Last Day of Grand Opening Special for Flourishes

August 1st--Wednesday is the last day of the Grand Opening Special for Flourishes,LLC. Our first days have been wonderful. It was such a pleasure to see the first thread on SCS regarding customers receiving their packages.I got goosebumps....dreams can come true. As of today I can say with pleasure that all orders as of noon today were shipped out this afternoon. That shipping room is a busy place. I hope that all of you will enjoy your packages as they arrive.

Watch for our banner ad and SCS newsletter ads. Rush over there and take advantage of the 15% discount on the Infuse combo kit.

We are busily working on the final details for the September release. You can count on more detail to come.

Update on my right arm.

The big hard cast is gone! YEAH!...so I am in a sling and started my first exercises as passive, assisted, that means my left arm is helping my right to do them. I can also gradually begin to remove the sling for periods of time each day. Sleeping without the big cast will be wonderful. And the biggest news is that I can begin to use my hand to color! No stamping, punching etc, but Mike, "Manual Labor" is helping me to work on some new things (secret for a little longer) using the Nestabilities. I'm progressing and you will be seeing some pictures, maybe by the weekend.

Visit SCS tomorrow and check out the newsletter ads. And yes if you haven't placed your order ..to ahead and do so.

Till later..Many "Rubber Hugs" to all.

Flourishes, LLC is OPEN!

Well the time has come to fling open the door of Flourishes, LLC. It's official at midnight tonight! We are so very proud of our website, and the talented art work of the Flourishes Charter Design Team.

Flourishes is the banner ad on SCS, Splitcoastampers, July 25, and August 1st. Please share this news of ours with all your friends...one can never have to many friends.

So without further adieu...please visit the website, Flourishes, LLC. We would love to hear your comments...come grow with us.

We're Counting Down--SCS Banners Today

Well, It's finally close, tomorrow (Wednesday, 25 July) we are running our first series of banner ads on SCS. What an exhilarating and exhausting time this has been. I'm not sure if I feel more like a new bride with the jitters or an expectant mother getting ready for birth. This has been a long hard labor...but certainly one of love. I owe much to many...my love Mike, my partners Nancy and Sharon, our illustrator and web designer Marcy Hawley, and the star studded Design Team. Thank you...(insert -see me throwing kisses) !!!!

This is the card I made a few weeks ago...Mike stamped it for me. I have a cast on my right arm so I placed the card on a clipboard on my knees and began to watercolor. I have so many concepts to get out of me using this set, Flourishes Cake Decorating 101, I am counting the days until the cast is off.

If you haven't been to the blogs of the Flourishes Charter Design Team...visit them now. Hold your breath, we open The Gallery on Friday. Several clever and creative cards have been added to SCS gallery by Paula Bloom (prbloom), Sharon Johnson (notimetostamp), Nancy Grant (TACgirl), Leslie Miller (leslierich), Julia Stainton (julia's).

I hope you also visit the new Flourishes Newsletter, it will be a special feature of Flourishes with updates, happenings, and yes techniques. I hope you will stop by for a visit , or better yet .. subscribe and never miss a beat.

Now, about the card. I used Hybrid White Canvas ink on White, stamping the outline of the cake then adding in the slice to the left. A little hard to see at first....then I used SU! Real Red classic ink and an aqua painter, starting with a light wash, I added color and gradually shaded in leaving a whiter area near the cut slice. The inside of the cake was done in the same manner with Creamy Carmel. I made a mask of both the entire cake and the slice and placed the mask over the stamped image. I stamped in the plate and pedestal with Hybrid Palette Noir. I added a wash of Barely Banana to both plate and pedestal. Then I added some detail with my Sakura Black Glaze pen adding stripes to the pedestal. The bling was colored with markers and added to hang around the plate. When it was dry I added some dots in White with my Signo white pen by Uniball. The I decorated the cake using this time the slice mask to cover the area and stamped with Real Red around the top and bottom of the cake. I stamped the sentiment from Flourished Words, rounded off the end with a circle punch and pinned it on with a touch of ribbon. I layered it all on black cardstock, then onto a Cuttlebugged Pretty In Pink background before placing it onto the black card. Viola.....Love at First Bite with the Cake Decorating Set! Too Sweet!

Lookie What We Got--SPELLBINDERS

That's right, Friday was pure pandemonium here at the Flourishes Studio. My darling hubby, Mike, "Manual Labor" as he has been dubbed, came in with not one but two packages. The first was from May Arts and contained our NEW selections of ribbons...now that was very expected.

But the second was a sheer surprise...it was from Spellbinders! We opened it with pure exuberance..... We have SIX of the new Nestabilities from Spellbinders. We have been talking with Jeff, VP for Spellbinders, and knew we had gotten the go ahead to get the coveted dies so our designers can begin to work some rubber magic.

This means good things for all of you. Flourishes,LLC will begin to accept orders for the dies on 27 July. These will not be available to us from spellbinders until the last two weeks of August. If you place an order, we can't ship it until we get our Spellbinders order, but we can guarantee that when the order arrives our shipping department .... "Manual Labor", will be in high gear.

We are forwarding cuts of each of these dies to our Flourishes Design Team beginning on Monday. I can't wait to see what the team turn out. The Nestabilites are an absolutely revolutionary tool for card makers and scrapbookers. I will be adding more about these wonderful Nestabilities--and their adapt- abilities with our already existing tools.

Let's Peek at FLOURISHES New Sets &the DESIGN TEAM MEMBERS

As promised I am posting a peek at the new sets that Flourishes will launch on July 25th. Our design team will all soon have both of the sets and begin to work their magic.

You are seeing a sneak preview of Cake Decorating 101 as well as Flourished Words.
Both sets are clear acrylics. The Cake Decorating 101 will be loads of fun to play with with lots and lots of possibilities. Flourishes Words has a beautiful style....just perfect to flourish your creations!


DESIGN TEAM ANNOUNCEMENTS

As I have said before Flourishes has made it's selection for our Charter Design Team members. As you can see we are an international lot and spanning the US. We are very proud that these ladies are a part of Flourishes!

So without further delay........roll the drums and play the trumpets

THEY ARE:



NANCY GRANT
SCSer: TAC Girl
Blog: inkcicles.blogspot.com
Nancy lives in Barrow Alaska

SHARON JOHNSON
SCSer: notimetostamp
Blog: none at this time
A Dirty Dozen member she is from Baraga, MI

PAULA BLOOM
SCSer: prbloom
Blog: prbloom.typepad.com
Paula and hubby live in Lewisville, Texas

LESLIE MILLER
SCSer: leslierich
Blog: leslierich.splitcoastampers.com
She is from North Bend, Oregon

JULIA STAINTON
SCSer: julia's
Blog: bellepaper.blog.splitcoastampers.com
Julia is also a Dirty Girl and this talented lady lives in London, Ontanrio

ALEX EATON
SCSer: sillybird
Blog: sillybirds.blogspot.com
This talented stamper is our British representative and lives in Dorset

TRACY DURCAN
SCSer: tracy-stamper
Blog: durcandesigns.typepad.com
She and family live in Chester, New Hampshire

PRETTY IMPRESSIVE DON'T YOU THINK!

Their bios and photos can be seen at our new Flourishes Newsletter today. Please visit there for all the wonderful details of this team. Please check their blogs and get the view from their perspective.

I hope that this is peaking your interest and you will watch for our Splitcoastampers Ads. There's lots more.

We Have a Flourishes Team !

All I can say is that today has been an absolutely thrilling day! Nancy Kirk notified our Flourishes Charter Design Team selectees today and they all accepted! I then had the pleasure of placing a personal telephone call to each of them. The joy and excitement can only be likened to a child under a Christmas tree. It was pure joy.

Today their goodies were packaged with care and shipped. Now we can wait for their magic to begin!


SO JUST WHEN AND WHERE CAN YOU FIND OUT

WHO'S ON THE TEAM...
drum roll and trumpets.....well not just yet.......

We will make the Team announcement Wednesday on Splitcoastampers
under the Announcements forum.

We are excited to be working with Splitcoastampers with our upcoming advertisements. Our new monthly Flourishes Newsletter will also be announced in the same message. You will also get a peek at the sets here and at Seaside Creativity


I want to thank all of our fellow stampers that submitted applications. Remember there will always be a next time. Boy, oh boy, have we found of ton of wonderful blogs to surf....you all are so creative!


We will be building a gallery to spotlight the Flourishes Design Team creations We will add your creations as well as looking forward to seeing your work in your galleries at SCS.

DUM...DA DUM, DUM.........

That is the music background for what is happening in the Atelier at Flourishes today. The air is filled with suspense and excitement.

Who will be the next STAMPING IDOLS?
All the 'wantabe' stamping idols have applied. The talent in Stamp Land is huge and we are completely overcome with the response and the quality of the art work that has come to us. We are surely glad that they all" Wanta Be Stamp Idols".

We have narrowed the playing field of applicants, the final deadline for submission has past and now today it is the real hard part of making the final decision of the Flourishes DESIGN TEAM MEMBERS.......
So Nancy, Sharon, and I have it all laid out on the tables with the letters and submissions and we will make the final call tonight!

Design team members will be notified tomorrow and we will ship the packages of goodies and wait for the magic to start thru their hands. This is real important for me especially as my stamping ability is so limited and it is killing me because I really want to stamp with the set.

A peek at the Cake Decorating Set will be ready for you to see here Wednesday...on my blog and at Seaside Creativity....so stay tuned.....The excitement here will only continue to grow!

Update on my Progress

Well I am 12 days post op......the staples were removed today. I am still in a cast that controls most of the use of my right arm...yes...naturally I am right handed. My DH, Mike, has lowered my keyboard and mouse to a ridiculously low level that allows me to type and use the computer.

I will start physical therapy next week--ouch! Since this is my second time with this surgery since Jan of this year I know what to expect. I am struggling to figure a way to stamp using my left hand....oh boy do I wish I was ambidextrous!

A big thank you for the thoughts, prayers and good wishes I received form all of you.

With Mike's help I have completed a first real card using Flourishes, LLC's new stamps that will be revealed on July 27th at our Grand Opening. I think both sets have the potential to make great cards. Watch for the first of our banners on Wednesday, July 25th on Splitcoastampers. We also have banners running on July 27 and August 1. Our Grand Opening Specials on the weekend of the 27 July through Aug 1st. The new Flourishes website is OH SO Pretty! Very different from most sites....but then we are a paper arts boutique! Watch for the preview dates.

We will also be launching the Flourishes Newsletter, through a new blog. Watch for that announcement real soon here and at Seaside Creativity. This is something that you will want to share with your friends.

OK, I have pushed my arms usage enough for today....till next time.

Rubber Hugs,
Jan

SU Stamps & Portofolo Books for Sale-List I

The following SU! stamps and portfolio series books are for sale. All stamps are mounted on sealed wood blocks and in their original containers. All prices listed are US $. I prefer PayPal payments, but will accept money orders and personal checks (shipment made after checks clear). Buyer pays postage, whenever possible USPS flat box rate postage will be used, I will advise you of this amount prior to payment. Multiple purchases will be shipped the most economical method. For international sales/shipping please PM me. Thanks for looking, hope you find what you want.

Set Name Year Price Sold

Tag Line (unused) ' 05 $15.00

Tropical Blossoms 03 15.00

Travel Time 03 15.00

Travel Post 04 15.00

Definately Decorative Daisy 00 15.00

Something to Celebrate 04 12.00

Flower Filled 05 12.00

Terrific Tulips 01 12.00

Perfect Party 01 12.00

Border Builders 02 11.00

Sketch an Event 02 11.00

Holiday Wishes 02 11.00

Sweet of You 04 10.00

A Light Heart - 10.00

Little Layers II 03 10.00

Simply Sweet 03 10.00

Simple Florals 03 10.00

Stepp 'n' Stlye 02 10.00

Fiqures of Speech 04 10.00

Little Layers Plus 04 10.00

All The Best 04 10.00

I Like Your Style 03 10.00

Anytime Greetings 01 10.00

Lacy Snowflakes 98 10.00

Love It - 10.00

Never Ending Joy 05 9.00

Smorgasborders 04 8.00

Just Journaling 00 8.00

Mini Messages 04 8.00

Gently Falling 8.00

Burst into Bloom 04 7.00

Lexicon of Love 05 7.00

Smile - 6.00

Paint Prints 05 5.00

Listen With the Heart 04 5.00

Send a Celebration - 5.00

Portfolio Series Keeping in Touch(book) 15.00

Portfolio Series Gift and Giving(book) 15.00

Portfolio Series Portfolio II - Books I, II, and IV

with slipcase 45.00

Jan is home

Jan is home, the surgery was successful. She wants to stamp, but I have her in a 24 hour time out. Jan is awaiting the arrival of "Mr. Brown" with the 2nd stamp set for Flourishes and the new Basic Gray collection of papers, Infuse. Cheers, Mike

Happy 4th of July

Happy 4th of July to all. As we celebrate our independence this great day, please take time to remember our service members that keep us FREE.

I will be out of pocket for the next week, I am having rotator cuff surgery Monday 1 July. See you soon.

Design Team Search Deadline

Our search for new untapped talent for our design team will end on July 5, 2007 . If you have not applied and would like to do so please drop a note to Nancy (nkirk@aol.com).

We are thrilled at the applicants so far and decision making will be tough. I knew we had great talent in Stamp Land!