Running With Scissors…

I don’t believe I’ve ever seen an orange sweet pea, but I looked them up and, sure enough — orange.  I thought if I was going to be coloring a lot of Sweet Peas (and I will be coloring a lot of Sweet Peas) I’ll grow tired of coloring them all in shades of pink, however lovely they are.  So, today I made bold, vibrant Sweet Peas — a real statement of summer.  My Sweet Peas, by the way, are from Flourishes.  I would provide a link, but I don’t see them in the store.  Could they possibly be sold out again?  When Flourishes is temporarily out of stock of an item, it will not appear in the store, but it will be restocked very quickly.

I set out to color the large stamp in the set and then decided to cut it in half and make two cards instead.  I painted the flowers and leaves first (watercolored with Stampin’ Up! markers), then divided the image and did the background shading — green on the first card and blue on the second.  I used sentiments from Thinking of You and Poppy Patch.  The first card features some of those Kaiser pearls I love so much, too.

About the painting:  I began by painting the flowers plain yellow and orange.  I added orange to the yellow flowers, and red to the orange flowers until I was satisfied with the color.  The yellow, though subtle, gave the orange flowers a little more life, and the hint of orange under the red helped those flowers get along better with their orange companions.  I painted the leaves in Garden Green, but left the stems and curly tendrils for later.

As for the background shading, I added just a little bit of marker color at a time along the edges of the image and then dabbed at it with a wet brush, pulling the color outward.  Excess color was lightened with a clean, wet brush.  It’s possible to dab a marker onto wet paper and get that nice, diffuse spread, but you can only do it once or twice before the marker color gives out.  I’ll occasionally touch up a wet area with a marker, then set the marker aside for just a moment while it refreshes itself (new ink fills the tip).

Once my background shading was complete and dry, I used the fine tip of my Garden Green marker to color the narrow stems and wispy tendrils.  This could be done with a very fine brush, also, but the marker is quick and precise with its continuous flow of ink.

The recipe, below, lists all items used on these cards.  Goodbye weekend, hello Monday!  I hope the week treats you well.  Till we meet again…

Stamps:  Sweet Peas, Thinking of You, Poppy Patch  Paper:  Real Red, Brocade Blue, Neenah Classic Solar White, Arches 140 lb cold press watercolor  Ink:  Palette Umber, Palette Noir, markers in Yo Yo Yellow, Only Orange, Real Red, Garden Green, Certainly Celery, Brocade Blue  Accessories:  Offray gingham ribbon, red SU! grosgrain ribbon, copper Kaiser flat backed pearls, SU! large oval and 1 3/8″ circle punches, Cuttlebug Diamonds in the Rough and Birds & Swirls embossing folders, Scotch brand foam mounting tape

Today, it was Latisha’s idea that the Flourishes Design Team should challenge themselves to make cards featuring bows and no designer paper.  Well, I’ve been making a lot of bows lately but it seems I don’t get by without the designer paper too often these days.  I thought this was a great idea!  Latisha has prepared something pretty fun on the Flourishes Newsletter for you today so be sure to stop over there and check it out.  She makes the most beautiful bows!

I combined three sets for this card — Butterfly Moments, Lilac, and Ornamental Elements.  It’s an easy card… the butterfly was stamped on Shimmery White and colored very simply with Stampin’ Up! markers.  I cut it out and positioned it on foam mounting tape so it’s fluttering through the lilacs, leaving a swirly trail in its wake.

Even the bow was easy, and if you feel somewhat bow challenged, perhaps this method of creating a bow is something you’d like to try.  I used retired Stampin’ Up! organdy ribbon and a brad from the BasicGrey Boxer collection. 

I formed a length of ribbon into a loop with the tails left hanging.  Then I pinched it in the middle and tucked it between the prongs of the brad.  The prongs went through a hole punched in the cardstock layers and were flattened snugly.  Now, I have a pretty bow — quick and easy!

Here’s a photo of the bow in progress, as it appears just before I tuck it into the brad:

If you like bows, you’ll love these cards by the rest of the design team:  Christine, Cindy, Faith, Julie, Latisha, Laura, Stacy

And don’t forget to take a trip over to the Newsletter for Latisha’s special on bows.  Thanks so much for your time!  Have a great weekend!

Stamps:  Butterfly Moments, Lilac, Ornamental Elements  Paper:  Brocade Blue textured, Shimmery White, Barely Banana  Ink:  Palette Noir, Lavender Lace, Brocade Blue, markers in Barely Banana, Summer Sun and Brocade Blue  Accessories:  Ribbon, BasicGrey Boxer glazed brad, Martha Stewart scalloped lace punch, Scotch brand foam mounting tape

Wednesday brings us around again to a one postage stamp card and today I’ve used a favorite image by Rubbernecker which can be found on this page.  It’s Item # 20 SO GM, in case that helps.

There are few things I enjoy more than starting out with a blank open-line image and watching it transform with color.  Once I’ve made a pretty picture, the rest of the card will evolve around it easily as long as I don’t try to over-embellish it.  That can be my downfall … I tend to believe I should attempt to use all those fancy little doodads I find so irresistable when, really, sometimes I just need to let the card base frame the image.  On the other hand, when I’m in the mood, I get the biggest kick out of playing dress up with my cards.  It’s wonderful to have all these choices to suit my frame of mind.

The card base framing my image today is made from My Mind’s Eye cardstock weight double sided designer paper.  As cardstock goes, it’s relatively lightweight, yet it’s a perfect foundation on which to build a layout for a no extra postage required card.  It’s also a great way to use up some of my vast supply of designer paper so I can feel justified in splurging on more!  This Kaleidoscope line is no longer in production, which is an indication of how long it’s been in my stash.

The card is polka dotted front and back, with the inside being a plain pale pink — the same pink that’s on the little strip of trim where I attached the eyelets.  The inside right is firmed up with a panel of white, on which I’ll write a message.

The coloring was done with Stampin’ Up! markers and water, which is a method I use frequently because I carry my supplies to work with me, and I can carry 48 marker colors with considerably more ease than I can carry 48 ink pads or even the reinkers.  I’m always in a hurry, it seems, and I just toss the markers in a bag with a paint brush and a little bottle for water.  I have images stamped and ready, always, and it’s just a matter of selecting one to bring to life.  Now, if only I could find more time for putting the cards together, photographing, and blogging…

Speaking of which, I’d better wrap this up and move on to my next project.  I’m so glad you found time to spend with me today.  Be well and happy, and I’ll meet you here or at your place again soon!

Stamps:  Rubbernecker Hearty Vase  Paper:  Watercolor, Mellow Moss, My Mind’s Eye retired Kaleidosope designer paper  Ink:  Jet Black Stazon, SU! markers in Always Artichoke, Rose Red, Mellow Moss, So Saffron, More Mustard  Accessories:  Eyelets, Scotch brand foam mounting tape

I’ve had parts of this card finished and tucked away in a baggie for a couple of months and I thought it was about time I finished it.  If I were to use up all my card “parts” I would, in effect, be tidying my stamp room and that sounds like a pretty fun way to do housework!

This is the beautiful Swan Song set by Firecracker Designs.  I added foliage, using an old stamp by Toomuchfun, a company that probably no longer exists.  The foliage is adhered to the frame, and the frame is on dimensionals.  The card measures 5 1/4″ square.

All the coloring was done with Prismacolor markers.  The shading of the swans was done with Sky Blue Light.  The water was colored first with Celadon and then with Cloud Blue.  The two colors did blend to give a new color.  I used the Colorless Blender to remove a little color under the swans and create a hint of reflection in the water.  I did the same with the water near the horizon line, adding in some of the peachy sky color.

Gosh, it looks like this is going to be a quick post.  I think everthing I used on this card is listed in the recipe below.  I’m off to meet my Monday, now!  I sure would appreciate longer weekends, as they go by way too fast.  I hope it’s a good week for you!  Take care, and I’ll see you again soon.

Stamps:  Swan Song, old foliage stamp by TooMuchFun  Paper:  Blush Blossom textured, Whisper White, retired SU! designer paper (sorry, but I can’t remember the name)  Ink:  Palette Noir, Handsome Hunter, Prismacolor markers  Accessories:  Ribbon, CTMH Autumn Leaves, Spellbinders Labels 1 die for frame, Scotch brand foam mounting tape 

Happy Friday, everyone!  Today I have a card to share that was so much fun to make.  I used lots of my favorite BasicGrey Urban Prairie designer paper which, alas, I do not see in the store right now, but there are many more totally gorgeous papers waiting to become my new favorites right here.  Flourishes’ focus is on designer papers today, and I’ve written a little article on the subject which you can read on the Flourishes Newsletter.  It’s titled “Putting the Pieces Together”. 

The stamp set I used for this card is Thinking of You.  It’s primarily a sympathy set, but certainly versatile enough to be made into a cheerful all-occasion card, too.  The set features solid image stamps which are very easy to use, but it was also very easy to create a multi-colored bouquet with this image — very easy!

I inked up the image with Palette Cognac, stamped it off lightly to remove some of the ink’s intensity, then stamped on SU!’s Whisper White cardstock.  This created a faint, but still very visible impression of the image.  I simply colored over it with SU! markers.  Palette ink is waterproof, so it works quite nicely for water-based markers or any kind of watercoloring.  I selected marker colors to coordinate with the paper, and I’ll be darned if this image doesn’t look like it was made to go with this paper.  I just love it!

One other thing which I’m not really sure is apparent in the photo — after I colored and cut out the image, I pressed it into my Versamark pad to completely coat the flower circle.  Then I embossed it with ultra-thick embossing powder to give it a ceramic-like glaze.  It looks like a little tile on the card front.  My ultra-thick embossing powder is called Glassy Glaze, purchased from Stampin’ Up!, but you can find it most anywhere embossing powders are sold.

About those designer papers:  I used three different patterns and two solid colors on this card.  You can see how they all share some of the same colors and patterns, as well as all having the same sort of happy mood.  The solid mats help to keep the patterns from interfering with each other, and since every piece is from the same BasicGrey 6×6 pad, the colors match perfectly.  Sometimes I prefer a quiet card base, and at other times I’m in the mood for something spirited like this.

I’ve shared a couple more cards on the Flourishes Newsletter, and I know you’ll enjoy seeing how the rest of the team has coordinated their designer papers and stamps today, too:   Christine, Cindy, Faith, Julie, Latisha, Laura, Stacy

I’m glad you could drop in today!  Have yourself a wonderful weekend!

Stamps:  Thinking of You  Paper:  Plain white cardstock base, Whisper White, BasicGrey Urban Prairie designer paper  Ink:  Palette Cognac, Versamark, SU! markers in Rose Red, Regal Rose, So Saffron, Tempting Turquoise, Old Olive, Certainly Celery, Creamy Caramel, Close to Cocoa  Accessories:  Ribbon, ultra-thick embossing powder, Spellbinders circle dies and Labels 1 dies, Scotch brand foam mounting tape

Hi, there!  Here’s a little something just for fun.  No, I’m not retired, but Sassy Stems is, and it’s still one of my favorite Stampin’ Up! sets.  I had occasion to make a birthday card for someone who likes Plum and Sage, as well as happy images, so this combination was just the thing.

While I had this set out, I thought it would be fun to use the rest of it, too.  It was pretty quick work, using the same colors and paper collection for each card.  I just switched around the color emphasis for each image and layout.  All the images are watercolored using Stampin’ Up! markers, and the designer paper is long since retired.

This first one is the birthday card.  There’s glitter on the flower centers, which perks it up quite a bit when seen in real life.  The sentiment is retired, too.  It’s funny, but when I look at that sentiment with the yellow flower, I can’t help but see bananas…

The next card, in pink, needed a little birdie to help cover a badly punched corner.  Now, there’s an old stamp — something by Darcie, circa 1996.  Once I added the bird, I decided I needed the “Greetings!” to help make sense of a bird flying over with an envelope in its beak.  The greeting is from Flourishes Mixed Greetings set.  How is it that pink always comes out so sweet looking?  Just once I’d like to see it be the “bad girl”, but I don’t know if that’s possible.

Next up comes the emphasis on yellow, or Barely Banana.  Sometimes I just don’t want to mat my image panels or put a lot of “stuff” on my cards.  In fact, there’s more on this card than I really wanted, but it’s going into my cards-for-sale basket at work, and it seemed like I should add at least a little something extra.

So, there you go… just me, having fun with some old friends.  I hope it was a little bit fun for you, too.  I’ll try to give a comprehensive list of ingredients in the summary, below.  Take care, and have a fabulous day!

Stamps:  Sassy Stems, Love Ya Bunches, Mixed Greetings, Darcie bird  Paper:  Sage Shadow, Pink Pirouette, and Pale Plum classic cardstock, Barely Banana textured, retired SU! designer paper, watercolor  Ink:  Palette Noir, SU! markers in Pale Plum, Barely Banana, Pretty in Pink, Sage Shadow, Blush Blossom, Almost Amethyst  Accessories:  SU! pale pink and Sage Shadow grosgrain ribbon, SU! pink taffeta ribbon, Offray wide pink polka dot grosgrain ribbon, eyelets, rhinestones, glitter, white gel pen, oval Nesties, SU! scallop border punch and eyelet border punch, old McGill scallop corner punch, 1 1/4″ and 1 3/8″ circle punches, ticket corner punch, Scotch brand foam mounting tape

Hello, friends!  In case you were wondering, I took myself a little blogging break after Flourishes release week.  I had a nice family weekend and then started the work week over again.  I do marvel at the folks who can work all day and stamp all night.  I’m one who has a hard time getting up once I’ve sat down in the evening.  Unfortunately, I’ll often feel like stamping long about lights out time and it’ll take all my willpower to stay out of that room.  It’s funny how this stamping thing gets us in its grip, isn’t it?

I do have this card that I made last week, using my new Ornamental Elements and Timeless Quotes.  It’s a lightweight, non-bulky card, so I’m able to share it for One Stamp Wednesday — no extra postage required.  The quote panel is on foam mounting tape, and there’s a brad in the flower center, but that little bit of dimension will not be a problem.  The card base is Stampin’ Up!’s sturdy cardstock, but the middle layer is CTMH — rather lightweight — and the Whisper White and designer paper are lightweight, as well.  I’ll place a crimped cardstock sheet over the front, and the card-eating machine at the post office will be none the wiser. 

I like this quote for a lot of different occasions.  It could be used for wedding, engagement, any sort of new endeavor — even retirement.  I gold embossed my quote to match the pretty Prima flower I’ve had forever.  I guess I was hoarding it, but with these stamps, the ribbon and paper, the colors…everything…its time had come.  I love the way they all look together.  The Euphoria designer paper, stamps and satin ribbon are all from Flourishes.

I hope this finds you well and enjoying your Wednesday.  As always, I’m glad you could take the time to visit with me.  I truly feel fortunate to be able to share this time, and I appreciate every one of you.  Have a great day!

Stamps:  Ornamental Elements, Timeless Quotes (both from Flourishes)  Paper:  SU! Orchid Opulence & Whisper White, CTMH Key Lime, BasicGrey Euphoria designer paper  Ink:  Orchid Opulence, Versamark  Accessories:  Ribbon, Prima flower, Spellbinders Curved Rectangles die, gold embossing powder, Scotch brand foam mounting tape

As I mentioned yesterday, I cannot get enough of this new Sweet Peas set from Flourishes and I’ll have to exercise quite a lot of self control to not over-share them.  They’re a dream to color in any manner you prefer and they look great whatever you do with them.  Today I watercolored my flowers with SU! markers — a little marker, a little water on a brush.  Do a small area at a time before the ink sets up too much, and it works beautifully.  Some folks prefer this method of watercoloring, feeling it affords more control or precision.

I used the largest image in the set, but stamped just a portion of it on my watercolor paper.  The sentiment is part of the set, also.  After I made this card, I thought how perfect this would be as a wedding sentiment.  The Champagne satin ribbon and white pearls on Blush and white textured cardstock add to the “special occasion” feel of it, and the Sweet Peas keep it …  sweet!

Have I mentioned how I love this set?  Maybe a time or two…

Inks:  I stamped the Sweet Peas in Palette Umber and painted with Cameo Coral and Ruby Red markers.  Shading around the image was done with Blush Blossom.  The leaves are Old Olive.  The sentiment is stamped in Palette Umber.

Just for fun, I thought I’d mention some other new items at Flourishes.  I bring this up simply because I think they’re so gorgeous and perhaps you’d like to know about them:

• First, you might like to see their new crochet ribbon.  Its more like a trim, really, and oh, my goodness, it’s so pretty!
• In addition to the crochet, they’ve added 1 1/4″ silk ribbon in pink and blue.  Divine!  Scroll to the bottom of this page to see it.
• Then, of course, there’s the Jenni Bowlin papers, which were showcased yesterday.  It was thought, at first, Flourishes would package the Jenni B. papers, which are 4″ square, with their new 4 1/2″ square envelopes, but they’ve decided to offer them independently.  Check this page for the envelopes and some gorgeous new Memory Box papers.
• The New Release Bundle is offered again this month — all three new sets bundled together at a discount.  See the Bundle and the individual sets (Sweet Peas, Ornamental Elements, Timeless Quotes) here.

That’s all I can think of off the top of my head.  I sure hope you have a nice weekend to look forward to.  My son is down for a visit so the first order of the day is grocery shopping.  Then, of course, I’ll want to bake a pie or something…I think cherry.  See you again soon!

  –  Leslie  –

Today, Flourishes is previewing not only new stamps, but new papers as well.  And what’s really fun about these papers is that they’re 4″x 4″ squares.  Unusual, isn’t it?  But leave it to Flourishes to package them up like a delectable treat — a set of papers, and a set of 4 1/2″ x 4 1/2″ envelopes so your pretty little cards are a perfect fit.  I love that!  These little square cards are quick, easy, and so darn much fun!

As for the stamps, I used a new set called Timeless Quotes.  At first glance it may look like I used four different sentiments for these cards, but it’s just one quote, used four different ways.  The first two cards shown below are ultra-easy.  The card on the right shows the full quote, and the card on the left uses just one word, isolated by coloring directly on the stamp with a marker.  The word fit perfectly in one of Stampin’ Up!’s Vanilla Stylized Hardware frames.  I matched the Jenni Bowlin papers with Ruby Red and Naturals Ivory cardstock and Riding Hood Red ribbon.

The papers I used on the first two cards are from the Jenni Bowlin Vintage Red collection, shown below.  Aren’t they pretty?

The next two cards show the same quote with different words selected, and my Jenni B. papers mixed and matched.  There’s Vintage Cream and Black with black velvet ribbon for an elegant look.  I used a cherry patterned paper from the Farmer’s Wife collection and a bit of red gingham ribbon for a countrified look — simple things.  The Mixed Greetings fruit bowl, colored with Prismacolor markers, and an eyelet border seemed just the thing to complete the picture.

These little cards were a lot of fun, working with new papers and getting all that mileage out of a single quote.  All of Flourishes new stamp sets, as well as the Jenni Bowlin collections, will be available later tonight after the release party at the Flourishes Forum on SCS.  Drop in from 8 - 10 pm central time if you get a chance.  There will be games and prizes, more samples, and just fun in general.

Also, be sure to pop over to the Flourishes Newsletter and leave a comment on the Sweet and Sentimental, Day 3 post for a chance to win the Timeless Quotes set.  Winners are drawn daily.  You can see all the rest of the Jenni Bowlin paper collections there, too.

Finally, you can see more samples of the Timeless Quotes set and the Jenni Bowlin papers by visiting the rest of the design team:  Christine, Cindy, Faith, Julie, Latisha, Laura, Stacy

Well, this was fun!  Now, I need my beauty sleep so I can be ready for the party tomorrow evening, not to mention that 6 am wake up call my alarm gives me every morning.  Tomorrow I’ll be back with more Sweet Peas because I just can’t bear to leave that set alone too long.  See you soon!

  –  Leslie  –

Welcome to Day Two of Flourishes previews!  Today I’m sharing an exceedingly simple card made with another of Flourishes’ March releases (available Friday night, March 13).  So, where is the stamp, you wonder?  Well, it’s that little swirly border under the ribbon.  I was tempted to use it as a background for another Sweet Pea card, but I restrained myself… Sometimes it’s nice to have a cute little stamp like this for an easy design — no fuss, no muss — ready in a jiffy.

I stamped the swirl repeatedly to create a border design, then punched the edge and added satin ribbon and a flower over an embossed card base.  I’m just loving my BasicGrey designer brads as an outstanding feature for these simple cards, too.  This one in the flower center is from the Euphoria collection.  The colors were a perfect fit, and the tiny bit of pink added just a little more color and sweetness.  The greeting is from an older Flourishes set, called Fantasy Floral Garden.

There’s more to this set, which I’ll be sharing another day, but for now, you can see some extraordinary samples by visiting these folks: 

Christine, Cindy, Faith, Julie, Latisha, Laura, Stacy

New release happenings to note:

• Take a chance on winning this set by leaving a comment on the Flourishes Newsletter, Day 2 Preview post.  There’s a random drawing for a winner of each set daily. 
• The Getting Sentimental Challenge is still active until Friday, so participating in that will enter you in a drawing for all three new sets.
• Join us for the Release Party Friday night, March 13, 8 - 10 pm central at the Flourishes Forum on SCS for more previews, games and chances to win stamps.
• The three new sets and more will be available in the store Friday night, the 13th, by midnight, if not sooner.

I’ll have more to share tomorrow.  There’s been a lot of stamping going on at my house these last few days!  Have a great day!

  –  Leslie  –

Stamps:  Ornamental Elements, Fantasy Floral Garden  Paper:  Cool Caribbean, Whisper White  Ink:  Cool Caribbean, Palette Noir  Accessories:  Satin ribbon, Prima Sprites flowers, Euphoria brad, SU! eyelet border punch, Swiss Dot embossing folder