Stamps For a Cause

Happy Monday everyone!

I have some very special yet sad news to share with you today. Some of you may know Alica Weiman from our stamping community and her blog Happy Stampin! Over a week ago, her sweet little boy, Ethan, lost his battle with cancer. I can't imagine the emotional tole this family must be going through. To lose a child is one of the hardest things a family would ever have to go through and I pray for them daily. The only comfort is that I know that God has welcomed this sweet little boy into his loving arms. If you would like to find out more about this remarkable little boy, you can visit his website here and his mother's site here.

To honor Ethan and to help out in this difficult time, Melissa from Pink Cat Studio has created a set of digital stamps inorder to help raise money for the Make-A-Wish Foundation. This donation will be made in honor of little Ethan. Here is the set that you will be purchasing.

Pink Cat Studio is releasing these new digital stamps today to raise money for the Make-A-Wish Foundation in honor of Ethan Weiman. Little Ethan passed away on July 12th from Neuroblastoma cancer. Ethan was a true cowboy and loved horses, balloons and Knock Knock jokes. By purchasing these digital stamps you will help brighten the day of a sick child as the money we raise will go toward making one of their dreams come true.

Please visit http://www.pinkcatstudio.com/Stamps/WeimanWranglers/WeimanWranglers.htm to purchase these digital stamps and help the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

Thanks for stopping by today! Lots of smiles and hugs!

It's Release day!!!!!!!

Happy Wednesday again!!!

This is actually my second post for today! Scroll down for my SUINK post and some blog candy

Well today is the day! It is release day over at Pink Cat Studio!!!!! Today Melissa is releasing Sporty Billy and it is the cutest set ever!!!!!


And here is my card, just because I can't help myself!


I love the dog as a ref!!!! He is too adorable!!!!! Anywhoo I started this card by first stamping Billy playing football from Sporty Billy by Pink Cat Studio on white card stock and colored him in using my copics. Then following this week's Mojo Monday sketch, I layered on orange, dark teal, and ivory card stock along with DP from Luxe. I created the football using my nesties as a guide and some orange and white card stock. I then finished off my card with some metal letters and some stars to spell out "Touch Down". I really think my neighbor's son will love it!

Now it is time to check out the amazing DT's creations!

• Becky Carafa
• Cyndi Bundy - June 09
• Jodi-Ann Lee
• Lauren Meader
• Lise Roy
• Maria Bell
• Mariska van der Veer
• Nikki Fairbairn
• Sarah Anderson
• Vicki Garrett

Thanks everyone for stopping by today and all the amazing birthday wishes! You truly have made my birthday special and wonderful! Smiles!

Goalllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Happy Tuesday everyone!!!

I hope your week started off well! My Monday was really great! The rumors are true and yesterday was my birthday! I turned 30 last night at 11:45. I have to say the only down side of turning the big 3-0 is that now I can't keep teasing Jason that he is married to a younger woman and that I am his trophy wife! Oh well, just 10 more years and I can do it all over again! LOL!

We actually had a really lovely dinner last night at the Cheesecake Factory and I received some chocolates from my good friend Tracy, some lovely Bath and Body Works products from Jason, and a three way phone call from my great friends Heather and Jess. Izzy even stopped to tell me, "Happy Birday to you!" a couple times! Thanks to all of you too who offered me birthday wishes!

Well, I know what you are here for today! Some more sneak peeks of the new Billy set that is being released tomorrow from Pink Cat Studio!!!! Are you jumping up and down right now! I know I am! I am so, so excited! I can hardly wait for the release! Today I want to show you another of the adorable images from Sporty Billy, Billy playing soccer!


How cute is he?!!!!!! EEEEEEKKKKK I love him!!!! There is just so much action in this image! The ball looked like it was about to come right off the image, so of course I had to add some dimension! LOL! Anywhoo, I started this card by first stamping Billy playing soccer from Sporty Billy by Pink Cat Studio on white card stock and colored him in using my copics. I stamped the soccer ball again, cut it out and attached it to a spiral cut piece of paper so it would look like it was popped off the page. Following Jen Del Muro's Sketch For You To Try, I cut out my main image with some nesties and layered on brown and orange card stock along with paper from Luxe. I stamped the sentiment from Sporty Billy on white and layered on some orange and brown card stock as well. I had to move it to the corner to make the layout fit. To complete the card, I added some orange stitched ribbon to the bottom and three orange brads to the side. I hope all the soccer players in my life like it!

Now it is time to check out the rest of the team's amazing creations! Did I not tell you how wonderful they were! They always blow me away!

• Becky Carafa
• Cyndi Bundy - June 09
• Jodi-Ann Lee
• Lauren Meader
• Lise Roy
• Maria Bell
• Mariska van der Veer
• Nikki Fairbairn
• Sarah Anderson
• Vicki Garrett

Thanks everyone for stopping by! Don't forget you still have until 5 p.m. EST tonight to win this amazing stamp set! Details can be found here! And stayed tuned tomorrow for the release of this incredible set! Smiles!

Rough and Tumble Billy!

Happy Monday everyone!!!!!!

Hope last week went well for you! Mine was incredibly busy, but I am happy to say that I am almost done with our master bedroom! One room down a whole bunch more to go! LOL!

Well Izzy has been a jabber jaw all last week! I can't get her to be quiet! In fact she has become a phone addict! Now all day long, all I hear is that she wants to call Daddy, Grandma, Papa, Aunt Jess, Aunt Heather and Aunt Tracy. And then I can't get her to get off the phone! Poor Jason had to tell her bye 3 times before I could get her to say goodbye. She just loves to talk. Although having her eat ice cream while on the phone really helps to shorten the conversation! LOL!

So today is the big day! The first day of sneak peeks for the new release over at Pink Cat Studio! And can you say total cutenesss!!!!! I mean come on!!!! They are so, so adorable!!!! Melissa has outdone herself with this release! Billy is such a boy in this set, playing all sorts of sports and loving it! So with out further ado, I introduce you to Sporty Billy!


I am sorry but that little dog is the most adorable thing I have every seen!!!!!!! How could he be any cuter! I love the ears flying by and the wave under the surf board is perfection!!!! Melissa did such an excellent job of catching the feel of the wind in this image! And guess what, you can own him in just two more days, because Sporty Billy is being released this Wednesday, June 10th!!! How exciting!!! Anywhoo, I started this card by first stamping my Surfer Billy from Sporty Billy by Pink Cat Studio on white card stock and colored him in using my copics. I added some liquid applique to the wave to give it some froth! I then mounted it on some white, green and dark green card stock and following this week's Taylored Expressions Cupcake Challenge, layered on white, green and dark green card stock along with DP from Luxe. I did slightly alter the sketch to work with my image. I finished up my card by adding some ribbon and twine along with a Karen Foster charm and a few buttons! I really wanted to go with a eco-green colored card, something not so traditional. I hope you like it!

Now it is time to take off and check out the rest of the amazing DT's creations! And amazing is an understatement! These girls are fantastic!!! And please help me welcome the fantastic Cyndi Bundy as our guest designer this week! Her work will definitely knock your socks off!!!!

• Becky Carafa
• Cyndi Bundy - June 09
• Jodi-Ann Lee
• Lauren Meader
• Lise Roy
• Maria Bell
• Mariska van der Veer
• Nikki Fairbairn
• Sarah Anderson
• Vicki Garrett

Don't forget you still have one day left to grab Melissa's adorable blinky to enter into the contest to win Sporty Billy! Details can be found here! Thanks so much for stopping by today! Don't forget to come back tomorrow for day two of our sneak peeks! Smiles!

Arrrrr Your Perfect!

Happy Friday everyone!

I hope your week is going well! Ours is good! Sorry I haven't been around much lately. I probably will be pretty sporadic for awhile. Jason and I have decided to try to put our house up on the market. Of course there is no telling how long it will take us to actually get it ready to sell. We are more of the big dreamer kind of people rather than the completely finishing projects kind of people! LOL! Seriously, every room in our house has been remodeled and all of them still have a few things left to do. Even the bathroom we redid a year and a half ago still needs towel bars and 1, count it 1 piece of trim still to be put up. It is the story of our lives!

Yesterday we also opened our pool finally! This always happens though. It has been pretty warm the last week or so here and yesterday when we opened it, it was pouring down rain and it only got to 70. So if anyone needs some rain and a little cooling off just let us know and we will schedule the pool to be opened! LOL!


Izzy has been super funny about it. She keeps saying, "Izzy's pool. Izzy's pool." And when we went to Target last night she told me that she needed to buy a swimsuit. Like she doesn't have a million already. I told her though that it is too cold and gross to get into now. So now she is saying, "It's grossy! It's grossy! Daddy clean it!" I have trained her well!

Well I know that I am pretty late with this and I have actually had my card done since Tuesday but I am finally getting around to publishing my Twinkling Tuesday card. Sorry Madelynn! I adore this sketch and will definitely be keeping it for the future. It kind of reminds me of stacked presents! And I love presents! So without further ado here is my Twinkling Card!



Don't you adore this sketch! I love the look of the rectangles stacked on one another. I have to say I am a little disappointed in my card though. It didn't quite turn out the way I thought it would. I had this really awesome DP with sculls and treasure chests all over it, but I could get it to show up. I think it is just that my card needs a little something. Any help would be appreciated! Anywhoo, I started this card by first stamping Pirate Anya from Matey by The Greeting Farm on white card stock and colored her in using my copics. I then cut her out and placed her to the side. Following Madelynn's sketch, I layered on pink and black card stock along with DP from Fancy Pants I believe. I then popped off my Anya and stamped the sentiment and hearts from Pretty Hat. To complete the card, I added pearl stickers down the side along with some pearl heart stickers in my hearts. A fun but girly card I hope!

Now check out the rest of the DT's awesome creations. They will blow you away! Our featured stamper this week is none other than Heather R.! And don't forget all you need to do is type in the keyword MTTSC24 when uploading to SCS or PCP and be sure to leave a comment on the blog so we know you played along!

• Bonnie
• Cassie
• Christi
• Darla
• Debbie
• Heather
• Heather R.
• Jacquie
• Jen
• Jessica
  
• Kim
• Kimmie
• Rebecca
• Sandra

In other news, SUINK will be showcasing the 5 new June sets with a sneak peek blog hop starting bright and early on June 1st. All you have to do to be eligible to win the stamps is to hop along with us and leave a comment on each designer's blog along the way. You will hop through 9 designer's blogs that will be showcasing the new sets and then finish off right here to leave your final comment telling us which stamp set is your favorite. That's it! And the whole sha-BANG can be yours.

And in Pink Cat News, this month, DT member Jodi will be hosting our card making challenge.

The challenge is to create a card using basic geometric shapes. Your card must be rectangular in shape and you must use 2 different patterned papers, one cut in the shape of a circle and the other in the shape of a square. So we have a rectangle, a circle and a square. You must also use a Pink Cat Studio stamp as the main image for the card. You can use stamps from other companies as well. So these are the minimum requirements for the card. You can add more shapes and papers as well as any embellishments you would like, so the possibilities are endless.

Date the challenge ends: Sunday May 31st, 5 pm EST

Requirements:
A Pink Cat Studio stamp must be used as the main stamp on the card. It is okay to use stamps from other companies as well. To be eligible for the prize you must leave a comment on this post on the Pink Cat Blog. In your comment provide a link to your card. Your card can either be displayed on your blog or in an online gallery. You may enter only 1 project for this challenge.

Prize:
This contest will be judged by the design team. Since this is Jodi’s challenge, she will select her 3 favorite cards and then the DT will vote for a winner. On June 1st, the winner will be announced on the PCS blog. The winner will receive a grab bag of Pink Cat Studio stamps. Some cards from the challenge may be displayed on the PCS blog.

Thanks everyone for stopping by!!! Lots of smiles!

Fun in the Sun with Pink Cat!!!!!

Happy Thursday everyone!!!!

Gosh this week has flown by in a whirlwind of activity!!! Izzy and I went to Michaels and Archivers yesterday, and today we will be going out to lunch with Jason and then to Target and Hobby Lobby. My mom is throwing a party for my aunt this weekend and needs a ton of stuff picked up for her! It has been crazy trying to get everything she wants, but Izzy has been in hog heaven! She loves to ride in the car and it was the first thing she asked about when she woke up yesterday. It was so crazy!

We went out to the park yesterday and walked around, too. (Thank goodness there was no bunnies around! Lol!) We walked her around and the poor thing was so sad when we got back in the car she was crying! I guess she just loves the outdoors!

Well today is the day everyone!!!! Are you excited! It is the release of the new Lily At The Beach set from Pink Cat Studio! This set is so much fun and all the images and sentiments are fantastic! I know I will be using it all summer long! So without further ado I introduce you to Lily At The Beach!


And here is my card to honor her introduction!

Outside


Inside


Don't you love her in the towel! Reminds me of when I was a kid and would rush out of the lake, completely blue claiming that the water was warm as I shivered uncontrollably! LOL! I can attest that laying in the sun, wrapped in your towel was the best feeling in the world after a dip in the cold lake! Anywhoo, I started my card by first finding an image of a pair of sunglasses on the internet, blowing it up and printing it off to use as a template. I then traced it and cut it out of black card stock and some DP from Stampin' Up! I made sure to leave some uncut at the top fold so that it would fold in half. I then used my nesties to cut out flowers for the corners using a matching DP. I finished off the front by drawing some white sun lines on the glasses and stamping my sentiment from Lily At The Beach, coloring it in and creating a tag with some blue paper and some string. For the inside, I started by stamping Lily wrapped in a towel from Lily At The Beach by Pink Cat studio on white card stock and colored her in using my copics. I then cut her out and put her on one side of my glasses. I cut another piece of white paper and placed it on the other side. I completed the card by stamping my sentiment on the left side and drawing in some sand and beach debris! A fun and fanciful card!

Now it is time once again to check out the DT girls wonderful creations!!! They are so talented and creative! And thanks once again to Tori for joining us this month!

• Becky Carafa
• Jodi-Ann Lee
• Lauren Meader
• Lise Roy
• Maria Bell
• Mariska van der Veer
• Nikki Fairbairn
• Sarah Anderson
• Tori Wild - April 09
• Vicki Garrett

Now go get your stamps! LOL! Thanks everyone for stopping by! Smiles!

I See A Mermaid at Pink Cat!!!

Happy Wednesday everyone!!

Hope your week is going well! Man the time is just flying by this week isn't it! Looks like today is going to be absolutely stunning so I am very excited!!!! Finally some nice outdoor weather!!!

So what did you think of yesterday's creations? Didn't the DT girls rock!!! I swear they get better and better every day!! I am so excited to see what they have in store today! (And I am convinced this new Lily At The Beach set is bringing in the summer weather! I mean look at today it is going to be beautiful!)

Well yesterday I offered up two sneak peeks but today I have only one. I have to say though that I am in love with Miss Lily in this one! She is a mermaid!!! I just adore mermaids! In fact The Little Mermaid was my all time favorite movie. I would watch it over and over as a kid. I just adored her long flowing hair! But I digress. Melissa's Lily as a mermaid is just as glam and gorgeous and here she is!


See what I mean! I love the way her hair is blowing in the wind and the way Melissa has drawn her sitting on the rock! I mean the possibilities are endless! And then to top it all off she has included the most adorable sentiments! I am telling you I am in stamping heaven! Anywhoo, I started this card by first stamping Mermaid Lily from the new Lily At The Beach by Pink Cat Studio on white card stock and colored her in using my copics. Using Mojo Monday Sketch 81, I layered on brown and blue card stock along with some DP from Penny Lane. I ran a piece of ribbon across the bottom and then added some buttons to the top. I then mounted my image on brown and blue and popped it off at an angle. I decided to sparkle her up a bit so I added pearls to her hair and lots of glitter with my glitter pen. I finished my card by stamping the sentiment, also from Lily At The Beach and colored it in with my copics. I then cut it out with my pinking circles nesties along with some brown and blue and popped it off as well!! All in all a pretty cheerful card!

Now it is time once again to check out the other DT girls!!! I am so excited to see what they have in store!

• Becky Carafa
• Jodi-Ann Lee
• Lauren Meader
• Lise Roy
• Maria Bell
• Mariska van der Veer
• Nikki Fairbairn
• Sarah Anderson
• Tori Wild - April 09
• Vicki Garrett

Thanks everyone for stopping by today! This is actually my second post for today, the first is right below this one! And tomorrow is release day!!!!!! How excited are you!!!! I am brimming over truly! Can hardly wait!! Smiles!

Life's A Beach!

Happy Tuesday everyone!!!!

I hope your week started off well! It rained on and off here yesterday, but we were able to get some good outdoor time in anyway. And boy do I have an Izzy story for you! Wow! That will be at the end of my post because I want to get down to business! Today is the first day of the sneak peeks of the new Lily at the Beach set available this Thursday from Pink Cat Studio!

I don't know about you guys but I am so in the mood for some sunshine and some warm weather. Since summer is fast approaching, this set is perfect for all of those upcoming summer events!

My first project for today features the beautiful Miss Lily holding an innertube. I can not tell you how many times I walked around the lake like this and then jumped in the water! We even used to have contests to see who could get the wettest while still in their tube! Aww to be a kid again! LOL! So I present to you, Lily in an Innertube!


I seriously want to head for the water now! Doesn't she look so happy and warm! Summer come please!!! I started this card by stamping the beautiful innertube Lily from Lily At The Beach by Pink Cat Studio on white card stock and colored her in using my copics. I stamped the innertube again, colored it, cut it out and popped it off. For the scene behind her, I drew in some sand, pebbles and sea life then colored them in with my copics. Following TECC62 by Taylored Expressions, I layered on dark pink, light pink and olive card stock along with some DP from K and Company. For the sentiment, I stamped it from the new Lily At The Beach set, colored it in and cut it out with my nesties. Hopefully this card will put a smile on the face of the person I send it to.

The second stamp I would like to sneak today is little Lily riding on a turtle! I have to tell you I adore turtles and this one is no exception! He is uber cute and little Lily with her hat just melted me when I saw it!

Tote Front


Tote Side View


Close up


Aren't they the cutest!!! Melissa really outdid herself with this one! And for some reason I just desperately wanted to create a little tote for her! When I found these little dollar ceramic planters at Target, I knew what I wanted to do! I started this tote out by first cutting two pieces of card stock 4" X 10.5" and a third piece to 4" X 11". On my 10.5" long pieces, I scored vertically at 5.5 and 7.5. For the 11" long pieces I scored horizontally at 3 and 7 and vertically at .5 and 3.5. I then folded it up and adhered it to the front and back panels I created. (A more detailed tutorial will be posted later in the week). To create the circle at the top, I ran my pieces through my cuttlebug with my nesties! And you have a simple little tote! For the decorated front, I started off by stamping Lily on the turtle from Lily At The Beach by Pink Cat Studio on white card stock and colored her in using my copics. Following this week's sketch for you to try over at Jen Del Muro's I layered on blue, yellow and green card stock along with DP from Stampin' Up. I tied a piece of ribbon around the middle to give it some character, filled it up with my ceramic pot and put in some confetti! I think it would be nice for a little garden party favor.

Now it is time for you to check out the rest of the DT's awesome creations and please help us welcome Tori Wild as our Guest DT this month!!! She really truly is an amazing talent!

• Becky Carafa
• Jodi-Ann Lee
• Lauren Meader
• Lise Roy
• Maria Bell
• Mariska van der Veer
• Nikki Fairbairn
• Sarah Anderson
• Tori Wild - April 09
• Vicki Garrett

Now for my quick Izzy story! Yesterday we went to the park with my neighbor and her kids. It was a nice little break in between the storms but unfortunately the equipment was all wet. Izzy and I were having a wonderful time just walking around when it happened! The worst thing that can possibly ever happen to a kid! SHE SAW A BUNNY!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Are you screaming in terror? Um, yes for some reason my daughter is terrified of bunnies! She literally threw herself on me and wouldn't unbury her face until we left the park! She even had her little hand over one eye so she wouldn't have to see it!! I felt so bad for her, but really it is pretty funny! LOL!

Well thanks for stopping by today! I will have my Twinkling post up later this afternoon! And tomorrow is another day of sneak peeks! Smiles!

I Jinxed Her and Some Flutterings!

Happy Monday everyone!!!

I hope everyone had a really great weekend! It has been incredibly nasty here! Basically raining all weekend and doing not much else! Poor Izzy keeps wanting to go outside or to the park but it definitely didn't happen this weekend. It pretty much rained the whole time and Jason even had to get out the pump to pump off the water from the cover of the pool since it had rained so much! Of course the minute he stepped outside, Izzy was putting on her shoes to go with him! LOL!

And speaking of Izzy, I painted her fingernails for the first time on Saturday! My baby is becoming a little girl! It was actually quite amusing. She loves when I clip her fingernails but will only let me clip one at a time. I can't seem to get her to stand still long enough. Well yesterday evening she came up to me and asked me for the clippers. Since it had only been a couple of days since I last clipped them, I really didn't have anything to do. I asked her if she wanted me to paint them instead. She of course said please and I was off to hunt down the one bottle of nail polish I own. Because I have never painted her fingernails, I decided to show her what would happen on one of mine. I painted my index finger then told her to give me her hand. The second I pulled the wand out to paint hers, she says, "Ketchup! Ketchup!" It was all I could do not to laugh. Then I painted all her nails and we blew on them until they dried. She was beaming from ear to ear so I told her to go show Daddy. Of course Daddy smiled and ohhed and ahhed over them (it was only later I found out that he was sad because she looked so big, lol!). Then she turns to me and says, "Paper towel? Wash your hands?" Uh, she obviously didn't get the concept that the nail polish stays on. I had to do the rest of my fingers in order to convince her the polish was okay, but she still walked around with her hands out in front of her for the rest of the evening! LOL!!! Ahhh, girls!

Like I said above there wasn't much to do outside this weekend so I was able to get a lot of stamping done inside!! Oh I was so excited!! In fact, I was even able to get a video tutorial completed and posted over at Club Anya!! It is my first copic tutorial and yes I do know I look like a big goober in the first frame! LOL! Now I present to you the finished creation of my tutorial piece. I decided to play along in this week's The Case of The Curious Card Contest over at The Greeting Farm blog! I mean how could I not. My wonderful friend and Club Anya leader, Jessica is the creator of the beautiful card being cased!!!!


I of course couldn't stop at just casing her card! I had to incorporate pink and butterflies, two of her favorite things!! I started my card by stamping Flutter Anya by The Greeting Farm on white card stock and colored her in using my copics. I added lots of sparkle gel pen to make her really shine!!! Following Jess's layout, I layered on brown, light pink and dark pink card stock along with DP from SEI and Bo Bunny. I added a pink and brown stripped ribbon to the top and popped off my image. To finish the card off, I added lots of rhinestone stickers in swirl patterns to make it look like fairy dust! I hope you like it Jess!!!!

My second project for today is to make up for the jinx I placed on my good friend Melissa. I posted a couple weeks ago a gift set I was making for her to give at her baby shower. I was just so, so sure she was going to have a girl so I made this set. Well, you all were right. I jinxed her. I just found out that they are having a boy!!! I am so sorry Melissa! LOL! Actually her and her husband are ecstatic, and can hardly wait for September! So to make up for my snafu, I present to you a thank you card set for a boy!

Gift Set


Card Box holder


Card


I liked the gift set idea so much that I decided to simply switch up the paper and images and stick with the basic concept and layout. I started the set by creating my card box out of brown and green card stock along with some DP from Basic Grey. A complete tutorial can be found here. I then stamped the baby, shirt, and bear hat from Dress Up Sweet Pea from Pink Cat Studio on white card stock and colored him in using my copics. To change the bear hat into an owl (Melissa's theme for the nursery is owls), I simply masked off the ears then drew in the circles around the eyes, the feathers at the side and the mask on the face. For the tag on the box, I stamped, "Boy" from Sweet Pea Plate 2 on his shirt and "Thanks" from Kiki Kitty down the side. I then mounted it on brown and green card stock I cut out with my nesties and attached it to my box with a brown stitched ribbon. For the card, I followed the same procedure to create my little boy as I did for the tag and mounted it on brown and green card stock along with the same DP from Basic Grey. A cuttlebugged a piece of brown card stock with my herringbone embossing folder and then attached a brown and white polka dot ribbon across the middle. I completed the card with two brown buttons and a green one up in the corner. I can only hope this makes up for my jinx!

Well thanks everyone for hanging out with me today!! Don't forget to come back tomorrow for the first day of Pink Cat sneak peeks! Smiles!

A Tisket, A Tasket, A Mother's Day Basket!

Happy Friday everyone!!!

I hope you guys had a ton of fun at the Club Anya blog hop! Wow, I had the absolute best time! And can you say amazing creations!!! I was blown away! I just can't get over how much talent there is out there!

So yesterday Izzy was in total shopping mode! For the last couple of days she has been asking to go shopping and ride in the car. She asked Jason on Wednesday night to take her to the store and to Lowes (no idea why). Well yesterday we were going to meet Jason for lunch and I decided to run some errands as well! Can I tell you how many times she asked to go to Hobby Lobby and Target! OMGoodness it was non stop! LOL! I felt bad for Jason too! Poor thing, I accidentally told her we were going to her favorite place (Target) so I think she was a little disappointed that we went to eat first! LOL! But it worked out okay once she actually saw Jason!

Okay so I know it is Friday and the challenge is called Watchdoin Wednesday, but it took me awhile to figure out the tutorial part so I am posting it on my blog today! Well this week's challenge over at SUINK was to create a basket either for Easter, mother's day, may day or any special occasion. The one thing we ask is that you share the template you use! Well since I didn't use a template, I had to create a tutorial to describe how I made it! LOL! And since I thought my little basket looked awfully lonely I wanted to create a card to match, so I used this week's Sketch Challenge at SCS for the layout!

Gift Set


Basket


Card


I want to start by describing how I made the card first. I simply followed the SCS sketch using blue, dark blue and black card stock along with some DP from Basic Grey. I then punched out some black, blue and light blue card stock using my Labels 4 nesties and stamped the sentiment, dots and swirls from Thinking of Mother by SUINK and added blue rhinestones on top of the circles. I finished up the card with some twine from Jason's gardening stash. The basket itself is created out of blue and dark blue card stock that I distressed with a sponge and some taken with teal ink following the tutorial below. I then attached the handle with some jumbo eyelets and some more of Jason's twine. I filled the basket with some green confetti and added the little label with some black and dark blue card stock that I cut out with the labels four nesties and then stamped with one of the sentiments.

Basket Tutorial

Step 1: Cut a piece of paper to 9X9 and score vertically at 3" and 6" (I am using bright colors so you can see the steps better)


Step 2: Now score horizontally at 3" and 6".


Step 3: Cut out the four corner pieces you have created with your scoring


Step 4: Now cut the vertical projections into 1" strips. Make sure you do not cut into the center square.


Step 5: Repeat step four for the horizontal projections.


Step 6: Now fold all the score lines up leaving the center square as your base.


Step 7: Cut three strips of card stock 1" X 12" and score them each at 1.5", 4.5", 7.5", 10.5". (At this point you can distress the edges if you choose.)


Step 8: Now begins the weaving. Simply decide which side you would like to be your back and place your first strip in the middle of the back and weave around the sides making sure that if you have your strip in front that it is in the back for the next one. Then glue the back.


Step 9: Take your next strip and repeat step eight except alternating strips from the last time. (So if the first strip was in front then this strip needs to be in back). Glue to the back side again.

(inside view)


(front view)


Step 10: Repeat step 8 with your final strip

(inside view)


(front view)


Step 11: For the top cap, cut a strip of paper 3" X 12" and score vertically at .5", 1.5" and 2.5"


Step 12: Score horizontally at 1.5", 4.5", 7.5" and 10.5"


Step 13: Now glue your half inch strips toward the center to create a finished edge.


Step 14: Fold your strip in half and along the other score lines you created.


Step 15: Place your finishing edge over the top and glue to the top.


Step 16: Cut a strip of card stock to 1" X 12" and attach it to your basket with either glue or some eyelets or brads and your basket is complete!

Now it is your turn to try. Simply add the keyword SUINKWWWC36 when uploading your creations to SCS or PCP. And then check out the other awesome creations by the DT.

• Amber Kroening
• Cathleen Torina
• Colleen Wold
• Janna Hull
• Kristen Catalano
• Laura Leonard
• Leigh O'Brien
• Mary Jo Price-Williams

Speaking of awesomeness! Pink Cat studio has a great new contest going on right now at the blog! You can win the new Lily at the Beach release simply by attaching this adorable blinkie to your side bar! Complete details can be found here!

Thanks everyone for hanging out with me today! Have a great rest of the day! Smiles!

A Baby Thank You!

Happy Friday everyone!

I actually started this post yesterday but ran out of time in the morning to get it posted. So sorry! I don't know what my deal is. I was just telling my friend Jessica last night that I have no mojo for making cards. Shocking I know! All I want to do is color. And let me tell you I have been coloring up a storm! I just counted it up. I have 10 images colored up and 3 cards all of which I can't show yet because they are for upcoming releases. I am hoping that this weekend I will have some card creating inspiration. Otherwise I am going to have to ask people to take my colored images and create cards with them! LOL!

So yesterday, Izzy and I went to my LSS. OMGoodness it has been forever since I have been in there! I am slapping my hand now! I had a great time though. Julie the wonderful owner has asked me to teach a class again in May! I am so so excited. Nervous though too. I am not sure what they want to learn from me but I hope they learn something!

Izzy is so excited about today. Tracy has the day off from work and is coming to spend the afternoon with us and then her friend Lucy will be over this evening. It is all that Izzy has talked about for the last couple of days. It is so cute! Jason is going to the baseball game with Lucy's daddy. I just hope that the game doesn't get rained out. Jason is as excited as a little kid about it so I really hope the weather clears.

I have another quick project for today. Lucy's mom is expecting a little brother or sister for Lucy in September and I am secretly crossing my fingers for a little girl. Although to be honest a boy would be fun too! (I just like the clothes for girls better. LOL!) Well she finds out on Monday and then I can begin planning her shower! I have been thinking for awhile about a great little gift I could give her at the shower that I made and when I saw this card box tutorial at SCS I knew I had the perfect little gift idea. So since it is for a baby of course I reached for my new Sweet Pea Plate #2 from Pink Cat Studio.

Gift set


Card Box


Thank You Card


See what I mean! I really hope she is having a girl! LOL! I wanted to create a gift box that would hold thank you cards for her to send out to people that attend the shower. If she does have a boy though I will just have to make up a boy set!!!! I started this project by first creating my box following the instructions found here. I used pink card stock for the bottom of my box and black for the top. I then covered the lid with a piece of decorative paper from Making Memories. For the card itself, I used pink and black card stock along with some more DP from Making Memories. I cuttlebuged the black paper with my spots and dots folder and placed it on the bottom half of my card. I then tied a polka dot ribbon across the middle and added three buttons to the corner. After I had the bases of my box and card done, I stamped Sweet Pea in the flower pot from Sweet Pea Plate #2 by Pink Cat Studio on white card stock and colored it in using my nesties. For the box lid, I added "Thank You" down the side from Kiki Kitty. I then mounted them both on the pink and black card stock I cut out with nesties. I placed one on my card at an angle and the other I threaded through some polka dot black ribbon to tie my box closed. I will include four cards in the box with the promise to make more if she needs them! Hope she likes it!

Thanks so much for stopping by today. Don't forget the sign up for the blog hop at Club Anya closes on Sunday and we are handing out prizes!!!! It is going to be so, so much fun!!!! Lots of smiles!

Easter and Baby Blessings!

Happy Friday!

Sorry my post is so late today, time really got away from me! LOL! I did get quite a bit done today though. Izzy and I played together for quite awhile and we colored a whole bunch together. Poor baby, she really wanted to go outside and play but it was just too cold. She went out for a couple of minutes but by the time she came in, her little hands were frozen so for the rest of the day we just stayed inside. She had the weirdest reaction though this morning. We had just finished coloring up on the table when I put her down and she went over to her little house to play. She was doing just fine when all the sudden she went to open her little play door and started to cry. I asked her what she wanted and it sounded like she kept saying, "Papa." But that didn't make any sense! We haven't seen my dad in a couple of weeks. She just kept saying it though and crying, so finally I asked her if she wanted to call papa. She said yes and we called my dad. She talked to him for a couple of minutes then got off the phone and was perfectly fine! I guess she just really missed her grandpa! LOL!

Well I have two projects to share with you today! My first project is a card I made using the new SUInk set You're Some Bunny Special. I have really been trying to get ahead of the game on my Easter cards so when I saw this week's color challenge over at SCS, I knew this would make the perfect Easter Card. I used this week's Friday Sketcher's challenge for the layout.


I just couldn't resist the springy, frilly colors! I started this card off by stamping the little girl and basket from You're Some Bunny Special by SUInk and More on white card stock and colored them in with my copics. I then cut her out with my nesties along with some green and blue card stock. I went ahead and cut out the easter basket and popped it off her hand. Following the sketch, I layered on pink, green and blue card stock along with DP from K and Company. (I couldn't believe that the paper matched perfectly with the color challenge!) I then finished my card off by stamping my sentiment on white card stock and made it a tag by cutting off one end with my labels one nesties and mounted it on blue card stock. I placed a pink ribbon on the side and tied my tag on! I can't wait to give it away at Easter!

Oh and speaking of SUINK and More, Sunday we will be starting three days of sneak peeks for the new April sets! They are just so, so adorable so be sure to check them out!

Now onto my second project for today! I know I have been showing you Pink Cat baby projects all week, but I just can't get enough of them! They are just too, too adorable!! So when I saw that my good friend Mariska and fellow Pink Cat DT sister was having a contest, I just had to participate! She has really come up with a great one involving layering, celebrations and stitching! Here are the deets:

The Either / Or / Or And Challenge
created by Mariska

The challenge means you have to make two choices:

1. What kind of card are you going to make:
There are two happy occasions to celebrate at Pink Cat Studio this month. The first one you already know... we've gotten ourselves a little one!! The second is that Pink Cat Studio celebrates its fourth year this month!! I thought both of these occasions would deserve a card but which one to use for my challenge.

YOU DECIDE!! Create EITHER a birthday card OR a card to celebrate a new baby

2. Either layer your image and/or use stitches:
I thought it would be nice to let you use a technique I like to use myself. The two things that I use frequently on my cards are the layering of an image and stitches. You can use one of these techniques or both, that's up to you, as long as one of them is used.

With the layering of an image I mean stamping your image several times and cutting out little parts to pop up on your image. You can do this with all kinds of materials like pop up glue, foam cubes or pop up glue dots. It's really making 3D cards with your stamps.
Please visit Mariska's blog to see photos of how she did the layering in her challenge card.

I think stitches on your card should speak for themselves. You can use a machine or by hand, you can do straight lines or you can embroider, just use REAL stitches please. If you decide to stitch by hand (as I always do) my advice is to first make little holes with a piercer.

YOU DECIDE!! Use 3D layers in your stamped image AND/OR use stitches

Date the challenge ends:
Monday, April 20th, 5 pm EST

Requirements:
A Pink Cat Studio stamp must be used as the main stamp on the card. It is okay to use stamps from other companies as well. To be eligible for the prize you must leave a comment on the Pink Cat Challenge post. In your comment provide a link to your card. Your card can either be displayed on your blog or in an online gallery. You may enter only 1 project for this challenge. If you have questions about this challenge, please post them as a comment on this post.

Prize:
This contest will be judged by the design team. Since this is Mariska’s challenge, she will select her 3 favorite cards and then the DT will vote for a winner. On April 22nd, the winner will be announced on the PCS blog. The winner will receive a grab bag of Pink Cat Studio stamps. Some cards from the challenge may be displayed on the PCS blog.

Here is my interpretation!



I decided to create a new baby card and use 3D layers in my image. I have to say I did not do the amazing job of layering that Mariska did, but I did try! LOL! I started off by creating this squash book out of brown and pink card stock along with some DP I picked up at Hobby Lobby. Directions to create the squash book can be found here. I mounted my squash book on some brown and pink card stock along with some more DP and added brads to the top and bottom. I then stamped the baby, hat and dress from the Dress Up Sweet Pea Set from Pink Cat Studio on white card stock and colored them in using my copics. I then popped off my different parts after cutting them out and placed the little girl on the inside. To complete the inside, I stamped the sentiment from Sweet Pea Plate 2 on pink card stock I cut out with my ribbon tag nesties and placed it underneath my baby. To finish my card, I made a present out of some pink and brown card stock and DP and then made a little tag I stamped with a sentiment. I can't wait to give it to my friend who just had a baby last month. I hope she likes it! Thanks for the great challenge Mariska!

Well that is it for me today!! Thanks so much for stopping by. Hope you have a great weekend. Smiles!