Timeless Tuesday #228: Seeing Clearly & It's Reveal Week!

Welcome to Day 1 of the Flourishes July Reveal Week!  Yeehaw!  Are you as excited as I am about seeing what Flourishes has to offer this month?!  We are simply giddy about introducing our first of FOUR new stamp sets this month.  Don't forget, you'll have many instances to WIN some of our new stamp sets for your very own! And this, our first new stamp set....

...are as though they are fresh clipped from the garden.  These breathtaking Dahlias would be a prize on any card or creation. Illustrated by Marcella Hawley, this 4 by 6" set features two gorgeous main images plus five all occasion sentiments, perfect for all kinds of creations.

AND...here's one way to win this gorgeous new stamp set for your collection...

You need to find out who today's Mystery Blogger is!  Hidden among the Design Team is one Designer who has this set to give away. Comment on that blog and you could win today's beautiful Dahlias stamp set!

Now...on to our challenge...

This week our hostess is the super talented Deborah, and her challenge is Seeing Clearly.  You just need to create a project or card that incorporates acetate. It could be a card base, embellishment, layer, etc. For my project, I made a magic card. You can find the tutorial I used on the SplitcoastStampers site.

This is what the card looks like closed. I just LOVE the new Dahlia stamp set! Even uncolored, this image is beautiful.

Before making this card, I had never seen the "magic" actually work in a magic card. And, even though I made this card, and I know exactly how the magic works, it is still amazing to see. I added the two little tabs on the top and bottom on the right side of the card to keep the acetate from shifting too much over the colored image.

Ta Da! It's magic! ;) Isn't that just the coolest!!!  As pretty as the Dahlia was uncolored, it's stunning with color. And, it was so easy to color with Copics, I ended up coloring three of them (so you'll see it again in later projects). I used my Copic airbursh to color the blue background. 

The magic is all happening on the front of a top-fold card, so there is also a sentiment on the inside. And, the little dahlia in the vase is a portion of the second image in the Dahlia set. 

Today we have both our Flourishes Finest Design Team AND our Friends of Flourishes Team sharing their "Seeing Clearly" inspirations with you!  Take a moment and leave some love on all of our designers' blogs for your chance to win this gorgeous new stamp set.

• Allison Cope
• Broni Holcombe
• Cheryl Lea - that's me!
• Christine Okken
• Cindy Lawrence
• Deborah Anton
• Heather Jensen
• Jenny Gropp
• Judy Rozema
• Julie Koerber
• Katie Sims
• Makiko Jones
• Silke Ledlow
• Stacy Morgan
• Tosha Leyendekker
• Margaret Gilmer, our July guest designer

You are definitely going to want this set!!! Here's how to play along for a chance to win it:

CHALLENGE RULES

HOW TO PLAY: Everyone can PLAY and anyone can WIN!  Here’s how you can win…

• Create a new card or paper-crafted project fitting the challenge.  Flourishes stamps are not required, but if you’ve got them, why not use them?
• Why not use Flourishes stamps on your creation?!? You will receive two ballots towards our weekly prize if you use our stamps!  Hooray!
• Include a link back to this challenge in your blog post or gallery upload.
• Please ensure that you read the challenge specifics carefully.  Please clarify in your blog post, how your creation specifically meets our challenge.
• If you upload to Splitcoaststampers, please use the keyword FTTC228.
• One random winner will be picked from all of the entries to win the ENTIRE July release!!!
• Deadline to enter is next Monday at 6:00 p.m. EST.

Thanks for stopping by today and we look forward to seeing what you create!  

Have fun hopping along and good luck!

~Hugs,

 

Supplies:

Plus these Copics: C2, RV63, YG00, BG10

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Timeless Tuesday #227: Going in Circles

Hi there! Are you ready for another Timeless Tuesday Challenge? This week, Judy has give us the challenge to make a CIRCLE CARD. I love this kind of challenge, because it's wide open for just about anything you want to do that fits on your circle! So you can be as creative as you desire. All the details for the challenge are here.


For my card, I chose the gorgeous Tiger Lily stamp from the A Year in Flowers 2 stamp set. I stamped it on Flourishes Classic White Cardstock in Rich Cocoa Memento Ink, rather than black, to give the flowers a softer, more realistic look, then colored it with Copics.

In keeping with Judy's circle theme, I cut the colored image with a circle die cut, then, while still in the die, I used my Copic airbrush to color the background. I usually choose my paper before coloring an image, but this time I colored first. I had no idea how difficult it would be to find just the right shades of purple to match the image! Ok, well, maybe I'm just a tad picky. ;-)  I started with lavender for the base, then had to make my own purple in a photo program for the next layer. There is a dark brown doily die cut on top of that. I used a Marvelous Square Spellbinder die for the smokey lavender/slate blue square, cutting sections out of the interior of the square with a smaller die. Finally, the image was popped up on top of everything. I considered using a bow, but it competed too much with the image, so I threaded orange ribbon through two of the slits on the square die cut and attached them to the back of the dark purple circle (before it was glued to the base). The pearls around the base are a Pearl Pen, the purple pearls are flat backs.

I used my custom purple cs for a bg on the inside. I just love that shade--kind of a medium eggplant color, maybe? Unfortunately, I forgot to save the file when I was done with it :( . Then I used another Marvelous Square die cut in white for the sentiment layer. If it looks a bit different that the one on the front, it's because I had to cut off the tips of each corner to keep them from poking out of the card when it is closed. I sponged Milled Lavender around the inside edges of the square and added decorative corners, which were the pieces that were cut out of the center of the square on the front. Oh, and I almost forgot...when I stood this card up, trying to photograph it, it kept rolling, so I cut off a tiny sliver from the bottom of the inside (you can see it a little in the photo). No more rolling!

Okay, now it's your turn! Be sure to check out the beautiful creations from my teammates, as well as our July Guest Designer, Margaret Gilmer, for inspiration. Then, link up your own project on the Flourishes' blog for a chance to win!

• Allison Cope
• Broni Holcombe
• Cheryl Lea...that's me!
• Deborah Anton
• Jenny Gropp
• Judy Rozema
• Katie Sims
• Margaret Gilmer, our July Guest Designer

Thanks for stopping by for a visit, and have a wonderful week, and if you are in the U.S., Happy 4th!

I'm entering this card in the following challenges:
Simon Says Stamp & Show: Anything Goes
Simon Says Stamp: Anything Goes

~Hugs,

 

Supplies:

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Timeless Tuesday #226: Make a Splash!

It's Tuesday! Time for another Timeless Tuesday Challenge at Flourishes! This week Broni is our hostess and her challenge for us is Make a Splash! All you have to do is create a card or project using watercolor, water scenes, colors of water, etc.

As soon as I saw Broni's challenge, I knew exactly which stamp set I wanted to use. Flourishes' Sweet Days of Summer stamp set has three adorable summertime silhouette images of children that have always reminded me of my DD, but the sprinkler image really makes me smile because my DD used to love running through her sprinkler on hot days. This was taken right around her third birthday:

Her Elmo sprinkler would spin in circles with water spraying in all directions, and my DD squealed and giggled and ran back and forth through the water until I had to practically drag her back into the house, shriveled up like a little raisin! She doesn't remember that day, but for me, it is one of those memories that I know I will enjoy forever. :)

Isn't this image sweet! Even in silhouette, it captures the joy of the moment. :) 

For my card, I die cut a circle from Flourishes Classic White Cardstock, then heat embossed the image in white. With the circle back in the die, I sponged Distress Inks in the summer colors of Mowed Lawn (for grass), Scattered Straw (for the hot sunshine), and Broken China (for a summer sky) over the entire piece. Then, following the Viva la Verve June 2013 Week 3 sketch, I cut three different dp's in my summer colors, did a little machine stitching, and layered them onto a blue background. I couldn't resist using the cloud dp--it was perfect. ;) Finally, I stamped the "Make a Splash" sentiment in Memento Danube Blue ink and added two strips of Washi tape. The sprinkler image is lifted with layers of crimped cs. To accent Broni's water theme, I put dots of Diamond Stickles on the water spray in the image. Also, down in the lower right corner of the card, I glued 3 "water droplet" scraps from a Rain Drop border punch, and gave them a good coating of Stickles, too.

On the inside, on the bottom of a layer of white cs, I glued part of the negative from the yellow die cut, punched a green zigzag, and added a strip of Washi tape, then sponged Scattered Straw Distress Ink around the edges.

If it's as hot where you live as it is here in Georgia, you probably think of nice, cool water often, so why don't you carry it one step further and make a card or project for this challenge while it's on your mind? ;) You don't have to use Flourishes stamps, but if you do, you get two ballots toward the weekly prize! You can find all the details for the challenge here. 

Now, for some fabulous inspiration for the challenge, run get yourself a glass of your favorite cold beverage to enjoy while you take a peek at each of our designers' blogs, as well as this month's Guest Designer, Berni Cuttino, and be sure to leave them a little love while you are there, too! 

• Allison Cope
• Broni Holcombe
• Cheryl Lea...that's me!
• Deborah Anton
• Denise Marzec
• Jenny Gropp
• Judy Rozema
• Katie Sims
• Berni Cuttino, our June Guest Designer

Thanks for stopping by, and have a wonderful week!

I'm entering this card in the following challenge:
Viva la Verve! Sketch Challenge--June 2013, Week 3 (VLVJun2013)

~Hugs,

 

Supplies:

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Bloom & Grow: A Mixed Media Card

Were you a fan of Mona Pendleton's CR84FN Color Challenge?  I was, and I've missed it. Well, if you haven't heard, it's back--sort of. ;) This time, Mona and Sue Lelli have teamed up for A Mixed Media Color Challenge! I've dabbled in mixed media a little bit, so I'm looking forward to playing along when I can, and getting inspiration from Mona, Sue, and everyone else who enters the challenge!

I used the Viva la Verve June 2013 Week 4 Sketch Challenge for my card since it has lots of open space to play with.

I dry embossed kraft cs, distressed it with acrylic paint and gesso, then stamped the pink flowers with acrylic paint. The sentiment panel was stamped with Memento inks (I was going for a shadow effect on the sentiment, but it didn't work like I expected), spritzed with Perfect Pearls Mist, edged with silver paint, and then again with Black Soot Distress Ink.

For the flower, I used sheet music dp and Verve's Floral Circles die for the flower pieces. Then, I curled them with a stylus, put them together with a brad, spritzed it with water and crumpled the layers up tightly. When it dried, I spritzed it again with Perfect Pearls Mist, and added acrylic paint to the edges.

After putting everything together, I was done, except for cleaning up the gigantic mess I made! :)

Thanks for stopping by, and enjoy the rest of your weekend!

I'm entering this card in the following challenges:
A Mixed Media Color Challenge #1
Viva la Verve June 2013 Week 4 Sketch Challenge
Verve Diva Dare June 2013: Puddles of Color
Simon Says Stamp & Show Challenge: Kraft

~Hugs,

 

Supplies:

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Purple Violas

I really enjoy playing along in the Viva la Verve sketch challenge every month. The sketches are always amazing--sometimes easy, sometimes, well...a challenge. ;) This month, in Week 2, there was a very challenging sketch for me.

Try as I might, I had a dickens of a time trying to come up with something for those big ovals in the background. I had a die cut that I had already been working on, that I really wanted to use, but it just wasn't big enough.

It was a navy die cut that I embossed with a paisley embossing folder, then swiped with bright purple and copper-colored paint daubers. I love the end result. After cutting it in half lengthwise, I edged the pieces with my gold pen. It was so pretty, I just had to find a way to use it. :-)

To make this card, I edged the purple dp with a gold calligraphy pen, scored an interior border, then colored the score lines with gold, also. For the "ovals" I embossed a lavender die cut with polka dots, then swiped a white paint dauber across the dots and along the edges, finally cutting it in half lengthwise, and layered the navy painted die cut on top of it. I lined them up with the score line rather than the edge of the card. Those pretty flowers are violas from a Flourishes stamp set. They are colored with Copics and a Prismacolor pencil, and the centers are yellow Stickles. I was able to lift the violas with the help of a new glue I got a couple of weeks ago called CollAll 3D glue. Great stuff. You just want to try to keep it off your hands--it is super sticky. I had to use Goo Gone to get it off, and it wasn't easy! Finally, I added a sheer bow, buttons, some memory thread, and a few pearls. The little spot beside the violas was the perfect place for an itty bitty sentiment, so I stamped the cute "hello" stamp from Verve's Tag Time set. An olive green base was my final layer.

Here's a better pic of the violas. Can you see the light streaks of yellow coming from the center of the flowers? After coloring them, I used a few streaks from a yellow Prismacolor pencil to lighten up the navy centers. After fussy cutting the image, I "aged" the image by sponging Milled Lavender Distress Ink over the white edges.

I almost left the inside blank, but it felt a little naked, so I edged a rectangle of white with my gold calligraphy pen, stamped the sentiment in the corner, and added a pretty punched border at the top. Even with all that it looked a little blah until I put bright yellow Stickles on the border. Then, it was done! :)

Thanks so much for stopping by! I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

I'm entering this card in the following challenges:
Viva la Verve Sketch Challenge June 2013, Week 2
Verve Diva Dare June 2013: Puddles of Colour

~Hugs,

Supplies:

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