Loribelle's Bags----Debut Bag: The Peggysue

Introducing Loribelle's Bags, a division of Chef Mama's Crafts

Okay, get up off the floor. I know it's a pretty funny way to introduce my bags, but it also has some truth in it. My friend 'Miss Iowa 1981' on Splitcoaststampers has affectionately nicknamed me "Loribelle." I guess I throw in enough "y'alls" to be the "Belle" of the south. One of my uncles and another friend used to call me Loribelle, too. My daughter Natalie & I both thought it would be a cute name for my totes & purses. So, thank you to Miss I & Uncle Ken! : )

I am THRILLED with this bag. There is one more step (adding a slider to make this an adjustable strap), but it is basically finished and it went together so easily. This bag belongs to Peggysue, so I've named it (now this is really genius): The Peggysue Bag. Let me take you on a tour of this Hobo Purse (though I suspect Peggysue is not a hobo).

This is the body of the purse. I lightened the picture so you could see the paisley better (threw that in for my dork friend Karen who HATES paisley!).

Here you can see the strap. It's pretty long. As mentioned, I'll add a slider to it so the strap is adjustable. I thought about shortening the strap, but with a long strap, if Peggysue needs to wear it across her body like a sling bag, she can do that. Or rope cattle. I hear she's quite fond of cows.

One side has slip pockets inside. My friend Traci is getting this style bag and asked for a pocket to fit her cell phone. I decided to make it a 3 pocket section: cell phone, one slightly skinnier section, then a section designed for Peggysue, a writer by trade, a very skinny slot for a pen! I'm pretty sure stamps would fit in those pockets and a marker could go in the pen spot.

I put in a larger zipper than in the tacky green purse. This will easily fit a full sized billfold or a bunch of receipts, depending on who is using it.
Not sure if you can see how deep the pocket is in this shot, but trust me, it is. You also can't see damaged fingers in this picture. Sewing is quite dangerous, you see.

I am just thrilled with this purse and hope Peggysue will enjoy it, too! I'll be assembling another purse tomorrow, and hope to get some cards made as well.

Have a great weekend!

I won blog candy!

A few weeks ago I stumbled onto the Midnight Madness Sketch Challenge from someone else's blog. I think it was Peggysue's, but I can't remember for sure. They are giving away a WORKBOX work center! WAY cool! I've done a couple of the sketches and enjoy seeing the new ideas & tutorials they have. Today I got an e-mail that I won the monthly blog candy! How cool is that!

Here's what I won from Charlotte--Designs from Within
Be sure to stop by & see Charlotte's blog and also check out the MMSC and their giveaways!

Thank you Charlotte and Priscilla!

My Final CDS Guest Designer Cards

Where has the month gone? I thought I'd have so much time to make these wonderful cards for CDS and here it is the end of the month! Yikes!

I LOVED being a Guest Designer for Clear Dollar Stamps. It has been a joy and honor to design cards for this wonderful stamp company and the wonderful ladies who work for CDS as owner, stamp designer, or card designer. They are a special group of gals & I'm glad that just because my Guest Designer time is up doesn't mean the friendships are. If you haven't been to Christi's blog to see her Guest Designer cards this month, go check them out HERE.

My first card is a "Double Pocket" card using "The Grind."

ALL CDSTAMPS USED:The Grind
CS and PAPERS:Medium blue textured, white
INK:Memento Black, Chalk Ink warm Red
MARKERS (if any):none
EMBELLISHMENTS and TOOLS:Martha Stewart Edge Punch, Scor-Tape, circle punches, ribbon
COLORING MEDIUM (if any):none
SPECIAL TECHNIQUES (if any):none

The dork story: When you plan to make an item like this, it is good to follow directions. If not, you might end up forgetting scor-tape on the lower edges and your "gift" will fall through the bottom. Just sayin'. I wanted to make this sooner with different colors, but it just didn't come together the way I liked. So, I went back to the box of Cappucino Coolers and thought red & blue would be good to use. You might notice that the stamp is a cup of Latte---HOT with steam. The little packet I put in the pocket is for ICED Cappucino. Yeah, the dork thing. I also didn't realize how fat the pack of cooler mix was. I think I will have to actually buy a gift card at some point & give it to someone instead of the cooler mix. I decided not to use a card base for a note. Instead, in the back pocket, I took a piece of white cardstock & cut it to note size. Then I punched the edge with my Martha Stewart edge punch. I didn't like the bare white look, so I then punched some red paper out with the edge punch & added that to the top of the white paper. These dp's are all from my friend Kathy. Isn't she great?!! Oh, I forgot to list Nestabilities on my tools section. Well, I used a rectangle nestability die but cut it & slid the pieces together to make them fit the image. I loved that my ribbon from my stash matched so well.

My next, and final, CDS Guest Designer card uses the stamp set I A-Door you.

ALL CDSTAMPS USED:I A-Door You
CS and PAPERS:Green, Brilliant Blue
INK:Memento Black
MARKERS (if any):copics B24,B39,G09,YG09,R27,R29,Y15,Y26
EMBELLISHMENTS and TOOLS:Designer paper, Spring Flower punch, heart paper clip, ribbon, scor-tape
COLORING MEDIUM (if any):none
SPECIAL TECHNIQUES (if any):none

This is also for the Midnight Madness Sketch Challenge. Not much to tell about this one, but I want to learn to shade better with Copics! I suppose with a limited supply it's not as easy as actually having colors that are closer together. I still enjoy using them!

Thanks for sharing this month of Guest Designs with me! Have a Blessed Day!

CDS Weekend Color Challenge 9/27

EDITED TO ADD: I am a dork. This was NOT for the MMSC challenge. My card for THAT challenge is HERE. This was for the Crazy for Challenges Challenge HERE.




Quick post to put my CDS weekend color challenge card up. The challenge is found HERE.

This is also for the Stampin' Sisters in Christ Challenge and the Midnight Madness Sketch Challenge! Phew, a 3-fer!

CDS Challenge was to use Apricot Appeal, Close to Cocoa, Sage Shadow & optional white/vanilla and Really Rust. I had no sage shadow paper, so I debossed a mint paper and used Sage Shadow ink on the Cuttlebug folder, then rubbed more Sage Shadow on it. The stamps are CDS Peony and Christian Sympathy.

The SSICC was to make a "praying for you" or "thinking of you" card.

The MMSC used this sketch:
I still have Mom's sewing machine, so added some fancy stitching! Sewing on cloth is SO much easier & more forgiving!

Thanks for coming to see my stuff!

Bless You!

Aren't these cute? They are little tissue pack holders for the travel pack tissues. Those are the kind my smart mom always has with her. On the other hand we usually have a clunky box of tissues in the car, smooshed and mangled, under the seat and inaccessible, or more often we have no tissues at all in the car or in my purse. With this little holder, I should remember to keep it full! I'm also going to make some with elastic straps to attach to your car's visor. Now THAT is a smart idea I found!

These are for sale in my Etsy shop at www.chefmama.blogspot.com

Thanks for coming by. Bless you!

A dork at 2 a.m. & BAGS!

I just posted some pictures of bags I've made or I'm making, but I put it on my OTHER blog! OOPS! Please jump to this page to see them!

My first almost finished quilted tote

This is my first one I've actually put together. It lacks straps and some decor it will have, but here's a look at it in progress. Also, there's a cute little tissue pack holder! I love it! I'm going to make those to sell at craft fairs for sure!

This is the inside pocket I added. It didn't call for this, but I thought it would be a nice feature.

The inside. I had a brain burp & didn't do this the way I planned, so here I had to put bias binding around the seams. Dork brain sets in pretty often around here!

In a Pickle?

This is my 2nd sample for Clear Dollar Stamps' set I A-Door You. It's also for the Clear Dollar Stamps Weekend Color Challenge HERE and for the Midnight Madness Sketch HERE.

The card details:
ALL CDSTAMPS USED: I A-Door You
CS and PAPERS: Textured Brown, Tempting Turquoise, white
INK: Archival Brown
MARKERS (if any): Tempting Turquoise, Gable Green
EMBELLISHMENTS and TOOLS:Markers, DP, prima flowers, brads, hole punch, paper glaze, Creative Memory Oval cutting system, Nestabilities Scalloped Oval
COLORING MEDIUM (if any): none
SPECIAL TECHNIQUES (if any):none

The story:
This one doesn't have much of a story. I have been wanting to make something with the MMSC sketch, but just didn't get to it last week. When I saw the colors for the CDS Weekend Challenge I thought about using The Grind set, but then I saw this little stamp & thought, "Pickles---GREEN! YES!" I put Paper Glaze on the pickles to look like glass jars (I added a flash picture here so you could see the glaze on the jars). Then I put a second coat on & it dried foggy. I had stamped a 2nd set of pickles to use as a base, and I was going to pop-up the other ones on top. So, I put Paper Glaze on the 2nd set, and used it as my top set! LOL!

Hope you're not in a pickle this week!

Quilted fabrics

I just wanted to show you the fabrics I've quilted. The first three went along pretty well, but I got frustrated with the last one last night. Today it doesn't seem as bad as it did last night, so maybe I will use it after all. This is what happens when your mother is a perfectionist in sewing & makes you into one by having you rip out seams if they aren't perfect. You should have seen me making my wedding dress!

3 of these are spoken for. In fact, one of them may have 2 interested in it, so I may get more of that. I think they are all lovely fabrics.

Peggysue's Bag!

Still available. Green and Burgundy Paisley Floral seeks purse-loving woman to share a long relationship. Enjoys holding lipstick and hanging on shoulder. Call 555-BAGS for more info. LOL!

Grace loves this teal floral for her backpack!

And, this is supposed to be Traci's fabric. It's the one I thought puckered too much. Hmmm, maybe THIS one thought it was in a relationship already & was all puckered up.

If you click on this to enlarge, you can see the puckers. I think it's too puckered to use, but let me know what you think. I'd like input on this new venture.

I'm loving the fabrics. It's the same feeling as finding a nice piece of scrapbook paper that you want to buy 5 of: 1 to use & 4 to save in case you can't find it again. ha-ha!

A "Charming" Tea Set

Here is my 3rd sample of the Clear Dollar Stamp set Tea-rrific.

This is a paperless project! Here are the details:
ALL CDSTAMPS USED: Tea-rrific
CS and PAPERS: None
INK: Stazon Black
MARKERS (if any): Sharpies
EMBELLISHMENTS and TOOLS: Magic Stretch cord, beads, jump rings, Shrinky-Dink plastic sheets, Toaster Oven, circle punches
COLORING MEDIUM (if any): None
SPECIAL TECHNIQUES (if any): Shrinking plastic in the oven

I asked my daughter to model this for me. I could not get a clear shot of the bracelet on her, but here is the necklace:

This is a VERY different kind of project. I wanted to try this to see how it would work. When I saw the tea set my mind thought of two things: Queens of England and Little Girls. Since I am far more acquainted with the latter, I thought a charm bracelet would be adorable with this tea set. The only way to get such small pieces would be to use Shrinky Dink plastic. Of course, I looked "everywhere" I could to find my pack of plastic, to no avail. I finally went to Hobby Lobby to get some more, and of course later I found my pack of plastic! LOL!

If you've never tried this, it is really a fun project. I stamped with Stazon on one side of the plastic sheet, then colored on the back. If you've never tried coloring with Sharpies over Stazon, you may not know that the solvent in the permanent markers will disolve the stazon. You'll end up erasing your outline. The markers will also do this to other permanent markers, so it's not as easy as coloring with other markers on paper. The other thing to keep in mind is that the color will intensify as it heats. I should have taken a picture of the plastic before heating it.

The plastic shrinks REALLY fast. In less than a minute it was almost completely shrunk. I could not get my pieces to flatten completely, so they have a bit of a curve to them. The package says they shrink to 1/3 of their original size. I think it may be more than that. Here is a picture of the teapot shrunk next to a full-size stamped teapot.

I opted for the little plastic beads for a couple of reasons. First, this is for little girls, and typically little girls love the shiny bright plastic beads. Second, I could not find my box of good beads. LOL! They are no doubt in a box in the craft room, but hiding from me.

As I mentioned, I planned to make a bracelet. I thought the teapot was too big for a bracelet, so I decided to make a necklace to go with the bracelet. Another option would be to make clip on earrings for a little girl.

When you use Shrinky Dink plastic and want to color it in, you really need a nice outline stamp. Clear Dollar Stamps has a LOT of great outline stamps and many are small, which is perfect for a project like this. My younger daughter has stamped the Patchpal Giraffe on the plastic & is going to shrink it when I can help her. That will be so cute!

I have to share my "disaster" story with you. Okay, dork story if truth be told. I finished the bracelet, then beaded the necklace. I was oh, so carefully tying the magic stretch cord when one end dropped. Almost all the beads fell off! It was rather laughable, but also frustrating. In the grand scheme of things, it was NOTHING, but it makes for a good dork story for my dork sisters.

Thanks for coming by. Have a charming day!

The Pretty Pink Grind

This is my 2nd sample of "The Grind" stamp set by Clear Dollar Stamps. It's also for this week's Stampin' Sisters in Christ Challenge.

The Card Details:
ALL CDSTAMPS USED: The Grind
CS and PAPERS: Light Pink Textured, Brown Textured, white
INK: Memento Tuxedo Black, Distress Ink Walnut Stain
MARKERS (if any):Copic light pink RV10 , Prismacolor Dark Brown, Light Tan and warm grey 20%
EMBELLISHMENTS and TOOLS: Sewing Machine, Scalloped circle Nestability die, Cuttlebug tag punch, ribbon, Prima flowers, stick on pearls, sponge dauber, Basic Grey Bittersweet DP
COLORING MEDIUM (if any): none
SPECIAL TECHNIQUES (if any): sewing on card

The Card Story:
This card did not start out to be this style. In fact, it wasn't even going to really be a card. Alas, things change! This week's sample for the Stampin' Sisters in Christ challenge was a sketch challenge. I decided this would be really cute to stamp and put that pile of coffee beans in the corner. The verse for the week was Jeremiah 29:11 "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Interestingly, this was also the life verse that my nephew & his wife chose for their sweet daughter's baby dedication last Sunday, the same day this challenge was posted. My nephew became an ordained pastor that day, as well.

This verse is one of my all time favorites. I thought the stamp set was perfect because the grind of life can get us down. We can become so focused on this world and all the trouble we see that we forget that God does have plans for us to prosper us and not to harm us, to give us hope and a future. For some that might mean financial prosperity, but for all of us it is a promise of spiritual prosperity, of hope, and of knowing, no matter what this life brings us, He does know our future. One day there will be no more sorrow or tears, or grind, for those who know Jesus as Savior.

Back to the card, I used the Grinder, "Tired of the Grind?", the 3 beans and the pile of beans from this set, stamped in Memento Ink & colored with Prismacolor and Copic markers. This was my 2nd image to stamp & color. I've borrowed my mom's sewing machine (see THIS post for my first post about making quilted bags) with a million stitches. Well, nearly a million! I tried a fancy one on my first image & totally botched it, so I had to start over. I also stitched on this card first with a light pink. It was such a close match you couldn't even see the thread, so I did it again with brown. I added some Primas for the detail in the sketch and topped those with stick on pearls.

The dork in me did something really dumb while sewing today. I got my middle finger stuck under the presser foot & the needle came down on my nail. It only hurts a little where the nail fell off on the quick. I've got to keep a band aid on it so it doesn't try to tear more. THAT would hurt! So, fair warning: if you sew, keep your hands AWAY from the needle. You'd think I'd just started sewing, but I started before I was 10! Hopefully tomorrow will be less eventful of a sewing day! LOL!

I must add that the guest designer for the Stampin' Sisters in Christ challenge is Gina K. of Gina K. Designs. I love Gina's stamps & I love all of Gina's writings. She's so personable & is such an encouraging lady. She's full of grace. A link to her store is in the sidebar.

Thanks for coming by today!

This Martha Stewart ribbon has been hanging out in

The Bag Lady and Sewing on Cards

I'm turning into a bag lady. That is, I'm going to make bags. Totes & purses, actually. Well, also some make-up bags & such. I saw how much people like a certain brand of bags. I cannot copy hers or use her fabric. I can, however, buy fabric & a pattern & sell MY bags. I'm quilting the fabric myself (by machine). I borrowed my mom's fancy sewing machine to get that part done. My old one that did lots of tricks died quite some time ago and I bought an inexpensive Janome. I like it for basic sewing, but for this type work, I wanted something with more oomph and some special attachments. I'll try to take pics of the machine & my quilted pieces later. I thought I'd show you some of the fabric I bought to start these bags. I was oohing & ahhhhing over the fabrics just as we stampers do over paper. My friend Kathy & I frequently look at clothing and say, "Wouldn't that make pretty scrapbook paper?" Truth be told, I once scanned a pair of my dd's panties to see if I could make paper out of it. LOL!

Okay, now the goods:

In all the pictures, there are 2 fabrics. The large print is the main fabric & the smaller print is contrast (straps, pockets, etc.). I have solid fabric for the lining.

These two pictures are of the same fabric. I was trying the no flash vs. flash in these. I suspect if I'd take pictures at a normal time of day & not 1 a.m. or something I'd get better light! The darker picture shows the true colors, but the light one is clearer.

I think this is the one my friend Traci wants her purse made out of. I keep getting confused. Leave it to a dork to do that!

This is a lovely teal/brown/ivory fabric with gold accents.


Some burgundy shades, followed by closer shots of them.
Again, you have a blurry shot but true colors.

Tomorrow I'll try to get pics of the purses in progress.

My CDS cards are still a work in progress. I have one all set to go & when I tried sewing, it didn't go well. I sewed pink on pink but it was such a good match you can't see the stitching! Then, I tried stitching around a circle with fancy stitches & just ruined my main image. I'll have to go restamp & color that one & try again. I have such a fun project I'm doing with the Tea set. I don't know that this has ever been done with Clear Dollar stamps. I hope to work on that tomorrow & will complete it this weekend.

Remember, it is time for a weekend color challenge with Clear Dollar Stamps. Just click HERE. Wow, the colors are SO cool this time! Go check out Lisa's color challenge!

I'll be back soon!

Cocoa-nut and Photo practice

Are you seeing double? Good! LOL! There are 2 pictures here. This is my first sample of "The Grind" as Guest Designer for Clear Dollar Stamps.

Card Details:
ALL CDSTAMPS USED: The Grind, Candy Sticks, Chocoholic
CS and PAPERS:Brilliant Blue, Bliss Blue, Red Textured, white
INK:Memento Tuxedo Black, Brilliant Blue, Distress Faded Blue Jeans
MARKERS (if any):Copics R29, R27, B32, B24
EMBELLISHMENTS and TOOLS:Martha Stewart branch punch, button, ribbon, Spellbinders Nestabilities Labels 3, pop dots, Stickles Frosted white

The Story:
A couple of months ago I decided, on a whim, to see if SU's Like it a Latte was selling on ebay. I decided the money was more needed than that stamp set & sold it. I had another mug stamp from the store that would "suffice." Still, I really liked that whipped cream & steam look. Can you imagine my happiness when I saw that Clear Dollar Stamps came out with THIS set? Right away, I had to make hot cocoa with it. You see, I am not a coffee drinker. I'm also not a tea drinker (2 of the 3 sets I chose for my Guest Designer spot are things I don't do IRL! ha, ha!). Chocolate, however, runs through my body like blood. At least that's what my friend Stephanie told me once. She also believes I have an obsession with a certain combination: Chocolate and Mint. She's definitely right about that! What she DOESN'T know is that I've always wanted to go to Switzerland. Yes, there is a point here. Hang on.

See the cups of hot cocoa with the little sweetheart design on them? The blue, the red, the hot cocoa theme? Doesn't it just SCREAM, "Swiss Miss!" to you? NO??? Well, it did to me. The more I worked on the card, the more I wanted that minty-snowy-Swiss Chalet in the Alps look. Maybe I'm the only one who believes such a look exists, but now I have proof. My card is the original Minty-Snowy-Swiss Chalet in the Alps look. The candy sticks are sold as a separate little set that has one single stick the a grouping of three (which would also make darling straws to use in the tall cup from this set for a milk shake! OH, yeah, I can see that one coming! YUM! The words are from the set that I am SURE was created for me: Chocoholic. 'nuff said.

Now about that photography. I'd like your input. The top picture uses a flash. The bottom one does not. I did have to lighten it up some, which always seems to distort the picture some. The bottom one, with no flash, seems to have more accurate colors, but the clarity of the top one is better. Which do you prefer?

Thanks for traveling to Switzerland with me. It's as close as I'll likely ever get!

Peach Tea

The info:
ALL CDSTAMPS USED: Tea-rrific
CS and PAPERS: Blush Blossom, Peach, watercolor paper
INK: Encore Gold pigment ink
MARKERS (if any):Dye based markers for watercoloring
EMBELLISHMENTS and TOOLS: aquabrush, oval punches, Nestabilities Scalloped Ovals Large, ribbon, pearls, button, dp
SPECIAL TECHNIQUES (if any):watercolor using dye based markers

The details:
I did get to finish another card! It's one I'd had in my mind for over a week but needed to find the right paper for it. When we were at my mother-in-law's for Labor Day she gave me a lot of her sewing accents that she was no longer using. She loves the color peach and had the lacy ribbon and the ribbon with the little edging in her "stash." I also found the pearls on strings there. The button was on my craft table waiting to be used. I knew EXACTLY what I wanted to do with the stamps and these embellishments, but needed to find the right paper.

Did you know peach is not a popular color? I actually had some peach cardstock, even in different shades, but had to find the ones that matched the dp, once I found the dp! I had ONE paper in my entire stock of background papers that was a peachy tone, but it was actually more coral than peach. I looked at Hobby Lobby and found NO peach paper at all. I finally found ONE single solitary peach paper at Jo Ann's. I think it is a lovely pattern! It has the entire alphabet, but I cut it out with the Q and V sections. Why? Because this tea service looks like something elegant that would be used by the Queen in Victorian times. Queen Victoria herself might have been served with such pieces! At least in my mind, she was!

I embossed the images with gold, as a tea service might have rims and outlines of gold. I used dye based markers to watercolor the images. I masked different pieces so it would look as if they were actually on a platter or table waiting to be used. The sugar cubes were an afterthought, so I stamped those separately, then masked to add a plate beneath them. I cut them out and attached them in front of the pitcher and cups.

I took this picture with no flash (I had to hold it very still to avoid blurring it). I like the way the colors look just like they do in real life. I typically cannot take pictures that show the colors accurately, so I was excited. It isn't quite as clear as a flash picture, but more natural. I need to figure out how to get both clear and natural. I also need to figure out how to make a soft edge around pictures.

Thanks for stopping by for a cup of tea!

Quick cards needed to be made

I needed to make cards for my great-niece's baby dedication today & then her daddy's (my nephew's) ordination service. Sadly, my niece-in-law's grandfather died early on Sunday morning, so this week I'll be making some sympathy cards for their family.

The ordination card uses SU's Refuge & strength and Clear Dollar Stamps' value verses stamp Rom. 8:38-39 . The baby card is SU's Buttons Bows & Twinkletoes. I love that set still! I used computer generated verses on it. Buttons are from Papertrey Ink.

It will probably be Wed. before I can finish some more to post! Busy week!

An A-Door-Able Card

This is my first sample of Clear Dollar Stamps' set "I A-Door You." I love word play, so the sayings in this set, as well as many of the CDS sets, are just right up my alley.

ALL CDSTAMPS USED: I A-Door You
CS and PAPERS: dark brown textured, sunny yellow, white
INK: Memento Tuxedo Black Ink
MARKERS (if any): Copics Y26 and Y15, Prismacolor markers
EMBELLISHMENTS and TOOLS: pop dots, brads, embroidery floss, Nestabilities Labels Three, dp by Paper Studio

I used the sketch on Midnight Madness Sketch for this week. I decided to use brown metallic brads and embroidery floss to create the lattice background. I used pop dots to create a paper tole card and create the effect that the top part of the door is actually opened. The door frame has two layers and the bottom section of the door and cat are three layers deep.

Thanks for dropping by my door step!

My First Clear Dollar Stamp Sample!

This is my first sample for Clear Dollar Stamps as a Guest Designer. Here are the details:
ALL CDSTAMPS USED: Tea-rrific
CS and PAPERS: Rose Romance, Deep green textured, white
INK: Memento Tuxedo Black, SU Rose Romance, Distress ink Tattered Rose
MARKERS (if any): SU markers, Prismacolor Brick Beige
EMBELLISHMENTS and TOOLS: Stick on pearls, ribbon, corner punch, prisma and silk flowers, button, hole punch

When I saw this set, I had to have it! I had just seen the tea bag holder and knew this would be ideal. I also knew I wanted to use this rose patterned paper I'd had in my stash for some time.

The stamps I used can be found HERE. I used Scor-Tape 1/4" and LOVE IT! So much easier than red line tape! You can also get it from Clear Dollar Stamps HERE.

My new friend Christi, who is also a Guest Designer this month, has been stamping up a storm! Go see her wonderful creations at http://christibryant.blogspot.com/

Thanks for stopping by!

Weekend color challenge

Hello from Lake LBJ Texas! We are at my MIL's house for the weekend. This card is for the CDS Color Challenge at Paper Craft Planet HERE. Here's the short version:
Colors for this weekend: Rose Red, Medium Green, So Saffron
Stamps I used: Jar-Gon
Ink: Memento Black
Paper: White Cardstock
Accessories: Copics (Lipstick Red, Yellow & Green---don't remember which ones), Prismacolor warm gray 20%, Rick-rack, button, tacky glue

The Long Version:
The stamp set. I won this stamp set during Clear Dollar Stamp's Grand Re-Opening Blog Hop. I thought it should have arrived, but I didn't want to seem ungrateful & ask. After Laurie Wilson let me know that I'd been chosen along with Christi, I thought I'd just politely ask about it. She asked Lori M. (the owner of CDS), who said, yes, they had been mailed. Then she e-mailed back with the address I had given them and asked if it was correct. Well, um, no, it wasn't. I had put our NEW house number with our OLD street name. Yes, really. Remember, one CDS stamp order has already been lost by the post office never to be seen again, it seems. This time was my own fault. I felt so silly. Laurie said she asked Lori about sending me a new one, but I told Lori it was my fault, don't do that. Guess what? She didn't listen. LOL! That sweet woman sent me a Jar-Gon set with my free stamps! Isn't that wonderful? That's the kind of customer service I've always had from CDS. They are gems.

The rest of the story. When I packed my stamp supplies, I was counting on just using stamps I already had to do images with & make cards back at home. Somehow, though I thought about the Weekend Color Challenge (I actually popped in at about 1 a.m. on Friday, just in case! LOL!), I forgot to look up the colors. I only brought with me: white cardstock, black ink, stamps, a stamp block, and my little collection of Copics & prismacolors. Today, MIL decided to pull out her boxes of miscellaneous left over sewing stuff to see if the girls or I wanted it. The wheels began turning in my head. I decided to make a small "CAS" card: clean and simple. The colors aren't exact, by they worked. Then, the rick-rack & button were in MIL's stash. I had NO adhesive with me, but MIL had tacky glue in the kitchen "junk" drawer. Yeah, I'm sure EVERYONE keeps tacky glue in the kitchen, right next to the "Okay to wash it" glue! ha, ha!

I was REALLY inspired by a sweet little card my friend Beth sent me the other day. I'd take a picture & post it, but I did well figuring out how to download & edit one picture on this computer. I keep causing it to shut down & having to reboot, so I think I'll show you that one when I get home! Thanks Beth for the card and for the inspiration!

Thanks for looking!

The Fuzzy Cards

I have a couple of friends who love to knit. They like to feel their yarn. They like to cuddle their yarn. They like to rub it on their faces. If you aren't a yarn person this may sound, well, kind of fuzzy to you! LOL! I thought they needed a card where they could feel the yarn. So, I created these for them with flock. I'm not sure how to use the flock very well, but it is soft! One of them also makes baskets, so this was the perfect set to use for her. I just need to find envelopes now. I don't like to post cards before sending normally, but in this case, I will. Just don't tell them who they are for. Bwahahahahaha! I'm pretty sure they will know instantly!

Oh, yes, I decided to try the CDS Challenge layout again in different colors.


Stamps: Clear Dollar Stamps Basket of Blessings
Ink: Memento Black, Brilliance Silver, Distress Walnut Stain
Paper: navy, dark green, red, white, dp from a friend
Other stuff: navy ribbon (thank you Joyce!), Spellbinders Nestabilities scalloped rectangles & scalloped circles, SU oval punches, copic markers

Thanks for looking!

The Camera went Kaputt

I made 2 cards & took pictures, but I can't get the camera to download. Will try to find a new cable for the camera this weekend & see if we can rectify this problem. Otherwise I believe my friend Kathy will need to visit me or I'll need to visit her every few days in September to take pictures! Now that's not a bad idea at all!

The Stamps I Chose

I promised to show you which stamps I chose from Clear Dollar Stamps. It was a very difficult decision because I love so many of the new releases. The sets I chose for which I will be making samples are these:

This set is called "I A-Door You" and can be found by clicking HERE.

Isn't this a sweet set? It's called Tea-rrific and can be found HERE.

For my 3rd set I chose one I knew could be used for so many gifts. This one is called "The Grind." Just click HERE to learn more!

I ordered 2 more that I just couldn't resist, but I'll show you those when they arrive. I will try to get my flocked images made into cards before bed!

Sticky fingers

This upper respiratory crud wiped me out on Wed. so I didn't get much done. I am finding that, unlike my PC business, which I can't really do much of when I'm sick, there ARE things I can do in the craft realm. I uploaded stuff to Etsy as I posted. I've cut out the paper patterns so I can be ready to cut fabric. I hate cutting out patterns, especially the initial cutting them apart from those HUGE pieces of tissue. Cutting out fabric isn't as bad, but my favorite part is running it through the sewing machine and seeing something made out of pieces!

Tonight I got inky and sticky. I didn't finish a card, so nothing to post, but I stamped & colored & cut & paste! I also used flock for the first time successfully. I tried several years ago with Heat & Stick, but could not figure it out. Little did I know glue would work! Last Christmas season I bought some little packs of flock at Hobby Lobby (you know, their really cheap stuff on sale for 50% off). I used it tonight. Now I am feeling sticky & flocked!

Will try to finish something & post later today.

Fall Cards on Etsy

I just listed several sets of fall cards on my Etsy store. These are not high detail cards, but are nice fall cards to use for autumn greetings or Thanksgiving. This is what I've been working on for the past couple of weeks between homeschooling, being sick, and living life! I haven't listed all of these yet, but thought I'd share a few pics of what I've made.

The Story behind the News

Okay, I think the fog is clearing from my late night excitement followed by sleeping in really late today. If you haven't figured out yet what a huge fan I am of Clear Dollar Stamps, let me say it again, "I love Clear Dollar Stamps!" I've often felt like a walking (or typing) billboard as I've told people about these stamps. I actually stumbled upon their site a couple of years ago. I was searching the web for Scripture stamps and their name came up in a search. I was immediately drawn to those stamps, and continued searching the site. Let's just say it was love at first sight!

I remember many months ago thinking that I really didn't think I'd like to be on a design team. I looked at the amazing cards these women made and the time they spent making cards. I didn't think I could come close to that.

Then, CDS announced a Guest Designer Challenge and I decided I'd try it out! That was in February or March. I wasn't chosen the first month, and was a little bit disappointed, but knew I had a way to go before I felt confident in my work. I know what styles I LIKE, but honestly, didn't think I could make cards look like these people did. Then I decided I would study the artists and the cards. I didn't want to make cards JUST LIKE theirs, but I wanted to learn what it took to make a "WOW" kind of card.

Also, at the time, we were still living in our old house. I had no craft area. My stamps and supplies were somewhat stored in our bedroom along with half our other belongings. If I wanted to make a card, I had to drag everything out to the living room, which held the other half of our belongings. We lived in just over 1000 sq. ft. and had enough belongings to fill twice that space with my Pampered Chef products & supplies, Phil's computer stuff, toys and homeschool supplies, not to mention my crafting goods. I not only stamp, but have cross-stitched, crocheted, sewn, done fabric painting, etc. for as long as I can recall, and had the goods to prove it! Needless to say it was a chore to actually get set up to stamp, then things got left wherever I used them as the next "emergency arose in the house."

I didn't try out for the Guest Designer spot for a few months when we were moving out of the other house (I did manage to get rid of a LOT of stuff! yea!) and into this one. Some of my "dork sisters" and I tried out again for the July spot, then the August spot. I was TICKLED pink when my friend Karen Lynn was chosen as one of the Guest Designers last month! (Funny story, when I typed that somewhere else she misread it & left out the "L" in tickled. Yep, she thought it said I was TICKED when she got the spot! LOL! I'm still laughing at that).

This month I was really hoping to be chosen, but I had been feeling sick & didn't have the energy I normally have for stamping. I knew WHAT I wanted to make, as mentioned in a prior post, but just wasn't sure how I wanted to do it. Once I got that straightened out, I was able to get 2 projects made. I've also said before I must have ADHD & OCD because my mind goes a million directions with ideas & I MUST finish them. They had to be posted to the CDS blog by 3 p.m. on the 31st. I realized Sunday afternoon, that my husband had taken the camera so I couldn't take pictures to submit. He got home that evening, I took pictures, I blogged & put my cards on Splitcoaststampers. I sat back & relaxed thinking the "hard part" was done. I decided either late, late, late Sunday night or Monday morning, to look at the other entries. It was then I realized I'd left out one crucial step: posting a comment on the CDS blog, which was the biggest requirement of all! LOL! Dork moment for sure!

Last night I kept checking my computer, as if something would magically make it Tuesday morning and I could see who won. Lo and behold, at nearly midnight I got a note from Laurie Wilson, the Design Team leader and Stamp illustrator, stating that Christi & I had been chosen this month! She said we had to wait til Lori M. (yes, they really like the Laurie/Lori names), had announced it on the blog before we could say anything. This wasn't hard for me as far as calling. I figured I was the only one up so late. It WAS hard not to e-mail my friends or post it online.

This morning it became official and here I am! Now, I have my full-time job waiting for me, sick or not, 24/7---my family. So, I'm off to heat up some food. I'll be back to show you which stamp sets I'll be using for my designs.

I'm a Guest Designer!

Late last night I got an e-mail telling me that I had been chosen, along with Christi Bryant, to be a guest designer for Clear Dollar Stamps! I am so honored and excited! I was up til after 2 a.m. doing laundry, but I was so excited I don't think I would have slept well anyway.

You can see Christi's blog HERE. She & I have both been "trying out" for several months, as well as playing in the weekend color challenge, so I'm so happy that we were both chosen!

I'll share more later, but now I need to go tell my dork sisters and call Karen Lynn, who was last month's CDS Guest Designer, and has left several messages telling me to get out of bed! LOL! Love ya Karen!