Monday, October 11, 2010

On the Wall .... Fantabulous Cricut Challenge

The challenge over at the Fantabulous Cricut site is to create something to hang on the wall. My recent project to redecorate my daughter's bathroom fits this challenge perfectly! :) I painted the bathroom, too


For my princess, Jaydin. I used the little diamonds cut out of the crown to be the jewels dancing lying around the area. I used the cut out letters in another area of the bathroom ....














The letters! :) Here, I used the letters, as well as some stars, butterflies, and flowers to decorate the north wall.















The 'castle' wall.

















This scene is above the mirror in the bathroom. I LOVE how this turned out. The doodle swirls were just big enough to accent the unicorns. The scene plays all the way across that wall. Perfect fit.












Materials - Oracle 631 vinyl (gold, purple, pink, black), Cricut, SCAL


Jaydin is thrilled with her 'new' bathroom, and I'm thrilled to have it done. You should try it! You can totally transform and personalize a room without a lot of cost or work. :)


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




~*Shell*~

Friday, October 08, 2010

Compute This ....

Whew. What a week. I'm sorry!!! I've not been great about updating this week. I've, honestly, not had much crafting time this week, either - and I hate that! Hopefully, next week will be a TOTALLY different story. :) I have much to accomplish next week.

Today, there was a challenge on SCS that was centered around our computer. I have no computer images or sentiments, but thought that, perhaps, I could USE my computer to create my project. Yeah .... 'cuz I never do that?! :) That's ok. This challenge just acknowledges what we all know is true .... I canNOT craft without my computer. :) I'm good with that, though. The computer adds a fantastic element to my crafting that I do not wish to replace. :)

This is my Jabez Prayer plaque. It was created on a paper-mache' plaque purchased at Michael's (I think) a LONG time ago.


I used 3 layers of my Shapelies to add the dimension to the shaped layers. Each one has been brushed, from the edge inward, with gold ink.


Small gold dots added a very classic element to the sides.












The flowers were made with twine, glue dots, and brads. They were very simple, but added a rustic feel to the plaque. I really like the way they turned out and the feel they gave the project. The brads do not go into any of the paper layers, but are, instead, wrapped around the twine in the center to pull it all together - after the twine was initially held with a glue dot.













The complete plaque. It hangs from the cord shown coming from the eyelets at the top. The prayer is placed on a gray layer, which was brushed with silver and black along the edges. The white layer was brushed with brown on the edges. Twine is added to the background to add interest and dimension.



Without my computer, I could not have created the shapes for this plaque.





Stamps - The Jabez Prayer (Clear Dollar Stamps)
Paper - Ripe Olive (Clear Dollar Stamps), Worn Parchment (Clear Dollar Stamps), gray, white
Ink - black, brown, white pigment, gold, silver
Accessories - Cricut, computer, SCAL, Shapelies, plaque, twine, brads, gold dots, pop dots




Sure hope I can get my rear in gear for next week!! I'm looking forward to it ... how about you?!


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





~*Shell*~

Tuesday, October 05, 2010

Fun Technique Time

Today, I went on SCS looking for a fun challenge to tackle. I found one!! Splitcoast has challenges for every day of the week, and one of the ones for Mondays (yes, I'm well aware that it's Tuesday) is the Clean and Simple challenge (today is CAS87). That's one of my favorites. It's all about a clean and simple design, and this one was using the Faux Letterpress technique.

I chose, today, to use the Wedding Bells set. It's a set of 3, but I used only the main image on this one. I thought it would be perfect to use with the swirls folder for the faux letterpress tech.


I inked up the Cuttlebug folder and embossed the white sheet. I cut it down so that it would layer on the gray card-base background. The bells are colored with Copics and layered with the scalloped circles using pop dots on both layers.

The ribbon was used in lieu of other embellishments to keep the card simple. That ribbon is amazing, isn't it?? :) I love it. The sparkles are fantastic!!


Stamps - Wedding Bells by Clear Dollar Stamps
Paper - pink, gray, white
Ink - pink, memento black, Copics (C1, C3, C5, R81, R83)
Accessories - swirls folder, cuttlebug, pop dots, ribbon
Technique - Faux Letterpress





What challenges are you trying this week? I'm hoping to find a few more for some fun.

Hope you have a fantastic Tuesday and a great, big, beautiful tomorrow!! :)


~*Shell*~

Friday, October 01, 2010

Clearly Inspired Challenge #18 .... A Color Challenge!

The Clearly Inspired Challenge for today is a color challenge. It's been a while since we've had a color challenge on this one.

So, get out your Clear Dollar Stamps, and take on the challenge.

Color Challenge for October ... CIC #18
Shades of orange and black - with the option of shades of purple
Neutrals - white or cream



I absolutely love the Monster Mash set!! Is this little guy not adorable? This challenge inspired me to grab this set and stamp!












Coloring with Copics has become one of my favorite things to do. There are so many things you can do with them and so many textures you can emulate with the markers. I love the way this monster turned out - all furry looking. :) That blender pen is a blast.











Stamps - Monster Mash by Clear Dollar Stamps
Paper - Night Eclipse, Tangelo Smoothie, Grape Jelly, white (all by Clear Dollar Stamps)
Ink - Memento Black, Copics (BV11, BV13, C3, YR61)
Accessories - Cuttlebug and folder, crystal brads, ribbon, pop dots



There are some changes to the way this challenge will be done each month. The new requirements are as follows ....


  • These challenges will occur the 1st Friday of the Month
  • You have until the following 1st Friday of the next month to link your project using Mr. Linky (below)
  • Challenges will vary each and every time
  • Your work is important so there will be 3 Inspirational Cards/Projects chosen to be featured here.
  • New requirement is to use CD stamps in your project. If you don't have any, we are offering a FREE DIGITAL DOWNLOAD.
  • We will have a different FREEBIE each and every month.
  • FIVE random winners will be chosen to win a $10.00 gift certificate good towards any Clear Dollar Stamp(s).
  • If you upload to Splitcoast Stampers or another online gallery please use CIC18 as one of your keywords
  • Multiple Entries are welcome.



Join us for the fun each month. Get CLEARLY inspired. :)



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




~*Shell*~

Thursday, September 30, 2010

Clear Dollar Stamps October Sneak Peeks Day 4

"Goin' to the chapel, and we're gonna get married ...." I remember that song from my mom whenever someone in our family got married or were 'in love.' Hahaha! The set I have to show you today brings that cute little song back to mind.



Wedding Bells is a great set for weddings or anniversaries. Aren't those bells beautiful?!















The sentiment is stamped on one of the tags cut and embossed using the Cuttlebug die/embossing folder combo. It actually only uses 1/2 of one of those tags. I thought the size worked perfectly for the sentiment.








The lower scalloped lace layer was created using a corner punch. I took off the corner guard and just used it as a punch, positioning each punch *right* next to the previous one. This was done on a strip of the white which was embossed first.











Those beautiful bells were stamped on scalloped circles created using the Cricut, and they were colored using the Copic markers.















Stamps - Wedding Bells by CDS
Paper - white, gray, coral
Ink - Memento black, Copics (C1, C3, C5, R32, R37)
Accessories/Tools - Cuttlebug, folders, combo/die/folder, corner punch (with corner guard off), ribbon, pearls, Cricut, SCAL, pop dots




Head over to Clearly iStamp to see the other great samples and previews for today!!





All of the stamps previewed this week will be released for sale tomorrow at Clear Dollar Stamps.






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



~*Shell*~