Sweet Pea Buggies

I finally got around to making some much needed baby cards and this is what I came up with. I drew a sketch in my notebook for this a while back and was desperately trying to find time to make these. I'm sure you can understand why because I'm delighted with the final result. Who knew they'd be so cute and yet easy to make? My son woke up from his nap just in time to see me put them together and when he saw them he exclaimed, "BAY-BEE!" and threw up his arms just like Sweet Pea. It made me so happy!

Do you recognize the ribbon from yesterday's post? ;) I hadn't planned on using these ribbons when I visualized the prams in my head but I couldn't resist. I basically cut a circle nestie in half after I embossed them, then sewed the ribbons across the top. To create Sweet Pea's t-shirt, I stamped the heart of sentiments from the Fiskars Baby set in dark pink and then used a light pink ink pad to splotch the t-shirt which resulted in a nice distressed tie dye effect. So there you have it. Don't be surprised if you keep seeing these types of cards in the future but in different colours and variations. I kept these first samples very simple but I'll probably start to embellish the backgrounds more and also put things in Sweet Pea's hands!

Sources:SU Kraft, Chocolate Chip & textured Very Vanilla cardstock; AC textured pink cardstock; GinaK 120lb pure luxury white cardstock; Memento Tuxedo Black ink; SU Rose Red & Pink Pirouette inks; Pink Cat Studio Dress Up Sweet Pea; Fiskars 8X8 Baby set; Copics; Spellbinders Nestabilities in Standard Circles Large; QuicKutz Retro Diamonds embossing folder; QuicKutz Epic Six; Gutermann pink thread; American Crafts ribbons; Basic Grey buttons; Forever in Time buttons

Eye Candy

Okay, I know. I haven't shown you anything in more than a week but I haven't exactly been sitting around. Life has been busy, my back has been super sore, I've been catching up on some reading, and I've been creating for the next couple of Pink Cat Studio releases. I just can't show them to you yet! I really need to make some baby cards so I'm hoping to get to those this weekend. For now, I just wanted to show you what arrived in my mailbox today. Isn't it great eye candy? Only crafters would say hubba, hubba to this! LOL

Source: American Crafts ribbons

World's Best Man

I used some of the origami shirts from yesterday's post to make this set of cards dedicated to the men in our lives. We can all use a bunch of note cards in our stash to surprise Dad, hubby, Grandpa, a brother and even a friend, right? I don't have enough cards for men lying around and my customers are always asking for them. I've always found making masculine cards difficult and this makes them so easy! I don't have to be afraid anymore. LOL Originally I tried something else with the shirts and I didn't like the way it looked but I think that idea will be perfect with origami ties so I can't wait to try it.

I don't usually purchase designer papers that are suitable for male cards and find I have a shortage of these but this collection from Making Memories is great for masculine or feminine cards. I used the same dp for these Get Well cards so you can see what a difference theme and images make. Verve's World's Best set was perfect for these cards. I made sure there was at least one 'Dad' or 'Father' card in each colour because I think those will be the most popular, then made one card each for 'Brother', 'Grandpa', 'Husband' and 'Friend.

Sources: AC textured earth tones cardstock; SU Bashful Blue & Kraft cardstock; Making Memories Chloe's Closet dp; Verve World's Best; Memories Black ink; Basic Grey buttons; Forever in Time buttons

Origami Shirts

My dad's 81st birthday is coming up next month and the idea of origami shirts popped into my head. While I was on the subject of my dad's birthday, I thought I would work ahead to Father's Day. I know it's a few months away but I figured while I'm folding all these shirts I might as well make a bunch at once. I think my customers will enjoy these, too. I quickly ran out of the tiny Basic Grey buttons so these little purse packets of buttons from the local dollar store really came in handy. Aren't the little purses cute? I couldn't believe they were only a dollar. I love a good deal! The buttons are really unique, too, and come in all sorts of shapes and sizes. They had many more colours and I think I'll be going back to stock up! Come back this weekend and I'll show you what I did with the shirts. ;)

Sources: Making Memories Chloe's Closet dp; Basic Grey buttons; Forever in Time buttons

Pink Cat Studio ~ Jan 21st Digi Release!

Hello! I'm sorry I haven't had a post in a week but life has been busy to say the least and I'm happy to be back with another PCS release. I bought this pretty Imaginisce dp last month and couldn't wait to use it. I also decided to punch and sew some hearts in the background but it's a shame that you can't see all of the bigger hearts. I finally remembered to use 'the tilt' as I'm always so straight with my designs. LOL Also, I decided to go retro with the way I used to cut out all my images by leaving a little white space around them. I'm not really sure if the ribbon is American Crafts since I've had it for a couple of years and it was no longer on the spool. It was one of the things I hoarded and rarely used because it was so cute!

Sources: AC textured earth tones cardstock; SU Bashful Blue cardstock; GinaK 120lb pure luxury white cardstock; Imaginisce Perfectly Posh Fancy Hearts dp; Pink Cat Studio Girly Love Bot digital image; Copics; EK Success Medium Heart punch; Marvy Uchida small heart punch; AC? ribbon; Gutermann blue thread; dimension squares

I didn't fit the hearts background image into last week's designs but just had to use it this week and thought it would be perfect for this boy-style card. I was so excited to see the boy bots for this week's release because there are very few cool images that boys wouldn't be embarrassed to give. I think this little guy is saying a lot more than he's letting on! LOL I used the same colours as in this set but with a splash of red since it's all about Valentine's Day or any other time a boy wants to express himself in a sweet way to the object of his affection. Teehee! I never photograph my cards straight on as it seems to make the card lose dimension but it worked with this layout better than any other angle.

Sources: SU Kraft, Bashful Blue & textured Black cardstock; Pink Cat Studio Heart Background digital image; Pink Cat Studio Boy Luv Bot digital image; Pink Cat Studio free digital sentiment; Copics; McGill 1-1/4" circle punch; SU 1-3/8" circle punch; Marvy Uchida small heart punch; Gutermann black thread; dimension squares

I thought I would use the birthday sentiment for this image to make a guy birthday card because I can never have too many of those around! I just loved the colour combination from this card and thought it would be perfect for this masculine birthday card. I created my own kiwi kiss coloured cardstock by stamping the ink pad a few times on plain white. It gives it a nice vintage sponged look. I created the star background by punching large stars in diagonal corners through the grey, then used the little star to punch through both grey and black layers for a simple multi-dimensional look. I had a completely different layout in my head when I started but I really love the simplicity of the finished card and the colours pack some robotic punch, don't you think? ;)

Sources: SBD white cardstock; SU textured Black & textured Basic Gray cardstock; GinaK 120lb pure luxury white cardstock; Pink Cat Studio Boy Robot digital image (interchangeable chest sentiments included); SU Kiwi Kiss ink; Copics; SU large star punch; Marvy Uchida small star punch; dimension squares

I've had this ribbon in my stash for ages and thought why not? I don't have to colour the ladybug in traditional red and black colours, right? I hadn't planned on making a present out of the blue cardstock. It just ended up that way when I was fiddling with all the elements! I love that this card could be given to anyone any day. I'm thinking it would even be suitable for a baby shower since I have a bunch of those coming up!

Sources: SU Chocolate Chip & Bashful Blue cardstock; Pink Cat Studio LuvBug LadyBug digital image; Copics; Fiskars Apron Lace border punch; AC ribbon; Basic Grey button; Darice hemp cord; dimension squares

So to recap, here are this week's new digis. Please be sure to visit the other DT blogs for all their incredible projects and if you'd like to purchase any of this week's awesome images, just hop on over to the PCS store now to grab yours! We won't be having a release next week as some of the DT will be at CHA and it will also be nice for us to have a break since it's been crazy busy since the holidays. Hopefully I'll have a chance to create some new cards for you. See you again soon. :)

Pink Cat Studio ~ Jan 14th Digi Release!

It's exactly one month 'til Valentine's Day and we're back with another Pink Cat Studio release. You are going to love what you see here and on the other DT blogs today!! Sure, these are all images with a love theme but that doesn't limit you to using them for Valentine's Day. I've doubled up my images this week because I have five cards to show you and didn't want the post to be too long, so if at any time you would like to see a larger version just click on any of the images. Let's start with my two panda cards.

Well, if you guessed right when Melissa held the Bio Betty Contest, I'm the one who's crazy about pandas! I asked Melissa to create some panda images because there are very few out there and I could count on her to come up with the cutest ones ever. Plus, this year's Chinese New Year also falls on February 14th so the images will work double duty for me. For those of you who have Chinese friends, why not wish them Happy New Year and Happy Valentine's Day at the same time with this little panda? :D I dreamt up the sketch of a sewn rainbow and was happy I was able to execute it on the first attempt. LOL The cute little flowers are from last week's release image Lily Valentine Ballerina, available both digitally and in rubber. See? I told you they were versatile. ;)

Sources for Panda Heart_Front: SU Ruby Red & textured Black cardstock; SBD white cardstock; GinaK 120lb pure luxury white cardstock; Pink Cat Studio Panda Heart_Front digital image; Copics; Martha Stewart Scary Fence border punch; Gutermann metallic red & silver thread; dimension squares

Sources for Panda Heart_Back: SU textured Basic Gray cardstock; SU Ruby Red cardstock; Bazzill Basics textured Turquoise Mist cardstock; GinaK 120lb pure luxury white cardstock; Pink Cat Studio Panda Heart_Back digital image; Pink Cat Studio Lily Valentine Ballerina; Copics; SU scallop border punch; SU large oval and scallop oval punches; Fiskars Nostalgia corner edger; dimension squares

This is the first time I've made small note cards and I thought Valentine's cards would be the perfect time to try it. These ones aren't that tiny at 4.25" x 4.25" but they'll fit nicely into the standard envelope with space to spare, especially since the bow is off the edge of the card. It was fun breaking in my new circle and scallop circle nesties. I know, I'm still an amateur when it comes to these things! I loved colouring this sweet little image. The pixies are so easy to work with that I could've made a dozen of these in no time. The sentiment is from a set I found in the Michael's $1 bin.

Sources: AC textured earth tones cardstock; GinaK 120lb pure luxury white cardstock; AC Romance Crazy Love & Love Bug dp; Pink Cat Studio Pixies Holding Heart digital image; Studio G clear stamps; Copics; Memories Artprint Brown ink; Spellbinders Nestabilities in Standard Circles Large & Classic Scalloped Circles Large; QuicKutz Epic Six; Offray ribbon

Aw, how cute is Tweet with her heart balloon? Too cute to resist, I tell you! I love her whimsical curls, that 'pearl necklace' and her knobby knees. LOL She's beautiful no matter what way you choose to colour her and of course I couldn't stop myself from using crystal effects to shine up the balloon. I popped Tweet and her balloon with dimension squares to make it look like she's coming right out off the card to say Happy Valentine's Day or I Love You. No sentiment was necessary here! Then I punched out some tiny hearts using the same paper that's in the background and gently glued them on the plain white ribbon with crystal effects. Easy peasy!

Sources: SU textured Very Vanilla cardstock; GinaK 120lb pure luxury white cardstock; AC Romance Crazy Love & Love Bug dp; Pink Cat Studio Tweet Heart Balloon digital image; Copics; AtYou Spica glitter pen; Fiskars Nostalgia corner edger; Spellbinders Nestabilities in Classic Ovals Large & Classic Scalloped Ovals Large; SU Crystal Effects; Marvy Uchida small heart punch; Celebrate It ribbon; dimension squares

I don't know why I didn't just try it before but I couldn't figure out how to texturize the base card rather than texturizing a separate piece of cardstock and gluing it to the entire front of the card. Anyway, I decided I wanted to texturize the bottom two-thirds of my card for that added little something. You can't see much of it but it's there just like in yesterday's card. I wound the thin ribbon three times around the dp. It would be easy to imagine Billy in a pile of leaves and I think Lily in her pile of hearts is just perfect for such girlie dp! I popped the hearts with dimension squares to make it really look like Lily was buried in that mega pile.

Sources: SU Kraft & Chocolate Chip cardstock; Imaginisce Perfectly Posh Chic Speak dp; GinaK 120lb pure luxury white cardstock; Pink Cat Studio Lily Heart Pile digital image; Copics; Cuttlebug Swiss Dots embossing folder; Spellbinders Nestabilities in Classic Ovals Large & Classic Scalloped Ovals Large; QuicKutz Epic Six; Offray ribbon; dimension squares

Melissa also created two wonderful background images that you can find at the Pink Cat Studio Digi Store along with all of the fabulous images featured in this post. Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful day!

Beachy Birthday

A friend of mine is in Hawaii for three weeks and celebrating her birthday there. No, I'm not jealous one bit. ;) Since I didn't have time to get her birthday card done before she left, I'm going to mail it now so it'll be waiting for her when she gets home. I previously featured some of Amanda's jewellery on my blog here. She loves earth tones so that's what I based my card around. This is also the first time I used this particular image from the PCS rubber set Lily at the Beach. I thought the inflatable ring was so cute that I sparkled it up with my Spica glitter pen. This is also the first time that I'm extremely pleased with my ribbon tying. :P

Thanks for visiting today! Please be sure to come back tomorrow for this week's Pink Cat Studio digi release!!

Sources: AC textured earth tones cardstock; AC Kids Cereal dp; GinaK 120lb pure luxury white cardstock; Pink Cat Studio Lily at the Beach; Memento Tuxedo Black ink; Vivid Red ink; SU Taken With Teal ink; Copics; AtYou Spica glitter pen; Cuttlebug Swiss Dots embossing folder; Spellbinders Nestabilities in Classic Oval Large & Classic Scalloped Ovals Large; QuicKutz Epic Six; Fiskars Nostalgia corner edger; Celebrate It ribbon; Basic Grey button; Darice hemp cord; dimension squares

Pixies Make a Cupcake

I hope you've all had a wonderful start to the week! It's blistering cold here and blindingly sunny but still no snow. I'm beginning to wonder if there will ever be snow here. Hubby and I bought the little guy all his snow gear in November and have been looking forward to sledding so hopefully that happens soon as it would be so much fun for the whole family!

Today's card features the new PCS Pixies Make a Cupcake image from last week's release, available digitally and in rubber. This is probably the flattest card I've made in a long time. I've been spending way too much money on shipping that I decided to give my wallet a break with this one. LOL My embossing mats also arrived and this was the first chance I had to emboss using my new nesties. I definitely need practice! ;) I coloured the image to highlight the colours in the dp. I love any kind of cupcake stamps and I can't tell you how many I have! They're so easy to use for many occasions all year round and I'll probably use this as a birthday card.

Sources: SU textured Sahara Sand cardstock; AC Kids PB&J & Piggy Bank dp; GinaK 120lb pure luxury white cardstock; Pink Cat Studio Pixies Make a Cupcake digital image; Copics; Spellbinders Nestabilities Labels One; QuicKutz Epic Six; Stickles in Diamond & Xmas Red

Pink Cat Studio Introduces Paper Piecing Projects and a Fun Contest!

Today Pink Cat Studio is expanding yet again! Last September it was Digi Stamps and today it’s Paper Piecing Projects. These fun projects are great for card making, scrapbooking and any kind of 3D crafting. The project files are formatted for those who like to cut and paper piece by hand and for those who have an electronic cutter. Check out these fun new projects HERE.

Melissa is also having a fun contest and the winner will receive a $50 gift certificate to the PCS rubber or digi store! That's right, $50!! To enter the contest you will download a free Paper Piecing Project and then make a fun craft with it, anything you like. So not only will you get to try a Paper Piecing Project for free, you could also win some PCS goodies. What could be better than that?

Visit the PCS blog today to find out about how to enter the contest and get your free Paper Piecing Project!

Floral Birthday

A friend ordered a birthday card for her mom who lives in Vancouver and requested a garden theme with pinks and blues. This is what I came up with in an hour while my son was napping but the most shocking thing is that I used my SU Botanical Blooms set. I've loved this set since the day I choose it as a freebie but I've never been able to make something with it that made me really happy. Since Valentine's Day is approaching and I have an abundance of pink papers, the timing couldn't have been more perfect. I was working on some other cards but when this idea popped into my head I couldn't take the chance of losing inspiration!

Sources: AC textured cardstock; GinaK 120lb pure luxury white cardstock; Basic Grey Urban Prairie Petticoat dp; SU Botanical Blooms (the vase is from a very old set of unknown brand); Imaginisce All Kinds of Happy; Verve Because of You; SU Rose Red & Taken With Teal inks; Pebbles chalks; Fiskars Apron Lace border punch; Lewiscraft 24 gauge stainless steel wire; Urban Scrapyard ribbon; Basic Grey button; Darice hemp cord; Gutermann thread; dimension squares

Pink Cat Studio ~ Jan 7th Release!

Welcome to the first PCS release of 2010! It's finally here and I'm so excited to show you three more images from this week's release. Be sure to visit the other DT blogs to see the other two images in cards and other projects. I fell in love the moment I laid eyes on this image. What girl doesn't love a ballerina? Lily's flowing hair and those little flowers are to die for! This image doesn't even require much to look good. ;) I just added a little whimsical fence, a sentiment and I was done! P.S. I used the digital version of this image with flower and sentiment. If you choose the rubber version, you can leave out the flowers or add even more flowers and create a field of flowers for Lily to dance in! I think I'll be a proud owner of the rubber set myself because I see great versatility in those little flowers. ;)

Sources: SU Kraft & Chocolate Chip cardstock; Bazzill Basics textured red cardstock; Provo Craft Slab IV dp; TPH 111lb matte white cardstock; GinaK 120lb pure luxury white cardstock; Pink Cat Studio Lily Valentine Ballerina_With Flowers digital image (also available in rubber format) & free digital sentiment; Copics; Gutermann metallic gold thread; EK Success large & medium heart punches; Martha Stewart picket fence border punch; dimension squares

I won't go into too much detail about this card because it's the same image shown to you in yesterday's sneak peeks, only this one uses one of the other sentiments contained in the rubber set. I used very different colours in this card and anchored the nestie with ribbon in a fashion normally reserved for tags and ornaments.

Sources: SU Bashful Blue cardstock; Paper Reflections red cardstock; GinaK 120lb pure luxury white cardstock; Pink Cat Studio Lily Valentine Fairy_I♥You digital image (also available in rubber format); Copics; Spellbinders Classic Ovals Large nestabilities; QuicKutz Retro Diamonds A2 embossing folder; QuicKutz Epic Six; Marvy Uchida 1/8" circle punch; Offray ribbon; Fiskars Apron Lace border punch; Gutermann blue & metallic red threads; dimension squares

It was so much fun colouring all these hearts! You may look at this image and be a little scared but have no fear. Once you sit down, pick your colours and start randomly colouring in those little hearts, you'll be done before you know it and be so pleased with the result. If you don't want to colour them individually you could just do an overall colour wash and then add highlighting or remove colour from random sections! I coloured Lily and Billy as me and hubby because I might give him this card on Valentine's Day. I used the wood-like paper to pretend we were lying in a pile of hearts on the floor making heart angels. Then I added the hemp cord for a little detail. Now that I think of it, it would be funny if I added a mini version of Billy in the middle to represent our son. LOL

Sources: AC textured earth tones cardstock; DCWV Green-Wood Natural cardstock; Pink Cat Studio Lily & Billy in a Pile of Hearts digital image (not available in rubber); Copics; Gutermann red metallic thread; Marvy Uchida 1/8" circle punch; Darice hemp cord; dimension squares

So what'd you think of this week's releases? Tempting, aren't they? All five images are available digitally and three are also available in rubber. If you can't resist then hurry on over to the Pink Cat Studio store for instant gratification! Don't forget that we'll have another release for you next Thursday that's sure to please again. I can't wait! :D

Pink Cat Studio Sneak Peeks and a Contest!

I hope you all had a wonderful holiday and are ready for a new year full of stamping fun! The DT and I have been very busy working on cards over the holidays to bring you today's sneak peeks as well as tomorrow's big release. It's been hard for me to contain my excitement and I'm sure you'll be delighted with what you see here and at all the other DT blogs over the next couple of days.

Today I'm showing you Lily as a Valentine Fairy. I used the digital version but she's also available in rubber and you can choose the phrase you want to use inside the heart. Lily is so sweet in her heart print dress and that cupcake is the perfect addition, don't you think? This image is perfect for Valentine's but it's versatile enough for any occasion, particularly birthdays and thank you. I can see this Lily on a box of treats bringing a smile to the recipient on any day of the year! P.S. That heart is big enough for pretty much any sentiment, even a hand-written one. :)

It's contest time again! Tomorrow Melissa will be introducing three new Pixie characters and it's your job to guess their names (from a provided list of course). Please be sure to visit the PCS blog today and enter the contest. The winner will receive all five of tomorrow's new digis!

Sources: SU Rich Razzleberry cardstock; TPH 111lb matte white cardstock; GinaK 120lb pure luxury white cardstock; Basic Grey Lemonade poppy field & pretty petals dps; Pink Cat Studio Lily Valentine Fairy_You're Sweet digital image (also available in rubber format); Copics; AtYou Spica glitter pen; SU Rich Razzleberry 1/2" polka dot grosgrain ribbon; SU 1-3/8" circle punch; Lewiscraft 24 gauge stainless steel wire; SU crystal effects; dimension squares

Happy Birthday, Mom

Much like my mother-in-law's birthday card, this one is also addressed to Grandma because it's more sentimental for our moms to receive the card from their grandson. This card is for my mom whose birthday is also this week. We went over for a nice dinner today to celebrate the New Year as well as my mom's birthday. As I've said before, my mom's not at all into gifts but loves my cards. My parents get so much joy out of just watching my little guy and playing with him is enough of a gift. Today I really noticed that they can't take their eyes off him. I personally think he's really that entertaining, especially when he's pounding on the piano keys like a virtuoso or signing to them and they don't understand what he's saying! LOL

Sources: SU textured Sahara Sand cardstock; Imaginisce Perfectly Posh Frilly Floral dp; GinaK 120lb pure luxury white cardstock; PTI Heart Prints; Verve Because of You; SU Pink Pirouette & Rose Red inks; SU 1-3/8" circle punch; Dashes, Dots & Checks ribbon; Basic Grey button; Darice hemp cord

CAS Host Set

Happy New Year! I hope you all had fun ringing in the new year whether it was in your jammies or out on the town. Hubby and I went out to a friend's new place but we were home by midnight as we have been for the past few years. We're just so old now and are usually asleep when the next year arrives so it was quite a feat that we were actually awake this year. LOL

I made this set for the host of the New Year's Eve party. It had to be quite masculine and something a guy wouldn't be embarrassed to give on any occasion, even if it's to another guy but I don't think men usually give each other cards. I decided to go CAS and use bold masculine colours. Even though there are scallops and ribbon I think they turned out well, just for the purpose I intended. :)

Sources: SU Kraft & Bashful Blue cardstock; SU textured Black cardstock; unknown 'Happy Happy' sentiment; PTI Background Basics: Text Style II; Memories Black ink; SU Ballet Blue ink; SU 1-3/8" circle & scallop circle punches; Dashes, Dots & Checks ribbon; dimension squares