newsletter or upload your card to Splitcoast using the keyword FFFC2. Keep in mind, we’ll be doing this fun Friday challenge all month long and there will be a special drawing for those that play all four weeks! Details on what is up for grabs -- to come!! If you are just joining us - track back to the first Flourishes Friday challenge on the first Friday of this month. You can make up past challenges to qualify for the giveaway!

Clearly Winter White!!!!! I used I Love Roses set that is a new Flourishes, LLC release this week. I decided to go winter white with a touch of flair using acetate and some gold. What is winter white without some gold? I always think lurex sweaters....lol!!! I found it is truly difficult to not only get a great camera shot of the gold embossing but also taking a picture of the acetate card without glare or too many shadows. Truly, this card is so much prettier in real life than what I could capture with my camera and photog skills.

I really wanted to emphasize how truly detailed these rose stamps are. Marcella Hawley, the stamp set designer, truly created a multi-layered detailed rose. The roses are so amazing they can truly stand alone without coloring. I embossed the smallest stem rose in gold . Even embossed the detail of each rose petal is distinct. I played around with various shades of winter white. I did stamp my Flourishes Elements image in white staz on then added tiny little gold domes to the tips. I made a embossed rose tag and layered with scallop nestabilities. The inside uses some brushed gold cardstock and the paper company's blonde columns for some added texture. I also accented each inside corner with a touch of mini gold domes. I finished my card with some pretty brushed gold organdy ribbon and gold cording. At the moment this card does not have a sentiment. I do not know what I will use it for. I just know it is nice to have several pretty cards at the ready if I need something. What do you think?

Be sure to check out the blogs below to see what festive creations each have this week as well as any new set release creations.

Julie Koerber
Cindy Lawrence
Faith Hofrichter
Latisha Yoast
Laura Fredrickson

Christine Okken

Jan Marie Caruso

Sharon Doolittle

Cindy Haffner
Dee Jackson
Becca Feeken
Kimberly Crawford

STAMPS

Flourished Elements, I Love Roses

PAPER

acetate, the paper company's blonde columns and CANSON Mi-Teintes(white), brushed gold cardstock

INK

Versamark, white staz on

ACCESSORIES

Oval nestabilities, gold domes, organdy ribbon, cording, slot punch, adhesive dot

Stamping Tip!!!!

One of the best tips I ever received when I started stamping with clear stamps was from Laura Fredrickson. She told me to ink the stamp and turn it over and put the cardstock on top and lightly press each section of the stamp with the fingers without shifting the cardstock, then peel off. This is especially a great idea when working with larger detailed images. This is exactly what I did with the large flourished image in white on the acetate. I actually got that impression with all the parts there on my first attempt.....and stamping on acetate is tricky to begin with because it is so slick. So, thanks a bunch for a great tip, Laura!!!!

A ROSE by any other name....

A Rose by any other name........must be a Flourishes Rose!!!!! It is Flourishes Release Wednesday. The three Flourishes, LLC sets released today are Thinking of You, Lace and Trim, and I Love Roses. The set I have that I was able to play with is the Rose. It is a great set with many great size roses, a rosebud, and stems wtih leaves to color. I love all the wonderful sentiments in this set, too. As many times as I have looked at the Flourishes Elements set, there is one stamp in that set that always reminded me of a vine so I mixed these two sets together to make a climbing rose.

Blog hop to all the designers to see what each have created with these new sets.

Julie Koerber

Cindy Lawrence

Faith Hofrichter

Latisha Yoast

Laura Fredrickson
Christine Okken
Jan Marie Caruso
Sharon Doolittle
Cindy Haffner

I love running roses and how the leaves always seem so huge and the rosebuds are just hanging full, then all of a sudden......they start to bloom. It truly is beautiful. For my card, I stamped the vine in versamark on watercolor paper then embossed in gold. I stamped several rosebuds and leaves as well in versamark onto watercolor paper, then embossed them all. So, while this card may not show all the shiny gold, it is very shiny. I was trying to capture the card colors and all that gold was too shiny for a picture so I had to angle my card just so to get a little more dull cast....lol. I colored the rosebuds and stems with blender pens. I cut every rose and leaf out and place along the vine. I played around with the arrangement for what seemed like forever because I love order, but nature is varied. I added some soft sky with an aquapainter around the vine edges to create some shadow. I did not really want to do anything else to distract from the roses so I left the card background plain. What do you think of my running roses?

STAMPS

Flourishes I Love Roses and Flourished Elements

PAPER

Real red, gold shimmer, mellow moss, strathmore watercolor paper

INK

versamark, real red, pretty in pink, mellow moss, always artichoke, soft sky

ACCESSORIES

red organdy ribbon, gold cording, gold domes, oval punch, sponges, aquapainter, blender pens, reinkers, gold ep

I WON!!!!!!! My First Blog Award!!!!!

I am so excited!!!! I won my very first blog award!!!! The Kreativ Blogger Award. This is so great!!!! Thanks so much Sita for nominating me!!!!

I feel the following blogs offer an amazing amount of creativity and think everyone should check them out. My nominations are

Stamping with a Passion!/ Joan Ervin

Latisha Yoast

ChristineCreations

Twinshappy/Stacy Morgan
Joy in a JAR/ Judy Rozema

Thanks so much for checking out what these special ladies create!!!!!

Blessings,

Betty

Shining Light!

Congratulations, Anna!!!!! This card is for this week's SCS Feature Stamper (FS96). I love looking at Anna's gallery. There were so many wonderful cards to choose from that it took me awhile to decide. I went with this one. Hope

I love the colors and the layout along with the Bible verse. For my card, I kept most of the colors, but added some old olive and cream instead of the kraft. Instead of stamping the background panels, I used dp. I did not have a flower charm so I layered some primas. I used ODBD stamp set I Wait on the Lord. I stamped the wreath with candles behind the scripture in a third stamping off of old olive so that the ink would be very light. I finished with some ribbon, cording, and gold domes. I really love the finish results.

I must say that I felt I needed to use this dp. It is Deja Views dp that I bought at Michael's ONLY because I had a coupon. I walked around and could not find anything that I just had to have, but I did not want to waist the coupon........I know....I know. This paper is double-sided and has so many subtle prints and patterns that I really thought I could use. So, I did. I love this stuff....and I am glad I was forced to use my coupon...lol!!!!!

STAMPS

ODBD I Wait on the Lord

PAPER

elegant eggplant, vv, old olive, deja views global

INK

elegant eggplant, old olive, ranger antique linen

ACCESSORIES

Nesties, label one, squares, sponges, organdy ribbon, gold cording, MM and Prima flowers, gold domes, foam tape, dimensionals

Festive Flourishes Friday!!!!

Christmas is definitely in the air!!!!! I am getting the feel of Christmas just by shopping and seeing all the wonderful Christmas scenery in the stores. With so much festivities happening everywhere, we want you to join in the fun. The Friends of Flourishes have a wonderful surprise for each Friday this month . This week for Flourishes Friday we're making it Festive Flourishes Friday and you can join us in the fun! It's all about the colors of Christmas-red and green! So, grab your favorite Flourishes, LLC set and some greens and reds and let your creativity flow! That's the only requirement! You don't even have to make it a Christmas card. If you want to play along, simply leave a comment on Flourishes Newsletter or upload your card to Splitcoast using the keyword FFFC01. Keep in mind, we'll be doing this fun Friday challenge all month long and there will be a special drawing for those that play all four weeks!

For my Festive Flourishes Friday card I used my favorite Flourishes Christmas set this year Sleigh Ride. I love this set because it has the wonderful signature Flourishes deer in it. It also has several smaller winter scenes, and this wonderful sleigh. I love all of the words that come in this set, too. Can you see why it is my favorite? I used real red and Prism classic green cardstock. When I think traditonal Christmas, I automatically gravitate to old world looks and Christmas caroling which is why I used a piece of MME's musical score glitzy dp. I distressed the edges with some Ranger inks. Technically every piece is distressed with the Ranger inks to create a warm look. I think this sleigh makes me think of the song, "Dashing Through the Snow." I paper pieced the sleigh using a piece of dp from Deja Views global views pack. I can feel the cold wind in my face, the smell of pines everywhere and wood burning fireplaces filling the air with the smells of the season. What do you think?

Take a sleigh ride with me over to Friday Friends of Flourishes Blog Team weekly roundup over at the Flourishes Newsletter, and also visit these Friends of Flourishes blogs to get the complete Festive Flourishes Friday scoop Becca Feeken, Christine Okken, Cindy Haffner , Dee Jackson , and Kimberly Crawford.

STAMPS

Flourishes Sleigh Ride

Paper

The Paper Company's cream, real red, Prism papers classic green, MME Festive and Frost dp, andDeja Views Global view dp

INK

versamark, real red, Ranger antique linen, tea dye, vintage photo

ACCESSORIES

Nestabilities label one, squares, petite ovals, sponges, gold ep, gold pen, red organdy ribbon, gold cording, gold domes in various sizes, key tag punch, blender pen

I Love You

This card is for SCS Sketch Challenge(SC205). Thanks, Roxie for a great sketch. I am showcasing a stamp set called Tree-Mendous by Our Craft Lounge. This set is so adorable and fun to color. There is a tree in the set, but I had to use this cute giraffe today. I also have chocolate covered cherries on my mind. So, I went with chocolate chip and real red color combo with some crisp white for a no guilt feeling. I love chocolate cover cherries, but I think I am allergic to the cherries. Every once in a while I dig in, though.

STAMPS

Our Craft Lounge Tree-Mendous

PAPER

real red, choc chip, gp white, SU bella rose dp

INK

real red, creamy caramel, blender pens, aquapainter, permanent markers, soft sky

ACCESSORIES

Nesties label one, oval punches, foam tape, dimensionals, red gems, ribbon

Happy Birthday

This card is for SCS color challenge (CC195). Today's colors are basic black, sahara sand, and very vanilla. I love these colors. I want a clean, simple, manly card. Do you think this looks manly enough? I used Flourishes, LLC Birds in Vines and Many Sentiments. I let very vanilla be my predominate color. The only problem with ME doing clean and simple with a lot of light colors and dark inks....is inky fingers. I have to constantly wash my hands or I get smudges everywhere. So, while this card appears clean and simple it took me several tries without smudging the cardstock. If anyone knows the secret to this without the smudges, please fill me in. I really need to know....lol!!!

STAMPS
Flourishes Birds and Vines and Many Sentiments
PAPER
Very Vanilla, Sahara Sand, black
INK
Black Staz on
ACCESSORIES
Rectangle Nesties, foam tape

Behold

This card is for this week's SCS Feature Stamper (FS95) Dawn!!!! Congratulations, Dawn!!!!

Here is Dawn's card I chose to case

http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/gallery/photo/1075568?cat=500&ppuser=80229&perpage=96

I love the clean simplicity of the style of this card, the Bible scripture, and the Lighthouse image. I, also, used a Bible scripture from Our Daily Bread Designs I Wait on the Lord set. It is new and will be release this week. My card has a Christmas theme. I used the same colors as Dawn. I used some gold domes instead of the clip she used. I used a goldish colored ribbon instead of the hemp. I did color my image instead doing the stippling technique since I do not own any stipple brushes. Well, maybe I own one, but I could not begin to figure out where it is.

STAMPS

ODBD I Wait on the Lord

PAPER

Paper company cream, SU RHR, CC

INK

RHR, CC, Ranger distressed inks in vintage photo and antique linen, I sponges some purely pomegranate on the chocolate chip to give the dark color a warm glow, barely banana, summer sun

ACCESSORIES

Nesties label one, sponges, permanent markers for coloring, sakura gel pen, Zig gold writer pen

The Winner is......!!!!!

The winner of Our Daily Bread Designs Worship the Lord set is Catherine, Maiahs_Momma. Congratulations!!!! I hope you enjoy this set as much as I am enjoying it!!!!! I will get it out asap. For this card, I colored it very similar to the card I did Wednesday. I just love the look. I used white gel pens and my Sakura clear shimmer gel pen to create the look of sparkling snow reflected from the glow of the evening sky. I framed my image in double matting circles. I added some silver domes and a popped up Merry Christmas sentiment. I finished with just a little touch of polka dot red organdy ribbon. What do you think?

STAMPS ODBD Worship the Lord

PAPER gp white, real red, always artichoke, night of navy

INK real red, always artichoke, night of navy, soft sky, old olive, barely banana, summer sun

ACCESSORIES Nesty circles, silver domes, sponges, blender pens, aquapainter, ribbon

Flourishes Friday!!!!!

Hello everyone!!!!! It is Flourishes Friday!!!!! Wow!!!! I love this Poinsettia and Boxwood set from Flourishes, LLC. I tried my hand at watercoloring it and decided it did not look half bad. If you are wanting a really awesome flower to practice watercoloring with, this is it. It is big enough to work with. I stamped and color my poinsettia three times. I then stamped some leaves and colored those. I cut everything out and coated each layer with a very thin application of crystal effects. I used the little corner flourish from Flourishes Flourished set. I love this set. It has so many different flowing pieces that just work with everything. I finished my card assembly and added gold domes in verying sizes and finished with some black velvet ribbon with a bowtie look. I added a row of tiny gold domes down the center of my velvet bow. What do you think?

STAMPS

Flourishes Poinsettia and Boxwood, Flourishes

INK

black staz on, real red, riding hood red, adirondack lettuce, old olive, certainly celery, always artichoke, summer sun, black permanent marker

PAPER

real red, black, gp white, kiwi kiss,chatterbox holiday holly swirls dp, strathmore watercolor

ACCESSORIES

circle nesties, black velvet ribbon, gold domes, CE, foam dots, aquapainter, blender pens

You can visit Julie's Friday Friends of Flourishes Blog Team weekly roundup over at the Flourishes Newsletter, and also visit these Friends of Flourishes blogs to get the complete Flourishes Friday scoop Becca Fekken, Christine Okken, and Cindy Haffner

I have had one busy week. First of all I have had severe ear infections with sinus infection. I had to go to the docs twice because the first prescribed medicine did not work. I actually tried to tell the doc this, but she would not listen. Anyhow, I went back Wednesday because I just was not getting better. Finally, I got the good meds. My family and I went to my parents for Thanksgiving and spent the night out of town. Returned late yesterday afternoon and had friends driving in from Indiana come in and spend the night on their way to their parents today. So, I literally have not had much stamping time!!!

Rejoice! and Blog Candy!!!!!!

I am so excited!!!!! Here is one of two new sets to be released next Monday by Our Daily Bread Designs. This is one of the new sets called Worship the Lord. I love this peaceful church scene that comes in the set. By leaving a comment here, I will add your name to the drawing to receive this set for FREE!!!! Here is a closer look at the set.

I will collect all comments until Thursday night at 11:59pm. I am including tomorrow since it is a holiday and some people may be traveling today.This card is for SCS Sketch challenge (SC204). This is my interpretation of the sketch. I colored this scene using reinkers and blender pens. I wanted to create an evening sky with the snow glistening off the eaves and the trees. I used my Essentials white gel and my Sakura clear star gel pen to create snow and the shimmer effect. I also dotted on with both to create some falling snow. I used gp white cardstock with Blush red dark and Spring Willow medium Prism by Prismatics cardstock which can be purchased at Our Daily Bread Designs. I added a double sided MS punch border across the center with white grosgrain and wrapped silver cording. I finished off the card with silver domes in varying sizes. What do you think?

Have a Wonderful Thanksgiving!!!!!!

Blessings,

Betty

Flourishes Friday

Good Morning everyone!!!!! It is Flourishes Friday!!!! I told you all I am on a Christmas card making frenzy. I combined two Flourishes, LLC sets for this card. I used Sleigh Ride (sentiment) which is very versatile and Forest of Trees which covers all the trees one will ever need. I kept this card simple just to show that some Christmas cards need to be fairly fast and easy, yet still have a homemade feel for mass production. I love the look of just a simple snow covered tree in the woods. I stamped my tree with staz on olive green, then stamped it again with palette noir. This gives some green depth with the deep shadows of a snow covered tree that I need with the black. I highlighted the branches with my Essentials gel pen for a snowy enhancement. I softened the edges with some soft sky ink to give a snowy cool effect. I used my petite oval nesties for a double layered frame. I added a pop of a red bird punch from MS. I love the Paper Company's textured column cardstock. I added a piece to the back for some soft texture. I used a piece of 1" red organdy ribbon that I tied into a bow. I then stamped my sentiment and punched out with large ovals to make sentiment tags. I tied those on with red cording. I finished my card with three clear dew drops that I colored with a red permanent marker....learned that trick from Carol(Trucarma).

STAMPS

Flourishes Sleigh Ride and Forest of Trees

INK

palette noir, staz on olive, red riding hood, handsome hunter, soft sky

PAPER

real red, handsome hunter, paper company's columns blanc

ACCESSORIES

oval petite nesties, MS punch, cording, organdy ribbon, large oval punch, CAD, sponges, permanent red marker, glue dots

You can visit Julie's Friday Friends of Flourishes Blog Team weekly roundup over at the Flourishes Newsletter, and also visit these Friends of Flourishes blogs to get the complete Flourishes Friday scoop Becca Fekken, Christine Okken, and Cindy Haffner

You are in our PRAYERS

I loved the color combo this week, the sketch, and the ways to it challenge so I combined all three!!!! Thanks, Emily, Roxie, and Julia!!!!

Here is what I did. I wanted to make the basic sketch more monochromatic, yet each section creating texture and depth. I used real red, but sponged the edges with red riding hood to give it some depth. I added layers of black white and kraft along with a white embossed flourished dove from Our Daily Bread Designs. I made my sentiment alittle more of the focal point with its positioning and ribbon/banner look. I finished with touches of pearls at the top and the bottom. I wanted to keep the card bold....yet simplistic!!!!

STAMPS
ODBD Christian Flourish SymbolsPaper bb, gp white, real red, kraft
INK white craft ink, black staz on
ACCESSORIES square nesties, pearls, sponges, white ep

Merry Christmas

This card is for SCS Feature Stamper Challenge (FS93) Congratulations, Kendra!!!!! You have a fabulous gallery with so many wonderful creations to choose from. Here is the card I chose to case
http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/gallery/photo/1128414?cat=500&ppuser=1321
I tried to keep the layout the same…….arched half circle on the left. I did stamp my sentiment going up the side instead of across the bottom.
I focused on dp just like Kendra as well. The focal image is all a section of glittery dp by My Mind’s Eye. I just love this vintage and very sparkly Santa!!! I love that I could make a few fast Christmas cards. I stamped the sentiment from my CHF Christmas Expressions set.
I added cream organdy ribbon, gold cording, and two small gold brads to each card. On one of the cards, I heated up the organdy ribbon to give it a crinkle effect.
That is it....call it done!!! Woo Hoo!!! Sometimes it is all about the sentiment and dp!!!!! What do you think of my FAST Christmas cards!!!!

I just want to add that it is RARE that I find a stack of dp that I really like at Micheal's. I just happened across the My Mind's Eye collection that I thought looked wonderful. I also had a 50% off coupon so I got it. There are pages of wonderful glittery Christmas patterns and styles. I really love using glitter without the mess!!!! Wow!!!!

Stamps CHF Mona Lisa Moments Christmas Expressions
Paper handsome hunter, bravo burgundy, MME Signature Christmas dp
Ink handsome hunter, red riding hood
Accessories mini gold brads, organdy ribbon, gold cording, sponges

Flourishes Friday!!!!

This week I realized that I need to get busy with some Christmas cards. Today I decided to do a Winter Wonderland card using my Flourishes, LLC Sleigh Ride stamp set. I love this very regal and elegant deer. I used some My Mind's Eye dp which is very glittery and sparkly in real life. I combined chocolate chip and Prism papers frosted teal. Love the warm icy effect this combo has. I layered two different papers of the dp. I cut out many oval layers, and I softly sponged the center oval using a reverse mask with some close to cocoa and Adirondack pool inks to give a little depth and warmth along with a wintry effect to the center oval. I stamped the deer in black staz on directly onto the oval, but also stamped him on Strathmore water coloring paper, colored him, cut him out, and adhered it over the initial stamped image for some depth. I stamped the sentiment in red riding hood. I finished it off with some MS layered snowflakes with dew drop centers and some red and silver cording and two little red gems. What do you think?

You can the Friday Friends of Flourishes Blog Team weekly roundup over at the Flourishes Newsletter, and also visit these Friends of Flourishes blogs to get the complete Flourishes Friday scoop Becca Fekken, Christine Okken, and Cindy Haffner

Also, check out all of the Flourishes Designers to see what they have done with this week's new releases. Julie Koerber, Cindy Lawrence, Faith Hofrichter, Latisha Yoast, Laura Fredrickson, Linda Duke, Susan Roberts

Cindy Lawrence is giving away some blog candy for Flourishes, LLC new releases this week. Find out what you need to do to have a chance to win a new stamp set and basic gray paper pack!!!! ;0)

Card Deets STAMPS Flourishes Sleigh Ride
INK black staz on, chocolate chip, close to cocoa, adirondack pool, red riding hood PAPER chocolate chip, Prism frosted teal, My Mind's Eye dp, Strathmore watercolor paper ACCESSORIES Nesties, MS Punch, cording, gems, dew drops

Blessings,

Betty

Just For You

This card is for SCS Color Challenge (CC192) Thanks, Christine for such a cool color combo!!!! I am absolutely ecstatic over my new Cornish Heritage Farms Scrapblock called Fiery Floral!!!! It just came yesterday. I sponged the bottom portion with certainly celery and the top with not quite navy. I love the results so much I decided it looked good enough to stand alone. Another reason I am loving this scrapblock is because I won it!!!

I used my Prism Papers Gray because I did not have any pieces I could find of the Basic gray. I used some versamark around the edges to darken the hue...great tip I learned from Emily. Worked for me since I do not own the Basic Gray ink pad, either. I layered the gray with Pacific Point for the sentiment. I finished my card off with a few pieces of ribbon. I frayed a pieces to put at the top of my stick pin. By the way....those stick pins really do stick....note to self...keep fingers out of the way....lol!!!

Stamps CHF, Scrapblock Fiery Floral, Mona Lisa Script Essential Expressions,
Paper gp white, pacific point, prismatics gray
Ink black staz on, certainly celery, not quite navy
Accessories oval nestabilities, SU pretties kit, sponges, black grosgrain, beads

Believe

Congratulations, Wendy!!!! This is a card for Feature Stamper Challenge at SCS FS92. I love her gallery. Her work is gorgeous. I had a really hard time deciding on a card to case, but finally narrowed it down to this one. I love the overall look and design.

http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/gallery/photo/915872?cat=500&ppuser=79179

I love the overall look and design. I am calling this the inside outside oval frame card. I changed colors and theme, but tried to stay true to the overall look. Of course, instead of stamping on the frame portion, I used swiss dots folders andrubbed it with some stickles waterfall for some glitz. I layered MS snowflake punches. I backed white snowflakes with metallic silver snowflakes which create a shadowy dimensional look and topped those off with clear dew drops. I stamped the little snowman and tree from Flourishes, LLC Sleigh Ride. I thought the size made a perfect little tag to go with my winter theme. I then stamped using my JustRite Oval sentiment stamp.

STAMPS JustRite Oval Ensemble II set, Flourishes Sleigh Ride

CARDSTOCK gp white, night of navy, silver metallic

ACCESSORIES MS snowflake, oval petite nestablilities, circle punch, markers, CAD, silver cording, stickles, clear dew drops

Flourishes Friday!!!!

Happy Anniversary!!!! Well, not yet.....my anniversary is next Friday!!!! Of course, the more I look at this card, the more I think I created it more for me than my DH. I may need to do a more manly looking one for him. Somehow I managed to squeeze in three challenges with this one card...wow!!! First of all, the limited challenge is to use a rectangle and a circle on your card. And, wouldn't you know it....Beate's sketch(WSC65) was perfect for the Limited LSC193 today. In addition, I hopped over to Sharon's(notimetostamp) blog and her challenge ssnotime60 was to add nature elements...real or not...she wants us to create. I went digging in my stuff and found some dried baby's breath. Now, I would love to say that the stuff is REAL, but I am not sure as it did come in one of those plastic things from Michael's....so I seriously doubt it. Next, I used my Flourishes, LLC Siberian Iris. I do not use this stamp nearly enough. Today, I wanted to downsize it a bit and just use a portion of the stamp. I finished with a JustRite oval sentiment....yes, I said OVAL. I wanted to show that just because some of these stamps come in shapes, does not mean we have to keep them in that shape. I stamped just the wording and punched it out in a circle....amazing versatility!!!

Okay....as promised I have a hint about cutting out paper. I am a lefty and many teachers growing up tried to get me to use left-handed scissors. Those things could not cut for anything. A natural tendency for left-handed people is to use the scissors upside down. I am still not sure if I use them correctly, but I do know that practicing does make the process easier over time. When cutting the paper, always move the paper not the scissors. This was the best advice I ever learned. In addition to this, I also use a marker to run around the edges to give the edges a finished look. The less white showing....the more clean the look....especially if we stamped with a dark ink. As for my water coloring experience today, well.....as many of you know coloring is NOT my forte'!!!!! It is a true work in progress. Something I learned today....when the project was completely dried, I took the aqua painter with just water on the tip and ran it over the edges of the flower to dissipate some of the color. It gave me some very subtle edge highlighting....which is what I wanted because I wanted a solid colored flower.

Stamps Flourishes Siberian Iris, Just Rite Harmony Classic Oval I Stamper Ensemble
Paper Red Riding Hood, Mellow Moss, vv, Strathmore watercolor paper, cream(unknown) Anna Griffin, Kraft Level I paper pack
Accessories Scallop punch, oval punch, large circle punch, baby's breath, gold cording, mini gold square brads, blender pens, aqua painter, sponges.

You can visit Julie's Friday Friends of Flourishes Blog Team weekly roundup over at the Flourishes Newsletter, and also visit these Friends of Floruishes blogs to get the complete Flourishes Friday scoop Becca Fekken, Christine Okken, and Cindy Haffner

Grateful Heart

Thanks Emily for another great color combo. And, a big shout out to Becca for being this week's Feature Stamper. What a wonderful gallery! Today's colors are red riding hood, kiwi kiss, and pretty in pink. The card I chose to case of Becca's does not use any of these shades. Here is Becca's card
http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/gallery/photo/1050493?cat=500&ppuser=145503
While I did change the color scheme to comply with today's color challenge, I tried to recreate the look using all Flourishes, LLC stamps. I did not have the metal flowers so I opted for dyed to match store bought ones. Also, I do not have the metal corners so I opted for an additional flower with fronds and branches. It has been rainy here for two days, so this is definitely an indoor photo.

STAMPS: Flourishes- Poppy, Thank You, Spring Ephemerals

PAPER: red riding hood, kiwi kiss, and pretty in pink, cream

ACCESSORIES: Nesties Label Two, misc paper flowers, grosgrain, mm muted gold brads, sponges, CAD, MS branch and frond punches

I am Flourishing with Excitement!!!!

I have some very exciting news to share!!!!! I have been asked to join the Friends of Flourishes Blog Team

I love Flourishes stamps and cannot wait to see what else I can created with these beautifully detailed stamps. Also being introduced today is my friend and Dirty Dozen Alumnus
Christine Okken who I am thrilled to be working along with again!!!! Her amazing talent with watercoloring is just awe-inspiring!!!!

In addition to all of this fabulous news, Cindy Lawrence and Laura Fredrickson have stepped up to be a part of the Flourishes Senior Design Team. Their creations are just absolutely stunning!!!! Congratulations, ladies!!!!

Here is my introduction card.....

For this card I used the Flourishes Thank You set and Coffee with Friends set to get the small friend word for my sentiment. Stamps: Flourishes(FLLC) Thank You and Coffee With FriendsPaper: The Paper Company's Blonde Columns(subtle texture), bb, kk, redRhood, vvInk: Paletter Noir, adirondack lettuce, redrhood, pretty in pink and river rock for distressed edges, and soft sky for flower shadowAccessories: Oval petite Nesties, 1/4" circle punch for faux brads, word window punch, cad, sponges, blender pens, retired(theater) ribbon, red cording, foam tape, scalloped edge punch

Just Because

Tango Pixie Kisses!!!! This card is for today's color challenge on SCS...CC190. We had to use tangerine tango, kiwi kiss, and pixie pink cardstock. Thanks, Emily for great colors. At first I thought....what?!?!? But, after I started combining the colors and having a piece of basic grey perhaps cardstock that work with the colors, I started really thinking these colors can work.

Since the colors are so bold and the bg paper is alittle bold as well, I left my embellishments very simple....a few dew drops.

STAMPS: Flourishes Spring Ephemerals and Siberian Iris(sentiment)

CARDSTOCK: tangerine tango, kiwi kiss, and pixie pink, gp white

INK: Adirondack lettuce, pixie pink pad and marker

ACCESSORIES: Small oval and large oval punch, dew drops

Give Thanks

This card is for SCS Inspiration Challenge IC151 and Beate's Weekend Sketch Challenge WSC63. Thanks for the inspiration Stef and Beate!!!!

It has been been rainy here all day so getting a picture has been difficult. I may edit the photo later. I had this idea in my head about what I wanted to do with this card. Of course, I have had to modify my initial ideas to get to the finish product. I love the horizontal slat wall in the inspiration picture, so I tried to recreate that look with my fiskars and stylus.. In some places the score lines do not go all the way to the edge. Then I swiped the chocolate chip ink pad across to create some texture and depth as well as highlight my score lines. The center panel was stamped with stitched bg stamp in regal rose then run through the swiss dot cuttlebug. The tag is a stash of precut SU dies that found since I started a clean and purge task in my craftroom. I am trying to incorporate some stored stuff into my cardmaking.

STAMPS: Together Forever, Happy Harmony

CARDSTOCK: chocolate chip, certainly celery, regal rose, gp white, so saffron

INK: chocolate chip, certainly celery, regal rose, so saffron

ACCESSORIES: Circle nesties, sponges, three 4 you flower punch, SU scalloped edge punch, MM glitz brads, mini white brads, sponges, stylus, MS checkerboard punch, MS butterfly punch, mini gem, 1/4" cc twill ribbon, silver cording, SU tag from retired package, foam tape and dimensionals.

HOPE

I combined today's LSC191 challenge with yesterday's WT 189 challenge. Today's Limited is to use leaves and pink somewhere on the card. Yesterday's Ways to Use it is focus on ONE word...as well as some pink for Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
I wanted something simple that gets the point across. Hope is my focal word that I stamped using my JustRite Stampers and while there are leaves in the background and a few fronds in the front.....my touch of pink is the dove.

Stamps: JustRite Special Occasions Font 7/8" and Harmony Rectangular Stamper set....small rectangle
Cardstock: The Paper Co. Blonde Columns, Ivory, pink pirouette, kiwi kiss, chocolate chip
Ink: Encore gold, lumiere, adirondack lettuce, pretty in pink
Accessories: MS branch, dove bird, and frond punches, SU small oval punch, sponges, gold cording, sheer creations ivory ribbon, small pearl halves, cuttlebug ef

I always tell my friends that we HAVE to fight breast cancer like WOMEN....with our BARE HANDS!!!! Touch your breast....know your breast!!!! If anything changes from month to month call the doctor. If you are eligible for mammograms get them. If you are reading this and YOU have NOT had your mammogram this year....and YOU are supposed to......go schedule it NOW!!!! Early detection is key.

Precious Friend

This card is for SCS color challenge CC189. I love these colors together.

Also, I combined it with Sharon's(notimetostamp) challenge from last Friday.....no picture stamps.

Since my JustRite stamps came today, I had to ink them up. I kept it simple.

This card is 5 1/2" squared

I sponged the edges of the kiwi kiss with adirondack lettuce which is a very close if not the same match for this cardstock. I cuttlebugged the pink layer and brushed pretty in pink ink pad across the embossed portions. I love the contrast of these two pinks together. I stamped the phrase and border and I cut and embossed a center circle in like colors to keep the flow soft and not to create a bull's eye effect. I finished with mini gold brads and a MS butterfly punch with a gem. No ribbon....I tried, but I liked the look better without it.

Stamps

JustRite Harmony classic circle III
Cardstock

cchip, kkiss, ppirouette, white
Ink

cchip, adirondack lettuce, pretty in pink
AccessoriesPetite circle nesties, cuttlebug folder, mini gold brads, gem, MS butterfly punch, sponges

Thinking of You

Thanks so much for such wonderful inspiration, Stef!!! I have an obsession with pillows so this challenge is right up my alley. Love the two-tone looks with the flowers and the birds in silhouette. I chose my toile blossom set. I used my SU level one patterns pack finally.....a kraft piece. Love the subtle stripes. I used CHF sentiment. I added two MS bird punches and faux brads to finish the look. What do you think?
Stamps

SU Toile BlossomsCHF Script Essential Expressions
Cardstock

bb, vv, khaki(unknown)level one patterns pack kraft
Ink

black staz on
Accessories

Oval nesties, 1/4" circle punch wit CE for faux brads, 5/8" black grosgrain ribbon, foam tape, MS bird punch, glue dots

NOTE: I have always loved faux brads as oftentimes I am finished with my card and feel like it needs a little something more. Of course, to add brads as this point would mean taking the card apart, hence the need for faux brads. Cindy Lawrence(One Happy Stamper) adds CE to make her faux brads look more realistic. I did that today, too. Love the look and it just takes a tad....dries fast, too. Thanks for the great idea, Cindy.

Thank You

This card is for SCS CC187. We are to use tangerine tango, chocolate chip, and kiwi kiss!!! Love these colors together!!!!!! Terrific choices, Emily!!!!I decided to use a current SU set and a retired one. Love the punch of the white with these warm colors. I used pieces of the slot punch to added some corner texture and to mimic the vertical circle layout. I do not think I have ever used the pieces of this punch before.....I like the look, though....something different. I stamped the tangerine tango with canvas bg and distressed the edges. What do you think?

STAMPS

Short and Sweet, Stem Silhouettes, Canvas bg

CARDSTOCK

chocolate chip, tangerine tango, kiwi kiss, gp white
INK

chocolate chip, pumpkin pie, adirondack lettuce

ACCESSORIES

Circle nesties, slot punch, small and large oval punch, MS branch punch, copper hph, twill choc chip ribbon, foam tape

TECHNIQUE

Rock and Roll and distressing