Easter's on it's way...

Good to see you visit today and I'm sharing my last sneak peek for January 1st release with this card designed with Clear Dollar Stamps' "Spring Critters" stamp set. The bunny and sentiment are from the set and the set also includes many other critters and some other great sentiments! I think that this is my favorite set to play with! The critters are darlingly designed by Laurie Wilson, our Design Team Coordinator at Clear Dollar Stamps and there are other stamp sets in her collection at CDS for sale, as well. Check them out and all the other amazing stamps at CDS...the price is right and they ship fast! Okay on with the deets:

Stamp Sets Used: Clear Dollar Stamps "Spring Critters" and "Spring Trimmings"
Cardstock and Papers: Basic Grey Urban Prairie Designer Collection, Paper Trey White Cardstock
Inkpads: Stampin' Up! Tempting Turquoise and Stazon Black Inks
Markers: Derwent Watercolor Pencils
Accessories and Embellishments: Scor-It, Cuttlebug, Cuttlebug Floral Fantasy Embossing Folder, Regular and Scalloped Oval Nestabilities Dies, Marvy 1" Circle Punch, Paper Piercing Tool, Sewing Machine, Thread, Basic Grey Urban Prairie Pink Large Brad, Brass Easter Egg Charm, Michael's Lime Green and White Polka Dotted Grosgrain Ribbon
Coloring Medium: Derwent Watercoloring
Special Techniques: Dry Embossing, Sponging

DIRECTIONS:
The card base was cut to 5" wide x 10" high from Paper Trey White Cardstock, scored in half, Three progressive square mats were cut to size: 5" mat out of Basic Grey Urban Prairie Pink Patterned Paper, 4.5" out of Paper Trey White Cardstock, and a third, to 4.25" out of Basic Grey Urban Prairie Multicolored Patterned Paper. I ran the smallest of the three square mats through the Cuttlebug using the Floral Fantasy Embossing Folder, which gave it a lot of interesting texture. All three square mats were glued together.

The image was stamped onto Paper Trey White Cardstock using Stazon Black Ink, and then colored with Derwent Watercolor Pencils and blending. The stamped image was die cut using the Regular Oval Nestabilities and then a scalloped mat for the image was cut using the Scalloped Oval Nestabilities Die out of a coordinating Basic Grey Urban Prairie Solid Yellow. I glued the two together and paper pierced free-hand each scallop of the image frame mat, as well as the oval stamped image.

A horizontal strip cut to 4.25" wide x 1" high out of coordinating Basic Grey Urban Prairie Patterned Pink paper was glued to the three square mats. Using my Janome Hello Kitty Sewing Machine ; ) I stitched the top and bottom of the horizontal pink strip, as well as all four sides of the largest pink patterned square mat.

The sentiment was stamped onto Paper Trey White Cardstock and then punched out using a Marvy 1" Circle Punch. I cut the circle in half, of course, I had to keep that in mind when I was stamping the sentiment. The half circle sentiment was then liberally sponged around the edge using Stampin' Up! Tempting Turquoise, and then I paper pierced free-hand around the edge, as well. The half circle sentiment was then glued to the card layers.

I ran a strip of Michael's Lime Green & White Polka Dotted Grosgrain Ribbon across the center horizontal pink, patterned strip, then popped up the matted, stamped image oval over top the ribbon using American Crafts Dimensionals. I added a bow to the ribbon strip and attached a Brass Easter Egg Charm to the bow. To add a little balance to the card, I attached a coordinating Basic Grey Urban Prairie Large Pink Brad to the upper left corner of the card. To finish the card the finished glued layers were glued to the 5"x10" Paper Trey White Cardstock Scored Base.

A little basket, a treat to make!

This Little Treat Basket is easy to make and joy to embellish! I made this little basket using two Clear Dollar Stamp sets that will be released on January 1st. "Spring Critters" stamp set has the little chicken that is so cute with the sentiment" Hoppy Easter" and the stamped egg background was done with eggs from the "Spring Trimmings" stamp set. The eggs have two different separate egg design stamps to make different looking eggs, and is so cute and so fun to create with! I just love it!

Stamp Sets Used: Clear Dollar Stamps "Spring Trimmings" & "Spring Critters"
Cardstock and Papers: Colormates Light Hawaiian Blue Cardstock, Paper Trey White Cardstock
Inkpads: Stampin' Up! Barely Banana and Summer Sun Inks, Stazon Black Ink
Markers: Marvy Multicolor Brush Markers
Accessories and Embellishments: Scor-It, Regular Round and Scalloped Round Nestabilities Dies, Stampin' Up! Small Oval Punch, Stampin' Up Horizontal Slot Punch, Basic Grey Black Mini Brad, Yellow Moonglow Brad, Offray Yellow Grosgrain Ribbon
Coloring Medium: Marvy Brush Markers, Signo Black Gel Pen
Special Techniques: Background Stamping

DIRECTIONS:
This tiny treat basket is a great idea for table place setting and a great take-home gift for the children after Easter dinner! I borrowed the idea from Cambria Turnbow, who has a great step-by-step tutorial on Splitcoast Stampers Community. For details follow this link: http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/resources/tutorials/tiny_treat_basket/

The only thing that I did differently is that I background stamped the 5"x5" cardstock and colored it with Marvy Multicolor Markers before scoring. I stamped the sentiment onto Paper Trey White Cardstock, punching out with the Stampin' Up! Small Oval Punch, and then lightly sponging with Stampin' Up! Barely Banana ink around the oval edge, and then more heavily with Stampin' Up! Summer Sunk ink around the edge, and securing it to the front Chicken Round Medallion with a Basic Grey Black Mini Brad. This is very easy and fun project to do!

You can call me friend, or you can call me "Peep"

This second card that I'm sharing today is a sneak peek for the Clear Dollar Stamp set called "Spring Critters", to be released on January 1st. I love, love this chick! And how contemporary is that sentiment? Laurie Wilson illustrated and designed this set, and she is so "hip"! She's my "hip peep!" LOL Okay, I'm beginning to sound old....time for the deets on this:

Stamp Sets Used: "Spring Critters"
Cardstock and Papers: Basic Grey Urban Prairie Designer Collection, Black Cardstock, Paper Trey White Cardstock, Strathmore Cold Press Watercolor Paper
Inkpads: Stampin' Up! Barely Banana, Summer Sun and Baja Breeze Inks, Stazon Black
Markers: Signo Black and White Gel Pens, Marvy Multicolor Brush Markers
Accessories and Embellishments: Scor-It, Karen Foster Click-It Hole Punch, Cuttlebug, Cuttlebug Argyle and Swiss Dots Embossing Folders, Fiskars Paper Shapers Scalloped Scissors, Regular Square and Scalloped Square Nestabilities Dies, Stampin' Up! Large and Small Oval Punches, Paper Piercing Tool, Stampin' Up! Mat Pack, Tsukineko Sponge Daubers, Basic Grey Mini Black Brads, Making Memories Black Grommet, American Crafts Dimensionals, Sewing Machine, Thread, Offray Grosgrain and Gingham Ribbon.
Coloring Medium: Marvy Brush Markers
Special Techniques: Dry Embossing, Sponging, Stacked Ribbon

DIRECTIONS:
The card base was cut to 5" wide x 10" high from Paper Trey White Cardstock, and scored in the middle and set aside. Three mats were cut to the following sizes: 4.75", 4-3/8", and 4.25". I ran the 4.75" square mat through the Cuttlebug using the Swiss Dots Embossing Folder, to add texture, and likewise did the same with the 4.25" yellow square mat, using the Cuttlebug Argyle Embossing Folder and set aside. The vertical strip was made out of a 1-1/16" x 4.25" strip of coordinating Basic Grey Patterned Designer Paper, then a strip of 2" x 4.25" was cut out of Black Cardstock and then another was cut to 2-5/8"x 4.25" out of the Paper Trey White Cardstock. Using Fiskars Paper Shaper Scalloped Scissors, I hand cut along both sides of the white 2" wide vertical strip of paper, setting aside.

The image was stamped onto Strathmore Cold Press Watercolor Paper, using Stazon Black Ink. The image was colored by blending two yellows from a Marvy Brush Marker Set. The image was then die cut using the Cuttlebug and the Regular Square Nestabilities Die, sponging the edges heavily with Stampin' Up! Baja Breeze Ink. Using a Paper Piercing Tool and the Stampin' Up Mat Pack template, I paper pierced the upper left and lower right corners of the stamped image. A mat was cut using the Square Scalloped Nestabilities Die out of Black Cardstock, and another out of a turquoise coordinating Basic Grey Urban Prairie patterned paper. The three small square mats were glued together and set aside.

I glued the yellow embossed mat to the square black larger mat, to the largest patterned square mat. Using my Janome Hello Kitty Sewing Machine ; ) I stitched around the four sides of the largest patterned square mat and the yellow, embossed square mat. Then, I glued the patterned vertical strip to the black vertical strip to the white scalloped vertical strip, then glued them to the layered square mats, sewing the left and right sides of the vertical strip. I "x-doodled" each scallop of the stamped image mat, then popped up the layered image mats to the layers underneath using American Crafts Dimensionals.

The sentiment was stamped onto Paper Trey White Cardstock using Black Stazon Ink. Using the Large Stampin' Up! Oval Punch, I cut out the sentiment and then cut a sentiment mat, using the Stampin' Up! Small oval punch on Black Cardstock. I lightly sponged around the sentiment oval using Stampin' Up! Barely Banana Ink and then again more heavily, using Stampin' Up! Summer Sun Ink. I "dot-doodled" around the sentiment black mat using a Signo White Gel Pen. Two Basic Grey Black Mini Brads were attached to the upper left corner of the card for interest. I attached the matted sentiment oval using a Making Memories Large Black Grommet, and threading Offray Stacked Ribbon through the hole and securing to the back of the card. Two bow knots were tied to the ribbon to decorate. The matted and finished card was then glued to the 5"x 10, scored Paper Trey White Card Base.

Warm hearts, hot coffee

Glad to see you pop in today! I have two sneak peek cards to share with you. The first card showcases the upcoming set called "Spring Trimmings" from Clear Dollar Stamps. This set is their January Stamp of the Month stamp set, and is absolutely FREE when you purchase $50.00 or more of stamps! It is a darling stamp set with all kinds of sweet elements, and will be released on January 1st.

Stamp Sets Used: Clear Dollar Stamps "Spring Trimmings "
Cardstock and Papers: Basic Grey LilyKate and Blush Designer Collections, Paper Trey White Cardstock
Inkpads: Stampin' Up! Rose Romance, Ranger Expresso and Stazon Timber Brown Inks
Markers: Signo White Gel Pen, Marvy Multicolor Brush Markers
Accessories and Embellishments: Scor-It, Cuttlebug, Cuttlebug Lots of Dots and Swirls Embossing Folders, Regular Round and Scalloped Round Nestabilities Dies, Cuttlebug Tag Die, Marvy 1" Round Punch, Tsukineko Sponge Daubers, American Crafts Dimensionals, Morex Loop Ribbon, American Crafts Large Brown Brad, JoAnn's Rose Heart Brad, Sewing Machine, Thread
Coloring Medium: Marvy Brush Markers
Special Techniques: Dry Embossing, Sponging, Background Stamping

DIRECTIONS:
The card base was cut to 5" wide x 10" high from Paper Trey White Cardstock, Five progressive square mats were cut to size: 5"x5" out of Basic Grey Coordinating "Blush" Brown Paper, 4.75"x4.75" out of Paper Trey White Cardstock, 4.5"x4.5" out of Basic Grey Coordinating "Blush" Stripe Paper, 3.75" out of Paper Trey White Cardstock, and 3-5/8" out of Basic Grey "LilyKate" Pink Checked Paper. Using Stazon Timber Brown Ink, I background stamped the smallest square light pink mat with hearts and coffee mugs. I colored each heart and mug using Marvy Multicolor Brush Markers, then ran it through the Cuttlebug using the Swirls Embossing Folder for added texture. I "dot-doodled" around the four sides of both Paper Trey White Cardstock mats using a Bic Mark-It "Woodsy Brown" Marker.

The image was stamped onto Paper Trey White Cardstock using Stazon Timber Brown ink and coloring with Marvy Multicolor Brush Markers. Using a Regular Round Nestabilities die, I cut out the stamped image, and then very heavily sponged around the edge, using Ranger Expresso Ink. I paper pierced free-hand around the edge of the circle to add interest. Two round scalloped image mats were cut using the Scalloped Round Nestabilities Dies in coordinating Basic Grey "Blush" designer papers. I "dot-doodled around the brown scalloped larger round mat using a Signo White Gel Pen. The image and scalloped mats were glued together.

The sentiment was stamped onto Paper Trey White Cardstock using Stazon Timber Brown ink and then was punched out using a 1" Marvy Circle Punch. I heavily sponged around the circle edge using Stampin' Up! Rose Romance Ink and then paper pierced free-hand around the edge. The framing sentiment tag/slide was made using a Cuttlebug Tag Die with Basic Grey's "Blush" coordinating red paper. I "dot-doodled" around the edge of the tag/slide using a Signo White Gel Pen.

The three square mats were glued together and then sewn together by stitching around the four sides of the striped and smallest square mats, using my Janome Hello Kitty Sewing Machine ; ) . The matted sentiment was popped up on American Crafts Dimensionals for dimension and then an American Crafts Large Brown Brad was added to the upper left corner for interest. The sentiment circle was glued to the tag/slide cut and another heart was stamped on a separate piece of Paper Trey White Cardstock, colored with markers likewise and cut out an glued to the sentiment circle to tie the elements together. I added a rose colored heart brad to the sentiment circle, as well. A pink, looped ribbon was threaded through the tag/slide and anchored to the back of the card. To finish, I glued the layered card elements to the 5"x10", scored Paper Trey White Cardstock Base.

The "hole inspiration...

I have one more sample for the soon-to-be-released "Winter Eskimo" stamp set by Clear Dollar Stamps on January 1st. This card was a submission for a design team challenge to create a card with something transparent on it. So, after studying the eskimo stamp set, I thought...well, they do a lot of ice fishing, I think..so, let's make an "ice hole" out of shrinky dink stuff! That's the "hole" (LOL ; ) inspiration behind the card! Okay, now the deets:

Clear Dollar Stamps Stamp Sets Used: Winter Eskimo Stamp Set
Cardstock and Papers: Sandylion Designer Paper, Colormates Deep Terrific Teal Cardstock, Paper Trey White Cardstock, Kraft Cardstock
Inkpads: Stampin' Up! Tempting Turquoise & Taken with Teal, Stazon Black, Versamark Watermark
Markers: Popcorn Pen, Bic Mark-It Teal Marker
Accessories and Embellishments: Scor-It, Cuttlebug, Cuttlebug Spots & Dots Embossing & Swiss Dots Folders, Nestabilities Regular & Scalloped Square Dies, SU! Large Oval Punch, , Marvy Mega Oval Punch, Tsukineko Daubers, Polyshrink, Heat Gun, Sewing Machine, Thread, Ranger White Embossing Powder, Prismacolor Pencils, Odorless Mineral Spirits, Blending Stumps, Basic Grey Twill Ribbon, Zots
Coloring Medium: "Gamsol Magic" Prismacoloring with Mineral Spirits
Special Techniques: Sponging, Dry Embossing

DIRECTIONS:
A 5"x5" card base mat was cut from Colormates Deep Terrific Teal and then embossed with the Cuttlebug Swiss Dots Embossing Folder. Using Paper Trey White Cardstock, I cut another mat to 4.5"x4.5" and then background stamped the fishes sporadically all over it, coloring them with Prismacolor Pencils, and then blending with Mineral Spirits and Blending Stumps. When dry, I embossed the stamped, colored mat using the Cuttlebug Spots & Dots Embossing Folder. I cut a strip out of Sandylion dp to 1.75"x4.5" and glued to the stamped, embossed white mat. I over stamped the "Eskimo pattern" border down the edge of the Sandylion dp vertical strip. Using my Janome "Hello Kitty" sewing machine : ) , I stitched around all four sides on the large Colormates Deep Terrific Teal mat and the stamped, embossed/Sandylion dp combination mat.

The stamped image was stamped twice on Paper Trey White Cardstock and each were Prismacolored with Mineral Spirits and cut out and set aside. To create the background where the Eskimo girl is standing, I cut out a white square mat using Nestabilities Regular Square Die and then using Versamark Watermark ink, I inked the lower third of the background and then embossed with white embossing powder, setting with a heat gun. When dry, I sponged spottily the upper two-thirds of the background using SU! Tempting Turquoise and Taken with Teal inks. I created a scalloped mat for the background out of Colormates Deep Terrific Teal using Nestabilities Scalloped Square Die. Using a Popcorn Pen, I drew "ridges" in the snow and the using a heat gun, set the popcorn lines, which become puffy and 3D when dry.

I glued the first Eskimo card to the background mat allowing her head to "hang over" the top edge for added dimension and interest, and then popped up the second image over top the bottom Eskimo image, after added Popcorn Ink to her hat, coat cuffs and coat hem. Using polyshrink, I created an "ice hole" to highlight the fish, by cutting out an oval using a Marvy Mega Oval Punch and punching a large hole (allowing for shrinkage) for "fishing line", and then heated to shrink, using a heat gun. When dry, I hand colored "water" on the bottom of the polyshrink oval and set aside to dry. The "fishing pole" was created using a piece of brown kraft cardstock that was punches with the word window punch and then trimmed in half vertically. Then folding that in half, I colored it in olive green using Prismacolor pencils and then colored the fishing pole grip in brown, the same way. I punched a small hole through the top of the "fishing pole" to thread the fishing line through and down through the fish in the "ice hole".

The sentiment was stamped onto Paper Trey White Cardstock using Black Stazon ink, and then sponged lightly first with SU! Tempting Turquoise and the more heavily, using SU! Taken with Teal around the oval edge. The Eskimo girl, matted girl was then popped up on American Crafts Dimensionals over top the background of the card, and then I tucked the sentiment oval (popped up, as well) under the that mat. The "fishing pole" was then anchored to the Eskimo girl's hand using a Zot dot. To embellish, I ran a strip of Basic Grey Twill Ribbon across the upper left corner of the card diagonally, tacking it to the back of the card base, and tying two bow knots to the strip. To finish the card, a 5"x10" piece of Paper Trey White Cardstock was scored in half, and then glued to the finished card base.

"Peace"

Today, I want to share another sneak peek sample card from Clear Dollar Stamps' "Spring Critters". I just love this beaver guy! He was such much fun to design with and color. This card was a design team sketch challenge card and I don't know if anyone else who has this stamp set saw the correlation between the v-shaped twig in the beaver's hand and the "Peace" sentiment, besides me...but I thought that it was genius! LOL Or odd. LOL Anyway, the sentiment is included in the "Spring Critters" set and I guess it's all "creative liberty"!! Okay, now the deets:

Stamps Stamp Sets Used: Clear Dollar Stamps "Spring Critters"
Cardstock and Papers: Basic Grey Granola Collection, Paper Trey White Cardstock
Inkpads: SU! Bashful Blue, Stazon Black
Accessories and Embellishments: Scor-It, Cuttlebug, Cuttlebug Argyle Embossing & Swiss Dots Folders, Nestabilities Regular & Scalloped Square Dies, SU! Small Oval Punch, , Marvy Small Round Punch, Martha Stewart Leaves Punch, Tsukineko Daubers, Sewing Machine, Thread, Prismacolor Pencils, Odorless Mineral Spirits, Blending Stumps, SU! Mat Pack, Piercing tool, Amber Brown Ribbon, Antique Decorative Brad
Coloring Medium: "Gamsol Magic" Prismacoloring with Mineral Spirits
Special Techniques: Sponging, Dry Embossing, Paper Piercing

DIRECTIONS:
A 5"x5" card base mat was cut from Basic Grey's Granola collection, a slate blue solid and then embossed using the Cuttlebug Swiss Dots Embossing Folder. Another mat was created using coordinating Basic Grey Granola dp, a dotted pattern, and a woodgrain pattern. The upper part of the mat was cut to 4.5"x4.5" and the lower part was cut to 4.5"x1.5". The lower woodgrain panel of the mat was embossed using the Cuttlebug Swiss Dots Embossing Folder. Both mats were glued together and using a sewing machine, I stitched around all four sides of the slate blue largest mat and then the dotted/woodgrain patterned mat..

The stamped image was stamped on Paper Trey White Cardstock and was Prismacolored with Mineral Spirits. I stamped another beaver on another piece of Paper Trey White Cardstock, and cut him out to create a "mask". Placing the cut out beaver overtop the stamped and colored beaver, I sponged around his body using SU! Bashful Blue ink, to create a little background color. I paper pierced a triangular decorative pattern to the upper left corner of the stamped image mat. I edged the four sides of the image mat using Black Stazon and a sponge dauber.

The sentiment was stamped onto Paper Trey White Cardstock using Black Stazon ink, and then punched with a small Marvy regular round punch, then sponged lightly around the edge using SU! Bashful Blue ink and edged with Stazon Black Ink using a sponge dauber, and finishing with freehand paper piercing around the parameter. An amber brown colored oval was punched for a background mat to the sentiment, using the SU! Small Oval Punch. The circular stamped sentiment was glued to the small amber brown oval and set aside. Two branches were punched using the Martha Stewart Branch punch to embellish the sentiment mats, and bring the eye to the sentiment.

An amber brown polyester ribbon was run across the seam of the two coordinating patterned mats and tacked to the back of the card base. The stamped image mats and sentiment mats were then adhered to the card base, and popped up on American Crafts Dimensionals. A hole was punched in the upper right hand corner and a copper colored decorative antique brad was added for visual interest. To finish the card, a 5"x10" piece of Paper Trey White Cardstock was scored in half, and then glued to the finished card base.

I'm in the mood for love...

Glad you stopped by today! I have another sneak peak sample card made with an upcoming Clear Dollar Stamp set called "Winter Eskimo". Our design team coordinator, Laurie Wilson challenged the team to design a card that was 3-dimensional. I decided to make this shadow card when I saw the two eskimos and thought it would make a cute valentine or anniversary card...and who isn't in the mood for love? This stamp set also features some other cute elements and to check out this set to be released on January 1st, go to the the Clear Dollar Stamps link on the right sidebar. Okay, now the deets:

Stamp Sets Used: Clear Dollar Stamps "Winter Eskimo"
Cardstock and Papers: Basic Grey Gypsy Designer Collection, K&Co. Berry Sweet Designer Paper Collection, Colormates Deep Orange Dream, Paper Trey White Cardstock, Strathmore Cold Press Watercolor Paper
Inkpads: Stampin' Up! Pretty in Pink, Stazon Black Inks
Markers: Signo Black Gel Pen, Marvy Multicolor Brush Markers
Accessories and Embellishments: Scor-It, Cuttlebug, Cuttlebug Argyle Embossing Folder, Regular Round and Scalloped Round Nestabilities Dies, Marvy Scalloped Heart Punch, Tsukineko Sponge Daubers, American Crafts Dimensionals, Colorbok Adhesive White Dots, Offray Satin Ribbon.
Coloring Medium: Marvy Brush Markers, Watercoloring with Derwent Colored Pencils, Odorless Mineral Spirits and Blending Stumps
Special Techniques: Dry Embossing, Sponging, Stacked Ribbon

DIRECTIONS:
The card base was cut to 5" wide x 10" high from Paper Trey White Cardstock, A 5"x 5" mat was cut using Basic Grey Gypsy Patterned Paper, setting aside. Using K&Co. Berry Sweet Pink Patterned Paper, I cut a 4.5" square mat and then ran it through the Cuttlebug using the Argyle Embossing Folder, for added texture. Two round holes were punched in the middle of the pink 4.5" square mat using the Cuttlebug and Nestabilities Regular Round Dies. I overlapped the cuts a little to conjoin them. Using Scalloped Round Nestabilities Dies, I cut two scalloped circles to frame the regular circles out of Colormates Deep Orange Dream Cardstock, and overlapping them a little when I glued them to the 4.5" pink square mat. I "dot-doodled" around the scalloped and edge of the two orange scalloped frames.

The two Eskimos were stamped separately on Paper Trey White Cardstock, colored with Marvy Multicolor Brush Markers, and then cut out, and set aside. A 4.5" square was cut from Strathmore Cold Press Watercolor Paper, and stamped with the hearts using Stazon Black Ink. The hearts were colored using Derwent Watercolor Pencils and blending with Odorless Mineral Spirits and Blending Stumps. This is also called "Gamsol Magic". The stamped heart watercolor background was then glued to the Basic Grey Gypsy 5" square card bottom, then I popped up the two cut out Eskimos on American Crafts Dimensionals, and then used larger, 1/8" thick Dimensionals to pop up the 4.5: square embossed pink mat with the framed, scalloped circle cut-outs.

One beaver was stamped on Paper Trey White Cardstock and colored with Derwent Colored Pencils, blending with Odorless Mineral Spirits and Blending Stumps, then cut out and set aside. I needed another beaver stamped, but facing in the opposite direction to create a "couple" effect. So I stamped the beaver on a piece of acetate, and then quickly reverse-stamped again on another piece of Paper Trey Cardstock. This took me a few times to get the image fairly clear, and then, I still had to draw over some of the skimpy lines using a Signo Black Gel Pen. I believe that they sell stamps to do this technique a lot easier ; ) The second beaver was colored the same as the first and both cut out.

The sentiment was stamped onto Paper Trey White Cardstock using Stazon Black Ink and then punched out using a Marvy Scalloped Heart Punch. I heavily sponged around the edge of the heart using Stampin' Up Pretty in Pink Ink. I "dot-dash-doodled" around the heart edge for interest. The two cut-out beavers were glued facing each other to the punched heart sentiment. The heart sentiment was then glued to the bottom center of the two scalloped, circular cut-out frames. I embellished by adding 7 Self-Adhesive White Dots to the bottom of the card, and a Big Pink Satin Bow suspended from the 4.5" square pink embossed mat. IRL, this card has much dimension and 3-D to it!

An inchworm, dragonflies & ladybugs

This card was created for Sneak Peek Week to share a card sample made with Clear Dollar Stamps' soon-to-be-released set called "Spring Critters". I wanted to use the inchworm in the set as the focal point of the card, but I also wanted to background stamp something interesting and fun to color, as well...so I grabbed another Clear Dollar Stamps Set, which will be their January Stamp of the Month set, called "Spring Trimmings", and used the dragonflies from that. The little ladybug that I colored lilac is from the "Spring Critters" set. Not that dragonflies or ladybugs have anything to do with inchworms...my creation just sort of went in a "buggy" direction! LOL

The color scheme for this card: lilac, pale yellow and light green was suggested by Laurie Wilson to our design team as a color challenge...so I just had to color those sweet little ladybugs lilac...and I'm thinking that it works for me! What do you think? By the way, when you spend $50.00 or more when you place an order with Clear Dollar Stamps, you receive the Stamp of the Month Stamp Set FREE! So, if you love these darlin' dragonflies, they can be yours, FREE! Okay...on with the deets:

Clear Dollar Stamps LLC Stamp Sets Used: Spring Critters and Spring Trimmings
Cardstock and Papers: Provocraft Yellow Patterned Scrapbook Paper, Provocraft Green Leafy Patterned Scrapbook Paper, Making Memories Purple Simple Sponge, Colormates Light Grassy Green Cardstock, Colormates Dark Lovely Lilac, Paper Trey White Cardstock
Inkpads: Stampin' Up! Green Galore and Stazon Black Ink
Markers: Signo Black Gel Pen, Marvy Multicolor Brush Markers
Accessories and Embellishments: Scor-It, Cuttlebug, Cuttlebug Paisley and Dotted Swiss Embossing Folders, Regular Round and Scalloped Round Nestabilities Dies, Stampin' Up! Large and Small Oval Punches, Martha Stewart Border Punch, American Crafts Large Yellow Eyelet, Lilac Button, Jolee's Dragonfly, Sewing Machine, Thread, Zots
Coloring Medium: Marvy Brush Markers
Special Techniques: Dry Embossing, Background Stamping

DIRECTIONS:
The card base was cut to 5" wide x 10" high from Paper Trey White Cardstock, scored in half, Three progressive square mats were cut to size: 5" mat out of Provocraft Green Leafy Patterned Scrapbook Paper, 4.5" out of Making Memories Purple Simple Sponge Scrapbook Paper, and a third, to 4" out of Provocraft Yellow Patterned Scrapbook Paper and set aside. A horizontal strip was cut to 4" wide x 5/8" high out of Colormates Dark Lovely Lilac Cardstock and punched with the Martha Stewart Border Punch. Another horizontal strip was cut to 1/2" out of Paper Trey White Cardstock, to highlight the "holes" behind the Martha Stewart punched border. These two horizontal strips were glued together, as were the previously mentioned square mats.

The image was stamped onto Paper Trey White Cardstock using Stazon Black Ink, and then colored with Marvy Multicolor Brush Markers. The image was cut out using a Marvy Circle Punch, and then I paper pierced free-hand around the image circle edge. Two scalloped mats were cut using Nestabilities Scalloped Round Dies to frame the stamped image: the smaller one out of Colormates Light Grassy Green Cardstock, and the larger one out of Colormates Dark Lovely Lilac. The Dark Lovely Lilac scalloped frame was run through the Cuttlebug Swiss Dots Embossing Folder. The stamped image circle was glued to the two scalloped mat frames. The three square frames: the green, lilac and yellow, were all glued together. Using my Janome Hello Kitty Sewing Machine ; ) I stitched around all four sides of the green, lilac and yellow square mats. Gluing the horizontal white and lilac punched strip to the card, I stitched across the strip to anchor it to the card, and for added interest. The matted, framed stamped image was then glued to the three bottom square, stitched mats.

The sentiment was stamped onto Paper Trey White Cardstock using Stazon Black Ink. The sentiment was punched out using the Stampin' Up! Large Oval Punch, and a sentiment mat was punched out of Colormates Light Grassy Green Cardstock using the Stampin' Up! Small Oval Punch. I "dot-doodled" around the green sentiment mat using a Signo Black Gel Pen. The sentiment was then glued to the sentiment mat, and anchored with a Large American Crafts Yellow Eyelet. To embellish the card, I added a Nicole Lilac Satin Ribbon and threaded it through the large yellow eyelet,and around the back of the card and tying in a bow by the eyelet. I added a Jolee's Lime Green Dragonfly embellishment to the bow, using a Zots dot. A dark lilac button was stitched to the card for balance. To finish the card the finished glued layers were glued to the 5"x10" Paper Trey White Cardstock Scored Base.

A matching gift box

Another CDS design team challenge that Laurie Wilson suggested for our January Sneak Peeks was to make a box of some sort or to embellish/stamp an already made box. I decided to try making a 2-5-7-10 box, which I had never made before and I wanted to coordinate it with the Inchworm card. The box makes a very nice gift box and is quite easy to make. There is a tutorial on Splitcoast Stampers Community, and I'll provide the link for you below to explore making one, yourself. Here's the deets:

Clear Dollar Stamps LLC Stamp Sets Used: Spring Trimmings & Spring Critters
Cardstock and Papers: Paper Trey White Cardstock
Inkpads: Stampin' Up! Barely Banana and Summer Sun Inks, Stazon Black Ink
Markers: Marvy Multicolor Brush Markers
Accessories and Embellishments: Scor-It, Martha Stewart Border Punch, Tsukineko Sponge Daubers, Offray Lilac Satin Ribbon, Hole Punch
Coloring Medium: Marvy Brush Markers
Special Techniques: Background Stamping

DIRECTIONS:
This great little gift box has many uses and I borrowed the idea from Jenn Balcer, who has a great step-by-step tutorial on Splitcoast Stampers Community. For details follow this link: http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/resources/tutorials/2_5_7_10_box/

The only thing that I did differently is that I sponged Stampin' Up! Barely Banana and Summer Sun inks randomly all over the 8.5"x11" cardstock sheet using a Tsukineko Sponge Dauber. Letting that dry for a few minutes, I then background stamped the cardstock with the inchworms and ladybugs using Stazon Black Ink and then coloring with Marvy Multicolor Brush Markers. I changed the punch for the front flap to the Martha Stewart border punch to match my greeting card with the inchworm and ladybugs. The Offray Lilac Satin Ribbon was threaded through two 1/8" punched holes. The only time-consuming part of this design is the background stamping and coloring, but the end results are so worth it! You've made a designer box!

Popping in...

Hello and I hope that your Christmas day was one filled with much memory-filled joy and hope! Our day was very quiet, which is what I prefer, but very nice. Tom blessed me with my first set of artist-grade markers, called Copics which are two-ended and refillable and so very nice to have! I was also given a new Canon digital camera as I needed one to continue to take photos of my handcrafted cards and after I muddle through the manual (I so hate reading manuals!), I should be able to take a photo or two! My day was surely filled with much love and it was so nice to have my family around me, as many do not. I hope your day was a special one for you, too.

I want to share that I've been asked to stay on with Clear Dollar Stamps as a Senior Design Team member, indefinitely and I am thrilled that Lori McCroskey and Laurie Wilson would even consider the offer to me! Aren't we are own worst critics at times? But, through the kindness of Lori and Laurie, I will continue to actively share Clear Dollar Stamps samples on an ongoing basis. Thank you, Lori and Laurie for the much-appreciated opportunity and vote of confidence!

I will have some sneak peeks to share with you starting tomorrow. Clear Dollar Stamps has some amazingly cute stamp sets to be available on January 1st, and I hope that you will be as tempted as I, to shop, shop, shop! See you tomorrow and have a great day!

This Precious Gift...

For unto us a Child is born,
Unto us a Son is given;
And the government
will be upon His shoulder.
And His name will be called
Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
-- Isaiah 9:6, NKJV

Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father and Prince of Peace. Knowing that Jesus Christ, born for this purpose, manifests all these things is such a comfort and joy! The Lord knew that man in his sin nature, and remaining in his sin nature, could not and would become righteous. In God's infinite wisdom, he prepared a way...a plan of everlasting life. A marvelous plan. A plan to wash away the sin that separated Him from His beloved children. The plan was Jesus Christ. His only beloved Son, was born for the purpose of bearing our sin that we might be "saved" and dwell with the Lord forever. This Christmas, my wish for you is that if you do not know Christ as your personal Lord and Savior, that the truth of the knowledge of this Precious Gift would stir your heart to hope. Jesus - a Gift that lasts forever and forever.

Merry Christmas!

You found me!

I'm glad that you found me and were successfully redirected here. You might be wondering why I've changed my blogspot address...I wanted my blogspot address to match the name of my blog, but, "My Little Yellow House" blogspot address was taken by another, so I renamed my blog to "My Little Yellow Cottage", thus I've changed my blog address to match. Please bookmark my new blog website to your "Favorites" folder, so that you can find your way back for another visit.

Blessings,
Linda

Unfrogettable Color Challenge

Like most, I have a busy week coming up, but I wanted to take the time to feature one of the card submissions to our Clear Dollar Stamps LLC Weekend Color Challenge. The colors that were "challenging" were Stampin' Up's Pretty in Pink, Sage Shadow and Real Red. I chose Katie Renz's card to feature, for two reasons: #1. She said that these colors were out of her "comfort zone" and because of it, she almost didn't play and #2. I was delighted to see a card submitted that wasn't a Christmas card for a change! LOL

For being out of her comfort zone, Katie sure created a supercute card! LOL Katie's card, "Unfroggetable" is a great example of Katie's knack of adding very sweet details to her cards. The cute flower field that Katie repeatedly handstamped in the pretty scalloped, rectangular frame is a nice background to the stamped focal image. The frog is beautifully colored sitting atop the mushroom and again, framed in a pretty scalloped, oval frame. Her attention to detail on the white doodle dots (on the scallops) to the pretty twill ribbon and notched corners is what they call understated embellishment. I like that she didn't clutter up her card with embellishments and multiple elements. "Unfroggetable" exemplifies a clean, balanced and very attractive layout. Great job, Katie! More of Katie's artwork can be viewed here at her blog. If you would like to participate in our CDS Weekend Color Challenge, I host it on Paper Craft Planet. Just follow this link for more details:
http://www.papercraftplanet.com/group/cleardollarstampsllcweekendcolorchallenge

CDS Color Challenge Card Sample

This card was created as a sample for the CDS Weekend Color Challenge 12/13 & 12/14. This week's CDS Weekend Color Challenge colors are: Stampin' Up! Pretty in Pink (may substitute Pirouette Pink), Stampin' Up! Real Red and Stampin' Up Sage Shadow. You may use White only as a neutral. You're welcome to use any embellishments and/or punches/dies, etc. Remember, you have two days to create something beautiful, but more than anything, I hope that your goal is to relax and ENJOY! When done creating your card, please leave a comment to this discussion (not on the wall), along with a link to your card sample by Sunday, 12/14 at 5:00 pm EST (Eastern Standard Time). To learn more, follow this link: http://www.papercraftplanet.com/group/cleardollarstampsllcweekendcolorchallenge/forum/topics/cds-weekend-color-challenge-2

SNOWFLAKE REJOICING
Stamps Used: CDS 'Bountiful Branches"
Cardstock and Papers: Colormates Medium Autumn Red, Colormates Deep Fairy Tale Pink, Paper Pizazz Soft Tints Green Stripes, Paper Trey White Cardstock
Inkpads: Stazon Black, Tsukineko Brilliance Moonlight White, Stampin' Up! Pretty in Pink & Real Red Inks
Accessories and Embellishments: Cuttlebug, Snowflake Embossing Folder & Vintage Die, Regular & Scalloped Square Nestabilities, Paper Piercing Tool, Prismacolor Pencils, Odorless Mineral Spirits, Blending Stumps, Sewing Machine, Thread, Favorite Findings Snowflakes, Michael's Self-Adhesive Gold Pearls, American Crafts Dimensionals, Zots, Tsukineko Sponge Daubers, Michael's Holiday Ribbon.
Special Techniques: Dry Embossing, Sponging, Paper Piercing, Machine Stitching

INSTRUCTIONS:
A 5"x10" piece of Paper Trey White Cardstock was cut for the card base. Two square mats were cut to size: Using Colormates Medium Autumn Red Cardstock, I cut a 5"x5" mat, and another mat was cut from Colormates Deep Fairy Tale Pink to 4.75"x4.75". The pink square mat was run through the Cuttlebug Snowflake Embossing Folder, and then using Tsukineko Sponge Daubers, I sponged Tsukineko Brilliance Moonlight White onto the elevated snowflakes for added texture. A strip of Paper Pizazz Soft Tints Green Stripes paper was cut to 5" wide x 1" high. Using my Janome Hello Kitty Sewing Machine stitched the pink and red mats together, stitching along all four sides, and then stitched down the Paper Pizzaz Soft Tints Green Stripes horizontal paper strip to the two stitched mats, and set aside.

The image was stamped onto Paper Trey White Cardstock using Stampin' Up! Sage Shadow Ink and Real Red Inks. Using Prismacolor Pencils, I added highlights to the stamped image and blended with mineral spirits and blending stumps. The sentiment was stamped onto the stamped image mat using Stazon Black Ink. The stamped image was cut out using the Regular Square Nestabilities Die Cut and a Cuttlebug. Using Tsukineko Sponge Daubers, I lightly sponged around all four sides of the stamped image mat. Using my Cuttlebug and the Regular and Scalloped Nestabilities Dies, I made three mats for the stamped image mat. The smallest mat was cut from Colormates Medium Autumn Red, the middle mat was cut from Paper Pizazz Soft Tints Green Stripes, and the largest mat was cut from Paper Trey White Cardstock. Using a Paper Piercing Tool, I free-hand paper pierced the large scalloped mat and the smaller red scalloped mat. I glued the stamped image white mat to the red, green and white scalloped mat and set aside. Using my Cuttlebug and the Cuttlebug Vintage Corner Die, I cut two scroll corner embellishments out of Colormates Medium Autumn Red Cardstock. I glued one of the scroll corner embellishments to the stamped, matted image, and the other to the lower right hand corner of the card.

A strip of Michael's Holiday Red Sparkle Ribbon was run across the Paper Pizazz Soft Tints Green Stripes horizontal paper strip and then adhered to the back of the card base. Using Favorite Findings plastic snowflakes, I glued them to the white sponged, Cuttlebugged snowflake pink background using Zots, adding one in the corner of each red scroll corner embellishment. I put a center pearl in each snowflake using Michael's Self-Adhesive Half Pearls, using Zots. I popped up the scalloped framed, stamped image onto American Crafts Dimensionals over the ribbon strip. I tied a Michael's matching Holiday Red Sparkle Ribbon Bow to the ribbon strip to finish.

CDS Color Challenge Sample Card #2

This card was originally made as a sample card for our upcoming Clear Dollar Stamps Weekend Color Challenge. The colors that I chose for the challenge are Stampin' Up! Pretty in Pink (Pink Pirouette, may be substituted), Stampin' Up! Real Red and Stampin' Up! Sage Shadow. I created this card Wednesday night when I was having a "bad allergy eye day". That is one of those days when my eyes are so dry and itching and burning that the only relief that I can find is to close them. Now, that makes it a little difficult to create a sample card. So, with that sad, I guess this card doesn't look all that bad, but...I must say that when I created this card, that I wasn't exactly thrilled when I finished it! But I was in love with the K&Co. Somerset Diamonds Vellum and thought that it would make a "beautiful card"!! LOL Isn't it funny how some cards just take on a life of their own? I'll post and upload the second card that did to replace this card for the real CDS Weekend Color Challenge sample card.

POINSETTIA BELLS
Stamps Used: CDS 'For Our Lord"
Cardstock and Papers: K&Co. Somerset Diamonds Foil Vellum, Colormates Medium Autumn Red, Colormates Deep Fairy Tale Pink, Colormates Medium Spring Green, Paper Trey White Cardstock
Inkpads: Stazon Black, Stampin' Up! Pretty in Pink & Real Red Inks
Accessories and Embellishments: Cuttlebug, Regular & Scalloped Oval Nestabilities, Marvy Mega Oval Punch, Piercing Tool, Karen Foster Click-It Hole Punch Tool, Gold Floral Wire, Darice Bells, Sewing Machine, Thread, Making Memories Christmas Poinsettias, Michael's Self-Adhesive Gold Beads, American Crafts Dimensionals, Michael's Holiday Ribbon.
Special Techniques: Sponging, Paper Piercing, Machine Stitching

INSTRUCTIONS:
A 5"x10" piece of Paper Trey White Cardstock was cut for the card base. A 5"x5" piece of K&Co. Somerset Diamonds Foil Vellum was cut and set aside. Using a Cuttlebug and Regular and Scalloped Nestabilities, I die cut the pink scalloped sentiment frame, the sage green sentiment frame and the white sentiment oval. The red sentiment oval was cut using a Marvy Mega Oval Punch, as I wanted another stepped up oval size for an additional sentiment mat, and there is none that size with the Nestabilities.

I stamped the sentiment onto the central white oval, using Stazon Black ink, sponging the edges lightly first with Stampin' Up Pretty in Pink Ink, and then again more heavily, using Stampin' Up! Real Red Ink. Using a Paper Piercing Tool, I free-hand paper pierced around the white sentiment oval, the sage green sentiment frame and the pink sentiment frame. All four ovals were glued together: the white, to the red, to the sage green, to the pink. Using my Janome Hello Kitty Sewing Machine, I stitched around all four sides of the K&CO. Somerset Diamonds Foil Vellum to the Paper Trey White Cardstock base. Using American Crafts Dimensionals, I popped up the oval framed sentiment atop the vellum card base. The three silk poinsettias were arrange for placement around the oval sentiment, and using the holes in the center of the poinsettias, I marked where I wanted to punch the holes for the center poinsettia brads. After punching the three holes, the three poinsettias were attached to the card base using red matching brads. I added self-adhesive gold beads to the center of each poinsettia red brad for interest.

I adhered the Michaels Gold Holiday Ribbon diagonally across the upper left corner and the lower right corner for balance. I attached a matching ribbon bow to the upper right corner ribbon strip and using Gold Floral Wire, attached the Darice Gold Bells to the Ribbon Bow. For added embellishment, I added more Michael's Self-Adhesive Gold Beads to the lower right bottom of the white sentiment oval and then a larger one at the bottom right of the card under the ribbon strip.

CDS Weekend Color Challenge Spotlight

We had our first Weekend Color Challenge on the Paper Craft Planet website, this past Saturday and Sunday, and although the participation was just a few entries (3 to be exact), I was still thrilled to see the submissions that we did have. I know that this time of the year isn't the best time to start a stamping challenge with very little advertisement, but I'm hoping that it will catch through word-of-mouth!

So, the card that I have chosen to feature on my blog today is all three cards! Since there were only 3 submissions, and this is our first of the Weekend Color Challenges, how could one choose between three? So, I'm featuring a card by Katie Renz, Linsey Rickett and Linda Anderson, who are fellow Clear Dollar Stamps LLC Team Designers.

Katie's card, the first pictured above is such a clean and crisp design with the teal and white snowflake background and bright red and white polka dotted ribbon. The clean design is in harmony with the sentiment that Katie chose, "Peace"...I just love the whole card and want to thank Katie for participating in our first color challenge! To view more of Katie's work, you can visit her blog here.

The second card pictured, is done by Linsey and is such a whimsical fun card full of magic. I love the Christmas stocking hanging on the gold tinsel...what a creative idea! The little mouse with the Santa hat standing around the little piece of cheese with the other mouse and Christmas presents, all make for a very fun card! You can see more of Linsey's work at her blog here.

The third card pictured, was created by Linda. Linda's submission card is rich with embossing, and the 3 holly frames make a sweet focal point, and the finishing touch of the pretty stickpin adds more beauty to her card. To visit Linda's blog, just click here.

Thank you Ladies, for participating in our first Weekend Color Challeng. I hope that you have found it a new fun challenge, knowing that it's a two-day challenge, which is not so common!

I've enjoyed hosting the challenge, and for those who missed it, I hope that you will join us next Saturday and Sunday for our Weekend Color Challenge, and look for the color deets for it, next Friday evening after 5:00 pm EST...I think that you will like the color combination that I have planned!!

Our First Clear Dollar Stamps Weekend Color Challenge!

Tomorrow, Decembr 6th, marks our first Clear Dollar Stamps Weekend Color Challenge, located on Paper Craft Planet. We hope that you will join us in the fun and inspiration!

To participate in the color challenge, visit our Color Challenge Group within Paper Craft Planet website, by clicking here. If you're not a member of Paper Craft Planet, all you have to do is register as a member (it's free) and very easy to do, then join our Clear Dollar Stamps Weekend Color Challenge Group. Once you've satisfied those requirements, you can participate!

You must use Clear Dollar Stamps on your cards and follow the color combination, with no color substitutions, unless mentioned. I'd like to say that I rarely used Stampin' Up cardstock, but I do use Stampin' Up ink pads, so, I'll direct the color combinations using Stampin' Up colors. You may use any brand of cardstock as a substitute, as long as you stay within the "color guidelines"mentioned. I will be posting the color combinations and any other requirements on Friday evenings by 5:00 pm, weekly. If you would like to suggest a color combination, please send it along with a card sample link to rubberstampinsister@gmail.com.

The colors to be used for this color challenge are Taken with Teal, Real Red and White. If you don't have Stampin' Up colored cardstock, you may use any Teal, Dark Turquoise (not Aqua), any Medium Red (not Burgundy) as a substitute. Pictured above, is my card sample for the Weekend Color Challenge. Would you believe that I used 4 Clear Dollar Stamp Sets for this card! LOL I'll include the deets and instructions below. If you have any questions, simply post them on the "Wall". I will try to answer your questions in a timely manner.

Once you've created your card, simply upload it to the place of your choice, whether it be Paper Craft Planet, your blog or other. Reply to this CDS Color Challenge Discussion in the "Discussion Forum", (not on the "Wall"), with a short comment, your full name, along with a link to your card sample. Please have your cards submitted by 5:00 pm Sunday. At that time, I will chose one to showcase and feature on my blog the next day, Monday. If you are chosen to be showcased, I will pm you through Paper Craft Planet, asking you for your blog link and deets for your card. Please have those ready by Sunday at 5:00 pm, as well.

Remember, this challenge is a two-day weekend challenge, so take your time, enjoy the color combination and create, create, create!

WEEKEND COLOR CHALLENGE SAMPLE CARD:
Stamps Used: Clear Dollar Stamps "It's Snowing Wheel", "Deer Wishes Stamp Set", "Snowman Wishes" Stamp Set and "For Our Lord" Stamp Set
Cardstock and Papers: K&Co. "K-ology Addison Designer Paper Collection", K&Co. "Remake Ocean Blues Designer Paper Collection", Paper Trey White Cardstock
Inkpads: Brilliance Moonlight White, Stazon Black, Stampin' Up Baja Breeze Inks
Markers: Sakura Clear Stardust Glitter Pen, Sakura Souffle Pen, Signo White and Black Gel Pens, Bic Mark-It "Hot Aqua" Marker
Accessories and Embellishments: Karen Foster Click-It Hole Punch, Marvy 1.5" Circle Punch, Prismacolor Pencils, Blending Stumps, Odorless Mineral Spirits, Sewing Machine, Thread, American Crafts Dimensionals, Tsukineko Sponge Daubers
Coloring Medium: "Gamsol Magic"
Special Techniques: American Crafts Jumbo Eyelet, Hero Art's Snowflake Brad, Michael's Holiday Ribbon

Instructions:
The card base was cut from Paper Trey White Cardstock to 5" wide x 10" high. Scoring in half, I set aside. Mats were cut using a paper cutter to the following sizes: 4.5", 4" and 3.5". The center mat was first stamped with Brilliance Moonlight White using the Clear Dollar Stamps "It's Snowing" Wheel on 3/4 of the mat. Next, I cut freehand 3 progressive sized white snow drifts, just winging it for bumps and grooves. The largest snow drift was glued down on the 3" mat and then trees were stamped over the snow and snowflake sky using Stazon Black Ink. Using a White Signo Gel Pen, I lightly "sketched" fallen snow on the tree branches and trunks.

The reindeer and red cardinal in the snow scene, were stamped on separate pieces of Paper Trey White Cardstock, then colored with Prismacolor Pencils and blending with Odorless Mineral Spirits and Blending Stumps, this is also called "Gamsol Magic". After coloring, I hand cut the reindeer and the red cardinal out, setting aside. I attached the middle and bottom snow drift to the image mat, using American Crafts Dimensional Tabs, generating a 3-D effect for all 3 snow drifts. I glued the reindeer and red cardinal onto the bottom snow drift. To add interest and more dimension to the snow and drifts, I highlighted the ridges around the tree trunks and the top of the snow drifts first, using a Sakura White Souffle Pen, and then once that dried, I added some sparkle to that using a Sakura Clear Stardust Glitter Pen.

The sentiment was stamped onto Paper Trey White Cardstock, as well as the second red cardinal, using Stazon Black Ink. I punched out the sentiment using a Marvy 1.5" Circle Punch. Using Stampin' Up Baja Breeze Ink, I sponged around the edge of the sentiment circle. I "dot-doodled" around the edge of the sentiment circle using a Signo Black Gel Pen to embellish.

Using my Janome Hello Kitty Sewing Machine, I sewed around the two larger mat four sides for interest. All 3 mats were glued together and attached to the Paper Trey White Cardstock base. The sentiment circle was attached to the card using an American Crafts Jumbo Eyelet and glue. To embellish and finish the card, I added a Michael's Gold-Edged Red Holiday Ribbon to the sentiment circle, as well as a Hero Arts Light Blue Snowflake Brad. More "dot doodles" were added around the 4 sides of the Paper Trey White Cardstock Base using a Bic Mark-It "Hot Aqua" Marker.