Clear and Simple Stamps Preview Day 2-To Die For!

Clear and Simple Stamps will be releasing a brand new collection March 5 and over the next few days, the design team is giving you a peek at what’s ahead. Our preview week kicked off yesterday with a look at some of the new background sets and it continues today with peeks of CSS’s new die cuts and die cut/stamp combination sets.

My simple card features the new Shapes: Stars stamp and die cut set. The set includes 5 star dies in graduated shapes and matching dotted outline images. I used three of the star dies to create star-shaped openings in a piece of dotted blue paper. I used the same star dies to cut stars from yellow cardstock, then embossed each of the stars with a dotted pattern to match the patterned paper.

The stars are set on a blue card base and the patterned paper piece is layered on top using foam tape so that the yellow stars show through the openings. The “wish upon a star” sentiment from the new Sweet Dreams set is stamped next to the largest star in teal ink. I added a bit of yellow baker’s twine from the top of the largest star to the top of the cardfront as a whimsical accent.

Be sure to check out what the rest of the CSS team has done to show off the new die cuts and die cut combos that will be available on March 5. Here’s where you can find them:

CSS
Kim Duran
Tracy Schultz
Stephany Zerbe
Laurie Willison
Dana Grothaus
Jennifer Rzasa
Denise January
Lori Tecler—you’re here!

For more CSS inspiration, be sure to check out the CSS iPhone/iTouch app. A new project is shared daily, complete with step by step instructions. Here’s a sneak peek of my project that will be shown on the app tomorrow. You can get all the info on downloading the app here.

Materials Used:
Shapes: Stars and Sweet Dreams stamp sets, Simply Blue-tiful and Say Yellow to Your Fans cardstock, Party Teal Dawn ink, Shapes: Stars dies (Clear and Simple Stamps); Handmade-Sky Blue designer paper (Lily Bee Design); yellow baker's twine (Divine Twine); Swiss Dot embossing folder (Cuttlebug); foam tape

Blogger Challenge: Week 245

This week’s blogger challenge is a sketch created by our leader, Lisa. At first, I couldn’t figure out what to do with the sketch, but once I came up with an idea, the card came together very quickly.

I used the new coffee themed Heart-2-Heart #1 stamp set from Papertrey Ink. I know I’ve said it before, but I’ll say it again—I’m not a coffee drinker, but I’m a sucker for a coffee themed stamp set! Here, I made the set’s to-go cup the focal image. It’s stamped on white cardstock and shaded a bit with warm gray Copic markers. The little patterned wrap at the middle of the cup is stamped in green ink. After attaching the image to a white panel with foam tape, I stamped the set’s “let’s get together for coffee” sentiment underneath it in matching green ink.

I used some pretty designer paper in shades of green with a pop of rich purple for the panels on the cardfront. The panels are layered on a green cardfront. I ran a strip of green grosgrain ribbon across the top panel, accenting it with a lighter green button. The image panel is layered on green cardstock, then set on the card front so it overlaps both of the patterned paper panels.

For more designs based on this sketch, check out the links below. And, if you’re inspired and want to give the sketch a try, feel free to add a link to your creation, too.

Materials Used:
Heart-2-Heart #1 stamp set, Simply Chartreuse ink, Ripe Avocado and white cardstock, Pacific Vineyard patterned paper, Heart-2-Heart #1 die, Ripe Avocado grosgrain ribbon, Simply Chartreuse button (Papertrey Ink); Memento Tuxedo Black ink (Tsukineko); markers (Copic); linen thread (The Cat’s Pajamas); foam tape

It's Fun O'Clock

Here’s my card for the current Paper Smooches Sparks inspiration challenge, along with the little video I promised featuring the wobbly spring mechanism I used on this card. I thought the spring would work well with in combination with the fun, whimsical clock image.

The inspiration photo featured a striped clock face, so I made the clock from the Perpetual Bliss set the focal point of my design. The clock’s colored with Copic markers and cut out. I added a tiny clear crystal at the top of the clock for a bit of sparkle, then set it aside to assemble the rest of the card.

Since I wanted the clock to really be the focus of my card, I kept the layout classic and simple. The card features the soft blues and grays of the inspiration photo. With the look of the wood on the photo's clock face in mind, I picked a patterned paper in shades of weathered blues and grays for the panel at the bottom of my card. I ran a strip of solid gray across the top of the patterned piece to set it apart from the rest of the card. The “it’s fun o’clock” sentiment is stamped in black ink on a teal panel and set on the cardfront.

Now’s where the fun begins. I attached the spring mechanism to the back of the cutout clock—there’s print on the part of the adhesive backing that you peel off that tells you which side of the mechanism goes on your card and which side goes on your image—then to the cardfront. I did trim the adhesive pieces down a bit to fit the small clock image. If you use a larger image, you won't have to do that. I lifted the clock a little to release the spring and off it goes, wobbling away. The spring easily flattens again so the card can be put in an envelope and sent in the mail with no trouble at all. The super short short video clip shows how it looks in action. Too fun!

Materials Used:
from i {heart} papers: Paper Smooches Perpetual Bliss stamp set, X-Press white Copic blending cardstock, Tsukineko Memento Tuxedo Black ink, Copic markers (BG10, BG13, C-1, C-3, C-5), Echo Park A Boy’s Life 6x6 paper pad, Spellbinders circle die, KaiserCraft self-adhesive clear crystal, Action Wobble Spring

other: Soft Sky and Taken with Teal cardstock (Stampin’ Up!); Soft Stone cardstock (Papertrey Ink)

Rock That Body

Here’s my card for this week’s Kraftin’ Kimmie challenge. I adjusted the sketch a little to make a portrait oriented card to fit the rockin’ Moonlight Whispers Missy as the focal image.

Missy’s colored with Copic markers and carefully cut out with a combination of scissors and a craft knife, then set on an orange panel using foam tape. I picked the card’s colors from the My Mind’s Eye paper that I used to cover most of the cardfront. I found some orange grosgrain ribbon in my stash and used that for the two strips that run across the card.

The “rock that body” sentiment is stamped on the red panel to the right of the image. I used my stamp positioning tool to get the words stacked one on top of the other. Instead of one large embellishment, I added a trio of gold glittered chipboard stars in a cluster at the top right corner of the image panel. The stars seemed like a fun match for the card’s music and dance theme.

Materials Used:
Moonlight Whispers Missy image (Kraftin’ Kimmie Stamps); white cardstock (Taylored Expressions); Memento Tuxedo Black ink (Tsukineko); markers (Copic); Poppy Parade and Pumpkin Pie cardstock (Stampin’ Up!); designer paper (My Mind’s Eye); orange grosgrain ribbon (Michaels); gold glitter chipboard stars (Recollections)

Shine

***Scroll down to the post below to see this week's Color Throwdown challenge!***

It was a dreary, rainy day here, so it was nice to stamp something bright and cheery when I got home from work today! I made this quick card based on today's SCS sketch challenge.

I used Papertrey Ink's Lighten Up set for my focal image. The lamp was die cut from cardstock scraps. The shade's stamped with a large floral pattern, but the tone on tone colors didn't show well in the photo. It's attached to the white panel with foam tape. I stamped the set's "Shine! It's your day," sentiment next to the lamp image in turquoise ink.

I picked a bold and bright chevron pattern from the Funky Town papers for the four panels on the cardfront. After arranging them on the cardfront, I attached the image panel on top. To complete the visual triangle on the image panel, I added a pink button, tied with matching baker's twine.

Materials Used:
Lighten Up stamp set, Hawaiian Shores and Raspberry Fizz inks, Hawaiian Shores, Raspberry Fizz, and Kraft cardstock, Funky Town patterned paper, Lighten Up dies, Hibiscus Burst button (Papertrey Ink); Whisper White cardstock (Stampin' Up!); circle dies (Spellbinders); baker's twine (The Twinery); foam tape

Color Throwdown 181-A Little Birdie Told Me

It’s time for another Color Throwdown! This week, Lynn’s brought us a pretty color combination to try—Blushing Bride, Pretty in Pink, Ruby Red, and Certainly Celery. When I saw the colors, flowers came to mind first, but I challenged myself to come up with something else and I did!

I used one of the sweet Pure Innocence girlies from My Favorite Things, coloring her with Copic markers to match the challenge colors. The image is cut out and placed on an oval panel with a grassy border along the bottom.

I found a piece of patterned paper with all of the challenge colors in a new Echo Park paper pad and used that for the large panel on my cardfront. I machine stitched around the panel’s edges for a finished look. The set’s “a little birdie told me” sentiment is stamped at the bottom of the Ruby Red panel that runs across the cardfront. I added a strip of pink grosgrain ribbon with notched edges to the red panel before layering the image panel on top.

To play along, just create a paper crafted project using these colors as a starting point and add a direct link to your finished project using the linky tool found at the end of this week's CTD post. As always, if you don’t have exact color matches, something close works just fine. And, if you upload your project to an online gallery, use the keyword CTD181. Before you get started, here’s some inspiration from the talented Color Throwdown team:

** Barbara ** Broni ** Danielle ** Joan ** Kerri **
** Kristin ** Lynn ** Tammy ** Wanda **
February Guestie Jenny Peterson

Thanks again to this month’s guestie, Jenny Peterson. We’ve loved having her join us and share her creations!

Materials Used:
Pure Innocence You’re So Tweet stamp set (My Favorite Things); white cardstock (Taylored Expressions); Memento Tuxedo Black ink (Tsukineko); markers (Copic); Ruby Red and Certainly Celery cardstock (Stampin’ Up!) This & That 6x6 paper pad (Echo Park); petite oval dies (Spellbinders); grass border punch (Martha Stewart); pink grosgrain ribbon (Morex); sewing machine; foam tape

TCP Tuesday 199-Let's Fly Away

This week's TCP Tuesday challenge comes to us from Susan. Since spring's on its way, she's challenging us to head outdoors by using a stamp that shows some kind of outdoor activity and to use the CutUps Cloud Border die along with that stamp.

I used the flying bunny from the Take Off set for my card along with the sketch from the current Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge--flying's something best done outside, right? My card's done in a classic red and blue color combination, taken right from the dotted and striped designer papers I used on the cardfront. The bunny and plane are colored with Copic markers, with a few silver Smooch accents on the plane. After cutting out the colored image, I used foam tape to attach it to a light blue circle. I cut apart a strip of felt clouds I cut with the CutUps Cloud Border die and attached a few of the individual clouds to the panel. I love that this die gives you the option to do that! Now I have a few extra clouds ready to go on another project. The set's "let's fly away" sentiment is stamped in dark blue ink on the circle panel, curved to match the panel's shape.

Be sure to stop by Alma’s blog for links to projects created by the rest of the Cat Pack based on this week’s challenge. Don’t forget to add your creation to the guestbook found there for a chance to win this week’s Cat Cash prize.

Materials Used:
Take Off stamp set, Neenah white cardstock, CutUps Cloud Border and Big Pinking Border dies (The Cat's Pajamas); Memento Tuxedo Black and Paris Dusk inks (Tsukineko); markers (Copic); Night of Navy, Riding Hood Red, and Bashful Blue cardstock (Stampin' Up!); American Made "Petticoat Plaid" designer paper (My Mind's Eye); circle dies (Spellbinders); Silver Fox Smooch (Clearsnap); red grosgrain ribbon (Michaels); white felt; foam tape