Krafty Saturday

Wow- I just realized that my last post was my 100th blog post!! I feel like it's a huge milestone! I started blogging in August, 2010- not that long ago really! Anyway- I was looking through my first few posts and I must have not figured out the straightening tool in photoshop yet!! Crooked as can be:) Thankfully I have improved and I hope that I get better day by day! I am even thinking of having my blog professionally done..what do you think? Anyone have any advice on blog designers? Where to go, who to see..that sort of thing?
Anywho, onto Kraftin Kimmie's Saturday Challenge, and the magnificent Michelle is this week's hostess, and she has designed this great sketch for us to play with!

I used the sultry Annette, coloured her with copics (although I feel like I am in a copic rut as of lately!!) Oh well- you can't always be a winner!;) lol! I added spica clear glitter to her eyelids, lips, belt-y thing, heels and the tops of her stockings....Some prima flowers, MFT border die and Taylor's tiny twinkles on her necklace and ring make it a card:)  Thanks so much for stopping by! Head over to Kraftin Kimmie's blog to see the DT and Krafty Guests creations!!! And play along with this fun sketch for your chance to win some KK rubbah!

I'm A Krafty Girl!!!!

Hello my friends.....I have some super exciting news that I've been bursting at the seams to tell you...I was chosen as one of five Kraftin Kimmie Guest Designers for the month of April! Whoo Hoo!!! Kimmie had been emailing me when I was off in Mexico awhile back and I had left my email open on the computer at home, so I wasn't able to open my account when I was down there.  When we got home and realized after a few days and calls to the provider that the emails I had recieved were being hijacked by my basement computer and my laptop wasn't getting any. And Kim had been trying me with no response....and of course the emails said 'please get back to me asap'....I'm no rocket scientist, but I'm pretty sure 'asap' doesn't stand for 'more than two weeks from now'!! Yikes!! I had a meltdown, emailed her back and got some counseling from my trusty hubby. Thankfully she had checked my blog and knew I was on holidays:) Thanks for not giving up on me Kim!!!!
So, I will be playing along with all of the Krafty Challenges this month, as well as helping out with the peeks at release time (I have some of the new stamps in my hands and let me tell you, they are Cuh-Yoot!!! That Annie Rodrigue is something else I tell ya!
So our first KK Challenge is 'Stripes'....I used some stripe dp, as well as striped bakers twine for my card.

I used my 6x6 MME Fine & Dandy 'tickled pink' dp. I liked the cherries with this image and of course in keeping with the striped theme, I used a funky little striped pattern as well. I coloured my image with copics (not in love with the hair, but I find blonde hard to colour- I actually have a hard time with anything yellow-toned with my copics...maybe I just have an aversion to it or something??) I added some glitter pen to certain places, but I don't think you can see it in the pic. I had this chipboard cherry laying on my desk, and I wasn't thrilled with the colour or pattern, so I added some buttons with rhinestones over the hole and wrapped some twine around the 'stem'. I popped it up on a double bakers twine bow and now I quite like it!! So that's it for my first challenge as a Krafty Girl...what'd ya think?? I'd love to know;)

I also used Jen's SFYTT for the month of March.....

TCPTUES152 & A Blog Hop!!

Hey everyone! I have to say that this has been one of the busiest weeks that I have ever had with work and stamping...throw in a few sick kids and me getting sick as well, on top of DH being gone at work. Well, you can just imagine my stress level!!!! I need therapy for sure- if only I had time for it (laying on that couch for an hour sounds awfully tempting- even of for nothing more than being able to put my feet up for an hour..do you think that they provide childminding??). Not that I am jabbing anyone that goes to therapy- I wasn't joking when I said that I need it. Probably most people do (for sure the ones I know).
So enough about my fragile mental health state...let's get onto some fun with The Cat's Pajamas! As you may or may not know, TCP released some fabulous new stamp sets and dies, as well as fun new twine colours last night on the SCS forum after their super swanky pajama party (pajama's optional, right Susan?? lol). I had been hoarding some CatCash from my last Swanky Stamper win, so I got to work shopping asap...Today the DT and me (Oh yeah- I'm cool by association) are doing a fun little Blog hop to showcase some of the new sets!! And we are incorporating TCP Tuesday- make a shaped card-  into the festivities!
You should have arrived at my humble little blog via Susan's blog (I know- her's is prettier than mine, but what is a computer illiterate girl to do?). If you just stumbled on by, then be sure to go back to the beginning at Julie's blog and start from their!
For my card, I used my cricut and made this little cupcake cutie! I used TCP's new 'A Girl and Her Cake' stamp set, as well as the Icing and Apron Border cutup dies.

You ever have those times when a card is wildly amazing in your head, but the plan just won't covert into paper? This was that card for me..I dreamed it up so much prettier, but hey- you can't always be perfect (only most of the time;). I think it's the coral or gauva (can't remember) colour that's throwing me off! I used some new MME paper, old SU ribbon and brown apron die for the 'cup' trim and of course my birthday bunny coloured with copics, paper-pieced, glossed and glittered up with a healthy dose of chocolate frosting on her matching little cake:) For the cake portion of the cupcake, I embossed the coral colour with a swirly cuttlebug folder, added some white piping with the icing die (a match made in heaven), added some glitter and CE, a red button and green bakers twine for the cherry and stem on the top! The large cupcake front is mounted on a little square brown cardbase.

Well, there you have it crafty friends! I am going to take a few days 'off' from stamping (not cuz I want to, but because I need too), but I will be back in a few to show you something new! Now get going to the next stop on the hop, the newest member of the Cat Pack, the amazingly talented, colouring wonder of the world, Tori Wild! And thanks so much for 'hopping' on by!

Jenny

Sneaky Peek Day 5- Wet Puddle

Wowza! Busy week!! So are you enjoying TCP's fabulous new stamps? I am LOVING this release:) Usually when companies do their releases there are a few sets that I think are cute, but just don't grab me in the way that it feels justafiable to hit the "I want it all" button on the checkout. That being said, The Cat's Pajamas has blown me out of the water with this release...I LOVE THEM ALL! And if Alma had not been the nicest person ever and given me these sets, then I really would have drug my rubber arm, mouse in hand, along my desk and hit that button! Sshhh....don't tell her that she would have made a big sale with this weak of will stamper on release day or she might not send me freebies anymore;)
Anyway- onto the crafty business at hand. Today's preview is called 'Wet Puddle' and features the sweetest little gaffer (I think this is a she that could pass for a he with the right colours and papers) all decked out in rainclothes! Now depending where you hale from litte 'Pat' could be wearing red polka dot galloshes, gum boots, rain boots, overshoes...but here in good ol' redneck Alberta we call them rubber boots and they are usually $7.00 at Peavey Mart and they come in black or black. I see adds in magazines and such for fancy rubber boots that only cost a reasonable $125, but come on people, are you really willing to get them covered in cow s**t?? I think not, and in these parts, that's what rubber boots are for- mucky corrals!! We don't wear them over skinny jeans at the mall (seriously- I saw that the other day). But this kid is special, maybe it's even their birthday, so mom didn't buy the boots at Peavey... she gets red polka dots from the fancy mail order store:)

I did a bit of paper-piecing-Pat (say that 5 times fast), coloured the hair a nice reddish tone (E17.19.27) and added some freckles (which have a striking resemblance to my face at age 14- in retrospect, I think I should have left the freckles off but what's done is done:) Acne it is! Bring on the Proactiv Jessica Simpson;)
I also put a thick coat of crystal effects on both the raincoat and boots. The coat buttons are MFT's baby braddies. I used my lovely new MME dp and some old SU satin ribbon. I also used two of TCP's fabulous Cutup dies (wave for the bottom, using the negative side of the die so that the base dp would actually depict the water....and button for the little twine tied buttons on the sentiment flags). I used two of the sentiments on the card front, stamped onto spellbinder die cut cs.

I also used the current Verve sketch (March week 4) for this card. I sure hope that you enjoyed my sneaky peek for today! Thanks ever so much for stopping by- I appreciate each and every visit:)

Sneaky Peek Day 4- Wish

Greetings all! We are now on day 4 of TCP's 'Sneaky Peek Week' and the anticipation of the new release is so thick that you can practically cut it with a knife ( or better yet, one of the 4 new Cutup dies;)! Today we are previewing one of my favorite sets on the release list, 'A Girl and Her Cake'. I am in love with this big-eared-bunny and I'm so happy that 'she' is officially a girl in this set! Great for all those sweet lil girls in your life, and big girls too! After all, everyone loves cake!

Instead of colouring Miss Bunny, I stamped her on a light patterned paper, pieced her nose, tail and the cake. I airbrushed my spellbinders die (YG00) before I glued the bunny down, and left her ears up a bit using 2 dimensionals. The cake is of course chocolate and thus iced with chocolate fudge icing (thick and gooey)..I love liquid pearls for icing- so fun and realistic looking I think! I also added some stickles to her tail and the candles, and a pretty green bakers twine bow in place of the stamped bow. I cut a banner with an SU die and stamped the 'Wish' sentiment onto patterned paper (same as bunny) punched with the oval SU punch and matted with SU's scalloped oval punch. The bottom portion of the spellbinder is dry embossed with a swiss dot folder. I used both straight stitching and zigzag to add some interest. And the finishing touch are the divine SU rhinestones (I dotted my 'i' with one too:)
The sketch that I based this card layout on is SSSC for this week (I think?? LOL)
And again, I have to apologize for the sickening colour of these pictures, but I didn't get my card done in time to photograph in the daylight:( I might edit tomorrow....

Okay folks, that's it for today! See you back here tomorrow for a really super cute and exciting peek! It's gonna knock your boots off!
Jenny

Sneaky Peek Day 3!

Welcome to DAY 3 of TCP's new release peeks! Today's card features those rascally penguins as your favorite music idols, and coincidentally it's called 'Idols'....I went with the Elvis theme, but there is also a Michael Jackson and Beatles option!! So fun!!
Anywho- please be gentle on me for this card- it is waaaayyyyy out of my comfort zone! lol! No ribbon, very little embellishing, no colour, no piecing....Ack! It's like the twilight zone for me;) Is it CAS?? I don't know:) But it is a little fun, I guess!

I heat embossed the penguins with black embossing powder on vanilla CS and layered black, gold, and another layer of black CS. I added fine gold glitter to parts of each penguin block. I also embossed the elvis hair, coloured it with copics (oh- I guess I did colour, my bad:)and covered in shiny brill creme, er, I mean Crystal Effects. It's popped up on the lead singers head with a dimensional. The large gold circle was dry embossed with a cuttlebug folder (I thought it looked like royalty fit  for the King;) and matted in black CS. The music note was cut from my cricut and I added some elvis-y bling with adhesive rhinestones. I embossed the sentiment right onto the lower portion of the card. So that's it! Pretty simple and non-traditional-Jenny!

I used an old TCPTUES sketch for this one.

Be sure to check out Alma's blog 'Dancing in Pajamas' to see a list of the Cat Packers that are previewing the set today....
Thanks for stopping by!!
Jenny

Sneaky Peek Day 2

So, how'd ya like yesterdays first TCP Sneaky peek? Cute huh? I bet you're all crawling out of your 'fur' with excitement over the new release! I just so happen to think that it's the best TCP release so far (well, since I started noticing TCP anyway;) Today I have a card to show you that I just love..not to toot my own horn or anything;) Big Bear is BACK! He's a wee bit smaller than the previous Big Bears, but that's what I love about TCP stamps... same as PJ, Big Bears size varies so you can use him on various scales for whatever your needs are!

 I thought that this set would make a sweet little baby card, so I used MME's Fine & Dandy 'True Blue' paper. I think that line has the nicest baby boy colours! Instead of stamping the 'string', I decided to use TCP's linen thread and make my own bundle of balloons. I paper-pieced the balloons and boosted them up using dimensionals (the front balloon is even a bit more popped out with 2 dimensionals). The balloons were then covered with Crystal Effects. Big Bear is coloured with copics and he is popped up as well.
I did quite a bit of zigzag machine stitching. The 'sun' is TCP's cutup die, a SU! circle punch and a MME enamel brad tied with linen thread and popped up for some more dimension. The sentiment is punched out with SU punches.

And here is the inside. I used the Coolvetica alphabet and stamped out 'baby' and added another glazed brad. Lots of room for a message to the new mom:)

Hope you enjoyed my peek! Be sure to check out the DT's samples for today as well. Alma has a list of all the Cat's participating!
Jenny