Running With Scissors…

What could be prettier than a cupcake frosted with violets?

When I picked up this precious little Lockhart cupcake recently I should have gotten one of those cute cupcake sentiments to go along with it.  What was I thinking?  I do like this sentiment from SU!’s retired Treat Yourself, though, and it seems to be working just fine.  I think I’ll keep it!

I colored the cupcakes with Prismacolor markers on Whisper White paper, then cut them out and popped them up on foam mounting tape.  I’ve gone head over heels for all the Martha Stewart border punches and seem to be on a mission to collect them all (in due time).  I found this one here.  I sometimes can’t decide what’s more fun — the stamps, or all the things we use to dress them up.

Well, this birthday card is ready to mail, and I’m ready to meet the work week.  I’ve got a few Father’s Day cards to share later.  I realize masculine cards aren’t as pretty as feminine cards, but I just love to stamp and I have a good time no matter what I’m working on.  Wishing you a violet cupcake kind of Monday!

Stamps:  Lockhart cupcake, sentiment from SU! Treat Yourself  Paper:  Almost Amethyst, Whisper White, PTI Lemon Tart, retired SU! designer paper  Ink:  Ranger Distress Vintage Photo, Palette Noir, Prismacolor markers  Accesories:  Ribbon, Kaiser pearls, Martha Stewart border punch, 1 3/8″ square punch, 1 1/4″ circle punch, Scotch brand foam mounting tape

 I have one last fruity card to share before I wrap things up for the weekend.  This very simple card uses Flourishes’ new Life, Love & Lemons set.  I mounted the lemon slice, the wedge, and the juice droplets all on one block and stamped it twice, then colored with Prismacolor markers.  I colored over the juicy parts with a Sakura clear glaze pen and added a little bit of Stickles glitter for sparkle.

I wondered at first what I might use this sentiment for, but this card is on it’s way to someone who has been running a little low on juice lately and perhaps this very bright and juicy card may help to perk her up a little bit.  That vivid orange certainly is an eye opener, isn’t it?  Yikes!

So, here they are…the sets we’ve been previewing this week…click for a close up:

Waterlilies  Life, Love & Lemons  Patriotism On Parade

If you love them all, they’re being offered as a New Release Bundle at a 10% discount until June 18.

I hope you all have a very happy weekend!  It looks like it’s going to be a busy one for me, but I’ve got a lot to look forward to with vacation coming up soon.  It seems the vacation preparations make one need the vacation all the more.  See you again soon!

Stamps:  Life, Love & Lemons (Flourishes)  Paper:  CTMH Orange (sanded) & Sunkiss Yellow, SU! Gable Green, white  Ink:  Ranger Distress Tea Dye, Palette Noir, Gable Green, Prismacolor markers  Accessories:  Ribbon, button, linen thread, Sakura clear glaze pen, Stickles Stardust glitter, Martha Stewart border punch

Welcome to the third day of Flourishes new release previews!  Today’s set is a great one for my American friends who need cards or projects for 4th of July, Memorial Day, any of the cards for troops programs, or anything with a patriotic, military, or even political theme.  I guess I mixed in a little bit of all that with this card.

I used five stamps from the set, and I think my favorite is the silhouette image of the children.  The set also provides the same image as a line drawing.  I was thinking 4th of July celebrations when I made this card — picnics, fireworks, small town parades – and, of course, I had to include the flag in case there was any question as to the cause for celebration.  I haven’t made a card like this in ages and I have to admit it was fun working with something other than my “usual”.

Patriotism on Parade is a stamp set with special significance.  The following is a message from Flourishes:

We know many see the Fourth of July as a day of celebration to honor the United State’s independence. But, as many military men and women will tell you, freedom is not free. In times of war, soldiers come home wounded and are in need of a hand up in life. Having deep ties to our country’s military, Flourishes wanted to be a part of the solution. We are proudly donating a portion of the proceeds of our brand new Patriotism on Parade set to the Wounded Warrior Project. It’s a not for profit whose mission is to honor and empower wounded warriors. We believe in the work they do and we can’t wait to support this group’s amazing efforts. Please click on www.woundedwarriorproject.org to learn more.

The team has some great samples to share with you, so please allow me to direct you to:   Christine, Cindy, Faith, Julie, Latisha, Laura, and Stacy.

One final reminder:  Visit here for the pre-release challenge and a chance to win all three new sets, and check in here to find the release party tonight, 9 pm central.  Go here, simply leave a comment, and you may win the Patriotism On Parade set.  All new releases will be available in the store after the release party.

Thank you so much for stopping in to visit during this busy release week!  I hope you’ve enjoyed yourself.  I’ll see you again soon!

Stamps:  Patriotism on Parade (to be released tonight by Flourishes)  Paper:  SU! Real Red and Whisper White, CTMH Clover Meadow (sanded), Frances Meyer gingham designer paper  Ink:  Adirondack Pitch Black, SU! Real Red and Summer Sun, Prismacolor Crimson marker, Sharpie fine-tipped blue marker  Accessories:  Ribbon, brads, Scotch brand foam mounting tape

Hello, again!  Today I’m sharing an easy as pie citrus cake, made with the soon to be released Life, Love & Lemons.  This set is so much fun, and you’re certainly not locked into lemons with the citrus slice.  However, you can create some beautiful designs with the lemon specific stamps in this set.  You’ll want to visit the rest of Flourishes designers to see what can be done with a variety of lemon-flavored images:    Christine, Cindy, Faith, Julie, Latisha, Laura, and Stacy.

I considered masking the citrus slice when I set out to make my cake, but I thought “no, let’s keep this simple”.  After all, it’s just a bit of whimsy; it doesn’t have to be that realistic.  As if a cake would actually look like this, anyway!

The slices are stamped in Yo Yo Yellow, Green Galore, and Only Orange, then sponged lightly with the same color inks (Gable Green for the lime slice).  The rinds were colored in with matching markers.  Each section was punched with a corner rounder, then frosting added with a Martha Stewart border punch.  I added a drop of Stickles Stardust glitter to the peak of each scallop.  The cake layers are taped together on the back, and it’s mounted on the card with foam tape (dimensional).  The birthday greeting is from the Sweet Violets set, and the rhinestones are from Flourishes, as well.

To make the plate, I used a scrap of white, punched the corners of one end, then lobbed off 1/4″ of the rounded end.

To make the scalloped frosting I punched all the way across the 8 1/2″ edge of white cardstock, then trimmed off that end, just above the teardrops.  So the scallops would situate evenly on each end, I positioned the scallops with the entire length intact, and trimmed the edges, then moved on to the next layer.  The photo below may help to illustrate.  I should also mention that I rounded the cake layers first, added frosting, then punched the frosting corners.  Those smaller punches don’t usually have enough strength to do two layers at once.

Orange:  3″ wide x 1 5/8″ tall

Lime:  2 1/2″ wide x 1 3/8″ tall

Lemon:  2″ wide x 1 1/8″ tall

Well, that was fun!  One last word (or two)… Visit here for the pre-release challenge and a chance to win all three new sets, and check in here to find the release party this Friday night, 9 pm central.  Go here, simply leave a comment, and you may win the Life, Love & Lemons set.  All new releases will be available in the store after the release party.

There’s one more set to preview tomorrow.  I’ll see you then!  Have a great day!

Stamps:  Life, Love & Lemons (soon to be released by Flourishes)  Paper:  Whisper White, Me & My Big Ideas designer paper  Ink:  Yo Yo Yellow, Green Galore, Gable Green, Only Orange, Palette Noir  Accessories:  Ribbon, rhinestones, Prima flowers, Martha Stewart border punch, corner rounder punch, Scotch brand foam mounting tape

I’m always excited to see what’s coming next from Flourishes, and they never fail to surprise and delight me when I see the new sets for the first time.  This month they’ve done it again –  I wasn’t expecting a waterlily set.

I felt inspired to create something very soothing and peaceful with these images, and I thought this perfect as a sympathy card, or anytime you’d wish to send caring thoughts to a troubled soul.  Actually, there are a lot of uses for a card like this:  hello, goodbye, get well…

I colored this with Prismacolor markers and painted the water with SU!’s Sage Shadow ink.  Since I was using regular white cardstock, rather than watercolor paper, I had to go very lightly with the water, but the effect turned out to be exactly what I was looking for — soft.  I felt ribbon would have spoiled the effect, but I couldn’t resist adding the pearls.  I hope you enjoy it!

Please visit the other Flourishes designers for more samples with the Waterlilies set.  Each one is very different from the next and they’re all beautiful:    Christine, Cindy, Faith, Julie, Latisha, Laura, and Stacy.

Visit here for the pre-release challenge and a chance to win all three new sets, and check in here to find the release party this Friday night, 9 pm central.  The length of the party has been reduced to an hour for the summer, hoping to make it easier for folks to attend, considering all the outdoor activities this time of year.  And — don’t miss out on this — go here, simply leave a comment, and you may win the Waterlilies set.  All new releases will be available in the store after the release party.  Thank you for joining me for today’s preview.  I’ll have more tomorrow!  Wishing you a peaceful day.

Stamps:  Waterlilies (to be released by Flourishes Friday night)  Paper:  Sage Shadow, white  Ink:  Ranger Distress Tea Dye, Sage Shadow, Prismacolor markers  Accessories:  Kaiser flat-backed pearls

Greetings, everyone, and happy Monday!  Today I’m sharing a card I made just for fun when I should have been doing dozens of other things, but all work and no play…well, it gets the laundry done, the house cleaned, and the paycheck earned, but it also makes Leslie a dull girl.

Did I go overboard with the brads do you think?  Gosh, I’ve had them for years, and I have so many new embellishments.  It’s time to make room.  These little brads were taking up so much space, you know…  That’s the last of these particular flower brads…they were fun while they lasted.

The flower pot and sentiment are from Flourishes’ Mixed Greetings set.  I embossed the pot with brown embossing powder and colored it with SU! markers in Saffron and Mustard, allowing that little bit of shine in the center of the pot.  I cut out the pot and placed it within the frame and then arranged the brads.  The Memory Box Bamboo cardstock is lightly sanded, and the frame is made with Spellbinders oval dies in two sizes, fit one over the other and the edges trimmed flush.

It’s a very simple card, really.  I’ve been busy stamping for Flourishes’ upcoming release previews (beginning Wednesday), and have had little time to spare, so I’m happy to have this momentary diversion to share with you.  Back to work, now!  Take care, and have a fabulous Monday!

Stamps:  Mixed Greetings  Paper:  Memory Box Bamboo, Neenah Classic Solar White, Wild Asparagus designer paper  Ink:  Versamark, Palette Umber, SU! markers for coloring  Accessories:  Ribbon, brads, brown embossing powder, Spellbinders oval dies, Scotch brand foam mounting tape

The time of month has rolled around again for Flourishes’ Pre-release Challenge.  Everyone is encouraged to play, whether you have Flourishes stamps or not.  When you participate, you’ll be entered in a drawing for all three of Flourishes’ June releases which we’ll begin previewing next week.  Please read all the details of this month’s challenge on the Flourishes Newsletter.

Our challenge this month is to make an “easy breezy” summery card.  With all the busy fair-weather activities this time of year, this is a challenge I need.  In fact, I need to get better at this sort of card, in general.  It’s a matter of changing my mind set, I guess…thinking in a different direction.

What I’m sharing today is a card that was unbelievably quick and easy to stamp and assemble.  There’s no time consuming coloring or intricate layout — just two stamps and a bow.  I used Birds & Vine and Timeless Quotes to make a wedding card for a friend who, like me, thought the quote was perfect.  The vine is stamped once, and the leaves half-colored with a water-based marker — one stroke per leaf.  I dotted the flowers with a Sakura Souffle pen (purchased locally).  I stamped the sentiment, then adhered the silk ribbon bow to the card with a spot of Aleene’s Tacky Glue and…done!  Wow!  That felt good!

The rest of the team has some easy-peasy summer breezy cards to share with you also.  I haven’t seen them all yet, myself, and I’m looking forward to picking up some ideas.  Let’s go have a look:   Christine, Cindy, Faith, Julie, Latisha, Laura, and Stacy.

By the way, it’s been raining cats and dogs here the last few days — not very summer breezy at all.  I hope you’re enjoying better weather.  Have a wonderful day!

Stamps:  Birds & Vine, Timeless Quotes  Paper:  Pink Pirouette, Whisper White  Ink:  Certainly Celery, Lavender Lace, Certainly Celery marker, Sakura Souffle pen  Accessories:  Silk ribbon

Okay, so I haven’t been very good about my monthly Christmas card self-challenge, but I hope by making three cards this month I’ve made up for my negligence somewhat.  After all, it’s only June, right?  This brings me up to five cards, total.  Hmmmm…I’ll need a lot more…  As much fun as I had making these, I feel ready to make more right away.  But I won’t.  Time will go by and I’ll have to talk myself into it again.

I used Stampin’ Up!’s Holiday Lineup for all three cards and kept them lightweight for no extra postage.  The ribbon knots on the first card are a little bulky, though.  I would have done better with taffeta or organdy ribbon.  It would be easy enough to change but, darn, I like the color…sigh… 

All the images are colored with Prismacolor markers on Whisper White paper.  Here’s the recipe for the first card:

Stamps:  Holiday Lineup, Many Merry Messages  Paper:  Bavo Burgundy, Kiwi Kiss, Whisper White, BasicGrey Figgy Pudding designer paper  Ink:  Ranger Distress Walnut Stain, Craft White, Prismacolor markers  Accessories:  Olive polytwill ribbon, eyelets, 1 1/4″ and 3/4″ square punches, Scotch brand foam mounting tape

The next card has some designer paper layers, but still lightweight enough for minimal postage.  The taffeta ribbon bow lays very flat, especially when placed next to the image panel, which is raised on foam mounting tape.  I placed a resin page pebble over the “Let it snow” words, trimmed around it and glued it over the ribbon for a virtually bulk-free embellishment.  Some piercing and scallops add to the design without adding layers.  On the first two cards I sponged around the edges of the card base with Craft White (pigment ink) for a snowy look.  Recipe:

Stamps:  Holiday Lineup, Glad Tidings  Paper:  Riding Hood Red, Whisper White, Memory Box Winterberry designer paper  Ink:  Ranger Distress Walnut Stain, Craft White, Prismacolor markers  Accessories:  Riding Hood Red taffeta ribbon, page pebble, SU! scallop border punch, Scotch brand foam mounting tape

These guys appear to be expressing some surprise and perhaps a little envy over Rudolph’s exceptional nose, but a little envy among friends can be dealt with, if not overcome.  I was looking for a suitable sentiment to use with this and wound up liking this one by Rubbernecker.  There’s a little glitter on Rudolph’s nose.  Recipe:

Stamps:  Holiday Lineup (SU!), sentiment by Rubbernecker  Paper:  Chocolate Chip, Very Vanilla, Riding Hood Red, Close to Cocoa textured, designer paper (maker unknown)  Ink:  Ranger Distress Walnut Stain, Prismacolor markers  Accessories:  Ribbon, eyelets, glitter, Scotch brand foam mounting tape

I’m glad you could stop by, and I sure hope you enjoyed these silly cards at least a lttle bit.  They did keep me smiling while I was working on them!  Have a great day!

I had to borrow this Stampin’ Up! Bareback set to fulfill a friend’s request for her daughter’s birthday card.  I try to have a well-rounded stamp collection, but this time the request was for either horses or turtles, and I have neither.  I do have one turtle stamp but it just didn’t seem quite right.  So, horses it is!

I did 100% stamping on this card (no designer paper) and thoroughly enjoyed it.  All stamps and supplies are from Stampin’ Up! except the ribbon slide, which is one of Flourishes’ new Finishing Touches.  Flannel Plaid and Just Jeans are two of SU!’s most practical background stamps and, sadly, both retired.  In fact, I believe all the stamps I used are retired.  I’m not sure about Baroque Motifs.  I really can’t keep track anymore; they come and go so quickly.

All coloring was done with Prismacolor markers on watercolor paper, except the sky, which is watercolored.  The card is 5 1/4″ square.  I’ve got lots more stamping to do — running behind, as usual — so I need to rush off, but the card recipe, below, provides a complete listing of supplies used.  Have a happy day!

Stamps:  Bareback, Flannel Plaid, Just Jeans, By Definition, Baroque Motifs, Toile Blossoms, Warm Words  Paper:  So Saffron, Certainly Celery, Whisper White, watercolor  Ink:  Palette Umber, So Saffron, Certainly Celery, Brocade Blue, Bashful Blue (sky), Prismacolor markers  Accessories:  Polytwill ribbon, ribbon slide, Spellbinders dies (for cutting the image panel and mat), Scotch brand foam mounting tape

This is the card I would have shared yesterday if my blog had not crashed.  Oops!  I made it to go along with Laura’s focus on Crystal Clear Cardstock which she wrote about on the Flourishes Newsletter.  It’s a great post with pretty samples and good information…you can see it here.

I didn’t do anything particularly brilliant with my clear cardstock.  I was determined to use up some bits and pieces — designer paper scraps with a hole already cut, and an image already stamped and waiting to be colored.  I sandwiched the clear cardstock between layers and stamped “for you” in Stazon ink.  I added the scalloped frame, lacy borders, and polka dot ribbon to try to cheer up the colors.  The ribbon slide is one of Flourishes new Finishishing Touches embellishments, from the Stunning Slides package.  Oh, I love them all and I’ll be using them alot!  Good thing there are 18 slides in a package…  They’re lightweight and rather low profile, too, so they don’t add much bulk to the card front.

  The thumbnail is a peek at the inside of the card.  You can click on it for a larger view.  It’s not the whole inside, just a cropped out view of the stamp and sentiment.  I colored the DIY Topiary rose tree with Prismacolor markers on watercolor paper, cut it out, and adhered it to the vanilla cardstock which lines the inside of the card.  To determine proper placement of the rose tree in the window, I closed the card — with the hole already cut in the card front, but additional layers not yet added — and traced the hole in a light pencil line onto the vanilla lining.  That showed me where the window would be.  After the rose tree was glued in place, I erased the line.

In addition to Laura’s wonderfully creative samples, you’ll love Christine’s Clearly Strutting beautifully colored peacock, and Cindy’s lovely rose card with rhinestone centers in her floral brads.  Faith has shared two cards with the new BasicGrey Wisteria paper and added touches of clear cardstock and the new Mini Messages metal tags.  And wait till you see Julie’s gold embossed and delicately colored Nasturtiums on embossed vellum and clear cardstock — wow!  Brace yourself for Latisha’s stunning clear card, decorated in plum and black.  I just about fell over!

Let’s all have ourselves a happy and restful weekend, now, and savor every moment of it.  Monday will come all too soon, or maybe not soon enough, depending upon your perspective.  I’m wishing you whatever your heart desires.  Take care!

Stamps:  DIY Topiary, Daffodils (for you sentiment), Flourished Words (inside)  Paper:  Chocolate Chip, Cameo Coral, Crystal Clear Cardstock, Very Vanilla, Wild Asparagus double-sided designer paper  Ink:  Palette Umber, Timber Brown Stazon, Prismacolor markers for coloring  Accessories:  Ribbon, ribbon slide from Flourishes new Stunning Slides collection (Finishing Touches), brad, SU! photo corner punch, Martha Stewart lace border punch, Spellbinders circle dies