Wednesday, July 3, 2013

Clearly Digi Stamps

Bugs and Blooms and Clearly Digi Stamps

Well  I am back and so much for getting my blog all ready.  Something must have gone wrong as I had the whole post typed and ready.  So this morning I was back to square one.  Starting all over with this post.
I want to thank my two sisters for all they have done to keep Sweet Sketch Wednesday running while I have been away.  Really missed not being able to make cards. A big thanks also goes out to my design team. They too are so dedicated.

This week our sponsor is Clearly Digi Stamps.  They have such cute digis. I had such a fun time creating my first card after many months of being away.  One thing that was nice was that the image I used was colored. So all I did was print and use.  Not sure yet how I will do at coloring but I will be for sure doing it on next week's card.

Be sure to go over to Sweet Sketch Wednesday and play along. We love seeing your fabulous creations.







Clearly Digi Stamps (Clear Dollar Stamps) is a home-based business run by moms!  Located in Pleasant Hope, Missouri, we run the main operations out of Lori's (my) basement.  We have illustrators from all over the United States and join forces to bring you the a variety of styles and images at incredibly affordable prices.  We believe that the value we put in our Digi sets are above and beyond what you will find at many other stores....and we want it to be that way.  As moms, budgets are many times very limited, but we still need our creative outlet too!  Enjoy!
Clearly Digi Stamps has 6 artists that illustrate for us:  Laurie Wilson, Lisa Lara, Deedee Anderson, Austin Owens, Patrick Dunnegan and myself, Lori McCroskey.  We love what we do and love to create digis for you to play with!
If you have suggestions for Digi Sets, we would love to hear your suggestions....just send us an email at Lori@cleardollarstamps.com This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. !
The parent company of Clearly Digi Stamps is Clear Dollar Stamps LLC.  You can learn how Clear Dollar Stamps got started below.

How Clear Dollar Stamps got started:
Motto: Where value and creativity meet!
Hi!  My name is Lori McCroskey and I am the founder and owner of Clear Dollar Stamps, LLC.  I started stamping in the summer of 2000 while I was pregnant with my first little girl.  I had a friend from church that kept asking me to go to stamping parties, and I just thought stamping party, how silly is that?  Finally, I relented.  I went to a stamping party, got hooked on scrapbooking AND found out there were inks that I could stamp on clothing!  I have a fashion design minor so I was hooked from that moment on!  Can you imagine?  Matching clothes and scrapbook pages?  I was in heaven.
After having my first child, my ideas of spare time quickly vanished.  There weren't many stamped dresses, but I found time to do some scrapbook pages, cards and gifts!  As my passion for stamping grew faster than the money in my billfold, I decided to start selling one of the lines of stamps, for an existing stamp company, shortly after my second little girl was born.  I would throw food on her high chair and run to my stamping table in the same room to see how much I could get done while she ate!  LOL, We've all been there!   As time went on, it became harder and harder to leave my little girlies crying in the hallway as mommy went off to do a stamp party.  It just broke my heart.  Thus, the dream of Clear Dollar Stamps began.
Why did I start my own stamp company?  Most stamp companies, at that time, would not let you sell their products on the internet, which is what I wanted to do..I wanted to be at home.   I also found it very hard to find unique Christian stamps.  I really wanted something that would convey my love for God in a whimsical, out of the ordinary sort of way.  As a stay at home mom, I wanted to create a line of stamps that other stay at home moms could afford to create beautiful cards, crafts, and scrapbook pages.  Why did I name my company Clear Dollar Stamps?  I wanted people to know they were affordable!  Why do I have a cross in the middle of my company name?  I want people to know that Christ is the center of my business and the center of my life!
I come from a very crafty and artistic family, and believe it or not, I have the least talent of them all!  My sister is the trained artist of our family, not me, so I decided to teach myself to draw.  I invested in a drawing program, enrolled in an online tutorial service, and prayed for the girls to take LONG NAPS!  After much internet cruising for suppliers and manufacturers, Clear Dollar Stamps introduced our first set of stamps on eBay in October of 2004.  The learning curve was huge and at times very painful, but God always blessed my brain at just the right time with the ability to take the next step.
I give God all the glory for the very existence of this company and thank everyone who has prayed for me along the way!                                                                                


Prize: $25 Gift Certificate to the store for the Digi Section




Well hope you enjoyed my creations. Have a SWEET day!!! Come back again soon. HUGS

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9 comments:

  1. Welcome back Arlana!! How wonderful that you are creating again! And what a sweet card too. Love the image and the papers. Simply marvelous!

    Linda

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  2. Arlana, It is so nice to have you back. I have missed your beautiful cards so much. this one is just adorable. such a cute image and fun embellishments.
    Hugs, Nancy

    Erika and the kids arrived this afternoon. They will be here a week and a half.

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  3. Yippee!! I'm so happy you're feeling better and I have missed you. You've been in my thoughts and I'm so glad you can create again. This little guy is just adorable!

    Peace & Luv,
    Jeannie

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  4. What a sweet card Arlana! So glad that you are back making cards. This is totally a cutie!
    ~Joanna

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  5. Arlana,
    WELCOME BACK!!!
    Your card is adorable and love the cute little bee image and your super flowers.
    Hugs, Heide

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  6. Welcome back!! I can only image how it must have felt creating that first card after so long... AND it's simply adorable!! Super cute image and I love the DP, ribbon and flowers =)
    Blessings to you Arlana!!
    Sally

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  7. Hi Arlana WELCOME BACK. I've missed you so much, I've been kept up to date with your progress from Judi as you've always in my thoughts and prayers and it's so lovely that your feeling that much better and able to create again. This is one very cute card. Just love this image and great colours. Take care and so HAPPY your back.
    Hugs
    Kathie
    xox

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  8. Hooray! So good to have you back Arlana-we've all missed you and happy you're back in the saddle as they say! What a darling card to return with - that butterfly couldn't be cuter and I love the coordinating paper and pretty flowers. There really was a void without your wonderful creativity. Welcome back with hugs!
    Sharon

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  9. Welcome back Arlana.

    Gorgeous card. So sunshiney. Perfect for the weather we are having here in the UK at the moment.

    Holly
    xx

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Have a Sweet day!!!