Winter Blossom

My card today was made for the Flourishes Timeless Tuesday Challenge which is to use something new. The  Flourishes Stamp set, Winter Blossom, the red velvet ribbon, and the yellow flower soft are all new.

The design inspiration started with a Verve challenge sketch, week one. I did a lot of stamping, coloring and cutting out, and layering with these images to get the dimension I was looking for.I wanted to keep the colors soft pastels except for the splash of red in the berries and ribbon. They were all colored in with Copic Markers.

All of the stitching around the card was done by hand with matching Embroidery Floss. I always prefer the dimension I get with hand stitching over machine stitching. I added some Flower soft to the centers of the flowers.

This card also fits perfectly for this challenge:
Quirky Crafts - New & Pink

Flourishes Love Letter's Challenge

I'm playing a game of Beat the Clock today. I wanted to play along with the Flourishes Love Letter's Challenge but I didn't have any appropriate Flourishes stamps to play.  So I've been waiting for my latest order to come in for the Heartlines stamp set. Well, it just arrived this morning. Just in the nick of time. One  hour left to get this posted.

The design inspiration for this card came from week two of the Viva La Verve Sketch Challenge.
I actually used two different Flourishes stamps, but you can't notice the second one. I stamped the roses from A Year in Flowers 2. second generation onto the die cut that was stamped with the Sentiment.
I ran the pink CS through the cuttlebug, then stamped the roses on that also. The subtle pink lines of the rose is slightly showing on the raised hearts.

The Hand Stitching was done in my own unique design with an off white embroidery floss.

Dove and Holly Ornament

Happy New Year stamping friends!

Have you made your New Years Resolution that you're not going to keep? *Ü* Every year it's always the same for me....to lose weight. So, this year I want to make it something that makes me feel really good. Yes, losing weight would make me feel ecstatic but this year my resolution is also to stamp more. My goal is a minimum of 3 projects a week. Who knows, just maybe one will lead to the other!!!

 Front

Back

Ok, here is my second creation this week. The other one is on my CTMH blog. That poor blog is rather neglected compared to this one.

I made a Christmas Ornament for the Flourishes Timeless Tuesday favorites of 2012 challenge. I used the Flourishes #200 Challenge which was to make an ornament.  I love making my own ornaments. 

I used a Spellbinders Die and cut out two pieces of cardstock and one of chipboard. I sponged Dessert Sand ink around both pieces of CS with the die over top.  I then used my xyron to add adhesive to both sides of the chipboard. to sandwich all the finished sides together.

I started stamping the large image from the Dove and Holly stamp set THREE times.  I purchased this set last year before Christmas and never got around to using it.

I colored the image with my Copic Markers then cut out the whole image and adhered to the front piece of CS. Then I colored the Doves of the second one and cut them out and layered on top of the first image with foam tape. Then I colored the one dove and cut that out and layered with foam tape again. I also colored one of the holly sprigs and cut that out to add in a bare spot at the bottom of the ornament. 

I then added cream colored pearls around the edges, added a hanger and bow to the top. Topped the bow with a flower button. 

On the back, I stamped "Peace on Earth" sentiment and more holly. 

This makes a great package topper that can then be used for an ornament. 

These are so much better then paying big buck for cheap ornaments made in China!

Other Challenge Blogs for this project:
Tuesday Alchemy - hopes & Dreams (Peace on Earth)

Flourishes New Release Challenge

I decided at the last minute to play along with the Flourishes New Release challenge since I love to have the chance to win some free stamps.  My chances have always been slim to non, However, it gave me the incentive to make another Christmas card. 

There are four different challenges with this one card.
1.  a sketch challenge
2. Make it Monochromatic
3. Use designer paper
4. Add Bling.

This was such a gorgeous sketch that I couldn't pass it up. I'm a sketch junkie.
Then I stamped the Poinsettia and Pine Stamp set with Memento Black Ink and used clear detail embossing powder to just give it a little more dimension. I also stamped the Joy! from the same set with black and heat embossed it also with clear EP.
I then colored it in with Copic Markers. 
I love to do hand stitching on my cards but didn't have much time today so I just added some hand stitching in two of the corners. 
I flip flopped my designer papers on the background and the circle.
I then added lots of pearls and pearl swirls along with pink crystals around the red part of the circle for the bling.

Poinsettia and Pine - Timeless Tuesday Challenge

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

Well, this is the second year in a row that Halloween was ruined for my grandkids. We live in Eastern PA, right in the heart of Hurricane Sandy and thousands of people still are without power and there's major flooding. Last year we had a freak snow storm on Halloween. Luckily, they were camping twice this month and got to go Trick or Treating at the camp grounds.

I've been doing some card making with new stamps from Flourishes to help my stress, which has been really bad lately. Why is it that the smell of New Acrylic Stamps can have such a calming affect. 

This card was inspired by the week 5 sketch challenge from Viva La Verve and the Timeless Tuesday Challenge this week, both of which go together perfectly. The Flourishes challenge is to have the focal image fall off the page.

I used my new Flourishes stamp set called Poinsettia and Pine. I stamped it with memento Black ink then used clear detail embossing powder to give it a little more dimension. This also helps when coloring to keep the colors where they belong. I also used the Merry Christmas from the Flourishes Naturally Merry Stamp Set. 
Another thing that calms my stress is coloring. I LOVE my Copic Markers but haven't been using them lately. It's amazing what a calming affect coloring has. 

The Hand Stitching was done in my own unique design with matching Embroidery Floss.
I love how this stitching just frames the whole project. It is time consuming, but also a calming affect and well worth the extra time.

Other Challenges with this card:
Ooh, La La - Christmas
Simon Says - Just add Pearl
Totally Stampalicious - Anything Goes
Stampin' for the weekend - Anything Goes
Fussy & Fancy - Anything Goes
Crafty Ann's - Christmas
The Crafty Pad - Christmas
One Stitch at a Time - Christmas
Anything Goes - Anything Goes
Jacksons Digital Expressions - Anything Goes

Autumn Blossoms - Timeless Tuesday Birthday Challenge

I had such a fun time this week coloring with my Copic Markers, which I haven't used in months, that I had to make another card with this fabulous new stamp set called Autumn Blossoms. It's the only Fall set I ordered. All the other are Christmas and I'm dying to use them.

The inspiration for this card started with October's week two sketch challenge from Verve La Viva.
I really like orange and purple together for the fall.

The Sentiment, papers, pearls, & Burlap Ribbon are from Close to my Heart.

I chose to Hand Stitch around the card because I like the dimension that embroidery floss adds rather then machine stitching.

Other Challenges for this card:
Flourishes Timeless Tuesday- Birthday
Brown Sugar - Anything Goes
Card Makin' Mamas - Anything Goes
Fussy & Fancy - Anything Goes
Patties Creations - Autumn Colors
Stampin' for the Weekend - Anything goes
Wags 'n Whiskers - Autumn Colors
2 sisters - Autumn Colors
CMC Copic Challenge - Orange

Autumn Blossoms Birthday Card

I just received a pile of new stamp sets from Flourishes and couldn't wait to get out my Copic Markers and do some coloring. It seems that it's been ages since I colored with them. I felt like a kid again!!!

The inspiration for this card came from Week one of the Viva La Verve October Sketch Challenge.
I also made this card for the Timeless Tuesday Challenge Blog to make a Birthday Card.

The stamp set I used is called Autumn Blossoms.
I stamped two of each of these images, colored them with Copic Markers and cut them all out. I rounded them slightly on a foam mat and added foam tape for added dimension. It's a really pretty affect but doesn't show up on the picture.

The papers and pearls are from CTMH. The bow was made from left over strands from my Burlap Ribbon I pulled out to fray on another card. Us crafters never throw anything away!

The Hand stitching was done in my own unique design with matching Embroidery Floss. I used this color to blend in and enhance, rather then make the card too busy.

Other Challenges for this card.
All Beautiful Cards - Use something NEW (stamps)
Crafty Cardmakers - Autumn
Forever Friends - Autumn
Kaboodle Doodles - Fall
Hand Stamped Sentiments - Fall colors
Everybody Art - Orange
Inky Impressions - Fall
The Perfect Sentiment - Birthday
Stampavie - Stitches
Gingerloft - Autumn
Great Impressions - Fall
All Sorts - Autumn Colors
CMC Copic Challenge - Orange

Butterflies & Blossoms-2

Well, I'm finally back from four days with no power due to a power outage from Hurricane Irene. 


I made a card before the power went out for a challenge at Flourishes Birthday Hop Challenge but never got to post it.
So here is it. I'm trying to make this quick since I don't know if the power will stay on or go out again.

My card was made with Flourishes stamp set "Butterflies & Blossoms". This set is gorgeous. I'm in love with those Butterflies. .The images were stampede and colored with Copic Markers. The flowers and butterflies were stamped and colored several times them then cut out & layered for more dimension.

The papers are all from Close to my Heart . The glitter on the Butterflies is from Martha Stuart.

The Hand Stitching around the card was done with my own unique design and  matching Embroidery Floss.

Butterflies & Blossoms

Today I have a card for you made with Fourishes Butterflies and Blossoms Stamp set. This card was made for the Page Maps Blog Sketch Challenge where flourishes is one of the sponsors along with Basic Grey. The prize is to die for. You can never have too many of these gorgeous stamps. I sure wish I had more.

The paers, ribbons, stick pins and glitter gel glitz are all from Close to my Heart. 
The Flowers and Butterflies were stamped with Memento Black Ink then heat embossed with Clear Detail Embossing Powder to give it a little added dimension. They were then colored with Copic Markers.
The Butterflies were stamped and colored twice, then cut out and layered with foam tape on the wings for more dimension. I touched their wings with stardust glitter gel glitz.
I added some Faux Flower Soft to the centers of the flowers
I had these stick pins fro a few years and never used them before. I thought they aded the finishing touch to this card. I just wish I could get my pictures of my cards to look as good as they do in person.

The Hand Stitching was done with matching Embroidery Floss.

Other Challenge Blogs this card was made for:
Flutterby Wednesday - Anything Goes - Butterflies
Freshly Brewed - Emboss It
Sisterhood of Crafters - Flower Power 
Truly Scrumptious - Rocked Up Pink
Whimsie Doodle - Anything Goes
Craft Us Crazy - Anything Goes
Die Cut Dreams - Pink, Green & Coffee

Thanks a Bunch Roses card

Well, I had my first experience with an Earth Quake yesterday. I live in Eastern PA and there was a 5.9 Earth Quake in Virginia. Which they say was felt as far north as Toronto Canada and East to Chicago. I was sitting out on my deck with the grandkids, who were quietly eating a frozen yogurt pop. All of a sudden, the deck started swaying and the table and my laptop shook. There was a slight breeze blowing and I thought, “Oh my, this isn’t good.” I never even thought of it being a quake until my daughter emailed me and asked if I felt the quake.

So, that was my excitement for yesterday. Now Hurricane Irene is expected to hit the East Coast later this week. They expect this to be the worst hurricane to hit the New York and surrounding area since the 1940’s. I sure wish I would have invested in a generator.

So, here is my card for today. I killed two birds with one stone. This card was made for the Flourishes’ Timeless Tuesday Challenge, All About Your Sentiment. I used the sentiments from the Flourishes Zinnias Stamp Set. Then to fulfill my DT obligation to Fred She Said, I used the Roses from the Hearts and roses set and the Summer Roses Digital Papers by Bearly Mine.

I added a few half pearls and the Hand Stitching was done with matching embroidery floss.

I am also submitting this card for the Crazy 4 Challenges Blog this week where Flourishes is the sponsor.
It's a Bingo Challenge. My card has Die cuts, Ribbon and the sentiments are embossed with clear EP.

Purple Crocus & Butterflies

We had such a beautiful Spring like day today that it inspired me to make this card. I went outside to switch over the pond heater to the water fall and saw my crocus blooming. So, I finally got to use some new stamps I got a long long time ago and never got around to using. I'm also using pearls from my huge stash.

The design of the card was inspired from a sketch at sketch n' Stash. Actually, I started with two Flourishes Challenges and found a sketch that worked with it. The first challenge is called "The Cut Above the Rest", where we were punch a decorative edge on our card. The second Flourishes challenge was the Timeless Tuesday Challenge where we were to use butterflies.

So, all of my stamps are Flourishes. The Crocus is from "A Year of Flowers 1". The Butterflies are from "Gerbera Daisies". And the sentiment is from "Timeless Quotes".  They were all colored with Copic Markers

Paperwhites - MMSC82

I thought I'd never get this card finished. I kept changing it because there was always something I didn't like about it. I have to tell you though that it looks so much better in person. It's night time and I had to scan it rather then take a picture of it.

I made this card for Two of the Flourishes Challenges. The first is the Timeless Tuesday Challenge to make a Christmas card with a flower other than a Poinsettia.  However, I must have missed the deadline for my submission to this one. But, I used the Flourishes Paperwhites Stamp set.  Their second challenge was The Winter White Challenge.
It's hard to tell from the photo but the image was stamped with Detail Gold Embossing Powder as was  some of the paper panel edges. The Ribbon is gold and the matting behind the image is gold.

The card was inspired also by a Midnight Madness Sketch Challenge #82 I usually go with the fancy sketch but this time it just didn't work with my stamped image.

The Hand Stitching around the card was done with Gold Metalic Embroidery Floss. This was one of the thing that was giving me a problem. It is very hard to work with. 

Sweet Peas - CPCmag - CASE Arftist Grace

This is my second post for today. I actually started this card last Saturday, but other obligations got in my way of finishing it. And today is the last day of the challenge at Christian Paper Crafts CASE Artist Saturday.

This is my first time playing in this challenge, but I have admired Grace’s artwork for a long time and as soon as I saw it was Case Grace, I had to play. You see, I had admired her Sweet Pea card and it was one of the reasons I actually got that stamp set, and then I never used it. So, this case was a no brainer. Here is her GORGEOUS card for you to check out. It's the second card. You can't miss it.

I used a Flourishes stamp set called Sweet Peas.
My cardstock is from Close to my Heart and the DP is Basic Grey, Porcelain.
I stamped with Memento Black Ink pad and colored with Copic Markers.
I also colored the half pearls with my Copics.

The Hand Stitching was done with matching embroidery floss. Yes, I know, Grace didn't have any stitching, but the hand stitching is actually my signature on my cards. I very seldom make a card without it. It's just something I LOVE to do.

Sweet Violets

Please excuse the photo of my card. I had to scan it rather than take a picture as I normally do and the scan makes it look like I layered my papers crooked. That's what I get for not finishing the card while it was still daylight to get a good picture. But, I had a migraine headache today and wasn't allowed to take anything for it because of going for a Colonoscopy tomorrow.

My card was inspired by this gorgeous stamped image called Sweet Violets, from Flourishes. You see, I won one of their sketch challenges and this was one of the stamp sets I got. So, today, in spite of my headache, I just had to ink up this stamp and try it out.


I also found the perfect sketch challenge this week from Midnight Madness. I couldn't do the three bows as on the sketch because it just didn't work with this image.


This card was also made for the Flourishes Timeless Tuesday Challenge #61. We are to use things we bought and never used. That was easy for me because I've got tons of product that I hoard. Paper being one of them. So, here I'm using some beautiful paper that retired last year from Close to my Heart and Grape Sherbet grosgrain ribbon that retired several years ago. And, I can forget my Nesties. I tend to use the same ones all the time so this is the first time I've used this set.

The hand stitching around the card was done with matching embroidery floss.

Blue Pansies in Tea Cup - FTTC58

We're having an absolutely Gorgeous Sunday her in PA. The pansies are blooming outside and here on my card.

The inspiration for this card came from a sketch over at Flourishes Timeless Tuesday Challenge 58. We had a chioce of two sketches and I chose the square card.

Other chalenges for this card:
Cuttlebug Challenge - Spring is in the Air

The Digi Image is from Fred She Said. It was colored in with Copic Markers and cut out and mounted with foam tape. Two pansies were printed, colored and cut out twice then layered with foam tape also for added dimension. I topped them off with a little stickles glitter for just a little sparkle.

Sometimes I wish I could just leave things alone, but I added three half pearls to three of the corners for a little extra charm.

Trees of the Field Birthday

This card was made using the Delightful Sketch #15 for inspiration.

I also made this card for Flourishes Timeless Tuesday. Their requirement was to make a scene. It's not a big scene, but a scene non the less.

And, it also works perfect for the Stampin' Sisters in Christ Challenge to use green somewhere on your card. I think I've got this covered! I've been wanting to play along with their challenges for some time now.

The Card was made using a tree from A stamp set called "Trees of the Field" from Sweet & Sassy Stamps. It's on sale so you may want to rush over a pick up a set for yourself before it's gone!!!
I always have such a problem making more masculine cards and this sets works perfect for both genders.

The designer papers are from Closed to my Heart, called Veranda. I've used this on several cards and each one looks different. I just love the versatility of their papers.
The ribbon is Garden Green Gorsgrain from CTMH also.
The tree is covered with Faux Flower Soft in two colors of green, a light and a dark.

The Hand Stitching was done using matching embroidery floss.

Daffodils - Flourishes Timeless Tuesday Sketch

So, are you sick of my Daffodils Yet?  I love Daffodils because of their sweet smell and it's the first sign of Spring. The only problem is, when you make cards with them, their colors are very limited. They are mainly yellow or white with touches of orange or pink. Lucky for us there are so many designer papers to use to make our cards just a little different.

For this card, I used a fantastic Sketch from Flourishes Timely Tuesday Challenge 49.  I just discovered this blog and I think it's a keeper!!!       

The stamp set is March Daffodils from Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps, one of six new releases this month. I stamped it with Memento Ink and colored with Copic Markers twice. I cut one out with a Nesties Die leaving some of the image outside of the circle. I cut out the daffodils from the second one and layered for a 3D affect.
The designer paper is Basic Grey and the cardstock & Sunkiss ribbon is from Close to my Heart.

The hand stitching was done using matching Embroidery floss.