Flurry of Wishes with a Highlighted Snowflake

Today's post is brought to you by our Flurry of Wishes... and me:)  Before we go further, if you are local and attended my Christmas Open House, I have your order ready for pick-up.  I'm having trouble reaching a couple of people and hope you'll catch this reminder. 
So now, for my card ...
This was a fun card to make and came together pretty quickly. 

I've used Lost Lagoon and Island Indigo, with a layer of white between them, to brighten the card and to bring out the white in my highlighted snowflake.

I used our white Signo Gel Pen to highlight each section of my snowflake.

If you look closely, you can catch a bit of the shimmer mist that I spritzed over the top layer of the card, to add some extra sparkle and shimmer.  The Iced Rhinestone embellishment is the perfect touch to finish off my card.

I'm almost finished with everything for my Christmas Retreat this Saturday.  I can't wait for another fun day of stamping with friends.

- Thanks for stopping by my little corner of the blogging world. 

- Click on the tab at the top of the page to see my class schedules and registration policies or look on the left for sneak peeks. 

- Come back soon and come back often for more creative inspiration. 

Purple Hydrangea Beauty

Today, I'm sharing one of my absolute favorite cards that I've made lately.  It features a gorgeous hydrangea... in purple!

Isn't this gorgeous?  The Elegant Eggplant and Wisteria Wonder make a perfect color combo.  I even used Wisteria Wonder for the inside of the card. 

Are you looking forward to our new Holiday Catalog?  It will be here soon and you're going to love it!

- Thanks for stopping by my little corner of the blogging world. 

- Click on the tab at the top of the page to see my class schedules and registration policies or look on the left for sneak peeks. 

- Come back soon and come back often for more creative inspiration.

Best If Yet To Come... Framed

I have another framed project for you today... in a square frame.  It is difficult to find a good square frame, so when I see one, I usually grab it.  I think this is my last square one, so it's about time to start a hunt for a few more... for future projects. 

The Metallic Thread adds a fun touch to the flower.

Tip:
I wanted to emboss the blue butterflies with Iridescent Ice EP and the white butterflies with my mixture of Iridescent Ice/White EP, so I put a tiny bit of Snail Adhesive on the back of each and attached them to a scrap of CS.  I turned it on end and worked on one side at a time.  Each set of butterflies was inked with Versamark Ink and then the EP added.  It makes it really easy to emboss little pieces this way.

I used my Uni-Ball Signo Gel Pen to add details to the stamens of the flower.

I have a lot of layers on my hydrangea.  That's what makes it seem so dimensional.

I hope you liked this project and that it inspired you to try one.  I always make them so that I can change out the project later and reuse the frame.  It's always good to have options:) 

- Thanks for stopping by my little corner of the blogging world. 

- Click on the tab at the top of the page to see my class schedules and registration policies or click on the left for sneak peeks. 

- Come back soon and come back often for more creative inspiration.

Vintage Best Thoughts

Here's another one of the cards we'll be making at my class this Saturday.  I realized a while back that I was calling my favorite new stamp set by the wrong name!  I was calling it 'The Best is Yet to Come' --- which is one of the stamps in the set --- when the name is actually Best Thoughts.  Today, I have a vintage version of Best Thoughts.

I colored in the image using my Aqua Painter.  Doesn't the vellum look pretty embossed?

Adding the white accents with my Signo Gel Pen just makes a world of difference in the flower.

This one is a slightly modern twist to a vintage look.  I do like the results.

I have one remaining opening for my Saturday class.  Pay to register ASAP and the spot is yours!  

In my next two posts, I'll be sharing a couple of framed projects.  Be sure to come back to see them.

- Thanks for stopping by my little corner of the blogging world. 

- Click on the tab at the top of the page to see my class schedules and registration policies or click on the left for sneak peeks. 

- Come back soon and come back often for more creative inspiration.

Bohemian Blues

I have the blues today and it's a very good thing.  I'm talking Bohemian blues... as in a gorgeous card with a stamp so gorgeous that words fail me to describe it.  It's a gorgeous hydrangea... one of nature's most beautiful flowers.

See what I mean... gorgeous.  This card is one of the most favorites I've ever made... at least for now:)  I must warn you that making this card is not for the faint of heart because it involves layers and layers of cut pieces... a lot of fussy cutting.  I find fussy cutting very relaxing, second only to watercoloring (which I could do all day long).  The flower and the text are embossed in black EP.

I stamped the flower on the inside and on the envelope, as well.  The DSP has Bermuda Bay and Island Indigo in it and I love it.  I used a variety of blues and even a dash of purple to color the flower.  I just made puddles in the lids of my ink pads and painted with it using an Aqua Painter.  I added a light wash of blue watercoloring around the outer edges of the image.  I worked with Shimmery White CS, as it can take the watercolor.  The highlights on the ends of the stamens were done with my white gel pen.

I'm off to continue my marathon of creativeness.  My studio is my happy place and all 3 furry babies are here enjoying it with me.  Last night, I finished 2 more framed projects.  My morning started off with a creative breakdown yesterday, as I got stuck on a design and just kept trying it again and again to get it the way I wanted.  When I finally stopped and put all the pieces (a lot!) into a cello bag and walked away from it, my brain immediately turned on to other creative ideas and I was able to get back to creative fun.  Moral of the story:  If your project is not going well, just walk away!  You can always try it another day.  The next time I get 'stuck' on a design, I will reread this post, walk away and go on to something else.  There's always another project:)  

- Thanks for stopping by my little corner of the blogging world. 

- Click on the tab at the top of the page to see my class schedules and registration policies or click on the left for sneak peeks. 

- Come back soon and come back often for more creative inspiration.

Sparkles and Color!

In my last post, I mentioned that I would be working all day in my studio for the rest of the week.  Yesterday was very productive.  I completed 28 cards and a framed project!  I'm thrilled!   I'll be sharing it all in my future posts.  I'm very excited to share this card with you today.  In real life, it's just gorgeous, with a wonderful sparkle shimmer.

I created a very coordinated look with the envelope, including a bit of doily on the flap.  It is sandwiched between the CS layer and the actual flap, so there are no raw edges showing.

Look very closely and you can maybe see the beautiful shimmer on the flower.  I spritzed it with a Champagne Shimmer Paint/Alcohol mixture.  After it dried (only takes seconds:) I used my white gel pen to highlight the little delicate stamen ends.
Tip:
I attached the flower to my card with dimensionals.
I masked off the card areas behind the flower and then spritzed.
It's actually easier this way, so you're not handling it after you've spritzed it.
I didn't want any of it to rub off by handling it too much.

I've used all 5 of our new In Colors, so it makes for a very bright and cherry card.  I will save this for a very special thanks when needed.
Banner tip:
I stamped the text onto a scrap of Whisper White.
After it dried, I trimmed it down on my trimmer.
I used the Hexagon Punch to flag the end.

So that's my beautiful card for today.  I have lots more to share, so I'll be seeing you soon!

 

- Thanks for stopping by my little corner of the blogging world. 

- Click on the tab at the top of the page to see my class schedules and registration policies or click on the left for sneak peeks. 

- Come back soon and come back often for more creative inspiration.