TCP Tuesday!

It's that time again!

Head on over to Leigh's Blog today.

She is the Hipster Hostess with the Mostess for this week. And she's hosting a fantabulous Sketch challenge. She's using this wonderful sketch to challenge herself and you. Won't you play along?

Want some even more inspiration? Check out the DT members to the left throughout the day to see their great cards.


Now I want to see yours.

Here are the deets. (Lifted from Ana's page.)
1. Each a week one of The Cat’s Pajamas DT members will host a challenge.
2. The challenges will vary {stamp, color, theme, 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. 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 or PCP, please use the keyword TCPTUES39 for this challenge.
8. Alma (that's me) 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.

Heard at Walgreen's yesterday.

Child: MOM! Look! Santa must have gotten the car here.

Mom: Now you know Santa makes all the toys. He just makes them and sells them to Walgreen's.

Now that's Capitalism.

Our Holiday Wish For You

If you are looking for TCP Tuesday, we are taking the day off to share some of our Holiday Wishes with a litte Blog Hop.

As a child, I was frequently asked "What do you wish for Christmas?" A well rehearsed list would stream out of my mouth. " A new doll, a stuffed bear, a candy house, a Barbie and matching clothes. " Now, when I'm asked this, it's hard for me to wish for anything. I feel blessed to have a warm house to live in, surrounded by my Sweetheart and kitty and my family. I know I am lucky to have both my parents still with me and I try hard to enjoy each Holiday season with them. And I'm blessed to have some really wonderful friends including the members of the Cat Pack.

I suppose I could wish for maps and such as. Or World Peace. But I'm not going to.

My Holiday Wishes are for you.

This Holiday season I wish that you have the best Holiday ever. The kind that makes you warm in your stomach and makes your heart soar. I wish for you big giant belly laughs and huge crocodile tears of joy that roll down your cheeks. I wish for you, quiet moments reflecting, and hugs that take your breath away. I wish for you a Holiday of love, and laughter and wonder. And if you get a map or World Peace, that would be great too.

The Cat Pack is also full of Holiday Wishes. Check out Toni's blog. She has some wishes too.

TCP Tuesday!

TCP Tuesday!

It's that time again!

We're switching things up a bit here at the Cat House. Head on over to Karrie's Blog today.

She is the Hipster Hostess with the Mostess for this week. And she's hosting a fantabulous challenge. It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas and Karrie's theme fits right in. Make a card using any TCP tree image! Won't you play along?

Want some even more inspiration? Check out the DT members to the left throughout the day to see their great cards.

Here are the deets. (Lifted from Ana's page.)
1. Each a week one of The Cat’s Pajamas DT members will host a challenge.
2. The challenges will vary {stamp, color, theme, 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. 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, or PCP please use the keyword TCPTUES38 for this challenge.
8. Alma (that's me) 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.

Holey Moley Monday!

Bettie Page
1923-2008

Susan Liles, Part II

Thank you for joining me again to celebrate our Special Guest Designer of the Month, Susan Liles. If you've checked out her blog “Susiestampsalot” you know that's a a fitting title. That girl can stamp. And stamp and stamp. And not only cards, but anything that isn't nailed down, and she makes things that you don't necessarily think of as "makeable". And she's got crazy scrapbooking skills. I knew she would stamp up a storm when she got her hands on some of The Cat's Pajamas stamps. And I wasn't disappointed.


Who doesn't love Pink and Black? Not me. This card is crisp and clean. And with the addition of the white bow, to soften the strong colors, this card is full of "Wow." What I do love is the extra suprise this card has embedded in it. Shall we take another look?

It's a puzzle maze! I just love it. And in this close up you can see her stamping skills. Very neat.

Here Susan combined our "You say it's your Birthday" set and our "Kitty Christmas" set to make this wonderful card.

After she worked her magic with our stamps we wanted to know more.

What was the first stamp you bought, and what was your last?
The first stamp set was purchased at that first overwhelming stamp party and it was a Fourth of July set! (confirms the overwhelmed part---who buys this type of set just getting started!?). The last stamp set I've purchased was the new teacher set from Papertrey but I haven't had a chance to use it yet.

What is your favorite color combo?
No doubt, PINK and BROWN! I love reds, too!

What has been your happiest moment?
Of my life? Getting married for better or worse for the second time and KNOWING that this man (Eric) loves me forever. (However, we've made a pact that when we turn 93, we're free to date.)

Besides stamping, what is your next passion?
Scrapbooking, which I don't have much time to do anymore unless I go on a retreat!

Time? Who has any to spare? Thank you, Susan for sharing bits and pieces of your life and as she and Dr. Suess say:

'If you never did, you should. These things are fun and fun is good." Go have fun.

TCP Tuesday!

It's that time again!

Head on over to Jen's Blog today.

Yup, she is the Hipster Hostess with the Mostess for this week. She usually is the Hostess with the Mostess for our inspiration challenge, but we decided to mix it up a bit to keep you on your toes. So now Jen is doing the Color Challenge. This week she challenges you to use red, dark green, and sky blue in your design.
Want some inspiration? Check out the DT members to the left throughout the day to see their great cards.

Here are the deets. (Lifted from Ana's page.)
1. Each a week one of The Cat’s Pajamas DT members will host a challenge.
2. The challenges will vary {stamp, color, theme, 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. 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 or PCP, please use the keyword TCPTUES37 for this challenge.
8. Alma (that's me) 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.

Holey Moley Monday!

OCCC Sketch

Many of you know Julee Tilman, artist extraordinaire and owner of Verve Stamps. She is also a Special Projects Designer for The Cat's Pajamas. Her designs are always thoughtful and interesting. And she always manages to add a little twist to them. 

So image my surprise when she asked me to be a guest designer for her sketch challenge on Our Creative Corner. They have such great designers on there, I was honored to accept. And a little intimidated. Channeling a little Anna Wight and a little Julee, I came up with this design using our Elegant Christmas Clearly Swanky Set. I think it works really well with our TCP Tuesday inspiration challenge, too.

Wanna play along and have a chance to win some shiny new stamps? Just upload your creation to your blog or gallery and leave OCCC a link in this post on the OCCC Blog and you'll be included in a random drawing for your very own Elegant Christmas and Fairy Christmas sets, please have your project linked there by 12 noon on Friday, December 12. If you upload to Splitcoast, please include OCCC in the keywords. The winner will be announced next Saturday, December 13th on the OCCC Blog.

Have fun!

Susan Liles

Those of you who have been surfing the blog scene can’t help but have stumbled across a very special one called “Susiestampsalot”.

Then, I’m sure, you were kept busy for a couple of hours going through all the wonderful cards and projects she has done through the years. Certain phrases run through your head like "Wow!", "LOVE IT!" and "How did she think of THAT?" She has a staggering number of designs that make you want to stand up and applaud. And an equal number of drool-inducing ones.

I was so happy that Susan agreed to be our Special Guest Designer for December and work that drool inducing magic. So without further ado...


I just love this very playful and bright and very, very special ornament. The white wire base with the colors will make this ornament just pop on tree. This ornament has such whimsy, it just feels like something a fairy would put on her tree. And the dewdrops just skirting the edge add just the right amount of glam.


These are some very special Holiday notebooks. A whole new take on shaker cards. I can see these tucked into a stocking to be found on Christmas Day. Better yet, tucked into my back pocket.


A great stocking stuffer or something to keep the kids, young and young at heart, busy and out of the kitchen. (This is one of those drool inducing ideas I was taking about).

So if you've picked your jaw off the ground, I'm sure that you want to know more about Susan.

What's your favorite product?
Gosh, this is so hard! If I had to pick a tool, hands down, my Cuttlebug and Nestabilities. But for everyday designing, I love patterned paper!

What's your favorite stamping technique or tip?
I'm really not a "technique-ey" stamper. I like embossing, but I'm not all that great at it. Other than that, I like coming up with elements that make my designs unique and fun. As far as a tip goes, I always have "Susie Q-tips" on my blog and I think my favorites are the ones that include mistakes I've made and then learned from. (I always end the part where I mess up with "I don't want to talk about it!").

What got you into stamping?
I used to think stamping was crazy after having been overwhelmed at my first stamping experience for a lot of reasons. However, several years later, I went to a couple of Stampin' Up! stamp camps led by a really great demo who became a good friend and got hooked!

How long have you been stamping?
The "bad experience" was about eight years ago, and I only really bought into it (haha) and started obsessing over it about five years ago (the back of my SCS gallery is scary!).

Any thoughts about your art, Susan?
What's helped me grow in this craft tremendously is having a place where I can work without having to lug it all out every time I want to play and then have to put it back up. (A corner of my bedroom doubles as my studio.) I also believe that the more you do play and study others' work that you like, the better you will get at it.

"If you never did, you should. These things are fun and fun is good."—Dr. Seuss

Have fun!


Want to know more about Susan and see more of her wonderful work? Come back next Wednesday.

TCP Tuesday!

It's that time again!

Head on over to Jen's Blog today.

She is the Hipster Hostess with the Mostess for this week. And she's hosting a fantabulous Inspiration challenge. She's using this wonderful cookie snowflake photo as her inspiration.
Want some even more inspiration? Check out the DT members to the left throughout the day to see their great cards.

Here are the deets. (Lifted from Ana's page.)
1. Each a week one of The Cat’s Pajamas DT members will host a challenge.
2. The challenges will vary {stamp, color, theme, 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. 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 or PCP, please use the keyword TCPTUES36 for this challenge.
8. Alma (that's me) 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.

Holey Moley Monday!

Sorry. I had the update scheduled for PM instead of AM.

Project of the Month

Looking for a quick and simple project for the Holidays?

Jen del Muro proves she is one smart cookie with a December Project of the Month that'll have the recipient eating out of your hand.

Using our "Elegant Christmas" Clearly Swanky Set, and edible food markers stamp up a couple, or stamp up a dozen. They are the combination. Stamping and cookies.

Vicki Garrett — Swanky Stamper for December

{{{Hello}}}

Ever come across someone you have never met, but they seem to know all about you? That's what I thought when I saw this card by one of our newest players.

With a masterful mix of textures and patterns and a bit of bling, this card had me at "Hello".


Vicki Garrett—Swanky Stamper of the Month for December.