CDS Sneak Peek - Gone Fishin'

With Father's Day around the corner, "Gone Fishin" is a must have set if you have a fisherman in your life. This set is available on June 1st from Clear Dollar Stamps. I've been pulling out all my masculine DP this month to create some fun cards for the guys in my life. I love this set because my husband, dad and stepdad all love to fish so I know I'll be using this set often (even more so in the next couple of weeks). I've watercolored the image with my Tombow Markers and tried to make it not look too perfect - keeping it a little rustic. I then dry embossed two of the DP layers with my Cuttlebug Embossing Folders and then used sand paper to distress them and make them look a little worn. I've used hemp twine for another little bit of dimension.

If you have any men in your life, make sure you check out Clear Dollar Stamps and in the meantime check out what the DT has created for you today.

CDS Sneak Peek - Mushroom Whimsy

Lori McCroskey has come up this fun set called Mushroom Whimsy. Mushrooms seem to be all the craze right now and Lori's new set available on June 1st from Clear Dollar Stamps is a lot of fun to play with. There are so many different tops for the mushrooms and a few different sizes too along with some fun sentiments too! It's going to be a fun, versatile set that I know I'll be pulling out often for quick and easy cards. I've done something I've never done before on this card.... I've watercolored and paper pieced it!!! I like how it turned out... Any idea where I got my inspiration from??? My un-used (and I've had it for months) Earth Love Cosmo Cricket DP!!! I'm wondering why I haven't pulled it out before. Call my crazy I guess!!!! I pulled out my Cuttlebug embossing folders to add dimension to the card. I think it pulls it all together. Hope you like it!

The DT has some fun things for you to look at today so make sure you check it all out and come back tomorrow for our last day of sneak peeks! Think Father's Day!!!

CDS Sneak Peek - Jesus is Knocking

Jesus is Knocking!!! That's the name of this great new set from Clear Dollar Stamps available on June 1st. Isn't it great??? I love the main image from this set and I've watercolored it with both Distress Inks and Tombow Markers. I wanted to keep the look more rustic because that's what I always think of when I see this type of door combined with brick. You'll notice this sneak peek week that my style is slowly changing and I'm experimenting with using different colors, different mediums and different textures. I'm loving it!!! I really like how my cards have been turning out. There are three different sentiments that come in this set and they all speak so clearly. I'll be showing another sample that I made with this set next week.

Check out what the girls have made today (see my sidebar for the CDS Girls).

Come back tomorrow for more sneak peeks!!

CDS Sneak Peek - A Tweet Hello

Hehehehe... Isn't this just too cute? This image is from June's SOM "A Tweet hello" from Clear Dollar Stamps available on June 1st. This set is yours free with the purchase of $50 or more at Clear Dollar Stamps As soon as I knew I was getting this set I had this idea in mind of using a glitter flourish as a tree branch. Neat eh? I think it worked out rather well if I do say so myself. I've popped up the main image using dimensionals and colored it with my oh so trusty Tombow Markers. The colors I've used in the birdhouse were taken from the DP I've used. Hope you like it!!!!

Check out what the DT has created for eye candy this month!!!

MTSC75 Mama Said they'll be days like this...

Greetings from the Wet (err... West) Coast of BC. Yup... It's been raining A LOT!!! It's hard to believe that it's almost June and we haven't had the best of weather yet this Spring. This last week and for the next few days it has been all about the umbrella and rain boots.

Can you believe it? Two weeks in a row for me and Mercy's sketch challenges!! I'm so happy that I'm back into the swing of things in terms of doing fun sketches and challenges out there in blog land. I'm on vacation from one of my DT's for the next two months so I'll have a lot more time to play with some of my unloved and uninked stamps. The image I used is from Stamping Bella and was from one of their anniversary sales (it was a limited edition in the small size). The sentiment is from the Verve set called Feeling Groovy. I don't pull this set out enough but I love the sentiments. I've watercolored part of the image with Tombow Markers and then paper pieced both the rain boots and umbrella.

With the day I had, my mama definitely has said they're be days like this.

SSD026 Support our Troops

WOW!!! I can't believe how quickly this month has seemed to fly right by!! Can you believe it's our last sketch with the AMAZING Jen del Muro as our sketch artist and the wonderful Deb Felts and Jennifer Ingle. I really enjoy each month with our guests for Skipping Stones Sketch Tuesdays. The eye candy each week is inspiring!!!

For my card this week, I chose to use the new release, Home of the Brave. How ironic, that the only Canadian in the group got this set too!!! Heather must have channeled the fact that I did live in North Carolina for three years!!! NC will always have a piece of my heart - after all I did meet my amazing husband while I was living there. Because so many of the images in this set are truly American, I decided to use the ribbon image in support of the troops. I paper pieced the ribbons with a variety of DP's I had containing yellow. I decided to combine one of the smaller areas into the my actual yellow ribbon. I kinda like how it all turned out.

MTSC74 You Rocket!!!

Hey there... Can you believe I'm posting two days in a row? This is becoming a habit - I think!!! As you know, I love Mercy's sketches and I've been trying to play along on a more regular basis. I had a bit of free time so I thought I'd whip up this card. This Changito Space set has been lurking on my shelves for months just waiting to be used. I came across it again the other day (having totally forgotten I even owned it!!!) so I pulled it out and started playing. I've watercolored the image using my Tombow Markers as per usual (please ignore the little ink mark close to the end of the space ship - I didn't even notice it until after the card was together). The DP I've used is from the Cosmo Cricket Joy Ride line and it's the first time I've used it. I've been using my Cuttlebug embossing folders lately and just had to do it again!!! I love the extra texture that it provides - just seems like another dimension to the card.

Hope you like it!!!

Sparkle and Bling List:
Stamps: Changito Space by Stampendous
Paper: Gina K White, Basic Gray, Cosmo Cricket Joy Ride, Watercolor paper
Ink: Versafine Onyx Black
Accessories: Tombow Markers, Nestabilities, Waterbrush, Clear Detail Embossing Powder, Cuttlebug Embossing Folders, Cuttlebug

SSD025 Holy Carp

Welcome to Skipping Stones Design May Release Blog Hop. We are celebrating the release of two amazing sets, Holy Carp and Home of the Brave. All I can say is WOW!!!! You are going to absolutely love these two sets!!! If you've just happened upon my blog today, you'll want to go back to the beginning at Skipping Stones Design. If you arrived from Amanda's blog then you're in the right place and hopefully you'll enjoy the eye candy I've got for you today using the set Holy Carp.

Combined with the blog hop today, it's Skipping Stones Sketch Tuesday and we have another absolutely amazing sketch from Jen del Muro!!! Jen is a master at sketches and I'm always in awe of the layouts she comes up with. Gotta love them!!!! Remember that if you make a card using today's sketch that you need to use the keywords SSD025 in any online gallery. We're always on the lookout for guest designers so you never know....

Holy Carp is most definitely my favorite set that Skipping Stones Design has released. My husband, my dad and my stepdad all LOVE to fish so I just had to have this set. It will definitely be seeing a lot of ink. (You'll be seeing a lot of it over the next month with my dad's bday and Father's Day coming up). There are so many wonderful images and the sentiments... OMGoodness!!!!! They'll have you cracking up - I let out quite the laugh when I first saw this set. I can't imagine what the people around me were thinking I was laughing at. If you have any guys in your life that like to fish - this is a must have. So loving it!!!

I've watercolored the image with my Tombow Markers (I swear I must be having an affair with my markers - they've seen me as much lately as I've seen my hubby). Then using two of my Cuttlebug Embossing folders I embossed the two DP layers and used sandpaper to rough them up. Like my charms??? One is an actual fishing hook....Reminder to self - they're sharp!!! I've got the bandaid to prove it - oops....

Hope you enjoyed the blog hop... Now head on over to Skipping Stones Design to check out the complete set of Holy Carp and Home of the Brave (a salute to the troops and 4th of July).

Stamps: Holy Carp by Skipping Stones Design
Ink: Versafine Onyx Black, Basic Black
Paper: Kraft, Chocolate Chip, MME DP (Quite Contrary Line), Watercolor paper
Accessories: Clear Detail Embossing Powder, Tombow Markers, Waterbrush, Cuttlebug Embossing Folders, Nestabilities, Cuttlebug, Sandpaper, Buttons, Linen Thread, Fish Charm, Fishing Hook, Half Back Pearls.

Skipping Stones Blog Hop - Postponed

Hey there everyone,

If you've come to see the Skipping Stones Blog Hop, we had to delay it until Wednesday May 19th so check back tomorrow for some amazing eye candy!!!

Have a great day.

She's Frisky

Isn't she just so cute??? I love this frisky little kitty from Kim Teasdale's newest release, Frisky Kitty from Clear Dollar Stamps. I made this card a couple of weeks ago but haven't had a chance to show it yet. I've stamped the image with Versafine Onyx Black and then colored with my Tombow Markers. If you know me at all, I'm not much of a cat person so after I colored it, I realized, I haven't got all the markings correctly but I think it works anyway. Can you believe it??? No sparkle and bling on the card? Just clean and simple for this girlie on this card. Hope you like it!!!

MTSC73 Faith at the Top

Ahhh... Life has finally slowed down a little so I decided I wanted to play along with Mercy and her Muses this week. I bought this stamp called "The First Step" by Stampabilities from Hobby Lobby when I was in North Carolina recently. If I did any shopping, I wanted to do some crafty shopping and that I did. I fell in love with what the stamp said. Faith is taking the first step even when you can't see the whole staircase" - this is a quote by Martin Luther King. Beautiful isn't it?? It just makes you think about life and about making changes. This has become my mantra somewhat lately. I've been waiting for just the right sketch and Mercy must have known that I needed some stamping therapy this week. Thanks Mercy - you ROCK!!!!

Stamps: The First Step by Stampabilities
Paper: Kraft, Chocolate Chip, My Mind's Eye DP, Watercolor paper
Ink: Old Olive, Versamark, Old Paper Distress Ink
Accessories: Nestabilities, Sponges, Clear Detail Embossing Powder, Ribbon, Button, Linen Thread

SSD024 Loving Spring

It's that time of the week again - Skipping Stones Sketch Tuesday - yeah!!! Jen del Muro is at it again with another wonderful sketch!!! Loving them!!! Jen's sketches are always so inspiring and this one is no exception (I'll definitely be using this one again - over and over). I've been busy lately and rushing to get cards done but I decided that I wanted to take the time and make something I absolutely love! And I am loving this one!!!! I've used DP from the Basic Grey Kioshi line and from Making Memories. I brought out my Cuttlebug and cuttlebugged this card to the hilt!!! ( I don't do this very often but looking at this card I really need to - I love the look of so many textures and patterns). For the image, I used one from the Dandelion Dreams set and used both Versamark and Dusty Concord Distress Ink and then embossed the image. I then sponged the background with Certainly Celery to complete the overall purple and green look to the card.

Make sure to check out the Skipping Stones website to see all the eye candy that the girls have created using this week's sketch. Don't forget to check out the wonderful guest designers blogs as well. Jen del Muro, Deb Felts and Jennifer Ingle all rocked it last week!!! So excited to have you ladies on board with us this month.

Sparkle and Bling List:
Stamps: Dandelion Dreams by Skipping Stones Design
Paper: Gina K White, Elegant Eggplant, Basic Grey - Kioshi Line, Making Memories DP, Watercolor paper
Ink: Dusty Concord Distress Ink, Certainly Celery, Versamark
Accessories: Cuttlebug Embossing Folders, Half Back pearls, Sponges, Cuttlebug, Nestabilities, Clear Detail Embossing Powder

Hey There Cupcake

I really like how this cupcake from May's SOM Yummy Cupcake (Stamp of the Month) from Clear Dollar Stamps turned out. It's so elegant yet so fun! This set is free with a $50 order and for me was a must have. I love my cupcakes. I was inspired by my DP for this card and wanted to keep it nice and simple (these days with how busy life has been - I need simple...) I've colored the image with my Tombow Markers (you all know how much I love my Tombows - someday they'll conquer the world!!! Hehehe..... I added the half back pearls to add a bit of dimension to the card. Hope you like it.

SSD023 Celebrate!!!

Care to have a margarita?? After all, it's 5:00 somewhere right? Hehehe...After a couple weeks away from Skipping Stones Sketch Tuesday I'm back!!! Life has been hectic but things are slowly settling down a bit again. Can I just say OMG OMG OMG!!!! With it now being May, guess what that means... A new sketch artist and this month - OMG!!!! It's Jen del Muro!!! WOW!!!! How exciting!! I love Jen's blog, I heart 2 stamp. It's amazing and Jen always has the most amazing eye candy to feast your eyes upon!!! Can you tell how excited I am? Jen is with us the entire month along with our fabulous Guest Designers, Deb Felts (gotta love her too!!!!) and Jennifer Ingle. This month is like having stamping royalty!!

Jen created an absolutely amazing sketch for us this week... and then I picked an image that was a little too big (you gotta love when you don't realize this until you are about to put the card together... oops!). SO needless to say, me being me... I altered the sketch a little. I moved the 3 buttons onto the vertical section (rather than being beside it) because it wasn't fitting quite right for me and then I omitted part of the sketch - can you tell what it was? I found that with the lime hanging out of the glass that having a circle (or any small shape) didn't make sense and crowded the image.... I promise you Jen that next week I'll follow your sketch to the letter!!!

I used one of the images from the set called Margarita Birthday that I colored with my Tombow Markers and then used Diamond Stickles around the rim of the glass to look like sugar. Hope you like it!!!

For those of you that missed the PMS Sale... It's been extended until May 7th at Midnight. You can save up to 25% on stamps and who doesn't love a sale? Check out the Skipping Stones Website for details.

Sparkle and Bling List:
Stamps: Margarita Birthday by Skipping Stones Design
Paper: Gina K White, Chocolate Chip, Crate Paper DP, Bo Bunny DP, Watercolor paper
Ink: Versafine Onyx Black
Accessories: Tombow Markers, Water brush, Buttons, Embroidery Thread, Nestabilities, Stickles, Clear Detail Embossing Powder