Tuesday, May 28, 2024

Vintage Cat Tags

Hello, everybody!  I hope all of the cat lovers have noticed that there is a celebration at Show Us Your Pussycats this month. Congratulations to my friend Fikreta on the 100th Challenge! The theme over there is "Furrything Goes with Cats as the Main Feature," so I hope you don't miss it.   

I love cats and am happy to share a set of 8 vintage tags that I made. I've already used some for gifts and the rest will probably go in my journals. I won the cat digital called Cats Tucks and Sons Post Cards from Caroline's Craft Tree Etsy shop (thank you!) and decided to make some tags with these adorable vintage images.  I tore the edges around the cats, inked with Vintage Photo Distress Ink, and then decorated with tickets, paper flowers, butterflies, lace, and twine from my stash.  Scroll down for close-ups of the tags.


Digital Images:  Vintage cats (Cats Tucks and Sons Post Cards - Caroline's Craft Tree Etsy shop)
Background:  Self-made masterboard using old book pages (see below)
Other:  Flowers, gems, lace, baker's twine, tickets from my stash, self-made sentiments (Microsoft Word), hole reinforcer labels (thrift store find, distressed with Vintage Photo Distress Ink), Bira tag punch for the two smaller tags

Here are some closer looks at my tags:





Masterboard
Here's the neutral background (masterboard) measuring 8.5" x 11" that I made using old book pages found at second-hand/thrift shops. I cut the background into tag shapes and then had fun decorating them.



I would also like to join the following 9 challenges, for a total of 10:
Allsorts 782 AG or Blast from the Past (See pink tag in first close-up photo called "Good things") 1/3
Crafty Calendar May AG 3/3
Simon Says Stamp Monday Lots of Texture 1/5
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Fur or Feathers (fur) 1/5
Snippets Playground 481 Snippets (used old book pages to make a collaged background) 1E C10
Word Art Wednesday 649-650 AG w Uplifting Sentiment Wk1 1/5

For those who enjoy cat cartoons, here you go:


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

Tuesday, May 7, 2024

Mother's Day Kitty

Hello, everyone.  This month I am sharing a number of cat-themed projects to support my friend Fikreta as she celebrates the 100th Challenge at Show Us Your Pussycats.  Congratulations, Fiki!  The theme over there is "Furrything Goes with Cats as the Main Feature."  

Today I am sharing a kitty-themed Mother's Day card.


I created some of the card digitally, using an adorable retro kitty digital from ImagiMeri, an ornate pink frame from FAVPNG, a floral background from Free Printables FB group, and a self-made sentiment. After printing, I adhered the image to a magenta die-cut scalloped frame (Impression Obsession), and then to a yellow card base (Memory Box). I adhered a white fabric flower from my old Dollarama stash, some punched flowers in pale yellow, and some yellow flat-backed gems.  The card turned out so cute; I love it!

I would also like to join the following 9 challenges, for a total of 10:
A Place to Start May AG Optional Twist for a Lady 1/8/month
Creative Fingers 277 AG 3/3
Digi Choosday 77 AG 3/4
Gem of a Challenge 9 AG 3/4
Inspiration Station 61 Inspiration Prompt (I was inspired by the colors and flowers) 1/8

Polkadoodles 18 AG 3/4
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Feminine 3/5
Word Art Wednesday 645-646 AG w Uplifting Sentiment Wk2 3/5

For those who enjoy cat memes, here you go:


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

Sunday, May 5, 2024

Heart-shaped Kitty Notebooks

Hello, everybody!  I am excited to support my friend Fikreta as she celebrates the 100th Challenge at Show Us Your Pussycats this month. The theme over there is "Furrything Goes with Cats as the Main Feature."  I am back again today with my second entry, sharing some heart-shaped notebooks that I made a while back but did not have a chance to share. 


I die-cut a variety of notebook/ledger papers with a stitched heart die set (Madra's Bazaar), and I used three sizes of the nesting dies for a fun layered look. I used some very old scrapbook paper for the covers, along with some digital heart-themed kitties (The Digital Chick Etsy Shop, Very Merry Vintage Style, and Creative Fabrica), which I printed and fussy-cut. The sentiments are self-made in Microsoft Word.  I stapled the pages together and added red eyelash trim to decorate.  

For the inside, I stamped each page with some of my tiny cat stamps in red.  The stamps are from my old wood-mounted collection (All Night Media, Noteworthy, Stampendous).  I had a lot of fun making these little notebooks after being inspired by this video.  


I would also like to join the following challenges:
Crafty Calendar May AG 2/3
Creative Fingers 277 AG 2/3
Digi Choosday 77 AG 2/4
DL.ART Thankful Thursday May AG UE
Gem of a Challenge 9 AG 2/4
Polkadoodles 18 AG 2/4
Simon Says Stamp Monday Feminine 2/5
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Feminine 2/5
Word Art Wednesday 645-646 AG w Uplifting Sentiment Wk2 2/5

For those who enjoy cat cartoons, here you go:


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

Retro Kitty Tags

Hello, everyone!  Long time no see.  Although I have not been blogging or reading the blogs, I just happened to discover that Show Us Your Pussycats is celebrating its 100th Challenge this month - Yay!  Who knows what else I have been missing?   Please let me know if I'm missing out on any other exciting things going on in Blogland these days.

Congratulations to my friend Fikreta for continuing this fun cat-themed challenge after the very sad loss of our dear friend Ike (Ike's Art) in 2022.  As a cat lover myself, I could not let May pass by without joining the celebration, so here I am!  I plan to be back with more cat-themed projects this month.  By the way, the challenge theme over there is "Furrything Goes with Cats as the Main Feature." 

Most of the projects I make these days are for my journals.  Here are some retro kitty tags I created for this purpose.  I made 18 colourful tags featuring adorable story-book kitty digitals (The Digital Chick Etsy Shop, Past Paper Pretties Etsy Shop, Crafts U Print, and FAVPNG), which I printed and fussy-cut.


For the tag bases, I cut out tag shapes from digital papers (Cara Brandon Creations Etsy Shop).  All but the yellow were cut using my Sunlit Tag Punch; the yellow were cut by hand. 


The frames behind the kitties are a digital from Cara Brandon Creations and were a freebie at one point. I decorated the tags with tickets (some from thrift shop, some digital), die-cut doilies (several brands used, please ask and I will look them up), digital butterflies, punched butterflies, punched hearts, and various other ephemera from my stash. I also used my We-R-Memory-Keepers Hole-Reinforcer punch, Tim Holtz Bow Punch, and Bira Leaf Punch.  The sentiments were self-made in Microsoft Word. I had a lot of fun creating these tags as the kitties make me smile and remind me of my childhood.

I would also like to join the following challenges:
Crafty Calendar May AG 1/3
Word Art Wednesday 645-646 AG w Uplifting Sentiment Wk2 1/5

For those who enjoy cat cartoons, here you go:


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

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!