Ink About Me...

YNS Friday Fun!

2012-01-26T22:29:00.000-06:00

I've got two cards to share with you today for YNS Friday Fun. Please click on over to the YNS blog for all sorts of tips, technics and giveaways!

My first card is a quick and easy Father's Day card using a sentiment from Mixed Bag of Greetings (now 40% off) and CrissCross Border stamp, topped with a mustache cut with my Silhouette--easy peasy, mac and cheesy!

Second up is a sweet little Valentine using my favorite elephant from Special Delivery. I decided to 'extend' the elephant set by adding a die cut heart swooshing from the trunk along with a computer generated sentiment. I think I could easily mass produce this design, don't you? And what better way to get the most bang from your buck with this adorable set.

Remember to click right on over to Your Next Stamp for all the Friday Fun details, and have a great weekend!
~Amy

TPC Tuesday 194

2012-01-24T06:46:00.000-06:00

Good morning, stampers! It's time for another installment of TCP Tuesday and this week's hostess, Susan, is challenging us to use any TCP stamps and CutUps dies with hearts. I've got two projects to share with you, one card and one K-cup holder which uses Lori's TCP Project of the Month!

My bingo card-card uses the newly released, Build A Bingo (BAB) set along with the CutUps Queen of Hearts border die and Heart Rosette die.

Here's a closer look at that gorgeous CutUps Queen of Hearts border die along with Dove Seam Binding, Beige Linen thread and heart stick pins.

Closeup of the cute little bee adorning the BAB bingo card with wings made from the CutUps Heart Trio die and a sentiment from Simply Said.

The holder again uses the same dies and stamps as the card with a whole different look which is what I LOVE about Alma's dies and the BAB set!

Thanks for buzzing by today~Amy

2012 Penguin Awareness Day

2012-01-20T10:16:00.001-06:00

In honor of Penguin Awareness Day, I'd like to perpetuate a preponderance of penguin posts with you, he he. If you wish to read more about any particular penguin post, simple click on the title below each for further information.

T ogether Forever

Let It Snow

Salud!

Howdy!

Crappie New Year

Cinco de Mayo

Good Friends

Thanks for popping by!
~Amy

TCP Tuesday 194: Love

2012-01-17T10:52:00.000-06:00

This week's TCP Tuesday challenge is all about the colors: pale pink, melon and brown, very appropriate for the here and now Valentine season. Are you all gathering ideas for Valentine making? I've been collecting a few ideas here and there, but George and I found the cutest sporty Valentines that were right up his alley with a make-your-own football field and origami football (remember making these as a kid??), too cute to pass up!

I, however, will do my best to give my loved ones something handmade, so here's my first official Valentine, done up for Lori's color challenge.

I've used new stuff from The Cat's Pajamas, including Feelin' Cupidy, CutUps Eggs in a Basket & Cloud Border, as well as Brown Sugar Divine Twine and Dove Seam Binding. The teeny and tiny hearts are leftovers from the CutUps Heart Rosette and it's all wrapped up in Jen's January SFYTT, always a crowd pleaser!

Be sure to stop at Lori's and Alma's blogs for all the swanky deets of this week's TCP Tuesday challenge, and come out and play along--you just never know when YOU could be the next Pick of the Litter, Swanky Stamper of the month or recipient of some Cat Cash!
~Amy

YNS Friday Fun!

2012-01-13T02:00:00.004-06:00

There's a new look around Your Next Stamp town and it's called YNS Friday Fun! YNS Friday Fun means that the YNS blog will be highlighting DT projects, tips and techniques, and maybe even a little giveaway now and then. Sounds like some good, clean casual fun to me, so let's get started!

If you follow my blog, you've probably seen me dolly up a Bingo card every now and again, and since I'd never YNS'd a Bingo card I thought it was high time. What better YNS image to use...Ellie, of course!

I've used the following Ellie images along with Crate Paper's Snow Day 6x6 pad, Copics for coloring, a sewing machine, MFT's tree die and Jody's foam boosters to create my winter fun scene:

Be sure to pop over to the YNS blog for more Friday Fun details and DT projects. Have a great weekend!

~Amy

YNS New Release Blog Hop

2012-01-11T02:00:00.003-06:00

Welcome to the Your Next Stamp (YNS) blog hop to celebrate the release of 4 new sets by Jenny Suchin Designs. Lucky me gets to share Special Delivery, an adorable set to welcome baby with an iconic baby elephant that I've fallen trunk over tail for. I showed a peek of this set on Sunday, and I loved the cute little onesie card so much that I've made two more--one for baby girl and one for baby boy. Let's call them Ellie and Elliot, just for fun! You may have hopped here from Jenny's blog and if so, you're on the right track, so let's get started.

I started with card bases created with my Silhouette using a cut file from the Silhouette store and Authentique Blissful Collection papers. The elephant image was then paper pieced onto the stamped card base with embellishments added to fancy up each of the cards.

Seam binding and an acrylic rose for Ellie, buttons tied with linen thread for Elliot. Finally, each of the card bases was pierced around the perimeter for a faux sewn look. The stamping here was pretty darn simple, but the combination of patterned papers, embellishments and paper pieced images gives each a sweet, homespun look.

Before I send you hopping to Jen del Muro, who is certain to have something adorable on which to feast your eyes, I'll leave you with some great YNS blog hop and shop details:

Blog Hop Starts: Wednesday, January 11th at 3:00AM (EST)
Blog Hop Ends: Monday, January 16th at midnight (EST)
Hop Prize – Stamp set of choice from the New Jenny Design sets – comment on all the YNS DT blogs for your best chance at winning; winner to be posted on the YNS blog January 17th
Hop Specials – 15% off entire order – online code is YNSJAN2012

Thanks for hopping by, and good luck!
~Amy

TCP Tuesday New Release Blog Hop

2012-01-09T23:00:00.002-06:00

Following on the heels of the latest release from The Cat's Pajamas is our usual TCP Tuesday Blog Hop, so grab a cuppa cuppa and let's get the party started! Julie is our challenge hostess, so if you'd like to star at the top of the hop, click on her name to do just that. Or, you may have hopped here from Susan's blog where you thoroughly enjoyed yourself, I'm sure!

Julie has issued am embossing challenge, dry or heat--your choice! I chose to heat emboss the sentiment in white and the bingo card in black for a little extra sumpin', sumpin'. In her challenge, Julie also used the phrase 'go wild', or something along those lines, so I went a little wild with her hair color, and while I'd never have the nerve to do it myself, my daughter would, and she's actually the one who suggested shades of purple--good call, Kendra! No matter her hair color, this sweet little Warm Fuzzies girl has stolen my heart and while she's more than able to steal the show on her own, I couldn't help but add a little Build a Bingo and Heart Rosette CutUps die.

With that I'm going to keep the show rolling and send you on over to the multi-talented Carole Burrage for somethin' real nice and a good read to boot! Thanks for stopping and have a great day!
~Amy

Special Delivery Sneak Peek

2012-01-09T06:00:00.002-06:00

Happy Monday! I'm taking a break from TCP Sneaky Peek Week to bring you a peek at one of four adorable new sets being released at Your Next Stamps (YNS) this Wednesday. All four sets have been designed by Jenny Suchin and I'm lucky enough to be showing off Special Delivery, featuring one of the most beloved baby related images lately, the elephant. I mean really, who can resist a sweet ellie, right?!

I started with a baby onesie card base that I cut with my Silhouette and then added a paper pieced elephant and sentiment from Jenny's cute Special Delivery set. Ivory Seam Binding, pink heart stick pins and rhinestone snaps finish off the bling on this sweet and simple baby girl card.

Be certain to stop by the YNS blog for a complete list of today's sneak peeks. I'll be back on the blog hop circuit tomorrow with TCP and Wednesday with YNS, what an exciting week!
~Amy

Sneaky Peek: Together Forever

2012-01-08T07:00:00.005-06:00

Today's Sneaky Peek set is called Love Stinks, and I'll describe it as so cute it's funny, so funny it's cute! After watching Mr. Popper's Penguins during Christmas break, I fell in love with those very uncomfortable looking penguin nests and was inspired to attempt a recreation for my 'penguin' card this release.

I made the nest by cutting a piece of burlap with my CutUps Rolled Nest die and then fidgeting with it until I got it 'just so' and then topped it with a big ol' penguin egg die cut from another CutUps die being released Tuesday called Eggs in a Basket (another must have CutUps die). Peeking from the sides is the CutUps Heart Rosette, doubling as a sweetheart of a doily, Beige Linen Thread, and something resembling a Bingo card...check out Alma's blog for all the details on that tomorrow!

Speaking of Alma, pop on over to her blog today for all of today's Sneaky Peeks as well as info on In It to Win It (your chance to win the Sneaky Peek set of the day by commenting on this thread at SCS)!
~Amy

Sneaky Peek: Sugar, Sugar!

2012-01-05T06:00:00.002-06:00

Today's Sneaky Peek set is called Sugar Sugar 'cause it's that darn sweet! Actually, I think it's more funny than cute, but who cares--it's a must-have either way! I've also used two CutUps dies: Lacey Floral Doily and Queen of Hearts Border, pure BLISS! Remember the CutUps Snowflake Lace Paper doily die?! Well, welcome to your delicious Spring version!

Check out Alma's blog for a complete list of today's Sneaky Peekers and stop back later this week for more Sneaky Peeks to come!

~Amy

Sneaky Peek Week + TCP Tuesday

2012-01-03T09:00:00.002-06:00

Today kicks off Day 1 of TCP's Sneaky Peek Week in preparation for a new release next Tuesday, January 10th (or technically, Monday night after the Pajama Party over at SCS.) Today's Sneaky Peek set is called Gimme Some Sugar, featuring Sprinkles and a build your own candy/kissing booth! Can't get any sweeter, can it?! Check out Alma's blog for everyone showing off today's set!

I incorporated a couple of things that I've seen here and there and have been meaning to try. First up is box pleating. Seriously, I'd never tried it before, so I did like I always do and 'googled' it for step by step directions. I had to fiddle with the measurements to get the look I wanted, but my fiddling was worth it in the end. I actually used scrap paper to fiddle with rather than wasting precious patterned paper...perhaps I'm getting older and wiser?

I mixed and matched remnant hearts (from another lover-ly CutUps die being released) for each section of the banner after making a cross hatch pattern with a fine tip marker to mimic the burlap in the TCP Tuesday Inspiration photo. You can check it out over at Jen's blog because she's our hostess this week.

The second fun little ditty I've wanted to try was the overlapping pennant/banners look, so I snipped scraps of leftover patterned paper and layered them on the larger black one. Speaking of that larger black pennant...it's part of this week's Mojo Monday Sketch #222!

I'll leave you with a peek at the entire Gimme Some Sugar set as well as a peek at the Queen of Hearts border CutUps die that I also used today.
~Amy

Odds & Ends Before 2011 Ends!

2011-12-28T09:19:00.000-06:00

A few odds and ends to share with you as I tie things up for 2011...

Mustache by Silhouette accompanied by computer generated sentiment

MFT die, TCP Admit One sentiment and Silhouette cuts

Sentiment from PTI and TCP CutUps Circus Panels

7 Gypsies tray with subway art by Kerri Bradford

Reindeer using TCP CutUps Pennant and Snowflakes Lace Paper antlers

Silhouette snowflake

Stocking and holly from Silhouette

And with that I'd like to wish you all a FAN{TACHE}TIC New Year!

~Amy

TCP Tuesday 190: Jlly Hliday Sketch!

2011-12-21T21:30:00.000-06:00

It's a sketch challenge for this week's TCP Tuesday and Leigh is our hostess with the mostess. She has an absolutely out-of-this-world card sample for the sketch, so be sure to stop over at her blog...really, you're gonna flip.your.lid. The rest of The Cat Pack has stunning samples as well, so check out the links to each of their blogs on my side bar.

My sample is actually a Genie-Bag (the infamous creation of our very own Cat Packer, Jen del Muro) topped with a loose interpretation of the sketch using J*lly H*liday, Olive Seam Binding topped with mini jingle bells, the CutUps Big Ticket die and a textured red layer using my awesome new embossing folder that I got from my Secret Sis, Jen! Boy, does that embossing folder ever 'boss the heck out of the paper!

I was so stinkin' excited about getting to stamp with my new favorite set, J*lly H*liday, that I couldn't stop with the gift bag, so I stamped up a wine tag that I cut with my Silhouette a couple of weeks ago.

I simply stamped three rows of the snowflake from J*lly H*liday in black and then topped it with a CutUps Big Scallop die in red and a sentiment strip. I really wanted that clean, classy look, so I kept details to a minimum--a single flat backed red pearl and one strand of Ivory Linen Thread. This would be easy peasy lemon squeezy to mass produce, and I just might make a few last minute gifts, or just decorate MY wine bottles!

I'd like to wish you ALL a very Merry Christmas. May your heart be filled with peace, love and generosity this holiday season.

~Amy

TCP Tuesday 189: Merry Fishmas!

2011-12-15T10:34:00.000-06:00

This week's TCP Tuesday challenge is to create one last Christmas card, hosted by Susan. Check out her blog for the swanky deets!

I've used the brand spankin' new set, Best Fishes, for my card. LOVE the sentiments just as much as that fish-holding penguin...always up to mischief! I've also incorporated the CutUps Anywhere Ribbon Slide die with our new Cranberry Seam Binding for your personal deliciousness!

Keeping the chatter to a minimum since time is of the essence these days, for you and for me!

Happy Holidays,
Amy

TCP November Release Projects

2011-12-10T05:43:00.001-06:00

Forgive me for being so absent lately, but I've been overcome with holiday madness! Just wanted to quickly pop in to share a few of my projects from the latest TCP release.

Snow Day in a snow globe...

Raising Cane on a CutUps-made ornament for baby...

CutUps Gift Card Envie in felt and Evergreen seam binding...

J*lly H*liday and Holiday Divine Twine

And, finally more holiday goodness with that CutUps Big Ticket die!

Thanks for stopping by! I hope to be back Monday with the TCP Tuesday color challenge hosted by Lori. Hope your holiday shopping and preparations are filled with peace and good cheer!
~Amy

YNSC #57 New Release Blog Hop!

2011-12-07T02:00:00.005-06:00

Welcome to our YNS blog hop celebrating the release of new stamps and dies: Holiday Snow Globe Set, Fancy Frame Die and stamps, Crisscross Die and stamp, and 3 single stamps, one of which includes a fabby new Your Next Die! I've used Holiday Snow Globe for my project today: gift tags! I'd recently seen recycled newspaper gift wrap, liked the look and decided to pair it up with an adorable YNS Holiday Snow Globe gift tag.

Here's a closeup of my very simple Copic colored tag, tied with silver cording and 2 simple jingle bells.

Another tag option that could be easily mass produced. Each of the tags shown here are stamped with to/from on the back (included in this awesome set), but I forgot to take a photo of it, so you'll just have to trust me-- it's just darling!

If you started at the top of the hop and are working your way through, you hopped here from Jen's blog, and from here you'll hop on over to Wendy's blog. BE CERTAIN to go to the YNS blog for entire hop details because there are PRIZES involved, people!!
~Amy

TCP Tuesday 187 + New Release Blog Hop!

2011-11-28T23:00:00.004-06:00

Hold onto your hats, there are some awesome creations along this hop which use all new stuff from The Cat's Pajamas, available for purchase as we speak! We kicked off the new release with a fun little pajama party over at SCS last night, lots of laughs, peeks and prizes. Today is a blog hop including the TCP Cat Pack along with special guests, also known as Swanky Stampers! You can start at the top with our hostess, Julie, or you may have hopped here from Jen's blog where I'm sure you were treated to some delicious eye candy..uh-huh?!

Julie's challenge is to add some sparkle in the way of embellishments, so I silver embossed the snowflake in J*lly and added a sparkly olive green rhinestone to the center. My CutUps Snowflake Lace Paper die plus silver card stock also adds a bit of shimmer.

Does the combo of J*lly H*liday and the CutUps Big Ticket die have you melting in your snow boots? And then you throw in a dash of that yummy Silver Seam Binding...oh.me.oh.my!

There's lots more in store for you, so hop on along to Carole's blog for some really good chatter and something real nice in the way of paper and embellies, I'm sure! Don't forget that promo code: Happy15 will get you an extra 15% off your entire purchase now through the end of November at The Cat's Pajamas!

Happy Shopping,
Amy

Sneaky Peek Day 7 + TCP Tuesday 186

2011-11-28T05:00:00.003-06:00

Alma has created another fun, fun graphic set that is filled to the brim with possibilities for your holiday stamping! The set is called J*lly H*liday and it's hands-down my favorite set of the release!! (Can you tell I'm just a little excited about this one?!)

The set contains 4 anchor words, all of which have an open space for the 'o' that is replaced with one of 7 holiday icon images. Wait, there's more...the set includes 3 more images and 2 sentiment starters to accompany the anchor words...can you say 'Merry Christmas' to me?! You'll have a chance to treat yourself to this set starting tonight at the close of the TCP Pajama Party (our way to kick off the new release with more sneak peeks, prizes and chatter) hosted on this thread over at SCS, so be there and let's make it happen!

Here's a detail shot of the sentiment, stamped on the CutUps Big Ticket die, shadowed with a Copic marker and all shined up with a dab of Crystal Effects. You're also looking at a big scrunchy holiday bow using TCP's Seam Binding in Cream, delicious and only 0 calories! The last of the fun embellies on this one includes fun and formal black snowflakes that were remnants from the CutUps Snowflake Lace Paper die cut that I used on a card I'll be sharing with you tomorrow! All of this goodness adds up to my better-late-than-never entry for Jen's Inspiration Challenge for TCP Tuesday 186 from which I drew on the holiday greenery, cream colors and semi- formal feel to the inspiration piece.

Stop at Alma's blog for more delicious Sneaky Peeks, and puh-lease don't forget about In It To Win It going on at SCS. All you have to do is comment on this thread for your chance to win today's Sneaky Peek set!

I can't wait to see you all at the PJ Party tonight, but until then I'll leave you with a lookie at J*lly H*liday and the new CutUps Snowflake Lace Paper die...more 0 calorie treats!

~Amy

Sneaky Peek Week: Peeking!

2011-11-26T07:00:00.020-06:00

It just wouldn't be Christmas without PJ now, would it?! Here he is hiding behind a gift...always the giver is he. The set is called Peeking and it has everything you need for wrapping up your holiday gift giving.

Everyone needs a set with 'For' and 'From' for holidays and birthdays, and there's the new CutUps Anywhere Ribbon Slide workin' it's magic once again with some lover-ly Olive Seam Binding, also from The Cat's Pajamas.

Speaking of peeking, I'm sure you've spied some delightful holiday Divine Twine...yep, you guessed it--it will also be available from The Cat's Pajamas next Tuesday!

I'll be back on Monday with one more Sneaky Peek of my most favorite set of this new release...hold onto your Christmas stockings, it's THAT good!

~Amy

Sneaky Peek Week: Freezin' Season!

2011-11-25T07:48:00.000-06:00

Welcome to Sneaky Peek Week, Day 4 (also known as Black Friday, snort!). Freezin' Season is the name of today's set, the 2nd of 4 new bunny sets that either send you into a fit of the giggles or tug at your heart. I think Freezin' Season could fit the bill either way depending on the sentiment you use. I've also used two new CutUps--Snowflake Lace Paper and Anywhere Ribbon Slide.

Head on over to Alma's blog for more delicious Sneaky Peeks, and puh-lease don't forget about In It To Win It going on at SCS. All you have to do is comment on this thread for your chance to win today's Sneaky Peek set!

Enjoy the Sneaky Peeks, and for Pete's sake BE CAREFUL shopping! Speaking of shopping and Black Friday deals, head on over to The Cat's Pajamas and practice a little 'safe shopping' online, eh?! Ü
~Amy

YNSC #56: Holiday Joy

2011-11-22T23:00:00.002-06:00

This week's YNS Challenge is to use die cuts, so I pulled out my Your Next Die--Happy Holidays die set and a sentiment from the Reindeer Fun Bundle (on sale now!) and got to work on a CAS Christmas card. I've been very much drawn to all things clean and simple (CAS) lately, which I see as my way to simplify life and preparations for the holidays in order to minimize the stress that often accompanies the upcoming holiday season. Anyway, I hope you enjoy my CAS card for this week's challenge!

Stop by the YNS Blog for more die cut inspiration from the YNS design team and all of the details for YNSC56!
~Amy

Forest Whimsy Winner!

2011-11-21T08:25:00.000-06:00

Good morning! I'm popping in to share the winner of the Paper Smooches Forest Whimsy set, so let's get to it...

Nancy Guse left comment #72 and said: I love this, perfect cheesehead!! GO PACKERS!!!

Congratulations, Nancy!

Introducing Forest Whimsy + Giveaway!

2011-11-18T07:00:00.005-06:00

Paper Smooches recently released a NEW stamp set called "Forest Whimsy". You may remember these images from a former stamp set called "Forest Friendzy". It was sold by Cornish Heritage Farms and Illustrated by Kim Hughes. Kim "tweaked" every image in the set and gave them a fresh new look! They are now manufactured with the highest quality clear photopolymer on the market and stamp beautifully! She is releasing a new stamp set from the former "Kim Hughes Collection" on the 15th of each month at the Paper Smooches web site.

I am LuCKy enough to be sharing a card made with Forest Whimsy with you today, AND I have a Forest Whimsy stamp set to give away to one lucky person! You have until midnight on November 20th to leave a comment. I will post the winner on Monday, November 21st.

Before I show you my card, I want to share a bit of the inspiration for my card, giggle!

My tribute to Forest Whimsy and my beloved Green Bay Packers, complete with cheesehead cap and matching banner!

I had so much fun playing with this set and can't wait to conjure up a few more sports gnomes! Be sure to leave a comment for your chance to WIN THIS SET! For more chances to win, please visit Kim and Debbie's blogs where we both KNOW they'll have something wonderful for your eyeballs to ogle!
~Amy

TCP Tuesday 185

2011-11-16T09:32:00.000-06:00

This week's TCP Tuesday challenge is a sketch by hipster hostess, Leigh, so check out her blog for all the swanky details as well as her original sketch! I took a bit of Leigh-way (ha ha, get it?!) with the sketch, adding faux knitting needles where Leigh shows a filmstrip-type layer. I tried to knit a few stitches for real but ended up adding a few "pretend stitches" to each needle due to my lack of knitting skillz (where is my mom, sister or brother when I need an expert knitter?!).

The image is TCP's Sheepish combined with a wood mounted TCP sentiment that I've had for years, and I think it's just perfectly matched to the image! The sentiment is still available HERE along with a slew of awesome TCP wood mounted stamps, so be sure to take a look! Remember that every Friday in November is Black Friday at The Cat's Pajamas!

I'll be back on Friday with a fun little surprise, so come back and see me!
~Amy

TCP Tuesday 184: Holiday Cheers!

2011-11-13T15:45:00.000-06:00

This week's TCP Tuesday Challenge #184 is all about FOOD! Susan is our Hipster Hostess with the Mostess, and she's challenging us to use any food related TCP stamp. I, for one, like to start out my dining experience with a cocktail (or two), so I decided that's where I'd go with the foodie challenge--at happy hour with a dirty martini, please!

My card uses Make Merry along with Basic Grey's Jovial 6x6 pad, CutUps Circus Panels dies, jingle bells and TCP's Seam Binding in Olive!

Stop by Susan's blog for all the swanky TCP Tuesday details, before you know it, I'll be back with TCP Tuesday Challenge #185 (just cause I'm so late on this week's challenge)!

~Amy

Black Friday(s) Sale at TCP!

2011-11-10T10:13:00.003-06:00

Hear ye, hear ye! Alma has just made the following announcement on her blog concerning a little Black Friday(s) sorta sale going on at The Cat's Pajamas, so listen up:

"I do love a SALE. And I've been told that you love them, too. Especially, around the Holidays.So, I decided that we should have one. But, then The Cat Pack thought that a couple would be even better. And, I concurred. So, this Friday, everything on the website, (except the KittyKat Pack and Poochie Pack) will be 20% OFF. And what the heck, every Friday in November, too. Remember, the SALE is only on Fridays and limited to stock in hand, so start making your list now. And check it twice. Just like Santa."

How's that for some exciting news, huh?! Guess it's time to start adding things to YOUR wish list or checking things off your list, starting tomorrow at TCP!
~Amy

YNS #55: Cheese To You!

2011-11-09T02:00:00.002-06:00

This week's YNS Challenge #55 is all about friends. It's all about the Green Bay Packers in my little Wisconsin world right now, so I've decided to pay homage to my fellow Cheesehead friends using the cutie YNS stamp Marble the Mouse and the perfect sentiment 'Cheese to You' from Mixed Bag of Greetings...a Packer fan's match made in cheesehead heaven! BTW, Mixed Bag of Greetings is a must-have set and is now on sale, so do not delay!

Be sure to check out the YNS Blog today to see who's playing along with our Friendship Challenge. You'll also want to head on over to Jen del Muro's blog, an official member of the YNS Design Team, for a chance to win 'something'! Even though Jen isn't a fellow cheesehead, I love her just the same and am so happy to be on another DT with her.

Speaking of Jen, I've used her November SFYTT (Sketch For You To Try)...the girl can throw a sketch like no other!

Go Pack Go!
~Amy

TCP Tuesday 183: Simply Congrats!

2011-11-05T09:31:00.001-05:00

Welcome to the weekend! I'm hoping my weekend is filled with clean and simple, just like my card for this week's TCP Tuesday color challenge, and by that, I mean: time to clean my house a little and enjoy the simple things, like simply hanging out with family. Wish me luck!

A co-worker asked me to make her baby, birthday and engagement-congrats cards, so I doubled up the congrats card with this week's color challenge (chocolate, red, yellow). I've paired up Simply Said and the CutUps Circus Panels and love the CAS result! I think this just might be a new go-to layout for me.

Be sure to stop at our hostess, Lori, and Alma's blogs for complete TCP Tuesday 183 details!
~Amy

Holiday Joy with YNS!

2011-11-02T23:00:00.002-05:00

I'm back with another fun card featuring Winter Fun Reindeer, and isn't he just the cutest?! I've even given him a shiny red 'Rudolph' nose using a dab of Crystal Effects. Glittery accents were added here and there, as well as fuzzy button twine and frosty edges on the image panel with white chalk ink. Patterned paper is from Echo Park (Holly Jolly 6x6).

Today is the final day of 14 Days of YNS Holiday Fun, so head on over to the YNS blog for all of today's featured stamp sets, designers and shopping specials, and thank you for all of your sweet comments on my YNS posts!

I'll be back Saturday with Jen's November SFYTT in the form of the TCP Tuesday Color Challenge...see you then!
~Amy

YNS 14 Days of Holiday Fun: Day 11

2011-10-30T23:00:00.002-05:00

Today marks Day 11 of the 14 Days of Holiday Fun from Your Next Stamp, and I've got the cutest darn owl for you, aptly named Holiday Owl. Remember that since he's being released today, you have the opportunity to purchase him to-day! Check out the YNS Blog for all of today's deals and details!

Because I fell head over heels in love with this owl, I decided to put him in a frame so I could look at him all season long! I've combined Holiday Owl with another really fun set, Happy Holidays Stamp and Die Set which is NOW available for purchase at YNS. Patterned paper is from Echo Park with lots of glitter sprinkled here and there, and everything is tied up with olive grosgrain ribbon, linen thread and a big old button! Last, but not least are those Snowflake Glittered Skittles you see here and there on the red snowflake paper.

Here's a closer look at those adorable tree and stocking dies from the Happy Holidays Stamp and Die Set...

Thanks for stopping by for more YNS Holiday Fun today! I'll have one more day of Holiday Fun featured here on Thursday, so stop over!
~Amy

YNS #54 Challenge & Holiday Icons 3

2011-10-26T23:00:00.006-05:00

Welcome to Day 7 of YNS' 14 Days of Holiday Fun! I'm sharing Holiday Icons with you today with a set of altered binder clips. I think these would make a fun little Secret Santa gift being quick, cute and economical! Simply cover the base of the clip, stamp/color and cut the Holiday Icons images and pop onto the clip with adhesive. I used Jody's super sticky foam boosters for mine. You can cover the back side of the booster with an additional die cut circle.

Now for the really fun part! Visit each of the blogs listed below, including the YNS Blog, and leave them a sweet little comment for your chance to win an awesome Your Next Die and coordinating stamp set! The contest runs for the next 24 hours, so be quick about it, and good luck!

Thanks for stopping by!
~Amy

TCP Tuesday 182

2011-10-25T09:48:00.000-05:00

Julie is challenging us to use acetate for this week's TCP Tuesday Technic Challenge, so I've used an acetate card base as my starting point. Layers of patterned paper, cardstock and die cuts make for a 'clearly' fun Christmas card!

Here's a detail shot of the die cut layers using CutUps Circus Panels and our lovely CutUps Snowflake...love how it looks all layered up! You'll notice the embossed Circus Panels layer between the largest and smallest layers of that set (if that makes sense)...sometimes mistakes turn out even better! My original intention was to cut through the acetate with the middle layer die, but my Big Shot didn't cut it (I'm in dire need of new plates), so I went with the embossed look instead. You can get your hands on nice, thick acetate at The Cat's Pajamas, and while you're there, add a spool of Beige Linen Thread to your cart for all of those Christmas tags and cards you'll be tying up in the next couple of months! I should also mention that my sentiment is from A Beary Good Year, and the tiny stars are from Admit One.

Don't forget to check out Julie and Alma's blogs for complete TCP Tuesday details!
~Amy

Spooky and Sweet {JiFFy}!

2011-10-24T06:00:00.002-05:00

It's time to get JiFFy in October with my fellow gal-pals: Carole, Michele and Lori! If you're not familiar with our monthly JiFFy challenge, it goes something like this: one of us chooses the paper while another chooses the image to work with, and there you have it--the JiFFy (Just For Fun) challenge! This month our image is "Tabitha" from Taylored Expressions and our paper is "Countryside" from Crate Paper's Farmhouse Collection.

I have to admit that while I love both the paper and the TE cutie-witch Tabitha, mixing the two was a little bit of a challenge for me, so I went with "who says you have to use traditional holiday colors", and I quite like Tabitha dressed in 'olive aqua pumpkins'! To go along with the country-farmhouse feel of the paper, I added a bit of twine, burlap and buttons...oh, and that adorable little picket fence! I absolutely adore the size of the fence and if you likey-it too, you can find it at Taylored Expressions as well!

Thanks for stopping by today. I'll be back quite often this week with TCP Tuesday and more of YNS' 14 Days of Holiday Fun!
~Amy

Snowman Delight from YNS!

2011-10-20T02:00:00.005-05:00

Welcome to Day 1 of 14 Days of YNS Holiday Fun with a preview of a must-have set, Snowman Delight!

I knew I had to make some sort of winter wonderland for this adorable snowman, and a snow globe it was! I omitted the acetate overlay as seen on many of the snow globe cards I looked at so I could pop up the snowman and let his bits of glittery sparkle show through here and there and everywhere! You'll notice some fun Snowflake Glittered Skittles directly below the sentiment...available from Your Next Stamp, so be sure to check them out along with a great assortment of embellies Karen carries in the YNS Store! One other fun detail is the stamped kraft layer which is stamped with a smaller snowman, part of the Snowman Delight set...so cute for a patterned paper as seen here, or how about all those holiday gift tags we'll be stamping up very, very soon?!

Be sure to stop over at the YNS blog today for more previews of upcoming sets as well as all the details on when you can purchase all of the new goodies. Each day a new set is previewed, it will also be available for purchase as an 'early bird' special. Definitely head on over to the YNS blog for all of that info, along with your chance to win a stamp set! Karen has options for you all...options are good!

Thanks for stopping by~Amy

TCP Tuesday 181: Just the Two of Us...

2011-10-19T08:15:00.002-05:00

...we can make it if we try, just the two of us...you and I! Ok, enough singing for now, but hey, I'm so inspired by this week's Inspiration Challenge hosted by Jen that I can't stop singin'! Here's Jen's inspiration piece...

My record shaped card label is stamped with the two sheep from Ewe Complete Me and layered atop a red circle with just enough room for the sentiment. The heart is from Simply Said, just the perfect size! My original intention for the record grooves was to use my round Nestabilities dies as a guide to emboss circles, but after one not-so-great attempt at that, plan B came into play: wonky sewn circles...I like!

Be sure to check out Jen's blog for all the details of TCP Tuesday and have a great week!
~Amy

Craft Sale Fun!

2011-10-15T08:06:00.001-05:00

I was approached earlier this week by a gal who is hosting an in-home boutique this weekend, asking if I'd be interested in bringing over some of my papercrafts. What is that you say: a legit reason to craft away the weeknights, I'm in! Here are the items I'm taking along with links to these crazy cute ideas! Thanks Jennifer and Kerry!

Jennifer Holmes showed off these adorable Witch Hat Pencil Toppers. I used the same Silhouette hat but topped mine with a TCP sentiment from Witchy and TE die cut bat.

Bottle Scarves that I've shown before HERE but got the original idea from Zakka Life...

These are addicting to make, and can be used on a bottle of wine as well as bottles of beer, my friends!

Notepad ideas from Papertrey as well as my favorite craft sale go-to website, the adorable Kerry at Kerry's Paper Crafts...

Magic Reindeer Food is another find at Kerry's Paper Crafts...

I'll also have loads of 'handmade' cards for sale, wink! If you live in the western Wisconsin area and are looking to get out and about tomorrow, here is the information for the Shopping Boutique:

Sunday, October 16
11am-3pm
W4262 430th Ave
Ellsworth

Have a great weekend and thanks for stopping!

~Amy

YNS Challenge 53: Halloween!

2011-10-12T02:00:00.005-05:00

It's all things Halloween for YNS Challenge #53, and in honor of that Karen would like to offer up a free YNS Halloween digi to everyone who would like to participate in this week's Halloween challenge. All you need to do is email her (karen@yournextstamp.com), let her know you'd like to participate in challenge #53, and she'll send a digi to you--how cool is that?! In addition to that, you can also win EEK the Bat cling stamp by playing along as well as the YNS blinkie to display on your blog! Finally, yours truly is YNS53 challenge hostess, and I'd like to show you a really quick, easy and cute Halloween treat bag idea for you to try!

Here's what I used to make these treat bags:

3 3/4 x 6 inch glassine bags
YNS Spooktacular stamp set
2 1/2 x 3 inch piece patterned paper
1 3/8 inch circle punch
staples, mini clothespins, etc.

Directions:

Stamp desired Halloween image on lower edge of glassine bag and set aside to dry.
Stamp sentiment on lower edge of patterned paper (2 1/2" end) and notch a banner edge with scissors.
Punch circles from desired patterned paper or cardstock.
Fill glassine bags with desired treats and fold top edge over about 1/2".
Fold stamped banner and punched circle over top edge of bag and staple to secure.
If using a mini clothespin, staple bag under the punched circle; adhere circle and attach clothespin.

This is a great way to use up scraps of patterned paper and cardstock, so have fun with these! Be sure to hop on over to the YNS Blog for all the challenge details along with everyone playing along with more yummy Halloween samples!
~Amy

TCP New Release Blog Hop + Sketch Challenge

2011-10-10T23:00:00.005-05:00

Welcome to the TCP New Release Blog Hop! I sure enjoyed chatting with you gals at the PJ Party last night, and I hope you're not too tired from all that chatting and shopping to do a little blog hopping today! You may have hopped here from Jen's blog, and I'm so glad to have you!

This week's TCP Tuesday hostess is Leigh and she's got a fun (and challenging) sketch for you to try. I used my Silhouette to cut the star for my card, measuring approximately 4.25" across with my total card sizing out around 5" or so. More importantly, my card uses the now available and simply adorable set, Bearing Presents, along with the delicious papers from Authentique (do I ever looove their stuff!).

I did take the liberty to add an additional vertical layer on which I stamped my sentiment above and below the main image layered panel, so you won't see that layer in Leigh's original sketch. Please be sure to start out at there if you're a top-to-bottom kinda gal, or you can just hop along to Maggie's blog when you're finished here!

Here's a little reminder of what the entire Bearing Presents set looks like...{smile}

Have a great Tuesday!

~Amy

Sneaky Peek: Clownin' Around!

2011-10-10T07:00:00.011-05:00

The 'Penguins' are at it again! I couldn't resist doing something fun with them, so instead of my usual Bingo card routine, I opted for something I've never attempted before--a side step card. Of course, SCS has tutorials for anything and everything a stamper could ever want or need, and I found the directions for the side step card nothing less than EPMC (easy peasy mac 'n' cheesy)! Click HERE for the tutorial I used by the one and only, Beate!

Here's a closer view of the side steps...

You'll also notice the CutUps Circus Panels, Big Top and Big Ticket dies in action. These dies are the epitome of fun & function...gotta have 'em, folks! Ü

Now, be sure to stop over at Alma's blog to see which of the Cat Packers is posting their Sneaky Peeks today, AND remember to comment on the In It To Win It thread at SCS for your chance to win Clowning Around!
~Amy

Sneaky Peek Day 6: I Love You Bunches!

2011-10-09T07:00:00.002-05:00

Today's Sneaky Peek involves cute little monkeys in the mood for love, sharing bananas and what-not! The set includes various vines and add-on bananas so you can create a whole bunch, like I did here! I couldn't go another day without using the new CutUps Circus Border and Circus Panels, and the CutUps even cut through burlap! You do have to be quite careful with the outside edges of the die cut shape as is easily frays.

Check out Alma's blog for everyone participating in today's Sneaky Peek! I'll be back with yet another SP tomorrow, so come on back, ya hear! Hey, and don't forget about In It To Win It...all you have to do is comment about anything on this thread to be eligible to win the Sneaky Peek set of the day!
~Amy

Sneaky Peek Week: Presto!

2011-10-08T10:46:00.000-05:00

I'm going to make this lickety-split quick because I totally forgot to finish my post for today's Sneaky Peek as I got sidelined this morning by, what else, stamping! I used some fun October Afternoon patterned paper along with today's featured set, Presto! I've also made use of the awesome new CutUps Circus Panels, a couple of buttons and some Cherry Divine Twine.

Stop over at Alma's blog for a list of everyone Sneaky Peeking today, and I'll see you tomorrow with more Sneaky Peeks!
~Amy

Step Right Up for Sneaky Peek #3!

2011-10-06T07:00:00.003-05:00

Today's Sneaky Peek set is what this release is all about--Step Right Up with PJ Bear running the show (circus), so let's get it started with one of my favorite mediums, if you will: the B-I-N-G-O card!

I've combined my authentic vintage BINGO card (that my BSF Leigh gave me) with some of my fa-vor-ite papers from My Mind's Eye Lost & Found: Breeze 6x6 pad, linen thread from TCP, fun little leaf stick pins, and so on. BUT...I do need to call your attention to a few of the images and CutUps that you're seeing here...I know you saw them, so let's dish, huh?!

I showed off a bit of Admit One along with the CutUps Ticket die on Tuesday, so OF COURSE I had to throw that into my Bingo card menagerie, but that's not even the half of it--did y'all see PJ, the CutUps Big Top, Circus Border and Circus Panels?!?! Yep...gotta have 'em, so stop wondering if you should/you shouldn't/you should, cause you HAVE to have them. Yep.

Here's an up-close look at Big Top and layered Circus Panels (labels)...c'mon, what else can you ask for?! I'll tell you right now that the CutUps Big Top is just as easy as it looks...snip and piece it together. Alma's done all the ground work for us here, girls; all you do is mix/match those purty patterned papers and you've got circus magic!

Ready to Step Right Up for more fun?! Head over to Alma's blog for a list of everyone Sneaky Peeking today, and then come right back here Saturday for more Sneaky Peeks!
~Amy

Kickin' off Sneaky Peek Week with TCP Tuesday 179!

2011-10-04T00:00:00.005-05:00

I couldn't be more excited about this week's TCP Tuesday Challenge being hosted by Cat Packer Susan Liles who is challenging us to 'Hype the Type' using any sentiment or alphabet set from The Cat's Pajamas, and it also happens to be Sneaky Peek Week which kicks off with my absolute favorite set from the upcoming release (Tuesday 10/11/11) called Admit One...seriously, in.love. with this set!! I've combined Admit One with both Babydoll and Nightie Alphabet sets.

Without further adieu, let me introduce you to Good For One Boo...

Here's a closeup of the ticket...can you guess one of the new CutUps?!

I was so excited about my Boo card that I just kept a going through the holidays...even a baby card! Seriously, you have to have this set...the possibilities are so endless that you'll actually be making money by buying this set because you'll be using it over and over and over!

Here's Joy...

I get joyful just looking at this one!

After Christmas comes Valentine's Day, right?!

And last up is a welcome aboard card for new baby Lane...

He's just the ticket and so is Admit One!

You may have noticed a couple of other new CutUps dies peeking around on my cards today, so stick around this week for more Sneaky Peeks, and be sure to stop over at Alma's blog each day to see which of the Cat Packers is posting their projects. Before I go, I have some very important news for you to read about In It To Win It!

Want to win something?! All you have to do is comment on this here thread. It can be about anything. The tutorial, techniques you like to use, some you'd like to see, the weather. Anything you want.Then each day during our Sneaky Peek Week, starting on Tuesday October 4th, we'll randomly choose a winner from the comments on the Sneaky Peek thread. The winner will win the set that we are Sneaky Peeking that day. And all you have to do to win is comment! The more comments the better. Easy Peasy. We'll announce the winner each day on the Sneaky Peek thread, and the winner has one week to PM Alma. Ready? Set? Go!

Thanks for hanging in there for today's long post--you're all troopers! Ü
~Amy

{Takeoff} with TCP Tuesday and SFYTT!

2011-10-01T07:30:00.000-05:00

Happy weekend, all! I'm kicking off the weekend with a card for this week's TCP Tuesday color challenge and Jen's October SFYTT. I've taken a few liberties with the challenge colors (plum, pear & grey), pulling papers from MME Lost & Found: Rosy and Teresa Collins World Traveler 6x6 pads, so I added a bit of plum to the scrappy background paper with a Copic marker. Don't know if that's legal-schmegal, but I did it anyway to add a bit of coherence to the card. I also brought one layer of Jen's sketch to the front (cloud border) because I couldn't bear to hide those fluffy grey clouds behind the front most layer...sorry, Jen!

Along with my endearing bunny from Take Off, I've incorporated the CutUps Cloud Border and Stamp Trio dies, a mini clothespin (colored with a plum Copic) and Purple Plum Divine Twine from TCP. A bit of edge distressing on the back layer of patterned paper and the random postage stamp hopefully add to the scrappy look I was going for.

Be sure to check out Jen's blog for her October SFYTT and Alma & Jenny's blogs for more TCP Tuesday details. Don't forget that next week kicks off Sneaky Peek Week at The Cat's Pajamas...oh my goodness, you are going to flip over the goodness Alma has in store (pun fully intended)!
~Amy

YNS Challenge #52: Pierre Says 'Hi'!

2011-09-28T02:00:00.004-05:00

It's challenge time at Your Next Stamp (YNS), and Kerri has a great sketch for us! Peggy is hostessing the challenge, so stop on over and see her for more challenge details! I've colored, fussy cut and layered Pierre from France atop a mix of scrappy papers from MME Lost & Found: Rosy 6x6 pad. I've also added a mini clip, buttons, linen thread and ric-rac to finish off my shabby chic collage look. I always think shabby chic when I envision anything 'French' for some reason?! The 'American' sentiment is from a great set called Mixed Bag of Greetings.

I hope you'll get a chance to play along with the sketch, and while you're thinking 'YNS', be aware that there are some really great deals going on at the YNS shop that you can check out at the YNS blog HERE. Finally, by participating in the sketch challenge, you are eligible to win Light Up the Holidays Stamp & Die!

Happy Hump Day~Amy

Wicked Sweet Holiday Lights from YNS!

2011-09-22T08:00:00.002-05:00

How exciting, huh?! Your Next Stamp is in the die business and calling it Your Next Die...so perfect! What's even better than that?! Their first official die--Holiday Lights, of course! I can't wait to use it in it's fullest capacity for Christmas, but I just couldn't pass up a Halloween idea I had floating in my head...

Wicked Sweet goes to the Halloween Ball under the Holiday Lights...how fun is that?! She even looks like she's standing along the sidelines of the gymnasium-turned-dance-hall, hoping someone will notice her wicked sweet green hair and ask her to do the monster dance. Ok...enough already!

Here's a close up of the die in full force. I die cut black felt and then various patterns from Pink Paislee's Phantom 6x6 pad, layered the bulbs on top of the die cut felt piece and then wrapped linen thread to mimic the 'threads' of each light bulb before layering it atop a triangle banner. You'll also notice some awesome new Divine Twine in Halloween colors--a gift from my BSF, Leigh O'Brien...love.it.

Now that you've had a chance to see what I've done with the YND Holiday Lights die, scoot on over to Karen's blog for a list of the YNS design team members playing along with today's debut!
~Amy

TCP Tuesday 177, Inspired by TCP Tuesday 176

2011-09-20T00:00:00.006-05:00

Although the main image and colors of my card were inspired by last week's TCP Tuesday challenge, I'm a little late posting it (too many family 'things' going on) but right on time with a card for Julie's Technique Challenge for this week's TCP Tuesday 177 Challenge--rolled cabbage roses. Alma shared a fun and informative tutorial for cabbage roses using TCP's seam binding, and Julie is forcing our hand at them with this week's challenge. You can see Alma's video tutorial HERE.

I started with 1" very sticky foam booster that I got from Jody Morrow. First, I knotted one end of the seam binding, trimmed off the excess, stuck it smack dab in the middle of the foam booster and proceeded to twist the seam binding while securing it around and around the center knot. Clear as mud?! If not, check out Alma's tutorial...easy peasy, mac and cheesy! The key is to keep squishing the twisted seam binding down as you go.

My image is The Cat's Pajamas' You Suit Me, paper pieced using new-to-me paper from MME, paired with Pink Paislee orange paisley paper. I wanted a deep distressed edge, so I added lots and lots of PTI's vintage ink around the edges and tied it all up with TCP's Beige Linen Thread before embellishing the whole thing with my CutUps Sunflower Rosette. My cabbage rose is posing as the sunflower center and I like it very much! Now that I've achieved some success with my first attempt at these cabbage roses, I just might be using this technique again!

Be sure to check out Julie's blog for this week's TCP Tuesday Challenge details, and then head over to Alma's blog to link up your cabbage rose creation!
~Amy

Ingredients:
TCP Images: You Suit Me, Who's This (sentiment)
TCP Accessories: CutUps Sunflower Rosette, Seam Binding, Beige Linen Thread
Paper: Pink Paislee Phantom, MME Lost & Found: Breeze
Other: PTI buttons

YNS Challenge #51 & Blog Hop!

2011-09-14T02:00:00.004-05:00

Hi, and welcome to the YNS (Your Next Stamp) Challenge #51 and Blog Hop to celebrate our September stamp release! You may have hopped here from my good buddy, Carole's blog. She's a tough act to follow, but I'll do my best here, but I'm not even going to attempt to match her wit, so let's talk about the challenge and the hop! The September Release stamps are all about Halloween and Fall (well, most of them!) and the challenge is to paper piece.

I decided to do some ghosty paper piecing using the uber cute ghost from Spooktacular! The ghost and sentiment are from the same stinkin' cute set, and I paper pieced Pink Paislee Phantom paper over my vellum ghosts, punching out the eyes with my Cropadile tool for added ghosty fun.

I have to say they look pretty spooky in real life...cute spooky that is! I took some liberties with my fence die, cutting each of the posts apart to achieve that Halloween Night-spooky fence look. After piecing it just so, I added brads here and there, and then tied it up with linen thread.

Now the FUN part...blog hop details (and good ones they are!):
Blog Hop Starts: Wednesday, September 14th at 3:00AM (EST)
Blog Hop Ends:Saturday, September 17th at midnight
Prize: Selection of new release stamps (see picture below)
Store Promotion: Special stamp bundles plus a free YNS stamp (YNS choice) included for every $30 spent – spend $30 get 1 free stamp, $60 get 2 free stamps, $90 get 3 free stamps etc…

Here's the prize package!

Now it's time for you to hop along to your final stop on the hop, Karen's blog!
~Amy

You Are Appreciated!

2011-09-13T07:01:00.000-05:00

Each year local businesses in the school district where I work put together a little 'Welcome Back' package for our staff and I was asked to make thank you notes for our little care packages. Here's what I came up in a 5x7 size that will hold all of our signatures.

The sentiments are Kim Hughes' Making the Grade, and the apple is part of Kerri Bradford's This & That: School digi kit. I love that you can take bits and pieces of Kerri's kits for card making or scrapping...so darn versatile and affordable! I wanted to keep this card quick and simple as there are a million and one things to be done this week, and I'm pretty darn happy with this CAS card!

I'll be back tomorrow with a fun little blog hop for YNS, so stay tuned!
~Amy

Jiffy Girls {Take Off}

2011-09-09T08:00:00.002-05:00

Here we are with our latest edition of the 'JiFFy Girls' challenge using Take Off from The Cat's Pajamas (TCP) and some loverly paper: Simple Stories "Simple Pleasures" from their 100 Days of Summer Collection. I've used a couple other fun items from TCP including my fav CutUps die, Big Scallop and Lemon Divine Twine...yum! As much fun as this image is to color, I'm just sayin'...it's even more fun to paper piece, so that's 'jiffy' what I did!

If you're not familiar with our somewhat monthly JiFFy (Just For Fun) challenge, one of the gals chooses the paper and another chooses the image, both anonymously, so we just never know WHAT we'll end up with. That's the fun part, and sometimes the challenging part. However, I'd have to say this JiFFy challenge is gellin' like a felon!

Can't wait to see what the JiFFY sistahs have done with Take Off and our patterned paper...hmm, who colored...who paper pieced?!

Hope your Friday rocks you all through the weekend!
~Amy

TCP Tuesday 175: Sketch Challenge

2011-09-07T20:21:00.001-05:00

Leigh has a great sketch for this week's TCP Tuesday challenge, and it's not nearly as intimidating as it might appear when you first look at it, so I hope you get a chance to play along for your chance at Swanky Stamper or Cat Cash! There are endless possibilities for that center circle, like a bat house?! Check out Leigh's blog for the details and remember to upload your swanky creation to Alma's blog!

My card uses an oldie-but-goodie TCP Halloween set, Fright Night, and a newer TCP set, The Tweetest Things, that's not necessarily Halloween related at all, but it sure makes for a cute bat house! Of course I die cut my bat house using our CutUps Home Tweet Home, which inspired my computer generated sentiment: Twick or Tweet...I love when things come full circle! The fonts used for the sentiment are LD Petticoat Black and LD Franks Friends, and the Halloween paper is from Pink Paislee. Almost forgot that my bats are secured with a glue dot to some of that dusty old wire I've had for years and have never used all that much...darn good thing I didn't throw it out, huh?! And...last, but not least, two great CutUps dies that don't need 'splainin'--CutUps Pennants & Grass and Black Licorice Divine Twine.

Here's a peek at Leigh's original sketch before I go...one good sketch that I think I just might be using again! ~Amy

Bucks & Sheep!

2011-09-03T12:48:00.000-05:00

Yesterday was my brother's birthday, and tomorrow marks his youngest son's birthday, so I got busy this morning making a couple of cards for them. The card above is for Anders, my nephew, who loves anything to do with hunting and fishing, so I thought this hilarious buck and coordinating sentiment from Paper Smooches was just the ticket! I also used a bit of Orange Divine Twine and CutUps Big Scallop die from The Cat's Pajamas. Here's the inside...

Next up is my brother's card using The Cat's Pajamas Ewe Complete Me and a computer generated sentiment. I copied the idea from The Spotted Chick...I almost died laughing when I first laid eyes on her original card and giggle every time I go back and look at it! Thanks for the awesome idea, Jeanie!

...and the punchline reads:

Isn't that the most hilarious thing ever?! Gets me every time I tell ya! Hope my brother gets a chuckle out of it as well.

Before I go, I have some really awesome news to share with you! As of September 1st, I am a proud member of the design team for Your Next Stamp! I can't wait to start sharing YNS creations with you on a regular basis!
~Amy

TCP Tuesday 173 + Sweet Sunday Sketch 132

2011-08-30T06:12:00.001-05:00

I've combined Karen Giron's Sunday sketch with Susan Liles' TCP Tuesday challenge to use any TCP set with 'wings' associated. As I started looking through my TCP sets, I came to realize there are a ton of them I could've used, along with the new CutUps butterfly dies, and landed upon this sweet, sweet set--Tweet Hearts. The name itself qualifies for the challenge, right?! I also incorporated two CutUps dies--Rolled Nest & Grass, and if you're interested, the patterned paper is from Crate Paper's Neighborhood Collection.

As I think about this card and who I could send it to (that's just my 'functional' side--everything's gotta have a purpose, ya know!), I realize that those persons I consider and call 'my friends' are true, blue friends, to the gills in fact, and I'm so thankful for each and every one of them!

Ok, enough sentimental stuff...hop over to Susan's blog for the TCP Tuesday details and don't forget to stop by Alma's blog this week as well to link up your creation! I'm back to work today as summer vacation has officially ended for me, folks...don't cry for me, Argentina...I've had the last 8 weeks off (no, I didn't have a baby...it's that school based speech therapy gig)!
~Amy

Happy Haunting {SFYTT}

2011-08-27T09:38:00.000-05:00

It's been too, too long since I've played along with Jen's Saturday Sketch For You To Try, and since Ed and George went fishing this morning I had a little free time on my hands (yah, the cleaning and laundry can wait a couple more hours, right), so I decided to pull out a cute Halloween image from Your Next Stamp and play along! The images I used are Cute Witch Ellie and Happy Haunting (haunted mansion), and the paper is from Pink Paislee...swoon! I hated to cover up the patterned paper too much, so I used vellum for the vertical layer on the left which is sorta ghost-ie, right?! Buttons are from PTI and the lilac seam binding is available from The Cat's Pajamas.

Here's a look at Jen's August SFYTT...

Have a great rest of the weekend! I'd better get 'something' done here before the fishermen are back!
~Amy

I Miss You!

2011-08-26T10:34:00.000-05:00

Oh, how I've missed my favorite Cosmo Cricket paper--Circa 1934! I finally ordered another 6x6 pad last week, along with a few other 'pads'...so addicting...and found the perfect reason to crack it open this morning after reading a post by Debbie Olson. She just happens to mention a little contest going on over at the Cosmo Cricket blog using her very own sketch for a chance to be published in CARDS magazine! How's that for a reason to cut into that Circa 1934 paper, eh?!

I paper pieced the heck outta TCP's adorable Take Off bunny and airplane, tied a seam binding scarf around his neck, attached a Simply Said sentiment flag to his rear and sent him on his way, up and over a border of CutUps Clouds in black felt. The "Hey U" bingo card is none other than Jenny Bowlin {sigh}...love me a bingo card, I do.

Ok, I'm off to link up my Cosmo Cricket creation to their blog...thanks for flyin' by!
~Amy

TCP Tuesday 173: Stop By For A {color challenge} Spell!

2011-08-23T18:34:00.000-05:00

This week's TCP Tuesday challenge is being hosted by our sweet Tori Wild, and she's got a somewhat 'fall-ish' color challenge for us: cornflower blue, orange and brown. As you can see, I've taken some liberties with the 'orange' portion of the combo, leaning toward the yellows and rust tones, but it was part of a Recollections paper pack that I thought worked beautifully with the color challenge and couldn't resist using it.

I've paired up the colors with my most favorite witch from Witchy, CutUps Pinking & Cloud border dies, and some fabulous Aqua seam binding The Cat Pajamas is now carrying! I should also mention that the sketch used is this week's Mojo Monday Sketch #205...a bit challenging with the different edges, but easy enough to mask where the edges meet with ribbon, or in this case, seam binding! Check out Mojo Monday #205 for some really awesome samples from the team.

Thanks for stopping by for a spell!
~Amy

TCP Tuesday 172 + TCP Sale!

2011-08-20T13:20:00.003-05:00

The Cat's Pajama s is offering 25% off your entire order through Sunday, August 21st, so click over to TCP for great deals this weekend, especially if you have any of those cute flying/ballooning/biking bunnies or CutUps on your wish list!

I paper pieced Away We Go with Pink Paislee's Hometown Summer (l.o.v.e. this paper) and then layered felt clouds using my CutUps Cloud Border die to qualify for this week's TCP Tuesday challenge: felt, hosted by Cat Packer Julie. Head on over to her blog to see the felt-alicious creation she's made for the challenge!

I've been a little scarce around the old blog lately, but I should have a little more stamping time this week...my last week of summer vacation before heading back to school/work on August 30th (boo hoo), so stop back this week!
~Amy

TCP Tuesday 171: Kick Some Grass

2011-08-12T09:10:00.000-05:00

How can you not fall in love with this adorable, flower picking bunny?! I haven't inked this stamp up nearly enough and had so much fun coloring using the colors from this week's TCP Tuesday Inspiration Challenge brought to us by Cat Packer, Jen del Muro. I was also inspired by the polka dots and woodgrain of the Christmas tree (ok, so you can't see woodgrain in the photo, but I KNOW it's there!). Here's a list of all the fun love put into this card that makes.me.smile!

Kick Some Grass
CutUps Pinking Border
Cherry Divine Twine
Ivory Linen Thread
SU! polka dots embossing plate
PTI woodgrain impression plate
red gingham fabric tape
buttons

Be sure to stop at Jen's blog for all the TCP Tuesday details this week. I'll be MIA the rest of the week/weekend as our county fair is going on involving my boys showing dairy cattle among a million other things going on inconjunction with 'the fair'!

Have a great weekend~Amy

Celebrating with Your Next Stamp!

2011-08-10T07:00:00.004-05:00

Welcome to YNS' 2nd Birthday Blog Hop! I'm playing along as a Guest Designer and having so much fun with some of the favorite (older) YNS images and a few new ones. If you have just stumbled across my blog and want to join in all the fun and games you can go to the start at Peggy's blog. If you have been hopping along and are arriving from Carole's blog then you are right on track!

I've got two fun little projects to share with you today, one using the soon to be released set, Seasonal Icons Set One, and another using the first YNS image I stamped and fell in love with--Happy Days Mermaid (she just makes me smile...and giggle).

Here's a detail shot of my most favorite mermaid (ever) in traditional aqua with a little shine and shimmer added with a Sakura Gelly Roll pen and Crystal Effects. I also added Crystal Effects to the punched holes in the glitter layer for extra fun and dimension.

I attempted to create a 'bottom of the sea' layer using a sheet of patterned paper from DCWV and a triple strand of button twine. I've had these glittery Thickers for years now and am finally using them! I hope I didn't overdose on the glitter, but once you start, it's hard to stop! The wave and cloud dies are part of TCP's CutUps line.

Next up is my 'Three Cups of Tea' card...haven't read the book (yet) but love the title and message is imparts from what I've heard. A simply sweet layout using patterned papers from Crate Paper frame the Copic colored image that I've falled in love with...

Back to business: what's a birthday party without games and some AMAZING prizes?! We have a fun little puzzle for you to solve along the hop and when you do you will be entered into the draw for one of TWO amazing YNS prizes! Not everyone has a puzzle piece so you need to pay attention, click on the puzzle pieces and follow the directions as you find them along the way. [3rd party cookies must be enabled to do the puzzle] When you are done put them all together at the end of the hop for your chance to win! You have until Monday, August 15th at Midnight EST.

YNS Birthday Puzzle Piece

In addition to the birthday prizes and giveaways, there are amazing deals right now in the YNS store to celebrate and you don't need any code! The next stop on the hop is Karen's blog...good luck and happy hopping!

~Amy

Dare To Get Dirty Week!

2011-08-05T08:12:00.001-05:00

It's time once again for the annual Dare To Get Dirty week over at Splitcoast for Fan Club Members, and if you don't have a clue as to what I'm blabbing about, check it all out HERE! You really should check out the challenges, because they truly are meant to be fun and really get you motivated! Just reading through the challenges from the past few days got me itching to pull out this or that stamp, die or patterned paper, and this is what I came up with:

This CAS CutUps die-light is a sample I made for Leigh O'Brien's challenge. I've used four CutUps dies for this one: Grass, Wave, Cloud Border and Sunflower Rosette.

This cute santa card uses Santa Paws from Paper Smooches and qualified for 5 different challenges at once! See that fun December calendar behind Santa? That's a digi file from Kerri Bradford's This & That: Christmas kit...so fun!

Here's the inside of the santa card above with a few hand stitches encircling the greeting from another Kim Hughes set, Christmas Critters.

Here's my final-final...another card for Leigh's challenge using CutUps dies (Big Scallop, Wave & Cloud Border) and By The Sea.

I hope you're motivated to head over to SCS and pick up a few of these challenges for yourself, or consider becoming a Fan Club Member if you haven't yet done so! Thanks for stopping by today~Amy

A JiFFy Hello!

2011-08-04T08:00:00.004-05:00

It's time to get JiFFy again! This month I chose the paper--Krafty Dots by Recollections, and Christina chose the image--Sugarplums Pumpkin Emma by C.C. Designs...isn't she a doll?! If you remember, the JiFFy girls make it 'real fun' by keeping the paper and image choices anonymous, so sometimes it can be quite a challenge to make the two entities jive, but in this case I think Christina and I were on the same wave, so to speak. I colored Emma with Copics, trying my best to make her hair look just right, but I need a few lessons on hair, as you can see... The wagon got the 'woodgrain' treatment using my PTI woodgrain embossing plate, although it's hard to see in the picture. Buttons for wheels, CutUps grass, scallop trim, button twine and a chubby pennant sentiment label finish it off!

I cannot wait to see how the girls have fancied up Emma with the patterned paper, so I'll cut myself off so we can get the show on the road!

If you promise to stop by tomorrow, I've got a few things to share with you that I posted at Splitcoast for this week's Dare To Get Dirty (DTGD) Challenges!

~Amy

TCP Tuesday 170: Beach Bum

2011-08-03T11:02:00.001-05:00

We've certainly been 'beach bums' in the sense that we've spent copious amounts of time in our backyard pool this summer due to the hot-hot-hot! How about your neck of the woods...sam tin? (translation: same thing?) Ok, so I'm a little goofy today and I'll shamelessly blame it on the weather, but enough about the weather...how about a fun summer-y card for this week's TCP Tuesday?! I've used Leigh's sketch, By the Sea, CutUps Postage Trio and the perfect summer-y paper from Jillibean Soup called Watermelon Gazpacho Soup (another little gift from my BSF Carole...the girl's got good taste is all I can say).

Here's Leigh's fun sketch which reminds me of one of those picture frame ledges that I love, but don't own. Instead of the button embellishment shown on the sketch, I trimmed out a pair of swim trunks from the patterned paper, added a bit of TCP button twine to them for dimension and popped it up a bit with foam tape.

You'll DEFINITELY want to pop over to Leigh's blog for this week's TCP Tuesday challenge details, but even more so to get an eye-load of her card key-ute-ness! Thanks for stopping by...I'll be back in a JiFFy tomorrow, so come back!
~Amy

TCP Tuesday 169: Planes, Trains and Rockets!

2011-08-01T08:04:00.000-05:00

Am I too late for TCP Tuesday 169?! Everything was going just fine 'til my hot air balloon popped; hopped on my bike...flat tire; headed to the airport to find the red baron to find it completely torn apart, so I opted to fly me to the moon one last time 'cause I'm a rocket ~~man~~ bunny ya know?!

All fun and games aside, here's my entry for last week's TCP Tuesday challenge hosted by Susan, featuring modes of transportation. I pulled out an oldie-but-a-goodie set, It's a Mod Mod World, and pieced the bunny from Away We Go into the rocket. You'll notice my matchy-matchy paper...a gift from my BSF, Carole! Speaking of Carole, who just happens to be on the Mojo Monday crew, this card also features last week's Mojo Monday 201 sketch.

Stay tuned this week for more TCP Tuesday goodness along with Dare To Get Dirty Challenges being hosted over at SCS...
~Amy

You're not old...

2011-07-26T08:04:00.000-05:00

A quick post to share a birthday card I made last week using MFT's Die-namics Just My Type Die & stamp set along with a strip of my favorite paper from Cosmo Cricket--Circa 1934! I'm getting down to snips and strips of that paper, so I must order more, but you know how that goes--it's hard to stop buying at one little 6x6 pad of paper!

Lots to do today, so that's all the chit-chat I've got time for today. Thanks for stopping by!
~Amy

Birthday sMOOches!

2011-07-20T14:26:00.001-05:00

I decided to try my hand at a Paper Smooches card this morning using Birthday Buddies and Chubby Chums, along with one of the SPARKS Challenge Sketches. I have to tell you a little about the inspiration for this card...his name is George and he's my 3 (soon to be 4) year old son. George.LOVES.cows! Luckily my husband and I both grew up on dairy farms and have easy access to both of our family farms, so George gets his fill of cows. In fact, we're housing two calves right now, one of which George will be showing at our county fair next month in the Little Dairymen division.

Ok, so that being said, when I looked at the sketch, I instantly saw a barn (red), silo (fawn/gray) and grass in the future of this card which also went along with one of the color combinations from the SPARK challenge: fawn, red, black and kiwi. I added scored lines on the 'silo' and 'barn' and then added white stips to the barn door to further cement the whole 'barn' idea...following? Instead of a traditional birthday gift, I stamped the gift stamp from Santa Paws, and changed it into a bale of hay...cause, duh, cows love hay, right?!

I'm headed over to the Paper Smooches blog to link up my card for the August GD challenge and the SPARKS challenge...I've seen some awesome things over there, so you just might want to check it out, too! Last, but not least...this is my second post today, so if you're interested, just keep-a-scrollin'!
~Amy

Let's Fly Away with Sun Country!

2011-07-20T08:12:00.000-05:00

No...this isn't a shameless plug for Sun Country Airlines! It's a little birthday treat I made for my dearest cousin and best friend, Jane, who just happens to work at the corporate office of Sun Country. Last week was her birthday week (here in WI, we like to take up an entire week for our birthday...pfff, what's one single day when you can stretch out the festivities for a week?!), so after making her that cute little PI Popping By card, I just had to make her a little bingo card to hang up in her 'workspace'.

There are so many goodies going on here, so I'll list them in bullet-style to keep it nice and neat!

Take Off stamp set from The Cat's Pajamas which totally inspired the whole darn bingo card (!)
CutUps Cloud Border die (duh...match made in airline heaven)
Blueberry Divine Twine (perfect match with the Sun Country color scheme...another 'duh')
MFT Die-namics You Move Me & stamp set
PTI Masculine Motifs, Alpha-blocks and Polka Dots Basics II
Sketch inspired by this rockin' card by my sweet friend, Leigh O'Brien

Ok, there you have it! Thanks for stopping by today, and please stop back for more goodies this week...
~Amy

TCP Tuesday 168: Color Challenge

2011-07-19T08:11:00.000-05:00

Tori Wild is this week's TCP Tuesday Hostess with the Mostest and she's got a yummo color challenge for us: watermelon red, grass green and pumpkin! I decided to go quite literal with the colors and created a fun little watermelon boat. Here's where I have to confess that I was so smitten with this card of Jess Witty's that I pretty much stole her idea for my watermelon boat!

I've incorporated two stamp sets and three CutUps dies from The Cat's Pajamas in my card. When you have such great summer-fun dies to work with, why not triple up on 'em, right?! Here's the triple scoop:

CutUps Cloud Border
CutUps Wave
CutUps Pennant (small and large) trimmed down to work as 'sails' for my watermelon sail boat
'Smile' (LOVE that sentiment) from Kick Some Grass
Watermelon seeds using single splash/drip stamp from Ship Happens

I really hope you get a chance to play along with this fun summer color challenge this week! I'll leave you with a graphic of the colors for your mouth-watering pleasure! ~Amy

Popping By to Celebrate {SFYTT}!

2011-07-17T08:13:00.001-05:00

Sometimes a gift idea and stamp set just happen to be a perfect match, and that's just what fell into my lap last week as I shopped for my best friend, Jane's birthday gift. Jane and I have a fun little habit of quoting our favorite movie lines...sometimes I think we subconsciously create situations just so we can throw in a line or two! Whatever the case may be, I decided to give her a stack of our favorite movies along with a few boxes of movie candy, all tied up in a red and white striped ribbon. This is where it gets good...I had just happened to have ordered MFT's Popping By along with the Die-namics Filmstrip die (this is as predictable as an 'average' movie)...add in superfast shipping from MFT and I have my stamp set and die in hand, just in time to create the perfect movie themed card for Jane's birthday gift. Cool, huh?!

Because Jane is pretty darn important in my life, I thought her card was definitely worthy of some of my absolute favorite paper (6x6 Cosmo Cricket Circa 1934). I've also used Jen's July SFYTT, a birthday sentiment from PTI, and Cherry Divine Twine from The Cat's Pajamas.

I even finished off the inside with a sentiment bearing ticket using a couple different Pure Innocence sets...

I hope you've enjoyed my rambling and the card! Stop in again this week because I've got a few things to share that I've made over the last few weeks and just haven't found the time to blog about.
~Amy

TCP Tuesday 167: Take Off!

2011-07-12T08:23:00.000-05:00

Julie is this week's hostess with the mostess and she's challenged us to skip the Copics and watercolor our images this week. I chose to use the newly released set, Take Off. It was a bit of a challenge to watercolor some of the smaller areas, so I ended up coloring in the rims of his sunglasses with a fine tip marker, but the rest of his body is bona fide watercoloring along with a wee bit of paper piecing on the wing!

Last but not least is a bit of orange Divine Twine wrapped around our CutUps cloud border die...can't get enough of those two things!

Be sure to check out Julie's blog for all the swanky details of this week's TCP Tuesday challenge and have a swanky day!
~Amy

Happy Birthday Fishes!

2011-07-11T08:06:00.000-05:00

This card makes me giggle as do most of Kim Hughes' images because they're just so darn fun! I've combined Kim's Paper Smooches set, Birthday Buddies, with a personal photo of my son George and our sweet niece, Brea. George and Brea had a little fishing fun and are actually holding fish in the picture that they caught, so I decided to have a little fun with the it and added Copic colored fish from Birthday Buddies. You'll also notice a little woodgrain impression using my beloved PTI impression plate and a fun CutUps Big Pinking edge available from The Cat's Pajamas.

Thanks for stopping by today!
Amy

Inspirational TCP Tuesday 166!

2011-07-08T06:19:00.000-05:00

This week's TCP Tuesday challenge is of the {inspiration}-al nature, brought to us by fellow Cat Packer, Jen del Muro. The inspiration piece is filled with lots of sweet birthday things in pinks and browns, so I pulled out the newly released set, Away We Go, and got to work! I paired my Copic colored image with papers from My Mind's Eye Tickled Pink and CutUps Cloud Border and Big Scallop dies, also available from The Cat's Pajamas.

Here's a look at Jen's inspiration piece...

Hope you find time to play along...never know when you could be the next Swanky Stamper, recipient of some Cat Cash or the Pick of the Litter! Check out Jen's blog for all the swanky details!
~Amy

Rollin' with the JiFFy Girls!

2011-07-07T08:00:00.005-05:00

So, I have to tell you I've had some great 'highs' in my career as a stamper gal, and what I'm about to share with you ranks right up at the tippy top. I'm an official JiFFy Girl!! Mind you, I'm not a braggart by nature, but when something like this comes along, I just have to sit back and thank my lucky stars for an opportunity to hang with the likes of Carole Burrage, Michele Boyer and Lori Craig! And...on top of that, super-stamper-stars Christina Fischer and Jody Morrow are also joining the ranks of JiFFy Girls alongside moi...fun stuff, huh?!

This is how the JiFFy Girls do their biz-ness: each month (or so) one of the girls picks the paper, another girl chooses image(s) to work with, and then we get to work in our stamping room/studio/store, etc. and post our creations on the same day! This month, we're featuring the adorable Spiffy Scooters set from Paper Smooches by Kim Hughes (JiFFy alumni) along with yummy Graphic 45 Bohemian Floral paper (Le Cirque Collection). I used a little paper pleating to create a little road for my Copic colored Vespa and tied it with a couple rounds of DMC black floss. I thought I needed a few lighter colored touches with the darker patterned paper atop my black card base, so I added the sentiment stamped on vanilla cardstock and balanced it out with a vanilla scallop beneath the 'road' using my CutUps Big Scallop die.

I can't wait to see what the girls have done with their special paper and stamps, so let's 'scooter' on over and see!

Have a great day~Amy

TCP Tuesday 165 & Blog Hop!

2011-06-27T23:00:00.020-05:00

Welcome to our new release blog hop in conjunction with TCP Tuesday 165! You may have hopped here from Jen's blog, but if you want to start at the tippy top, you'll need go to Leigh's blog since she's our hostess with the mostess this week. She's got a great sketch for us to follow, so I'll start my post with that project with something really fun to follow!

Here's my take on Leigh's sketch using a few upcycled items: bubblewrap (clouds), comics from the Sunday paper and a bit of cardboard die cut into an oval per Leigh's sketch. I couldn't bear to cover up our new CutUps Cloud Border die with the oval, so I cheated a little on the sketch and brought it forward. You met our kite-flying penguin friend on Day 6 of Sneaky Peek week from the Up, Up & Away set, and I finally gave him a little love...colorful love that is! I chose colors from the comics to pull everything together.

Here's a little more detail on those bubble wrap clouds. I die cut a white layer to back them up and sewed the two layers together. I really love how the bubble wrap pulls away from the white layer giving the clouds more dimension.

Next up is my most favorite project from the release...a bunny bingo card! I've 'done up' a few of these bingo cards in the past, featuring other TCP characters, so I thought it was time to get the bunnies into the mix as well! You've also met this trio of bunnies during Sneaky Peek Week. They couldn't BE more adorable and so fun to color (or paper piece as the TCP design team has done so WELL this week)!

I used our CutUps Big Scallop border, a little paper pleating and oh-so-scrumptious seam binding to create a lower edge base, and the best news: The Cat's Pajamas is now in the seam binding biz! Alma has added seam binding to the TCP store in a plethora of colors. You can steal a deal when you order the whole bundle of seam binding: 8 colors @ 6 yards each for $21.50!! Once I started playing around with the seam binding I was hook-line-and-sinkered! There are a few other CutUps dies that need a little attention before I go: Cloud Border and Grass...a must have for these outdoor bunny crew! Speaking of the bunny crew, the bingo board uses three of the new bunny sets: Take Off, Wheel Love and Away We Go!

Now you're off to Nancy's blog for more hopping happiness! I can't wait to see what she's got in store for us!
~Amy

Sneaky Peek Day 7: Kick Some Grass

2011-06-27T06:30:00.018-05:00

How's that for a name, huh?! Kick Some Grass is the name of the set being Sneaky Peek'ed today from The Cat's Pajamas, and it features yet another key-ute bunny. We've had a bunny on a bike, a bunny in a hot air balloon, a bunny piloting the cutest airplane you've ever seen, and now he's taking a break in the grass and flowers!

I've got him all stitched up in red work needlepoint...yep, another home furnishing for you. I'm thinking it must be a need to recreate my home decorating or something, or...could it be that I'm on the verge of recreating my stamping room?! I hope so! Whatever the case, I hope you my version of Kick Some Grass makes you SMILE!

Check out Alma's blog for more Sneaky Peeks of this set...sure to be eye pleasing fo-sho! And, don't forget that tonight's the BIG night! We'll be kickin' up our heels over at SCS in the TCP forum with a Pajama Party featuring even more eye candy, leading up to the official release of all of these 'gotta have' sets from The Cat's Pajamas! See you there!
~Amy

Sneaky Peek Day 5: Nesting

2011-06-25T08:40:00.004-05:00

Welcome to Day 5 of The Cat's Pajamas Sneaky Peek Week! Today we're showing off Nesting, and I've got a 'project' of sorts to share with you, so let's take a look-see...

I started with a frame with an 8x10 opening, made a background with a piece of burlap and then topped the burlap with 4 die cut rectangles measuring approximately 3.5x2.5 inches. The markings on my Big Shot sandwich plates created a cool impression on the die cut rectangles, giving them a sort of rice paper look.

Each rectangle is stamped with the nest from Nesting with the exception of the sentiment layer which features TCP's Nightie Alphabet. I stamped the images in Versafine Onyx Black and then embossed each with clear EP.

What I tried to achieve is something symbolic of my children, so each of the 3 eggs in the 3rd quadrant nest is lightly colored in their birthstone color. In addition, there are 3 birthstones (mini gems) under the stamped 'e' to represent them as well.

One of the birds from Nesting was stamped onto black card stock, trimmed out and popped up on her nest.

I hope you enjoyed my 'project' today. I think this set has so many papercrafting possibilities, and I'll be back closer to the release (Tuesday, June 28) to show you more of them! Check out Alma's blog today to see who else is playing along with today's Sneaky Peeks!
~Amy

Sneaky Peek Day 3: Flutter By

2011-06-23T06:19:00.004-05:00

Welcome to Sneaky Peek Day 3 from The Cat's Pajamas. Today we're previewing Flutter By and Wheel Love. While I dearly love both sets, I'm only peeking Flutter By for you today. I had the great pleasure to Sneak Peek Wheel Love last week as part of a tutorial for SCS on paper pleating, so I thought I'd better give this bunny a little love.

My card uses some yummy new paper sent to me by my great friend, Carole...what's better than new patterned paper, right?! The paper is a 6x6 pad called Watermelon from Jillibean Soup, and it's just darling (thanks, Carole!!). My goal was to make the card look something like our American flag in a scrappy sorta way, and I am happy with the end result. I cut the red patterned layer 4x5.25 inches and then layered on strips of ivory card stock in uneven widths because I was going for that scrappy look and then stamped my sentiment in Creamy Caramel on each. All strips along with the blue layer were sewn in place and topped with die cut butterflies in vellum. What luck, mr. bunny even caught one in his matchy-matchy net! The set of butterflies is another set of dies to be released along with all of the other goodness from The Cat's Pajamas on June 28th!

Remember to stop by Alma's blog for more Sneaky Peeks, and thanks for fluttering by!
~Amy

Sneaky Peek Day 2 + TCP Tuesday 164: Bearing Flowers

2011-06-22T07:21:00.001-05:00

Welcome to Day 2 of TCP's Sneaky Peek week, featuring PJ Bear in Bearing Flowers, specifically a beloved sunflower! And not only is PJ holding a perfectly designed sunflower in his paw, The Cat's Pajamas is releasing a CutUps Sunflower die as well! It is SO cool, and I'm seriously not even kidding you. Let's take a look-see...

I modified Leigh O'Brien's legendary Totally Totebag, for which you can view and download the template and tutorial on Splitcoast HERE, for today's project. The tote is topped off with the CutUps Sunflower die, and inside the tote is a cute little gift card holder featuring PJ 'bearing a sunflower'...matchy-matchy and everything! You'll also notice a couple other CutUps featured, including Big Scallop and Icing.

Here's a peek at the gift card opened...

Be sure to check out Alma's blog for more details on today's Sneaky Peek, and don't forget to get chatty in the In It To Win It thread over at SCS for your chance to win one of these new sets!
~Amy

Sneaky Peek Day 1: Take Off!

2011-06-21T06:19:00.001-05:00

Can you think of a better set to kick off Sneaky Peek Week than Take Off?! I'm warning you, if you have a weakness for the TCP bunnies, you are in for a real treat, because there are lots of new bunny sets coming your way, and you're gonna want 'em all! For some reason, I thought it would be fun to portray mr. fly man in a vintage photo, using a cracked glass technique to give a genuine old photo finish.

I started by die cutting a smaller rectangle than the photo layer and using the open space to sponge light gray ink inside. The main image was then stamped in black ink and colored with a variety of Copics: W1, W3 & W5. A bit of button twine and one of the sentiments stapled to the side (cause that's about the extent of my scrapbooking...staple a caption to the corner...done!) finishes it off, along with the cute mini library clip and a snip of black and white gingham.

Check out Alma's blog for lots more sneaky peeks...you're gonna flip!
~Amy

P.S. Don't forget about TCP's In It To Win It ('It' meaning new stamps from The Cat's Pajamas just for being chatty over in the SCS Forum thread)!

Waltzingmouse {always...celebrate...thanks}

2011-06-18T06:29:00.001-05:00

I have to confess that I've been eyeing up, or should I say loving up, Waltzingmouse Stamps for quite some time now, and have finally taken the plunge. Yes folks, I've finally secured my first few sets from Waltzingmouse and am so happy with the stamps! Feeling a bit overwhelmed by the flooding of ideas that came into my head when I opened up Say It Loud, followed by Bitty Banners and Vintage Banners, I set the stamps aside for awhile until I could collect my thoughts!

As you can see, I started out quite simply, using the basic sketch idea for three different cards...anniversary, graduation & thanks:

Rest assured, I'll be back with more Waltzingmouse banners one of these days. In the meantime, please stop back next week for Sneaky Peek Week with The Cat's Pajamas...you won't want to miss a thing!
~Amy

TCP Tuesday 163: Happy Birthday

2011-06-16T07:48:00.000-05:00

This week's TCP Tuesday challenge is being hosted by Cat Packer Tori Wild, and she's got a fun, girly color combination for us: cotton candy, lipstick red & aqua. I used scraps of cardstock in the coordinating colors to form a hanging banner, sewn in place. Each piece of the banner is stamped with the crown from Simply Said. The sentiment is from the same set, flanked by strips of glitter adhered with ScorTape and embellished with jewels and pearls in the color theme. I love the look of a CAS card, especially one done on white, and it's nice to use up those scraps of paper, isn't it?

Check out Tori's blog for all the details and I'll see you later this week to show you a few thank you notes and graduation cards I've put together this week.
~Amy

SCS Tutorial: Paper Pleating

2011-06-15T07:15:00.000-05:00

Head on over to Splitcoaststampers for a this week's tutorial on paper pleating by ME! My very dear friend, Leigh O'Brien, helped me out with a video for the tutorial just 'cause she's that sweet (and because I was too much of a scaredy-cat to do it, and because I didn't have a tripod for my Flip camera, and well, you get the idea)! You'll also notice a few new (soon to be released) ditties from The Cat's Pajamas starring in the show...can you spot 'em?!

I'll be back tomorrow with this week's TCP Tuesday color combination challenge...
~Amy

Mojo Monday 195 {Dad}

2011-06-13T12:44:00.000-05:00

A (somewhat) quick card using this week's Mojo Monday sketch along with a sentiment from Verve"s World's Best set, more burlap (I know, seriously?), a Karen Foster charm, and die cut letters using more wood veneer paper from The Cat's Pajamas. Besides being burlap-obsessed, I've again used my PTI woodgrain embossing plate...love.

How are you coming on Father's Day cards? I'm thinking this one wraps it up for me, so be looking for something not-masculine later this week. The Cat's Pajamas has a girly-fun color combo coming up tomorrow on Tori's blog, so check it out!
~Amy

SCS Sketch Challenge 336 {DAD}

2011-06-11T15:18:00.000-05:00

It's been 'forever' since I've played along with any of the SCS challenges, so I decided to pick up the sketch challenge from this past Wednesday and get started on a Father's Day card for Ed from the kiddos.

The card uses some of that great burlap that I found in Ed's shed, screw top brads, die cut letters using wood veneer sheets from The Cat's Pajamas, my beloved woodgrain impression plate from PTI, and retro signage images cut from a piece of patterned paper from K&Co. (Home Improvement Scrap Kit). I also distressed the edges of the woodgrain impressed layer, spattered it with brown ink and made a faux coffee ring by pressing the bottom of a coffee cup into brown ink and then 'stamping' it onto the paper.

I'm still working my way back into my old stamping schedule, so please stop back for more goodies this week!
~Amy

TCP Tuesday 162: Summer!

2011-06-07T09:28:00.002-05:00

Julie is this week's TCP Tuesday hostess, and she's challenging us to incorporate fabric into our creations this week. I'd made this denim pinwheel over a month ago, and there it sat just waiting to be used. Isn't life funny like that...you have a thought or idea, and it sometimes takes months to come to fruition? Of course, some ideas take mere minutes, and then some could take years...anyway, that's a whole conversation in itself! My card today uses fun Cutups dies from The Cat's Pajamas: Grass & Pinwheels, along with my most favorite TCP alphabet set, Nightie.

ETA: I used Jen's June SFYTT for my card. Check out Jen's blog for more details!

I do have to tell you that I'm just so darn excited to be partially back in my stamping saddle. I still haven't gotten back into full swing since my stamping hiatus to prep for Kendra's graduation, but it's a start! I have big plans to stamp, stamp, stamp beginning next week as I start my official summer vacation. Keep your fingers crossed that my 'plans' come to full fruition!

~Amy

Card details
Stamps: Nightie Alphabet (The Cat's Pajamas)
CutUps dies: Pinwheel, Grass
Paper: Cosmo Cricket, Crushed Curry, retired SU! polka dot

Fabric/fibers: Cherry Diving Twine (TCP), burlap, denim

What's purple & green all over?

2011-06-02T06:34:00.000-05:00

What's purple and green all over?! The card I'm about to share with you along with photos from my daughter's graduation party, of course! First off is the card that I made for my dear friend, Mary...

Next are random photos from Kendra's grad party this past weekend. Now that the party is over, I'm ready to get back in my stamping room. You'll notice a few paper crafted decorations...couldn't have a party without 'em, right?!

The party was held in my husband's shop, and while he worked his hinder off moving all the construction stuff out, there was that one piece of heavy metal ('the lift') that he insisted was waaay too heavy to move, so it graces a few of the pictures!

You'll notice burlap accents in the card and the party decorations, compliments of a great 'find' in my husband's shop--a humungous roll of burlap purchased years ago, sitting on a shelf just waiting to be noticed.

Thank you for 'pinwheels', dear Alma!

Thank you to my friends and family who helped with the party and to all of you who have checked back here at the blog to find the same old card from my last post!
~Amy

TCP Tuesday: Happy Birthday, Lori!

2011-05-18T04:00:00.009-05:00

Lori...Lori, who?! Certainly you must know 'the' Lori Craig, right?! Well, it's her birthday, and I'm here to wish her the bestest birthday ever! Lori is one of the sweetest, most generous persons I've met, and she gives the biggest hugs ever! Here's to you, my friend!

My card is doing double time as this week's TCP Tuesday #159 challenge card. The challenge, set by Miss Susie-Q, is to incorporate a 'stamped' flower image from The Cat's Pajamas. I've chosen to use the sunflower from A Beary Good Year, coupled with the birthday sentiment from Simply Said (a must-have set, girls!). I've also incorporated the button card from Kerri Bradford's digi This & That: Spring kit, TCP's Easy Rosette, and this week's Mojo Monday 191 sketch.

I'm off to wish Lori a 'Happy Birthday' over at Facebook Land! Thanks for stopping by today...see you soon!
~Amy

Just stuff...

2011-05-17T06:29:00.000-05:00

It's been pretty scarce around here lately, so I thought I'd better pop in with a quick post to let you know I'm still around, still stamping (unfortunately only out of necessity), and still getting ready for Kendra's grad party in a couple of weeks. Here are a few cards I've made in the last week for Mother's Day and for a neighbor's birthday party we attended last weekend.

King of Rock uses rub-ons from Creative Imaginations...

Wife & Cousin cards use Verve-alicious stamps along with a digi image from Kerri Bradford's This & That: Spring kit...

I hope to have something 'real nice' for TCP Tuesday this week, so stop back!
~Amy

Mojo Monday 189 {Mom}

2011-05-04T06:28:00.000-05:00

Just when I thought I was going to take a month off from stamping, I realized how many cards I really, really need to make: Mother's Day, birthdays, graduations...what was I thinking?! The Mojo Monday sketch this week inspired me to get on with a few of the cards on my list, starting with one for my Mom, entirely inspired by Julee's sample...

I'd (honestly) thought about stamping these leaves in black, and then when I saw Julee's card, I just knew it was an 'ok' thing to do, and it wouldn't look dark and depressing one bit! Another fun piece of my card is the button card layer which is from Kerri Bradford's This & That: Spring, so I'm pleased to announce my first official 'hybrid' card...sorta?! Of course, those beautiful leaves and flowers (as well as the sentiment) are all from Verve...could not, could not, could not resist ordering those sets: Bloom & Grow and Love Deepens, along with the coordinating dies.

Thanks for stopping by today!
~Amy

Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge 115

2011-05-02T16:06:00.000-05:00

I've been meaning to participate in Karen Giron's Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge and finally got around to it last night. My card features sketch #115 along with new goodies from Verve and a sentiment from The Cat's Pajamas (Simply Said). I added a bit of texture with my PTI woodgrain embossing plate (love it). I'm on a green and purple kick lately as you can see here, and I think it stems from the purple theme of our upcoming graduation party!

I hope to be back later this week with something swanky for The Cat's Pajamas TCP Tuesday challenge, so please come back!

~Amy

TCP Tuesday 156: Inspiration Challenge

2011-04-26T22:19:00.000-05:00

I'm back with another TCP Tuesday challenge and another TCP bunny, but before I share "the card", I have to apologize for being so scarce here on the old blog. We are gearing up for Kendra's graduation party at the end of May, and although there aren't too many "graduation" items on my plate this week, it seems that my brain is only able to function in "graduation" mode these days! I truly hate it because stamping is (as you all know) my time to de-stress (most of the time) and get away from it all at the end of the day.

Ok, enough about graduation stuff, how about a birthday? Last week was my little brother's birthday card, and this week's card could definitely go to my oldest brother (his birthday was Sunday)...you got it, I haven't sent his card out either! I used a very cool inspiration piece provided by Jen, and while she's nursing a wicked burn on her arm, Jenny is our acting hostess with the mostess, or HWTM, as I like to say. Check out Jenny's blog for all of the details for this week's challenge!

Speaking of details, here are a few on the birthday card above:

Birthday Bunny
Mojo Monday 188 sketch
The Cat's Pajamas Cherry Divine Twine
Designer paper by K&Co. 12x12 Life's Journey Old Containers

That's all from me for today. Thanks for stopping by, and be sure to check back for glimpses of paper-crafted graduation goodies in the upcoming weeks!
~Amy

TCP Tuesday 155: Happy 40th, Bart!

2011-04-19T20:39:00.001-05:00

Let's see...if I do that math correctly...my younger brother turned 40 last month...I'm just getting a card made for him...crud, that means I'm older than him AND losing my marbles! Is it possible?! Before you can answer that, I'll give you a look-see at the card, huh?!

Bart's birthday card features Forget About the Cake and Simply Said, along with a variety of October Afternoon papers from The Thrift Shop 6x6 pad, linen thread, a scattering of buttons and a hand-cut banner reminding him of just how darn old he is! The banner uses the Coolvetica alpha, also from The Cat's Pajamas. Oh, did I forget (of course I forgot) to mention that this week's TCP Tuesday is a sketch challenge, conjured up by our crazy talented Cat Pack Girl, Leigh. Check out her blog for all the swanky details, because you can't trust this old brain to supply you with all that important information, right?! Once again, don't answer that.

I'll close with sweet belated birthday wishes for my baby brother...love you, Bart!
~Amy

TCP Tuesday 154: Baby Braden Blog Hop

2011-04-12T11:00:00.007-05:00

Welcome to this week's TCP Tuesday in the form of a blog hop for our fellow Cat Pack-er, Tracy Falco. Tracy and her husband recently welcomed a beautiful baby boy into the world, so we're celebrating with a little blog hop in honor of Braden....he's so sweet! You may have hopped here from Tori's blog, and if not, go back because I'm sure she's got some baby sweetness for us today!

My card uses two of the recently released sets, Catch My Drift and Simply Said, for a CAS baby card. I've also used some yummy Lemon Divine Twine and a bit of argyle embossing on the aqua layer. For some reason, I love that argyle embossing on baby card...sort of reminds me of a baby blanket, I guess.

Let's keep the hop going here with your next stop being Carole's blog where you'll be treated to the most adorable TCP baby card in true CB-Style! Congratulations, Tracy!

Patriotic Sampler and TCP Tuesday {SFYTT}

2011-04-09T07:55:00.000-05:00

Wow, it's been awhile, huh?! To make up for my mini vacation from blogland, I have two fun birdie house cards to share with you today. First up is a patriotic birdhouse sampler of sorts followed by a totally different look using the color challenge from this week's TCP Tuesday, combined with Jen's SFYTT for April.

Both cards use the CutUps Home Tweet Home die and The Tweetest Things. The combination of these two elements from The Cat's Pajamas gives you absolutely endless possibilities, so don't hesitate any longer!

Have a great weekend!
~Amy

MFT Wednesday Stamp Club Sketch 13

2011-03-29T23:00:00.006-05:00

I can't seem to create my weekly WSC card without an adorable Pure Innocence girl or boy lately, so I thought it would be appropriate to remain consistent in my weekly efforts, ha! All kidding aside, I absolutely love coloring and paper piecing these sweeties, so much that I combined two sets for this week's card: A Cart Full of Friends & A Boy and His Dog. I have a niece who adores our mini Dachshund, Idgie, and I can just picture her toting old Idge around in a wagon, just like today's scene...makes me smile just thinking about it.

Not only did I paper piece her sweet dress, I paper pieced the dog and then colored her with a few Copics. The grass is none other than the Die-namics Grass die, wrapped up with a couple rounds of twine. I couldn't help myself but to pop buttons on for the wagon wheels as it adds just a little dimension to the card without adding too much, if you know what I mean.

Remember to stop over at Kim's to see the entire list of participants for this week's sketch!

~Amy

TCP Tuesday 152 & Blog Hop!

2011-03-28T23:00:00.003-05:00

Welcome to TCP Tuesday 152 (Technique Challenge) along with our new release blog hop! You may have hopped here from Jen's blog, and when you're finished, hop along to Leigh's blog. I'm sure each of these girls is sporting some serious eye candy, so don't miss out! Speaking of 'missing'...how about the "I Miss You" sentiment on my pinwheel pouch?! It's from one of the latest and greatest must-have sets from The Cat's Pajamas, Simply Said. Simply said, you really need this set...and the CutUps Pinwheels die...and The Tweetest Things...and the coordinating CutUps die called Home Sweet Home...oh, I could go on and on!

Today's TCP Tuesday Technique Challenge is to make a shaped card, so I've made a sort of 3-D card, if you will. This one wouldn't fare so well in traditional snail mail delivery mode, but what better way to tell someone you miss them than by hand delivering?! Anyway...the card is made using the CutUps Pennant, Pinwheels, Buttons & Big Scallop dies, along with two stamps from Simply Said. The pinwheels are attached to sucker sticks (I found mine at Walmart in the cake decorating/wedding section) after a brad was inserted through the pinwheel to secure all layers. The pouch was created by sewing the right and left sides of the pennant front to the scalloped felt pennant back, leaving an opening at the top, and a braid of TCP's Ivory Linen Thread is threaded through die cut buttons for a handle...clear as mud? I just may have directions for the entire project in the near future...

Enough rambling, you've got places to go, great things to see. Don't forget to hop on over to Leigh's blog now, and thanks for stopping here today! Oh, oh...one last thing: Alma has great video tutorials on the TCP website detailing the know-how on making your very own pinwheels and rosettes!
~Amy

Sneaky Peek Day 7: Simply Said & Tweetest Things

2011-03-28T06:16:00.000-05:00

This has been fun week of Sneaky Peeking, so you can imagine the fun I've had stamping with all of these new sets from The Cat's Pajamas! Judging by the rest of the samples laid before our eyes from the rest of the Cat Pack...I'm pretty sure they've had a ball as well! Today's Sneaky Peek includes two sets, Simply Said and Tweetest Things. I'll start out with Simply Said...

This card was made for a dear friend of our family who turned 80 this month. He's an avid license plate collector, so I did a little research on Google for inspiration and came up with this using Simply Said and two alphabet sets from The Cat's Pajamas: Coolvetica & Babydoll. I've also incorporated my CutUps Big Scallop die, which I can't seem to live without lately! I'm going to tell you right now: you need Simply Said. It's going to be your go-to sentiment set, full of great fonts and just the right size!

This card also uses Simply Said along with some great papers from My Mind's Eye, again my CutUps Big Scallop die and Button Trio die. See...you need this set!

Finally is a card using Tweetest Things...another awesome set that coordinates with our CutUps Home Tweet Home die (a match made in TCP heaven)! My head is still swimming with ideas for this stamp set/die combo, and you'll see why when you take a peek at the full set and die graphics below.

Thanks for hanging with me through the long post today! Check out Alma's blog for more Sneaky Peek links, and be sure to stop by our member company forum over at Splitcoast Stampers tonight for the Splitcoast Release Party starting from 8-10pm EST, 5-7pm PST...you just never know when you could snag one of these swanky new sets!
~Amy

Sneaky Peek Day 6: Well Hello

2011-03-27T06:03:00.000-05:00

Wow, it's been a great week in TCP Land with all of the Sneaky Peeks, and today is no exception! Day 6 of The Cat's Pajamas Sneaky Peek week is Field of Pinwheels, again featuring our sweet bunny sitting in a field of dreamy pinwheels. Seems pinwheels are popping up everywhere these days, so I was over the moon when I saw this set (not to mention a CutUps pinwheel die)! I've also used our new CutUps Easy Rosette die to create a bunting on either side of the main image panel, along with TCP's Ivory Linen Thread and more dreamy paper from My Mind's Eye.

Check in at Alma's blog for more eye candy as well as a list of the other gals playing along with today's Sneaky Peek!
~Amy

TCP Sneaky Peek {SFYTT}

2011-03-26T07:00:00.008-05:00

Is this the sweetest little boy or what?! He's from the soon to be released set called Wet Puddle. I muddied up his boots a bit, embossed the mud puddle bubbles under his feet and then sponged a darker ink over the top to pop them out. I've also snuck in one of my favorite CutUps dies--Stamp Trio (a must have, girls) along with the CutUps Button Trio die.

Check out Jen's blog for the original sketch and also Alma's blog for a full list of Sneaky Peeks today! Have a great weekend.

Amy

Sneaky Peek Week, Day 4!

2011-03-25T08:45:00.003-05:00

Here we are with Day 4 of Sneaky Peek Week at The Cat's Pajamas, featuring another adorable bunny from artist Zlatina Gocheva. I don't know that I could ever tire of her bunnies, and now a girl bunny?! Couldn't get any sweeter, and you know what they say about rabbits...and now that we have both genders in the TCP House, I'm guessing there will be many more to come, ha! Other fun TCP elements include the CutUps Stamp Trio die and yummy new Divine Twine in Purple Plum.

Tomorrow I'll be combining another Sneaky Peek with Jen's March SFYTT, so stop by in the morning!
Amy

Here's a peek at this adorable set called "A Girl and Her Cake"...

Sneaky Peek Week Day 3: You Rock My World!

2011-03-23T23:00:00.002-05:00

It's Day 3 of Sneaky Peek Week from The Cat's Pajamas, and I'm showing off a hilariously fun set called Idols! Carole, Leigh and Jen also have Sneaky Peeks, so be sure to stop by their blogs for true stamping genius with this set! This set was a bit intimidating to me, so I kept my card fairly simple, using the sentiments (song lyrics) to create a fun background, individualizing each image on its own layer and winding it all up with TCP Divine Twine in Purple Plum (yum-yum). One other fun embellishment I added is the sparkly strips by applying fine glitter to red line tape, above and below my main image panel...cause they ARE rock-stars after all!

Stop by Alma's blog for an entire list of today's Sneaky Peek events and sketch me in tomorrow for yet another Sneaky Peek! I'll leave you with a peek at the entire Idols set...

{smile}

Ink About Me...

YNS Friday Fun!

TPC Tuesday 194

2012 Penguin Awareness Day

TCP Tuesday 194: Love

YNS Friday Fun!

YNS New Release Blog Hop

TCP Tuesday New Release Blog Hop

Special Delivery Sneak Peek

Sneaky Peek: Together Forever

Sneaky Peek: Sugar, Sugar!

Sneaky Peek Week + TCP Tuesday

Odds & Ends Before 2011 Ends!

TCP Tuesday 190: J*lly H*liday Sketch!

TCP Tuesday 189: Merry Fishmas!

TCP November Release Projects

YNSC #57 New Release Blog Hop!

TCP Tuesday 187 + New Release Blog Hop!

Sneaky Peek Day 7 + TCP Tuesday 186

Sneaky Peek Week: Peeking!

Sneaky Peek Week: Freezin' Season!

YNSC #56: Holiday Joy

Forest Whimsy Winner!

Introducing Forest Whimsy + Giveaway!

TCP Tuesday 185

TCP Tuesday 184: Holiday Cheers!

Black Friday(s) Sale at TCP!

YNS #55: Cheese To You!

TCP Tuesday 183: Simply Congrats!

Holiday Joy with YNS!

YNS 14 Days of Holiday Fun: Day 11

YNS #54 Challenge & Holiday Icons 3

TCP Tuesday 182

Spooky and Sweet {JiFFy}!

Snowman Delight from YNS!

TCP Tuesday 181: Just the Two of Us...

Craft Sale Fun!

YNS Challenge 53: Halloween!

TCP New Release Blog Hop + Sketch Challenge

Sneaky Peek: Clownin' Around!

Sneaky Peek Day 6: I Love You Bunches!

Sneaky Peek Week: Presto!

Step Right Up for Sneaky Peek #3!

Kickin' off Sneaky Peek Week with TCP Tuesday 179!

{Takeoff} with TCP Tuesday and SFYTT!

YNS Challenge #52: Pierre Says 'Hi'!

Wicked Sweet Holiday Lights from YNS!

TCP Tuesday 177, Inspired by TCP Tuesday 176

YNS Challenge #51 & Blog Hop!

You Are Appreciated!

Jiffy Girls {Take Off}

TCP Tuesday 175: Sketch Challenge

Bucks & Sheep!

TCP Tuesday 173 + Sweet Sunday Sketch 132

Happy Haunting {SFYTT}

I Miss You!

TCP Tuesday 173: Stop By For A {color challenge} Spell!

TCP Tuesday 172 + TCP Sale!

TCP Tuesday 171: Kick Some Grass

Celebrating with Your Next Stamp!

YNS Birthday Puzzle Piece

Dare To Get Dirty Week!

A JiFFy Hello!

TCP Tuesday 170: Beach Bum

TCP Tuesday 169: Planes, Trains and Rockets!

You're not old...

Birthday sMOOches!

Let's Fly Away with Sun Country!

TCP Tuesday 168: Color Challenge

Popping By to Celebrate {SFYTT}!

TCP Tuesday 167: Take Off!

Happy Birthday Fishes!

Inspirational TCP Tuesday 166!

Rollin' with the JiFFy Girls!

TCP Tuesday 165 & Blog Hop!

Sneaky Peek Day 7: Kick Some Grass

Sneaky Peek Day 5: Nesting

Sneaky Peek Day 3: Flutter By

Sneaky Peek Day 2 + TCP Tuesday 164: Bearing Flowers

Sneaky Peek Day 1: Take Off!

TCP Tuesday 190: Jlly Hliday Sketch!