Our Christmas Vacation...

It has been quite some time since I have last posed anything on my blog.  I am sorry if you had come to my blog vie a link, expecting to find cards.   I had given a lot of thought to just closing down this blog as I post most, if not all of my pages on SplitCoast in their scrapbook thread and post to some of the challenges on Scrapbook.com.   I have not made a final decision yet but I am also well aware that I have lost a number of followers when I quit posting, then stopped Flourishes design team.  I hope you will take a moment to look through a day in my like.

Those of you that have a blog are well aware of how much time it takes to maintain a well read site. I had found my daily life had become more stressful than I wanted for my retirement years so I gave it all up to return to my first love in paper crafting....... scrap book pages.

What better place to start the renewal of my blog than with pages for the renewal of my kitchen. For these two pages I have chosen one of the sketch challenges from SCS, then used the same simple design for the title page.    Would you believe my grandkids enjoyed tearing down the wallpaper from the lower wall??  It was a good thing they started the job, because I don't know if we would have finished it once we found out how hard it was to remove the paper.  I think super glue was used to adheare to the paper to the wall.

While creating the layout I found two things of importance...... one, a simple bit of texture like the embossing on a single strip can bring  interest and action to a flat feeling page. Two, DON'T spend a whole day trying to make a preconceived design fit the layout when a very simple solution is as close as changing the direction of just one element. In this case the oval frame was changed from a vertical orientation to horizontal.

The only other embellishments are a few pearl strips from Kaiser and flowers by Petaloo. 

We started the kitchen redecorating the end of December,  three months later the end is almost here and what a change you will begin to see in the next layout.  

Thank you for stopping by

Define Good!

Define good; getting 140 scrap book pages done in 2012........... Oh, well, that is not what I had in mind when picking a title for these two pages, but it works for me! 

I am very close to completing a album from the last time my son's and their families were able to make it home for the holidays. I thought it would be fun to flip through the book during their visit in a few weeks. 

I have used the coordinating papers from the My Minds Eye Signature paper pad. The paper is as old as the photos but hey it's going to be DONE. Done, using card stock from scraps and embellishments that have been in my stash for some time.  

The title I did using my Silhouette, and the corner and fancy tag bling came from Want2Scrap and Petaloo florals.

I have downloaded a ton of Christmas Silhouette files, my camera a loaded with room for 800 pictures, I have the Christmas paper pad that I will be using for the 2012 Christmas photos. I am ready for Christmas!! Wait, I have shopping to do yet ( how come men don't do the Christmas shopping?? He cleans house so it's all good! ) then wrap it all up.

Next year starts a new goal for scrapping and new challenges on SCS.

Friday Free for all & Black Sale

Grab your warm woolies, a hot drink, and head off to the stores for those big sales of the year! Or do what I will do, stay indoors with your hot drink and let your fingers do the walking!

I have my hot drink and for all those family and friend get togethers I take along my knitting. Why knitting, I can do that and talk, my hands are busy and I don't get restless. In truth I don't get much knitting done during those time because I have graduated to the age group that does most of the cooking and if I don't cook I am on clean up duty. Clean up takes just as long as cooking!

Have you had the change to see what the dt has cooked up for you today?  If not take a quick look around than head over to Flourishes.org for the Black Friday sale.

• Christine Okken
• Cindy Lawrence
• Danielle Kennedy
• Heather Jensen
• Jan Marie Caruso
• Julie Koerber – D.T. Coordinator
• Sharon Doolittle
• Silke Ledlow
• Stacy Morgan
• Tammy Hershberger

Have fun shopping today and keep safe & warm!

                                                        BLACK FRIDAY SALE

Flourishes has been getting ready for a fun-filled BLACK FRIDAY SALE! It starts today, November 23rd! As soon as this post goes live.  As they say, the early bird gets the worm with this sale because it will be a virtual door-busting progressive sale with better discounts the earlier you shop! So, save these codes and get ready to do some fun shopping! Make sure to tell “Santa” which of these goodies are on your list so he knows! All times are based on Central Standard Time. Codes are for percentage off total order and no back orders will be accepted. Discounts will not be applied to gift certificates or wholesale orders of any kind. Discounts will apply to all items already on sale – so check out our Gambler’s Sale items HERE! Prices will drop on this sale list again on Friday to 30% off. So, the time is now to buy with these additional discounts! 

PLEASE NOTE: This sale must exclude Copic products due to MAP pricing requirements.

Bloomin Aussie Beautiful

 We also have heard from many folks (Australians and Canadians alike) that they wish we offered a set that spelled greetings an a way that they were accustomed to - words like "colour," "favourite," "neighbour," and more! So, we put our thinking caps on and today, we introduce you to.... Bloomin Aussie Florals

It was fun learning about florals that I will probably never see in person, I am sure there are tons of flowers that I have never and will never see IRL. I had to Google images to find out what color a Golden (should have given me a clue) Wattle could be colored. I found only one color...........and it was golden.

I used one of the new Flourishes Classic dies for my card today. Look for them soon in the store. Flourishes has also added bundles of single color buttons to coordinate with their Color Make Easy collection system of papers, inks, markers, ribbons, now embellishments. Look for them Here.

Stamp; bloomin Aussie floral
Ink; Memento, Copic Y21, W1, Y06, YG91, YG93,G99 , Versa Mark watermark pad,
Paper; CME  Tiger Lily paper  and seam binding ribbon and Buttons, all from the CME system embellishments   

And guess what -- today there will be FIVE mystery bloggers! So, the more love you leave in the form of a comment on these blogs below, the better your chances of winning!! We'll be giving away today's set - Bloomin' Aussie Florals plus we'll be giving away one each of our four new die sets! So get hopping and amp up your chance to WIN!

• Christine Okken
• Cindy Lawrence
• Danielle Kennedy
• Heather Jensen
• Julie Koerber – D.T. Coordinator
• Sharon Doolittle
• Silke Ledlow
• Stacy Morgan
• Tammy Hershberger

You might think that this is the end of the excitement, but NO! We have more! Fresh off the manufacturing line comes a whole new line of custom dies! These aren't just any shapes. They are special! Why? Because in addition to being nested template dies custom created by Spellbinders Paper Arts exclusively for Flourishes, these dies all offer pierced accents! Say goodbye to piercing templates - these dies do it for you in one step! They are all a part of the Perfectly Pierced Collection! And, here's a peek at
 Perfectly Pierced Classic Windows, Perfectly Pierced Victorian Ovals, Perfectly Pierced Classic Hourglass, Perfectly Pierced Classic Frame

Have you entered the challenge to be in the running to win the entire release? Well, we have the Be Progressive Challenge that closes today at 5PM EST -- still time to enter to win our entire new release! Plus, we have our daily mystery bloggers. Be sure to check back to see if your name lands in the Winner's Circle! Thanks for stopping by this week and joining us for all the fun!
 Happy Stamping!

The Flavor Of Tuscany

Welcome to day three of Flourishes release with one of our very first scenery stamp set. I love creating a scene!  Especially when it is a single stamp and color image. 

Today I have two views of the same card.  In this first picture I had stamped the Florence scene on watercolor paper note card with versa fine onyx ink. I like this pigment ink when I am going to use water on my paper. In real life the image on my card looked very "flat" when viewed face on, although, like some finished cards, they look better in pictures than they do IRL. Be that as it may, I cut out the center of the stamped image then backed it with Early Espresso card stock, then popped that panel up in the same spot it was cut from.

Looking at the two cards here I am not sure which I like the best. I am aware that my perception of the design could all be an illusion because of the angle of the photo and the difference in backdrop colors. In any case the top card looks just as good as the one below. 

No matter the outcome, "Flavor Of Florence" is a fun set to work with. Just take a look at what the team has  designed to see just how much fun you could have "creating a scene"!

Christine Okken
Cindy Lawrence
Danielle Kennedy
Julie Koerber – D.T. Coordinator
Sharon Doolittle
Silke Ledlow
Stacy Morgan
Tammy Hershberger
Heather Jensen

Today is another change to win today's stamp set.  All you need to do is leave a message on each blog, on Saturday one of comments will be chosen from the mystery  bloggers..... blog.  Take a few minutes to hop around to all of the ladies not only to leave a comment but to see inspirational ideas.

DID YOU KNOW YOU COULD WIN OUR ENTIRE NOVEMBER RELEASE? Have you checked out our Be Progressive Challenge? Just clickhttp://flourishes.org/2012/11/be-progressive-the-final-step/"> HERE

to find out how to play– there are four ways to win! Play along in this week’s http://flourishes.org/2012/11/timeless-tuesday-195-plus-a-sneak-peek/">Timeless Tuesday challenge  and that’s another way to win! Play along in the Be Progressive Challenges before this Friday at 5 PM EST and winners will be announced Saturday in our Winner’s Circle blog post! (You have until Monday at 6PM EST for the Timeless Tuesday challenge!)  So get those fingers inky and good luck!

If you like what you see on our designers’ blogs today, you can pre-order this set (along with the other three sets as well) and if you purchase all four sets, you can take advantage ourhttp://shop.flourishes.org/New_Release_Bundle_p/nrb_nov2012.htm"> New Release Bundle

and get 10% off all our new sets when you purchase it in the bundle. What fun! All sets will be live first thing Friday morning along with another special surprise! So, be sure to stick with us this week as we unveil a whole new host of paper crafting goodies!

We’ll see you back here tomorrow for another new release sneak peek! This one will have you taking yet another trip to a far away place to witness some beautiful botanicals! Come back tomorrow and see what fun we've dreamed up! See you then!

Timeless Tuesday Challenge with a Flourishes Release

It was a timely color challenge for today's Flourishes release. I need a masculine birthday card for next month. I thought that the Timeless Tuesday All Natural inspiration piece was the perfect choice for the job.

All Natural color scheme, simple but elegant. The same can be said for the first peek at what is in store from Flourishes this week.

I combine the November 1 2 3 Kit with Inside Out; Just Because  stamp set for a stylish card without all the fuss. I think any 15 year old male with approve, especially if the card comes with money included!

Flourishes is coming out with more dies, dies that pierce at the same time as they cut and emboss. This is just one in the set of ............

We have the whole gang here today playing with In & Out Just Because........... check us out!

• Christine Okken
• Cindy Lawrence
• Danielle Kennedy
• Heather Jensen
• Julie Koerber 
• Sharon Doolittle
• Silke Ledlow
• Stacy Morgan
• Tammy Hershberger
• Allison Cope
• Amanda Havon 
• Broni Holcombe
• Cindy Haffner
• Denise Marzec
• Maki Jones
• Karen Wallace - our November Guest Designer

Stamp set: In & Out Just Because
Paper: 1 2 3 kit Nov, Ivory classic
Ink: Memento Rich Cocoa
Die: Flourishes
Pearls: Kaiser brown line pearls

As with each release there is a mystery blogger, who?? There are lots to choose from today. Leave an many comments on the blogs to be in the running.

Friday pre Release Challenge

The third step in our progressive challenge is to add designer paper to your card.  How easy is that!  One more step on the way to be in the running to win November release stamp sets.

I used the sketch you saw during step 1, I used a monochromatic color scheme from step 2. The color scheme used is from Flourishes CME system, in this case rich brown. Along with the Copic collection by the same name.  Progressive Step 3 is to add designer paper.  The paper I used is from Echo Park Graceful 6x6 pad. 

Stamps; Naturally Merry, Sentimental Christmas  Paper; Rich Brown CME, Graceful  Ink; Copic Rich Brown   Memento Rich Cocoa  Ribbon; Chocolate brown  Silhouette die cut; Naturally Merry

Get a little more inspiration by taking time to see what Silke has created for this third step.

 Stay tuned to see the final step to take to finish your card. Check back on Flourishes blog in two hours!!

Flourishes gamblers sale continues this week with 20% off all the items on our sale page Here. The sale will continue, how low will it go?? Remember you gamble while you wait so grab some great bargains while you can.

Friday Focus at Flourishes

Focus on Bee My Honey 

 I stamped with Bee My Honey and the Honeycomb background stamp using distress ink and Sahara Sand classic pad.  I just purchased a honeycomb embossing folder which I used for this card.

I added a few bits of hardware in the form of an antique copper ribbon slide as well as the floral brad, both of which are in the Gamblers Sale. 

Take a minute to stop by to see what the ladies have created. If you find a someone that has not posted a card, leave a message as they may be without power living on the East coast.  I know there is at least one of Flourishes designers that has no electricity, but everyone of our designers is safe, at least for now. 

• Christine Okken
• Cindy Lawrence
• Danielle Kennedy
• Heather Jensen
• Julie Koerber 
• Sharon Doolittle
• Silke Ledlow
• Stacy Morgan
• Tammy Hershberger

I have waiting until the last minute to do my post and now I am finding it difficult to write as I am watching all the continued coverage from NJ and NY. Flourishes is on the Gulf Coast and we are well aware of the kind of problems they are dealing with. They are looking at a long road and years of recovery before they find their new normal.

Friday Focus Forest of Trees

Today Flourishes is focusing on one of their older stamp sets. In fact Forest of Trees was released in the first year that Flourishes was in business. The images are still as relevant today,  as they were five years ago, and will be just as timeless years from now.  The sentiment is from one of the newest stamp sets that Flourishes released just this month, Naturally Merry. 

I used a simple design for my card today, and very few colors......  white, red, and green.  With the help of  embossing folders and dies I was able to add texture and dimension.   Now if wanted to add more color to your cards, Flourishes has made it easy with their Color Made Easy system. Watch for even more embellishments that will coordinate with the color groups. 

After stamping with Memento bamboo leaves for the trees I added a strip of red velvet ribbon and three

 hot pink (colored red) rhinestones.  The tiny rose finishes the card.  

I had some red rhinestones but I thought I would try coloring one the shades that I don't use as often just to see if it would work. And it does!  Sooooo, if you don't have the size or shade of embellishments you want, try coloring what you do have. Alcohol makers work very well when coloring a non porous items.  

Being able to color embellishments adds appeal for sale items. It really expands your options for purchasing. 

You will want to make the rounds to all the blogs to see what beautiful creation they have done for you this week.   

• Christine Okken
• Cindy Lawrence
• Danielle Kennedy
• Heather Jensen
• Julie Koerber 
• Sharon Doolittle
• Silke Ledlow
• Stacy Morgan
• Tammy Hershberger

Are you ready to take a gamble? Starting today, Flourishes will be hosting a progressive sale called our Gambler’s Sale! We’ll start the sale at 10% off all items on our SALE page and then, each Friday afterward, we will drop prices another 5% until all the items are going, going, GONE! Quantities are limited – so take a gamble and see how low these prizes will go and risk losing the sale or buy them before they get snatched up! There will be no back orders on any of the products facing retirement. So, get these items before they are gone for good! Since we have to make room on our shelves for new products, this sale is bound to be good! Click HERE to take a peek at our sale pages!

Friday Focus At Flourishes

Welcome to Friday!

 It is time to take a look back to last weeks stamp release and find one of the images that I did not have time to use during the whirl wind 5 day release and come up with a design to show you today.  There are some fantastic images that will be used for years to come in Flourishes new winter/Christmas collection.

Do you know what I love about working and designing for Flourishes??  It's the change to have all of those lovely stamp sets in my collection from day 1. That has been 5 years of timeless images for today's paper crafter. How are you doing with your collection of stamps?
And what about those cut files for the stamp sets??  I have used my Silhouette more and more in all my paper crafting, from cards, gifts, decor, and scrapbooking.
I have fond memories of ice skating during my growing up years, as well as memories of going ice skating with my kids and grand kids.
Snow Days will be prefect for making embellishments for the pictures taken during the summer of ice skating in Michigan. You have to love the indoor rinks!!

Stamp: snow days,  Paper: graceful, classic white Ink: memento, copic, distress inks, Embellishments:
 iridescent string and sparklets.   A simple card really.

I am sure you will see beautiful work by following the links below and don't forget, today is the last day for 10% off the release bundle. And did you know that Flourishes brought back free shipping??  On domestic  orders over $75.

• Christine Okken
• Cindy Lawrence
• Danielle Kennedy
• Heather Jensen
• Julie Koerber 
• Sharon Doolittle
• Silke Ledlow
• Stacy Morgan
• Tammy Hershberger

Day 5 - Flourishes Release Hop

Need just the right words to say on your card? Here we have sentiments in a slightly larger format than our ever popular Tag Lines, this one is called Sentimental Favorites. 

Here we are to finish the week with a few sentimental favorite words. It seems like a lot of people I know have been under the weather the last week or more.  Flu stay away from my house, but for all of you that feel a little puny today, this card is for you!

My card today combined the coordinating card stock and ink from Emerald Coast, with designer paper from My Minds Eye called Lavender. Doesn't look much like lavender does it? No matter I was pleased, and you will be too, at how well all these different products matched together so well.  

The only things I had to think about was what I wanted to use as embellishments. Like a sneak of one of the new dies Flourishes is coming out with very soon. Then I added part of the left over pearl/rhinestone design, used on yesterdays card, for today's "get well" creation. A Seam binding figure eight bow, red heart sparklet, crystal pin, and tiny tag with sentiment from Fresh Baked finished the card.  

Does it look familiar? I have used Color Made Easy all week because, well, it made it easy to bring together this latest creation for Flourishes. I can't say it enough this week, "I needed easy". I have been finding that working full time was much easier than being retired and taking on so many activities. Papercrafting is one activity I can never give up. 

Would you like to win our new Sentimental Favorites stamp set? All you need to do is guess….

One of the ladies on our link list below will be picking a name from the comments on her blog post today. We don’t know which one it is… so the more blogs you leave comments on, the more chances you have to win! So what are you waiting for? Head on over and see…..

• Christine Okken
• Cindy Lawrence
• Danielle Kennedy
• Heather Jensen
• Julie Koerber 
• Sharon Doolittle
• Silke Ledlow
• Stacy Morgan
• Tammy Hershberger

There are still opportunities to win, for more information read below. If you have already entered in all the challenges going on then skip this last part and we'll see you tomorrow at the winners circle. There are some tidbit about the cut files for this weeks release that you won't want to miss if you have a cutting machine!!

NOW.. onto some more fun news and a few reminders!

Don’t forget, you have a chance to win our entire October Release! Have you checked out our Think Pink Challenge? Just click HERE  to find out how to play! Play along in this week’s Timeless Tuesday challenge! You can also play in our Noon Time Challenges, which kicked off yesterday with the Inside and Out Challenge. And, the Go Natural Challenge too!  All challenges will close this Friday at 5 PM EST and winners will be announced Saturday in our Winner’s Circle blog post! So get those fingers inky and good luck!

Have you checked out our  New Release Bundle? It gives you 10% off all our new sets when you purchase it in the bundle!

And... another exciting bit of news! Three out of the five sets released have a Silhouette Cameo cut file available as well. AND, for those folks who asked for SVG files so that they could also use our cut files in other digital cutting machines, we say — you asked, we answered! We now have all of our cut files available in an SVG format as well! Just click HERE to visit these files in the Flourishes store! These digital downloads are purchased from the store and upon completion of your order, you’ll receive a link to download your cut files. We think these will add so much fun when creating!

And FINALLY.... have you missed our FREE SHIPPING with all domestic orders over $75 program? Well, we did too and have decided to bring it back just for YOU! That's right! Now, any order you place over $75 (excluding our 40 packs of Classic card stock or clear boxes), will include free shipping! That's one heck of a deal and one we hope you take advantage of!

That's enough news and excitement for one post. If you want to see all the new sets in their full glory -- just  click HERE to visit the Flourishes store! We hope you have had a blast with us this week!  We’ll see you back here tomorrow as we draw the latest names to land in our Winner’s Circle! See you then!

Day 4 of Flourishes Release Hop

What do you think?? Didn't  I tell you Flourishes had some beautiful, timeless, and stylish winter stamps to show you this week? Naturally Merry is the latest in a string of designs from Marcella Hawley for Flourishes and my personal favorite for this month is Naturally Merry.  

. 

How about you? Whats your favorite set so far this week?? 

Again, I used all the colors of CME Pistachio paper pack. The lightest shade is the center panel, then classic white, and last is the darkest shade in the paper pack.  All Three panels are cut with Resplendent Rectangles by Spellbinders. Coloring was done with Prisma colored pencils with the addition of a bit of lace and bling.

Color Made Easy Pistachio paper is combined with Flourishes Classic White paper for a card that was not at all time consuming to assemble. Isn't that what we all need everyday and especially this time of year. Let Flourishes help you with conserve your energy  and maximize your time by choosing one, or more of the CME  color systems. 

One of the ladies on our link list below will be picking a name from the 
comments on her blog post today. We don’t know which one it is… so the more 
blogs you leave comments on, the more chances you have to win! So what are you 
waiting for? Head on over to see all the gorgeous ways our designers ushered in 
some "natural" beauty! 

Christine Okken
Cindy Lawrence
Danielle Kennedy
Heather Jensen
Julie Koerber 
Sharon Doolittle
Silke Ledlow
Stacy Morgan
Tammy Hershberger

DID YOU KNOW YOU COULD WIN OUR ENTIRE OCTOBER RELEASE? Have you checked out our Think Pink? Just click HERE  to find out how to play! Play along in Timeless Tuesday challenge — which is sure to be a fun one! You can also play in our Noon Time Challenges, which kicked off Wednesday and  again on today at noon! Our noon time challenges are fast-paced chances to win our FULL October release!   All challenges will close this Friday at 5 PM EST and winners will be announced Saturday in our Winner’s Circle blog post! So get those fingers inky and good luck!

The good news? If you like what you see, you can pre-order Naturally Merry.  If you purchase all five sets, you can take advantage our New Release Bundle and get 10% off all our new sets when you purchase it in the bundle.

See you back here at noon for the Thursday challenge.