Good News!

Remember these cards?

Santa Baby

Smile!!!
Cat Rule #377

They were all made with images from the website http://www.squigglefly.com/, and I'm happy to tell you that as of 9am (CDT) this morning, the website is live! Woot! Be sure to take a look!

I have been busy putting up Christmas decorations, so I haven't had any time to stamp. The good news is the decorations are out, and all I have left is the tree. So far it has about half of the lights on (note to self: buy pre-lit tree next year). I'm hoping to finish the lights tomorrow and then start the ornaments. It's a 9 ft tree, and there is not an empty branch to be found when I'm done with it, so it takes some time. I'll be sure to share pictures when I'm done. :)

In the absence of a card, I want to give a shout out to Michelle W. , who gave me this award:

And Tangii, who recently gave me this award:

Thanks so much girls! I'm honored, and so glad to know that my ramblings every day might make you smile, and maybe my cards inspire you in some way. :)

I stink at playing along with these things, so I decided that instead of tagging 8 or 10 other fabulous blogs, I'd just point you to a blog or two I read regularly that you might not be aware of.

Today, I thought I'd share the newest addition to my reader is Bake at 350. I have been on the search for a perfect cut-out cookie recipe for the past few years, and perfect decorating tips and ideas to go with it. I'd love to find a recipe for both a cookie and a frosting/glaze that tastes as good as the soft and yummy cut-outs you get in the bakery. I lovvve the way she decorates the cookies on this blog, and I'm going to try my hand at this flood icing when it gets a little closer to Christmas.

Another favorite is Bloggin' With Bobbi. She has some awesome photography skills and great tutorials for Photoshop Elements. I'm always learning something new over there!

I'm hoping to be back tomorrow with a new card to share, so I'll see you then!

Smile!!!

Here is the last of the squigglefly.com images that Holly sent me to play with. Isn't she just the cutest little thing? Believe it or not, this is actually a birthday card for my uncle. I had every intention of making a masculine card. Really, I did. I started with a Bordering Blue card base, and then it all went awry. lol! Did I mention he is 6'2, a hunter, fisherman, and retired army officer? This should be right up his alley, no? lmao. Ah well, he'll love it because it's from me. That's the beautiful thing about family. :o)

While I was coloring those diamonds on her shirt, I thought of the Print Pattern background stamp by Stampin' Up! I thought it would coordinate well, and then I stumbled over this diamond pattern ribbon in my stash while I was looking for a white satin ribbon. Score! Diamonds galore! Hey, that rhymed. :)

And I just realized I forgot to take a picture of the inside of the card. It's cute... it says, "Laugh!!! This is your present!" hee hee.

Don't forget today is also a CBC Challenge day. This week's challenge is to make a bagalope. I didn't play along this week, but if you decide to play be sure to link your creation to Courtney's blog for a chance to win a little prize! Check out the links of the other CBC Challenge Chicks for some great inspiration, too.

I also want to say thank you to Amber over at So Many Colors, So Little Time and my toddler mommy friend Merry at Random Thoughts of a Confessed Stampaholic for awarding me the Kreativ Blogger Award. Thanks so much for the honor, ladies. I can't tell you how much I appreciate it!

Santa Baby

Ok, so as it turns out, it was a secret that these images (like the one I used yesterday) were going to be available online. Doh! In my defense, no one ever actually mentioned that tiny detail to me. So, I unknowingly blew the lid off the little secret yesterday when I mentioned it on my blog. Surprise! ;)

Well, now that everyone (or at least the 100 or so who read this blog) knows, I might as well keep going, right? Right! Here is the second image that Holly sent me. I think this girl intended to be on a beach sunning herself somewhere, but let's face it -- she came to Wisconsin. LOL! So, here she sits in a little pile of snow:

I colored the bikini with my copics, and then added liquid applique to the top of both pieces. Once it puffed up (after heating), I added a little glue and glitter. I actually drew the santa hat myself, and added the liquid applique on that as well. The sentiments are printed on the computer, but unfortunately I don't recall the name of that font. Sorry! The holly brad (isn't that CUTE?!) is by Making Memories, from their Fa La La line. I bought a pack of them (12 berry brads with 24 leaves) at Michael's. The three berries you see there are actually all one big brad.

And here's the inside of the card:

Hey, like I said, she's in Wisconsin now. She's going to need something a little warmer to wear if she's going to make it through the winter up here. ;o)

In case you missed the edit at the bottom of yesterday's post, these images are going to be available on www.squigglefly.com. Go ahead and bookmark the site, and I'll be sure to post here when it goes live so everyone remembers! It's the least I could do, having blown the cover and all. *wink*

Enjoy the day, and STAY WARM! Oh, and while you're at it, check out the HUGE blog candy available over at Heartful Stamping!

Cat Rule #377

I'm sure most of you are familiar with the stamp company My Favorite Things. One of the stamp lines MFT carries is called BC Dzyns. Are you with me so far? lol. :) One of my favorite blogger friends, Holly, happens to be the mother of the girl, Chesney, who designs those stamps. Chesney is branching out, and will soon be offering some of her other images online in a downloadable (is that a word?) format, and this is one of those images. Holly emailed it to me, and asked if I would create something with it and feature it on my blog to help raise interest in her daughter's images. I was thrilled to help. I've been in love with Chesney's drawings since day one! Holly - if I mis-spoke anywhere, please correct me in a comment!

The DP here is from Basic Grey's retired Blush line. I printed the sentiment on my computer, using the 2PeasFancyFree font. The kitty is colored with copic markers. What? You've never seen a kitty wearing eye shadow before? Well, clearly you're hanging around with the wrong cats. ;)

Holly sent me two other super fun images as well. I have them all printed with matching sentiments ready to go. I'm hoping I'll have more stamp time in the next few days so I can get them posted for you. I also have a super cool bella project to post that I've been holding back from you for MONTHS. I finally sent it to the recipient though, so I can share it one of these days... Keep coming back - there are good things in store!

Speaking of Holly, she happens to be running some big time blog candy right now, so be sure to check out her blog. :)

Edited to add: Holly tells me the website where these will be available for download is www.squigglefly.com. The site is not up and running yet, but I'll keep you posted on that!