Shell's Stuff

Oh, What a Beautiful Day for a Challenge... or two

2012-01-24T23:21:00.005-05:00

How about a challenge card today?? :)

Today's card was inspired by

CAS challenge on SCS - pink, celery, white
Critter Sketch Challenge #99- use 3 embellishments (ribbon, sticker, pearls)
Gingerloft - let it snow
Stamptacular Sunday Challenge #148- seeing spots

This Winter Bear image is just too cute.

Card Recipe -
stamps - winter bear
paper - sweet cheeks, celery, white
ink - white, black
copics - R85, R83, R22, YR04, YR68, YG03, YG06, C1, C3, 0, E29
accessories - nesties, cuttlebug, vagabond, folder, edge punch, ribbon, sticker, pearls, glitter pen, white gel pen

Have an awesome Wednesday and a great, big, beautiful tomorrow!!!

~*Shell*~

Clearly Inspired ... in Pastels

2012-01-20T11:00:00.001-05:00

I do love those Clearly Inspired Challenges .... don't you?? I mean, great inspiration AND the chance to win?? :) Awesome. Love it.

So, today our challenge is to use pastels. There was a time when that's pretty much all I used. It was what I was comfortable with, and I seldom reached beyond my comfort zone at that point. Now, though, I really had to stretch to go toward the pastel palette.

Here's my take on the challenge.

I used the Cricut and SCAL to cut the flourish circle frame and cut a white circle to go behind it.

card recipe -

Stamps - Scripture Children, Luke 12:34 (new for January!)

Paper - dp, budding lilac, white

Ink - black, amethyst

Accessories - scal, cricut, ribbon, lace, flowers, pearls, pop dots

Let's see what you can do!! Head over to Clearly iStamp and get the details of the challenge. Join in, and you could win!

Have a fantastic Friday and a great, big, beautiful tomorrow!!

~*Shell*~

Blog Hop Winner!!

2012-01-19T11:00:00.000-05:00

Congratulations to Debbie of Debbie's Dash of This and That!! Her name was chosen from Jerusha's blog. Enjoy your prize!!!!

Don't forget to check in tomorrow for the Clearly Inspired Challenge!!

Have a super Thursday and a great, big, beautiful tomorrow!!!

~*Shell*~

Winter Bear Challenge

2012-01-16T19:03:00.003-05:00

The new stamp set "Winter Bear" is sooooo cute. I couldn't resist using it for several challenges. I mean, could you??? :)

I made my bear pink this time. What could be cuter than a cuddly, pink little bear. :)

This card meets several challenge criteria. I used the Critter Sketch Challenge sketch, the twine challenge on TLC on SCS, the texture for the Stamptacular Sunday challenge, and the something new for several others.

card recipe -

Stamps - winter bear

Paper - blueberry patch, tropical mist, white

Ink - black, white

Copics - YR07, R81, R83, R85, R22, V12, V17, B000, E37, C1, C3, C5, C7, W5

Accessories - corner rounder, grunge board die cut, Vagabond, snowflake sticker, twine, metal button stickers, crystals, folders, pop dots

This is being submitted for these challenges -

Gingerloft - anything goes

Stamptacular Sunday - texture (embossing, embossing on grunge board, crystal snowflake, twine)

Technique Lovers (SCS) - use twine

Critter Sketch Challenge - sketch

Fairy Tale Challenge - something new (grunge board, stamp set, and Vagabond)

Stampin' Sisters In Christ - something new (grunge board, stamp set, and Vagabond)

This was such a fun card to create. I think I may use it for my great-niece's birthday in a couple of week's. Think it works for a 2 year old????

Have a great week!!!! Be ready for the Clearly Inspired Challenge on Friday. Have a wonderful Monday evening and a great, big, beautiful tomorrow.

~*Shell*~

I {heart} Blog Hops!!

2012-01-15T11:00:00.003-05:00

Hi!! How are you?? Are you ready to get hopping??? :)

Valentine's Day is coming very soon (less than a month now!), and as card makers, we need to be ready, don't we?? So, our blog hop today should give you some great inspiration for your Valentines this year.

You should have come here from Jerusha's beautiful blog. If not, you'll want to start back at the beginning after you leave my blog. Our beginning is on Lori's blog. She has the blog list and prize details over there, too. I know you don't want to miss those. One big key, though .... COMMENT!! :) The more blogs in the hop that you comment on, the more chances you have to win. Remember ... last month, the winner came from THIS blog!! :) How exciting!

I totally {heart} this little bunny and his friend. The fact that the little mouse is sharing a {heart} just made it perfect for my card today. :)

I chose, this time, to decorate the inside of the card a little, too.

Card Recipe :
stamps - you lift me up, heart hugs
paper - turquoise gem, gray, white, saffron, grunge board (heart)
ink - black, turquoise, pink, white
copics - R37, R20, C1, C3, E31, E33, E37
accessories - elegant accents dies, sponge dauber, cuttlebug, dies, Vagabond, folders, doily (cut), heart lock, gold dots, pop dots, oval punch, corner rounder

Now, you should comment on this blog. After that, pack up your fingers and hop on over to see Kathy's amazing creations! Comment over there, too!! Remember that if you didn't start at Lori's blog, you'll want to hop over there for the blog roll and the prize details. :)

I hope you have a simply amazing Sunday and a great, big, beautiful tomorrow!!!!

~*Shell*~

Teapot Tuesday .... a little late ....

2012-01-10T17:41:00.003-05:00

Teapot Tuesdays is a challenge that occurs over at SCS every (yeah, you guessed it ....) Tuesday. This card was made for that challenge (last week's) - as well as for a couple of other challenges. I had a great time making it ..... and I'm so glad to be able to honor a very special friend of mine with it.

Here's the challenge, so you can learn all about it and about the wonderful lady this card honors.

I met Sonja online (SCS) back in 2005 when the "Quackers" first began quacking. :) In 2006, we met in real life for the first time. We've seen each other just about every year since then. She lives quite a ways from me, so seeing her once a year is a big deal. Sonja is a wonderful, sweet, loving person, and I am so honored to call her my friend ... and even more honored that she considers me her friend. :)

Sonja's 2011 was a very rough one, and I'm hoping that her 2012 is going to be an amazing year for her and her family.

Sonja loves angels, teal, and hearts. I also know that she loves our Lord, and I wanted to add some verses just for her.

The background is embossed with snowflakes because I needed to add my own special touch. Sonja knows just how much I love snow.

I hope that all of the cards sent to Sonja help her to know just how special she is and what a wonderful friend she is.

Card Recipe :

stamps - Mini Verses, You Lift Me Up, God Is Love, Patchwork Angel (no longer available as a clear stamp, but here as a digi)
paper - teal, brown, white, celery
ink - black
copics - Y000, Y02, E43, E47, BG18, E00, E02, R20, R81
accessories - glitter gel pen, Vagabond machine, cuttlebug, folders, nesties, oval punches, tag punches, pearls, pop dots

Challenges -

Stampin' Sisters In Christ - Thinking of You card

Cute Card Thursday - Something New (used my Vagabond and a new color combo)

Just Us Girls - Sketch

Fairy Tale Challenge - Something New (used my Vagabond and a new color combo)

Phindy's Friday - Color Challenge (brown, teal, celery, white)

Hope you've enjoyed the Product Parade this week and the challenge I showcased, as well. Remember that Sunday is our monthly Blog Hop! You don't want to miss that or the chance to win!!!! :)

Have a wonderful Tuesday and a great, big, beautiful tomorrow!!

~*Shell*~

Clear Dollar Stamps' January Product Parade .... Day 4!!!

2012-01-10T11:00:00.002-05:00

Our last day of our Product Parade ... and today, we have the wonderful Stamp of the Month sets. You can get one of these free with a qualifying order at Clear Dollar Stamps!! **FREE** :) What could be better than FREE STAMPS?!

card recipe -
stamps - Winter Bear
paper - Tickled Pink, gray, white
ink - black, white
copics - 0, R81, R83, E31, E33, E37, B00, C1, C7, Y38
accessories - cuttlebug, folder, pop dots, felt snowflakes, snowman die, ribbon, white gel pen, crystals

card recipe -
stamps - Sweet Heart
paper - Strawberry Jam, black, white
ink - red, black
accessories - felt flowers, circle punches, edge punch, pop dots

card set recipe -
stamps : Mini Verses
paper : Wild Huckleberry, Strawberry Jam, Fresh Papaya, Raging River, white
ink : black
accessories : cuttlebug, edge folder, ribbons (Wild Huckleberry, Strawberry Jam, Fresh Papaya, Raging River), flowers

That's it for our January Product Parade. Wow ... what awesome stamps for this quarter!!! :) I hope you enjoyed the parade as much as we enjoyed showcasing the sets for you. Make sure you leave some love on all of the design team members' blogs. I know they appreciate it. And, make sure you grab some or ALL of these great sets over at the Clear Dollar Stamps' site!!

Join us on January 15th for our monthly Blog Hop and on January 20th for the next Clearly Inspired Challenge. Two great chances to win a prize!!

~*Shell*~

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Clear Dollar Stamps' January Product Parade .... Day 3!!!

2012-01-09T11:00:00.001-05:00

More beautiful scriptures .... a really big boat .... and lots of love from our Lord. :) That's what we have for you today. Welcome to Day 3 of the Product Parade!

card recipe -
Stamps : Psalm 46:10
Paper : dp, black, white
Ink : brown, black
Accessories : photo, ribbon, designer labels dies, swirls die, cuttlebug, flowers, pop dots
Technique : photo card

card recipe -
stamps : God Is Love
paper : gray, ,white, dp
ink : ruby
accessories : cuttlebug, swirls dies, nesties, ribbon, pearls, sponge dauber

card recipe -
stamps - Eternity
paper - red velvet cake, toasted almond, caramel, dp
ink - white, gold
copics - R59 (colored lace)
accessories - elegant accents dies, cuttlebug, swirls, lace, pearls, sheer shimmer

card recipe -
stamps - Ark of Faith, Psalm 37:23
paper - deep sea, tropical mist, black, white, dp
ink - black
copics - C3, C7, W1, W3, W5, E31, E33, E37, B21, B24, E43, E47, E49, E71, E77, B00, E11, E15, R81, R83, R85, G24, Y02, 0
accessories - cuttlebug, folder, pop dots, Tabs and Tags dies, raindrop stickers, corner rounder, decorative trim, white gel pen

card recipe -
stamps - Walk By Faith
paper - white, gray, blue (raging river, I think)
ink - black
Copics - B21, B24, B28, C5, C7
accessories - Designer Labels dies, ribbon, brads, cuttlebug, folder, pop dots

After all of these great sets, what could we possibly have for you tomorrow???? How about stuff you can get *free*? Yep ... just wait for the great stuff we have for you on Day 4 of our Product Parade.

If you just can't wait, head on over to Clear Dollar Stamps and look at the January releases. Each of these sets are available NOW!! I can't wait to see what you do with them!

See you back here tomorrow for one more amazing day of our Product Parade!!

~*Shell*~
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Clear Dollar Stamps' January Product Parade .... Day 2!!!

2012-01-08T11:00:00.003-05:00

How about some flowers, a pick-me-up, and something that's 'cute as a button?' :) Welcome to Day 2 of our Product Parade!

card recipe -
stamps - Josephine Clematis
paper - white, yellow, dp
ink - black, yellow
copics - YR00, YR04, YR07, W5, W7, 0, B93, B95
accessories - ribbon, cuttlebug, nesties, crystals, sponge dauber

card recipe -
stamps - Glamorous Dahlia
paper - white, dp
ink - black
copics - G24, G28, W7, BV00, BV04, BV08, C3, G00, G02
accessories - edge punch, cricut, scal, ribbon, gold dots, pop dots

card recipe -
Stamps : Cute As A Button
Paper : turquoise gem, sweet pea, white
Ink : white, black, turquoise, fog
Accessories : cricut, scal, cuttlebug, folders, blooming bouquet dies, nesties, pop dots, buttons, ribbon

card recipe -
stamps - You Lift Me Up
paper - sweet cheeks, white, gray
ink - black, blue
copics - R81, R83, R85, C1, C5, C3, R02
accessories - Nesties, cuttlebug, pearls, ribbon, flowers, pop dots
technique - CAS

Don't forget to check out the blogs of the others who are sharing some inspiration this week. The sets highlighted today, as well as those from yesterday, are available TODAY!! You can also find all of the other January releases available now on the Clearly Dollar Stamps' site.

Here are the links to the other DT members' blogs -
Candy
Cassie
Laurie
Linda
Trudy
Barb
Christi
Lisa
Sarah

More highlighted products will be shown in tomorrow's Product Parade! Don't miss it!!! :)

~*Shell*~

Clear Dollar Stamps' January Product Parade .... Day 1!!!

2012-01-07T11:00:00.000-05:00

Welcome to the January Product Parade!!!! Are you excited?? We have some super fun stuff to show you over the next 4 days. I know you don't want to hear me ramble on, so let's get started.

Today, we feature several scripture stamps. I love scripture stamps. They are soooo useful in my cardmaking.

card recipe -
stamps - Deuteronomy 6:5
paper - pink, purple
ink - white pigment
accessories - Cuttlebug, combo folder, crystal butterflies, pearls, pop dots

card recipe -
Stamps : Psalm 116:1
Paper : black, gray, white, Glory 2 God dp
Ink : white
Accessories : sheer shimmer, swirl dies, cuttlebug, nesties, ribbon, vintage stickers

card recipe -
Stamps : John 15:12
Paper : dp, worn parchment, billowing clouds, gray
Ink : brown, black
Accessories : cricut, scal, cuttlebug, elegant accents dies, flowers, pearls, pop dots

card recipe -
stamps : Luke 12:34
paper : black, silver, white, dp
ink :black, brown
accessories : Cuttlebug, folders, dies, crystals, pearls, pop dots, sponge dauber, corner punch, gold dots, brads

card recipe -
stamps - Romans 5:8
paper - Pretty Porcelain, black, purple, gray, dp
ink - black
accessories - elegant accents dies, cuttlebug, combo folder, doily, flourish crystal stickers, pearls, pop dots

A couple of love/Valentine's stamps are being featured today, too. Better get started on those Valentine's cards ... it will be here before you know it!!!

card recipe -
stamps - valentine john 3:16
paper - white, red
ink - red
copics - R46 (flowers)
accessories - cuttlebug, folder, pop dots, edge punch, flowers, ribbon

card recipe -
stamps - toucans of love, tou-can pray
paper - dp, pink, gray, green, white
ink - black
copics - C1, C3, C5, C7, YR68, G21, G24, 0
accessories - nesties, cuttlebug, Cricut, scal, crystals, pop dots, ribbon

Remember that all of the stamps featured today are available ... TODAY! :) The sets being featured in the next few days are, also, available today!! Head on over to Clear Dollar Stamps to see all of the new stamps and to grab some of these awesome stamps to create your own amazing cards and projects.

Come on back tomorrow to check out the next day of our Product Parade!!!

~*Shell*~

Clearly Inspired ... for the new year!! :)

2012-01-06T11:00:00.003-05:00

Are you ready for another challenge?? Clearly Inspired has a great one for you today.

CIC43 -- Valentine's Day -- Make a card for Valentine's Day!

Valentine's Day is not so far away, so we need to get started on those, don't we??

The image is from a Clear Dollar Stamps' set called Loving Critters. The heart corners were cut using cardboard ... on the Vagabond. :) My mom gave me the Vagabond for Christmas! Yippee!!!!!

card recipe:
stamps - loving critters
paper - white, cherry go round bubble gum
ink - white, black, red
copics - c1, c3, c5, c7, r46, rv06, b00, b21, 0, y38
accessories - circle punch, Vagabond, cardboard, edge punch, cuttlebug, folder, pop dots, sticker embellie

Head over to the Clearly iStamp page to get all the details on how to enter this challenge and the great prize you can win!!

Tomorrow!!!! Yes!!! Tomorrow starts our Product Parade ..... for our January releases. I know you don't want to miss all of the great things we have to show you. The design team has worked hard on some inspiration for you on all of the new sets.

Have a beautiful Friday and a great, big, beautiful tomorrow!!!

~*Shell*~

CPS challenge ... Are you up for it??

2012-01-04T21:40:00.003-05:00

Clear Dollar Stamps is sponsoring this week's Card Positioning System's challenge and some members of our design team have created some wonderful inspiration for you.

Here's mine ....

This card features one of the October 2011 releases - Mark 16:15. A bit of distressing was used to enhance the background.

Card Recipe :
stamps - Mark 16:15
paper - deep see, gray, dp
ink - white, brown
accessories - lace, nesties, cuttlebug, pearls, folder, pop dots

Come back on Friday for some CIC inspiration ... and on Saturday for the January Product Parade!! I can just see the excitement on your face!! Can you see it on mine???? :) :) :)

Have a blessed Wednesday and a great, big, beautiful tomorrow.

~*Shell*~

Blog Hop Winner!!!!

2011-12-21T13:47:00.000-05:00

Woohoo!!!!! Our blog hop winner for this month comes from MY blog!!! :)

Our winner, chosen from Shell's blog, is Bonnie Raduse and her blog Stamping in the Light.

Congratulations Bonnie! Please contact Cassie at cassandratrask@yahoo.com to claim your prize.

Have a wonderful Wednesday and a great, big, beautiful tomorrow!!

~*Shell*~

Hoppity, Hoppity, Hop ... Let's Have a Blog Hop!

2011-12-18T11:00:00.001-05:00

Welcome to the December Clear Dollar Stamps' Blog Hop!! If you've been following the hop, you came here from Kathy's beautiful blog. If not, you'll want to start back at Clearly iStamp for the beginning. Comment on as many blogs as you can for more chances to win! :)

Our theme for the hop is Whiter Than Snow.

I'm not sure that I could have gone any 'whiter.' :) I really liked the dimension I was able to achieve with just one color, though.

Card Recipe :
stamps : Christ's Love Shines Through You Like a Window From Heaven
paper : white
ink : black
copics : none
accessories : Elegant Accents dies, cuttlebug, edge punch, folders, pink dots, pop dots

After you leave a comment here, you'll want to hop on over to Cassie's amazing blog. I know she has an amazing project to show you!!

I'm not sure that I will update the blog much in the next week or so. I'll try, but with the holidays, things get so hectic! Lots of wonderful things coming soon, though!! You certainly won't want to miss the Product Parade in January. Yep, it's time for the quarterly release, again. Fantastical stuff coming, I can tell you!!

Have a blessed Sunday and a great, big, beautiful tomorrow!!

~*Shell*~

Clearly Inspired .... by the Birthday of MY King ....

2011-12-16T11:00:00.001-05:00

Wow ... the middle of December. How in the world did that happen?! Well, Merry Christmas!!! I hope you're having a very festive, wonderful holiday season.

Today, we're celebrating the season by being Clearly Inspired by the birthday of Jesus. :) What fun is that?! After you check things out here, head over to the Clearly Inspired Challenge. You'll want to join in so that you can have a chance to WIN! :)

It's not a traditional birthday card, but it's happy and cheerful. The inside has the birthday sentiment .....

Card Recipe :
stamps : Air Flair, Rooster Sunrise
paper : Raging River, Billowing Clouds, white
ink : blue, pink, red, black, light blue, brown, white
accessories - cuttlebug, nesties, pearls, pop dots

I hope you enjoy this season and that you are able to worship the precious One that remains the Reason for the Season.

****Don't forget our blog hop this coming Sunday!!!! All you have to do is comment for your chance to win Sunday!!

Have a wonderful Friday and a great, big, beautiful tomorrow!!!

~*Shell*~

Bethlehem Spotlight

2011-12-02T19:17:00.003-05:00

I'm enjoying all of the wonderful Christmas challenges lately. This one was fun to do. I've never - for whatever reason - done the spotlight technique, but I thought I'd try it on this image.

I chose to spotlight the area that I consider the 'stable.' It's a very simple technique and I enjoyed it. I will probably do that again.

Card Recipe :
stamps : Little Bethlehem (Clear Dollar Stamps)
paper : worn parchment, dp, white
ink : black
copics : E11, E15, E31, E33, E37, YR61, YR68, Y000, Y02, Y26, Y28, Y11
accessories : nesties, cuttlebug, corner rounder, circle punch, pearls, pop dots
technique : Spotlight

Challenges -

Gingerloft Challenge - Winter or Christmas

Scrappin' Chics - anything for the holidays

Stamptacular Sunday Challenge - anything winter or holiday

Aud Sentiments - winter holiday

I hope everyone is enjoying the start of our holiday month. I hope you have a very blessed Christmas season. :)

Have a great Friday and a great, big, beautiful tomorrow!!

~*Shell*~

Happy December!

2011-12-01T21:36:00.004-05:00

Oh, how I love Christmas and all the super, wonderful things that go with it. I love the season, the festivities, and most of all the Reason ... my Lord Jesus Christ. :) So, today, I have a Christmas project for you. It's a gift tag. It's large, but I think it's really cool for a special gift.

Here's the front of the card. Don't you just love that little snowman at the window?!

And the back of the tag.....
I really liked how the snowflake on the dp kind of gave part of a frame to the tagged sentiment.

I'm submitting my card these challenges .....

The challenge for Stampin' Sisters In Christ is to use a bird on the project.
The challenge for Fantabulous Cricut this week is to create a holiday card.
The challenge for Fairy Tale Challenge Blog is to create something for Christmas.
The challenge for Phindy's Place is to create a snowy card.

Card Recipe :
stamps : antique ornaments, windowbox wishes, christmas inchies (other side)
paper : dp white, gray, red, beige
ink : black, brown
copics : E33, E37, E15, E29, E43, E47, YR16, YR68, YR61, B95, B97, G94, R46, R59, W5, W7, B000
accessories : Cricut, SCAL, svg file, pop dots, pearls, Tabs & Tags, dies, silver cord, corner punch, tag punch, cuttlebug, folder

Have a wonderful Thursday and a great, big, beautiful tomorrow!!

~*Shell*~

Celebrate Life Blog Hop - Honoring Katie

2011-11-22T11:00:00.001-05:00

Celebrate Life

Celebrate life .... that's exactly what Katie did. Katie Renz was an amazing woman who celebrated life, celebrated love, and celebrated family.

Today, we celebrate Katie's memory with a blog hop. We chose Tuesday because Katie created the Clearly iStamp Tuesday Tutorial. We felt that a Tuesday hop would be most appropriate.

In the spirit of the hop, you should have come from Kathy's beautiful blog. If not, you'll want to start back at the beginning - Lori's Clearly iStamp.

________________________________________
For this hop, we are suppose to CASE (copy and stamp everything ....) one of Katie's beautiful projects. Wow ... it was SO hard to choose!!!

The card I chose to CASE was this one ...

Isn't it gorgeous??? I chose to get my inspiration from the colors and the layout. Here's my take on it ....

Project Recipe:

stamps : Prayer Journal, Cross Messages, Tabs & Tags Additions

paper : white, Christian dp, misc. dp

ink : purple

accessories : Tabs & Tags dies, nesties, Cuttlebug, crystals, ribbon, sponge dauber, pop dots

__________________________________________
Make your way from here to Lisa's ever-inspiring blog. She will have something totally amazing to show you today. Please make sure you give some kudos to all those that participated in the hop. This has been a difficult time for all of us, and our hop is just a small step in our grief journey.

***If you'd like to make a donation to the family, please click the donation button below.***

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Celebrate life today and have a great, big, beautiful tomorrow!!

~*Shell*~

Clear Dollar Stamps' November Blog Hop

2011-11-20T11:00:00.002-05:00

Welcome to our monthly blog hop!! You should have come here from Barb's beautiful blog. If not, you will want to start back at the beginning at Clearly iStamp.

What are you thankful for?? Many times we say 'thank goodness for .... ,' but what are you *really* thankful for???

For the last few weeks, I've been posting my 'thankful thoughts' as my Facebook status. I don't just post from the top of my head, but I really think about what I'm thankful for. Some of the things I've mentioned ....

0 Crafting ... :) I'm not sure what I would do without this in my life.
0 Seasons
0 My church family ..... I can't say enough on this one.
0 Online friends
0 Homeschooling
0 My ministers
0 Prayers

And there are many others coming..... my children, my husband, my mom, my in-laws .... I have SO much for which to be thankful.

Today's blog hop is themed around "Thankful." I thought long and hard about what I wanted to do with this theme. I thought about fall colors, a Thanksgiving project, and several other ideas. I finally went with a 3D project and a 'friend' theme. :) I am, after all, so very thankful for my friends.

This is actually an altered "Pirouettes" can. I think that this will be a very special gift for a special friend.

Project Recipe :
Stamps - Christian Friendship,
Paper - Melon Spice, Peach Taffy, Mossy Woods
Ink - black, brown
Copics - none
Accessories - nesties, flowers, pearls, sponge dauber, ribbon, lace, tacky tape, pop dots

From here, you'll go to Stacy's inspiring blog. Make sure you make it around to all of the great blogs in our hop and leave a comment at each one. One lucky winner will receive a $25 Clear Dollar Stamps' gift certificate for digital images! A winner will be selected from the comments left on the blogs in the hop. Don't miss your chance to get a prize - not to mention a chance to see all of the wonderful inspiration our design team has for you today!!!

Please come back on Tuesday to join us for the special blog hop to honor Katie!!!

Have a super, special Sunday and a great, big, beautiful tomorrow!!

~*Shell*~

Clearly Inspired #40 - Flowers, Flowers Everywhere!

2011-11-18T11:00:00.001-05:00

One of my favorite things to use as an embellishment is flowers. I just love 'em. I love the paper kind, the color-your-own, the stickers, the 3D ... you name it, I love 'em. So, I was pretty excited when the theme for this challenge was announced, and it was FLOWERS!

Interesting colors, huh??? Turquoise, purple, and brown ... how did I ever come up with that?? Hahaha ... Actually, I only came up with the brown. I asked my daughter to name 2 colors - and told her she couldn't say PINK (her favorite color). She chose blue and purple. :) I really like how the colors work together. Whatcha think??

Card Recipe:
Stamps - Blooming Bouquet, Mark 16:15
Paper - Hot Cocoa, Raging River, Grape Jelly (all from Clear Dollar Stamps)
Ink - black
Copics - BV08
Accessories - edge punch, nesties, flowers, flower sticker, lace

This was a fun challenge. I hope you'll head over to Clearly iStamp and get all the details on how to join. I can't wait to see what you create!!

Don't forget ... our monthly blog hop is coming on Sunday! Also, our special blog hop in honor of Katie is coming on Tuesday. :)

Have a fabulous Friday and a great, big, beautiful tomorrow!!

~*Shell*~

Clean and Simple

2011-11-14T21:28:00.002-05:00

I love the CAS challenges at SCS each Monday. I've really learned to love this style of card, so I really enjoy the chance to play when I'm home.

I was home today!!! :)

Lots of embossing and details, but pretty clean and simple, I think ... or I hope. :) The theme for the projects today was "Party." There's nothing better to celebrate than Jesus!! :)

Card Recipe :

Stamps: Jesus is the Best Gift of All (Clear Dollar Stamps)

Paper: Sweet Pea, Tickled Pink, white

Ink: black

Accessories: Cuttlebug, folders, edge punch, flowers, pearls, pop dots

Don't forget the CIC on Friday, blog hop on Sunday, and special blog hop for Katie next Tuesday!!!

Have a wonderful Monday evening and a great, big, beautiful tomorrow!

~*Shell*~

What's Coming??

2011-11-13T18:10:00.002-05:00

It's November!! :) So, what do I have coming up for you in the next couple of weeks??

Friday, November 18 - Clearly Inspired Challenge

Sunday, November 20 - Clear Dollar Stamps' Monthly Blog Hop

Tuesday, November 22 - A very special blog hop honoring our friend, Katie Renz.

I hope you'll join us for each and every post!!!

Hope to have some challenges for you this week! :)

Have a super Sunday and a great, big, beautiful tomorrow. :)

~*Shell*~

Great Sadness.....

2011-11-07T22:35:00.004-05:00

It is with great sadness that I post that Katie Renz, our design team leader, has lost her hard-fought battle with stomach cancer. Katie was such a wonderful, sweet lady and so very encouraging. I will miss her dearly. Katie leaves behind her soul-mate husband, Kevin, sons - Hunter, Nate, and Will, and many family and friends who love her and will miss her terribly.

There have been many donation drives lately to help the Renz family. Kevin, Hunter, Nate, and Will all have birthdays within the next few weeks. I know that, with Katie's passing, these could be the most difficult birthdays they will ever endure. If you would like to help make their birthdays a little more special and with a little extra joy this year, you can donate by using the button below .... Make sure you put a note in your payment letting the organizer know who the donation should go towards - Kevin, the twins, or Hunter.

Sweet Katie, rest in peace. Know that you will be very missed on this earth.

Clearly Inspired #39

2011-11-04T11:00:00.001-04:00

Color Challenge time for the Clearly Inspired Challenge!!

Color Challenge -- Use the colors Red Velvet Cake, Spring Leaf, Gold, & Cottonball White. If you don't have those colors come as close as you can.

All I could think about with those colors were Christmas, but I forced myself to think outside the box and came up with this ....

The background embossing was done by using 1/2 of a embossing folder on one side of the paper, flipping the paper, and using the same half on the other side of the paper. I really, really liked how that worked. After it was embossed, I brushed the embossed area with gold ink to give it an antique look. The same gold was used on the sentiment layer.

Card Recipe -
stamps - Mark 16:15
paper - red velvet cake, spring leaf, white
ink - black, gold
accessories - nesties, Cuttlebug, ribbon, folder, pop dots

Head over to Clearly iStamp to get all the details on this challenge!!!

Hope you have a wonderful Friday and a great, big, beautiful tomorrow!!!

~*Shell*~

Stamping Sisters' Challenge ...

2011-10-30T20:32:00.001-04:00

Over on the Stamping Sisters In Christ blog, there is a color challenge ... Crimson, Orange, and Gold ... :) How fun!

So .... here we go ....

You can't tell it from this picture, but the swirls/flourishes were sprayed with Sheer Shimmer and sparkle quite nicely.

Card Recipe :
stamps - May Your Love for God (Reason for the Season)
paper - worn parchment, tangelo snoothie, red velvet cake
ink - white, brown
accessories - cuttlebug, folders, elegant accents dies, ribbon, pop dots, sheer shimmer, gold dots, flourish dies, edge punch

What a fun challenge. :)

More challenges this week .... and a picture of the costume I made my daughter for halloween. I know you just can't wait for that one! :)

Have a great Sunday evening and a great, big, beautiful tomorrow!

~*Shell*~

Clearly Inspired .... by my mom

2011-10-21T11:00:00.001-04:00

The Clearly Inspired Challenge for today is PINK!! The card/project doesn't have to focus on breast cancer awareness, but for me .... how can it not?? Please indulge me for a moment ....

The year was 1995 .... My oldest son was 4 1/2, and I was pregnant with my 2nd son. Early in the month of October, my mother got a call from her doctor - a follow up from an earlier appointment. The diagnosis ... breast cancer. Our family was shocked. My precious mom ... mother of 2, legal guardian of her oldest granddaughter, grandmother to 4 1/2, active church member, and a wonderful, wonderful lady. This really couldn't be happening, could it?

It was happening. By the end of the month, she had gone through surgery for a radical mastectomy and had begun chemo using the drug Tamoxifen. Though she went through all of this in October, she was still an active participant and assistant in our annual alternative to Halloween at our church *on* Halloween.

Fast forward 16 years. My mom is the grandmother of 6, the great grandmother of 2, an active church member, and a wonderful, wonderful lady. Breast cancer didn't steal her life or her joy. Many aren't blessed in this way. The disease steals many lives, many memories, many mothers, daughters, sisters, aunts, granddaughters, and friends. I'm praying that, soon, there will be a cure for this thief.

In honor of my wonderful, beautiful mom ......

card recipe:
stamps - roses to die for, christian friendship
paper - Pretty Porcelain, gray, white
ink - black
Copics - R81, R83, R85, W5, G94, G99
accessories - elegant accents dies, blooming bouquet dies, ribbon, lace, pearls, pop dots

Join in our challenge. Use pink ... lots of pink ... on your card or project. It doesn't have to have anything to do with breast cancer awareness. You can make something pink just to be pink. I can't wait to see what you create for this challenge!! Head on over to Clearly iStamp to get all of the details!!

FYI .... my mom's birthday is tomorrow ..... I'm wishing her happy birthday a little early....

Happy Birthday, Mom!!!!!

Have a wonderful Friday and a great, big, beautiful tomorrow!!!

~*Shell*~

Congratulations!

2011-10-20T11:00:00.000-04:00

Congratulations to our winner for October!!

From Barb's blog, Barb's Best Creations, the winner is Kathi from Golden Paper Dreams.

Hope you have a beautiful weekend!!

~*Shell*~

2011-10-18T11:00:00.001-04:00

Another challenge for today! :)

There's a color challenge going on over at Just Us Girls. Such a fun one, too!! I decided to try the challenge *without* using it for a halloween card.

The challenge was to use orange, black, purple, and green on a card. What fun!! I had a good time stretching myself by using the colors without making it for the halloween season.

Card Recipe :
stamps - Snow Friends, Christian Friendship
paper - tangelo smoothie, grape juice, sweet pea, black, white
ink -black
copics - C1, C3, C5, C7, B000, BV00, V01, YR07, V09
accessories - cuttlebug, folder, white gel pen, elegant accents dies, nesties, crystals, flower, flower with crystal

I'm home again today. I hope I can create a few more challenge cards! Wish me luck (although, I don't believe in luck.... Hahahaha).

Have a super nice Tuesday and a great, big, beautiful tomorrow!!

~*Shell*~

2011-10-17T21:05:00.003-04:00

Challenges, challenges. I do, so, love challenges. :) Today, I went in search of a challenge or two in which to participate. And, guess what!! I found some! :)

This card was made for 4 challenges -
Sweet Sketch Wednesday
Critter Sketch Challenge Blog
Stamping Sisters In Christ
Cute Card Thursday

For the Sweet Sketch challenge, we needed to use the sketch of the week. What a fun one!!!!

For the Critter Sketch Challenge Blog, we could only use pink, black, and green. Not used to using those colors, so this was quite a challenge for me.

The Stamping Sisters In Christ challenge was to use two of everything. On my project, there are two sets of crystals, two pink layers, two green layers, and two ribbon treatments.

Cute Card Thursday wanted us to use trees or leaves on our project. The poinsettia is actually a flower of leaves, and I thought this was a great stamp to use for this challenge.

Card Recipe :
stamps - Poinsettia Joy
paper - sweet cheeks, spring leaf, spruce needle, dp, white
ink - black, pink
copics - R81, R83, R85, G94, G99, W1, W5, W7
accessories - flourish dies, Cuttlebug, folder, crystals, ribbon, sewing machine

It was fun to chase challenges today I had the opportunity. I hope you take the time to create with some challenges, too.

Another post coming tomorrow with another challenge.

Have a beautiful Monday evening and a great, big, beautiful tomorrow!

~*Shell*~

Clear Dollar Stamps October Blog Hop - Happy Fall, Ya'll!!

2011-10-16T11:00:00.003-04:00

Welcome to the monthly Clear Dollar Stamps' Blog Hop!!! You should have come here from Lisa's amazing blog. If not, you'll want to start back at Clearly iStamp for the beginning of all of the fabulous projects being shown today.

What do you think of when you think about fall?? There are so many neat things that fall brings to my mind.... pretty leaves, crunchy leaves, bonfires, pumpkins, festivals, and so much more. I remember when I was a teenager - in the marching band (I was on the rifle squad) - at weekly football games. Each week, the weather would get a little cooler. At the end of October, the evenings at a football game would be quite chilly. I remember bundling up with a blanket or quilt in the stands as we waited to play the half-time show ..... and silently hoping that the team would lose so that we didn't have to go to playoff games that would be even colder!! That quilt and chilly weather were my inspiration for today's project.

Clear Dollar Stamps has an amazing set of dies and stamps that worked perfectly for my inspiration this time. Build a Quilt dies and Build a Quilt stamp set enabled me to create a quilted pattern right on my card without a ton of research or effort. It just brings back memories of chilly nights with a warm quilt keeping me warm!

Card Recipe :
stamps - build a quilt
paper - white, Yeehaw dp
ink - black
Copics - none
accessories - build a quilt dies, tag punch, ribbon, crystals, sewing machine, pop dots

Want to win a prize???? One lucky winner will win a $25 gift certificate for digital images from Clear Dollar Stamps!!! All you need to do is to leave a comment on my blog. That will enter your name into the pot. A winner will be randomly chosen from all comments on the design team members' blogs and posted on Thursday, October 20th.

If you missed the beginning of the hop, start back at Clearly iStamp and work your way through the fantastic projects the design team has for you today. From here, you should head on over to Cassie's stupendously creative blog. Just make sure you take every chance you can get to enter to win! Comment, comment, comment!!!

Best of luck to each of you!!

Have a blessed Sunday and a great, big, beautiful tomorrow!!!

~*Shell*~

Clear Dollar Stamps' October Product Parade - Day 3

2011-10-09T11:00:00.004-04:00

Day 3! Are you having fun yet?? I sure am. Such wonderful sets to showcase for you. Remember, each set is available right now on the Clear Dollar Stamps' site!

And today is something really special. We have not only a couple new sets, but, also, a new die set!! It's such a cool one, too.

That sentiment ... isn't that the truth? The little quilt squares on the side are die cut with the new die set - Build a Quilt, and then stamped with the stamp set with the same name. So precious. I'm not into quilting, but I have several good friends that are. This will be something special that I can use to celebrate each of them!

Card Recipe :
stamps - Build A Quilt
paper - white, gray, GCD Studios (Ella Blue)
ink - black
accessories - pearl sticker, pop dots, Build a Quilt Dies
technique - CAS

Ok ... I was suppose to show this one yesterday, but I wasn't able to change my post in time. I'm sorry!!

Yummmmm! I just LOVE the background paper here and what a wonderful focal verse! The paper is one of the digital papers released by CDS. I printed it on my own printer here at home. :)

Card Recipe :
stamps - Mark 16:15
paper - Billowing Clouds, Toasted Almond, Powder Puff, Thank You Jesus dp
ink - black, brown
accessories - elegant accents dies, cross dies, gold white dots, metal flowers, crystal cross, cuttlebug, folder, pop dots

There will be more releases on the Clearly iStamp blog tomorrow. I know you'll want to see those. Head on over to Clear Dollar Stamps, too, and grab some of this quarter's fantastic new sets!! I can't wait to see what you create!!

Have a beautiful Sunday and a great, big, beautiful tomorrow.

~*Shell*~

Clear Dollar Stamps' October Product Parade - Day 2

2011-10-08T11:00:00.005-04:00

Welcome to Day 2 of the Clear Dollar Stamps October Product Parade! I hope you're making a point to visit each member of the design team's blog. There are some fabulous samples with these sets, and you don't want to miss any of them.

I love, love, love this set celebrating Christian Friendship. I often need something like this for a Christian friend. It's such a useful, versatile set.

This card opens a bit differently that some of my other cards. I have an open shot to show how I showcased this sentiment on the inside, as well as the outside.

Card Recipe :
stamps - christian friendship
paper - blueberry patch, kiwi delight, 7 gypsies dp, white, black
ink - black
copics - B32, B34, B39
accessories - cuttlebug, nesties, eyelet stickers, flowers, brads, pop dots, sewing machine, alcohol

What a beautiful verse this is. I know so many beautiful people who exemplify this verse. It will be perfect to use as a card of encouragement or a thank you card. On this card, the cross is distressed and stands out from the window pane. It's difficult to see, but looks much better in real life.

Card Recipe :
stamps - christ's love shines through you like a window from heave
paper - mud pie, lemon zest, white
ink - blue
copics - Y000, E31, E33, E37, 100
accessories - cricut, cuttlebug, elegant accents dies, pop dots, scorpal, sheer shimmer, xyron

Ooooooh!!! Don't you just want to grab this little bunny and snuggle him??? I could just squeeze him! He's part of a precious set called "Snow Friends." You'll want this for all of your fun, winter cards.

Card Recipe :
stamps - Snow Friends
paper - pink, white, gray
ink - black, fog
accessories - Tabs and Tags Dies, Cuttlebug, folders, corner rounder, ribbon, lace ribbon, pop dots, sewing machine

Window Box Wishes .... Oh my. This set is just too precious for words. It has three wonderful window boxes and the window, too. It also includes several sentiments. How cool!

This card was created as an easel card. Open, it looks like this ....

Card Recipe :
Stamps: Windowbox Wishes
Paper: berry Blast, Tangy Trio Plaid, white
Ink: black
Copics: 0, C3, C5, Y17, YR04, YR07, YG23, YG67, RV14, E31, E33, E37, E11
Accessories: Windowbox Wishes SVG, lace, corner rounder, Cuttlebug, folder, Tabs & Tags Dies, flowers, pop dots

Again, more wonderful samples tomorrow!!! Don't forget that you can get each and every one of these new releases TODAY at the Clear Dollar Stamps' site.

Have a super Saturday and a great, big, beautiful tomorrow!!!

~*Shell*~

Clear Dollar Stamps' October Product Parade - Day 1

2011-10-07T11:00:00.005-04:00

New product excites me!! What about you!? This is the first day of the Clear Dollar Stamps' Product Parade where we showcase all of the wonderful new releases for this quarter.

Today, we have some great stuff .... stuff to get you ready for ..... CHRISTMAS!! Just think, it's only 79 days away. :)

Christmas Inches .... Oh, my ..... HOW CUTE these are!!! Little Christmas squares for your card-making pleasure. There's so many amazing ideas of how to use these precious stamps. Make sure you check out all of the Design Team's samples. SO cute.

Card Recipe :
Stamps: Christmas Inchies
Paper: Pucker Up, green, black, white, dp
Ink: black
Copics: G17, Y17, g99, C1, R46
Accessories: Christmas Inches SVG, 1 1/4" square punch, ribbon, Cricut, pop dots, glitter pen, square bling

These beautiful Antique Ornaments were just so fun to color and use on my card. I colored them and covered them with mini glass beads.

Card Recipe :
stamps - Antique Ornaments
paper - white, dp (Me & My Big Ideas)
ink - black
Copics - 0, R59, C1, C3, C5, G85
Accessories - Microbeads, Cricut, SCAL, Tacky Tape Sheet, Glitter Pen, flower, gold dots, antique bead stickers, lace ribbon, pop dots
Technique - Microbeads

Oh, Little Town of Bethlehem .... how still we see thee lie ....
I just love the beauty of this set. I can just feel the quiet, still night a very long time ago.

Card Recipe :
stamps - Little Bethlehem
paper - Blueberry Patch, white
ink - black
Copics - 0, B32, B34, B39, Y000, Y11, Y26, Y28, E04, E08, W3, W7, E31, E33, E43, E71, E77
Accessories - Elegant Accents Dies, heart chime

Each year, I celebrate Christmas - the birth of my Lord and Savior. While it's not likely that the date December 25th was the actual of Jesus' birth, it's as good of a day/time to celebrate the precious event as any other. For me, though, the season of Christmas is defined by Christ. Therefore, Jesus is the reason for the season. :)

This beautiful stamp is wonderful to use to wish your friends and family well as they celebrate that very precious reason for the season of Christmas.

Card Recipe :
stamps - may your love for god bloom this year as you grow in his love and celebrate the reason for the season
paper - billowing clouds, white
ink - black
accessories - billowing clouds ribbon, pearls, felt snowflake, elegant accents dies, cuttlebug, folder, pop dots

Isn't this stamp just gorgeous?! With little embellishment, this image can take your Christmas cards or projects to the glamorous level in a flash. :)

Card Recipe :
Stamps: Poinsettia Joy
Paper: Spruce Needles, white, black
Ink: black
Copics: Y17, BG96, C3, C5, R59, G85
Accessories: white gel pen, Cuttlebug, folder, ribbon, sheer shimmer, pearl sticker, square bling, pop dots

Isn't that the truth?! Jesus IS the best gift of all. With Him in my life, I can know salvation and contentment. :) Yes .... the very best gift of all.

Card Recipe :
stamps - jesus is the best gift of all, for our lord, cross messages
paper - mud pie, lime juice, pretty porcelain, white, persnickety (the paper studio)
ink - brown, fog, black
copics - none
accessories - cricut, scal, pearls, tag punch, pearl sticker, ribbon (pretty porcelain), twine, cuttlebug, folder (Tim Holtz), pop dots

Whatcha think??? The neat thing is that tomorrow, we'll have some more fantastic sets for you to see - AND each and every new set can be found on the Clear Dollar Stamp site available for sale TODAY! Are you excited? I sure am!!

Looking forward to showing you more tomorrow. Have a fantastic Friday and a great, big, beautiful tomorrow!!!

~*Shell*~

Challenges to Share

2011-09-30T23:09:00.004-04:00

I wanted to share a couple challenge pieces that I created recently.

The first one was a challenge to use 'mostly' blue. :)

Ok ... so I used a few more colors, but I think it is MOSTLY blue. :) A glitter gel pen was used for the windshield and lights to add shine to the project.

Card Recipe :
Stamps - My Little School Bus, Makin' the Grade, Good Job, Elegant Label (all by Clear Dollar Stamps)
Paper - Deep Sea, blue, white
Ink - black, fog
Copics - Update later (list unavailable)
Accessories - Cuttlebug, Designer Labels Dies, flower, pearl, ribbon, pop dots, glitter pen

The bookmark was made for the WT342 challenge on SCS this week. I love bookmarks, but forget to make them many times. This challenge was a great reminder for me.

Card Recipe:
Stamps - Friendship Blessings Oval (Clear Dollar Stamps)
Paper - brown, pink
Ink - black, pink pigment
Accessories - Cuttlebug, folder, Elegant Accents dies, pearls, ribbon, corner punch, flowers, pop dots
Technique - bookmark

Super amounts of fun coming next week!! Don't miss it!!!!! :)

Have a sensational Saturday and a great, big, beautiful tomorrow.

~*Shell*~

Clearly Inspired ... by a Sketch

2011-09-30T11:00:00.003-04:00

Another great day for the Clear Dollar Stamps' Clearly Inspired Challenge - #37. Today, we have one of my very favorite kind of challenges - sketch! This sketch was quite interesting to work with. I hope you find it as fun as I did - and that you play CIC for a chance to win.

I turned the sketch to make it work for the image I used. To add a little interest, I rounded only one corner and added some fun, flower confetti. A pink pigment ink pad was brushed across the embossed swirls on the brown. Faux stitching was added to the 3 colored bars behind the image.

Card Recipe :
stamps : Ice Cream Cone
paper : Berry Blast, Orange Whip, Mossy Woods, Pretty Porcelain, white, brown
ink : black, pink pigment
Copics : None
accessories : watercolor crayons, flower, pearls, white gel pen, aqua painter, flower confetti, pop dots, swirl (Tim Holtz) folder

For information on how to enter or the prizes, head on over to Clearly iStamp. You'll find all the juicy details over there. I can't wait to see what YOU make using this great sketch!

Keep checking in - our October Clear Dollar Stamps' Product Parade is coming soon!!! You don't want to miss all of the wonderful things coming out this quarter!!

Hope you have a wonderful Friday and a great, big, beautiful tomorrow!!! I'm spending a few days with my Marine son. I don't get that chance very often, so I will cherish it while I can. :)

~*Shell*~

Winner of Tangy Trio Color Challenge

2011-09-22T11:00:00.000-04:00

Congratulations Tangy Trio Color Challenge Blog Hop Winner!!!!!!

The winner of a $25 gift certificate for digital images is...
Elaine Sauer who was randomly chosen from Trudy's blog.

Hope all of you will play again in October!

Today - I wish my beautiful daughter a very happy 6th birthday. Happy birthday, my little Jadybug!!

Have a wonderful Thursday and a great, big, beautiful tomorrow.

~*Shell*~

September Blog Hop - Totally Terrific Tangy Trio! :)

2011-09-18T11:00:00.000-04:00

Tangy Trio Color Challenge

Have you seen the new Tangy Trio paper by Clear Dollar Stamps?? Let me just say ... YUMMMEEEE! :) Its a group of gorgeous paper, and there are markers and ribbons to match. How awesome is that?

Anyway ... our September blog hop theme is a Tangy Trio Color Challenge!

Hopefully, you came here from Kathy's beautiful blog, but if you didn't, you may want to start back at the beginning after you're finished here - that would be Lori's blog.

Isn't this trio fun, fresh and festive? I love working with it. I know that last month, I used the same set ... sorry. I guess I have music on my brain (not really very unusual :) ).

Card Recipe :
stamps - Sweet Symphony
paper - The Tangy Trio!, white
ink - black, fog
copics - Y21, Y26, Y28, C3
accessories - Cuttlebug, elegant accents dies, nesties, embossing folders, Tangy Trio ribbon, pop dots, sponge dauber

You want to know how you can win a prize, don't you?? You should start by leaving a comment here on my blog. Then, visit all the other blogs in the hop and leave comments on each one. The more blogs you comment on, the more chances you have to win!

This month, one lucky person will win a $25 gift certificate for digital images!! The winner will be announced here on Thursday.

When you finish here, dance yourself right on over to Christi's super fun blog and leave your comment there.

Have a beautiful Sunday and a great, big, beautiful tomorrow!!!

~*Shell*~

Clearly Inspired .... and Totally Glittered. :)

2011-09-16T11:00:00.003-04:00

What's the word for the day?! Glitter!! Yep ... CIC #36 is all about Glitter.

Now, I'm not much into the whole glittery, shimmery, shiny stuff - it tends to get scattered all over my workspace, hands, seat, floor, hair, face .... Yeah, I'm messy. Today's, challenge, though, is all about using it on our project. My use is a little more subtle than many others.

Earlier this week, you saw the invitations I made for my daughter's birthday. This card is inspired by the theme of her party. I fell in love with this little cowgirl. I had to do it like my daughter would want - decked out in pink! She has a glittery belt buckle and glitter on her boots. The embossed background was sprayed with a layer of Sheer Shimmer, and it sparkles deliciously! The embossing folder was inked up with white ink before the paper was run through. That gave a wonderful effect to the embossing on this great paper.

Card Recipe:
stamps - Howdy Partner
paper - pucker up, mud pie, western dp (yeehaw, plaid)
ink - black, white
copics - R81, R83, R85, B32, B34, E33, E37, E71, E77, C3,E11, Y26, Y28, G21, G24, G28
accessories - Cuttlebug, ribbon, folder, sheer shimmer, punch, sewing machine, pop dots, clip, glitter pen, crystals

Join in the challenge! You know ... you could WIN a prize!! Let's see what you can create with some great glitter - a lot or, like me, a little. For all of the challenge details and all of the prize details, head over to the Clearly iStamp blog.

Remember, on Sunday, we'll have our monthly blog hop!!!! You don't want to miss the chance to comment on some fantabulous creations and to .... WIN!!!

Have a beautiful Friday and a great, big, beautiful tomorrow!!

~*Shell*~

YeeHaw!! It's a Party!!

2011-09-13T09:22:00.004-04:00

In just over a week, my daughter turns 6 - I can't even believe she's already 6!! Anyway.... she wants a cowboy/cowgirl party for her special day.

The invitations are simple, but she likes them. They do go with the theme. :)

Everything was cut with the Cricut and SCAL.

I cut a white insert for the inside, as well, so that we could see the details of the party.

The inside was stamped using images from Howdy Partner (Clear Dollar Stamps). It worked perfectly with the invitations. My daughter also insisted that I use her saddle stamp, so it's on there, as well. The details were printed on plain printer paper and adhered to the invitation.

Card Recipe :
Stamps : Howdy Partner (Clear Dollar Stamps), saddle stamp (unknown)
Paper : YeeHaw Paper Pack, white, black
Ink : black, red, brown
Accessories : Cricut, SCAL, brads, printer, pop dots

Don't forget that our monthly blog hop is coming on Sunday!!!! The Clearly Inspired Challenge is on Friday. You don't want to miss either chance to win!!

Have a beautiful Tuesday and a great, big, beautiful tomorrow!!

~*Shell*~

2011-09-10T18:25:00.002-04:00

What's coming soon???? It won't be long until we have .....

As well as ....

Clearly Inspired Challenge #36!!

The CIC is coming on Friday (Sept. 16), and our Monthly Blog Hop is coming on Sunday (Sept. 18)!! I know you will NOT want to miss either of these great events.

Also this week, I plan to share the invitations I just did for my daughter's 6th birthday party. They are simple, but she was very happy with them.

Hope you have an awesome week! I will be back soon to share creations with you.

Until then, have a great, big, beautiful tomorrow.

~*Shell*~

Clearly Inspired ...... PSYCHO-duck-lic..... :)

2011-09-02T11:00:00.000-04:00

I love the vibrant colors and fun style of the 70s (minus the bell bottoms!!) ... tie dye, peace signs, and psychedelic fun. The Clearly Inspired Challenge for today calls for us to use patterned paper. How fun is that? And when I saw the new digital paper pack by Trudy Sjolander - True-ly Colorful Collection - I knew I had to use it on my project! How cool are those papers?! Love 'em!

So, I had my tie dye background ..... where do I go from there???

Well ..... I added a duck - a blue one .... and some smileys .....

This is what I came up with. I call it psychoducklic. :) We couldn't have the duck be a nice normal yellow or white, could we??? Of course not. I made him blue and his bill green, added some glassy glaze to his bill and feet. Stamped some peace signs on the background with fog ink and added some embellies. What do you think??? I totally love the vibrant colors on this card. That paper is so perfect. :)

Card Recipe:
stamps - fuzzy ducky, peace out
paper - berry blast, True-ly Colorful Collection (pink and blue tie dye), gray, black
ink - fog, black, pink, amethyst
copics - 0, B32, B34, B39, RV14, BV04, BV08, YG03, YG06, YR04, G94, G99, C3
accessories - glassy glaze, pop dots, floral trim, smiley brads, white gel pen

For the details on this challenge and to have an opportunity to WIN .... head over to Lori's Blog - Clearly iStamp. I can't wait to see what you come up with when you create with patterned paper!

Don't forget to join us on September 18th for our monthly blog hop!! You do NOT want to miss what the design team has for you this month.

Hope you have an amazingly creative Friday and a great, big, beautiful tomorrow!!

~*Shell*~

Winners!

2011-08-25T11:00:00.000-04:00

Winners from our August blog hop .......

From Barb's blog, Barb's Best Creations, our first winner is Karen M., and her blog Stampin' Perfect Peace.

From Cassie's blog, A Day in the Life of a Homeschooling Mom, our second winner is Maria Matter, and her blog Joyful Stamper.

Congratulations to both of you!!!!

Have a terrific Thursday and a great, big, beautiful tomorrow!

~*Shell*~

Clear Dollar Stamps August Blog Hop!

2011-08-21T11:00:00.001-04:00

Welcome to the August edition of the Clear Dollar Stamps Monthly Blog Hop!!! This month, we bring you A Few of Our Favorite Things. :) You should be coming here from seeing Karen's beautiful work. If you didn't, you'll want to start back at Clearly iStamp to get in on all the amazing blogs in the hop - and to get as many chances as you can to win!!!

This was a very difficult theme for me. I have SO many 'favorite' things - scripture, paper crafting, photography, children and many other things in my life. But, I finally settled on my old standby ... MUSIC! It's always there for me ... always soothing me .... encouraging me .... lighting the fire of my mojo .... reminding me of my faith ... making me laugh .... letting me cry. Music surrounds me in all that I do. I don't know what I would do without that precious gift that God has given me. So, I used music for my card.

And this is the inside of the card. I wanted to spice it up a little and make it special.

Card Recipe :

stamps - Sweet Symphony
paper - black, white, music dp
ink - black, white
Copics - R46
accessories - Elegant Accents Dies, black brad, music brads, ribbon, flowers, pop dots, corner rounder

Now, what are you suppose to do?? Well, after you comment on my blog, you need to head right on over to Laurie's fabulous blog!

What's can you get out of the deal??

PRIZES: 2 lucky winners will each receive a $10 gift certificate for the CDS store for purchase of clear or digital stamps ONLY.

WINNERS: Winners will be randomly chosen from comments received on two DT member blogs. Winners will be announced here, as well as on the CDS blog, Thursday, August 25th.

Comment, comment, comment! Don't miss a chance to win!

Hope you have a wonderful Sunday and a great, big, beautiful tomorrow!

~*Shell*~

Clearly Inspired ... #34

2011-08-19T11:00:00.000-04:00

Another great challenge today! It's one that is very close to my heart, too. Today's Clearly Inspired Challenge is to use scripture on your project. Ah ... the Word of God. I love using scripture, and it thrills me that Clear Dollar Stamps has so many beautiful scripture stamps in their collection.

I have had a LOT going on lately and really wanted to find a scripture that would help me feel quiet and calm, so I chose one from the Scriptures of Peace set. The doves are cut out and adhered using pop dots. I also put some flat adhesive on the bottom of them to allow their wings to pop out more. They were actually sprayed with Sheer Shimmer Frost, as well. The beautiful die cut that the scripture is on is from the Elegant Accents Dies. Gorgeous set of dies. I just love using them.

Card Recipe :

stamps - Scriptures of Peace
paper - Powder Puff, white, dp
ink - black
Copics - none
Accessories - Elegant Accents Dies, pearls, pop dots, Sheer Shimmer Frost

Now, it's your turn!! Get to work on your projects using scripture and link them to the Clearly Inspired Challenge. I can't wait to see what you create!!

Challenge details .....

-Challenges are now going to be on the 1st and 3rd Fridays of each month, and you'll have 2 weeks to finish each challenge.

-Challenges can use any stamps or digis from any company

-Only one entry per person per challenge and please no back posting

-Prizes will be given away after both challenges for the month. The number of prizes is determined by the number of participants for the month. For every 20 entries there will be a $10 gift certificate for stamps or digis up for grabs. (For example if over the entire month there were a total of 60 participants in both challenges, there will be 3 $10 gift certificates and 3 of the featured digital images to give away. . .that's a total of 6 winners in that example.)

-We will also be giving away a featured digi image....one for every 20 entries!

Have a fantabulous Friday and look forward to Sunday - our monthly blog hop!!! Our blog hops are always so much fun - and another chance for you to win!!!

Oh, yeah, and don't forget - have a great, big, beautiful tomorrow!!!

~*Shell*~

Clearly Inspired ....

2011-08-05T11:00:00.001-04:00

I just love Cassie's Clearly Inspired Challenges. She's so creative with them and they really help to jump start my mojo. This week, the challenge was Things with Wings. We were to create something using an image of a creature with wings.

I chose to go with a subtle image this time.

I have really been enjoying the the clean and simple look on cards recently. To me, the clean and simple style just shouts "CLASSY!" What do you think??

Card Recipe:
stamps - A Time For Tags
paper - wild huckleberry, tropical mist, white
ink - rose
Copics - BG10
accessories - Blooming Bouquet dies, Cuttlebug, folder, wild huckleberry ribbon, pop dots, circle punch.
technique - CAS

So, here's the deets on the challenge -

-Challenges are now going to be on the 1st and 3rd Fridays of each month, and you'll have 2 weeks to finish each challenge.

-Challenges can use any stamps or digis from any company

-Only one entry per person per challenge and please no back posting

-We will also be giving away a featured digi image....one for every 20 entries!

So, get to work on those challenge entries. You DO want to win, right??! Head over to Clearly iStamp and get all of the info!

I hope things are going great for you and that you have a great, big, beautiful tomorrow!!!

~*Shell*~

2011-07-26T09:00:00.000-04:00

A challenge to create a gift bag. Wow ... I have given a lot of gift bags, but really, I don't usually decorate them. I mean, every now and then, I stamp a few things on a white one just because I don't want it to be so plain, but not much more than that. This week, though, the challenge on Just Us Girls was to create a gift bag - decorate it ... make it purdy!

I started with a plain green - lime juice green - gift bag.

I had a pink and green theme going on with several of my projects. I guess I'm thinking back to my preppy days in high school .... oh, wait! I was never a prep in high school. Hmmmm .... :)

The little card in the middle with the pink on it is a great place to put a little note to the recipient. The cake and balloon on there pop up, too, to give more dimension to the decoration.

My daughter loved the whole thing. Perhaps, I will use it for her birthday in September!

Recipe :
stamps - Celebrate, Birthday Cake Swirls, Birthday Party
paper - Bubble Gum, Lime Juice, white
ink - black
copics - R81, B21, 0, YR61, RV06, Y11, YG06
accessories - Cricut, SCAL, Birthday Party svg file, ribbon (bubble gum, lime juice), crystals, flowers

I know that there will be many beautiful and extravagant bags made for this challenge. I can't wait to see them!!

Have a great Tuesday and a great, big, beautiful tomorrow!!

~*Shell*~

2011-07-25T21:47:00.004-04:00

A background challenge, a sketch challenge, and a color challenge ... wrap them all into one, and get .... well, my project. :)

I'm submitting to th
Stampin' Sisters In Christ challenged us to do a black and white card.

365 Cards challenged us to do a background challenge - 1/2 polka dots, 1/2 solid color

Critter Sketch Challenge had the sketch for today's project.

So ... here it is. :)

The polka dot folder was inked before I ran it through the Cuttlebug, making the polka dot background here. I distressed that layer, as well, to give a little more texture to the card. Black and white certainly is striking, isn't it?? I loved working with this sketch, too. Such fun!!

Card Recipe :
stamps - Seasonal Swags
paper - bubble gum, lime juice, white
ink - black
copics - 100, 0, G85, G99, G00, R85
accessories - Cricut, SCAL, Seasonal Swags svg file, glassy glaze, pop dots, crystals
technique - CAS

Tomorrow, another challenge card! Can't wait to share it with you.

Have a great, big, beautiful tomorrow.

~*Shell*~

Blog Hop Winners!!! :)

2011-07-22T11:00:00.000-04:00

Do ya wanna hear who won the prizes from Sunday's blog hop???

Well ..... here we go!

Our winners are ....From Lori's blog, Clearly iStamp - Kelly from Scrapbooking, Card Making, Altering Items and Having Fun!

From Jerusha's blog, I Love Paper Crafting - Nikki from Graphix and Designs.

Congratulations to both of you!!!

Summertime - July Blog Hop

2011-07-17T11:00:00.001-04:00

Summertime, summertime, sum, sum, summertime .... :) You just have to smile when you think about it, don't you? The blog hop for July features this theme, and it was so fun to work with. I know you'll find amazing inspiration from the design team.

Speaking of the blog hop - you should have come here right from Lori's amazing blog. And, after you've commented here, you should head over to the blog of the greatly talented Jan! :)

When I think of summer, I think of many, many things.... sun, water, swimming, ice cream, late nights, fireflies .... yeah, MANY things. The tie that binds them all, though, is friends. Without friends, none of those things are very important.

My daughter has a friend whose family is from the Philippines. Recently, her friend (6 years old) left the US to move back to the Philippines to live with her daddy for a while. My daughter is devastated. To help her adjust and to help her friend remember us, I made a special scrapping page and framed it. The Numbers 6:24-26 verses/stamp was perfect for this situation. May the Lord bless these children in all they do.

Project Recipe:
stamps- Numbers 6:24-26, Blooming Bouquet
paper-pink, dark pink, brown, white
ink- black, white, versamark, pink
accessories - Cricut, SCAL, flowers, pearls, crystal heart, Sheer Shimmer, ribbon, pop dots, photos
Technique - scrapbook page 8 1/2x11

Remember - the more you comment, the more chances you have to win!!

PRIZES: 2 lucky winners will each receive a $10 gift certificate for the CDS store for purchase of clear or digital stamps ONLY.

WINNERS: Winners will be randomly chosen from comments received on two DT member blogs. Winners will be announced on Wednesday, July 20th.

Ok ... now, go directly to Jan's blog and comment over there for another chance to win a prize!

I am out of town this week (at the beach as one of the adult leaders with our church youth group - pray for me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!), but I will be back next week with fun challenges and samples for you!

Have a beautiful (and blog hopping) Sunday and a great, big, beautiful tomorrow!!!

~*Shell*~

Clearly Inspired Challenge #32 - A Color Challenge

2011-07-16T11:00:00.000-04:00

Woohoo!! Clearly Inspired Challenge #32 is here for you today! Don't you just love being challenged? I find that it helps kick my mojo into gear. What do you like about challenges? What kind of challenges to you like to be a part of? Well, today, we've got a Color Challenge for you. Super fun stuff, I'm telling you.

What can you create with these wonderful colors? I'll tell you, they were a challenge (just what they were suppose to be, right?!) for me. I don't think I would have ever put these together on my own.

So, what did I do with them??

I used Rooster Sunrise from Clear Dollar Stamps. The rooster, actually, has a layer of glassy glaze-type stuff on him. It gives a very interesting effect to this guy. The buttons I used were perfect for the color challenge. LOVE the turquoise in them, and they have that vintage feel to them.

Card Recipe :
stamps- Rooster Sunrise
paper- Lime Juice, Mud Pie, Wild Ginger, Tempting Turquoise
ink- black, brown
accessories - Glassy Glaze, Cuttlebug, folder, ribbon, buttons, pop dots, sewing machine

Now, how can you play in this fabulous challenge?? Well, head over to the Clearly iStamp blog for all the details and to add your project to the linky!
__________________________________________________
Basically, though, here are the details ....

-Challenges are now going to be on the 1st and 3rd Fridays of each month, and you'll have 2 weeks to finish each challenge.

-Challenges can use any stamps or digis from any company

-Only one entry per person per challenge and please no back posting

-We will also be giving away a featured digi image....one for every 20 entries!

________________________________________________________________

So, get moving ... get creating .... use those colors ... and post!! Can't wait to see what you come up with!!!

Don't forget that we will be having our Monthly Blog Hop TOMORROW - July 17th!! You do NOT want to miss that!!!

Have a fantastic Saturday and a great, big, beautiful tomorrow!!

~*Shell*~

Berry Leafy Challenge Card

2011-07-15T22:24:00.003-04:00

Two challenge cards in one day.... Woohoo! :) :)

On Stampin' Sisters In Christ, the challenge is to use something that works for you. Oh, so many things work well for me. :) One of my favorite things to use on cards, though, is Copic Markers. Gracious ... I use those things all the time. They are so easy and have such a great effect. One day ... yep, one day, I'm going to go to a certification class and actually learn HOW to use them!!

The other challenge that I took on was the Fantabulous Cricut challenge for this week. It was to do a outdoorsy card. I remember camping as a kid, and it was always a treat to see some type of critter when we were out wandering around. So, I used this delightful stamp of the hedgehog with his treasure trove of berries.

Isn't this little guy cute?? I gave him a load of yummy blueberries and some soft fall leaves for a seat. Copics blend so easily that it's' super fun to use them to color the leaves. The image layer was cut with the Cricut and put on pop dots to give dimension.

Card Recipe :
Stamps - Berry Happy Hedgehog
Paper - mud pie, toasted almond, saffron, white
Ink - black
Copics - C1, C3, G94, G99, R20, R59, 0, B32, B34, B39, BG10, Y26, Y28, E31, E333, E37, E43, E47
Accessories - Elegant Accents dies, Cricut, SCAL, Cuttlebug, brads, acrylic leaves, ribbon, pop dots

Ok ... Clearly Inspired Challenge tomorrow!! You don't want to miss that ... AND the blog hop is coming on Sunday!!! :)

Have a fantastic Friday and a great, big, beautiful tomorrow!!

~*Shell*~

Free For All/Cute Card Thursday Challenges

2011-07-15T21:56:00.005-04:00

Simple faith ... is faith really that simple?? Perhaps not always. Anyway, whether faith is or not, this card was. :) I used two challenges for the mojo on this card.

The first challenge was from SCS - the Free For All challenge that they have each Friday. That was a challenge to use twine on our project.

The second challenge I used was from Cute Card Thursday. CCT challenged us to use circles on our cards. I thought about using a circle for the image layer, a circle shaped card, and a bunch of other things. However, I used more subtle circles ... just to be a little different.

I added a circle button brad, circle clip, and, of course, the circle embossed background. It's a simple, but effective card, I think.

Card Recipe:
Stamps: Elegant Accents Tag Frames, Elegant Accents (both sets by Clear Dollar Stamps) Paper: Turquoise Gem, white Ink: black, Copics (R20) Accessories: Cuttlebug, folder, flower, button brad, circle clip, twine, pop dots

Here's a look at it close up...

Don't you love that flower?? I had it in my stash. I have no idea where it came from, but I love the effect it has on here.

This was a fun combination. I enjoyed both challenges!

~*Shell*~

A Havenly Day ....

2011-07-11T19:11:00.005-04:00

As many of you know, I call my crafting space "The Haven." Just in case you've wondered why ...

ha·ven/ˈhāvən/Noun

1. A place of safety or refuge.

I thoroughly enjoy my Haven. :) It's a place to go when I'm stressed, when I want to have fun, when I just need some time to myself ... yeah, just the place for me to go. :) Today, I spent quite a bit of time in there and managed to create 2 cards. I know, that's not a lot, but I enjoyed what I did! Does that count!? :)

I think this one might be my daughter's birthday card. Her birthday isn't until September, but I had her in mind the entire time I did the card. She's' changed so much in her 6 years of life ... like a caterpillar to a butterfly. I want to celebrate those changes. She's an amazing little girl.

This may be one of my most favorite cards ever. It was so much fun (and complicated) to create, but I love how it turned out.

The sketch from Create 4 Fun was so fun to play with, and it worked so well with the other challenges I found. I love, love, love to use stamps and lace ... the lace ribbon I used is a particular favorite.

I had a stash of hatpins, and I've never used them. I couldn't figure out a good use and I didn't want to use up the ones I have ... yeah, I'm a hoarder. The challenge on 365 Cards gave me a reason and an idea on how to use them. I used a little '6' to celebrate my daughter's 6th birthday.

This view shows the glitter (Sheer Shimmer) on the image layer and the fabulous heart buttons I found in my stash.

Card Recipe :
Stamps - Elegant Accents, A Time for Tags
Paper - Pretty Porcelain, brown, white, dp
Ink - white, blush, versamark
Copics - None
Accessories - Cuttlebug, Jim Holtz (burlap) folder, lace, lace circle, corner rounder, sewing machine, buttons, hat pin, pop dots, sheer shimmer

I'm submitting this one to the following challenges -

Stampin' Sisters In Christ - use what works for you (I used the lace ribbon, stamps, and a sketch)
Challenge 172 on Cute Card Thursday - Lace
365 Cards - Collage Card ... Lace, Pins, Glitter
Create 4 Fun - Sketch

This next challenge was was on SCS. Each Monday holds a new Technique Lovers' Challenge, and today was reverse masking (TLC333). For whatever reason, this card was quite a challenge for me. The technique isn't very difficult, but I just couldn't get it together.

Here's what I ended up with, though ....

I actually used masking AND reverse masking on this card. The inside part with the leaves is the reverse masking. I used Copics to color the leaves and a sponge with inks to do the color around the leaves.

This is a look at the dimension I added to make the image layer stand out. The extra dimension adds so much to cards. The Jim Holtz swirls folder was a great addition, too. It's not as even as the Cuttlebug folder that is similar.

This is an up-close picture of the masking and reverse masking. It also shows a bit of the glitter on the leaves.

Card Recipe:
Stamps - Leaf Hellos (released July 2011)
Paper - white, moss, saffron, dp
Ink - black, blue, yellow, rust, caramel
Copics - E31, E33, E37, E43, C3, Y26, Y28, G94, G99
Accessories - Scor Pal, Cuttlebug, Jim Holtz (swirls) folder, leaf brads, lace ribbon, pop dots, straight edge, glitter pen

Day 4 of Super Samples from the July Clear Dollar Stamps Product Parade!!!

2011-07-10T11:00:00.003-04:00

Our final day of the Product Parade!! Have you enjoyed what you've seen? Have you just LOVED the stamps?? I know you have. The design team worked very hard to give you some great samples to kick-start your mojo with these great new sets. Don't forget that you can find all of these sets, and the set from the past few days, at Clear Dollar Stamps.

Ok ... so onward with some more samples of more great sets!!

The "Proud of You" stamp used earlier is accented on this card using the Designer Label Accent. It works perfectly around the Designer Label!

stamps - Designer Label Accent, Proud of You
paper - purple, dp
ink - black
copics - none
accessories - ribbon, flowers, shiny dots, sewing machine, pop dots

Oh, how I love the precious church and Christian stamps that Clear Dollar has to offer. This set is such a great asset to my collection. It is perfect for cards for the pastor, cards for the church family, stationery gifts for the pastor or church, and so many other projects. If you're involved in your church, you will need this set.

Card Recipe:
Stamps - Assemble Together
Paper - Spruce Needles, Spring Leaf, white
Ink - black
Copics - W3, W5, E71, E31, E33, E37, G21, G24, G28, Y11
Accessories - Cuttlebug, folder, Assemble Together SVG, oval punches, ribbon lace, pearls, pop dots

Free, free, free!!!! What could be better than free?! You can get this wonderful little set for FREE at Clear Dollar Stamps. Just head that way to find out how you can grab this little beauty of a set, too!

Card Recipe:
Stamps - A Time For Tags
Paper - white, Bee Pollen
Ink - black, mustard, rust
Copics - B95, E08
Accessories - Blooming Bouquet dies, ScorPal, pop dots

Numbers 6:24-26 - ²⁴The LORD bless thee, and keep thee: ²⁵The LORD make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee: ²⁶The LORD lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace.

What a beautiful scripture for a friend or family member. What a great way to send someone along on their journey. The scripture and the script are perfect.

Card Recipe:
stamps - Numbers 6:24-26
paper - chocolate, dp
ink - black
copics -
accessories - Elegant Accents Dies, Cricut, SCAL, ribbon, button, distresser, pearls, pop dots
technique - distressing

This little set is so perfect for fall - yep ... it will be here before you know it!!! It was so much fun to color that leaf and to try to emulate the beautiful way God paints the leaves each autumn. I think He just has a great time doing that each year!!! But.... after doing this one, I don't think I can blame Him one little bit.

Card Recipe:
stamps - Leaf Hellos
paper - mud pie, black, white, brown, dp
ink - brown, black, Copics
accessories - Sheer Shimmer, ribbon lace, crystal brads, buttons, Elegant Accent Dies, Cuttlebug, Cricut-cut stencil, pop dots

Whew!! What a parade!!! I hope you have enjoyed seeing the new sets and the samples we've had for you over the last few days. I know that I have enjoyed sharing them with you!! Don't forget that each and every set is available at Clear Dollar Stamps right now. We'll have more fun stamps for you at our next quarterly release in October. Until then, we'll have challenges, blog hops, and tons of fun with these great sets and many other great Clear Dollar Stamps products!!

Blog hop is next Sunday - July 17th! Don't miss it!!

Have a very special Sunday and a great, big, beautiful tomorrow!!!!

~*Shell*~

Day 3 of Super Samples from the July Clear Dollar Stamps Product Parade!!!

2011-07-09T11:00:00.002-04:00

Day 3 of the Product Parade!!! We're going strong, aren't we?

Remember that each one of the new sets are available on the Clear Dollar Stamps site ... right now! Yep, you can look at the inspiration here, and then, run over to CDS and grab your favorites!

Grabbing the colors from the dp that I used, I stamped the beautiful oval flower stamps from Elegant Accents. Using the "Proud of you" stamp on the bottom makes this card perfect for the recognition of any special achievement in a friend's life.

Card Recipe -
stamps - Proud of You, Elegant Accents
paper - dp, white, black, blue, rose
ink - black, rose, saffron, blue, blue/gray
accessories - pop dots, pearls

Ooooooh! These swags are soooooo awesome. There are swags for each season and a couple of sentiments to go along. Kind of gets you in the spirit of the season, right??? Well, it's only 169 days until Christmas!!!!

Card Recipe -
stamps - Seasonal Swags
paper - dp, white red
ink - black
copics - Y000, R46, G94
accessories - Tabs & Tags Dies, button, gold dots, pop dots, cuttlebug

Wow ... when I looked at this set, I thought "This is precious, but .... what does a homeschooler do with a school-based stamp set?!" Well .... make a scrapbook page about our Home School, of course!

Card Recipe -
Stamps - My Little School Bus
Paper - Deep Sea, Bee Pollen, Cottonball White, black, red
Ink - black, glitter marker, glitter pen
Copics - 0, B24, B21, Y17, C1, C3, C5, C7, G94, G99, E43, E37, R46
Accessories - pop dots, Cricut, SCAL
Technique - scrapbook page

Oh, my heavens!! Isn't this hedgehog just plain adorable?! I just love him. I decided to go with a fall theme with him and took some time playing with the colors of the leaves.

Card Recipe -
Stamps - Berry Happy Hedgehog
Paper - Worn Parchment, green, black, Cottonball White
Ink - black
Copics - R46, R59, R81, R83, Y26, G99, BG01, C7, E11, E31, E37, E08, E57, E71
Accessories - recycled leaf plate, Tabs and Tags dies, acrylic leaves., pop dots, tacky tape, sewing machine

Squirrels! We sure have PLENTY of squirrels here in Georgia. But instead of the little brown ground squirrels that many others have in their areas, we have little gray squirrels that love to play test the brakes on motor vehicles.

Isn't this guy super cute?! He's great fun to color, too. Again, I went with a fall theme - maybe in the heat of the summer, I was trying to cool off a little! We've had temps in the 90s since May.

Card Recipe -
stamps - Squirrel Chatter
paper - rust, ripe olive, mud pie, melon spice
ink - black
copics - 0, C1, C3, C7, E33, E37, W1, W3, W5, B00, B000
accessories - Cuttlebug, folder, Squirrel Chatter svg file, Cricut, SCAL, sewing machine, pop dots

Do you know someone that needs a pat on the back?? Let them know they've done a good job with these great stamps. What could be a better encouragement than a card letting them know??
Card Recipe -
stamps - Makin' the Grade, Good Job
paper - black, red
ink - white
accessories - Cricut, SCAL, Tabs & Tags dies, Cuttlebug, smiley brads, pop dots

When I saw the "Memories" stamp, I knew that I had to do some sort of scrapbook page. My daughter was in a play in May, and the picture was taken backstage with 2 others in the cast. This picture was priceless and truly fit with the stamp. I had the film frame in my head since the picture was in a theatrical setting.

Card Recipe -
stamps - Memories
paper - dp, black, white, silver glitter
ink - gold, white
accessories - Cricut, SCAL, pop dots, photo
technique - 6x6 layout

So, whatcha think?? Great stamps so far, huh?? :) Yep, I knew you'd love 'em. Remember, they are all available *right now* over at Clear Dollar Stamps!!! Tomorrow will be our last day of inspiration for a while, but don't forget our Monthly Blog Hop - with prizes!!! - on July 17th. :) I know you don't want to miss a chance to win some of these fabulous sets.

Have a great day and a great, big, beautiful tomorrow!

~*Shell*~

Day 2 of Super Samples from the July Clear Dollar Stamps Product Parade!!!

2011-07-08T11:00:00.003-04:00

Day 2! Ready for more fun and excitement?? I'm really excited about the sets and projects that I have for you today. They are so much fun and each set will be a huge asset to your stamp collection.

A birthday party set. :) It's so precious that I just had to do something special with it. It's a shadowbox card, and this picture shows it closed.

Now, the shadowbox is open. Looks like a party waiting to happen, doesn't it?! I used the SVG files for this set to create cut outs of the stamps and add the dimension. Each piece is on pop dots to continue adding that dimension.

Card Recipe -
stamps - Birthday Party
paper - K&Company, white
ink - black, celery, pumpkin
copics - E37, YG03, YR04, YR16, Y06, Y11
accessories - Cricut, SCAL, birthday party svg files, Tabs & Tags dies, crystals, ribbon, pop dots
technique - shadowbox card - open

Celebrate!!! And do it in style with the great "Celebrate" stamp combined with that wonderful cake stamp. How fun?! I guess with this one, you can have your cake and eat it, too. :)

Card Recipe -
stamps - Birthday Cake Swirls, Celebrate
paper - dp, white
ink - black, blue
copics - C1, B29, B39, R46, R85, R81, YR68, Y06, Y08
accessories - Cricut, SCAL, crystals, ribbon/cord, pop dots technique - tag

I know you can't tell if from this picture, but this piece of cake just shines. It's been sprayed with Sheer Shimmer and that just adds so much deliciousness to this slice of cake. :)

Card Recipe -
stamps - Birthday Cake Slice
paper - lime juice, white, black, dp
ink - black copics - YG06, E02, E04, R83, YR07, C1
accessories - Cuttlebug, folder, corner rounder, pop dots, Cricut, SCAL, ribbon, Sheer Shimmer

I scream .. You scream ... we all scream for ice cream! Can't you just see a ton of uses for this super-cute ice cream cone? I sure can. Party invites, birthday cards, summer fun cards and so much more.

Card Recipe -
stamps - Ice Cream Cone, Happy Birthday
paper - saffron, powder puff, black, celery, caramel, mud pie
ink - black
accessories - Tabs & Tags Dies, Cricut, SCAL, pearls, flowers, sewing machine
technique - paper piecing

It's my party, and I'll cry if I want to, cry if I want to .... :) Ok, no crying, here. Just time to par-tay! Invite friends and family to YOUR party with this awesome stamp made just for that purpose!

Card Recipe -
stamps - It's a Party, Elegant Accents Ovals
paper - dp, tickled pink, white
ink - green, black
accessories - corner rounder, dot stickers, ribbon, pop dots, scissors

Purple!!! I just love purple. I think I could use it on every card, but I do have to give the other colors in the rainbow to WOW you, too, don't I??? :) Personally, though, I think that purple just 'takes the cake.' :) The great little stamp down at the bottom is such a good way to tell someone that they did a great job or that they deserve a little pat on the back. Use it to cheer on someone special in your life.

Card Recipe -
stamps - You Take the Cake, Birthday Party
paper - grape jelly, turquoise gem, tickled pink, white
ink - black, turquoise, VersaMark
Copics - BV00, BV04, C3, RV11, RV13, Y15, YR68
accessories - Cuttlebug, Elegant Accents Dies, Nesties, folders, crystals, ribbon, pop dots, sponge dauber

Remember - these products are all available NOW!! Don't wait any longer to grab up some of the great new sets released this week. And, join us again tomorrow for some more uber fun ideas with the super fun sets being released by Clear Dollar Stamps this week! Yep ... 2 more days of this great parade!!

Have a great day and a great, big, beautiful tomorrow!

~*Shell*~

Day 1 of Super Samples from the July Clear Dollar Stamps Product Parade!!!

2011-07-07T11:00:00.002-04:00

Welcome to the July Product Parade!! Are you ready for some fantastic samples and creations?? If not, brace yourself! Super stamps and wonderful inspiration from the design team. Just wait until you see what the team has cooked up for you this time.

Just a reminder, all July quarter sets are being released today .... yep ... TODAY!!! The Design Team will have more inspiration, highlighting each set, over the next few days.

Let's start with ...

I love, love, love the new Elegant Accent Dies! I used 2 of the dies on this card, as well as one of the Bold Butterflies.

Card Recipe -
stamps - Birthday Blessings Oval
paper - dp, safrfron, black
ink - black, VersaMark
copics - None
accessories - Elegant Accents Dies, Bold Butterflies Dies, flowers, Cuttlebug, pearls, sewing machine, sponge dauber, pop dots

These beautiful ovals are so versatile. I know you will find some wonderfully creative uses for them. I used them to highlight the butterflies and to create a background on the card.

Card Recipe -
stamps - Elegant Oval Accents
paper - tickled pink, black, white ink - pink, white
accessories - Cuttlebug, folder, Bold Butterflies Dies, Cricut, SCAL, sewing machine, ribbon, tickled pink ribbon, pop dots

I needed a sewing journal to keep track of sewing tips and information about my machines. I thought it was a great time to try out the beautiful Elegant Accents set in combination with the dies. Didn't it turn out pretty?! I love the beautiful intricacies of the dies and that wonderful butterfly oval stamp in the middle.

Card Recipe -
Stamps - Elegant Accents
Paper - peach, green, black, yellow
Ink - black, versamark
Copics - N/A
Accessories - Elegant Accents Dies, Cuttlebug, Tabs and Tags dies, folder, pearls, lace, ribbon, flowers, tacky tape, composition book
Technique - journal

For this little card, I used the die on a folded piece of paper. It makes such a cute, little, shaped gift card with beautiful edges.

, Card Recipe -
stamps - Your Friendship Oval
paper - powder puff
ink - black
accessories - Cuttlebug, Elegant Accents Dies, flower, pearls, pop dots
technique - die cut card

Have you ever had a card that just surprised you in how it finally came out? This is one of those for me. I love the way all of the elements combine on this card. I double stamped the Tag Frame stamp on the little rectangle tag. It gave a worn, distressed look to it. I distressed other parts of the card, as well, to keep with the general feel.

Card Recipe -
stamps - Elegant Tag Frames, Faith
paper - dp, white, mossy woods
ink - black, brown, fog
accessories - Cuttlebug, Cross dies, hemp thread, brads, pop dots, sewing machine technique - distressing

So ... don't you just love all of the sets that we are showcasing today?? Well, we've got a lot more for you tomorrow. Hang on tight, and get ready for the ride!! :)

Have a fantastic day and a great, big, beautiful tomorrow.

~*Shell*~

Clean and Simple, Baby ....

2011-07-04T09:00:00.000-04:00

I've learned that CAS has quickly become one of my very favorite types of cards. I love the crisp look and sharpness of a CAS. Interestingly, though, they aren't all that 'simple' to create. Regardless of how much I like that type of card, they still remain challenging for me to create.

The Stampin' Sisters in Christ challenge for this week is to create a CAS card. Woohoo! Super fun!

The stamp sets used are Sentimental Flowers and .... get this .... For Our Men. :) Yep. The sentiment is from that set. I masked out the 'a' from "You're a special" sentiment in the set and just made it "You're special."

The ScorPal was used to create the scored line around the edge of the card, and a glassy glaze was used over the flower to give a shine and a bit more dimension.

Card Recipe:
stamps - For Our Men, Sentimental Flowers
paper - white, Deep Sea, black
ink - black
Copics - R20 (Sweet Cheeks), Y21 (Pineapple Twist), R22, Y26
accessories - Cricut, SCAL, Sentimental Flowers SVG, glass finish, pearls, ribbon (Sweet Cheeks), ScorPal, pop dots

This was a fun card to create, and I really like the crisp look of the final product.

I hope you have a beautiful 4th of July. Thank a military service person today ..... because they are why the country is free and why you are free. Oohrah to my precious US Marine son, Jared.

Oh, and have a great, big, beautiful tomorrow. :)

~*Shell*~

Clearly Inspired Challenge #31 - Dying to Punch it Out!

2011-07-01T11:00:00.000-04:00

Die cuts, cut outs, and punches!!! Oh yeah!!! What a fantabulous challenge for me. I find it difficult these days to craft without using my Cricut. The Clearly Inspired Challenge for today is to incorporate die cuts, punches, or cut outs into your project.

The project I'm sharing with you today was actually started MONTHS ago ... yep, months. At that time, I was aiming for a pink, black, and white project. I had a lot of it done, but just couldn't find what I wanted for the center of the flower and couldn't finish off the project.

This challenge was perfect for this! :)

This easel card and the layers involved were cut using the Cricut and SCAL, but the center of the flower - with the little spidey on it - was cut using the Blooming Bouquet Dies from Clear Dollar Stamps. It finished this card off perfectly.

Card Recipe :
Stamps - Spider Greetings
Paper - Bubble Gum, white, black
Ink - white, black
Copics - RV04, RV06, C3
Accessories - Cricut, SCAL, Cuttlebug, folder, Blooming Bouquet dies, oval punches, ribbons, pop dots

Here are the details of our challenges....

-Challenges are now going to be on the 1st and 3rd Fridays of each month, and you'll have 2 weeks to finish each challenge.

-Challenges can use any stamps or digis from any company

-Only one entry per person per challenge

-We will also be giving away the featured digi image....one for every 20 entries!

Head right on over to Lori's blog and the Clearly Inspired Challenge to join the challenge and to see what the other design team members have created to inspire you! Punch it ... die it .... cut it .... put it all together and show it off! Can't wait to see what you create.

Hope you're having an amazing Friday and that you have a great, big, beautiful tomorrow!

~*Shell*~

Winners! Winners!!

2011-06-22T11:00:00.000-04:00

Our winners for the June Blog Hop contest are ...... (insert drum roll ...)

From Kathy's blog, Dunn it Again Designs, our first winner is basslady from Lady Bass Creations.

Our second winner, from Sarah's blog, Aunt Bee's Pickles, is Heather of Wire Wrapture.

Congratulations to each of you!

Clear Dollar Stamps June Blog Hop!!!!

2011-06-19T11:00:00.005-04:00

Woohoo!!!! Welcome to the June Edition of the Clear Dollar Stamps' Monthly Blog Hop!!!! You should have come here via Laurie's amazing blog, but if not, no worries! Just head over to Lori's blog to start the hop and comment along the way for your chance to win.

"Sugar and spice and everything nice,
that's what little girls are made of."

That's our theme for this month's hop ... little girls! What do you think of when you think of little girls? Ribbons and lace? Dolls and tea parties? I think of those, too, but in my world, we have to throw in a little mud, dirt, worms, holes in the jeans, and John Deere. I have ... if it's possible ... a very girly-girl tomboy. Hahaha! My 'little girl' inspiration is 5 years old, FULL of energy (24/7), and a total delight. We have often said that she is proof that God has a sense of humor. :) Please keep in mind that she came along when my boys were 15 and 10 ...... yeah ..... VERY funny ...... Ha. Seriously, she's a delight, and there is nothing that I would take for her. She's so precious.

So, my mojo went with a little rough-n-tumble, girly-girl card kind of card. Ok ... cardS. I ended up making 2.
This is the first one I made. I can't (still) decide if I like it or not. What do you think?? There's lots of shimmer and sparkle, some lace, and flowers, but I roughed up the edges a bit like a pair of old, comfy jeans. That's my little girl, beautiful and sparkly - with a little rough and tumble around the edges. :)

Card Recipe -
Stamps : Blooming Bouquet, Rooster Sunrise (sentiment), Spring Critters
Paper: saffron, dp
Ink: black, rose, white pen
Copics: none
Accessories: Blooming Bouquet dies, Cuttlebug, pearls, ribbon, oval punch, Sheer Shimmer, pop dots, sanding block

This is a much more CAS card.... clean and simple. I love the Thankful Pockets set, but it was a Stamp of the Month and probably not available any longer. That pocket with the flowers is so perfect for the little girl in my life. The pink hearts on the background are from the Baby Bundle set (released in January of this year).

Card Recipe -
Stamps : Baby Bundle (Jan. 2011 release), Thankful Pockets (Nov. 2010 Stamp of the Month)
Paper: white, lavender
Ink: rose, blue
Copics: BV11 - flowers in corner
Accessories: watercolor crayons, pearls, ribbon, flowers, pop dots, water

So .. which one do you like the best? Which one do you think represents a rough-n-tumble girly girl? Hahaha!

How about some details about the blog hop?

PRIZES: 2 lucky winners will each receive a $10 gift certificate for the CDS store for purchase of clear or digital stamps ONLY.

WINNERS: Winners will be randomly chosen from comments received on two DT member blogs. Winners will be announced on the CDS blog and on here Thursday, June 23rd.

It's your job to comment on as many of the posts in the blog hop as you can. Comment, comment, comment for your chance to win!!

From here, you need to ramble right on over to Christi's super duper blog after commenting here. Remember to go back and start back at Lori's if you just happened by here today.

I know you'll find tons of fun and inspiration on the hop today. Perhaps, you'll also find yourself to be a winner, as well! :)

Cherish your dad today if you still have him here on this earth with you. I miss my daddy terribly. Have a fantastic Father's Day (Happy Father's Day to all the special dad's out there!!!) and a great, big, beautiful tomorrow.

~*Shell*~

Clearly Inspired Challenge #30 - Sketch Challenge!

2011-06-17T11:00:00.004-04:00

I know. I know!! It's been forever since I've posted. I'm truly very sorry. With VBS going on, I just couldn't get it together to get anything on here. I even missed doing the last Clearly Inspired Challenge .... and I HATE that!! So, what's our challenge today?! It's a SKETCH challenge!!!

So ... what's the sketch look like?? Here ya go ...

Isn't that just gorgeous?! I LOVED playing with this one.

Here's my creation.

This is such an odd color combo for me. Not anything like I normally pick, so when I look at it, I don't realize, at first, that I did it. Hahaha.

The circle layer is distressed on the edges, and VersaMark ink was applied to the distressing. I think this added just a touch more texture and a little 'wild' feel to the card.

Card Recipe :
stamps - Scriptures of Hope
paper - pink, dp, yellow, white
ink - pink, VersaMark
Copics - N/A
Accessories - Bold Butterflies Dies, Cuttlebug, folder, distresser, ribbon, pop dots

Let's see what you can do! I know you have fantabulous ideas, and I want to see them!!

Here are the details of our challenges....

-Challenges are now going to be on the 1st and 3rd Fridays of each month, and you'll have 2 weeks to finish each challenge.

-Challenges can use any stamps or digis from any company

-Only one entry per person per challenge

-We will also be giving away the featured digi image....one for every 20 entries!

Head right on over to Lori's blog and the Clearly Inspired Challenge to join the challenge and to see what others on the design team have created.

Don't forget to join us this Sunday (June 19th) for our monthly Blog Hop!!! This one is going to be wonderful, and I know you'll love it!

Have a fabulous Friday and a great, big, beautiful tomorrow!!

*~Shell~*

Mother/Daughter Tea

2011-05-22T06:00:00.000-04:00

On May 7, our church hosted a Mother/Daughter Tea in celebration of the Mother's Day holiday. What a wonderful, fun event!!

About 19 ladies signed up to host a table. We had to decorate the table (in our choice of theme), serve our tablemates, make sure the guest felt welcome, set up the food on our table, and clean up. For weeks, I thought about our theme. I wasn't sure which direction I wanted to go. I'm not a very 'serious' or 'fru-fru' kind of person, so I knew the theme would be something fun. In the beginning, I thought that I would go with Cinderella. Then, I found out that our plates would be green ...... Yeah, NO. That would not work with Cinderella's signature blue.

Next thought???? The Princess and the Frog! YES!!! I could go with a fun theme that would not clash with the provided plates, tea cups, and glassware. :) I was happy. Hopefully, my guests would be, too.

This is the final look for our table. There is a 3-tier stand in the middle of the 'lily pad.'

Our Princess and her frog. :) This shows the middle of the table without the 3-tiered stand. The sign tells the name of our table and explains the meaning of F.R.O.G. (Fully Rely On God).

Each guest at our table received a tiara (because we're ALL princesses) and a goody bag. The goody bag was adorned with a frog magnet and held a small frog finger puppet and frog lollipop.

The place mats for each place setting was round to be similar to a lily pad. :) The napkins were cloth and a very pretty green that went very well with the darker green plates and place mats.

Gotta have a napkin ring, right? :) I added the yellow/gold crown on the purple ring to add a little spice and color to the green theme.

I used my Cricut (obviously) and SCAL a LOT in this project. It was SO much fun to put together and even more fun to share with our tablemates. Now ... I need to get some cards done to thank them for joining me! :) More frogs to cut out. Monday .... I can do it all on Monday ... :)

Have a wonderful Sunday and a great, big, beautiful tomorrow!

Clearly Inspired Challenge #28 - Critters

2011-05-20T11:00:00.001-04:00

Welcome to Clearly Inspired Challenge #28!! Today, it's all about Critters. Critters is such a wide-open topic for me. There are ladybugs, butterflies, snakes, frogs, pigs, horses, and soooooo many other 'critters' in my stamp stash. I finally chose to fall back on one of my very favorite images of all time, though ..... a duck. :)

Isn't he adorable?? I love creating with this little guy. He's got such a fun attitude and brings a smile to my face every time. Coloring him is awesome, too!! Doesn't he look like he's having a blast splashing in the puddles?

Card Recipe:
Stamps - Cute Critters
Paper - Raging River, light blue, white
Ink - black, turquoise
Copics - B29, B24, B21, Y11, Y15, YR16
Accessories - Tabs & Tags Dies, raindrops, ribbon, pop dots

Here are the details of our challenges....

-Challenges are now going to be on the 1st and 3rd Fridays of each month, and you'll have 2 weeks to finish each challenge.

-Challenges can use any stamps or digis from any company

-Only one entry per person per challenge

-We will also be giving away the featured digi image....one for every 20 entries!

Head right on over to Lori's blog and the Clearly Inspired Challenge to join the challenge and to see what others on the design team have created.

Create with the Critters!!! I want to see what you come up with!

Have an awesome Friday and a great, big, beautiful tomorrow!!

~*Shell*~

And the Winners Are ....

2011-05-18T22:32:00.001-04:00

The winners of our May Blog Hop are .....

From Jan's blog, She's Gone Stampin', our first winner is Shelly Schmidt, My Creative Rumblings.

From Christi's Blog, our second winner is Vikki Jo, Vikki Jo's Corner.

Each winner must email Lori (lori@cleardollarstamps.com) to claim their prize of a $10 gift certificate for clear or digital stamps from the CDS store.

Blog Hop!!! Let's Hear It For the Boys!!!

2011-05-15T11:00:00.001-04:00

Welcome to the Clear Dollar Stamps Monthly Blog Hop!!!!

How hard do you find it to create masculine cards? They seem to be the hardest for me most of the time. Today is all about helping you with a little inspiration for those 'guy' cards! And, at the same time, we're giving you an opportunity to WIN! :)

You should have come here from the so-very-talented Christi's blog. If not, leave a comment here and head back to Lori's blog to get a good start on all of the wonderful blog offerings in our hop today.

So ... let's get the mojo wheels rollin'!

I couldn't resist adding this scripture from "A Godly Father" to the beautiful image from "Scripture Children." I love both. With the browns and the brads, this card is very fit for a Father's Day card - or any occasion to honor a guy.

Card Recipe:

Stamps - Scripture Children, A Godly Father
Paper - Mud Pie, black, white, caramel, chocolate
Ink - black, white
Copics - none
Accessories - Tabs & Tags Dies, brads, silver dots, cuttlebug, ribbon, pop dots

And, because I just can't help myself ... I made a second card..... :)

For this one, I chose the shadowbox card technique. Here is the card closed with the belly band on. This one has a very fun, relaxed feel ....

The card open.

For this one, I used the great set "Monkey Madness." It is retiring, and I'm SO sad about that!!! If you want this wonderful set, you need to get it quickly. The sentiment (from the "Father's' Day" set) says it all! :)

Card Recipe:

Stamps - Monkey Madness (retiring), Father's Day
Paper - Mud Pie, black, white, double-sided dp
Ink - black
Copics - G94, G99, BG72, E31,E33
Accessories - Tabs & Tags Dies, Cuttlebug, Cricut, SCAL, 1/4" circle punch, pop dots, linen thread

So, what do you think? Have these projects gotten your mojo moving? Now, what's the secret to winning? Comment, comment, comment!! Just comment on as many blog in the hop as you can.

PRIZES: 2 lucky winners will each receive a $10 gift certificate for the CDS store for purchase of clear or digital stamps ONLY.

WINNERS: Winners will be randomly chosen from comments received on two DT member blogs. Winners will be announced on the CDS blog and on here Wednesday, May 18th.

From here, you need to scoot on over to Linda's fantabulous blog. I know that she's going to have something totally amazing to show you!

So, make sure you comment as much as possible! You don't want to miss a chance to win - and I want YOU to win!! :)

I hope you have a beautiful Sunday and a great, big, beautiful tomorrow!!!

~*Shell*~

It's Coming!!!!

2011-05-10T22:11:00.003-04:00

The monthly blog hop for Clear Dollar Stamps is COMING!!! This Sunday - May 15th - I'll be part of the monthly blog hop, and I can't wait! Make sure you comment on all the blogs in the hop so that you have a bigger chance of winning. :)

Don't miss the Retirement Party going on at Clear Dollar Stamps right now, either! They have some wonderful sets retiring .... boohoo!!! .... and you don't want to miss the chance to get them while they are still around. I hate to lose these sets!!!

Up today .... This card was actually made for the VSN Mini challenges on SCS a couple of weeks ago. I couldn't play all of the challenges that night, but hope to play in the big event on the 21st of May.

This challenge was a sketch challenge and I really enjoyed it. For some reason, my card came together in my mind fairly quickly. I think it's soft and would definitely work well for a grandmother. :) Don't you just love that ribbon!? It matches so well, too.

Card Recipe -
Stamps - Lovely Women, Wedding Cake
Paper - pink, turquoise, dp, white
Ink - black
Copics - R81, R83, R85, G94, G99
Accessories - Cuttlebug, folder, sewing machine, pearls, ribbon, pop dots

Check back this weekend. Don't forget the blog hop on SUNDAY!!! :)

~*Shell*~

Clearly Inspired Challenge #27 - Totally Turquoise

2011-05-06T11:00:00.002-04:00

It is time, once again, for the Clearly Inspired Challenge - brought to you by Clear Dollar Stamps! I know you can't wait to join us in this great challenge.

All you have to do is create something using turquoise! What could be easier than that?!

Doesn't this Silly Goose just make you happy? I love him!! The image here looks a little ... speckled, doesn't it? Well, that's the Sheer Shimmer that was sprayed on the black, background layer. It looks SO cool in real life. The present paper was created with the present stamp in the Silly Goose set. It was stamped in black randomly and in turquoise randomly.

Card Recipe -
Stamps - Silly Goose
Paper - white, black, Turquoise Gem
Ink - black, turquoise
Copics - O, B05, C1, C3, YR68, YR16
Accessories - Cuttlebug, folder, ribbon, sheer shimmer, pop dots, sewing machine, crystals

Here are the details of our challenges....

-Challenges are now going to be on the 1st and 3rd Fridays of each month, and you'll have 2 weeks to finish each challenge.

-Challenges can use any stamps or digis from any company

-Only one entry per person per challenge

Clean and Simple - April 25 Challenge

2011-04-25T20:05:00.002-04:00

Clean and Simple ... the challenge for today was the Artist's Rule of Three. We had to use 3 things on each of our cards.

This is one of my favorite rules to use on my projects.

The first card uses 'wheels' for the rule of 3. It ended up being a very 'classic' looking card.

Card Recipe -
Stamps - You're A Wheely Great Dad - Clear Dollar Stamps
Paper - white, black, gray
Ink - black
Copics - none
Accessories - ScorPal, pop dots, circle punches, silver buttons
Technique - CAS

This one was a little less conventional. :)

Card Recipe -
Stamps - Father's Day - Clear Dollar Stamps
Paper - Tropical Mist, black, white
Ink - black
Copics - 0, B39, BG18, B34
Accessories - pop dots, sewing machine
Technique - CAS

These were super fun to create!! Jump on over to SCS and join us for the challenge.

More coming later this week. Have an amazing Monday and a great, big, beautiful tomorrow!

*~Shell*~

Clear Dollar Stamps SVG Release Day!

2011-04-22T11:00:00.001-04:00

Oh, how I love my Cricut, SCAL, and SVG files. :) They make my crafting life so much fun and so easy.

Today, Clear Dollar Stamps is releasing some wonderful new SVG files! I had an opportunity to create with the Ollie Owl file, and I LOVE this little guy!!!

Isn't this owl ADORABLE?! I love it!! It was so easy to cut and put together, too. You have just got to try it.

Card Recipe :
Stamps - Whooo Loves You
Paper - gray, peach, rust, dp
Ink - black
Accessories - Ollie Owl SVG, Sheer Shimmer, Designer Labels dies, Cuttlebug, folder, bling hanging hearts, pop dots, sewing machine

Head over to Lori's blog to see the great SVG files that she's releasing today and that other design team members are using for samples. They really are great!!!

Hope you have a reflective Good Friday and a great, big, beautiful Easter Sunday.

~*Shell*~

Blog Hop Winners!!

2011-04-20T11:00:00.000-04:00

Congratulations to the winners!!!

AND THE WINNERS ARE...

From Stacy's blog, Twinshappy, our first winner is Donna, Indiana Inking.

From Lisa's blog, Lisa's Life Lines, our second winner is Patti J., Cherish Each Precious Day.

Each winner must email Lori (lori@cleardollarstamps.com) to claim their prize of a $10 gift certificate for clear or digital stamps from the CDS store.

Have a great day and a great, big, beautiful tomorrow!!

~*Shell*~

Blog Hop!!!! Let's Laugh .... with Ralph Waldo Emerson

2011-04-17T11:00:00.001-04:00

"The Earth laughs in flowers." It's a beautiful quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson, and this month, the theme for our April blog hop! Come hop in the flowers with us. :)

You should have come here from Laurie's amazing blog, but if you just happened to check in here at the Haven, you will want to head over to Lori's blog to get started on the hop! Remember .... the more blogs you comment on, the better your chances of winning a prize.

What could be better than smiling paper for a laughter card?! :) I made a pocket card out of this one, but that wasn't the original intent. When I had the smile paper on the bottom layer, I realized that it would be super cute if I could make a 'flower' note come out of the top. Using SCAL, the Cricut, and the Ladybug Hugs SVG file, I made one. The flower in the set was made big to fit (welded) to the top of a rectangle. Then, I cut a center for the flower, as well as a white layer to write on. The smile dp is sewn to the green layer on 3 sides so that there is a pocket left at the top.

Card Recipe :
Stamps - Ladybug Hugs
Paper - peach, green, white, mustard, smile dp
Ink - black
Copics - Y26, Y28, BV00, BV04, R81, R83, YR16, Y17, G21
Accessories - Cricut, SCAL, Ladybug Hugs SVG file, cuttlebug, folder, pop dots, sewing machine, pearls
Technique - pocket card

PRIZES: 2 lucky winners will each receive a $10 gift certificate for the CDS store for purchase of clear or digital stamps ONLY.

WINNERS: Winners will be randomly chosen from comments received on two DT member blogs. Winners will be announced on the CDS blog and on here on Wednesday, April 20th.

After you've commented here, make sure you head on over to the super talented Jasmin's blog for our next stop. Don't forget to comment on all of the blogs for a better chance to win!!

Have a fantastic Sunday and a great, big, beautiful tomorrow!!

~*Shell*~

Clearly Inspired Challenge #26 .... All About the Bling!

2011-04-15T11:00:00.002-04:00

Challenges, challenges ... SO much fun, aren't they?! This one was a particularly difficult challenge for me because I don't 'do' a lot of bling. But ... it's such fun to -----stretch------ myself and to get out of my comfort zone sometimes.

The Clearly Inspired Challenge for today is all about BLING! I hope you can join in the fun and create something blingy.

There are crystals in the swirl, pearls on the image layer, crystals on the image layer, pearls on the sentiment tag, and the image layer has been spritzed with Sheer Shimmer. So ... 'bout that bling?!

Card Recipe :
Stamps - Bunny Kids
Paper - white, sweet cheekcs, K&Company dp
Ink - black
Copics - R81, R83, V01, C1, C3, R20, 0
Accessories - Cricut, Cuttlebug, folder, SCAL, sewing machine, ribbon, pearls, pop dots

Want to play ???? Please join us! We need lots of participants so that we can have LOTS of prizes!!!

Here are the details ....

-Challenges are now going to be on the 1st and 3rd Fridays of each month, and you'll have 2 weeks to finish each challenge.

-Challenges can use any stamps or digis from any company

-Only one entry per person per challenge

-We will also be giving away the featured digi image....one for every 20 entries!

Head right on over to Lori's blog and the Clearly Inspired Challenge to join the challenge.

I can't wait to see you get your bling on!!! :)

Have a fantastic Friday and a great, big, beautiful tomorrow!!

~*Shell*~

Sweet Sketch Wednesday

2011-04-13T21:16:00.003-04:00

I've mentioned before how much I love sketch challenges. Today, I am playing in the Sweet Sketch Wednesday challenge. What a super sketch to work with!!

Here's what I did with that wonderful sketch.

I love the dp on this card ... and that flower is SO fun. You need to run over there to play, too! I mean ... a great sketch challenge AND a prize?! What could be better? :)

Card Recipe:

stamps - Tulip Wreath
paper - black, white, yellow, gray, The Paper Studio dp
ink - black
Copics - R81, R83, C1, G21, Y11
accessories - Cricut, SCAL, sewing machine, brad, flower, ribbon, Cuttlebug, folder, pop dots

Hope you have an awesome Wednesday evening and a great, big, beautiful tomorrow!!

~*Shell*~

A Challenging Combination

2011-04-12T21:25:00.004-04:00

I set out to create a card using the elements sent to me in the Monthly Challenge Swap. The choices this month were fun and very springy. Some of the elements were even purple! That worked out great because the challenge on Stampin' Sisters In Christ this week is to use purple! Yeah, I just hate that .... since it's my favorite color and all. :) :)

So, I did this card for both challenges.

This card uses the purple flowers from the swap, as well as dp, the pink spot (but not the sentiment on it), and the blue background paper. I supplied the beautiful sentiments (from A Godly Mother set, released on April 7 at Clear Dollar Stamps), ribbon, purple paper, and Sheer Shimmer (on the large sentiment).

Card Recipe -
stamps - A Godly Mother
paper - blue, lavender, white, dp
ink - lavender, pink, black
Copics - none
accessories - circle punch, Sheer Shimmer, crystals, Cuttlebug, folder, ribbon, pop dots

Hope you are having a fantastic Tuesday and that you have a great, big, beautiful tomorrow!

~*Shell*~

Day 4 of Super Samples from the April Clear Dollar Stamps Product Parade!!!

2011-04-10T11:00:00.000-04:00

It's been a great Product Parade, hasn't it??! Wow .... Such great sets and great samples. Today is the last day of our parade, but you can continue the fun by getting these great stamp sets and joining our Clearly Inspired Challenges (on the 1st and 3rd Friday each month) and by commenting during our blog hop every month on the 3rd Sunday!

Today, we're going to wrap things up with some bunnies, blooming, and a wedding. :)

Bunny Kids ... such a precious set. It has the bunny kids, but it also has a bunny mom and a bunny dad and some wonderful sentiments. I chose to make mine a baby card.

Card Recipe:
Stamps - Bunny Kids
Paper - Sweet Cheeks, white, K & Company dp
Ink - black
Copics - R81, R83, R20, C1, C3, V01, O
Accessories/Tools - Designer Labels dies, Cricut, Cuttllebug, folder, SCAL, sewing machine, ribbon, pearls, pop dots

Thanks for Helping Me Bloom ...what a great set to show your appreciation to some very special people in your life!! I love that I could match it up with this wonderful crow holding the sunflower. He's SO cute. :)

Card Recipe:
Stamps : Thanks for Helping Me Bloom, Something to Crow About
Paper : black, white, Wild Ginger, Ripe Olive, dp
Ink : black, brown
Copics : C3, C5, C7, Y26, Y28, Y17, B00, G24, G28, G94
Accessories : Blooming Bouquet dies, sewing machine, pearls, pop dots, brads, ribbon

Wedding Cake shaker card ...

And the shaker part up close ...
I'm not sure why, but this cake called for something 'special.' I had just gotten a couple of new rolls of the 'tacky tape' ... you know, the kind with the red strip you have to take off. I looked at the packaging and thought, "Wow. I could USE this for something." And ... I did. I cut the card, with the hole in it for the shaker, on the Cricut. It worked beautifully!!

Card Recipe:
Stamps - Wedding Cake
Paper - white
Ink - pink, black
Accessories - Cricut, SCAL, Wedding Cake SVG file, tacky tape, tacky tape container, Tabs & Tags dies, diamond dust, glitter, ribbon, Cuttlebug, folder
Technique - shaker card

Well .... that concluded our parade for April, but honestly, July is just around the corner! That's when we'll have our next Product Parade and show our Super Samples to all of you! I hope you enjoyed the parade over the last few days. If you did, drop by Clearly iStamp and let Lori know. Then, stop by Clear Dollar Stamps and get the sets for yourself. You will love the quality, reasonable prices, and selection you find there. It's simply an amazing company.

Ok .... as a side note today, please take a moment to run over to Katie's Blog and wish her a very happy birthday!!! Yep, today is our Katie's special day!!

Check back in soon ....

Challenge samples coming soon
Clearly Inspired Challenge coming on the 15th
Clear Dollar Stamps Design Team Blog Hop on the 17

Both of my amazing boys have birthdays this month, so I know I will have those cards to show you, too!

Have a great Sunday and a great, big, beautiful tomorrow.

~*Shell*~

Day 3 of Super Samples from the April Clear Dollar Stamps Product Parade!!!

2011-04-09T11:00:00.006-04:00

Another day of samples ... just for you! :) These sets ... and more ... just released at Clear Dollar Stamps!!

We're going to focus on the guys today. We have some super sets just for them!

My hubby LOVES puns, so this stamp is particularly great for him. "You're a Wheely Great Dad" is a fun stamp to add to a card with a car image. I chose the VW bug because our family loves playing the "Punch Buggy" game ALL the time! :)

Card Recipe:
Stamps - A Wheely Great Dad, Volkswagon Bug Paper - black, white, dp (the Paper Studio) Ink - black, blue, white Copics - G21, G24, G28, B34, C3, C7 Accessories - Glitter pen, MM tagmaker, brads, Cuttlebug, Gears folder, pop dots

The next set ... well, I got a little crazy with it. I ended up making 2 cards. I couldn't stop and couldn't decide which one to use!

The set is called For Our Men. It's got different names that men are called - father, son, uncle, etc., as well as a couple of things to add to those. Yes, I know that both cards say 'son.' Remember, I have a Marine! I always have a need to send something his way. :) I kind of have him on my mind a lot. :)

Hello Son Card Recipe:
Stamps - For Our Men, Air Flair
Paper - gray, yellow, white, Deep Sea
Ink - black, brown
Copics - none
Accessories/Tools - Tabs & Tags Dies, watercolor crayons, aquapainter, gold dots, pop dots

You're a Special Son Card Recipe:
Stamps - For Our Men, Liberty
Paper - olive, black, white, vanilla
Ink - black
Copics - B32
Accessories/Tools - Designer Labels Dies, gold dots, black twine, sewing machine

The next set focuses on fathers. It's a super Father's Day set called ... Father's Day! :)

Scrapbox Closed:
Scrapbox open:

I thought that an explosion box - or a scrapbox - would be a great gift for my hubby to get for Father's Day. Inside, I placed a picture of each of our children, as well as a picture of him with all 3 kids together. I love making these. They have such a 'wow' effect on anyone that receives them. The stamp set was perfect for this project!!

Scrapbox Recipe:
Stamps - Father's Day
Paper - moss, rust, white
Ink - black, brown, Versamark, moss
Copics - C1, C5, C3, E00, E02, E31
Accessories - Cricut, SCAL, pop dots, glue dots, Tacky Tape, ribbon, twine, brads, sewing machine, buttons
Technique - explosion box, scrapping

One more day in the Product Parade!!! Don't miss the samples coming tomorrow, and make sure you head to Clearly iStamp to see all the other samples from the design team! Then ... rush on over to Clear Dollar Stamps to grab the great sets we're showing off this weekend!

Day 2 of Super Samples from the April Clear Dollar Stamps Product Parade!!!

2011-04-08T11:00:00.007-04:00

Wasn't yesterday wonderful!? Super samples from everyone on the team. What could we possibly have in store for you today? More fantastic set samples from Clear Dollar Stamps April Product Parade, of course!

How about a set for fathers and one for mothers? A Godly Father and A Godly Mother have beautiful scriptures, verses, and sentiments especially to honor these wonderful people in our lives.

The set A Godly Father is perfect for those precious men in our lives. I SO wish that I could have given this card to my daddy. I miss him terribly, but I will honor my father-in-law with this card. He, too, is a very precious man in my life.

Card Recipe: Stamps - A Godly Father, Cross Messages Paper - rust, olive, river rock Ink - black, rust Accessories - Cross dies, Cuttlebug, folder (gears), nesties, Jim Holtz key, twine, sewing machine, metal buttons, pop dots

A Godly Mother is just wonderful!! I used it to create a special bookmark for Mother's Day. I think I may make some of these for my Sunday school kids to give their mom's for Mother's Day. I think they would like them.

Card Recipe:
Stamps - A Godly Mother
Paper - gray, white
Ink - black, blue
Copics - R81, R83, 0
Accessories - Flower, dauber, pearls, brad

More coming tomorrow - and more on the Clearly iStamp blog today. Make sure you check out what each member of the design team has to offer. They are INCREDIBLE!!! I'm SO honored to work with them.

Have an amazing Friday and a great, big, beautiful tomorrow!!

~*Shell*~

Day 1 of Super Samples from the April Clear Dollar Stamps Product Parade!!!

2011-04-07T11:00:00.003-04:00

Oh my. I have SO much to show you over the next few days!!! But first, let me explain. Beginning with April, Clear Dollar Stamps will have quarterly new stamp releases instead of monthly. This means that you will see a bunch of stamps released at one time - AND they will all be available on the *first day of the Product Parade*!!! How cool is that?! No more waiting until they are all previewed. You can see the samples and run right over to Clear Dollar Stamps to grab some for yourself.

Today, I'm going to share 2 new sets with you. Both are wonderful for the women in your lifel

The first one is Lovely Women.

That beautiful script on the tag .... don't you love it?! Such a beautiful set that includes things for mother, sister, daughter, etc. I paired it with an image from the next set that I'm featuring .... Tulip Wreath.

Card Recipe :
Stamps - Lovely Women, Tulip Wreath Paper - vanilla, plum, dp, vellum Ink - plum, black, brown Copics - V95, G24, G28, G94, BG10 Accessories/Tools - Designer Labels dies, ribbon, lace, sewing machine, pearls, pop dots

I LOVE the tulips from this set. It also includes a wonderful tulip wreath stamp. Gorgeous set. This is great for so many kinds of cards ... birthday, thinking of you, happy day, Mother's Day, sympathy, and many others.

Card Recipe :
Stamps - Tulip Wreath
Paper - white, Tickled Pink, black
Ink - black
Copics - R81, R83, R85, Y15, YG67, C1
Accessories/Tools - Cuttlebug, folder, pearls, ribbon, pop dots

So...what now?? Well, run over to Clear Dollar Stamps and grab these sets, and come back tomorrow to see the next group of samples I have to show you. You can check out all the details and all of the samples that the design team has for you by dropping in over at Lori's blog.

Hope you have an amazing Thursday and a great, big, beautiful tomorrow!!

~*Shell*~

Clearly Inspired Challenge #25 .... Clean and Simple

2011-04-01T11:00:00.001-04:00

It's time, again, for the Clearly Inspired Challenge over at Clearly iStamp! I love challenges, and challenges with prizes are much, much sweeter! :) With this challenge, the more that participate, the more prizes that are given out. So, everyone enter!!! What could be easier ... something clean and simple!

I love clean and simple challenges and cards. They have such a clean, crisp, classy look to me. I chose to use the set "Hoppy Frogs" for my card.

I wasn't sure if this card was as 'clean and simple' as I wanted it to me, but I really like how it turned out. Isn't that ribbon TOO much fun!?

Card Recipe -
Stamps - Hoppy Frogs (Clear Dollar Stamps)
Paper - Lime Juice, white
Ink - black
Copics - G05, RV06, C1
Accessories/Tools - Cuttlebug, folder, ribbon, flower stickers, pop dots

Want to play the challenge???? I sure hope so!!! We need lots of participants so that we can have LOTS of prizes!!!

Here are the details ....

-Challenges are now going to be on the 1st and 3rd Fridays of each month, and you'll have 2 weeks to finish each challenge.

-Challenges can use any stamps or digis from any company

-Only one entry per person per challenge

-We will also be giving away the featured digi image....one for every 20 entries!

Now, create your card/project, and head over to Clearly iStamp and submit it. Have a great time creating your project. :)

Hope to see you again soon .....

Just a hint - New Clear Dollar Stamps products are coming .... SOON!!! :) Watch for them here.

Have a beautiful Friday and a great, big, beautiful tomorrow.

~*Shell*~

Color Challenged

2011-03-30T09:00:00.000-04:00

The color challenge on SCS this week was Marina Mist, Certainly Celery, and Baja Breeze. I love color challenges, and this one was just that .... a challenge. :)

I didn't have the exact colors, so I improvised with a couple that worked well, I think.

Interesting colors, huh? I like the overall look of the card and the colors together. I was a bit apprehensive at first. It certainly has an Easter look about it, doesn't it??

The beautiful sentiment is from Yearly Occasions. Such a great, versatile set. The egg is cut using the Cricut and SCAL. The SVG file perfectly fits that stamp ... really cool. The stamps and SVG are available through Clear Dollar Stamps.

Card Recipe ...

Stamps: Yearly Occasions, You're Egg-straordinary, Scriptures of Peace (all from Clear Dollar Stamps)

Paper: Raging River, Billowing Clouds, Certainly Celery, vanilla

Ink: black, celery

Accessories: R81, B24

Techniques: SVG file (You're Egg-straordinary), Tabs and Tags dies, ribbon, gold dots, pop dots

This was a fun challenge - and you should try it, too. The daily challenges on SCS can really kick-start your mojo!! :)

Lots of fun coming soon!!!! Clearly Inspired Challenge on Friday .... New products coming for April ..... Yep .. you do NOT want to miss a thing!! :)

Have a terrific Tuesday and a great, big, beautiful tomorrow.

~*Shell*~

An Inkling for a Challenge

2011-03-24T21:03:00.004-04:00

Today's Ways To Use It challenge was all about ink. We were not allowed to use black, white, or brown ink on our project. Yikes?! That's a tough one for me!

The roses were stamped with ruby ink and colored with watercolor crayons. The leaves were stamped with olive ink and colored the same way. An Aquapainter was used to manipulate the crayon color. The large background was embossed with a Cuttlebug folder which was inked with the ruby ink.

Card Recipe -

Stamps: Roses to Die for (Clear Dollar Stamps)

Paper: Paper - white, blue, dp

Ink: Ink - Ruby, Olive

Accessories: watercolor crayons, aquapainter, Crackle Accents, sanding block, lace, ribbon, pearls, pop dots, corner rounder, Cuttlebug, folder

I'd love to hear your thoughts on my challenge card. I, also, challenge you to try it yourself. It's fun, and it helps you use things that you may have forgotten you have.

Fun stuff coming next week, so check back often. Have an awesome night and a great, big, beautiful tomorrow!!

~*Shell*~

We've Got A (two, actually) Winner (S)!!!!

2011-03-23T11:00:00.002-04:00

Yippee!!! We have winners from this past Sunday's blog hop!! Are you curious?? Do ya wanna know?? Well, I GUESS I could tell you. Or, maybe, I could make you do tricks like a seal ..... act like a monkey ..... roar like a lion?? Yeah, ok, enough of the zoo stuff. Let's get to the winners!

Drum roll, please ......

Our winners are .....

From Cassie's blog

TR - A Touch of Sparkle, Shine & Color

From Laurie's blog

PAT (mspfd) - Stamp, Paper and Ink

Congratulations to both of you!! Enjoy your wonderful prize. I hope all of you will join us again next month for our blog hop. It will be on the 3rd Sunday of April (17th), which just happens to also be Palm Sunday.

Have an awesome day and a great, big, beautiful tomorrow!!

~*Shell*~

Sisters In Christ Challenge

2011-03-22T21:54:00.006-04:00

The challenge on Sisters In Christ this week is a really fun one. You must have something on your card that is 'hidden' from first view. I would love to do several of these! There are so many fun ways to create like this.

Alas, only one could be done tonight, so here it is. :)

The card was made using the Hydrangea set from Clear Dollar Stamps. I used 2 layers of the actual flower part for the image and one for the shadow. The piece was colored with Copic markers. The ball part of the flower is popped up from the other part, and all of it is covered in glass finish, with small 'beads' of the finish placed around the flower and leaves to look like dew. The leaves are curled under a bit to give a little more dimension.

You can see the 'dew' a little better in this picture.

The tag under the flower slides out to show a sentiment ....

The background was run through the Cuttlebug. I just love the lace 'ribbon' used here, don't you?! I can't wait to use that again. Gorgeous. The background was, also, sewn to add a little more texture and interest.

Card Recipe -

Stamps: Hydrangea, Scriptures of Peace
Paper: white, black, gray, vanilla
Ink: black, brown
Copics: R81, R83, R85, G94, G21, G24
Accessories: Tabs & Tags dies, Cricut, SCAL, Hydrangea SVG file, Cuttlebug, folder, glass finish, lace, ribbon, sewing machine, pearls, sponge dauber, pop dots

Tomorrow, we'll have the winners of the It's A Zoo! Blog Hop!! I can't wait for that!!

Hope you have a fantastic evening and a great, big, beautiful tomorrow!

~*Shell*~

March Blog Hop - It's A Zoo!!!

2011-03-20T11:00:00.002-04:00

What a super fun theme for the Clear Dollar Stamps' monthly blog hop!! Each month, the design team members are given a theme to work around. We're allowed to interpret that theme in any way we choose. There are some fantastic interpretations this month, and I KNOW you want to see them all!!!

Hopefully, you came here from Sarah's blog where she has shown you something incredible, but if not, and you just happened to stop by here today, you'll want to head back to Lori's blog to get started on this fun Blog Hop. She has the list there of all of the participants, as well as the details on the contest and prizes. Yep!! PRIZES! You could win just by commenting on one or all of the blogs in the hop. The more blogs in the hop that you comment on, the better chance YOU have of winning! Two comments randomly selected from all of the blog hop posts will each win a great prize this month. The winners will be announced here, as well as Lori's blog, on March 23rd. Don't miss your chance to win!!!

What could YOU win?? Two lucky winners will each receive a $10 gift certificate for the CDS store!!!

So, my interpretation of "It's A Zoo?" Here ya go!!

I created the cage card using the Cricut and SCAL. Two rectangles were welded together and 6 other rectangles were cut out of one side making the 'cage' bars. The card base was cut from silver glitter paper. The stamped, colored inside piece was white, and was adhered to the inside of the cage leaving the bars loose - with the exception of the outer rim.

Card Recipe -
Stamps - Monkey Madness
Paper - glitter, white, olive
Ink - black
Copics - B00, E31, E33, E37, G21, G24, G28, G94
Accessories - Cricut, SCAL, Tabs & Tags dies, black dot., pop dots

So what do you think?? Is this a fun theme or what??! Now, you need to do the kangaroo hop right on over to Linda's blog to see what awesome creation she has to show you.

I will have several things to show you this week, so make sure you check back soon. Don't forget that we'll announce the winner of this hop on March 23rd, so check in then, for sure!!!

Have an amazingly blessed Sunday and a great, big, beautiful tomorrow!!

~*Shell*~