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