Sunflower Studio

COWGIRL PRINCESS {sfytt}

Good morning, Stampers!  I'm sharing my card for this week's SKETCH FOR YOU TO TRY.  I ran down to my parents house yesterday and that allowed me a little side-trip to the LSS where I found this fun cowgirl patterned paper from Creative Imaginations.  I knew it would lend itself perfectly to ANNA WIGHT'S COWGIRL UP set from WHIPPER SNAPPER DESIGNS.  

Now that I look at it all put together, I'm kicking myself for covering up the bucking bronco silhouettes but, oh well, that happens sometimes.    I really loved the plaid and the small floral and the strip with the pink houndstooth.  The paper had a paisley too - all in the same colors.  {I bought three sheets and they're all double sided so that's like six great coordinated papers, right?!}  I added an airbrushed Kraft circle to anchor the cowgirl image and a Nestabilities star with rhinestones to spiff up the left edge.  Nothing too outta the box here...pretty true to JEN's sketch this week.

Wanna see what the other SFYTT girls created this week?  Here's the list to make it easy peazy...

Susan Liles
Amy Rohl
Amy Sheffer
Kelly Lunceford
Megan Lock
Jenn Diercks
Amber Hight

and Jen del Muro with this month's featured guest designer, Angie Tieman.  You're gonna love what these girls have done!

COME PLAY WITH US!!
All participants are also considered for future Designer of the Month positions. Just upload your creation to the Slide guestbook and when you upload to online galleries, just use the keyword “SFYTT”.

DOG-GONE CUTE

I almost forgot to share this one with you.  I made a couple of cards a while back for a little feature on the MY FAVORITE THINGS blog.  At the time, I made this card but it turned out that this set wasn't being released at the time of the feature.  So I saved it and here it is now...

This is another of the PURE INNOCENCE sets from MFT.  It's called "Boy & Dog - Dog Gone Cute"  I know most of these little people are girls so, since I have a boy at home, it was fun to do a boy card.  These images are just soooo sweet.  I stamped the boy and dog and then masked them to work on the background.  I used a punched scalloped circle and my Copic airbrush to create the clouds.  What a cool technique, right?!  The patterned papers are in the Cosmo Cricket The Boyfriend collection and big wide ribbon is from SU!  Buttons from Creative Imaginations.

COPIC MARKER STORAGE

I know it'll be hard to believe but I found another "must have" for my craft room.  No, really, this time it's something that I really did NEED!  I came across this post on Dawn McVey's blog and knew that this was for me...The Color Cubbie from Studio 3 Solutions.  Well now that they're here I could not be happier.  My Copic markers have lived in a wide variety of different contraptions...some too small...some too big and taking up my whole desk...some just too crowded and out of control.  I bought three Cubbies so that I could keep the Copic color families together.  I like to store my markers in the same order as the Copic color chart that you can print from their website.  Makes everything easier for me to find.  

Since the people who make the Color Cubbie are in the cabinet business you're getting cabinet quality Cubbies.  They're super nice...all finished edges...so well manufactured.  I just love them.  AND, they take up so much less room on my desk since they're vertical storage.  Each section is also tilted downwards towards the back.  That means that as you pull a marker out, the others stay put and don't all come crashing down.  As far as I'm concerned, this is THE perfect storage for my Copics!

Check 'em out at STUDIO 3 SOLUTIONS...The Color Cubbie.

HOPPY SPRING

Well, it is officially Spring now and the frogs are out and about.  I took pictures of two of them this week.  We have a little stand of trees behind our house and then behind that is the library {how convenient?!} and it has a nice sized pond next to it.  So, in addition to hearing the froggies and bugs talking each night, we get to see them now and again.  The big giant toad on the right was on the patio on Sunday night.  He's huge!  I can't remember what the size of those patio tiles are - maybe 5x5?  I think he was about 3.5 to 4 inches square.  Big ole frog and look how bumpy he is.

The other frog was on the vertical wood surround at the garage door.  He was stuck on there pretty flat...waiting for a bug to fly by the lights that are mounted above.  I would say that he's more of a tree frog since he had those flat sticky looking ends on his toes.  {Are they called toes on a frog? hmmm}

Anyway, I like the wildlife.  We have a bunch of deer, a fox, a few groundhogs, squirrels, tons of birds...all of that stuff is fine with me.  I don't even mind the frogs.  I am iffy on some of the other insect type things though.  Remember my spider?!  As an update on that, I've sent my photo to three or four different people who are supposed to know about bugs.  The latest one said that it's probably a Wolf spider {don't look if you're squeamish!}.  O-kaaaay...but he also mentioned never seeing a triangular marking like our spider had.  WHAT?!  HO-WEE-KWAP...I'm still not convinced that it's not a maneater!

TCP TUESDAY #102 - COLOR CHALLENGE

Today's TCP TUESDAY challenge from JOANNE is to use this great color combo:  Poppy Red, Olive Green, Sunny Yellow and Black.  I love it when a certain set of colors really look good on your screen and these are perfect...bright and fun!

We're off to sunny Florida a week from today for Spring Break.  I had surf, sand, and sun on the brain so my card uses Penguin and his floatie from the BY THE SEA set from THE CAT'S PAJAMAS, of course.  Not only is it a nice image to color, it allows for some Crystal Effects to make the floatie shiny and three dimensional.  I started out with the intention of using JEN'S SFYTT for this week, again, but was, again, not very successful.  Oh well, you can't make everything work ALL of the time, right?  I used my new large scallop die from PTI for the strips along with black satin PTI ribbon.  All of the buttons are from TCP.  The scalloped strips are made from Cosmo Cricket Early Bird papers in both the 12x12 and 6x6 sizes.  The diamond background paper is from Bo-Bunny.

I love seeing all kinds of cards using the same colors so I'm off to add my card to Alma's SLIDE GUESTBOOK for the week.  Don't forget to do the same so that you can be included in this month's SWANKY STAMPER contest.

WELL WISHES {sfytt}

{03.20.10 ~ 10:00 pm - edited to add my finished card and details.}

Happy Spring, People!  I, for one, am sooooo happy that we have sunny warm weather.  I know we may not be done with the cold and we, for sure, will get a bunch of rain but at least I know the warm weather is just about here.  I'm a person who needs sun...SUN is a GOOD thing!

And with the first day of Spring this year comes a new SKETCH FOR YOU TO TRY.  Unfortunately, I didn't get a chance to get my card together yet this week.  I am hoping for a free moment today since I absolutely must get something done for a worthy recipient.  Our friend and SFYTT sister, Susan Liles, recently informed us that her husband, Eric, has been diagnosed with Lymphoma.  They started his treatment this past week but good, positive thoughts and well wishes can go a long way.  We're all stamping for Susan and her family this week.  Wanna help out with some positive reinforcement?  YOU can send some encouragement Susan and Eric's way by sending a card to the following address:

Eric and Susan Liles
7920 Sunrise Dr.
Watauga, Tx 76148

I decided to use some Memory Box stamps that were gathering dust on my shelf.  I loved these fun penguins and have gathered quite a few of them.  This "what's up Holmes?" sentiment was in the same release as the little detective penguin.  Isn't it silly?!  It just cracked me up so I hope that Susan and Eric will think it's funny too.  I also used new patterned paper, cardstock, buttons, and the zig zag die from PTI. {I've had a little spending issue there lately...oh dear!}  I do have to say that the dies cut like a dream.  I also had these new flowers from Prima and have been dying to use them.  I gave Sherlock a boutonniere...it's kinda big but I like it.

I obviously took a few liberties with the sketch too.  I just couldn't bring myself to add the horizontals and block out the pretty polka-dotted background paper.  Instead, I used the zig zags to represent those elements.  I think that's allowed...hope so!

Don't forget to visit the rest of the SFYTT gals and see what they've done with the sketch this week...

Amy Rohl
Amy Sheffer
Kelly Lunceford
Megan Lock
Jenn Diercks
Amber Hight

and Jen del Muro with her special guest designer, Angie Tieman.

Make sure to upload your card to Jen's SLIDE GUESTBOOK so that you can be considered for a spot as a future Designer of the Month!

TCP TUESDAY #101 - PAPER PIERCING

Today's TCP TUESDAY CHALLENGE from AMY is to do some paper piercing.  Got a piercing tool?  There are a few of them out there...check the scrapbooking tool section at Mike's or JoAnn's or try a large sewing needle.  I think a bit of paper piercing just ads that extra something sometimes.  And there are a few ways to work it into your card...to add some texture, to dress up an embellishment, to frame an image.  Give it a try and let's see what you come up with!

My card uses this funny bunny and sentiment from the TCP set called BEANS, BUNNIES, AND PEEPS, OH MY! Such a sneaky little rabbit!  The patterned papers are from the COSMO CRICKET GARGEN VARIETY collection (green, veggies) and the EARLY BIRD collection (yellow polka-dot).  I also used a page from a vintage book.

Make sure that you add your card to this week's GUEST BOOK SLIDE SHOW on ALMA'S BLOG so that you'll be considered for this month's SWANKY STAMPER contest.  Alma will also be making the big winner announcement from last week's 100th Challenge Anniversary contest at noon PST today.  You don't want to miss that.  She's also just revealed a fun new PROJECT OF THE MONTH on the CAT'S PAJAMAS website...so cute!

ERIN GO BRA!...UH WHA? {sfytt}

There are definitely days when I even question myself!  This would probably be one of them.  I needed one more St. Paddy's Day card and for whatever reason this is what came to mind.  I do love a little "tongue in cheek"...that's for sure.  So, on that note, here's PJ {Again! Can you tell that I love that little bear from THE CAT'S PAJAMAS?!}  This time let's just say it's a GIRL bear, okay?  This would be her best blingy bra...kinda like something right outta the Victoria's Secret Christmastime catalog!

This is JEN'S SKETCH FOR YOU TO TRY for this week.  Isn't it an interesting one?  The larger circle shape presented me with some challenges and I even tried a bit of felt but decided against it this time.  I can also see this sketch flipped so that the straight piece is at the bottom...might have to give that a try later.

Peek on in on the other SFYTT girls this week and see what they've done with this one.  Here's the list to make it extra easy:

Megan, Jenn, Amber, Amy S., Kelly, Susan (who's dealing with some stuff so she might be out this week but do send some positive thoughts her way), Amy R., and Jen del Muro with this month's special guest designer, Angie Tieman.

Supplies:  Stamps - PJ from Happy Camper set and hat from the A Beary Good Year set - both from The Cat's Pajamas, bra from TAC, sentiment created on the computer. Patterned Papers from Karen Foster. Ribbon and gold string from SU!. Button by Creative Imaginations. Glitter from Martha Stewart.

2010 - A BEARY GOOD YEAR CALENDAR {OCT/NOV/DEC}

AND....the last three pages in my calendar!

Again, as mentioned in the original calendar post, I'm featuring PJ THE BEAR and all of the goodies that go with him/her in the A BEARY GOOD YEAR SET.  I've also used other fun TCP stamps that you can coordinate with the bear set...how cool is that?!  Most of the patterned papers used on the calendar are from the COSMO CRICKET GIRL FRIDAY collection with a few other Cosmo patterns thrown in.  Most of the buttons are also available from THE CAT'S PAJAMAS.  I created the calendar pages on the computer and then hand-stamped the numbers and months using the TCP COOLVETICA alphabet. 

I hope I've inspired you to create your own A BEARY GOOD YEAR project!  Thanks for stopping by!

TCP TUESDAY #100 - A CONTEST AND A HOP!

 

THE CAT'S PAJAMAS design team is celebrating 100 TCP Tuesday Challenges!  Wow...that's a lot!  You should help us celebrate by joining in.  We have four special challenges this week:

A sketch challenge - samples from JEN and MYSELF.  Here's the sketch...

A color challenge - sample from JOANNE

An inspiration challenge - samples from TONI and TRACY

and A supply challenge - samples from AMY and ANA

You have a week to create as many cards as you like using any and/or all of the challenges.  And this is one contest where quantity counts!  The winner will be chosen by the number of entries they have. The more entries you create, the more of a chance you have to win. In the case of a tie, the winner will be picked at random.  All cards should be uploaded to the GUEST BOOK SLIDESHOW on ALMA'S BLOG by NOON PST on MONDAY, MARCH 15th.  Our winner will be announced on Tuesday, March 16th at noon PST on Alma's blog.

What will you win?  One winner will receive a prize pack of the hottest CAT PACK PICKS. That's seven Swanky stamp sets - one chosen by each of the Cat Pack design team members - AND some of ALMA'S favorite "licks" {buttons, glitter, and other fun TCP goodies}!! 

My favorite set?  HAPPY CAMPER (at right), of course.  Here's PJ out on the open road.  Doesn't it seem as if he's just pulled the family truckster to the side of the road and run across two lanes of highway to give us this salute?!  You gotta love him!  The patterned papers here are from the COSMO CRICKET JOYRIDE collection, with the exception of the yellow polka-dot that's from the CC Mr. Campy pack.  Buttons from Creative Imaginations and PTI.  Ribbon from PTI.  Clip and notebook punch from SU!

To help you get started, hop along with us to see what the design team has in store for you.  You're at the start of our hop right here on my blog.  Jump over to JEN'S BLOG next and then continue along from there!