Blog Hop Winner!!!!

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 [email protected] to claim your prize.




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


~*Shell*~

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

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 ....

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

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!

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

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

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!

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

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??

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.....

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.

If you'd like to send cards to the family, you may do so here ....

The Renz Family
PO Box 5913
Bellingham, WA 98227-5913

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

Clearly Inspired #39

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 ...

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

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!

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*~

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*~

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!!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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! :)

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. :)

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!!

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*~

  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*~