Your Friendship = icing on the cake

Once again, it's time for a CCEE Stamper's Challenge. This week Frances challenged us to be inspired by a nursery rhyme. I chose Paddycake, Paddycake:

Paddycake, Paddycake, baker's man,

Bake me a cake as fast as you can;

Roll it, pat it, mark it with a B,

Put it in the oven for baby and me.

Well, this card isn't for a baby. I chose to make it for a friend instead. :o)

The beautiful cake image is from the Flourishes set called Let Them Eat Cake. I stamped it with Versamark directly onto the dp Sophie by My Mind's Eye, embossed with Detail Black ep, diecut it with my Spellbinders Rectangle die and sponged around it (while still in the die) with Aged Mahogany (Ranger Distress Ink).

Now, head on over to the CCEE Stamper's Blog to see what the other girls have come up with. Click HERE. We'd love to see what nursery rhyme inspires you too. Just use Mr. Linky at the bottom of the post.

Thanks for stopping by.
Happy Stamping!!
Tosh

Stamps: Let Them Eat Cake
Paper: Sophie (MME), Black (Prism), PTI
Ink: Versamark, Aged Mahogany
Accessories: Rectangle Nestabilities and Tags (Spellbinders), Detail Black ep, Cloissone Bronze flower (Prima), Flourishes (SU!), Corner Punch (Marvy), Border Punch (MS), Rhinestones, Satin Ribbon (May Arts)

Know How Much I Love You!

Happy Mother's Day!!!

Now typically I would show a card made for a mother. But, I decided to make this card for my daughter because I wouldn't be a mother if it weren't for my two very special kids. Since my son is away at college, I sent him a cheesecake from The Cheesecake Factory to help him through exams. Cheesecake is a powerful study tool. *grin* And since my daughter isn't into sweets, I thought I'd make a special card for her.

I used one of Verve's newest sets called One Person. I LOVE the flowers and fabulous sentiments in this set. And ever since I saw Tim Holtz's new dies at CHA, I've been itching to use the Hanging Sign.

I stamped the flower images and sentiment with Versamark, and embossed them with Detail Black ep. I used a Martha Stewart leaf punch for the smaller leaves and drew in the veins with a copic to make them similar to the leaves from the Verve image. And then, I added some Frosted Lace Stickles to the flower centers to bling them up a bit.

The edges were ink distressed with Pumice Stone Ranger Distress Ink, the pearls are Kaisercraft, the scalloped border was made with an EK Success Punch, and the paper is by Melissa Frances.

That about sums it all up!!
I hope you all have a wonderful day filled with treasured memories!
Happy Stamping!
Tosh

Stamps: One Person
Paper: True (Mellisa Frances), PTI
Ink: Versamark, Pumice Stone (Ranger Distress)
Accessories: Tombows, Hanging Sign (Tim Holtz), Long Oval Nestabilities (Spellbinders), Detail Black ep, Pearls (Kaisercraft), Frosted Lace Stickles, Natural Burlap String (May Arts), Scalloped Border Punch (EK Success), Leaf Punch (Martha Stewart), Copic, Sewing Machine, Dimensional Tape (Scotch)

JustRite at Stamper's Dream ~ Final Day

Well, it's the final day of JustRite week at Stamper's Dream. I hope you've enjoyed seeing all the wonderful variety of ways you can work with these images!! For today, I get the honor of sharing with you a card I made with my absolute favorite set of all times called By the Sea. It has a wonderfully serene adirondack chair image, a calming lighthouse, a majestic sailboat, and a charming group of seashells.

For today, I chose to use the Sailboat. I stamped it with Versamark onto Kraft cs, embossed it with Detail Black ep, and colored it with pastels. I used Spellbinders Ovals to cut it out and framed it with the Scalloped Ovals. The bg's were created with my Scor-Pal, and the Cuttlebug Embossing Folder Shell Collage. (You can click on the picture for a closer look)

The border was made by punching the circles with a handpunch, and a Martha Stewart border punch.

Finally, I just added some Natural Burlap String to the background with some eyelets.

That's it. Be sure to check out what Amy, Michelle have designed for today.

Thanks for dropping by! Have a fantastic weekend!
Happy Stamping!
Tosh

JustRite Week at Stamper's Dream and a CCEE Challenge

It's JustRite week at Stamper's Dream again this week, and boy have the gals been cranking out some fantastic projects. In case you haven't seen them yet, or just want to check them out again, here's the schedule for the week:

Monday: Leslie, Cammie, Michelle
Tuesday: Denise, Amy, Cindy, Laurie, Michelle
Wednesday: Dawn, Cindy, Denise, Michelle
Thursday: Leslie, Laurie, Dawn, Me
Friday: Amy, Michelle, Me

eta: Sorry this is late, I had a problem with the postdating. Actually, I was the problem. I scheduled it for the 7th instead of today. YIKES!

For my first project today, I made a medallion with one of the circles from the Kaleidoscope set. The image and sentiment were stamped with Versamark onto vellum and embossed with Gold dp.

Here's a close up of the pendant:



I cut two Lotus Pendants (Spellbinders) out of vellum also and just layered them. I thought it made a great tag for this simple gift bag that I decorated with crocheted lace and Zva Creative Rhinestones at the top, and the Iron gate (Martha Stewart) border punch at the bottom. The dp is by g.c.d. studios, and the Satin Ribbon is May Arts.

Now, since it's Thursday, it's time for another CCEE Stamper's Challenge. This month Frances (StampOwl) is supplying the challenges for us. And since she's about to become a Grandma for the first time, this month will focus on mother's and babies. How fun is that!?!?!



Today, we were to make a Mother's Day card. My MIL is Dutch and loves Delft. So, when I saw the new Applique images by JustRite, I thought they would be great for making Delft tiles, which in turn would make a great Mother's Day card for her. I stamped the image with Mediterranean Blue Brilliance ink, diecut them with my Square Nestabilities (Spellbinders), and gave them a thin coating of Glossy Accents to give them a tile look. The frame was made with the Layered Arches punch set, and the butterfly was punched out of vellum with a Martha Stewart punch. The border was made with the Quilted Edge punch.

Here's a close up of the tile and butterfly:


I scored the stripes in the bg with my Scor-Pal, and the dots were made with the Swiss Dot Folder by Cuttlebug. Again, all the Rhinestones are Zva Creative.

Now, we'd love to have you join us in our CCEE Stamper's Challenge this week and make a Mother's Day card. Just link it with Mr. Linky at the bottom of today's post found HERE, on the CCEE Stamper's Blog.

Thanks for stopping by!
Happy Stamping!
Tosh

May God Hold You

One of my very favorite things about Verve images is, not only do they all stand beautifully alone, but they're so versatile that you can combine most any set with another. For this card I used images from 3 of the newest sets. The sentiment and side flourishes are from the set Blessings, the center border piece is from the set Relax, and the corner flourishes are from the set One Person. Don't they all work beautifully together?!?!?!

And this was so easy to make. I used only two ink colors for the images: Olive (Brilliance) and Jumbo Java (Versamagic). I ink distressed the edges with Pumice Stone (Ranger Distress), and added an elegant border with the Layered Arches Border Punch by Martha Stewart. The ribbon is Silk (May Arts), and the button is PTI.

That's it. Easy and elegant.
I hope you're enjoying your weekend and that this first week of May is a fabulous one for you.
I'm busy getting ready for my son to come home from college. He's bringing a friend along with him to work for us for the summer. We're really looking forward to it. Two big boys....yikes, I'm going to have to readjust my grocery shopping list and cooking!!! LOL

Stamps: One Person, Blessings, Relax
Paper: Prism
Ink: Olive (Brilliance), Jumbo Java (Versamagic), Pumice Stone (Ranger Distress)
Accessories: Border Punch (Martha Stewart), Ribbon (May Arts), Button (PTI), Rhinestones (Kaisercraft)

Stamper's Dream Sponserd Sketch Challenge for JustRite

Stamper's Dream is hosting the Challenge today over at JustRite Stampers. And today's challenge is a sketch. All you have to do is make a card with JustRite stamps using the sketch, link it at the bottom of the post found HERE, and you'll be entered to win a $50 gift certificate to Stamper's Dream found HERE. There will also be 3 honorable mention winners who will get a JustRite stamp set of their choice.

Here's the sketch:


You will have until next Thursday, May 6th at 9am Central to make your project and enter a link to it on the JustRite blog post. Then the winner will be chosen and announced a little later that day on the JustRite Inspiration Blog, as well as here on the Stamper's Dream blog.

What an awesome deal!! Michelle's store is a one stop shop, I'm telling ya. Make one card and have the opportunity to win some fantastic stamps, gorgeous ribbon, fun decorative paper, and rhinestones, pearls and punches.



Okay, here's how I made this card. It's pretty straight forward. I inked up the sentiment, from the set Hope, with Jumbo Java Versamagic, and the frame with Oasis Green Versamagic. They were diecut with the Labels 1 Nestabilities die by Spellbinders.

The dp is Spearmint by Memory Box, the Satin Ribbon is May Arts, the border punch is by Martha Stewart, and the Flower was made with Organza Material. You can find the tutorial HERE, however, instead of adding little beads, I added a clear domed button to mine. Here's a closeup of the flower.


All the papers were ink distressed with Antique Linen Ranger Distress Ink.

Now, head on over to the JustRite Inspiration blog to see how you can participate in this challenge. You'll want to see what some of the other Stamper's Dream girls have done with this sketch too. They're all creative geniuses!! Check it out: Michelle, Amy and Cam.

Thanks a million for stopping by.
Have a super weekend!
Happy Stamping!
Tosh

Flourishes Limelight

Each month, Flourishes features a Limelight designer on their blog. Well, this month, I have the distinct pleasure of sharing the limelight with two dear friends of mine from the Stamper's Dream Design Team: Amy Sheffer, and Laurie Schmidlin.

I adore Flourishes images with their elegance and fantastic details, and was quite excited when Michelle started carrying them about a year ago in her Stamper's Dream on-line store. To see my complete project, head on over to the Flourishes Blog found HERE. I used one of the newest sets called Fanciful flourishes.

Thanks for stopping by!
Hope you're having a nice weekend!
Happy Stamping!
Tosh

Life is good!

Just a quick post from me today. Julee just released the newest Verve sets last night, so ya hafta go check them out if you haven't already. They are delish...as usual.

For this Clean and simple card, All I did was stamp the various surf boards (from the set Relax)with Versamark onto water color paper, emboss them with Detail Black ep, color them with my tombows, diecut them with the Long Rectangle Nestabilities (Spellbindrs) and finally add a bit of shading around the edges with Aegan Blue Versamagic.

The sentiment is also embossed with Detail Black ep.

That's it...now go check out the new sets found HERE.

Hope you're having a fantabulous weekend!!
Happy Stamping!
Tosh

Stamps: Relax
Paper: Black, White
Ink: Versamark, Sea Breeze (Versamagic)
Accessories: Tombows, Long Rectangle Nestabilities (Spellbinders), Detail Black ep,

Verve Sneak Peek ~ One Person

Each month, I have the distinct pleasure of working with images designed by Julee the owner and designer of Verve. They are all inspirational and a joy to work with. So I'm excited to be peeking one of her newest sets called One Person today. Head on over to the Verve Blog to see what the other divas have done with this fantastic set, and to find out how you can win this it.

Here's the inside:

A closer look:

Thank you so much for stopping by.
Have a fabulous weekend!!
Tosh

Supplies:
Stamps: One Person (Verve Stamps)
Paper: PTI White, G.C.D. Studios and Glitz Design
Ink: Black Onyx (Versafine), Sea Breeze (Versamagic), Pumice Stone (Ranger Distress Ink)
Accessories: Circle and Petite Circle Scallops and Labels 11 (Spellbinders), Tombows, Detail Black ep, Piercing Tool, Border Punches (Martha Stewart), Leaf Punch (EK Success), Rhinestones (Kaisercraft), Ribbon (May Arts), Frosted Lace Stickles, Dimensional Tape (Scotch)

A Beach Party and CCEE Sketch

Verve's having a beach party Friday evening, and you won't want to miss it. Talk about fantastic new beachy images with hip surf boards and Julee's signature fonts, flourishes and gorgeous flowers.


Click HERE, or on the logo, to find out all the details about how you can win one of these fabulous sets. And don't forget to stop by the SCS Verve Forum Friday evening at 9PM Eastern to chat.

A few of the Verve Diva's are sneak peeking this gorgeous set called Blessings today, so head on over to the Verve Blog and see what they've done with all the wonderful sentiments, fonts and flourishes. The peeks started Monday and will continue through tomorrow, finishing with the party that night.

Since it's Thursday, I combined this sneak peek with the CCEE challenge this week, which was a sketch designed by Joanne. To see the sketch, click HERE. I turned mine on it's side, and rock and rolled the image with Versamagic color Sea Breeze and Smokey Gray Versafine. The gorgeous paper is all from My Mind's Eye.

Head on over to the CCEE Stampers Blog to find out the details on how you can join us in this sketch challenge this week. We'd love to see what you come up with.

Thanks for stopping by!
Happy Stamping!!
Tosh

Stamps: Blessings (Verve)
Paper: Lush (My Mind's Eye), PTI
Ink: Black Onyx (Versafine), Sea Breeze (Versamagic)
Accessories: Circle and Big Scalloped Circle Nestabilities (Spellbinders), Layered Arches and Loops Border Punches (Martha Stewart), Rhinestones and Pearls (Kaisercraft), Satin Ribbon (May Arts)

Nurture Yourself

Wow, it's hard to believe we're halfway through the week already. As you all know, the older we get, the faster time seems to fly by. Well, I want to take this time to apologize for my lack of posts the past few weeks. First I was camping for Spring break, then I got a severe case of bronchitis which set me back for a solid week...(I'm still recovering)...and finally, I flew to Iowa as a chaperone with five girls for a college visit this past weekend. Now it's catch up time. So, after the drought, you will be witness to a deluge of cards...so brace yourselves. LOL

(Remember, if you click on the highlighted words, you will be taken directly to that product.)

First of all, I used Mercy's sketch for this week. You can find her sketch HERE.

Now, I've long been an admirer of Flourishes images. Their details are fabulous, and their floral images are gorgeous. I love anything nature: birds, flowers, ocean, etc., so when I had the opportunity to work with the set From the Garden, I was thrilled. It has a variety of flower images, wonderful sentiments, and this darling watering can scene. You can have it too. Just head on over to Stamper's Dream. Michelle carries a wonderful variety of Flourishes images, along with fantastic paper, ribbon, inks, and a wide variety of embellishments. Not to mention all the wonderful stamps from companies such as JustRite, Impression Obsession, Studio 490, Darcie's, Hero Arts, Inkadinkado, Northwoods, Sarah Kay, and more. Her store is seriously a one stop shop!!

Okay, now about this card...I inked up the image with Versamark, embossed it with Detail Black ep, and colored it with my Tombows and Aqua Pen. I sponged around the edges with Versamagic colors Sahara Sand and Sea Breeze, and the rich, fun paper is Vintage Love by Glitz Designs.

I punched the borders with my SU! Corner Tag Punch, and the bottom border is a new Martha Stewart Border Punch called Layered Arches. Isn't it pretty? I'm lovin' Martha's new punches. And you can get the borders with their matching corners at Stamper's Dream!!

For my little Nurture tag, I framed it with the smallest Labels 2 nestabilities die by Spellbinders, and I added some Natural Burlap string and a PTI button, along with some Kaisercraft Rhinestones.

That's it. Thank you so much for stopping by.
Stop in again tomorrow to see what I did with one of the newest Verve releases....
Happy Stamping!!
Tosh

Tax day get well wishes

It's time for another CCEE challenge, and this week Joanne is lamenting about tax day. Therefore we were to make a "Get Well" card. I just love my Studio 490 Stamp Set Be Inspired, so I hauled out the images again. Michelle has a wonderful variety of Studio 490 images in her Stamper's Dream store, and they are reasonably priced too, especially considering you get a 5x5 bg stamp with the set. I love making my own dp because I can make it any color I want, so this time I played with browns and greens on kraft cardstock.

I randomly rubbed the following Versamagic colors directly onto the CS: Gingerbread, Jumbo Java, Aloe Vera and Hint of Pesto. I then inked up the plaid image with Jumbo Java and stamped it onto the now colored kraft cs, and ink distressed the edges with Frayed Burlap and Brushed Corduroy Ranger Distress Ink.

For the leaf branch, I used two colors. I first inked it up with Hint of Pesto (VM), and then added a bit of Jumbo Java (VM) randomly. Since the colors are pigmented, they blend seamlessly when stamping them. Love that!!

The sentiment is a JustRite image (I know, shocked aren't you...LOL) from a retired set 10 Designer Centers and Borders. There's a fantastic Get Well Image in the set Just a Note, but I was in a hurry and this is the first one I found. I actually like the other one better with this card. hmph...wish I wouldn't have been so impatient. *sigh*

I used the Optic Dot Punch (Martha Stewart) on the side of my felt panel, and another Martha Stewart punch along the bottom. I used some natural Burlap String to gather the weaved ribbon at the top and to sew along the felt piece, and I added a PTI button and some piercing to finish it all off.

I used Mercy's sketch found HERE.

We'd love to see what you've come up with for a Get Well Card. Just head on over to the CCEE Stampers blog for all the details.

Thank you so much for dropping by!
Happy Stamping!
Tosh

A CCEE Silhouette challenge

Wow, it's Thursday already. That means it's time for another CCEE Stamper's challenge. This week, Joanne challenged us to us a silhouette as a focal image. I chose the flowers from one of last month's released Verve sets called Love's Flower, and the sentiment is from a recent Verve release called Feel the Sun. The yummy dp is Venice by 7 Gypsies, the gorgeous Crocheted Flower is by Prima, and the wonderfully fun Rhinestone Flourishes are by Zva Creative. I also added some Kaisercraft Pearl accents, some Martha Stewart Ribbon, and a couple of EK Success border punched edges. All the edges were ink distressed with my new fave Ranger Distress Ink, Pumice Stone. It has a smokey look to it. It's hard to explain, but it works with both grays and browns. Talk about versatile!!

Oh, I almost forgot the fantastic frames. I'm a Spellbinder~a~holic. Seriously, every single project of mine includes one of their shapes. This time I used two of their newest ones: Labels 11 and Labels 13.

Here's a view of the card at a different angle. The rhinestones show better here.
I also added some gold Spica Pen ink to the berries on the wildflower image.


Now, we'd love to have you join us in this challenge. All you have to do is go to our CCEE Stamper's blog and link your card with Mr. Linky. I can't wait to see you come up with.

Happy Stamping!
Tosh

Look Mom, no dp!! And nature...

I love Wendy Vecchi's work, and literally all the images by Studio 490. So when I got this Be Inspired set from Stamper's Dream, I couldn't wait to start playing with it. I love dark, rich colors, but was in a softer mood today, so this is what I came up with.

This fantastic cling set has a wonderful 5"x5" plaid bg image so I immediately decided to make my own dp. I started with Ivory Simply Smooth cs, and took my Ranger Distress Ink pads and rubbed them directly on the cs: Bundled Sage, Old Paper, Milled Lavender and Spun Sugar (Plaid piece), the blue piece has all the afore colors with Stormy Sky and Pumice stone added. The plaid bg was stamped with Sage Versamagic, and the sentiment was stamped with Midnight Black (Versamagic).

The flower was stamped onto the same dp with Smokey Gray Versafine twice, cut out, and curled with the end of a paint brush. All the edges were ink distressed with Pumice Stone and Bundled Sage, the flourishes are SU! diecuts, and the Pearls are from Zva Creative.

I added a touch of sparkle to the flourishes and key words in the sentiment with a Quickie Glue Pen and Ultrafine Glitter (Judikins).

That about sums this card up. I just got back from 3 1/2 glorious days of camping. I'm in awe of God's beautiful work with flowers and animals. I've included a few photos below of what we had the pleasure of experiencing.

Stamps: Be Inspired (Studio 490)
Paper: Simply Smooth Ivory cs
Ink: Bundled Sage, Milled Lavender, Spun Sugar, Old Paper, Pumice Stone, Stormy Sky
Accessories: Flourish diecuts (SU!), Leaf Punch (Punch Bunch), Border Punch (EK Success), Pearls (Zva Creative), Button (Making Memories), Glitter, Quickie Glue Pen, Sewing Machine, Dimensional Tape (Scotch)

Poppies and Mustard

Purple Lupine and Lake Lopez

Deer ~ a regular visitor to our campsite

Woodpecker ~ our " rooster wannabe"....woke us up at 6:30 am each morning...on the dot.

Buzzard drying off his feathers after a snack.

Thanks for dropping by. I hope you're having a wonderful week, and that you had a blessed Easter!!

Happy Stamping!
Tosh

Four Seasons during Impression Obsession week at Stamper's Dream

It's the final day of Impression Obsession week with Stamper's Dream, and today I have this fabulously versatile Tree and Swing to share with you. The Crepe Myrtle trees are in a blooming frenzy right now with soft purples and pinks, along with some fushia. So I decided to make my tree a Crepe Myrtle. Now, traditionally, they're not a sturdy enough tree to hang a tire swing on, so I'm taking creative liberty and saying my Crepe Myrtle was grafted with a solid Oak. Thus it can handle a tire swing...*grin*

This image is wonderful for using Versamagic Dew Drop Inks with. I started off by inking up my tree with Gingerbread, then a bit of Memento Tuxedo Black, and then a layer of Jumbo Java to soften up the black. The grass was inked up with Key Lime and Hint of Pesto. After stamping the tree, I added the leaves. For this first image, I used only Pixie Dust. I'll show you how I inked up the tree for the other seasons after explaining the sentiment.

I used JustRite's 50pt Brayton Font and the Harmony Rectangular Stamper inked up with Smokey Gray Versafine. The papers are Memory Box, and I did a bit of piercing on the sides. I added some sparkle to the bg with a fabulous new toy that was introduced at CHA this year. It's made by Tsukineko and it's called Shimmer Spritz. I used the Sparkle. It's very subtle and shimmery. I tried to pick up the shimmer with my camera, but this is the best I could do:


Here's the tree in Summer: Versamagic inks ~ Key Lime and Hint of Pesto


Here's the tree in Fall: Versamagic Inks ~ Thatched Straw, Pumpkin Spice and Red Brick


Here's the tree in Winter: I used liquid applique on the branches
That's it for me today. Here's a list of this weeks Impression Obsession features:

Mon. - Leslie (our newest dream team member!!! WOOT!), Laurie, Becca
Tues. - Cindy, Amy, Denise, Dawn, Michelle
Wed. - Silke, Cam, Amy, Michelle, Me
Thurs. - Cindy, Leslie, Denise, Dawn, Michelle
Fri. - Laurie, Silke, Michelle Me