Friday, July 31, 2015

So Grateful



Oooo, today’s set we’re introducing at Power Poppy is going to knock your socks off!  It’s SO Marcy....a little vignette, some gorgeous flowers....all rolled together with some wonderful sentiments  to create a fantastic set.  It’s called So Grateful.  



I decided to work with this amazing chair and pumpkin scene first.  Tomorrow I’ll show you something else with this set, but I just had to work with that chair right away, I think it’s so great!  I wanted the chair to look a bit aged, like the paint was fading away.  I love the pumpkin filled with flowers and the pretty potato vine trailing down the chair.  

I picked some autumny tones for the paper that would pick up the colors of the scene and then stitched it all together.  



Here’s a closer look at the colouring, honestly I used so many different markers that I didn’t take a picture of them!  



Here’s the Bloom Brigade in action with this beautiful set!  And we’ll see you back here tomorrow for our Blog Hop!  


Allison Cope
Christine Okken 
(you are here)
Cindy Lawrence
Kathy Jones
Katie Sims
Leslie Miller
Tosha Leyendekker

and Marcy at the Power Poppy Blog!


Thursday, July 30, 2015

Well Played



We’re here for Day Two of the Color Me Grateful Polymer release at Power Poppy!  Today we’re showing off such a fun set that Marcy designed with her sweet daughter in mind.  It’s perfect for a number of occasions...teens, summer, the beach, it’s called Well Played, and I know you’re going to enjoy us showing it to you, the Bloom Brigade have some really fun and creative ideas!    



I chose this fantastic backpack all packed up for a day at the beach.  Doesn’t it look ready for a girls day of fun with the water bottle, old school walkman and a pretty chevron towel?   I paired the image with some fun papers in the MME On Trend pack adding some wood veneer embellies with some white craft ink on top to give them more of a white washed feel.  



I am slightly addicted to my stitched dies lately....I find myself reaching for them all the time!  I love that it gives you a clean look, but with just the right amount of extra detailing. 




Here’s the Copics I used above....




Be sure to stop by the Power Poppy Blog to see what sweet things Marcy will have to say about this set and the rest of the Bloom Brigade playing along today...


Allison Cope
Christine Okken (you are here)
Cindy Lawrence
Kathy Jones
Katie Sims
Leslie Miller
Stacy Morgan
Tosha Leyendekker

Wednesday, July 29, 2015

Happy Crabapples



Hello Sweet People!  It’s a busy week here on the blog as today we’re beginning brand new Sneak Peeks at Power Poppy of our August polymer stamp set release, the Color Me Grateful Collection!   Today begins our very lovely Happy Crabapple!  Though, there’s nothing crabby here...it’s all loveliness!  



I did some soft colouring and cutting of these intricate blossoms and fruit to create this multi-layered card that throws a little mixed-media fun in.  

I really wanted to showcase the lovely sentiment and surround it with the blossoms, so I added some pointillism to create that delicate feeling around it as well.  




I used embossing paste and a Tim Holtz stencil to create that gorgeous raised background on the white layer.  Finished off with some satin finished cotton ribbon and enamel dots and pearls, it’s got that soft country elegance.  



Here’s the Copics I used.  




And here’s the Bloom Brigade with gorgeousness in store...


Allison Cope
Christine Okken 
 (you are here)
Katie Sims
Leslie Miller
Stacy Morgan
Tosha Leyendekker

See you back here tomorrow with more fun!


Monday, July 27, 2015

Seas the Birthday



Well hello!  Welcome to The Cat’s Pajamas Summer Blog Hop!  We’ve had a fabulous Sneaky Peek Week with all the new sets, CutUps Dies and CutAble files.  It’s been so much fun to show it all off to you.  All the sets, CutUps dies and CutAbles are now available in The Cat’s Pajamas store.  Today we’re hopping along with The Cat Pack and friends to give you another peek at the sets.  You should have come from the lovely Wendy M’s Blog to start it all off.  



Today I’m showing off Seas the Birthday, our great new underwater themed set from our new artist, Tamara Hess.  It’s just so cute!  I decided to use one of our new CutAbles files to create this awesome Centre Step Design as an underwater ocean theme.  The CutAble files are great because they can be used if you have a cutting machine, or just downloaded as PDF and traced onto your design.  A great way to get more card styles in your design world!  

I took two of our fun little guys from the set and coloured them up with Copics, cutting them out to place on my scene.  

I created the top waves in the scene with the Wave CutUps Die to look like the white of the waves breaking, then brayered in the ocean beneath.  Next I added some ric rack seaweed into the scene for fun, and finally I added Picket Fence Distress Ink bubbles under the ocean.  



They’re just so cute and ready to celebrate the birthday! I love their funny little faces :)



If you flip open the centre step, this is what the inside looks like.  It’s sure a fun design for a card!  Below are the Copics I used. 



And here’s a peek at the set.  



Now to continue on the Hop you can head on over to the equally lovely Lisa’s blog for more of this fun hop!  



Saturday, July 25, 2015

Stoked!





Dude!  We’ve got something, like totally awesome today from The Cat’s Pajamas!  :)  

It’s surfer bunny!  And he’s stoked to be riding a gnarly, epic wave!  

Ok, that’s enough surfer talk, you get the picture that today’s set is a fantastic summer celebration of the ocean and our very cute bunny.  I love his new look in the surfer shorts and a hawaiian lei too :)  

I stamped him up, cut him out and paper pieced the surfboard placing him on an inset circle with our Wave CutUps die rolling behind him in dp.  I touched the top of those waves up a bit with a Copic marker to differentiate them from the background.  



For accents I used the adroable little flower/sun from the new Country Fair CutUps die and some enamel dots with some twine accenting as well.  He’s just so fun it makes me smile :)  Hopefully it does you too!  


Don’t forget the deets on our Pajama Party on Monday night at our TCP Facebook page, where we’ll be showing off even more creations and have fun games where you can win TCP goodies!

And be sure to comment on all the kitties in The Cat Pack and their creations today....Alma chooses a random commenter to win a $10 TCP Gift Certificate too! 


Christine Okken (you are here)
Deborah Anton
Jessica Rone
Lisa Henke
Nancy Thomas

Wendy McGaffey





Friday, July 24, 2015

Asters Wild!


Happy Friday!  I’m back again today with some Asters Abuzz from Power Poppy, one of our new digital stamps that Marcy so expertly illustrated.  When I see all the bees buzzing in my flower gardens it feels so happy and a little wild....so that’s definitely what happened with this card.  Leslie is also challenging us this month to use our patterned paper in our Hang Some Paper Challenge...and I definitely went a little wild with that!



This gorgeous image really sings summer :)  I printed it onto XPress It Blending Card stock and then die cut only part of the image with my Simon Says Stamps Stitched Circle dies.  I inset it into the patterned paper using the reverse cut of the stitched circle dies in the background layer of the patterned paper too, one of the great features of these dies is that they have a positive and negative row of cutting edges.  

Now...lets just say, when I went through my patterned paper I found this sheet that was so perfectly matched to the image I couldn’t go without using it - even if it does make it all a little wild.  I mean, aren’t those flowers and leaves in the design a perfect match to the asters and clover?  



I added some wild and crazy pom pom ribbon, sequins and a sentiment from another Power Poppy set, aptly named Go Wild.  Did I go a little too wild?  I think that maybe the jury is still out on that :)  



Here’s my Bloom Brigade sisters in action....

Christine Okken (you are here)


Thursday, July 23, 2015

Show Me the Monkey


We’ve got one of my favourites back this week in The Cat’s Pajamas Sneaky Peek Week...Sock Monkey!  He’s such a little charmer :)



Doesn’t he look ready to party here?  I created an interactive card today that has all the fun on the inside with some new Cut Ups Dies.  But for the outside I created a little dancing monkey party, stamping Socks, his party hat and birthday cupcake onto Neenah White paper, then colouring it all up with Copics.  



I added some older CutUps dies to frame out the sentiment - Fancy Flip Frames and Framed Up, along with some red enamel dots.  



And then, you open it all up to the party on the inside!  I used the new Long Tall Popup Die to create two separate pop ups (so fun with the more narrow design), then placed the Sock Monkey CutUp (SO cute!) on one side, the Birthday Balloons Banners Dies over the top pop ups (with the balloon ends cut off), and then added the mini-banners from the new Country Fair CutUps I’ve shown you earlier this week  and some cupcakes in a tower from this set along the bottom.  

Isn’t it fun?  

Here’s all the new goodies I used today to show off to you...



                    



Don’t forget!  You can be In It to Win It!

Leave a comment on all the DT Blogs playing along today  and you’re in the running for a $10 Gift Certificate to the TCP Store!  And you can also leave a comment on our TCP Facebook page  on the In It To Win It post for more chances to win!  


Christine Okken (you are here)
Lisa Henke
Lori Tecler
Wendy McGaffey
and the TCP Blog!




Tuesday, July 21, 2015

Lemonade Stand


Ah, who can resist the neighbourhood lemonade stand?  Today’s TCP Sneaky Peek is a fun one!  



We’re celebrating all the fun in the summer sun with this adorable little lemonade stand....and a somewhat snarky-but-loveable big eared bunny manning the stand/giving advice :)  .  I gave him some soft pastel colouring with Copics, and then paired him up with some fun black and white gingham accenting.  This fun set also comes with an assortment of glasses that I stamped on the vertical layer.  



I used the cute little sunshine/flower die from the new Country Fair CutUps die, accented with a little button, and for fun I popped up the pitcher of lemonade.  




Here’s the inside with the fun scripty sentiment, and below the Copics I used. 



Are you In it to Win It?  Would you like an easy way to win a $10 Gift Certificate to The Cat’s Pajamas every day?  Just leave a comment on the DT’s Blogs!  The more you comment, the more chances you have to win!  You can also comment on our TCP Facebook page too....random commenters will be chosen there as well!

Christine Okken (you are here)




Here’s a sneak peek look at the new goodies I used today!




Monday, July 20, 2015

Bun Bun Babies!



Oh my word!  Have we got some fantabulous things in store for you with the July Release at The Cat’s Pajamas!  Seriously cute stuff people!  I can’t wait to show you all the fun in the days ahead.  

Today we kick it all off with a set you’ll squeel over, it’s called Shake, Rattle and Roll and it is the most adorable pair of big eared baby buns ever!  And, it also begins our next 2 weeks challenge at TCP - Anything Goes!




Just look at these cuties!  I just had to make a pair of cards that would work for boys or girls.  Alma is also releasing some really great dies this week as well, I’ve used two different ones here (pictures at the bottom of the post).  



This first little bun showcases some great yellow and gray patterns together and the He Said, She Said CutUps Die, which is SO fun!  Then I also added the adorable little pennants from the Country Fair CutUps Die to finish it off.  



I paper pieced his little diaper and rattle and then did the banner from the sentiment with patterned paper rounding the center of the banner too.



For this second design I used all sorts of green patterns with gray and white, showcasing the Country Fair CutUps Die.  I couldn’t resist adding some mini clothes pins to anchor the little pennants.  




Isn’t that just the cutest?  Finished off with a corduroy button and twine.  

Here’s a look at all the fabulous goodies I used for today’s cards.  




Be sure to visit the rest of the Cat Pack playing along today with this great set!


Christine Okken (you are here)
Deborah Anton
Lisa Henke
Lori Tecler
Nancy Thomas
Tammy Hershberger
Wendy Bond
Wendy McGaffey
and the TCP Blog! 


        Don’t forget about some of the FUN we have going on this week, here’s you invitation to our Pajama Party on Monday July 27th at our Facebook page....

        And be sure to comment on our Facebook page every day where just chatting puts you “In It To Win It!”  Each day Alma picks random comments to win the set of the day!  The more you comment, the more chances you have to win!