TCP Tuesday - Inspiration Challenge

Hi everyone! It's TCP Tuesday again and it's my turn to host. This week we're having an Inspiration Challenge for you, so get out your TCP stamps (or any others if you haven't picked some up from TCP yet) and get busy creating a card based on the photo of the colored pencils :) You can use any part of the photo that inspires you: the colors, the pencils, the shapes - whatever speaks to you!

On my card you'll see the circles - they jumped right out at me as soon as I saw the photo. The patterned paper is by Crate Paper, and the stamp set I used is TCP's "Hearts and Flowers" (for the main image and "Spring Fling" for the sentiment.

Here are the details for playing along:

• Add a comment to this post by midnight on Saturday, April 4th. Include a link to your creation. If you're uploading to Splitcoast Stampers, use the keyword TCPTUES52 so that we can find everything in one place.
• All of the fantastic pieces will be included in Alma's "Holey Moley Monday" slideshow over on her blog.
• At the end of each month, Alma will choose one stamper as the "Swanky Stamper" - and that lucky person wins $25 in Cat Cash to load up on more TCP stamps!

So - what are you waiting for? :) Have fun!

Blog tag - 7th photo :)

I got tagged by my good friend Patti :) For this one you need to:

Go to the photos folder on your computer.

Go to the seventh folder of photos.

Go to the seventh photo.

Put the seventh photo on your blog along with a description.

Invite seven friends to join.

The photo that I came up with is one I took of Nattie in 2005 when we lived in Southern CA - we had a day at Newport Beach :) Patti, thanks for making me dig through these! Nattie was only 8 when this was taken!

So now, I'm tagging:

Tracey

Lisa F.

Darcey

Emily

Linda

Shelley

and Denise

Have fun! I'll be back tomorrow with TCP Tuesday :)

"Orange You Sweet"

One of the sets I got to work with this month from Artful INKables is the "Orange You Sweet" set. It includes the orange juice image shown here, an orange tree and the adorable "Orange You Sweet" sentiment. The "Congratulations" sentiment I used on the box here is from Artful INKables' "Basic Sentiments" set.

I decided to try and make one of the "2-5-7-10" boxes I've seen directions for over on Splitcoast Stampers. This box is made from a single 8.5" x 11" sheet of cardstock and is really pretty simple to assemble once the initial scoring is done. I'm pleased with my first try!

Catching up...

I played a little catch-up today with Tracy's Sketch Challenges, so here are my cards for challenges 29 and 30 :)

The blue card is for Sketch 29 and the pink one is for Sketch 30. For Sketch 29's card I used a stamp from Penny Black along with paper by DCWV. For my other card I used the new "Sabrina" patterned paper by Making Memories and the "Smells Like Cake" set from The Cat's Pajamas.

Cat in the Grass

Here are 2 cards made with the same "Cat in the Grass" stamp from Shirley's 2 Girls :) For both cards I used patterned paper from My Mind's Eye.

Getting lots of laundry done today, catching up on housework and I even squeezed in a little stamping time for the next TCP Tuesday challenge :)

I hope you're having a great weekend, whatever you're up to!

Hello There! Invitation

Here is the invitation I made for the school's Showcase (open house) event next month. We sent it out to all the new kindergarten families joining us for the 2009/2010 school year. I had to make it simple since I had 60 to make! LOL! The owl is from Stampin' Up and the "Hello There!" sentiment is by The Cat's Pajamas :)

The snow finally ended during the night; we got almost 2 feet when it was all over. It looks beautiful, though, after such a dry winter! Iain's snowblower got a workout this morning :) Have a super Friday!

Snow at 11am today :)

We ended up with about 1.5 feet of snow from today's storm; here's how it looked at 11am :)

Snow Day!

Woo hoo! Finally the forecasters got it right! The snow is coming down hard here and all the schools in our district are closed - which means we get an extra day of Spring Break, since today was supposed to be the last day of school :) I will take some photos later on and post them; it's been a while since we've had any significant snow to photograph!

Some of you asked about my new banner - I had hunted around looking for someone to work on it for me, but lots of these gals just aren't taking new orders on right now. I did some googling and asking friends and found a site called Shabby Princess - she has great digital kits (and smaller ones called "Blogwear" and (more importantly) some excellent tutorials. It took me about 4 hours, but eventually I was able to make my own banner using Photoshop Elements! I have to say, I was very proud of myself! Thank you for all the compliments!

Today's card is made with Artful INKables stamps. Isn't the tea quote just so true? This set is called "Warm Drinks for Cold Days" and is another great set for those of us with a coloring addiction :) Have a great Thursday, everyone!

Dog Nap :)

Check out this fun image from "Shirley's 2 Girls" - isn't the sentiment just perfect for that little dog? :) The stamp is called "Dog in Chair". I used patterned paper from Crate Paper (I love everything from CP!), colored the image with pencils and blended the color with odorless mineral spirits, then added some bling.

After a very, very mild winter, we're now expecting a large snowstorm tomorrow - we might get as much as a foot of snow, according to some forecasts. However, the forecasters haven't been too accurate this year - so we'll wait and see. Have a great Wednesday!

TCP Tuesday - Sketch Challenge

Hi! It's time for another TCP Tuesday challenge - and this week Leigh is hosting a Sketch Challenge for us :)

I really liked this color combo on the striped patterned paper (in the background), so I decided to use it for the rest of the card. I think it turned out very cheery! The stamped sentiment is from TCP's "You Say It's Your Birthday" set.

Tea for Two

Most people who know me also know that I love a good cup of tea :) This stamp set is from Lizzie Anne Designs - it's called "Tea Time".

For the layout I used Jen's Sketch Challenge - she posts one every Saturday. Thanks, Jen, for a great sketch! Oh, and the patterned paper on this card is the "Porcelain" collection by Basic Grey.

Thanks also for taking the time to post all your kind thoughts, prayers and wishes for me and my family after we lost Gramps this past weekend. It really mean a lot to me - I am very lucky to have such supportive blogging friends!

Gramps

Gramps passed away this morning; his heart failed and the doctors were unable to revive him.

I am lucky to have known him. He was a very special man who had a kind word for everyone, no matter how he was feeling.

I'll miss you, Gramps.

Busy week!

It was a very busy week for me; I worked pretty much full-time to get all the CSAP (testing) materials checked, accounted for, and returned to the CO Dept. of Education. I'm glad that our school is small! LOL! It's a great feeling to have all those test booklets out of the school. And on a "proud mom" note, Iain and I went to an Honor Roll assembly at Nattie's school this morning :) She has worked very hard this year, especially considering what an adjustment it is to switch to middle school.

As a result, I haven't had much time to stamp this week. Later tonight I'm working on the invitations for our school's "Showcase" event next month (like an open house). We decided to invite the families of all the new kindergarteners who'll be starting school in Fall 2009. I came up with a nice, simple design in our school colors (it has to be simple if I'm making 60 of them!) and will hopefully get them finished tomorrow so that on Sunday I can do some stamping for myself!

Next week I just have a 4-day week. We get Friday off, and then all of the following week for Spring Break. Yeah!! I am more than ready for a break after the last few weeks! We'll be going to San Francisco for 4 days. How about you? Are you doing anything special over Spring Break? Have a super weekend - I'll be back with some cards tomorrow!

TCP Tuesday - Stamp Challenge!

Happy St. Patrick's Day, and Happy TCP Tuesday! My friend Karrie is hosting this week's stamp challenge over on her blog (where you'll find all the details about playing along); this week we're using any St. Patty's Day image :) I also used Jen's "Sketch For You To Try" from this weekend!

The TCP stamps I used are "Through the Shamrocks" and "Blarney". Have a terrific Tuesday!

Mario Kart

Here are Nattie and Jamie playing Mario Kart on the Wii on Jamie's birthday. You can see they're both concentrating hard... :)

Then Tasha came along to hang out with us, so I got some photos of her too.

Just Cards 13

I got some happy mail the other day - my copy of Just Cards 13! I have two cards in there :) It's a great issue with tons of different ideas!

Happy Birthday, Jamie!

I can't believe my youngest kiddo is 7 already! This photo was taken at the hospital on the evening Jamie was born. Nattie was only 5!

We let Jamie open his gifts last night; his favorites are the "Mario Kart" game for the Wii, his "Flanimals" books (see my post a few days ago), and the Lego Pirates kits. His party is on Saturday.

The original plan for tonight was for us to pick Jamie up for school and take him out for dinner, but he chose - takeout pizza! He wants to have pizza at home and for us all to play "Mario Kart" with him. Who are we to argue with the birthday boy?

Think Big

Here's another card made with the "Think Big" set from Artful INKables. I found the sketch for this card over on Splitcoast Stampers; I felt like taking on a card challenge of some sort :) The patterned paper is from the "Wild Asparagus" line by My Mind's Eye, and the flowers and brads are from my stash :)

I hope you're having a great week!

TCP Tuesday - Color Challenge

Hi all! This week Jen is hosting a Spring-y Color Challenge!!

For my card I used the new "Hearts and Flowers" set from TCP, and the patterned paper is by Rusty Pickle.

I hope you can play along this week! All the details are over on Jen's blog - can't wait to see what you come up with! Enjoy :)

Jamie and his "Flanimals" book :)

When I was in England a couple of weeks ago, Uncle Derek gave me a book that he thought Jamie might enjoy. It's called "Flanimals" and was written by Ricky Gervais (from the UK series "The Office" and "Extras"). I have to say, Uncle Derek hit the nail right on the head when picking this one out; it's right up Jamie's street! It has the strangest creatures in it, along with amazing illustrations and detailed descriptions of each Flanimal. So far Jamie's favorite Flanimal is the Offledermis. He has been laughing so hard at these creatures and the vivid descriptions (and so have we); Iain and I have read this book to him every night since I got back from England!

I did some web-surfing and found some more of the Flanimals books on Amazon.com's UK site; I ordered them and they arrived today, which is perfect timing since I can wrap them for Jamie's 7th birthday on Thursday! He doesn't even know there are other Flanimals books...I can't wait to see his face! I love to see kids so excited about books!

Happy Mail!

Here are some "Happy Mail" peppermint patties I made with my "Post A Note" set by Artful INKables. I used the sentiment and the flower; the flowers are paper-pieced. Wouldn't these be nice to receive in the mail? :)

I had a busy day at work yesterday; one of our 5th grade teachers was sick, so I administered my first two CSAP tests to her class. It was a little intimidating at first, but I was very proud of myself when we got through the session :) The kids did a fantastic job following all the testing rules. I also got some good news from the principal: I'm one of the 4 staff members receiving a "Values Award for Teamwork" from our district this year! We all nominated staff members a couple of months ago, and I am thrilled to have been chosen, especially since this is my first year working at the school :) There will be a ceremony in April which we all get to attend.

Think Big - Bookmark

Here's a super-simple (but pretty!) bookmark I made with Artful INKables' "Think Big" set. I had to make an extra one of these for Nattie! The paper is again from Cloud 9 Design (different colors this time, though), and the ribbon is from my stash - I believe it might be by May Arts.

Have a super Thursday! It's almost the weekend!

Think Big

Today's card is made with a new Artful INKables set called "Think Big". It's another great set of images for coloring and/or paper piecing; on this card I colored everything but the little girl's shirt and jeans, which are both paper-pieced. I hope you like it!

The patterned paper is by Cloud 9 Design, and the Nestabilities templates I used are Curved Rectangles, Classic Circle and Classic Scalloped Circle.

TCP Tuesday - Inspiration Challenge

Hey everyone! It's my turn to host TCP Tuesday this week, and I found this gorgeous bedding set on Pottery Barn Teen's website to use as inspiration! I love the fresh, clean color scheme and the mix of prints :) The TCP set I used is "Spring Fling". I can't wait to see what you come up with using this set as your inspiration piece. And remember, you can use any stamps (TCP is preferred, of course)! This is also my card for Tracy's sketch challenge this week!

Here's how to play along:

Add a comment to this post, along with a link to your creation by midnight on Saturday (March 7th).

If you upload to Splitcoast Stampers, use the keyword TCPTUES48 so that we can find your work. All of the fabulous work will be featured in Alma's "Holey Moley Monday" slideshow, and will have a chance to be chosen as this month's "Swanky Stamper". So, what are you waiting for? Let's see what you've got!

Happy Monday!

I hope you all had a terrific weekend. Thank you for all the "welcome home" comments! We had a very quiet weekend here; Nattie and Iain both have really bad colds so we took it easy. I got some stamping done; I was playing with the new sets from Artful Inkables - I got 2 cards and 2 non-card projects done! It was so nice to sit, stamp and relax.

Jamie had his swimming lesson on Sunday morning, and he did a fantastic job! He jumped in at the deep end and swam all the way to the other end of the pool. He has overcome a lot of his fears in a short time since we switched to private lessons; it's a much more comfortable situation for him.

Today I'm going back to school. We have a busy couple of weeks ahead with the state testing going on for our 3rd, 4th and 5th graders and all the administration that goes along with it :) When I get home today I'll photograph some of the cards I made yesterday so that I can get them posted on here. Have a great week!