Tis the Season - DS82

I'm back, friends, with my sample for this week's Deconstructed Sketch, #82. I turned it on its side because I really, really wanted to make something with this new-to-me Cat's Pajamas stamp set J*lly H*liday, and the horizontal panel worked best. (And I tilted that focal panel just for fun!) The papers are from the Echo Park This & That Christmas collection (a mixure of 6x6 and 12x12 papers). Some of the new TCP CutUps dies make an appearance as well. The notebook edge along the top is from the Toppers CutUps set, and the curvy landscape and snowflake edge are from the Holiday Toppers CutUps set (love these!). The scallop and reverse scallops are both from Queen of Hearts CutUps.

Here's the sketch again:

And here are links to the Deconstructed Girls' creations:

• Arielle Gordon
• Donna Wardle
• Jen Shults
• Kadie Ensley
• Lori Boyd (Lori is out this week)
• Sheri Gilson
• Tracey Pickersgill
• Joni Wilson, Guest Designer

Okay, so here's the thing, despite it being the season, I'm having a hard, hard time being jolly after last week's Sandy Hook tragedy. Tears flow often, and when they're not flowing, they're ever close to the surface. Like all of you, my heart is broken and aching for the victims, their families, and the community. I'm reminded of something a pastor once said at the funeral of another too-young victim of tragedy. He shared, "I'm going to have to wrestle with you on this one, Lord." But he also said, "I'd rather wrestle with God than wrestle alone." Exactly.

Peace and love to all.

DS82

Hello, Thursday. It's Deconstructed Sketch day, and this week's lovely sketch, DS82, is actually good for two weeks due to Christmas. Here it is ...

And here's some sketch inspiration from "the girls":

• Arielle Gordon
• Donna Wardle 
• Jen Shults
• Kadie Ensley
• Lori Boyd (out this week)
• Sheri Gilson
• Tracey Pickersgill
• Joni Wilson, Guest Designer

To play along, link up at Jen's blog.

I have to confess I've come (temporarily) empty-handed as far as a sample this morning. 'Tis the season to run out of time for everything that needs doing! But I did get a start yesterday, and will be back shortly with my sample. See you in a few!

December Card Kitchen - Part 2

As promised, here are the remaining cards that I made with the awesome December Card Kitchen kit ....

As always, LOTS more kit inspiration at the Card Kitchen blog.

Happy Friday, my friends!

Merry Christmas Treat Sack - DS81

The latest Deconstructed Sketch has been posted. Check out what we're working with this week:

Feel free to create a tag or to use the tag as an element on a card base/scrapbook page, etc. I went with a  festive striped gift sack for my "tag." The sentiment panel is a Verve Tagged Rectangle die-cut stamped with a phrase from Verve's Peace On Earth. The rosette in the background was done with The Cat's Pajamas' new Star Rosette CutUps die. I filled the sack with two packets of hot cocoa and stuck in two red and white striped paper straws.

Visit the rest of the Deconstructed Sketch girls for more inspiration:

• Arielle Gordon
• Donna Wardle (sitting out this week)
• Jen Shults
• Kadie Ensley
• Lori Boyd (sitting out this week)
• Sheri Gilson
• Tracey Pickersgill
• Joni Wilson, Guest Designer

To play along, link up at Jen's blog.

December Card Kitchen - Part 1

I wanted to pop in and share some cards I made a little while back using the December Card Kitchen kit. This month's kit is awesome -- a wonderful vintage vibe that I adore (even though I went in a different direction) and lots of office-inspired embellishments. For lots more kit inspiration, check out the Card Kitchen blog.

First the December kit contents:

And here's what I did with the kit:

Click HERE for more information about the Card Kitchen kit club. I'll be back later this week with another batch from the December Card Kitchen.

Have an awesome day!

I Treasure Your Friendship

Happy Thursday, friends. It's time for a new Deconstructed Sketch:

Fun, don't you think? I found myself a little short on time yesterday due to an unexpectedly long meeting with the elementary Principal. Yes, I got called in to the Principal's office -- teehehe! So, here's my underwhelming sample for the week:

The sentiment is from Verve's Treasured Words and the papers are from the super sweet and charming  Cashmere Dame collection by Glitz.

Take a look at what the team has come up with too:

• Amber Hight (Amber is on break)
• Amy Sheffer 
• Arielle Gordon
• Cresta Woodruff, Guest Designer
• Donna Wardle
• Jen Shults
• Kadie Ensley
• Lori Boyd
• Sheri Gilson
• Tracey Pickersgill

Hope you'll play along! The rules and linking tool are over on Jen's blog.




Stamps: Treasured Words (Verve Stamps)
Paper: Papertrey Kraft card stock, Glitz Cashmere Dame 6x6 collection
Ink: Versafine Onyx Black, Tim Holtz Walnut Stain Distress Ink
Accessories: Spellbinders Lacey Circle, Classic Circle, and Classic Square Nestabilities, May Arts jute string, Papertrey ribbon, Licorice Divine Twine, paper piercer/needle/thread

Verve + Ribbon Carousel Joint Blog Hop

I'm thrilled today to be participating in a joint blog hop with Verve Stamps and the Ribbon Carousel!

The Ribbon Carousel designers are using Verve's Stronger Love and Wings of Love stamp sets in addition to the Arrow die. And the Verve Divas each received a very generous assortment of beautiful ribbons. Thanks, Ribbon Carousel!

Hop along with us today and leave some blog love for the Verve Divas and the Ribbon Carousel Crewmates to be eligible to win one of the two prizes up for grabs!  We'll select two random commenters from two randomly selected designers' blogs, so be sure to spread the love around!

The Verve Stamps prize is the ENTIRE November Release, and the RC prize is a NEW Ribbon Carousel with your choice of knob color! 

Ready to Hop?!

My card features Verve's Stronger Love stamp set along with some pink seam binding, white crochet trim, and pink baker's twine from the Ribbon Carousel. The papers are from Crate Paper's On Trend 6x6 collection. The sentiment is stamped onto a Verve Tabbed Rectangle die-cut. Accents include some Studio Calico wood feathers, some die-cut hearts (done with Verve's From the Heart die), and some Zva Creative bling.

The layout is this week's Mojo Monday sketch, #270. It's a contest week, which means lots of prizes up for grabs. You'll find all the info on the Mojo Monday blog!

Thanks so much for stopping by. Enjoy the hop!


 


Stamps: Stronger Love (Verve Stamps)
Paper: Stampin' Up Sahara Sand card stock, Papertrey Rustic White card stock, Crate Paper On Trend 6x6 collection
Ink: Versafine Onyx Black, Tim Holtz Pumice Stone and Walnut Stain Distress Inks
Accessories: Verve Tabbed Rectangle die and From the Heart die set, Ribbon Carousel pink ribbon white crochet trim, and pink baker's twine, Studio Calico wood feathers, Papertrey button, Zva Creative bling flourish, Doodlebug Designs pink rhinestones, My Favorite Things Medium Scallop Die-namics die.
Size: 5 1/2" x 4 1/2"

December SFYTT + SCS!

Happy, happy December 1st. It's really here! Oh boy :) (I wonder how many of today's blog posts will include some variation of "I can't believe it's December" or "where has the year gone?" Trite, but oh-so true!)

It's also the first Saturday of the month, and therefore time to reveal the newest Sketch For You To Try:

This month we're sponsored by Splitcoast Stampers, which will be donating a one-year fan club membership to the Grand Prize Winner. The Grand Prize Winner will be drawn and announced on Christmas Day from the sketch participants who complete all twelve sketches of the year. If you're in the running, good luck!

For more info on the grand prize drawing, along with a big announcement, visit the amazing creative genius behind SFYTT, Jen del Muro.

My card features, yet again, the adorable Homemade for the Holidays stamp set by the Cat's Pajamas and the companion Man CutUps die. This time, my sweet gingerbread man is die-cut from some burlap and layered over a crochet doily. The sentiment is held in place with a Tim Holtz memo pin. The papers are from the City Sidewalks line by Pink Paislee.

Here are links to the fabulous team:

Jen del Muro with Designer of the Month Tangii Crain (welcome, Tangii!)

Amber Hight

Becky Carafa

Carole Burrage

Jen Tapler

Jodi Collins

Kerry Johnson

Megan Lock

Susan Liles

Tracy Schultz

Have a Sweet Holiday Season - DS79

Hey there, happy Thursday! It's time for a new Deconstructed Sketch. 

Here's Sketch #79:  

Before I get to my card details, a special announcement:

This week we are searching for our next GUEST DESIGNER, will it be you?? All you need to do is use this week’s sketch, post it to your blog and link back HERE using InLinks by December 5, 2012 at 10 pm CST. The guest designer will be announced next Friday, December 7, 2012 and will design with us for DS81 and DS82 before we break for the Christmas holiday. Good Luck!

For my card, I started out with The Cat's Pajamas new Man CutUps die, and die-cut the little fella out of some brown felt. I glued on some rick rack and stitched on two buttons. The eyes are adhesive flat-back pearls, and the mouth was done with a Viva Decor pearl pen. I tied on a bit of fiber for a scarf. The papers are all from the Simple Stories Handmade Holiday 6x6 pad.  I tied on a sentiment tag with baker's twine and added a pair of rusted jingle bells. The sentiment is from TCP's Homemade for the Holidays. At least 3-4 more gingerbread man projects are in the works on my craft table, so it's a safe bet you'll be seeing this sweetie again and again.

I just realized I completely forgot to add the two circle elements in the bottom right of the sketch (which would be bottom left on my rotated version).

Visit the Deconstructed Sketch Girls for lots more sketch inspiration:

• Amber Hight (Amber is on break)
• Amy Sheffer 
• Arielle Gordon
• Cresta Woodruff, Guest Designer
• Donna Wardle
• Jen Shults
• Kadie Ensley
• Lori Boyd
• Sheri Gilson
• Tracey Pickersgill

Thanks for visiting!

Cat's Pajamas Blog Hop

The Cat's Pajamas Winter Release is officially available in the TCP store, and the Cat Pack and Swanky Stampers are celebrating with a blog hop. If you've been following the hop already, you should have arrived here by way of Tracy. If not, head over to Lori's blog to begin.

Since it's Tuesday, we also have a brand-new TCP Tuesday Challenge. Lori's challenge is to Go Vintage. I started with some vintage-style Parcel Tags from the City Sidewalks collection by Collage Press. The gingerbread man is TCP's new Man CutUps die. I cut him out of one of the City Sidewalks 8x8 papers, distressed him with some ink, and adorned him with some black vintage buttons. Behind him is a glittered chipboard frame from the depths of my chipboard stash, a cardboard circle, and a lace doily. At the top, I tied on some crinkled seam binding and crochet trim, then added two rusted jingle bells. The tag hanging from the gingerbread man is stamped with one of the sentiments from the new Homemade for the Holidays set. I'm soooo loving this die and set and have quite a few more gingerbread man projects in the works! This one looks so much better in real life. I wish you could see the sparkle on that chipboard!

Your next stop on the hop is one of our fabulously talented Swanky Stamper guests -- Cyndi Bundy. 

Enjoy!

TCP Sneaky Peek #6

Welcome to Day 6 of TCP's Sneaky Peek week. Today we're showing off a darling set called Tree-mendous. I can sure relate to this guy. Christmas trees always look smaller than they actually are -- until you're shoving them through the front door! 

For more peeks at Tree-mendous, visit the Winter Sneaky Peek #6 thread on SCS. And for your chance to win this set, go HERE.

For a change-up from my go-to Copics, this time I stamped in Versafine onto heavy watercolor paper (which works so much better with rubber*), then broke out the Tombows and a water brush. A few of the new CutUps make an appearance as well. The Star Rosette is the light blue piece behind the image; the green stars are done with the 3x3 Stars set, and the notebook edge is from the Toppers set.

I had a different color combo going, but my 9-year-old daughter talked me into this bright pink background. I love how cheery it is! The papers are all from Carta Bella's Merry & Bright 6x6 collection.

*This set, like all the sets in this release is a Limited Edition Cling Set. We are making only a limited number in Cling Rubber to celebrate our 10-year anniversary. We started The Cat's Pajamas 10 years ago making rubber stamps and this release is a nod to our roots. While we all love our clear stamps, there is nothing like real red rubber!

Tomorrow is our last day of peeks and our Pajama party (HERE in the TCP forum). Everything you've seen this past week will be available for purchase November 27.

Thanks for stopping by!

TCP Sneaky Peek #5

Happy Saturday, and welcome to TCP's Sneaky Peek #5. Today, we're taking a look at Happy Everything. Not just one bunny, but two bunnies, and plenty of holiday cheer for all! I just love their intertwined ears -- so sweet!

For my card, I stamped the bunnies, colored with Copics, and trimmed them out. Their backdrop is some snowflake-emobssed kraft card stock with some fluffy snow mounds that I made using one of the new Toppers CutUps dies. The turquoise background panel has a fun perforated notebook edge along the top, which I did with another of the Toppers CutUps dies. A simple banner for the sentiment, some Cherry Divine Twine, and a Big Scallop CutUps die-cut stitched to the bottom, provide the finishing touches.

Be sure to check out The Cat's Pajamas forum on SCS to keep up with peeks and giveaways.

• Check the Winter Sneaky Peek #5 thread throughout the day for more Happy Everything eye candy. 
• Visit the In It To Win It thread for your chance to win Happy Everything.

And don't miss TCP's awesome Black Friday Special, but hurry, it ends today!

Thanks for stopping by!

TCP Sneaky Peek #3

Before I get to today's TCP Sneaky Peek info, I wanted to wish a {late} Happy Thanksgiving to my fellow Americans. I hope your day has been filled with blessings!

Peeks continue today over in The Cat's Pajamas forum on SCS. Here's the cutie we're featuring today:

OH yeah! How adorable is this one?!! For design team eye candy, visit the Winter Sneaky Peek #3 thread. Let us know what you think in the In It To Win It thread, and you just may find yourself a winner!

All seven new stamp sets and five new CutUps dies will be available in the TCP store Tuesday, November 27. Or, pick them up EARLY ...

Yep, that's right! A little Black Friday special just for you :)