the creative closet by cindy lawrence

Spread a little cheer...

Hello Stampers~

I can't believe it's been a full week since I've posted!  As you are well aware, things have been a *teensy* bit hectic for me since I took on a full-time management position at my job.  It can be a bit of a struggle for me to have stamping and blogging time in the evenings.  I do my best to get a few posts in a week; but sometimes it just doesn't happen.  Today it did! :)

Today's card is made with the Whimsical Christmas Borders and Centers Set from JustRite Stamps.  Isn't that just the sweetest little birdie?! 

Here's a close-up:

I colored the image with Copic markers, and added some Clear Star GellyRoll pen from Sakura.  What great sparkle it gives for very little effort!

Here are the marker colors I used:

I pulled the color palette from the gorgeous Mitten Weather patterned papers from Cosmo Cricket. 

The sketch for my card is this week's JustRite Friday Challenge.  I definitely recommend playing along with this challenge, as you could win a $50 shopping spree from Stampers Dream!  How cool is that?!  You have until Thursday, September 30th at 9am central to link your card right HERE.  Have fun! :)

Have a wonderful Tuesday, friends!  Thanks for stopping by!

Hugs,

~Cindy

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Stamps:  Whimsical Christmas
Papers:  Textured Plum (Couture Cardstock), Classic Ivory, Mitten Weather Patterned Papers (Cosmo Cricket)
Inks:  Memento Tuxedo Black, Memento Sweet Plum, Tim Holtz Antique Linen Distress Ink, Copic Markers
Accessories:  Circle Nestabilities, Eyelet Circle Nestabilities, Ivory Satin Ribbon, Plum Buttons, White Button Thread, Plum Rhinestones, Sponge Dauber, Clear Star Gellyroll Pen, Martha Stewart Snowflake Border Punch, Dimensionals

 

Blog Candy WINNER!

Hello Stampers~

As promised, it's time to announce the winner of Flourishes gorgeous new Apple of My Eye set.

Here we go...

The randomly chosen winner is.....WENDY!  Here is Wendy's comment:

Such a beautiful card! I love coming to your site to see what new and gorgeous card you came up with each day. Thank you for the chance to win! Flourishes have some of the BEST stamp sets to color!!!

Posted by: Wendy | September 15, 2010 at 09:23 AM

Wendy, all you need to do is send me snail mail address & I'll get your set right out to you.  CONGRATULATIONS!!!

Have a terrific day, everyone!  I'll be back tomorrow with another sample to share. :)

Hugs,
~Cindy 

Hooked On You

Hello Stampers~

For today's sample, I used the adorable Fishing Popcorn Bear stamps from Crafter's Companion.  I have yet to find a Popcorn Bear image that I don't absolutely adore...so flippin' CUTE!

I colored the image with Copic markers.  Then I added some Natural Burlap String and a bit of wire to create a fishing line and hook.  I hooked the wire into the tag to play up the "hooked on you" sentiment a bit. :)

Those gorgeous wooden buttons are from my stash of antique buttons.  Aren't they yummy?!

Here's a close up of the image for you:

If you're looking for some Popcorn Bear images of your own, look no further than the Stampers Dream Store!  Michelle has a wonderful selection of these precious bears. 

Here's a shot of the Copic markers I used:

Oh, in case you're wondering, I haven't forgotten about choosing a winner for my Flourishes blog candy.  I promise to post the winner no later than tomorrow.

Have a fantastic Tuesday, friends!  Thanks for visting today!

Hugs,

~Cindy

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Stamps:  Fishing Popcorn Bear (Crafter's Companion)
Papers:  Kraft (Prismatics), Dark Chocolate (PTI), Solar Classic White (Neenah), Olivia Patterned Paper (Basic Grey)
Inks:  Memento Tuxedo Black, Walnut Stain Distress Ink (Tim Holtz), Copic Markers (see photo)
Accessories:  Antique Wooden Buttons, Natural Burlap String, Wire, Petite Oval Nestabilities, Sponge Dauber, Twill Ribbon, Chocolate Stitched Grosgrain, Martha Stewart Quilted Edge Border Punch, Dimensionals

Flourishes Release Day!

Hello Stampers~

Today is release day at Flourishes!  The design team is showcasing the remaining two sets, which you are gonna love!

This first set is called Windows to the World...such a unique and beautiful stamp set!

I kept this one soft and simple, with a white card base and soft color palette.  I used some pretty Analee patterned paper and a strip of the gorgeous pink velvet/lace ribbon.  I colored the image with Copic markers, and added some clear sparkly gel pen stitches and accents.  I also covered the windows in Glossy Accents to give them a real "glass" look.

Okay, so you can't really see the Glossy Accents in the photo...but it's there, I promise!

Here are the Copic colors I used:

Now...on to the second set:

I chose the same color palette for this card as the first card...but much bolder in hue.

Those pretty papers are from Cosmo Cricket's Delovely pack.  I also pulled out my brand-new Labels Fourteen Nestability Die from Spellbinders, and used it as a background piece behind the oval centerpiece.  That pretty ribbon is Fuchsia (how appropriate, eh?) Iridescent Ribbon.

Here's a close-up of the image:

Isn't that a sweet flower?  It's an easy one to color too! :)

Here are the Copic colors I used:

I hope you've enjoyed today's samples!  Be sure to check out the rest of the design team's artwork today!

 

• Christine Okken
• Danielle Kennedy
• Dawn Burnworth
• Julie Koerber
  
• Laura Fredrickson
• Leslie Miller
• Stacy Morgan

Have a fantastic Friday, my friends!  Thank you SO MUCH for visiting with me!

Hugs,
~Cindy

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Windows to the World Card

Stamps:  Windows to the World
Papers:  Classic White, Annalee Patterned Papers (Prima)
Inks:  Memento Tuxedo Black, Copic Markers
Accessories:  Pearls (colored with R35 Copic marker), Clear Sakura Gelly Roller, Glassy Glaze, Pink Velvet/Crocheted Trim, Circle Nestabilities, Dimensionals

Fuchsias in Bloom Card

Stamps:  Fuchsias in Bloom
Papers:  Classic White, Delovely Patterned Papers (Cosmo Cricket)
Inks:  Memento Tuxedo Black, Copic Markers, Spun Sugar Distress Ink (Tim Holtz)
Accessories:  Rhinestones (colored with RV19 Copic marker), Sponge Dauber, Fuchsia Iridescent  Ribbon, Labels Fourteen & Petite Oval Nestabilities, Martha Stewart Border Punch, Dimensionals

Flourishes sets are in the store!

After being tempted and teased all week with our Design Team's delish samples, we are happy to report that the sets are now live and ready for the picking in the Flourishes Store! Here's a peek at....

Apple of My Eye

Witching You A Happy Halloween!

Fuchsias in Bloom

Windows to the World

Keep in mind, if you buy all three in the New Release Bundle HERE, you get all three sets for 10% off! This offer is only good through September 25th! We hope you had fun this week! Be sure to stop by tomorrow to see what our ever-so-talented design team whipped up with our new Windows to the World set! The samples are so beautiful, you just may start to have an itch to travel! ;-)

Flourishes Sneak Peeks Day Two

Hello Stampers~

Welcome to day two of Flourishes September sneak peeks!  Today the design team is showcasing a fabulous new set called Witching You a Happy Halloween.  This is one of the most awesome Halloween sets I have ever had the privilege of stamping with...love, love, LOVE it!

I chose a vintage look for my card.  When I think Halloween, I usually reach for black, orange, purple & green; but this time I thought I'd tone it down a bit.  I used the Venice paper pack from 7gypsies, stamped the broom image several times on it, and did some faux stitching with a Black Sakura Glaze Pen.  I also added the glaze to the boot laces and cat's eyes...cool, huh?!

The layout for my card is Mercy's Tuesday Sketch for this week.  It's a fun one to work with!

I colored the image with Copic markers, using the following colors:

Stop by the rest of the design team blogs to see their fabulous Halloween samples:

• Christine Okken
• Danielle Kennedy
• Dawn Burnworth
• Julie Koerber
• Laura Fredrickson
• Leslie Miller
• Stacy Morgan

Some of those ladies have BLOG CANDY too!  Speaking of blog candy, you can still win an Apple of My Eye set from me simply by leaving a comment on yesterday's post right HERE before Saturday.  That's it...couldn't be easier!

Don't forget that tonight is the POWER HOUR Release Party!  We’ll show off all the latest releases and chat it up with some of your favorite Flourishes designers.  The party kicks off over at the Flourishes Member Company Forum over on Splitcoast Stampers.

Did you see all the ways you can help us celebrate our birthday?  Yes, Flourishes just turned 3 and there are three ways for you to win! “Like” us on Facebook.. just click HERE.. and you will have a chance at winning 10 Flourishes sets (including this release), click on “Join this Site” here on our blog for another chance!  Or, get in on our Look Who’s 3 Challenge!  You can read up on it HERE. You have until Friday at 5 PM Central!  Don't miss out!

Thanks a bunch for stopping by today, friends! ALWAYS a pleasure! :)

Hugs,

~Cindy

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Stamps:  Witching You a Happy Halloween (Flourishes)
Papers:  Textured Gray (Couture Cardstock), Venice Patterned Papers (7Gypsies), Classic White (Flourishes)
Inks:  Memento Tuxedo Black, Copic Markers (see photo), Pumice Stone Distress Ink (Tim Holtz), Antique Linen Distress Ink (Tim Holtz), Black Soot Distress Ink (Tim Holtz)
Accessories:  Black Rhinestones, Black Sakura Glaze Pen, Slate Gray Crocheted Trim, Martha Stewart Spider Web Border Punch, Sponge Daubers, Bone Folder (distressing edges), Circle Nestabilities, Dimensionals

 

JustRite 12 Weeks of Christmas

Hello Stampers~

Today The Dream Team from Stamper's Dream is joining JustRite Stampers for their newest Wednesday feature, 12 Weeks of Christmas Blog Hops #2! Every Wednesday until Thanksgiving some of your favorite designers will be joining some of the JustRite design team for a series of Christmas blog hops, showcasing the JustRite Christmas Collection of stamps! So mark your calendars for Wednesdays at 9am Central for great Christmas gift, card and project ideas, starting at the JustRite Inspiration blog!

For my sample, I chose the Christmas Nested Frames set....sooo pretty, and yet so easy to use!  I colored the pretty garland border using Copic markers.  I love how it looks on Kraft cardstock!  I distressed the edges of the main layers with a bone folder and several shades of Tim Holtz Distress Ink.  I used Martha Stewart's Fern Punch and some pretty pearls for the "holly", and added some tiny pearls to the punched bottom edge of the card.  Wanna hear something cool???  I used up some of my "left-over" tiny pearls for that bottom border.  They were blue, white, cream, silver, and red....and thanks to the magic of Copic, they are now all the same lovely shade of dark red!  How about that?!

Here's a close up:

...and of course we mustn't forget the Copic colors I used.  (Does it get any easier?!)

Thanks so much for visiting with me today.  Please visit these designers blogs to see what fabulous Christmas projects they have for you on the hop today!

JustRite Inspiration Blog
Michelle Rodgers
Amy Sheffer
Heidi Blankenship
Kazan Clark
Tosha Leyendekker
Laurie Schmidlin
Sankari Wegman
Cindy Lawrence
Kellie Fortin
Denise Marzec
Stephanie Kraft
Karen Giron
Kathy Jones
Leslie Miller
Carolyn King
Angela Barkhouse
Michelle Kovak

Have a wonderful day, my friends!

Hugs,

~Cindy

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Stamps:  Christmas Nested Frames (JustRite Stampers)
Papers:  Soft Suede (SU), Kraft (Prism), Oliver Patterned Paper (Basic Grey), Garland Green (Couture Cardstock)
Inks:  Memento Tuxedo Black, Memento Rhubarb, Tim Holtz Antique Linen, Tim Holtz Tea Dye, Tim Holtz Black Soot, Copic Markers (see photo)
Accessories:  Rectangle Punch (SU), Wide Burgundy Satin Ribbon, Bone Folder (for distressing edges), Sponge Daubers, Pearls, Martha Stewart Fern Punch, Martha Stewart Border Punch, Dimensionals

Flourishes Sneak Peek Day One

 

 
 
Hello Stampers~

It's Flourishes release week, and I couldn't be more excited about this month's sets...GORGEOUS!!!  Today's set is my FAVE!  It's called Apple of My Eye, and was illustrated by the incredibly talented Marcella Hawley.  Boy oh boy, do I love coloring in those apples!

For my sample I actually used six different shades of red and yellow to color the apples, and five shades of green and brown for the leaves.  I know it sounds like a lot; but it's those subtle shades and shadows that really make an image come alive. :)

Here's a close-up for you:

The pretty polka dotted paper is from Basic Grey's Oliver Patterned Paper Pack.  Here are the Copic colors I used:

Thanks for visiting today, friends!  Stop by the rest of the design team blogs to see their Apple of My Eye creations. 

• Christine Okken
• Danielle Kennedy
• Dawn Burnworth
• Julie Koerber
• Laura Fredrickson
• Leslie Miller
• Stacy Morgan

Sooooo....do ya want a chance to win your very own Apple of My Eye stamp set???  All you have to do is leave a comment here on this post between now & Saturday, and I'll choose one winner at random.  How easy is that?!  Enjoy the rest of the hop today!

Hugs,

~Cindy

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Stamps:  Apple of My Eye (Flourishes)
Papers:  Confetti Tan (retired SU), Classic White (Flourishes), Oliver Patterned Papers (Basic Grey)
Inks:  Memento Tuxedo Black, Wild Honey Distress Ink (Tim Holtz), Copic Markers (see photo)
Accessories:  Natural Linen Ribbon, Wooden Button, Natural Burlap String, Petite Oval Nestabilities, Bone Folder (distressing edges), Sponge Daubers, Dimensionals

Fairy Flora Flower Fest

Hello Stampers~

Today's sample is made with Stampavie's Flower Planters image.  What a fun image to color...not too much, not too little...just right! :)

I used some of Prima's gorgeous Fairy Flora patterned paper for the background layers, and added some yummy trims and ribbons to the edge.

I colored the image in with the following Copic markers:

I know...I used quite a few, didn't I?!  Those extra little touches of color do so much to make an image come alive.

Here's a close up of the colored image:

I hope you have a fantastic day, my friends!  Thanks for visiting with me today!

Hugs,

~Cindy

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Stamps:  Flower Planters (Stampavie)
Papers:  Basic Gray (SU), Fairy Flora Patterned Papers (Prima), Neenah Classic Solar White
Inks:  Memento Tuxedo Black, Copic Markers (see photo)
Accessories:  Yellow Ruffle Edge Trim, Gray Crochet Trim, Green Polka Dot Sheer Ribbon, Yellow Button, White Button Thread, Coluzzle Circle Cutter, Ticket Corner Punch, Green Pearls, Dimensionals, White Gel Pen

 

Flourishes Friday Focus

Hello Stampers!

How are you on this beautiful Friday?  I have a looooong work day ahead of me...but the weekend is upon us, friends, and for that I am SO VERY grateful!

Today's sample is made with the yummy Berry Sweet stamp set from Flourishes.  For this week's Flourishes Friday Focus, the design team is giving our attention to some "Tools of the Trade".  The fabulous Julie is kicking things off over on the Flourishes Blog. 

I chose the Scor-Buddy as my tool.  Let me just tell you how very much I {heart} my Scor-Buddy!  It is fabulous, fabulous, fabulous, and did I mention FABULOUS?!

I scored a double border on the dark blue cardstock layer to give it a "framed" look.  I also scored a fun pattern on a piece of pretty green patterned paper from Prima's Fairy Flora paper pack.  To make the pattern *pop* I sponged on some Distress Inks from Tim Holtz.

I colored the beautiful blueberry image with Copic markers, using several of Flourishes Copic Collections.

Here's a close-up of the focal image: 

Don't those berries look delicious?!  I just can't get enough of Marcella's a-mazing artwork...genius, I tell ya.

Here are the Copic colors I used:

Check out the samples made by the rest of the fabulously-talented Flourishes design team:

• Christine Okken
• Dawn Burnworth
• Julie Koerber
• Laura Fredrickson
• Leslie Miller

Enjoy your Friday, friends!  We are gearing up for another jaunt up the mountain tomorrow.  I know, I know...I must be crazy! :)

Thanks, as always, for spending a little part of your day with me!

Hugs,

~Cindy

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Stamps:  Berry Sweet (Flourishes)
Papers:  Classic White (Flourishes), Textured Navy (Couture Cardstock), Annalee & Fairy Flora Patterned Papers (Prima)
Inks:  Memento Tuxedo Black, Tim Holtz Chipped Sapphire, Tim Holtz Shabby Shutters, Soft Sky (SU), Copic Markers (Flesh Tones 2, Green Grass, Spring Greens, Delphinium Collections)
Accessories:  Pearls, Blossoms Nestabilities, Circle Nestabilities, Sponge Daubers, Scor-Buddy, Martha Stewart Border Punch, Green  Faux Suede Ribbon, White Braided Trim, Dimensionals