We had a great workshop 2 weeks ago in Froid. Thanks to everyone who came! I got this layout idea from Shelli Gardner, the founder of Stampin' Up! She has a blog that you can follow HERE. There was a competition among demonstrators to win Shelli coming and doing a workshop and she posted her samples on her blog. The card that we made was a tad simpler than this one, so I'll start at the beginning..... used Petal Pizzaz stamp set (pg 113, $32.95) and the stamp-a-ma-jig for placement of the leaf on the stem! Also used the rock and roll technique on the blue flower where we stamped it in bashful blue, then rolled the edges of the stamp in lavendar lace. (I'm looking at this flower and I must not have done it on this one!) Cut out the center flower in barely banana and popped it up on a dimensional. For the background we used the flower stamp and versamark to get that watermark effect. The blue satin ribbon is available in the summer mini catalog now. I added the blue button from the sherbet designer buttons (pg 181, $7.95). Then I used the Celebrate Everything stamp set (pg 144, $18.95) to turn this into a birthday card. I stamped "celebrate" in whisper white ink and then embossed it with clear embossing powder. It's an "inbetween" effect--not as bright as white embossing powder, but a little more visible than just versamark and clear embossing powder. 
Here's another sample using the same layout idea and a different flower stamp set. The color palette is certainly celery, so saffron, cameo coral and bermuda bay. The stamp set is Best Wishes and More (pg 64, $26.95). I stamped the flower 3 times-- in cameo coral on the scalloped "Hugs" note (from the occassions mini), then on scrap paper in bermuda bay and so saffron. Used circle punches to punch out the centers and layered them on with dimensionals. The rest of the card is pretty much the same as above..... OK, one last note-- Stampin' Up! is already having problems filling orders for cardstock, inks, etc... in the retiring colors. They are now substituting textured cardstock for smooth, on some colors. If you are thinking about ordering any of the retiring colors, please contact me right away!!! More samples coming up, including a neat card from a friend!
