Coming home :)

Nattie is on her way home from a week of fun at Camp Chief Ouray. From what she said on the phone a little while ago, she had an amazing time! I'm looking forward to hearing all the details tonight :) We'll be all together tomorrow, but then on Sunday they're off to California with Iain for a week of rollercoasters and water parks! I'll be at home since I have to work - and I'm looking forward to having the house to myself for a whole week!! Yeah!

Today's card is made with the brand new "A Cuppa" set from TCP; I really like how this card turned out with all the paper piecing and stitching; it makes it look "homey"! Have a super weekend :)

I guess we all have to eat...

It's just a little scary seeing a bear having his snack by the road when I'm driving home! That's what happens when the trash doesn't get picked up until 4pm (instead of the usual 10am)...

Inspiration

Hello all, here's my card for this week's Inspiration Challenge (see the post below for details) - I used TCP's brand new "Birthday Bunny" set and used lots of pink - the first thing that jumped out at me from the inspiration photo. I also did lots of paper piecing - which the new TCP images are fabulous for! :)

And now, back to our regularly scheduled TCP Tuesday challenge :)

It's Tuesday, which means it's time for this week's TCP Tuesday Challenge. Following a problem with my laptop, I'm finally able to get online and post for you (thanks Alma for your help last night with the Splitcoast Stampers post). This week I have an Inspiration Challenge for you - use your TCP stamps and create something for us based on this bedding from the Land of Nod :) I will post back tomorrow with a photo of my card!

To play along, upload your creation to your blog or to the Splitcoast gallery (keyword TCPTUES120), then post a link on Alma's blog for us all to see! Remember, to have a chance at being this month's Swanky Stamper you have to add that link :) Have fun!!

Back to the grind...

Tomorrow I go back to work - although I have to say I am extremely thankful that I have a job to go back to! I'm looking forward to getting back into the routine again :) The kids still have 4 weeks off. Nattie's going to camp at Winter Park all this week, and Jamie has art camp in the afternoons, so things will be quiet around here!

Today's card is another one I made using the fabulously-named "Toni's Tea Set" stamps from TCP :) The solid pink background is felt that I cut with my Nestabilities die - you can see the collections of felt here on the TCP website :) Have a super Sunday!

No more braces :)

Nattie finally got her braces off last month after 3 years of orthodontics! She let me take some up-to-date photos of her outside :)

New Release Blog Hop!

Here we go....it's finally release day! Today's the day that you can finally order your new TCP stamps - the ones we've been showing you samples of all week :) To celebrate, we're having a blog hop - and giving you the chance to see even more samples! And don't forget to check out TCP's brand new dies (buttons, flower buttons and waves) and felt, too!!

This TCP Tuesday we're celebrating our new forum on Splitcoast Stampers by mixing it up with the Dirty Dozen on their Dare To Get Dirty Challenge. The Hostess with the Mostess is our very own Dirty Dozen Alum, Leigh O'Brien. Their sketch challenge is our sketch challenge this week. Check out their challenge on the Dirty Dozen Forum on Splitcoast Stampers and see what the Dirty Dozen has done with this sketch.

Don't know about the Dirty Dozen? They are the elite of the elite. And you can get access to all of their design challenges, creations, galleries, templates and instructions. Just click here.

If you've been following the hop from the start, you'll be joining me from Sony's blog - isn't her work beautiful? She's our newest Cat Pack member :) I used the brand new "And Baby Makes..." set from TCP and also attached the buttons using TCP's Divine Twine - I love that stuff!! Alrighty, it's time for you to move on to your next stop - Amy's blog! Enjoy!

It's a hard life...

It really is tough being a cat living in the Armstrong house...Pickle is demonstrating how our cats like to live :)

Sneak Peek: Toni's Tea Set!

One of my favorite things to do is to go for afternoon tea with friends - when I was in San Jose last month I went for tea at "Lisa's Tea Treasures" with my good friends Lisa and Debbie. It was great! And whenever Alma has asked The Cat Pack for ideas for stamp sets, I have always suggested tea. What can I say? I drink several cups of Earl Grey every day; as an English girl, I think it's just in my blood :)

So I'm sure you can imagine how excited I was when Alma told us that there were some tea stamps coming up with this next release. I have had a blast playing with these sets (and the Divine Twine)...and when I saw that Alma had named one of the sets "Toni's Tea Set" - well, there is one very happy girl here in Colorado!! It is my tremendous pleasure to introduce you to Toni's Tea Set today...and don't forget to stop by Sony's blog - she's also going to have a sample made with this set for you today!

Have a Cuppa TCP Tuesday with Twine

Try saying that three times fast! :) This week Amy is hostessing TCP Tuesday and she wants us to use twisty twine on our creations! Alma has some awesome twine in the TCP store that The Cat Pack has been playing with for a few weeks now - it's fabulous! It doesn't get frizzy and the color selection is awesome! Check out the "Divine Twine" right here...

For my card I used the upcoming "A Cuppa" set (part of next week's release!). As you can see, this is a nice large image of PJ, complete with apron that is perfect for coloring and/or paper piecing. Doesn't she look sweet? The "soup" sentiment is a separate stamp within the set, so the cup could just as easily be used to show coffee or tea (yum! More about tea on Thursday!).

Sneaky Peek Week :)

Today is the start of a week of sneak peeks from The Cat Pack, leading up to The Cat's Pajamas' new release on July 20th! You are going to LOVE these new sets - I promise you! The Cat Pack has had tons of fun working with these over the past few weeks, and along with stamps there are some new products that you will enjoy!

Here's the plan for the week:

Monday - Joanne and Ana

Tuesday - Amy, Jen and Sony

Wednesday - Carole, Leigh and Ana

Thursday - Toni (me!) and Sony

Friday - Tracy, Jen and Amy

Saturday - Carole, Sony and Joanne

Sunday - Leigh, Alma and Ana

Monday - Tracy, Alma and Susan

There's a Grand Prize up for grabs too - just be sure to leave a comment at each of the Sneaky Peekers' blogs and you'll be eligible to win :) The winner will be announced at the TCP Pajama Party on Splitcoast Stampers next Monday, July 19th! Happy peeking :)

The beach....

Here's the beach at Atlantis - the water was crystal-clear and warm :)

Home again!

We're back from visiting Atlantis in the Bahamas - what a fabulous place - especially for families with kids! We were there for 5 days. Beautiful weather, spectacular scenery, fireworks on the 4th, and water slides and pools galore :) What's not to like? This slide is called the "Challenge" - two people slide down at the same time and there's a clock at the side of each one to show how long it took to slide down. Nattie made it in just under 5 seconds; Iain was about half a second behind her. Will post more tomorrow :)

TCP Tuesday - a Summer Color Challenge!

Hi there, just checking in with a quick post with this week's TCP Tuesday details - as you can see, it's a color challenge! Our super hostess this week is Joanne, so be sure to stop by her blog and get all the info on how to play along :)

I'll be back from Atlantis in a few days with a full report of our fun in the sun!

Fluffles! And BIG TCP NEWS!

Fluffles (by Stampendous) is one of my favorite images to stamp, being a big fan of cats (we do have 5 of them, after all!)...and being a member of TCP's Cat Pack helps feed my addiction, too :)

I'm heading off on vacation, but will be back next weekend. I've set up a TCP Tuesday post to pop up during the week, so be sure to stop by and find out what Joanne has come up with for us. And after that, the sneak peeks of TCP's upcoming release will begin! Oh - and did you know that TCP is now a member company over on Splitcoast Stampers? Click here to see the TCP forum where Alma and The Cat Pack will be chatting about everything TCP!

Happy Thursday!

Hello all, I hope you're having a terrific Thursday! Today's card was made with a "Peel-Off" sticker and then I colored it - a fun change! Tulips are one of my favorite flowers - they always make me smile :)

Getting the laundry done today, starting to get ready for vacation! Woooo hooooo!