Sites of the week

Greetings from Texas where it has gone from 80 degrees to 30 degrees…yuck! Fortunately, I am playing hooky on {fitness} Boot Camp today, so I won’t be suffering running stadiums in the freezing air. I have two classes today that I am teaching. The first one is my Copic I class and then the other is the Sweet Treats class that I showed/told you about yesterday. The Sweet Treats class is also available by mail! Contact me {email link under my pic} if you are interested.

Don’t forget to send a card to Julie at DBU and enter your self in the drawing for $450 worth of stampin’ stuff!! All of the information and list of prizes can be found HERE.

Before I get right into the Sketch For You To Try, I want to introduce you to our newest team member…KELLY LUNCEFORD {aka atomicbutterfly}. I have long been a fan of her work and I think that she is the perfect addition to the SFYTT crew. Please give her a warm welcome!

Do you {heart} my sketches? Well, show the love on your blog with this blinkie badge. Click HERE to get it…

Now onto biz-ness! Here is the sketch for this week…

I have been on a vertical card kick lately, so it was nice to do one that was horizontal. Here is my sample using stamps from My Favorite Things…

This month’s Designer of the Month, Kirsten DuBosque, was on the same wavelength as me. Bright and MFT! I’m not sure where the sentiment is from, but it’s HILARIOUS!…

Wanna see more samples? Give some love to…
Amy Rohl
Amy Sheffer
Shannan Teubner
Susan Liles
Carole Burrage
and the newbie…Kelly Lunceford

If you play along, just link your card on this post. When you upload to SCS, use the keyword SFYTT so we can see them all in one place. There are no rules to these sketches, just use your creativity and HAVE FUN!

Better to post late than never, right?

I’ve been busy preparing for my Copic and Sweet Treats class that I am having tomorrow at Imprints in Fort Worth. If you are interested in taking either of the classes, there are just a few spots left. You can call to reserve your spot at 817-294-4600. Cost for the class is $25. If you are interested in taking this class via mail {all items pre-stamped}, please email me {link under my pic}.

Today I want to show you what I am doing for my Sweet Treats class. The class consists of 3 projects: a heart hanger “box” that holds Hershey Kisses, a Mini Pizza Box (this particular one uses the dimensions that Val Stangle uses for the smaller version of my design) and a Hoo Loves You box. The Hoo Loves You box shown is a take-out box, but I had to switch it to a clear acetate box as my supplier {Target} no longer carries them {waaaaaa!}.

I hope you all have a WONDERFUL Friday. See you manana for another SKETCH FOR YOU TO TRY where I will be announcing the addition of a new team member that you are sure to {heart}.

The incredible Sara has created a blinkie for my sketches! If you love participating and want this blinkie badge for yourself, click HERE to get the code.

I hope to have a pdf file of all the sketches on that same page soon. Not really sure how I am defining “soon” right now, but I do want to get all of them in one file over there. I know that several of you have requested this, as well. I am listening, but I just have not found the time quite yet.

There are only 10 days left to enter to win the AMAZING BLOG TART worth over $450. Get your card in the mail today and don’t forget to enter all your info on the OFFICIAL ENTRY post.

Also, new BC Dzyns stamps, as well as Paper Doll sayings are now available at MFT. Check out the bundle deal that includes a $10 gift certificate towards your next purchase HERE.

Today I am doing double duty on my challenges. Since it’s Tuesday, that means it’s TCP Tuesday and since it’s the 20th of the month, that means it’s time for the Dirty Dozen/DIrty Dozen Alumni Challenge.

The TCP Tuesday challenge calls for use of any Valentine’s image from The Cat’s Pajamas and the guidelines for the DD/DDA Challenge are as follows:
Challenge Focus: A Valentine’s Day/Love-y Dove-y card!!
Required Element: Texture!! Anything you can *feel*
Restricted Element: No RED!! Pink is ok…but no red.

You can see the other Dirty Girl creation in THIS GALLERY on SCS.

So, here is my card that I believe meets all of the criteria of the 2 challenges…

The image comes from the TCP set, Loving Mew, and the sentiments is from Be Still, My Beating Heart. Both are part of this month’s Kitty Kat Pack that can be found HERE.

As for the other elements, I used satin ribbon, stitching and the Swiss Dots Cuttlebug embossing folder for my texture. As you can see, there is NO RED (eeeek!!!…I really wanted to use some!). I’m not sure if you can see in the picture, but the heart on top of the car is raised up with a dimensional and the windshield has Sakura Stardust pen over it. To achieve the light glittery effect with this pen, I outlined the windshield and then took an aqua painter filled with rubbing alcohol {as not to damage the paper} and pulled the glitter throughout the image.

So, wanna play along with the TCP Tuesday challenge?…EVERYONE can! Here’s what you are gonna want to know…
1. Each a week one of the The Cat’s Pajamas DT Members will host a challenge.
2. The challenges will vary {stamp, color, theme/inspiration, sketch, etc.}
3. You will have until {this} Saturday night to complete the challenge.
4. Link your project on this week’s hostess’ challenge announcement. This week you will link your project on THIS post on Karrie’s blog.
5. TCP stamps are not required, but of course, highly encouraged. {Unless it is a challenge calling for a specific stamp}
6. There will be one winner each month. They will be deemed that month’s Swankiest Stamper and get $25 in Cat’s Cash {money to spend on the TCP site!}.
7. When uploading to SCS, please use the keyword TCPTUES42 for this challenge.
8. Alma will post the entries from the week the following Monday on her blog.
9. The newly crowned Swanky Stamper will be announced on the First of the Month and have his/her winning entry posted on The Cat’s Pajamas website where he/she will reign for the entire month.
10. Oh yea…HAVE FUN!

Have you sent yours yet??…

Wanna win $450 worth of stamping goodies? Click HERE to see how. HERE is the official entry post.

Today, I am kicking off the Verve Stamps Project Parade over on the Verve blog. This month’s theme is A KID AT HEART. If you are unfamiliar with the monthly Project Parade, it is a series of posts from the Design Team showing fun ways to use your new Verve Stamps. By playing along with the challenge, you have a chance to win a gift certificate to spend on the Verve site.
With “A Kid At Heart” in mind, I knew that I wanted to do a fun Valentine’s gift that was kid friendly. I created a tic-tac-toe game in a cd tin using the newest releases, Hundred Hearts and Hearts on Fire.

The pocket {made from Dream Street DP} contains a sentiment that slides out…

Here is a detail of some of the texture of the front. I wanted lots of details and texture, so I went to town with the “more is more” theory in my head. The white panel is embossed with the Cuttlebug Swiss Dots embossing folder, as is the pink heart. The brown satin ribbon is from Taylored Expressions (love this stuff!) and the pink satin ribbon is from Papertrey Ink. I stitched around the edges of the My Mind’s Eye polka dot paper and added Zva Creative rhinestones on each of the dots, also available at Taylored Expressions. The K & Co. flower on the front was a last minute addition, and I really feel that it brought a lot to the panel.

Finally, the inside of the tin…

The same polka dot paper lines the inside of the tin. I stitched the board lines and at the intersection of the lines I used punched circles and hearts with a Zva Creative rhinestone for added detail. The game pieces are embossed and I used small pieces of magnet on the back of the hearts so that they would stick to the tin.