Sites of the week

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Happy Tuesday Everyone! The weatherman tells us it’s the eve of another occurrence of the white stuff around here. As a year round flip flop wearer, I do not approve. Fortunately, we are stocked up on food {from a trip to Wal-Mart with both kids that I just as soon erase from my memory!!} and ready to hunker down {again!} if needed. Although, I am not sure that my sanity can endure any extended period of time being locked in my house with my own offspring. Last week I was beginning to understand why wild animals eat their young! LOL!! Ok, it wasn’t that bad, but I’m thinking that Mother Nature owes me one!

Being that it is Tuesday, it’s also TCP Tuesday and this week I am your Hipster Hostess with the Mostess for this week’s challenge. I’ve passed the reigns of the supply/technique challenge over to Julie and have taken over the Inspiration Challenge for The Cat’s Pajamas {pssst…there are a few great changes in the works, so stay tuned!}. For this week’s Inspiration Challenge, I present you with this…

It’s easy to be inspired by the browns and blues that can be found in all the pics, but I invite you to step out of that sweet lil’ comfort zone and find a little something else in these pictures. Like what, you ask? Well, let’s take a look…

Picture #1 has a great layout, a circle and a vertical “sentiment”
Picture #2 has different kinds of buttons {in layers}, circles and even a ribbon dangling down
Picture #3 Look at all those layers!, again with the circles, stripes and it’s pretty obvious {I think} it’s a wedding {love!} cake

With all those things in mind, I came up with this sweet lil’ tag…

Detail shot…

I am so loving the new set, Love Letters {used in conjunction with the A Beary Good Year set} which coordinates with the Stamp Trio CutUps used on the tag! That brings me to my love story, which I used as my inspiration.

Waaaay back in 2002, I found myself {somewhat} fresh out of college and living back at home in Scottsdale, AZ after a rough breakup. It was during that time I decided I needed a fresh start. I decided to move to San Diego…with no friends, no family, no job. A completely clean slate! I started looking for a place to live and quickly realized that I would need a roommate or get used to the idea of living in 300 square feet on my own. Seriously, that’s all I could afford on my budget! Luckily, I discovered a roommate service online and got an email that let me know that there was a room for rent in a downtown condo. I responded to the ad and spoke with the landlord. We spoke again, and again and again It was Tony! I decided to travel out there and take a look at the place and it was then we knew that we were “the one” for each other. I went ahead and moved in a few months {and several trips back and forth} later and the rest is history!

Well, during our time apart we {went old school and} wrote a few letters back and forth. It was such a nice surprise to come home and find a love note waiting for me. Those love notes later lead to vows. Those letters were my inspiration to use the stamps I chose, I then added the colors, buttons and dots from the pictures.

So what will you use as inspiration here? Come stamp with us for a chance at some Cat Cash! Here are the deets you need to know…

1. Each a week one of The Cat’s Pajamas DT members will host a challenge.
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 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. You can post to the SCS Gallery, using the keyword TCPTUES145, but only designs posted to Alma’s 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.

I also want to mention that we have a NEW DT Member at TCP. Please give a HUGE welcome to the WILDLY TALENTED…TORI WILD!!