Chocolate Roses Fun Fold

Hi friends! Today I'm popping int with a fun little card I created for this week's This or That Hop over on Instagram. This week's theme choice is CAS or FUN FOLD. Since I'm a bit challenged in the clean & simple arena, I went for a fun fold. This one combines a diagonally cut flap with a little joy fold foldover.  I originally saw this idea on a YouTube tutorial from Susan aka Makincraftsstudio. I love her Fun Fold Fridays series. She makes interactive cards seem easy, even to an old crafter like me!

For this card, I dug into a paper pad and ephemera pack I purchased a few months back but just haven't had a chance to craft with yet. These brown and cream flowers just make my heart happy. The main base of my card is Neenah Desert Storm card stock. I pulled out the Full Bloom stamp set for this fabulous flower sentiment. I lightly watercolored the flower image in brown, then accented with Grit & Grunge enamel dots.

To open it up, you lift up by the flowers and the diagonal flap folds out. Then you can keep lifting that flower fold to reveal the secret message inside (not pictured). It's a super fun way to spice up a card.

Thanks so much for stopping by today! I hope you enjoyed the card.  Have a fabulous day.

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Hidden Message

Hi friends! Today I'm sharing a card I made on world card making day following the LVHandcrafted Mystery Craft Along tutorial for a hidden message card. Fun fold/interactive cards are definitely not in my wheelhouse, but I had a lot of fun trying to figure this one out.

The first part of the process is pretty straightforward, creating a gatefold card with a belly band. Then things get a bit squirrely, cutting slits in your card base and weaving papers in so that you can flip the inside to show a hidden panel. Quite fun, but it took this old brain quite a bit of time to figure out how to actually pull the papers to get to the flipped side! LOL What was that 80's show... Kidd Video, I think? Where they always said, "I'm taking you to the flip side" when they switched from live action to cartoon? That's been going through my head since I made this card! 

For the card, I used the new Festive Christmas papers and Gingerbread Houses Ephemera. I love the farmhouse vibe to this paper pad, and that there are some really fun wood grain panels to go with the Christmas-y prints.  

When you open up the gatefold you have a lot of panels you can decorate. I added several small ephemera pieces, some heart die cuts and sentiments from the new Mini Messages stamp set. I also included an extra long panel of white cardstock that I could write a short note to the recipient on.

Okay... now I'm taking you to the flip side... bwahahahahahaha. LOL

For this section, I used another gingerbread house ephemera, then grabbed a couple of gold snowflakes from the Pink Christmas ephemera pack and a gold foil sentiment from my stash of Christmas past. 

I had a lot of fun creating this card and would definitely recommend giving the LVHandcrafted tutorial a try.

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Drink Happy Thoughts

Hi friends! Today is the launch of a fabulous new quarterly release from Not 2 Shabby. It's filled with a few of my favorite things... gnomes and hot beverages, making it a must have release in my opinion.

Today I'm featuring the Drink Happy Thoughts stamp set along with the Brewing it Up paper pad and coordinating ephemera. There are so many fabulous patterns and images in the paper and ephemera, and the stamp set is too cute for words!

I recently ordered a Pop Up Box Die and decided this new collection would be perfect to create my first ever pop up box card!  I colored up the gnome image from Drink Happy Thoughts in Copic markers. using a color palette pulled from the papers.  I then die cut with the coordinating Drink Happy Thoughts Shabby Snips. I added a few Copic marker accents to  the ephemera pieces I picked out.

I cut the base pieces of the pop up box from Navy cardstock, then cut some additional pieces to mat those layers.  The drink happy thoughts is embossed and die cut, as well as a few of the snowflake images. Once I had everything colored, cut, and ready, I just assembled with glue and added some glitter accents and a few of the new Brewing it Up sparkle enamel dots.  Once everything was done, I created a fun little paper clip book mark with a scrap of paper and some read cardstock. I finished with a bit of ribbon and added it over the back of the card as a fun accent and surprise gift.

Thanks so much for stopping by! There's a bunch of other new products in the release, so be sure to head to the shop to check everything out. Have a wonderful day!

November 2020 TCP Release Hop

Hi friends! It's release day at The Cat's Pajamas! We're hopping along one last time to celebrate this fabulous new release. Come along for some fresh inspiration with all the new products that are available to purchase NOW in the shop!

If you've been hopping along you just saw a fabulous creation from Christine.  If not, head to Kerry's blog to start the hop.  I've got a fun little peek-a-boo card to share today, so grab a cuppa something awesome and settle in to check out all the new goodies. When you're done here, hop on over to see what Nancy is sharing today. If a link goes amiss along the way, the full hop list can be found on the TCP Blog.

My card features the new Scatter Joy set. Aren't these bunnies adorable? I loved their sweet embrace, and the two sentiments, hey you and miss your face seemed perfect to do a little peek-a-boo element.

I colored the bunnies with Copics, then framed with a frame made by layering two of the dies from the Four Seasons Duo Dies and Stitched Squares & More.  I was thinking about all the time that's been passing while we haven't been able to get together with friends and family (especially with the holidays at our doorstep), so I decided to create the background with the Clock Stencilz, using the Big Beautiful Blender Brush with distress oxides.

Next I cut the circle from the Peek-A-Boo-Frames Dies up in the corner, then stamped the hey you sentiment. I then opened the door, placed it in my MISTI to line up the miss your face sentiment and stamp onto a white panel the same size as the stenciled panel.  I then added foam in between for dimension and layered the panels together.  I wanted a little more pizazz, so pulled out a piece of hodgepodge hardware from craft projects gone by and adhered with super strong adhesive to the back 

Well, that's all for me today! Thanks so much for stopping by! I hope you've enjoyed all the peeks and inspiration with this fabulous new release. I've linked my supplies as well as the entire release below for you, so be sure to check it out.

Next up on the hop is the fabulous Nancy.

Kerry
Christine
Julee
Nancy
Cristena
Leigh
Brenda

Melissa
Wendy
Alma

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November 2020 Release

Products Used Today

TCP May Sneaky Peek Week Day 6

It's Day 6 of Sneaky Peek Week celebrating the May release from The Cat's Pajamas. This release consists of SEVEN new stamp sets, SEVEN new die sets and THREE new packs of sequins. The products are available for purchase starting the day they are peeked, so you don't even have to wait to order if you see something you NEED to snatch up! Hooray!

For a chance to WIN a $10 gift certificate to the store, comment on each of the designers' blogs, including mine. Check out The Cat's Pajamas Blog to see which designers are participating each day.

Today we are showcasing the darling That's How I Roll set and the Spiral Pop Up Die. We took our boys to the bowling alley for their 4th birthday and they loved it so much, we've been hitting it regularly ever since. With the Kids Bowl Free program we practically live our summers at the local alley. So this set was definitely a must for me!

My hubby also works for a company who's culture is big into bowling, with quarterly bowling parties and a bowling shirt with your name on it given to employees at their 1 year award ceremony.  So I had to color this sweet little bunny's bowling shirt in the colors of hubby's shirt. I stamped the images in copic safe ink, then colored and hand trimmed (if you're not into fussy cutting, there's a free cutting file available for download).  I pulled out some wood paneling paper to ground my images, then did a little ink blending up top, accenting with the star from Simply Stacked Sentiments.

I then masked and stamped the it's not how you bowl, it's how you roll sentiment onto two circles, one for the outside of the card, one for the inside of the card.

The theme for the TCP Tuesday challenge this month is Move It May, and the Spiral Pop Up Die makes adding those surprise elements inside your card a breeze. I cut the spiral, adding with glue dots to my card, then placed more of the bowling pins, the bowling ball and my circle sentiment along the spirals.  I finished off the card with that same star and a birthday sentiment from Simply Simply Stacked Sentiments.

Here's a closer look at today's featured products...

And here's the list of today's official peekers, be sure to give them a shout-out in the comment section on each of their blogs for a chance to win! And don't forget to head over to The Cat's Pajamas blog for the skinny on everything! Winners will be announced on The Cat's Pajamas Blog and Facebook page each day.

Alma de la Rosa (TCP Blog)
Beata June
Julee Tilman ✋ (ME)
Cristena Bagne
Deboarah Anton
Kerry Urbatch

Thanks so much for stopping by today! Happy hopping!

Compensated affiliate links are used where possible. When you place an order after clicking one of my links, I receive a small commission at no additional cost to you. Thanks so much for supporting this blog by using my links to shop. 💙

Sneaky Peek + TCP Tuesday Reminder

Hi friends! It's the beginning of Sneaky Peek Week at The Cat's Pajamas. I've got an unofficial sneaky peek for you combined with a little reminder about the current TCP Tuesday challenge. Each day over the next week, the Cat Pack will be peeking projects with the new goodies. Once a product is peeked, it will be available for purchase on the website! Which means there's no waiting if you see something you just have to have! Hooray! Head on over to The Cat's Pajamas Blog to see the official list of today's peekers and then leave some comments on their blogs/instagrams for a chance to win some Cat Cash!

My card today combines the fin-tastic new Hey Gillfriend stamp set and the Porthole Duo Die being peeked today with the Move It TCP Tuesday challenge to make an interactive card. Let me just say this Hey Gillfriend set is adorable! I just love all the fun images for building your own little ocean scene.

I started my card by stamping this sweet little mermaid in copic safe ink and then coloring with Copics and fussy cutting. If unlike me, you know how to use your cutting machine, Alma always makes free cutting files available for stamp sets that don't have matching dies. Someday maybe I'll plug my machine in and figure out how it works!

After my main image was done, I decided to work on a shaker element using the Porthole Duo Die. The outer die creates the frame and embosses the little porthole dots. I wanted mine to stand out, so I left the die cut in the die, then used it as a stencil to sponge distress ink over the little holes. I then took the inner cut with the coral and seahorse and taped off different areas so I could color in with distress inks and a blending sponge. When this was finished, I placed it at the bottom, then topped with a circle frame cut with regular nesting circle dies and a piece of acetate to form the shaker.  I filled it with some of the gorgeous new Blue Lagoon holeless sequins. For a little more accent, I rimmed the entire frame with white Nuvo drops.

The background is done using the smooshing technique with water reactive inks. I then decided to add a wobbler for the sentiment. I stamped the sentiment and drew a little frame around it with a black pen so it looked like a sign. Then I added the sweet little seahorse from the set.  The wobbler portion is done with the pull tab from the Slider die and I followed Alma's video instructions to make a wobbler.

Thanks so much for stopping by today! We hope you'll play along in our challenge. And don't forget to pop over to the TCP Blog today for links to today's peekers. Leave some love on their blogs and/or Instagram accounts for a chance to win.

Compensated affiliate links are used where possible. When you place an order after clicking one of my links, I receive a small commission at no additional cost to you. Thanks so much for shopping from my links and supporting this blog. 💙

Coffee Hop + TCP Tuesday

Hi friends! It's time for a new TCP challenge and this month's challenge is "Move It". Are you ready to show off those interactive cardmaking skills? If you're like me and not sure where to start, TCP just happens to have a bunch of interactive dies in the shop. I'll link some up below for ya! 👌

Each month a new challenge is posted on The Cat’s Pajamas blog and Facebook page.

• To play along, upload your design to the Inlinkz link up on The Cat’s Pajamas blog
• The Cat’s Pajamas products are NOT required, but we do LOVE to see them!
• Winner is announced the first Tuesday of the following month and will receive a $50 gift voucher to The Cat's Pajamas store.

Sounds fun, huh? Hope you can play along. Here's my take on the challenge. I wanted to make another card for the Coffee Lovers Blog Hop. TCP is one of the Super Sponsors, so be sure to check out all the blog hop details here.

I must admit, I'm interactive card challenged. My brain just doesn't think that way. Good thing Alma has lots of videos for her dies to comfort those of us who need a little handholding along the way!  I knew I wanted to make a little llama coffee card, so started by stamping the llama from Spit Happens on taffy cardstock and then coloring with Copic markers. I also stamped the little coffee cup from the set and cut the stamped images out with the coordinating Alpacas dies. Love how the die cuts out the little hooves, so I could tuck the little cup of coffee in there.

For the interactive part of the card, I thought it would be fun to have my coffee loving llama sliding through the clouds in her freshly brewed heaven. So I pulled out the Slider Die, watched the tutorial video to get a sense of where I was going, and basically followed it to the letter to make a little pull-tab slider.  On the pull tab, I stamped the Insert Coffee to Begin sentiment from Freshly Brewed Heaven.

I selected some cloud paper from my stash, then added a bunch more clouds to hide the little slider portion on the card using the Cloud Cutups die. I love these clouds. I sponged around them lightly with tumbled glass distress ink and then accented with some Nuvo glitter drops. I added the Freshly brewed heaven sentiment, hand cutting in a similar cloud shape to finish things off.

Thanks so much for stopping by today! For more inspiration from the TCP kitties, click on over to the Cat Pack links on the sidebar to see what everyone created for the challenge! I hope you find a little time this month to play along!

Compensated affiliate links are used where possible. When you place an order after clicking one of my links, I receive a small commission at no additional cost to you. Thanks so much for using my links and supporting this blog. 💙