Cat Lovers Hop Extended (Honeydew Lunch)

Hi, everyone! Great news! The Cat Lovers Hop has been extended until tomorrow - Sunday, November 1 - so if you were hoping to join, you still have time!

My "Honeydew and Kiwi Collection" seemed to be quite popular during the hop, so I dusted off two more of them.  I will share one today and another tomorrow.

Today's card features Honeydew! He loves to eat so this card is all about food! I stamped the Cat Block (Stampendous) in red on pale-blue cardstock and adhered to a black card base.  I stamped the Stampendous bird, mouse, fish, and word on a red scrap, tore the edge, and adhered. I fussy-cut the photo of Honeydew and popped up with foam tape.  I stamped the food dish (PSX) on a white scrap, fussy-cut, and popped up.  I stamped the sentiment (Canadian Maple Collection) on red cardstock, layered on white, and adhered.  To finish the card I added several black gems.

You still have time to join the Cat Lovers Hop!

I would also like to join these 3 challenges:
DRS Designs That's Tasty UE

Little Scrap Pieces Show it Off Saturday 1E

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday AG 5/5

Thank you for looking at my card! Wishing you a joyful day!

Cat Lovers Hop (One Last Card!)

Hello, everybody!  I thought I was finished with the Cat Lovers Hop but I am sharing one more card! So sorry for the blitz of cat cards this week but I really wanted to support this hop! There are 98 entries so far (I just took a peek!) and I want to help Janis make it to 100, so I've actually gone into my craftroom for the first time in 3 weeks to make a card!  Still no news from the contractors about when they are starting our repairs.  When our electricity went out today, I took the opportunity to do some stamping!

Newton's Nook is one of the generous sponsors of the Cat Lovers Hop so I decided to make a card with some of my NN stamp sets.  I've been seeing a lot of stamped wreaths in blogland and I have been wanting to try this trend!

I started by drawing a circle in pencil (I traced around one of my circle dies).  Then I started stamping snowflakes from the following Newton's Nook sets: Beautiful Blizzard, Newton's Holiday Mischief, Winter Tails, and Newton's Curious Christmas. I also used two of my older snowflake stamps (The Old Island Stamp Company and Inkadinkado). The inks used were: Brilliance Pearlescent Coral, Vivid Soft Pink, Simon Says Stamp Mint, Brilliance Pearlescent Lime, and Memento Bahama Blue. Here's what my card looked like when I started.  Either my SSS Mint ink is going dry or it is a very pale ink, so I switched to a different green.

I stamped Newton from the Hanging Around set in Pumice Stone Distress Ink (black seemed too dark for this card) and I coloured him with watercolor markers.  I fussy-cut Newton's head and paws and popped him up on foam tape with his tail behind. I was going to have his body hanging from the wreath but I couldn't achieve the look I wanted.  I stamped the sentiment from Beautiful Blizzard in Memento Bahama Blue.

On a top-folded notecard, I added two strips of washi tape on the left edge (I won the sparkly washi - thank you, Tracey!).  I trimmed the stamped panel and layered it onto the card base and then finished the card by adding several sequins.

My colour inspiration came from the Inky Paws Challenge over at the Newton's Nook Blog.

It's not too late - if you are quick, you can still join the Cat Lovers Hop!  The fun ends tonight at 11:59 p.m. Pacific. 

I would also like to join these 2 challenges:
7 Kids College Fund AG UE
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday AG 5/5

Thank you for looking at my card! Wishing you a joyful day!

Cat Lovers Hop - Day 5 (Honeydew Friendship)

Hi, everyone! I'm back again today with another card for the Cat Lovers Hop! Is anyone else sad that this is the final day of the hop?!  I am so thankful to Janis at Her Peaceful Garden for organizing this fun hop!  I really enjoyed myself this week and saw some great kitty inspiration!  It's not over yet, so you still have time to join - check out the guidelines and FAQ here.  The card I entered a few minutes ago was entry #94 - I would love to see the hop reach 100 entries before closing!  If I have a chance to enter one more, I will do it!

As I've mentioned before, I've been on a blog break and haven't had any time for crafting, but I remembered some cards I made a while back that I haven't shared on my blog. They are my "Honeydew and Kiwi" collection - it's a set of 12 cards, each one featuring either Honeydew or Kiwi (my cats).  I shared one of the cards from the set prior to the hop - you can see it here.  I have chosen 5 cards from this set to share this week in addition to the cards I already have scheduled, and this is the final one! So I hope you like kitty cards!  I want to support the Cat Lovers Hop as much as I can - I am hoping it's a huge success and that it will become an annual event!

This card features Honeydew! I stamped the cat trio (Stamp Oasis) on mustard cardstock, layered with black, and then adhered to a red card.  I stamped the sheet music (Stampington and Company) on a white scrap, tore, and adhered in upper right and lower left corners.  I fussy-cut Honeydew from a photo and popped up with foam tape. I heat-embossed the friendship sentiment (Kolette Hall) in white on a red scrap, fussy-cut, and layered with black cardstock, fussy-cut again, and popped up with foam tape.

I hope you head over to the Cat Lovers Hop and join in!

I would also like to join these 3 challenges:
DL.ART October Linky UE 1/day
Eureka Stamps Pets and Animals 1/3
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday AG 4/5

Thank you for looking at my card! Wishing you a joyful day!

Cat Lovers Hop - Day 5 (Wedding)

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

Today is the final day of the Cat Lovers Hop! I am sad to see it end!  I hope this will become an annual event! You still have time to link up!  The hop ends tonight at 11:59 p.m. Pacific. Thank you to Janis at Her Peaceful Garden for organizing the hop - I had fun!

I am on a blog break and haven't had any time for crafting, so I'm sharing a cute wedding card I made this summer for a friend who got married in July - she loves cats just as much as I do!

The cute image is from Cajoline Scrap and I fussy-cut and popped up with foam tape. The greeting is an older wood-mounted stamp from Kolette Hall and I heat-embossed it in white on a black snippet. The Mr. and Mrs. is from Avery Elle Cupcakes clear stamps and I stamped it vertically. 

I added strips of washi tape and a thin black snippet.  The flowers are from Recollections and Dollarama, as is the gem-filled brad.

This month's challenge at Scrap it with a Song features the Billy Idol song, White Wedding, so I used the wedding theme as my inspiration.

I hope you head over to the Cat Lovers Hop and join in!

I would also like to join the following challenges:
Pixie's Snippet Playground Snippets of black as mentioned above 3/3
Simon Says Stamp Monday Throwback (I chose the April 16/14 challenge "Animal Antics") 5/5

Thank you for looking at my card!  Wishing you a joyful day!

Painting by Brian

Hi, everyone! I'm back again! Not only is today the fourth day of the Cat Lovers Hop, but it is also National Cat Day! Now that's a reason to celebrate!  I have been enjoying myself all week at the Cat Lovers Hop - have you checked it out yet? You still have some time - the fun ends tomorrow - Friday, October 30, at 11:59 p.m. Pacific. Thank you to Janis at Her Peaceful Garden for organizing the hop!

To celebrate National Cat Day, I am sharing something completely different. This is a very special painting of my beloved kitty, Muffin.  Brian (my hubby) painted this and surprised me with it a few years ago to honour Muffin's memory. I was blown away by Brian's talent. He painted it with watercolour, based on the photo of Muffin shown below.

Muffin was my first kitty, and he owned me for 18 wonderful years. Sadly he passed over the Rainbow Bridge 11 years ago this month. He was a special boy - wherever I went, there he was. He would follow me around the house like a small dog, always wanting to see what I was doing and be close to me. He was my baby! I was his person! We had a very special bond and I still miss him so much, even after all these years. He had an unknown past when I adopted him from the shelter, and he was very skittish and naughty as a kitten. As the years passed, we grew closer and closer, and he was such a loving companion. 

Here is the photo used for the painting. This was taken towards the end of Muffin's life - you can see a cancerous tumour on his front paw, and his weight had dropped to 6 lb (he weighed 11 lb before he got sick).  R.I.P. Muffin.

Muffin, 1986-2004

I would also like to enter Brian's painting in the following challenges:
DL.ART October Linky UE 1/day
Just Keep on Creating AG UE

Simon Says Stamp Monday Throwback (I chose the April 16/14 challenge "Animal Antics") 4/5

Thank you for visiting my blog! Wishing you a joyful day!

Cat Lovers Hop - Day 4 (Kiwi Bonjour)

Hello, everyone! I'm back again today with another card for the Cat Lovers Hop! Thank you to Janis at Her Peaceful Garden for organizing this fun hop!  Guidelines and FAQ can be found here. I hope you will join! You have until tomorrow - Friday, October 30, at 11:59 p.m. Pacific.

I've been on a blog break and haven't had any time for crafting, but I remembered some cards I made a while back that I haven't shared on my blog. They are my "Honeydew and Kiwi" collection - it's a set of 12 cards, each one featuring either Honeydew or Kiwi (my cats).  I shared one of the cards from the set prior to the hop - you can see it here.  I have chosen 5 cards from this set to share this week in addition to the cards I already have scheduled! This is the fourth one. I want to support the Cat Lovers Hop as much as I can - I am hoping it's a huge success and that it will become an annual event!

This card features Kiwi and he's done a bit of travelling!  I covered the card front with patterned paper.  I stamped the French Village and greeting (both All Night Media) on kraft and layered with black and then green cardstock.  I stamped the French address onto the patterned paper. I fussy-cut Kiwi from a photo and popped up with foam tape. I finished the card with some puffy acrylic butterfly stickers.

I think this card fits well with Mrs. A's Butterfly Challenge, where the theme is Butterflies plus N for Numbers. The stamped address contains numbers, as does the patterned paper, so I am linking up over there as well.

I hope you head over to the Cat Lovers Hop and join in!

I would also like to join these 3 challenges:

Crafty Hazelnut's Patterned Paper October AG

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday AG 2/5

Thank you for looking at my card! Wishing you a joyful day!

Cat Lovers Hop - Day 4 (Cat Sympathy Card)

Hello, everyone!  Today is Day 4 of the Cat Lovers Hop! The hop runs until tomorrow, Friday, October 30, at 11:59 p.m. Pacific, so you still have time to join! Guidelines and FAQ can be found here. Thank you to Janis at Her Peaceful Garden for organizing the hop!

I am on a blog break now and haven't had time to do any crafting. I made this card in the summer for a friend who lost her kitty. A tough card to make but hopefully it provided some comfort. I forgot to post it on my blog at the time, so I'm sharing it now.

The kitty is an older wood-mounted rubber stamp from The Stamp Barn, and I heat embossed it in white on black cardstock.  I die-cut the black panel with Spellbinders Shapeabilities Scalloped Borders Two and affixed it to a white card base. I stamped the sentiment in black, and that finished the card.

I hope you head over to the Cat Lovers Hop and join in!

I would also like to join the following challenges:
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday AG 1/5
Simon Says Stamp Monday Throwback (I chose the April 16/14 challenge "Animal Antics") 3/5
Vintage Stamping Use a Die/Dies 2/3

Thank you for looking at my card!  Wishing you a joyful day!

Cat Lovers Hop - Day 3 (Sleepy Time Honeydew)

Hi, everybody!  I'm back again today with another card for the Cat Lovers Hop! Thank you to Janis at Her Peaceful Garden for organizing this fun hop!  Guidelines and FAQ can be found here. I hope you will join!

I've been on a blog break and haven't had any time for crafting, but I remembered some cards I made a while back that I haven't shared on my blog. They are my "Honeydew and Kiwi" collection - it's a set of 12 cards, each one featuring either Honeydew or Kiwi (my cats).  I shared one of the cards from the set prior to the hop - you can see it here.  I have chosen 5 cards from this set to share this week in addition to the cards I already have scheduled!  This is my third one. So I hope you like kitty cards!  I want to support the Cat Lovers Hop as much as I can - I am hoping it's a huge success and that it will become an annual event!

This card features my big boy, Honeydew, at sleepy time! I call him my big boy because he weighs 20 lb!  He is a good eater to say the least!

I started by adhering specialty papers to the front of a 6x6 pre-folded notecard. I stamped the moon (Stamp Oasis) in black on a yellow scrap and fussy-cut. I stamped the house border (Heidi Grace) in black on pale yellow cardstock, fussy-cut, and adhered. I made a little pillow for Honeydew by trimming a make-up removal pad and layered it with a black scrap. I fussy-cut Honeydew from a photo and popped up with foam tape, with his head resting on the pillow. I stamped the sentiment (Multicraft Imports) on a white scrap, drew a thought bubble with a black marker, and fussy-cut.  I added some tiny punched circles for the thought bubble.

I found inspiration in the Scrap it with a Song challenge.  This month's pop song is Mika's Relax, Take it Easy, and I was inspired by the title.

Now I hope you will head over to the Cat Lovers Hop and check it out!

I would also like to join these 2 challenges:
Cupcake Inspirations Stars (see graphic below) 1/3
DL.ART October Linky UE 1/day

Thank you for looking at my card! Wishing you a joyful day!

Cat Lovers Hop - Day 3 (Holiday Cheer)

Hello, everyone!  It's the third day of the Cat Lovers Hop!  Have you joined yet? Thank you to Janis at Her Peaceful Garden for organizing it - I am enjoying myself! Check out the guidelines and FAQ over on Janis's blog here.

Today my card features a cute kitty from Magenta called Deck the Halls - Decorated Cat, which I coloured with watercolor markers and fussy-cut so I could pop him up with foam tape. I added Clear Wink of Stella and Glossy Accents to the ornaments.

I created the background using a stencil from Magenta called Small Birch Forest. I sponged Milled Lavender, Dusty Concord, and Hickory Smoke Distress Inks through the stencil and then added falling snow with a white gel pen. Magenta has a challenge this month to use one Magenta stamp, one or more other Magenta products, and one colour (other neutrals allowed), so I'm joining over there as well.

I die-cut Impression Obsession snowflakes and Paper Smooches sentiment and heat-embossed them with clear embossing powder to give them shine and texture.

I hope you head over to the Cat Lovers Hop and join in!

I would also like to join the following challenges:
The Daily Marker - Kathy Racoosin's 30-Day Colouring Challenge
Vintage Stamping Use a Die/Dies 1/3

Thank you for looking at my card! Wishing you a joyful day!

Cat Lovers Hop - Day 2 (Kiwi Sunshine)

Hello, everybody!  I'm back again today with another card for the Cat Lovers Hop! Thank you to Janis at Her Peaceful Garden for organizing this fun hop for cat lovers! Guidelines and FAQ can be found here. I hope you will join!

I've been on a blog break and haven't had any time for crafting, but I remembered some cards I made a while back that I haven't shared on my blog. They are my "Honeydew and Kiwi" collection - it's a set of 12 cards, each one featuring either Honeydew or Kiwi (my cats).  I shared one of the cards from the set prior to the hop - you can see it here.  I have chosen 5 cards from this set to share this week in addition to the cards I already have scheduled!  So I hope you like kitty cards!  I want to support the Cat Lovers Hop as much as I can - I am hoping it's a huge success and that it will become an annual event!

This card features Kiwi!  I started by stamping Stampendous Agapanthus Cluster in Staz-On Royal Purple on some patterned paper to create a background.  I stamped the Inkadinkado Sun in black on a yellow scrap, fussy-cut, and popped up with foam tape.  I fussy-cut Kiwi from a photo and popped up with foam tape.  I stamped the Anita's sentiment on a yellow scrap, fussy-cut, and adhered.  I finished off the card with several metallic butterfly stickers from Dollarama.

I hope you head over to the Cat Lovers Hop and join in!

I would also like to join these 3 challenges:  
Crafty Hazelnut's Patterned Paper October AG 
Fashionable Stamping Changing Seasons 2/3
Simon Says Stamp Monday Throwback (I chose the July 13/15 challenge - Anything Goes) 2/5

Thank you for looking at my card! Wishing you a joyful day!

Cat Lovers Hop - Day 2 (Squinty with Mittens)

Hello, everyone!  Before I share my card, I would like to welcome my newest follower - Petra Swart - so happy to have you here!

Today I'm joining the Feeling Blue challenge at Impression Obsession - IO Blog. The guidelines are to use all IO stamps and dies, and the IO challenge must be listed first. Done, and done!

This is Day 2 of the Cat Lovers Hop, so you know I'm joining again today with my IO challenge card! Thank you to Janis for organizing the hop! You can check out the guidelines and FAQ over on Janis's blog here. If you like cats as much as I do, then you won't want to miss this hop!

I've had this kitty stamp from Impression Obsession for over a year and I thought it was high time he made an appearance! He's called Squinty with Mittens F7567 and I coloured him with Prismacolor pencils and added glitter on the white part of his hat.

I added strips of washi tape and blue glitter tape along the left side of the card.  I die cut Impression Obsession - Sm. Snowflakes Set DIE100-F from the glitter tape and placed them to look like Squinty is curiously gazing at them.  I stamped the greeting from Impression Obsession Clear Stamps Set - Sentiments 1 WP16 and adhered several blue and silver sequins.

I decided to finish the inside of this card so I followed a similar design with the washi tape, snowflakes, and sequins and then stamped the Impression Obsession - Furry Christmas C7583 sentiment.

Here are two of my cats in their Santa hats; sorry no mittens.  I don't think they liked the hats!

Honeydew

Kiwi

I would also like to join the following challenges: 

Fashionable Stamping Changing Seasons 1/3

Simon Says Stamp Monday Throwback - I chose the Jan. 6/14 challenge "Blues" 1/5

Thank you for looking at my card!  Wishing you a joyful day!

Cat Lovers Hop - Day 1 (Kiwi Pretty Wings)

Hello, everyone! I'm back again today with another card for the Cat Lovers Hop! Thank you to Janis at Her Peaceful Garden for organizing this fun hop!  Guidelines and FAQ can be found here. I hope you head over and check it out!

I've been on a blog break and haven't had any time for crafting, but I remembered some cards I made a while back that I haven't shared on my blog. They are my "Honeydew and Kiwi" collection - it's a set of 12 cards, each one featuring either Honeydew or Kiwi (2 of my 3 cats).  I shared one of the cards from the set previously - you can see it here.  I have chosen 5 cards from this set to share this week in addition to the cards I already have scheduled!  So I hope you like kitty cards because I have a lot to share this week!  I want to support the Cat Lovers Hop as much as I can - I am hoping it's a huge success and that it will become an annual event!

This card features Kiwi! This is not my usual style but I think it's so fun! I started with a kraft card base (Stampin' Up) and stamped the ledger (Stampington and Co. - Clearly Impressed) in black and the small butterflies (Hampton Art, NicoleCrafts) in purple.  I stamped the butterfly wings on a pale plum scrap and then fussy-cut. The sentiment (Studio 18) was stamped in purple on a pale plum scrap and then I tore all around it. I fussy-cut Kiwi from a photo and popped up with foam tape.  I finished off the card with epoxy butterfly stickers (Studio 18).

I think this card fits perfectly with Mrs. A's Butterfly Challenge, where the theme is Butterflies plus N for Numbers.  The ledger stamp has lots of numbers, so I will be linking up there as well.

I would also like to join these 2 challenges:  
Just Keep on Creating AG UE
Word Art Wednesday AG w Uplifting Sentiment 2/5

Thank you for looking at my card! Wishing you a joyful day!

Cat Lovers Hop - Day 1 (Thanks)

Hello, everyone!  I'm still on my blog break, but as promised I am popping in to join the Cat Lovers Hop! Today is the first day - I plan to participate each day of the hop, so stay tuned for lots of kitty inspiration!  Before I share my card, I would like to welcome two new followers - Veronica Tovar and Olga Fink - thank you for joining me!

I was so excited when I heard about the Cat Lovers Hop!  My followers already know how much I love kitties, so there's no way I could miss it!  October 29 is International Cat Day, and Janis at Her Peaceful Garden has organized the hop to celebrate this wonderful day.  The blog hop starts today and runs until Friday, October 30. Janis has lined up some fabulous prizes, so you will want to head over to her blog for all the details! Guidelines and FAQ can be found here.

I hope I meet some new cat-loving friends during the hop!  For those who don't know me, I have three beautiful kitties, and their photos can be found at the upper left of my blog - Honeydew, Kiwi, and Snowie are my inspiration!  I make a lot of cat cards, so this hop is purr-fect for me!

Today I am sharing a thank-you card I made for a very thoughtful friend. I actually made this card way back in August but forgot to post it on my blog, so now's the purr-fect time!  

I was inspired by Jennifer McGuire's faux textured metal technique here. I followed Jennifer's technique and sponged Evergreen Bough and Peacock Feathers Distress Inks onto a masked-off rectangle. I brushed on white metallic Perfect Pearls, and it created a lovely shimmer effect. The panel was then embossed with Cuttlebug Cross My Heart and mounted on a leftover snippet of black cardstock with a piece of fun foam behind to add dimension. Here's another photo showing the shimmer.

I received the sweet kitty cut-out in a RAK (random act of kindness) from Ike. Thank you, Ike, I love all the kitties, and I thought this one was purr-fect for the card. The thanks die-cut is from Lawn Fawn, and I added three metallic gold heart sequins.

I would also like to join these 3 challenges:  
DL.ART Fall Foods Alt. Thank You 1/3
Pixie's Snippet Playground Snippet used for embossed panel, black layering piece, and word die cut 2/3
Word Art Wednesday AG w Uplifting Sentiment 1/5

Thank you for looking at my card! Wishing you a joyful day!

Eek!

Hi, everyone!  Today is my birthday - Yay!  I plan to enjoy my day!  I'm still on a blog break but wanted to pop in and remind you all about the Cat Lovers Hop that starts tomorrow.  Janis over at Her Peaceful Garden has organized the hop for all of the cat lovers!  I plan to be here each day for the hop! I am all ready with my blog posts. I also plan to do some blog visiting this week to try to get caught up on what I've missed. Still no update on the contractors but I am suspecting it will be delayed. I'll keep you posted!

I hope you can join the Cat Lovers Hop!  You can read Janis's FAQ and guidelines here. I made this card a couple weeks ago with the hop in mind, but after reading the guidelines, I am not sure it qualifies. That's okay! I love how it turned out so I wanted to share it anyway.

I started by adding strips of Halloween-themed washi tape on a diagonal and then adhered Poppystamps Spider Web Border, die-cut in black, along the top of the washi tape.  I trimmed the parts that went beyond the edge and added them at the bottom of the washi tape.  I die-cut one of the Poppystamps Playful Kitties (two kitties come in the set) in black and then heat-embossed it with Black Opal embossing powder (The Artful Stamper) to give it a sparkly glow.

I stamped the Newton's Nook sentiment in black.  To finish off the card, I added three spider stickers (EK Success Sticko) along with googly eyes.

I would like to join the following challenges:  Allsorts Orange, Purple, Black 1/3; Artistic Inspirations AG Halloween UE; Beccy's Place October AG UE; Blessings Ink Amusing Challenges AG No Digis 1/2; Brown Sugar AG 1/2; Cards in Envy Trick or Treat 1/3; Cardz TV Designer Challenge Halloween Card 1/3; Come and Get It Use Orange 1/3; Craft Rocket Spooky 1/3; Craft Your Passion AG 1/3; Crafts 4 Eternity Halloween 1/3; Crafty Calendar Halloween 3/3; Crafty Catz Monsters Spooky or Cute 1/3; Crafty Creations Don't Be Blue (no blue or card to cheer) 1/2; Crafty Girls Creations AG 1/3; Creative Fingers AG 1/3; Creative Inspirations AG Option Sketch UE; Cute Card Thursday AG UE; Cuttlebug Mania Orange and Black 1/3; Deep Ocean Halloween UE; Die Cuttin Divas Picture Inspiration 1/3; Dies R Us Ghoul Friends 1/3; Digi Designs Include a Pumpkin 1/3; DL.ART October Linky UE 1/day; Eureka Stamps Halloween 1/3; Fan-Tastic Tuesday Orange and Black 1/4; Fussy and Fancy Orange, Black or Purple UE; Get Creative Halloween Colours 1/3; Inspiration Destination AG UE; Jo's Scrap Shack Halloween 1/3; Just Keep on Creating AG UE; Kitty Bee Aloha Friday Halloween 1/2; Left of Center LOC Theme UE; Lil Patch of Crafty Friends AG 1/3; Little Scrap Pieces Show it Off Saturday 1E; Love to Scrap AG 1/3; Not Just Cards AG UE; One Crazy Stamper Christmas Halloween Fall 2/5; One Stitch at a Time AG with Halloween Colours UE; Our Craft Corner Halloween 3/3; Penny's Paper-Crafty AG 1/3; Pile it On Cute and/or Spooky UE; Pixie's Snippet Playground Snippets used for die-cut cat and spider web 1/3; Poppystamps Trick or Treat UE; Quick Creations Halloween 1/2; QKR Stampede Halloween 1/3; Quirky Crafts Halloween and Autumn Colours 1/3; Robyn's Fetish Anything for Halloween 1/3; Scrappy Moms Stamps Happy Halloween UE; Simon Says Stamp Monday Monster Mash 1/5; Sparkle N Sprinkle AG w Loose Glitter, Embossing Powder and/or Flocking UE; Sweet Stamps October AG UE; The Craft Barn Halloween UE; The Crafter's Cafe Black, Purple, Orange and/or Ghosties (I have all) 1/3; The Outlawz Saturday PAL Halloween 1E; The Paper Girls Halloween 1/3

Thank you for looking at my card! Wishing you a joyful day!

Taking a Blog Break... and Cat Lovers Blog Hop

Hello, everyone!  I will be taking a blog break for the next couple months. We have contractors coming to our house late October/early November to do some insurance repairs.  We've been waiting since March!  The water damage is in almost every room, and we have to move out of our house for 4-6 weeks!  I have a lot to do to get ready so I'm starting my break now to get organized before the contractors arrive.  In a few weeks, after we move out, I will have no internet service (I have no Smartphone or laptop, just a desktop PC!) so I will be completely offline. Totally stressed out about the whole thing!

But on a positive note, I plan to pop back in with some scheduled posts during the last week of October.  There is no way I can miss the Cat Lovers' Blog Hop!  Janis at Her Peaceful Garden has organized this fun hop for cat lovers and has arranged some wonderful sponsors and prizes.  The hop runs from October 26-30.  Did you know that October 29 is National Cat Day?  Who knew!?  Janis did!  There will be prizes for linking up a cat-themed project and for commenting!  You can find all the details over at Janis's blog - Her Peaceful Garden - so you will want to join as a follower over there so you can keep up to date on what's going on while I'm away.

I hope you are as excited about the Cat Lovers' Blog Hop as I am!  I know you have some cat stamps, dies, or digis in your stash! Dust them off and get ready to have some fun!  You have two weeks to get crafty - the fun starts on October 26!

Wishing everyone a joyful day!  

Happy Haunts and the Hop to Stop

Hello, everyone!  This is my final card for The Hop to Stop in support of domestic violence awareness.  It's been an emotional hop for me as I explained here, but it's enabled some healing I think. I encourage you to check out the purple beauties over at the hop. You still have a couple days to join; the hop closes on Wednesday at 12 noon CST.

None of my hop cards have focused on domestic violence or survival.  I just went with purple, which is the colour for domestic violence awareness, and that's what I've done again today. I made another fun Halloween shaker card - I started the hop with a Halloween shaker and I'm ending it with a Halloween shaker!  For this one I used the three creepy cats from Beccy's Place - Witching Hour Set (I won these in Beccy's challenge last month - thank you, Beccy!).

I printed the images on watercolour paper, masked the eyes, and sponged distress inks (Shabby Shutters, Dusty Concord, Shaded Lilac, Hickory Smoke, and Black Soot) to create a spooky background.  I added water droplets and made some splatters with Black Soot and Dusty Concord mixed with water.  The sentiment is from Newton's Nook Spooky Street, and the shaker frame is die-cut with Simon Says Stamp Stitched Rectangles. I added lot of sequins in black, silver, and various shades of purple.

Please become informed about domestic violence, its impacts, and available resources. You can visit the National Resource Center on Domestic Violence for more information. Canadians can find out more here.  I hope to see you at The Hop to Stop to support this important issue.

I would also like to join the following challenges: Allsorts No Design Papers 2/3; Artistic Inspirations AG Halloween UE; Aud Sentiments Halloween Sentiment 2/5; Beccy's Place October AG UE; CRAFT Autumn/Halloween 3/5; Craft Your Passion AG 1/3; Crafty Calendar Halloween 2/3; Crafty Girls Creations 3/3; Creative Corner Halloween 2/3; Creative Fingers AG 3/3; Dies R Us Halloween 2/3; Di's Digi Designs Too Cute to Spook 1/3; DL.ART October Linky UE 1/day; DRS Designs Spooky or Cutesy UE; Get Creative Halloween 2/3; Inspiration Destination AG UE; Just Keep on Creating AG UE; Kitty Bee Aloha Friday Animals 2/2; Left of Center Sketch or LOC theme UE; Not Just Cards AG UE; One Stitch at a a Time AG with Awareness (Domestic Violence Awareness) UE; Our Crafty Corner Getting Ready for Halloween 2/3; Paperbabe Stamps AG UE; Pile it On Funky and/or Freaky UE; Pixie's Snippet Playground Snippet used for purple frame and black cardstock 2/3; Scrapbook Blessings Club AG Use Digi Stamps Only UE; Suzy Bee's Bloomin' Beginning with S (sequins, shaker, spooky) UE; Sweet Stamps October AG UE; The Corrosive The Dark Side 1/3

Thank you for looking at my card!  Wishing you a joyful day!