{CTD179} Happiest Birthday

Hi there! I am back from my vacation and I am glad to see that Blogger came through for me and everything I pre-posted went live when it was supposed to!!!! Yay! You never know with Bloggers frequent mood swings......she can be a testy one;)
It's Wednesday, and that means another fabulous colour challenge from the talented ladies at The Color Throwdown....

And I just so happened to get some new Stampin' Up! goodies and it's been too long since I made a project using only SU products! I knew this new DP from the occasions mini would be perfect, as well as the sweet little button and spanky new stamps and steel dies (HELLO! these are nice- cut like buttah!)....

I stamped in Crumb Cake and coloured the flowers a tad with copics and added some adhesive pearls. Crumb Cake taffeta ribbon and the blush button tied off with a linen thread bow add a little softness:)

If you want to play along with this weeks CTD challenge, use the keyword CTD179 if using online galleries and link up your creation to the CTD blog.

{TCP} Customer Valentine Blog Hop!

This is the time of year that we say “I Love You” to the people (and animals) we love the most.

We know you put a lot of effort into creating cards and goodies to show the ones you love how much you care. And while some are very personal, some are ones you just want to share. And we’d love to see them.

So, if you have a Valentine project/card that features The Cat’s Pajamas stamps or CutUps dies, we invite you to share them during our Cat’s Pajamas Valentine Blog Hop. Just add your project to the inlinkz button on the right side of Alma’s blog from now until February 14th.

And, that’s not all. Three people will be randomly chosen from the hop to win $25 in Cat’s Cash (that’s a gift voucher from our webstore). We’ll announce the winners on February 15th! Remember, there must be at least one Cat’s Pajamas stamp or CutUps used in your project.

{KKS115} Rapunzel in Pearls....

Hey there! Todays Kraftin' Kimmie challenge (115) is brought to us by Sandie, and she wants us to use pearls and pins on our projects...
I confess that I am a bit of a 'rule-breaker' and some have even called me a non-conformist....GASP! I can't imagine;)
Sandie- I tried to put a pin on this card, I really did! It just wouldn't work....and a wise old chinese man once told me 'DON'T FORCE IT'!!!!! Granted, he was talking about the lens on my Nikon camera, but I think it's pretty good advice for any situation.....
So here is my card, loaded with pearls, but lacking a pin:

I made this for my neice Elli's 3rd Birthday- she's a pretty big Rapunzel fan, so I used Annie Rodrigue's Rapunzel image! I used some MME paper, SU ribbon, and some Recollection pearl flourishes....

Pearls and rhinestones were added to the crown (as well as a coat of sakura glitter pen) and a rhinestone on her hair ribbon....

And I'm not normally a 'eye-colourer' of Annie's, but I really wanted this Rapunzel to look like the Disney version...that's a pretty big deal to a 3 year old;) I also added some spica clear glitter pen to her greens....

MFT dienamics on the inside....

Play along with us for your chance at winning some Kraftin' Kimmie goodness!! Check the KKS blog for more deets....

{ISSC02 & TCPTUES196} Sunshine, Lollipops & Rainbows

Wow- already time for iSpy Sketches second challenge! I sure hope that you love our new challenge and if you didn't get the chance to play along last week, then this week is a great time to start:):)

I am combining a sketch inspired by Beate Johns card (see that card and Kim's sketch HERE) with a fun TCP challenge by my fellow Catpacker Jen (also a sketch guru you *might* be familiar with;)

LOVE the rainbow colours and OMG- the lollipop peaking around the side just grabbed me!!
I can hear the song right now........'Sunshine, lollipops and rainbows'...Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs;) LOVE that movie!

I replaced PJ's pinwheel from What a Blast, with a homemade lollipop, using a 1 1/4 punched circle and Divine Twine (Cherry). The little blue button was threaded with Orange Divine Twine, and the little red buttons were threaded with Aqua! The senitment is from the set Catch My Drift.

I used the Pennant Cutups for the two large banner pennants and the Cloud Border Cutup and stamped the sentiment right on the outer cloud.

Okay- that's it for me! Be sure to check out both the ISSC blog and the Dancing In Pajamas blog for details on how you can join me in both challenges...maybe even combine them, like I did;) A two-fer (my friend Carole's fave;)!

{CTD178 & YNS} New Release Hop!

Hi there! Today Your Next Stamp is releasing some adorable new stamps, adding onto the popular World Kid Collection! I am combining my release card with a exotic colour combo from The Color Throwdown: Very Vanilla, Early Espresso, Summer Sun, Cajun Craze....
I'm first up on the hop, and I used the sweet little boy from Japan for my card!

Okay, now run off to Kerri's blog!!! And don't forget to leave comments along the way..one lucky hopper is going to win a hidden prize! Karen is also having a great 15% off sale at the store to celebrate our release, as well as special pricing on the YNS bundles!

The hop starts on Feb 8th at 3am EST and ends on Feb 13th at 12 midnight EST! Good luck!

And don't forget to play along with CTD's challenge this week.....keyword CTD178 in online galleries.

Thanks for stopping by!

 

{YNS meets iSpy Sketches} Boating Boy

Whoo Hoo!! Are you as excited about today as I am?? Not only is it Your Next Stamp's Fun Friday, where YNS designers show off some cute cards and share great card-making tips....but.......it's also THE FIRST EVER SKETCH CHALLENGE from the newest sketch challenge on the block, iSpy Sketches!
I am so excited to be on the inaugeral design team! The fabulous Kim Teasdale has put together a fun and diverse bunch of stampers, and the best part about this challenge, is that we take our inspiration from YOU! We scope the online galleries and all of blogland for card layouts that inspire us to CREATE! So you never know who we will 'spy' next;) It could be you, or you, or even you (picture me pointing, here;)!
Our very first sketch was inspired by a card made by Loretta Lock spyed on SCS over a year ago! You can see that card on the ISSC blog, as well as Kim's sketch based on Loretta's card:)

Here is my card, using YNS's Ethan out on the Pond....

And a close up of cute lil' Ethan.....

 TCP's waves and button Cutups and some loop de loop bakers twine:

Here's a little tip from me on how to add embellishments to masculine cards....Since I have three boys, I tend to gravitate towards 'little boy' stamps and paper....I love making boyish cards, and I also love to pile on the embellies (one follower said I have a 'junk-it-up' style and I think that describes me perfectly;) Sometimes people think that just because you are making a card for a male, that you can't add alot, but I think thats not the case! Some great ways to add 'personality' and interest to masculine cards are: buttons (either traditional buttons or paper ones created with dies, such as the ones I added to this card), twine, thread, twill, metal accents, glaze, geomatric shapes (think stars, circles, squares), border dies, texture (i.e. cardboard, felt, cork, wood)...See- there are so many choices out there to add some character to your masculine cards!!! Embellishments aren't limited to paper flowers, rhinestones and pearls!

Are you inspired? Want to join us in iSSC's first ever challenge? Here's the info you need:

Here's how to play:

• Create a paper crafting project (card, scrap book page or 3D item), based on the sketch provided.
• Post your creation on your blog or an online gallery (using a code ISSC01), and link it here with the inlinkz widget below. Please provide a direct link to your post - not the generic link to your blog.
• A new challenge will be posted every Friday at 12.01 AM EST, and you have until noon on Wednesday EST to submit your entry.
• You may enter as many times as you like, but please provide a newly designed project with a new link for each additional project.
• We will choose the top 2 creations to be featured in our "Top 2 Thursday" post where we will announce who we have picked :) The winners will receive their very own iSpy Sketches blog badge!
• Don't forget that you may combine our challenges with others and use supplies from any company that you wish :)
• Have fun and we look forward to "spying:" your creations!

And don't forget to check out the YNS blog for more eye candy and fun tips....you might just learn something fun that you can put to use on your iSSC card;)

{TCPTUES195} Color Throwdown Guest!

Hey there! Some exciting news in these parts this month- I am The Color Throwdown's February Guest Designer! Yippee! So excited to be working with such a talented group of ladies this month! Thanks for having me girls!
I'll be sharing fabulous colour challenge cards every Wednesday for the whole month! I am combing this weeks colour challenge with The Cat's Pajamas weekly challenge (TCPTUES195), which was this sketch by lovely Leigh, which lemme tell ya ROCKS MY SOCKS!!!

 And check out this gorgeous colour swatch:

Wanna see what I came up with?

I used the new TCP bunny set, Feelin' Cupidy. I used two bunnies, coloured with cool and neutral copics....I envisioned the bunny carrying the basket full of hearts rather than his bow and arrow. Well, one bunny seemed to small for such a big basket, so I added another:)
Their noses are paper-pieced and the wings and tails have a coating of distressed white stickles and a light dusting of diamond glitter.

The Eggs in A Basket die is blinged out and filled with various hearts using the Heart Trio Cutup and the little leaf that looks like a heart from the Sunflower Rosette Cutup die. The banners are cut with the Pennant Cutup and hearts from the Sunflower Rosette Cutup were added to the flags. Black Licorice Divine Twine bows were tied off at each pennant, making the banner look 'hung' on the card:)

Okay- now it's your turn! Check out the Dancing in Pajamas blog and play along with this weeks TCPTUES195 (your keyword for online galleries)....and if you think the Color Throwdown's combo is a good one, then we'd love to see you play with us there as well (keyword CTD177)! Thanks for stopping by!! See you tomorrow with my blog candy winner announcement!