A {beary} special blog hop!

It's here, The Cat's Pajamas Holiday Release blog hop! You may have arrived here from Jen's blog and if not, you can start at the very beginning with our TCP Tuesday hostess, Susan. I just can't say enough about the fantastic sets Alma has put together for this release, but of course, there's always a down side--how do you choose?! Alma has put together a Kitty Kat Pack for you, including: Give a Little, Penguin Christmas and Make Merry...easy peasy, huh?!

I'm going to show you two totally different looks using the same bear image from the set, Give A Little. The first is a gift tag personalized for baby, using another new set, Coolvetica Alpha. I spelled out "baby" with the alpha and colored my bear in shades of pink and green. The tag is outlined in cool new glass glitter from the TCP Holiday Glitzy collection, and it is divine! Because this is glass glitter, it requires a bit of staying power, so make sure you use a heavy duty adhesive, like 3M Scrapbooker's glue, or Crystal Effects.

My second feature is a Beary Merry Christmas card, paper pieced in Cosmo Cricket's Oh Joy papers. Paper piecing with a pack of coordinating paper couldn't be easier, so if you've never tried it before, Alma's images are a great place to start. I've also used the Holiday Glitzy glitter on my bear's hat and candy cane. If you look closely at the bottom portion of the card, you'll notice clear embossed snowflakes (more great stamps in this set). I really like the look of clear embossed images over patterned paper.

Now that you've had a peek at Give A Little, head on over to Leigh's blog for more delicious-ness!

Amy

A cracked and glitterified SFYTT

It's a new month, full of wonderful SFYTT sketches coming your way each Saturday, so be sure to check in and play along! We're heading full force into the holiday season which means busy, busy, busy (I know I've got a million ideas swimming around in my head to make/do), but carve out a little time for yourself as a stress reliever and try some, or all, of Jen's sketches--a sure mojo booster!

Ok, let's see...oh, see that cute little nutcracker penguin...ain't he cute?! He can be yours, along with a whole slew of swanky new TCP stamps this Tuesday, November 10th...don't miss the TCP blog hop for more of Mr. Penguin, Sprinkle and Poochie!

After stamping and coloring Mr. P with my new Copics (squeal of delight), I covered him with a few layers of Glassy Glaze Enamel, sprinkled with bits of gold glass glitter. You know the rest of the routine, right? Into the freezer for a few minutes, take him out, tell him a joke and "crack" him up...ha, ha, ha...I crack myself up! It's the cracked glass technic, glitterified, and if you're not familiar with it...click here for a SCS tutorial.

One little tip: be sure that your ink is completely dry before starting the cracked glass technic. I had a bit of bleeding on the candy cane, which I believe is because my ink wasn't completely set.

Let's check out the rest of the gang:

Jen del Muro & November Guest Designer
Amy Sheffer
Kelly Lunceford
Leigh O'Brien
Susan Liles

Have a great weekend!

TCP Tuesday with Elf Sprinkle

Here's another sneak peek at one of four new fantastic TCP sets coming your way November 10th! The release will coincide with another fun and fabulous blog hop, so be sure to tune for TCP Tuesday next week (Susan Liles will be out HHWTM).

Today's elf Sprinkle is flying by on her candy cane spreading holiday cheer. I've glitzed her up with some sparkles on her hat and collar, as well as the button/snowflake embellishments. Excuse my crooked stitching, but I do like the bit of pink contrasted with the ivory felt and card base. If you like this sketch and want to play along, click here to head over to Leigh's blog for all the swanky deets!

See you on SFYTT Saturday with another TCP sneak peek!

Can't scare a teacher!

Here's a peek of a card I posted on the American Art Stamp blog today, featuring yet another of Emerson Quillin's ladies, as I like to refer to them. I can totally relate to the sentiment, working as a school based speech/language pathologist alongside a group of robust teachers who can weather any storm that the educational system throws at 'em!

I embossed my image using Versafine Onyx Black ink and clear embossing powder (thank you for whomever it was that alerted me to the fact that the Versafine ink is emboss-able) and then got to coloring. I finally broke down and got me some of those "Copics" that all of my cool stamper friends are using, but please don't look too closely, I'm still learning! A few stitches around the perimeter, staples and a text printed (PTI Text Style) die cut flower (SU! Birds & Blooms) finish this one off. Oh, almost forgot to tell you that I used Mojo Monday Sketch #111 for this one, so that means I'd better give you the whole picture, eh?! Here it is...

Thanks for stopping by today...I'll be back tomorrow with this week's TCP Tuesday sketch challenge, but if you want a peek at the sketch and details, head over to Leigh's blog.

Merry Christmas {SFYTT}

I know, what was I thinking, making a SFYTT Christmas card when today is Halloween, for candy-corn-sake??! Well, you see, it goes something like this: I had been inspired by this post of Mish Wooderson's, and then a few new supplies I'd ordered from Emma's Paperie landed on my doorstep this week...put the two together along with Jen's SFYTT, which just happened to be lying on the floor next to my EP goodies, and I couldn't help myself!

The vanilla card base is ever so lightly stamped with PTI's script background in Ranger Distress Ink (Old Paper), and the fun glittery polka dot layer is from Making Memories Mistletoe collection, both sponged for a little shabby vintage funk appeal. The thin scalloped layer is stamped with the same script in vanilla pigment ink and then topped with a thin strip of ivory felt, stitched in place. Other PTI elements are the MC sentiment and ivory & red buttons. Finally, the chipboard finial is from Tattered Angels (one of my EP purchases), and is sponged around the edges and then sprinkled with glitter, making it look all holiday-ish!

Let's take a peek at the SFYTT peeps and bid a fond farewell to Lorelie, Jen's October Guest Designer.

Jen & Lorelie
Amy
Kelly
Leigh
Susan

Have a fun and safe Halloween!
Amy

boo-hoo!

I've had such a great time, a really great time, as Sharon Johnson's October Stamp Simply DT Guest, so I'm boo-hooing that the month has flown by so quickly! You can bet that I'll continue playing along, so stay tuned for more stamp simply installations!

Here are the deets for this week's challenge:

3 Panel Accordion - Accordion cards are some of my favorite things to make, and that's just what we'll do today. We're taking it easy with just 3 panels today. Your accordion may be as large or as small as you like it. It may serve as table decor or it may tie closed as a little gift waiting to be opened. Anything goes -- just do a 3 panel accordion card. But beware -- they are ADDICTING!!! Be sure to check out all the DT girls links to get some GREAT ideas and to get your juices flowing!

Sharon is sooo right about these accordian panel creations becoming quite addictive. I had every intention of making a Christmas themed accordian after having so much fun making this one, but I got distracted being "mom" and "wife", and that's OK, too!

I'd like to share instructions for my Boo accordian with you, because for me, the time it takes to make one of these is sometimes consumed by tweaking the measurements and layers to fit the ideas in my head. That's why I was so excited about making another Christmas accordian--because the measuring was all figured out!

1. cut base card stock 8 1/4 x 4 inches
2. score at 2 3/4" and 5 1/2" (or simply 2 3/4" in from each end)
3. fold panels and trim "tag" corners using your favorite method -- measure precisely or just wing it! (I actually measured 3/4" from each corner, marking lightly with pencil and cutting diagonally from point to point, through all layers with my guillotine cutter.)
4. cut 2 1/4" kraft squares and 2 3/8" black squares for each panel; stamp and/or decorate as desired
5. the patterned paper strips are cut 1 1/4" x 4", V-trimmed at one end, lined up on base and trimmed at top as needed.

Those are the measurements I used, but obviously you can tweak them and decorate each panel as you desire. I am really loving my buttons and felt lately, so I couldn't stop until I'd incorporated those elements as well. I can't wait to see what the rest of the Team Stamp Simply has done, so let's not delay:

Sharon
AJ
Barb
Barbara
Deb
Janine
Jenny
Julie
Tammy

Thanks again, Sharon and the SS crew--it's been MY pleasure!
Amy

Materials
Stamps: Carved and Candelit (retired SU!)
Ink: Pumpkin Pie, Kiwi Kiss (SU!); Distress Ink Walnut (Ranger)
Paper: Basic Black, Kiwi Kiss (SU!); Kraft (PTI)
Patterned paper: Mistletoe (Making Memories); Jenni Bowlin 4x4 papers
Everything else: Thickers, staples, felt (loops), buttons & button twine (PTI)

Skating with Sprinkle

Yesterday marked TCP Tuesday #82, with Joanne as our HHWTM and a cool color challenge. I'd hoped to give you a fun sneak peek at a soon to be released set from TCP, but it just wasn't working. Instead, I pulled out Kitty Christmas and inked up skating Sprinkle. I see Sprinkle has opted for her hand muff in lieu of her mittens to keep her hands toasty warm while she's out on the pond, working on her Triple Lutz, leaving her mitts on a nearby snowflake! Ü

I added a few background snowflakes from Deck the Hall, sparkles here and there (Ranger Stickles), a sparkling Thickers "hi" (sounds like your lisping), and a fun button tied length of rope twine. The patterned paper is from Making Memories Mistletoe collection. Oh yes, and those hand drawn black lines edging the tag...yes, sadly those are my doing. After assembling the entire card, I decided that the tag needed "something" to make it pop...so I attempted to draw the lines with everything else attached (and in the way!)...why do I do that?! Are you like me, adding things here and there after the fact?! Sometimes it works out, sometimes it don't (excuse the improper grammar, it just seemed to help me make my point)!

Be sure to come out and play with us this week using this cool color combo and your favorite TCP stamps! Look to Joanne's blog for all the swanky deets and link your creation to Alma's guest book slide show. One last thing before I go...there will be a whole slug of swanky new TCP sets released in 2 weeks, so be sure to mark TCP Tuesday (10/10/09) on your calendar for the TCP Holiday Hop featuring awesome eye candy--I can't wait!

Amy