Ruby Fairy makes a wish

For today's post I have a card using the Ruby Fairy image from DigiStamp Boutique. I colored her with Copics and then covered her wings, wand and crown in glitter. The wish sentiment was cut out using my Cuttlebug Olivia alphabet set. After I added the letters to the card I decided they needed some glitter too so I colored them with a glue pen and applied a coating of glitter.

You can see another posting using the Ruby Fairy image here or in the DigiStamp Boutique gallery. Thanks so much for stopping. I hope you're having a wonderful day! Happy Stamping!

CSS Stamp of the Month

There is still time to get the discount on Clear and Simple Stamps Stamp of the Month A+ Darling set. You can get $1 off this set through the month of August by using the code: DTBlog809. For this card I pulled out my heart nestabilities and sewing machine and stitched up this little pink and brown polka dotted card.

I hope you're having a wonderful day! Thanks so much for stopping by. Happy Stamping!

"Bernadette" Owl

I decided to color Bernard from DigiStamp Boutique as a "Bernadette". What do you think?

The image is colored with Copics and all of the designer papers are from the BasicGrey Two Scoops collection. I wanted to tone down the large pink layer a bit so I sewed a smaller layer of vellum on top of it. The blue/green print was sewn on with a zig zag stitch and the pink swirled dp had the edges distressed before it was added to the card.

Thanks so much for stopping. I hope you had a great work week and are able to do something fun this weekend. Happy Stamping!

Card sets

I thought I would try a little variation of one of my all time favorite layouts (which is just the simple 4x4 piece of designer paper mounted on the bottom portion of a card) to create some fast and easy card sets. For these sets I cut a piece of 4.25 x 4 piece of designer paper and mounted it to the top portion of the card. Next I used the corner rounder on the bottom corners of the card. Then comes the ribbon. . . just wrap a piece of coordinating ribbon around the card and tie it. For the finishing touch get out your circle punches to create some layers for your focal point. You can stamp a little image for your focal point or pull out more punches to create them. I used a Martha Stewart butterfly punch, a Martha Stewart heart punch, a SU flower punch and another smaller flower punch to finish my cards.

Thanks for stopping. I hope you're having a wonderful week!

Another Stamp of the Month Sample

Are you ready for a couple more samples of things you can do with Clear and Simple Stamps Stamp of the Month set?

I know I've already shown you the magnet and matching jar with magnet but I wanted to share this group photo. You can find the magnet and jar post here.

How about a pencil box? The Cosmo Cricket Early Bird paper makes everything it touches adorable (in my opinion). Not to mention how perfect the verse "The influence of a good teacher can never be erased" from the A+ Darling set is for this project.

If you're looking for a little something to give to your favorite teacher how about a nice bookmark?

Now, if you find yourself inspired and just have to have the A+ Darling set don't forget that you can get $1 off this month by using the code: DTBlog809. You can find more inspiration for this set from my fellow design team members also. Links to their blogs are listed in the sidebar.

My week is improving because the electrician was able to do a temporary fix to restore power to the entire house. Hopefully the permanent fix/upgrade will happen very soon but in the meantime I have power in my studio! I hope you're having a wonderful week! Thanks so much for stopping.

Cosmo Cricket and DigiStamp Boutique

So with the lack of power in my studio I haven't done much stamping lately but I was able to put this card together. I love the Early Bird paper collection from Cosmo Cricket so I brought a stack of those papers, the sampler collection pack from Papertrey Ink and a package of Kraft cardstock upstairs and put together some card bases. This morning I colored the adorable Polly with Flower from DigiStamp Boutique using copics, cut her out and added her to the card. I'm lovin' the results.

The electrician will be stopping again today. He's going to give us a quote for upgrading from fuses to circuit breakers and replacing the meter box and meter. Let's hope it's afforable and he can do it right away! Thanks for stopping. I hope you're having a wonderful day!

Supplies:
Images - Polly with Flower from DigiStamp Boutique
Paper - White; Papertrey Ink Kraft, Summer Sunrise and Ocean Tides; Cosmo Cricket Early Bird
Misc - Copics, Pop dots

2 Sketches 4 You Challenge

Clear and Simple Stamps is hosting this week's 2 Sketches 4 You challenge. I hope you'll join us over at 2 Sketches 4 You this week to play along. This week's winner will receive a CSS gift certificate and a chance to be a guest designer for 2 Sketches 4 You.

Here is this week's sketch

And here is my take on the sketch

Thanks so much for stopping by. I hope you're having a wonderful week. I'm also hoping my week will improve with another visit from the electrician tomorrow to try and get the power back on in the lower half of our house and our kitchen. Nothing like a dark studio, no washing machine (for some reason there is still power to the dryer), and no working outlets in the kitchen (except for the stove). Thankfully we have the refrigerator plugged in with an extension cord to the living room while they figure out the problem and get it fixed. Really makes life interesting. We are very glad that whatever caused the problem didn't result in any kind of fire. Things could definitely be worse but it sure will be nice to have use of the entire house again.

Release Day at Clear and Simple Stamps

The School Days Collection is here!

Want it all?
Click here to order the entire collection in one single click.
This is a package valued at $165, including all
{11} newly released stamp sets.

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School Days / ABC123 / Teacher / Autumn Sentiments
Lacrosse / Basketball / Football / Baseball

CSS Signature Set
A+ Darling
SOTM Copic Bundle - add Copic Trio Red 2 and save $4.
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We've been busting at the seams, waiting to share the news about our new stamp lines. Starting today, CSS will be carrying backgrounds and alphabets.

The backgrounds can also double as borders, as they measure roughly 3.75" x 1.25". There are so many ways to use these backgrounds. They are sure to become a staple in your stash of CSS stamps! Our first background to release is Basketweave.

NEW Backgrounds
Basketweave

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And, yes that's right we've got alphabets! We've gotten an overwhelming amount of requests for alphabets, and we are happy to share the first of many.

Sororities and Fraternities are a big part of the college experience. With our School Days theme, we thought it would be fun to focus on those who are college bound. It's Greek is the full Greek letter alphabet in symbols and words. You can mix and match to make any Greek letter organization - perfect for rush week!

NEW Alphabets
It's Greek


Are you ready for one more sample with the School Days set? I paired School Days up with the Tennis Darling set to create a little fry box but instead of filling it with fries I used Kisses.
Thanks so much for stopping by. I hope you're having a wonderful weekend.

Sneak Peak: Clear and Simple Stamps

Tomorrow is release day over at Clear and Simple Stamps. This month they are releasing the School Days collection with 11 great sets! Here are a couple more samples with the School Days set.
For this sample I pulled out some thin corkboard and used my Nestabilities Labels 1 set to create a little message holder for a locker. I used two layers of corkboard and mounted them on cardstock covered chipboard. The back of the chipboard has magnets attached so it will stick to a locker door. I stamped the little pennants then cut them out and mounted them to thumbtacks. The letters that spell NOTES are stickers.I thought this would be a nice card to present to that special someone in your life that's moving on to a new school either as a result of a move or just changing from middle school to high school.

Thanks so much for stopping by. Please join me again tomorrow for the new release. Also visit my fellow design team members for more great samples with the new sets.

More Clear and Simple Stamps samples

Ok, the latest Clear and Simple Stamps release is just around the corner. Here are some samples of the School Days set which will release on the 15th. What a great set for making projects for that special teen or pre-teen in your life.

Supplies:

• Stamps - Clear and Simple Stamps School Days (available August 15th)
  
• Ink - Archival Jet Black
  
• Paper - SU Sahara Sand, Basic Black, White, We R Memory Keepers MVP
  
• Misc - Reinkers, Aqua brush, Circle punch, Circle Nestabilities, Slit punch (for bottom scalloped edge), Mini scalloped scissors, Pop dots
  

Supplies:

• Stamps - Clear and Simple Stamps School Days (available August 15th), Diva Style Closet
  
• Ink - Archival Jet Black
  
• Paper - SU Basic Black, White, We R Memory Keepers Royale
  
• Misc - Copics multiliner, Reinkers, Aqua brush, Stickles, Pop dots, Notebook edge punch

Take the Challenge Tuesday

Let's Get Sketchy

August is here and we're doing things a little different this month. Since the TTC fell on the first day of the month, we moved the challenge to the second Tuesday of the month. But don't fret, we've got a fun one in store for you. This month for Take the Challenge Tuesday we are going to get sketchy. Maria created a sketch for us to work with for the challenge this month. Won't you join us and play along?

Join us over at the Clear and Simple Stamps Group on PCP to play along in the Let's Get Sketchy Challenge.

Use the tag TTC08 when loading your projects.

Supplies:

• Stamps - Clear and Simple Stamps A+ Darling
  
• Ink - Palette Hybrid Black
  
• Paper - SU Sahara Sand, Ridinghood Red, Basic Black, Soft Sky, White, Basic Grey Urban Prairie
  
• Misc - Copics, Prima flower, Grungeboard, Ribbon, Cropodile, Pop dots

Ready for School?

Are you ready for the start of the school year? Do you make teacher appreciation gifts for the beginning of the school year? Here are some ideas using the newly released A+ Darling set from Clear and Simple Stamps. It is the Stamp of the Month for August which means you can get a $1 off by entering: DTBlog809

How about a magnet or a magnet attached to a jar of goodies? I used my Nestabilities to make a frame out of chipboard that I sponged with some Vintage photo Distress ink then attached a piece of black cardstock behind it to look like a chalkboard. I stamped the sentiment with Colorbox pigment Frost White and embossed it. The apple was stamped on white cardstock, cut out and mounted with dimensionals. If you want something more than just a magnet, how about clipping the magnet to a cute little jar of goodies?

There are so many possibilities with this set.

SOTM: Clear and Simple Stamps

Can you believe it's August already? Well, it is and with the new month comes a new Stamp of the Month from Clear and Simple Stamps and this month is the adorable A+ Darling set. You can save $1 on the A+ Darling set by entering code: DTBlog809

The beginning of the school year is just around the corner so what a great time to get started on some teacher apprecation cards and gifts. This set is perfect for all of those teachers in your life.

Here's one of the cards I made using the new A+ Darling set. I stamped the Darling image on Kraft cardstock with Palette Hybrid black ink and then colored the image with Copics (including the chalkboard). Next I stamped the verse on the chalkboard in Colorbox Frost White pigment ink. I used a white gel pen to color in the piece of chalk in her hand.

In addition to the new Stamp of the Month it's also time for a new template of the month. Fellow design team member Sue Berker really outdid herself with this month's template. She created the cutest apple basket pattern ever! You can download the free pattern here.

Be sure to check out all of the design team members blog's for more samples of the apple basket plus sneak peak's for the Clear and Simple Stamps School Days Release happening on August 15th.

The wood handles for the basket template are available at Clear and Simple Stamps.

Let me know if you make a basket and leave me a link so I can check it out. Thanks so much for stopping by. I hope you're having a wonderful weekend!