Scrapnextras

Flourishes Friday; Colouring with Twinkling H20's

 

It's Flourishes' Friday and for this week's Flourishes Focus on Colour, it was my turn to play hostess.  I volunteered to share what I have discovered about Twinkling H20's and created a short tutorial on the Flourishes' Blog.  I hope you'll pop in to have a peek.  I confess that I'm quite a newbie at watercolouring and even moreso with the Twinkling H20's, but they say the best way to learn is to teach...so I gave it my best shot!

 The Flourishes design team have been Twinkling up a storm too.  You won't want to miss all the fabulous works of art they've created.  Start off by checking out my tutorial, then pop in for a quick visit with each of the design team members.

Julie Koerber
Christine Okken
Cindy Lawrence
Faith Hofrichter
Latisha Yoast
Leslie Miller
Stacy Morgan
Jan Marie Caruso

Have a fabulous weekend my friends!  And thanks for dropping by!

Colour Challenge with New Toys!

 

With all this talk about using up my stash, I thought I would ensure that there is always something in it to use up!  Well, it's not like I'm worried, I'm sure I could make craft away for the next ten years without the "need", and I use the term in the most fundamental sense, for anything else.  However, an infusion of new stamps and toys ensures that stash will be there to pull from for years to come, and play with today!

The UPS man dropped off a box of goodies from Stampin' UP!  I have more stamps, more paper, and the Top Note die!  I haven't used it yet, but when I got a cuttlebug for Christmas, I knew it would be on my first order of the New Year!  Of course it's Sale-a-Bration, so with my order I picked out the Botanical Blooms SAB set.  I wasn't too sure of it until I inked it up, and then Kapow!!  I'm in love!

I knew I wanted to get one of my new sets inky, so I went cruising for sketches to see what inspired me.  Just then Feedburner let me know that Carole Burrage had updated here blog Mothers Little Helper and lo and behold was the sketch that was to inspire me.  I ran with SCS Colour Challenge #207; Summer Sun, Pumpkin Pie and Kiwi Kiss, and I love how it turned out!

I never thought I'd see the day when I would choose watercolouring over two step stamping, but it has come.  I had hard time lining them up, and I decided to watercolour them.  I like it much better this way. 

My other new toy is the cool wavy border punch.  I picked it up at Michaels this weekend.  It's one of the new compact border punches from EK...and it works so slick!

The Kiwi Kiss dp is from Bella Rose, and the Pumpkin Pie dp is from Summer Picnic.  The Summer Sun section had been glued on and seemed a little plain, so I gently peeled it of, adhered it to the used sticker sheet I had thrown off after mounting the stamps, and ran it through my new Cuttlebug with the Swiss Dots folder.  I did it upside down...duh, and I coudn't turn it over because it had adhesive on the other side, so I decided it looked kind of cool raised up on the dots so I left it.  Kiwi Kiss ribbon and old olive brads finish it off!

Well, I'm off to work and it's a cold snowy day here, so I need to give myself a little extra time to get there.  I hope your day is warm and wonderful.  Thanks for spending a bit of it with me!

Laura

Recipe:  Stamps:  Botanical Blooms (SU!)  Paper:  Naturals White, Kiwi Kiss, Summer Sun, Summer Picnic DP & Bella Rose DP  Ink:  Versafine Onyx Black  Accessories:  brads, dimensionals, Kiwi Kiss grosgrain ribbon (SU!), EK border punch, Swiss Dots folder, Spellbinders oval dies

Stash Challenge Tuesday; Old Stampin' Up! Designer Paper

 

How old can you go?  You know I have no idea when Stampin' Up! introduced patterned papers to their line up.  I know it was there when I signed on in 2003.  Truthfully, I thought it was ugly then, but I bought it because I thought that's what a good demo should do.  Well, a good demo should demonstrate it, unlike me, who 6 years later has a full package, un cut. 

So your challenge this week, is to pull out your oldest series of Stampin' Up! designer papers, and get creative with them.  There is no time limit, and anyone can play, demo or not.  If you upload to SCS, use the keyword SXSC06.  Or link your blog by comment to this post.  I would really like to see some more players, because I secretly want to have a reason to use that very cool Mr. Linky thing LOL!!!  So come play with me!

This week, Vicki Parson from Stamped Smiles went head to head with me, pulling out the oldest SU! paper she has, and created this gorgeous ensemble!  She used a series called Sweet and Sassy, which I actually love!  I'm pretty sure, with the exception of Real Red, this is the only designer paper series I recall with any of the bold brights. 

Vicki made this paper look brand new!  Nothing old or out dated with this set, and I love the fruit theme through out!  Check out Vicki's blog, and she'll tell you all about these amazing projects!

Thanks so much for the challenge Vicki!  This was fun.

OK, my turn.  I pulled out some paper that was introduced in the 2002-2003 SU Catalogue called "Seasons".  They had lots of patterned paper in their Simply Scrappin' kits, but there was a limited number of 12x12 papers.  And back then, the only reason I bought designer paper was for scrapbooking.  The day had yet to come where I dared use patterned paper on a card.  Back then, that was considered "cheating" LOL!  Which is really too funny, because now it's rare that I'll make a card without patterned paper.  OK, enough blabber, and on to my card.

  I think the seasons these two papers represent were spring and summer, and I combined them into a springy Easter card.

I used Easter Elegance, one of my very first Verve stamp sets!  I still love it and it's on sale right now too!  It's a two step stamp set and I pulled the colours from the papers; Lovely Lilac, Gable Green, and Pretty in Pink to colour those elegant Easter eggs!

I scalloped the bottom of the panel and added some Cotton Candy stickles to the eggs and scallops, and finished it off with taffeta ribbon.

Quick and cute!

Ok...start digging!  I want to see how old you can go!  I want to see how creative you can get!  Dig out your oldest SU! designer paper, and if you don't have any SU!, dig out the oldest patterned paper you can.  Have fun and have a great day!

Laura

Recipe:  Stamps:  Easter Elegance (Verve)  Paper:  Lovely Lilac, Pretty in Pink, Barely Banana, Seasons designer paper series  Ink:  Versafine Onyx Black, Gable Green, Pretty in PInk, Lovely Lilac  Accessories:  Pretty in Pink taffeta ribbon, scallop border punch, dimensionals (all SU!), Cotton Candy stickles (Ranger)

Viva la Verve! A Sketch with a Twist!

 

I missed a couple of the Viva la Verve sketches, but I hope you haven't!  If you get them all done you could win the entire Verve release coming up next week, and it's an amazing release.  You definitely won't want to miss out on your chance to win!  We'll be previewing them starting on Monday, and the release party is Sunday, March 8th @ 8:00 Eastern (that's 6:00 my time!).  Be there, and be ready for spring!

  This week the twist on the awesome sketch was to include acetate.  Well I have some of Heidi Swapp's clear flowers that I picked up at Stampers Dream, but so far I haven't put them in action.  So, I definitely wanted to make time for this week's sketch, and get at least one of them on a card.

I started with Verve's Cupcake Affair, which is such a fun set to work with, and incidentally it's on sale, along with a whole lot of Verve stamps!!  I pictured a bright and fun birthday card, so I called on my dwindling pack of Cutie Pie papers and went to town!

The cupcake is a two-step stamp, and I stamped the bottom and upper outline in Versafine Onyx Black, and stamped the "icing" in So Saffron.  I coloured the flowers with my markers and the cupcake papers with markers and an aquapainter.  I added mini pearls to the flower centres for fun.

The sentiment is from Birthday Surprise and is stamped on So Saffron in Versafine Onyx Black and cut into a tag shape using the tag corner punch.  I placed it on an angle which seemed to fit with the whimsical theme.  I added the clear flower with a button using my Ka-Jinker!  This is a fun tool, but you need to be using a few layers, or the "connection" is too loose.  If you haven't seen one of these, it attaches embellishments in a similar fashion to the way price tags are attached to clothes...pretty cool once you get it figured out!

Back to the card, I added a length of Rose Red grosgrain as per the sketch, but I had to omit the three embellishment on the sides and tops...they didn't seem to fit once I added the flower.  I think it looks complete as it is.

Now it's your turn to get the sketches done, and get yourself entered into the draw for the March release.  Mark, Sunday, March 8th on your calendar, because I want to see you at the release party!  Now, go and have yourself a fabulous day!

Laura

Recipe:  Stamps:  Cupcake Affair, Birthday Surprise (Verve)  Paper:  Whisper White, Rose Red, So Saffron, Prints DP, Cutie Pie DP  Ink: Versafine Onyx Black, So Saffron  Accessories:  Heidi Swapp clear flowers, Ka-Jinker, Rose Red grosgrain ribbon, half back pearls (Michaels), dimensionals, markers, aquapainter

Upsy Daisy Weekend Sketch Set

 

I personally think that Upsy Daisy might be the best set Stampin' Up! has introduced so far.  It is a fabulous "fall to" set, that is easy to work with and also lends itself to so many different techniques.  I love it! 

  This week's sketches were nothing short of amazing!  I think our favorite sketchers were in sync this weekend!  Every sketch had ovals or larger panels that would easily accomodate the entire Upsy Daisy image!  Sweet! 

I worked with the Holiday Happenings designer paper; last catalogue's level 3 hostess choice.  I think the pastel colours work better with spring than they did for fall and winter.  The colours in the papers are Pirouette Pink, Kiwi Kiss, Baja Breeze and Chocolate Chip.

 Beate's Weekend Sketch Challenge was a clean and simple layout, so I tried to keep my card clean and simple too.

I added a row of piercing above the image, which was stamped in Pirouette Pink and coated with a generous layer of Crystal Stickles.  The Chocolate Chip border was scalloped and pierced and Pink Pirouette grosgrain ribbon finishes it off perfectly.

Recipe:  Stamps: Upsy Daisy (SU!), Paper:  Pirouette Pink, Whisper White, Chocolate Chip, Holiday Happenings DP  Ink:  Pirouette Pink, Chocolate Chip  Accessories:  Paper piercer, Pirouette Pink grosgrain ribbon, Crystal Stickles

    Taylor's Cupcake Sketch featured an oval...so perfect for the Upsy Daisy image.  For this card I decided to colour the daisies, and since there are no markers for the "In Colours", I used a sponge dauber.  The inking isn't as accurate as a marker, but I really like the colours and the way they sort of mixed. 

I added some buttons for interest and Kiwi Kiss grosgrain ribbon to finish.  The sentiment is a rub on from the "Love and Happiness" set, and I'm so glad I did the rub on challenge just recently, or I might still be deciding how to add a sentiment!

Recipe:  Stamps: Upsy Daisy (SU!)  Paper: Kiwi Kiss, Whisper White, Holiday Happenings DP  Ink: Pirouette Pink, Baja Breeze, Kiwi Kiss  Accessories:  Love and Happiness Rub Ons, sponge daubers, buttons, Kiwi Kiss grosgrain ribbon, Oval/scalloped oval nestabilities (Spellbinders), dimensionals

I double stamped the Upsy Daisy image on Amy's Friday Sketch.  I have seen this done many times and I love the look! 

I switched the sentiment out for a prima flower, and added the sentiment to the lower left.  It seemed to balance better with this card.  Three Old Olive brads are added to the top, and I skipped the ribbon altogether.

Recipe:  Stamps: Upsy Daisy (SU!), Paper:  Baja Breeze, Kiwi Kiss, Whisper White, Holiday Happenings DP  Ink:  Baja Breeze  Accessories:  Prima Flowers, brads (SU! & Making Memories), scallop border punch, dimensionals

   Jen's Sketch for You to Try came together so quickly.  I had stamped the Upsy Daisy image in Kiwi Kiss while working on a previous card and cast if off.  So I picked it up and worked it in perfectly!  I love how it turned out all pink and pretty.

I added some pink gems to the corners and a liberal coat of stickles for some sparkle and shine.  Some light pink satin ribbon adds a soft touch to finish.

Recipe:  Stamps:  (SU!)  Paper:  Pirouette Pink, Baja Breeze, Kiwi Kiss, Whisper White, Holiday Happenings DP  Ink:  Kiwi Kiss  Accessories:  oval/scalloped oval nestabilities, ribbon trio dies (Spellbinders), pink satin ribbon, dimensionals, Crystal Stickles, ticket corner punch

I'm thrilled with this week's set!  My favorite...well I like them all, but I love the way Taylors looks with the coloured daisies, and how pink and pretty Jen's sketch is, oh and the sleek look of Beate's sketch makes me happy, and I love how crisp Amy's turned out!  How about you?

I hope you had a wonderful weekend, and I'm so happy you had a minute to drop by!  I hope to see you soon!

Laura

Flourishes Friday: Colour with Pencils

 

It's Flourshes Friday, and every Friday on the Flourishes Newsletter, the design team will take turns showcasing their favorite tips and techniques! This week, Julie Koerber steps up to the plate to show you one of her faves - colored pencils! Check out the Newsletter for her tutorial.  But first I wanted to share a card I created using pencils to colour...watercolour pencils to be exact.  They're an old favorite that I haven't used in a few years and I was in for a real treat, because I forgot how marvelous they are to work with!

  I chose to work with the newly released Signs of Spring by Flourishes.  I haven't used the small floral image so I got it inky.  Now, it could be a daffodil, but I thought the stamen looked less "tube" like and more stringy, so, as an "artiste", I decided that today it would be a crocus so I could colour it purple!!

I inked the flower in Versafine Onyx Black and stamped the flower twice on Naturals White.  I prefer naturals white as it has a bit more "tooth" without being too textured...a condition that makes watercolour pencils work best.  Once stamped, I took my pencils and added the colour to the portions of the image that I felt would be the most shadowy...the inner portions of the petals for example.  I took my blender pen, and began to gently pull the some of the colour away from the centre, still allowing the centre to be darker.  For the leaves and stamen, I just blended the colours.

One of my favorite features of the watercolour pencils is how easy it is to add a "halo" or subtle wash around the image.  I simply took an aqua coloured pencil and traced the outside of the image, and with the blender pen gently blended the colour out and away from the image.  So simple!!  Honestly, I had forgotten how wonderful these are to work with, and if you have forgotten too, I encourage you to pull them out!

The card base is Naturals White, and the image is layered on a scalloped oval in Orchid Opulence.  I chose Basic Grey's "Euphoria" designer paper, and the ribbon is the gorgeous May Art's Lavender satin, both are available at Flourishes. 

Hey...and this card is a mailer!!  Only one postage stamp required! The only bulk is the ribbon knot, and the May Arts satin ribbon ties soft and flat and looks so luxurious! 

Now hop on over to Flourishes blog and check out Julie's tutorial!  You might also enjoy seeing the creations of the rest of the design team, most of whom are featuring "coloured pencils" in some form or another!

Julie Koerber
Christine Okken
Cindy Lawrence
Faith Hofrichter
Latisha Yoast
Leslie Miller
Stacy Morgan

Happy Friday!  Enjoy your weekend and thanks for spending a bit of your day with me!  I truly appreciate every one of you!

Laura

Recipe:  Stamps:  Signs of Spring (Flourishes)  Paper:  Naturals White, Orchid Opulence, Basic Grey "Euphoria" designer papers  Ink:  Versafine Onyx Black  Accessories:  Photo corner punch, scallop border punch, dimensionals, Watercolour Pencils, Blender Pen (all SU!), oval/scalloped oval dies (Spellbinders), May Arts Lavender Satin ribbon 

Got time for Tea?

 

A while back I won Julia Stainton's blog candy!  Now that was fun...just visiting Julia's blog is a pleasure in itself;  I love her shabby-vintage style.  But I had never won a blog candy before, in fact, I'd gotten to the point where I often pass them up since I never win.  I know...you can't win if you don't play LOL!  So I was thrilled, and I couldn't wait to ink up this fabulous teacup stamp, from Cornish Heritage Farms that Julia included in the package. 

  I stamped the image in Versafine Onyx Black on watercolour paper, and watercolored it with inks and an aqua painter. I sort of "over coloured" it and struggled watercolouring the tiny flowers, so I went back and added some highlights with a white gel pen to the grid centres in the cup designs to add to the depth.  I worked with last week's SCS Sketch Challenge #215, it seemed perfectly suited for this image. The designer paper is last year's "Hey Sugar" by Cosmo Cricket...it has a vintage, tea stained feel, and the grid pattern worked in so well.  (the photo gets larger if you click on it)

The card base is More Mustard with Rose Red.  I added some Rose Red grosgrain ribbon for the vertical panel and the flower is by Prima and it's centred with a fancy brad from Dollarama. 

Now tragedy struck as I was about to stamp the sentiment from a retired SU! set, my fully inked stamp, jumped out of my hand and onto the completed card.  There was a little black ink on the designer paper, but most of it showed up on the corner of the image panel...thus the little photo corner on the bottom.  Fast fix and all is well!

I am thinking this stamp would look wonderful in blues too...so I just might have to give it another go!  Thanks again Julia!  I am lovin' all my new stuff!

I'm painting on my days off, trying to leave my evenings free to stamp.  It's making the job about three times longer than it needs to be, but I like the balance.  I hope your day is fabulous and I'm glad you found some time today to drop in!  See you tomorrow for Flourishes Friday!

Recipe:  Stamps:  Rose Cup and Honey (small), (Cornish Heritage Farms)  Paper: More Mustard, Rose Red, Watercolour paper, Cosmo Cricket "Hey Sugar" designer paper  Ink:  Versafine Onyx Black  Accessories:  reinkers & aquapainter, dimensionals, white gel pen, Rose Red Grosgrain Ribbon (SU!), Prima Flower, fancy brad (Dollarama), Lace trim (Walmart)

Stash Challenge Tuesday; Rub ons

 

It's Stash Challenge Tuesday, and today's challenge is to dig out your rub ons and use them.  That's exactly what me and my challenge guest Angel Wilde of Angelosity did! 

Now the funny thing about rub ons, is that none of mine are very old.  I mean some of the stuff I have dug out for these challenges is up to 10 years old.  My very first Rub-ons though I got from Stampin' Up! during Sale-a-Bration last year.  However, I've rarely used those ones, and I have now acquired almost 10 packages, some SU along with many others!  I think I have used one image from one of the packages.  So although, they're not that old, I've already started to accumulate and hoard, so this challenge is timely.  And you?  Hmmm, I thought so.  Well, dig them out of your stash and use them!

Angel did!  And aren't these gorgeous?  I love the clean and simple design, and the gorgeous colours.  This would be so perfect for an anniversary card for dh don't you think?  Fabulous masculine colours.

  I love that they are distinctly different, yet work beautifully as a set with the colours and circles.  You'll want to drop by Angel's blog to find out more about these beauties, and have a gander at some of her other gorgeous creations while you're there.

Awesome job Angel, and thanks so much for playing.  I hope you'll have time to play along with the weekly challenges.

Here's what I came up with!

  I have to say one of the most appealing features of Stampin' Up!'s rub-ons, is the fact that they come in two or more colours.  Most rub ons that I have found come in one colour.  I had fun with the different colours and really enjoyed playing with them.

Both my cards feature the "Love and Happiness" rub-ons that were part of the SAB freebies last year.  I ended up with two packages, and haven't even come close to finishing up the first.  For this card I chose the Chocolate Chip rub-ons.  I thought I might try replacing the flowers with buttons, but it wasn't working for me, so I ended up adding gems to the flowers instead.  The sentiment is cut with the Petite Oval nestability set, which can be purchased at Flourishes.

  For my second card I wanted to try a split negative look.  The white rub-on was transferred to the black, and then the white cardstock was positioned over top and the black rub on placed in position at that point.

Really very simple to do with rub-ons, and easy since most SU packs have two colours!

OK...you're up next!  Dig out your rub ons and create something with them!  They are one of the most versatile products out there, and the more you use them, the more creative and comfortable with them you will get!  If you play, upload your creation to SCS with the key word SXSC06, or link your blog by comment to this post!

I am looking for some challengers who would like to dig out some of their: fibres, magic mesh, stickers, slide mounts, metal frames or whatever else you might have in your stash.  Come play with me.  I'll feature your creation and your blog in my post, and we are looking at dates in March, so you have lots of time!  Email me at scrapnextras@yahoo.com

Happy Tuesday to you!  I'm so glad you found a minute to drop in, and I look forward to seeing you soon!

Laura

Weekend Sketch Set; Heartfelt Thanks

 

Happy Sunday!  I hope you had a wonderful Valentine's Day.  DH took us (dragged us) to the RV show and we spent hours walking around looking at 5th wheels.  Yes I would love a new one, but gosh, they are all so expensive when you start looking for the things you really want. After the show he treated us to a heart shaped pizza dinner at Boston Pizza.  It was actually a nice family Valentines day, and we were all starving after all that walking around.  But you didn't come here to hear about my weekend, you came to see the weekend sketch set.  So here it is!

This weekend I pulled out Heartfelt Thanks and got it good and inky. I decided I wanted to work on my "Prints" designer papers.  At one time I was worried I would run out and my Mom even gave me one of the 6x6 hostess packs.  Well I think I used maybe 10 sheets out of it before it retired.  And now I rarely reach for it.  Oh and I have 4 or 5 colours that I ordered full 12 x 12 packs in.  So if this "set" seems a little mis matched, it's because I was all over the place trying to put a dent in the paper packs.  Rose Red is the only common colour through out, but I still think it's a nice set.

  Guess what?  Beate's back with her Weekend Sketch Challenge!  I was so thrillrd to see her post a sketch this weekend, so I'm showing it first. 

For this one I used More Mustard and Rose Red "Prints" designer papers, and I cut a big circle with the jumbo Coluzzle for in Old Olive for the large half circle in the sketch.  I ran it through the Cuttlebug with the Thank You folder...I've had this one for about a year, and this is the first use!  The image was coloured direct to rubber with markers, misted with water and stamped on Naturals White.  I added some Rose Red grosgrain ribbon tied at the top and the sentiment from "Pocket Silhouettes" was punched with the word window punch and secured with a HPH hanger.  Love this card!

  Next up is Taylor's Cupcake Sketch.  This was a fun one with the patchwork design, and I used up a few scraps from the 6x6 hostess pack, and the green polka dot ribbon for the first time!  I really love these colours together, and I think they make for a Happy Joyful Birthday card!  That sentiment is from an old retired set "Small Sayings".

I did a lot of piercing on this one, and added some buttons for fun.  With the exception of the use of the Nestabilities for cutting the circle this is SUO!!

  Amy's sketch was up on Friday so I worked with her Friday Sketch too.  I have almost a full pack of Soft Sky "Prints" designer papers, and with Soft Sky being retired, I know I will use it less than the other colours, so I decided to head in a different direction for the set.  I used my Felt Fusion flowers in Rose Red and Baja Breeze for the three lower embellishments, and they are secured with mini-mini brads by Bazzill.  Gosh, I just think they are so cute...I'm on a mission to get them in all the colours they have.  On the left I added three more mini-mini brads in what is an extremely close match to Rose Red.  The sentiment is from the retired "Sweet Shapes" and a couple Rose Red ribbon tabs finishes it off.

  Here is my take on Jen's Sketch for you to Try.  I used Soft Sky and Blue Bayou "Prints" designer papers, and I even added some of the stitched grosgrain ribbon!  The sentiment is from "Pocket Silhouettes" and I added it along the top side of the focal image.  The image was coloured with markers, misted and then stamped on white.  I added some Stardust Stickles for a little shine, and some felt flowers with button brads finish off the card.

And there you have it!  A bit more eclectic in colours but a beautiful set just the same.  I'll try to add the recipe's later, but I just got news that my nephew and his girlfriend are in town, so I have to go!

I hope you had a wonderful weekend and I'm so glad you found the time to stop in!  It's always a pleasure when you do!

Laura

Flourishes Release Day!

   

It's release day!  Flourishes released three fabulous sets and their store is open!  I'm thrilled that I finally share some of the samples that I shared at the release party, because honestly, it's so hard to pick one of each to share on the preview day!  So here they are.  A recap for those of you who were in attendance and something new if you weren't!

  Strut Your Stuff is such a unique set to work with and I found my creativity flowing quite freely when I inked it up.  The single peacock feather reminded me of a quill pen, and I thought it would make a fun note card!  I stamped the flourish first, then added the feather to appear to have finished writing.  I love how it turned out.  In keeping with the theme, I used the spiral punch to add that "note book" feel and finished it off with some black gingham ribbon and a scroll Cuttlebug corner.  Everything for this release was coloured with my aqua painter and Twinkling H20's!

I had to do at least one card with the peacock from Strut Your Stuff, it's begs to be coloured.  I called on my favorite Urban Prairie designer papers  and the Twinklling H20's added a fabulous shimmer.  If someone knows how to capture shimmer and shine on camera...can you let me know?  Really, you're missing the most beautiful part of this card because you can't see the fabulous shine of the Twinkling H20's! 

I used the slot punch to create a space for the Old Olive grosgrain, and black satin ribbon covers the seam.  The card base is Baja Breeze and I finished it with adhesive rhinestones.  I love this card!!

All Wrapped Up is a beautiful set too, and I knew I had to try paper piecing those presenst!  I used Basic Grey's "Ambrosia" papers for the background and the presents.  I wanted the pile of gifts to take the starring role, so I kept it simple.  Some orange velvet ric rac covers the seam, and "Happy Birthday" is from "Many Sentiments".

I have two more to share with Signs of Spring and then you can run off to shop! 

This first one is so pink and pretty, and it comes with a funny story!  I had worked on my samples while I was at my Mom's place, and as I was colouring this card I debated on how to colour the big fluffy flowers in the basket.  I ended up deciding on pink and purple with yelllow centres.  The card came together beautifully...I just love all the soft spring colours and the Basic Grey Urban Prairie papers!  When I showed it to my Mom, she said I probably should have coloured the eggs pink and purple and the nests yellow LOL!  And all along I thought they were flowers. 

Well I decided it was pretty and colourful, so I decided to leave it as it was...and you can have a good chuckle on me!

This was a really quick little card, done with a quasi-spotlighting technique!  I just had to use the cute little chicks and this card was a 10 minute quickie for sure! 

Have a quick look at the sets in all their glory, and off you go shopping!

Strut Your Stuff

 

All Wrapped Up

Signs of Spring

 

 Well there you have it!  Three amazing Flourishes sets just in time for spring.  The sets are packaged as a Release Bundle which will save you 10%.  And if you are inspired by my creations to purchase these sets, remember to add my code Lauraf in the promotional code box at the check out. I look forward to seeing these sets in your hands because I know you'll enjoy working with them as much as I've had!

Have a fabulous weekend my friends.  Thanks for dropping by this evening,  I am so happy that you do!