Day 5 Clear Dollar Stamps Sneak Peak

Good morning! Its Sunday and it means that I'm home :) We had a good time in Whistler, but didn't really do much due to a couple of factors. It rained every single day we were there and limited the things we could do and secondly, its hard to do a lot of things when you have 2 little ones to tend to as well, but it was relaxing nonetheless. To be honest, the best part was having Kevin all to ourselves for an entire week.

So now, the really GOOD news!!! Today is the last day of sneak peeks for the new releases at Clear Dollar Stamps. This means that first thing tomorrow all the stamps you've been seeing here and on the other DT members' blogs will be available.

So without further ado, here are the last samples I made with my stamps. This card was made with the Crusin Classic set. The challenge was to incorporate eyelets - you know those silly round things with holes that we all have tons off, but so often don't use... The cardstock and designer paper is all Close to my Heart.

This next card was made using the set Autumn Blessings. This set has that very cute squirrel, but also has some great fall stamps too. Again, I got those tiny round things with holes and used them on this card. I used my nestability to cut my oval and my hole punch to punch all the holes. Cardstock and designer paper is again Close to my Heart. I used my Copics to color in my pumpkins. Another note for those of you who aren't familiar with clear stamps. The word 'Blessings' isn't cut curved. The great aspect of many clear stamps is that they are flexible. I wanted my word arched a bit so all you have to do is stick down one side on your block and bend the rest of the stamp however you would like. When you are done, it just pops back to its original state.

And here is my final card, again with the same stamp set as above. With this card I went back to my squirrel, but created my own designer paper by using more stamps from the Autumn Blessings Stamp Set. For the background I used my watercolor pencils and literally it was a whoosh here and there with a whoosh of my blender pen and that was it. Don't look too closely because you won't see a lot of neatness there. I then added some pretty fall ribbon to finish it off and matted my squirrel with my nesties. I did color my squirrel with my Copics though.

Thanks for stopping by and make sure you visit Clear Dollar Stamps first things tomorrow. I also want to remind you that every month Lori offers a FREE stamp set with a $50 purchase. Plus, there are also lots of other FUN stuff besides awesome stamps available - like a bunch of new Cuttlebug embossing folders! They are top on my list!

Day 4 Clear Dollar Stamps Sneak Peek

Good morning friends! Today, I'm sharing another example one of many of the new releases that will be available at Clear Dollar Stamps on Sept. 1st - Yah Hoo!!! I love how this card turned out. I've done something similar to this which was inspired by other cards I had seen in blogging land, but this card is neat because it does go flatter which means its easier to get it into an envelope, but it still pops out when standing alone.

This was one of those cards that allowed me to play a lot and add as much to it as I wanted. Here is the front view of my card.

Here is closer view of the front, can you see what might be on the inside? I used vellum for my window. I also cut all my windows with my nestabilities before putting the card together. I also sewed my front panels onto my card too. And I used fun flock on my squirrel to add even more interest. I've been enjoying the fun flock. I got mine at Limelight Papercrafts.

I stamped my branches and leaves straight on vellum, let them dry for a short bit, colored them in with Copics and then cut them out. The vellum has a lot of body so its easy to cut all the detail. The branches are just attached at the branch and sort of "free flow" at the center of the card.


Here's a close up of my little fun flocked squirrel. I've got some stuff specifically for glitter and fun flock, I just haven't used it yet, so for this time around I just used my ZIG glue pen.

And here is view looking into the card from the front.

Finally, here is the inside of the card.
Thanks for sticking with all the pictures. Enjoy your day! We are headed home today!

Recipe: Cardstock: Kraft (PTI), Ponderosa Pine, Colonial White (CTMH), Vellum Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black Stamps: Autumn Blessings (CDStamps) Other: Copics, Nestabilities, Fun Flock, Sewing

Clear Dollar Stamps Autumn Blessings Sneak Peek

This is the other set that I got to play with as Guest Designer for Clear Dollar Stamps. This set along with all the new releases will be available September 1st.

I love this set just as much as Cruisin Classic just for other reasons. For this particular project I decided to make a fall set of note cards ( 3x3) and I had teachers on the brain because it is that time of year. I made this set just for fun and for any purpose really. I can't get enough of this little squirrel. He's cute, but real at the same time.

The dimensions for the box can be found HERE. I used CTMH cardstock and Designer Paper and my Copics to color in my squirrels.

Check out some of the other DT Member's blogs for even more Sneak Peeks. (Check 'em out over on the side bar.

Thanks for coming and visiting with me. I'll be back tomorrow :)


Recipe:
Cardstock: Colonial White, Barn Red, Buttercup (CTMH)
DP: Boom-di-Ada Level 2 (CTMH)
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black
Stamps: Autumn Blessings (CD Stamps)
Other: PTI Ribbon, Nesties, Scor-Pal, Copics

More Cruisin... and 15 years

Good morning! Here are some more cards that I made with one of the new releases from CDStamps. For these two cards, I created my own designer paper and made a girl and boy/ man and woman version. For the boy version, I simply went traditional with primary type colors. I colored my car with my copics and used my nesties to cut and mat my image. I really liked the way both of these turned out.

For the girl version, I just used pink. Isn't that all it usually takes to go girly? I added some stickles and flowers and its good to go.

This stamp set is so much fun to add on to if that is your thing or is just plain fun to color in and keep simple.

Thanks for stopping by and I will have even more peeks for you tomorrow.

Recipe:
Cardstock: CTMH
Ink: Memento Black, CTMH
Stamps: Cruisin Classic (CDStamps)
Other: Copics, Nesties, Flowers, Stickles, SU! Ticket Punch, SU! Photo Corner Punch, Black Spica Atyou Glitter Pen








**********************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************
On another note, today is my 15th Anniversary with the hubby. Oh my, where did the time go?? I have to say that there is nobody else I would rather spend my time with than my husband. Here is a picture from our wedding day. I don't have anything better since at that time we didn't have digital and I forgot to scan ahead, so these pictures are from a layout I did a while back and I trimmed it up for ya. So here's to another 15 and more.

JustRite Stampers Anniversary Card

I have to say that I am quite pleased that I have been able to make a few fun cards while I've been gone, but I very much miss ALL my things (lol). This card is for the JustRite Stampers contest again and I have to say that if any of you are on the fence about these - GET OFF!!! I have had so much fun with my set and feel like I've been able to do a huge variety of things with them. And remember, I'm working with minimal supplies here, but enjoying it.

Tomorrow is my 15 year wedding anniversary and guess what, I didn't have a card for him, but I do now. I know, its pink, but you know what, I made it and I like it. I did add black and did some very heavy distressing to "man" it up. He won't mind anyway...

Thanks for stopping by again and I'll see you tomorrow I hope.

Recipe:
Cardstock: CTMH, DP: CTMH Silouette, Stamps: JustRite Stampers, Other: CTMH Bling and Ribbon

Clear Dollar Stamps - Sneak Peek

Good morning! I'm very excited to show you my very first sneak peek of one of the many new Clear Dollar Stamps new releases for next month. The stamp I used for today's card is from a set called Cruisin Classic.

This past Father's Day I was actually looking for some car stamps and just wasn't able to find what I wanted. I think this set would have fit the bill. But not only would it be great for Father's Day, but its perfect for birthdays young and old or even a date night card :)

Laurie who is CDStamps DT Coordinator set out several challenges for the DT members to think about while designing for the sneak peeks. One of them was to use Silver as part of the design. Well, of course the Chevy was perfect for that challenge.

I decided to stick with a classic color scheme or what I think of as being classic (lol). Anyway, the Chevy has a lot of chrome on it and I decided to do as much as I could with the silver ep. I started out by stamping my image and coloring it in with my Copics. Then I re-stamped all my image pieces, cut them out and then rubbed the cut pieces over my versamark pad then covered with silver ep. Then I just took my tweezers and heat gun and voila - chrome pieces. I used my Zig glue pen to attach my pieces.

Here is another view for you.

I hope you enjoyed this sneak peek. I'll have more for you in the next few days and all the New Release stamps from Clear Dollar Stamps will be available on September 1st - Wah Hoo!!!

Thanks for stopping by and make sure you stop by the other CDStamps Design Team Members' blogs for other sneak peeks.



Recipe:
Cardstock: GP White, Lilac Mist, Grey Wool (CTMH) Ink: Memento Black Tuxedo, Versamark, Grey Wool (CTMH) Stamps: Cruisin Classic (Clear Dollar Stamps) Other: Silver embossing Powder, Copics, Silver Brads

Another JustRite Stamper Card - For contest

Hi all! Sorry to inundate you, but I needed a place to post my card and I thought I would just do another on the 'ole blogger. I'll keep it short. I used the basic 1 5/8" Circle JustRite Stamper kit, but had to jimmy it somewhat and I ended up using my acrylic block to stamp with. I can't wait to get my set that comes with the separate round block. Paper, ink, embellies are all are Close to my Heart. Thanks Mom, these are all her goodies. :)

I keep forgetting to mention too that these are for the JustRite Daily Contests. Go on over and play!! Click HERE to check it out.

JustRite Stampers Bag in a Box and Notecards

Hello. I'm quite pleased with my project considering my limited supplies. Once again, no nesties or circle punches so everything is cut by hand, thus all the distressed edges, which in itself is a pretty look, just something I don't do that often.

This is another one of those blog link projects. My very first inspiration came from browsing online last night and I saw these great monogram canvas bags online. I love the look of these bags and immediately thought of the Bag in a Box projects I've seen recently. I like this look because a) it has a square/rectangle base and b) because it has a look of a real bag on top. I had seen Andrea Walford's version a few days ago, but I didn't want mine that big so I made mine smaller. And of course credit is due to the originator, Diana Gibs.

I left mine open so it would look like a bag and added handles. My note cards measure 4 1/4" x 3 1/2". Again, I didn't have to worry about envelopes so I made the note cards to fit my bag.

And of course the whole point of this whole ensemble are the JustRite Stampers - I purchased mine HERE. For right now, I have the 1 5/8" Circle kit and I have to say I love it. I can't wait to add to my collection. I didn't' think the circle element would look as nice on the front of my bag so I paired just the letters with a Close to my Heart stamp set that will be available in a couple of months. Then I used the border and letters and kept everything very simple with my note cards.

The whole set is for Hunter's teacher and she can use these to put into teacher mailboxes or whatever.

Thanks for looking and have a great day!



Recipe:
Cardstock: Cocoa, Colonial White (CTMH)
DP: Silhouette
Stamps: CTMH, Justrite Stampers
Other: CTMH Ribbon

Note cards for a friend

Hello Friends! Today I'm sharing some note cards and as easy as it gets holder for them. Way back when, when I had to take Hunter to the ER, my friend and neighbor watched the twins for me. I was so appreciative and I had been meaning to do some sort of thank you for her and finally got around to it. I decided to make some small note cards for her to send to school when in need. You know how it is, normally I just grab some sort of scratch piece of paper and scribble down whatever I need the teacher to know or that somebody else will be picking Hunter up etc. Since my friend also has school children, I know that she would appreciate being able to send notes with pretty cards.

The nice thing about this little gift is that I didn't have to worry about envelopes so I could make whatever size cards I wanted to. I settle for 4x4 because they are small, but not too small. Plenty of room for short or longer notes. I also wanted a case for them, but nothing extravagant. I ended just

using a piece of cardstock that measured 4 1/4" wide and 8 1/2" long. I then scored the center so there is a flat spot that is only about 1" wide. Then I just put the two top edges together, punched holes and tied my ribbon. The case is tight enough that the note cards don't even budge.

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day.



Recipe:
Cardstock and Designer Paper: CTMH - Caprice
Ink: CTMH
Stamps: Inkadinkado
Other: Nesties, Ribbon, Scor-Pal

Be Happy and some Musings

First for my card and then you can decide if you want to read on :) I have to be honest and say that I love my craft space down in the basement. And the word basement is misleading because it makes it sound like its a basement (lol), but its all refinished and is a wonderful family space. Anyway, I generally don't do crops and I really don't enjoy taking things elsewhere. I have a horrible time deciding what to take and what to make and when I get there, I'm missing the one most important item that I really want. For our trip, I did bring some stuff and luckily my Mom brought some stuff as well. I kept it all in 2 12x12 bags though, so it was very minimal. I actually brought a lot of stamped images that I wanted to color, so my Copics actually took up the majority of space in one of my bags. So take that into consideration when looking at my card.

This is for Lauren's Saturday sketch and guess what, no circle punch so I used a glass to outline my circle and then hand cut it out. For the mat I cut free hand and then roughed up my edges so the crookedness wouldn't be noticed as much. The designer paper is the Basic Grey Sugared Paper Pad from Limelight Papercrafts (don't sigh too much - I know, more of that paper) and the stamp is Pink Cat Studio and finally, the sentiment is CTMH. I would have loved to "bling" up my image, but I had to settle for bling elsewhere.

My other musing is that I am sad that the Olympics are over. I really enjoyed staying up way too late to watch all the events. The next one to look forward to are the Winter Olympics in 2010 and guess what, they are in Vancouver. All you Canadians have got to be stoked about that. Our plan is to try and get up to Whistler again for it - I believe that most of the outdoor events will be around here. We shall see...

And finally, don't forget that Mandy is having 10% of on everything over at Limelight. I love the fact that she always has a little something going on over there. Plus, she has new Stampendous and Unity Stamps too! Go check out the goods! :)



Recipe:
Cardstock: GP White, Baby Pink (CTMH)
DP: Basic Grey Sugared
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black
Stamps: Q.T. Hooty Owl (Pink Cat Studio), Your Special (CTMH)
Other: CTMH Bling

Another Hat Pin Card

Good morning! Here is a card that is essentially just like another card I posted a few weeks ago. I really love the look of these hat pins. I've seen a couple of smaller pins and I think I need to get those too. Just a reminder, my friend Jak sent me some pins and I love her for it. These particular beads are just cheapy ones that I got from Joann's while they were on sale for 40% off - not a huge investment if I didn't like them. I love these colors. I used CTMH inks and then added some Twinkling H20's to the images. I just used a waterbrush and brushed my paint onto the stamps and stamped. Such a beautiful affect. The stamps are the Stamp of the Month for September and are a really wonderful set.

Gotta run, but enjoy your week.

Oh, one more thing... keep your eyes posted! I am so excited to be posting new releases for Clear Dollar Stamps starting Wednesday. Way cool stamps.



Recipe:
Cardstock: CTMH
Ink: CTMH, LuminArte Twinkling H20's
Stamps: CTMH
Other: Hat Pin, Scor-pal, Sand Paper, Joanns Beads, Ribbon

Question for you and a "Bear" of a Day!

Hi all! Hooray - we have internet access - yes, I'm addicted to my internet!

So, first of all, here is my question and I feel kind stupid for asking but here it is. I just use Zoom Browser to upload my photos and it has I guess what may be called minimal editing procedures, but for now it does what I need.

How/what do I do to get the copyright symbol on my photo (the little c in the circle) I'm hoping that I can somehow access this symbol in the font section when I'm editing, but I just don't know how.

Can anybody help?

Now for my bear part. We arrived last night at Whistler and we are staying at some Condos. Well, Kevin and I are trekking up and down the stairs with all our gear. We are getting one of the big coolers out of the car and are heading back towards the door we had just come out of and I see this shape standing there right next to the entrance. The first thing I think, " I don't remember a statue of a bear there before". Then I look over at Kevin and say, "Is that a bear?". The he says, "Back up..." As I'm trying to figure out where my camera is the bear is heading towards the lobby door. As you can see I did find my camera and here is our new friend. He eventually just ran off. Sorry for the picture, but remember it was dark by this time.

Have a great day!

Ernie Elephant - Its a Boy!

Good morning. I know that Ernie Elephant is more than just a baby symbol, but I just can't help it. He is just too cute and works for both girls and boys. Here is a boy version with a button explosion. I ordered some new cuttlebug folders from Clear Dollar Stampsand I love this button one. There are a couple of sets that are made of smaller strips for embossing just part of a card. I love this idea. I then used my fiskars punch to create the scallops with the holes. Ernie is cut out and pop dotted just a tad - he's so easy to cut and the little sentiment is also another Clear Dollar Set called Too Sweet.

Gotta go! Have a great day!



Recipe:
Cardstock: CTMH
Ink: CTMH
Stamps: Clear Dollar Stamps
Other: Nesties, CTMH Buttons, Embossing Folder, Fiskars Border Punch, Scor-Pal, CTMH Buttons

Using up those scraps

Good morning! I have to say that I've been quite pleased with myself recently. If you hadn't noticed, I've been using a lot of the Basic Grey paper packets recently. Part of that is that they are new to me which always makes it fun to use, but another reason is that I made a deliberate decision to use up those little bits left over as I'm making cards. The three cards I'm posting today are similar because I've been using the same paper, but they are still unique. The end result is that I have less little bits of paper floating around and the little tiny, tiny pieces I can recycle guilt free.

If you want to know where I got this gorgeous paper, you don't even have to ask because I will tell you :) Head on over to Limelight Papercrafts and pick up a packet or more!

Don't forget about the Ladies in the Limelight Sketch and Product Challenge that Mandy is hosting over on her blog. Click HERE for all the details. All you have to do is make a fun card and you could win a great prize! You have until midnight tomorrow - loads of time.

I'm off to Whistler Canada for a nice little vacation. I hope they have internet and I hope its wireless (lol).

Have a great weekend everyone!



Recipe:
Cardstock: Papertrey ink
Designer Paper: Basic Grey Sugared
Ink: Close to my Heart
Stamps: Close to my Heart
Other: Hero Arts Rhinestones, Punches, Ribbon, Ricrac, Cuttlebug die

Stamp Something Challenge Blog Guest Designer

Oh my, shame on me, the date of my guest spot on Stamp Something Challenge Blog came up awfully quick. The theme for this week was birthday and I decided to use one of my favorite, but not used often tools of late - my Cricut. I made favor bags and then decorated them with some really cute stamped images from Clear Dollar Stamps. I used one set called Cake Occasions and the other stamp is called Cute Confections. The latter stamp is a longer stamp that is made to work with the clear wheel roller system. You can find additional information about the Clear Wheels over at Clear Dollar Stamps.

Anyway, what I thought was so cool about my favor/goodie bags was that I went into my stash and used up some of that designer paper from some old stacks that I had. Becasuse these bags are really made to be disposable, I could still make something
by hand and make them personalized without
spending a lot of money or time in making them. The cartridge I used to cut out all my bags is Tags, Bags, Boxes and More and is really one of my all time favorite cartridges. The cricut did all the cutting and I just folded and glued. How easy is that?? Plus, with the Expression machine (the larger one), I can make bags that are even larger! Here is a close up of just one of the bags.

With this one I just took a glue pen and traced around my images and then added glitter. My goal wasn't to be precise, but just too add a bit of something. Remember, most likely these bags will end up in the garbage once the goodies are taken out. :)


Check out all the great projects over at Stamp Something and get inspired to challenge yourself. And thank you to Denise for asking me to participate!!!

Have a great day!


Recipe
Designer Paper: From Stash, Ink: Close to my Heart, Stamps: Clear Dollar Stamps, Close to my Heart (sentiments), Other: Glue Pen, Glitter, Ribbon, Cricut, Tags,Bags, and More Cartridge, Punches

JustRite Stampers Pencil Box

Hurray! I finally got around to doing a project with my new JustRite Stampers. I'm sure you've all seen the craze out there for these. I just started off with the basic set that I saw on Lauren's blog and I ordered them from All That Scraps. Now that I've actually used it, I think I would really like the tiny letter set and all the additions of course :)

I have wanted to make a pencil box for a while now, but school came and went and now its almost here again. JustRite Stampers is also having a contest (just go check their blog) so I was excited to combine the two. So, I didn't want to make Hunter's pencil box all foofoo so I kept it pretty basic. Their school colors are black, red, and white.

Since I wanted to use the same font for the word "pencils", all I did was use a pair of tweezers to hold my small individual letters and stamped them on scrap paper. It was super easy and no worry since all I wanted to do was punch the letters out anyway.
Sorry about the second picture. The white sides of the box totally blended in with the background, but they are there :)

Let me know if a tutorial is in order. It was really very simple, but I won't be home to do one for a week or so.

Thanks for stopping and have a great day.



Recipe:
Cardstock: Black, Cranberry (CTMH), GP White
Stamps: JustRite Stampers 1 5/8" Monogram Set
Other: Nesties and Circle Punches