Sweet friends

Hey guys!

I know some of you may be waiting for Sweet November sneak peeks and I promise that they are coming soon! Just check back next week when all of the fun will begin... lots of super sweet CHA goodies that I can't wait to share with ya. :)
And the excitement doesn't end there, I just passed my two year blogaversary on Saturday and don't be surprised to see another 1000 sheets candy in the near future as well! hint, hint, wink, wink! ;)

As for today, I've got a card featuring a mix of stamps that I just had to put together... it's like they were made for each other I tell ya! I got the Sweet Greetings Pure Innocence because not only was she too cute with her stick of cotton candy but I also had just the cotton candy stand to go with her from the Craft's Meow set. At first I thought that was going to be it but then I was looking at another Pure Innocence sweetie called Water Lily and realized that with an easy alteration of wiping away her hand and stamping in the cotton candy hand in its place, I could have two little friends enjoying a day at the carnival. Because this was so heavy on stamped images I kept the rest of the card pretty minimal, with just a bit of paper and twine to finish it all off. Oh and once again I spritzed a cotton ball and added it to their candy for some cool texture.

Ok, time for me to wrap this up and go get myself ready for work. Talk to ya later! :)
Supply list:
cardstock- Bazzill and Copic X-Press It
paper- Echo Park (Summer Days), K&Co (yellow)
stamps- My Favorite Things (Pure Innocence Water Lily, Pure Innocence Sweet Greetings), The Craft's Meow (Life is a Carnival set)
ink- Memento tuxedo black and Colorbox creamy brown
The Twinery twine
Martha Stewart border punch
cotton ball
Copic markers:
skin- E000, E00, E11, R00, R20
hair- E35, E37, E59
hair- YR30, Y21, Y26, E35
clothes/cotton candy stand- V05, V06, V09, Y13, Y15, Y17, YG00, YG01, YG03, RV13, RV25, RV17, BG45, BG49, BG0000, 0, C0, C1, C3, RV10, RV02, Y11

Hoppin' with The Craft's Meow

Hello, hello!

Welcome to The Craft's Meow July release blog hop! If you are getting here from Amy Tsuruta's blog then you are on the right track... if not be sure to start at the TCM blog for a complete list of hop participants. You won't want to miss a single fabulous creation today! Because if you visit all the blogs for another look at these fabby stamp sets and then go back to the TCM blog and let us know which stamp set(s) is/are your favorites you will be entered in for a chance at winning this month's entire release! We'll run the competition until 10:00 pm Pacific on Tuesday, July 5th, and the winner will be announced on the TCM blog the next day.

And the fun doesn't end there, TCM will also be starting a monthly sketch challenge tomorrow! Nadia Cannizzo has come up with a wonderful sketch for us all to play with, and it will be posted on the TCM blog tomorrow with the "blue froggy" for links. You'll have until 10:00 pm Pacific on Saturday, July 30th to play for a chance to win a TCM stamp set of choice! The prize will be randomly awarded, so everyone has an equal chance to win. All we ask is that you use The Craft's Meow stamps. We can't wait to see what you create!!!

More good news! All card kits are on sale beginning today for 15% off! The prices in the store have been adjusted accordingly, so no need for a discount code. However, those of you who receive our newsletter will get a coupon code that will apply to your entire order, including sale prices, so you can save even more! Have you signed up yet?
There are also some new crafting goodies available, which you'll find on the Home page and under New Items on the sidebar menu of the store!

My card today features loads of the new "Life is a Carnival" set to create this wonderful scene for little Summer. That is what I love about these new TCM stamps, not only do they make lovely cards all on there own but they are also perfectly sized and fantastic for including with different character stamps. They make it so easy to tell a story on my card, which you know I love to do!
At first I was going to give Summer the stacked ice cream cone from the set but once I spotted that blue ribbon I knew she would have definitely had the prize pig at the fair and now she is running all around the fair grounds showing off that first place ribbon. Who knows, maybe it will even get her a free ride on the ferris wheel or roller coaster back there! ;)

Alrighty, time for me to send you on your way and off to the fabulous Debbie Pamment's blog! If you ever get lost along the way just head on back to the TCM blog for the complete list of hoppers with links. :)
Supply list:

cardstock- Bazzill and PTI
paper- Simple Stories (100 Days of Summer)
stamps- The Craft's Meow (Life is a Carnival), The Greeting Farm (Wild Sprout Summer)
ink- Memento tuxedo black and rich cocoa, Colorbox dark brown
Prima flowers
Kaiser Craft pearls
EK Success gold pen
Copic markers:
skin- E00, E21, E13, E15, R00, R20
hair- E50, E31, E25
clothes- B91, B93, B95, Y11, Y21, BG34, BG09, BG02, YG01, YG03, YG25, R12, R21, R14, R24, R29, E97, YR14, B41, E44, E47
everything else- B24, B26, B28, E81, 0, R02, R05, R27

Baggin' some rays...

Hello sunshine!

Welcome back to the fourth and final day of the July sneak peeks at the The Craft's Meow! Once again I am joining Lisa and her team as a Friend of TCM and I have had such a blast playing along this week. :)

As I've mentioned before, there are four fantastic new stamp sets that will be released on July 1st (which is tomorrow, yeah!) at The Craft's Meow and today we are showcasing Baggin' Some Rays. This is another set designed by Nina B Designs for TCM and all of the images are created for you to mix and match and build your own sunshiny image! There are also plenty of beautiful sentiments included that tie in perfectly with the sunshine theme but can also be used with loads of other images too.

"Holy sun rays Batman... she didn't use any Copics!"
LOL, how do you like my Robin impersonation? It's true though, not a marker was touched in the making of this card and it has been years since the last time that has happened! I can hardly believe it myself. It was so different to be searching through my colored ink pads rather than my markers when it came time to add some color, but different can be good. :)
There are no fancy stamping techniques or anything but I didn't need them because I let the mix and match capabilities of this set do all of the work for me. Then I just did some fussy cutting and relied on my monochromatic color scheme to pull this card together. I think this card is sure to bring a smile to someone's face, don't you?

Now what would new release festivities be without chances to win prizes? Yep, Lisa will draw THREE of you to win Baggin' Some Rays... one from each of three of the design team and friends blogs. For a complete list of who's got sneak peeks just check out the TCM blog. You'll have until 10:00 pm Pacific tonight to make the rounds and leave comments and Lisa will announce the winners in tomorrow's post... which also happens to be a fun blog hop celebrating the release so don't miss that!

TTFN!
Supply list:
cardstock- Bazzill and PTI
paper- Sassafras (floral), Doodlebug (stripe)
stamps- The Craft's Meow (Baggin' Some Rays set)
ink- Memento tuxedo black, Colorbox Yellow Citrus and Creamy Brown, Autumn Leaves Fire Opal
ribbon
Kaiser Craft gems
Martha Stewart 3-in-1 butterfly punch

It's a banner day!

Olo!
Welcome back to day three of the July sneak peeks at the The Craft's Meow! Once again I am joining the fun with Lisa and her team as a Friend of TCM. :)

There are four fantastic new stamp sets that will be released on July 1st at The Craft's Meow and today we are showcasing It's a Banner Day. This set not only creates those cool pennant backgrounds that are oh so popular right now... but it also allows you to create your own decorative and personalized sentiments which is awesome!

I played mix and match with the patterned banners and alpha banners to create the design on my card today. Then I colored them up with Copics in a rainbow of colors, cut them out and glued them all together to create each strand. And of course I simply couldn't resist adding some bling to finish the whole thing off! Clean and simple but the pops of color make me smile. :)

Now what would new release festivities be without chances to win prizes? Yep, Lisa will draw THREE of you to win It's a Banner Day... one from each of three of the design team and friends blogs. For a complete list of who's got sneak peeks just check out the TCM blog. You'll have until 10:00 pm Pacific tonight to make the rounds and leave comments and Lisa will announce the winners in tomorrow's post!

Smooches! :)
Supply list:
cardstock- Bazzill, Bazzill Swiss Dot and Copic X-Press It
stamps- The Craft's Meow (It's a Banner Day set)
ink- Memento tuxedo black
Kaiser Craft gems
Copic markers:
R05, R08, E19, Y38, YR04, YR18, Y13, Y15, Y17, YG03, YG25, YG17, B02, B04, B06, V05, V06, V09, BG000, 0

Life is a Carnival!

Howdy!

Welcome back to day two of the July sneak peeks at the The Craft's Meow! Once again I am joining the fun with Lisa and her team as a Friend of TCM. :)
There are four fantastic new stamp sets that will be released on July 1st at The Craft's Meow and today we are showcasing Life is a Carnival. This set is sure to take you for a ride with all of it's whimsical carnival inspired images and sentiments!

I have so enjoyed working with each of the new sets but I gotta tell ya... this one is my absolute fave of the bunch! As soon as I opened up my package from Lisa and saw this Carnival set the ideas just kept coming and I can't wait to get them all out of my head and onto some cards. :)
For my card today I chose to use the super cute cotton candy stand and I colored it up with Copic markers. Then I grabbed a cotton ball and tore off a few bits off fluff, spritzed them with my little hand squeeze air brush that I got from QVC yeeeears ago... one pink and one blue. Both classic cotton candy flavors if ya ask me... ;)
Once they were dry, I simply glued the colored fluff onto the cones of the stamped image to give it some fun dimension and texture. And I didn't stop there, I also took an extra strand of pink that I had left over and glued it to the top of the little heated pan that they spin the sugar in. Tsk, tsk Mr. Cotton Candy vendor... he really should clean his equipment better, LOL!

I also used my Distress Inks to create the cloudy sky background again and since I have been getting asked quite often how I create that look, I've now got a quick video on YouTube that you can check out and see just how easy it is to do. Hope you enjoy it!

Now what would new release festivities be without chances to win prizes? Yep, Lisa will draw THREE of you to win Life is a Carnival... one from each of three of the design team and friends blogs. For a complete list of who's got sneak peeks just check out the TCM blog. You'll have until 10:00 pm Pacific tonight to make the rounds and leave comments and Lisa will announce the winners in tomorrow's post!

Later gators. :)
Supply list:
cardstock- Bazzill and PTI
paper- The Girls' Paperie (Jubilee)
stamps- The Craft's Meow (Life is a Carnival set)
ink- Memento tuxedo black, Colorbox creamy brown and Tim Holtz tumbled glass distress
Kaiser Craft pearls
cotton ball
Sakura stardust glitter pen
Copic markers:
C00, C0, C1, RV11, RV32, RV34, Y11, Y15, Y17, E30, E31, B00, B01, RV00, RV10, E41, E42, E43

A lovely TCM preview...

Hiya friends!

Can I just tell ya that I'm tickled to have been asked by Lisa to be a Friend of The Craft's Meow for July?! Oh yea, I'm totally excited to join Lisa and her fab team this month and we are kicking off previews of the four fantastic new stamp sets that will be released July 1st at The Craft's Meow! Today we are showcasing Lovely Birds, a super "tweet" stamp set designed by Nina B Designs for The Craft's Meow.
This set of clear stamps has a lot of cute little birdie type images that you can easily mix and match to create different scenes as well as a couple coordinating sentiments to go along with them. For my first time inking them up I chose to use the branch and bird feeder along with a couple of the little birds. From the get-go I knew that I was going to color the bird feeder red just because it looked like the old plastic ones I remember hanging in my Grandma's trees. And while we don't have blue birds here (at least I've never seen one around), I thought they would be a nice contrast and fun to color. This turned out to be a pretty flat card for me... everything except the little bird on the feeder is stamped on a single piece of cardstock. So there wasn't much cutting and popping which was a nice little change of pace for me. :)

Now what would new release festivities be without chances to win prizes? Yep, Lisa will draw THREE of you to win Lovely Birds... one from each of three of the design team and friends blogs. For a complete list of who's got sneak peeks just check out the TCM blog. You'll have until 10:00 pm Pacific tonight to make the rounds and leave comments. We'll announce the winners in tomorrow's post.

Enjoy and good luck!
Supply list:
cardstock- Jillibean Soup kraft, PTI and Copic X-Press It
paper- Fancy Pants (yellow gingham), The Girls' Paperie floral and text), BoBunny (red dot)
stamps- The Craft's Meow (Lovely Birds set)
ink- Memento tuxedo black, Colorbox creamy brown and Tim Holtz tumbled glass distress
Divine Twine
Copic markers:
birds- B21, B24, B26, R11, R21, Y38
everything else- E55 E57, E59, YG01, YG03, G21, G24, R05, R08 E19, Y23, Y26, BG000, 0

You brighten my day

Happy Sunday morning my friends! Did you know that there is a sale going on over at The Craft's Meow! From now through Tuesday, April 5th you'll get 20% off your entire purchase. Just enter the code AprilShowers at checkout. Lisa has also added the three wee stamp sets designed by Claire Brennan of Waltzingmouse Stamps to the store, so you can now purchase them with or without the kits. And there is always Little Frieda there as well. :) I used Little Frieda & Lulu mischief on my card today. It's a complete scene all in one stamp but for this card I chose to put the focus on Frieda and her birdie friend by cropping it into a circle. Makes for a pretty versatile stamp, don'tcha think? ;) I was also playing around with a color combo that's not one I use much and I really like how the shots of yellow tie back to the sentiment. I don't know why but something about these colors makes me think of a country kitchen and I can totally picture Frieda there. Okey dokey, I'm off to work once again... don't forget that there is still time to get entered into the Sweet November candies below. Winners will be announced tomorrow! Toodles! Supply list: cardstock- Bazzill and Copic X-Press It paper- Fancy Pants (black), October Afternoon (red), American Crafts (yellow) stamps- The Craft's Meow (Little Frieda & Lulu mischief), Hero Arts (sentiment) ink- Memento tuxedo black and Colorbox creamy brown Prima flowers Kaiser Craft pearls buttons ribbon Fiskars border punch October Afternoon journaling card Copic markers: skin- E000, E00, E11, R00, R20 hair- E07, E09, E19, E18, YR14 everything else- Y13, Y15, Y18, Y17, C0, C1, C3, C5, C7, C9, R24, R27, E19, E30, E31, E35, E40, E41, 0, B0000, B000

Meet Frieda!

Hey there everybody!

I've got a fun post and card to help spread the news of a fantastic new venture that my bloggin' buddy Lisa Hjulberg is embarking on today! :)

Lisa has started her own online shop, The Craft's Meow, and we are celebrating the grand opening by sharing cards that use images from her new Frieda and Friends stamp line! Lisa has named this little sweetie after her mother and you will find Frieda in three different clear acrylic stamps. There is one scene stamp and two image and sentiment sets. For my card I used Little Frieda's Daisy and one of the three sentiments included with her.
That great hat Frieda is wearing totally had me thinking of Easter... the kiddos all dressed up in their Sunday best, waiting to hunt for eggs... so I just had to go with some fun spring colors on this one. Then I wanted to play off of the daisy she is plucking by giving her a whole garden of colorful daisies to be strolling through. :)
And while it is not an official hop, be sure to check out the complete list of all Lisa's friends that are part of the celebration today over at The Craft's Meow store blog!

Now stamps aren't the only thing you will find at The Craft's Meow, Lisa has stamping cardstock and she has also put together some fabulous crafting kits! And one of the kits includes a wee stamp image and greeting from Claire Brennan of Waltzingmouse Stamps. So don't forget to take a look-see at all the fun goodies found in the store!

BIG HUGS Lisa... here's to much success with The Craft's Meow and many more adventures of Little Frieda! :)

Supply list:

cardstock- Bazzill and Copic X-Press It

paper- My Minds Eye (Fine and Dandy)

stamps- The Craft's Meow (Frieda's Daisy)

ink- Memento tuxedo black and Colorbox dark brown

prima flowers

buttons

Maya Road heart stick pin

Martha Stewart butterfly punch

Kaiser Craft gems

Little Yellow Bicycle doily

crinkled ribbon (from Kiara)

Copic markers:

skin- E000, E00, E11, R00, R20

hair- E35, E37, E59, E49

clothes- E30, E31, YR21, YR23, YR24, YG21, YG13, YG03, R12, R14, R17, C5, C7, C9, E40, E41, 0, Y17, Y000, YG17