When I Am With You

This week's Unity Addicts Challenge #20 is to make a masculine birthday card using at least one chipboard, grungeboard or cardboard element. A masculine birthday card I can do, but chipboard? Yikes! I don't own any chipboard-type embellishments and wasn't about to run out to buy some just for this challenge so I did some research, found this tutorial on how to make my own chipboard pieces, and started creating. I love the idea of birthday cards that don't have the typical Happy Birthday or Birthday Wishes sentiments on them so I chose to make a card which could be given to any man on his birthday (or any occasion)!

I received my beautiful September KOTM in the mail yesterday so I was happy for the opportunity to use it. When I showed my son the images, I asked him to tell me what all the objects were and he knew the words for everything except the Eiffel Tower. He called it a clock tower which is fine because that is so cute. ;) Two of the images are giant leaves but my son thought they were trees and they could most definitely be trees (I'll be crediting him when I use them as such)! I used them as leaves on my card without the stems because I didn't want the stems to interfere with the framed bird image which I love. I love hanging things off the edge of my cards these days. Can you tell? :) I just make up for the size of the card by slicing the exact amount off the other side so the card still fits nicely into the standard envelope.

I'm not going to deny it any longer. I am a Unity Addict! I just wonder why I didn't become one sooner. :Þ

Sources: SU Naturals Ivory & Kraft cardstock; Unity September 2010 Kit of the Month - When I Am With You; Ippity Book It; SU Cherry Cobbler, Wild Wasabi & Crumb Cake inks; Memento Rich Cocoa ink; Glue Dots minis; Stampin' Dimensionals; Royale tissues box (for the shiny chipboard elements); SU Crystal Effects; The Twinery baker's twine in Cappuccino

True Friend

This card was inspired by Lindsey and Stephanie. First, I told Lindsey that I was drooling over the butterfly in Unity's Key to Joy Store Kit and she convinced me that I could make my own musical butterfly. Thanks, Lindsey! Then Stephanie became my 63rd Follower and I saw the Hip Hop Sketch Challenge #26 in her post here. As you know, I rarely do sketch challenges but this one called out to me and I never would've come across it had it not been for Stephanie becoming my 63rd Follower and inspiring me with her beautiful work. Thanks, Stephanie!

The HHSC26 rules state that participants can only use Unity or Ippity stamps so I used my two Unity KOTMs and an Ippity background for the larger circle. I stitched hot pink thread to connect the four panels because I thought the card needed that little detail, and I popped the circle with dimensionals. This was so much fun and I love the way all those beautiful images look concentrated in one area!

I love the friendships I've made on Splitcoaststampers and Lindsey is one of those awesome friends I met this past summer. Lindsey and I chat over email almost daily, mostly about life, but also our shared obsession for crafty things involving squirrels, musical notes and instruments (not necessarily together), and she always tells me whenever I'm featured on the Unity Blog, just like today! Thanks, Jimmi! See? Plenty of inspiration. :)

Now for something funny. The CreativFestival is coming up and I asked Lindsey if she wanted to meet up with me there. When she talked to her husband about meeting up with me, he wondered if I was really a petite woman named Emily. He joked that I could possibly be a 300lb man named Emil. My reply was that Lindsey's avatar is Hobbes so she could very well be a 300lb man named Linden! Besides, how risky would it be to meet up with someone in a large public place surrounded by hundreds if not thousands of (mostly elderly) crafty folks? LOL

Sources: SU Kraft, Tempting Turquoise, Always Artichoke, So Saffron & Naturals Vanilla cardstock; Unity June 2010 Kit of the Month - Fly Free; Unity July 2010 Kit of the Month - Happily Ever After; Ippity A Bit of Burlap; SU Taken With Teal, Wild Wasabi, Summer Sun & Crumb Cake inks; Memento Rich Cocoa ink; Spellbinders Nestabilities Standard Circles Large; QuicKutz Epic Six; McGill 1-11/16" circle punch; Gutermann pink thread; sewing machine; Stampin' Dimensionals

A New Love

I finally bought a new camera and I love it! Yeehaw! Woohoo! (Insert your own personal cheer!) I took everyone's advice, coupled it with my own desires and needs, and settled on this:

There were a few models that I had on my list but, in the end, I decided on the Canon SX20IS mainly because of three things: a beautiful wide lens, super macro capability, and high-definition video. This camera is in a category all its own because it's neither a point-and-shoot nor a digital SLR. In fact, digital SLRs can't shoot in super macro without a specific macro lens. That really sold me because my camera allows in maximum light with its wide lens and it can focus on something only two millimetres away!

Having this new camera in my possession really got my creative juices flowing and I whipped up this card for the CAS85 Fall Colour Challenge (kraft, red, vanilla and brown). Have you ever known me to pass up a challenge that involves kraft? LOL I wasn't sure what I was doing with the colours until I gathered all the cardstock together in a pile. Then I decided I would try inking up an impression plate (as seen in some of the popular letterpress tutorials that have been floating around blogland lately). I don't have a brayer so I just swiped my ink pad across the plate before impressing. Then the rest of the card fell together after I decided that red would be the accent colour. See the looped hemp cord on the side? I totally made that up after the card didn't look finished. I think I'll be doing more of that soon!

Sources: SU Early Espresso, Kraft, Naturals Ivory & Real Red cardstock; PTI Butterfly Dreams; PTI Birthday Basics; Memento Rich Cocoa ink; Vivid Red ink; SU Crumb Cake ink; PTI In Bloom impression plate; PTI Butterfly die; QuicKutz Epic Six; Fiskars Nostalgia Corner Edger; SU Scallop Trim border punch; Darice hemp cord; Stampin' Dimensionals; SU Crystal Effects

Happenings of the Heart

Thank you for all of your birthday wishes! I had a nice day that got better as it went on. I received some really nice fall clothing from JCrew and hubby also surprised me with a bunch of Copic markers, wafers and Argentinian Malbec wine. Yum! My son's Halloween costume also arrived so we had fun chasing a little dinosaur around all night. I wish I could've taken some photos but my camera actually died. Period. Yes, it's completely dead now so I have no choice but to buy a new one. The Canon point-and-shoot I had wasn't very fast when it came to taking action shots. In fact, it seemed slower than the Minolta I had before that! I'd like a faster one this time around. What do you use? I feel that I've already missed some great moments so I'll be needing one before the weekend is over!

You do remember how much I love pandas, right? My husband loves to read the Italian news every morning and he always sends me links to cute photos and videos. Today, he came across some commercials for the Egyptian cheese brand Panda. Don't worry, there are English subtitles. ;) Since I don't have any other photos of cards or life to share with you today, I thought you might get a good laugh out of these. My husband jokes that the panda I have from the San Diego Zoo gift shop rules our household. :Þ After I watched the videos, he said, "Now you know how I feel when Panda gives me the evil eye." LOL Just click on the video frame above or click here for the link.

We're suddenly in the middle of a heat wave and for the first time I'm not enjoying the return of summer in the fall! I took my son out for a bike ride this morning and it was way too hot, especially since he rides so fast now that I have to jog next to him to keep up. Thankfully he stopped to play with some leaves in the shade. I hope to be back tomorrow with a new camera and something crafty to show you! What are your plans for the weekend?

Happy Birthday to Me :)

This is my second post of the day. If you're looking for the Pink Cat Studio Digi Release, please scroll down or click here.

How absolutely cool and creative is this?! You can imagine the huge smile I had on my face when I received this! My husband explained that he wanted to create an urban scene and somehow involve my son in making the card. Hubby inked up Guaco the mole and Sprunk the skunk from DoodleFactory's Urban. I hadn't used them yet and didn't even realize that there were two graffiti artists in that set! LOL Hubby asked me, "My Copic colouring is getting better, don't you think?" How cute is that? I told him I was impressed, especially by the shading on the mole, and I really like how he used purple since I don't use that colour too often. ;) I love that he had my son colour in the sentiment as if it's part of the graffiti the two animals spray-painted! Actually, I heard him urging my son to help him the other day when he got home from work. My son wasn't being very cooperative and at first I thought they were just colouring but when I realized what was happening I tried not to look. Heehee. Hubby said it took him a week to make this card. I love it and will treasure it always!

Sources: SU Kraft & Naturals Ivory cardstock; GinaK 120lb pure luxury White cardstock; Imaginisce Let's Roll/Beep Beep; DoodleFactory Urban; PTI Birthday Basics; Versamark Watermark ink; Copics; Crayola Crayons; Spellbinders Nestabilities in Classic Scalloped Ovals Large; QuicKutz Epic Six; PSX Red embossing Tinsel; Hobby Hot Boss; Generations dimension squares

Pink Cat Studio ~ Sep 23rd Digi Release!

It's Thursday which means it's Pink Cat Studio Digi Release day! Today, we have three fun autumn digis for you. Look at all those little leaves! Are your fingers tingling at the thought of colouring in all those little leaves? I clearly remember how much fun it was to colour last year's Valentine digi of Lily and Billy in a pile of hearts. When Melissa drew these new images for today's release, I couldn't wait to colour them!

My card features Lily in a pile of leaves and I used my die-cut tree (shown in last week's Halloween release) again to show you its versatility and how different it can look. All the leaves have fallen off the tree, Lily has raked them into a nice pile and now she's playing in it! I had the perfect (previously uninked) sentiment for this card and I echoed it in a lighter hue on the die-cut tree. Since this card is so simple, I adhered only the trunk of the tree on to the card base to give visual interest to the branches. To finish, Lily was popped with dimensionals.

I hope you've enjoyed today's release as much as I have! For more inspiration, please visit the other Pink Cat Studio design team blogs whose links are on my sidebar. There won't be a release next Thursday but I'll have something to show you! I'll be back later today to post some birthday goodies. ;)

Sources: SU Tangerine Tango cardstock; GinaK 120lb pure luxury White cardstock; Pink Cat Studio Lily in Pile of Leaves; Unity July 2010 Kit of the Month - Happily Ever After; SU Cake Crumb ink; Memento Rich Cocoa ink; QuicKutz house & tree die set; PTI Linen & Canvas impression plate; QuicKutz Epic Six; Generations dimension squares; Glue Dots minis

So Grateful... and Birthday Blog Candy Winner

My treasured friend Anna from San Diego sends me See's Candies and bath products from Bath & Body Works every year for my birthday. One of my favourite sweets from See's are the Awesome Walnut Square Bars and she always includes them in my package. Have you had them? They're divine! We now have Bath & Body Works in Canada so Anna sent me a gift card. However, the store manager told her that it would be valid in Canada but it isn't! Believe it or not, the same thing happened when my mother-in-law purchased a Home Depot gift card in the U.S. for my husband to use up here on his birthday. These stores need to get their act together!
I could use my gift card online but the shipping costs to Canada are utterly ridiculous. Those of you who know me well know that I will not pay for shipping if I can help it so I won't be going that route. Even though the gift card doesn't expire, I don't have any planned trips to the U.S. in the near future so who knows when it will be used. Anna and I decided that I would send the card back to her, in which case she'll read the riot act to the store manager that sold it to her and send me something else. ;)

To show Anna my appreciation and to thank her for all the trouble, I whipped up this super-CAS card to send the gift card back. Anna's my avian-loving friend so this beautiful image and sentiment (uninked until now) from Unity's June 2010 KOTM was perfect for the occasion. I used clear rhinestones in three sizes and black glitter to fill in the circles on the bird.
And, now, for what you've all been waiting for! I enjoyed reading all your favourites and reminiscing about the cards I made in the past. My son picked the winner of my birthday blog candy and she is...

Congratulations, Bonita! Please email me by Monday, September 27th, midnight EST with your complete mailing address and let me know which large rubber set and three digital images you would like from Pink Cat Studio and I will have Melissa mail them directly to you! If I don't hear from you before midnight on Monday, I will choose another winner.
Thank you all for visiting my little blog and leaving love. I appreciate every comment. They make me smile and I'm so grateful (just as today's card says) for all the friendships I've made in blogland. I hope you all have a wonderful evening! I'm off to have a beer with my husband and watch Survivor: Nicaragua and the season premiere of Criminal Minds. :) See you tomorrow for a fun fall Pink Cat Studio digi release!
Sources: GinaK pure luxury Kraft cardstock; Unity June 2010 Kit of the Month - Fly Free; SU Cherry Cobbler ink; Memento Tuxedo Black ink; SU Basic Rhinestones; Ranger Black Diamond Stickles; SU 1-3/8" circle punch

Birthday Wishes

My generous friend, Shannan, is having a birthday four days after mine so I had to quickly whip up a card for her and get it in the mail. Shannan is another former co-worker of mine from 2006 when we worked in business development for a Big Four audit firm. We quickly became friends based on our shared love of animals, concern for the environment, expensive drinks at Wine Bar, and the fact that we're both makeup artists in a past life.

For Shannan's card, I basically had two choices: animals or fashion. I couldn't decide whether Shannan loves her five ferrets more than her thousand dollar Christian Louboutin shoes. :Þ So I decided to use one of the adorable prints Meg sent me last week. This sweetie named Annie is pretty fashionable and was so much fun to colour! I'd never used a label in this way and I love the way it looks. I popped the notebook page as well as the image and I couldn't help but add baker's twine. I hadn't used the Cappuccino colour yet and it was perfect for this card.

I haven't been able to get into Splitcoaststampers for at least three days now. Is anyone else having this problem???

Sources: SU Kraft, So Saffron & Tempting Turquoise cardstock; Luvvie by Leanne Ellis for Sugar Nellie; Ippity Book It; PTI Fillable Frames #4; Unity July 2010 Kit of the Month - Happily Ever After; SU Cherry Cobbler ink; Memento Rich Cocoa & Tuxedo Black inks; Copics; PTI Fillable Frames #4 die; QuicKutz Epic Six; The Twinery baker's twine in Cappuccino; Stampin' Dimensionals

Birthday RAK from Lexy

Today, I received this beautiful card from Lexy! How creative is that ribbon wreath centred around a circular paper clip? Awesome. Lexy and I have a long history which started in 2000 when we met working in the pits of hell where we were both due diligence research analysts. Now that's a tongue-twister! ;) The stressful job drove us to go on an adventure in Costa Rica and, later, I introduced her to the love of her life. Followers of this blog will remember that Lexy is the one who introduced me to real stamps, starting with Stampin' Up, and the rest is history. Lexy is also my go-to person for parenting advice. She has two lovely little girls a little older than my son and they take up all her time. I know she wishes she had more time to craft! Thanks for taking the time out of your busy life to make me this bright and happy birthday card, Lexy. I truly appreciate you and our friendship!

RAK from Sunghee

It's my birthday week so I'm allowed to brag a little, right? Look what I got in the mail this morning from Sunghee!!! Not only did she send me the most ridiculously gorgeous chrysanthemum card (get all the details in her blog post here), she sent me her old software for Adobe Creative Suite since she upgraded. I couldn't ask for a more generous RAK from a blogland friend. Sunghee, not only are you a creative genius, you have the biggest, warmest heart. You get a huge thank you from me! Thanks for starting my birthday week just right. :D

Color Cue {8} Spin-Off

Thanks to everyone for their lovely comments on my Color Cue {8} card in the previous post! While I still had Magical Moments on the brain and those striking colours, I was inspired to create another card with the same set. This time, I left out the green and used the two-step flower. One of my favourite things to do is use two-step stamps in contrasting colours. I don't have a lot of stamp sets with this ability so I was happy that Dawn created this set with that option. I used the flower to create a pretty background and highlighted one of the sentiments on a white panel. I inked magical in red and the other two lines in black. Then I woodgrain impressed the sentiment and added black embroidery floss to provide balance against the bright white panel and busy background. I love how quick, easy and fun this was!

I hope everyone's been enjoying their weekend! It's been sunny and cool here, the perfect fall weekend. Yesterday was pretty stressful for us since we had to make a decision on a house in five hours between the listing, the viewing and finding out that another buyer had already made an offer. Needless to say, we couldn't do it and walked away. Better luck next time, eh? Hubby and I are going out for a date this afternoon, our first in a very looong time! Talk to you all soon. :)

Sources: SU Kraft cardstock; GinaK 120lb pure luxury White cardstock; Wplus9 Magical Moments; PTI Fillable Frames #4; SU Cherry Cobbler & Summer Sun inks; Memento Tuxedo Black ink; PTI Fillable Frames #4 die; PTI Woodgrain impression plate; QuicKutz Epic Six; DMC black embroidery floss; Glue Dots pop up relief

You Make My Life Wonderful

I know what you're thinking and I can even hear you gasping. This isn't CAS and she used ribbon! :Þ Yes, this is the most elaborate card I've made in months but I couldn't help it. I was so inspired by Wplus9's new Color Cue {8} Challenge! It feels like ages since I've done a colour challenge and my jaw just about hit the floor when I saw the gorgeous combination Dawn selected. I knew I had to give Magical Moments a proper welcome since I hadn't made anything with it since this card.

I had the most fun figuring out which colours to use when I layered the peacock. Crazy me actually cut out that peacock in all three combinations before deciding. I knew I wanted to use some kiwi kiss ribbon so having the bird's body in that same colour highlights it nicely. Then I made a mask for the background. First, I stamped the yellow background using the frame mask. I had planned on leaving it just like that but the card didn't look finished with a plain white border so I used the square insert as a mask to create the red frame. Maybe it's a bit too intricate or busy but I'm pretty sure my husband will like it. My son actually called it a rainbow when he saw it! He sure knows how to flatter his momma. ;)

Sources: GinaK 120lb pure luxury White cardstock; Wplus9 Magical Moments; SU Cherry Cobbler, Kiwi Kiss & Summer Sun inks; Memento Tuxedo Black ink; SU Kiwi Kiss 5/8" striped grosgrain ribbon; Scor-Tape; Glue Dots pop up relief

RAK from Meg

I love receiving packages in the mail and I received this gorgeous card from sweet Meg mid-week. You can get all the details for this card from her post here. She wrote the most adorable message inside telling me how much she appreciates my encouragement and to say thank you for her birthday gift! Meg also included some super cute inkings from her collection of Leanne Ellis Designs for Sugar Nellie as well as Eat Cake Graphics and I can't wait to use them. Thanks so much, Meg!!

Pink Cat Studio ~ Sep 16th Digi Release!

Look at all the fun Halloween digis available today at the Pink Cat Studio Digi Store! I think Melissa has outdone herself with the uber cute dog dressed as a mummy! Seriously, how could you not want to get this digi? :) I think it may be my most favourite Halloween image of all time. It has surpassed the realm of cuteness and I wish I had a softie version to squeeze. What did I do with it?

When hubby bought me a QuicKutz Epic Six for my birthday last year, this house and tree die set was the first thing I bought. Strange but true! I thought they'd be useful not only for Halloween but all year round. Funny how I never thought to use the house as a card 'til now. It ended up backwards but Chinese books open this way so I left it. Plus it adds to the wonkiness that is Halloween, right? After finishing the dog, house and tree, I felt the card needed a sentiment so I created a tag, tied it to the chimney with baker's twine and nestled it in the tree branches. Just look at that silly dog pretending to be all ferocious and scary! Heehee.

Thanks for enjoying this fun Pink Cat Studio digi release with me today! Be sure to check out all of the incredible projects made by the design team whose links are on my sidebar. To start shopping, head to the Pink Cat Studio Digi Store now. We'll be back next week with some sweet autumn goodness!

Sources: AC textured Black cardstock; SU textured Basic Gray cardstock; GinaK 120lb pure luxury White cardstock; SU Tangerine Tango cardstock; Pink Cat Studio Mummy Dog; unknown sentiment; Copics; QuicKutz House & Tree die set; Fiskars Nostalgia corner edger; Marvy-Uchida 1/8" long reach circle punch; The Twinery baker's twine in Mandarin; QuicKutz Epic Six; Glue Dots minis & pop up relief

Birthday Blog Candy

I was hoping to have a card to go along with this post but my back started giving me grief again. I'm not having much luck in that department these days! However, I'm hoping to have a massage sometime in the next few days so that should help. Anyway, on to what you've all been waiting for. ;) In the Chinese tradition, it's good luck to give something to others on your birthday so I've decided to give away one large rubber set from Pink Cat Studio and Melissa has generously donated three digis in addition to my own blog candy. Thank you, Melissa! This means the winner of my birthday candy will receive a big prize of ultra adorable Pink Cat Studio goodies!

Here are the rules:

1. You have one week to enter. My birthday blog candy will be randomly drawn from all entries late on Wednesday, September 22nd, the eve of my birthday.
2. The winner will have five days to claim her prize or another recipient will be selected.
3. The prize will consist of the winner's choice of one large rubber set and three digital images from Pink Cat Studio. The images shown above are my personal favourites and suggestions. ;)
4. You must be a Follower of my blog.
5. You must leave a comment in this post and answer the following questions:

• What is your favourite Pink Cat Studio rubber set?
• What is your favourite Pink Cat Studio digital image?
• What is your favourite card of mine and why?

I hope this is as fun for you as it is for me! I can't wait to read about your favourite picks. After all, a girl loves flattery especially on her birthday, right? ;) Have a great night and I'll see you tomorrow for a spooktacular Pink Cat Studio Halloween digi release!!

Joy & Happiness

I hope everyone had a joyous Tuesday as my card suggests! I recently found out that my friend and former co-worker, Toni, is pregnant with her first child. I'm hoping to meet up with her tomorrow and give her this card to say congratulations. This card was a happy accident just waiting to be put together. Once upon a time, long, long ago, I had this lacey border sitting on my bookshelf and some of my die cut butterflies fell on top of it. They landed right where you see the butterfly on this card and I knew I had to make it into a card! I really love this frame from Unity's July 2010 KOTM and can find so many uses for it. I inserted a previously uninked sentiment from the same set, impressed the ivory cardstock, sponged the edges and added some baker's twine to the butterfly (in the same style as this card). Hooray for a simple and beautiful card! I hope you've all had a bit of time to create today. I'll be back tomorrow to announce my birthday blog candy!! :D

Sources: GinaK pure luxury Black Onyx cardstock; SU Naturals Ivory cardstock; Unity July 2010 Kit of the Month - Happily Ever After; Memento Tuxedo Black ink; SU Cherry Cobbler & Pink Pirouette ink; CPE Inc. Cardinal felt; PTI Butterfly die; PTI Linen & Canvas impression plate; QuicKutz Epic Six; The Twinery baker's twine in Maraschino; Glue Dots minis & pop up relief

CAS84 Guest Designer

Two weeks after my stint as guest designer for the summer season, I'm back as a guest designer for Splitcoaststampers' CAS84 Challenge! I'm so happy Jen and Denise picked a spot for me at the start of the fall season since it was torture having to wait 'til the very last week in the summer ;) This week's challenge is to be inspired by the photo shown at left. Isn't the balloon wreath gorgeous?! I love the bright and bold colours of it against the black door and I couldn't help but notice that the house itself is painted in a very kraft-like colour. Maybe I went a little overboard in making four cards for this challenge but I just couldn't help it. The photo really is inspirational... so inspirational, in fact, that it even inspired my camera to function properly long enough to photograph these cards! LOL All four of my cards feature images I've never used before.

My first card features a wooden door stamp and a small wreath I made with hemp cord and baker's twine.

I made these cute little sentiment wreaths last Christmas and I thought they could be revived with some baker's twine. They're so fun and easy to make!

The second card I made uses PTI's 3rd Anniversary set Round and Round.

I decorated the medallion image with multi-coloured rhinestones and adhered it flat to the kraft background which was then popped with dimensionals. The sentiment was heat embossed with white pigment ink.

My third card uses images from Unity and Ippity. The wreath is stunning and I can't believe I haven't use it 'til now. Yes, you're allowed to call me insane for cutting it out! LOL

I was so happy to receive my new Ippity background stamp, Book It, in the mail on Friday and I just had to use it here. Be warned that you'll be seeing this used a lot from now on!

My fourth and final card is a little notecard of the 4.25" x 4.25" variety and could be replicated in the hundreds faster than you can snap your fingers. I created a frame using PTI's eyelet lace border die in the colours of the inspiration photo and stapled them in place before stamping the cute little texty house in the centre.

Thanks for stopping by! I hope I've inspired you to create at least one card for the CAS84 Challenge this week. Be sure to let me know if you did! :D I hope you all have a relaxing evening and a wonderful start to the week.

Sources for Wreath on Door: SU Kraft cardstock; GinaK pure luxury Black Onyx & 120lb pure luxury White cardstock; Local King Rubber Stamp Welcome Inn; Memento Tuxedo Black ink; PTI Woodgrain impression plate; QuicKutz Epic Six; Darice hemp cord; The Twinery baker's twine in Maraschino, Pink Sorbet, Lemondrop, Peapod & Caribbean; Glue Dots minis

Sources for Wonderful Friend: GinaK pure luxury Black Onyx & 120lb pure luxury White cardstock; SU Kraft cardstock; PTI Round and Round; Memento Tuxedo Black ink; SU Whisper White pigment ink; PSX Snowflake embossing tinsel; Hobby Hot Boss; PTI Mat Stack 1 die; QuicKutz Epic Six; Forever in Time coloured gemstones; SU Basic Rhinestones; Glue Dots pop up relief

Sources for Season's Greetings: SU Kraft cardstock; GinaK 120lb pure luxury White cardstock; Unity July 2010 Kit of the Month - Happily Ever After; Ippity Book It; Sunshine Designs CRSW 004 CU (lg); Memento Tuxedo Black ink; SU Garden Green ink; Vivid Red ink; Copics; Ranger Xmas Red & Diamond Stickles; Gary M. Burlin green glitter glue; Glue Dots pop up relief

Sources for There's No Place Like Home: GinaK 120lb pure luxury white cardstock; SU Real Red & Wild Wasabi cardstock; Bazzill Basics textured yellow & teal cardstock; Unity July 2010 KOTM - Happily Ever After; Memento Tuxedo Black ink; PTI Eyelet Lace border die; QuicKutz Epic Six; stapler & staples

Another Blog Award!

On Friday I received another blog award, this time from the lovely Sally Atkins who first became a friend on Splitcoaststampers and then recently joined me on Pink Cat Studio's design team! Sally, I'm truly honoured to have you pass this award on to me. Thank you so much!!

Now I need to pass this award on to seven favourite blogs. Favourite could mean so many different things and it was difficult to whittle my list down to seven. Most importantly, I want to spread the love to those who inspire and entertain me so here they are:

Alice
Jennifer
Erin

Meg

Angela

Smita

Susan

It's been a busy few days and I'm trying to be good to myself, hence no posts, but I've been busy working on some cards that I'll be posting at 10 p.m. tonight. ;) I hope you all enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Birthday Wishes

Hello, everyone! Are you disappointed that there's no Pink Cat Studio release today? We'll be back next Thursday with one last Halloween digi release. It's going to be a big one and you don't want to miss it. Melissa has drawn up some of the cutest images ever!

Today, I thought I'd share a birthday card using more of my new goodies from PTI. Banners are everywhere and I don't have a banner stamp (set) yet so I decided to make one using Just the Ticket. I was inspired by the way Angela strung up her flags in this card and I also used some of the Cameo Coral cardstock she sent me in a swap. I'm giving this to one of my besties, Sonya, who is an avid reader so I impressed the card base with the Book Print impression plate.

Here's the back of the flags to show you how I left part of the neighbouring ticket to create tabs which made it easy for attachment to the twine and also to provide a sturdy base for stapling. I purposely stapled each one on an angle so it wouldn't completely hide the stamped borders. I looped the twine once around the brads before setting the brads into the card base. I was hoping the banner would stand on its own but something was missing so I used two of the sentiments from the set to create a new one.

I took my son out for a bike ride this morning and we had our fleece jackets on. I guess summer really is over! Later this afternoon, I'm off to a much-needed chiropractic adjustment to get rid of my recurring head- and backaches. Then I'm going to pick up some sushi for dinner. Yum. I hope your Thursday has been great so far. :)

P.S. My birthday is in exactly two weeks and I'll be announcing some blog candy at some point. Stay tuned!

Sources: SU Kraft, Cameo Coral & Real Red cardstock; PTI Just the Ticket; SU Rose Red, Cherry Cobbler & Basic Gray inks; Memento Tuxedo Black ink; PTI Just the Ticket border die; PTI Book Print impression plate; QuicKutz Epic Six; SU silver brads; The Twinery baker's twine in Maraschino; stapler & staples

I Can't Wait!

As you all know, I don't normally use sketches but when I thought about my new Urban city scene, I thought it would look pretty darn cool in the layout of this week's CAS83 Challenge. After all, I do live right in downtown Toronto and this what I see every day. My son loves to look out the window and people-watch. He gets even more excited when emergency vehicles go by with their sirens blaring. At the top of the excitement meter are the construction vehicles, airplanes and helicopters. So, Flob, that little creature on my card embodies the excitement of my son looking out the window in many ways.

Sources: GinaK pure luxury Black Onyx cardstock; SU textured Basic Gray cardstock; GinaK 120lb pure luxury White cardstock; Memento Tuxedo Black ink; DoodleFactory Urban; DoodleFactory Creatures II; SU Whisper White ink; PSX Snowflake embossing tinsel; Hobby Hot Boss; Glue Dots pop up relief

Happy Halloween

Note: I won't whine about my broken camera anymore but I will let you know when I have a new one. ;)

As you know, my son wasn't feeling well last week. That illness transformed itself and now he's recovering from a chest cold. Unfortunately, I think I'm getting what he had so I've been feeling sluggish all day. I started this post five hours ago and I'm just getting around to posting it now! I broke in a few of my new PTI goodies and made a cute little Halloween card for my son. We're in the midst of finding him a Halloween costume since they seem to fly off the shelves by mid-September. I want to get him the monkey costume from Pottery Barn Kids but he insists on being a pig. So far I haven't been able to find a super duper cute pig costume so I'm getting anxious.

For this card, I used Just the Ticket along with the coordinating die which is truly fantastic! I decided to use just the frames from that set to showcase Tiny Treats: Halloween. It took great restraint not to colour in all the images. I added a bit of green and purple baker's twine because what's Halloween without some of those colours, too? The most time-consuming part of this card was piecing the sentiment together with Simple Alphabet.

In my last post, a few of you were curious about where I photograph my cards. It took me a while to find the best place and background for my cards. Not too long ago, I realized that the best place is on my dining table, a farmhouse table we bought from France. The Katrina chairs are from Montreal. I love the blue microfibre against the dark rustic finish of table. :)

Sources: SU Tangerine Tango cardstock; GinaK 120lb pure luxury white cardstock: PTI Just the Ticket; PTI Tiny Treats: Halloween; PTI Simple Alphabet; Memento Tuxedo Black ink; SU Tangerine Tango ink; Copics; PTI Just the Ticket Border die; QuicKutz Epic Six; The Twinery baker's twine in Peapod and Lilac; Glue Dots pop up relief