Sneaky Peek Week with TCP!

Welcome to my day of The Cat’s Pajamas November release!  I have two cutie patootie cards to show you today in anticipation of the release on Tuesday.    We’ve got 3 new stamp sets and 6 new dies for you this month!  

First up is the ultra adorable Lettuce Be Friends.  It showcases 4 fruit/veggies with the option of also giving them some cute kawaii type faces.  I chose to leave them just as their lovely fruit and veggie selves, stamping them on watercolour paper and then watercolouring with Zig Real Brush markers.  I created the background and then also stamped a separate strawberry and cut it out with the coordinating dies for this set.  

I finished it with a little black border using TCP’s Icing Cut Ups Die, a bit of baker’s twine around the strawberry stem and a enamel dot.  

Next up, our favourite bunny is BACK!  It’s Look for the Rainbows!

He’s waving a love flag to congratulate someone special!  Coloured up with Copics and matched up with some fun valentine themed paper with these CUTE candy hearts.  For a further take on Valentine’s, I’ve added these adorable NEW Lacy Arrows.  This die can also be yours FREE with a $65 purchase.  I thought they would look great to frame up our little bunny.  

Here is a closer look at what I used today that we’re releasing this month.  

  

Isn’t it all SO cute!  

Now it’s your turn!  You could WIN just by commenting on this post!  Alma will select a name from my comments for a TCP Gift Card!  

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Sneaky Peek Week with TCP!

A Spring in My Step

You have have seen some sneak peeks on Marcy’s Power Poppy Instagram page this week of a fabulous new Valentine’s Release from Power Poppy, and it is downright adorable!  She’s calling it Va-Va-Valentines, and this particular image is called Spring In My Step.  All 6 new images and 4 sentiments are available in one super sweet VERY affordable bundle, only $6 for all 10 images!  What I love about them is that they could be used for many other occasions than just Valentine’s, so you really stretch your dollar.  Every one of the images is awesome!  

As I’ve mentioned before, I’m anticipating Spring with great excitement!  So the first image I coloured up had to be this one.  I picked some pretty springy shades and coloured it with Copics.  

I made a notebook edge for the top, rounded the corners on the bottom of the main image and then accented with some die cut green leaves, Nuvo dots and twine.  Notice that little upside-down inchworm?  Ah! The sweetest little design!  

Here’s the Copics I used.  Doesn’t that palette look cheerful?  

See more at the Power Poppy Blog.  With more inspiration from the team here:

Allison

Broni

Nancy

Elizabeth

Barbara

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A Spring in My Step

Hop for Popcorn Love

Hi Everyone!  We’re kicking off a new challenge this week and the celebration of our Sneaky Peeks with a Blog Hop today!   It’s been a fabulous week of sneak peeks at The Cat’s Pajamas and now all of the sets and dies are available for purchase!  

You should have come from Brenda’s blog along the hop, or you can start right at the beginning at Deborah’s blog.  Either way there’s great stuff in store for you to see!

Today I’ve got a fun design to show you today that makes a really cute treat for someone special.  Perfect for Valentine’s or any day you want to show some love.  

GAH!  Who doesn’t love popcorn in a popcorn box!  Once I saw this awesome image in the Just Let it Happen Set, I knew I wanted to make a treat bag from a popcorn box.  

For the tag, I stamped the image from the set onto Neenah white cardstock and then added a wee bit of colour with my Copics.  Aren’t their 3D glasses adorable???.  I cut out the tag using the Toppers CutUps die and rounded the corners along the bottom.  

Then I used a popcorn box file from the Silhouette store, (I was so giddy when I found it!), and then stamped the sentiment on the label and added some hearts from the Small Envie CutUps die.  This die has a little different shape for the heart than the Nested Hearts CutUps.  

Some simple twine ties the tag onto the treat bag.  

Inside is white chocolate and M&M popcorn I made, which was yummy.  

I love how eye-catching the colours are, and it’s such a sweet gift! 

Now you can head on over to Nancy’s Blog to continue the hippity-hop fun!  And be sure to join in with us on the Anything Goes Challenge!  

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Hop for Popcorn Love

Good Thinking: Love Notes

We’re back with some Power Poppy lovin’ going on!  Today’s set is full of lovey-dovey words to tell that someone special how much you care.  It’s called Good Thinking: Love Notes .  

I thought it might be fun to create some “love tickets” for this card.  So I die cut out the ticket shapes  (The Cat’s Pajamas), gave the light aqua ticket some definition with a marker, and then added the fun setiments in teal.   

I purchased a new paper kit from Echo Park - Lucky in Love which has all of these great papers I used, as well as the fun sticker elements.  It makes creating a card easy-peasy!

A little twine bow and some faceted hearts that I coloured with a BG13 Copic round it all off.  Simple and yet really sweet.  

There’s so many fun graphic elements to this sweet set that it will be a great staple in your collection.  I know you’ll want to see some more great ideas from the Bloom Brigade!  

Allison Cope
Christine Okken (you are here)
Cindy Lawrence
Julie Koerber
Katie Sims
Stacy Morgan
Tosha Leyendekker
and Marcy!

We’ll be back tomorrow with a set that’s “stacked” with creative options!

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Good Thinking: Love Notes

Bubblegum Son

For Valentine’s I had some cards on hand for my kids, but none quite “manly enough” for our older son, so I pulled this one together for him.  He is the son that LOVES candy.  He is constantly taking the gum from my purse, sneaking things out of the snack cupboard, and if I find an empty wrapper anywhere, I know it’s him.  He is 14 and constantly hungry...and not an ounce of fat on him, but he does loves to sneak treats.  So, right away I thought of these sets from PTI, Friendship Jar and Friendship Jar Fillers.  This would be what I would find, an open jar...with a bunch of gumballs missing :)  

When I went searching for some fun paper to match the gumballs I found this great pack from Echo Park - All About A Boy.  When I saw that sentiment strip I knew it was perfect for what I wanted to say to him.  

Cracks me up when I look at it - I’ve been playing Bejeweled on my little iPad and the colours totally remind me of the game!  

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Bubblegum Son

Beauty Captured - Seven

Good day to you!  How has your weekend been?  We’ve had a busy week of shopping for grad dresses for our daughter (ordered one!), youth activities and sports...even a dance for our middle son.  I captured a few things along the way. 

Remember that spring basket I took pictures of in the last weeks?  Well the tiny little flowers were not grapevine hyacinth, but crocuses.  I should have realized that....they’re just so pretty and delicate.

We’ve now officially passed the days of making Valentine’s for each class member with my kids, but at our youngest’s request we made cookies for the class.  It was fun to have him do the baking.  

GAH...love that smile :)  

The cookies really turned out great.  Chocolate Chip.  Our favourite recipe from my mom.  My mom is SUCH a good cook.  Really I know I’ll never match up to her skills.  

And this handsome young man got asked to the Valentine’s Dance at school by a girl.  It’s been soap opera central with girls lately, texting, facebooking....all drama I could do without if you ask my honest opinion.  The funny part is that it’s caught him totally off guard, girls beyond friends had not really been on his radar yet.  (Seriously they are SO forward - if you have a teen you probably know this - and I know it too - it’s just a whole different ball game when it’s your own son!).  I keep reminding him that it’s only just beginning.  We had some VERY funny conversations as a family about all of this and how he could handle it.  He was a very wonderful gentleman though and I was very proud of him, he was very clear with the girl that this was just “as friends”.  All of his friends went together with “dates” and had fun.  But LORD help me!  I know I’m in for it!  :)

Thanks for popping by friends!  Blessings on your Sunday!

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Beauty Captured - Seven

Will UB Mine?

How about a cutie Valentine today?

I pulled out Tokens of Love from Flourishes for a last go-around.  It has the cutest little Valentine elements, especially this little robot.  I stamped him in Memento Tuxedo Black on Flourishes Classic White and trimmed with Color Made Easy Tonal Neutral cardstock, colouring with T2, T4, T6 Copics.  Then I paired him up with some cute Valentine Paper that I got recently, Echo Park  - Head Over Heels.  I played with a recent Deconstructing Sketch.  I ruched a little red seambinding behind the horizontal panel and also used Flourishes Tailor Made Classic Tags die for the sentiment.  

Some iridescent twine and some Bakers twine tie off the tag and an enamel dot finishes it off.  

Isn’t that an adorable sentiment inside the design?  

Catch you again soon!  Have a great day!  

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Will UB Mine?

January Wrap-Up!

We’re wrapping  up our January New Releases at Flourishes and we’ve had a fantastic time showing off these beautiful sets to you this week.   Today the Senior Design Team brings you one more round of inspiration using any set from this release that their little hearts desire.  We’ve loved the variety this month’s sets have had to offer and we’re looking forward to showing you more!

I chose to work with Wild Roses again today.  When we were in the mountains in early December I took along some things to colour and this was one of them.  As I was sitting at the table with one of my friends and co-workers I asked her what her favourite shade of roses was.  She said a corally colour, and so that’s what I made these!  

I stamped them onto Classic White Cardstock with Memento ink, then coloured them up with Copics, adding BV’s in the shadows and YR’s in the highlights.  It always gives more depth in your colouring. I die cut out the image with our Flourishes Classic Keyhole die, trimming out another just larger mat out of Color Made Easy - Terra Cotta Cardstock.  

To get the lovely warm shading in the image I did a couple of fun things with ink.  I took out my new Tim Holtz Stencil and sponged some rich and sunny Canteloupe ink onto the image to match that more mottled effect in the designer paper.  I also laid the die overtop of the image and sponged just the inside of the finished image to give it a lovely glow.  

I also embossed the designer paper with a dotted folder to give it some texture.  

A sponged vellum sentiment, a double sunny seam binding bow and some hatpins finish it off!

I know this wonderful team will continue to inspire you, so head on over!

Allison Cope
Christine Okken (you are here)
Cindy Lawrence
Heather Jensen
Julie Koerber
Silke Ledlow
Stacy Morgan (has some blog candy to give away too!)
Tosha Leyendekker

Do you want to win Flourishes’ January Release?

• If you would like a chance at winning all newly released January sets…you can play in our Get in Shape Challenge  – we will have multiple winners there! Deadline for entries is January 13th at 6 PM EST. Check out the link for the official rules!
• All three of our January sets are available now HERE! Take advantage our New Release Bundle and get 10% off when you purchase all three sets together in a bundle. This discount will only be available through January 17th, so you have to act fast!
• We’re also excited to offer companion Silhouette cut files for these new sets.  Check them out here!
• And, don’t forget to come back to the Flourishes Blog tomorrow, Saturday, January 11th for the Winner’s Circle where we’ll announce the winners of this weeks’ Mystery Blogger challenges!

Now to finish things off beautifully….here is a look at our gorgeous new January sets

Flowers for Jan

Under the Big Top

Wild Roses

Thanks so much for joining us for this week’s celebrations and all your kind comments!  We’ve been delighted to bring these ideas to you and hopefully inspire you as you’re creating!

See you back at the Flourishes Blog tomorrow with some lucky winners!

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January Wrap-Up!

Basic Grey Blog Hop

How about some fun today with Basic Grey?!

(if you're looking for my Flourishes Pre-Release Challenge Card - please scroll down or CLICK HERE)

The CardMaker Blog Team was able to play with some fabulous goodies from Basic Grey's True Love Collection this month, and boy was it fun!  I love Basic Grey papers, but this is the first time I've played with the extra goodies from the whole collection.  There was so much to choose from, and I went out of my typical style and comfort zone which was really fun! I have a couple of creations to show you...

How about some clear cardstock Valentine fun?  I paired some clear cardstock with some of the papers from the 6 x 6 True Love pack and some of the goodies from the stickers, buttons and chipboard to create this very fun collage style Valentine.  

I cut out a scalloped heart and banner from the dp layering it under the clear cardstock, and the did different layers of chipboard and stickers.  It's busy - but it's fun too.  I love the stickers put together for the sentiment "With You my heart skips a beat, my sweet".  

Now I went a little more vintage with this next card.  I was so taken by the epoxy filled mini bottle caps that I knew I had to do something with them, so I created a little bottle cap square.  I love the more blue tones of these papers in the collection.  I used another chipboard arrow from the collection, and then added some pretty taupe lace, velvet and another little chipboard heart, and it has a little more of that shabby-chic feel.  

Here you can see the details, the photo corners and the lace more closely.  

There is so much too this great collection that I know I'll be having lots more fun with it!  I hope you enjoyed this peek at it today.  

Now you can head on over to Joy Taylor's little creative spot for more Basic Grey Inspiration!  

And when you're all done you'll want to be sure to stop by the Basic Grey Blog....there's goodies to be won!

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Basic Grey Blog Hop

Love Machine

What do you think of this cutie?   I think he's adorable.  It's a very sweet Valentine's set from Flourishes that I've always loved called, Tokens of Affection.  I just love the look of the robot and the fun sentiment.  Everytime I see it I sing the song in my head.

Stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black ink on Flourishes Classic White Cardstock, colouried with the Cool Neutrals Collection of copics, with a wee bit of Poppy Collection of Copics and accented with some fun metallic velvet ribbon, and some ruffled ribbon.

I still have a husband in the hospital.  We are making progress but new things always keep coming up.  He's still dealing with fever and infection.  It's a lot longer process than we ever would have dreamed.  But we continue to pray for full healing and restoration.

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Love Machine

May Arts Ribbon Hop!

Welcome to our monthly blog hop with CardMaker!  You should have come from Sandy Allnock's Blog here....thanks for joining us!

I'm excited that today we get to partner with my favourite ribbon manufacturer - May Arts to bring you today's inspirations!  We got to play with an assortment of wonderful ribbon, so I have a couple of projects to show you.  And...be sure to read all the way through...May Arts is having a wonderful giveaway too!  

I thought I'd begin with a little ribbony Valentine for you.  I began by die-cutting two layers of Classic Scalloped Hearts from Spellbinders keeping the negative image of the die cut and creating a layered window design, lining the smaller opening with rows of this pretty double striped pink ribbon from May Arts.  All you do is outline the back of the heart with Scor Tape and lay the rows of ribbon down. Then I embossed the lighter pink layer of cardstock with this Fireflies embossing folder.  

A little bow, some gems and this pretty sentiment from Flourishes Inside and Out You stamped onto a little Tailor Made Classic Tag and trimmed out and you have a perfectly pink Valentine!  

For this card, I wanted the ribbon be the center of attention and make a big beautiful statement...so I decided to create a ribbon rose.  (Here's the tutorial if you're interested in making one).    This pretty houndstooth ribbon creates such a pretty rose!  I paired it up with this Sweetness of Friendship stamp from Flourishes stamped in turquoise ink, again using a die as a framing piece by instead keeping the negative of the die cut.  This one is the Floral Ovals from Spellbinders.  To match the ribbon I used a Houndstooth embossing folder on the turquoise cardstock, and added some felt leaves cut with a Sizzix die.  I think the leaves add just the right pop of colour.  Finally I added some pretty gems with this Lacey Ovals Nestabling.  

Such a fun accent don't you think?  

Now you'll want to stop by the May Arts Blog today and enter because they are giving away something special!    FOUR Spools of ribbon of the winner's choice!  How awesome is that?  

Now I'm going to send you off to Dee Dee Catron's Blog to see some more ribbon goodness!  Thanks so much for stopping by today!

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May Arts Ribbon Hop!