Running With Scissors…

Hello!  Today I’m here to share a card I made for my favorite-to-date Flourishes challenge.  This is what we call the Pre-Release Challenge, which means next week we’ll begin sharing previews of the November releases.  Everyone can participate in the Pre-Release Challenge, whether you have Flourishes stamps or not.  Even if you don’t have a blog or gallery where you can post your card publicly, you may enjoy playing along with the challenge.  Please read the Flourishes Newsletter here for all the details of entering the challenge.  As always, the randomly selected winner will receive every stamp set that’s being released this month.  It’s well worth the effort because you never know when your day to win will arrive.

The gist of the challenge is to be inspired in some way by the words to the song, My Favorite Things, which has become a Christmastime favorite, even though it was not originally written as a Christmas song.  We’d like to know which line of the lyrics you used for inspiration when you share your card or project.  I’ve never looked at these lyrics from this point of view before, and I find there is no single line which doesn’t inspire me.  I must tell you, I’ve been walking around singing this song, hearing Julie Andrews’ beautiful voice, and just generally feeling happy because of it.  We’ve condensed the lyrics to include only the list of favorite things:

Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens
Bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens
Brown paper packages tied up with strings
These are a few of my favorite things

Cream colored ponies and crisp apple streudels
Doorbells and sleigh bells and schnitzel with noodles
Wild geese that fly with the moon on their wings
These are a few of my favorite things

Girls in white dresses with blue satin sashes
Snowflakes that stay on my nose and eyelashes
Silver white winters that melt into springs
These are a few of my favorite things

With hardly a second’s thought I was inspired by the line, Silver white winters that melt into springs.  So here’s my silver white winter that looks a long way from melting into spring — a snowy white card base with silver embossed trees, sponged with a winter sky, and speaking of Christmas.

Don’t you love those big close ups when you click on a card, that really let you see all the detail and texture?  WordPress blogs won’t let you do that.  There’s a limit on the file size, so the best we WordPress folk can do is make the original photo as large as possible and perhaps show an isolated area in a larger view.

For those of you who may wonder, here’s a photo of how I cut the card with the curve along the bottom:

The card when folded is 5 1/2″ x 4 1/4″.  Place the die over the folded card so the cutting edge rests only along the lower edge of the card.  You can easily cut through two layers of cardstock at once.  It will cut about 1/2″ off the lower edge, but you’ll gain that many times over in aesthetics.

To wrap things up…  I’ve enjoyed seeing the teams’ cards and reading which line in the song inspired them.  Let’s take the tour:  Christine, Cindy, Julie, Latisha, Laura, and Stacy    I hope you’ll enjoy this bit of fun and inspiration today.  Product links are in the recipe, below.  Have a wonderful weekend!

Stamps:  Forest of Trees, Holiday Greetings  Paper:  Classic White  Ink:  Versamark, Soft Sky, Bayou Blue  Accessories:  Ribbon, pearls, Spellbinders Curved Rectangles Nestabilities and Flourish Accents Shapeabilities, silver detail embossing powder, Scotch brand foam mounting tape

I guess the logo pretty much tells the story, doesn’t it?

Well, maybe not quite the whole story.  When I was invited to do a guest spot for FireCracker Designs by Pamela I was told I could browse the store and pick out a set with which I would make six cards for the month of November.  So, I set off to shop, thinking, hmmmmm…. what set would be versatile enough for six different cards in one month, be fun to work with, appropriate for the Fall season, yet something I could enjoy throughout the year?   How about Fall Flowers?  The set has this flower in two sizes, as well as leaves and clever sentiments.  The flower can be either a Black-Eyed Susan, or a Purple Coneflower, and I think you can guess which flower I chose for today’s card.  Pamela was nice enough to surprise me with an additional set of sentiments, primarily Fall related, and I isolated one word from that Fall Quotes set by stamping the whole sentiment and simply cutting out the “Thanks”.

I stamped one flower three times and used the masking technique to create this garden vignette.  They’re stamped with Palette Burnt Umber on watercolor paper and watercolored with ink and markers — mauve, burgundy, green, and chocolate.  The halo is saffron and mustard.  I thought I’d use warm colors for the Fall season, and once I’d settled on these colors and made the card, I wasn’t so sure about my choices.  One can make many decisions during the creative process, and go in a number of different directions, and it’s that very fact which has me at my stamp table much longer than necessary.  At some point I have to stop imagining all the color and design possibilities, the moods, the styles… and simply put the card together.

The fact is, this is not my first version of this card.  The other one looked busy and clunky, and while there were certain things I liked about it (colors, for instance), it just didn’t set well with me.  So I pulled it apart and reworked it into this simpler design and questionable colors.  Ah, well… variety is the spice of life.  I hope Pamela doesn’t mind the switch.  It was too late to email the new version to her.  She’ll have the original on the Firecracker Blog today, if you’re curious.

I’d just like to send out a thank you to Pamela for allowing me the opportunity to design with her stamps.  I’ve been having fun so far, and I hope you’ll enjoy it a little bit, too.  Thank you!

Stamps:  Fall Flowers, Fall Quotes (FireCracker)  Paper:  Bravo Burgundy textured, More Mustard, watercolor, BasicGrey Perhaps designer paper  Ink:  Palette Umber, various SU! inks for watercoloring  Accessories:  Ribbon, pearls, Spellbinders Labels Four dies, Cuttlebug Textile embossing folder, Scotch brand foam mounting tape

I have a another Christmas card made with the Dove and Holly set from Flourishes.  When I was playing with this set earlier, I couldn’t help but notice how pretty the image looked when stamped without any coloring at all.  It’s so sweet and finely illustrated, it stands very nicely on its own, so I thought I might give it a try “as is” on a card.

I did feel like coloring something, though, so I draped a garland of holly along the top and colored with Copics — Evergreen and Hollyhock Collections.  I glittered the holly and cut out an extra sprig to pop up with the silver cord bow.  The wide silk ribbon gathers nicely through the silver slide and makes a good substitution for a bow when you’re wanting a card that’s easy to mail.

As for the doves, they’re stamped in Sahara Sand — close enough to green to coordinate with the holly leaves — and the sentiment is nice and crisp in Purely Pomegranate.  A dainty Swiss Dot background and the embossed edges of the raised sentiment panel  give it a little more dimension and textural interest without adding extra weight and bulk.

Well, there’s another Christmas card done.  My pile is growing!  I’m glad you could stop by today.  Happy stamping!

Stamps:  Dove and Holly  Paper:  Flourishes Classic White  Ink:  Sahara Sand, Purely Pomegranate, Ranger Distress Walnut Stain, Copics for coloring  Accessories:  Silk ribbon, Flourishes Finishing Touches ribbon slide, glitter, Spellbinders Curved Rectangle die, Cuttlebug Swiss Dot embossing folder, Scotch brand foam mounting tape

Today the Flourishes team is coloring up the seasons.  I was feeling sorry for Fall, having been neglecting it, so I colored some Falling Leaves and dressed them up with ribbon and bling and autumn-hued papers.

The center panel is Classic Ivory which I stamped first with a few of the small solid image leaves in regular dye-based vanilla ink.  I stamped the outline leaves right on top of the solid leaves and colored with Prismacolor markers.  The main image panel is lightly edged with saffron ink, then layered onto four more mats.  The chocolate mat is embossed with the Cuttlebug Textile embossing folder.  The leaf bling is something I found last year on the button rack at Wal-Mart.  I adhered them with Crystal Effects and sprinkled rhinestones throughout.

There are more layers here than I usually put on a card, but I was in the mood for sculpting when I made this.  Whenever I thought I was done layering, I told myself, “no, just add one or two more layers”.  It was rather a matter of reverse discipline.  I also have a tendency to want to let more of the designer paper show, but even a little peeking around the edges is better than having it tucked away in the cupboard.  It’s not as though I don’t have designer paper to spare…  And the extra bling — well, gosh, I’ve got drawers full of fancies I could not resist… I’m very good at collecting… well, you see where I’m going with that.  Might as well have some fun with it, even if the darn thing has to be mailed in a box!

Latisha has written an article on the Newsletter with some beautiful Autumn samples and lovely ideas and coloring tips.  Oh, those wonderful colors of Autumn!  Let’s see what the rest of the team has colored today:   Cindy, Julie, Latisha, Laura, and Stacy

Oh, and by the way, TGIF!  I couldn’t be happier!  Have a wonderful weekend!

Stamps:  Falling Leaves  Paper:  Chocolate Chip, Ruby Red, More Mustard, Classic Ivory, 7 Gypsies Gypsy Market designer paper  Ink:  Memento Rich Cocoa, vanilla, saffron, chocolate, Prismacolor markers for coloring  Accessories:  Ribbon, copper cord, rhinestones & rhinestone leaves, Cuttlebug Textile embossing folder

I recently borrowed this Stampin’ Up! Home for Christmas set from a friend, and stamped out two of these images — one on watercolor paper for watercoloring, and one on Whisper White for coloring with my Prismacolor markers.  When I decided this weekend to finally color it, I thought, oh, my goodness, look at the detail.  There’s no reason why it couldn’t be watercolored, but I wanted this time to bring out the detail so I could get a good look at the rustic, homey scene.

On the Creamy Caramel card base I stamped the Linen background in Creamy Caramel, and added some Hero Arts snowflakes in red, hunter, and chocolate.  The Happy Holidays sentiment circle is SU!’s retired Riveting, brown embossed and colored with Prismas.  A little holiday sparkle was brought to the scene with a touch of glitter here and there.

I used something new to me to help maintain some of the detail in the image, and that is Prismacolor Premier Illustration markers.  They’re not something you can use for blending and shading, because they most certainly do not blend.  They’re wonderful, though, for tiny lines and dots, and for restoring some of the detail which can become obscured with coloring.  They may not blend, but they also don’t bleed, so you can work in that detail with confidence, right over top of your other coloring.

I used a spruce green for the door garland, and brown and blue for the twig wreath.  I also used the green for the narrow strap on the sled, and brown for the runners and nail heads.  They worked beautifully for those details.  If only they came in more colors… 

They do come in several different tip sizes and styles, from the tiniest fine point, to a small chisel tip, but my absolute favorite is the small brush tip.  Very pointy and firm, it’s great for brushing on a tiny stroke of color — brush and lift — without getting that little blob at the end of the stroke which tends to show up with ball tips.  I’ve pictured it here next to Prismacolor’s regular tip and Copic’s brush tip just for a frame of reference.

It would make me very happy if Prismacolor would put this small brush tip on one end of their blendable alcohol markers, with a larger brush tip on the other end, but that’s just from my stamper’s coloring point of view.  As for these non-blendable finer tipped illustration markers in their limited color palette, if you’re interested in illustrating, journaling, or doodling, they’re just the ticket.

Well, there’s another Christmas card done, and it’s an easy mailer, too.  I’m making good progress, but I seem to be skipping right over Fall.  This always happens, and it’s my favorite season… sigh…  During my favorite season, I spend more time outside enjoying it than I do stamping cards for it, though, so I guess it’s not all bad.  A whole weekend just went by and I managed to make one card, tsk, tsk.  Back to work, now.  Hopefully, I’ll have more to share later.  Enjoy your Monday!

Stamps:  Home for Christmas, Linen, Riveting (all Stampin’ Up!), Hero Arts snowflakes  Paper:  Creamy Caramel, Handsome Hunter, Real Red, Whisper White  Ink:  Ranger Distress Walnut Stain, Creamy Caramel, Chocolate Chip, Handsome Hunter, Real Red, Versamark, Prismacolor markers for coloring  Accessories:  Ribbon, eyelet border punch, double rectangle punch, glitter, embossing powder, Scotch brand foam mounting tape

What a fun idea Christine had when she suggested the Flourishes team focus on cards with fancy folds this week!  You’ll see two different folds when you visit Christine on the Newsletter where she shares her very pretty cards, with a tutorial for one and a linked tutorial for the other.  Each team member is sharing a different fold idea today:  Christine, Cindy, Julie, Latisha, and Stacy.  Great stuff!

I’ve made a double accordian gatefold card that stays closed without tying.  I found the basic instructions for this fold on my Score-Pal packaging, then modified it a bit and wrote a tutorial a while back, which can be seen –> here.

The card, itself, is made entirely of double-sided designer paper.  With the folds, and with additional paper layered on for decoration, it’s quite sturdy as well as being pretty inside, out, and backwards.  The main image on this card, as you can see, of course, is one of my Seasonal Wreath stamps, colored for Autumn and cut with a Spellbinders Labels One die.  I sponged a little Caramel ink around the edges, then pressed the panel into my Versamark pad and embossed with ultra thick embossing powder.  I repeated the embossing once to create a nice, smooth finish.  The embossing process curled the image panel a bit so, to sturdy it up, I cut another Spellbinders shape from lightweight cardboard and adhered the two panels together.

The photo turn, placed just so, holds the card in the closed position.  All the brad prongs are hidden under paper layers.  The next picture shows how the card opens and gives just a teensy glimpse at the inside.

I made this into a birthday card for my husband, so I used rather masculine colors and papers.  He didn’t mind the bow one bit and was very appreciative of the construction…shhhhhhhh…I didn’t tell him how really easy it was.

Between the tutorial and the recipe, below, I think I’ve got everything covered, so I’ll leave you with that and a wish for a wonderful weekend.  Happy everything to all!

Stamps:  Seasonal Wreaths, Flourished Words (both outside), Flourished Elements, Many Sentiments (inside)  Paper:  Cosmo Cricket Wanted designer paper, Classic Ivory  Ink:  Palette Umber, Chocolate Chip, Creamy Caramel, Sage Shadow, Pumpkin Pie marker for coloring  Accessories:  Ribbon, copper cord, brads, photo turn, 1/2″ and 5/8″ circle punches, small oval punch, Martha Stewart border punch, Spellbinders Labels One Nesties, ultra-thick embossing powder

I have a thank you card today which somewhat resembles the gift it was made for.  I’ve used Stampin’ Up!’s Floral background in Pink Pirouette, and Illuminations embossed in gold.  My pink is a lighter shade than the soap packaging, but since Pink Pirouette is my most favorite of all pinks… close enough!

Illuminations is a set that didn’t last long in the catalog.  I must have been one of very few people who liked it (still do).  Too fancy, maybe?  But it’s so pretty!  It fits this Spellbinders Labels Four shape perfectly, and would easily make such a nice gift set…hmmmm…thinking…

To go along with the pretty stamps, I made a Cuttlebug embossed panel with the Diamonds in the Rough folder and sponged the pattern with Craft White (pigment ink).  The layered flower is one of my Wal-Mart beauties I wrote about here, and the center embellishment is from Flourishes Finishing Touches Beautiful Brads collection.  The ribbon is a delicious crushed velvet I’ve been hoarding long enough, and it’s now going to a very special friend.

Thank you for visiting with me on this lovely Fall day!  Take good care!

Stamps:  Illuminations, Floral (both Stampin’ Up!)  Paper:  Pink Pirouette, Whisper White  Ink:  Pink Pirouette, Versamark, Craft White  Accessories:  Crushed velvet ribbon, silk flowers, gold flower brad, gold detail embossing powder, Spellbinders Labels Four die, Cuttlebug Diamonds in the Rough embossing folder, Scotch brand foam mounting tape

I’m making an abrupt switch from Christmas to Halloween today.  My friend asked if I would make Halloween cards for her grandchildren, so this was the next project on my list.  I have nothing new that would be entirely appropriate for very small children, and I didn’t want to use the same stamps as last year, so I pulled out some old DJ Inker stamps.

I’ve always liked these two stamps — the ghosts and the sentiment — and I think I’ll keep them a while longer.  I did the coloring with Prismacolor markers and used non-Halloween papers for a bright and cheery card, playful in nature.  The following recipe gives all the ingredients of this card:

Stamps:  DJ Inkers  Paper:  Pumpkin Pie, Whisper White, My Mind’s Eye Kaleidoscope designer paper  Ink:  Adirondack Pitch Black, Prismacolor markers for coloring  Accessories:  Ribbon, brads, Spellbinders oval Nestabilities, Cuttlebug Spots & Dots embossing folder, Scotch brand foam mounting tape

For the next card I reached back…back…far into the depths of my Halloween drawer for more DJ Inkers, which are now on the give-away pile.  I really need some new child-appropriate Halloween stamps.  This card is a little more involved, and I didn’t intend it to be so, but it just grew and grew…

The happy little witch is just a head and shoulders image, so I decided to put her behind a fence which I constructed from a Martha Stewart punch.  I punched a border along the designer paper, then cut it apart and glued each “board” to two horizontal strips of cardstock.  Can you tell that’s supposed to be grass growing along the base of the fence?  I hope so.  It’s frayed grosgrain ribbon — trim off one finished edge, then pull threads.

The background is brayered, with a little bit of sponging, then the trees (old CTMH) stamped over top.  The moon was added as an afterthought, which is why it’s overlapping the tree top ever so slightly.  To make the moon, I punched a 1 3/8″ circle, then trimmed away part of it to create a crescent.  The bat and the fence and witch are on dimensional foam mounting tape.  The Happy Halloween sign was made from my Whipper Snapper Hocus Pocus set.

I’d like to do a couple more Halloween cards, time willing.  They certainly are fun!  We’ll just have to see how it goes.  Thanks for dropping in today!  Take care!

Recipe for second card:

Stamps:  DJ Inkers witch and bat, CTMH trees, Whipper Snapper Halloween sign  Paper:  Lovely Lilac, Green Galore, Whisper White, My Mind’s Eye Kaleidoscope DP  Ink:  Adirondack Pitch Black, Ranger Big & Juicy rainbow ink pad (probably no longer available), Basic Black, Pumpkin Pie, Prismacolor markers for coloring  Accessories:  Ribbon, Martha Stewart border punch, 1 3/8″ circle punch, Scotch brand foam mounting tape

And now we’ve come to the final day of Flourishes’ October previews and one of the most beautiful Christmas wreaths that has ever graced my home.  What fun to color one little bit at a time and watch this glorious image emerge!

I used a combination of Prismacolor markers and Copics to make it nice and colorful, then added glitter for that frosty morning look.  The sentiment is from the new Musical Score & Words set.  I just realized…wouldn’t this sentiment also be great with Santa?  The wreath also comes in a smaller size if you feel like just a tad less coloring but, oh, this larger one shows the exquisite detail so beautifully.

I’ve listed details in the recipe below, so I’ll finish up with the tidbits of information I wouldn’t want you to miss out on:

• Try your luck at winning the Christmas Wreath set here with a simple comment.
• Stamp a card today and share it in the Season That Sparkles challenge and you may win all six of Flourishes’ October releases.
• Join us at the release party Friday night, 9 pm central for more prizes and fun.
• See the stunning Christmas Wreath samples the rest of the team is sharing today:  Christine, Cindy, Julie, Latisha, Laura, Stacy, and Sharon. 

Whew!  This has been some release!  Six sets, and all just wonderful.  I hope you’ve enjoyed the samples we’ve shared this week.  At midnight Friday the sets will be available in the store.  Have a great day!

Stamps:  Christmas Wreath, Musical Score & Words  Paper:  Chocolate Chip, More Mustard, Classic White, BasicGrey June Bug  Ink:  Ranger Distress Walnut Stain, Chocolate Chip, Prismacolor and Copic markers for coloring  Accessories:  Rhinestones, Spellbinders Double Ended Tags (for sentiment), glitter, Cuttlebug Swiss Dot embossing folder, Scotch brand foam mounting tape

The Holly part of today’s preview is a new background stamp, and together with this wonderful Santa marks the debut of Flourishes’ newest illustrator, Becky Fleck.  Oh, I see amazing things in Flourishes’ future as Becky joins Marcella Hawley and Lauren Pope on the Flourishes team, each of them creating some of the most beautiful designs to be found in the world of stamp images!

I had such fun creating this card!  Many of the details are lost in the photo but, perhaps, once I mention it, you can notice the flocking (with a bit of sparkle) on Santa’s beard, eyebrows, and hat trim.  His spectacle rims are colored with a Sakura gold glitter pen, and the lenses are made glassy with Crystal Effects.  The rest of the Santa image was colored with soft chalks, except the holly sprig which was colored with Copics from the Evergreen Collection, and the berries are a cluster of pearls.

To make the Holly background, I sponged vanilla ink on Classic Ivory cardstock, then stamped the Musical Score background (previewed earlier this week) in caramel.  The Holly background was stamped over top of that, then layered on Memory Box Winterberry, Mellow Moss, and Riding Hood Red.  The card is 5 1/4″ square.  I hesitated to add the bow but, gosh, Santa puts all those pretty bows on his packages, so I thought he probably wouldn’t mind.

• Take a chance on winning the Holly Background and the Santa, I Believe set –> here.
• To play the challenge which may win you all six October releases, visit –> here.
• To celebrate the release with games, chat, and prizes, let’s meet at the release party Friday night, 9:00 pm central –> here.
• Some utterly fabulous cards with today’s preview sets can be seen by visiting:   Christine, Cindy, Julie, Latisha, Laura, Stacy, and Sharon.

One more preview tomorrow will wrap things up.  Take care, and have a wonderful day!

Stamps:  Holly Background; Santa, I Believe  Paper:  Riding Hood Red, Mellow Moss, Memory Box Winterberry, Flourishes Classic Ivory  Ink:  Ranger Distress Walnut Stain, Riding Hood Red, Creamy Caramel, vanilla, Always Artichoke, Copics for coloring holly sprig  Accessories:  Ribbon, pearls, soft chalks, Sakura gold glitter pen, Crystal Effects, Sparkle Fluff (flocking), Scotch brand foam mounting tape