In the Garden

Hello friends!  I admit....I don't have a very green thumb and I'm not much of a gardener, but this year I decided to try growing a few tomatoes.  I am so excited....none are ripe yet, but there are tons of tomatoes on my plants!  I must say that I am much better at planting flowers on cards.  I've shared a few blooms over on the Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps Blog and thought I'd share here as well.

Creative Nugget:  This card was actually inspired by my shower curtain.  The flower from the Mason Jar Bouquet stamp set was stamped multiple times and cut with the help of my Scan 'n Cut. These were mounted to a black panel to resemble my shower curtain.  No coloring....easy peasy!  Stripes were stenciled down the side and a white embossed sentiment added.

Creative Nugget:  The Faux Linen Technique was used on two pieces of glossy card stock.  Distress inks were sponged on to cover each panel and the honeycomb from the Sweet as Honey set was stamped on one.  The cards were then sanded first in one direction and then in the other to create the texture of linen. A stamp from the Long Stem Silhouettes set was stamped repeatedly in the corner.  A square aperture was die cut from one of the panels and the time-loved hymn from the Hymn Blocks set was stamped on the other so that it could be seen through the frame.  The bee was popped onto the card and a trail of gem stones added to finish the card.

These cards will be submitted for the following challenges:

Addicted to Stamps and More Challenge # 256 - Anything Goes

The Flower Challenge #11 - Background Stamping

Word Art Wednesday Challenge #297 - Anything Goes

Moving Along With The Times #52 - Something That Starts With The Letter "B"

Try It On Tuesday - In My Garden

Thanks so much for stopping by...take time to smell the flowers!

Hugs,

Cathymac

Milestones

Hello sketch lovin' friends!  It's Saturday and time for another fabulous sketch at The Sweet Stop, but wait...today we've reached a MILESTONE...200 sketches! That's right...today is the 200th sketch at The Sweet Stop! So...we are going to celebrate!  Not only do the Sugar Babies have some wonderful samples to spark your creativity, but we've each chosen our personal favorite sketch from the past.  In honor of the 200th sketch, we are giving a PRIZE to one lucky participant...a $20 gift certificate to the Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps Store.

First...my favorite sketch from the past!

This card was created using SSS165.  These pretty vintage papers work so well with the sweet image of the mother holding her baby from the Vintage Baby clear stamp set by Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps.  Since I love working with layers, and matching colors and patterns, this sketch was right up my alley.  You can find the details and the sketch for this card on my blog post found HERE.

Now...on to this week's sketch!

Creative Nugget: Look...another sketch with layers!  LOL!  One image from Long Stem Silhouettes was stamped in Spun Sugar and the other one stamped in Soft Suede right on the patterned paper.  A little Copic shading was added to the silhouette for depth. The Basic Grey papers were stitched to Vintage Cream and Kraft card stocks.  The lace and trim added were from a local fabric store and matched the colors of the DP perfectly.  The sentiment banner was hand cut, and pearls were added to the centers of the flowers to finish the card.

Check out the other Sugar Babies for some fabulous samples and be sure to help us celebrate by joining us at The Sweet Stop for SSS200!  Just link up your card using the Linky Tool to be eligible for the PRIZE!

Sugar Babies

Monika Davis

Janice Melton

Robin Parker

Faye Winn-Jones

Melissa Schultz

Ceal Pritchett

Marlena Peduzzi

Stephanie Serrano

Thanks so much for stopping by...have a wonderful day!

Hugs,
Cathymac

Card Recipe
Stamps: Long Stem Silhouettes (SNSS)
Ink: Spun Sugar Distress Ink (Ranger), Soft Suede (SU!)
Paper: Vintage Cream, Kraft (PTI), True Love Paper Pad (Basic Grey)
Accessories: Long Classic Rectangle Nesties (Spellbinders), Sew Mini (Janome), Kaiser Pearls, Lace and Trim from Fabric Store, Copic Marker E42

Be Joyful!

Hello sketch lovin' friends!  I hope this post finds you well and that you've been able to stay away from that nasty flu bug..I've heard it really wipes you out for a few days!  So far, the Lord has kept me healthy and for that I'm joyful!

Oh my...what a busy week at Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps!  A new release and five mini blog hops featuring each of the sets has literally kept us hoppin'! Now it's Saturday and time for a new sketch over at The Sweet Stop.  Even though the release festivities are over, I found myself reaching for one of the new sets once again...LOVE Long Stem Silhouettes and know it will get a lot of use since it is so versatile.

Creative Nugget:  The choice of colors for this card came together when I saw these two pieces of patterned paper lying on the floor next to each other in my scrap pile.  After they were sized correctly for the sketch, one was given a punched border and both were stitched to Neenah Solar White and attached to a Kraft card front. The white strip was scored and the Baker's twine was wrapped around the card between the score lines.  The long stem flowers were stamped twice in VersaMagic and white embossed on a piece of Kraft card stock.  This panel was stitched to a piece of white.  The sentiment is from the Be Joyful stamp set by Our Daily Bread Designs, and was also stitched to a piece of Kraft.  A button was added and a Viva Pearl Pen was used in the centers of the flowers to finish the card.

There's lots of wonderful inspiration over at The Sweet Stop from my fellow Sugar Babies so be sure to check out each one and leave a little love behind.  Here's this week's SSS193!

Sugar Babies

Monika Davis

Janice Melton

Robin Parker

Faye Winn-Jones

Melissa Schultz

Ceal Pritchett

Marlena Peduzzi

Stephanie Serrano

Thanks so much for stopping by...stay healthy and be joyful...have a wonderful week!

Hugs,

Cathymac

Card Recipe

Stamps: Long Stem Silhouettes (Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps), Be Joyful (Our Daily Bread Designs)

Ink: Versafine Onyx Black, VersaMagic (Tsukineko), Worn Lipstick Distress Ink (Ranger)

Paper: Neenah Solar Crest (Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps), Kraft (PTI), Scraps

Accessories: Sew Mini (Janome), Rectangle and Long Rectangle Nesties (Spellbinders), Border Punch (Martha Stewart), Strawberry Baker's Twine (The Twinery), Button (PTI), White Embossing Powder (SU!), Salmon Pearl Pen (Viva Decor), Scor-Pal

Long Stem Silhouettes

Hello friends...happy Sunday!  Welcome to day two of 
Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps January Release Features!  If you love silhouette stamps, you will love today's feature stamp set.

Introducing...Long Stem Silhouettes 

This lovely stamp set is perfect for creating beautiful and classy cards with ease as you will see as you make your way through the participating blogs in today's mini hop.  The sentiments included in the set make it very versatile.  I've already found myself reaching for it over and over again!

• Set includes 3 images and 6 sentiments
• Set measures approximately 6" x 4"
• Images measure approximately 3.75" high x less than 1.5" wide
• Illustrated by Korin Sutherland

Here's my sample using Long Stem Silhouettes

Creative Nugget:  One of the quick and easy ways to use silhouette stamps is to stamp directly on designer paper. When you start with gorgeous papers like these from the Ladies' Diary Collection by Graphics 45, you're bound to end up with a beautiful card.  A few layers, a pearl pen, some stitching and lace, a little twine and a button are all you need to create a card with a vintage feel.  The design for this card came from this week's Sketch Challenge on Splitcoaststampers.

Check out some more fabulous samples made by other members of the talented SNSS Design Team.  See the linky tool below!

Be sure to leave a comment on each of the blogs along the way because one lucky commenter will win this beautiful stamp set!

The deadline to comment for a chance to win is midnight, Wednesday, January 9th.  The list of winners will be announced on the Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps Blog on Thursday, January 10th.

Join me again tomorrow for another featured stamp set and mini blog hop.  Thanks so much for stopping by!

Hugs,

Cathymac

Card Recipe

Stamps: Long Stem Silhouettes (Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps)

Ink: Versafine Onyx Black, VersaMagic Red Brick (Tsukineko), Fresh Snow (PTI), Walnut Stain Distress Ink (Ranger)

Paper: Vintage Cream, True Black (PTI), A Ladies' Diary Paper Pad (Graphics 45)

Accessories: Lace Scallop Punch, Butterfly Punch (Martha Stewart), Salmon Pearl Pen (Viva Decor), Sew Mini (Janome), Button (PTI), Lace, Twine

A New Year and a New Release

Hello my blog friends...are you ready for Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps first Release of 2013?  The SNSS Design Divas have been busy, busy, busy stamping with the five new stamp sets being released and the samples created are amazing!  We can't wait to share them with you! We'll be kicking things off at 10:00 EST with a Virtual Stamp Day full of challenges over on our SNSS Member Forum at Splitcoaststampers. Each time you participate in a challenge, you will be entered for a chance to win a $25 Credit to Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps.  Then...there will be mini blog hops on January 5th through the 9th featuring one of the new sets on each day with a chance to win the stamp set being featured!  Now head on over to the SNSS Blog to see the full reveal of each of the fabulous new stamp sets!

Here's a quick sneak peek of one of the new sets...Long Stem Silhouettes.

Creative Nugget:  Blush papers by My Mind's Eye were stitched to True Black and attached to a Vintage Cream card front to create the background for the long stem silhouette which was stamped on a piece of DP.  A Spellbinders border was sewn to the bottom of the card, and another SB die was cut for the sentiment panel.  The sentiment, also from the Long Stem Silhouettes set, was stamped on a hand cut banner.  Baker's Twine, a button, and Pearls finish the card.  What do you think?  Are you ready to go check out those new sets?

Thanks so much for stoping by...hope to see you over at Splitcoaststampers later today!

Hugs,

Cathmac

Card Recipe

Stamps: Long Stem Silhouettes (Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps)

Ink: Versafine Onyx Black (Tsukineko), Spun Sugar and Antique Linen Distress Ink

Paper: Vintage Cream, True Black (PTI), Blush Paper Pad (My Mind's Eye)

Accessories: Circle Nestie, Asian Accents Dies (Spellbinders), Sew Mini (Janome), Baker's Twine (The Twinery), Button (PTI), Kaiser Pearls