Egg Hunt!

More new images from The Cat's Pajamas for today's SFYTT which were released yesterday! Looks like the penguins are hard at it, getting ready for the big hunt. We are in the season of Lent, so I'm guessing that's when they shift it into high gear to get all the eggs ready to roll!

I stamped the main image in Versafine Onyx Black ink and then watercolored using a blender pen, aquapainter and reinkers in the same colors as the cardstock: Kiwi, Eggplant, Teal, Amethyst and a bit of Celery. After that, I decided to give 'em a little extra-extra with Crystal Effects and my Sakura Gelly Roll pen (#XPGB700). I finally got a chance to use my new-to-me MS flower punch and centered it with a Kiwi Corduroy button (I must really love my new Corduroy buttons because I've used them on my last three cards!). If you look closely, you'll see the dry embossed diamond pattern on the Eggplant base using my SU! Texturz plates. Look below for a closer view of those busy penguins.

Now, go forth and see what the other SFYTT gals have come up with using Jen's sketch, and don't forget about Jen and guest designer Jody--it's been great having you this month!

Amy
Carole
Kelly
Susan

All new stuff!

As you can see from the pictures below, I have a new photo assistant! You know how lucrative stamping can be, and I've been really reeling in the dough lately, so I thought: Why not hire a photo asst. to help me with the staging of my stamped creation?! And, the best part is--his labor is quite cheap, although I do need to check with the local child labor laws...ah, friend Carole, can you help me out? I always call on my friend, Carole/TruCarMa/Mother's Little Helper, for any legal advice!

As is evident from the photos, George is still in training--holding the card just so...

...keeping his feet out of the picture

...not sitting on my white paper. You get the idea, but once he gets the hang of it I'm sure we'll make a marvelous team!

Oh, you want to see the final take? Here it is: TCPTUES #47, a fun sketch challenge created and hostessed by none other than the aforemtentioned Carole Burrage! The sketch gave me the wonderful opportunity to showcase fun new stamps from TCP as well as showing off some of the great backgrounds made with my Texturz plates from SU!. Speaking of these fun TCP stamps, they're available as of today, so click here to check out all the new releases over at TCP.

Ok, more about the card. Colors are Pumpkin Pie, Kiwi Kiss and (retired) Eggplant Envy, layered on Kraft. The carrot-driving pooch is colored with watercolor pencils blended with a blender pen and a Corduroy Kiwi Kiss button pulls your eye to the cornered sentiment. If you like the sketch and like to ink up TCP stamps like me, come play along. You can find the deets here on Carole's blog: Mother's Little Helper. Speaking of Mother's Little Helper...that would've made a great title for today's post!

Stay tuned for Jen's Saturday SFYTT tomorrow...

Sketch Challenge 217

For the weekly SCS sketch challenge posted each Wednesday. You can click here for the full details on SC217. I decided to flip the sketch in order to fit my three Trendy Trees in a row. Can't you just picture these trendy trees as you're driving down the boulevard? That's actually funny to me because I live outside a rural town, in the country with my brother's dairy farm just a 1/4 mile down the road, so "boulevards" are few and far between my stompin' ground!

Enough about me and my life, onto the card! I just got Trendy Trees from SU! and it was one of those sets that I hoped I liked once I got it in my hot little hands...love it! The stamp-a-ma-jig is a must have when using this set...don't try lining up those branches and trunks using the eyeball method, just dig out your SAMJ and get down to business! Simple stamping here but I love the results of the black trunks and Kiwi tops paired with one of my favorite designer papers--Crate Paper 5th Ave. Collection. Two Corduroy Kiwi Kiss buttons are the only embellishments, but who needs more than 2 Corduroy Kiwi Kiss buttons, eh?! The sentiment was stamped on a scrap, trimmed to fit and adhered just below the horizontal panel...nothin' to it!

Thanks for stopping by today!

Color Challenge 207

For the weekly SCS Color Challenge #207: Kiwi Kiss, Pumpkin Pie & Summer Sun. I love that color combo for a fall look but wanted my card to have the look of spring/summer, so I opted for a white base to help it along. The cute sunflower and bug image is a sneak peek of good things to come from The Cat's Pajamas...stay tuned!

I colored the image with a blender pen and reinkers in the challenge colors and then added a little Soft Sky with an aquapainter for a blue sky. The flowers from the sentiment were filled in with a white gel pen and dotted in the middle with my Sakura Gelly Roll pen. I added a little of that same glimmer to the stem and leaf as well. The flower petals are glazed with Crystal Effects and the bug is dotted with CE for a little extra-extra.

Just a couple more things and then I'm done (that's called a "safety signal" in the world of education!)...a button tied with linen thread centers that sweet bloom and then, did you notice the texture on the Summer Sun layer? It's my new Texturz plate from SU! that I know I'm going to be using over and over--love 'em!

Hope you get a chance to scatter some sunshine today!

Birthday hugs for Mom!

Yesterday I was chatting about the birthday lunch I was so excited about for my mom and her twin sister/sin twister and I shared the card I made for my Aunt. Today's card is Mom's birthday card. I know, it's not a "mom" birthday card, but I think she liked it just the same. The papers are new from SU!'s Urban Oasis DSP and the ribbon is from the Valet collection--yummo! I kept the stamping to a minimum, letting the DSP do all the work. The sentiment, from SU!'s Birthday Hugs and Wishes set, is stamped in Versafine Onyx Black on a Kraft circle layered on a larger Kiwi Kiss circle and topped off with a Foofala button tied with black hemp. It's hard to see in the picture, but I also embossed two parallel lines above the sentiment for a little extra-extra.

Hope you all had an enjoyable weekend; I know I did!

Congrats!

For Jen's Saturday Sketch For You To Try (SFYTT)! I was so excited to have a box of SU! goodies from the latest catty sitting on the porch when I got home from work/school yesterday and just knew there'd be some inspiration brewing inside that cardboard box! I'd ordered a few of the new patterned papers, including Rockabilly which you see here--love it! Also in the box were a couple of the Sale-A-Bration items including the set, Congrats. I thought the coordinating sentiment: on getting a little bit older and better than ever, was "perfect" for my Auntie Ann's, ah-hem, 68th birthday which we'll be celebrating today along with my Mom's because they're twin sisters, or as we like to say--sin twisters! I'm so excited to get together with "the girls" for lunch at a fun restaurant that serves up the most delish Bloody Mary's...yes, you heard it right, I'm going to be slippin', I mean sippin' the afternoon away! Promise, the only thing that has passed my lips this morning is H2O!

Let's get to the card and Jen's fun sketch, but first I must say that I'm 99.9% sure I'm the only member of the SFYTT team that does not, I repeat DOES NOT, own one single Nestability. On top of that, I don't own a large oval punch. I do have in my possession, however, an ancient Fiskars template complete with the large oval that you see on my card today. Not that simple; never is. So, it took me at least 5, probably 8 attempts before I successfully cut an oval to my liking, and even then I thought I'd need to "rough up" the edges with my distressing tool just to hide the imperfections! Then I decided that I wanted my oval to have one of those nice scallop-y edges like everyone does with their "Nesties" (note the sarcastic tone when I said "Nesties"!), but I didn't want to be like all the other girls, so I used my Fiskars pinking shears instead, harumph!

I think the rest of my card is pretty straightforward, so I'll save you a little time here and just give you the highlights: Crystal Effects on the Heidi Swapp crown for a little "extra"; sponging on all edges using Ranger Distress Walnut Stain; and a few spatters of ink using my ancient color spritzer tool (it was called something waaay different when I purchased it!).

Check out all the other girls...I bet they used their Nesties today...whatever (wink)!

Jen & Jody
Susan
Kelly
Carole
Amy

Geesh, after all that whining I just did, I think I could use a Bloody Mary right now! Have a great weekend all!

Dirty Challenge: Lucky!

For the February Dirty Girl Challenge over at SCS. On the 20th of each month, Dirty Girls past and present are challenged to create something given specific parameters. Here are this month's parameters:

• Challenge Focus: Challenge Focus: Cards/Poker/Games/Gambling/Luck
  
• Required Element: A card made with other than a standard fold
• Restricted Element: No buttons

I used Kim Hughes' set The Birds and The Bees along with Heidi Swapp's crown set to create fun and whimsical playing card. The "Q" is from a Hero Arts alphabet set and the heart is from SU!'s Small Sayings set. A variety of designer papers were used including Scenic Route's Sonoma Collection and Crate Paper's 5th Ave. Collection. Other cardstock used includes SU!'s Basic Black, Very Vanilla and Baha Breeze. The sentiment was computer generated using SU!'s Carefree font with a sticky glitter "B" from Memory Makers. The 4 small glitter dots at the bottom are from the same glitter letter sheet. Finally, I used a "gate fold" as the required element, cutting my paper 4 1/4" x 8 1/2", scoring at 2 1/8" and 6 3/8".

Thanks for taking a peek today, and be sure to head over to SCS to see what the rest of the Dirty Girls have up their sleeve!