25 Days of Christmas Tags: Season's Greetings

The wonderful Tracey McNeely at In My Creative Opinion is doing 25 Days of Christmas Tags!  Her work is amazing and she has doubled the fun by having guest designers each day.  Guess what?  It's my day to guest!

I realized that I don't do a lot of tags and that's definitely a mistake.  How perfect (and easy...and fun) would it be to wrap gifts in basic kraft or stone color paper and add a bright tag as decoration? I need to find a gigantic roll of basic kraft paper - maybe with monochromatic stripes or snowflakes - and then just have a tag day.  (Has anybody seen paper like that?)

In my Christmas NBUS stash are two sets by Clearly Besotted Stamps.  The first is Signature Christmas and was part of their very first release.  I fell in love with it - but, at that time, I was concerned about international shipping.  Then recently they came out with Signature Christmas Additions and with matching dies.  I've learned that CBS ships quickly and the postage is cheaper than most companies in the U.S.  So I finally own the set I fell for a year ago!

My first Christmas tag!!
Now if anybody can answer my question about basic kraft wrapping paper - here's to many more!
I'm also playing along with the Clearly Besotted Challenge with a Christmas theme.

• Stamps: Clearly Besotted Stamps Signature Christmas and Signature Christmas Addition
• Paper: Papertrey Ink Simply Chartreuse
• Ink: Papertrey Ink Limeade Ice, Hibiscus Burst, Simply Chartreuse, Smokey Shadow
• Accessories: Clearly Besotted Christmas Signature Christmas Die Collection, Reverse Confetti Tag Me die, Neat & Tangled sequins, Trendy Twine Tickled Pink, My Favorite Things Glitter Glaze (on the star)

Less is More: White Christmas

I absolutely could not pass up this week's challenge at Less is More - a white on white challenge with a Christmas theme!  Is there anything more perfect than an all-white Christmas card??

A recent favorite of mine (yes, I have a lot of favorites) is Clearly Besotted Stamps.  CBS is in the midst of its first birthday celebration.  I saw the first stamps from a year ago and fell in love with Signature Christmas but my excitement died when I realized they were in the UK and I was in the US.  I naively thought it would be a pain and very expensive to order. But then, as part of a design team, I got a free set!  I added a few other items into my order and it showed up faster and cheaper than some big-name US companies!!!  I've been back to order since.  My last order included a fun Halloween set, the Signature Christmas set that I had drooled over a year ago - PLUS a brand new Signature Additions set and DIES!!!

Since I am excited over the stamps and absolutely love white on white Christmas - it seemed like a good time to bring them all together!



The set obviously includes multiple patterns for the wreath - and also multiple patterns of ornaments and Christmas trees!  I'm not even going to put it away with my Christmas stamps yet - because I want to do each of them and I want to try color!!

• Stamps: Clearly Besotted Stamps Signature Christmas and Signature Christmas Additions
• Paper: Stampin' Up Shimmer White
• Ink: Versamark
• Accessories: Clearly Besotted Signature Christmas dies, Stampendous White Pearls embossing, Ranger Super Fine Detail Gold embossing, Maya Road Sparkle Gold twine

Clearly Besotted Background: You Tickle My Fancy

Clearly Besotted Stamps has a challenge to create your own background on a card.  The first set that I had from Clearly Besotted is Fancy Feathers and I've only used it once so it had to make a reappearance!


I'm not particularly good at using Distress Inks to do a wash of color.  Every so often I like to try and given there is a Distress Ink color called Peacock Feathers, this seemed like as good a day as any.  Don't get me wrong - Distress Inks are very easy to work with.  I've watched the videos, I have the foam pads and the craft mat.  The color goes on easily.  But I guess I know that I am a control freak - because it seems a little too random for me!
So many of you have asked about the Colorado floods and I just have to tell you that it is mind-boggling.  I sit high above Denver and away from the mountains, so I'm just wet.  The amount of rain that we have gotten only happens every thousand years.  Even the official reports from the National Weather Service referred to "biblical proportions".   I don't think you can turn on any news station right now without seeing pictures of the destruction. You may not know that there are still over 1,200 people unaccounted for.  By no means do they think all of those people have died, but some have.  What the news just doesn't quite capture is the virtual impossibility of the rescues and why those people are unaccounted for.  There are entire towns that have been devastated that rescuers simply cannot get to. These towns only have one or two ways in, but through mountain canyons, and all the roads are simply gone.  These people are sitting in devastated communities without phones, power, water, or sewer, waiting for the helicopters to come.

A lighter story that I haven't seen on the national news is the rescue of 400 young children from mountain camps.  Lots of elementary schools in the cities send the children to mountain camps for one or two days.  None of these children were in danger - but remember, the roads are gone...so here's their ride home! (Photo from 9News.)

I have lots of posts written for the rest of the week and I promise they don't cover difficult current events - I promise to focus on cards!!

• Stamps: Clearly Besotted Fancy Feathers
• Paper: Papertrey Ink Classic Kraft
• Ink: WPlus9 white, Distress Inks in Peacock Feathers, Mowed Lawn and Seedless Preserves, Stampin' Up Rich Razzleberry
• Accessories: Clearly Besotted Fancy Feathers dies, Avery Elle Royal Blend Sequins

Curtain Call: Sunflower Surprise!

It's time for another inspiration photo from Curtain Call!  It's Sunflower Surprise!

photo credit: poshtotevents.com

The sponsor for our Sunflower Surprise is Clearly Besotted Stamps.  

Clearly Besotted Stamps has generously provided Blooming Marvellous Stamps and Die Collection for each design team member!  And the LEAD that is selected from all of the entries will also win the set and the dies for themselves!

My card was obviously inspired by the bright sunflowers in the inspiration photo but also by the hint of bright blue near the center of the photo and by the wood planking.

The sentiment on this card comes from a different Clearly Besotted set You Said It, and the butterfly is from Butterfly Additions with the coordinating die.

I also made a bonus card today.  I had to make two birthday cards for two special friends.  I had made the sunflower card but the other flower in the set was calling my name too!  I decided that I would use the same layout and create a second card with the bold rose.


The butterfly on this card is from Butterfly Additions.  (The sentiment is not from Clearly Besotted.)
I have to tell you that since I got this set and have been playing with it - I have paid extra attention to other sets offered by Clearly Besotted and have ordered more!  I used their beautiful feather set here.  I have used two of their butterflies on today's cards.  The sentiment on the first card comes with word bubbles!   Just yesterday in their mail, I got their Halloween set, Fright Night, and their Signature Christmas and Addition collections - so you'll be seeing even more.  The company is based in the United Kingdom but shipping is very reasonably priced and very fast.  They are also available in the U.S. at Simon Says Stamp.

Now, it's your turn!  You have until September 25th, 8 a.m. CDT to create a new paper project inspired by the photo.  The LEAD and Show Stoppers will be chosen by the crew and announced on September 30th at 8:00 AM CDT.  I hope to see you play along!

Clearly Besotted: With Love

I finally have stamps from Clearly Besotted.  I don't know what has taken me so long - they are truly lovely.  I used their feather set here and for today I am using Blooming Marvelous (which also has a great sunflower for all) and Butterfly Wishes Additions (you have to love a gingham butterfly).


My card uses the colors from the current challenge over on the Clearly Besotted Blog.

I'm heading out soon for coffee with a dear lady who has had a rough year culminating with the loss of her garden in a hailstorm last week.  These aren't the types of flowers we grow here in Parker, Colorado, but I think these cheerful colors will be just perfect for a pick-me-up card!

• Stamps: Clearly Besotted Blooming Marvelous, Butterfly Wishes Additions
• Paper: Papertrey Ink Soft Stone
• Ink: Stampin' Up Pistachio Pudding, Hero Arts Soft Cantaloupe, Memento Lady Bug, Papertrey Ink Lavender Moon and Smokey Slate
• Accessories: Clearly Besotted Blooming Marvelous and Butterfly dies, My Favorite Things Fishtail dies and Fancy Flourish, Lifestyle Crafts embossing folder, Hemptique 10-lb twine from Bright multi-pack

Pantone Colors on Rockwell Designs: Nectarine

The latest color that is highlighted on Rockwell Designs as a Pantone Spring Fashion 2013 color is nectarine!  I thought it bore a remarkable resemblance to the new Stampin' Up Color Crisp Cantaloupe. Hmmm...nectarines and cantaloupe!!

But instead of going fruity, I decided to use feathers.  There are so many lovely feather sets out there and it's such a gorgeous look.  I went with the Clearly Besotted set Fancy Feathers. (FYI: in the U.S. Clearly Besotted is available at Simon Says Stamp.)  I hesitated to use this set mostly because I was inspired to get it based on two cards from one of my favorite designers: here and here.  Kara's cards are truly stunning and I knew nothing that I made would quite measure up.  It doesn't...but I'm still happy with it...it's hard to go wrong with these graceful feathers!!

(FYI: I took the wrapper off of the ink for this card and discovered

that the cantaloupe paper is more nectarine-ish than the ink is!

I hate it when that happens!)

• Stamps: Clearly Besotted Fancy Feathers
• Paper: Stampin' Up Smoky Slate
• Ink: Stampin' Up Smoky Slate and Crisp Cantaloupe
• Accessories: Clearly Besotted Fancy Feather dies, Avery Elle Citrus Blend sequins, Divine Twine Oyster Twine