Back in the Kitchen

Well, hello friends!  I haven’t been here in awhile… not sure if anyone missed me, but I’m here today to share some new creations with you!  I don’t stamp nearly as much as I have in the past, but when I do I find it easier to just share on Instagram.  So if you’re an Instagram user, please feel free to follow me there by clicking this link, or click on the little Instagram camera icon there on the top left column of my blog.

But hey, let’s get to the biggest reason why I’m here today!  Many moons ago, I was honored to be assigned to my very first design team by the wonderful owner of Kitchen Sink Stamps.  And today, Maria is releasing a new bunch of great stamps and has asked me to help her share them with you today by being a guest designer.  Little known fact… in addition to being the first design team I was ever priviledged to serve on, I was also the VERY FIRST online customer at Kitchen Sink Stamps!  I logged on to Splitcoaststampers one day, and saw a banner ad for a company I’d not heard of, but in that ad was a pretty flower!  I was intrigued!  I clicked on the link and liked what I saw so much I placed a quick order as I headed out the door to work.  That first stamp set that caught my eye (in addition to a few others I ordered that day!) was the 3-Step Daisy.  Do you remember this card?

Another fun story from many moons ago… I don’t remember how it got started but the Kitchen Sink Crew members were talking about other flowers we’d like to see as stamp sets, and someone (I think it was me?) mentioned dogwoods.  I have the most beautiful pink dogwood tree in front of my kitchen window, and I look forward to it blooming every spring!  Maria, being from California, didn’t know what a dogwood tree was!  The horror!  So I actually plucked some of the blooms from my tree that following spring, pressed them between sheets of waxed paper, then tucked them between the pages of a magazine, and quickly mailed that magazine off to Maria.  And now… 8-10 years later? I FINALLY have my dogwoods!  Just LOOK!

Say hello to the Enchanted Dogwood stamp set.  Aren’t they glorious?!?!?!  I literally SQUEALED when I saw the stamps, I was so happy!  I stamped my dogwoods with a combination of pink inks, because the pink blooms are what I like best.  We also have another dogwood tree in our yard that has yellow blooms, but the shape of the petals are slightly different than this one.  You seriously can make yours any color you want… they’re all beautiful!  I paired my pretty flowers with some gingham paper, and added a sentiment… the “Friend” comes from another new set being released today, the Words 4 Celebrating set.  You will find SO. MUCH. VERSATILITY! in this new sentiment set… as I did with this card…

How do you like that rainbow?  I picked four of the words from the set… Amazing, Special, Perfect and Awesome and stamped them for a background.  Then I die-cut the letters y-o-u, and combined them with a sentiment from the Other Important People stamp set.  I just LOVE how this one turned out, and I hope you like it, too!

And one more fabulous stamp set being released is the Multi-Step Spring Daffodils!  Check it out…

Daffodils in the spring are such a wonderful sight, don’t you think?  Although, here in Norteast Ohio, they can sometimes look pretty sad when they’re covered by a snowfall, as happens quite often!  One more fun fact, if you can stand it?  When I was a little girl, I called these “dack-o-dills”!  Wasn’t I ADORABLE???  I paired my daffodils with another sentiment from the Words 4 Celebrating stamp set, and I also used the digital cut file that’s available from Kitchen Sink Stamps to cut out the daffodils with my Silhouette Cameo.

Finally, I had to use the Spring Daffodils for one more fun card.  You’ll notice included with the daffodils in the set, some frogs and dragonflies!  So, just for the fun of it, I used the current CAS(E) this Sketch #274 to create this fun birthday card…

My froggie is hiding in the weeds along the edge of a pond, getting ready to snap that dragonfly out of the air!  LOL

PLEASE be sure to visit the Kitchen Sink Stamps website to grab these new stamp sets for yourself.  And stop by the KSS Facebook page to see more creations featuring these new designs.  And visit the other Kitchen Sink Crew members today, who will have fun designs to share…

Lynn McAuley

Jeanne Frontz

Maria Colosimo

So, that’s all for me today… I know, I’ve been long-winded!  I hope someone might still be reading my blog here, and that you’ve enjoyed these KSS creations today!  Thank you for stopping by!

Oh, Ship!

I realized this weekend that my Aunt Rose has a birthday today.  And since I didn't have a card ready to send her, I knew any card I ended up sending would be late (since she lives three hours away from me!) So I made this quick card on Sunday night to send her, and hope she'll get the joke and love it!

I've had this Naughty Nautical stamp set from Simon Says Stamp for what seems like forever, and finally got around to using it!  I kept it simple and used the sketch from the current Share Joy Challenge #12 for this week.  AND (I'm SO happy!) I finally got my Silhouette working properly again, so I was able to cut out that little set of banner flags across the top! 

AND, I'm so happy that it's a 3-day week, and that Thanksgiving is on the way!  I hope you have a blessed day!

TCPTuesday #291 – Take Two

It’s week two of the TCPTuesday #291 Anything Goes challenge.  Have you played along with us yet?  You could win some Cat Cash, and be in the running to be our next Swanky Stamper, so c’mon… don’t miss out!  You don’t even have to use stamps from The Cat’s Pajamas if you don’t have them, but if you win you’d be able to do some SHOPPING!  Nothing better than that!
Here’s my card for the second week of the challenge, using the new Take Flight stamp set….

I used the new Stitched Clouds Cut-ups as well as the new Bird Houses Cut-Ups and the Take Flight stamp set for my card.  (The polaroid frame, tree branch and leaves were all cut using my Silhouette.) 
So, what are you waiting for?  Head on over to the TCP blog and join us for the challenge!  (Unfortunately, as of my posting the store website as well as the blog are experiencing some technical difficulties!  :(  Hang in there, and I’m sure it’ll be back up and running very soon!)
Thanks for stopping by today!

The Cat’s Pajamas Sneaky Peek #7

Wishing all my American readers a blessed Memorial Day, and giving thanks for the sacrifice of all who gave their lives for the freedom we have in our country.  God bless you all!


And now, with my apologies for the late post today, it’s on to the final day of Sneaky Peeks for The Cat’s Pajamas!  Today we’re showcasing the new Cutables for this month!  What are Cutables, you might ask?  They are downloadable files. With each Cutable, you get instructions, .svg and .studio files for your cutting machine. And, for those that don’t have a cutting machine, .pdfs of the card. Because these are downloadable files, they are less expensive than dies and you pay no shipping.  For more info, just check our Cutables FAQs.  Alma even has some great videos to show you just how easy these are!

Here’s the card I created using the Tri-Shutter Cutables.  This first photo shows you the card in the closed position…



I used the darling new Drop In stamp set to put Bun-bun on the front of my card, floating away in his beautiful, beautiful balloon.  He’s floating over some hills that were cut with the Wavy Stitched Border Cut-Ups die, and among some Stitched Clouds Cut-Ups, too.  I used the Cutables file to cut all the mats of designer paper for the card, too… makes it SO nice and easy!

And now here are two views of what the card looks like when you open it…






I added a few sentiments to the inside panels from other stamp sets including I Are Fun, Constellation Prize, and Space Cadet.  

Want to win one of the new releases before they’re even available to purchase? Of course you do! For a chance to win some Cutables, just hop along and comment on all of the participating Cat Pack member blogs and the TCP blog today. One randomly selected winner will be posted on the TCP Facebook page tomorrow.

Here’s where to find all of the Sneaky Peeks today:

Nancy Thomas
Lori Tecler 

And don't forget to save the date for the Pajama Party TONIGHT! from 8:00-10:00 p.m. Eastern time on the Cat’s Pajamas Facebook page.  The new release is official TOMORROW!!!

TCPTuesday #290 – Friends Remind Us

It’s time for another TCPTuesday challenge, and this week the fabulous Wendy Bond is our hostess with a sketch for challenge #290!  Check it out…

For my card, I used the darling Strange & Wonderful stamp set, with our sweet penguin enjoying some Spring flowers…

To perfectly cut out my image, I used the Cutables cut file that’s available for this set.  Those are SO nice to have available… no more fussy cutting!  And… THEY’RE FREE!  You’ll even find a cut file for this sketch!  In addition to the stamps and Cutables, I also used the Big Scallop Cut-Ups die directly under my image.  The colors of my card were inspired by the current Colour Q challenge #290.  (How ironic that they’re challenge is also #290?!)
Be sure to stop over at the TCP blog for all the challenge details, and join us!  YOU could win some Cat Cash, AND you’d be in the running to be our next Swanky Stamper! 

 

AND, if you haven’t gotten around to it yet, be sure to go "like" The Cat's Pajamas on Facebook!  There's a great contest going on right now, and $15 in Cat Cash is being given away for every 50 likes!  Wooohooo!
Thanks for stopping by!

TCPTuesday #289 – Just a Note

It must be Tuesday because it’s time again for a new TCPTuesday challenge from The Cat’s Pajamas!  This week is an inspiration challenge, so here are you photos for… what else, inspiration!

 

There are several elements from both photos that inspired me… the bird, the music paper and text, and the colors of the jars mostly.  Here’s my card…

I made some clouds on my blue card stock background with white embossing paste, then used the musical notes from The Tweetest Things stamp set to stamp on the clouds.  The branch and leaves were just cut on my Silhouette, and then I die cut the birdhouse from the Home Tweet Home Cutups dies.  I added some text print to the birdhouse and a sentiment, also from The Tweetest Things stamp set.
I hope you’ll play along with us this week!  You could win some Cat Cash for joining, so go and get inky!  Stop by the TCP blog for all the details!

Color Throwdown #336

Hello friends!  It’s time for another Color Throwdown challenge, and this week Wanda is our hostess.  Here is her color combo…

Now, I have to admit I reeeeeally struggled with these colors because I thought they just screamed FALL, and a Fall-themed card is not what I want to make when Spring is on the verge of bursting forth.  So in addition to the colors, I just used the photo in general as inspiration and created this card…

I used the Small Brick Wall stencil from My Favorite Things, and some white embossing paste on the background panel then sponged the bricks with Brick Red Hybrid ink after the paste was dry.  I also sponged the outer edges of the background panel with some Antique Linen distress ink.  The bicycle was first cut out with my Silhouette using the Digital Cut File from Kitchen Sink Stamps, and then I stamped the bike using my MISTI and the Multi-Step Bicycle stamp set from KSS.  (Did you know that I had a hand in designing this KSS stamp set?  My green card stock here is the old River Rock from Stampin’ Up! which I’ve always thought was such a pretty, subtle, soft shade of green.  But no matter what I did here, it looks like kraft in my photo, don’t you think?  Trust me, it’s more green than it appears!  :)  All in all, even thought it took awhile to get my mojo started for this card, I’m happy with how it turned out!

Remember, we’ve got something new on the CTD blog… we’re now on Instagram!  Be sure to follow us by searching for colorthrowdown.  You’ll be able to get sneak peeks of the upcoming challenges, and you also might find your card featured there one day!  (And I’m on Instagram, too!  If you want to follow me, just click on the little Instagram camera button way up at the top of my left sidebar!)

Be sure to stop by the CTD blog for all the challenge details, and visit my Throwdown sisters for more inspiration.

Barbara Anders
Broni Holcombe
Joan Ervin (sitting out this week)
Jodi Collins
Lori Tecler
Monika Davis
Vickie Zimmer
Wanda Cullen
Karen Giron, April Guest Designer
Tobi Crawford, Guest Star Stamper

That’s all for today… thanks for stopping by!

The Cat’s Pajamas Sneaky Peek #5

We’re just a little over halfway to the big day… new release day at The Cat’s Pajamas!  I’m excited to show you my project for today using a new stamp set, AND a new Cutables digital file!  Here is the Cascade Card along with the new Jump for Joy stamp set…

How fun is this for a graduation card?  The Cascade Card is easy to cut and assemble, including the mats to layer.  I simply stamped my penguin and cut him out, then stamped the sentiments and added them to the card and this was honestly a very quick creation.  When you’re on your way out the door for a graduation party, and suddenly remember you didn’t make a card, you can fire up your Silhouette and quickly make this happen!  :) 
Be sure to head over to the TCP blog for all the Sneaky Peek details!  And here’s a few more things to remember… 1. All the new stamps and dies will be released on Tuesday,  March 17.
2. If you're IN IT TO WIN IT, visit the TCP Forum at Splitcoaststampers to comment and chat on the IN IT TO WIN IT thread every day for an opportunity to score some new TCP goodies.

3. Save the date for the Pajama Party on Monday, March 16 from 8-10pm EDT. Here are the other Cat Pack participants: Christine Okken
Nancy Thomas
Lori Tecler
Here’s the new stamp set for you to see…

Thanks for stopping by today!

The Cat’s Pajamas Sneaky Peek Day 3

Hey all, it’s Day 3 of Sneaky Peeks from The Cat’s Pajamas, and today we’re featuring a new stamp set designed by our own, Nancy Thomas!  This is the new Patterned Petals stamp set, and it pairs beautifully with some fantastic matching dies!  I made my card for you today using the new set, along with one of the new Cutables digital cut files that will be available Tuesday!

Here is my Half-Diamond Fold Cutables card, along with the new Patterned Petals stamps and dies.  I kept the design pretty simple, and just let the pretty flower do the work here.  The Cutables digital file makes neat cards like this SO easy to create!  Stay tuned… I’ll have another one to share with you later in the week.

Here’s what it looks like on the inside when you unfold the card…

The nice thing about the cut files is that Alma designs them with the mats that fit perfectly, too!  So I was able to cut pieces of this polka dot designer paper to layer on the card.

Here are some details you need to know:
1. All the new stamps and dies will be released on Tuesday,  March 17.

2. If you're IN IT TO WIN IT, visit the TCP Forum at Splitcoaststampers to comment and chat on the IN IT TO WIN IT thread every day for an opportunity to score some new TCP goodies.

3. Save the date for the Pajama Party on Monday, March 16 from 8-10pm EDT.

Here are the other Cat Pack participants:

Christine Okken
Lisa Henke
Nancy Thomas
Wendy McGaffey
Wendy Bond
Noelle McAdams

Here’s the full Patterned Petals set…

Color Throwdown #333

Monika is our fabulous hostess today for Color Throwdown #333!  I hope you’ll stop over at the CTD blog to check out the challenge details and join us today.  If you’re a purple lover, this challenge is right up your alley…

I received a text message about 10 days ago from the sweet lady who does my nails, asking me if I could make a birthday card for her to give to her granny for her 104th birthday!  How could I refuse?  And since granny’s favorite color is purple, it worked out just perfectly to make her this Center Step card with the Delightful Dahlia Additions from Papertrey Ink.

I die-cut the dahlias, then stamped each one with Wild Wisteria hybrid ink, Grape Jelly hybrid ink, and Lavender Fields hybrid ink from My Favorite Things.  The leaves were done with Jellybean Green hybrid ink (the lighter layer was just stamped off once.)  On the gray card stock panels, I stamped the Greenery background from Impression Obsession.  I thought this style of card would be neat for Deb’s granny so she could set it up beside her and see the pretty flowers (especially since there aren’t any outside our windows around here!)
Be sure to stop by the CTD blog for all the challenge details, and visit my Throwdown sisters for more inspiration. Barbara Anders
Broni Holcombe
Joan Ervin
Jodi Collins
Lori Tecler
Monika Davis
Vickie Zimmer
Wanda Cullen
Holly Brown, March Guest Designer
Betty Wright, Guest Star Stamper I hope you’ll join us for the challenge, and thank you for stopping by today!

Color Throwdown #271

Hello friends, it’s Color Throwdown time once again.  Barbara is our hostess this week, and she’s chosen a great Christmas-y color combo for us to try, although you do not have to make a Christmas card, if you don’t want to!  I decided to go with Christmas for my card, and here it is…

I used my Silhouette to cut out this poinsettia on Regal Rose cardstock, then sponged some red ink on the petal edges, and spritzed the whole thing with some heirloom gold Perfect Pearls.  I used Die-Namics dies to cut out the leaves (Royal Leaves) and the label for the sentiment (Layered Label).  The sentiment is from the My Favorite Things Clearly Sentimental about Christmas stamp set. I finished off with some embossed stripes and enamel dots.
Be sure to visit the CTD blog for all the challenge details, and visit my Throwdown sisters for more inspriration…
Barbara Anders
Broni Holcombe
Joan Ervin
Lori Tecler
Melody Rupple
Vickie Zimmer
Wanda Cullen
Cindy Lawrence, December Guest Designer
And speaking of Wanda Cullen… she was visiting family here in Ohio last weekend for Thanksgiving and I just had to make time to meet up with her for a big hug!  Here we are at Lehman Hardware in Kidron for a little chatting and shopping!

Thanks for stopping by today!

Kitchen Sink Monday

Hello friends!  I have a stamping friend who recently had knee surgery, so I thought a card using Kitchen Sink Stamps’ Get Well Teddy might just speed her recovery!

My teddy was stamped with…
#1 – Memento Peanut Brittle (stamped off once)
#2 – Memento Toffee Crunch
#3 – Memento Rich Cocoa
#4 – Versafine Onyx Black
The papers I used here are some new Pink Paislee “Hey Kid”, and I got the card layout from the Deconstructed Sketch #126 for this week.  I also used the digital cut file to cut the teddy out, making this a fairly quick creation! 
I broke up the sentiment to fit on the flag on the front, then on the inside added some more…

Jump around today and see what the rest of the Kitchen Sink Crew had cooked up for you today…
Maria Colosimo, owner
Lynn McAuley
Lisa Somerville
Connie McCotter
Thanks for stopping by!  Happy Monday, and…

Color Throwdown #265

It’s time for another Color Throwdown challenge, and I’ve got one more card to share with you today using the new Multi-Step Bicycle stamp set from Kitchen Sink Stamps!
  These new stamps were just released on Monday, along with 4 other fabulous sets, so I hope you made time to go shopping.  At this point, you’ve missed out on the 15% off savings, but you can still always save 10% on your order when you use the code KSS10Tammy at check out!  (Or click the link in my sidebar.)

Joan is our hostess today with this interesting color combo.  I was a little iffy on it at first, thinking “what am I going to do?” as I do many weeks lately, but found some papers that worked well, and I was off and running!

And here’s my card, using the Multi-Step Bicycle set, and some Authentique papers.  And for this card, I used the awesome now-available cut file for the bicycle, the basket and the flowers!  I am SO excited that Maria is now designing cut files to go with the stamps… it adds a whole new design element to my creations, and actually makes the mult-step stamping process easier, too!  Check out Maria’s blog post here where she explains how she does it… I tried this and it makes such a difference!  (And… even Maria will admit that her explanation can be confusing, so if it is just drop me a line and I’ll try to explain better!)
Since Cantaloupe is a shade of orange, I’m entering this one in Linda’s “Orange is the New Black” Recipe Swap challenge for this week, too!
Do you love the sentiment on the front?  Those “Keep Calm” statements are so popular lately… I love that Maria included it in this set!  On the inside is another great sentiment from the set… one that I suggested be included.  I also added a “silhouette” of the bike using the step #2 stamp, and some Memento Toffee Crunch ink.

I’ll upload my card to my Kitchen Sink Stamps gallery,
and list my color recipes there for you!
Be sure to visit the Color Throwdown blog for all the challenge details today, and visit my Throwdown sisters for more inspiration…
Wanda Cullen
Vickie Zimmer
Melody Rupple
Lori Tecler
Joan Ervin
Broni Holcombe
Barbara Anders
Sankari Wegman, October Guest Designer
Thanks so much for stopping by today, and happy stamping!

Kitchen Sink Stamps Christmas

Today I have two Christmas/Winter-themed cards to share with you using some of the new release stamps!  First up…

A Christmas bear!  Maria has developed a new stamp set called Things 4 Ducky and Teddy, and it has a whole bunch of items you can use to dress up the teddy (shown here) from Multi-Step Teddy Bear Wishes and the rubber duck from the new Multi-Step Rubber Ducky.  And even better, there are digital cut files available for the teddy, the duck AND all the items in the new Things stamp set!  The cut files are SO NICE because it means no more masking!  I was able to stamp the Santa hat and candy cane here on the die cuts, and this card came together so quickly.  I’m in love!  The layout for my card is based on the Sweet Sunday Sketch #195.  My color recipes will be in my Kitchen Sink Gallery upload.
On the inside…

I added a sentiment borrowed from the Multi-Step Grizzly Bear Wishes stamp set, and a plaid border to match the papers on the card front.
And here’s just one more…

This card uses the new Multi-Step Snowy Pine Trees, and I made it a Christmas card by adding the sentiment from Never a Loss 4 Words.  I added a sparkly gold star to the top of the tree, and spritzed the whole card with some Heirloom Gold Perfect Pearls mist for an all-over shimmer.  See my Kitchen Sink Gallery for my color recipe.
Remember, until midnight tonight Pacific time you can save 15% on all the new release stamps and in stock items in the KSS store.  Click here for your savings… Oct. New Stamps 15%-Tammy
Thanks for stopping by!

Birthday Cards

So yesterday, I shared with you the KSS Lighthouse cards I made as part of a collection of birthday cards I made for one of the therapists at work.  So today, I thought I’d show you the rest of the cards.  I made a dozen in all, two of each design, half masculine/half feminine.  So, obviously those lighthouse cards were more on the masculine side and here are the other two designs I came up with…

I’m still infatuated with how this design turned out!  I’ve had The Mustache dies and stamps from The Cat’s Pajamas for probably at least a year, but have never used them!  Well, I finally fixed that with this simple design!

And this design was based on this card I made awhile back using the same Wplus9 Design stamp set, Fish More and matching dies.  I’m glad I made these two because Harry (the therapist who bought the cards) said “Oh, perfect… my brother loves to fish!”  I computer-generated the sentiment since there isn’t one in the stamp set that was useful for this design.
And for the feminine cards…

I made these two using a Project Life card cut out on my Silhouette, and added a yellow flower made with the Pretty Posies Die-Namics.  These designs were CASE’d from the card I made here for Color Throwdown #205.
Then there’s this one…

Which uses the Rounded Banner STAX Die-Namics, the Butterflies and the Medium Leafy Flourish.  Inspiration for this design came from this card.
And finally…

I colored with Copics on this one, which isn’t something I’d normally do when I need to make a lot of cards, but I kept the coloring very simple… no blending, just coloring.  This is a retired a’la modes stamp from MFT, and I combined a sentiment from that set with another one from a Pure Innocence set, and added a die-cut button so there’s no extra bulk.  As it happened, my daughter also needed a birthday card for a friend, so while I was at it I created a little more-is-more design for the card she needed…

Hope you like all my cards!  I am happy to report that the buyer liked them all, too!
Happy stamping!