Hi

Good morning everyone! All my sneak peeks are done, but there are more sets to check out. Full views of the stamp sets can be found on Lori's blog - Clearly iStamp with some great samples by Candy.

For even more samples of the set called Lost at Sea go visit Laurie and Cassie.

To see samples of a set called Smooth Sailing, go visit Laurie, Kim, Linda, and Cassie

And finally, for peeks of the May Stamp of the Month go visit Laurie, Kim, and Linda.
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And now, I do have a card to share with you. The image was stamped and sent to me by a very good friend and the color choices are from Lauren Meader's Color Challenge from last Saturday.

I colored this Elzybell with my Copics and paired her with one of my all time favorite Papertrey ink stamp sets called Polka Dot Basics.

I used a mix of Papertrey ink cardstock and Close to my Heart cardstock. The tag is a Cuttlebug die and the sentiment was created using a CTMH alpha set.

Well, that's it for me today. I'll have something to share with you tomorrow over at Clearly iStamp :)

Thanks for visiting and have a great day.

Wednesday

Good morning everyone! I am feeling better for sure - not 100%, but definitely better. Today is number 3 for Clear Dollar Stamps sneak previews and I'll be sharing samples of 2 stamp sets. Both are awesome of course (like duh,huh?)

I'm all into florals and I really like this set called Bold Bouquet. I had a lot of fun working with this and got two quite different looking cards. This first one is all girl and I have to be honest that this final version is definitely not what I had planned to do. I had originally planned on doing french knots which I had started, but then ran short of my embroidery floss, but since I had dyed the floss, I didn't want to dye more, etc. etc. so I did use embroidery floss, just in a different way (lol).

I used white floss and then took a Copic marker and highlighted the ends of the floss. I also used a "rock and roll" technique to get the edges of my flowers darker. Here is a close up of the centers of my flowers.

Reciep: ALL CDSTAMPS LLC STAMP SETS USED: Bold Bouquet, Soil of Prayer CARDSTOCK AND PAPERS:Hollyhock, Blush, Garden Green, Petal (Close to my Heart) INKPADS: same as cardstock ACCESSORIES AND EMBELLISHMENTS: Embroidery floss, markers to color tips of floss, ribbon

My next card was also really fun to do, but for different reasons. The paper I used is some retired Stampin Up! paper that I loved cutting into. It is so pretty and very versatile.
In this case, I stamped my main flower with Versamark and used clear embossing powder right on the designer paper. It created a thicker weight for my flower and also gave them a really nice shine to them. I added some twine to the SU! buttons that I used to give it some country feel to it.

Here is a close up of the flowers.

Reciep: ALL CDSTAMPS LLC STAMP SETS USED:Bold Bouquet, Thoughtful Notes (sentiment) CARDSTOCK AND PAPERS: Stampin up (retired), Grey wool, Colonial White (Close to my Heart) INKPADS: Grey Wool (Close to my Heart), Versamark ACCESSORIES AND EMBELLISHMENTS: SU! buttons, twine, stitching, SU! word window punch
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The next stamp set I'm showcasing is another cute one called Nestled Love. This is just a sweet set and for some reason I have babies on the brain - don't get any ideas either - we are absolutely DONE! This first card is really quite simple, but I just love pink and white together and of course that great edge punch from Martha Stewart. I used glue dots to position my ribbon down, but I just love the curls.

Recipe:
ALL CDSTAMPS LLC STAMP SETS USED: Nestled Love
CARDSTOCK AND PAPERS:White, Bittersweet Basic Grey
MARKERS: Y02, C-1, E35, YR61, Blender, RV10
ACCESSORIES AND EMBELLISHMENTS: Petite Oval Nesties, MS Doily Punch, PTI Pink Ribbon
COLORING MEDIUM (if any): Copics

The second item is a box that I made after visiting my Mom. I always go into her craft room and see what she's been doing at her card/craft classes and this is what I saw. I just loved it. The box is 4" square and I used my Cricut to cut the scallop base. I also created this same box in a 2 1/2" square size that turned out really cute too. I think the stamped image is just perfect for a shower gift.

ALL CDSTAMPS LLC STAMP SETS USED:Nestled Love
CARDSTOCK AND PAPERS: Sweet Leaf (Close to my Heart) Spring Rain (Papertrey ink), SU! retired
INKPADS:Crystal Blue (Close to my Heart) used on tag
MARKERS: , B45, B12, BG93, B93, Y17, E47, E71, W-5
ACCESSORIES AND EMBELLISHMENTS:Scor-pal, ribbon, Cricut, Labels 1 Nestability,
COLORING MEDIUM (if any): Copics

Well that's it for my previews, but don't worry there's plenty of places to go to see more!

Bold Bouquet: Laurie, Candy, Angela and Tori
Nestled Love - Laurie and Candy

Clear Dollar Stamps is also releasing these new sets:

Christian Critters Too: Laurie, Candy, Angela, and Cassie
Words of Gratitude: Laurie, Candy and Kim

Thanks as always for visiting and I hope you have a wonderful Wednesday!

Tuesday

Good morning everyone! Today is the 2nd day of sneak peeks for Clear Dollar Stamps. I'll be sharing cards that I made using a really cute stamp set called Kuddly Koala.

I'm keeping this super short because I am suffering from something... I don't know if its allergies or a head cold and NO, I don't believe its the Pig Flu (lol), but I can't even concentrate and my eyes are watering so badly, I feel like I'm crying.

And this card uses the tiny butterfly from the set that I added glitter to.


And a close up.

You can check out:

Kuddly Koala with Laurie, Candy, and Angela.

Charlie Gardens with Laurie, Candy, Kim, Angela, Tori, Cassie

Veggie Line-up with Laurie, and Candy

Biggest Wishes with Laurie, Candy, Angela, Tori, Cassie

I'm sorry to make you work, but their links are on the side bar. Thanks for understanding!

-Katie

Clear Dollar Stamps Stamp Preview #1 - Horse Heritage

Hi Everyone! Lots of fun stuff today, but let me start with letting you know that if you are interest I have some pictures of the twins at their first T-Ball "practice" which was on Saturday. No big surprise, the twins are the littlest guys there, but they both seemed pretty enthusiastic. Click --->HERE<--- to be taken to my family blog. (PS don't mind the terrible layout, I still haven't fixed it)

So, today is the first official day of New Release previews for Clear Dollar Stamps. I'll be previewing 2 sets and I'll have links to one more. Plus, I have a little tutorial for you too using my 2nd set. Just keep scrolling down to my 2nd post. The first stamp set is called Horse Heritage. All you equestrian lovers are going to love this set. It is in the same style and vein as last month's stamp set called Horse Poetry. Both sets are designed by Vicki and she did an awesome job.

For the first card, I decided to color it with my Copics and pair it with some new Basic Grey called Marrakech.

Other than that, the card pretty much speaks for itself. The horses are a nice sized image for a card front.

My second Horse Heritage card is completely different. I went with a more "western" feel to it. I love the technique of clear embossing and sponging which is what I essentially did with this card. The only thing I did first was sand all my paper. I used Close to my Heart cardstock which has a white core and allows for some neat sanding affects. After I sanded my cardstock, I stamped my image with Versamark and used clear embossing powder and a heat gun. Then I took a sponge and the matching ink to my cardstock and just sponged away to expose the embossed image.

The wood grain designer paper is from October Afternoon and I created my shapes using my Labels 2 Nesties. This particular card measures just shy of a 5 1/4" x 5 1/4" and that is due to my lack of measuring skills - ack.

For more Horse Heritage Previews go visit Lori and Candy, Laurie, and Kim

Thanks for stopping by and make sure to scroll down for my 2nd post and a tutorial.



Recipe Card #1: ALL CDSTAMPS LLC STAMP SETS USED:Horse Heritage
CARDSTOCK AND PAPERS:Cocoa (Close to my Heart), Basic Grey Marraketch
INKPADS:Cocoa (Close to my Heart) MARKERS:E35, E71, E49, E77, E57, E31, E37, G07, G21
ACCESSORIES AND EMBELLISHMENTS:Sponge
COLORING MEDIUM (if any):Copics

Recipe Card #2:
ALL CDSTAMPS LLC STAMP SETS USED:Horse Heritage
CARDSTOCK AND PAPERS:Brown Bag, Chocolate, (Close to my Heart), October Afternoon
INKPADS: Versamark, Brown Bag (Close to my Heart)
ACCESSORIES AND EMBELLISHMENTS: Twine, Sanding paper, sponge, embossing powder, labels 2 nestabilities

Clear Dollar Stamps Day 1 Stamp Previews Cont. - Fruity Fun with Tutorial

Hey everyone! Thanks for scrolling down :) This post is dedicated to super cute and fun new stamp set called Fruity Fun. I've got 2 things to share with you and a tutorial for one of those items. I'll share the card set first and I have to tell you that even though it is simple, I love these little notecards.

This would be something that you could mass produce forever and just hand them out to everyone! I used 4x4 cards and just the strawberry stamp. I love that one. Once you've stamped the strawberry on all your cards, all you have to do is get the sentiment in place and just keep stamping. The alignment will work the same for all your cards.



For the sentiment, I place my stamps where I want them on the card and then gently lay my acrylic block over the stamps. Now, each time I stamp they will be perfectly positioned.

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Now on to my next project. I actually created this little candy holder based on a sketch that Laurie Wilson sent to all the DT members.I used a ton of different colors, but I love the bright and fun dp I created and it just seemed perfect for the Pixie Stiks that I had.

















Start with a piece of cardstock that measures 3.75" x 10.5"
Along the 10.5" side score at 1/2" and 3.5"


Next, turn your cardstock and along the short side score at 1.5" and 2"


Cut inward where shown in the picture below.

Cut circles (your choice of size) these circles are approximately 2 1/2".
Fold in half and use a bone folder to create your crease.

Next, line up your center fold along any scoring line and then score 1/2" on the right side for one circle and 1/2" on the left side for the other circle.


Finish and decorate the front flap of the candy holder.


Then attach your circles so that they wrap from back to the front following score marks.


Punch holes and tie together with ribbon.


So there you have it. You can see some more great examples of this fun set with Lori and Candy, Laurie, Tori, and Linda

And finally, there is one more set being previewed called May Lily of the Valley. You can see previews of this stamp HERE and HERE.

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And finally, its that time again for your chance to get a Guest Designer spot for CDstamps. All the details can be found on Lori's blog HERE.

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Thanks for coming by and visiting and have a great Monday!



Recipe for Notecards:

ALL CDSTAMPS LLC STAMP SETS USED:Fruity Fun
CARDSTOCK AND PAPERS: White, Cranberry,(Close to my Heart)
INKPADS:Cranberry, Black, Topiary (Close to my Heart)
ACCESSORIES AND EMBELLISHMENTS:Labels 1 Nestabilities

Recipe for Candy Holder:

ALL CDSTAMPS LLC STAMP SETS USED: Fruity Fun
CARDSTOCK AND PAPERS:Orange, White (Close to my Heart)
INKPADS: Clover Meadow, Orange, Hydrangea, Holiday Red, watermelon, Kiwi, Citrus Leaf, Tulip (Close to my Heart)
ACCESSORIES AND EMBELLISHMENTS:Ribbon, Hole Punch, Oval Punch, Scor-Pal, Circle Nesties

Welcome Little One

I haven't participated in a Papertrey ink blog hop in ages it seems. For some reason my schedule just hasn't meshed with the hop. That is until today - or rather sort of (lol). Anyway, I was able to create this super cute project with Lauren's "Get a Handle" template as well as using the new Anniversary set. I was so jealous that everyone else was able to get it, but I just got mine yesterday due to the kindness of a very dear friend. You know who you are :)

I started with a Spring Rain base and used Polka Dot Basics in Fresh Snow to create my background. I kind of hid it with with my cardstock, but I used the large dots on the bottom and then used the smaller dots up to the top. I really liked this look (when you could see all of it)

I was also lucky enough to get the Anniversary set in the mail yesterday and wanted to use it straight away. There are no babies anywhere in my life at the moment, but I'm just in a baby mood. I think its that Spring Rain cardstock. It was just screaming baby boy for some reason. Since there wasn't a specific "baby" image in the anniversary set, I thought the star would look great as a baby accent and of course the sentiment on the box worked perfectly. The sentiment on the card came from my own stash.

The other component that I love about this set is the glittery star. I just absolutely love the clear and glittery embossing powder I used for the star. I used Versamark and stamped the stars on to the Spring Rain cardstock and then the clear glittery ep. The edge punch is Martha Stewart and the ribbon is the Spring Rain gingham.

Thanks for coming to visit and have fun hopping around tonight.



Recipe:

Cardstock: Spring Rain (PTI), Buttercup ( CTMH)
DP: bitty dots (PTI)
Ink: Fresh snow (PTI), Buttercup, Grey Wool (CTMH)
Stamps: PTI 2009 Anniversary set, Personal set
Other: Martha Stewart Edge Punch, clear, glittery embossing powder, PTI Ribbon, twine, safety pin, SU punch

Stamp Something Challenge Card

Hi everyone! I have to be honest here and say that this card does indeed look better in person, but even then, its definitely not my fave. I love the little froggy though.

I did this card for the Stamp Something Challenge Blog and this weeks challenge was a color challenge - green, blue, and yellow. I decided I wanted to go for the brighter version of these colors and this is what I ended up with.

I used Close to my Heart products except for the stickles, ribbon , and slot punch, and dies. I ended up stamping my frog twice and cutting out his body and popping it out, then added some stickles.

This is short and sweet, I need to get back to making a scrap layout :) Now that's been a while. Thanks for stopping by and have a great day.



Recipe:
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Cardstock: White, Topiary, Moonstruck, Honey
DP: Stardust Leve 2
Ink: Black, Topiary
Stamps: Fun Flies
Other: Labels 1 and Labels 2 nestabilities, SU! Punches, Ribbon, Stickles

Pink Cat Studio Card Challenge

Hi Everyone! I've been working like a mad woman on those sneak peek cards for Clear Dollar Stamps May new releases. You are going to love them and I'm actually really pleased with some of the things that I made.

But, I took a break because I really wanted to ink up the Sweet Pea set that I just got from Pink Cat Studio. (I got my set HERE) These are going to make the cutest baby cards. This little guy/girl/baby is just plain cute.

The challenge was to either do some real stitching on your card or use some 3-D layering on the card. I ended up doing both because they are both favorites of mine. I was also gifted some Stampin Up! paper and I have to say that I have really enjoyed it. This is my first foray into actually using their paper. I felt like I was cheating since I'm a Close to my Heart consultant. Paper was one area I hadn't tip toed across too (lol)

Anyway, I used my Copics to color in this little guy. I have really been enjoying embossing my image first and then coloring in. To me it gives me a little extra room and I don't have to be the perfect colorist, but don't look too closely!

I also applied some Shimmerz to the baby's wings as well as the center flower. I couldn't get a good picture to show both, so I decided on the wings.

As you can see, I did some sewing and then I just layered the entire baby.
So that is it for me and as always thanks for stopping and visiting. I wish you a very happy Monday!



Recipe: Card measures 5 1/4" x 5"

Cardstock: White, Sweet Leaf (Close to my Heart)
DP: Delicate Dots (Stampin Up!)
Ink: Versacolor Black, Black (Close to my Heart)
Stamps: Sweet Pea (Pink Cat Studio)
Other: Ribbon (Papertrey ink), Blossom Nestability, SU! punch, Copics, Shimmerz, Sewing

A sketch challenge - Friend

Hi everyone... I have another card to share with you today or rather tonight (lol). I did this card for Lauren's Saturday Sketch. She offered up 3 choices and I picked the first one. Its definitely a classic and came together very nicely.

I picked one of my favorite Clear Dollar Stamps images from a set called Asian Plants. I just love the pot and plant image. I stamped it in Versacolor Black and used clear embossing powder and a heat gun. I then colored the branches or more like outlined them with a Copic Marker and did the same with my pot. I then stamped the pot again, colored, then used Crystal Lacquer from Sakura to create that shine to the pot. I then used pop dots to attach my pot. Then, I got my flower soft out and used the shamrock green for the "moss" and the baby blue for the blossoms. The designer paper I used is a Close to my Heart Level 2 pack called Emporium. I love the blues and greens in this set. I used my circle nesties to cut out my flower pot as well as the 1/2 circles behind the image. The sentiment was punched out using an oval punch and the buttons are from Stampin Up!

Thanks for coming by and I hope you have a great rest of your weekend.



Recipe: Card measurement 4 1/4" x 5 1/2"

Cardstock: Cocoa, Sweet Leaf, Crystal Blue (CTMH)
DP: Emporium (CTMH)
Ink: Versacolor black, cocoa)
Stamps: Asian Plants (Clear Dollar Stamps)
Other : Circle Nestabilities, oval punch, crystal lacquer, fltower soft, SU! buttons

Papertrey Blitz

Happy Saturday! This post is short and sweet with lots to look at. I hate scraps and although I'm not completely crazy and keep every itty bitty one, I do have a lot. Well, I was completely tired of looking at my stash of larger bits and pieces and decided to do something about it. Plus it was a great excuse to ink up my PTI stamps!. All the cards below were made with designer paper and cardstock that had already been cut into. I don't know about you, but I sure felt better after I used up my scraps! Everything on my cards except a couple of computer generated sentiments and maybe an embellishment or two are from Papertrey ink.







Just a brief note on the card below. I'm saying it again... I lovee my flower soft. Check it out, its so cool and will last you a long time.

Thanks for coming by and have a great day! Check out my blog candy links on my side bar for a chance to win some cool prizes!