RAK for a Peach of a Pair

This card was created as a RAK for a special lady, Nicole Seitler, who designed my blog banner. She and her hubby sent me detailed instructions and then when it was still overwhelming, they actually installed the banner and watermark for me. That makes them a Peach of a Pair, so I'm taking some creative license and making them this RAK using a pear stamp from Lockhart stamps. The image is stamped on the fabulous Fabriano paper from our own new store, Flourishes, LLC , then watercolored. I used the wonderful Prisma color pencils to add the brightness and punch. The striped paper and background are from Basic Grey, Blitzen series. I know this was last year's Christmas papers, but the unusual color combination made my heart sing. I am so NOT afraid of color. The rest of the card was simple, I incorporated Stampin' Up! solid papers, Marigold and Cranberry Crisp (In colors 2007) and ribbon.

I hope that Nicole and hubby will enjoy this RAK, hope she hasn't looked here just yet!


BREAKING NEWS!!!
I invite you to visit our store, Flourishes, LLC, soon. It does not have all the bells and whistles yet, but keep watching for really BIG NEW real soon. We have some wonderful things that we will be revealing. My very dear friends and stampers, Nancy Kirk, Sharon Doolittle and I are working to stock the store with our favorite goodies. The store is open, in the "Paperie" you will find Fabriano card sets and the new line of Basic Grey papers, Perhaps, Stella Ruby, Scarlet Letter and LilyKate as well as the ribbons that coordinate with that line. We have a nice selection of May Art ribbons in stock. We are awaiting the arrival of Palette Hybrid Inks and Marvy Punches. Yes you read that correctly, we will be carrying the much coveted punches, circles, squares, ovals, rectangles and scalloped ones as well. Even the new ones not yet released by Marvy punches will also be available from Flourishes, LLC. That's just the start.....but you will have to wait for the rest of the revelations.....so stay tuned.

Please check out Nancy Kirk's blog, Seaside Creativity, she is sharing our news and also has Blog Candy to give away! So be sure to check out her creative blog.

Very Berry Sweet

This card will start our week in a sweet way! I am am "berry" happy with how it turned out. The card features Strawberries from Lockhart stamps. I have not watercolored in a while, and find it so very relaxing. I started with a light watercoloring of the entire image on Fabiano paper then brightened it up with my Prisma colored pencils. Now what to do for the background? Hum, a look through my stamps and came across Green Thumb by Paper Trey, ink More coloring, this time direct to rubber on Very Vanilla, Rose Red, Basic Black and Gable Green by Stampin'Up! on a card that fits in a 4" X 9" envelope. And how fun is that green felt Ric Rack? The finishing touch was the black and white Polka Dot ribbon from our very own new webstore, Flourishes,LLC. Watch for our Grand Opening and our own exclusive line of stamps.

Now how very berry sweet is that!

Today I placed a widget enabling you to subscribe to my blog. It's located at the top right side of the blog page. So I invite you to join me and get my updates via email.

Enjoy Your Memorial Weekend

This is a special weekend for Mike and I, as he is retired Army. We make it a special point to reflect on the countless deeds of giving that our military service personal have given to keep freedom here and abroad. Please remember them, they serve no matter their personal political convictions....and do a GREAT JOB!









The cards for today is one from our Stampers Group.The stampers take what was taught and the following month return with a card for each of the stampers using one of the lessons learned. This was my swap card. The class was on reverse masking had been on reverse stamping.



SUPPLIES:

Paper: Martha Stewart Cloud & Pink Carnation,
SU Whisper White, Chocolate Chip,
Cardstock Vellum, Printed striped paper.

Stamps: Teacups from Stampington,
Paper Trey,

Inks: Palette Hybrid-Burnt Umber
Brilliance Moonlight White

Accessories: Cuttlebug die cuts

Technique: Reverse Masking



The card is a standard A2 with a top fold. The teacups were stamped onto the striped paper, so no coloring was used. The stamp actually has three teacups on it. I made a mask allowing only one of the cups to be stamped onto the paper. I used very careful placement to get the stripes to "fit" in the desired shape of the cup. Then I cut them with my paper snips, used my Xyron to attach them to the white card stock, squares I had punched. They were layered onto slightly larger squares of the MS Cloud and Pink Carnation paper, then onto the Chocolate Chip. Each layer was run through the Xyron. I used on one half of the die cut from Cuttlebug for the vellum and it too was run through the Xyron, then is was adhered to the Chocolate Chip strip. The tiny row of circles from Paper Trey place on the SU Perfect Layer ruler. This give precise placement and keeps these tiny line just where I want them. For me it is perfect solution with the clear strip type stamps. The ink used for this was Brilliance Moonlight White . I think this is a soft and pretty multi purpose card. If you have not done reverse masking, check the Splitcoastampers website for a technique tutorial.

Conquering the Blog World --A learning Curve

You may be wondering if this blog was ever come to return. Ah yes! I have and have added some beautiful details. Nicole Seitler of nicole@webseitler.com, at designed a custom banner for me and the water mark was made by Cindy, at watermarkdesign@shaw.ca. Give them a huge round of applause. If you should need either of their services, tell them Jan said they were great! Both of these ladies were a dream to work with. Now I need to figure out how to add their little boxes to the sidebar. It is all a big learning curve.
The second card I have posted is one that has been rolling around in my noggin for a while. When I first saw the new Basic Grey paper I knew that it had to be a part of my collection. You will soon be able to purchase them from our webstore -- Flourishes, LLC-- the doors there are just about to swing wide open. In the store you will find a Paperie, The Ink Well, and a Ribboniere. And surely there will certainly be some very BIG surprises as well. So stay tuned.

Now about the card.

Supplies Used

Stamps: none

Papers: Basic Grey--Stella Ruby, SU Whisper White, Old Olive, Basic Black, brushed metallic card stock came from Flourishes's new store.

Embishments: Black Brads and Hodgepodge hardware from SU, Ribbon from one of the local big line shops. Cuttlebug folder -Swirls and my Big Shot.

Inks: Versamark and clear embossing powder.

The sentiment was computer generated.

The Process:

All card stock was cut to appropriate sizes. The base card in metallic is the standard 4 1/4 X 5 1/2" . The BG Stella Ruby is 3 1/4 " square. The BG yellow is from the same pack , Old Olive and Basic Black were all cut to layer sizes. The SU Whisper White was cut slight smaller that the card stock. The white and Stella Ruby were both placed in the CB Swirls and embossed. The Stella Rubby was then over inked with Versamark and then covered with clear embossing powder and heat set. I then reapplied the embossing powder while the image was still hot, and repeated that process again. It is surprising and and wonderful to see how well the embossed image stay visible. That may be difficult to see on the picture. The black brads were added to the Stella Ruby layer, then layers were all attached to the white card stock. The ribbon and hardware were added. The sentiment was computer generated as I could find any that reall7y just "fit". This was all layered as previously stated.

Enjoy!

Welcome to my Atelier

Well, today I have flung open the doors of my studio and welcome you inside. Please join me as we peruse the Atelier in an effort to identify just exactly what is my manner of doing things.

For my very first effort to share with you I will show you the card that I have made for my wonderful Mother. I hope this will encourage you to make a card for your Mom if you haven't done so, but also remember all the other mothers in your lives, maybe even an elderly some one else's mom in a nursing home or a special friend. It's a good day to tell them that their mothering instincts are appreciated.

So on to my Mother's card. She's seen it and knows I am using it to spring into the blog world. She is an extremely creative person herself, having taught us all to do crafts and sew (more on those efforts another time)

For this card I used a stamp from Impress Rubber. They have such neat things, please saunter on over and check out What's New at Impress Rubber! Supplies Used:
Stamps: Impress Rubber
Markers ,Ink :Markers from SU, Versamark
Papers: SU Whisper White strip, Certainly Celery Card size 4 1/4" X5.12,
Embellishments: Antique pale pink loop trim from the "Wonder Closet:

Technique: Misting


Process:
I used Stampin' Up! markers to color the images and then misted the image very lightly with water. It was placed on SU Whisper White paper. The base card is also SU in Certainly Celery and I have stamped the same image on the white card stock, but this time using Versamark. The sentiment (SU) is stamped in Old Olive. That delicate pink trim is very old. I actually found in the "Wonder Closet" at Mom's. See I told you there would be more to her story.

The Wonder Closet
Yes, she has a "Wonder Closet" and it is bigger that some of the rooms in which I have lived. It is full to the ceiling with great goodies. My sisters, nieces, and I, sometimes even friends of ours often shop the "Wonder Closet" before purchasing anything. Fabric is folded neatly, and organized by color or type. These fabrics can go back many decades. Buttons are arranged in jars, by color and size. Trims, and Lace are all neatly folded on cardboard and are stored in boxes and labeled. Believe it is always a walk into her Wonder Land It is nearly impossible to know what may be found there, but it is always a treat. Anyway, a few weeks ago, I told Mom that I was looking for neat, tiny trims suitable for cards....she said she thought she my have some things I might like. Boy oh boy did I come away with some oldies and goodies. As I use them I will point them out.

So I will bid you adieu for today. I hope you enjoyed your first visit to The Caruso Manner Atelier.

{{{Rubber Hugs}}}}
Jan Marie