Have a Very Merry Christmas!

Hello faithful readers! I have let you down by not delivering what I promised in my last blog...a new little yellow cottage sketch and a card or two. I have been unusually busy between Thanksgiving and Christmas, which is why I've been lax in creating things...BUT! I will be resuming my design team duties for Clear Dollar Stamps, the week after Christmas!!

So! That means that I will be producing cards because I am committed and I am committed to finish coloring my little yellow cottage sketch and get that uploaded in January. I just wanted to update you on what's going on...I'm fine, Daddy's doing well, still some leg swelling but is coming along.

I want to thank every single precious reader that has come to see what I've been creating and especially those who continually prayed for me through total knee replacement surgery and for my father's leg surgery. It has been a very long fall and early winter, but I am looking with excitement toward resuming my design team duties for CDS, getting back into blogging and I'm taking a bible study on the book of Matthew. I am looking forward to 2010 and want to wish you all a Very Merry Christmas and Blessings in the New Year!

See you soon!

Time is Flying!

Hello faithful readers! I so appreciate you! I really do! I mean who else would keep coming back to read a blog that doesn't have postings but once every 2-3 weeks! You guys are the best and I am blessed to have you peeking in...

With that said, I wanted to update you with my life: Daddy was released from the rehabilitation center about a week and a half ago, and he has since decided to sell the family home and move into an apartment. And that is all going to happen Nov. 21st! Yep, for an 84-year-old guy, he's moving fast! He still has considerable swelling in his operated leg and was told by his surgeon that he may have that for a month and perhaps some swelling off and on for the rest of his years. He just has to use common sense after being on his feet awhile and elevate his leg as needed to rest it.

I have begun coloring my new illustration of my little yellow cottage for my blog and hope to have that up and running by Dec. 1st! I know that that sounds like forever, but it's really not...Thanksgiving is just around the corner.

Tom and I will be celebrating our 20th wedding anniversary on Nov. 16th and we are blessed enough to go away to Avon-by-the-Sea, NJ for two nights to stay at the Cashelmara Inn, a Victorian style seaside Bed & Breakfast. I've included a photo of the B&B from their website, above. We hope to breathe some fresh salty air, stroll on the non-commercial boardwalk, eat some marvelous food and enjoy a movie or two in the Cashelmara Inn's Victorian Theatre, complete with velvet chairs and free popcorn! I will have photos to share when we return, and the following weekend, Daddy's moving into his apartment...and then the following Wednesday, the Nov. 25th, Christopher will be home from college for Thanksgiving break! I really am shooting for stamping a card Thanksgiving weekend! So, please don't give up on me!

I'll see you back here after our anniversary trip with some photos!

Update on My Father's Surgery

Hello! I wanted to give my followers an update on my father's leg aneurysm bypass surgery. Monday was a very long day as his surgery wasn't scheduled until 1:30 pm. His surgery lasted approximately 2 hours and then he was in recovery for about 90 minutes. The surgeon met with us and said that the surgery was a "success", however there is a huge danger of blood clots which would not bring about a good prognosis for the future of his leg. Since my father lost his other leg in 1978 and extra arteries were used from his "good leg" in hope of successful natural artery bypass on the lost leg, there were no available arteries left on his good leg to use for this surgery. So, an artificial artery was grafted in, and his aneurysm was clamped closed to prevent bursting and blood flow through the original artery. With leg aneurysm bypasses (called popliteal bypass), using a natural artery is more beneficial with a better prognosis. Since Daddy had an artificial artery bypass, he is not out of the woods for some time. But the medical staff has gotten him out of bed yesterday and today, he took several steps with the walker.

He will be released from the hospital tomorrow and then he is going to a rehabiliation center for awhile, so that he can gain his independence back. We don't know how long he will be in the rehabilitation center, as it depends on the "goals" that he and his doctor set. But we are hopeful that he will be in there, at most, a week. The blood clotting prevention is being done with a blood thinner Rx, compression stockings and he will need to keep moving his leg through exercise and/or regular use.

I want to thank everyone who has been faithfully praying for him, and my family. We so appreciate your heartfelt prayers and we ask that you continue to hold him in prayer until he is out of the woods. It humbles me to know that so many people whom I have never met has prayed and is continuing to pray. Thank you again!!

A Need for Prayer

Hi Everyone! I wanted to update my faithful blog readers with information regarding my father's leg anuerysm surgery. By the way, his name is Roy Unger and he saw his vascular surgeon this afternoon and has scheduled his leg bypass surgery next Monday, 10/19 at 1:30 pm. It looks like they will be using a synthetic artery to do the bypass surgery since no natural arteries are available (from being stripped from both legs for his 1978 bypass surgeries). I'm told that the synthetic artery bypass has improved much since then, however, it is more beneficial to have a natural artery to use for the bypass. My sister, Dianne, is flying up from Georgia on Sunday to help Daddy out when he comes home from the hospital and I'm so glad she's coming for emotional support, as well! Please keep her in prayer for travel mercies and please pray for Daddy's surgery on Monday: that his leg would not reject the artificial artery or that infection would not set in and that the surgery would be successful.

Thank you for your faithful prayers and I'll will update sometime Monday evening or Tuesday morning. I so appreciate my followers!

When it Rains...

Good Morning! I have no idea who may be reading this after the long absence of postings here lately, but should you be reading this, I have yet more disappointing news to share.

I had decided to return to the CDS design team in time to produce November sneak peeks, but there has been a family medical concern that is taking my focus away from anything else. My father who has been living independently (my mother passed away in 2000), as a leg amputee (he does wear a prosthesis and can walk), has developed an aneurysm behind the knee of his "good leg". It is rather large and will require surgery either with a stent or bypass surgery. My father has arteriosclerosis (hardening of the arteries) and lost his leg to an aneurysm in 1978, after several bypass attempts were made, that failed. So, you can imagine the fear that he has of losing this other leg should this new aneursym surgery should fail. That would render him a double amputee and would certainly change the dynamic of his independent living. Us children (my sister, my brother and myself), may be facing some decisions regarding our father's care should the surgery not succeed. So, because of this, I have decided that returning to CDS as a design team member is not in the best interest of CDS, as my focus is foremost on my father. We do not have a surgery date at this time, as he is still in the midst of more testing and needs to see a cardiologist for cardiac clearance, as well (he has had 3 heart attacks). My focus and my time will be directed toward my family and although I regret that I am not able to return to CDS at this time, I feel that it is the right decision.

That doesn't mean that I won't be posting card-related posts. I hope that at some point after my father's surgery, I'll be able to stamp and relax for therapy and I will share those creations when I do. On a positive note, I have some news to share...I have, for some time, not been happy with my blog photo of my little yellow cottage. So, I have asked my sister, Dianne Dashler, who is an artist, if she would "sketch" my little yellow cottage. She has just finished her final rendering and as soon as I receive it in the mail, I will be anxious to colorize it and hope to upload it to my blog in 2-3 weeks. It is a big difference in artwork and hope that you come back to see it.

Just an update

Good morning! It has been a month since I have posted and in one sense, time has flown, but medically and pain-wise, not so much!! I am doing well in my total knee recovery, and getting ready to celebrate my 6-week post-op next Tuesday, with being cut loose from physical therapy! My therapist has been the best therapist, and has rehabbed me three times: once for my first TKR, once for my frozen shoulder last Spring and now with this second TKR. I want to thank her, Karen Pirovolidis for all her continued encouragement and help as I struggled to make each moment count!

And, I also want to announce that I am resuming my duties as part of the Clear Dollar Stamps Design Team, beginning October 1st, which will generate November sneak peeks at the end of October. So, I hope that you will visit back here then, to see what I've come up with. In the meantime, I will be jumping back into the swing of stamping sometime soon, as I will just be making a few cards for my own personal use and I hope to have those to share with you within the next week or so. It has been a very long haul through this surgery and I want to thank everyone for all their kind thoughts and uplifted prayers. See you soon!

I'm Home From the Hospital

Good morning! Just an update on my total knee replacement surgery. I was discharged from the hospital last Friday, 8/14 and was so glad to come home to get some much-needed rest. Between the blood drawing, IV changing, medication dispensing, meals arriving, physical therapists coming to get me, etc...there was no sleep to be had more than a 2-hour stretch. But, the operation was successful, physical therapy in the hospital went very well and today, I had my first in-home physical therapy session. My physical therapist said that because I am doing so well so early on (my surgery being less than a week ago), that she will release me to out-patient physical therapy mid-week, next week. That means I can go to my favorite physical therapy place, Agape Therapy which is located within a health/fitness club. There, I will be able to use their exercise equipment as well as therapy pool to rehab the knee.

I'm spending alot of my days stalking other cardmaker's blogs, watching television, reading, napping, icing the knee, elevating the knee and doing my physical therapy exercises. I'm tired most of the time because of the pain meds, but I'm so glad that the worse is over.

I hope to get upstairs this weekend and see if I can sit for a spell at my craft table, at least to sort some buttons and ribbons that I've ordered from Paper Trey Ink...and who knows, maybe I'll start a card! How cool would that be! Thanks for staying in touch...

Time Off for Some Surgery

Hello! I wanted to share with my readers that I will be taking a "cardmaking hiatus" effective today and for a little while longer. For years, I have suffered from osteoarthritis in both knees, which has led to the need for total knee replacement surgery. I had my left knee replaced in September, 2007 and now my right knee will be replaced in a few days. I will be involved in intensive physical therapy 3 times a week, so that will leave very little energy to create cards. I have stepped down from my CDS Design Team duties for a few months, but plan to return as soon as I am able. I hope that this news does not disappoint my readers or turn them off from ever returning to visit my blog. Should you feel inclined to pray for my upcoming surgery, I would be most humbled, as I have a strong belief in the power of uplifted prayer.

Peeking into the Neighborhood

Good Morning! Today is Day #2 of Clear Dollar Stamps' Sneak Peek Week and today I'm sharing a really versatile stamp set called "Nice Neighborhood". This set includes 3 different style houses, trees, a moving truck and several themed sentiments. The set was illustrated by Laurie Wilson, our CDS Design Team Coordinator and if you like to color images...then you gotta get this set! For this particular sample, I wanted to keep it very clean and simple. Well, it didn't exactly turned out clean and simple, but for me, I think it's close! LOL I drew the colors from the beautiful Basic Grey Designer Paper Collection "Porcelain" and wanted the pretty floral background and stamped image to really compliment each other...so I colored the house quite simply to not distract from the background floral. I added a little Michael's self-adhesive silver bead for the door handle of the house! Isn't that cute? To keep the feminine flavor of the card, I used the Cuttlebug Swiss Dots Embossing Folder, Martha Stewart Eyelet Border Punch and some sweet Pebbles Gingham Ribbon...AND! My favorite KasierCraft Self-Adhesive "Bliss" Pearls. For some other ideas and card samples of "Nice Neighborhood", see my fellow CDS Design Team Members: Candy Fosta, Stacy Morgan, Katie Rentz, Sarah Taylor, Cassie Trask & Kim Teasdale. "Nice Neighborhood" releases August 1st and can be purchased at www.newcleardollarstamps.com.

Stamps: CDS "Nice Neighborhood"
Cardstock & Papers: Basic Grey "Porcelain" Designer Paper Collection, ColorMates Light Pretty in Pink & Medium Spring Green Cardstock, Paper Trey White Cardstock
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black Ink
Markers: Copic Sketch Markers - RV11 Pink, G21 Lime Green, BG000 Pale Aqua, C1 & C3 Cool Greys
Accessories: Cuttlebug, Nestabilities Regular and Scalloped Round Dies, "Swiss Dots" Embossing Folder, Marvy Mega Round Punch, Karen Foster Click-It Hole Punch Kit, Martha Stewart Eyelet Border Punch, Sewing Machine, Thread, Adhesive, Stampin' Up! Dimensionals, Paper Piercing Tool, Pebbles Gingham Ribbon, KaiserCraft Self-Adhesive "Rose" Pearls, Michael's Silver Self-Adhesive Bead
Techniques: Basic Stamping, Copic Coloring, Paper Piercing, Machine Stitching

Another sneak peek sample using CDS' "Nice Neighborhood" was created all around the two-sided designer paper that I was dying to use and waiting for "just the right moment!" Since I used soft, feminine colors on my first sneak peek sample of "Nice Neighborhood", I wanted to use some warm and toasty colors on this sample. I drew all the colors from the Graphic 45 "Times Noveau Collection" Designer Paper, to color the image, to sponge the sentiment, etc. The image, again was so much fun to color my Copic Sketch Markers and I added another little Michael's Self-Adhesive Gold Bead for the door handle of the house. In fact, if the house weren't a dark yellow...it might pass for "My Little Yellow Cottage" !! LOL To see the whole stamp sheet set of "Nice Neighborhood", visit Lori McCroskey's blog.

Stamps: CDs "Nice Neighborhood"Cardstock & Papers: Basic Grey "Boxer" Designer Paper Collection, Graphic 45 "Times Noveau Collection - Hot Tomato" Designer Paper, Paper Trey White Cardstock
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black & Summer Sky Inks, Stampin' Up! Mellow Moss Ink
Markers: Copic Sketch - B00 Frost Blue, E09 Burnt Sienna, E34 Orientale, YR21 Cream, YR24 Pale Sepia, E29 Burnt Umber, G94 Grayish Olive
Accessories: Cuttlebug, Nestabilities Curved Long Rectangle, Regular Circle & Inverted Circle Dies, Paper Piercing Tool, Karen Foster Click-It Hole Punch Kit, Adhesive, Stampin' Up! Dimensionals, Cloud Template, Tskukineko Sponge Dauber, Michael's Self-Adhesive Gold Beads, Making Memories "5th Avenue" Collection Ribbon, Spare Parts Button, Crochet Thread
Techniques: Basic Stamping, Copic Coloring, Sponging, Masking, Paper Piercing
CDS Challenge: Create a Stamped, Cut-Out Element as an Accent

Well, unfortunately, that's all I have to share with you this CDS Sneak Peek Week, BUT! There's more to see on my fellow Clear Dollar Stamps Design Team blogs -- you can find their links on my right sidebar. They will have more sneak peeks to share with you on Thursday, July 30 and Friday, July 31st -- and they are so worth seeing! AND! All these great new sets will be available for purchase August 1st at www.newcleardollarstamps.com

Good Morning! Do you know what today is????? Today is Day #1 for Clear Dollar Stamps Sneak Peek Week! I always get excited sharing my sneak peek samples with my readers during CDS Sneak Peek Week and hope that you all enjoy seeing them, as well. I have two super stamp sets to share with you today, and I'll start with "Hanging Out" illustrated by our Design Team Coordinator, Laurie Wilson. "Hanging Out" is a supercute stamp set that offers a clothesline, several items of clothing to hang on the clothesline, various sentiments and two adorable Magpies! How homespun is that???? For this sneak peek sample, I couldn't wait to ink up the articles of clothing and then paper piece them onto the clothesline. I wanted to used a Summery color scheme, and had this fun different-sized polka dot designer paper, and thought that I'd throw in a little teal to make it all pop. All 3 articles of clothing were stamped on either cardstock or designer paper, then cut out then adhered overtop the underlying stamped image. The clouds were sponged with my trusty handmade cloud template and the little dots around the Nestablities Labels Three were stamped with Clear Dollar Stamps' "Sassy Scallops" stamp set. That set is invaluable! For more great designs using "Hanging Out" see my fellow CDS Design Team Members: Candy Fosta, Cassie Trask, Angela Thomas, Kim Teasdale & Laurie Wilson.

Stamps: CDS "Hanging Out" & "Sassy Scallops"
Cardstock & Papers: Paper Trey "Bitty Dot Basics" Designer Paper Collection, DCWV "Assorted Splats" Designer Paper Collection, DCWV "Nana's Kids - Embossed Green Dots" Designer Paper, Paper Trey White Cardstock
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black & Tangelo Inks, Stampin' Up! Baja Breeze & Taken with Teal Inks
Markers: Copic Sketch - YG03 Yellow Green
Accessories: Cuttlebug, Nestabilities Regular Square & Labels Three Dies, EK Success Corner Punch, Sewing Machine, Thread, Cloud Template, Tsukineko Sponge Dauber, Adhesive, Stampin' Up! Dimensionals, Offray Felt Ric Rac, Robin's Nest "Water" & "Flame" Dew Drops.
Techniques: Basic Stamping, Sponging, Paper Piecing, Machine Stitching, Masking

Do you like Magpies? Blackbirds? I so love them as illustrations, but not so much in the yard! LOL For my second sneak peek sample of "Hanging Out", you know I just had to ink up those magpies! I mean, how cute is that? Two Magpies on a clothesline! I love the whole visual!! LOL The colors and layout for this card came from TWO (mind you!) CDS Design Team Challenges: 1. the Sketch/Layout and 2. Color Challenge - Mustard & Black. Well, I didn't have a lot of mustard coordinating papers lying around, but I did have this two-toned trellis plaid old scrapbook paper that just was screaming to be used! It is so old that I have no clue where it came from or who made it! (Sorry, sniff, sniff!). If you look closely at the right side of the card, you'll see the zig-zag stitch that ended in straight stitch to the button embellishment...that was my attempt of satisfying another "strip type area" for the Sketch/Layout that Laurie Wilson provided. I think it flies alright...LOL. "Hanging Out" will be released on August 1st and the entire stamp sheet set can be viewed at Lori McCroskey's Blog. To purchase, visit www.newcleardollarstamps.com

Stamps: CDS "Hanging Out"
Cardstock & Papers: Paper Trey "Bitty Dot Basics" Designer Paper Collection, Unknown Scrapbook Paper, Paper Trey White Cardstock
Ink: Memento Black and Summer Sky Inks
Markers: Copic Sketch - Y21 Buttercup Yellow, Y26 Mustard, 100 Black, C1 & C3 Cool Greys. Other Marker - Signo White Gel Pen
Accessories: Cuttlebug, Nestabilities Regular & Scalloped Oval Dies, Martha Stewart Eyelet Border Punch, Cloud Template, Karen Foster Click-It Hole Punch Kit, Sewing Machine, Thread, Adhesive, Stampin' Up! Dimensionals, Pebbles Ribbon, Doodlebug Button, Crochet Thread
Techniques: Basic Stamping, Sponging, Copic Coloring, Masking, Machine Stitching.
CDS Challenges: Color Challenge & Sketch Challenge

The second soon-to-be-relased stamp set that I'm sharing today is called "Under the Sea", illustrated by our own Design Team member Shawne Arnold and includes a stylized fish, seahorse, various seashells, seawood, coral and coordinating sentiments. The colors that I used to create this card came from a photograph of a living room that our CDS Design Team Coordinator, Laurie Wilson supplied. From that we were to be inspired by the colors, design, etc., of the living room. I also had this new K&Co. Designer Paper Collection called "Sea Glass" and it just seemed to fit perfectly the "Inspiration Challenge. I so enjoyed coloring the main stamped image with Copic Sketch Markers and you will, too! For the fish and the coral cluster, I stamped them twice and popped them up on Stampin' Up Dimensionals. You WILL love this stamp set!

Stamps: CDS "Under the Sea"
Cardstock & Papers: K&Co. "Sea Glass" Designer Paper Collection, ColorMates Light Geranium Cardstock, Paper Trey White Cardstock
Inks: Memento Tuxedo Black Ink, Stampin' Up! Baja Breeze Ink
Markers: Copic Sketch Markers - RV13 Tender Pink, R11 Pale Cherry Pink, B32 Pale Blue, BG000 Pale Aqua, BG11 Moon White, BG15 Aqua, YG03 Yellow Green, G07 Nile Green, G24 Willow, Y13 Lemon Yellow, YR01 Peach Puff, YR21 Cream, E00 Skin White, E25 Caribe Cocoa, E31 Brick Beige, E33 Sand. Other Marker - Sakura Micron .01 Fine Tip Black Marker
Accessories: Cuttlebug, Nestabilities Label 3 Dies & Tags Trio Die, Karen Foster Click-It Hole Punch, Fiskars "Wave" Paper Shaper Scissors, Tsukineko Sponge Dauber, Sewing Machine, Thread, Adhesive, Stampin' Up! Dimensionals, Clear Dollar Stamps Ribbon, Karen Foster Button/Brad, Robin's Nest "Water" Dew Drops
Techniques: Basic Stamping, Copic Coloring, Machine Stitching, Sponging
CDS Challenge: Inspiration Challenge

For my second sample of "Under the Sea", I wanted to ink up that seahorse and color him with my Copic Sketch Markers. I had yet, one more CDS Design Team Challenge to do: to not use any designer paper, but to make your own. So, when I saw the adorable seashells and starfish in this set, I knew that they would make great background paper Once I colored the starfish and seashells, they sort of set the color scheme for this card and I color-coordinated most of the other elements in the main stamped image. After coloring my starfish, I took my trusty Sakura Stardust Glitter Gel Pen and outlined all the swirls and twirls on the seahorse, as well as outlined the coral and the seaweed. I embellished with my favorite "bling", KaiserCraft Self-Adhesive "Bliss" Pearls...because every sea needs a few pearls. There are other fab card designs using this set by my fellow CDS Design Team Members: Candy Fosta, Stacy Morgan, Cassie Trask, Kim Teasdale & Laurie Wilson. "Under the Sea" releases August 1st and can be purchased at www.cleardollarstamps.com. To see the complete stamp sheet, visit Lori McCroskey's blog.

Stamps: CDS "Under the Sea" & "Smooth Sailing" (sentiment)
Cardstock & Papers: ColorMates Pretty in Pink and Light Orange Dream Cardstock, Paper Trey White Cardstock
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black Ink
Markers: Copic Sketch Markers - RV11 Pink, RV23 Pure Pink, YR01 Peach Puff, YR16 Apricot, YR21 Cream, B00 Frost Blue, BG000 Pale Aqua, BG11 Moon White, YG63 Pea Green, YG67 Moss, E00 Skin White, E25 Caribe Cocoa, E31 Birch Beige, E34 Orientale. Other Markers - Sakura Clear Stardust Gel Pen, Sakura Micron .01 Fine Tip Black Marker
Accessories: Cuttlebug, Nestabilities, Long Curved Rectangle Dies, Cuttlebug "Swirls" Embossing Folder, Martha Stewart Zig-Zag Border Punch, Sewing Machine, Thread, Adhesive, Stampin' Up! Dimensionals, Clear Dollar Stamps Pink Velvet Ribbon, KaiserCraft Clear Self-Adhesive Rhinestones, KaiserCraft "Bliss" Self-Adhesive Pearls.
Techniques: Basic Stamping, Copic Coloring & Machine Stitching
CDS Challenge: No Designer Paper, Create Your Own DP Using CDS Stamps

Get Ready!

Good Morning! I'm still kicking! Sorry that I haven't posted in what turns out to be a long time...I was busy creating August Sneak Peeks and I'll be showing those on Tuesday, July 28th! So, I hope you'll come back to see what we, the Clear Dollar Stamps' Design Team has to share with you this week! See you Tuesday!

A Special Birthday

As promised, I have a card to share with you...this one was created for a very special friend's birthday this week (hope she's not peeking...but I DID promise sharing a new card with my blog readers!). This card was colored with Copic Sketch Markers -- I spent a great deal of time coloring the image...wanting it to be the main focus of the card. The upper white half of the background was scored using a Scor-It -- I was trying to achieve a Beadboard/Wainscoting effect (like at seashore cottages) for a seashore effect. I had a wonderful time coloring this and decided to keep the embellishment and layers simple. I hope that my friend likes it! Here's the deets:

Stamps: Stamps Happen "Girl at the Sea Shore" & Stampin' Up! Sentiment (inside)
Cardstock & Papers: ColorMates Deep Belgium Blue Cardstock, Making Memories Red Pinstripe Scrapbook Paper, Paper Trey White Cardstock
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black Ink
Markers: Copic Sketch - B00 Frost Blue, B14 Light Blue, B24 Sky, B32 Pale Blue, R11 Pale Cherry Pink, YR21 Cream, YR24 Pale Sepia, Y26 Mustard, E25 Caribe Cocoa, E29 Burnt Umber, E31 Brick Beige, E33 Sand, E34 Orientale, C1 & C3 Cool Greys
Accessories: Cuttlebug, Nestabilities Regular Square Die, Karen Foster Click-It Hole Punch, Sewing Machine, Thread, Adhesive, Stampin' Up! Dimensionals, Zots, Offray Ribbon, Brass Charm
Techniques: Basic Stamping, Copic Coloring, Machine Stitching

Just sharing...

Hello! I'm still working on my Clear Dollar Stamps August Sneak Peeks, but I didn't want you to lose interest in my blog and go away forever or anything. So, I wanted to share what my front window boxes look like close-up...I took this photo today, and then decided, "hey, I need to update my blog cottage photo with the flowers in the window boxes!" So, check it out above...nevermind that that tall azalea bush to the right of the steps needs trimming (LOL). Something always needs trimming around here, that's for sure! I really hope to have a non-sneak peek card to share in a day or so...and that's a promise! See you then!

My "Down Under Pot"

Hello! I'm busy working on the next batch of sneak peeks for Clear Dollar Stamps' August releases, but I had to share my "upside down pot" that hangs by my back door. I first heard of these "upside down pots" from my hairdresser last spring. She had mentioned that she had bought one and I was intrigued by the idea. I did a little research and learned that they were first crafted in Australia and are sometimes called "down under pots". I searched high and low for one, and found several on eBay and bought this off-white one. There are various colors available including colored, glazed ones...but I opted for this flat off-white pot thinking it would showcase the colors of any flowers that I planted in it better. I planted two different color impatiens in it this year (last year I planted another flower that had more of a woody stem -- which I don't recommend). When you first plant your flowers in an "upside down pot", you turn in over, plant your flowers in the wide opening and leave it sitting on a table for 2-3 weeks until the flowers are well established. After 2-3 weeks, you turn over the pot and hang it on a hanger, and in a few short days, the flowers start to reach upward and around the "upside down pot" "bottom"...it's really fun to watch it grow upward and always a great conversation piece.

I hope to have something non-sneak peek to show you in a week or so...but back to work on the sneak peeks for now!

Last Day of CDS Sneak Peeks

Good Morning! Today, I'm sharing another supercute stamp set by Clear Dollar Stamps, called "Porch Conversations". This stamp sets offers a larger stamp of the front porch and swing and is ideal for watercoloring or Copic coloring. This sample that I made for "Porch Conversations" was another case of having fallen in love with the designer paper and was just itching to use it and waiting for the perfect occasion. Well, when "Porch Conversations" came to my mailbox, I knew that the occasion had come! The floral background and checked bottom would compliment the lovely image illustrated by Laurie Wilson. The main image was watercolored with Derwent Watercolor Pencils for a soft and summery look. And when I finished with watercoloring the image and sewing it all together, I added the computer-generated sentiment "Smile!" to the card as who wouldn't smile sitting on that front porch? "Porch Conversations" can be purchased July 1st at www.newcleardollarstamps.com. For other samples of "Porch Conversations" by my fellow CDS Design Teammates, visit Candy Fosta, Stacy Morgan, Kim Teasdale, Tori Wild & Laurie Wilson.

Stamps Used: Clear Dollar Stamps "Porch Conversations"
Cardstock & Papers: Making Memories "Flower Patch" Designer Paper Collection, Swarthmore Watercolor Paper, Paper Trey White Cardstock
Inks: Stazon Black Ink
Accessories: Martha Stewart Doily Border Punch, Sewing Machine, Thread, Martha Stewart Leaf Punch, Karen Foster Click-It Hole Punch Kit, Derwent Watercolor Pencils, Aquabrush, Adhesive, American Crafts Satin Ribbon, Spare Parts Paper Flower, Hero Arts Flower Button, Crochet Thread, KaiserCraft Self-Adhesive Pearls, Computer Generated Sentiment
Techniques: Basic Stamping, Watercoloring, Machine Stitching

Isn't That The Truth?

This second sample that I created from Clear Dollar Stamps "Porch Conversations", was created with Basic Gray's "Wisteria" Designer Paper Collection -- that sort of set the mood, the color scheme and the whole flavor of the card. I decided to color the image on this card with my Copics and figured I could use a little practice blending and shading. I was trying for a cooler, Spring-ey feel with this card with the use of violets, lavendars and soft greens. The array of self-adhesive pearls on the upper right of the card is my attempt at creating a visual "Wisteria" hanging bloom. I'm not sure if it flies, or not, but I left it, as is, just the same. LOL The more I stared at it, the more I decided, "I kinda like that!" LOL The sentiment/quote that is included in "Porch Conversations" is such a wonderful quote and as I was creating the card, I couldnt help but think, "Isn't that the truth about a best kind of friend!" "Porch Conversations" can be purchased on July 1st at www.newcleardollarstamps.com. To see other samples of "Porch Conversations", visit my fellow CDS Design Teammates: Candy Fosta, Stacy Morgan, Kim Teasdale, Tori Wild & Laurie Wilson.

Stamps Used: Clear Dollar Stamps "Porch Conversations"
Cardstock & Papers: Basic Gray "Wisteria" Designer Paper Collection, K&Co. "Remake - Lilac Lavendars" Mat Pad, Paper Trey White Cardstock
Inks: Memento Black Ink, Stazon Black Ink
Markers: Copic Sketch Markers - BG000 Pale Aqua, B00 Frost Blue, B32 Pale Blue, BV01 Viola, BV11 Soft Violet, BV13 Hydrangea Blue, V09 Violet, YG41 Pale Colbalt Green, YG67 Moss, G07 Nile Green, G21 Lime Green, G82 Spring Dim Green, #25 Cariba Cocoa, E27 Africano, E31 Brick Beige, C1, C3, C5 Cool Grays, 0 Colorless Blender, Signo White Gel Pen
Accessories: EK Success Flourish Punch, Fiskars "Scallop" Shaper Scissors, Sewing Machine, Thread, Karen Foster Click-It Hole Punch Kit, Adhesive, Stampin' Up! Dimensionals, Offray Organza Ribbon, KaiserCraft Self-Adhesive Pearls
Techniques: Basic Stamping, Copic Coloring & Blending, Machine Stitching

"Veggie Sales!"

Good Morning! Today I'm sharing a super cute new stamp set by Clear Dollar Stamps, called "Veggie Stew". This stamp set is so much fun to create with! I didn't know which vegetable to stamp with first, because I was so excited to get stamping with them! Well, I settled on a red, orange and green theme with white as a neutral so that led to broccoli, carrots, peas and tomatoes! Some of my personal favorites! LOL The background was stamped overtop striped scrapbook paper in a darker green ink. I stamped the carrots and tomatoes twice each and cut them out and popped them up for dimension and interest. The sentiment was curved on the acrylic block to create the curved type look. "Veggie Stew" releases on July 1st at www.newcleardollarstamps.com. To see other samples of "Veggie Stew" by my fellow CDS Design Team members, visit: Candy Fosta, Nancy Grant, Cassie Trask & Laurie Wilson.

Stamps Used: Clear Dollar Stamps "Veggie Stew"
Cardstock & Papers: Color Mates Medium Orange Dream Cardstock, Bo Bunny Cardstock, Paper Trey White Cardstock
Inks: Stampin' Up! Only Orange & Garden Green Inks, Vivid! Red Ink, Memento Tuxedo Black Ink
Accessories: Cuttlebug, Nestabilities Regular & Scalloped Oval Dies, Cuttlebug "Spots & Dots" Embossing Folder, Martha Stewart Eyelet Scalloped Border Punch, Karen Foster Click-It Hole Punch Kit, Sewing Machine, Thread, Adhesive, Stampin' Up! Dimensionals, Pebbles Ribbon, Spare Parts Button, Crochet Thread
Techniques: Basic Stamping, Background Stamping, Masking, Paper Tole, Machine Stitching

Get Your Pickle On!

This is my second sample that I created with "Veggie Stew", Clear Dollar Stamps' soon-to-be-released stamp set for July. I had already stamped with the carrots, broccoli, peas and tomatoes, and I thought to myself, "I've got to stamp with that pickle!" Then what to do with it???? LOL My brain was spinning and spinning and spinning...then I remembered that I had these two cute Clear Dollar Stamps' mice, Marcy and Marvin in my stamp stash! And Voila! The wheels kept spinning -- I just had to put Marvin in the Pickle! And then had to make Marcy look astonished that Marvin was in such a pickle! I had so much fun making this card with all the fun colors and the fun flavor, and the fun theme! Who knew that a pickle would bring so much joy??? You can purchase "Veggie Stew" July 1st, and get your pickle on at www.newcleardollarstamps.com. Don't miss the other CDS Design Teammates' "Veggie Stew" sneak peek samples: Candy Fosta, Nancy Grant, Cassie Trask & Laurie Wilson.

Stamps Used: Clear Dollar Stamps "Veggie Stew" & "Marvin & Marcy Mice"
Cardstock & Papers: DCWV "Animal Crackers" Designer Paper Collection & "Summer Fun" Designer Paper Collection, Paper Trey White Cardstock
Inks: Stampin' Up! Glorious Green Ink, Memento Tuxedo Black Ink
Markers: Copic Sketch - RV13 Tender Pink, RV23 Pure Pink, Y13 Lemon Yellow, C1, C3 & C5 Cool Greys, 0 Colorless Blender. Zig Fine Tip Black Marker
Accessories: Cuttlebug, Nestabilities Long Curved Rectangle Dies, Nestabilities Regular Round Dies, EK Success Corner Rounder Punch, EK Success Corner Punch, Paper Piercing Tool, Stampin' Up! Mat Pack, Sewing Machine, Thread, Embroidery Thread, Adhesive, Stampin' Up! Dimensionals, Doodlebug Buttons, AC Mini Brad
Techniques: Basic Stamping, Paper Piercing, Copic Coloring & Blending

Lighthouses You'll Love!

Good Morning! Today is the beginning of Clear Dollar Stamps' July Sneak Peek Week! And, today I'm sharing a gorgeous new stamp set called "Sheltering Lights" that is one of my very favorite CDS stamp sets (so far - wink, wink) because I am a lighthouse lover, as well as anything nautical. This stamp set is a "must have" as it contains 2 beautifully illustrated lighthouses, by Laurie Wilson, as well as several pretty coordinating sentiments. For this card, I was striving to create a coral, sandy, clean feeling. I used my new Nestabilities Inverted Circle Dies along with the Regular Round and Scalloped Round Dies, and it created an interesting shape as well as texture to frame my stamped image. I used my Copic Sketch Markers to color and blend the main image on this, and worked my Cuttlebug quite a bit for texture on this card. The sentiment/quote is one of the sentiments included in the stamp set. To see other "Sheltering Lights" samples, see Candy Fosta, Nancy Grant, Stacy Morgan, Katie Renz, Sarah Taylor, Kim Teasdale, Cassie Trask & Laurie Wilson. "Sheltering Lights" will be released July 1st and is only available at www.newcleardollarstamps.com.

Stamps Used: Clear Dollar Stamps "Sheltering Lights"
Cardstock & Papers: K&Co. "Remake - Roam" Designer Paper Pad, Color Mates Light Geranium Cardstock, Paper Trey White Cardstock
Inks: Memento Tuxedo Black Ink
Markers: Copic Sketch Markers - R02 Flesh, Y21 Buttercup Yellow, E02 Fruit Pink, E25 Caribe Cocoa, E31 Brick Beige, E33 Sand, YR21Cream, B00 Frost Blue, BG000 Pale Aqua, BG11 Moon White, BG15 Aqua, C1, C3, C5 Cool Grays, 0 Colorless Blender, Signo White Gel Pen
Accessories: Cuttlebug, Cuttlebug "Bubbles" & "Swirls" Embossing Folders, Nestabilities Regular, Scalloped & Inverted Circle Dies, Paper Piercing Tool, Karen Foster Click-It Hole Punch Kit, Sewing Machine, Thread, Adhesive, Stampin' Up! Dimensionals, Jolee's By You Seagull, We R Memory Keepers XL White Eyelet, Loop Polyester Ribbon, KaiserCraft "Bliss" Self-Adhesive Pearls
Techniques: Basic Stamping, Copic Coloring & Blending, Dry Embossing, Machine Stitching, Paper Piercing

A Strong Tower

This is my second card created with Clear Dollar Stamps, "Sheltering Lights" & "Shinng Strength". For this card I chose a teal flavor to satisfy a CDS Design Team Challenge to make a monochromatic card. I love making monochromatic cards and this one was no exception. I used some teal-colored coordinating designer paper to make most of the card, except the paper on the right panel, which is so old from my scrapbooking days, that I don't even know what it is other than it looks like water. LOL But, it's always good to use paper that I've been hoarding for years, literally. The main stamp image was colored & blendied with Copic Sketch Markers, the fish charm and monkey fist was added to create a "nautical feel" to the card. "Sheltering Lights" stamp set contains two light houses and several sentiments. The sentiment on this card is from another stamp set called "Shining Strength", devoted to speaking of God's strength and might. It's a lovely sentiment set and coordinates beautifully with "Sheltering Lights". Both stamp sets will be released on July 1st and available for purchase at www.newcleardollarstamps.com. To see other "Sheltering Lights" & "Shining Strength" samples, see Candy Fosta, Nancy Grant, Stacy Morgan, Katie Renz, Sarah Taylor, Kim Teasdale, Cassie Trask & Laurie Wilson.

Stamps Used: Clear Dollar Stamps "Sheltering Lights" & "Shining Strength"
Cardstock & Papers: Creative Imaginations Christine Adolph Designer Paper Collection, K&Co. "Remake - Ocean Blues" Designer Paper Pad, Paper Trey White Cardstock
Inks: Memento Tuxedo Black Ink
Markers: Copic Sketch Markers - Y21 Buttercup Yellow, YR21 Cream, YR24 Pale Sepia, B00 Frost Blue, B32 Pale Blue, BG000 Pale Aqua, BG11 Moon White, BG15 Aqua, BG18 Teal Blue, BG72 Ice Ocean, YG03 Yellow Green, G21 Lime Green, E34 Orientale, C1, C3, C5 Cool Grays, 0 Colorless Blender, Signo White Gel Pen
Accessories: Cuttlebug, Cuttlebug "Bubbles" Embossing Folder, Nestabilities Curved Rectangle Dies, Fiskars "Wave" Shaper Scissors, Sewing Machine, Thread, Adhesive, Stampin' Up! Dimensionals, White Nylon Twine, Crochet Thread, K&Co. "Sea Glass" Collection Charm, Robin's Nest "Water" Dew Drops
Techniques: Basic Stamping, Copic Coloring & Blending, Dry Embossing, Machine Stitching

A Little Slice of Heaven...

Good Morning! Just a short hello from Ocracoke Island, on the southermost tip of the Outer Banks. We're here for a few more days before we head home, and I wanted to share a few photos of what we consider, "a little slice of heaven". The top photo is of the Ocracoke Island Lighthouse, which is still a working lighthouse for all seafaring vessels passing on the Atlantic Ocean or into the Pamlico Sound. Below, that is the lighthouse keeper's cottage and the full length view of the lighthouse. Ocracoke Village is the only "town" on Ocracoke Island and it is a sleepy, working fishing village full of charm that seems to be suspended in time. Most travel by bicycle on the island as the roads are sandy and narrow. Once visitors arrive on island, they usually park their car at their cottage and either get around on foot or by bicycle. Life here is on "island time" -- no stress allowed, whatsoever! Tomorrow, I will have some ocean photos from the Ocracoke Beach portion of the Cape Hatteras National Seashore. The seashore is a nationally protected and natural seashore and a pristine vista for sore eyes!

A Month of Birthdays!

Good Morning! Well, July certainly is turning out to be a busy-birthday-cardmaking month for this girl! I had a few more to create before we head out to Ocracoke Island, NC on the Outer Banks for a week and decided to continue with the "cupcake theme". I mean, who doesn't love cupcakes? Plus I purchased this sweet, cutie-pie designer paper from Doodlebug (they've got the cutest papers) and had to use it and it just looked happy and so I coupled it with a cupcake. Makes no sense...but then again, as I've said many times before, "in Linda's stamping world...anything goes!" LOL Here's the deets:

Stamps Used: Hero Arts "Cupcakes", A Muse Sentiment
Cardstock & Papers: Doodlebug "Berry Blue" Designer Paper, Retired Stampin' Up! Gingham Scrapbook Paper, Paper Trey White Cardstock
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black Ink
Markers: Copic Sketch Markers - BG000 Pale Aqua, B00 Frost Blue, RV13 Tender Pink, RV29 Crimson, YG03 Yellow Green, 0 Colorless Blender, Signo White Gel Pen
Accessories: Cuttlebug, Regular & Scalloped Round Nestabilities, Martha Stewart Eyelet Border Punch, Paper Piercing Tool, EK Success Corner Rounder Punch, Sewing Machine, Thread, EK Success Small Flower Punch, Doodlebug Buttons, Crochet Thread, Adhesive, Stampin' Up! Dimensionals
Techniques: Basic Stamping, Copic Coloring & Blending, Paper Piercing, Paper Tole

The Arduous Task of Simplicity!

Hello! It's gonna be a crazy busy week for me as we are preparing to leave for a much-needed vacation, but I had 5 -- yes 5 July birthday cards that needed to be made before I leave and I decided that they had to be pretty simple, clean cards. I struggle with keeping cards clean and simple, as I tend to just add this element or this embellishment until it is loaded with detail. But, I was time-pressed to produce 5 cards, so I set out on the arduous task of simplicity! LOL

For this card, I decided to not use any Nestabilities to frame the main stamped image (can you imagine that?), but rather, I stamped the main stamped image directly onto the card front, just adding designer paper, a border and a few Robin's Nest Dew Drops. All-in-all, I was pretty satisfied with how they turned out...now I hope those recepients of these cards don't get a peek before they arrive in their mailbox. Here's the deets:

Stamp Set Used: Hero Arts "Cupcakes"
Cardstock & Papers: Doodlebug "Cherry Amore" Designer Paper, Color Mates Medium Berry Red, Paper Trey White Cardstock
Markers: Copic Sketch Markers - RV11 Pink, RV23 Pure Pink, RV29 Crimson, YG03 Yellow Green
Accessories: Martha Stewart Eyelet Border Punch, Sewing Machine, Thread, Adhesive, "Flame" Robin's Nest Dew Drops
Techniques: Basic Stamping, Copic Coloring, Machine Stitching

To Welcome Laurie's Baby

Good Morning! I'm sharing a card that I made for my friend and CDS Design Team Coordinator, Laurie Wilson a few days ago. I had to wait until she received her package and card before I could post -- I didn't want to ruin the surprise. Laurie is expecting her second child, a little boy, anytime between mid-June to early July. Laurie is such a terrific design team coordinator, and I wanted to make her a keepsake card, so I hope that she likes it and more importantly, I wish she and Brad all the best wishes and prayers for the new little one! Here's the deets:

Stamps Used: Clear Dollar Stamps "Little Lamb", Stampin' Up! Sentiment
Cardstock & Paper: Making Memories Polka Dot Scrapbook Paper, Paper Trey White Cardstock
Markers: Copic Sketch Markers - B00 Frost Blue & E02 Fruit Pink
Accessories: Cuttlebug, Nestabilities Dahlia Die, Nestabilities Regular Round and Scalloped Round Dies, Karen Foster Click-It Hole Punch Kit, Paper Piercing Tool, Offray Satin Ribbon, Doodlebug Button, Embroidery Thread.

June at My Little Yellow Cottage

Good Afternoon! While I'm waiting for the end of my laundry to finish drying, I thought that I'd share a few photos of June at My Little Yellow Cottage. Most who know me, know that I love, love, love flower gardening! Especially container flower gardening. This photo is of a hanging basket arrangement that I made of one single red geranium, red & purple cascading petunias, purple ageratum, yellow superbells, sweet allysum and vinca vine. I'm lovin' the red, purple and right yellow combo on this -- I'll have to steal that for a card color scheme! (she's sick I tell ya! -- LOL)

The following posts share some various photos around the house and property and sort of shows you what I've been up to when I'm not making cards or blogging. Springtime is busy for us at the Borneman house -- we're usually sprucing up the property, planting flowers, shrubs, plants and Tom is tilling and planting his vegetable garden. I think we're about done this year with planting, and now we can just sit back and enjoy God's creation!

A Windowbox of Color!

When we first moved here, the house was white with bllue shuters -- no windows boxes and the front porch was left natural - no stain, no paint, and the front porch railings were pressure-treated wood, unstained. Yucko! So, we went to work to make this house our home. One of the first things that we did was paint the house a soft yellow and the shutters were painted a light evergreen. The front porch floor was painted grey to match the shingles on the roof and the front porch railing was painted a white shabby chic! To add to the "cottage charm" that I was trying so hard to create, I asked Tom to build me 4 window boxes for the 4 front windows on the house. Remember, we live in a tiny house, a Cape Cod and there are only 4 windows to the front of the house! So, I thought..."window boxes filled will flowers will certainly make it cuter." So, my loving and devoted and talented husband built 4 wooden window boxes, drilling 4 holes in the bottom of each, securing them to the windows and adding matching painted, wooden braces for extra support. I then change up the windowbox flower arrangement each year. This year, I ordered a window box flower collection from Park Seed, but because of all the incessant rain that we had in May, I lost quite a few of the pretty surfina mounding Pink Petunias. But, I replaced them with some Pink Wave Petunias. The Surfina Petunias never need deadheading! How cool is that! There are some Yellow Surfina Petunias that survived in the mix, however, and they are beginning to rebound as are the other flowers in the collection. There is some dark purple trailing, flowering vine that has yet to bloom in these boxes, but I cannot remember the name of them. Within a week or two these windowboxes will be mounding upward and cascading downward and I'll be lovingly tending to them. Oh, I almost forgot to mention that when I plant my windowbox flower arrangements, I do not plant them directly in the wooden windowboxes. I have these Rubbermaid plastic planter liners that also have draining holes...they fit perfectly inside the wooden windowboxes and that keeps the wooden windowboxes from rotting from all that wetness. Just a little tip, there. Tom did mention that he will have to built me new ones next year (these are at least 10 years old and starting to warp and decay on the bottom, he said). So, I think I'll buy new windowbox plastic liners and then Tom can built the new wooden windowboxes to fit around them. Hope you enjoyed seeing them!

My Summer Reading Room

I just had to show you my Summer Reading Room! Tom built this deck by himself about 3 years ago and I "designed" the look of it. The deck is two-level (I'll have to photograph the levels), but the lower level is where you come out the back door (the deck is flush with the door level), and then you either go left out the back door and down two steps toward the detached garage, or if you go straight 3-4 footsteps, you step up about 6-8" (not sure which) onto the upper level of the deck which is about 12'x12". The upper level deck steps go out to the left from this view and are "terrace steps" they are extra shallow and wide. When "designing" this in my head, I envisioned some recessed lighting installed in the steps risers -- we've not done that yet, but it's "on the list" Tom's list, that is. There are only two steps off to the deck and they run the entire width of the deck -- so they are shallow and wide. There are only 2 railings on the deck -- one on the extreme left (behind the fern on the table on the left) and a shorter railing by the lower part of the deck where you go to the garage. I wanted to create a wide open feel to the deck since it wasn't a very large deck. But, we couldn't built a deck larger than the backside of the house -- remember, we live in a cottage! ; )

So, then we bought a 12'x12" gazebo/canopy thingy that came with zip-up mosquito netting that is removable if you want to open up the deck. I have a deep-seating conversation set out there with a loveseat and two chairs, several side tables, a coffee table, a few plant stands, ferns, impatiens and a few pots of coleus and sweet potato vine, as well as some hanging baskets that usually hang on our 6' fence by the sugar maple tree over on the West side yard, but the squirrels have been very devilish and have been digging in these hanging baskets -- so, I'm nursing them back to vigrous health on my deck, and once they spring back to super health, I'll hang them back up on the fence over there.

This is where I hang out most of the summer when I'm not making cards. I try to catch up on my reading in the summers and I have several books that I'm hoping to read -- "A Tree Grows in Brookyln" by Betty Smith and another, "The Heart is a Lonely Hunter" by Carson McCullers. And I may read some that I have lying around by Nora Roberts and Anne Rivers Siddons -- although Anne Rivers Siddons does use some very colorful language -- she is still, an excellent storyteller. So, now you have some visuals when you think of me, if you think of me at all! LOL

I know, I know...you're probably thinking..."next time, give us a card!" LOL

A Stone Walkway Project

I wanted to show you a project that I've been planning for a long, long time -- just couldn't get Tom motivated about it, and when I explain, you'll see why. On the West side of our house, when it rains, it floods! For 17 years, every time it rained, if we wanted to walk around the side of the house toward the back yard or back deck, we had a swampy, muddy mulchy walkway! Finally, I had a lightbulb moment, and decided to try a walkway project. I thought that a red stone walkway edged on both sides would solve the mud and swampy problem, and provide a much cleaner walkway to the backyard and garage (our garage is a one-car detached garage). I approached Tom with the idea, and he, after hearing the details, agreed! So, we bought the edging at Home Depot -- Tom bought this really cool edging where it you buy these hard plastic stakes that you drive into the edging's molded holes -- the edging stays down more secure and the line is more smooth than other edging that I've seen in the past. Tom then lined the walkway with this fabric-type stuff that is supposed to keep weeds out - it is a very tight woven fabric, so we'll see! Then we needed the stone! So, his boss recommended this stone and mulch place off Rt. 40 (which is a commercial type highway) and off we went. When we got there, there were quite a few types of stone from which to choose. I immediately was drawn to the "Redstone" which is more like a light reddish-brown to me. I liked the "natural" look of it and didn't want anything hideous to stand out or look tacky -- so Tom got a truckload (and his truck is a smaller one) of it, and off we went. Now, we do not own a wheelbarrow (can you believe that!), so poor Tom backed up his truck to the walkway area and with a shovel unloaded that truckload of redstone! And, there's more to the story -- he didn't have enough redstone in his one truckload to cover the entire walkway -- so back to the store to buy another truckload -- and another few hours back home, hand shoveling the stone into the walkway! I felt so bad for him! I offered to run and buy a wheelbarrow -- he said, "no - I don't want to wait, I want to just finish the job!" So here's to Tom and I just had to share the finished walkway!!

The top photo is the view looking from the left front corner of our house toward the back where our detached garage is facing (white garage door). We have a chain link fence around the back half of the house and you are looking at the gateway into the left side yard where we have a 40 ft. sugar maple tree to the left (I really don't know how tall it is - but it is precariously tall to me -- another story, another day). The people who lived here before us put these landscape timbers around the sugar maple base, raising it up and made a square foundation. I have ivy in front of the left and right side of the gate as well as behind the left and right side of the gate.

The second photo shows the view behind the gate (you are now in my West side yard facing the front street). To the left is the ivy and to the right you can see the timber square foundation around the base of our sugar maple with more ivy cascading over that. Well, that's what we've been up to and what I do when I'm not blogging or making cards and just a small peek into my life at My Little Yellow Cottage. Hope it was some what interesting...

4th and Final Sneak Peek Day!

Good Morning! Today, is the 4th and final day for the June Clear Dollar Stamps Sneak Peeks! I'll be sharing sneak peek samples from two different stamp sets. The first stamp set is called "Pretty Perches" and if you're a bird lover, as I am (I buy every bird stamp that comes down the pike!) and if you love birdhouses, bird feeders, bird cages, then I've got a set for you! "Pretty Perches" is a lovely set that will satisfy all your bird lover stamping needs. It includes: a bird house, a bird cage, a bird feeder, a branch, leaves for the branch, flowers for the branch, bird seed for the bird feeder, a squirrel for the bird feeder (and we all have those! Grrr!), and 4 birds in various and different poses. There are two sentiments included in the set and all this is only $12.99 for the whole set! That's 12 stamps for a little over a $1.00 each! Now, that's a deal!! To view the stamp set illustration, please visit Lori McCroskey's blog. You can purchase "Pretty Perches" on June 1st at Clear Dollar Stamps. To see other samples of "Pretty Perches" by my CDS Design Teammates, see: Katie Renz, Cassie Trask & Laurie Wilson.

Stamp Sets Used: CDS "Pretty Perches"
Cardstock & Papers: SEI "Black Orchid" Designer Paper Collection, Color Mates Terrific Teal Cardstock, Black Cardstock, Paper Trey White Cardstock
Ink: Stazon Black Ink, Stampin' Up! Baja Breeze Ink, Memento Peas Tart Ink
Markers: None
Accessories: Cuttlebug, Nestabilities Regular Square Die, KF Click-It Hole Punch Kit, Martha Zig-Zag Border Punch, EK Success Flourish Die, Paper Piercing Tool, Computer-Generated Sentiment, EK Success Flower Punch, Adhesive, Hero Arts Mini Pop Dots, Stampin' Up! Dimensionals, Spare Part Flowes, Glitter Brad
Techniques: Basic Stamping, Paper Piercing

You know that you're absolutely bonkers over cardmaking and stamping, when you base a whole card design around some designer paper that you went "ga-ga" over! LOL This is absolutely the case with this card. It also satisfies an "Inspiration Challenge" that was given to the CDS Design Team. Although, if you were to see the photo of the inspiration piece, you'd be scratching your head, and saying, "Whaaatttt???"" The inspiration piece was a lovely floral and paisley bedspread done in burgundy, plums and I forget what else. LOL But this paper had burgundy and plum, and I just had to use it, so, in my mind, it satisfied the inspiration piece. Silly girl! Here's the deets:

Stamp Sets Used: CDS "Pretty Perches:
Cardstock & Papers: American Crafts "Amplified" Designer Paper Collection, Color Mates Deep Raspberry Cardstock, Paper Trey White Cardstock
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black & Summer Sky Inks, Stampin' Up! Baja Breeze & Rose Red Inks, Adirondack Expresso Ink
Markers: Signo White Gel Pen
Accessories: Cuttlebug, Nestabilities Labels 2, Marvy Corner Rounder Punch, Marvy Circle Punches, Karen Foster Click-It Hole Punch, Cloud Template, Sponge, Paper Piercing Tool, Sewing Machine, Thread, Adhesives, Stampin' Up! Dimensionals, Zots, Doodlebug & Hero Arts Buttons, Computer-Generated Sentiment, Paper Trey Satin Ribbon
Techniques: Basic Stamping, Sponging, Masking, Machine Stitching

My third sample of "Pretty Perches" was inspired by bluebirds. Even though the little birdhouse in the stamp set is a typical wren house shape, I couldn't get bluebirds off my mind. So, blue, the color scheme was! I began this card stamping a "bird background" on the bottom, but by the time that I added my layers (the Cuttlebugged "Dotted Swiss" upper panel, and the Martha Stewart border punched blue trim on the left, the "bird background" became obscure. Sigh! This was supposed to satisfy the CDS Design Team "No Designer Paper" Challenge -- so I continued on with the making of this card, but not really crazy about it, but decided to finish it. I guess, we all have those kind of cards, don't we? LOL But, I still love the "Pretty Perches" stamp set! Just not crazy about this card. Don't forget! "Pretty Perches" releases June 1st at www.newcleardollarstamps.com

Stamp Sets Used: CDS "Pretty Perches"
Cardstock & Papers: Color Mates Deep Belgium Blue Cardstock, Paper Trey White Cardstock
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black & Summer Sky Inks, Stampin' Up! Pacific Point & Mellow Moss Inks, Adirondack Expresso Ink
Accessories: Cuttlebug, Nestabilities Regular & Scalloped Octagonal Dies, Cuttlebug "Swiss Dots" Embossing Folder, Martha Stewart Dot Eyelet Border Punch, Paper Piercing Tool, Nestabilities Tags Trio Die, Cloud Template, Marvy Corner Notch Punch, Karen Foster Click-It Hole Punch Kit, Sponge, Sewing Machine, Thread, Adhesives, Stampin' Up! Dimensionals, Zots, Doodlebug Buttons, Gold Cording, Offray Satin Ribbon, Pebbles Grosgrain Ribbon
Techniques: Basic Stamping, Background Stamping, paper Piercing, Sponging, Masking, Dry Embossing, Machine Stitching, Ribbon Stacking

A FREE Stamp Set!

Are you ready for a supercute stamp set that you can get FREE? Yes, FREE! Every month, Clear Dollar Stamps offers a Stamp of the Month stamp set that is FREE with every $50.00 purchase. The Stamp of the Month (SOM) for June is called "Just Shellin' " and is an adorable set of 6 illustrations and 8 sentiments! So many possibilities exist for "Just Shellin' "!! I enjoyed stamping and coloring so much with this set, that I made 3 sneak peek samples -- I guess you could say, I got carried away, and you will, too! Too see all the cute elements in this set, please visit Lori McCroskey's blog and don't miss all the other cute sneak peek samples by my CDS teammates: Kim Teasdale, Angela Thomas & Laurie Wilson. "Just Shellin' " will be available June 1st at Clear Dollar Stamps, only.

Stamp Sets Used: CDS "Just Shellin'" June 09 SOM
Cardstock & Papers: Jillibean Soup "White Bean" Designer Paper, Color Mates Medium Merri-Gold Cardstock, Black Cardstock, Paper Trey White Cardstock
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Stampin' Up! Bashful Blue Ink
Markers: Copic Sketch Markers - Y13 Lemon Yellow, Y15 Cadmium Yellow, YG03 Yellow Green, YG67 Moss
Accessories: Cuttlebug, Nestabilities Regular Round Die, Nestabilities Pinking Round Die, Martha Stewart Round Punch, Paper Piercing Tool, Cloud Template, Sponges, Martha Stewart Zig-Zag Border Punch, Karen Foster Click-It Hole Punch Kit, Sewing Machine, Thread, Adhesives, Stampin' Up! Dimensionals, Pebbles Grosgrain Ribbon, Doodlebug Button
Techniques: Basic Stamping, Sponging, Masking, Machine Stitching, Paper Tole, Copic Coloring & Blending

I was enjoying this "Just Shellin' " stamp set so much that I made another sneak peek sample. For this one, I was itching to break out my new Nestabilities Dahlia die -- when I saw the turtle in this cute stamp set I knew it would be so cute stamped and framed with the Dahlia dies. This card also satisfies another CDS Design Team Challenge: to create our own Designer Paper, and not to use any other Designer Paper. I created the left and right panels using the glass of pink lemonade that is included in "Just Shellin' " and colored them with Copic Sketch Markers. I also added the sentiment "Just Shellin" overtop each glass of pink lemonade to tie it all in with the main stamped turtle with the pink lemonade glass on his back. I added black zig-zag machine stitching to add some whimsy to the design. Here's the deets:

Stamp Sets Used: CDS "Just Shellin" June 09 SOM
Cardstock & Papers: Color Mates Medium Grassy Green, Color Mates Medium Pretty in Pink, Black Cardstock, Paper Trey White Cardstock
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black
Markers: Copic Sketch Markers -- RV23 Pure Pink, Y13 Lemon Yellow, YG41 Pale Colbalt Green, G07 Nile Green, Black Signo Gel Pen
Accessories: Cuttlebug, Nestabilities "Dahlia" Dies, Karen Foster Click-It Hole Punch, Sewing Machine, Thread, Adhesive, Stampin' Up! Dimensionals, Pebbles Ribbon
Techniques: Basic Stamping, Background Stamping, Copic Coloring & Blending, Machine Stitching

This is the a third sample that I made for the June 2009 Stamp of the Month stamp set -- this card was made to satisfy a CDS Design Team Challenge to create a card with a non-square, non-rectangular shape. I used my Nestabilities "Blossom" die to make this little card -- it's not very large -- it measure about 4" in diameter. I thought that it would be a cute card to have for one of those times when you just want to send someone a "Hello", or send just a short note to someone. The turtle was stamped twice, colored twice, and one cut out and popped up overtop the underneath image. This was a quick easy-peasy card to make! Don't forget you can receive this cute stamp set FREE with a $50.00 purchase from www.newcleardollarstamps.com.

Stamp Sets Used: CDS "Just Shellin'" June 09 SOM
Cardstock & Papers: Imaginesce "Twitterpattered" Designer Paper Collection, Color Mates Medium Pretty in Pink Cardstock, Paper Trey White Cardstock
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black & Summer Sky Inks
Markers: Copic Sketch Markers - RV23 Pure Pink, RV29 Crimson, G21 Lime Green, YG67 Moss, 0 Colorless Blender
Accessories: Cuttlebug, Nestabilities Blossom Dies, Paper Piercing Tool, Cloud Template, Sponge, Karen Foster Click-It Hole Punch Kit, Adhesives, Stampin' Up! Dimensionals, Paper Trey Poppy Red Satin Ribbon
Techniques: Basic Stamping, Sponging, Paper Piercing, Paper Tole

Sneak Peek - Day 3

Good Morning! This is Day 3 of Clear Dollar Stamp's Sneak Peek Week. I'm afraid that I do not have any stamp sets to share (again -- sniff, sniff!) with you today...BUT! there are Sneak Peeks to behold! My fellow CDS designer teammates are previewing the following 3 STAMP SETS today! Make sure you see the following:

CHARLIE HORSE "LEAN ON ME" - Sneak Peek Samples:
Stacy Morgan, Kim Teasdale, Angela Thomas, Cassie Trask, Tori Wild & Laurie Wilson

MOTORCYCLE MANIA - Sneak Peek Samples:
Nancy Grant, Stacy Morgan, Katie Renz, Kim Teasdale, Angela Thomas, Cassie Trask & Laurie Wilson

SASSY SCALLOPS - Sneak Peek Samples:
Nancy Grant, Sarah Taylor, Cassie Trask & Laurie Wilson

All stamp sets previewed during Clear Dollar Stamps' Sneak Peek Week can be purchased on June 1st at www.newcleardollarstamps.com. If you'd like to see the complete illustration for each previewed stamp set mentioned above, please visit Lori McCroskey's blog. Tomorrow will be Day 4, the final day of CDS Sneak Peek Week, and I'll have two more stamp sets to preview and share with you tomorrow -- one is a beautiful set and one is an adorable set! See you tomorrow!

Sneak Peek Day 2

Good Morning! This is an exciting day for Clear Dollar Stamps and we have several new stamp sets that we're previewing. I'd like to share a lovely new stamp set, called "Peony" by CDS. This set is such a joy to have and I know that it will be inked up frequently as it will prove to be a versatile stamp set. The peony is a gorgeous illustration and such fun to color, as you will quickly learn the first time you color it. The stamp set also includes 4 sentiments, one of which is featured on the card sample above. "Peony" will be released at Clear Dollar Stamps on June 1st and to see the complete stamp set illustration, please visit Lori McCroskey's blog. For this sample of "Peony" I used an orange and black color scheme to satisfy a CDS Design Team Color Challenge. The challenge was to design a card using orange & black or using red & blue. I immediately invisioned "Vermillion" (well, close enough to orange -- wink, wink) for the peony and ran with the orange & black choice. White was an optional netural that we could use, and I used it for "eye relief" from the intense orange & black and for contrast. I popped up the peony after coloring it twice and cutting both images out as you can see the cross-section view in the other photograph above. Although I wasn't initially crazy about the colors posed for the CDS Color Challenge -- I concluded when finishing this card, that they were a beautiful combination. What do you think? Other CDS design teammates that are featuring sneak peek samples of "Peony" are: Kim Teasdale, Angela Thomas, Tori Wild & Laurie Wilson. Here are the deets:

Stamp Sets Used: CDS "Peony"
Cardstock & Papers: Making Memories Black & White Polka Dot Scrapbook Paper, Paper Trey White Cardstock
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black
Markers: Copic Sketch Markers - YR01 Peach Puff, YR04 Chrome Orange, R08 Vermillion, R27 Cadmium Red, RV29 Crimson, YG03 Yellow Green, YG67 Moss, G94 Grayish Olive
Accessories: Cuttlebug, Cuttlebug "Swiss Dots" Embossing Folder, Scor-It, Nestabilities Regular & Scalloped Round Dies, Martha Stewart Zig-Zag Border Punch, Adhesives, Stampin' Up! Dimensionals, Doodlebug Decorative Trim
Techniques: Basic Stamping, Dry Embossing, Scoring, Paper Tole, Copic Coloring & Blending