Billy Goes Snorkeling

I have a fun card for you today. Billy decided he wanted to go snorkeling, too. He wanted to share the fun Lily was having at the beach no doubt. I made this card for my boss' husband's birthday. The criteria given was 'anything beachy or with turtles'. I didn't have any beachy type stamps but always wanted to own some. I decided to order my first Taylored Expressions set Beach Bum and much to my disappointment it still hasn't arrived after two weeks. As a back up, I ordered the Pink Cat Studio set Lily at the Beach and swapped in Billy's head from Dress Up Billy. It was a perfect fit!

As you know, I almost never decorate the insides of my cards but I couldn't fit in a sentiment or the recipient's name without making it look messy so I decided to put all the words on the inside. I removed the 'HI' from the PCS sentiment and added a 'Happy Birthday' sentiment to complete the phrase. This is one of those rare occasions that my card is actually 'complete'. :P

Sources: SU kraft cardstock; Paper Reflections coloured cardstock; Aitoh Silver origami paper; GinaK 120lb pure luxury white cardstock; Pink Cat Studio Lily at the Beach & Dress Up Billy; Imaginisce All Kinds of Happy; Copics; SU crystal effects; The Old Island Stamp Co. clear embossing powder; ColorBox Treasure pigment ink; Hobby Hot Boss; QuicKutz Sticky Notes Mini Alphabet Set; QuicKutz Epic Six; SU tearing edge; dimension squares

Pink Cat Studio ~ Gift With Purchase

Here's the special I told you about yesterday! If you spend $3.00 or more in the Pink Cat Studio digital or rubber stamp stores today then you will receive this new Sugar Plum Fairy digital stamp for free! Isn't she lovely? This special offer will end at midnight EST Fri. Nov. 27th. Check out the samples the other DT ladies have made with this beautiful digi!

My sister is here from the U.S. and we have another friend flying in from Italy for the weekend so I'll be super busy!! Have a wonderful Friday everyone!

St. Nicholas

Happy Thanksgiving to all my American friends and family! I hope you're enjoying some special time and delicious meals with your loved ones this long weekend! It's been a busy week for me so I haven't had any cards to show you but here's one I had partially coloured since its release. I promised you a Pink Cat Studio card today because there's normally a digi release on Thursdays. Keep reading and I'll tell you what's happening at midnight tonight!

I found this gorgeous scripted sentiment/mini background stamp last month and I thought this Santa would be the perfect complement because he has that old-fashioned St. Nick look. I coloured him in softer reds for that very reason, then added some bling to his accessories and shine to the candy cane. I don't think my photo does it justice but here you have it.

So... Melissa has a surprise for you all tomorrow! She's designed an image that you get for free with any $3 purchase at either PCS digi or rubber store! Trust me, you're going to want this image ~ especially those of you with little girls in your life ~ and that means most of us, right? I'm not even going to try to tell you how cute this image is because you know how cute all of Melissa's drawings are! ;) This image is only free for 24 hours so hurry to the PCS digi store between midnight tonight and midnight Black Friday!!

Sources: SU chocolate chip & ruby red cardstock; TPH 111lb matte white cardstock; Bazzill Basics textured green cardstock; GinaK 120lb pure luxury white cardstock; Pink Cat Studio Santa digi image; Hampton Art Stamps 'Twas the Night Background; Memories Black ink; Copics; Fiskars Threading Water border punch; Zig Emboss Writer; PSX Snowflake embossing tinsel; Ranger Ancient Gold enchanted gold embossing powder; ColorBox Alchemy pigment ink; Hobby Hot Boss; Stickles xmas red; Gary M. Burlin gold glitter glue; SU crystal effects; dimension squares

Sweet Birthday

It looks like yesterday's inspiration of making bright and cheery customized cards has carried over to today! This card is for a cousin in New York whose birthday isn't 'til mid-December but I'm getting a head start on my birthday cards to take a break from Christmas cards since I still have a lot of those to make. How are your Christmas cards coming along? :)

There are some subtle differences between this card and yesterday's card for my niece. I placed the scallops at the top of the focus panel and used cord instead of ribbon. Instead of stitching for detail, I used dimension squares to pop the details. This card showcases the cupcakes from Basic Grey's new Nook & Pantry dp. I really love that collection! I also decided to try Nichole Heady's notch technique to keep threads and twine in place when wrapping them around cardstock. I used my Marvy-Uchida 1/8" long reach circle punch. It was easy and worked so well allowing the cord to stay put while I tied it! I think I will be doing this from now on.

Sources: SU chocolate chip & ruby red cardstock; DCWV Sweet - raspberry swirl & glitter pink frosting cardstock; Basic Grey Nook & Pantry cupcakes dp; Fiskars Threading Water border punch; Marvy-Uchida 1/8" long reach circle punch; QuicKutz Epic Six; QuicKutz Sticky Note Mini Alphabet Set; Basic Grey buttons; Darice hemp cord; dimension squares

Bright and Cheery

I'm not a butterfly person but I had to get this dp because it's so pretty. I knew it would go with some of my cardstock so I would use it eventually. I had no idea what occasion I would end up using it for and I must admit this is an unusual one! I'm not a traditional or conventional person at all so you shouldn't be surprised that this is a card for my niece's baptism. We weren't able to travel to Scotland for the occasion last month but she'll be here for U.S. Thanksgiving next week and I can't wait to give her the little blue box. ;) She's only 7.5 months old so it'll be a while before she appreciates the card and the Tiffany necklace but I know that my sister will make sure it goes in her scrapbook and jewellery box. Have a wonderful weekend everyone! :D

Sources: AC textured earth tones cardstock; TPH 111lb matte white cardstock; Basic Grey Urban Prairie patchwork quilt dp; SU textured whisper white cardstock; QuicKutz Epic Six; QuicKutz Sticky Note Mini Alphabet Set; QuicKutz retro diamonds embossing folder; SU scallop border punch; Basic Grey buttons; SU kiwi kiss 5/8" striped grosgrain ribbon; Offray ribbon (pink and yellow); Gutermann metallic thread

Warm Birthday Wishes

Happy Friday! I hope you've all had a great week. I'm personally looking forward to the weekend but I always do because hubby is home and I get a little more free time to myself. We're going to have more of this mild autumn weather that I love! ;)

This birthday card is for my brother-in-law. He lives in Denver, loves the outdoors, and participates in some crazy wilderness retreats so I think he'll appreciate this card. Silver snow is what happens when I have a huge pack of foil origami paper that I've been trying to use up for several years. I still have a ton of it. Anyone want some? LOL This card gave me the opportunity to use my brand new Martha Stewart snowflake punch. It's so pretty, don't you think? It's one of those new stamp and punch tools but I didn't use the stamp part because it was on foil and that was flashy enough plus I tried stamping on foil before and it didn't work. I really love how the silver snowflakes turned out! What I did was glue the foil on to cardstock before punching and embossing because foil is way too flimsy to stand on its own. I attached only the centres of the snowflakes to the background so that they would have a little dimension but not as much as if I used pop-ups. The sentiment is my own which I printed using the Trebuchet MS font.

Sources: SU chocolate chip cardstock; Paper Reflections blue cardstock; TPH 111lb matte white cardstock; Aitoh Silver Origami paper; Pink Cat Studio Billy Hot Cocoa digital image; Copics; Cuttlebug Swiss Dots embossing folder; QuicKutz Epic Six; SU tearing edge; Martha Stewart Stamp & Punch Polar; Marvy-Uchida small snowflake punch; SU large oval & scallop oval punches; dimension squares

Pink Cat Studio ~ Nov 19th Digi Release!

Aw, poor Lily and Billy are sick! They're not feeling well but they're still mighty cute! I decided to make my cards around some gorgeous dp that I've been neglecting and these were the perfect images for it because together they have a warm and cozy feel, don't you think?

I used the striped paper up top like traditional wallpaper and picked a feminine floral one for Lily's room and a slightly more masculine one for Billy's room. I used ribbon as a border because I haven't used ribbon in ages (except for yesterday's card but I made that one after these). I'm slowly getting back into the ribbon groove. ;)

I paper pieced the armchairs, embossed Lily's bunny slippers and the cuff on Billy's tee because even boys need a little sparkle. I thought Billy could use a pair of slippers, too, even though he's not wearing them. HAHA! I popped the armchairs off the wall for the first layer and I popped the kiddies' heads and pets for the second layer which gives the cards a great 3D effect. Lastly I added the sentiments with light and dark 'wood' as if they're picture frames hanging on the wall.

Today's images are so cute they'd make anyone feel better! If you'd like to purchase Sick Lily or Billy, CLICK HERE to hop to the Pink Cat Studio Digi Store. Plus, don't forget to check out the rest of the DT projects this week! :)

Note: There will not be a release next week. Melissa's taking a much-deserved vacation! Don't worry though, I'll still have some new Pink Cat Studio creations to show you. :D

Sources: The Paper Company cottonwood cardstock; SU kraft & chocolate chip cardstock; Making Memories Chloe's Closet dp; Pink Cat Studio Sick Billy & Sick Lily digital images; Copics; SU crystal effects; Sweet Petites ribbon (green); AC ribbon (blue); Zig Emboss Writer; PSX Snowflake embossing tinsel; Hobby Hot Boss; Gutermann thread; SU large oval & scallop oval punches; dimension squares

Special Anniversary

I didn't think I'd have time to make a card today but my little guy took a super long nap and I quickly threw this together. I think I should make 30-minute cards more often because I love how this one turned out. Mind you, I had a sketch for this that I've been dying to use for the longest time. Do you remember when mixing pink and red were taboo? We've sure come a long way! I used a mish mash of different brands and this card turned out much lovelier than I expected so I think I'll be using this layout again.

This wedding anniversary card is for hubby's cousin and her husband who've just announced they are pregnant with twins. Their anniversary isn't 'til after Christmas so I'm way ahead of schedule. I stopped making anniversary cards a while ago just because there are too many and I can't keep up. However, this anniversary is very special because this couple just ended four years of fertility treatments and miscarriages. I just wanted them to know how special this time of their lives is and since they've weathered so much their love must be so strong and that's definitely something to be admired and celebrated!

Sources: SU ruby red cardstock; TPH 111lb matte white cardstock; Hero Arts DesignPrints Spiral & Star hearts; The Uptown Design Company 'Best Wishes' sentiment (top); SU Congrats sentiment (bottom); SU pink pirouette ink; ColorBox Alchemy pigment ink; PSX Snowflake embossing tinsel; Hobby Hot Boss; SU pink pirouette ribbon; Basic Grey button; Darice hemp cord; Gutermann metallic thread; dimension squares

Pink Cat Studio Mini Sets Rubber Release!

Today Pink Cat Studio is releasing three Lily in Winter themed stamps. They're all mini sets of three rubber stamps each. You've seen the main images as digis but now they're available in rubber with a sentiment and mini coordinating image. I love the idea of coordinating minis to decorate the rest of your card and the ability to emboss the sentiment. They're cute, cute, cute! If you're not into digis but loved these images or if you just have to have these you can snatch these up at the PCS rubber store now! ;)

For close-ups of the digi samples which are pictured with the rubber sets, please head on over to these ladies' fabulous blogs:
{Top} Lily as Snowflake Fairy by Jodi-Ann Lee
{Middle} Lily with Hot Cocoa by Inge Groot
{Bottom} Winter Lily by Kerry Donovan-Casey

Merry Christmas

I thought I'd make a couple cards to break in another one of my new sets from Local King Rubber Stamp. I love the simplicity of this card and I used two of the eight elements from the set along with the tree to make two of these Christmas cards. I wanted to make more but it took me a while to get the hang of embossing the tree without smudging the ink on the edge of the stamp. I used different embossing powders for the tree, ornaments and leaves. I stitched the ground and stamped the sentiment in white before adding the ornaments and leaves.

Do you like my new watermark? :) I ordered a couple from Karen Giron and she has a ton of designs to choose from as well as some Christmas ones. The best part is they're only $2 each and she emailed them overnight which is fast! If you're interested in having a look, check 'em out here.

See you tomorrow for a peak at the new Pink Cat Studio rubber sets! :D

Sources: SU kraft cardstock; AC textured earth tones cardstock; Local King Rubber Stamp Four Seasons 2; The Old Island Stamp Co. 575-A sentiment; The Old Island Stamp Co. clear embossing powder; ColorBox Alchemy pigment inks; Rubber Stampede Red pigment ink; ColorBox Frost White pigment ink; PSX Snowflake, Red & Malachite embossing tinsels; Hobby Hot Boss; Gutermann metallic thread; dimension squares

Christmas Pies

Well, it's about time I made something out of these Bettys which I had all coloured and cut out more than a month ago but were lying buried in this mess! I finally took the Bettys to the hairdresser where they all got their hair done. LOL

This cute Pink Cat Studio digi image of Itty Bitty Betty baking a pie was released on October 8th for all your Thanksgiving needs but I decided to make Christmas cards out of it. I can also see myself using it for birthdays, housewarming gifts, and feel better cards. It has great versatility!

This is probably the best I've ever coloured hair and it was fun practice. I still need to work on my hair colouring skills but I'm getting there. ;) So after I finished adding the curls, I embossed all the backgrounds that matched the oven mitts of each Betty. Then I cut out the one-inch squares that would coordinate with each background and stitched them in place. I accented each card with the simple sentiments and ribbon floor which would ground each Betty image. Lastly I popped the girls on their cards with dimension squares and they were done!

Please note there will be a Pink Cat Studio rubber release on Monday! Are you excited yet? They're really adorable so stayed tuned for more about that on Monday!

Sources: Halcraft 80lb smooth white cardstock; Q-Print 100lb white cardstock; AC textured earth tones cardstock; Paper Reflections coloured cardstock; Basic Grey Nook & Pantry cornbread, tea pots, beaters & fruit salad dp; Basic Grey Wassail merry happy dp; Pink Cat Studio Betty Baked A Pie digi image; Copics; DMC embroidery thread; QuicKutz retro diamonds embossing folder; QuicKutz Epic Six; SU large oval punch; Celebrate It ribbon; Gutermann metallic thread; dimension squares

Pink Cat Studio - Nov 12th Digi Release!

This week we have some really gorgeous new images along with some familiar images of Christmas Kitty from the rubber set! Just click on any of my images for a closer look. :)

Here's a very versatile winter image of lovey dovey penguins kissing under the mistletoe. Aren't they sweet? This image just makes me smile! It's not just for Christmas either. All you have to do is remove the mistletoe and you use it for winter birthdays, anniversaries, hello, I miss you, and even Valentine's Day! I decided I would try a very common technique out there and use my swiss dots folder to make it snowy. I love how it made a quiet, romantic scene for the penguins. Teehee!

Sources: AC textured earth tones cardstock; SU ruby red cardstock; GinaK 120lb pure luxury white cardstock; Pink Cat Studio Penguins Mistletoe digi image; Copics; Cuttlebug Swiss Dots embossing folder; SU scallop edge punch; Zig Emboss Writer; PSX Snowflake embossing tinsel; Hobby Hot Boss; Darice hemp cord; dimension squares

My next card is very classic and I love it to death! I loved both the tall, thin snowman and Santa Melissa drew this week because they're so elegant. I didn't have time to make a card with the Santa but I will so keep an eye out for that. I added real fringe to the snowman's scarf with embroidery thread for that special something and kept the rest of the card very simple. Have you seen the new Basic Grey Nook & Pantry dps? I know they're not Christmas papers but this one works so well, don't you think? I had to buy them all because I'll be using them with some of my other projects so you'll be seeing a lot of new paper on this blog!

Sources: AC textured earth tones cardstock; Paper Reflections cardstock; Basic Grey Nook & Pantry cornbread dp; Pink Cat Studio Friendly Snowman digi image; The Old Island Stamp Company 592-A sentiment; Memories Black ink; Copics; DMC embroidery thread; dimension squares

This card was made with one of the new images of Christmas Kitty sleeping in a present. Isn't she darling? When I saw it, I immediately thought of having her lie on real crumpled up tissue paper. My colouring couldn't compare to the real thing! LOL Plus it adds so much more dimension to the card without having to add much more than glitter. This was really quick to make, too!

Sources: SU kraft cardstock; AC textured earth tones cardstock; SU textured very vanilla cardstock; GinaK 120lb pure luxury white cardstock; Pink Cat Studio Kitty Sleeping In Present digi image; Copics; AC mini chestnut brads; PSX Xmas Red Stickles; Gary M. Burlin gold & red glitter glue; tissue paper; dimension squares

If you would like to purchase any of today's new digis, CLICK HERE to head on over to the Pink Cat Studio Digi Store. Plus, don't forget to click on the DT links on my sidebar to see what the rest of the girls made this week! See you again soon. ;)

Itty Bitty Christmas Digis

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend! The weather was perfect here in Toronto and we spent most of our time outside. I can't believe today is a high of 18C/64F - it's November! I'm definitely going to be enjoying it as much as possible.

Today made a mini set of four Christmas cards with Pink Cat Studio digis and Cosmo Cricket dp. These were a lot of fun to colour and stitch. In fact, I'm getting so used to cutting out all my images that I can't imagine not popping them! LOL I also made sure there was a little embossing or glitter on each image. It's an addiction I tell you. ;)

In case you missed this post from Thursday, Melissa has made the Itty Bitty Christmas rubber set available as digis after a large number of customer requests so if you didn't buy the rubber set but would love to have one or more of the adorable images of Betty and Bobby dressed up in Christmas gear, please head on over to the PCS Digi Store and shop to your heart's content!

Sources: SU kraft cardstock; TPH 111lb matte white cardstock; Cosmo Cricket Jolly By Golly dp; Pink Cat Studio Betty Tree Costume, Betty Candy Cane Fairy, Bobby Gingerbread Man & Bobby Elf Presents digis; Copics; PSX Xmas Red Stickles; Gary M. Burlin Green, Silver & Gold glitter glue; Zig Emboss Writer; PSX Snowflake embossing tinsel; Hobby Hot Boss; Cuttlebug Swiss Dots embossing folder; Gutermann metallic thread; Lewiscraft 24 gauge stainless steel wire; dimension squares

Pink Cat Studio ~ Nov 5th Digi Release!

Okay, I promise you that I'm going to be much less wordy this week because there's a lot to show you. Is it possible that Melissa's images are getting cuter and cuter? Absolutely! This week we have four adorable and versatile images to show you. I love cupcakes and polar bears so there were no clear favourites. Evidently, I had to make cards with all of them.

I have so many cupcake stamps but it never hurts to have another. LOL Look at the scrumptious icing on this one and those cute little birds decorating it is just perfect! I loved colouring this and of course had to put my signature foil wrap it.

Sources: SU textured going gray cardstock; AC textured earth tones cardstock; DCWV green woodland-birds cardstock; GinaK 120lb pure luxury white cardstock; Pink Cat Studio Birds Giant Cupcake digi image; Copics; The Japanese Paper Place origami foil; Gutermann metallic thread; dimension squares

Next up is the adorable polar bear with present. I think this is going to be one of my absolute favourite images this Christmas because it's simple and so easy to colour! I wanted the polar bear to be the focus but with a very special background. I picked a rich pink to highlight the rosey nose, cheeks and paws. Then I hand cut strips of snowflakes to make a terrain-like background. I added some metallic stitching along the curves to make it magical.

Isn't this sentiment the perfect match for the image? Apparently I am big on foil this week! LOL I didn't want to add too much colour to this card so I decided to make the scallop border for the sentiment in silver foil. Since the foil is pretty flimsy, I glued it on to cardstock before punching it out. That added dimension and strength to it, plus it matches the stitching!

Sources: The Paper Company weave white cardstock; GinaK 120lb pure luxury white cardstock; Provo Craft Slab IV dp; Cosmo Cricket Jolly By Golly dp; Pink Cat Studio Polar Bear Present digi image; Copics; AtYou Spica Glitter pen; SU large oval punch; SU scallop oval punch; SU 1-3/8" circle punch; Gutermann metallic thread; dimension squares

Next up we have Lily riding a polar bear. It's hard to tell who's cuter - Lily or the polar bear? Combined they make one super cute image! The same goes for Billy, shown below. I really was going to use foil again for this sentiment but stopped myself. LOL I actually have the foil version put aside in case I choose to make this exact card again and I probably will because I think my niece would love this card for Christmas! I love these types of holiday wreaths and thought about how I could make a miniature version easily for my cards. I have a ton of hemp cord and figured if I wrapped a bunch of it with some ribbon it would look nice and festive. Isn't it cute? I am totally going to be using these wreaths over and over for my holiday cards!

Sources: SU chocolate chip cardstock; AC textured earth tones cardstock; Bo Bunny Delilah Here's 2 U dp; GinaK 120lb pure luxury white cardstock; Pink Cat Studio Lily Rides Polar Bear digi image; Copics; Darice hemp cord; Offray ribbons; dimension squares

Here's the Billy version:

Sources: SU ruby red cardstock; SU textured whisper white cardstock; DCWV green cardstock-stripe; GinaK 120lb pure luxury white cardstock; Pink Cat Studio Billy Rides Polar Bear digi image; Copics; Darice hemp cord; Offray ribbons; dimension squares

Henry Anderson Memorial Fundraiser

This week has been a very sad one as DT member Sarah Anderson’s 3 year old son Henry passed away. Little Henry was unable to overcome a virus that made him ill last week.

Lorie Ames has organized a way to donate for a memorial for Henry. Henry loved his local zoo and visited it almost every day in the summer. As a memorial, trees will be planted there in his honor. Melissa at Pink Cat Studio has created a digital stamp to help raise funds for a tree for Henry. All proceeds from the sale of the digi stamp, minus Paypal costs, will go towards the tree. If you would like to donate towards the tree, please visit this webpage to purchase the digi stamp.

Another way to donate to the memorial is to print out this form and mail in your donation directly. Please write on the form that the donation is for Sarah Anderson’s son Henry. Once all of the money is collected, a tree and location will be selected. If you have questions about the form please contact Lorie Ames. Lorie will be in contact with Sarah along this memorial journey to ensure that her wishes are followed.

If you don’t know Sarah and would like to learn more about her, please visit her blog. Thank you for your help to raise money for a tree for Henry.

To recap, here are this week's releases:

Ah, you see Itty Bitty Christmas rubber stamp images on there! After many requests from customers, Melissa has made the images from that set available in digital format. Yay! If you're interested in purchasing any of today's new digis, CLICK HERE to head on over to the Pink Cat Studio Digi Store. Last but not least, don't forget to click on the DT links on my sidebar to see what the rest of the girls made this week!