the creative closet by cindy lawrence

Spring is in the air!

Have you noticed?!  It's SPRING!  I do so love this time of year, with all of the budding trees and flowers, birds singing outside my window, and peepers in the pond.  Everything just comes ALIVE in the spring, and it fills my heart with such joy!

The Flourishes design team is sharing some spring creations today.  Most of them are using the Signs of Spring set, but *someone* goofed and used the Spring Is Sprung set instead.  The good news is, it's still a great spring-themed set!  

I made my card with kraft cardstock and some pretty patterned paper from Basic Grey's Picadilly collection.  I cut an oval out of the center using Spellbinders Petite Oval Nestabilities Dies.  The image was stamped on Flourishes Classic White card stock with Memento Tuxedo Black ink, and colored in with the following Copic marker collections:

All three of those Copic Collections are brand-new from Flourishes.  You really need to check out all of the new Copic Collections in the Flourishes store!  I added a bit of interest with some Satin Finish Cotton Latte Ribbon, a bit of thin ivory satin ribbon, and a pretty Prima flower.  I also added just a touch of faux stitching to the two right corners, and finished the stitches off with a White Opaque Pen.  The card size is 5-1/4" square.

I thought it would be fun to revisit a couple of cards I made with the Signs of Spring set.  Here's one I made in February of 2009.

This one was watercolored with re-inkers onto watercolor paper.  The baby chicks and Easter grass were gussied up with some Flower Soft.  That patterned paper is from Basic Grey's Urban Prairie collection.

Here's another card I made in March of 2009.

This one was also watercolored with re-inkers on watercolor paper.  I used to do that a LOT back in the day. :-)  The pretty papers are from Basic Grey's Porcelain collection.

It's fun to take a step back in time, and look at projects you created years ago, isn't it?!  Sometimes it's pretty funNY too!

Check out the rest of the design team samples with the Signs of Spring set:

• Barbara Anders
• Christine Okken
• Cindy Lawrence <---You are here!
• Danielle Kennedy
• Dawn Burnworth
• Julie Koerber
• Sharon Doolittle
• Stacy Morgan
• Tammy Hershberger
• Jan Marie Caruso

If you love the Signs of Spring stamp set as much as we do, now is the time to grab one for yourself.  It is on sale for 10% off from now through Sunday evening!

Thanks so much for stopping by today, friends!  Have yourselves a FABULOUS weekend!  Today, my hubby & I are celebrating our 17th wedding anniversary.  Where does the time go?! :-)

~Cindy 

Warm Fuzzies

I ADORE this image from Mo Manning!  We have a ginger kitty, who has always allowed the kids to pick him up and "love" him like this...so patient and sweet. 

The image is appropriately called Tolerance, and was colored on X-Press it Blending Card with the following Copic markers:  YR20, YR21, YR24, YR27, R20 (kitty) ~ E000, E00, E02, (skin)  ~ W0, W1, W3 (pants) ~ W1, W3, W5, W9 (hair) ~ YR04, YR07, YR09 (sneakers, star patch on pants) ~ BG53, BG57 (sweater)

I cut the oval layers out with Spellbinders Petite Oval Nestabilities, added some fun details, such as orange/white twine, a pretty aqua button, and a sweet little clip.  The patterned papers are from MME's Miss Caroline Dilly Dally collection.  The card size is 5-1/4" square.

That's all from me today, folks!  Thanks so much for visiting!

~Cindy

Make Today a Beautiful Day!

It's no secret that I adore MFT's sweet Pure Innocence line of stamps.  This one's called Sunflower Girl, and just could not be any cuter.  Don't you think?  I stamped her onto Copic's X-press It Blending Card with Memento Tuxedo Black ink.  I chose to color the flower more like a daisy in keeping with my color scheme.  I used Copic markers to color the image, as well as to airbrush the background.  I discovered a really pretty blue-green combo for the dress, by using BG10 for the over-all color and adding the new BG57 for the shadows.  Oh my goodness, I just LOVE this combo!  I highly recommend trying it out.  For her face, I used E000, E00, E02, and R20 for her cheeks.  The hair is E50, E53, E55, and E57.  The daisy stem is done with two more new Copic colors, G43 & G46.  The flower center is YR21 & YR24.

The shapes were made with Spellbinders Petite Ovals and Labels Eighteen.  The gorgeous patterned papers are from the 8x8 Fabrications Canvas pad from Teresa Collins.  I added a few simple stitches in the corner and a pretty satin bow with some pearl stick pins and a flower button to finish things off.

Thanks for stopping by today, friends!  I hope you have a fantastic Monday!

~Cindy 

Free For All Friday!

The Flourishes design team is showcasing this month's new release again today.  I chose to use Botanical Bookplates for my card. I went with a non-traditional purple on the flowers, which I know are snowdrops...but aren't they pretty in purple?!  The yummy papers are from Bo Bunny's Garden Girl collection, and the frame around the image is done with Flourishes Tailor-Made Classic Bookplate Die.

Chech out what the rest of the team created today:

• Barbara Anders
• Christine Okken
• Cindy Lawrence <---You are here!
• Danielle Kennedy
• Dawn Burnworth
• Jan Marie Caruso
• Julie Koerber
• Sharon Doolittle
• Stacy Morgan
• Tammy Hershberger

Don't forget that it's your last chance to get this month's entire release for a bargain! Check it out on the Flourishes Blog.

Thanks so much for visiting, friends! Have a fantastic weekend!

~Cindy

Another bit of Mo Manning YUMMINESS!

I colored up another of Mo Manning's SWEET images!  This one's called Easter Carly.  Isn't she a PUNKIN?!  I just wanna pick her up and give her a big, squishy hug. :-)

I colored her in using the following Copic markers:

E000, E00, E11, R20 (skin)  ~ YG0000, YG01, YG03 (grass, dress, eggs) ~ N0, N2 (shoes, bunny) ~ BG0000, BG000 (sky, eggs) ~ R81, R83, R85, R89 (ribbon on basket, flowers in hair, lips) ~ R11, R12 (bunny ears, egg) ~ E35, E51, E53, E55 (hair, hay in basket) ~ E25, E27, E29 (basket)

I gave her sparkly shoes with my Sakura Stardust Clear Gelly Roll Pen.  The background was airbrushed with the Copic Airbrush System and my BG0000 Copic Sketch Marker.  The ovals were made with Spellbinders Classic & Petite Oval Nestabilities Dies.  All those pretty patterned papers are from the Dolled Up paper pack from My Mind's Eye.  Since my sewing machine was acting up when I made this card, I chose to "faux" stitch between the patterned papers with piercing tools and a White Opaque Pen.  The fancy border along the bottom was made with the Modern Garland border punch from Martha Stewart.  Some pink satin ribbon, pretty pink trim, a pale green button, and a couple of flower stick pins finish things off nicely.  The card size is 5-1/2" square.

Here's a close-up, so you can see her sparkly shoes:

Do you remember the other day when I said I had never seen Mo Manning's images before?  Yeah, well...I was WRONG!  I have actually used her images before...just didn't know it!  Here's a card I made a year ago using Mo's Baby Fairy Flora image.  Check it out HERE.  There are probably others and I don't even know it. LOL  ANYWAY...I am obviously drawn to her stuff...so, so , SO CUTE! 

That's all from me today, friends!  Thanks so much for visiting!

~Cindy

Magnificent Magnolias

I am so excited about today's release set!  I love, love, LOVE it!  It's called Magnolias, and was illustrated by the always amazing Marcella Hawley.  Isn't that one seriously STUNNING flower? 

My card is 5-1/2" square and uses pretty yellow patterned paper from the Dolled Up pack from My Mind's Eye.  I embossed the pink layer with a Cuttlebug Embossing Folder and sponged it with the same shade of pink as the paper.  I added a border of White Scalloped Lace Trim, as well as some Light Pink Wrinkled Ribbon.  I added a couple of pretty stick pins and colored them with my R81 Copic marker.  The bow was topped off with a Vintage Brad Rhinestone, which was also colored with my R81 Copic marker.  I stamped the main image onto Classic White card stock, using Memento Tuxedo Black ink.  Then I cut it out with a Spellbinders Classic Oval Die.  I colored the image with the following Copic Marker Collections:

Here's a close up:

As you can see, I added a bit of sparkle to the image, as well as the sentiment.  I used Sakura's Clear Stardust Gelly Roll Pen...love that thing!

Would you like a chance to win the gorgeous Magnolias set? All you need to do is leave some love in the form of a comment on the blogs below! Why? You need to try to figure out…..

One of the ladies on our link list below will be picking a name from the comments on her blog post today. No one knows who has the candy yet...so be sure to leave a comment on all of them!

• Barbara Anders
• Beate Johns
• Christine Okken
• Cindy Lawrence <---You are here!
• Danielle Kennedy
• Dawn Burnworth
• Heather Jensen
• Julie Koerber 
• Sharon Doolittle
• Stacy Morgan
• Tammy Hershberger

DID YOU KNOW YOU COULD WIN OUR ENTIRE MARCH RELEASE?  Have you checked out our Pinter-inspiration Challenge?  You can also play in our Noon Time Challenges from the last two days!  All challenges will close this Friday at 5 PM EST (that's TODAY!) and winners will be announced Saturday in Flourishes Winner’s Circle blog post!  So get those fingers inky and good luck!  Stop by the Flourishes Blog for the full scoop on the challenges!

And, don’t forget our New Release Bundle! If you buy all three sets in a bundle, you save 10% off the price. But, this offer only lasts through next Friday, March 23rd. So… you have to act fast! Just click HERE to see!

Thanks for stopping by today, friends!  Have yourselves a FANTASTIC weekend!  We are in for some really fabulous weather this weekend...yay, spring! :-)

~Cindy 

 

Beautiful Botanicals and a new DIE!

Today the Flourishes design team is giving you a peek at the new Botanical Bookplates Volume 1.  Oh my gosh, this is the coolest stamp set...AND it coordinates with the new Tailor-Made Classic Bookplate Die!   

My son gave me the coolest idea for my card; so I can't take full credit for this one. ;-)  He looked at the pretty image after I'd colored it, and said, "That looks like a window, Mom."  GENIUS!  So, that's what I did.  I used the Tailor-Made Classic Bookplate Die to cut a window out of both the Classic White card stock layer and the woodgrain paper layer, which comes the Fiddlesticks paper pack from My Mind's Eye.  I then added a piece of Clear Cover Cardstock to give it a more realistic "window" look.  The image was placed behind, and the card stock layers were popped up on dimensionals.

I added a pretty tag for the sentiment using the Fancy Tags Two Nestaboard Chipboard Die.  I sponged on a bit of Walnut Stain Distress Ink from Ranger, and added some pretty blue rhinestones to jazz it up a bit.  The ribbon is blue satin, and the gorgeous lace at the top of the card is White Scalloped Lace Trim, which is brand-new in the Flourishes store!

Here's a close-up of the window:

Can you see the Clear Cardstock?  If not, you should be able to at least see the dimension.  I colored the image in with the following Copic Marker Collections:

Check out that awesome Tailor-Made Classic Bookplate Die:

Would you like to win the Botanical Bookplates Volume 1 set? All you need to do is leave some love in the form of a comment on the blogs below! Why? You need to try to figure out…..

One of the ladies on our link list below will be picking a name from the comments on her blog post today. Just like yesterday, we don’t know which one it is… so the more blogs you leave comments on, the more chances you have to win!

• Barbara Anders
• Beate Johns
• Christine Okken
• Cindy Lawrence <---You are here!
• Danielle Kennedy
• Dawn Burnworth
• Julie Koerber 
• Sharon Doolittle
• Stacy Morgan
• Tammy Hershberger

Did you see?  Flourishes has a brand new 123 Create Kit, and it's a beauty:

DID YOU KNOW YOU COULD WIN OUR ENTIRE MARCH RELEASE?  Have you checked out our Pinter-inspiration Challenge?  You can also play in our Noon Time Challenges!  They go (went) live yesterday and today at 1pm est!  All challenges will close this Friday at 5 PM EST and winners will be announced Saturday in Flourishes Winner’s Circle blog post!  So get those fingers inky and good luck!  Stop by the Flourishes Blog for the full scoop on the challenges!

And, don’t forget our New Release Bundle! If you buy all three sets in a bundle, you save 10% off the price. But, this offer only lasts through next Friday, March 23rd. So… you have to act fast! Just click HERE to see!

Thanks so much for visiting, friends!  I'll see you back here tomorrow for one final peek...and it's a BEAUTY! :-)

~Cindy 

Round and Round Challenge

Are you ready for a FUN challenge?  It's an easy one too!  Simply make a card using a circle as your card base.  This is where those fabulous Spellbinders dies come in handy!   Remember to use the keyword FLLCMARRWI when you upload to online galleries.  Check out the Flourishes Blog for the full list of details.   

I used Spellbinders Grand Circles Nestabilities die for my card base, which is made with Flourishes Classic White card stock.  The remaining circle layers were made with Spellbinders Classic Circles and Scalloped Circles Dies.  I stamped the gorgeous Mother's Words of Wisdom images in Memento Tuxedo Black, and colored them in using the following Copic Marker Collections:

The pretty ribbon border was made with Light Pink Satin Pleated Ribbon, and the big, luscious bow was made with Pink Silk Ribbon.  I did use some patterned paper on this (shocker, eh?).  This one's from the Fiddlesticks pack from My Mind's Eye.

Check out the rest of the designers round samples:

• Christine Okken
• Cindy Lawrence <---You are here!
• Dawn Burnworth
• Sharon Doolittle
• Stacy Morgan

Have a fantastic Wednesday, friends!  I'll see you right back here bright & early tomorrow morning with another fun sneak peek. :-)

~Cindy 

Mother's Words of Wisdom

It's release week at Flourishes, and this month's sets do NOT disappoint!  Today, the design team is showcasing a gorgeous set drawn by the fabulous Marcella Hawley, called Mother's Words of Wisdom.

This gorgeous wreath of peonies is surprisingly easy to color.  I kept it simple by coloring them all in pretty peach tones.  I cut out a few of the flowers and popped them up with dimensionals.  I also popped up the sentiment circle, stamped it in a pretty peach ink, and added a touch of shading with a Tim Holtz Antique Linen Distress Ink Pad.  I used Spellbinders Classic Circle Nestabilities Dies for all of the circle layers.  That gorgeous patterned paper is from Prima's Fairy Flora pack.  I added a row of peach Bloomer Petals to the bottom of the card, and a pretty peach ribbon bow.  A row of three tiny pearls finish things off.  The card size is 5-1/2" square.

Here are the Copic Marker Collections I used:

I also used G40, G43, & G46 for the foliage.

Here's a close-up; so you can better see the dimension:

Would you like to win the Mother's Words of Wisdom set? All you need to do is leave some love in the form of a comment on the blogs below! Why? You need to try to figure out…..

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!

• Barbara Anders
• Beate Johns
• Christine Okken
• Cindy Lawrence <---You are here!
• Danielle Kennedy
• Dawn Burnworth
• Julie Koerber 
• Sharon Doolittle
• Stacy Morgan
• Tammy Hershberger

Flourishes has a brand new 123 Create Kit, and it's a beauty:

DID YOU KNOW YOU COULD WIN OUR ENTIRE MARCH RELEASE?  Have you checked out our Pinter-inspiration Challenge?  You can also play in our Noon Time Challenges!  Be sure to tune in today and tomorrow at noon for two more fast paced ways to win!  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!

And, don’t forget our New Release Bundle! If you buy all three sets in a bundle, you save 10% off the price. But, this offer only lasts through next Friday, March 23rd. So… you have to act fast! Just click HERE to see!

Stop by again this afternoon for our first Noontime Challenge!

Thanks so much for visiting, friends!

~Cindy 

Flourishes Create With Me Monday

It's time for another Create With Me Monday at Flourishes!  It's my turn to host over on the Flourishes Blog; so I'll keep it short and sweet here. :-)

I've been asked many, many times how I do the fancy punched borders on the edge of my cards.  The biggest question is how to get it even on the front and back of the card.  So, I'm taking the mystery out of it today.  Stop by the Flourishes Blog to watch a video I created that shows you just what to do.  I've also included a tip on how to easily adhere Nestabling to your projects. Have you SEEN all of the fabulous Nestabling in the Flourishes store?!  So cool!

Here's one of the cards I shared:

I used Classic White cardstock, and some pretty, shiny patterned paper from Kaiser's Miss Nelly paper pack.  The stamp set is April Showers, and the Spellbinders dies are Labels Eighteen and Petite Ovals.  I popped on a Labels Eighteen Nestabling to jazz it up a bit, and also added a row of pretty rhinestones along the punched border.  I added a strip of Lime Braided Trim to give it a nice, finished edge.  The boots were stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black ink, and colored in with the following Copic Marker Collections:

The exact Copic markers used from the two collections are YG00, YG03, and YG17...my absolute favorite greens combo!  After coloring the boots, I used a Sakura Clear Gelly Roll Stardust Pen to add some sparkle to the leaves, and then added lots of super-shine with Glossy Accents.  Here's a close up of the shiny boots:

That's all for today, friends!  This week is Flourishes release week, and the fun starts bright and early on Wednesday morning.  See you then!

~Cindy