Sites of the week

Psst… Blog Tart on THIS POST!

Have I mentioned how cute Ellie is these days? SERIOUSLY…OMGoodness!!! Well the title of this post makes me laugh because when there is a lot of something she says “Lotsa, lotsa…” She does it in the most serious voice, too. Cracks me up every time. She says that “Daddy has lotsa lotsa freckles.” and that she has “Lotsa lotsa dinosaurs.” We had “lotsa lotsa fun” this weekend when her Auntie came to visit. Here she is in Auntie’s glam glasses…

No more piggie tales, Auntie also cut her hair {very much needed!}…

The “after” pic is coming soon. Right now the only one I have is from her eating a Sunday morning doh-doh {donut} and the chocolate smudge makes her look like she has a Hitler mustache. While it’s cute, I think I would rather show a better shot of the cutie patootie!

As the title of this post suggests, I have lotsa lotsa cards to see. The first is a sneak peak at the next Verve release {THIS WEDNESDAY!}. Release party details HERE! More sneak peak from other Design Team Members HERE.

This card features two sets, Abundant Blessings and So Happy. I am really liking keeping it simple (KISS) and letting the images and colors do all the “talking.” I know that there are some of you that are thinking that you don’t need another floral set, but just wait! I’m tellin’ ya that this one will make it into your collection.

I also noticed that I have lotsa lotsa cards…{{um, well does 3 count as “lotsa lotsa”?}} that are from the August release that I haven’t shown yet. Here ya go…

***ETA…Butterfly paper from American Crafts! of course! ***

That’s all folks! See you manana for TCP Tuesday…in which I am the Hostess With The Mostess!

Greetings from Saginaw, TX! I know that a lot of people have been “rubbing it in” that they are in Chicago. So, if you were one of the ones that is still at home hungry for CHA updates, rest assured that you are not the only one. It’s probably a good thing that I am at home because I am STILL not feeling all that well {ugh!!!}. I went to the doc on Thursday and he loaded me up with a little of this and a little of that. So far I’m feeling better, but my cough is persistent and is persistently wearing me out! Not enough to keep me away from the zoo on Friday though! Ellie and I took a little morning trip to the Fort Worth Zoo and, boy, was that an experience!! I guess I assumed that all the carnivores ate before the doors opened. Well, you know what they say about assuming! We got really close view of one of the tigers with his breakfast…a white {and red} rabbit!! Ewww! We watched for a minute while he tossed it around {already dead, btw}, but I wasn’t quite in the mood to watch him rip it to shreds…especially with Ellie saying, “bunny, bunny bunny.” I’m pretty sure that would be a first class ticket to therapy for her later in life. I’m sure I’ll have plenty more chances for that!

Anywhooo…enough about seeing the food chain come to life. Let’s talk stampin’! Better yet, today’s SKETCH FOR YOU TO TRY!!

Here’s the sketch…

My sample using MFT stamps and Amy Butler paper from K&Co. …

Guest Designer, Jessie Knight’s sample…

This sketch “challenge” is open to everyone to try, and I hope that you will play along. Be sure to link your projects to this post and if you upload to SCS, please use the keyword SFYTT.

Be sure to check out samples from my buds… Amy R., Amy S., Carole {??not sure if she is playing bc she is at CHA}, Susan and Shannan.

I’m going to go ahead and tell you now…this is going to be a long post. A fun one, but a long one.

Let’s start things off with TCP Tuesday…

I am your {Guest} Hipster Hostess With The Mostess this week. Carole’s off living the dirty girl life, and asked if I would take over for the inspiration challenge this week. Not only is it just plain fun, but she’s a good bud, so there was no way that I would say “no.” Your inspiration for this challenge is a swatch of Michael Miller fabric…

I chose this piece of inspiration because there is so much to play off of…colors, the geometry, the florals, the repetition {I could go on}. The main focus that I used for my sample was geometry and color. Normally I print an inspiration piece out, but this time I didn’t. I felt a lot better about not constantly referring to it and just letting my creativity do the walking, ahem…stamping, cutting, embossing, etc…

Here’s my sample…

Detail shot…

Stamps: Sunburst Curtain, Big Thanks {The Cat’s Pajamas}
Paper: Chocolate Chip, Whisper White, Purely Pomegranate, Pink Pirouette, Baja Breeze {Stampin’ Up!}
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Baja Breeze {Stampin’ Up!}
Other: Sewing Machine, Ribbon, Cuttlebug Embossing Folder, Nestabilities Scallop Square Die, Flower Punch, Ticket Corner Punch

Stuff you should know about TCP Tuesday…

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 {ME, this week}. This week you will link your project HERE.
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 TCPTUES16 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.

**************

Onto fun family stuff…
Ellie’s birthday party was a blast. She has such a good time and it was so fun to see her get excited for the party. Thank goodness it’s over…if I hear “pink cupcakes” anytime soon, I might just have to be sick! Boy, was she THRILLED about those!! Here’s a picture of one of the cupcakes that my friend created for the party…

And what they look like when a 2 year old gets a hold of one…

PRESENTS!!!… {boy, did she get SPOILED!!}

Now for a little story that I just have to share…
Yesterday, Ellie came with me to the post office. Like 90% of the times that we go to the post office, it was packed. This time it was so busy that I had to park across the street. When we came out, it was just as crazy and instead of attempting to turn around right there I drove up the street to do a U-Turn…which ended up being more of a 3-point turn. In the middle of me turning around, a “little” voice from the back says, “Try Again!” LOL!!!

***I will be taking off Wednesday, Thursday and Friday from blogging. I have been under the weather and need to catch up on some stampin’ stuff as well as some much needed rest. Of course, I wouldn’t miss a Saturday and a SKETCH FOR YOU TO TRY. See ya then!!

July 7…My Dad turned 70!!
July 8…Ellie turned 2 and our friends welcomed a baby girl
Today, July 10…Tony’s Auntie’s Birthday

HAPPY BIRTHDAY {GREAT} AUNTIE PATTI a.k.a. Auntie Weirdest! This is a card that I made for her special day…

I brought out a slew {ok, 4} of Inque Boutique stamps from The Purple Turtle Stamp Shoppe to make this card. This is the second card that I have used Jazzy Punctuation on. Susan was over when I was making this and we were laughing about how we love brackets. We have no idea what the appeal is, but we love ‘em. You know me…if you add some polka dots to it, it’s even sweeter! For the mini calendar with the cake marking today, I used the Build A Calendar set. Cute, huh? The 100% Original {I did say “Auntie Weirdest”} stamp comes from the Build A Tag mini set. This set reminds me of the SU! Set, Stamp Of Authenticity…except this one is only $3.99!! The fourth and final set that I used was Retro Shapes. I got this set because I love how girly it is and how I can use it to make backgrounds, like I did here. As for the final touches on this card, I crazy stitched the left side of the Spring Moss and Berry Sorbet (Papertrey colors} panel. That yummy ribbon is from May Arts and I have finally started to use it a little. The right side of the card is embossed with the Bloom Dots Cuttlebug embossing folder. Don’tcha love that polka dotted brad in the center of that Prima?!? I had to go get “extras” of these so I would quit hoarding the ones that I already had…now that is BAAAD!

See you tomorrow with a little “trick” that I use!

Stamps: Inque Boutique
Paper: Kraft, Spring Moss, Berry Sorbet {Papertrey Ink}; Basic Black, Whisper White {SU!}
Ink: Berry Sorbet {Papertrey Ink}, Basic Black {SU!}
Other: Ribbon {May Arts}, Brads {Making Memories}, Flowers {Prima}, Eyelets, Sewing Machine, Dimensional Glue Dots, Punches

I can’t believe that Ellie is TWO already!! I swear it was yesterday when I called Tony home from work at just after 8 (yes, he just got there) to tell him that it was time. That was actually the 7th. At 2:39 am on July 8th Elena “Ellie” made her debut. If you are doing the math, add a few more hours for when my water broke the night before calling Tony home. That’s 29 hours total!!!…after my doctor told me not to hold my breath on her being born anytime soon. Today I can officially call her my terrible 2 year old…in the most loving way possible, of course. We have a little party planned for her on Saturday and I will certainly have pictures to share. For now, here is her {over the top, more may not be more here, it’s for a 2 year old} card…

Stamps: Faux Ribbon {Papertrey Ink}
Ink: Brilliance Graphite Black {Tsukineko}
Paper: DP {American Crafts}; Plum Pudding {Papertrey Ink}; Pretty In Pink {SU!}
Other: Cuttlebug Dies, “2″ Chipboard {SU!}; Rose Quartz Glitter {Martha Stewart}; Crystal Flowers {Heidi Swapp}; Plum Pudding Twill {Papertrey Ink}

Don’t forget, today is TCP Tuesday!

I haven’t gotten my card done for the challenge {insert plea for more hours in day here}, but be sure to see all the deets on Leigh’s blog.