Planting Smiles with my FIRST Paper Smooches!!

Click HERE to go to the Clear Dollar Stamps Blog Hop!

Hello friends! Today my very first Paper Smooches stamp set arrived. I knew it would be cute, but seriously, I was floored with cuteness when I opened the package, so much so, I had to get right to work with it! Turns out, I am just in time to enter the Paper Smooches August Guest Designer challenge! I am so in love with Paper Smooches now I figured it would be fun to throw my hat in the ring.

Thanks so much for stopping by and saying Hi! I cherish your comments! I would also like to say Thank You to my BFF, Cassie, for introducing me to the cuteness that is Paper Smooches. I fell in love with her creations, so I, of course, had to follow in her footsteps! ( A nice way to say I copy her) ;o)

Details:

Stamps: Perky Plants - Paper Smooches

Paper: BG Sweet Threads, coordinating textured cardstock

Ink: Momento Tuxedo Black, CDS Fresh Papaya

Tools/Accessories: Seeing Spots embossing folder,

Nestabilities labels 14 & 19

Copics: R81, R83, YG03, YG06, Sponge dauber

Techniques: Paper Piecing (flower petals & water can),

Sponging, Embossing

Yeah, its just for fun, but Check This Out!!

Hi Everyone! Ok, so the other day, I was in Walmart looking for ideas for my son's 6th birthday party and I came across the neatest punch set from Martha Stewart Crafts! I knew I just Had to have it, but, I needed to be wise about money seeing how I was in the final stages of putting together a birthday bash... Well, I ended up needed less party stuff than I had first thought, so I went back to Walmart and treated myself to this awesome punch set. It is a corner punch and edge punch, and with a little bit of talent, you can create a square shaped background that is punched all around, I still need practice. lol ...
While working on a different project, this basic idea came to me, and after we were back from swimming lessons and eating dinner, I tried to get the idea dwelling in my head out onto paper, and this is what I came up with. I am really curious to hear what you all think! This project is also my entry for the Moxie Fab World Gradient challenge. Go check out that blog and be inspired by the amazing examples they are displaying there!

Details:

STAMPS: Summer Blooms Dahlia (CDStamps)

PAPER: Basic Black, Summer Sun, Pumpkin Pie, Ruby Red,

Elegant Eggplant, Watercolor paper

INK: Stazon JetBlack, Old Olive, Summer Sun, Pumpkin Pie,

Ruby Red, Elegant Eggplant

TECHNIQUE: Heat Embossing

TOOLS/ACCESSORIES: Martha Stewart Loop Punch, Heat Embossing Tool,

Silver Embossing Powder, Aqua Painter

Taylored Expressions Sketch Challenge #84

Hello to all my e-friends! I feel like I have been away for a long time, even though it has just been about a week, I had family in town, which makes creating and blogging a little more difficult.. Anyway, I am hapy to be back!
With the recent changes at stampin up, my bff, Cassie, and I have been exploring other companies out there, and she discovered Taylored Expressions, and, as usual, I followed her there! (lol) We both found their super fun challenge blog, which can be found by clicking HERE, and we found a super neat item we have both fallen in love with... The Key Ingredient kits! For more info click HERE (FYI--I do not work for Taylored Expressions I just want to share the great thing we found there!)
Anyway, I made this card using the September 2009 Key Ingredients kit and this week's Taylored Expressions sketch challenge.
Thanks so much for stopping by and for saying HI! Your comments really do make my day!

The Details:

STAMPS: Peony (CDStamps) Teeny Tiny Wishes (SU)

PAPER: Taylored Expressions Sept 09 Key Ingredients Kit

INK: Dusty Durango

TOOLS/ACCESSORIES: Circle & Labels 2 Nesties, modern label punch, sponge

ribbon & jewels from key ingredients kit, watercolor pencils

aqua painter, dimentionals

Clear Dollar Weekend Color Challenge #38 CAS Seasons

Yeah! Another Friday is upon us and so its time for another great challenge over at PaperCraft Planet from the gals at Clear Dollar Stamps. This week our hostess is my BFF, the super talented Cassie. She has chosen great colors to welcome in the fall season, those colors are: Sage Shadow, Apricot Appeal, Really Rust, Close to Cocoa with Very Vanilla for your neutral. I love it when the challenges call for colors I would probably not reach for! That is why these challenges are SO much FUN!!
Right away, these colors reminded me of the fall season, and I wanted to reflect that in my project. I had a couple sets in mind, and finally decided on Walk in the Park which was the May SOM. I love this set, in fact, I seem to favor the nature inspired stamps.
Within the Labels 9 nestie, I wanted to portray the seasons, and only had room for three... Summer, Fall and Winter. I also ended up with a CAS card, I tried to add embossing or dsp or ribbon but nothing fit, so I guess that meant that this card was meant to be CAS, and I love it!
I hope you like it too!

The Details:

STAMPS: Walk in the Park (CDStamps) May SOM,

Shining Strength - sentiment (CDStamps)

PAPER: Sage Shadow, Really Rust, Apricot Appeal, Close to Cocoa, Very Vanilla

INK: Close to Cocoa, Sage Shadow, Really Rust, Apricot Appeal

TOOLS/ACCESSORIES: Labels 9 nestie, sponge, ticket corner punch

Clear Dollar Weekend Color Challenge #37 Let's Chat

Happy Friday Everyone! As I say every week, THIS is my favorite part of the weekend's arrival, the Clear Dollar Stamps Weekend Color Challenge over at PaperCraft Planet. It is even favorite over turning off the alarm clock for the weekend! Our hostess this weekend is the lovely and talented Lisa and she chose some delicious colors for us! The colors are: Tempting Turquoise, Chocolate Chip, Gable Green with an optional Pumpkin Pie and a neutral of White or Vanilla. Cheerful, right? I chose to use this super fun stamp set designed by the gifted Laurie Wilson, called Hanging out. I had been saving this bird dp from Basic Grey Lime Rickey to use with these birds from the Hanging Out stamp set. I tried to sponge clouds in the "window" but failed miserably so I just sponged in the one color. I also see now that I forgot to emboss the "window"! Ugh.. owell.. its done now, right? lol
Thanks for stopping by my blog and for saying HI! Comments really do make me smile! {smile}

Details:

STAMPS: Hanging Out (CDStamps)

PAPER: Chocolate Chip, Very Vanilla, basic grey Lime Rickey, Kalidescope dsp

INK: Chocolate Chip, Stazon JetBlack

TOOLS/ACCESSORIES: Large curved rectangle & labels 2 nesties

gable green square buttons, watercolor pencils & aqua painter, sponge

Pile it on #15 - Color Pop! + Card Patterns + Ways To Use It

Happy Monday Everyone! Supposed to be that Mondays are intended as a chore catch up day, but today, the laundry & the dishes still need to be put away, the vacuum remains in the closet and the kitchen remains unmopped. I just wanted to play along with a couple challenges this morning. One if the "good" things about my dh being a ddh, (dear deployed husband) is that he wont notice if I skip a day of chores..and I get to watch HGTV anytime I want. LOL.
Anyway, I made this card with inspiration from three challenges. 1) Pile it on where the challenge is "Color Pop", use black & white & one more color. 2) The ways to use it challenge at splitcoast where the challenge is to use RED and 3) Card Patterns for the sketch.
As a sidenote, yes, you do see some yellow but that is just to highlight the windows/lights so I dont really consider it a "color" in my card.
I chose this super cool 1969 Camaro designed by Laurie Wilson at Clear Dollar Stamps, as my focal point, highlighted by dahlia nesties and night and day (su) dsp. Although this is not officially one of my Guest Designer stamp sets from Clear Dollar, I, along with Lori G, am a guest designer for the month of September! There are so many great stamp sets that came out Sept 1, click HERE to check them out! Thank you for visiting my blog! I hope you have a great day!

The Details:

STAMPS: 1969 Camaro, Cool Ride (CDStamps)

PAPER: Basic Black, Real Red, Night & Day dsp, Watercolor paper

INK: Stazon JetBlack

ACCESSORIES/TOOLS: Dahlia nesties, watercolor pencils & aqua painter

playground & button latte buttons

Get Off Your Tuffet and Celebrate!

Yes its me again! This is the last one I have to share with you tonight! This one is not for a particular challenge at all, other than creating as a guest designer for Clear Dollar Stamps! In my hopes and dreams, I hope to be able to drop the "guest" and just be a designer for Clear Dollar! {sigh} Ok, on to the card at hand. Yesterday, a box full of happiness arrived at my door. After a stressful day, looking thru my new dsp was a great way to end the day. This dsp, Tea Party, is one I had thought about for a long time, always putting it aside in favor of something else, and finally it made it onto my craft table! It is so pretty! When I saw how perfect this dsp coordinates with my new nestie, blossom two, my layout was pretty much set. The stamp set, Get off your Tuffet, designed by the talented Shawne, followed right along with my paper and nestie choices. I just think Little Miss looks adorable in her paper pieced dress. Hope you like her too!

Here are the details:

STAMPS: Get off Your Tuffet (CDStamps)

PAPER: Tea Party dsp, Almost Amethyst, So Saffron,

Pretty in Pink, Whisper White

INK: Stazon JetBlack

TOOLS/ACCESSORIES: Watercolor pencils & aqua painter,

Blossom Two nesties, Modern Label punch, rhinestone brads, Almost Amethyst marker

Thank you for stopping by my blog and for sharing your thoughts!

Color Throwdown #59 EspreSSo Yourself

Hi Again! I know! I have alot to share tonight! This one has all kinds of new goodies to go with it! First of all, I got my new SU order yesterday which included some sweet new dsp! This one is called Holiday Lounge, it is one that I put on and off my list a few times and finally ordered it, and I'm SO happy I did!
This card is for The Color Throwdown where the challenge is to use Ruby Red, Close to Cocoa and Pumpkin Pie. I knew I wanted to showcase my new dsp but could not figure out how until the pattern on this sheet of dsp clicked with my new nestie, Labels 9.. Once I saw how similar the two shapes are I was off and running! I wanted to use one of my clear dollar guest designer sets, The Grind as well. For me, the coffee images worked perfectly with the colors and the retro pattern of the dsp and nesties. I hope you like it! Thanks for stopping by!!

Details:

STAMPS: The Grind (CDStamps)

PAPER: Holiday Lounge dsp, Ruby Red, Pumpkin Pie & Close to Cocoa cs

INK: Ruby Red, Stazon Jetblack, Pumpkin Pie

TOOLS/ACCESSORIES: Labels 9 nesties, sponge, aqua pen, sponge

Clear Dollar Guest Designer & PaperTake Weekly sketch #23

Hello! Greetings from West Texas! We are approaching our first "fall" here in El Paso and I am not sure what to expect! It has been staying pretty warm and there arent many leaves to actually change colors and fall off the trees... well there arent many trees out here in the desert, but still, the calender reveals that we fast approaching the first day of autumn, so I was inspired to create a card with an autumn feel. The sketch is from the papertake weekly challenge and I felt it just worked with the door from I a-door you. This dsp was suprise RAK from my BFF, called Autumn Meadows, something that I probably would not have chosen for myself, but, Cassie knows me so well, she knew I would love it, and she was right! I knew I wanted to use this stamp set, I A-Door You, designed by the talented Lori M. at Clear Dollar Stamps, the dutch door makes me think of both spring and autumn, when you can leave the door open to enjoy the fresh air of a transition season.
Also, this set is part of the ones I received as part of the privilidge of being a guest designer for Clear Dollar Stamps for the month of September. I have loved loved (guest) designing for Clear Dollar Stamps! It has been amazing! And thankfully, we are only less than half way thru September so I have a couple more weeks to soak up all that guest designing has in store for me!
{grin ear to ear} Ok, enough chatter, here are the details:

STAMPS: I A-Door You

PAPER: Tempting Turquoise, Really Rust, Autumn Meadows dsp

INK: Stazon JetBlack, Really Rust

ACCESSORIES/TOOLS: Watercolor pencils & aqua painter, dimentionals,

mustard brads, swiss dots embossing folder

Truly Scrumptious Challenge #15

Hi once again! Entry #3 of 3 today. This time I am using this adorable set designed by the very talented Shawne -- Get off Your Tuffet a set of 6 for only $7.99. So fun to work with! The sketch is from the Truly Scrumptious challenge blog. I had been saving this sketch for just the right stamp set and I think Little Miss here was just perfect! I resisted the urge to paper piece and went straight for watercoloring and used one of my favorite dsp's, Cottage Wall. And as a final touch, I added the very vanilla hodgepodge hardware, which, I found it sitting all by its lonesome in my craft box just waiting for its chance in the spotlight. lol ...

Here are the details:

Stamps: Get off your Tuffet (CDStamps)

Paper: Old Olive, Cottage Wall dsp, Whisper White

Ink: Rich Razzleberry, Stazon JetBlack

Tools/Accessories: Watercolor pencils & pen, Old Olive & Orchid Opulence markers

Old Olive corduroy & bouquet buttons, Very Vanilla Hodgepodge, glue dots

Thank you so much for visiting my blog and for sharing your thoughts! It really does make my day!!

Mojo Monday 103 -- I A-Door Guest Designing!

Entry #2 of 3 for today! I am just so excited and on fire about Clear Dollar Stamps AND my guest designer gig for September that I just cant stop creating with my CDS guest designer stamps!
This card was made with the Mojo Monday sketch #103 in mind. I saw the sketch on a small thumbnail so I misread it a little bit, and I turned it on its side, so I didnt quite get the sketch right. Owell!
I really enjoy this stamp set, I a-door you, designed by the talented Lori M, owner of Clear Dollar stamps. It is really fun with tons of possibilities, a set of 17 for only $14.99! Today I chose pink flamingo dsp, I just love the bold pattern of this paper! It was hard for me to not color the door more than I did though, I couldnt decide how to color the door, so in the end I just decided to (mostly) not color it! It was hard though! As a final touch, I added a couple of Leah's PaperBlooms , hand crocheted embellishments, a sweet flower and butterfly.
Thanks for stopping by my blog! I just love to share my passion and love to hear what you think!

Details...

Stamps: I a-door you (CDStamps)

Paper: Tempting Turquoise, Whisper White, Cameo Coral, Pink Flamingo dsp

Ink: Stazon JetBlack, Cameo Coral

Tools/Accessories: Ticket corner punch, eyelet border punch,

tempting turquoise marker, watercolor pencils, dimentionals, Leah's Blooms

Tempting turquoise brad

Clean & Simple Challenge #31

Hi Everyone! I had so much fun this morning working as a Clear Dollar Stamps Guest Designer! I, as you know, along with Lori G was chosen to be a guest designer for September and I have been really really enjoying it! I hope September lasts for months and months! I normally can't wait to be able to check another month off the calender, marking one month closer to see my DDH (Dear Deployed Husband).. but for Clear Dollar, I will make an exception and have September last and last and last ... {chuckle} But, since we all know, time stands still for no one, I better get onto the business at hand!
This sample is for the Clean & Simple challenge at Splitcoast. The challenge is to not only make a clean and simple card, but to add dimentionals/pop up dots to the project. I used The Grind stamp set designed by the very talented Laurie Wilson. This is such a fun set especially for the coffee enthusiast that I am!

Details......

Stamps: The Grind (CDStamps)

Paper: Whisper White, Chocolate Chip, Bermuda Bay

Ink: Bermuda Bay, Stazon JetBlack

Tools/Accessories: Labels 3 nesties, Watercolor pencils & pen, bermuda bay ribbon, chocolate ribbon from clear dollar

Thanks for stopping by! I love to share my favorite things .. and to hear what you think! ;p

CD Stamps Guest Designer Card #3 I A-Door You

As I had hoped, I have two more cards to share with you today, and Both are as a guest designer for Clear Dollar Stamps! (I just love saying that!) For this example, I used the limited supply challenge at splitcoast as inspiration. That challenge calls for "a scrapling card" which is the leftover piece of cardstock when making a 4x4 card leaving 1.5x4 for your creation. I cheated a bit on the dimentions making my card 3 1/4 x 5 still narrower than a standard sized card, that being the inspiration. I first made the door, from I a-door you set from Clear Dollar, Designed by Lori M I stumbled across this super cute paper at Michaels called Actupus to Zelephant K&Co dp. It has lots of different patterns to include this woodgrain sample. I first stamped the door there, then again on the opposite side of the woodgrain dp - the clouds dp, and again to make the window paper piecing the different sections of the dutch door. This set is so much fun, just click on the name to be directed to Clear Dollar's page for the Ia-door you set!
Thank you so much for stopping by! I hope you like what you see! I sure have been having fun with my CDS guest designer spot and with these awesome stamps!

Details:

Stamps: I a-door you (CDStamps)

Paper: Real Red, Bashful Blue, dp from K&Co

Ink: Stazon JetBlack

Accessories/Tools: Curved large rectangle nestie, d'vine swirls embossing folder,

watercolor pencils & pen, word window, real red & bashful blue square buttons,

real red & bashful blue gingham ribbon, red ribbon from clear dollar

The Daily Grind & Color Dare #32

Hi Everyone! I am back once again to share yet another card I have created as a Clear Dollar Stamps Guest Designer! For this project, I looked to the Color Dare blog for inspiration. The color challenge this week is to use Cameo Coral, So Saffron & Bermuda Bay together. I had to cheat a tiny bit and add just a drop of Chocolate Chip for the coffee in my coffee cups. The stamp set I am showcasing is called The Grind and it is available NOW in the September New Releases section at Clear Dollar Stamps. Click HERE to find it. I used three different dsp's for the different coffee mugs, paper piecing each one. What is it with me and paper piecing lately?
Anyway, I hope you enjoy this sample and hope you check back soon, I have another exciting announcement coming up later this week! Thanks for stopping by!

Details:

Stamps: The Grind (CDStamps)

Paper: Cameo Coral, So Saffron, Bermuda Bay, Whisper White,

Delicate Dots dsp, Pink Flamingo dsp, Throughly Modern dsp

Ink: Bermuda Bay, Stazon JetBlack, So Saffron, Cameo Coral

Accessories/Tools: Sponge, Ticket corner punch, watercolor pen

My CDS Guest Designer Debut! CC234

Hi Everyone! Today I proudly debut my first card as a clear dollar stamps guest designer. I am thrilled beyond thrilled and honored beyond measure to be a cds guest designer! For this card, I chose to utilize the color challenge for this week at splitcoast stampers #cc234 where the colors this week are Crushed Curry, Melon Mambo and Bermuda Bay. I did add very vanilla for my neutral. Do you ever start on an idea and then part way thru realize just how involved it is? Yeah, that happened today with my paper piecing Little Miss here, but I had to finish and I am glad I did. i paper pieced her hair bow, her dress, her socks, and the ottoman she sits on using either side of one sheet of Razzleberry Lemonade dsp. I used my watercolor pencils for her hair, spoon/bowl. and her skin, adding just a touch of rosey cheeks. It was alot of work but totally worth it! I hope you like it! And check back tomorrow, I hope to have another cds guest designer card to show you, and maybe even two!

On to the details:

Stamps: Get off your tuffett (CDStamps) designed by Shawne

Paper: Bermuda Bay, Crushed Curry, Very Vanilla, Razzleberry Lemonade dsp

Ink: Stazon Jetblack, Melon Mambo

Tools/Accessories: Dahlia & Circle Nesties, Bermuda Bay ribbon, watercolor

pencils & pen, Eyelet border punch

Thanks for stopping by! It really does mean alot to me! Hope to see you again soon!