Pink Cat Digital Release Day!

Okay people......brace yourself for cuteness! Nothing says the holidays like little gingerbread people.
Aren't they sweet?

I had waaaay to much fun making this card.
I added white liquid applique to the gingerbread man for some fun texture and bright pink glitter to the inside of the cupcake.

The mixing bowl and measuring spoons were in my scrapbooking stash and the spatula is from a Sizzix die.

Of course it needed pink jewels.

For the sentiment, I used some alphabet rub-ons on glittery paper.

The cute row of gingerbread boys is FREE with any purchase at the Pink Cat store today! I decided to stack them into a Christmas tree shape and added a little star at the top.

Next up is a mini gift bag slider.

When I'm ready to fill the bag for Christmas, all I have to do is slide the ribbon off of the side and then slide it back on. Easy-Peasy!

My last sample for today uses the gingerbread family.

My family hosts a cookie swap every December and I think this would be a cute invitation. I kept the layout super simple, just in case I decide to mass produce it!

You can hop on over to the PCS store by clicking right here. While you're there, be sure to check out all of the cute Thanksgiving images and free sentiments that are available too! Almost to much cuteness to handle!

From owl of us

One of my favorite people in the whole world has a birthday coming up. She has a bit of an owl fetish, so here's what I came up with for her using Jen's sketch...I used a small flourish stamp on the green cardstock to create my own background paper. I really like how it came out and need to use that technique more often. The main images are from a set called "Aviary" by Stampin Up and the sentiment is by Inky Antics.
For some special finishing touches, I added small jewels to the tops of the birdcages and then went over the scroll work with a glitter pen.

The family and I are headed to Vegas later this month. Any recommendations on things to do with the kids? Stamp stores? Scrapbook stores?

It's a pie party!

Go grab an apron and your favorite pie recipe and join the fun! You can link up your delicious creation over at Tidy Mom and view everyone else's goods.

My contribution to the festivities is:
Double-Decker Vegan Pumpkin Pie

I combined two of my favorite pumpkin recipes, one cheesecake and one pie, and came up with this YUMMY dessert. It's a tradition in our house every year after the weather starts to cool and we bust out the Snuggies.

Here's what you'll need:

12 oz. extra firm tofu
8 oz. of Tofutti vegan cream cheese
1 tablespoon pure vanilla
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon fresh squeezed lemon juice (sometimes I substitute orange zest)
1/2 cup organic agave nectar

1 pre-made graham cracker crust

1/2 cup organic pumpkin puree
1/4 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon each of ginger juice, cinnamon & nutmeg

My favorite part about this recipe is that everything is made in the blender! That's right - no mixing bowls, no hand mixer, nothing! And that means easy clean up.

Before you begin, preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Toss the first set of ingredients into the blender (tofu, cream cheese, vanilla, cornstarch, lemon juice and agave nectar). Blend until smooth, about 30 - 45 seconds.

Pour about 1/3 of the mixture into the bottom of a pre-made graham cracker crust. Leave the rest of the mixture in the blender and then add the next set of ingredients to it. (pumpkin, brown sugar and spices) Blend until smooth , about 15 - 20 seconds. Then gently pour it all into the pie crust on top of the first layer.*Pre-made pie crusts are pretty flimsy, so I like to place mine on top of a cookie sheet while I prep and bake it*

Mmmmmm....just look at all of that yummy cinnamon pumpkiny goodness.Bake for 70 minutes at 350 degrees.
Let cool completely and then place in fridge to chill for at least three hours - torturous, I know.
When you slice it, you'll see both layers... Isn't it pretty?
And oh soooooo yummy!I promise that no one will know it's vegan unless you tell them! This baby didn't even last 12 hours in my house this weekend! Thanks for stopping by. I'll be back tomorrow with something crafty :-)

Christmas Stampin' All Year Long

It's finally Friday and that means a new challenge from CSAYL! This week, the challenge is to use stripes on your card. Our fabulous sponsor is In Style Stamps and they are generously donating some digital images to one lucky winner!Since I wasn't able to participate last week, I decided to use TWO images on my card today to redeem myself. Meet William and Virginia...
Aren't they cute?
Obviously I decided to mix things up a bit and make a Thanksgiving card instead of a Christmas one. William and Virginia were just sooo cute and I couldn't resist! I shrunk down the girl image a bit so they would resemble my kids.
For the striped element......I used a Copic colorless blender and a ruler to make diagonal stripes on his shirt. Subtle, but effective. I really like how it came out.

To ground the images, I used some Copics to draw in grass and shadows. Then I mounted the main image onto a Soft Suede base with some patterns by BasicGrey. The patterned paper is from their Halloween collection, but I think it worked pretty well on this.

I finished it off with a rub-on sentiment and some mini leaves.

You can hop on over to the CSAYL blog to get more inspiration from the rest of the design team, and to leave a link to your creation. Thanks for taking a peek at my project today. Have a great weekend!

For a rock star

Hope everyone had a great weekend. I was L-A-Z-Y and enjoyed every second of it! Luckily I had a little time to play in the workshop (in my jammies) and whipped up a quick birthday card for my daughters BFF. Only Miss Anya could get away with an colorful outfit like this! The stripes on the Doodlebug patterned paper matched perfectly with SU's Melon Mambo, Crushed Curry and Bermuda Bay. The sentiment is a rub-on and suits the recipient perfectly. Don't you just love being able to customize cards and make them personal with something as simple as a sentiment?!
Quickie post for me today. I'm off to plan a medieval feast for 60 4th graders. I've already promised my husband that I won't over-do it and leave myself bedridden for another week! We're definitely having a feast of yummy food and I've decided to bring some loaves of homemade bread. Other plans include a jousting tournament with swimming pool noodles. Anybody out there have any other fun ideas?? Help a girl out....

Christmas Stampin All Year Long

Today is challenge day over at CSAYL!
I'm still oohing and ahhing at all of the participant samples from last week's purple and silver challenge! You guys are amazing. The clock is tick-ticking away and there are only 7 more weeks until Christmas Eve!

Unfortunately I don't have a sample to share with you for our challenge this week. I decided to take the week off and rest. And let me tell you, my little ol' body is SO thankful.

The challenge this week is to create a gift set with an altered tin and matching card. Be sure to hop on over to the CSAYL blog to see what the design team came up with, and to leave a link to your creation. I'll be stopping by your blog to check it out!

Have a great weekend.

Pink Cat Digital Release Day!

Hey Peeps!
Thanks for stopping over today.
Check out the new dino digis released from Pink Cat Studio today!
Could they be any cuter?
And did you check out the baby dino image?
He's FREE with any purchase from the PCS store today only!

I thought these two images were perfect for a birthday set.
I made the card base 5 x 7 so the main image could be as big as possible.

Eyeballs and balloons are always cuter when they're popped up!

This 4 x 4 box is perfect for a small present or a gift card.

For my next project, I printed the image and a sentiment that I came up with, right onto my card base. Then I drew a frame with a black marker and added a ric-rac border to the bottom to match his spines.I used the Copic Colorless Blender to add polka dots and stripes to his body.

And this last one is super colorful for a special two year old.

Thanks again for visiting my little corner of the world today. I hope you're inspired to hop on over the PCS store and get some of these cuties for yourself!

Bad news - Good news

Just wanted to pop in real quick and tell you why I've been MIA. My fibromyalgia flared up pretty bad last Friday and has left me down for the count most of the week. It's left me weak, in constant pain, and feeling defeated. I hate this.

I'm not looking for pity or sympathy, just wanted to explain my absence.

The good news is that I'll be back tomorrow with a new release from Pink Cat Studio! Melissa made some adorable dinosaur images and I can't wait to share my projects with you. I hope you'll stop by and check em' out.