Wednesday, February 7, 2024

Anniversary Kitties

Hello, everyone!  I hope you are having a good day!  I'm just popping in quickly to share an anniversary card I made featuring an adorable kitty couple.

The kitties and xoxo are digital freebies from the Free Printables for your Junk Journaling with TLC Facebook Group.  I also used two heart embossing folders, two dies (scalloped heart and anniversary greeting), and some black gems.  

I was crafting with what's on my desk, so I used a lot of snippets/scraps, including the blue and red cardstock, a small snippet of black cardstock, and an already punched gold butterfly.  Sorry I neglected to take a photo of the snippets, but basically everything except the cats, xoxo, and gems were in my scrap box.  

I would like to join the following 10 challenges:
Crafts Galore February AG 1/3
Creative Inspirations For Someone You Love/Special Friend (this card is for Brian)
Inspiration Station Inspiration Prompt 58 (Inspired by the animals cuddling together and xoxo)
Show Us Your Pussycats February Furrything Goes/Hearts, Love, Valentines UE
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Love is in the Air 1/5
Snippets Playground 473 AG w Snippets/Scraps 1E C10
The Paper Funday 62 AG Optional Twist No Patterned Paper 1/4
Word Art Wednesday 623-624 AG w Uplifting Sentiment wk2 1/5

For those who enjoy cat memes, here you go...


Thank you for being here, and I wish you a blessed day!

Tuesday, January 23, 2024

Anniversary Butterflies with Aperture

Hello, everybody!  Before I get started, I would like to welcome my newest follower - Tanis Buckton - thank you for joining me!

Today's card was inspired by Mrs. A's Butterfly Challenge 191, for which the theme is Anniversary Card.  I have chosen three of the colours (Amethyst, African Violet, and Apple Green).  The requirements, in addition to Butterflies, are Sentiment, Acetate, and Aperture, and I have included all three, so it looks like I'm eligible for the second prize or the first prize.  Without further ado, I present my card:


Here is the open view, showing the acetate and aperture:


I made this card using a topper that I won from Mrs. A, way back in her Challenge 110.  Using a stitched octagon die, I cut out the tulip so I could insert the acetate into the aperture and also adhere the tulip die-cut on the inside of the card.  I actually used two pieces of acetate and sandwiched them together so I could include two little butterfly sequins inside the window, like a shaker.  They did move around at first but appear now to be stuck at the sides, which is fine with me.  

Other products used were a layered butterfly die, cut twice so I could adhere one on either side of the acetate window, a happy anniversary greeting die, a happy anniversary stamp (Lawn Fawn), and a stitched rectangle (Gina Marie Designs).  There is plenty of room to write a personal message on the inside of the card, under the octagon die-cut.  

This was a fiddly card to make but I'm delighted with the outcome.  I also used plenty of snippets / scraps so I will also be joining the Snippets Playground 472.  Below are the remnants of my scraps as I forgot to take a photo before die-cutting into them.  I will now discard the one with the rectangle but will be keeping the other two as there is still plenty of room for small die-cuts.


I would also like to join the following 8 challenges, for a total of 10.
Crafty Calendar January AG 3/3
Creative Fingers 269 AG 2/3
Die-Cut Divas January Never Before Used Stuff (octagon die) 3/4
Lil Patch of Crafty Friends 222 AG 1/3
Pammie's Inky Pinkies 2403 AG 1/3 C10
The Paper Funday 61 AG Celebrations (anniversary) 2/4
Word Art Wednesday 631-632 AG w Uplifting Sentiment wk1 1/5

For those who enjoy cat cartoons, here you go:


Thank you for being here!  Wishing you a joy-filled day!


Monday, January 15, 2024

Steampunk Kitty Birthday

Hello, everybody!  I hope you are all having a good day!  Today I am sharing a steampunk-kitty birthday card.  First let me say that steampunk is not my style, but I do love how this card turned out!  This card will be going to Brian, and I know he will love it too!

The fun steampunk cat image is the January freebie at Gecko Galz Monthly Steampunk Challenge (thank you!).  It's the first time that I joined their steampunk challenge but I couldn't resist the cute image.

I was inspired to use mostly scraps/snippets for this card (see photos below) so I could join the fun at Snippet Playground Challenge 471 - Celebrations.  Congratulations to Di, who has been running the Snippets Playground for 12 years - Woot, woot!  

The green cardstock panel was a leftover in my scrap bin, as was the die-cut black panel, which happened to fit this image perfectly.  It had been the leftover inner piece from a frame die-cut, and you will notice I had also die-cut a greeting from the middle, but this was completely hidden after I adhered the kitty to the black panel.  Aside from the image, the only non-snippet is the silver-foil happy birthday greeting that I received in happy mail from a dear friend last week (thank you!).  

Green and black cardstock scraps used
(brown scraps not used)

I had intended to die-cut some gears from the brown cardstock scraps shown in the photo above, but when I located my gear dies, I was thrilled to discover some metallic-embossed gears already die-cut and ready to use.  They were a leftover from way back in 2014 (prepared for this card but not used).  The brand is Memory Box Gear Assembly, and I snipped them apart to use just five of them, with plenty left over for my next steampunk card!

Heat-embossed metallic die-cut
left over from 2014

The embossing folder is part of a set (Sizzix Texture Fades Pocket Watches and Steampunk by Tim Holtz) and this is my first time using it.  Lastly, I adhered a metal clock charm.

I would also like to join the following 8 challenges, for a total of 10:
CRAFT New (the die-cut birthday greeting is new, as is the image) 1/2
Crafty Calendar January AG 2/3
Creative Fingers 269 AG 1/3
Die-Cut Divas January Never Before Used Stuff (embossing folder) 2/4
Lil Patch of Crafty Friends 221 AG 2/3
Pammie's Inky Pinkies 2402 AG 1/3
Show Us Your Pussycats 96 January Furrything Goes UE
The Paper Funday 61 AG Celebrations (birthday) 1/4

For those who enjoy cat memes, here you go:
Thank you for being here!  Wishing you a  joy-filled day!

Wednesday, January 10, 2024

Guest Designer - Carlin's Card Paradise - January Challenge

Hello, everyone!  This is my first blog post of 2024, so I would like to wish you a Happy New Year, and I hope 2024 is going well for you so far.

I am delighted to announce that I was invited to be a Guest Designer at Carlin's Card Paradise for their January Challenge, where the theme is Hearts plus Special Card Shape.  I hope you will head over to Carlin's Card Paradise and join the challenge.  There is a prize to be won, and the sponsor is Beccy's Place.  Three entries are permitted.

I decided to make a Diagonal Z-Fold card featuring lots of kitties and lots of hearts!  You can find a tutorial on this card shape at Beccy's Place - A-Z Card Folds.  

I decorated all six panels of the card and had a lot of fun colouring the kitties with my markers.  I added some accents with a white paint marker and fussy-cut the images.  The stamps are from Sunny Studio Stamps, called Meow and Furever.  This is my first time using these stamps, and they are so cute!  I used all but one of the images, along with several of the sentiments included in the set.

The patterned paper, glittered cardstock embellishments, and chipboard pieces are from a very old MAMBI (Me and My Big Ideas) scrapbooking kit, and I added some of my heart-themed die-cuts and punched bows.  There are too many brands to list, but if you have any questions, please ask.  I do remember the small heart border die (cut from pale pink cardstock) is from Die-Versions.

Here is how the card looks laying flat:

Below is the other side of the card; the panel on the far right has space to write a greeting:

Thank you to Karin at Carlin's Card Paradise for inviting me to be your Guest Designer!  I had fun!

Here is the lovely badge I received for the occasion; thank you so much!


I would also like to join the following 10 challenges:
Allsorts 762 Mood Board Inspiration or AG 1/3
Crafty Calendar January AG 1/3
Die-Cut Divas January Never Before Used Stuff (stamps) 1/4
Lil Patch of Crafty Friends 221 AG 1/3
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Something New (stamps) 1/5
We Love Stamping January Something New (stamps) or AG 1/3
Word Art Wednesday 629-630 AG w Uplifting Sentiment Wk2 1/5

For those who enjoy cat cartoons, here you go:

Thank you for being here!  Wishing you a joyful day!

Sunday, December 17, 2023

Recycled/Upcycled Kitty Cards

Hi, everybody!  I'm back to share some kitty cards!  I needed a couple of quick cards for friends/family who love cats as I was running out of time for mailing.  I decided to recycle/upcycle some cat-themed gift-card holders from a couple years ago. The images are too adorable not to re-use, and they were a great size as a focal point on A2 cards.

Everything on these cards was from my scraps/leftovers/snippets:  the kitty cards, the red cardstock, the embossed kraft cardstock, and even the self-made sentiments (Microsoft Word).  All of these things have been in the pile for years so it felt great to use them!  That was the last of the snowflake-embossed kraft cardstock so if I need more, I'll have to emboss it.

The red foil accents on the recycled cards doesn't show up well in the above photo, so here are some angled shots to show the foil:



I was inspired by the following 8 challenges:
ABC Christmas Y is for Your Choice UE
Christmas Kickstart 81 AG Christmas 2/3 C8
Show Us Your Pussycats 94 Furrything Goes or Meowy Catmas UE
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Christmas Critters 1/5
Snippets Playground 469 AG w Snippets (described above) 1E C10
Word Art Wednesday 625-626 AG w Uplifting Sentiment wk 2 2/5

For those who enjoy cat cartoons, I hope these make you smile:



Thank you for being here!  Wishing you a peaceful day!

Scripture Card 3

Hello, everyone!  Before I share my card, I would like to welcome my newest follower - Cynthia Olheiser - thank you for joining me!  

Today I'm sharing a scripture card (you can scroll down to see the two shared previously).  This one is about the birth of our Lord and Savior, and I made two of them.  

The featured scripture that inspired my card is Matthew 2:2, and it was shared at Word Art Wednesday on December 6.  Scripture art is offered as a free digital in every challenge at Word Art Wednesday, and you can scroll back on their blog to find all of the scriptures shared previously.  It's like a treasure hunt!

For the image, I scanned a vintage greeting card and modified it digitally.  On the original card, the onlookers were looking to the west, so I rotated it so they were looking to the east as the scripture says.  I lightened the colours of the image and cropped the edges to make an A2 size card.  Before printing, I digitally added the scripture word art.  After printing I adhered a die-cut star (Memory Box Star of Wonder) in gold glitter and then mounted the image on coordinating cardstock.  Below are the two identical cards I made.


I was inspired by the following 8 challenges:
ABC Christmas Y is for Your Choice UE
Christmas Kickstart 81 AG Christmas 1/3 C8
DL.ART December AG UE 1/d
Simon Says Stamp Monday Use Dies (Memory Box Star of Wonder) 1/5
Word Art Wednesday 625-626 AG w Uplifting Sentiment wk 2 1/5

For those who enjoy cat cartoons, I hope these make you smile:



Thank you for being here! Wishing you a joy-filled day!

Tuesday, December 5, 2023

Scripture Card 2 - Eye Hath Not Seen

Hi, it's me again!  I'm back to share another scripture card.  As mentioned in my previous post, I've been reading and studying the Bible for the past few years, and it has become one of my greatest joys!  

If you would like to make scripture cards, there is treasure trove of free scripture word art over at Word Art Wednesday (thank you!).  It's free in every challenge post, and you can scroll back on their blog to find the scripture art shared previously.  

This scripture card features 1 Corinthians 2:9, which was shared at Word Art Wednesday on February 12, 2020, and it's one of my favourit texts:  


Before printing, I added the word art digitally in Microsoft Word to a beautiful scenic image from Creative Fabrica, which was a freebie at one point (thank you).  I adhered the image on green cardstock, and added a die-cut tree, to which I added Distress Ink around the edges and texture with my old Fiskars paper crimper.  

I was inspired by the following 8 challenges:
Jan's Digi Stamps November AG 4/5Polkadoodles 47 AG 2/2
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday AG 2/5
Word Art Wednesday 623-624 AG w Uplifting Sentiment wk2 3/5

For those who enjoy cat memes, I hope this one makes you smile:


Thank you for being here!  Wishing you a joy-filled day!