Classic Design Challenge : Santa

 Welcome back again to this month's Classic Design Team Challenge! It's that time of year again where we start thinking about Christmas and making or sending out our Christmas cards. 

I have a great image from Dr. Digi featuring Santa himself, checking the naughty and nice list. Have you checked to see if your name is on his "nice" list? I'm sure it is! Here is a link to his digi store Dr. Digi and here is a link to my Santa image : Naughty or Nice. Dr. Digi has some great quality digi stamps in his store, and I hope you go check them out!

I colored my image in with Copic markers, then used MFT's Double Stitched Rectangles to cut it out with a decorative border around it. I then sponged some Distress Inks around the image to "age" it and tone down the white cardstock, as my design papers and lace panel is off white/cream. After sponging, I matted my image with a red cardstock from Bazzil. I layered a cream lace panel cut from a die by Stampin Up, then matted that under my image, over some design papers from The Paper Studio's "Old World Winter" collection. I completed the matting by adding one more cardstock layer of a reflective gold from Tim Holtz's Metallic Cardstock collection, then I added a few holly diecuts from Tim Holtz's Ideology "Christmas Botanicals" collection. My sentiment is from Fresh Pink's "Foiled Holiday Sentiments".

And there you have it. My take on Dr. Digi's Santa inspired digi stamp. I really love how it turned out. I'm not the greatest at coloring in people, but how can you mess up Santa?! LOL!

Thank you for joining us this month in our Classic Design Challenge! I'll see you here for next month's inspiration! And don't forget! Santa Claus is coming to town .... !

Beautiful Blossoms Challenge : Sending Smiles

 Hello and welcome back crafty Friends! I'm back with another fun blog challenge card. But first, I have some fun news. I joined Donna and the rest of the talented Beautiful Blossoms Blog Challenge Team! I'm so thrilled!

If you haven't heard of the Beautiful Blossoms blog challenges before, on the 15th of every month they offer a Floral Focused challenge. Easy Peasy, right? Exactly! Who doesn't love a good flower focus? I know I do :)

Here is the DT's February 2025 design challenge photo.

Beautiful, isn't it? I know I was inspired by it!

I chose Gina K's Poppy Garden Stamp that I colored in with Copics. After that, I cut out the image using Pink Fresh's Stitched Rectangles. I matted the main diecut image out onto some design paper from Simple Stories called Simple Vintage Life in Bloom. Then I used Lawn Fawn's Stitched Sentiment Banner's to cut out a banner out of vellum and stamped my sentiment from Flourishes (a beloved but now closed stamp company) Tulips stamp set.

Honestly, I took forever to find the perfect design paper for that card! I was obsessed with finding the perfect, but not too distracting, background color and print! 

Thank you for visiting my blog today, and don't forget to join us over at the Beautiful Blossoms Challenge. I love to see your creations there and for you to see the other DT's inspirations, too!

Happy Birthday!

 Of all the kinds of cards I create, I love making Birthday cards the most! 

I realized I haven't made a nice, bold card with colors that POP! I wanted a card that just said summer, using some of my favorite "tart" vivid shades that invoke those summer vibes. 

So I created this card for my daughter's birthday last week, and she LOVED it.

I stamped out half of my (large!) image from Colorado Craft Company, called "Sweet Friend Cupcake" and colored it in with Copics, using some strong colors that would Pop off the card. Then I stamped my sentiment with a stamp set from Spellbinders called "Birthday Pennants". Then I matted my image using Doodle Bug Company's "Pistachio" cardstock, layering that over some really vivid patterned paper (no designer given on it). I placed the PP over some "Buttercup" yellow cardstock from Simple Stories and added some white cardstock under that that I punched out a "lace" edge using Fiskars "Swiss Dots" edger. I placed more Pistachio cardstock under the white Swiss Dot punched edge paper, but I popped that off the Pistachio using PopDots to offer depth and keep it from feeling "flat". I then added the image over the PP using more PopDots so there'd be some "lift" and life to the image.

This has to be one of my favorite cards I have made of recent. I love all the bright, bold and sassy colors! They just make me squeal with delight! I could make a hundred cards using these colors and they'd still make me smile. I don't know about you, but I'm just not ready for summer to end!

Drops of Love

Hello crafting friends, how is your crafting weekend so far? Mine is far to busy with non-crafting "important" things like laundry, cleaning and cooking. As soon as they are done, I'll be able to sit down with my crafty stuff. I'm looking forward to it!

Until then I have an inspiration card I recently made to show off one of Jennifer Nilsson's digi stamps called Drops of Love. 

I colored in my image with Copics, and used some pretty peachy polka dotted paper and deep peach colored cardstock. After creating my layout I used a doily, some pearls and paper embellishment elements to create the decorative elements on my card.

Thank you for visiting my blog for some creative inspiration! I'll see you in a couple days for another creative card using Jennifer Nilsson's Art!

~ Amanda

Happy Independence Day

Hello crafting friends happy early Independence Day! Today I am showing you a card I made for the 4th of July.

I used Patriotism on Parade, I stamped onto Flourishes
Classic White Cardstock I matted with Flourishes Color Made Easy Christmas Red Cardstock & Iced Aqua cardstocks. Then I stamped out the sentiment onto a Flourishes Tailor-Made Classic Tags die and tied a 1/4 May Arts Red Silk Ribbon to the top loop of the tag die.

I sponged the background in a yellow to represent the fireworks glow and I added a few heavier sponge circles to show the fireworks "die off" effect, like the afterglow after a firecracker dying out.

I hope this card gets you in the crafty mood for the weekend, because Flourishes is having a 4th Sale!! They are offering 10% off the entire store!  Plus, if you all three of the 3 June Releases, you will save 20% off on them!!
Also, starting JULY 5th, ALL DIES are on sale 40% off - once they are gone, they are gone. First come first served. Find all the details here at FLOURISHES.

I'll be back next week with a nice Shabby Chic card I know you'll all love!

~ Amanda Havon

A Creative Journey With Melissa : October Stamp Release!!

Welcome to the monthly NEW RELEASES for A Creative Journey with Melissa. Every SECOND WEDNESDAY of the month we will be featuring our newly released stamp sets! I am thrilled to be able to share these creations with you today. The new stamp releases are the You’re Snow Wonderful and Coffee Is My Liquid Therapy. We are also highlighting our amazingly cute and versatile Everyday Alphabet stamp sets throughout this hop as well.
I am showcasing You're Snow Wonderful and Coffee Is My Liquid Therapy stamp sets.  Here are my projects and directions.

Coffee Is My Liquid Therapy  - Red Cup : I stamped out my cup from Coffee Is My Liquid Therapy and colored it in with my Copic markers, then I cut it out and used my Copic blender to add random polka dots. After cutting it out, I added some popdots (foam squares to pop it up) and placed it on diecut from JustRite called Antique Tag 1 Die, paired with a Spellbinders Parisian die behind it.

You're Snow Wonderful - Tag : I cut out the swirly tag in Kraft paper, using my Silhouette Cameo, with a design I found on the Silhouette America site. After cutting my tag, I stamped the snowman from You're Snow Wonderful set and colored everything in with my Copic markers. After coloring everything in, I cut all my images out with my craft knife and added them to my tag, using glue, adhesives and square foam dots to my snowman image, so it would add dimension to my tag, instead of being flat. I added it to my gift cup with a green satin ribbon, tied in a bow.

Coffee Is My Liquid Therapy - Java Birthday Frame : I colored my cup image in with my Copic markers and cut it out using my craft knife. I cut down a piece of Flourishes Classic White paper and stamped a star image from the Coffee Is My Liquid Therapy set, in Memento Desert Sands ink, then added my sentiment in Memento Tuxedo Black ink. Finally, I added some adhesive to the back of my cut out cup and smoothed it onto the decorated paper background and attached it to my frame.

Please be sure to hop along to each Design Team Member's blog, become a follower their blog and answer the question correctly that they have posted to qualify to win the prizes.

The prizes include:
You're Snow Wonderful
Coffee is my liquid therapy
Sizzix Embossing Folder set
Scrapbook Adhesives 3-D foam squares 
 

My question is : What Is You're Favorite Stamp Set From The October Release?

The blog hop line-up:

Melissa

Amanda - You Are Here

Alena

 

Haidee

 

Brandie

 

Monica

 

Rhoda

 

Alease  

 

Please be sure to answer on everyone's blog the question asked of you correctly and follow each blog. You will be entered in the giveaway for the three prizes if you do so! Entries for this blog hop will end Friday at 8 PM PT. Winners will be announced on Saturday on the A Creative Journey with Melissa's blog A Creative Journey With Melissa.

Be sure to check back to see if you are a winner!

Thanks so much for hopping along with us!

Flourishes Release Week : Garden Gate

After a few days of peeks and tons of eye candy courtesy of the Flourishes Design Team, we're happy to share that the April sneaks are over and all of the sets we've been showing off are LIVE in the Flourishes Store HERE! Today, we bring you one more hop and this one will have you hopping past the garden gate to see a bevy of beautiful roses!

Garden Gate, illustrated by Marcella Hawley, takes the beauty of a shrub rose and makes it a card maker's delight! The set features one beautiful arched shrub rose branch and a fun-filled,whimsical scene welcoming you beyond the garden's gate. This 4 by 6" set also offers 5 beautifully scripted sentiments. 

Would you like to win this set?  Well, just as we have done in past release weeks, we offer our little guessing game of….

We don’t know which one of these ladies below will be the Mystery Blogger but one will, so leave comments on all of our designers’ blogs and you’ll be in the running to win today’s Garden Gate Stamp set! Want to see all the beautiful things you can create with this gorgeous array of shrub roses? Head on over and see…..

   Amanda Havon
  Christine Okken
  Cindy Lawrence
  Danielle Kennedy
  Heather Jensen
  Julie Koerber 
  Maki Jones
  Silke Ledlow
  Stacy Morgan

And.... if you own a Silhouette Cameo, you should know that there are a number of new cut files available too! We have the Bees and Blooms Cut File both for the Silhouette Cameo and in a SVG version as well. We have the Spring Blossom Cut file for the Silhouette Cameo and we also have the Garden Gate in a Silhouette Cameo Cut File as well! What creative fun! You can click HERE to see all of our cut files in the Flourishes store! There are a ton!

I used the Garden Gate stamp, stamping it with a solvent ink onto a sheet of Clear Cover Cardstock and colored everything in with the following Copic Collections : Crocus Collection, Flesh Tones 2 Collection, Olive Green Collection and the Evergreen Collection. I made a frame with the lightest cardstock from each of the Color Made Easy lines in Rich Browns and Pistachio, adhering my acetate to it using popdots to lift my image off the background paper. For my embellishments, I added some Scalloped Guipure Ivory lace, some Iced Lime Color Made Easy ribbon, a single Cream Leaf Pin and some small flowers.

*Note: If you are planning on coloring items in on clear Acetate cardstock, I have just a tip or two. You can't blend on clear cardstock very well. I have had mixed results, mostly success, but the more color you lay down, the stickier the cardstock gets. Which leads me to my next tip, if you do decide to color an image in, notice my image is "reversed" from the actual stamp image. I did that on purpose, to show the versatility of stamping on a clear cover cardstock. But when you color your image in, besure to place the colored inside so it's not facing out because it can get sticky, by facing it forward it will be smooth.

And of course I couldn't help myself, so I made another card because I really missed fussy cutting out my images!

I used stamped the Garden Gate out in Versafine Onyx Black onto Classic White cardstock, and colored my image in with the following Copics: Poppy, Olive Green, Terra Cotta, Copper, Flesh Tones 2, Sunflower and Blue Jeans Collections. After fussy cutting out my image, I adhered it on a die cut shape I cut in half and mounted them onto popots. I sponged my background diecut in Broken Glass Distress Ink, then I used my ScorTape and adhered everything to my card base that I diecut out. I made a base from Clear Cover Cardstock, which holds all those delicate pieces of the card together for me. kept the embellishment simple, only adding some Snow White Kaiser Pearls.
Here is the back of the card.

DO YOU WANT TO WIN OUR ENTIRE RELEASE?

If you want a chance to win all three of our new sets, you can always play in our Summer Lovin' Challenge – there will be multiple winners here AND you only have until 5PM EST today to enter!!! OR, play along with the gals for this week’s Timeless Tuesday Challenge! Check out the links for the official rules! You can also take advantage our New Release Bundle and get 10% off when you purchase all three together in a bundle. And, while you're shopping, did you check out the WHAT'S NEW PAGE on the Flourishes Store? There is a WHOLE BUNCH of new stuff that you'll want to check out!

Just like we do each release, we offer you the Saturday Winner's Circle -- a day when you can find out if you were one of the lucky commenters or.... winners in our Release Week Challenge! We'll have that post up tomorrow at noon -- so be sure to check back and see if your name landed in our latest Winner's Circle!


Thanks for joining us this week!

Friday Focus: Hello Hyacinths!

Hello to our Flourishes Friday Focus on Hello Hyacinths! This is going to be a good hop, so grab a cuppa and let's get started shall we?

I've loved the Hello Hyacinth's set since it first came out, and it's such a lovely image to color in!

I  stamped my image in Memento Tuxedo Black and colored it in with the Lilac, Crocus, Olive Green, Green Grass, Iced Aqua, Flesh Tones 2 and the Copper Copic Collections. I fussy cut out my image and popped it up on popdots on top of some diecut shapes cut from Classic Ivory cardstock, then I matted my card in Rich Browns cardstock from Color Made Easy. I added some lace, Cotton Latte ribbon, a Taupe Button, Jute Twine, and a Tailor Made Classic Tag to finish the card.

With spring here, this is a perfect set to use for your cards and creations! And, want to know another fun fact? Flourishes recently added a Silhouette Cut File to match this set that you can find HERE. 

 Be sure to check back tomorrow for a major announcement -- one that could involve YOU! That's right! You'll just have to check back and see! 

For more Hello Hyacinths inspirations please visit the rest of the Flourishes team, and please leave these ladies below some love in the form of a comment! I know they'd love to hear from you!!

• Amanda Havon
• Christine Okken
• Cindy Lawrence
• Danielle Kennedy
• Heather Jensen
• Julie Korber
• Silke Ledlow
• Stacy Morgan 

Thank you for visiting and have a great day!

Flourishes Free For All Friday!

Hello and welcome to a Flourishes Free For All Friday! It's so nice to see you back again, did you like Flourishes beautiful releases, last week? I really did, so I made a card with one of the new sets!

I loved the Tulips so much that I made another card with them.

I used the new Tulips set, stamping and embossing it in gold ink, then coloring it in with the Lenten Rose, Olive Green and Flesh Tones 2 Copic Collection. I fussy cut it out and popped it up on popdots on top of Clear Cover Cardstock, that I made into a cardbase. I embossed a piece of Classic White cardstock and using Scor-Tape, I adhered it to the Clear Cover Cardstock, stamping my sentiment in gold ink. I added a White ribbon, a Candy Pink button and some Iridescent String to embellish it all.

Come and visit with the rest of the team for more Friday Favorites!

• Amanda Havon
• Christine Okken
• Cindy Lawrence
• Danielle Kennedy
• Heather Jensen
• Silke Ledlow
• Stacy Morgan 

 Thank you for visiting and have a wonderful day!

Release Week Sneak Peaks Day 3

Welcome back to Day 3 and sadly the last Sneak Peak of our Flourishes March Release! But the best part is that our stamps are LIVE and you can order this month's release in our bundle HERE!

This set conjures up sweet memories of a bouquet for any occasion and plenty of sentiments for all! There are five beautiful sentiments, a frame for them and some small floral images. They are so dainty and one set that you are sure to love!

I stamped the Forget Me Not Notes in Memento Tuxedo Black ink, and colored them in with Blue Jeans, Sunflower, and New Fields Copic Color Collections. I diecut it out and matted it on patterned paper and Flourishes Color Made Easy Rich Browns Collection. I embellished my card with Champagne Pearls, Laural Venise Lace and Ivory Ribbon, from Color Made Easy.

I loved the new Flourishes releases, this month, don't you? Did you know that Flourishes offers SVG and Silhouette files for our stamp releases? We have the Tulips for Friends file in store now! You can purchase your matching Tulips file for your stamps, HERE!

Do you want a chance to win this set? THE CLOCK IS TICKING TO WIN OUR MARCH RELEASE! 
If you want a chance to win all three of our brand new sets, you can still play in our Colorful Creations Challenge – there will be a trio of winners here! BUT, you have to act fast — the deadline to enter is 5PM EST Friday, March 15th! You don't have much time! You can also play in this week’s Timeless Tuesday Challenge and win as well. Just click on the links for the official rules!

• Amanda Havon
• Christine Okken
• Cindy Lawrence
• Danielle Kennedy
• Heather Jensen
• Julie Koerber
• Silke Ledlow
• Stacy Morgan
• Theresa Raus

Thank you for coming along with us on for our entire Release Week Sneak Peak journey! Remember to play along for a chance to win some of this stamping goodness! We enjoy every entry and don't forget to check in with Flourishes for the Winner's Circle tomorrow, to see the winners! Good luck and have a great weekend!

Flourishes Timeless Tuesday: Summer Fun!

Good morning fellow Flourishes followers! How is your summer so far? My daughter's school starts in a month, so we are going to enjoy it while we can!
This week's hostess is Makiko and she is challenging us to create: A Summer Card or Project. Super simple and easy :)


 I've been thinking about how to use Flourishes stamps to try to create pieces of art work. So this week I decided to use Flourishes "Life's a Beach", which is perfect for this challenge. I wanted the look of a vacation postcard from Hawaii in the 1940's, so I went with a really heavy color saturation.

I used Flourishes "Life's A Beach" set that I masked and stamped onto a  2 1/2x3 mini canvas. I sponged some "Scattered Straw", "Wild Honey" and "Dried Marigold" Distress Ink on it for the colors of the sunset. Then I colored the rest in with the following Copic Sketch Marker Collections:

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

Cindy

Heather
Denise

Maki

Mona

Ally

Patti Gilliam- July's Guest Designer

Thank you for visiting and please have a great day!