Happy Blogoversary, Tracy! / ESS Sketch #38

I want to wish Tracy Clemente from Eat, Sleep, Stamp CONGRATULATIONS on her 2 year blogoversary! I want to tell her how much I appreciate her taking time to share her creativity with the rest of us! Her blog is full of inspiration, you can tell she puts in a lot of time and a lot of LOVE to every post!

Here is my take on both these two great challenges:

In celebration of her blogoversary, Tracy challenged us to make a birthday theme card. Perfect, because I do need to do a few more bday cards :). I needed a sketch, and of course Tracy's ESS Sketch #38 was the oh so right choice - simple yet FUN with a chance to use an edge punch!

This cupcake stand says birthday all over it! Really liking this image, with all its details - I had a great time coloring it! The DCWV Sweet pp complements it nicely.

Supplies:
Cupcakes w/stand - Impression Obscession Cupcakes - MC181
DCWV Sweets Stack, DCWV Texture Paper
Versafine Onyx ink
Ranger Liquid Pearl yellow, pearl, pink and light blue
atyouSpica for added glitter
EK Success edge punch

Owl Bird-Day Card

I am continuing to make birthday cards, and I found that this week Simon Says Challenge is a sketch. I decided to try it out because frankly it looked pretty challenging for me and drew my attention.

I got out my Owls and Branches set that cointains some really CUTE owl stamps and decided to ink this cutie. I changed the scale of the sketch a bit to fit into the card size I was going for.

Here is my take on this sketch:

Memorial day inspired me to use white, red and blue and mixed them up with some bright colors. That was not too hard to do, when using the circle PP from DCWV Fun in the Sun Glitter Summer Stack and the orange PP from a coordinating matstack - I am loving these sets. The sentiment is from another Simon Says Stamp set that I thought went nicely here.

FUN card to make, still have a few birthday cards this is one less :)

Hope you all had a NICE weekend!

Supplies:
Owl - Simon Says Stamp Owls and Branches
Branch - Simon Says Stamp Owls and Branches
"Happy Bird-Day!" - Simon Says Stamp A Little Birdie Told Me
DCWV Fun in the Sun Glitter Summer Stack, DCWV Fun in the Sun Matstack, DCWV Texture paper
Prisma Flowers
Versafine Majestic Blue ink
Momento New Sprout ink
Making Memories various brads
EK corner punch

TCP Tuesday Challenge - TCPTUES59

This week TCP challenge is hosted by Carole at Mother's Little Helper who has created a great looking sketch for us to try - clean lines and linear panels and that for me, makes for some fun messuring! :)

I decided to create birthday card because for the next few months I will be needing more than a few of them :)! So it is great to get a jump start.

I pulled out the You Say It's Your Birthday TCP Swanky clear set - I find this to be such a FUN set and so very handy! So images to choose from, but in the end I decided to ink up that delicious looking cake.

This is my take on this week's challenge!

I paper pieced the cake stand to coordinate with card and to add some texture. I used atyouSpica on the image and on the sentiment to match the shimmer of the DCWV PP from Animal Cracker. I also used yellow Stickles to on the candles and the cake. This cake looks oh so YUMMY!

This was a FUN skectch to try!

Have a great long weekend!!!

Supplies:
Celebrating Penguin - The Cat's Pajamas You Say It's Your Birthday N-7544
"Happy 29th Birthday Again!" - The Cat's Pajamas You Say It's Your Birthday N-7544
DCWV Animal Cracker, DCWV Texture Paper
atyouSpica for added glitter
Ranger Stickles yellow
Momento Rich Cocoa Ink

Birthday Card / ESS Sketch #37

I needed to do a card for my father-in-law, a very thoughtful person I have come to respect. I had moment of free time and I decided to get this one done while I had the chance.

I needed a sketch so I immediately knew I had to use this week ESS Sketch #37 where Tracy Clemente gave us a sketch with clean lines and a fun spot to place an accent element.

Here is my take on the challenges:

I also decided to play along this week Cuttlebug Spot Challenge #31 where we were to use our Cuttelbug to emboss something other than paper. So I decided to emboss a piece of transparency and use matching paint colors to give it a stress look and make it stand out more - first time I have done this so it was fun but I think it needs something else, just don't know what that could be :)...

Use my darling Cricut to cut a cake and use Silver stickles to decorate the cake and match the base DCWV PP. I then use some glaze glue and some beads to decorate the top of the cake. I do like how the cake turned out :) I used a ribbon with a metal tag to finish the card and metal brads to hold the transparency.

On this card I tried a few new things without really knowing how it would turn out in the end; and I had FUN doing that!

Supplies:
cake - cut at 2'' using Cricut Celebrations Cartridge
Cuttelbug Happy Birthday embossing folder
DCWV Dress 'Up Stack pp, DCWV texture paper
"enjoy" metal tag - Making Memories w/ Tag Curl tool"
Making Memories assorted paints
Ranger Stickles silver
OfficeMax Transparencies
Ribbon from M's
J's Essentials silver brads
Alene Glaze Glue
Beads

Hot Boy Card / TCP Tuesday Challenge - TCPTUES58

The very creative Susan Liles, is hosting this week's TCP Tuesday Challenge. Susan is challenging us to ink up our TCP It's A Mod, Mod World stamps. This set has a bunch of FUN looking stamps with a retro theme to them, plus it comes with Poochie, Sprinkles and Fifi in a few different sizes, to fit any idea.

I combined this challenge with this week Simon Says Stamp Challenge, perfectly themed "One for the Boys". I thought this stamp set was just right for this challenge too, since I find myself using this set on masculine cards - which are never easy for me to do :).

This is my take on this week's challenges:

I took my inspiration straight out of Susan's card (thank you!!!) - I just had to use that spaceship with Poochie as the navigator :) - especially after I found this space PP on the DCWV All About Boys Stack that had some FUN colors to pull from and fit nicely with the boy's theme. I added silver brads to the grey moon and emulated the silver glitter circles of the base PP on the spaceship. Used silver liquid pearl on Poochie nose to match the silver brads. The base card is from DCWV Alphabet Stack - I like the silver glitter along with the black, grey and white colors - a gift that I found great uses for despite not using all the monogram letters :).

I found the glitter irresistible to use even on a masculine card. But with planet/spaceship boy's theme, silver glitter just worked :)

Have a great weekend!

Supplies:
Spaceship - The Cat's Pajamas It's A Mod, Mod World W-7512
Little Poochie - The Cat's Pajamas It's A Mod, Mod World W-7512
"Hot Dog!" - The Cat's Pajamas It's A Mod, Mod World W-7512
Ranger Stickles silver
Ranger Liquid Pearls silver pearl
J's Essentials silver brads
DCWV Alphabet Stack, DCWV All About Boys Stack, DCWV texture paper
Onyx Versafine Ink

Just because / ESS Sketch #36

It has been over a week since I have gotten a chance to post - a lot of stuff getting in the way of playing/crafting!

But I did want to participate in this week ESS Sketch #36 were Tracy Clemente gave us a simple but FUN sketch to play with.

Here is my take on this sketch:


The way this last week has been going, simple was very welcome, so I put a quick card together using the first stamp set I pulled out - sometimes that is just the way to go! :) no fuss, just the luck of the draw :).... and it got me to ink this Hero Arts Woodland Creature set for the very first time!

I wanted something bright, cheery and simple - and I think this card is just that. I am really loving this DCWV Green Stack pattern paper with the mushrooms - I pulled some colors from this PP to use on the image. Doing a bit of paper piercing was a much needed stress reliever :)

This was a quick card to make and I had fun taking a break from this crazy week to make it :)

Supplies:
Mushrooms - Hero Arts Woodland Creatures
Tiny lady bug - Hero Arts Woodland Creatures
"There is no one line YOU!" - Hero Arts Woodland Creatures
DCWV The Green Stack, DCWV Texture Paper
Marvy Uchida scallop rectangle punch
Momento Black Tuxedo

TCP Challenge TCPTUES57 / ESS Sketch #35

For this week TCP Tuesday Challenge, Toni, our fun hostess, is back with a Color Challenge! The colors are nice and bright! They bring to mind a sea theme, so I went with that! Although they will also work nicely with bday cards, all kinds of masculine cards and summer cards.

I wanted to use this week's ESS Sketch #35, where Tracy Clemente did a great job with this versatile sketch - with too many ideas, it was a challenge for me to think of what to do with it, it has a lot of open space to play. And of course that is the FUN part!!!

I decided to use my Hula Cat stamp, where Sprinkles looks GORGEOUS, having a great time in her hula outfit - she oozes summer FUN! I also used my Flip Flops stamp for a FUN touch! These were my first purchases from the TCP design line after taking a FUN class taught by Tracy Falco. (thanks for turning me into a fan!:))

Here is my take on using these colors along with the sketch:

In keeping with the sea theme, I decided to use my Cricut to cut some waves! :) I fought back the urge to buy the fiskar punch, because of this cut from the Zooballoo cartridge. I used leaves glitter paper from Animal Cracker that makes the perfect background to Sprinkles hula outfit! I paper pieced her hula skirt for added texture and dimension. I used atyouSpica for added glitter on both the skirt and flip flops to match the background paper. I used the Cuttlebug embossing borders folders to add a border on top.

I took the sassy sentiment Hey Honey from the Hearts and Flowers clear set - I think it makes for a nice greeting card that I could use this summer.

This card came together after some pondering - but like the way it turned out! Thanks for stopping by!


Supplies:
Hula Cat - The Cat's Pajamas Hula Cat F-7463
Flip Flops - The Cat's Pajamas Flip Flops C-7457
"Hey Honey" - The Cat's Pajamas Hearts and Flowers S-8634
DCWV Animal Cracker, DCWV Texture Paper
Cuttlebug embossing borders folders - Frills
Versafine Onyx ink
Ribbon at M's
atyouSpica for added glitter

May Month Scrapbook Calendar Page

This is the scrapbook page for the month of May that I created for my 2009 S.E.I. Calendar. I am not quite sure where April went, but suddenly I had to do a page for May. I used another new Martha Stewart butterfly punch, this one catches my eye for it pretty silhouette look.

Again this month, I used my Cricut Home Decor cartridge for all the element on this page. From the title, to the CUTE birdies on a branch with the pretty flowers. I also used a Marvy Uchida tiny daisy punch that make a pretty flower center. I really like how this page came together, specially because I wanted to highlight a special lady in my life that has always inspired me and I admire. May is her birthday, and I wanted to celebrate her. :)

Supplies:
SEI 12x12 Calendar 2009
"create" - cut at 1 1/2'' using Cricut Home Decor cartridge
birdies - using Cricut Home Decor cartridge and Cricut Design Studio
branch and flowers- using Cricut Home Decor cartridge and Cricut Design Studio
Marvy Uchida daisy flower small punch (yellow)
Martha Stewart butterfly punch
JoAnn Essentials rub-ons
M's gems

Swanky Stamper of the Month for May!

I found out yesterday that I was chosen to be this month Swanky Stamper of the Month of May!!! This is so exciting because The Cat's Pajamas is one of my favorite stamp design since I started stamping! I feel that TCP designs are fun and versatile. I enjoy participating in the TCP Tuesday Challenges, it is something I look forward to each week and have lots of FUN joining in. I just didn't think I was swanky material just yet - and it was a nice suprise to find out I could be :) Making the winning entry was definetely a challenge, but as always, FUN!

This made my day - and due to Alma, owner of The Cat's Pajamas, I am now going to shop with her very generous gift of $25 that comes with this very swanky award! How cool is that? I am also going to oh so proudly post my badge; thanks everyone for your congrats :)...

Have a good weekend! Happy inking!

TCP Tuesday Challenge - TCPTUES56

This week TCP Tuesday Challenge, hosted by Toni, is an Inspirational Challenge. Toni, who has a very creative mind, chose these colorful glasses she found at the Museum of Modern Arts website. as our inspiration. Don't they look beautiful?

My eye first saw green and grass :) then I thought of white and clear, and finally I focused on the blue and orange. That is what I went with.

I had ideas but I needed a sketch to serve as a guide. On Monday, Jen from i{heart}2stamp posted a Sketch for You to Try (SFYTT) and it also caught my eye - it looked like so much FUN, and I just had to try it out!

This sketch just fit - the glasses also reminded me of a photo frames so I went with that idea using the rectangles on this sketch.

This is my take on this week challenge and on the sketch above:

I chose to use the Hearts and Flowers TCP stamp set because of the cute snail trying to climb that flower - perfect for the garden theme I was going for. With the help of my Cricut, I was able to cut a frame out of orange PP and used a piece of acetate to cover the green grass inside; grass that I was able to cut using my Cricut as well - this was totally inspired by that green grass glass. The orange frame, orange flower, and orange clip were inspired by the orange glass. I used blue shimmer paper along with a shiny blue brad on the flower - this was inspired by the blue glass. I popped up the yellow picket fence from a Martha Stewart edge punch (one of my favorites) inspired by the yellow glass. I also popped up the snail and added just a little bit of stickles to its shell to add shine. The sentiment is perfect for a garden lover, who I have in mind and makes a perfect Mother's Day card for her :).

Fun times making this card - made easier by Jen's (SFYTT). Thanks for stopping by and Happy Friday!

Supplies:
Snail on Flower - The Cat's Pajamas Hearts and Flowers S-8634
"Bless My Blossoms" - The Cat's Pajamas Hearts and Flowers S-8634
Momento Rich Cocoa Ink
Ranger Stickles Crystal
frame - cut using Cricut Zooballoo Cartridge and Cricut Design Studio
grass - cut using Cricut Zooballoo Cartridge and Cricut Design Studio
clip from my stash
Paper Wishes blue brad
Martha Stewart Fence edge punch
Wausau Shimmer Paper blue (bought at HSN), DCWV Animal Cracker, DCWV Texture Paper

Night Owl / BBTB Challenge / ESS Sketch #34

My lil' sis is about to wrap up her first year of college, trying to get through pre-nursing...we are all so proud of her. She is getting geared up for May rush, where everything is due and final exams all line up :). I wanted to make her a card that encouraged her to gear up and get ready to burn some midnight oil!

I did a few challenges along the way on this card; so a lot of different things going on - yet still a simple card.


I started with this week ESS Sketch #34, where Tracy Clemente did a great job at coming up with this FUN sketch, clean lines and a nice position for an accented element. :)

I then wanted to use A Wise Owl Once Said set (appropriate or what???) from Simon Says Stamp, when I saw them on one of their post a few weeks ago, I took them out, and thought how PERFECT for a card for my sis. They have been sitting on my desk and now with May around the corner, it was time to ink them :). These owls are so CUTE, with their various expression, they are so much fun to use! The sentiment "Night Owl" - is also part of this set...since don't think she will get much sleep come May. The frame around the image was something I created for fun using my Cricut, it is suppose to be a clock gear - thought it was appropriate! :)

On Simon Says Challenge, this week challenge appeals to my "i can't just throw it away" attitude. The challenge is to RECYCLE!!!! Use something/anything that had a use before. Despite the card being made out of all scraps, including the PP that was left over from a scrapbook page, I recycled the brown paper that had a tear and some glue residue; hid the tear with the blue stretchy ribbon that came from a shirt I ruined gardening :) and hid the glue with embossing using Cuttlebug branch folder and stressing the paper. The white background has cut out letters underneath but it is hidden by the brown paper; and the blue solid paper was part of a gift bag that I made and served its used.

Lastly but not least, I decided to participate on this week BBTB Doodlecharm Border Challenge where Regina ask us to use any cut we wanted from the Cricut Doodlecharm cartridge but to use its the border feature. This was one of my first cartridges and one that gets used regularly. I decided to use the stars cuts - goes great with this DCWV pattern paper from The Garden Stack that seems to have dainty stars. The BBTB Design Team is having their first blog hop, if you want to see new ways to use your Cricut, check them out - they are very talented and so creative!

Inside I stamped "A Wise Owl Onced Said"from the same set and used the Cricut to diecut the word "STUDY!" - all in the spirit of encouraging her to do just that!

As you can tell by now (long read, I know) I had FUN with this card! Thank you for stopping by!

Supplies:
sleepy owl - Simon Says Stamp A Wise Owl Once Said
"Night Owl" - Simon Says Stamp A Wise Owl Once Said
gear frame - Cricut Accent Essentials Cartridge, Cricut George Cartridge and Cricut Design Studio
star border- cut at 1 1/4'' using Cricut Doodlecharm Cartridge
Cuttlebug Branches Embossing folder
"A Wise Owl Onced Said" - Simon Says Stamp A Wise Owl Once Said (inside)
"Study!"- Cricut Doodletype Cartridge, Cricut Doodlecharm Cartridge and Cricut Design Studio
DCWV The Garden Party Stack, DCWV texture paper
Momento Rich Cocoa ink
blue stretch ribbon - recycled from a ruined shirt
Making Memories yellow brads

studio G Challenge Time SGC6 - Title Piece

On Paper Craft Planet Studio G Collectors group Marti challenged us to create title piece for a scrapbook layout of any size using our studio G stamps.

My husband had asked me a while ago to buy an album to store all the cards I have made for him. I bought an 8x8 scrapbook album in navy blue, his favorite color and placed all the cards one per page. The cards fit nicely in this 8x8 album. I needed to create a starting title page so I got inspired by this challenge to use my studio G stamps to help me create one.

This is my starting page:

The title piece for the scrapbook layout was created using Cricut Design Studio where I welded circles from the Cricut George cartridge and the word Cards from the Cricut Don Juan cartridge. I then used the Cricut to cut the additional circles to frame the images. The images were chosen from various studio G stamp sets to represent the usual four cards I make for him throughout the year - for valentines, for birthdays, for our anniversary and for christmas! :)

Here is a closer look at title piece for the scrapbook layout:

My husband is pretty happy with his album. I am also happy with how this came out, exactly how I hoped - you know how it goes, sometimes what is in your head somehow never materializes exactly as you had in mind. But so far I only have this title page done and need to go back and make background layout for the actual cards - I will keep it simple because they are quite a few now and more to come, so I want to do something to make it easily repeatable.

This was FUN project using my darling Cricut and my studio G stamps - two of my favorite and most noticeable addictions :) !

Thanks for stopping by, have a good weekend!

Supplies:
"Cards" title w/circles - Cricut Don Juan Cartridge, Cricut George Cartridge and Cricut Design Studio
"XO" - - studio G Series 29
candles - studio G 2007 set
"sealed with a kiss" - studio G 2007 set
"Together Forever" - studio G Series 29
christmas tree - studio G 2006 set
EK corner punch
Paper Wishes Spring Dots set PP, DCWV texture paper
Momento Black Tuxedo ink
Momento Lady Bug ink
Colorbox Chalk Ice Blue ink (for highlighting image)
atyouSpica for added glitter

My FIRST Blog Award - all SMILES!!!

Last week Tracy Clemente from Eat Sleep Stamp nominated me for my first blog award. Needless to say I was very much surprise! And I was all smiles! I haven't been blogging that long, so it was so nice that someone so creative enjoyed my posts. Thanks again Tracy! You are so sweet, I am glad I found your blog - because it does make ME smile!

I'm supposed to nominate 5 blogs that make me smile! This was not easy because I have a list on my goolge reader of blogs I love to visit and do make me smile. I gave this some thought and I think I will try to narrow it to 5.

Here are 5 in no particular order!

Toni - Moved to the Mountains
Jenny - One Krafty Kat
Jen- Pieces of Me
Shelly - Shellys Card Blog
Jen C. - {Brain Things}

These ladies make me smile with a mix of Cricut and/or stamping and just FUN blogging. Be sure to click on these talented ladies blogs to see their fun creations and you'll be smiling too!

TCP Tuesday Challenge - TCPTUES55

This week TCP challenge is hosted by Carole at Mother's Little Helper who has a very FUN looking sketch for us to try - Carole will be doing the TCP sketch challenges from now on; and I am looking forward to what she comes up with being that she is an amazing creative person. Check out her blog, you will agree :)!

Really liking the clean lines of this sketch; had my mind racing with ideas.

I knew right off the bat that I wanted to use the TCP Puppy Love set to create a scene. I had a friend in mind when creating this card; so this set had a few images I wanted to use. Actually this set has so many FUN images to choose from!

Here is my take on this sketch:

These birdies are so cute; I paper pieced the kite to match the base of the card - the kite combines nicely with the sentiment! I used a finger dauber to do the sun :) The colors were inspired by these beautiful Basic Grey pattern papers - they really are colorful. This card is for a friend who is trying to make a temporary long distance relationship work and I am hoping this makes her smile! :)

Supplies:
Lovebirds - The Cat's Pajamas Puppy Love N-7509
Kite - The Cat's Pajamas Puppy Love N-7509
"Love is in the Air" - The Cat's Pajamas Puppy Love N-7509
Martha Stewart 3in1 Hydrangea
Martha Stewart circle cutter
Marvy Uchida scallop punch
Pattern Paper from Basic Grey Gypsy paper pad
DCWV Texture cardstock
Rhinestones M's
Momento Cantaloupe
Momento Rich Cocoa
Momento Rhubarb Stalk

Anniversary Card / ESS Sketch #33

My wedding anniversary is this week and I needed to make a card for my darling husband. :) This year, I decided it was going to be a stamped card; and it was going to have owls!!! :)


I knew I wanted to use the Eat Sleep Stamp ESS Sketch #33, where Tracy Clemente gave us a simple sketch and encouraged us to take it to another level and not to be shy - a clean canvas to be creative was the perfect inspiration for this card! :)

I picked out the Hero Arts Whoo Loves You, for the cute little owls with hearts, the tree trunk with hearts and for the sentiment that perfectly said it all!

This card was also inspired by Creative Inspirations Challenge Blog, where we were to use 3 Flowers, 2 Buttons and Ribbon/Fibber/Lace. These elements were FUN to incorporate in my card!

This owl is so CUTE!!! Those heart buttons were a great find at M's during valentines and I'm glad I found a use for them. The Martha Stewart punch is perfect, love the scallop hearts with the dainty little holes. I also really like the heart motif reapeated throughout this Hero Art set, makes for a card that is all {heart}!

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies:
Owl - Hero Arts Whoo Loves You
Tree trunk - Hero Arts Whoo Loves You
"WHOO loves you?" - Hero Arts Whoo Loves You
DCWV The Green Stack, DCWV Texture Paper
Martha Stewart scallop hearts
EK Corner Punch
Momento Black Tuxedo
Momento Potter's Clay
atyouSpica for added glitter
A MUSE heart rhinestones
Prisma Flowers
Heart button at M's
Floss at M's
Ribbon at M's

TCP Tuesday Challenge - TCPTUES54 / Mojo Monday 82 Sketch

This week's TCP Tuesday challenge, hosted by the very creative Susan Liles, is a stamp challenge. Susan wants us to ink up TCP Having a Pow Wow images.

As soon as I thought about using these stamps, I thought about using Squaw Sprinkle with a baby in her basket. This card is for my friend Lucia who had a baby in November and as expected, has had many many changes to her life - all a blessing, but a challenge. The sentiment "HOW" is just too perfect - I am asking her how she is doing, how things are going, how she is juggling baby, work, and everything else, and letting her know how much we think she is doing an amazing job!!! :)


I used H20 water colors to go over the image to try to give it a dreamy look, love the shimmer it gives as well. I left the "HOW" sentiment nice and bold so it popped out from all the other colors. The DCWV PP was sitting on my desk from a previous project and it looked very southwestern to me... so I went with it.

I needed a sketch idea so I turned to Mojo Monday Sketch 82 , as you can see simple yet affective :). Really like their sketches; and I like participating when possible.

Thank you Tracy, really appreciate you enabling this card! I had a really good time playing with these stamps, surprised me as well!!!



Supplies:
Squaw Sprinkle - The Cat's Pajamas Squaw Sprinkle E7530
"How" -The Cat's Pajamas How B-7536
EK Success Scallop edge punch
DCWV The Blossoms & Butterflies Stack PP, DCWV texture paper
Ribbon - M's
H20 Watercolors
Versafine Ink Onyx Black
Prisma flower
Hero Arts button
generic floss