Monday, October 8, 2012

Timeless Tuesday: Treats

Good morning Flourishes Friends! It's time for another Timeless Tuesday Challenge and this week Broni is challenging us to: Create a Card or Project with a Treat!

This is also Flourishes Release Week and today Flourishes is releasing "Fresh Baked", a perfect set for this challenge! October is my favorite, favorite month and all I want to do is bake, so I had fun with it!



I used Flourishes "Fresh Baked" stamped into Flourishes Classic White cardstock, colored in with Copic markers. I used papers from Flourishes 123 Kit called "Viola" embossed with Spellbinders "Flourishes" that I paired with Kraft cardstock.

Here are the Copic Collections that I used:













This month I am showing off Flourishes October 123 Kit called "Viola" which is chock full of goodies! Keep an eye out for cards with the "Viola" kit all this month!


Please visit the rest of the Flourishes Timeless Tuesday team and the Senior Design Team to gather more inspirations!


Thank you for visiting and please have a great day!

Wednesday, October 3, 2012

Have You Ever Tried...?

Have you ever tried...? Have you heard that phrase before? In the crafting world it can be the most informative phrase you will ever hear! 

I heard that phrase a few weeks ago from my friend Marie at my LSS. We were speaking about Copics and she asked me if I tried the Crafter's Companion Spectrum Noirs yet. She raved about them and said I needed to try them and that she loved them more then her Copics!!! They are alcohol based just like the Copics, but you use circular motions instead of flicking like you do with Copics. But with no retail shops are here carrying them I thought I'd focus on my learning to use my Copics.

Two days later, what arrives on my doorstep, the Spectrum Noirs!! Those markers were selected as the Splitcoast stampers Product Focus!! How serendipitous is that?! So if you want to hear if I loved them or not, and my personal opinion about them, please visit the Splitcoast Stampers Product Forum today :)



Monday, October 1, 2012

Flourishes Timeless Tuesday: Think Pink Challenge

Good morning Flourishes Friends! Today is a very special Timeless Tuesday. This week we are teaming up with Flourishes Bring Back Beautiful team for our Timeless tuesday Challenge: Think Pink! Create a card featuring the color Pink!
Because October is Breast Cancer Awareness month, we are teaming up to create for the cause!  Stay tuned to the Flourishes Blog, if you play along with this challenge - you might be eligible to play along in another challenge that's making strides and saving lives in the fight against Breast Cancer!




I used Flourishes "Feminine Charm" that I colored in with alcohol markers (not Copics) and fussy cut it out and popped it up on popdots off of my paper. The sentiment is also from the Feminine Charm set that I stamped onto Flourishes Tailor-Made Classic Tags die set. I used some Spellbinder dies and embossed a background on my paper with them to highlight my image. The black faceted pearl flourish, and the black and white paper is from Flourishes 123 Kit. I also used Flourishes Baby Pink ribbon to finish it off.


All this month I will be using Flourishes October 123 Kit so keep your eyes out for it!! :)

Please visit the rest of the Timeless Tuesday team to gather more inspirations!


Nina Brackett - October's Guest Designer

Thank you for visiting and please have a great day!

Monday, September 24, 2012

Timeless Tuesday: Fall!

Good morning Flourishes Friends!! It's Tuesday and it's time for another Timeless Tuesday challenge. This weeks hostess is Maki, and she is challenging us to: Create a Fall Themed Card or Project! 
Fall is my vary favorite time of year and I just love all of the colors you see. So I used all fall like colors on my card, kept it rustic, and went with a little grunge look on my card.





I used Flourishes "Summer Blossoms" and "Flowers and Frames" that I colored in with Copics. The papers, ribbon and rhinestones are from the September Flourishes 123 "Rejoice" Kit. And to make the notched pennants, I chose to use the Spellbinders "Nested Pennants" dies, that I embossed and sanded down. Then I sponged everything down in Antique Linen and Tea Dyed Distress Ink.

Here are the Copic Collections that I used for my card:




Please visit the rest of the team to gather more Flourishes Timeless Tuesday inspirations!

Linda Lucas - Septembers's Guest Designer

Thank you for visiting and please have a great day!

Monday, September 17, 2012

Flourishes Timeless Tuesday: It's Sketchy


Good morning Flourishes Friends! It's another beautiful Tuesday morning and that means it's time for another Timeless Tuesday Challenge! This week, Allison is our hostess and she is challenging us to a : Sketch Challenge! Ally has kindly provided a beautiful sketch for us to follow and here it is.
I really, really, love this sketch and I had so much fun creating with it; that I keep it in my sketch files for inspiration. 

I chose Flourishes new "Poinsettia and Pine" release that I watercolored in with Letraset Aqua Markers and completely fussy cut it out then popped it up on popdots. I used papers and ribbon from the Flourishes Rejoice 123 Kit, that I layered over Flourishes Classic Ivory cardstock. I added my sentiment I stamped onto a Spellbinders Nested Pennants diecut, then I added rhinestone bling from Flourishes Rejoice 123 Kit.

Please visit the rest of the team to gather more Flourishes Timeless Tuesday inspirations!

Linda Lucas - Septembers's Guest Designer

Thank you for visiting and please have a great day!

Wednesday, September 12, 2012

Splitcoast Stampers Product Review!

Good morning everyone! I'm back with a different post :) If you remember I was asked by Beate, from Splitcoast Stampers (SCS), to be on the Product Review Team this year, and I'm back with two reviews. I receive the products, use them for my cards and crafts, then post an honest review of them. Included in the link to SCS, you can click on a link to all of the team's product samples, to see everything in action :)

The first one was posted today about my experience with the Perfect Squares tool. I can't get my cards even at all no matter what I do, especially when I score and fold my card bases in half, so this tool really revolutionized my cards. And my very favorite part of the whole tool, is that it fits perfectly in a small scrap tote when I want to take very little to s crop! If you want to read more about my product review and the rest of the teams, please visit: SCS Product Review 
Here is the Perfect Squares Galley of Samples: HERE

I also did another review on Spellbinders Matting Basics Card Creators dies. Personally any dies that Spellbinders creates is going to be wonderful, but these dies are over and above Perfect for any cards. They are essentially the base of any card that you would make in the A2 range. These dies are Amazing! To read more about my thoughts and the rest of the SCS Team, please visit: SCS Product Review.
Here is the Spellbinders Card Creator Gallery: HERE

Thank you for visiting and I hope that I have inspired you to try out a new product tool for your crafting arsenal :)

Monday, September 10, 2012

Flourishes Timeless Tuesday: A Pintrest Christmas


Good Morning Flourishes Friends! Welcome back to a fun filled Timeless Tuesday Challenge. This week I am challenging you to: A Pintrest Christmas!! All you have to do is find your Christmas inspiration on Pintrest, link it up to your blog and show off your Pintrest inspired creation! This is going to be a long post, but I hope you will enjoy it!

I found a really pretty idea for my Pintrest inspiration HERE. It's part way down the page.
Sometimes the link doesn't work, so if you can't click on it, here is my Pintrest Christmas Inspiration photo:
I wondered if you could paint in images instead of stamping them into cookies and maybe having them distort when they are baked. But I cannot freehand paint At All, so I used Flourishes newest release, Poinsettia and Pine to help me.
For the cookies, I stamped Flourishes "Poinsettia and Pine" on to the frosting, then watercoloring the images in with food coloring. For the cookie gift box I used my Silhouette Cameo to cut out a design onto Flourishes Classic White cardstock, and added my frosted cookies inside. For my gift tag, I stamped an image from Flourishes new Trimmed With Love set colored in with Copics, onto a diecut that I popped up. Then I matted it with some Bo Bunny paper used from Flourishes 123 Kit that also comes with the silver cording you see on my tag.

I did not use edible ink to stamp my cookies, I just combined equal drops of red, blue and green food coloring on a plate and dabbed my stamp in it then stamped onto my icing.  If you would like to try this technique, here are a few tips that I learned.

* Use Royal Icing as your go to icing because it will harden up nicely and so that you have a solid "surface" to stamp your image onto. Here is the recipe I used: Royal Icing.

* Use a cookie recipe that offers a firm cookie and not a soft one or else you'll be adding the firm icing to a mushy cookie. Stamping onto firm icing but a mushy cookie base results in a bad image impression.

* Always make sure your icing is as smooth and flat as possible. I would suggest using a baker's offset spatula. I resisted buying one and I have a few knife lines in my icing that I couldn't smooth completely out.

* Pick non detailed stamps to use and just know that no matter what, after you have dipped them into food coloring, your stamps will be forever stained.

And here is the card I made for the cookies, box, and gift tag set. I couldn't get the card to fit in my picture without you being able to see the cookie details clearly, so I put it in my photo booth.
I used Flourishes new Poinsettia and Pine stamp release, stamped onto Flourishes Classic Ivory cardstock. The paper is from Flourishes September 123 Kit that comes with all of this gorgeous green ribbon and the pretty green rhinestones at the bottom of my card.
Here are the Copic marker Collections I used on my tag and the card:




Please visit the rest of the team to gather more Flourishes Timeless Tuesday inspirations!


Linda Lucas - Septembers's Guest Designer

And please visit the Senior Design Team for their Pintrest inspirations too!




Thank you for visiting and please have a great day!

Monday, September 3, 2012

Timeless Tuesday: Mini Cards!

Good morning and welcome back to another Flourishes Timeless Tuesday Challenge! :) This week Broni is our challenge hostess and she is challenging us to create: A Mini Card! All you need to do is create a card that is 3x4 or less! These are always a fun and easy challenge to create!



I used Flourishes "Paperwhites" stamped in Memento Rich Cocoa onto Flourishes Classic Ivory Cardstock, sponged all around with Tea Dye Distress Ink. I used the paper from Flourishes new September's 123 Kit. I added the red ribbon, silver cording and the snowflake charm, also from the September 123 Kit

The completed size of my card measures out to be 4 x 3 1/18.

All this month I will be using Flourishes September 123 Create Kit. This kit is a Christmas themed kit and perfect for any cards you will make this year. I love it and it includes a Bo Bunny paper pad, two kinds of ribbon (red and green), silver cording and a green trim, green rhinestones, snowflake charms, and Maya Road Vintage Kraft Flag Pins!! All that in a kit?? You bet!! I'll be showcasing it all month :) Please visit the rest of the team to gather more Flourishes Timeless Tuesday inspirations!

Linda Lucas - Septembers's Guest Designer

Thank you for visiting and please have a great day!