CDS Sneak Peek - Daffodils

This is another of my favourites of the March releases. This stamp is the March Flower of the Month - Daffodils. All of the stamps that I have been showcasing the past 4 days will be available from Clear Dollar Stamps tomorrow!


This card was made for a sketch challenge that the the design team was given. I have to say that I was absolutely fascinated by this card from Becca Feeken, so I had to give her technique a try :) I love the idea of making this Spellbinder's frame to have my daffodils look like they are growing out of it - it so reminds me of Spring! Instead of the ribbon that Becca used, I substituted vellum and still managed to achieve the soft look that I was going for (gotta love it when that happens!)



If you would like to see some more of the final sneak peeks before the big release tomorrow, be sure to click on the links below to see what the girls have been up to :)

Laurie Wilson

Nancy Grant
Katie Renz
Linsey Rickett
Linda Borneman
Alexandra Maldonado
Tori Wild
Lori McCroskey
Candy Fosta
Stacy Morgan
Alysabeth Johnston
Monique Hawrelluk

Card Recipe:

Stamps: Clear Dollar Stamps - March Flower of the Month
Paper: PTI White, Sahara Sand, Watercolour, 29th Street DP, K&Co. DP, Scenic Route DP
Ink: Basic Black, Versa Mark, Sahara Sand, Soft Sky, Vellum Cardstock
Accessories: Sewing Machine, Cuttlebug, Nestabilites, Clear Embossing Powder, Sponges, Dimensionals, Kaiserkraft Pearls, Lg and Sm Oval Punches, Stick Pin, Brads, Aqua Painter, Re-Inkers

CDS Sneak Peek - Stamp of the Month (Hummingbird)

Today is the final day for CD Stamps sneak peeks. I have 2 final ones to show you today and I will be back a little later with another one! This stamp set is the stamp of the month called Hummingbird. The stamp of the month is always a free gift with a $50 purchase :) I took the inspiration for these bright and fun colours from the basic grey paper. I used the emboss resist technique to sponge the matching inks around my hummingbird and flower image.



If you would like to see some more of the final sneak peeks before the big release tomorrow, be sure to click on the links below to see what the girls have been up to :)

Laurie Wilson
Nancy Grant
Katie Renz
Linsey Rickett
Linda Borneman
Alexandra Maldonado
Tori Wild
Lori McCroskey
Candy Fosta
Stacy Morgan
Alysabeth Johnston
Monique Hawrelluk

Card Recipe:

Stamps: Clear Dollar Stamps - SOM - Hummingbird
Paper: PTI White, Basic Black, Watercolour, Always Artichoke, Basic Grey DP
Ink: Basic Black, Versa Mark, Elegant Eggplant, Rose Red, Regal Rose, Kiwi Kiss, Old Olive, Always Artichoke
Accessories: Sewing Machine, Cuttlebug, Nestabilities, Corner Rounder Punch, Clear Embossing Powder, Martha Stewart Scallop Punch, Kaiserkraft Pearls, Sponges, Dimensionals

OCC - A Rosey Sketch

We have a fun sketch challenge for you over at Our Creative Corner! This month's hostess Laurie Schmidlin selected this beautiful sketch for us to play around with, and as usual, I tampered with mine! It accidentally got flipped upside down...well, maybe not so accidentally *grin*



I combined 2 Stampin' Up! sets to created the images for this card. The sentiment is from the Morning Soft set and I decided to try another non-colouring card with A Rose is a Rose. I bought both of these sets last year and I haven't had many opportunities to use them *pout* I wanted to paper tole the roses so I chose to use 140lb cold press watercolour paper because it is nice and heavy and it doesn't bend easily.



I'm really quite taken with how this card turned out! I was a little skeered at first because I don't generally use a lot of images that don't require colouring, but these had just enough detail in them for the card :) I'm loving the Bella Rose DP too...wish I had ordered more of it!

We would like to invite you all to play along with Laurie's sketch and there is a wonderful prize to be drawn! OCC's very own Jennifer Meyer just opened up a brand new stamp company called Stamps and Smiles and she is sponsoring our prize this week with one of her own stamp sets!! Be sure to check out the blog for details and pop by the links below to get all the deets on the design team's samples :)

Jennifer Meyer

Amy Sheffer
Laurie Schmidlin
Dawn Easton
Cindy Haffner
Julee Tilman
Lynda Benden
Silke Ledlow
Jackie Pedrow
Lori Boyd

Card Recipe:

Stamps: A Rose is a Rose, Morning Soft
Paper: PTI White, Chocolate Chip, Very Vanilla, Watercolour, Bella Rose DP, K&Co DP
Ink: Versa Mark, Basic Black, Creamy Caramel, Chocolate Chip, Pink Pirouette, Riding Hood Red, Old Olive, Always Artichoke
Accessories: Sewing Machine, Cuttlebug, Nestablilities, Buttons, Pearls, Sponges, Dimensionals, Sizzix Sizzlet, Scallop Edge Punch, Corner Rounder Punch, Clear Embossing Powder

CDS Sneak Peek - Beautiful Butterflies

This by far is my most favourite of the new release sets from Clear Dollar Stamps this month! This beauty is called Beautiful Butterflies and it will be available on March 1/09. This card actually combined 3 challenges that the Design Team was issued: No Designer Paper, Use Something Recycled and the Colour Challenge (Riding Hood Red, Sahara Sand, Pumpkin Pie) I tried to get as many challenges done on one card so that it allows me more freedoms when I go to create the rest of my samples *wink*



Can you guess what my recycled item is? I'll give you a hint...their are three on this card :) Give up? The ribbon has been recycled from the pretty wrapping of some Christmas chocolates, the red panel is actually little foil wrappers from my kid's Valentine's chocolates (hmmm, I'm starting to see a bit of a chocolate theme going on) and the leaves are actually made from the negative of a Sizzix die cut that was rescued from my recycling bin. I used the reverse masking technique with a sponge and some basic black ink :)



To make the foiled wrapper background panel, I carefully unwrapped the chocolates before giving them to my kiddo's then glued them to a piece of basic black card stock. I then ran it through the Textile cuttlebug embossing folder and then sponged some stazon ink on it to take some of the flashy redness out of the panel (the cuttlebug ended up burnishing it while it was embossing so it was super shiny when it came out of the other side!).

Now that you have seen mine, don't forget to do some blog hopping to see all of the samples for cool sets that have been shown off today!(Ageless Antiques, Moose Friends, Beautiful Butterflies) If you missed my Moose Friends sample then either scroll down to the next post or click here.

Laurie Wilson
Nancy Grant
Katie Renz
Linsey Rickett
Linda Borneman
Alexandra Maldonado
Tori Wild
Candy Fosta
Stacy Morgan
Alysabeth Johnston
Monique Hawrelluk

Card Recipe:

Stamps: Clear Dollar Stamps -Beautiful Butterflies
Paper: PTI White, Sahara Sand, Basic Black,
Ink: Basic Black, Pumpkin Pie, So Saffron, Creamy Caramel, Riding Hood Red, More Mustard, Versa Mark
Accessories: Re-Inkers, Aqua Painter, Sewing Machine, Clear Embossing Powder, Sponges, Sizzix Leaf Die, Cuttlebug, Recycled Ribbon, Recycled Valentine Chocolate Foil Wrappers, Dimensionals, Embossing Folders, Corner Rounder Punch

CDS Sneak Peek - Moose Friends

Welcome to day 3 of the CDS sneak peeks! Today I have 2 cards to show you, but I will be showing the other a little later on this morning in another post :) The stamp set that I am showcasing is a spin off of the February stamp of the month and it's called Moose Friends. This adorable little fellow was so cute that they just had to continue producing more of him *wink*



Since the set is called Moose Friends, I couldn't have this cutie standing there all lonely like, so I added this mischievous little blue bird to his head (Moosey doesn't mind giving him a ride every now and then - what a generous guy...he'd do anything for his friends) *grin*

I of course gave the images lots of dimension with paper tole and literally made him pop out of the card. I ended up adjusting an old sketch from CPS for this image and loved it because it was curvy and whimsical. I picked the paper out to specifically coordinate with these really cool buttons made of sea shells (the large blue button) that a friend of mine had found while we were out shopping (a favourite pastime for most of you as well no doubt!)




Now that you have seen mine, don't forget to do some blog hopping to see all of the samples for cool sets that have been shown off today!(Ageless Antiques, Moose Friends, Beautiful Butterflies)

Laurie Wilson
Nancy Grant
Katie Renz
Linsey Rickett
Linda Borneman
Alexandra Maldonado
Tori Wild
Candy Fosta
Stacy Morgan
Alysabeth Johnston
Monique Hawrelluk

Card Recipe:

Stamps: Clear Dollar Stamps - Moose Friends
Paper: PTI White, Chocolate Chip, Watercolour, 29th Street DP, Basic Grey DP
Ink: Basic Black, Chocolate Chip, Versa Mark, Soft Sky
Accessories: Sewing Machine, Cuttlebug, Nestabilites, Sponges, Scallop Edge Punch, Buttons, Linen Thread, Glue Dots, Ribbon, Dimensionals, Word Window Punch, Corner Rounder Punch, Clear Embossing Powder, Aqua Painter, Re-Inkers, Crystal Effects, White Gel Pen, Embossing Folders

CDS Sneak Peek - Charlie Daisy

I'm back with my second sneak peek of the day (if you missed my first sneak peak, just click here) Meet Charlie Daisy! I love Charlie's energy! He always looks like he's having the best time running amongst the flowers or playing in leaf piles! Charlie Daisy is newest stamp in a series of Charlie character stamps and he will be available from Clear Dollar Stamps on March 1 :)



For this card, I sponged the clouds on and watercoloured the rest of the image. I have taken a sponge with some creamy caramel ink to dirty up the rest of the cardstock so that it kind of had a slightly distressed feeling to it. I really like how the main image just pops and the rest of the designer papers just blend into the background nicely.

Would you like a chance to be a Guest Designer for Clear Dollar Stamps? Well here is your chance! Lori has decided to Guest Designer calls at the end of every month and this month is the first. All you have to do is pop by Lori McCroskey's blog and follow her instructions! Good luck :)



Don't forget to pop by and see all of the other new Clear Dollar Stamps sneak peeks that are being previewed today (Got Tractor, Charlie Daisy, Old Time Church and Coordinating Sayings) :)

Laurie Wilson

Nancy Grant
Katie Renz
Linda Borneman
Alexandra Maldonado
Tori Wild
Lori McCroskey
Stacy Morgan
Alysabeth Johnston
Monique Hawrelluk

Card Recipe:

Stamps: Clear Dollar Stamps - Charlie Daisy
Paper: PTI White, Close to Cocoa, Watercolour, K&Co DP, Misc DP
Ink: Basic Black , Versa Mark, Creamy Caramel, Chocolate Chip, Baja Breeze
Accessories: Sewing Machine, Cuttlebug, Nestabilities, Brads, Cloud Stencil, Dimensionals, Sponges, Organza Ribbon, Button, Linen Thread, Scallop Edge Punch, Clear Embossing Powder, Corner Rounder Punch

CDS Sneak Peek - Got Tractor?

It's day number 2 of the CDS sneak peaks and here is this fun set called Got Tractor? It will be available from Clear Dollar Stamps on March 1/09 :) I tried to create a little construction scene with some dirt mounds in the background (in case you were wondering...that's what those are supposed to be) *wink*



I have watercoloured the tractor with my re-inkers and aqua painter and then coated him with crystal effects. This was done partially to make the tractor really study and to give the paint job a little gloss. I cut out the layers and omitted some pieces to create a paper tole'd 3 dimensional tractor.



I tried to make a reverse frame with my nestabilities so that you don't see the raw edges of my dirt mounds. After a few trys and lots of new scaps of designer paper later, I think that I finally achieved what I was trying to! *grin*

Don't forget to pop by and see all of the other new Clear Dollar Stamps sneak peeks that are being previewed today (Got Tractor, Charlie Daisy, Old Time Church and Coordinating Sayings) :) I will be adding my Charlie Daisy card a little later today so don`t forget to come back to visit with sweet little Charlie!

Laurie Wilson
Nancy Grant
Katie Renz
Linda Borneman
Alexandra Maldonado
Tori Wild
Lori McCroskey
Stacy Morgan
Alysabeth Johnston
Monique Hawrelluk

Card Recipe:

Stamps: Clear Dollar Stamps - Got Tractor
Paper: PTI White, Chocolate Chip, Watercolour, Basic Grey DP, Bo Bunny DP
Ink: Basic Black, Versa Mark, Chocolate Chip, Soft Sky, Close to Cocoa, Creamy Caramel
Accessories: Sewing Machine, Cuttlebug, Nestabilities, Dew Drops, Crystal Effects, Ribbon, Dimensionals, Sponges, Embossing Folders, Clear Embossing Powder, Corner Rounder Punch

CDS Sneak Peek - Songbird Silhouettes

Are you ready for sneak peek time at Clear Dollar Stamps? If you have never visited my blog then you will soon find out that the last 4 days of every month is dedicated to me showing you some of the fabulous new releases that CD Stamps has to offer :) I usually work on my cards through out the month so it is especially fun for me to finally get to show them to you :)



Today is the day that I get to show you my Songbird Silhouette creation - this card was done to fit the DT challenges that Laurie Wilson issues us every month. The categories that this card fits into is using fabric and an inspiration piece (a very wrinkled picture of a shirt of mine that was taken right after I took it out of my suitcase...so I'm not gonna share that one with you! lol).

I used a piece of quilting fabric that I had in my stash and it just so happened to fit into the colour scheme of the Inspiration shirt. I have used a reverse masking technique for the large leaves on the card. They are actually a sizzix die that I have taken the negative from and sponge them right onto my card stock. I used mostly sponging of inks on this card to get the colours that I needed and to add some depth. The background behind the bird has been sponged and then covered with my beloved sugar beads :)



And because I can very rarely leave a card alone...I added some crystal effects to my cut out songbird *grin*. Before I assembled the card I also took my larger sponged paper and put it through my cuttlebug...again...I just can't leave things alone! *wink*

Don't forget to pop by these design team blogs to see their Songbird Silhouette creations as well as some of the other sets (Kitchen Clutter and Art Deco Medallions) that are being posted for sneak peeks today!

Laurie Wilson
Nancy Grant
Katie Renz
Linsey Rickett
Linda Borneman
Alexandra Maldonado
Lori McCroskey
Stacy Morgan
Monique Hawrelluk

So you like the stamps? They will be available on March 1/09 for purchase :) So do you think you to be a Guest Designer for Clear Dollar Stamps? Visit Lori McCroskey's blog for all the details on how you can try out!

Card Recipe:

Stamps: Clear Dollar Stamps - Songbird Silhouettes
Paper: PTI White, Kiwi Kiss Chocolate Chip
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Always Artichoke, Baja Breeze, Soft Sky
Accessories: Sewing Machine, Cuttlebug, Nestabilites, Fabric, Crystal Effects, Sizzix Leaf Die, Dimensionals, Sponges, Sookwang Adhesive, Sugar Beads, 1" Circle Punch, Brads, Ribbon, Embossing Folders

OCC - Tag Challenge

Today's challenge over at the Our Creative Corner Blog is to use any sort of tag on your card. The tag can be large or small and it doesn't have to be the focal point of the card if you don't want it to be :) I decided to go with the Spellbinder's Tag Dies because I needed something that attached across the width of my card.



I pulled out my Pressed Petals set from Artful INKables and borrowed this sweet sentiment to go with my new Hollyhock Bittybloom by Stamping Bella. I adore the sentiment and thought that it fit very nicely with my bella :)



I added some dimension to this little cutie pie by popping her up and added an "out of the box" balloon with some crystal effects for shine. The image has been watercoloured with an aqua painter and some of my re-inkers in various shades.

Pardon me while I keep this post incredibly short. It's very late here and I am off to bed after prepping 56 cards for 2 card classes that I am teaching. My hands hurt from cutting up so much paper...you know me...I can't just leave it at one or two layers! lol

Don't forget to pop by to see what the the rest of the OCC DT has created just for you :)

Jennifer Meyer
Amy Sheffer
Laurie Schmidlin
Dawn Easton
Cindy Haffner
Julee Tilman
Lynda Benden
Silke Ledlow
Jackie Pedrow
Lori Boyd

Card Recipe:

Stamps: Stamping Bella, Artful INKables
Paper: PTI White, Always Artichoke, Very Vanilla, Watercolour, 29th Street & Scenic Route DP
Ink: Basic Black, Versa Mark, So Saffron, More Mustard, Creamy Caramel, Always Artichoke
Accessories: Sewing Machine, Cuttlebug, Spellbinders Tag Dies, Clear Embossing Powder, Grosgrain Ribbon, Sponges, Dimensionals, Dew Drops, Crystal Effects, Aqua Painter, Re-Inkers

Lighthouse

I realized this morning that my blog posting has been really sporadic lately...sorry about that! I am busy in my crafting oasis working on my Clear Dollar Stamps Sneak Peek samples for the end of the month :) I can't wait to show you all what I have been working on! For now, you will just have to feast your eyes upon a card that I made a while ago from my vault of card archives! lol




I have always been fascinated by old sepia photos and monochromatic paintings. This was my attempt at it which of course took a different direction when it came to the water! I couldn't bring myself to paint it anything but a gorgeous shade of blue. My inspiration for this colours in this card came from the K&Co. Designer Paper. It seemed to fit right in with my lighthouse stamp that I had been itching to use :)



I don't know why, but whenever I think anything nautical I think of aged brass and rope. Perhaps the brass fittings on ships and the thick ropes that they use to tie down boats? I still don't know... but I went with it *wink*. I also used the captain's wheel as a quasi artistic touch at a sunrise (basically there was a big empty yellow space that needed something in it and the wheel worked) Hehehe


Card Recipe:

Stamps: Local King Rubber Stamps
Paper: PTI White, Close to Cocoa, K&Co Dp, Watercolour
Ink: Basic Black, Versa Mark, Chocolate Chip, Soft Sky, Re-Inkers
Accessories: Sewing Machine, Cuttlebug, Nestabilities, Aqua Painter, Hodgpodge Hardware, Twine, Dimensionals, Cloud Stencil, Sponges, Crystal Effects, Photo Corner Punch

OCC - Sketched Valentine Challenge

Happy Valentine's Day! I hope that you all enjoy your day get spoiled by your special someone :)

Today the challenge over at Our Creative Corner blog is a sketch challenge provided to us by our very own Laurie Schmidlin. The sketch was only half of the challenge! Because today is Valentine's Day we were to mail our card off to someone special....so one lucky person is going to be receiving this sweet Valentine :)...Oh and it already went postal earlier in the week *wink*



I decided to try something a little different with the sketch. I ended up flipping the design upside down to fit with my Whipper Snapper Bear Hugs set. I needed the comment bubble on the right hand side so of course the whole card had to be reversed to fit. Apparently I like to make things more difficult than they need to be! lol



Isn't this little bear cute? He's been accented with Pink Pirouette and Rose Red to fit right in with my new Bittersweet Basic Grey Collection that's perfect for Valentine's Day! I just love this paper with it's hint of soft pinks. Mmm...pinks and browns, it has sweetness written all over it *wink*

We would love for you to participate in this week's challenge, so just pop by the OCC Blog to see the sketch and when your done your card pop back in a leave a direct link to your blog or gallery so that we can take a peek too! If you are uploading your challenge card to SCS then don't forget to add OCCC into your keywords :) Now that I'm done babbling, click over to see this week's guest designer Tosh Leyendekker's card and all of the fabulous samples that the OCC Design Team has come up with :)

Jennifer Meyer

Amy Sheffer
Laurie Schmidlin
Dawn Easton
Cindy Haffner
Julee Tilman
Lynda Benden
Silke Ledlow
Jackie Pedrow
Lori Boyd

Card Recipe:

Stamps: Whipper Snapper Designs - Bear Hugs
Paper: PTI White, Chocolate Chip, Watercolour, Pink Pirouette, Basic Grey DP
Ink: Basic Black, Versa Mark, Creamy Caramel, Pink Pirouette, Chocolate Chip, Various Re-Inkers for Watercolouring
Accessories: Sewing Machine, Nestabilities, Cuttlebug, Button, Ribbon, Aqua Painter, Dew Drops, Crystal Effects, Dimensionals, Sponges, Mat Pack, Piercing Tool, 1" Circle Punch

Sweet Morning Glory

I was leafing through my photo archives and found this sweet Morning Glory card that I haven't posted yet, so here it is :) I made this card last summer not long after the "Morning Soft" set was was released. I was so excited when I finally got this set that I ripped open the box, grabbed the stamp set and went to town...I left the box with the rest of my Stampin' Up! order still sitting in my entry way...in the middle of the floor....ask Bill...he tripped over it when he opened the door after picking up the kids from preschool! *chuckle*



I purchased this set not long after it came out and used my markers to watercolour it with. Like most of my cards, the image was embossed, watercoloured and paper toled. I added these sweet gemstone brads to the center of the flowers, just because I could *wink*



The pretty paper border along the side is a Fisgars embossing punch that I used on some vellum cardstock and I created the overly large photo corner by drawing it up free hand. I also got a chance to play with my new Stylized Silver Hodgepodge Hardware :) Ahh, I {heart} embellishments! They make me happy! *grin*


Card Recipe:

Stamps: Morning Soft
Paper: PTI White, Bazzil Bling, Soft Sky, Watercolour, Vellum, K&Co. DP, Always Artichoke
Ink: Basic Black, Versa Mark, Soft Sky, Always Artichoke, Perfect Plum, Regal Rose, SU Markers
Accessories: Sewing Machine, Fisgars Border Punch, Dimensionals, Sponges, Hodgepodge Hardware, Gemstone Brads, Aqua Painter

FS105 - Asian Plants for Karen

I made this card for the weekly Featured Stamper Challenge over at Splitcoast and today we are featuring K Dunbrook :D Karen has a really gorgeous gallery and it was very hard just to pick one card to use as my inspiration! Here is her stunning card that was the base for mine.



As per the rules of the Featured Stamper Challenge you have to change at least 3 things on the card. I changed the colours, stamp set and used the "friend" image instead of the button that was on the original card. I decided to change up Karen's card and go with an Asian theme. I wanted the bold contrasts between the reds, white and black and red just happens to mean good luck in China *wink* I chose to use my Asian Plants set because it had everything that I needed for the card: a silhouette stamp, a sentiment and a small image to replace the button.



I just love this set and the sentiments that come along with it, but I don't get a chance to pull it out very often. I am so glad that Karen was featured today because it allowed me to play with this lonely set *grin*

Card Recipe:

Stamps: Clear Dollar Stamps - Asian Plants
Paper: PTI White, Basic Black, Riding Hood Red, K&Co DP
Ink: Basic Black, Versa Mark, Creamy Caramel, Riding Hood Red
Accessories: Sewing Machine, Cuttlebug, Nestabilities, Sponges, Dimensionals, Clear Embossing Powder, Twine, 1" Circle Punch, Mat Pack, Piercing Tool