Quick Field Trip Scrap Page! (Memory Nest April Challenge)

Hey all! Just swinging by with a page. I FINALLY had some crafty time today. I am down to a handful of pics left to scrap from 2011. You would think this would light a fire under me to finish, so I could then get back to 2012? Nooooo, they've just been sitting there, LOL. I saw this sketch from the Memory Nest hit my feed a few weeks ago and thought it was a fun one. :) So, I am just getting this in under the wire! ;) Here's the sketch:

Here's my page. These pics were emailed to me by a mom that went on this field trip, but they were really low resolution. However, it's such a cool Field Trip they do! This place is called Ameritowne. The kids go and basically run their own city for a day-so cool! So, the pics weren't the greatest, but I wanted to have the memory for his book. I was supposed to try something new for my page too, as part of the challenge, but I am just going with dusting off my scrap mojo! It's been lying dormant! ;)

You can see I used three panels on either side instead of 4, it just worked better with my pics being horizontal. I used scraps for the DP panels, and the title block.

That's it for me today! I'll be back tomorrow with some fun news! :)

Diva 40th Card

Hi all, a just for fun post for you today! I recently have been digging on the color mint in fashion. Mint and gold together are my new favorite combo. I recently got a cute mint and gold watch very similar to this one below at Francesca's for 10$.

I also bought this cute mint top at Kohl's for summer. I've dropped about 10 lb. recently, between triathlon training and giving up sugar. It feels so good to get rid of all the Larges, 12s, and 14s I've been wearing for years. :) Fortunately, I've found a few good consignment stores to sell off the old, so I can buy new things that fit. I did a MAJOR (probably my most drastic ever) closet clean out over the weekend. Now to just make some time to get over there and sell some more things.

Anyhow, so I thought a mint and gold card would be fun.... I have these gold doilies from Freckled Fawn, so fun!  I also added some pink stars from there as an accent.

I cut the numbers from a scrap with my Numbers CutUp and used the coordinating stamps Your Number Is Up for the sentiment.

I hope you like it. Be sure to stop by tomorrow for a BIG announcement! :) 

Sequin-y fun card! (TCPTUES265)

Hi all! We have a fab new color challenge for you guys over at The cat's Pajamas today! Check out this fabby palette:

Here's the scoop on our TCP Tuesday Challenges:

Here are the Details on how you can join in on the fun:

1. Every other Tuesday a new challenge will be posted on the TCP blog as well as on our Splitcoaststampers forum and our Facebook page.
2. If you want to play along you just upload your design using the InLinkz button below*. If you want to display your pretties on Splitcoaststampers use keyword TCPTUES265. Only the entries uploaded to the Inlinkz button will be considered for Swanky Stamper at the end of the month.
3. You must have your project posted by the Monday, 12 midnight EDT before the next challenge to be eligible to win the Cat Cash.
4. Cards and projects are not required to use of a Cat’s Pajamas Stamp or CutUps die.
5. On the following TCP Tuesday, the winner will be chosen at random from the previous challenge and will receive a Cat Cash Voucher for $10 or $15 if a TCP product is used.
6. At the end of the month, The Swanky Stamper will be selected from all the weekly entries. The Swanky Stamper will receive some of the stamps from our next release and get to play along with us at our Pajamas Party and Blog Hop. AND… They’ll even get a special spot in the Gallery highlighting the project that won them the gig and a snazzy badge to display on their blog.
7. The Swanky Stamper will be announced the First Monday of the month on Splitcoaststampers, Facebook page and the TCP Blog.

Here's my card! This is my first attempt at a sequin shaker card. I didn't even mind sewing on it, because this was so fun. :) 

So, I took a sheet of acetate and a sheet of DP, then sandwiched the pink and coral sequins between. then I stitched all around the edges with my sewing machine. The top is done with have of a die cut from Framed Up 2. Then I layered on a pre made rosette embellie that I added a melon candy dot to. Then just lathered in a wood piece and another candy dot in navy blue. 

I hope you like my card! My Cat Pack buds have some AWESOME cards to show you as well, so I hope you can check it all out and play along, too. New rules are posted above! And remember, I have a BIG announcement that will be up on Thursday. :) 

Spot On for the ColourQ! (CQC238)

Hi friends, trying to dust off my mojo today! Whew, I am feeling so rusty! This is why I need to craft several times per week and not just once per month! Honestly.... The good news is, with as busy as I've been, I've still managed several home decor projects over the last month, as well as having some major cleaning and organizing going on 'round here! :) Soon I will show you the mini-makeover I gave to my family room, and my 11 year old's new room. But today, a challenge was needed! So I decided to play at the ColourQ. Here's the palette:

Here's my card. I recently bought this Lil' Inker Designs "Spot On" stamp set and Connected Circles die used. Fun and easy, yes? :) I swear that "hb2u" circle is in Eggplant ink, for some reason it looked brown, and I couldn't get the color correcting right...

I used a few sequins that my friend Annette gave to me (thank you, Annette! They are the only sequins I own!) and I added some small gems in the contrasting colors to the centers of the sequins. But my upcoming TCP Tuesday card that you will see in a few days may have convinced me I need more sequin colors, so I'll have to get some more, maybe. :) you'll see what I mean on Tuesday. :)

 and that is all for me today. I have a FUN sequin-y card for you on Tuesday, and then a BIG announcement on Thursday. I cannot wait! :)

Holiday Cards/Magazine Rejects (aka: Yea, I have something to post!) ;)

Hi friends, I know it's been a long loooooooong time since you've heard from me! Sorry, I hosted Easter here on Sunday for 34 people (yes, that's all family). I finished one little "show" (Final Performance) on Monday night then started teaching a new class on Tuesday. Also had a lot of things/appointments/social events scheduled. And then, in the middle of all this insanity, I made a truly crazy move and took on a new challenge. It's super exciting but I can't share just yet. I will have more info up next week, I promise! :)

But you have not seen anything new in AGES, I know, so here's some rejects from the last mag submission I did. And, oh by the way, if you look on page 70 of the current (Summer) issue of CardMaker magazine, you might see something of mine! *squee* ;)

That's all for me today, but I'm really dying to stamp, and looking to have a little more time this weekend, so I should be back sooner rather than later this time, ok? :) Take care! 

Mr. Postman (Jess Challenge-fave embellishment)

Hi friends! Sorry about all the crickets around here lately. My life has been just truly cray cray. This week and next week I'm just hanging on for the bungee jump that is my life right now. ;) Ha! But the other night, I took a few minutes out of my evening to ink up my new Karber Mr. Postman Stamps. These are so cute, check out the whole set:

I told Berenice that I'm so glad they have clear stamps from Karber Designs now. I am just not good with digi. Wish I was, but I just don't use them the way I do a physical stamp. But me+clear stamps=LOVE! :)

The challenge up on Jess Challenge is FAVORITE EMBELLISHMENT. I can't choose just one fave embellie, so mine are candy dots *and* washi. ;) I used two candy dots on the wheels and one on the stamp shaped brad on the top of the card :) I also used 2 strips of washi on the main panel.

That stamp brad is like cave-painting ancient ;) I know I bought this big pack of brads from a specialty catalog maybe 10 years ago. There were tag shaped ones, these stamp shaped ones, and photo corner ones. A fun embellie for this card. The papers are Crate Paper-Story Teller Collection, an older 6" pad I have that's perfect for these stamps.

Missing you all, blog friends! Hope you are all well and happy. :) Be back here ASAP. 

TCPTUES264-Sketch Challenge!

Hi all! I am crazy in the throes of trying to get my show up (and begin teaching a new class right after that) in the next week, plus hosting Easter for 25 and a bunch of other stuff, so I am going to keep this short and sweet! We have an AWESOME sketch today for this week's TCP Tuesday. Here is what you need to know to play:

1. Every other Tuesday a new challenge will be posted here on the Cat's Pajamas blog as well as on our Splitcoaststampers forum and ourFacebook page.
2. If you want to play along you just upload your design using the InLinkz button on the TCP blog. If you want to display your pretties on Splitcoaststampers use keyword TCPTUES264. Only the entries uploaded to the Inlinkz button will be considered for Swanky Stamper at the end of the month.
3. You must have your project posted by the Monday, 12 midnight EDT before the next challenge to be eligible to win the Cat Cash.
4. Cards and projects are not required to use of a Cat’s Pajamas Stamp or CutUps die but if you do the Cat Cash amount increases.
5. On the following TCP Tuesday, the winner will be chosen at random from the previous challenge and will receive a Cat Cash Voucher for $10.00 or $15 if a TCP product is used.
6. At the end of the month, The Swanky Stamper will be selected from all the weekly entries. The Swanky Stamper will receive some of the stamps from our next release and get to play along with us at our Pajamas Party and Blog Hop. AND… They’ll even get a special spot in the Gallery highlighting the project that won them the gig and a snazzy badge to display on their blog.
7. The Swanky Stamper will be announced the First Monday of the month on Splitcoaststampers, Facebook page and on the TCP Blog.

Here's my card:

Here's the sketch:

There are some hand cut files and SVG files for your Silhouette if you have one (I don't have one-boo!) :( over on the main site. Go check it out!  

Here's what Alma has to say about our new cut files: 

Whenever I taught a class, I noticed that there were some people who liked fussy cutting and those that do not. Personally, I like fussy cutting, but I am not good at it.

Many people have asked for cutting files for their silhouette and other cutting machines for the main images from our releases. And, that goes for some of our projects and card shapes.

Sometimes, a project is too big to offer as a CutUps die, it would cost you a fortune. So, we've decided to start offering you cut files. Downloadable files are only be a tiny fraction of the cost of a die. AND, you can take that file and resize it to your heart's content.

And, once you get it, it is yours. It will always be in the Downloadable section of "My Account"

So starting with our last release, you'll find the cutting file for the MAIN images only in a section marked "Free Cutables" in the "Cutables" section. And, tomorrow, as a special treat, we'll be offering our TCPTues Sketch as a FREE Downloadable file.

1. To get a downloadable file, log onto your account and add the file to your shopping cart.
2. Check out
3. Go back to "My Account" and it will be there waiting for you to download it.

It's that simple. Try it out and let me know what you think. I can't wait to hear from you.

I started my card before I saw the hand cut files, so I just used my circle cutter and punches to make the circles. I used my Framed Up 2 CutUps to make the banner, and the Eggs in a Basket CutUps for the eggs. 

The stamp set used is Sugar, Sugar.

The papers are dear lizzy (American Crafts) Neapolitan collection. Those 6" pads sure make coordinating papers a breeze! I paper pieced my Bun, and colored the basket and eggs with Copics.

That is all for me today! See you back here real soon! :)

Bunny Love

Hi friends, I got new toys on Monday and couldn't wait to play with them! :) Before I delve too deeply into this post, I should tell you that card was CASEd from Arielle's card here. 

I loved her card so much, I was dying to make one, but I have no bunny die. Then not a day later, I see that Lil' Inker Designs now sells a bunny die from their latest release?? Uh, ding ding ding! We have a WINNER! I love LID dies, the sweet stitched edges are adorable and I hadn't purchased anything from there (or anywhere else really) in way too long, so it was MEANT TO BE! ;) The perfect little splurge.

I also recently bought a few fun embellies from Freckled Fawn including these sweet stars , one of which you see on the card.

Back when I started blogging, I used to do bows on every card. I sort of have fallen out of the habit, but thought this card needed a pretty bow.

For some reason I don't have many stamps that have Easter greetings. this one is an old one from Stampin' Up! 

Here's a bunny close up, I added their bows on the top for a little added interest. 

This was a fun card, I am thrilled with my new purchase. Now I can't wait to make a bunny card that shows their stitched edges since this time I just used the negative of the die cut :) 

Something very exciting came in my email inbox on Tuesday night! My first published card is in the Summer edition of CardMaker magazine, which is now out! Check out page 70, and you can also see a screenshot on my blog's Facebook page. :) Can't wait to get my print copy! Ack! Sooooo exciting. :)