TCP Tuesday 229: Admit One!

Welcome to the show...um, challenge! This week's TCP Tuesday challenge means you get to pull out any of your cute TCP penguins and pair them up with either the CutUps Ribbon Slide or Big Ticket die. The sombrero on my decided  penguin stamp (Hola Tequila) reminded me of Curious George wearing the hat of the man with the yellow hat, so I went with signature Curious George colors: yellow and red. And, since I was being inspired at the moment, I hopped on over to Karen Giron's blog for her current Sweet Sunday Sketch and came up with this fun little ditty!

Stop over at Susan's blog for complete TCP Tuesday 228 details and have yourself a swanky day!
~Amy

TCP Tuesday 221: The Tweetest Things

For this week's TCP Tuesday Inspiration Challenge hosted by Susan Liles. Be sure to check out Susan's blog for the inspiration collage and challenge deets. After last week's challenge card using The Tweetest Things, I just couldn't put it away just yet and got a jump start on this week's challenge pulling from the stack of chairs and colors of the inspiration piece, so fun!

After stamping/stacking my text-y birdhouses, I topped each with colored heart and then dug through my scrap basket to find coordinating cardstock pieces to add to the turquoise sentiment strip. Green buttons worked the best in lieu of any of my green scraps, and I really like the fun dimension and balance they give the horizontal layer. The actual sentiment was stamped onto a die cut black oval using the CutUps Circus Panels die set.

Thanks for stopping by and be sure to check out this week's challenge!
~Amy

TCP Tuesday 219 + Mojo Monday 250

Welcome to this week's TCP Tuesday challenge in combination with the Mojo Monday #250 sketch! Since I did a little 'Christmas in July' last week, I was somehow inspired to get a little 'Spooky in July' this week. I think it's the tropical heat wave we're experiencing here in western Wisconsin, leading me toward the cooler temps of October and December. Anyway, that's my story and I'm stickin' to it (no pun intended, ha)!

Susan is our TCP Tuesday hostess this week and she's challenging us to use any TCP stamp featuring a bear AND either of the CutUps borders: Heart or Apron. I've used the CutUps Apron border (although it's really hard to see) and PJ from A Beary Good Year. Insert BIG OOPS here folks: I just realized I used the Queen of Hearts CutUps and not the Apron Border. I'm tellin' ya, it's the gosh-darn heat and humidity slowing up my brain. Thank goodness it's scarcely visible, right?!

  

 I've also used the CutUps Cloud Border & Mustaches dies along with the 'Boo' sentiment from an older TCP set, Fright Night. It's a great Halloween set with fun sentiments and classic Halloween images, plus it's on sale for only $9.50, folks! Click here to get your set today!

Hope you're staying cool and comfy in your neck of the woods and if you need a little help, just meditate on all things cool, like Halloween and Christmas!

~Amy

TCP Tuesday 218: Jolly in July!

Lori is this week's TCP Tuesday hostess and she's got a fun little color combo for us: red, aqua & kraft. Inspired by lots of 'Christmas in July' around the old blogosphere, I decided to jump on the bandwagon and create with a 'Jolly in July' theme for my CAS card. What better way to sneak in yet another mustache card, right?! ;)

Materials used include the CutUps Mustaches along with my favorite Christmas set from The Cat's Pajamas, J*lly H*liday. The strip of patterned paper is from MME and the snowflake brad and rhinestone were unmarked in my stash, so I have no manufacturer for either...sorry 'bout that, folks!

Can't wait to see what you conjure up with Lori's color combo, so give us a peek on your blog by linking up to Alma's blog and/or use keyword: TCPTUES218 over at Splitcoast!
~Amy

TCP Tuesday 217: Curses!

This week's TCP Tuesday hostess is Julie, and she's got a super fun sunglasses template for you all to play around with. I went and used a shrinky-dink version that is about 4" wide where Julie's template comes in a little over 6", big enough for a card all on it's own! You can find out how to pick up your template and view the rest of the challenge details over at Julie's blog...sweet!

I decided to go with a nerdy-meets-secret agent look for my card, probably because I can't go too long without using TCP's The Mustache Set and coordinating CutUps Mustaches die these days...what can I say about a girl in love, I had to combine the two! The nerdy portion of the cock-eyed glasses was achieved using TCP's Cream Seam Binding wound around the bridge of the glasses. Two rounded corners are balanced with a few notebook edge punches, and this one's ready for the vault!

Thanks for stopping by and have a great week!
~Amy

TCP Tuesday 214: You Blow Me Away!

I can vividly remember watching the 1984 Summer Olympics and there began my love of The Games! It probably had something to do with my secret crush on gymnast, Mitch Gaylord, but who can forget Mary Lou Retton, Greg Louganis and Carl Lewis?! My brothers and I would record our favorite events on VHS tapes and watch them again and again. The dream was alive and is alive for the upcoming Olympics in London kicking off next month. In honor of that, I took this week's TCP Tuesday challenge "You Blow Me Away" and went Olympic with it, because everything about the Olympic Games blows me away!

Our USA biking bunny is from Wheel Love, all pimped out with star studded wheels to show his pride. I originally saw the red telephone box at the online Silhouette store and set out to make one of my own using the CutUps Window die. I ended up with a hybrid phone booth using both the CutUps Window die layered on the Silhouette phone booth base because I wanted that rounded top. I just couldn't resist adding a Buckingham Palace-type gate, so I again went to the Sihouette store and chose this fence.

Here's a closer look at the embossed crown at the top of the phone box and Good Luck sentiment which are both from Simply Said. The USA postage uses CutUps Stamp Trio in combination with Babydoll Alphabet and 2012 and star stamps from Build A Bingo. One of the required elements for the challenge is to use either the CutUps Cloud or Pinwheel die, and since I couldn't decide which to choose,  I used them both!

 

I thought the flower pot that comes with the CutUps Window die would act perfectly patriotic as a holder for the mini pinwheel and stars. The heart and star stamps are from Admit One.

I hope you've enjoyed my tribute to our 2012 Olympic Team competing in London this summer and find time to cheer them as well! Be sure to stop over at Susan's blog for complete TCP Tuesday details, and then you all have a great week! Go USA!

~Amy

TCP Tuesday 212: Ahoy There!

I've been a bit quiet around the old blogosphere lately, so I thought it was high (tide) time I updated Ink About Me with something new and fun! This week's TCP Tuesday challenge involves a technique called Paper Pleating that I actually did a SCS tutorial for last year. You can find the tutorial HERE. Check out Julie's blog for all the details. Alma's blog is always full of fun TCP Tuesday info as well, so be sure to stop by and give her blog a little love.

For my card, I've incorporated a few stamp sets and CutUps to create a clean and scrappy sort of card that would be fun to send along, out of the blue, just to say 'I'm thinking 'bout you'! The papers on the waves and scallop are from Crate Paper's Portrait 6x6 pad and I can't, for the life of me, remember the name of the paper I used to paper piece the boat. Finally, my paper pleating comes in on the skinny black strip even though it's hard to see. The strip that I pleated was actually wider, but I re-straightened the paper after folding it and trimmed it to about 3/4" for the look I wanted. I hope you've enjoyed my card and will give the paper pleating a try this week! Here are the sets and dies I used:

• CutUps Wave
• CutUps Big Scallop
• Aye, Aye, Captain
• A Whale of a Time
• Admit One

 Have a great weekend!
Amy

TCP Tuesday 210

Better late than never, right?! I had this card all stamped up and out the door last week and honestly forgot to blog about it until today. Before you know it, TCP Tuesday 211 will be here, so I'd better get on with the show! This week's challenge is a sketch and I have to say I took a few liberties with the sketch. You can see the sketch over at Amy's blog, our new sketch challenge hostess!

Details on the card include a fun mix of CutUps dies: Big Scallop and Circus Panels, along with a sentiment from Bearing Flowers.

Thanks for stopping by today!
Amy

TCP Tuesday 209: Dad's Day

I've got a fun card to share with you today that fits-the-bill for the men in your life as well as this week's TCP Tuesday Challenge #209 issued by Susan to use the CutUps Pennant Die and anything TCP having to do with the Letter M! Sorry folks, I couldn't resist using the CutUps Mustache Die once again...just couldn't resist.

The knot portion of the necktie is actually the Small Pennant Die in disguise with the bottom portion being hand cut for a nice custom fit! The CutUps Mustache Die tops off the trio.

Here's a peek at the inside of the card which used the CutUps Big Ticket & Mustache Dies in conjunction with The Mustache Set, Nightie & Babydoll Alphas, and Admit One.

I hope I've inspired you to get a start on your Father's Day cards, and if you don't have these fun stamps and CutUps in your possession, you have paw-lenty (get it, 'paw'?!) of time to get them before Father's Day! Now, head over to Susan's and Alma's blog for more TCP Tuesday fun!

~Amy

TCP Tuesday 208

This week's TCP Tuesday challenge is a color challenge: lime green, red and gold, in honor of Cinco de Mayo. Let's grad a red solo cup and get the weekend in gear, eh?! Before we do that, let's have a little fun with these colors, in the form of a red mustache no less! I made this card for Secretary's Day this week and gave it to one of our dear school secretaries who is endlessly obliging me with answers to all of my silly-nilly questions. Without a doubt, she knows everything! Ok, about the card...it uses my new favorite TCP set, The Mustache Set and my new favorite CutUps die, Mustache!

Check out Lori's blog for all of the TCP Tuesday details and then stop over at Alma's blog, too, for more TCP Tuesday info and such. Have a great weekend!
Amy

TCPTuesday 206 + Sneaky Peek Week Day 1

Welcome to TCP Tuesday 206 and the first day of Sneaky Peek Week featuring a special set designed by our very own Jen del Muro! The set is designed to coordinate with the CutUps Stamp Trio die and is called Commemorating You! As luck would have it, Jen is also our TCP Tuesday hostess with the mostest, so be sure to pop on over to her blog for complete details as well as the inspiration collage she's put together...going postal, wink!

Stop over at Alma's today as well for a complete list of participants in today's Sneaky Peek! Here's a look at the entire set of Commemorating You.
~Amy

TCP Tuesday 204

This week's TCP Tuesday 204 challenge is all about the upcoming Easter holiday--use any Easter related stamps and one of the following CutUps: Cloud Border, Grass Border or Eggs In A Basket. This challenge can be filed under EPLS (easy peasy lemon squeezy) for all you TCP lovers, because there's a plethora of Easter themed items for your choosing over at The Cat's Pajamas. Here are a few to get your creative juices flowing:
A Beary Good Year
Sugar, Sugar
Bunny Side Up
Spring Fling
CutUps Grass, Eggs in a Basket

I've incorporated A Beary Good Year, CutUps Grass & Eggs in a Basket, along with some lovely Cream Seam Binding and Beige Linen Thread, to create a non-traditional Easter Bunny tag. The Easter Bunny was cut using my Silhouette Cameo and a Lori Whitlock bunny that I purchased at the Silhouette online store. The papers used here are from My Mind's Eye (Follow Your Heart).

Well, that's about it for me and my TCP Tuesday project for this week. I'm thinking this just might be my final-final post for the week as it gets a little crazy around here during Holy Week through Easter due to my organist duties at church. Check out Alma's blog for complete TCP Tuesday details and Susan's blog as she's out hostess this week.

Wishing you all a blessed Holy Week and Easter!
~Amy

TCP Tuesday 203 Color Challenge

This week's TCP Tuesday Challenge is a Color Challenge, and Lori is our Hostess with the Mostest, challenging us to use Tangerine, Lime Green and Sky Blue in our card or project. You can stop over at Alma's or Lori's blogs for complete TCP Tuesday 203 details, and don't forget to use keyword: TCPTUES203 when uploading to Splitcoast.

I actually made two cards for the challenge which are almost identical, boasting different sentiments. The above card is/was a birthday card for my younger brother who celebrated his big day on Friday (Happy Birthday, Bart!). Both cards use the CutUps Cloud Border and Karen Giron's Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge 155 as well as TCP sentiments from the following sets: Simpy Said & Away We Go.

For a bit more uniformity, I used the fish-tail sentiment banner from the CutUps Easy Rosettes die, and I LOVE the look. I'm usually a 'no fuss, no muss, eyeball method' sorta gal, but I have to say I'm really loving the way the perfectly cut fishtail banner trio is lookin' here!

Thanks for stopping by today, all! Hope you come back for more TCP Tuesday fun next week!

~Amy

TCP Tuesday 202: Kick Some Grass!

Julie is this week's TCP Tuesday HWTM (hostess with the mostest) and she's challenging us to create something spring-like with the required element of grass. As you can see, I've used The Cat's Pajamas' CutUps Grass Border die as well as Big Ticket to create my grassy scene. Now, I'm thinking this isn't all that 'springy', but I like it just the same. Of course, the sentiment, from Kick Some Grass, couldn't BE more perfect, right?! I'm thinking this would be a fun card to give my 17 year old son, Hank, as he heads to a wrestling tournament next week...if he was into hand stamped cards, that is {wink}.

Please head over to Julie's blog for complete TCP Tuesday details, and you all have a great weekend!
~Amy

TCP Tuesday 201: Inspiration Challenge

 Here's my take on this week's inspiration challenge for TCP Tuesday 201 using the CutUps Big Pinking Border die, Warm Fuzzies and a little Beige Linen Thread. After seeing Jen's inspiration collage, I was really inspired to somehow incorporate the chevron pattern and what better way than to use the CutUps Big Pinking Border to accomplish the task?! 

To get the double edge cut, I ran the paper/die through my Big Shot once and then carefully lined up the die again using the 'eyeball method', adhering it in place with a piece of tape. Not an exact science with less than perfect results, but as my BSF Carole so eloquently points out--it's wabi-sabi and you've gotta embrace the imperfections in stamping, I mean life!

I sure hope you get a chance to come out and play along with TCP Tuesday 201 this week! Check out Jen's blog for more challenge info and Alma's blog where you'll be able to link up your creation. If you upload to SCS, use keyword: tcptues201.

Have a great weekend!

Amy

TCP Tuesday 200!

We are celebrating TCP Tuesday 200 like it's St. Patty's Day, don't ya know, with a FREE giveaway and a free download of every TCP Tuesday Sketch Challenge to date, so let's hear a big ol' woot-woot for The Cat's Pajamas! The FREE giveaway is nothing less than the ENTIRE April collection of stamps and CutUps dies that will be making their appearance in a few short weeks, and they are fabulous! Comment on any of The Cat Packers blog posts that feature our 200th TCP Tuesday Sketch Challenge by Tuesday, March 13 and you could WIN our complete NEW release! Is that a like finding the pot o' gold, or what folks?!

Speaking of the iconic pot-of-gold, I used the upcoming St. Patty's Day as inspiration for my sketch challenge card to wish you all a bit of good luck on your journey to win the FREE giveaway honoring TCP Tuesday 200! The gold embossed sentiment is from one of my all-time favorite TCP stamp sets, Simply Said, and the shamrock was fashioned using the CutUps Heart Trio die. The shamrock and orange squares are layered on a Big Scallop die cut piece of kraft card stock and tied up nicely with Orange Divine Twine.

 

Here's a closeup look at the shamrock.

For further details on TCP Tuesday 200, check out Alma's and Leigh's blogs, and don't forget to leave a little love for The Cat Pack on their challenge creations this week for your chance to win, win, win!

~Amy

You Make Life Sweet

It's time for TCP Tuesday 199, and Susan is our hostess with a fun challenge to use the CutUps Cloud Border die in addition to any stamp that relates to The Great Outdoors! You can check out all of the important details of TCP Tuesday 199 at Susan's blog, and as for my interpretation of the challenge, here it is:

I know, I know--there are so many swonderful (that's swanky + wonderful) choices for The Great Outdoors theme over at The Cat's Pajamas, but I've had this idea to use the CutUps Cloud Border die to make an ice cream cone in my noggin for quite some time now and decided to seize the day, so to speak, and go with my cloudy cone idea. The way I look at it, I wouldn't really enjoy an ice cream cone unless I was out enjoying The Great Outdoors while eating it, right?!

To accomplish my idea, I used three CutUps dies: Cloud Border (ice cream), Small Pennant (cone) and Pinwheel (heart cherry on top). The seniment is from Like You A Latte, the bingo card from Build-A-Bingo, and the yummy paper is from EP This & That Graceful 6x6 pad. It's all tied up with a bit of Cotton Candy Divine Twine...all within reach, or a few clicks, at The Cat's Pajamas!

I sure hope you get a chance to play along this week and just to nudge you along, I'm going to leave you with a few TCP sets that swank the heck outta The Great Outdoors!
~Amy

Wet Puddle
Happy Camper
Wheel Love
Away We Go
Kick Some Grass

 (you get the idea...)

TCP Tuesday 197: ABC

This week's TCP Tuesday challenge is all about anything BUT a card (ABC), so I have a fun little gift tag to share with you today that uses CutUps dies, Big Ticket and Cloud Border, along with stamps from the Nightie Alpha & Admit One, and Black Licorice Divine Twine.

I suppose you're all wondering who this Carter is and what the tag was used for, huh? Carter is the sweetest young boy whom I had the pleasure of meeting in person last week while he was visiting my neck of the woods, AND he just so happens to be the son of my BSF, Carole...yep, THE Carole! It was such a pleasure to meet Carter, and as his momma said in THIS blog post, we did sorta hit it off at 'go'. Love.him. Knowing that Carter may need some cuddling duds in his future, I made up a cozy fleece Thomas the Train blanket for him and tagged it with the Carter tag shown above. You can see the tagged blanket over at Carole's blog HERE.

Before I sign off for today, I'll direct you to Julie's and Alma's blogs for the complete TCP Tuesday details and leave you with a picture of me and my new buddy, Carter! ~Amy

TCP Tuesday 196

Jen is this week's TCP Tuesday hostess with the mostest, and she's got a great inspiration piece for you all, so hop over to see it if you haven't already. Here's a hint: rainbow connection!

I started off with a kraft card base and then added another layer of kraft so that my CutUps Cloud Border could hang over each edge. Dangling from the clouds is a rainbow of CutUps Hearts strung with coordinating Divine Twine from The Cat's Pajamas Boutique, if you will! The sentiment is from Like You A Latte.

If you're a rainbow kinda gal/guy, you need to see all of the awesome rainbow connections the rest of design team has created--they'll melt your rainbow hearts! You can check them out via the TCP DT links over to the right, on my sidebar.

Have a great weekend, all! We're off to watch the Hankster wrestle today, and by the way, our big-little Hankster took first last week in our conference wrestling tourney, whoot whoot!
~Amy

TCP Tuesday 195: Happy Happy Birthday!

Welcome to this week's TCP Tuesday post! Leigh is our hostess this week with a great sketch for you, so hop over to her place to see the sketch in person. I've turned the sketch on it's head for my card which just happens to be in honor of my dear daughter Kendra's 19th birthday this Friday! Last year, for her 18th birthday, we went to her favorite restaurant, Fiesta Mexicana, and she's requested a repeat for this year's bash, so I just had to pull out those margarita-loving penguins from Hola Tequila!

Along with those fun-loving penguins, I've thrown in some yummy Mango Seam Binding that TCP carries and a banner made with the CutUps Pennant die. I was so excited thinking about those yummy margaritas that I just about forgot to tell you where the sentiment and '19' came from! The sentiment is from Birthday Bunny, and the number 19 is from the new Build-A-Bingo set, cool beans!

Head on over to Leigh's and Alma's blog for complete TCP Tuesday details and have a great Wednesday!
~Amy