Running With Scissors…

Just a little reminder to check the Flourishes Newsletter here to read up on the latest…  It’s their way of saying “thank you”.

Happy birthday, Flourishes!

Two years ago this month, Flourishes opened the doors of their lovely boutique and invited the world to a whole new opportunity of creative expression.  Now, we’d like to invite you to help us celebrate.  Today, the design team is expressing their creativity to honor Flourishes’ special day, and we’d like you to join us!  Here’s how:

Simply make a birthday creation of your own - link your card to the Flourishes Newsletter birthday post, or upload to SCS using the keyword FLLCBDAY. We’ll pick one lucky winner with the prize being a stamp set of your choice.  So… make time to play and you just might be a winner!  Also, be sure to click onto the Flourishes Newsletter Saturday – there is a BIG announcement that you won’t want to miss!

I’ve made a card with an inside pocket.  Well, two cards, actually, one for a guy and one for a girl.  The design can be adapted to any size, and the pocket can hold photos, seed packets, cosmetic samples, hot cocoa packs, stamped images you’re sharing with a stamper friend… the uses are many and varied.  The two cards I’ve made are sized as money holders.

Money holders have largely given way to gift card holders since a gift card is felt to be more personal and thoughtful than money.  I believe they still have their place, though.  You’d be more likely to give money to immediate family members, rather than friends, and generally only when you know it’s what they’d prefer.  Perhaps they’re saving for something special, or they’re a college student in a smal dorm room who needs spending money or help buying books.  Children enjoy receiving money as a gift.  Perhaps you’ve taken up a collection for a coworker in need.  Maybe you’ve purchased stamps from a blogger and need to send a check.  You never know.  Might as well do it with a little flair.

The finished size of these money holders is 3 3/4″ x 6 1/2″ — an odd size, I know, but I just happen to have envelopes to fit.  They’ll fit in a business size envelope, too, though there’d be some swimming room lengthwise.  They could also be tucked into a gift bag or box as a little supplement to the gift they accompany.  This is the inside:

This diagramed sample gives measurements and some instructions, which I’ve also written out below the photo:

• Cut cardstock 8 1/2″ x 8 1/2″
• Score 3 3/4″ from left edge.  Score 1 1/16″ from right edge.  That extra 1/16″ allows the front flap to overlap just the tiniest bit for easier opening.
• Score at 2″ across bottom edge.
• Cut flaps as shown in photo.

The next photo shows the lower right corner of the card:

• Fold the long vertical flap to the inside.
• Apply strong adhesive, such as this red liner tape to the right edge only of the lower flap.
• Adhere over vertical flap.

You end up with a nice little pocket into which you can securely tuck your treasure of choice.

The Seaside Life sand dollars are really what gave me the idea to do a money holder — you know… dollars/money.  They’re all white embossed on Classic White cardstock with just the centers colored with a Copic marker.  I stamped one sand dollar in Caramel without embossing and used it as a little tag with the “for you” from the Strawberries set.  Its papers, ribbon and brads are from my stash.  The Cuttlebug embossed background under the sand dollars is called “Mesh”.

The feminine card uses the All Wrapped Up stamp set.  The BasicGrey Sultry designer paper, Spellbinders dies, ribbon, and rhinestones are all from Flourishes.

Let’s take a look at what the rest of the team is sharing today:  Christine, Cindy, Faith, Julie, Latisha, Laura, Stacy, Dee, Silke, and Jan Marie

I’m sure you’ll see some great ideas and beautiful things from the team, and maybe even the design I’m sharing today will be useful to somebody at some point.  I hope so.  I’ll end with a wish for a wonderful day, and if it’s your birthday, may it be an absolutely splendid one!

Hello, friends, and happy Monday!  I set aside some time to stamp this weekend, but most of it cannot be shared quite yet.  I’ve been stamping for Flourishes’ next release, and since I’m so slow I wanted to get a head start, so I’m not pushing myself to do much more than that.  I do have a little girl’s birthday coming up this week, so I made this card for her:

I just love these Sarah Kay images for little girls.  This one came from Stamper’s Dream.  Whether Michelle has this one still, or not, she does have several other darling Sarah Kay images.  They’re so much fun to color!  This image is stamped on watercolor paper with Versafine black, then clear embossed, and colored with Prismacolor markers.  The soft shading around the image was watercolored with Stampin’ Up! inks.  I didn’t have time to do much with the layout, but I don’t think sweet innocent two year old Gwynneth will notice.

I’ll have to keep it short and sweet today, a last bit of fun before the work week begins.  I hope your week treats you well.  I’ll be back as soon as I can.  Take care!

Stamps:  Stampavie, Vases in Vogue (sentiment, retired SU!),  Paper:  PTI Lemon Tart, watercolor, BasicGray Urban Prairie  Ink:  Versafine black, Pretty in Pink, Old Olive, Prismacolor markers for coloring  Accessories:  Ribbon, scallop corner punch (old), clear embossing powder, Scotch brand foam mounting tape

If you’ve been on this blog journey with me for the last couple of years, you may remember Stella.  In case you’re wondering, though, the Stella to whom I refer is Stella Ruby — BasicGrey Stella Ruby designer paper.  I purchased a whole 12 x 12 pack of this paper in early 2007 and it immediately became a favorite.  In an effort to use, rather than simply admire this paper, I decided at that time to begin a weekly feature called Ruby Tuesday.  Every Tuesday I posted a card or project using my Stella Ruby paper.  I did that for nine months…until the Christmas season got the better of me and I decided to take a little break, which turned into a very long break from Stella.  As in… I never did pick up where I left off.

This Stampendous floral image is one I colored and set aside all that time ago, intending to use it for my next Ruby Tuesday card which, as I’ve established, never happened.   I’ve shuffled past it many times in my image scrap basket, until today, when I finally decided to turn it into a card.  I thought it only fitting to pair it with Stella Ruby.

I colored the image very simply with Stampin’ Up! markers, made the layout with the help of a 1 3/8″ square punch (great for scraps), and added a favorite Hero Arts sentiment.  All of these stamps and supplies have been with me for a very long time, but I love them as much today as ever.

Together, Stella and I have made 30 cards, created a card tote, and altered two notebooks, a pencil holder, and an oatmeal box.  Stella is still going strong.  My goodness, how does one ever use up all that paper?  She’s since been joined by other collections, all of which I store in a cabinet, much as any collector carefully packs way their treasures and brings them out for an occasional look.

There’s something about Stella’s colors and patterns that always set well with me, and I enjoyed spending a little time with her today.  For the time being, she’s back in the cupboard… I wonder how she’ll appeal in another year or so.

Thank you so much for your time today.  Have a wonderful rest of the week!

Stamps:  Stampendous Daisy Chain, Hero Arts sentiment  Paper:  Always Artichoke, So Saffron, Whisper White, BasicGrey Stella Ruby designer paper  Ink:  Palette Noir, SU! Markers in So Saffron, More Mustard, Mellow Moss and Always Artichoke  Accessories:  Offray ribbon, copper brads, 1 3/8″ square punch, Scotch brand foam mounting tape

Good Monday to all!  I have just a peek for you today, but a quick click here –> Flourishes Newsletter — will take you to the article I’ve written about this card.  I hope you’ll join me there!

For July 17th’s Friday Focus on the Flourishes Newsletter, Faith has prepared an article on the Inkssentials white opaque pen.  Few people make better use of that little stamper’s tool than Faith, so its going to be fun and informative to see how she’s incorporated it into her design this time.

I find myself reaching for this pen quite often, too, and I was happy to pitch in with a sample.  I’ve made a rather clean and simple card with a set that lends itself well to this style — Birds & Vine.  I stamped the vine in Palette Cognac on a piece of BasicGrey Wisteria.  The birds were stamped in place and colored over with Copic E29, a very dark brown, which ensured good coverage with no vine showing through.  No masking was necessary.  The leaves were colored with the lighter browns — E21 and E25.  All of these browns are included in Flourishes Flesh Tones Collection 2.  Many of the Copics collections appear to be currently sold out, including this collection.

If you squint hard enough and use a magnifying glass, you may be able to see where I applied the white gel pen.  It’s very subtle but, then, the whole card is subtle.  I dotted the flowers with it and added just a tiny bit of highlights to the birds.

And that’s all there is to it.  Simple, yet it’s one of my favorite cards at this time.  My stamps, designer paper, ink, white gel pen, Copics and ribbon slide are all from Flourishes.  The ribbon (Kraft taffeta), cardstocks (Whisper White and retired River Rock textured), and scallop punch are from Stampin’ Up!

I’m not sure who all has samples today, but these gals always have something great to see, no matter what:  Christine, Cindy, Faith, Julie, Latisha, Laura, and Stacy.

I hope you all have a very refreshing weekend.  I invited my son down for the weekend, hoping I could set aside some uninterrupted time for him.  As it turns out, I’ll have less free time than I imagined, but we’ll make the most of it.  Take care!

I wasn’t sure I was going to do another bird card right away.  In fact, I was doing a little stamp room organizing and working on some other projects which I don’t ordinarily allow myself time to do, and this card just sort of happened along the way.

I wish I could say I’d stamped and colored this image myself, but it’s from the Crafty Secrets Birds & Botanicals Images & Journal Notes.  There’s more stamping on this card than first meets the eye, though.  The lower part of the card is courtesy an old Stamp Oasis sheet music stamp.  I first stamped SU!’s retired Linen background in River Rock on Very Vanilla, then stamped the sheet music in Close to Cocoa, masked the image and stamped it again so it appears overlapped.  The stamped sentiment is from the Crafty Secrets Bird Notes set.  It’s a pretty quick card, considering I spent no time on the main image…though I would have loved to…sigh.

I made this as a congrats for an expectant couple.  I always think of that special period of anticipation when I see an image of eggs in a nest, such as this one with the avian pair in attendance.  I usualy avoid giving vintage-themed cards to young people, thinking it’s not so much their “thing”.  I’ve loved it forever, though, and not because it brings back memories…I mean, what I consider “vintage” was before even my time.  Although, I do remember… well… nevermind…

The pretty, nicely compact bow was made with the aid of my Bow Easy.  I can do it without the instructions now, so I’m really enjoying that handy little gadget.  I thought I’d try to make it look as though I’d wrapped the ribbon around the card and tied the bow, rather than just glued it on.  So I did this:

I tied a single strand of embroidery floss around the ribbon before I taped the ribbon ends behind the cardstock layer.  I used Aleene’s Tacky Glue to adhere the bow to the cinched part of the ribbon.  Had I not covered up the whole thing with the image panel, it would have been a pretty effective deception, but I’ll file the idea away for future reference.

I’ll be back on Friday for Flourishes’ weekly focus.  Yes, it will be another bird card, stamped this time, but after that I’ll do something else for a while.  I won’t put the bird stamps away, though, except one by one as I use them.  It will motivate me, as I like a tidy stamp room.  Till Friday, then… stay well and have a very nice day!

Stamps:  Crafty Secrets Bird Notes (sentiment), Stamp Oasis music, SU! Linen background  Paper:  Close to Cocoa and Groovy Guava textured, Very Vanilla, Soft Sky  Ink:  Close to Cocoa, Chocolate Chip  Accessories:  Birds & Botanicals Images & Journal Notes, silk ribbon, chocolate pearls, 3/4″ and 1″ circle punches, Scotch brand foam mounting tape

You may be familiar with the now world famous (probably) Blogging Without Obligation post — more likely so if you’re a blogger.  Well…I think I’ll give that a try for a while.  I’ve imposed upon myself an ever-present “need” to get something on the blog on a somewhat regular basis.  I’m thinking along the lines of slowing the pace and allowing a little more spontaneity.  Can there be such a thing as slow spontaneity?  I think so… we’ll see.  So, I’m throwing out the schedules and plans and just going with the flow.  I’ll still do my Flourishes posts, of course, since that’s really more a privilege than an obligation, and it’s the one group activity I’m involved in but, for the most part, it’ll be come what may…when it may come.

Today’s card is the result of one of those slow, spontaneous stamping interludes.  I got the notion in my head that I wanted to gather up all my bird stamps and slowly work my way through them, as a way of ensuring I spread the love throughout my many stamps.  But… oh, no!  I have way too many bird stamps!  I had no idea!  Yet how often do I stamp birds?  Hardly ever.  Well, if I manage to make my way through all those bird stamps it’ll be very slowly and certainly not one right after the other.

I took my time watercoloring this, and then spent forever trying to photograph it.  It was brutal.  I finally changed my backdrop from white to dark gray and came up with a photo which is tolerably close to the original.  I apologize if it looks awful on your computer screen.

This is one of my old stamps which is probably no longer available anywhere.  The image is by Sherry Nelson and the stamp bears a copyright date of 2003.  This line of images, called Whispers, was sold under the Anita’s vendor on Addicted to Rubber Stamps.  That’s every bit of information I have about the stamp.  I Googled the line and came up with nothing.  I did find this, though.  You really must go take a look!  It’s Sherry Nelson’s website.  Oh, my goodness!  Sherry Nelson, I sincerely appreciate that you allowed your art to be turned into stamps, but I apologize profusely that I haven’t done you justice.  Ms. Nelson’s oil paintings are breathtaking!  The rubber of the stamp is not etched quite like the original painting — that’s my excuse and I’m sticking to it.  You know, I’m thinking… Cornish Heritage Farms could do for Sherry Nelson’s art what they did for Thomas Kinkade’s…  Hello?  Cornish Heritage Farms?  These images would probably be easier to color, too.  Not as intricate.  Oh, I’m dreaming!

I’ll leave you now with the card recipe.  I’m going to take another look at my bird stamps and see if anything strikes my fancy.  I’ll be back as soon as I can comfortably find the time.  I hope you have an absolutely wonderful day!

Stamps:  Unknown, but art by Sherry Nelson  Paper:  Brocade Blue, watercolor  Ink:  Palette Noir, various SU! inks (pads, reinkers, markers) for watercoloring  Accessories:  Ribbon, pearls, Scotch brand foam mounting tape

Hello, friends!  Just wrapping things up…  If you played in Flourishes By The Sea challenge, be sure to check the Flourishes Newletter Saturday, July 11, at noon central time for an extra surprise.  It’s something you won’t want to miss!

The sets we’ve been previewing this week are now available in the store.  Here’s a quick look:

 Strawberries

Seaside Life

Beach Life

Aren’t they wonderful?

And here’s one last card for now with the Strawberries set, watercolored this time, and using retired SU! designer papers on a sturdy Classic White card base:

I’m ready to kick back and take it easy for the weekend.  How about you?  I’ll see you again on Monday!

The last, but certainly not least, of this week’s Flourishes previews is this set called Beach Life.  I’ve certainly enjoyed working with the new sets this month since each set provides such a nice variety of images which can be used as the focal point, as well as those which play a supporting role.

The main image on this card, of course, is the palm trees and hammock.  The water lapping along the shoreline is another stamp which I stamped three times to get the length of shoreline I desired.  I drew the water’s horizon line, then watercolored the image with Stampin’ Up! inks.  A single pair of flip flops stamped repeatedly created a border which I colored up all beachy and fun with SU! markers.

One last reminder:

1)  Go here and leave a comment for a chance to win Beach Life.

2)  Today, Friday, is your last opportunity to join the By the Sea challenge and try your luck at winning all three July releases.

3)  The Wounded Warrior project is a worthy and honorable mission and a fun way to show our troops we care.  Details here.

4)  Check the SCS forum for tonight’s release party, starting at 9:00 pm central.

5)  You’ll love the team’s samples for Beach Life.  I’ve been thrilled with their samples for this release, many of which I’m seeing for the first time.  Please visit:  Christine, Cindy, Faith, Julie, Latisha, Laura, and Stacy.  I think Sharon may have a sample, too.  And I believe Nancy is sharing a most wonderful Copic video tutorial for this set today.  I was very impressed!  Visit Nancy here.

That’s it for now!  I hope you’ve enjoyed this month’s previews.  It’s always fun to see new stamps, isn’t it?  Wishing you a wonderful day!

Stamps:  Beach Life  Paper:  Classic White, PTI Berry Sorbet, watercolor, Memory Box Glitterati designer paper  Ink:  Palette Umber & PTI Berry Sorbet  Accessories:  Prima flower, fuzzy brad, ticket corner punch