Simon Sees, Part 2

Happy Monday! Did everyone have a good weekend?

Hubby and I spent the weekend in the biggest little city in the world, taking in the bright lights and the clink-clink-clink of slot machines. Despite all of the distractions though, all I could think about was coming home and stamping!

I whipped up this cutie using leftovers from another card. I always make a few focal images at a time and pick my favorite for the card I'm working on, and occasionally, the extras are cute enough to be made into cards themselves. That's what happened with this little guy.

I used this sketch for inspiration:



All of the deets can be found here, except for the ribbon, which is from Michael's.

Have a great week!

Cat's Pajamas Customer Blog Hop!

When Alma at the Cat's Pajamas posted that they were doing a Customer Blog Hop, I jumped at the chance. They've been one of my favorite stamp companies from the beginning, and the fact that they're made here in California just sealed the deal for me. Plus, could their stamps BE any cuter???



I dug up one of my old favorite fellas, Simon Sees, for this "29 again" birthday card. The sentiment is from one of the clear sets, and it worked perfectly for my friend's 30th birthday.

The patterned papers are from All My Memories (Swanky Design 3) and Scenic Route Paper Co. "Stripes Cabernet and Cream," and the stamps are of course by The Cat's Pajamas. The sketch is from here.

See you soon!

To a Sweet Friend

After volunteering for a week at Girl Scout camp with one of the nicest ladies ever, I had to get her a little something. Bobbin (her camp name) loves cake decorating, so I broke down and got her this:



Doesn't it look like the organizing thing of a cake decorator's dreams?! I wish I could find something that handy-dandy for my stamps!

Anyway, of course I had to whip up a card to go with it. I pulled out one of my clear sets from the Cat's Pajamas and got to work.



The patterned paper's from a paper pack I found at Target (by Colorbok), and I made the die cut using my Cricut. Hope she likes it!

Woodgrain Wreath Card

As I was digging through my Cat's Pajamas stamps for the sketch challenge, I came across another stamp I just love, the wreath. So, I had to make a quickie card with it:


















Since I already had the red Stickles out, I colored the ribbon and the dots in with them, and then colored the image with Copics. I just love the woodgrain paper by A Muse as well.

Have a great day!

Cat's Pajamas Challenge

I happened to catch the sketch challenge for the Cat's Pajamas last week and thought I'd play along. Leigh was the hostess, and here's her sketch:













I pulled out one of my first Cat's Pajamas stamps and a scrap of paper from Basic Grey's Lilykate collection and got to work:















I colored the cupcakes with Copics and colored over the cherries with red Stickles. The flame was colored with a Gold Spica as well. The sentiment is by Hero Arts.

Have a great day!

Sketch Challenge Entry #5

Happy Thursday night! I'm gearing up for a weekend of scrapbooking, but when I heard that Tracy's Sketch Challenge was extended for another week and we got a new sketch, I just had to play. You should too!


















I'm switching from card-making to scrapbooking for the weekend, but I hope to be back on Monday with more cards.

Have a great weekend!

Sketch Challenge Entry #2

Good morning, and happy Tuesday! I figure if we're going to be getting to 52 entrants on Tracy's Sketch Challenge Contest, I'd better do my part with additional cards. I'd previously said that I wanted to enter 10 cards, but since it's already Tuesday, I'm starting to wonder if that's realistic.

Anyway, here's card #2:















It seems I can always use more birthday cards and thank you notes, so when I'm making a lot of cards, those are the two categories I go for. The main image on this card is by the Cat's Pajamas and is part of one of their clear sets.

Okay, back soon with another entry!

Tracy's Sketch Challenge

I've been jonesin' for challenges ever since A Muse a Palooza ended last week, so of course I had to do a card for Tracy's Sketch Challenge. And, given her big news, I just had to make a card for Tracy. Here it is!














I just love this little tiny cat by Denami Designs. She's almost as cute as Jinxy (but not quite!). I can't wait to see the Denami booth in September, when I'll be making a trek down to Las Vegas for the Rubber Stamp and Scrapbook Expo. I've never been, but it coincides with a trip I was making down there anyway, so I figured what the heck! Anyone been? What'd you think?

The cat is by Denami Design, the sentiment is by the Cat's Pajamas, the patterned paper and card base are by Memory Box and the ribbon is by American Crafts.

Have a great day!

I Will Not Procrastinate. . .

I will not procrastinate. I will not procrastinate. I will not procrastinate.

As you may have noticed, I'm a procrastinator. . .a big one. The last two weeks, I've waited until the very last minute before entering Tracy's Sketch Challenge. So, this week I thought I'd try and get ahead. I combined a couple of different challenges, AND I put them first, before all of my other cards.














This card was based on Tracy's Sketch Challenge this week, but also on one of my all-time favorite cards that she's made, this one. I think it's the one that won her Swanky Stamper of the Month with the Cat's Pajamas, and I've always admired it for its color and balance.

It's also my entry for Challenge #2 of A Muse A Palooza, to use ribbon as your inspiration. I've had this green and brown ribbon for a while now (a Michael's purchase I think), and I used it as the color inspiration for my card. It's looking a little bright in the picture, but it goes with the card better in real life.

And, because I couldn't decide where to put the sentiment on the outside of the card, I got creative on the inside. This image is in the center of the inside panel:


















I stamped the sentiment, masked the text loosely, inked up the trees and stamped them off once on a piece of scratch paper, and then stamped them over the sentiment. I really like how it turned out.

Well, with those challenges out of the way, I'm off to enjoy the rest of the weekend. I think it may involve some baking, we'll see. See you soon!

Tracy's Sketch Challenge

Before it's too late, I thought I'd make up a quick entry for Tracy's Sketch Challenge. You can find it here. Here's my card:


















I used a stamp from one of the Cat's Pajamas, the sentiment is by Daisy Bucket, and the patterned paper is by Die Cuts with a View. Thanks for a great challenge Tracy!

Quickie Tag

This year, I thought I'd try and get ahead by making some cute and personal tags. Well, the ideas are all swirling about in my head, but so far I've only gotten a few done. Here's one:













This tag uses a stamp from a Cat's Pajamas clear set released last year. I absolutely love the way it looks, but I've always had trouble coloring in the bow. Well, this time I used the corner of my Memento Dew Drop in Rhubarb Stalk to color it in, and it worked beautifully! I colored over the green leaves with my clear Spica pen, and it was done! I especially like how I got to color-coordinate my tag with my wrap. I never get to do that in most cases because I'm doing it at the last-minute. Maybe I should get ahead on more of this stuff. . .yeah right!

Another Baby Card!

Hi there, and happy Labor Day weekend! I don't know about you, but a three day weekend is very much needed around here!

I set aside Saturday morning to get some stamping done. I've been meaning to tackle the TCP sketch challenge for several weeks, but the timing just didn't work out until today. This week's TCP challenge was provided by Katie Stilwater, and it was to use Animal Train. Now, how funny is that? I just used that stamp! Remember these? Anyway, I thought a true challenge card required a few more elements than my super-simple stash supporters, so I came up with this card:

I know you can't see it (darn those digital cameras!), but I used some ultra shimmery watercolors over the top of my Copic coloring. Ah well, you'll just have to take my word for it. The flower idea was actually my stamping friend Pat's (Hi Pat!). I like how it turned out.

Be back in a bit with a fun boys' birthday card!

More Baby Cards!

While I was working on the baby card for my mom's boss, I came across one of my other favorite baby images and its matching sentiment. This one is by the Cat's Pajamas, and I just love it for it's cuteness and simplicity.

So, I thought I'd whip up a couple more baby cards for my stash. These are super-simple, but they'll be great for an emergency.

Both notecards are by Memory Box, and the blue dot paper is by Doodlebug.

Getting Caught Up

Hey there! I know it's been a while, but I'm back. Here are some cards I've been working on:


















Cupcake cards! I recently purchased the Hero Arts clear cupcake set, and I can't seem to stop using it. I love love love it! I was inspired by Lisa Spangler's series called "Better Know a Cupcake." You can see her work here.

Then, I got into the Easter spirit with my very most favorite egg stamp:















I also made up some favors for co-workers and friends based on this template by Linda of Amuse:







They flip open to reveal a single Lifesaver mint.


















Lastly and most recently, I've been doing more strawberry cards. Here's one:

















Off to create more!

One More for the Road

So, here is my last card for Amuseapalooza. It's been a fun ride, and I've really enjoyed the opportunity to play. Thanks Amuse!

Keepin' It Simple

Hi there!

Here's another simple card. I am totally getting in touch with my margarita-drinkin' self tonight. Love that stamp! Sentiment by the Cat's Pajamas. Enjoy!

Pocket Card

Here's a pocket card I did for another Amuseapalooza challenge. The pirate image on the outside of the pocket is Cat's Pajamas, but the sand castle and the "hello!" stamp are both Amuse. Enjoy!