Monday, July 31, 2017

How Does Your Garden Grow?



Hello!  I’m popping in with a cute little design for The Cat’s Pajamas newest challenge, How Does Your Garden Grow?  There are a lot of different TCP sets that will work for this challenge, but I chose to go with two of the newest using What’s Up Gnomie?  and Big Blooms.  This time I used the flowers as intended as Agapanthus and gave them some pretty deep blue colour, fading into the green of the stems.  It’s really easy to do using a MISTI.  I ink up the tips of the flowers with blue ink first, and then come back with my green ink, re-ink the stamp and stamp the stems. 

I wanted our sweet little gnome to be hiding under the blossoms, tucked in the grass.  I coloured him with Copics, finishing with a little prismacolor pencil, especially to make grass blades.  

For the top of the main image I used a TCP CutUps die called Fancy Flip, using just the top portion of the die on the top portion of the panel.  This gave it a fun and interesting curve.  



I added the Hello from TCP’s CutUps Die called Hello There.  It’s a great little word die because of the great script, and you can alter it with a couple of snips to just say hello, which fit perfectly on the card.  



Just a note for all my TCP friends and fans out there, I wanted to let you know that I’m going to be taking a break from the Design Team at TCP for the next season to make some space for the demands of my job and those crazy kids of mine.  I know the TCP and the Cat Pack will continue to bring you fun and whimsical delights in the mean time.  Thanks for all your support for the great things at The Cat’s Pajamas!





Don’t forget about the Challenge!  
Here are the details:
  1. Each month a new challenge will be posted on The Cat’s Pajamas blog and our Facebook page.
  2. If you want to play along you just upload your design to The Cat’s Pajamas blog page using the InLinkz button by the Monday, 11:55 EDT before the next challenge.
  3. You are not required to use a Cat’s Pajamas stamp or die but if you have them we would love to see them.
  4. On the day of the next challenge the winner will be chosen from the previous challenge and will receive a Cat Cash Voucher for $50.



Sunday, July 30, 2017

Under Glass



Hello Friends!  I’m so delighted you stopped by today, and I hope you’ve enjoyed the last week of sneak peeks for Power Poppy’s Abundance Collection!  Today we’re showing off the final set, and I think we’ve saved the best for last!  This set allows you to create precious little vignettes that can work on their own, or under a little glass dome, also called a Cloche.  A Cloche has some fun vintage history because they were designed to keep plants warm in chilly temperatures, but now it’s a very popular design trend to display sweet things together.  It is just like Marcy to create her own little collections of things that work beautifully together, and she does it so skillfully again in this set,  called Under Glass.  




There are so many lovely collections in this set that it was hard to pick which one I wanted to work with first.  I finally settled on this adorable little nest scene, with the book and greenery.  It’s coloured up with Copics.  Then, I trimmed the cloche out and placed it on a little sponged scalloped circle.  I chose to do a tall and skinny card design for this one, it seemed to fit the petite-ness of the little pretties in the cloche.  The card is 3 3/4 x 5 1/2.  




Isn’t that the sweetest little scene?  I added a bit of speckle for those little eggs in the nest.   A little strip of plaid paper, a bright orangey-yellow ribbon and some enamel dots add a bit of the colour.  This set has some really sweet sentiments in it, but I chose to use a sentiment from our first set we showed you this week, Vibrant Thanks, because of that lovely little scripty Hi.  



Sorry about the haphazard collection here of the Copics I used, but this was another one that I coloured when I was visiting my mom and dad, so I grabbed them all quickly and snapped a shot with my phone.  


Now all of these amazing sets in the Abundance Release are AVAILABLE!  And did you hear about Marcy’s new promotion?   It’s a fabulous one!  



Here’s the rest of the Bloom Brigade showing off for you on Release Day...

Allison Cope
Christine Okken
Cindy Lawrence

Julie Koerber
Kathy Jones
Stacy Morgan
Tosha Leyendekker

and Marcy at the Power Poppy Blog


Saturday, July 29, 2017

Abundant Dahlias




Today we’re bringing you another fabulous flower in the Power Poppy Garden.  Here’s Dahlia XL!  This is the second addition to our XL collection of supersize flower stamps — a Dahlia modeled on the exquisite and popular cultivar 'Cafe au Lait. 



Its such a beautiful stamp!  Those curly dahlia leaves are gorgeous to add colour to!  I went a wee bit away from the Cafe au Lait Dahlias and used a colour palette found in another type called Crichton Honey Dahlias because in some of their varities, they go from a deep burgundy inside the curls, to a light soft peach or even yellow.  The Crichton Honey variety have really tight curls, not fluffy ones like this one, but it’s always good to use your imagination when you’re colouring.  

I trimmed this beauty out and added some pretty leaves tucked in behind it, laying it all on a layer of watercolor paper that I had given a peach/pink background wash to.  




I added some gold touches with the sentiment, edging the peach cardstock in gold and adding some pretty peachy pink and gold sequins.  This card is 5 1/2 x 5 1/2 so it really makes a statement.  


The Bloomies will show off mad colouring skills today with this one!  Just go check them out!  One more day till all of these goodies will be released and psst.....Marcy has an awesome promotion starting tomorrow too!  Don’t miss it!  Thanks so much for stopping by today!  


Allison Cope
Christine Okken (you are here)
Cindy Lawrence

Julie Koerber
Kathy Jones
Stacy Morgan
Tosha Leyendekker

and Marcy at the Power Poppy Blog!


Friday, July 28, 2017

Tree of Life


Today we’re delighted to show off our third new set from Power Poppy in the Abundance Release!  This set called Tree of Life showcases a gorgeous tree in all stages of blossom, full leaf and abundant fruit at the same time.  When I think of abundance this really fits the bill.  There are lovely little birds perched in the tree as well as another you can place wherever you like, and even a little squirrel you can tuck under the tree.  


For this design I thought that it would be neat to also showcase colour transforming from bottom to top to illustrate growth and blooming in the same way Marcy showed us so many stages of the tree at once.  So from bottom to top I used more purples and deep greens in the lower third of the tree and fruit, moving to mid-greens  and deep reds in the middle to yellow-greens in the top.   It has a neat effect I think.  

I also created that same effect with my strip of designer paper by sponging the panel with different shades from deep bluey-purple, to a lighter purple to yellow on top.  It all works with the green/turquoise and purple tones of the paper.  

I like that sentiment too, I just said to my husband the other day, “I need to be in the mountains at least a couple of times a year for my spirit.”  I think that works with trees too!



A few sparkly Nuovo dots accent the design to finish it off and keep it simple so that all that lovely colouring is center stage.  This is another one of those cards where I used about 50 markers to bring it all together, so no picture of them today :) 



Here’s the Bloom Brigade showing off Tree of Life for you today.  I know you’ll enjoy what they have to show you!  

Allison Cope
Christine Okken (you are here)
Cindy Lawrence

Julie Koerber
Stacy Morgan
Tosha Leyendekker

and Marcy at the Power Poppy Blog!


Thursday, July 27, 2017

It’s that Pure Prairie Spirit



Today we’re all about that Pure Prairie Spirit at Power Poppy....its that zest for life, full of vibrant sunshine, and it comes to you a little untamed.  This new set from Marcy takes its cues from an earlier release of Pure Prairie Bouquet in digital form.  So many of you asked for it to be released in polymer, and now it is!  What’s fun is that you can use the monarch butterflies in the set wherever you want and there’s a new bunch of lovely sentiments as well.    The little collection of flowers features a mix of wildflower favorites such as coneflower, New England asters, tickseed, little bluestem, purple prairie clover, bee balm, and Indian paintbrush.  



This pretty bouquet is so full of pizazz that I had a hard time deciding what colours to use for my paper choices. Then when I placed it on this turquoise background which mimics the colours I used to colour the background, the image really popped.  I die cut the image into a circle to really fill the frame and then added some plaid embossing to the background, some designer paper that really goes with the biggest coneflower bloom, and finished it off with some enamel dots and twine.   That cute little sentiment is perfect for one of those “anytime” cards.  



Here’s a quick peek that’s closer.  I added the butterfly popped up on a foam dot.  I used about 50 Copic markers for this one, so I didn’t take a picture, sorry!   What you will hopefully be able to see is that I used a lot of the colours from each flower, in the other flowers.  That way it ties the colouring together a bit.  

The Bloomies are all back in action again today to show off their Pure Prairie Spirit!

Allison Cope
Christine Okken
 you are here
Cindy Lawrence

Julie Koerber
Kathy Jones
Katie Sims
Stacy Morgan
Tosha Leyendekker

and see what Marcy has to say at the Power Poppy Blog!

See you back here tomorrow!  Stay tuned for news about an awesome Abundance Promotion Marcy’s starting on Release Day!  


Wednesday, July 26, 2017

The Abundance Release Begins!



A very happy welcome to each of you stopping by today!  Power Poppy has a fabulous week ahead for you with brand new polymer sets created by Marcella Hawley, full of Abundance!  There’s so much beauty in store that it’s overflowing.  

Today we’re kicking it all off with a sweet set called Vibrant Thanks.  In it you’ll find three pretty sprigs of summer flowers and some stylish sentiments that make this thank-you set a must-have! Zinnia, Bee Balm and Coreopsis allow for multitudes of combinations with the various sentiments. 



I started off with the pretty zinnias to colour.  They are such a great cut flower and you can colour them in SO many different combinations, which is really fun.  After colouring this beauty up, I placed it on a couple of pieces of designer paper (MFT) and added a pop of vibrant orange ribbon, layering that over another piece of white cardstock that I used embossing paste and a stencil on to give it some texture.  I think those bright colours and the bright white pair well together.  




A few teeny iridescent jewels finish off the design.  



Here are the Copics I used....a quick photo taken when I was colouring at my parent’s place.  


There is so much beauty in store for you today from the rest of the Power Poppy Bloomies...be sure to pop by and leave your love!  All this beauty is coming at you each day over the next week, be sure you check back each day!  

Allison Cope
Christine Okken
Cindy Lawrence

Julie Koerber
Kathy Jones
Katie Sims
Stacy Morgan
Tosha Leyendekker

and Marcy and the Power Poppy Blog!

Monday, July 24, 2017

The Cat’s Pajamas July Hop!


Welcome to The Cat’s Pajamas July Release Hop!  We’ve had fun showing off these great newly released stamps, CutUps Dies and CutAble files this that are now available in the store!  

Today the whole team is going to show off a few more designs to celebrate, and I get to kick it all off.



I’m kicking it off with the Gnomes from the adorable new set, What’s Up Gnomie?  I randomly stamped one of the gnomes, the flower and the watering can onto white cardstock and then coloured the whole scene up with Copics in a bright blue and yellow colour palette that I thought would be fun.  

I added the folded banner from our new Ribbon Banner CutUps die and then finished it off with a few enamel dots.  




It’s a jumble of fun!  





Here’s the inside of the design, where I made use of the border of the outside where I had some extra space of coloured images.  Below are the Copics I used.  




For my second design I made use of the new Flowerpot CutAble file that Alma designed for this release.  

I thought the cute and innovative design for a card would go great with more of the gnomie designs.  I grabbed some cardstock that I think turned out to be Stampin’ Up cardstock, (sometimes when it’s scrap pieces it’s hard to tell what’s what).  It doesn’t hold the colouring as well as XPress It Blending cardstock, and tends to leave some streaking, especially with deep colours and lots of blending, but I still thought it was cute and added to that cartoon sort of feel of illustration.  Isn’t that little dude cute, sitting in the shade of the flowers?  The fun little mushrooms are another perfect touch.  I made use of the cutting files that Alma always provides for the sets that you’ll want to check out too!  






The top panel of the card with the grass pulls out from the pot so you have a place to write a sweet little note to your gnomies.  I used TCP’s Grass CutUps die for the patterned paper grass and then added some ribbon and used a plaid embossing folder for the bottom of the flower pot.  



Alma made a video to demonstrate the Flowerpot CutAble that you can check out too.

Here’s a peek at all the wonderful new sets and die....


 

 


Today also kicks off our new TCP Tuesday Challenge, How Does Your Garden Grow....join us and you could win Cat’s Cash to the TCP Store!




And now, the fun is just getting bigger and better, head on over to the lovely Julie Elak to check out her creative designs!


In case you get lost here’s the whole Hop Lineup!

Christine – you are here
Julie
Brenda
Deborah
Nancy
Wendy
Alma@The Cat’s Pajamas  



Friday, July 21, 2017

The Cozy Gardener


I’m back with another design for this month’s Copy A Bloom Challenge from Power Poppy.   And today I’m throwing in a bit more of a "Christmas in July" theme, with a botanical twist.   



When Marcy illustrated the lovely Fully Stocked set she included a stocking filled up to the brim with bits and bobs of doodads that every gardener would love.  It’s so charming! When I saw Katie Sim’s warm and inviting creation with it I knew I’d want to someday CASE it.  Today was the perfect opportunity for an Ode to Ms. Katie.  

Stamped onto XPress it Blending with Memento Gray Flannel ink, I coloured it up with Copics with that same warm cozy palette as Katie did.  I kept the same basic design with the woodgrain background, and the patterned paper, but changed up the base colour, used more patterned paper, added a burlap layer to frame up the stocking and add to the earthy feel, added gold Krylon pen to edge my layers, much like Katie often does and then used a different ribbon/button/twine combination.  Katie’s bows are always perfection, and mine doesn’t even come close!  




Here’s Katie’s gorgeous card first published here.  




A bit more close up of the colouring.  Come on in and join us with the Copy a Bloomie Challenge, enter your creation and you could win a $50 Shopping Spree to Power Poppy!  


Take a peek at what the rest of the Bloom Brigade playing along has to show off today, I know you’ll be delighted!  

Allison Cope
Christine Okken (you are here)

Katie Sims
Stacy Morgan

and our Good Vibe Friday here!


Tuesday, July 18, 2017

Orchid Hues





Power Poppy is back with another trio of colours to inspire you this week in our Hues to Use Challlenge.  This week we introduce our first guest stamper too!  You’ll want to check out the Power Poppy blog for the introduction.  I’m jumping in a day late with a pretty orchid design.  



I used the lovely set Orchids Rock, stamping it in brown ink on watercolor paper.  Next up, I pulled out my Inktense pencils and washed in some pretty pink colour onto the orchids, a bit of green on the leaves and some pretty buttery colour in the background.  After it was dry I added some definition with my prismacolor pencils to pair better with the Hues to Use Challenge.  




Lovely colours together aren’t they?  All from Marcy’s recent trip to the DC area.  



I flicked my waterbrush with some chocolate ink onto the watercolor paper and I sewed the layers together, adding some pretty pink designer paper to zing it up a bit.  The sentiment is from Power Poppy’s Potted Primroses set.  A tiny button and some twine accents the corner.  

So, come on over and play with this week's Hues to Use!  If your creation is chosen, you get to join us in a future week of Hues to Use and win a free Power Poppy Digi stamp too!

Thanks for popping by!


SaveSaveSave

Monday, July 17, 2017

It’s TCP Sneaky Peek Week!





Welcome to Sneaky Peek Week at The Cat’s Pajamas!  I’m kicking it all off today with peeks of the new stamps, CutUps dies, and CutAbles for July.  We’re all about the delights and whimsy of summer this month!  There are three fun new stamp sets, one CutUps die, and two new CutAble files.  I’ve got lots of great stuff to show you!  



I’m starting it all off with the brand new Big Blooms stamp set.  I happen to love hydrangeas and wanted to play with these gorgeous blooms first.  I used my MISTI to stamp the blooms several times in an amethyst and blue blue ink, adding some green to some of the blooms as well.  Then stamping some dotted centers with purple ink and white craft ink.  The multi-steps really give the flowers more realism.  

I created a windowed design by die cutting out the middle of the flowers, then used my MISTI to line up the middle so I could restamp the flowers inside the fram in the exact location I needed.   You’ll see what I did with the original white inner panel in a minute.  



I embossed the pretty sentiment inside the design and added some clear sequins for a bit of shine.  


Now, for that inner panel.  No need for a perfectly pretty stamped piece to go to waste. Now I can have two cards instead of one!

I used the inner panel to the right for my next card!



I created a tall and narrow design here 3 1/2 x 5, pairing it with some pretty designer paper that really shows off the contrasting flowers.  I’ve added the lovely new Ribbon Banner CutUps die with a sentiment from another new set this month called Banner Day.  It’s stamped in white craft ink and embossed.  



A few clear sequins adorn this one as well.  I really love this fresh colour combination.  


Next up, I’m creating with my gnomies!  


These adorable gnomes are from the new set, What’s Up Gnomies.  This time I coloured with prismacolor pencils to create a little scene of them sitting on a fence.  

I’ve used a woodgrain embossing folder on the bottom third of the card, some fun washi tape, as well as some die cut buttons, and enamel dots to accent.  

They’re such a cute pair!  


Last up for today, I have another card I created with the Big Blooms set.


When I first saw these pretty stamps I thought of dill blooming in the garden, so I have a bit of a simple but earthy, masculine design.  I began by stamping the images in white craft ink on watercolor paper, and embossed them in white.  Next I stamped the green “dill” in Ranger Distress ink and then washed in some distress ink for the background, allowing some water drops to pull away some of the ink in places.  



Some burlap and some twine finish off the design.  




So, have you enjoyed this little tour of the July products at TCP?  Would you like to win them?  Every day Alma chooses a winner from the comments on each Sneaky Peek post for a $10 voucher to the TCP store!  So, comment away :)   Check here and on our Facebook page tomorrow for the winner.

As well, our fearless leader and TCP Cat Packer Nancy will be up tomorrow to showcase these new goodies, and you have another chance to win!  More information at the TCP Blog HERE!