Color Throwdown #352

Hello friends!  It’s Wednesday, and time for another Color Throwdown challenge!  This week, I’M the hostess and I hope you will love the colors I’ve chosen as much as I do!
Where I work, we always have to have a bunch of pens on the front desk and I love to check out the little pails in the $1 Spot at Target whenever I go in.  I found this little bucket a few weeks ago, and the more I looked at it sitting there on my desk, the more I thought “hey, those would be some great colors to Throwdown!”  So here you are…

I think you’ll find a lot of options with these colors… masculine, summery, nautical maybe?  Have fun!
Here’s my card…

This is the second of three cards my neighbor asked me to make recently.  She said her daughter loves nature and quilts, and all I could think of was how perfect these One with Nature stamps from Simon Says Stamp would be for the card!  I stamped the leaves in Versamark on Ranger Distress Watercolor card stock, then heat embossed them with detail white embossing powder.  Then over the leaves I applied a watercolor wash of Twisted Citron and Cracked Pistachio distress inks.  After everything dried, I spattered the card stock with some Steel Grey dye ink from My Favorite Things, as well as some Perfect Pearls, and water.  Then I die cut the Wishing die from Simon Says with Steel Blue and Steel Grey card stocks from MFT, and layered them to create a shadow effect.  Under the die-cut I stamped the sentiment with Versafine Onyx Black ink from the Sending and Wishing stamp set.  A few sequins completed my design.
Be sure to stop over at the Color Throwdown 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
Valentyna Komisarenko, July Guest Designer
Dawn Easton, Guest Star Stamper
As always, thank you so much for stopping by and for your comments!

The Cat’s Pajamas New Release Day 1

It’s that time again… time for another new release from The Cat’s Pajamas!  Today, we have sneaky peeks for you in conjunction with the new TCPTuesday #295 challenge which is Anything Goes!

And now, are you ready for the stamp set?  OMGosh… if you LOVE the bunny, you’re going to love…



Baby Bunny!  This is the new Shake, Rattle and Roll stamp set!  I stamped my baby bunny on watercolor card stock, then colored with my Clean Color Watercolor markers.  My card layout is from the current Sweet Sunday Sketch #278.  For the flag at the bottom, I used the Bitty Banner Cut-ups and I embellished with a few enamel dots, and the star cut out of the banner.

Want to win one of the new releases before they’re even available to purchase? Of course you do! For a chance to win, 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 the Sneaky Peeks today…
Deborah Anton
Nancy Thomas
Christine Okken
Wendy McGaffey
Wendy Bond
Lisa Henke
Lori Tecler

And don't forget to save the date for the Pajama Party Monday, July 27th from 8:00-10:00 p.m. Eastern time on the Cat’s Pajamas Facebook page.

Pawsitively Awesome!

My neighbor contacted me the other day and asked if I had some birthday cards she could buy.  She needed one for a dog lover, and I didn’t have one handy but told her I could happily make one.  And of course, the dog stamps I turned to HAD to be Birdie Brown’s You Make My Tail Wag stamp set and matching Die-Namics.

I used the current sketch #237 from My Favorite Things for my card layout, and am also participating in Day 3 of Summer School at MFT by using primary colors for my design.  The sentiment I used here is from the Birdie Brown You Have My Heart stamp set, and was die-cut with Blueprints 24 Die-Namics.  I added a circle that was die-cut from Blueprints 15, and on the background I stamped the BG Small Brick background.  Card stock colors used include Lemon Chiffon, Blueberry and Wild Cherry as well as Copic X-press It Blending card stock.  On the inside (you can see just a tiny peek there on the left) I stamped some paw prints from the set in Steel Grey hybrid ink.
And…. my neighbor loved the card!  :)  Thanks for stopping by today!

Color Throwdown #351

The Color Throwdown team has another challenge for you this week, and Monika is our hostess!  The inspiration photo she chose actually had some sparkly animation to it, which we couldn’t make work in the color swatch this week, but if you look closely you can see.  So for this week, our colors are hot pink, purple and black with sparkle!

I saw this beautiful card about two weeks ago, and just fell in love with that Penny Black All Over Pattern background, so I just had to get it ordered from Simon Says Stamp. 

After stamping the All Over Pattern on watercolor card stock with Versamark, I embossed with white detail embossing powder.  Then I did some ink smooshing with Picked Raspberry and Seedless Preserves distress ink, and spritzed the whole thing with some Perfect Pearls for shimmer.  I added a strip of vellum, and a die-cut Thanks die from Simon Says Stamp, cut from silver glitter card stock.  A few silver sequins, and done!

Be sure to stop over at the Color Throwdown blog for all the challenge details, and visit my Throwdown sisters for more inspiration…

Barbara Anders
Broni Holcombe – on vacation this week!
Joan Ervin
Jodi Collins
Lori Tecler
Monika Davis
Vickie Zimmer
Wanda Cullen
Valentyna Komisarenko, July Guest Designer
Lisa Henke, Guest Star Stamper

As always, thank you so much for stopping by and for your comments!

Color Throwdown #350

Hello friends!  It’s Wednesday and that means it’s time for another Color Throwdown challenge!  Today, Lori is our hostess with this great color combo of orange, pink, green and black….

I guess my monitor is off a little, because I leaned more toward some peach/coral tones for my card…

I saw this gorrrrrrgeous card on the Altenew blog a few weeks ago, and just had to CASE Marika’s beautiful design.  And it gave me a reason to finally ink of those beautiful Altenew Vintage Flowers stamps.  A card this pretty just had to be sent to my wonderful Mom, to thank her for all the help she gave me in preparing for my daughter’s graduation party back in June!  Love you, Mom!

Be sure to stop over at the Color Throwdown 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
Valentyna Komisarenko, July Guest Designer
Billie Blackwell, Guest Star Stamper

As always, thank you so much for stopping by and for your comments!

TCP Tuesday #294

Hello friends!  I hope you all had a happy 4th of July holiday (and for all of you outside the U.S. I hope you had a great weekend!)  It’s Tuesday again, but not just any Tuesday… TCPTuesday!  C’mon over to the TCP blog and join us for the sketch challenge today, being hosted by ME!  Here we go…

The sketch shows a square card, but it’s OK if you do an A2 card instead… just be inspired by the sketch!  When I do square cards anymore, I keep them 4 1/2” square, so they’ll still fit in an A2 envelope.  Here’s my card…

I recently got my hands on some fabulous new Zig Clean Color watercolor markers, and oh my are they fabulous!  So I just had to color up this image from the Constellation Prize stamp set, which was stamped on watercolor cardstock.  I added some sparkle in the night sky with a clear Wink of Stella pen, and some glitter card stock stars.  Plus I added a few stars that were die-cut with the 3x3 Star Cutups.  On the light blue card stock panel, I embossed with the Chevron Plate Cutups.
I really hope you’ll join us this week, because you could win some Cat Cash just by playing along!  Find all the details on the TCP blog along with a lot more inspiration from The Cat Pack!
Thanks for stopping by today!

Curtain Call Inspiration Challenge – Celebrate!

 Oooh, I've got some fun news to share today!  A few weeks ago, I entered this card in the Curtain Call beach ball challenge, and I was chosen as the Lead for that challenge!  And that gives me the wonderful privilege of joining the Curtain Call Inspiration Challenge team today as their Guest Designer!  I'm so thrilled, especially because this challenge marks a very special occasion!

Here are the details...

 To celebrate the Curtain Call's third anniversary, the Celebrate challenge will run the entire month of July!  The LEAD of this challenge will be invited as a Guest Designer in a future challenge! So, with that great inspiration photo, I knew I was going to want to use balloons and gold glitter in my design.

 And here's my card!

I pulled out the Drop In stamp set from The Cat's Pajamas and used my Copics to color, and then fussy cut the image.  I added the sentiment from the stamp set on the lower right side of my Sno Cone card stock panel, and sponged some chevrons onto the panel with Sno Cone hybrid ink.  Now, for the glitter.... well, I've always said that I am glitter challenged and I was really dreading trying to somehow add some gold glitter to this design without completely ruining it!  But, my BFF Barbara Anders came to the rescue and suggested gold glitter card stock stars!  PERFECT, right?  I used Blueprints 11 and Blueprints 24 Die-Namics from My Favorite Things for those little stars.  I also added a few Stitched Clouds Cut-Ups to the panel, and a gold glitter card stock Fishtail Flags STAX Die-Namics behind the panel.

On the inside, I added a birthday sentiment, and a Die-Namics Party Balloon...

 Make sure you visit each of the designers' blogs for more inspiration!

Celebrate Designers
Tammy Hershberger, Guest Designer (yay, that’s me!)
Amy Kolling
Amy Sheffer
Amy Tsuruta
Gayatri Murali
Kim Singdahlsen
Laurie Willison
Lisa Henke
Marisa Ritzen
Maureen Plut
Monika Davis
Sheri Gilson
Stacey Schafer
Tenia Nelson
Tracey McNeely

Follow us!
Curtain Call Inspiration Challenge Facebook Page
Curtain Call Pinterest Boards

Stop by the Curtain Call Inspiration Challenge:  Celebrate for the challenge details and to play along with us!

MANY, many thanks to Stacey and the Curtain Call Inspiration Challenge team for having me as their Guest Designer today!  I’m so happy to have the chance to join you in this celebration!

Thanks for stopping by today!

Color Throwdown #349

Hello friends!  It's Wednesday again, and that means it's time for another Color Throwdown challenge!  Sweet Jodi is our hostess today, and she's got a color combo for you to try that's high on my list of favorites!  I love me some aqua and orange together, for sure!  Check out her inspiration photo below...

For my card, I pulled out some squeeee-inducing new stamps from Simon Says Stamp!  This is the new Wplus9-inspired Many Thanks stamp set, and I took a lot of inspiration for my card from this beauty by Shari Carroll at Simon Says...

​I stamped the flowers with Tumbled Glass and Dried Marigold distress inks, and the leaves with Shabby Shutters on Ranger watercolor card stock.  Then I used a water brush and just swirled some water around on the flowers to give them a watery, blurred look.  I also splattered my card stock with some of the same color inks from a Mini-Mister along with a spritz of Perfect Pearls.  The Simon Says "thanks" die was cut three times with Kraft card stock and layered for dimension, then I cut again with Berrylicious card stock, and I added some sparkle to that Berrylicious layer with a clear Wink of Stella pen.  I added a scattering of sequins, copied from Shari's beautiful card (because I stink at sequin placement!)  Peeking out on the left side, I added a Kraft card stock panel that was stamped with Black Licorice hybrid ink using the BG On the Diagonal background stamp.​

Be sure to stop over at the Color Throwdown 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
Valentyna Komisarenko, July Guest Designer
Lee Erwee, Guest Star Stamper

I hope you’ll join us this week for the Throwdown!  Thanks for stopping by!

Color Throwdown #348

Hey all, it’s Wednesday again so that means we’ve got another Color Throwdown challenge for you!  Joan is our hostess today with this sweet quilt to inspire you…

With these colors, I have no idea why, but my mind immediately turned to this sweet Birdie Brown image from the Green Pastures stamp set at My Favorite Things.  I don’t know, I guess I just thought she’d look good in these colors!  :)  I colored with Copics, and added a little cow from the Whole Herd stamp set and a sentiment from the Green Pastures set.

On the yellow card stock strip, I stamped the BG Striped background on an angle using In the Buff hybrid ink.  On the Blue Breeze card stock strip I stamped the BG Gingham background with Blue Breeze hybrid ink.  This strip was also cut with the Vertical Stitched Strip Die-Namics.  And on the kraft card stock background I stamped the BG Wood Plank background with In the Buff hybrid ink.  The red circle (sorry, but I can’t keep the color names straight for the red card stock from MFT!) was cut with the new Zig Zag Stitched Circle STAX Die-Namics, and I stamped a polka dot background on that.  A few enamel dot embellishments, and it’s done.

Be sure to stop over at the Color Throwdown 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
Nancy Thomas, June Guest Designer
KarrenJ, Guest Star Stamper

I hope you’ll join us this week for the Throwdown!  Thanks for stopping by!

TCPTuesday #293 – Thanks Bunches

It’s time for another TCPTuesday challenge with The Cat’s Pajamas team, and today Christine is hosting our Inspiration Challenge!  Check out this photo below to get your creativity flowing…l

Well, I’ve always been partial to bicycle images, so I knew immediately that I’d be using the Wheel Love stamp set, with Bun-bun…

Bun-bun is taking a little ride along some grassy hills, delivering some pretty yellow posies to his girlfriend, I think… hmmm, what can her name be?  Bunny-Bun?  LOL  I just love me this sweet bunny!  The grassy hills were made with some gingham paper and die cut with the Wavy Stitched Border Cut-Ups.  And in the sky I added a few Stitched Clouds Cut-Ups, out Free with $60 dies!  The layout comes from the Sweet Sunday Sketch #274 for this week.
Be sure to stop by the TCP blog and join us this week!  You could win some Cat Cash, and be in the running to become our next Swanky Stamper!
Toodles!  Thanks for stopping by today!

Color Throwdown #347

Hello friends!  It’s time for another Color Throwdown challenge, and this week Broni is our hostess with these fabulous colors!  Oooh, I just couldn’t wait to create with these colors this week… aren’t the scrumptious together?  Here’s what I made…

I picked up the new Second Helping of Sunshine stamp set from Papertrey Ink a few weeks ago because I just loved the combination of Pyrex-style bowls (LOVE me my vintage Pyrex!) and the scales!  While I was shopping, I also picked up the Bowl of Sunshine stamp set, and the matching dies for both sets, so I foresee lots of fun with these sets!  For my card layout, I used the great Sweet Sunday Sketch #273 again.  My scales were stamped with Steel Grey hybrid ink from My Favorite Things, and on the face of the scales I added some crystal lacquer.  The bowl was stamped in Blu Raspberry hybrid ink, and the cherries in Razzle Berry.  The background was cut from Sweet Tooth card stock using the Modern Morocco Die-Namics cover plate.
Be sure to stop over at the Color Throwdown 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
Nancy Thomas, June Guest Designer I hope you’ll join us this week for the Throwdown!  Thanks for stopping by!

You’re Pear-fect

I have long followed the Tag You’re It Challenge, always intending to play along but it just always seems like the time gets away from me.  Today though, I just couldn’t pass up the chance to join in.  So here’s my card for challenge #23…

I water colored these sweet pears yesterday for #thedailymarker30day2 challenge, then set to work using them on this card last night.  The Tag You’re It Challenge shows a tag with an apple on it, so I stuck with the fruit theme and used these pears from Wplus9 Design Studio.  This set is called Punny Produce: Pears.  I water colored with a combination of Ranger Distress inks… Shabby Shutters, Fossilized Amber, Forest Moss, Peeled Paint, Gathered Twigs and Pumice Stone.  I borrowed some inspiration for my layout from this Retro Sketch #150.
Just a simple little card… maybe I’ll save it to sneak in my hubs’ lunch box one day and surprise him!  :)
Thanks for stopping by!

Sunflower Hello

My husband and I were serving as greeters at church yesterday, and just a few minutes before the start of the service we noticed a young couple carrying a little girl, coming across the parking lot.  As greeters, we’re always supposed to be on the lookout for new people, and I mentioned to my husband that I thought maybe they were new.  As they came closer, my husband said “Oh my gosh, I think that’s our neighbors!”  And sure enough, they were!  They live around the corner from us, and have been looking for a new church, so we were really happy that they decided to give the Orrville C&MA a chance today!  I told pastor after the service that I’d do what I could to extend the welcome into the coming week, so I made some zucchini bread last night and this card to take over to their house…

I was really glad to have colored this sunflower image on Friday night right after I got my package from Ellen Hutson with this new Clearly Besotted Sunshine and Smiles stamp set.  (The first Clearly Besotted set I’ve owned… I have a feeling there are going to be more!)  I was SO inspired by this card that Debby Hughes did with this set, so I just had to have it, especially since I’m so partial to sunflowers, anyway.  I used Ranger Distress markers on watercolor card stock for the image, then used a wet brush to color.  I also added some distress color around the sunflower, then distressed the panel up good with some splotches of Antique Linen ink.  The layout comes from the Sweet Sunday Sketch #273 this week.  I used the Happy Hellos Die-Namics to die-cut the hello from Steel Grey card stock… I cut three layers, glued them together, then applied crystal lacquer for dimension.  I die-cut some Sno Cone card stock with the Medium Scallop Die-Namics (retired) and a circle from Grout Gray card stock using the new Zig Zag Stitched Circle STAX Die-Namics.  On the yellow background panel, I stamped the BG Diagonal Stripes background.
I hope you like my happy sunflower!  Thanks for stopping by today!

Color Throwdown #346

Oh, hello!  My little gnomie is here to welcome you to another Color Throwdown challenge!  My BFF Barbara Anders is our hostess today with these fantastic colors…

I actually colored my little gnome last week as part of #thedailymarker30day2 challenge, then had him ready to use on my card for today’s challenge!  He comes from the sweet Birdie Brown You Gnome Me stamp set.  I think this little guy is so stinkin’ cute ‘cause he looks like he’s doing “Jazz Hands!”  LOL

I used the matching You Gnome Me Die-Namics to cut out the little guy, then mounted him on a Razzle Berry card stock panel that was cut with the Blueprints 22 Die-Namics.  I added a Steel Blue card stock sentiment panel stamped with a You Gnome Me sentiment and embossed with white embossing powder.  Below that I added a Gumdrop Green card stock strip that was stamped with the BG Grid background stamp in Gumdrop Green hybrid ink.  I cut the kraft card stock back panel with the Blueprints 24 Die-Namics, and stamped it with the BG Wood Plank background in Natural hybrid ink.  I mounted that to a piece of Steel Grey card stock, and then mounted it all to a Gumdrop Green card stock base.  A few enamel dots finished my design.

Be sure to stop over at the Color Throwdown 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
Nancy Thomas, June Guest Designer
Maura, Guest Star Stamper

Happy hump day, and thanks for stopping by today!

Hope Your Day is Cool

These new Birdie Brown Penguins in Paradise stamps that were just released at My Favorite Things were just too irresistible… I had to order last week!  And having the matching dies just makes it so easy to create a fun little scene for Mr. Penguin to enjoy…



I actually colored my little penguin earlier as part of #thedailymarker30day2 challenge, and then used him for this card.  I browsed a few challenge blogs looking for layout inspiration and actually found THREE challenges I could use for this card!  That almost never happens for me but I used the current Clean & Simple Stamping layout #15, then worked the little beach ball into the design for the current Curtain Call Inspiration Challenge, and then found that Crazy 4 Challenges #289 this week is to include sunshine in your project!  My penguin, tree and beach ball are all colored with Copics, of course.  To create the little beach scene, I die-cut a Pierced Rectangle STAX Die-Namics from Sno Cone and Natural card stock.  Then, to make the sand I used the Rolling Hills Die-Namics, but used only the hill piece.  I added a few Flat Bottom Clouds Die-Namics cut from Sweet Tooth card stock and stamped a strip of Ripe Raspberry card stock with the BG Grid background stamp.  On the Lemon Chiffon back panel, I used the Tim Holtz Rays stencil using Lemon Chiffon hybrid ink.  I matted the panel on a piece of Black Licorice card stock, then mounted everything to a Sno Cone card stock base.

I can see myself having a LOT more fun with this sweet stamp set!

Have a great day!

TCP Tuesday #292 – Soakin’ It Up!

It’s Tuesday again and time for a brand new TCP Tuesday challenge from The Cat’s Pajamas.  This week, our newest Kitty, Deborah Anton is hosting our color challenge with these wonderful colors, just perfect for summer!  These colors immediately led me to a summery/tropical card…

I stamped Sprinkle floating on the waves from the Fun in the Sun stamp set.  She floating on some Wavy Stitched Border Cut-Ups waves, among some Stitched Clouds Cut-Ups.   On the yellow panel I added some bubbles from the stamp set, and I used the current Sweet Sunday Sketch #272 for the layout.
Be sure to stop over at the TCP blog for all the details, and join us!  You could win some Cat Cash, and be in the running to be our next Swanky Stamper!

Feel Better Flowers

So, I took a few days off work to get ready for my daughters graduation party, but gosh it’s just hard to stay out of my stamp room with all the time at home!  I know I’ll probably regret it later today when I refer to my list of things to do once again, but stamping time last evening was pretty nice! 
The latest sketch from My Favorite Things really spoke to me this week, so I decided to make a card from the sketch and also incorporated the current color challenge into my card, as well!

I used the pretty Modern Blooms stamp set on my card, stamping the large flowers in Peach Bellini hybrid ink with Persimmon hybrid ink centers.  The smaller flowers were stamped with Wild Wisteria hybrid ink, and have Lavender Fields hybrid ink centers.  I masked the flowers, then stamped the leaves with Sour Apple and Jellybean Green hybrid inks.  I die-cut the center floral panel with the Blueprints 24 Die-Namics.  On the Wild Wisteria card stock panel, I used the BG Cheesecloth background stamp in Wild Wisteria hybrid ink.  I stamped the sentiment from Get Well Wishes on a piece of Sour Apple card stock that was die-cut with the Pierced Fishtail Flags STAX.
And there you go!  :)  Thanks for stopping by today!

Color Throwdown #345

First of all, please allow me one quick moment of proud mama indulgence…

Yay, she graduated!  There’s my baby girl, beaming after receiving her diploma!  This was on Sunday, and we have her party coming up on Saturday at our house.  Can’t wait to see family and friends!

OK, now… on to today’s Color Throwdown!  Wanda is our hostess today, and her colors were inspired by this wonderful photo that just screams summer time!

I guess my tendency with these colors was to lean towards red flowers, but I tried to think a little more outside the box.  I focused on the black and white instead, which led me to finally use my The Whole Herd stamp set from My Favorite Things…

I used the Sweet Sunday Sketch #271 for this week for the layout with my cute Bessie the cow!  Isn’t she cute there in her Stitched Circle STAX Die-Namics circle, with the Rolling Hills Die-Namics fence in the background?  I added a small cloud from the Cloud Trio Die-Namics in the sky, and used the Cow Print stencil in the background, sponged with Steel Grey hybrid ink.  This was a perfect card to make and send to my cousin, whose birthday I forgot last week!

Be sure to stop over at the Color Throwdown 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
Nancy Thomas, June Guest Designer
Maura, Guest Star Stamper

That’s all for me today!  Thank you for stopping by!  (And if you’re into party preparations, come on over!  I could use the help!)

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!

Color Throwdown #344

Happy Wednesday, my friends!  It’s time for another Color Throwdown challenge, and this week Vickie is our hostess with this summery photo as inspiration for our colors!

I just had to get out my Modern Blooms stamp set and Die-Namics from My Favorite Things for my card today…

And for the card layout, I just couldn’t resist using the fantastic Sweet Sunday Sketch #270 for this week once again… great sketch, I know I’ll be using over and over!  The sentiment on my card comes from the Totally Happy stamp set from MFT.  I used the BG Gingham background stamp (on the pink card stock, stamped in Whip Cream pigment ink…. oooh, it’s just barely visible!) and on the yellow Stitched Circle STAX Die-Namics I stamped the BG Simply Circles background.  That background stamp, AND the Stitched Basic Edges that I used on the edge of the Tickled Pink card stock are both things I’ve had for awhile now, and have FINALLY used!  #ibuytoomuchandneveruse

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
Tenia Nelson, May Guest Designer
Kirsty McIntyre, Guest Star Stamper

Thanks so much for stopping by today!

The Cat’s Pajamas New Release Blog Hop

Hi everyone!  Well, we made it… another new release is in the books at The Cat’s Pajamas!  We had a blast at the release party on the Cat’s Pajamas Facebook page and hopefully everyone has already done their shopping!  But in case you still need some encouragement to go shopping, we’ve got the new release blog hop for you today!  AND it coincides with the next TCPTuesday challenge #291 which is an Anything Goes challenge!

Here’s my card to share with you today, using the new Constellation Prize stamp set…



The famous TCP penguins are at it again and this time they’re going to shoot the moon!  I just LOVE their antics there in outer space, especially the one sliding down the moon!  I used the Sweet Sunday Sketch #270 this week for my card layout.  I colored with Copics, and embellished my design with the sweet 3x3 Stars Cut-Ups dies.  I gave the moon and the stars some sparkle with a Wink of Stella pen.

If you came to my blog from the gorgeous Jessie Rone’s blog, then you’re right on track!  If not, be sure to start at the beginning at Nancy Thomas’s blog!  From here you should head on over to see Lisa Henke, and then follow the links to get to the TCP blog at the very end.

And remember, the next TCPTuesday #291 challenge starts today, and it’s Anything Goes!  Play along to win some Cat Cash, and to have the chance at being our next Swanky Stamper!

Many thanks to all the TCP Fans for visiting my blog this past week for all the Sneaky Peeks and for all the wonderful comments!  They were all greatly appreciated!