Ink-Stained Hands

Cookie Cutter Brownies!

2011-12-14T10:10:00.000-08:00

I was inspired by this blog post to make these (and this photo gave me the idea for turning the gingerbread people cutters upside down to make reindeer).

I used Betty Crocker's gluten free brownie mix for these, mostly because that was all I had on hand and I didn't really want to make brownies from scratch. Using the gluten free mix means I can bless a friend of mine at church with one, since she can't eat gluten any more.

I lined a Wilton 15.25 x 10.25 x .75 jelly roll pan with parchment paper. I placed the cookie cutters onto the parchment paper. Then I mixed up the brownie batter according to the directions on the box (using Earth Balance margarine in place of the butter, since Earth Balance is free of milk proteins), and filled each cookie cutter about half way with the batter. This particular batter is fairly thick, so I had to spend some time pushing it into the nooks and crannies of the cookie cutters.

I baked the brownies at 325° for 20 minutes. Do yourself a favor, if you don't have an oven thermometer, GET ONE! The temperature display on most ovens is inaccurate (ours is 25° cooler than the digital display reads). Having a thermometer inside your oven will increase the consistency in your baked goods.

I let the brownies cool, and then I mixed up Spectrum palm shortening with some powdered sugar. I didn't measure it, sorry!. I placed the icing into my piping bag using THIS method (which TOTALLY rocks, mess-free piping bags? YES, PLEASE! Take the 3 minutes to watch the video, it's completely worth every second), and went to town. I admit these would probably be cuter with bright colors, but I don't have any food coloring in the house and a trip to the store to purchase some was out of the question.

I'm going to package these up, cookie cutter and all, and label them with cute Christmas tags. I'll post a photo of the completed packaging once I've finished it!

TSOL and The Twinery BLOG HOP!!!

2011-11-09T03:00:00.000-08:00

Are you ready for some fun?
The {Stamps} of Lifeand The Twinery Design Teams are playing together for this hop!

About The Twinery

Our twine is made from 100% cotton, it’s eco-friendly and made in the USA. Whether you’re gift wrapping, crafting or tying up baked goods to give to a friend, our baker’s twine adds a fresh, yet nostalgic look to any project at hand! Our baker’s twine comes in 14 delicious colors and is uniquely twisted against a bright white hue, creating an eye-popping burst of color and a creative embellishment! Our twine has lots of color which lends to a fun, candy-striped look. For creative ideas & more…visit OUR BLOG!

About The {Stamps} of Life

We feature high quality, made in the USA, clear stamps and digital stamps/brushes for stampers, card makers and scrapbookers. Feel free to browse our gallery with more than 2500 samples using our stamps, watch our free how-to videos and join our club!

As you make your way through the hop make sure you comment on each and every post. There will be 2 prize winners chosen randomly among the blogs:

One winner will win 2 stamp sets (winners choice) valued at $12.95 -total retail value: $26.90 per prize! from

The {Stamps} of Life

One winner will win the Ultimate Color Sampler Pack ($25 value!) from The Twinery!!!

The prize winners will be announced on The {Stamps} of Life and The Twinery Blogs on Wednesday November 16th.

Here's the card I created using Christmas4Him, Swirls2Build, Holly4Christmas and the Maraschino twine.

Green paper by The Robin's Nest, black ink is Licorice Premium Dye Inkpad by ColorBox and Stephanie Barnard. Other ink is by Versamark.

The hop list:

The Twinery Blog

The {Stamps}of Life Blog

Kim Pargeter <<< You should have come from here!

Joana Studer <<< You are here!

Katrina Hunt <<< Go here next!

Thanks for stopping by! Be sure to leave a comment to be entered in the drawings!

Altered Milk Carton Template

2011-09-26T07:36:00.000-07:00

Head on over to The Hybrid Chick to see what I did with a milk carton template by Kelleigh Ratzlaff! You won't be disappointed!

Birdhouse Explosion Box

2011-07-31T20:25:00.001-07:00

It's been a busy summer! I haven't had much time to write blog entries, though I have been busy creating! I'm hoping once the kids are in mother's day out come September, I'll be able to sit down and write lots of blogs to catch you up on everything I've been making!

I did want to share this cute little explosion box I made using Kelleigh Ratzlaff's Sweet Birdhouse Template and a great collab kit, Life is Sweet, by Meghan Mullens and Misty Cato.

Hope you enjoy!

Two More, As Promised!

2011-05-06T06:00:00.000-07:00

Running in here right quick to share the last two projects I talked about yesterday! Kelleigh Ratzlaff has this awesome new box template just in time for Mother's Day!

And here's my second little 3" card with Dani's grab bag!

That's it for now - I'm super-busy with lots of new products coming to Sweet Shoppe Designs on Saturday!

2011-05-05T06:00:00.000-07:00

Thursday is new release day at The Digi Chick, and making new release day even more exciting is the fact that the first Saturday in May is always iNSD (interNational Scrapbook Day). That means lots of awesome products from lots of awesome designers AND lots of really, really fabulous deals and sales throughout the weekend!

There are a TON of really great grab bags and other things available this week, and so I have several to share with you. First up is the digital layout I created using the grab bag by Mye De Leon. Isn't it so soft and pretty? The layout also uses a template from the grab bag collab between geniaBenia and Cluster Queen Creations. Seriously, 16 templates for just $4? That's a quarter a piece and totally worth every penny!

From the Arty Pants Grab Bag, this also uses Sugarplum Paperie's The Old Garden Gate and a border clipping mask from Mye's grab bag listed above. The flower was made with a Nestabilities blossom die and I used my digital brushes from The {Stamps} of Life All4Moms set.

Finally, here is one of three projects I created using the absolutely HUGE Color Me Happy grab bag by Dani. It's a little 3" card. I'll have the other two projects on the blog tomorrow - right now they're still in various stages of assembly on my workspace. I anticipated getting all three done today, but when your 18-month old teething son wants you to hold him, it makes it a little hard to get any paper crafting done!

I hand-cut the medallion, and added some Lilac twine from The Twinery to the card and button. I just love that purple!

Stop back tomorrow to see the other two projects I created with Dani's yummy grab bag! Happy shopping and scrapping this weekend!

Blog Candy Entry & Another Project

2011-05-03T06:00:00.000-07:00

First, check out the awesome Nestabilities blog candy Col's Creating Memories has going on her blog until May 15!

And now the little hybrid project I made using Kristin Cronin-Barrow's digital scrapbook kit, Go Green. I took a 4" bar coaster and created this little piece of artwork. I applied Mod Podge to the coaster and then put the background paper on it. I sanded the edges, and then adhered the second layer. I absolutely HAD to make some paper roses from the newsprint paper in the kit. I printed it on regular copy paper and then created the three paper roses. I wrote a tutorial on making the rosettes (the outer flowers) for Jennifer Fox a while back. The center flower was made using this fantastic tutorial by Scrappy Cath.

A Couple of New Releases

2011-05-02T06:00:00.000-07:00

A couple of my designers had new releases this week at Sweet Shoppe Designs and I thought I'd share what I made.

First is the layout using Libby Pritchett's Paper Clips - Photo Sheet Templates. These are really great templates for creating multi-photo layouts.

Penny Springmann released her digital kit, I Am (previously available as part of The Digi Files in March) and I used a couple of the papers to make this adorable little teapot using a resized and modified template from My Time Made Easy (I converted the pdf to a psd file in Photoshop CS5 and created some clipping masks for my papers). The original teapot holds 40 tea bags, but I wanted something much smaller to hold a few pieces of chocolate.

I added some Prima Marketing flowers to the top and then stacked a button, a flower rhinestone, and a pearl on top of that. I just love how cute and dainty it is!

Princess Cards

2011-04-29T06:00:00.000-07:00

Here are the cards I made with the Princess4Life stamp set. This set is SO super cute!

The first one uses papers from Kristin Cronin-Barrow's Baby Girl digital scrapbook kit. I used my Silhouette to cut out the banner element to attach to the card. A friend asked me where I got those teeny-tiny clothespins - they're a digital element in the kit! Have I mentioned how much I love my Silhouette?

Next up is the princess card that uses Zoe Pearn's Summer Sorbet digital scrapbook kit. The swirls are cut from a QuicKutz die. The label is a Nestabilities die. I had to add some tiny rhinestones to the crown for added bling!

Finally, there's another happy birthday card using Sherwood Studios' Posy digital scrapbook kit. The flowers were made with Stacy Molter's Flower Templates & Cutting Files. I cut them with my Silhouette. The label is that same Nestabilities die.

Hybrid Cards

2011-04-28T06:00:00.000-07:00

I created two square cards this week using brand new goodies from The Digi Chick!

First up is the way cool floral collage digital stamp by Arty Pants. I used Refresh: The Kit by Mari Koegelenberg for both cards.

I copied the dragonfly and butterfly a second time so I could cut out their wings and glitter them. I really wanted to use my crystal clear glitter by PK Glitz but apparently it is playing hide and seek on my workspace, so I used some of my Martha Stewart glitter instead.

My second card was based on this week's Mojo Monday sketch #188.

I used a little bit of twine from The Twinery to make the bow on the button, and then added a little Prima Marketing gerbera daisy flower to my accordion flower.

Not Your Typical Template Use...

2011-04-27T09:19:00.000-07:00

Quick, run over to The Hybrid Chick blog and see what I did with this template! I guarantee you'll be surprised. ;)

Blog Hop!

2011-04-26T06:00:00.000-07:00

Are you ready for some fun?

The {Stamps} of Life and The Twinery Design Teams are playing together for this hop!

About The Twinery:

Our twine is made from 100% cotton, it's eco-friendly and made in the USA.
Whether you're gift wrapping, crafting or tying up baked goods to give to a
friend, our baker's twine adds a fresh, yet nostalgic look to any project at
hand! Our baker's twine comes in 11 delicious colors and is uniquely twisted
against a bright white hue, creating an eye-popping burst of color and a
creative embellishment! Our twine has lots of color which lends to a fun,
candy-striped look.

For creative ideas & more, visit OUR BLOG!

About The {Stamps} of Life :

We feature high quality, made in the USA, clear stamps and digital stamps/brushes for stampers, card makers and scrapbookers. Feel free to
browse our gallery with more than 2500 samples using our stamps, watch our free how-to videos and join our club!

As you make your way through the hop make sure you comment on each and every post. There will be 4 prize winners chosen randomly among the blogs:

Two $20 gift certificates from The {Stamps} of Life

and

Two Colorful Bunch Sampler Packs ($20 value!) from The Twinery!!!

The prize winners will be announced on The {Stamps}of Life and The Twinery Blogs on Tuesday May 3rd.

Here's my card, inspired by Taylored Expressions sketch #135. The papers come from the Golden Afternoon digital scrapbook collab kit by Shawna Clingerman and Penny Springmann. I used the houses4us stamp set by The {Stamps} of Life.

Here's the hop list - if you got to my blog post without going through the hop, be sure to start at the top and work your way through, leaving comments so you have a chance to win!

The Twinery Blog
The {Stamps}of Life Blog
Jeanne Streiff
Julie Ranae
Deb Felts
Monique Hansen
Vicki Garrett
Monika Wright
Emily Niehaus
Emily Leiphart
Beverly Sizemore
Tifany DeGough <-- You should have come from here!
Joana Studer <-- YOU ARE HERE! :D
Katrina Hunt <--Your next stop!
Laura Williams
Jen Carter
Kim Howard
Jenny Suchin
Sheri Twing

Thanks for stopping by! Happy Hopping!

Mojo Monday 178 Entry

2011-02-18T08:43:00.000-08:00

Here's my card for Mojo Monday 178! The card also gives you a little sneak peek of the Don't Stop Believing digital scrapbook kit by Libby Pritchett and Meghan Mullens, coming to Sweet Shoppe Designs on 2/19/2011!

I know it's been a terribly long time since I've updated the blog. I have created TONS of projects but as usual, I am so busy designing and creating things that I don't leave enough time to update the blog with everything I've done lately. :) Here's hoping I can manage to schedule some time to update the neglected blog in the near future because I have SO many things to share!

Christmas Survey

2010-12-02T10:05:00.000-08:00

Just for fun! Consider yourself tagged if you want to play along, and leave a comment with a link to your blog so I can read your answers! :)

1. Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate? Silk soy nog mixed with Tazo decaf chai tea concentrate. I'd totally say egg nog but the whole having to be dairy-free thing makes that an impossibility. Perhaps next year I'll be able to have some again.

2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree? According to my mother, Santa is MUCH too busy to have time to wrap the presents for every girl and boy.

3. Colored lights on tree/house or white? Our tree has white lights and our house has colored lights.

4. Do you hang mistletoe? Yes, but since it's hung from the chandelier over our table, it's ornamental only. :)

5. When do you put your decorations up? Whenever we get around to it - we threatened to do it before Thanksgiving but life got in the way. Right now the tree is up, but everything else is still in boxes upstairs.

6. What is your favorite holiday dish? My mom's rum cake. Sadly, I haven't been able to have any in a couple of years. I may try to make a gluten-free modification, we'll see.

7. Favorite Christmas memory as a child? Driving around in our 1981 Suburban on Christmas Eve looking at lights while listening to the Muppet Christmas album, then going home and having homemade eggnog milkshakes.

8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa? What do you mean, the truth about Santa? My mom always said when you stop believing, he stops coming. :-Þ

9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? We never did growing up, but my husband's family did. Ours will - it'll be Christmas jammies.

10. How do you decorate your Christmas tree? Heavily? It's decorated mostly with ornaments from my childhood as well as ornaments from my husband's childhood as well. The lower 1/3 has plastic ornaments on it.

11. Snow! Love it or Dread it? Since I've lived in Texas and California all my life, I love snow because it's a rarity in both plaecs.

12. Can you ice skate? Yes. But growing up in Texas, I don't associate ice skating with winter or Christmas. Weird, huh?

13. Do you remember your favorite gift? My Fisher Price orange teddy bear with a blue bib that had an apple embroidered on it, and it squeaked when you squeezed its tummy.

14. What’s the most important thing about Christmas for you? Celebrating the birth of my Savior, Jesus Christ.

15. What is your favorite Christmas Dessert? Mom's rum cake

16. What is your favorite Christmas tradition? reading the Christmas story in Luke

17. What tops your tree? Right now? nothing. I can't even remember what we have to go on top.

18. Which do you prefer giving or Receiving? I prefer giving

19. What is your favorite Christmas Song? O Holy Night is my favorite traditional one. I also really love Here With Us by Joy Williams, and Lindsey Lloyd Wallace's This Baby Boy

20. Candy Canes: Yuck or Yum? meh

21 Favorite Christmas Show? Veggie Tales Saint Nicholas

22. Saddest Christmas Song? Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer. It's so dang irreverent.

23. What’s your Wish for Christmas. That we'll really focus on the birth of Jesus, and keep our celebrations simple.

The {Stamps} of Life New Releases!

2010-12-02T08:48:00.000-08:00

Hooray! I'm just a day behind in posting this entry! The first of the month always means a new release of the club member stamps from The {Stamps} of Life. Here are the projects I made using this fun Valentine's Day stamp set!

First up is this card created using the digital brushes from the Hearts2Love stamp set, as well as a few from Holly4Christmas. The background paper is from Memory Keeper by Jennifer Fox at The Digi Chick. The design is based on a Fuss Free: Christmas Greetings template by Fiddle-Dee-Dee Designs. The paper roses are made using Paper Roses by The Cutting Files. Now, I have a Cricut (the smallest one, the first one they came out with that cuts 6" x 12", whatever its name is now!), but when I'm just going to cut a few things, I usually end up cutting by hand. It takes just as long as it does to load the software, hook up the machine, cut it out, and then assemble. But having the template still makes it easier to hand-cut the flowers! I added some swirl stickers and some snowflakes I punched out of some pearl paper by The Paper Studio. I cut the scalloped circles with my Nestabilities die and then punched holes in the scallops.

Next up is a re-purposed pillow box that had ribbon I picked up from Target's Dollar Spot. It had the paper inside already, I just traced part of the top onto white cardstock and stamped my design, then adhered it to the paper and reinsert it into the box.

This card uses digital paper from Oh Baby Girl by Basic Grey. The layout is inspired by Taylored Expressions Sketch Challenge 134.

And finally, I have another altered treat box. I stamped the heart onto a piece of white cardstock and then used a scalloped circle Nestabilities die. Then I inked the edges with red ink. I created an accordion paper flower using a strip of paper from the 12 Days of Christmas paper included in a fantastic grab bag available at The Digi Chick until December 13. Be sure to check out the blog hop that starts here with Kelleigh Ratzlaff! There are some fantastic freebies and great gift ideas that are inexpensive and still pack an awesome punch!

New Releases at The Digi Chick!

2010-11-25T03:00:00.000-08:00

This week is AWESOME for the hybrid paper crafter! There are so many fabulous kits and hybrid templates and cutting files - I wanted to work with everything!!

First on my list is a fun tag template/cutting file set by Geeky Diva Designs. Again, since I was just making one tag, I just hand-cut the tag but would definitely make my Cricut do the work if I were making more than one or two! The papers are from a kit bundled in a fabulous Jolly Holly Days grab bag by Nikki Epperson - for one really low price you get FOUR awesome products! The grab bag is a Black Friday special and will be gone in a flash, never to be seen at such a low price again! The stamps are digital brushes from the Joy2Christmas set by The {Stamps} of Life. I bought the jar through a Frontier co-op in my area and filled it with Candy Cane Hershey Kisses.

Next up is a simple card using the same papers and the gorgeous digital stamp Christmas Wish by Arty Pants. I just love the look of this stamp and it's so versatile! The sentiment is from the Christmas2Build set by The {Stamps} of Life.

Finally, I have the piece de resistance. I LOVE how this card turned out. I don't usually do these types of cards because they take me a really long time searching through my embarrassingly extensive stash of stuff looking for the perfect pieces to cluster onto the card. That dragonfly? Came from my jewelry box, believe it or not! Yes, folks, I raided my costume jewelry looking for pieces for this particular card. Anyway, the paper is from the Season of Thanks collaborative kit created by the designers at The Digi Chick. Yep, I used a Thanksgiving kit for a Christmas card! I embossed the pink paper using a Cuttlebug envelope. The brown distressed paper has that same Christmas Wishes stamp by Arty Pants, but instead of making it bold, I blended it with the paper for a more subtle look, and I also only used part of the stamp instead of the whole thing. I LOVE how it turned out and how versatile that stamp is! After printing and cutting, I tore part of the paper, and then crumpled it up. Then I distressed it using my Desert Sand ink pad by CTMH.

I added some pink ric rac ribbon and then ruffled up a different pink ribbon on top of that. Lately it seems as if no card I create is complete without a Prima Marketing flower or two, and the finishing touch on this card is of course a flower center by Prima as well. Additional touches are the rhinestone swirl, small layered cream flower with a pearl center, and small Sizzix scalloped tag die cut with the greeting on it, which is from the Holly4Christmas set by The {Stamps} of Life. The pink ink is Blush from CTMH.

Well, that's it from me for now - be sure to check out The Digi Chick to see ALL of the awesome new goodies available this week!

Blue, Cream, and a Little Bling!

2010-11-23T07:00:00.000-08:00

I've been crafting like crazy lately - so much so that I haven't managed to make the time to update the blog! Today I want to share with you a sweet little card that ended up absolutely NOTHING like I had planned in my head - I actually started out using kraft as the base for this card!

The patterned paper is from the Winterland digital scrapbook kit by Nikki Epperson. I used my Nestabilities labels die for the sentiment paper and the border, as well as the butterfly, which is from Butterflies Set 1 by The Cutting Files. Since I was only using one butterfly, I didn't bother dragging out my Cricut and fighting with my Sure Cuts A Lot software - I just clipped the digital paper to the butterfly template, printed it out, and cut it by hand. If I were making a hundred butterflies (or even just 10), I'd definitely make the machine do it for me! After I cut the butterfly, I added some crystal glitter by PK Glitz to the edges and center of the butterfly to give it a little bling factor.

The base paper is from a pearl paper pack by The Paper Studio. I embossed it using a Cuttlebug folder. I added blue ribbon and the little silver charm from my stash of random stuff. The flowers and center are by Prima Marketing.

The sentiment is from the Friends4Ever set by The {Stamps} of Life. I originally stamped it with light blue ink, but couldn't get a good photo of the sentiment so I restamped it using grey and I like how it turned out.

Check back on Thursday when I show off some of the stuff I made for the new releases this week at The Digi Chick. There are SO MANY awesome products coming out and I've had a blast playing with them!

More TSOL Projects & Cards!

2010-10-25T08:00:00.000-07:00

Here are a couple more projects and a card I created with this month's special release stamps from The {Stamps} of Life!

First is this Christmas card in non-traditional colors. I have this thing for pink and green on Christmas cards. I used the candy canes from the Christmas2Build stamps to make a heart. I added some crystal PK Glitz glitter on the alternating stripes. The mats are cut from a Nestabilities label die. The paper comes from Libby Weifenbach & Tracey Howard's digital kitFra Gee Lay.

Next is a simple sour cream treat container I made as part of a set of six for a tutorial I wrote over on Penny Springmann's Blog. The stamps are from the Monogram2Build and Alpha4Monogram. The circle is either a Nestabilities scalloped circle or else a 1.5" scalloped circle punch, I can't remember now which one I used! Isn't this paper GORGEOUS? I love it. It comes from Penny Springmann and Amanda Heimann's collab kit, Autumn Rhapsody.

Finally I have a simple initial tin that also uses the Monogram2Build and Alpha4Monogram stamps. I stamped using Color Box pigment ink in scarlet, then dumped red embossing powder on top and heat set the whole thing. I love these little boxes, and was thrilled to find a set at Michaels in their Sold-As-Is section marked 75% off, from $19.99 to $5! There was only one tin missing from the whole set so of course I snatched them up! They're perfect for holding a few chocolates or other small treat.

That's it for now! Stay tuned, as I'll have some more before the end of the month!

Battle of the Creative Teams, Week 2!

2010-10-23T21:27:00.000-07:00

This week's challenge was MUCH easier! It was another two-part challenge. The first part was a scraplift train, where we listed the members of our team and then had to lift a layout from the person ahead of us and behind us in the list. The second part was to choose one of these three words: yesterday, today, tomorrow in our layout or project.

Our team chose "Today" as our word.

My project for this week's battle:

You can read the credits here.

And you can vote for Libby Weifenbach http://www.esurveyspro.com/app/polls/DirectPoll.aspx?id=6928 once per IP address! Hurry, the voting ends at 11:59 pm EST on Sunday, October 24!!!

Thanks!

Candy Dispenser!

2010-10-23T19:29:00.000-07:00

I whipped this little project up pretty quickly using the new Just Sayin' digital collab kit by Penny Springmann and Eva Kipler and Kelleigh Ratzlaff's Candy Dispenser template.

I used some flat backed adhesive pearls for the feet on the bottom, and some fabulous ribbon from The Paper Studio that happened to match the colors in the kit. Then I filled it with fall-colored M&Ms that went with the kit colors.

A Few Christmas Projects

2010-10-18T12:52:00.000-07:00

Yes, I know. It's only October...but if you're a stamper or paper crafter, you know you have to get a head start on making your gifts and cards!
The {Stamps} of Life has two really cute Christmas sets out this month - the club set is Holly4Christmas and the special release set is Christmas2Build. I made the following projects with these two sets.

The holly on top was created with the digital brushes and then printed out along with the project itself, which uses Kelleigh Ratzlaff's Perfect Square box template and Kristin Cronin-Barrow's Holly Jolly digital scrapbook kit. I embellished the holly berries using PK Glitz China Red glitter and I love the extra touch it adds.

I also created this ornament. I used gold Color Box pigment ink to stamp "{joy}" onto acetate, then I dumped gold embossing powder on top of it. It took a long time to emboss it because I was worried about melting the acetate, even though it was the heat resistant kind made to run through copiers. I cut the acetate using a scalloped circle Nestabilities die, then I punched a hole using a large papercrafting needle and strung gold DMC embroidery floss through it. I added the sparkly confetti (which I've had for years, it was made by Magic Scraps and I don't believe they're still in business) using a funnel. I rolled up the acetate circle just tight enough to slip through the opening of the ornament. It unrolls after it goes through the opening. I threaded the floss through the lid of the ornament and then replaced the lid. I added the bow on top and then spent more time trying to get a good photo of it than I did actually creating it! I love how it turned out and I can't wait to see how it looks shimmering in the lights of our Christmas tree. I was so excited to find acrylic ornaments - I love the glass ones but I have two small children and there was no way I was going to make an ornament like this that could be easily broken.

This card is so much more stunning in person - the green base paper is glitter paper by DCWV. I found a package of green and pink ribbons and thought it would be fun to create a Christmas card in non-traditional colors. I stamped the ornament five times and then cut out each ornament. I scored them in half and then stuck them together with adhesive to get the 3-d effect. I used the Swirls2Build to create the pink paper, and used the "merry" sentiment from last year's Joy2Christmas set. The dies are Nestabilities - same die shape, different sizes. Yes, I think I might be slightly addicted.

And last but DEFINITELY not least from the Holly4Christmas set is this card. It's hard to tell, but I used a stained glass technique to create the holly. I stamped the holly image onto acetate using CTMH black ink. I left it to dry overnight and it was fine in the morning. Then I added PK Glitz glitter in the green and red and placed a white piece of cardstock down on top, applying the adhesive to where the glitter is so you can't see it. Then I ran both pieces through my die cut machine with the scalloped circle Nestabilities die and cut the basic circle in the next size up to create a mat for the scalloped circle. I cut the green shape with a labels die. I embossed the red paper with a Cuttlebug bird embossing folder, then I cut a strip and punched it with a Fiskars open scallop border punch. Finally, I stamped "{joy}" in red and assembled the card. This one is my favorite so far!

I'll be back soon with some more creations from this month's stamp set!

Battle of the Creative Teams, Week 1!

2010-10-16T08:13:00.001-07:00

So Digiscrap Addicts is having a four-week competition called the Battle of the Creative Teams (BOTCT) and I'm participating on Libby Weifenbach's team. Every week we're given a new challenge and each team member creates a digital layout or hybrid layout/project. Then the public votes on the best team. Voting runs from Saturday to Sunday each week and you can vote once per IP address per week. You can go HERE to vote. My team, Libby Weifenbach, is near the bottom. You don't have to log in or anything, just click the link, find her name, select the radio button, and hit vote!

This week's challenge was *HARD* especially as a hybrid artist! Our team of 5 people had to choose one of three recipes AND had to include an equation. We chose Phenomenal + Woman = for our equation (and we all used "ME" as our answer, though the answers could be different), and this was our recipe:

option 3
10 ribbons
9 flowers
8 buttons
7 papers
6 stitches
5 alphas
4 photos
3 shape templates
2 fonts
1 frame

And here's my project:

It's a pop-up circle mini-album. It was fun to put together, and I think I would have had even more fun if I hadn't been trying to follow a specific recipe.

I'd love it if you would swing by and vote for Libby Weifenbach's team! Thanks!

Adding some Sparkle!

2010-09-16T01:00:00.000-07:00

I've recently gotten to work with some fabulous glitter from PK Glitz and I have had so much fun! This glitter is super-fine and really wonderful to work with. I'm always amazed at how just a little sparkle on a card or other project gives it that extra WOW! factor.

I made this little gift box using papers and elements from the >Kind of a Big Deal digital scrapbook collaboration kit by Geek Chic Scraps and Sir Scrapalot. It's really bright and great for masculine projects. I added blueberry glitter to the star and it just makes the whole project!

I used the "You Rock!" digital brushes from the Love2Hug set. I just LOVE the versatility of the digital brushes! The stamp itself is much smaller, but with the digital brush I just made it the size I wanted to fit the square.

Great Sale on Digital Scrapbook Kits!

2010-09-15T18:30:00.000-07:00

One of the great designers for whom I do creative work is celebrating her anniversary as a digital scrapbook designer and right now she has a great sale going on in her store! Check it out!

She has a great new kit releasing tomorrow - check out my little sneak peek project.

I also used some stamps from my ever-growing stash of stamps by The {Stamps} of Life. The dotted circle stamp is from the Back2Basics set and the smile and smiley face stamps are from Banners4All set. I used my Nestabilities circle and scalloped circle dies to cut the top, and a die from the Labels 4 set to cut the smile tag. The flowers are from Prima Marketing, except the small maroon flower on the center of the card, and the green flower on the jar - those both came from Nikki's new release!

I lifted this project from Two Peas

I'll be back tomorrow with a great little project using more stamps from The {Stamps} of Life AND some really rockin' glitter from PK Glitz!

TSOL Challenge: Seeing Red

2010-08-16T20:14:00.000-07:00

This week's challenge is to make red the main color of your card.

Please feel free to play along with us!

If you are playing along with The {Stamps} of Life stamps or digital images please upload to the gallery on the site –>HERE <— with the keyword TSOLD16. Please link to one of our blogs so we can see your stuff! Our challenge this week is “Seeing Red!” (TSOLD16) - Make red the main color of your card.

Our players this week:

Beverly Sizemore

Emily Niehaus
Jeanne Streiff
Stephanie Barnard
Tami Mayberry

My card!

Paper: Paper Studio darks cardstock
Stamps: Sweet4Babies
Ink: CTMH, cat's eye
Flower: paper from Libby Weifenbach's Class of 2010 digital scrapbook kit. That damask is positively gorgeous!
Other: Nestabilities, brad, 3D Foam adhesive, black EP

CPS Sketch # 179

2010-08-11T08:05:00.000-07:00

The {Stamps} of Life is sponsoring this week's Card Positioning Systems sketch # 179! Use the sketch to create a card using The {Stamps} of Life stamps or digital brushes, then go to the CPS website and link up your card! Don't have any stamps from The {Stamps} of Life? Well, why not?? You can still play, just go here , click on Digital, then download the two freebie brushes, print them and and use them like you would any stamped, cut out image! Easy peasy! And while you're there, order a stamp set or two - these stamps seriously ROCK. I've been stamping since 1995 and these are some of the best quality stamps in existence. AND, they're made IN THE USA!!! I just think that's so cool.

So here's my little card using the CPS sketch for this week - it also uses the one of newest releases, Sweet4Babies. I rotated the sketch 90°. I used a 3x5 blank index card for the base. It's the perfect size for a gift enclosure (and with the stage of life I'm in right now, you can never have too many baby gift enclosure cards!).

Word Challenge!

2010-08-03T00:05:00.000-07:00

Time again for another card challenge from The {Stamps} of Life design team.

This week's challenge is to make your phrase the focus of your card

Please feel free to play along with us!

If you are playing along with The {Stamps} of Life stamps or digital images please upload to the gallery on the site –>HERE <— with the keyword TSOLD15. Please link to one of our blogs so we can see your stuff! Our challenge this week is “Use Your Words!” (TSOLD15) - Make your phrase the focus of your card. Our players this week (CHA, summer vacations, and Stephanie's prep for attending the Santa Clara scrapbooking convention have us light on players for this challenge):

Beverly Sizemore

My card!

Paper: Digital paper from the Forever and Always, digital Kit by Geek Chic Scraps
Stamps: Youare2Kind, Swirls2Build digital brush (you can't really see it, but the pink rectangle is digitally stamped with those brushes
Ink: CTMH blush
Other: pink polka dot ribbon, pink tiles by The Paper Studio, Nestabilities labels die, 3D Foam adhesive

Polka Dot Challenge!

2010-07-20T06:15:00.000-07:00

This week's challenge is to use polka dots somewhere on your card.

Please feel free to play along with us!

If you are playing along with The {Stamps} of Life stamps or digital images please upload to the gallery on the site –>HERE <— with the keyword TSOLD14. Please link to one of our blogs so we can see your stuff! Our challenge this week is “Polka Dots!” (TSOLD14) - Use polka dots somewhere on your card. Our players this week:

Beverly Sizemore
Deb Felts
Emily Niehaus
Jeanne Streiff
Vicki Garrett

My card!

Paper: Digital paper Kit "It's a Wrap" by Melissa Bennett (yes, it's a Christmas kit! This card also fits a challenge to use a Christmas kit for a non-Christmas project.)
Stamps: Youare2Kind ("sweet"), basic4abc ("baby"), Back2Basics (polka dots!)
Ink: CTMH
Other: blue polka dot ribbon (Dollar Spot at Target a few weeks back), buttons, Nestabilities, 3D Foam adhesive

Flower Soft and The {Stamps} of Life Blog Hop!

2010-07-06T06:00:00.000-07:00

Are you ready for some fun?

The {Stamps} of Life and Flower Soft Design Teams are playing together for this hop!

As you make your way through the hop make sure you comment on each and every post. There will be 6 prize winners chosen randomly from the comments left on the blogs!

What can you win? 3 prize packages from Flower Soft and 3 stamps sets from The {Stamps} of Life!!!

The prize winners will be announced on the Flower Soft blog and The {Stamps} of Life blog on Wednesday July 14th. Good luck!

Ok, on with my project! So you may remember this card from February's special release of the TinyAnd2Cute stamps.

It's a standard 4.25 x 5.5 card. I've had that DP lying around since forever (remember, I've been paper crafting since 1995!) so I'm not terribly sure where it came from. The rest is just cardstock and ribbon and stamps. I mounted the cupcake and sentiment using 3-D foam adhesive to give the card some dimension. It was quick and easy, which is what I need with two small children running around this place!

I decided to take my Baby Pink Flower Soft and add some texture to the stamped cupcake sprinkles. It was fast, easy, and added so much to the card! I must advise you, however, NOT to put your FlowerSoft into a styrofoam bowl. Paper plates work much better, as they aren't rife with static! I had a good laugh at myself over that error this morning. I will blame it on the fact that I hadn't had my caffeine-laden tea latte yet.

Want even more inspiration? Do you like video tutorials? Make sure and check out both The {Stamps} of Life and Flower Soft TV for weekly videos, specials and product news!!!

If you've ended up here without having started at the Flower Soft blog, go here so you can see all of the other fun projects using this really cool product!

****Next on the hop is

Rose Ann Reynolds

Don't forget to leave me a comment for another chance to win some fabulous goodies! Thanks for stopping by!

Flower Soft and The {Stamps} of Life Blog Hop!

2010-07-06T04:54:00.001-07:00

Time for Another TSOL Challenge!!

2010-06-22T06:00:00.000-07:00

This week's challenge is to use flowers on your card.

Please feel free to play along with us!

If you are playing along with The {Stamps} of Life stamps or digital images please upload to the gallery on the site –>
HERE <— with the keyword TSOLD13. Please link to one of our blogs so we can see your stuff! Our challenge this week is “Flower Power!” (TSOLD13) - Use flowers somewhere on your card. Our players this week:

Beverly Sizemore
Deb Felts (post will be up later today)
Jeanne Streiff
And our very own Stephanie Barnard!

My card - a 4.25" square with a bunch more squares on top of it!

Stamps: Basic4ABC ("utiful"), HappyBday2You ("you're")
Ink: CTMH
Other: Bee brad - Paper Studio, Prima Marketing flowers, Memories flower brad, Nestabilities, 3D Foam adhesive

New Stamps for June

2010-06-10T05:46:00.000-07:00

So we're 10 days into the month and with the special releases being made available to everyone tomorrow, I figured I'd better get my post done about the really fun June stamp set!

It's the super cute Kites2Fly!

If you enjoy paper piecing, this is the stamp set for you. There are so many fun possibilities with this set. Here are a few of the things I came up with, including a digital scrapbook page using the digital brushes (.abr format, they also come in .jpg and .png formats so there are lots of great options).

And the digital scrapbook page:

You can see more wonderful ideas using this stamp set by visiting The {Stamps} of Life gallery! Share your creations with us and you'll be entered into the random drawing for a stamp set of your choice!

Stay tuned, I'll be back (hopefully tomorrow!) with samples using the special release! If you are a club member, you have already gotten to see the great sets, and have even been able to order them! Are you a club member? You should be! There are great perks and benefits that come from belonging to the club!

Another TSOL Challenge!

2010-06-08T12:40:00.000-07:00

Lookee here! It's been two weeks since our last challenge. Is it just me, or is the passage of time a lot like trying to hold sand that just slips through your fingers?

Anyway! This week's challenge is to cut out the main image of your card. And the kite from the June stamp set is perfect for this challenge!

Please feel free to play along with us!

If you are playing along with The {Stamps} of Life stamps or digital images please upload to the gallery on the site –>
HERE <— with the keyword TSOLD12. Please link to one of our blogs so we can see your stuff! Our challenge this week is “Snip Snip!” (TSOLD12) - Cut out the main image on your card. Our players this week:

Deb Felts
Jeanne Streiff

Laura Williams
Vicki Garrett

One of my favorite sources for little bitty cards is a 3x5 index card. They're the perfect size for a card base when you want a mini-card. This card was fast and simple but is also really cute (if I do say so myself!).

Stamps: Kite2Fly
Paper: 3x5 index cards
Ink: CTMH

Late to the Party...May Stamps!

2010-05-26T13:51:00.000-07:00

Wow, I just realized I never posted about the fabulous May stamps! I'll do a better job in June.

Anyway, we started the month with the wonderful Banners4All set.

I did two cards with this set:

hybrid card - Little Big Man digital kit by Eva Kipler
Nestabilities circle and scalloped circle
spiral paper clip
ribbon
3-d foam adhesive
Fiskars scallop edge punch
CTMH inks

hat pom pom and happy birthday to you word circle are from the HappyBday2You set

Hybrid card - Bumbleblooms digital kit by Julie Billingsley
Prima flowers
rhinestones
black DMC embroidery floss
square brads
3-D foam adhesive

Then I did a freebie desktop for May and a digital scrapbook page using the digital brushes.

Banners4All, thanks2you, abc4you, hello2you, late4bday digi brushes

Digital scrapbook page using Banners4all brushes.
Traci Reed - Wish on a Rainbow
Julie Billingsley - Find Your Wings
Font is CK Anecdote

And finally I did a little Christmas tag:

On the 7th, the special release stamps were revealed to club members (Are you a club member? You should be! You get special pricing on all stamp sets, you get to see (and order!) the special release stamps every month before they're available to the general public, AND you get other little perks as well!). These sets included GetWell2You, funky4lowerabc (matches the upper case from last month), and Stars4You.

And the cards I created with them:

getwell2You stamps
Cuttlebug swiss dot embossing folder
CTMH inks
Prima flowers
ribbon
3-D foam adhesive
Nestabilities label die
rhinestone

hybrid card using getwell2you (how cute is that little butterfly?!) and Christy Lyle's A Place To Call Home Digi kit.
Prima flowers

hybrid card using funky4lowabc, All4Moms circle, and Melissa Bennett's Alphabet Soup digital kit.

Ink & ribbon is CTMH. Circles are Nestabilities.

hybrid card using Dani Mogstad's Americana (retired) and the Stars4You stamps.

Circles are Nestabilities. Ink is CTMH.

I used the Stars4you digital brushes on another digital scrapbook page and I LOVE how it turned out. I added a red stroke (edit > stroke in Photoshop CS) to the July and a white stroke to the 4th. It gives a look that would be very, very difficult to replicate with ink and paper, which is one reason I LOVE the digital brushes that are available with every set!

Digital scrapbook page - kit is Boom Boom Clap by Libby Weifenbach
July 4 - digi brushes from stars4You

I still have a few more to share, they just need to be photographed. Stay tuned for more stampy/digi-scrap goodness!

Two Challenges, One Card

2010-05-25T06:00:00.000-07:00

So The {Stamps} of Life is sponsoring this week's Card Positioning Systems sketch, AND it's time for the bimonthly challenge for the DT girls at The {Stamps}of Life!

Please feel free to play along with us!

If you are playing along with The {Stamps} of Life stamps or digital images please upload to the gallery on the site –>
HERE <— with the keyword TSOLD11. Please link to one of our blogs so we can see your stuff! Our challenge this week is “Feeling Punchy!” (TSOLD11) - Use die cuts or punches on your card. Our players this week:

Beverly Sizemore
Deb Felts
Jeanne Streiff
Jen Gallacher
Laura Williams
Vicki Garrett

I have seen quite a few easel cards around lately and decided to give it a go. I LOVE it and see myself making quite a few more of these in the future!

Stamps: Hip2Be, getwell2you (butterfly), tinyand2cute (hello)
Paper: a very old Creating Keepsakes 8x8 spiral bound kit
Ink: CTMH
Other: CPS Sketch 168, scalloped square punches, scalloped oval punch, Fiskars border punch, ribbon

Tempting Textures Challenge!

2010-05-11T09:00:00.000-07:00

It's time for the bimonthly challenge for the DT girls at The {Stamps}of Life!

Please feel free to play along with us!

If you are playing along with The {Stamps} of Life stamps or digital images please upload to the gallery on the site –>
HERE <— with the keyword TSOLD10. Please link to one of our blogs so we can see your stuff! Our challenge this week is “Tempting Textures!” (TSOLD10) - Add texture to your card. Our players this week:

Deb Felts
Jeanne Streiff

Stephanie Barnard
Vicki Garrett

Here is my card:

Stamps: getwell2You (Brand new, released today!!)
Paper: cardstock, some random pink piece of scrap I found in my stash
Ink: CTMH
Other: CPS Sketch 165, Prima flowers, ribbon, rhinestone, Cuttlebug swiss dots embossing folder, Nestabilities label die, 3-D foam adhesive

Last Happy Circles Card!

2010-04-29T06:00:00.000-07:00

Here's the last card I created with the Happy2Be Circles stamp set. I think turquoise and red may be one of my favorite color combinations!

This is another digital hybrid card. This time I used Kristin Cronin-Barrow's kit These Days. I used the digital brushes for the sentiment. I also used my EK Success border punch and my Nestabilities scallop circle. The little butterfly came from Dollar Tree (of all places!). The ink is CTMH.

Another Happy Circles Card

2010-04-28T06:02:00.000-07:00

I only shared two of my four creations from the Happy2Be Circles stamp set, so here's another one!

This is a digital hybrid card. I used Libby Weifenbach's digital kit The Bee's Knees for the papers. I used the happy and birthday digi-stamps (aka Photoshop brushes) to create the circle sentiment. Then I inked the circle edges and added some doodle stitching to the circle and yellow paper strip.

Hip to be Square Challenge!

2010-04-27T08:22:00.001-07:00

Deb Felts

Jeanne Streiff

Laura Williams

Here is my card:

Stamps: Hip2Be squares
Paper: DCWV Citrus paper mat stack
Ink: CTMH

Other: Nestabilities scalloped square die, 1.25" square punch, Prima flowers, Paper Studio rhinestone, 3D foam adhesive

Phrase Fun Challenge!

2010-04-12T20:46:00.000-07:00

Deb Felts

Jeanne Streiff

Laura Williams

Here is my card:

Stamps: Back2Basics flower

Digital brushes: abc4you, boxes4abc, funky4Big - The Stamps of Life

Paper: Backyard Blooms digital kit by Kristin Cronin-Barrow (Sweet Shoppe Designs)(retired)

Ink: CTMH

Other: CPS Sketch 162, phrase inspired by Dear Lizzy and a month-long digital scrapbook challenge at Sweet Shoppe Designs.

April Special Release!

2010-04-11T10:49:00.000-07:00

It's the 11th, so that means The {Stamps} of Life special release stamps for April are now available! Check them out:

For both cards below, I used papers from Eva Kipler's digital Kit Little Big Man.

My final project was to create some adorable letter blocks using the alpha stamps. These turned out SO cute! The blocks are 1.5".

I'll be sharing more projects with these stamps throughout the month, so stay tuned!

April Release!

2010-04-02T16:37:00.001-07:00

I am a couple of days late with the new release for April. Life gets crazy sometimes! This month's set is super-cute as always:

Happy2beCircles

Here are a couple of cards I made.

This card also uses the heart stamp from January's Love2Hug set.

Bow-nanza Challenge!

2010-03-30T07:49:00.000-07:00

It's time for the bi- monthly challenge for the DT girls at The {Stamps}of Life!

Please feel free to play along with us!

If you are playing along with The {Stamps} of Life stamps or digital images please upload to the gallery on the site –> HERE <— with the keyword TSOLD07. Please link to one of our blogs so we can see your stuff! Our challenge this week is “Bow-Nanza!!” (TSOLD07). Add a bow to your project. Our players this week:
Deb Felts
Jeanne Streiff
Vicki Garrett

Here is my card:

Stamps: Late4Bday - The Stamps of Life
Ink: CTMH, Versamark watermark
Other: ribbon, image colored with Prismacolors

Hybrid Card

2010-03-24T18:18:00.000-07:00

I've really gotten into digital scrapbooking over the last month because I can work on pages while sitting on the couch nursing the baby. I've also created some all-digital cards for the same reason. Today I decided to design on the computer, then print out the papers and add 3-D touches to them.

The papers are from Kristin Cronin-Barrow's Natural Beauty digital kit. I used the Happy Mother's Day word brushes from the All4Moms special release stamp set. The punches were a simple corner rounder and the border punch from EK Success. The sentiment block is mounted with 3-D foam adhesive for dimension. I added a ribbon and some crystals for the finishing touches.

Button-It-Up Challenge!

2010-03-15T21:54:00.000-07:00

The DT girls (and Miss Stephanie!) at The {Stamps}of Life decided to throw out a bi-monthly challenge to each other.

Please feel free to play along with us!

If you are playing along with The {Stamps} of Life stamps or digital images please upload to the gallery on the site HERE with the keyword TSOLD05. Please link to one of our blogs so we can see your stuff!

Our challenge this week is "Button it Up!!!"(TSOLD05). Make a card or project with buttons. Our players this week:

Stephanie Barnard

Jeanne Streiff

Deb Felts

Vicki Garrett

Laura Williams

Here's my card. I used CPS Sketch 154 for some inspiration. I just got a new color printer, so I decided to use some digital papers and make a hybrid card.

The ink as always is CTMH. I went a bit nuts a few years ago and ordered every single color right before they changed their stamp pads! The papers are from Penny Springmann's Morning Has Broken kit. I embellished the yellow paper with the large flower from the All4Moms set. I also used the Quick Border and Boxes4ABC sets. Add a Martha Stewart border punch, a couple of scalloped square punches, a corner rounder, some 3-D foam adhesive squares, and a trio of baby-themed buttons and voila(!) you have a card that's perfect for a baby shower gift thank-you!

It's Special Release Time!!!

2010-03-11T16:07:00.001-08:00

Finally! I can share my first four creations with the March {Stamps} of Life March special release stamps. They are SO CUTE! I especially love the tortoise in the belated birthday set.

The special releases are available to club members on the 7th of each month, so if you want to get yours early, become a club member!

The first three are digital cards made with papers from Sweet Shoppe Designs. The first one uses the March stamp of the month as well as the quick border stamps.

I used the diamond stamp to make the diamond background. The wavy stamp became glittered ric rac ribbon. There should be a tutorial on how to make ric rac coming soon!

This layout was inspired by CPS sketch 5.

And finally, a paper card! I used K & Co's Amy Butler paper, a circle punch, leftover ribbon from a baby shower gift, a rhinestone, CTMH Crystal Blue ink, 3-d foam adhesive, and the little flower stamp from the build-a-paisley stamp set. The card is the standard 4.25" x 5.5". The paper is cut in 1" strips that are 4" long.

It's MARCH!

2010-02-28T21:40:00.000-08:00

And that means a new stamp release from The {Stamps} of Life! This fabulous Thanks2You set is so fun. You'll find the dandelions from the company logo in two sizes, a couple of different flower silhouettes and outlines, and a bunch of great ways to say Thank You!

First up is a completely digital card, inspired by the stage decor at church! I'll have to snap a photo next week so you can see what I'm talking about. I went digital with this card because I didn't have any white ink or embossing powder and so digital was the only way to accomplish the look I wanted. I created all of the elements myself, from the linen background paper to the scalloped circle.

Next is a pink and cream palette. Before I started this card I decided I wasn't going to use any ribbon on this one. That was SO hard for me! I love ribbon, I have a TON of ribbon in just about any color you can imagine, and I tend to use ribbon on all of my cards - it's my go-to accent! But I really wanted to see what else I could come up with, so I ended up with two paper strips on the cream block.

The third card was quick and easy - some paper strips, a few circles, a stamped wavy sentiment and the mini dandelions and I was done.

The final card is my favorite. I love the blues, I love the feminine touches of the soft ribbon, white paper roses, embossed and punched white accent.

February 2010 - Special Release Stamps!

2010-02-25T10:46:00.000-08:00

Here are the cards I've created so far using the special release stamps for February. These are SO much fun - I love the paisleys (Build-a-Paisley), the tiny words (Tinyand2Cute), and the alphabet blocks (Blocks4abc)! More to come, I have few more to make before March 1!

February 2010 - Eggs4Easter

2010-01-30T17:56:00.000-08:00

Yes, it's only February! But spring and Easter are right around the corner, so we had better get cracking on those Easter cards. This is a really fun set!

January 2010 Special Release Cards

2010-01-30T17:50:00.000-08:00

Stephanie had a great surprise for us this month...three sets of special release stamps! They were a lot of fun to play with. Here are the cards I designed using the newest stamps.

Catch up!

2010-01-30T17:37:00.000-08:00

I just realized I never blogged about the cards I designed with the absolutely fabulous The {Stamps} of Life HappyBday2You January stamp set (fitting, since my birthday was at the beginning of the month!).

I was all about the hot pink and bright green color combo this month.

Mix It Up! Design Team Challenge # 2

2010-01-18T19:57:00.001-08:00

Mix it up! was challenge # 2 for the {Stamps} of Life design team. We were to use a combination of the digital stamps and clear stamps for our creation. I wasn't sure I was going to manage to come up with something, since all I have is a black and white laser printer (and would love suggestions for a good, reasonably-priced color printer!), but after thinking on it a little bit, decided to go with white images on a black background. That look is hard to get when you're using black paper and white ink, but is pretty easy in Photoshop!

This card uses the Photoshop brushes (aka digital stamps) from Hello2You (tiny flower trio under Thanks), Back2Basics (dot circle, flowers on black strip), and Thanks2Fall (Thanks stamp, massively reduced in size). The clear stamp (flowers under the Thanks scalloped circle) came from Back2Basics.

Please feel free to play along with us!

If you are playing along with The {Stamps} of Life stamps or digital images please upload to the gallery on the site –> HERE <— with the keyword TSOLD02. We look through the gallery regularly for new guest designers. Also, you can get a couple of freebie digital images on the site –> HERE!

Please link to one of our blogs so we can see your stuff!

Our challenge - Mix It Up! (TSOLD02)

Our DT players:

Jeanne

Vicki

Deb

Jennifer

Stephanie

What's Black & Red & Happy all over?

2010-01-16T21:22:00.000-08:00

This card, using last week's CPS sketch # 149, which was sponsored by The {Stamps} of Life.

I used "happy" from the Love2Hug set, and the large daisy and small daisy from one of the January special releases, Daisies4You. The red is much prettier in person - my camera isn't a fan of photographing reds.

Glitter and Shine Design Team Challenge

2010-01-04T21:59:00.001-08:00

The Design Team girls at The {Stamps of Life} decided to throw out a challenge to each other.

Please feel free to play along with us!

If you are playing along with The {Stamps} of Life stamps or digital images please upload to the gallery on the site --> HERE <--- with the keyword TSOLD01. Hint, hint... we look through the gallery regularly for new guest designers.

Please link to one of our blogs (even if you're not using The {Stamps} of Life stamps) so we can see your stuff!

This was a fun card to put together...I have a drawer in my workspace labeled "glitter & shimmer" full of glitter and other sparkly things that I have collected over the years. It was fun to pull it all out and play with it! Here's what I came up with once the babies (3 years and 2 months) finally went to bed!

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas!

2009-11-24T21:11:00.000-08:00

Ok, so we're two days away from Thanksgiving, but I've been staring at these fabulous Joy2Christmas stamps for a while now! Last week was the first time I'd really gotten to play with the actual stamps, because my son was born on October 25 and I've been a bit busy with learning how to be the mom of an almost 3-year-old and a newborn, while sort-of maintaining the necessities of life, like food and laundry!

A couple of weeks ago I managed to create an all-digital to-from tag with the digital stamp set.

And then last week I created this Christmas card using non-traditional colors.

Stay tuned, more creations are coming soon!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2009-10-03T21:03:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I'm a little bit early, but this time of year just zips right on by and before you know it we've gone from pumpkins to Christmas trees!

This card uses both the Thanks2Fall and Back2Basics stamps.

Halloween Treats

2009-10-03T20:59:00.000-07:00

Here are a couple of little treat ideas I've created. They're fun and easy and I'm hoping to put some more together for some friends & my daughter's preschool teachers. But since I'm nearly 38 weeks pregnant, it's anyone's guess as to whether I'll get an assembly-line done before the new baby (a BOY!) arrives.

October Stamp Set

2009-10-02T19:20:00.001-07:00

The October stamp set, Thanks2Fall, from The {Stamps} of Life was released yesterday. It is fantastic! It has Halloween, Thanksgiving, AND Fall stamps! These lovelies are created right here in the US and are of excellent quality. I love them!

I have a few fun samples to share - here's the first one...stay tuned for more in the near future! The circle dot background stamp came from last month's debut stamp set, Back2Basics.

Watch This Space!

2009-09-30T19:42:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow's October 1, which means the latest stamp set in The {Stamps} of Life is being released! I'll have a card sample up and a link to the entire stamp set!

Don't miss it!