July SOM - Tag it

Today is the last day of Sneak Peeks for Clear Dollar Stamps' July 1st release. This set, Tag it, is yours free with a purchase of $50 or more. It truly is a versatile set that has so many uses. I'm a person who loves to make gift bags and 3D projects for friends and family. It always adds a bit of an extra touch. So who doesn't love making a tag to go with your gift? For the first card, I made a purse (I found the template at Carolina's Creative pad (see link below for it). I fell in love with it as soon as I saw it. I whipped it up in under 10 minutes. I then used the Little Leaves Sizzix die and a crocheted flower made by none other than Kim Teasdale (I swear that girl has crazy talent with everything). This purse is perfect for a gift card or gift certificate.

ALL CDSTAMPS USED: Tag It
CS AND PAPERS: PTI White, Perfect Plum, Certainly Celery, Basic Grey DP (Euphoria Collection)
INK: Old Olive, Perfect Plum
ACCESSORIES AND EMBELLISHMENTS: Crocheted Flower, Button, Embroidery Floss, Linen Thread, Little Leaves Sizzix Die (from SU)
TEMPLATE: http://creativepad.typepad.com/CarolinasPurse.pdf

I love this sentiment! I knew I wanted to incorporate candy somehow into a project once I saw it. This project was super easy and my family loved it. The candy was gone within an hour I swear. I've used a Cuttlebug die and then simply used two different stamps from the set to make the tag before sliding ribbon through it. Each tag has the ability to fit in different dies available from Cuttlebug as well as Spellbinders (the makers of Nestabilities).

ALL CDSTAMPS USED: Tag It
CS AND PAPERS: PTI White
INK: Regal Rose, Basic Black
ACCESSORIES AND EMBELLISHMENTS: Ribbon, Cuttlebug Tag Die, clear glass jar, Jellybeans
SPECIAL TECHNIQUES: Altered Project


If you have been reading my blog lately, you'd notice in one of my posts that I made 150 wedding favor boxes the wrong size only to have to start all over again. (turns out we had been using one of the smaller wedding favors not knowing that some were larger). Well this is the same style of box. I figured I'd just done almost 300, what was one more? These boxes are ridiculously easy to make and can be made to any size. Perfect for a gift certificate, jewellry, anything small depending on its' dimensions.

ALL CDSTAMPS USED: Tag It
CS AND PAPERS: Cosmo Cricket DP, PTI White, Chocolate Chip
INK: Close to Cocoa
ACCESSORIES AND EMBELLISHMENTS: Ribbon, Tag Punch (large and small), 1/8” Punch
SPECIAL TECHNIQUES: 3D Box
TEMPLATE: http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/resources/tutorials/trianglebox/

Check out what the rest of the design team came up with for this set: (see sidebar for links)
Katie, Cassie, Candy and Laurie

Other sets being shown today include:
Porch Conversations - Kim, Tori, Linda, Stacy, Candy and Laurie
Patchpal Kitty - Sarah, Shawne, Candy, Laurie
Patchpal Skunk - Tori, Shawne, Candy, Laurie
Patchpal Ducky - Stacy, Shawne, Candy, Laurie
Patchpal Bunny - Tori, Shawne, Candy, Laurie

Hope you enjoyed the sneak peeks for this month! Be prepared to fill up your shopping carts tomorrow when the sets go live.

CDS Sneak Peek - Charlie Summer Fun

I'm in love with Charlie!!! I truly believe this is one of my favorite Charlie sets that have been released so far. I know we all love Charlie/Charliene but how fun is he/she in this set, Charlie Summer Fun, available on July 1st from Clear Dollar Stamps. I've been trying to stretch myself creatively lately and go for something different. For my first card, I was inspired by a wooden picture frame that I found at Michael's that I thought would be fantastic to cover with DP, add Charlie and be done. Well lets just say - that a picture frame was harmed in the making of this card. The DP wasn't going on right, the frame was looking bad. So ultimately I pried it apart (this was not an easy task and involved a few splinters) and used the palm tree portion of the frame as a template for my palm tree. I used Chocolate Chip paper and ran it through my Cuttlebug with the Forest Branches folder and then sponged it to give it a more realistic route. I stole (err... borrowed) some sandpaper from my parents house - they had a couple boxes full- do you really think they'll miss a couple pieces? Like my buttons that I used as the sun? Charliene was colored using my Tombows and then cut out. This card also satisfies a challenge the DT had to use no ribbon.

ALL CDSTAMPS USED: Charlie Summer Fun
CS AND PAPERS: PTI White, Chocolate Chip, Scenic Route DP, Sandpaper, Watercolor Paper
INK: Versafine Onyx Black, Basic Black
MARKERS: Tombow Markers: 025,062,443,452,493,856,912,925,977,992,993
ACCESSORIES AND EMBELLISHMENTS: Buttons, Linen Thread, ½ inch circle punch, Tombow markers, Aquapainter, Sponge, Craft Knife, Glue Dots, Stamping Dimensionals, Clear Detail Embossing Powder, Forest Branches Embossing Folder, Cuttlebug
COLORING MEDIUM: Markers
SPECIAL TECHNIQUES: Watercoloring, dry embossing


I'm loving how this card turned out. I had a totally different idea for the waves but it wasn't coming together so I pulled out my handy dandy wavy border punch and a few shades of blue paper. I've paper pieced Charlies' shorts (I wanted them to look like a pair of guy's board shorts). The floaty has been made shiny using my Crystal Effects. A few clouds in the background and we have Charlie enjoying some summer fun. I'm inspired to spend some time in the sun now (only after my sunburn from this weekend goes away)

ALL CDSTAMPS USED: Charlie Summer Fun
CS AND PAPERS: PTI White, Riding Hood Red, Blue Bayou, Baja Breeze, Soft Sky, Scenic Route DP, Watercolor Paper
INK: Versafine Onyx Black
MARKERS: Tombows – 126, 977, 452, 491, 173, 992, 879, 443, 098, N55, N65
ACCESSORIES AND EMBELLISHMENTS: Tombow Markers, Aquapainter, Nestabilities, Dew Drops, Crystal Effects, Ribbon, Swirly Clip, Clear Detail Embossing Powder, EK Success Wavy Border Punch
COLORING MEDIUM: Markers
SPECIAL TECHNIQUES: Watercoloring

The team has some great samples using this set - so make sure you check them all out:
Kim, Katie, Stacy, Candy and Laurie

CDS Sneak Peek - July Larkspur

Hey there everyone! Wow!!! I can't believe how tired I am. I spent a weekend away on Saltspring Island at a wedding. It was a great weekend filled with so many fun activities. It sure is nice to be home though.

Each month, Clear Dollar Stamps releases a "Flower of the month" and July's flower is a Larkspur. I really enjoy the realistic nature of this set. My cards have a totally different look to them as I found out that Larkspurs come in many shades. Yeah!!!!! The first card I made came together quite easily. Note to self.... Some shades of pink are just too intense. I colored the flower with my Tombows and then went over the petals with some Shimmerz. Did I mention the flower was too intense before? I really like how it turned out. I rarely use black on a card but I love how this makes the image really pop. Hope you like it.

ALL CDSTAMPS USED: Larkspur July Flower of the Month
CS AND PAPERS: PTI White, Basic Black, Rose Red, DP Unknown, watercolor paper
INK: Versafine Onyx Black
MARKERS: Tombows
ACCESSORIES AND EMBELLISHMENTS: Ribbon, Buttons, Embroidery Thread, Brads, Nestabilities, Aquapainter, Shimmerz, Tombow Markers, Clear Detail Embossing Powder
COLORING MEDIUM: Markers
SPECIAL TECHNIQUES: Watercoloring


This second card uses the same image but look how different it looks. Each month, the DT is given challenges and one of them this month was to create a monochromatic card. I realized later that my DP had more color than I realized. OOPS!!! Once again, I colored the image with my Tombows. Can I just say how much I'm loving them? I love how easy they are to color with and how they make everything just pop.

ALL CDSTAMPS USED: Larkspur July Flower of the Month
CS AND PAPERS: PTI White, Bazzill (for both shades of purple), Wisteria by Basic Grey
INK: Versafine Onyx Black
MARKERS: Tombow Markers: 025,623, 772, 098, 679, 177, 133
ACCESSORIES AND EMBELLISHMENTS: Tombow Markers, Aquapainter, Ribbon, Rhinestone Brads, Classic Oval and Scalloped Oval Nestabilities, Clear Detail Embossing Powder
COLORING MEDIUM: Markers
SPECIAL TECHNIQUES: Watercoloring

Check out what the rest of the team came up with for this set: (see sidebar for all of the girls' blogs)
Tori, Stacy, Candy and Laurie

Other sets being shown today are:
Charlie Summer Fun (I'll be back in a bit to show this set)
August Gladiola (Katie, Sarah, Candy and Laurie)
Yard Yabber (Katie, Sarah, Cassie, Candy, Laurie)
Rosebud Castle (Kim, Nancy, Sarah, Candy)

CDS Sneak Peek - Sweet Scoops

MMMMM.... Ice cream! Gotta love ice cream!!! I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream! Oh wait, now if only I could eat ice cream :-( Well I can always salivate over it right??? The thought of a banana split, a quadruple scoop cone - yum!! Definitely a sign of summer over at Clear Dollar Stamps with Sweet Scoops which is available July 1st.

Do you remember the days of summer where your parents or grandparents would use the Clear Glass bowls to make a banana split? I've used Crystal Effects on the bowl to mimic that. The cherry has some Fruit Punch Stickles to bring a bit of shine to it. I've colored this image with my Tombows once again.

ALL CDSTAMPS USED: Sweet Scoops
CS AND PAPERS: PTI White, Chocolate Chip, Regal Rose, Cosmo Cricket DP, Basic Grey Bittersweet DP, Watercolor paper
INK: Versafine Onyx Black
MARKERS: Tombows – 090, 491, 879, 992, 850, 990. 020, 723, 885, 772, 055, 856 Copic Marker – B00
ACCESSORIES AND EMBELLISHMENTS: Tombow Markers, Copic Markers, Oval and Scalloped Oval Nestabilities, Swirly Clip, Ribbon, Rhinestones, Aquapainter, Clear Detail Embossing Powder, Fruit Punch Stickles, Crystal Effects
COLORING MEDIUM: Markers

YUM YUM YUM!!! Bubble Gum Ice cream!!! I love the DP I've used on this card. It was definitely my starting point. This card uses a sketch challenge that the DT was issued. I'll definitely be using it again.

ALL CDSTAMPS USED: Sweet Scoops
CS AND PAPERS: PTI White, Cool Caribbean, Regal Rose, Bo Bunny DP, Fancy Pants DP, Watercolor paper
INK: Versafine Onyx Black
MARKERS: Tombows – 772, 990, 020, 443, 992, 452, 850, 723 and Copic Marker B00
ACCESSORIES AND EMBELLISHMENTS: Tombow and Copic Markers, Clear Detail Embossing Powder, Aquapainter, Buttons, Linen Thread, Clear Dew Drops, Long Rectangle and Long Scalloped Rectangle Nestabilities
COLORING MEDIUM: Markers

Other ladies highlighting this set include: (please see side bar for links)
Katie, Tori, Cassie, Stacy, Candy, and Laurie


Sets being shown today include:
Summer Dahlia: Kim, Tori, Candy, Sarah, Laurie
Veggie Stew: Linda, Nancy, Cassie, Candy and Laurie
Tangy Trio: Katie, Nancy, Sarah, Candy and Laurie

CDS Sneak Peek - Lost in Space

Kim Teasdale has really outdone herself yet again this month!Lost in Space will be available from Clear Dollar Stamps on July 1st. I love this set!!!! I don't have many boy sets so when I saw this one, I knew I wanted it! It's way too cute and so much fun! Very versatile for so many things.
For my first card, I wanted something clean and simple (I've been on a CAS kick lately I think) as one of our DT Challenges this month was an inspiration challenge and the image had a lot of white space. I think this card turned out super cute if I do say so myself. I love how the aliens are going a bit all over the place - they truly look lost in space (which reminds me of myself some days). The image was stamped on watercolor paper using Versafine Onyx Black and then embossed with Clear Detail Embossing Powder before I pulled out my handy dandy Tombow markers. I sure do love those things! They make watercoloring so much easier and cleaner.

ALL CDSTAMPS USED: Lost In Space
CS AND PAPERS: PTI White, Basic Black, Watercolor Paper
INK: Versafine Onyx Black
MARKERS: Tombows – 126, 177, 133, 443, 491, 933,925, 452, 873
ACCESSORIES AND EMBELLISHMENTS: Tombow Markers, Aquapainter, Buttons, Embroidery Thread, Clear Detail Embossing Powder
COLORING MEDIUM: Markers
SPECIAL TECHNIQUES: Watercoloring


My second card is for another DT challenge which was to make a card with no designer paper - GASP!!! Me with no DP??? Yikes! So of course, I had to pull out my Cuttlebug and my Spots and Dots Folder for a bit of texture. This card was also watercolored using my Tombows. I enjoyed experimenting with different colors to achieve the final look. I've used Versamark and Clear Detail embossing powder over the entire image to give it a slight shine and then Crystal Effects on the windshield area of the space ship.

ALL CDSTAMPS USED: Lost in Space
CS AND PAPERS: PTI White, Basic Black, Sahara Sand, Basic Gray, Watercolor paper
INK: Versafine Onyx Black, Versamark
MARKERS: Tombow Markers
ACCESSORIES AND EMBELLISHMENTS: Oval Curvy Cutter, Coluzzle, Half Back Pearls, Clear Detail Embossing Powder, Ribbon, Crystal Effects, Tombow Markers, Aquapainter, Half Back Pearls, Spots and Dots Embossing Folder, Cuttlebug, Craft Knife
COLORING MEDIUM: Markers
SPECIAL TECHNIQUES: Watercoloring, dry embossing

Other ladies highlighting this set are:
Kim, Tori, Stacy, Candy and Laurie (Check out my sidebar for the links to everyone's blog)

CDS Sneak Peek - My Little Ballerina

Today marks Day 1 of 4 of the Clear Dollar Stamps sneak peeks for our July 1st release. There are a number of absolutely amazing sets - I can't wait to show you what I've been working on this month. The first set is My Little Ballerina. Isn't she too cute? The set comes with two ballerinas, a wand with ribbons, and a number of incredibly cute sentiments. As you know, I get a lot of inspiration from my DP and these cards are no exception. I love the first card with the combination of purple, pink and green - definitely a girly combination. I've been slowly collecting Tombow markers (available at CDS) and I've been playing with them for my coloring. I've tried to keep the card relatively simple to highlight the set.

ALL CDSTAMPS USED: My Little Ballerina
CS AND PAPERS: PTI White, Certainly Celery, Basic Grey DP (Euphoria Collection), Watercolor Paper
INK: Versafine Onyx Black
MARKERS: Tombows – 090, 772, 723, 665, 055, 623, 679, 993 Copic – B00
ACCESSORIES AND EMBELLISHMENTS: Circle and Scalloped Circle Nestabilities, Rectangle and Scalloped Rectangle Nestabilities, Clear Detail Embossing Powder, Ribbon, Rhinestones, Tombow Markers, Aquapainter
COLORING MEDIUM: Markers
SPECIAL TECHNIQUES: Watercoloring

My second card uses a different image from this set. She's just so cute- makes you want to put on a tutu and start dancing. But don't worry I won't put you through watching me dance - it's a rather scary sight!

ALL CDSTAMPS USED: My Little Ballerina
CS AND PAPERS: PTI White, Old Olive, My Mind’s Eye DP, Watercolor Paper
INK: Versafine Onyx Black
MARKERS: Tombows – 126, N89, 723, 992, 990, 850, 772, 133, 761 Copic B00
ACCESSORIES AND EMBELLISHMENTS: Swirly Clip, Ribbon, Dew Drops, Corner Rounder, Tombow Markers, Aquapainter, Crystal Stickles
COLORING MEDIUM: Markers
SPECIAL TECHNIQUES: Watercoloring

Make sure you check out what the other girls have been up to.

Also showing this set are: Kim, Nancy, Shawne, Candy and Laurie (everyone's blogs are listed in my sidebar)

Other sets being shown today are:
Sheltering Lights - Kim, Katie, Linda, Nancy, Cassie, Candy and Laurie
Shining Strength - Kim, Linda, Nancy, Sarah, Stacy, Candy and Laurie
Lost In Space - Kim, Tori, Stacy, Candy and Laurie (me too)

I'll be back later on with my samples for Lost in Space!!!

EMILY'S Birthday BELLA BLOG HOP

Hi ladies

Welcome to the Birthday Blog Skip, Hop & Dance sponsored by Stamping Bella! If you've just happened upon my blog, you can CLICK HERE to start from the beginning at Bloggabella.

To start off, I want to wish Emily a very happy birthday!!! If you only knew how much of my paycheques you end up receiving. Stamping Bella stamps were the first non-SU stamps I bought and man - I've been hooked from early on!!! I love how much fun they are.


OH MY GOODNESS!!! How much fun is this? I hope you've been enjoying the wonderful creations you've seen so far! Now what birthday isn't complete without an appletini??? I believe there is a rule that a martini must be had on someone's birthday! Or at least it's a rule on my birthday. I think Stella has had one too many already and to think of how early it is today! But it's 5:00 somewhere right? Hehehe.... I'm bad - I know!

I've stamped "Stella with an olive on top": with Versafine Onyx Black on Watercolor paper and then colored with my Tombows. I haven't graduated to Copics or Lyras yet but the Bella Babes sure make me want to. The colors came together quite quickly once I picked my Scenic Route DP. Can I just say how much I heart the new In Color - Bermuda Bay??? LOVING IT!!!! It makes this card pop.
Sparkle and Bling List:
Stamps: Stella with an Olive on Top
Paper: PTI White, Bermuda Bay, Scenic Route DP, Watercolor paper
Ink: Versafine Onyx Black
Accessories: Tombow Markers, Aquapainter, Ribbon, Rhinestones, Nestabilities

Well I think I've said enough so it's time to to hop on over to Charmaine at http://oodabugalley.blogspot.com/

Have a great day!How about a prize? In addition to the fabulous eye candy, we have decided to hide a prize somewhere along the hop! One pre-selected blogger will draw a random winner from the comments on her post, and the winner will receive a $40 Gift Voucher to Stamping Bella!!! The fun part is...we're not telling you who it is! So as you hop, make sure you leave comments on every post so you have a chance to win!! We will announce the winner on Monday in the Splitcoast forum. MWAH!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Bellarific Friday - Lilly Bittybloom

Oh My Goodness - what a crazy week! Working, making 150 wedding favor boxes only to find out they'd been made the wrong size and having to start all over again. Argh!!! So needless to say, I haven't accomplished anything stamping related this week for myself that I can share with you. I'm plugging away on all my CDS Sneak Peeks - you're going to love them but in the mean time here's Lilly Bittybloom.

I'm really enjoying Bellarific Friday at Stamping Bella as I get to just play. You'll see the sketch we had to use this week. It stumped me for a bit. Was my image supposed to be in the 4 squares or could I cheat? Hehehe... You know me I had to cheat and added my image onto its own layer. I've colored this Bittybloom with Tombow Markers. I've almost got them all now - I can't wait to get the rest. Ever since this weeks' Color Challenge at SCS - I've been thinking about the color combo of blue and red which is something I never do. So I found some DP that had the colors and used them as my starting point.

Sparkle and Bling List:
Stamps: Lilly Bittybloom by Stamping Bella
Paper: Riding Hood Red, Bashful Blue, PTI White, Scenic Route DP, Watercolor Paper
Ink: Versafine Onyx Black, Blue Bayou
Accessories: Ribbon, Buttons, Linen Thread, Tombow Markers, Aquapainter, Nestabilities, Clear Detail Embossing Powder, Fruit Punch Stickles

Bellarific Friday

I've been watching, lurking about the Bellarific Friday Challenges at Stamping Bella since they started a few months ago and haven't participated. Especially considering what beautiful things people have been coming up with week after week. But this week, I decided to take the plunge. After all, I have a ton of Bellas and I haven't pulled them out in awhile.

This is the sketch for this week's challenge. As you can tell, I rarely keep the sketch in the same direction and this one was no exception - I had to flip it on it's side. I think it turned out rather well. I stamped my Lattebella onto watercolor paper with Versafine Onyx Black, embossed her with Clear Detail Embossing Powder and out came my handy dandy Tombow Markers. I'm loving them!!! I need more though and I'm slowly building up my collection. Of course, now that I've found something I absolutely love coloring with, I'm thinking I want to try Copics so I've been trying to find something relatively local in terms of a class that I could take to see if I like them before I invest money into those as well. I did use a Copic Marker around the edge of the Bella to highlight her a bit more and make her stand out. Believe it or not, I had totally different DP picked out for this card but I just wasn't loving it so I searched through my stash and found these two fun papers. I think they really compliment Javabella.

Sparkle and Bling List:
Stamps: Lattebella by Stamping Bella
Paper: PTI White, Regal Rose, Cool Caribbean, Bo Bunny DP, Fancy Pants DP, Watercolor Paper
Ink: Versafine Onyx Black
Accessories: Tombow Markers, Copic Marker, Aquapainter, Buttons, Embroidery thread, Nestabilities

Happy Friday Everyone!!!!

CC222 - As pure as white

I was so excited when I saw today's color challenge of creating a White Card.... Yes - White! I knew I didn't have a lot of time today so I could get this done in a short amount of time. Did I also mention it had to be a one layer card? Hopefully my ribbon treatment doesn't count as a layer.

I've had the Chandelier set from Inkadinkadoo for awhile but haven't had the chance to use it yet so I knew it would be perfect. The sentiment is from a Verve set - All about You. I'm trying to use my underused stamps lately as they're feeling unloved.

Notice anything about my card? Hehe.... It matches my blog!

Sparkle and Bling List:
Stamps: All about you (Verve), Chandelier (Inkadinkadoo)
Paper: PTI White
Ink: Basic Black
Accessories: Ribbon

CDSWCC22 Charliene loves Pink, Gray and Black

Awwww..... to be back in my craft room again (actually its just a wall in my rather large bedroom). It's been such a busy week with work - believe it or not I was away all for most of last week's sneak peeks. So it was definitely nice to get back in the groove.

This card is for this week's color challenge which is Pink, Grey, Black and/or White. So of course, I had to use all 4. It is my fave color combo after all. And of course, once again, I'm loving my DP. I rarely cave in and buy a big pack from Michael's but I had to when I saw this Making Memories DP. Love it!!! I'll be so sad when I've used it all up. What do you think of the blue highlighting around Charliene???? I have attempted this with Tombows in the past (believe me I have not mastered the look) so when I was out of town on the weekend I popped by a Scrapbooking store and picked up the B00 Copic. Let me know what you think - I've haven't decided if I like the look of it yet. I'll admit though I love looking at everyone's cards and they have great highlighting around the edges. Practice right????

Sparkle and Bling List:
Stamps: Charliene April Showers
Ink: Versafine Onyx Black, Pink Pirouette
Paper: PTI White, Basic Black, Pretty in Pink, Basic Gray, Making Memories DP
Accessories: Ribbon, SU Markers, Tombow Markers, Copic Marker, Aquapainter, Crystal Effects (on puddle), Clear Detail Embossing Powder