CDS Sneak Peek - Praying Charlie

Here it is...my last sneak peek before the release tomorrow over at Clear Dollar Stamps where I hope to hear of a frenzy of crazy customers trying to beat each other to the checkout on the website with their shopping carts - Ok not really, but that would be great for business! lol



Just look at how Charlie is so thoughtful and sending out prayers for you :) This is a new set to be released tomorrow called Praying Charlie. He is a perfect match to most of the other Christian sentiments and adds a fun touch as well :D



I thought that I would add a different texture to this card to go with one of the DT challenges of using score lines. I pulled out my Score Pal (CDS now carries them) and went to town adding a grid of score lines to the green polka dot and pumpkin papers. I don't know how easily it is to tell that they are there, but I did try to highlight them with a little bit of creamy caramel ink.

Don't forget to pop by and see all the other design team creations - you won't be dissapointed!

Laurie Wilson

Nancy Grant
Katie Renz
Linsey Rickett
Linda Borneman
Alexandra Maldonado
Joan Ervin
Tori Wild
Lori McCroskey
Candy Fosta
Stacy Morgan
Alysabeth Johnston
Monique Hawrelluk
Cathy B
Gloria D

Card Recipe:

Stamps: Clear Dollar Stamps - Praying Charlie
Paper: PTI White, Watercolour, Chocolate Chip, My Minds Eye, Basic Grey and Scenic Route
Ink: Basic Black, Versa Mark, Chocolate Chip, Various Re-inkers
Accessories: Sewing Machine, Cuttlebug, Nestabilities, Brads, Sponges, Dimensionals, Score Pal, Corner Rounder, Scallop Edge Punch, Mat Pack, Piercing Tool, Ribbon, Dew Drops, Mini Glue Dots, Clear Embossing Powder

OCCC - 2 or More Hearts

This is my Our Creative Corner card for today's challenge to use 2 or more hearts on one card :) I thought that I would play with this one a little since I didn't want to make a Valentine's themed card but something that could be for any occasion. As it turns out, with me just getting back from CHA in California and all my Clear Dollar Stamps sneak peeks...I forgot that I had to make a card for the challenge *said in a whisper* Oops!

I attended my sister in law's birthday/cocktail party last night and realized late into the evening that I had to get back home to start on my card! So here I am at 11:45 pm last night, just starting to pick out some papers to begin my card. Ugh! I am so never leaving it to the last minute again!!! I stayed up until 1:45 am trying to finish up the card...it took me almost as long to figure out why my sewing machine was giving me problems.

Earlier in the evening, my husband left the door to my craft room open to little fingers that magically sneak in when nobody is looking. Interestingly enough, the first things that these little fingers find are the dials on my sewing machine (tension and stitch length), bobbin spools and my cuttlebug! Sigh...so this is what I ended up with after a close examination this morning! lol Oh well...it should only take me a day to test and find the original settings!! Wish me luck!

Don't forget to pop by the Our Creative Corner Blog to see what all the other designers created and to see how to participate in the challenge :)

Card Recipe:

Stamps: Our Daily Bread Designs - Sing to the Lord
Paper: PTI White, 29th Street DP, Elegant Eggplant, Watercolour
Ink: Versa Mark, Creamy Caramel
Accessories: Sewing Machine, Cuttlebug, Nestabilities, Paint Brush, Tombow Markers, Gold Embossing Powder, Sponge, Ribbon, Dimensionals, Bracelet Embellishments, Corner Rounder Punch

CDS Sneak Peek - Critter Barn

When I saw the previews of the Feb. release stamps, I just had to have the Critter Barn! Critter Barn is a new stamp that will be available on Feb 1/09 from Clear Dollar Stamps. One of the best parts about this barn for myself is that it coordinates with so many other stamp sets that I already own of both Clear Dollar Stamps and Stampin' Up! On this card you will see that I used the cow and the hay piles from the already release Farm Critters set that was released last month :) I have already been eyeing it up to use it with my On the Farm and Best of Cluck sets too (retired Stampin' Up!).



This card was made for a couple of the CDS Design Team challenges. One of which is to NOT use any designer paper (you all must know how hard this is) and the other challenge was to create some faux wood grain. Instead of using designer papers, I filled my card with a few different cuttlebug embossing textures and some sponging. As for the faux wood grain, I used the direct to paper technique with creamy caramel, close to cocoa, chocolate chip and craft white ink pads directly smeared over some more mustard card stock in one direction. I then let it dry and then ran it through my cuttlebug with the distressed vertical line folder and ta da! Done! :P



Some of the other CDS DT got a chance to play with this set and you just have to stop by and check out their creations :) Did I mention that I love this set? It just has so many possibilities and some of which you will set when you pop by these blogs:

Candy, Laurie, Katie, Alysabeth, Alex, and Linsey

Card Recipe:

Stamps: Clear Dollar Stamps - Critter Barn and Farm Critters
Paper: PTI White, Basic Black, Watercolour, Kiwi Kiss, Old Olive, More Mustard
Ink: Basic Black, Versa Mark, Craft White, Creamy Caramel, Close to Cocoa, Chocolate Chip, Old Olive, Always Artichoke, Baja Breeze, Bordering Blue, Re-Inkers
Accessories: Sewing Machine, Cuttlebug, Aqua Painter, Clear Embossing Powder, Cuttlebug Embossing Folder, Dimensionals, Sponges, Crystal Effects

CDS Sneak Peel - Old Wagon

Ever have one of those days where you have so many fabulous "light bulb" moments and all it takes is a little while to make it happen on paper? This was mine and boy, it sure didn't turn out the way I pictured it would! I played with this card for hours - I moved things, I threw pieces out, I coloured the image twice...and do you think that this card would give into my creative desires? Not a chance! lol



This set is called Old Wagon and will be released for purchase on Feb 1 from Clear Dollar Stamps. Our fearless Design Team Leader, Laurie Wilson assigned us some challenges for the month and this was made for the sketch challenge. I wanted to try out my gold embossing powder to make a quasi old world/elegant card but it didn't stand out the way I needed it to. It was almost impossible to capture the all of the outlines to make the image stand out in the photos. It looked so much better in my mind! lol

Please stop by and see every one's creations that were playing with this set. I guarantee that they turned out better than this one! Pssst....made sure you check out Laurie's gorgeous sepia monochromatic card!!!

Candy, Laurie, Katie, Alysabeth, Alex, and Linsey.

Card Recipe:

Stamps: Clear Dollar Stamps - Old Wagon
Paper: PTI White, Chocolate Chip, Baja Breeze, Watercolour, K&CO. DP
Ink: Versa Mark, Chocolate Chip, Creamy Caramel, Re-Inkers
Accessories: Sewing Machine, Cuttlebug, Nestabilities, Hodge Podge Hardware, Wooden Button, Aqua Painter, Gold Embossing Powder, Dimensionals, Sponges, Ribbon, Piercing Tool, Mat Pack, Brads

CDS Sneak Peek - SOM Moose - Are you ready for some serious cuteness?

Isn't this the most adorable moose that you have ever seen? I have to admit, he is one of my favourite stamps this release period! The best part about this fellow is that he is the stamp of the month and that means that he is FREE with a $50 purchase from Clear Dollar Stamps!




You will notice that I added a bit of a feminine twist on this little guy - the new designer paper and sweet little butterfly made me do it! I thought that the butterfly should visit this moose and had the perfect addition of a pewter charm to go with it *grin*




The really pretty border that you see is an EK Success Corner Punch with the guard taken off. I lined it up side by side and punched out a decorative edging and than added some pretty soft pink dew drops for some more sweet embellishments :D

Don't forget to stop by and visit all the other CDS DT creations! Some of the ladies that got to play with this set are: Candy, Tori, Stacy, Nancy, Linsey, Laurie, Alex, Monique, and Alysabeth.
This is my last post of the day, I promise! Tomorrow is another story though *wink*


Card Recipe:

Stamps: Clear Dollar Stamps - SOM Moose
Paper: PTI White, Close to Cocoa, Watercolour, Tres Chic DP, 29th St. Market DP
Ink: Basic Black, Versa Mark, Baja Breeze, Creamy Caramel, Close To Cocoa, Mellow Moss, Old Olive, Bordering Blue, Various Re-Inkers
Accessories: Sewing Machine, Cuttlebug, Nestabilities, Ribbon, Clear Embossing Powder, Cloud Stencil, Decorative Scissors, Aqua Painter, Charm, Gel Pen, Decorative EK Success Corner Punch, Dew Drops, Dimensionals, Sponges, Mini Glue Dots, Corner Rounder

CDS Sneak Peek - Zoo Critters

I bet that you didn't think that you would see another Clear Dollar Stamps sneak peek so soon! As I mentioned in my last post that I am playing catch up with some of my postings...this is what happens when you expect to have Internet and it turns out that you don't!! lol

Meet Mr. Lion and he is from a new set called Zoo Critters due to be released on Feb 1. This is a must have as all these critters are just darling *wink* I made this particular card for the CDS design team colour challenge of Kraft, Pumpkin Pie, Kiwi Kiss and Apricot Appeal.



This new set comes with a handful of cutie pie sentiments too :D Most of them fit right into the Word Window Punch so that it is just perfect for adding to your cards or creating windows with the sentiment on the inside of the card. See those Kiwi leaves poking up everywhere? Those were made with my 5 Petal Flower Punch and then cut with a craft knife (you could use scissors) - This worked really well to create some what of a jungle scene. I love it when I try new things and it tuns out the way I want it to! *grin*




This lion was so easy and so much fun to paper tole that I got a little crazy when adding my layers! I actually created a tutorial that I will be posting next week and it has all the steps, so stay tuned for that one *snort* I must warn you in advance that it has a lot of layers and may not be for the faint of heart, but you can easily take the idea and reduce some of the layers :D
What can I say? This lion is so cute that I couldn't help myself!! lol

Please pop by some of the other designers blogs who got a chance to play with this set to see what they have created! I love seeing how everyone has different ideas and what they design with them :) Candy, Monique, Linda, Stacy, Linsey, Laurie, Nancy, Alysabeth, and Tori.

I will be posting another fun creation later tonight so stay tuned for that! I still have to go through all my CHA photos because I took pictures of all the lovely and talented CDS girls that I stayed with and would love to introduce you to them *wink*


Card Recipe:

Stamps: Clear Dollar Stamps - Zoo Critters
Paper: PTI White, Basic Black, Kraft, Watercolour, Basic Grey DP, Apricot Appeal DP, Scenic Route DP
Ink: Basic Black, Versa Mark, Bordering Blue, Old Olive, Kiwi Kiss, Always Artichoke, Creamy Caramel, Sahara Sand
Accessories: Sewing Machine, Cuttlebug, Nestabilities, Aqua Painter, Re -Inkers, 5 Petal Flower Punch, Craft Knife, Corner Rounder, Scallop Circle Punch, Word Window Punch, Cloud Stencil, Brads, Dimensionals, Sponges, Clear Embossing Powder

CDS Sneak Peek - Watermill (Just a day late...)

Ahhhh, I am sitting here typing this up while my children are playing around me :D I just got back from CHA in California after an incredibly long day of travellling and no internet to speak of. I have a couple of sneak peaks to show you for Clear Dollar Stamps that were supposed to be posted yesterday but after leaving the hotel at 7:35 am and not walking into my house until 11:20 pm...I was just a little too pooped to post ;) I had a 3 hour layover in Seattle while waiting to catch my plane into Vancouver and then missed the ferry home by 2 minutes...so we had to wait another 2 hours for the next ferry with 2 very tired kids.



Ok, now that I have had some time to recouperate from yesterday's long travel schedule, let me introduce you to the Watermill set that will be released on Feb 1 :) This is a single line art image that was fun to paper tole! I added a nestability frame using my large ovals and then popped the imgage out around it. I added crystal effects the the water and the water that trickles off of the wheel (hard to see in the photos).



These little embellishments that look like photo anchors are actually cardstock that has been punched with an EK Sucess Clock Hands punch. I purchased it on clearance at my local scrapbook store and really didn't know what I was going to use it for, but I just had to have it! I'm sure that I'm not the only paper crafter out there that buys things becuase that had to have them even though they didn't know what they would do with it ;)

Since I'm a day late with my post, you may have to scroll down the postings on the links that I have provided, but don't forget to pop by and see some of the other fantabulous creations that the design team provided :D Candy, Monique, Linda, Laurie, Stacy, Linsey, Nancy, Alysabeth, and Tori.


Card Recipe:

Stamps: Clear Dollar Stamps - Watermill
Paper: PTI White, Chocolate Chip, Watercolour, K&Co DP, Inque Boutique DP
Ink: Basic Black, Versa Mark, Bordering Blue, Baja Breeze, Re-Inkers
Accessories: Sewing Machine, Cuttlebug, Nestabilities, Aqua Painter, Clear Embossing Powder, Sponges, Dimensionals, EK Success Punch, Brads, Crystal Effects

Look who I ran into....

As a few of you already know, I'm at CHA in California and I got the privilege to attend the Cupcake Reception for Splitcoaststampers :D I ran into a few people that you might recognize...



Tosha Leyendekker (stamps4funinCA) and Laurie Schmidlin (Lauraly) - Two of my biggest stamping hero's!



And Shannan Teubner (steubner)...



And THE beautiful Jenn Balcer (jbalcer)... :D




And some of the crew from Our Daily Bread Designs! (Jane Wetzel, Kelley Holland, Lorelie Kim, Amy Sheffer, Laurie Schmidlin, and Judy Rozema)




And some storm troopers... (I have no idea why they were there!)



I did a make and take with Debbie Olsen at the Just Rite Stampers booth :) She is such a sweetie!!

I really didn't remember to take alot of photos while wandering the many booths at CHA but here are a few that I did remember to take....



These are some of the BEAUTIFUL new lines of designer paper from K&Co. and some of the gorgeous samples that were make with these luscious papers :D



Oh and I can't forget about these gorgeous flowers from Prima!




I have to end this post now...I'm staying in a condo with 5 other extremely chatty women and we all are armed with our laptops. However, nobody else but me is trying to concentrate on what they are doing! *grin* I have to stay plugged into the dinning room table where are ethernet connections are and with everyone else and they are sooo distracting with telling silly stories and trying to get me involved in the conversations! So I am off to join the animated surroundings that I'm in :D

I will be back tomorrow with more pictures and hopefully a better post that tonight :)

OCC Meets Our Daily Bread Designs

I am off to CHA in Anaheim today!! At 6:30 am I will be on the ferry over to Vancouver to start my flight to Las Vegas and then onto California :D I'm so excited and I want to be able to share that with you, so check back here for the next couple of days because I will be posting pictures and hope to meet a few of my stamping idols along the way ;)



Today is a sketch challenge over at Our Creative Corner and this is what I came up with. I pulled out one my my newest Our Daily Bread Designs sets called He is Risen to add to these wonderful paper flowers that I discovered at Dollarama. These flowers look remarkably like some of the ones that I have created in the past but the bonus here is that I didn't have to spend an extra few minutes of my time making them - score! lol



I made the fancy scalloped border with an EK Success punch that I took the corner guard off of and then centered some Kaiser pearls in the punched out circles. The leaves and branches are Martha Stewart Punches that I have punched on designer papers and then sponged to add some dimension. I have added some Cuttlebug embossing to the green layer of designer papers to give it more texture...if you know me and my cards, you know that they are never lacking in the texture department! :D

Wish me luck on my travels and be sure to pop by Our Creative Corner to participate in the sketch challenge! A little birdie told me that Jennifer has some blog candy to offer - A Custom Watermark and Blog Banner!!!!


Card Recipe:

Stamps: Our Daily Bread Designs - He is Risen
Paper: PTI White, Chocolate Chip, Very Vanilla, K&Co DP, Sassafrass Lass DP
Ink: Note Quite Navy, Versa Mark, Creamy Caramel, Chocolate Chip
Accessories: Sewing Machine, Cuttlebug, EK Success Corner Punch, Martha Stewart Leaf Punches, Premade Paper Flowers, Kaiser Pearls, Clear Embossing Powder, Sponges, Dimensionals, Crystal Effects, Ribbon

Put on your sunglasses!

Because this card is bright! I decided that I was going to experiment with some shiny metallic gold cardstock and decorative gold foiled paper. My idea was that I was going to come up with one elegant gold and cream card and keeping my fingers crossed that some of Becca Feeken's talent rubbed off on me while doing so... :D (We all know that Becca creates some of the most elegant designs with gold metallic cardstock!)




So let me start by telling you the story of this card. It is a few days before I leave for CHA and I am in the process of getting all of my deadlines completed, which is why I haven't had a moment to post on my blog...besides you gotta wait until the 28th to see some of the fun things that I have been working on *wink* Anyhoo, I have been going out of my mind trying to get all my creations made, blog posts scheduled and company galleries posted to and trying to keep up with my kids. So what do I go and do? Experiment with something totally foreign (gold metallic cardstock) and hope for the best!...Not the best idea when you are so tired that you can hardly see straight! Well, on the other hand...it was pretty blinding when my Otte light reflected off of it and that woke me up enough to write this post! lol

I really don't know what I was thinking when I paired these papers up, but I think with the addition of the Riding Hood Red cardstock and a little sponging, it took the blinding effect down a notch to make this card more palatable. Don't get me wrong. I haven't given up on experimenting with this lovely rich cardstock yet...I might change my mind the next time I have to try and photograph it without getting a glaring reflection though! lol


Card Recipe:

Stamps: Our Daily Bread Designs - Lift Up Our Hands
Paper: PTI White, Very Vanilla, Metallic Gold Cardstock, Riding Hood Red, Gold Foil DP, Bella Rose DP
Ink: Versa Mark, Creamy Caramel
Accessories: Sewing Machine, Cuttlebug, Nestabilities, Gold Embossing Powder, Sponges, Dimensionals, Taffeta Ribbon, Mini Pearls, Corner Rounding Punch

OCC - Always Resist Embossing...

...oops, that was supposed to be emboss resist! That would be the challenge for today over at Our Creative Corner! We would like to invite you to play along, so please visit the OCC blog for all the deets and to see everyone' s fabulous creations! * WARNING* This wonderful challenge was picked by Jennifer Meyer and most of us were scared! How sad is that when a bunch of women who have a passion for making and sharing cards were trying our best to get out of it? lol So be prepared ladies...this is one big challenge!!! *grin*


If you have never tried the Emboss Resist Technique, you can find it here under the Resources page at Splitcoast Stampers. I chose to do mine a little differently than the tutorial because I used dark ink. Here are the steps that I used: ink stamp with Versa Mark, add Basic Black ink right on top, stamp image onto paper, pour over clear embossing powder, shake off excess, apply heat gun to melt embossing powder, sponge on colour. I added the additional steps of colouring some of the flowers with my aqua painter and re-inker and then covering the entire image with crystal effects. My technique still works, as the idea is for the embossing to show through the ink coverage. :D


I pretty much covered the whole card in crystal effects this time - I just love that glossiness! I used this card to take the opportunity to participate in Julee Tilman's Mojo Monday Challenge (Mojo69). Julee is one of OCC's own and stamp and sketch designer extraordinaire! I added some build-a-brad creations to th center of my glossy little hearts for some added interest and stuck on all the dew drops as a last minute decision before the photo op!...I'm still trying to determine if it was the right decision to add them....


Card Recipe:

Stamps: Aways - Stampin' Up!
Paper: PTI White, Basic Black, Pale Plum, Watercolour, DP
Ink: Basic Black, Versa Mark, Pale Plum, Perfect Plum, Taken with Teal, Baja Breeze, Bravo Burgundy
Accessories: Sewing Machine, Cuttlebug, Nestabilites, Dew Drops, Crystal Effects, Martha Stewart Heart Punch, 1 1/4" and 1" Circle Punches, Martha Stewart Scallop Edge Punch, SU Scallop Edge Punch, Build-a-Brads, Mat Pack, Piercing Tool, Dimensionals, Sponges, Aqua Painter, Clear Embossing Powder

SC211 - Bella's Blue Blossom

I finally got a chance to break out this stamp set again :D I purchased it back in November to make a bunch of card gift sets for some family members for Christmas... but I only got one set done! Now keep in mind I had all my DT assignments and the never ending holiday cards to get made, oh and not to forget all the Christmas shopping that needed to be done. Since those holiday cards were never ending to begin with, I decided not to start any at all *grin* So, all in all...I don't really have any excuse as to why it never got inked again!




I started making this card late last night for today's SCS Sketch Challenge (SC211) I pulled out my much coveted Urban Prairie Basic Grey DP to put it to good use. I have to say that blues and greens together are my most favourite colour combo. What could be better than the calmness of the colour of water and the softness of the shades of grass?...And I had buttons to match so that really settled my decision on this combo! lol



I love this sketch and had ideas running through my head the minute I saw it. I chose to pull out the Bella Blossoms set for this card because it is so refreshing to use a stamp that doesn't actually require colouring! - With this is the bonus that it literally takes me 1/4 of the time to make the card! I have been so busy colouring up a storm for my Clear Dollar Stamps samples and I really needed the break :D I can't wait to show you what I have been working on, but you all will just have to wait until the end of the month! *wicked grin*




Card Recipe:

Stamps: Bella Blossoms
Paper: PTI White, Not Quite Navy, Basic Grey DP
Ink: Soft Sky, Baja Breeze, Not Quite Navy, Night of Navy, Creamy Caramel, Kiwi Kiss, Old Olive
Accessories: Sewing Machine, Cuttlebug, Top Note Die, Corner Rounder Punch, Word Window Punch, Buttons, Sponges, Dimensionals, Linen Thread, Dew Drops, Ribbon