Matryoshka Doll, Turtle, and Tiny Flower Cookies

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Hi everyone!

I spent a day and a half earlier in the week cleaning out my pantry, so I treated myself to an entire day of cookie decorating!

I mixed up one batch of frosting colors to do 3 different sets of cookies.  :)

I totally forgot to take a photo of the turtles before I packaged some of them up to ship to friends, but here are the remaining three. :)

My friend Lisa collects Matryoshka dolls, so I made my first stacking doll cookies. :)

I love using tiny flower and leaf cookie cutters on the scrap dough left after cutting out the larger cookies. They are bite sized so I don't feel guilty for eating one...or two....or three. ;)

I love creating with any medium, but lately, sugar and flour have been my favorite. :)

Thanks so much fro dropping by!
If you like what you see, please Share, Like, or Pin. :)

Time For Another Really Reasonable Ribbon Challenge!

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Hi Everyone!

Who doesn't love pink and brown?

It's one of my favorite color combos and that just happens to be the theme for Really Reasonable Ribbon's Ramblings current challenge.

Way back when I first started stamping, I bought a bunch of Penney Black stamps and painted lots of duplicates of all of them. They have been setting in a craft drawer for years, unloved. I am going to try to start using them up, My coloring style has not changed a bit so you probably wouldn't have known that I colored this little guy 3 years ago if I didn't already tell ya! :)

I layered some fun Pink + Brown Chex ribbon over some Pink Diamond Satin, both from Really Reasonable Ribbon.

The pretty papers are from Basic Grey's -"Porcelain" stack.

The cardstock is Brilliant White from Discount Card Stock.

The Gradient White Pearl Stickers are from Creative Charms.

The pretty rose and leaves are from Wild Orchid Crafts.

I invite you to head over to the RRRR challenge blog and check out what the other girls have created for your inspiration. 

While you are there, make sure and sign up for the awesome blog candy that Bonnie has up for grabs! It's a huge haul! ;)

Thanks for dropping by!

Hugs,

True :D

"The Earth Smiles In Flowers" Clear Dollar Stamps Blog Hop!

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Hello everyone!

Hope you are having a wonderful Sunday so far. If you are here for the Clear Dollar Stamps blog hop, your day is going to get even better! I am guessing you came from looking @ Barb's best creations. If so...you are in the right spot! If you just happened onto my blog, you will want to go back to the start @ the Clearly iStamp blog so you won't miss a thing! This month's inspiration is from a Ralph Waldo Emerson quote "The Earth Laughs With Flowers". The girls have prepared lot of beautiful cards with lots of pretty flowers for you.

Here is mine. It's done with the "Sentimental Flowers" set that I illustrated for Clear Dollar Stamps.

I fell in love with the papers from Prima's - "Sweet Fairy" and "Fairy Flora" stacks and wanted to use them for this clean and simple card. The background is one of their papers and to me it looks like a beautiful sunset. The flowers, flower centers, and leaves are all paper pieced with assorted papers form the two stacks. I added just a touch of Prismacolor pencil in the flower centers, grass and stems, but that is it. No watercoloring...no beautiful ribbon...not my normal style. But, every now and then ya just gotta mix it up! :)

Here is what the whole "Sentimental Flowers" set looks like.

I really appreciate you hopping along with us today!

Hope you have enjoyed this stop!

Make sure and leave a quick comment on all of the girl's blogs (including mine...*hint* *hint*) so you can increase your chances of winning one of the (2) $10.00 gift certificates that Clear Dollar Stamps will be giving to (2) lucky commenters!

Now on with the show! Your next stop is sweet Linda's blog. I am sure she will have something stunning to inspire you! :)

Hugs,

True :D

CDS STAMPS USED: Sentimental Flowers
CS/PAPERS: Prima
INK: Staz-On, ColorBox cat's eyes Cyan and olive Pastel
ACCENTS/TOOLS: Sewing machine with purple thread, Prismacolor pencils PC921 and 738 1/2, Gamsol
SPECIAL NOTES: The background, flowers, centers, and leaves are all cut from different patterns of Prima papers from the Sweet Fairy and Fairy Flora stacks. The only coloring was just a tad in the flower centers and the grass and stems, then blended with Gamsol. I used the Cyan cat's eye to enhance the color of the "sky" and the Olive on the grass. The rest of the colors came "as is" from the stacks. I love how it looks like a painted sunset sky! :)

"Violets and Lilacs and Plums, Oh My!" RRR Challenge

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Hi Everyone!

We started a new challenge over at Really Reasonable Ribbons Ramblings today called "Violets and Lilacs and Plums, Oh My!" You can use either the colors, the flowers or fruit plus ribbon.

This challenge is sponsored by Our Daily Bread Designs so I used a pretty stamp set they sent me called "The Lord Has Risen".

I used Really Reasonable Ribbon's stunningly beautiful Diamond Satin in Delphinium ribbon.

I watercolored my image.

The designer paper is from Prima's - "Fairy Flora" 6" x 6" pad and the leaves are their Mulberry Rose Leaves. I added some watercolor to them so they would match the color of the ones on my image.

The papers are Bazzill Swiss Dots in Salt,  Passion Metallic, and Brilliant White 110# all available at Discount Card Stock.

The pretty Purple Gradient Gem Stickers are from Creative Charms. I sewed tiny seed beads in all of the Nestabillity scallops, and painted an extra flower as an embellishment. Of course, I also just HAD to add some stitching! :)

I hope you will head on over to Really Reasonable Ribbon's Ramblings and check out the over a dozen stunning cards the RRR and ODB girls have created for your inspiration.

We would love for you to join us in the challenge too. You could win some pretty RRR ribbon or a $25.00 gift certificate from Our Daily Bread Designs!

Thanks for dropping by!

Hugs,

True :D

Sentimental Flowers "Birthday Bud"

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Hi everyone! :)

Today's card is done with the "Sentimental Flowers" set that I illustrated for Clear Dollar Stamps. I might be a little biased since it is my drawing, but I find myself using this set again and again. It is just so versatile and sweet...if I say so myself. There are so many sentiments that it is great for many occasions. The SVG file that cuts out the parts on my Cricut make it super fast and easy too!

This is what the entire set looks like.

Download the "Sentimental Flowers Cuttin' Up"  SVG files for just $1.00! ;)

That jaw-droppingly-beautiful ribbon is Really Reasonable Ribbon's ~ Moss 1" Satin with Grosgrain Edge Ribbon.

Thanks so much for dropping by today! :)

Hugs,

True :D

Card Recipe:
CDS STAMPS USED: "Sentimental Flowers"
CS/PAPERS: TPT Heavenly White, My Mind's Eye -"Summer Song"
INK: Staz-On Jet Black
ACCENTS/TOOLS: Sentimental Flowers SVG, Cricut, RRR Green Satin ribbon, sewing machine with green thread, Beacon's ~ Fabri-tac glue, Score-Tape, foam tape, Ranger Perfect Pears, Diamond Glaze, Stickles in Lime Green, border punch, WOC Rose
COLORING: Watercolors

"Wishing You a Beautiful Day" Card

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Good morning everyone!

Today's card says it all!  ;)

I'm....

The pretty stamp is Inky Antic's #1574G-"Beautiful Day".

That yummy Lemon Swiss Dots Satin ribbon is from Really Reasonable Ribbon.

The charming Pink Vintage Pearl Brad is from Creative Charms.

The paper is K&Company's -Susan Winget"Spring Blossoms" stack.

Thanks for dropping by!

Hope you have a beautiful day!

Hugs,

True :D

Another Home-made "Prima-like" Flower ;)

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Hi Everyone!

I had so much fun making the flower that I posted the other day, that I thought I would try another style.

I absolutely LOVE Prima's Cloissone Bronze flowers and have bought some but just haven't been able to make myself use them because they cost a $buck$ a piece unless you can find them on sale! Uggh!

Sooo..... I broke out with some white cardstock, Glimmer Mist, and some other crafty goodies and made something similar.

What do ya think?

I used a flower punch that I had to start it so the shape is different and I blinged it up with colored pearls and gold embellishment intentionally making it "my own". ;)

Of course, I always team up my flowers with leaves, so I thought I would make one to match it perfectly.

I need to get a finer point glue pen for my gold embossing but I guess what I had worked for now. ;)

These whip up in no time at all and cost very little so I will have no problem actually using them! LOL! :)

Because of the response to the flower I posted the other day, I am going to do a tutorial for that one very very soon.

Would you like a tutorial to see how I did this one as well?

Big hugs!

True :D

"Help 4 Katie" Blog Hop

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Hi everyone!

Welcome to our "Help 4 Kate" blog hop!

If you came from Jan's adorable blog, you are in the right place.

If you just happened on to my blog, you will want to go back to the wonderful Lori's blog to start at the beginning.

Our Clear Dollar Stamps design team sister and friend, Katie Renz has been diagnosed with stage for gastric cancer. She is a vibrant young wife and mother and is going through the struggle of her life. Awhile back myself and many other wonderful illustrators got together and created a set of digital images to sell to raise funds for Katie's medical expenses. Well...the expenses are still mounting and the set was so popular that we have done it again! There is a brand new set if digi illustrations for you to download! For those of you who didn't see it, the first set is still available too.

For my hop card, I used the stamp set that I illustrated and donated called "Floral Thought For Katie"

Here is what my set looks like.

This is a picture of the new set that is available for instant download.

It is just $15.00 and all of the money from sales goes to Katie's family. ;)

Your next stop on the hop is the super talented Laurie's blog.

Thanks so much for dropping by!

Hugs,

True :D

Big and Beautiful Bow!

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Hi Everyone!
I usually try to do my Monday posts around 7AM-ish but had some issues today.
Before I get to my card, I would like to invite you to come play along in our latest Really Reasonable Ribbons Ramblings challenge. The theme is "Read, White, and Pink Plus Ribbon". Tis the season and I think we are all hittin' those colors so why not join in?You could win some goodies from Really Reasonable Ribbon and our sponsor Wild Orchid Crafts!CLICK HERE for the challenge deets!  ;)
This card is not for the challenge. I posted my challenge card HERE.But....I wanted to show you what a pretty bow the 1 1/4" Silk ribbon from Really Reasonable Ribbon makes.So full and beautiful! I used Celery Green but here is a link to all of the silk Bonnie has to offer.

I used another one of the stamp sets that I illustrated called "Sentimental Flowers" available @ Clear Dollar Stamps. The flower and leaves were cut with the really cool SVG files they now offer (for just a dollar) and my Cricut!

The paper is Heavenly White from The Paper Temptress and the jewels are Gradient Gem Stickers from Creative Charms. The beautiful brad is their Pink Vintage Pearl brad. I also used my "Dots" Cuttlebug embossing folder.
Thanks so much for dropping by! :)Hugs,True :D

Blog Candy Sponsored by: Wild Orchid Crafts!!!! A new card too! ;)

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THIS CANDY IS NOW CLOSED.

Happy Friday Everyone!

Do you ever get that feeling you're being watched?

I got an email from Paul of Wild Orchid Crafts and he said that he and his wife Siri had been following my blog for about 3 months now! No...I didn't really have a feeling of being watched but now that I know they have been watching..I feel honored!

Speaking of feeling honored...they even put my blinky on the shop's sidebar!!!
They asked if they could sponsor my blog with some Wild Orchid Crafts goodies. Well heck yah!!! Who in their right mind would say no to something that awesome?

I told Paul that my followers would LOVE it!

Since my birthday is the 17th, I will just consider this my birthday blog candy.

Thanks Paul and Siri...perfect timing!

Here is the generous offerings that they will send the lucky winner.

To be enterd in the candy is as easy as 1...2...3!

1.)  Become a follower of my blog if you aren't already.

2.) Put a picture of the candy in your sidebar with a link back to my blog.

3.) Come back here and comment that you have posted it so I can come visit you.

Pretty simple!  ;)

Here is a little blurb about Wild Orchid Crafts:

At Wild Orchid Crafts we're very passionate about our beautiful Mulberry Paper Flowers and many other craft items, and we're always working hard to make sure that the quality of our products and service s is a high as it can possibly be, while offering excellent value for money to all of our customers.

All of our Mulberry Paper Flowers are made using natural, renewable resources. The flowers are all handmade by experienced crafts people using high quality materials and great care is taken to ensure that they are made to the highest standard. We are very proud of the quality and manner in which our flowers are produced, and the fact that they are made using natural, renewable resources.

As well as Mulberry Paper Flowers and leaves, we have many other beautiful craft items including lace, pins, self-adhesive pearls, crystal drops and hearts, and many more besides. To find out more, please visit our website: http://www.wildorchidcrafts.com

My card today was made with a WOC flower! It is their 2-Tone Baby Pink Cherry Blossom.

Have I mentioned how much I LOVE their flowers?

I LOVE THEIR FLOWERS!!!! :)

The papers are Basic Grey's "Sugar Rush" and the Iridescent Light Blue ribbon and Lime Green Leaf trim are from Really Reasonable Ribbon.

I am entering this card in the following challenges:
My Time To Craft ~ "Quick and Cute"
Creative Card Crew ~ "Let's Punch It!"
Stampin' B's ~ "Animal in a Die Cut"
One Stop Craft ~ "Anything Goes"

Click HERE to see other cards that I have done using Wild Orchid Crafts flowers.

The candy will close on November 17th and I will post the winner by the 20th.

Thanks so much for dropping by!

Hugs,

True :D

Sneak Peeking a CDS Card Done w/ My Illustration! ;)

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Hello Everyone!

This is a pre-scheduled post because I am in the hospital.

I wouldn't let a little thing like surgery keep me from doing my sneak! LOL!

This cute little "Pansy Bunny" stamp is due to hit the Clear Dollar Stamps store on June 1st.

YOURS TRULY is the illustrator! I am having so much fun doing illustrations. It is so cool seeing other people playing with my images! Tehehehe!

Makes me giddy!  ;)

That beautiful ribbon is from Really Reasonable Ribbons.The ones I used on this card are Lavender and Olive wrinkled ribbon in the 1/2" width.

I used both ribbons and 2 loops in my Bow-Easy to create the bow.

Other DT's who are showing this stamp off are:

Kim Teasdale

Laurie Wilson

Katie Renz

Sarah Gilreath

Rebecca Ednie

Candy Fosta

Please visit Lori's blog: Clearly iStamp to see a list of all of the other sneaks the awesome DT girls have for you this month!

If you have not signed up for my Mega Multi Company Blog Candy....What are you waiting for? LOL!

Card Recipe:
CDS STAMPS USED: Pansy Bunny

CS/PAPERS: Bazzill Swiss Dots: Irish Eyes, Clover, and Berry Pretty. Bo Bunny: Sun Wash Calico

INK: Staz-On: Jet Black, Color Box cat's Eyes in: Amber Clay and Warm Violet

MARKERS: Tombos: 676, 606, 725, 746, 947, 055, 098, 879

ACCENTS/TOOLS: Green and lt. purple ribbons, Bow-easy, purple, half gems, Wizard w/ rectangle and scalloped oval Nesties, VersaMark refill, clear embossing powder, heat gun, old paintbrush, Stampin' Up's scalloped boarder punch, tiny hole punch, water brush, glue

COLORING: Water coloring with Tombos

TECHNIQUES: Dry embossing, heat embossing, water coloring, stamping

I appreciate you dropping by. Please keep me in your prayers for a speedy recovery.

A comment would be sweet too!  ;)

Hugs,

True :D

Wired Ribbon Rose Video Tutorial by: True :D

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Hello!

I did this tutorial for the Really Reasonable Ramblings blog but I thought I would post it here too.

Today I am going to show you how to make a quick and easy rose out of wired ribbon.

Don't laugh at the video...it was my first attempt!

I will get better with practice...I hope! LOL!

You can use the rose on any project but I used an empty coffee can. 

It can now be used for a gift box or a trinket tin. You could also do a new, full can as a sweet gift. Wouldn't that be a great disguise for instant coffee setting on someone's desk?

It has a red lid so that kind of dictated my color scheme.

The red glitter paper was purchased at Hobby Lobby and is by Craft n Craftin. It is Wine Red glitter cardstock. The DP is a scrap piece that I can not remember who makes. If you recognize it, please let me know. I wanted to tie the rest of the can in with the rose so I added the same Wired Sheer Iridescent Red/Purple, and Moss Green organzas to the sides. Of course you know that the ribbons are from Really Reasonable Ribbons!

 I ran them through some pearl ribbon slides. I also added a pearl hat pin to the rose so it can be worn as a corsage if the receiver so chooses.

Hope you enjoyed the tutorial.

Please leave a comment and let us know if you found this helpful.

Thanks and Hugs,

True D:

Got another minute or two to surf?  Head on over to Really Reasonable Ramblings and see what the other girls have been up to.
Make sure and leave a comment on my tutorial there too! *wink* *wink*

"Buttons and Bows Flowers" ~ A 3 design team card and a SCS challenge

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Happy Friday!

Today I wanted to play along with the girls over at Splitcoast Stampers.

Today's Friday Free 4 All challenge #F4A13 is to use buttons and or bows.

I had these wonderful flower buttons in my stash for years and thought they would look great with my Lime Green Leaves trim from Really Reasonable Ribbons. That pretty purple bow is from their Purple Organza.

The sentiment is from Clear Dollar Stamps "Heartfelt Sentiments" set.

Lastly but not leastly...LOL!

That fabulous paper is from the "True's Favorites" package that is on sale at The Paper Temptress this month. It is made up of my pick of the cardstocks I use the most!

The colors used on this card are :

Fairway mica/metallic

Amethyst mica/ metallic

Heavenly White

Thanks again for dropping by!

Please take a second to let me know you were here by leaving a comment.

Hugs,

True :D

CAS "Thank You" Card

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Hello!

Sometimes you need a card quick but just can't bring yourself to go buy an impersonal store-bought card.

Or perhaps you are a beginner or want to craft with a kid. CAS  (Clean And Simple) are great for these occations! Although I usually do detailed cards with lots of coloring and "stuff", I like CAS too.

I created this card for "Really Reasonable Ribbon" It only took a 5" piece of this pretty "Funky Pink and Brown Vertical Stripe" ribbon.  that is part of this months Ribbon Club set. This ribbon is only .25 cents a yard so the piece on this card only costs about .04 cents. Not too shabby for a focal point! You could do a gift set of these for a very nice gift without spending hardly anything!

I picked my ribbon first the found 2 pieces of scrap paper that matched. Not a bad way to use up small pieces either! These pieces are from The Paper Temptress out of their "True's Favorites" package that I got to pick! It is on sale now for 20% off. The colors are Cappuccino Mica Metallic and Mountain Rose Glimmer. The card base is their Heavenly White.

The scallops were done with Stampin'Up's scallop punch and the Cappuccino CD was embossed with Cuttlebug Dots folder. Add a Prima flower and a pretty button and viola! A beautiful card in about 15 minutes! I also added a Flourishes sentiment from their "Thankful Hearts" set.

Click on the picture for a close up look at that pretty ribbon and cardstock!

Thanks for dropping by! Hope you have a wonderful weekend!

I would love to see a comment from you!
You can also head on over to our Really Reasonable Ramblings blog and see what the other girls have been up to lately.

Hugs,

True :D

" Beautiful Pansy Cup" and a Big Beautiful Bow!

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Hello!

On my last post, I challenged myself not to use ribbons or bows. OK...enough of that craziness! LOL!

Today's card is done with elements from 3 of my different Design Teams (past or present)

This "Favorite Flowers" image is from Fred She Said who I had the honor of DTing for quite awhile back. I still LOVE Tracey's images! This one comes colored or not. (2 different sets purchased separately) I chose to color it myself so I could match the image to the AWESOME ribbon I wanted to use.

About that AWESOME  ribbon...It is from one of my newer design teams, Really Reasonable Ribbon. They have the most beautiful selection of ribbons, trims, and embellishments! I chose to use the new Wired Solid Iridescent Blue/Violet and the Royal Blue Swirls Organza. See what I mean about how I matched the image to the ribbon? Thank goodness for watercolors. You can mix the colors for a perfect match!

I used extra thick clear embossing powder on the cup to give it some shine and depth to make it look real.

On to my 3rd DT that was incorporated into this card. My Dear Friend Patricia @ The Paper Temptress had me pick papers for a package that she is featuring this month. It is called "True's Favorites" and right now, she is offering it for 20% off! You get 20 sheets (2 of a couple of colors) for $13.19! reg. $16.49! 

Still not convinced to give it a try? Click on the picture of my swatches to enlarge and look at all of that sparkle! That is why they are my faves!!!

I even got to design the label for the packaging! Tehehe!

The colors used from my collection for today's card are Fairway mica metallic, Amethyst mica metallic, and Heavenly White.

Thanks again for dropping by!

Hope you will leave me a little love (comment)  :D

Hugs,

True :D