Flower Tutorial

Hi everyone!! The weekend is almost over...*sigh* I hope yours was wonderful! I got a lot accomplished. One main thing being the cleaning and organizing of my stamp space. Woo-Hoo!! Now I should be able to find things without spending hours of digging and searching. LOL

Well, I promised a tutorial on how I make my flowers. I learned how to make flowers from the Paper Bouquet Floral book by Susan Tierney-Cockburn. Here's my take on a flower made with the three smallest Dahlia Spellbinders Dies. You can get the Dahlia die, as well as many of the new Spellbinders dies at Stamper's Dream. That store is a one stop shop, I tell ya. A huge variety of stamps, Ribbon, buttons, Rhinestones, and more.

You will need two of the larger, 6 of the middle size, and two of the smaller. I forgot to add the black snowflake punched piece in the photo, so here it is below. You will need two of these. These will be your stamens.



I don't usually cut into the petals, but I wanted a full flower with this shape, so I cut part way in on each petal section of every piece.


I then cup and shape the flower (Terms used by Susan), by placing my flower upside down on a thick foam mat, and firmly rubbing the stylus over the flower in circles. The petals naturally cup, and the cs is softened making it easier to work with in the next steps.


After that, I brushed some Sunflower Yellow Brilliance ink onto the petals and curled them a bit by wrapping them lightly around the stylus.



Then, by poking the stylus in the center and pressing down firmly, the flower will curl up around the tool giving it some shape.

After you've done each of these steps with each piece, you're ready to layer. I use a small dot of Tombow Mono Multi liquid glue between each layer. When dry, fluff up the petals a bit.

I didn't show it, but the I curled up the more central layers a bit more before layering. Almost into a ball. That gives the center a tighter feel.


Finally, I added the snowflake stamens to the center and some Cinnamon Stickles. I left it wet so you could see how I added it. Nothing fancy...just enough to give it some depth and sparkle. That's it. Click HERE to see the card I used this flower on.

I do these steps with all my flowers and leaves. Well, except for the curling. Sometimes I omit that step.

Hope this helps. Have fun!! And Happy stamping!!

Fabulous!!

I made this card today for Embellish Magazine's color and borders challenge that Verve is sponsoring this week. We were to make a card with the colors listed in the photo and incorporate borders. Here's what I came up with.


If you click on the photo, you'll be able to see the detail a bit better. I stamped one of the beautiful images from Verve's set Accent Notes in white onto the pink layer. The butterflies were punched from the same stamped paper. The sentiment and heart branch are from the set
Love's Flower. The frame I used is actually from Waltzingmouse. I love her Nestabilities stamp frames! They're gorgeous! The border punches and leaves are Martha Stewart, the ribbon and paper PTI, the flowers were all made with Punch Bunch punches and Kaisercraft Rhinestones. (I'll have a flower tutorial to share with you on Sunday). I also added some mini pearls, by Zva Creative, to the butterflies.

Be sure to join Verve for their Spring Fling release March 5 from 1-10 pm! Julee has some fun things planned for that day! You won't want to miss it!

That's it for today ya'll!! It's Friday! Woot!
Have a fantabulous weekend my friends!
Happy Stamping!
Tosh

Plant Smiles

I made this card for two reasons: this week's CCEE challenge to use red, black, creamy caramel, and an accent color such as white or ivory. (I added some green for the leaves...hope that passes...I skated through by the skin of my teeth last week...LOL). We were also to include some dry embossing on dp. Mine is on the black scalloped layer. Hopefully you can see it better on the close-up photo below. The second reason for this particular card is for JustRite week at Stamper's Dream.

I stamped the sentiment from one of the new sets called Seeds of Kindness with Versamark, and embossed it with Detail Black ep by Judikins. (I love sentiments!!) And the glorious paper is from one of my all time favorite companies, Graphic 45. I used paper from all three new paper packs: A Proper Gentleman, Le Romantique, and On the Boardwalk.

Here's a close up of the flower: (ETA: It's made with the Blossom Nestabilities die (Spellbinders)


Don't you just love these yummy papers? *sigh*

Enabler alert: Spellbinders are in the house!!! Stamper's Dream has some of the new Spellbinders in store right now!! Click HERE to see these yummy new dies!!

All of us CCEE Stampers would love to have you play along in our challenge this week too. Just head on over the blog found HERE for all the details.

And, you don't want to miss what the Stamper's Dream Team has to show ya. Here's the schedule for the whole week:

Monday (Today) - Amy, Dawn, Cam, Laurie
Tuesday - Cindy, Denise, Michelle, Me
Wednesday - Cam, Silke, Michelle, Me
Thursday - Amy, Denise, Laurie
Friday - Cindy, Dawn, Michelle

Thanks for dropping by today! I hope you are having a super week!
Happy Stamping my friends!

In Stitches with JustRite

Hi everyone! Have you enjoyed seeing what the Dream Team has been showing for Stamper's Dream JustRite week? I know I've loved seeing all their creative projects. They never cease to amaze me.

Here's the schedule from Monday til today:
Monday (Today) - Amy, Dawn, Cam, Laurie
Tuesday - Cindy, Denise, Michelle, Me
Wednesday (Today)- Cam, Silke, Michelle, Me

Well, today, I have a simpler card to show you. Yesterdays was pretty involved, so I decided to take it down a few notches.

I couldn't wait to use an image from the new JustRite set Stitched with Love. Each image is super charming!! I paper toled the heart after stamping it with Tuxedo Black (Memento) onto Simply Smooth Ivory cs and colored it with copics to match the dp. The fun dp is Farm Fresh (October Afternoon), the buttons, PTI, and th border punch, Martha Stewart. I used Ivory Burlap String in the buttons, and my sewing machine to stitch the panels together. Finally, I framed the heart by die cutting the larger circle with a Circle Nestabilities. Leaving the circle in the die, I added a smaller circle but just embossed the two with my cuttlebug. That way I got an embossed frame in the center.

That sums up my card for today.
Thank you so much for stopping by.
Have a fabulous rest of the week!!

JustRite at Stamper's Dream

It's JustRite week at Stamper's Dream, so the Dream team is showing some wonderful ideas for these new images. I used the sentiment "Friends are flowers in the garden of life" from the set Joyful Hearts. I stamped it with Tuxedo Black Memento ink, directly onto Pink Paislee's dp North Pole. The flowers are colored with copics and have a hint of silver Spica Pen in their centers.

I framed the sentiment with an Oval Scallop Nestabilties die from Spellbinders, cut the scallops, then burnished and curled them with a stylus. (I have a tutorial planned for this next weekend to show you how I make my flowers). The next layer was made with a Sizzix Frame embossing folder, and the base with the Labels 8 Nestabilities die from Spellbinders.



Now, check out what some of the other gals have come up with today: Cindy, Denise, Michelle

Thanks for stopping by!
Happy Stamping!




Stamps: Joyful Hearts
Paper: Kraft (Prism), Neenah, North Pole (Pink Paislee)
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento), Vintage Photo (Ranger Distress)
Accessories: Labels 8, Classic Oval and Scallop Oval Nestabilities (Spellbinders), Frame embossing folder (Sizzix), Border Punch (EK Success), Lace (Webster's Pages), Flower Punches (Punch Bunch), Leaf Punches (Martha Stewart), Flourishes (SU!), Pearls (Kaisercraft), Twill (May Arts), Copics, Spica Pens, Dimensional Tape (Scotch)

Night Owl

Have you ever lost internet access when you really needed it? I'm sure you have. And It's extremely frustrating. I was actually very fortunate. I only lost mine for a day, but it's put me behind in my posts. So this week is going to be packed with projects.

So, to start this week, I want to share with you three little 4x4 cards that I made with a darling new set, that I got from Stamper's Dream, called Night Owl by My Cute Stamps. When I saw this set at CHA, I fell in love with it. I mean, baby owls? How cute is that?!?!? And then, there's a cute little squirrel, a sweet little bird, charming flowers, an adorable little buggy, and more. Here's the simple little trio I made. (Remember, you can click on the photos for a closer look, and the bold colored words, for a link to the products.)


The images are so sweet that I wanted them to be the soul focus. So I kept the cards clean and simple. I just some scoring, piercing and a punched border. All the images were stamped with Versamark, embossed with Detail Black ep (Judikins), and colored with Tombows.

For this first card, I used all the flowers in the set and the sweet little butterfly, and added some sparkle with Ultrafine Glitter and my Quickie Glue Pen.



Isn't this baby owl just the cutest? There are even two sweet little safety pins on the diaper. And, there's a darling little baby girl owl in the set too. Too, too cute!!



For the third card, I thought it would be cute to add the bird to the top of the buggy and the cute little squirrel offering a nut as a gift. I tell ya, I LOVE these images! They're so versatile. I was able to make a "thank you" card, a "birth announcement", and a "baby gift" card. All with the same set.

Now, I want to let you know that Stamper's Dream is having another JustRite week this week with the newest JustRite images. The Dream Team has some super fabulous projects to share with you, so you won't want to miss this week!

Here's the schedule for you.

Monday (Today) - Amy, Dawn, Cam, Laurie
Tuesday - Cindy, Denise, Michelle, Me
Wednesday - Cam, Silke, Michelle, Me
Thursday - Amy, Denise, Laurie
Friday - Cindy, Dawn, Michelle

Thank you so much for stopping by!
I hope you had a wonderful relaxing weekend!
Happy Stamping!

A Sweet Challenge

Is it Thursday already? Wow! Where has the time gone? Guess that means the weekend is almost upon us!! Woot!! :o)

Well, today's card is was made for our third CCEE challenge this month. Charlene wanted us to show something sweet. It could be an altered project or a card. Well, I used this charming "Sweet"-Pea image by Flourishes that I got from Stamper's Dream. Okay...that's probably not what Charlene meant, but she did say sweet. *grin*

The image is colored with copics, and the dp is Black Brocade Wedding by Making Memories.
It's blinged up quite a bit with Multicolored Mini Rhinestones by Zva Creative, and Rhinestones by Kaisercraft. I used Mercy's wonderfully fun sketch found HERE. Love the squares!!

We'd love to have you join us in our challenge this week. Just head on over to the CCEE Stampers blog for all the details.

Thanks for stopping by!!
Tosh

Stamps: Sweet Peas (Flourishes)
Paper: Making Memories, Black (Prism), Neenah
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento)
Accessories: Copics, Oval and Scalloped Oval Nestabilities (Spellbinders), Glitter, Quickie Glue Pen, Rhinestones, Border Punch (Fiskars), Dimensional Tape (Scotch)

I'm so Blessed!!

It's a great day today!! Sunshine and birds singing. God is so good!!
Today I have a card to show you that I made for a friend who has requested a few cards to send to her MIL who lives quite a ways away and is going through a lot right now. She asked that I use this sentiment from the Verve set Just For You. I framed this beautiful sentiment with the Martha Stewart all around punches, and I created the flower with Spellbinders' Dahlia Nestabilities die, the Mega Lily leaves by Punch Bunch and a couple of snowflake punches, by Martha Stewart, in the center for the stamens . I added some Cinnamon Stickles to the petals to match the sparkle in the Fall in Love dp by My Mind's Eye.

I used yesterday's Mojo Monday sketch for a starting off point. I sewed across the top and bottom instead of adding the scalloped border, and I just realized, while adding my link, that I forgot the ribbon behind the main panel. *groan* I seem to miss one element each time I do a challenge....grrrrr.....anyway...back to the description....lastly, I added some bling with Rhinestones (Zva Creative and Kaisercraft). All the edges were ink distressed with Vintage Photo (Ranger Distress Ink).

That's it for today ya'll. For those of you who live in the US, hope you enjoyed your nice long weekend!!
Happy Stamping!
Tosh

Stamps: Just For You
Paper: Fall in Love (MME), Birchtone Dark (Prism), Neenah
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento), Vintage Photo (Ranger Distress)
Accessories: Dahlia Nestabilities (Spellbinders), All Around Punches and Snowflake Punch (Martha Stewart), Mega Lily Leaves Punch (Punch Bunch), Lace (Webster's), Stickles, Rhinestones (Zva Creative and Kaisercraft), Corner Rounder Punch (EK Success), Sewing Machine

A Get Well Wishes Hop for Michelle!!

My dear friend, and owner of Stamper's Dream, Michelle, had surgery yesterday. So the Dream Team has decided to do a blog hop just for her.
This is for you Michelle!! Hope you're feeling better real soon!! LOVE ya!!

This is the first stop.
Here's the order for the rest of the hop:
Cam
Denise
Cindy
Silke
Amy
Laurie
Becca
Dawn

For my card, I watercolored the tulips from one of the new JustRite sets called Breath of Spring with my Tombows. I don't know what's gotten into me lately, but I'm totally drawn to the crispness of white backgrounds. I can't help myself. Maybe it's because of the nice weather we're having here...bright sunshine, crisp clean temperate temperatures. Okay, I don't want any nasty comments or emails from you Easterners....*grin*....my heart does go out to you. I'm sure you're actually sick of seeing white. LOL

Okay, back to the card...the gingham at the bottom was made with Gingham Cover-a-Card Background stamp by Impression Obsession. I think the gingham is just super charming. The background was scored with my Scor-Pal, and the ribbon is May Arts. I colored some white pearls with my copics to get the soft pink, and I added a touch of glitter to the flowers and bow.

Don't forget to continue on the hop. These gals have some fabulous projects to show you.
Thanks so much for stopping by!
I hope you're having a fabulous long weekend!!




Stamps: Breath of Spring, Gingham Cover-a-Card Background
Paper: Neenah, Frosted Pink (Prism)
Ink: Versamark, Pixie Dust (VersaMagic)
Accessories: Tombows, Oval and Oval Scallops Nestabilities (Spellbinders), Ribbon and Silver cord (May Arts), Button (PTI), Pearls (Kaisercraft), Border Punch (Martha Stewart), Glitter, Scor-Pal, Detail Black ep (JudiKins), Dimensional Tape (Scotch)

A new toy and images!!

I have a fun new toy and some gorgeous images to share with you today!! First of all, I LOVE these Mannequins by Impression Obsession that I got from Stamper's Dream. Aren't they just pure elegance? There are so many possibilities to bling these babies up!! Rhinestones, glitter, liquid pearls, stickles...Well, ya know I love to distress things a bit, so I dirtied up my elegant image and beautiful sentiment from one of the new JustRite sets called Joyful Hearts. To distress them, I stamped off one of my favorite Tim Holtz images from the set Slight Alterations with Frayed Burlap Distress Ink. It dirties the images up just enough without overpowering them. Oh, I almost forgot to mention I colored the dresses with Copics.

Okay, now that I've told you about my fun new images, let me share with you my fun new toy....Fringe Scissors by Martha Stewart. Did you notice the large fringed scallops running along the side? I had the most fun with this new toy. It has 5 evenly placed blades for cutting perfect strips!!

For the scallops, I first punched my scallop border with my EK Success punch, then fringed it up, and layered the two pieces. I then added a sewn strip and some Black Rhinestones (Kaisercraft). You can also make confetti with these scissors. Just cut the strips, then cross cut. Quick, easy and perfect for shaker cards.

That about sums this baby up!! Hope you have a fantastic weekend!! I'm going to go see Valentine's Day tomorrow!! Can't wait!!

Stamps: Mannequins (Impression Obsession), Joyful Hearts (JustRite), Slight Alterations (Tim Holtz)
Paper: Amber Road Collection (Pink Paislee), Black (Prism), Neenah
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento), Frayed Burlap, Faded Jeans and Vintage Photo (Ranger Distress)
Accessories: Oval and Oval Scallops Nestabilities (Spellbinders), Copics, Fringe Scissors and Border Punch(Martha Stewart), Rhinestones (Kaisercraft), Sewing Machine, Dimensional Tape (Scotch)

Pencil inspired

Charlene gave us a wonderful sight called ImageKind to use as inspiration this week for our CCEE Challenge. I chose the photo of the heart pencils found HERE. I loved the different colored hearts, so I designed my card around that aspect. For the recessed hearts, I used a Circle and Heart Nestabilities die (Spellbinders), and I used some funky and fun Red Gala Glitz (Art Glitter) for the popped heart. The frame was made with SU!'s Scallop Border punch, and the base border was made with a Martha Stewart Punch. I also scored a frame around the edges with my Score-Pal. Finally, once again, I turned to my trusty JustRite Fonts to create a sentiment in the style I wanted. For that, I used my Harmony Rectangular Stamper and the 15pt Times Roman Font. Love my fonts. I can create any sentiment to fit any occasion. Head to Stamper's Dream and check out the wide variety of JustRite images and Fonts available. Fun Stuff!!

That's it for today. We'd love to have you participate in our Inspiration challenge!! Just head on over to the CCEE Stamper's blog for all the instructions. Can't wait to see what inspires you!

Happy Stamping my friends!!

Viva la Verve Inspired

Amber has some wonderful sketches and inspirations over at the Viva la Verve forum found HERE. I used this past Friday's as a starting point for this card, and the third photo as the inspiration. I LOVE the cross from Verve's set Everlasting Life. It's so beautiful pieced.

This card is pretty straight forward. No special techniques. I just followed the sketch, did a bit of sewing and added some glitter and buttons. Woila...easy.

Thank you so very much for stopping by. I hope your week is off to a fabulous start!
Happy Stamping my friends!!




Stamps: Everlasting Life
Paper: Inspire (Memory Box), Imaginisce, Suede Brown Dark (Prism), Neenah Natural
Ink: Vintage Sepia (Versafine), Vintage Photo and Walnut Stain (Ranger Distress)
Accessories: Labels 8 Nestabilities (Spellbinders), Buttons (PTI), Glitter (Doodlebug), Sewing Machine, Border Punches (EK Success and Fiskars), Dimensional Tape (Scotch)

Mardis Gras 2010

Okay, so there's this football team playing today called the New Orleans Saints. Have ya heard of them? *wink*....anyway....I am so not a football fan. Not even the tiniest bit. But, since my dear friend Michelle (Stamper's Dream) lives in Louisiana, and Mardis Gras is right around the corner, I thought I'd make this fun card so I could avoid all the white noise that encompasses the den when there's a football game going on. *grin*

Isn't this Mardis Gras Martini Glass (Impression Obsession) fun? I LOVE the music notes in the glass. I colored it with Copics and added some bling with my Quickie Glue Pen and Ultrafine Transparent Glitter.

For the bg, I used the new music Cover a Card Backgrounds by Impression Obsession, and the fleur de lis Cuttlebug embossing folder. The borders were made with Spellbinder's Fleur de Lis Borderabilities, and an EK Success border punch. The ribbon is May Arts, the button, PTI, and the Rhinestone is Kaisercraft. Finally, the paper I used is Majestic Purple Dark, Black and Simply Smooth Prismatics.

I hope you're enjoying your weekend!
Happy Stamping!

Chocolate Box

There's a Project Parade going on over at the Verve Blog, and I have the honor of posting today's project. I saw this Fabulous Box and tutorial on Kirsten's Blog found HERE, quite awhile ago, and when I found out the theme for the Verve Project Parade this month was going to be Tags, Tins and Treats, I knew immediately I wanted to try one of Kirsten's gorgeous boxes. To see what's in the drawers and all the sweet Verve messages along the sides, head on over to the Verve Blog found HERE.

Thanks for stopping by. Hope you're having a wonderful week!!
Happy Stamping my friends!




Supplies:
Stamps: Love's Flower, Celebrating You, Love Monkey (Verve)
Paper: Duchess (Kaisercraft), Birchtone Light and Medium (Prism), Neenah
Ink: Vintage Sepia (Versafine), Vintage Photo (Ranger Distress), Jumbo Java (Versamagic)
Accessories: Labels 3, Lattice Pendant and Circle Nestabilities (Spellbinders), Flowers and Pearls(Prima), Rhinetstones, Lace (Webster's Pages), Border Punch (EK Success), Lace Stickles, Glitter, Quickie Glue Pen, Drawer Handles (7 Gypsies), Box Tutorial (Kirsten's Blog), Chipboard, Dimensional Tape (Scotch)

CCEE Heart Challenge

Since it's now February, we have a new Challenge issuer: Charlene Merrick...and she has some wonderful ideas for this month. The first being, a card with hearts and a charm. I used Verve images from the sets Heart's Desire and Thankful Hearts. We'd love to have you participate in this months challenges along with us too!! Just head on over to the CCEE Stampers Blog found HERE and follow the instructions. We love seeing where your creativity takes ya!!

Thanks for stopping by.
Happy stamping!


Stamps: Heart's Desire and Thankful Hearts (Verve)
Paper: Neenah, Black (Prism), Kaisercraft
Ink: Black Onyx (Versafine), Malted Mauve (VersaMagic)
Accessories: Circle, Scalloped Circle and Labels 1 Nestabilities (Spellbinders), Scalloped Velvet Ribbon (Doodlebug), Rhinestones (Kaisercraft), Silk Ribbon (May Arts), Charm

4 Techniques 1 Image

Have you ever used, what I call, an Image Frame? It's an image that is not perfectly round, square, or oval, and is used to frame a sentiment or scene. Well, I LOVE this new Dandelion Frame by Hero Arts that I got from Stamper's Dream. It's so versatile and creates such a gorgeous background. For this first card, I used a large round sponge dauber to add a variety of Ranger Distress inks to Simply Smooth cs. I started by sponging Mustard Seed all over my 4 1/4" x 4 1/4" panel. I then added the following in the order listed: Dried Marigold, Worn Lipstick, and Aged Mahogany to the top. Shabby Shutters, Pine Needles and Aged Mahogany to the bottom. Lastly I sponged around all the edges with Black Soot. After I had my colors complete, I embossed the Dandelion image with Detail Black ep and Black Onyx Versafine. The gorgeous oval sentiment is from the JustRite set called Thinking of You.

Don't forget, you can click on the photo for a closer look.

For this next Card, I only used Broken China Ranger Distress ink, with a smidgen of Black Soot around the edges.



I used 3 Distress Inks on this third example: Mustard Seed, Worn Lipstick and Fired Brick. And instead of embossing in Black, I used Detail White ep and Versamark Ink.



Finally, for my fourth example, I used 3 Dew Drop Inks instead of Distress Inks: Beige Brilliance, Pixie Dust and Malted Mauve VersaMagic. It's definitely the softest of the four, and has a slight sheen to it with the Brilliance ink.

That's it for today ya'll. I hope I've given you some ideas to toss around in your head.
Have a fantastic week!!

Happy Stamping!





Supplies:
Stamps: Dandelion Frame (Hero Arts), Thinking of You (JustRite)
Paper: Simply Smooth, Black, Crabapple Light and Herbal Garden Medium (Prismatics)
Ink: Black Onyx (Versafine), Mustard Seed, Dried Marigold, Worn Lipstick, Fired Brick, Aged Mahogany, Shabby Shutters, Pine Needles, Broken China, Black Soot (Ranger Distress Inks), Beige (Brilliance), Pixie Dust and Malted Mauve (VersaMagic)
Accessories: Oval and Scalloped Oval Nestabilities (Spellbinders), Buttons and Ribbon (PTI), Multicolored Mini- Rhinestones (Zva Creative), Corner Punch (Marvy), Border Punches (Martha Stewart and EK Success), Butterfly Punch (Martha Stewart)