School Days Collection Now Available at Clear and Simple Stamps

Today marks the release of the School Days Collection from Clear & Simple Stamps. You’ll find a great selection of stamp sets that are perfect for the start of the school year. For the first time, CSS is offering a “want it all” option for easy purchasing. You can find that right here. And, you can still use the code DTBlog809 for a $1 discount on A+ Darling, the stamp of the month.

Here’s a simple and fun back-to-school project using one of the images from the ABC . . . 123 stamp set. I found a plain wooden pencil box with a sliding chalkboard top at the craft store and altered it to make a fun gift.

I cut a strip of Cosmo Cricket designer paper featuring large alphabet letters and adhered it to the outside of the box using a coating of Mod Podge. While I waited for the paper to dry, I stamped the pencil image on the chalkboard surface lid using white pigment ink. I found that the surface was very forgiving for stamping. If you make a mistake or a smudge, you can wipe away the still-wet ink with a damp baby wipe (wonder how I discovered that . . .)

Materials Used:
ABC 123 stamp set (Clear & Simple Stamps); Whisper White craft ink (Stampin’ Up!); designer paper (Cosmo Cricket-Girl Friday line); Mod Podge; wooden pencil box

And, with the start of the school year comes the start of the football season. I can’t believe that NFL preseason football is already underway!

This card is perfect for celebrating the start of the football season. I paired the new Football set’s “Are U ready for some football?” sentiment with some designer paper that appears to have a football-like texture. I added a football image to the card as well. The football was colored with Copic markers, then dabbed with a little clear blending solution to get a textured look.

To keep the look masculine, I added some twill tape with copper brads as an embellishment.

Be sure to visit the rest of the Clear & Simple Stamps DT for more samples using the newest releases. Here’s where you can find them:
CSS Blog
Beth Matson
Erin Bigler
Jen Tapler
Kim Howard
Maria Levine
Neva McMullen
Robyn Weatherspoon
Sue Berker
Millie Dawson-Hardy, guest designer

Materials Used:
Football stamp set (Clear & Simple Stamps); Soft Sand and White Pure Luxury cardstock (Gina K Designs); Tuxedo Black ink (Memento); markers (Copic); Soft Suede and Very Vanilla cardstock, dimensionals (Stampin’ Up!); patterned paper (Scrappin’ Sports and More-Football Game); Dark Chocolate Palette ink (Papertrey Ink); copper brads (Making Memories); twill tape (Martha Stewart); circle dies (Nestabilities)