Sites of the week

It’s cool and cozy and I am curling up to watch a movie with my honey, so I am going to make this short and sweet!

Here’s this week’s sketch…

Did you know that you can get the sketches early? Just become a Facebook Fan {link over there on the left sidebar} and you can get the sketch on Friday nights!

Here’s my sample, using the newly released set, PC Santa, from The Cat’s Pajamas…

OMG…I love that Divine Twine! My stash is almost in need of a refill! Here’s a little about this set from Alma {TCP owner extraordinaire}…

When I was growing up in the sixties, we were all aware of being green and being healthy. Living in San Francisco, we took recycling and conservation like a duck to water. I guess there is a little hippie in me, because when there was a resurgence in green living and recycling recently, I got excited that more people were getting involved in living healthy, happier lives. And since Anthony’s heart attack it made me really aware of being “Heart Healthy”, too. So when Susan Blanchard did this drawing for me of this Santa, I just had to smile. A green, politically correct Santa, delivering his gifts via wind and Santa power. Good for the environment and good for his heart. Literally. Gotta love it.

A huge THANKS to Stephanie Muzzulin, this month’s Designer of the Month. She created several one of a kind beauties and this one is no exception…

Want more great samples? Check out what the SFYTT Sisters cooked up this Thanksgiving weekend…

Susan Liles
Amy Rohl
Amy Sheffer
Megan Lock
Amber Hight
Sony Christoph
Jodi Collins
Jenn Diercks
Kelly Lunceford
Leigh O’Brien

I hope that you will play along with us! Just link your creation to the inlinkz linking system below and if you upload to online galleries, use the keyword SFYTT, please.

This month’s theme for the Verve Project Parade is Triple Play! All of the designers have created a trio of Verve goodness for all Verve fans to feast on. I created 3 jars filled with homemade caramel sauce and topped them with pretty jar toppers. You can see all those jars HERE on the Verve blog. Here is the recipe for the DELICIOUS CARAMEL SAUCE {adapted from the HowDoesShe? recipe}

3/4 c. white sugar
3/4 c. light brown sugar
7 T salted butter
1/4 c. light corn syrup
2/3 c. warm heavy whipping cream

1. Heat sugars, butter, and corn syrup to a boil, stirring constantly.
2. Turn heat to lowest setting for 12 minutes, lightly stirring occassionally.
3. Remove from heat for 6 minutes, stirring once.
4. Stir in warm heavy whipping cream and pour into jars and allow to cool.
5. Enjoy! Refrigerate any portion you don’t immediately inhale You can heat up small portions to drizzle {pour} over apple pie or…I mean AND…ice cream.

I haven’t tried this yet, but I have heard that you can replace a few tablespoons of the heavy whipping cream with flavored creamer {I’m thinking vanilla would be DIVINE!!}, orange juice or whiskey, even! You can also make cinnamon caramel sauce by adding in a cinnamon stick when you remove the sauce from the heat. Discard cinnamon stick before jarring.

I’ve heard a lot of buzz about the new release from The Cat’s Pajamas…it’s well deserved, for sure! This is probably my favorite release from TCP! I think that there is a little bit of something for everyone out there! I have a few more cards to show that I haven’t already posted. If you were at the release party on SCS, these might look a little familiar…

From the new set, You Suit Me…

Here are a couple of detail shots of the coloring and the layers…

The new set, Round the Chimney along with the new Apron Lace CutUps die..

One more! This one uses the new set, Your Gift, as well as the Pennants CutUps and Inside Pinking CutUps dies…

Alma, the sweet owner of TCP, has a sweeeeeter than pumpkin pie deal for you, too…

I hope everyone has a very happy and safe Thanksgiving! We are staying here and enjoying a huge breakfast for dinner spread and watching as much football as possible!

Stop the presses!! All the new release stamps and CutUps are now available at The Cat’s Pajamas. Before you go zooming over there, feel free to stay awhile and check out the new TCP Tuesday Challenge and Blog Hop! I am the start of the hop and when you leave here, you will be hopping along to the super sweet and talented, Amy’s blog. This is a LOOOONG post, and she’s linked all the way at the bottom, too!

This week, I am your Hipster Hostess with the Mostess and I bring forth a super fun challenge for you…

Create an embellishment using die cuts.

Instead of paying upwards of $5 or $6 for a single package of embellishments, you can just reach for your paper and die cuts to create fabby additions to all your projects!

Here’s the embellishment I came up with using two of the new CutUps dies from TCP. The fun swirly border is the Apron Lace border and, of course, I had to use the new Snowflake CutUps, too. I think that I am going to need a support group because of this die cut…LOL!

As you can see, it’s attached to a banner. This kind of embellishment could easily be attached to a card, bag, tag or scrap page but I couldn’t resist making a new banner for my entry way table using the Pennants CutUps. Just as an FYI-you get 2 sizes of pennants/banners PLUS the scalloped matting for a total of 4 dies in this set. Here’s the banner in full…

A couple of detail shots…

I cut the letters out with my Cricut and My the Cut software and then glittered them up with Martha Stewart tinsel glitter. I didn’t have enough Stickles to use as the glue for the glitter, so it’s not quite as bling-blingy as I would have liked, but I still think it looks pretty darn good.

I used the Button CutUps to die cut felt {also from TCP} to create these little embellishments that adorn the top corners of the banner, as well as the center of rosette snowflake sentiment embellishment {say that 3 times fast!!} on either end. And, of course, I couldn’t resist using some of the fabby dabby doo Divine Twine!!

Here’s a little ‘How To’ for the TCP Snowflake Rosettes…

First, score a piece of paper measuring 11.75″ x 1.5″ every .25″…

Next, die cut the edges using the Apron Lace CutUps die from The Cat’s Pajamas. Note: I do this after I score so that I don’t tear through the delicate swirled edges…

Adhere both ends together, creating a circle…

Next, you will actually create the rosette by “squishing” the straight edges in onto a glue dot {I used hot glue…be careful when doing this-it’s HOT} on a punched circle…

Then, embellish as desired I cut out the Snowflake CutUps die with 3 sheets of tissue paper and then spritzed them with Glimmer Mist so that they are slightly shiny…and much more fun!

Some stuff you might wanna know about the new release…

**All of the new release stamps and CutUps are available now on the TCP site.
**FREE SHIPPING from today through Monday! No need to wait for any Black Friday deals for that! Sweeeeeet!

Want to play along with our challenge to make your own embellishments using die cuts? Here are the TCP Tuesday challenge deets…

Want to play along with our challenge?? Here are the deets.

1. Each a week one of The Cat’s Pajamas DT members will host a challenge. <--It's me this week!
2. The challenges will vary {stamp, technique/supply, color, theme, sketch, etc.}
3. You will have until the end of the month to complete the challenge.
4. Link to your post using the Inlinkz button on Alma’s/The TCP 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. Only designs posted to the this blog will be considered for the Swanky Stamper.
8. 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.

Ok, off you go now to AMY’s blog for some more new release goodness and more embellishments using our new CutUps dies!

First, I want to give a big THANK YOU to Sparkle Creations for sponsoring us last week! What fun images to play with! The random participant from last week’s sketch that wins 2 Sparkle stamps is…

#14 PIALI

Piali, send me an email {link under my pic to the left} and we will get you all set up with those new stamps!

This week’s sketch is a fun one with lots of possibilities! Tell me what you think of this one…

I took a few creative liberties with this sketch to come up with this card using stamps from The Cat’s Pajamas that will be released Nov. 23 {see previous posts for more deets!}…

There are TONS of TCP elements in this card. If you haven’t noticed, I haven’t been able to put down my red Divine Twine. If I’m this addicted at Christmas, I can’t imagine what it’s gonna be like for Valentine’s Day! I attached it to the button, and then again to a small jingle bell to place between her hands. In addition to the red divine twine, I also used some yummy red felt for the heart. This isn’t the cheapo stuff from Mike’s! It cuts smooth to create a professional looking embellishment {if i do say so myself!}. Can you see that I flocked the bottom edge and the cuffs of her coat?…

I also stamped the jingle bells onto the music sheet paper from The Girls’ Paperie…

This snowflake CutUps die will also be available with the new release. I love that you can leave it plain or dress it up in so many ways. I used some flatback pearls to give it a little something here..

Designer of the Month, Stephanie Muzzulin, created this cutie…

Want more great samples of this sketch? Check out with the SFYTT Sisters have done…
Susan Liles
Amy Rohl
Amy Sheffer
Megan Lock
Amber Hight
Sony Christoph
Jodi Collins
Jenn Diercks
and she’s BAAAAAAACK…
Kelly Lunceford
and she is coming back, too!!…
Leigh O’Brien

You can see more sneak peeks of the upcoming release from The Cat’s Pajamas from Ana and Tracy, too!

InLinkz is down for maintenance right now, so hold onto those cards and I will have something up later today hopefully

ETA: Looks like InLinkz is up and running again. Very sad that they are going to become a pay site soon, tho!