Winter Driving School

This weekend we went to Steamboat Springs so that I could take the Winter Driving Class at Bridgestone Winter Driving School that Iain had booked for me as part of my Christmas present. We drove up on Friday evening right after school, and then on Saturday morning I went and took my class while Iain and the kids went tubing at a nearby snow park.

As some of you know, I don't do too well driving in difficult wintery conditions; I really needed my confidence to improve. We started off with a half-hour session in a classroom, and then went out on a shuttle bus to the driving track. It is set up with all different kinds of turns: loose, tight, uphill and downhill. We did practice with brakes (ABS on and off), then went to do some skidding which was scary but tons of fun :) I definitely learned a lot and boosted my confidence about controlling the car a little more when I get into a tough situation!

A Beary Happy Birthday!

Here's the card I didn't get to post yesterday when I was writing about Alma's bear-naming contest :) I found these individual coffee sachets at Starbucks and decided they'd be fun to put on the front of a card...and then Alma sent the new "Beary Good Year" set out to the Cat Pack - and there's a little coffee cup right there as one of the bear's accessories! Perfect!

This set will be available on February 9th...in the meantime, stay tuned here and on the rest of the Cat Pack's blogs for more sneak peeks :)

Can you name the bear?

Soooo, TCP has a contest going! And the prize is...drum roll please...all of the TCP stamps that are released during this coming year! I thought that would get your attention :)


To enter, all you need to do is suggest a name for our newest TCP dude (or dudette!) - email it to contest@thecatspajamasrs.com (just one email per entry) between now and February 8th. Alma will pick a winner and post the winner's information on her blog on February 9th, which also happens to be the release date for TCP's latest set, "A Beary Good Year" - wait until you see it! Alma has outdone herself once again :) Good luck, everyone!!


I'm having issues uploading photos tonight, but tomorrow I'll be back with a card that I made using the above-mentioned set - stay tuned! And in the meantime...get those names ready!

TCP Tuesday Sketch Challenge!

Happy TCP Tuesday! This week the super-talented Leigh has created a sketch for us...hop over to her blog here for all the details on how to play along. I decided to go with a Valentine's theme and make the most of this bright paper that I picked up recently from The Paper Company. I used TCP's "Be Still, My Beating Heart" set and added lots of bling - I hope you like it! Have a great day :)

Sunny Weekend

It's been a sunny (but cold!) weekend here...at work we were all talking the other day about the lack of snow so far this winter!

The kids are with Iain this weekend, so last night I went out with my friend Kelli for a belated birthday dinner. We went to a restaurant called Brio - the food was delicious!

I'm heading down to the basement to work on some cards this afternoon. I've got my card ready for this week's TCP Tuesday sketch challenge, and I'm really pleased with how it turned out. It has pink, black, white, and bling :)

Today's card is an all-occasion card made using a stamp by MFT and patterned paper by Basic Grey. Thanks for stopping by - have a great week!

OK, one more... :)

Here's Sprinkle all dressed up on another card following this week's TCP Tuesday theme (and using the "Loving Mew" set) - and the layout is from sketch 149 over at Card Positioning Systems. Have a super day!

This seems strange...

We're not quite halfway through this school year, but in my new job at the front office we're always planning ahead, and right now that means kindergarten registration for the 2010/11 school year...it was a very busy day today; some of the incoming kindergarteners looked excited, some looked terrified...and I'd say the same applied to the parents, too. I remember when Jamie began kindergarten I was quite sad, especially since he was my youngest...and now he's halfway through second grade and Nattie's halfway through seventh grade!


At the end of the day we had a sudden snowstorm which made a couple of our buses 20 minutes late - always fun! Fortunately by the time Jamie and I were driving home, the roads had already been sanded and so weren't quite as slippery as some had described them earlier. I still drove like a grandma, though...just in case...

Love is in the Air :)

I was having so much fun at the weekend that I made another card that will work for TCPTUES93 :) The stamps on this card are from TCP's "Puppy Love" and "Loving Mew" sets - check out the link here to see the terrific deal Alma is offering on the latest Kitty Kat Packs!

TCP Tuesday 93 - It's a Blog Hop :)

Hello all! For this week's TCP Tuesday (TCPTUES93), we are having a blog hop featuring the Kitty Kat Packs available this month from TCP. Alma has put 4 packs together - each pack includes buttons and glitter, and one of the 4 featured sets: "Loving Mew", "Be Still, My Beating Heart", "Puppy Love", or "Hearts and Flowers" - our hostess for this week is Susan, so the hop starts at her blog....you'll find all the details on how to play along with us!

For my card I used a layout from the Card Positioning Systems blog (#148) and images from TCP's "Loving Mew" and "Puppy Love" sets - and we are also using fabulous digital paper packs from My Favorite Things - this set is called "Chocolate Kiss" and you can see it right here...and the next stop on the hop is Joanne's blog - have fun!!

More Pure Innocence

Here's another card made using the adorable "Pure Innocence" collection from My Favorite Things. This one is called "Flurry of Love" :) I used "Frosted Lace" Stickles for the snow to add some texture. I hope you're having a super weekend - we're having some unseasonably warm weather for winter - we were in the mid-40s today!

Pure Innocence by MFT

Check out this beautiful image from My Favorite Things' "Pure Innocence" collection. I love this little girl! She reminds me a lot of Nattie when she was younger :) The image could be used for a birthday card, a thank you card, or even just a quick hello. And for those of us who like to color, these images have lots of space for coloring. I used some of my favorite paper by My Mind's Eye along with ribbon by American Crafts and a Fiskars border punch.

I hope you're having a great week!

TCP Tuesday - a Surprise Baby Boy Blog Hop!

Surprise! This week the TCP Cat Pack decided to surprise our very own Jen del Muro with a baby boy blog hop :) Jen had a baby boy, Nicolas, last week - and so it's only fitting that we welcome Nicolas with some very special TCP cards as part of our color challenge (matching little Nicolas' bedding) for this TCP Tuesday!


The hop started over at Joanne's blog, and you should be joining me from Ana's blog. For my card, I was happy to use one of my all-time favorite TCP images: "Sweet Peas" - it's perfect for baby cards!


Thanks for stopping by for our very special TCP Tuesday hop - your next stop is Amy's blog. Have fun! And congratulations once again to Jen and her family :)

Glitter!

Hi all - for this week's TCP Tuesday Challenge, Amy is challenging you to use glitter (with TCP stamps if you have them, of course!!)...you can get all the details right here on Amy's blog...have fun!!

My week is all "off" this week, with returning to school and our new schedule...my TCP card will be posted this weekend - and I'll also work on my card for next week so that I'm back on track! Ugh! Am I the only one finding it tough this week??

TCPTUES90 - A "New" Card

Hi all...I'm sorry it took so long for me to post this - I got a new version of Photoshop Elements for Christmas and have been trying to figure it out :) Anyway, the challenge for this past week was to make a card with something "new" - I used some new paper and ribbon that I picked up before the holidays. The paper is by one of my favorite companies, Basic Grey.

As for the stamp, it's one of my all-time favorites from The Cat's Pajamas - the "Fill 'Er Up" stamp. Inside I used the "Simple Math" stamp, which reads 'One Martini...Two Martini...Three Martini...Floor.' Love it!

I'd like to wish you all a happy, healthy 2010! I hope you'll continue to stop by :)