Flower Patch happiness

Happy Monday, Everyone!  Hope that each of you have recovered from July 4th craziness. :)  For us, the kids finally went to bed last night closer to the usual 8:30 time, rather than after midnight.  Yikes!  My pyro husband did TWO big fireworks displays this year -- one on the 4th, and another on the 5th.  And, oh yes, don't forget the "trial runs" on the night of the 3rd! :) So,.... we were all ready for a good nights sleep and now a week of "normal" :) routines!  As I type this, the kids are both still snoozing -- which, for my early bird son, is unusual!

A brand new photopolymer stamp set and matching framelits called "Flower Patch bundle" caught my eye instantly when I opened this year's new catalog.  Its many stamps are designed to work together to create all different combinations of two-step (or multiple) stamped images -- i.e. you stamp the base flower or leaf image, then stamp one or more images on top of that original one.  It also has matching framelits so you can die cut any of the images to create dimension.  Because it is a photopolymer stamp set, it is completely clear so it's easy to see through the stamp to ensure the placement of your image.  There is a tad of a learning curve with photopolymer stamps -- they stamp slightly differently than the regular rubber -- and you will get a much better image if you place the stampin' pierce mat underneath your card stock before you stamp.

This card is one we will be making at my next stampers' club next Sunday.  It's a card of options -- choose to make it with the new "Flower Patch Bundle" (save 15% off the price when you purchase the framelits with the stamp set) or the "Beautiful Bunch" stamp set and it's matching fun flower punch.  The truth is, I couldn't wait to show off ALL my new toys, so here you go! :)

For the Flower Patch card, I used these inks: Pool Party, Lost Lagoon (a new In Color), Calypso Coral, Real Red, Wild Wasabi, Mossie Meadow (another new In Color), and Early Espresso.  Isn't the layering effect incredible???  There are multiple images I could have incorporated into this card, but I decided to try and keep it on the simpler side -- i.e. I could have die cut each flower color to make a 3-D flower, or added several more flower images, but I still love the effect created with the simple stamping!  For the "other" card, I stamped images from the Beautiful Bunch set and punched them out with the matching Fun Flower punch.  The leaves are made with another flower image from the set -- stamped in Wild Wasabi ink and cut the petals apart to make the leaves.  The white panel behind the flowers, is embossed with a brand new embossing folder -- lovely lace embossing folder.  The card stock used here is Pool Party for the card base, and Whisper White and Early Espresso for the front panel.

There's a sweet special for the month of July -- buy three packages of the designer paper priced at $10.95 and get a 4th pack FREE! so it's like getting 25% off your paper.  If you're not sure you "need" four packs of paper, go in with a friend and split the special. :)

One more news flash -- seven color assortments of the Blendabilities markers are now available for purchase: Cherry Cobbler, Coastal Cabana, Daffodil Delight, Rich Razzleberry, Old Olive, Pumpkin Pie, and the Skin Tone assortment.  The remaining color offerings will be available August first.  If you haven't tried these new alcohol based markers out yet, you simply must!  The blending abilities are outstanding -- see