Kat's Tales Mini Album

Last Tuesday was International Cat Day and I didn't get to celebrate in the style that I had wanted. Instead we got to spend quality time with our kitties at the Vet. Domino had a runny eye, a cut on his nose that wasn't healing, and an upset tummy. We were worried that the cut (inflicted by his sister, the aptly named Harley Quinn) had gotten infected. so we made an appointment, the kitties voluntarily hopped into their carriers, got loaded into the car, then meowed pitifully the whole ride. Turns out that Domino has allergies, which caused his runny eye, which ran into the cut on his nose. So I didn't get to post my mini album.

Here it is!

Front Cover

Inside Front Cover 

Side View 

Products used:

Worn Cover Tim Holtz® Idea-ology®

Small Alphabet Die Set by All Occasions

Media@ Gesso by DecoArt@

Media® Matte Medium by DecoArt®

Curious Cats Polymer Stamp Set by Visible Image

Les Chats (Cats) Unmounted Rubber Stamp Set by Katzelkraft

The Fat Cats 9 - Ignace Unmounted Rubber Stamp by Katzelkraft

Snowflake, Sherbert,  Zesty Zing, Hey Pesto Squid Ink, Candy Floss, and Rose Fresco Finish Chalk Acrylic Paints by Paper Artsy

Cat Sentiments Clear Stamp Set by Frantic Stamper.

Jet Black StazOn™ Ink by Tsukineko®

Tuxedo Black Memento™ Ink by Tsukineko

Pink Peony, Shadow Grey, and Watering Can Archival™ Ink by Ranger Industries

Tissue Paper

Solar White Classic Crest® Cardstock by Neenah Papers

Copic® Markers:

   Mouse: C2, C4, RV91, R81, YG21, YG25

   Cats' Fur: BV0000, BV000, BV20, B32, B34, B60, C00, C0, C1, C2, C3, C4, C6, C6, C8, 

   Cats' Noses and Mouths: RV42, RV91, RV95, E04, YG21,YG23, YG25

Checkerboard Stencil by Carabelle Studios

Cat  Paw Stencil by KaiserCraft

Discover Word Series Stencil by That's Crafty

Tim Holtz@ Distress@ Crazing Medium by Ranger Industries

Cat Print Patterned paper by Doodlebug Designs Inc.™

Ring Binders by Tim Holtz® Idea-ology®

Pink Glittery Brads: Source Unknown

Instructions:

1. Using alphabet dies, cut black cardstock for the title. Brush the die-cut letters with Matte Medium to seal them.*
2. Using Tuxedo Black Memento Ink, stamp the cats and the mouse, fussy-cut, color with Copic markers, and edge with a dark marker. 
3. Brush the cats and the mouse with Matte Medium to seal them.* Set aside to let them play while the notebook is altered.
4. Stamp the Curious Cat onto tissue paper with StazOn ink.
5. Flip the tissue paper and paint the cat's eyes, nose, and mouth with Fresco Finish paints. Let dry.
6. When dry, use Snowflake paint to cover the painted eyes, nose, and mouth. Set aside to dry.
7. Place the Worn Cover flat and apply gesso. Let dry.
8. Paint the cover with pink(ish) paints. Let dry.
9. Sponge grey Archival inks over the checkerboard and paw print stencils onto the painted cover. Heat set. Repeat as desired.
10. Sponge grey Archival ink over the border of the Word Series stencil onto the base of the painted cover. Heat set.
11. Using the darker grey Archival ink, randomly stamp "Meow" onto the cover. Heat set.
12. Apply Matte Medium to the cover.
13. Tear around the painted cat face on the stamped tissue paper.
14. Liberally apply Matte Medium to the top portion of the cover. 
15. Apply Matte Medium to the reverse of the the cat face tissue paper.
16. Place as desired onto the wet Matte Medium on the cover and smooth. Let dry.
17. Apply Matte Medium over the cat face and let dry.
18. Apply Matte Medium over the entire front cover and place the alphabet, the cats, and the mouse. Let dry.
19. Apply another coat of Matte Medium over the entire cover to seal the entire shebang.
20. Discover bumps and see the seam because you didn't do steps 14 and 15 properly.
21. Get clever and try to camouflage the seams and bumps by apply Crazing Medium onto the cover. Let dry. 
22. Discover Step #21 was an epic fail and try to fix by painting over the cracks Sherbert Fresco Finish paint. Wipe back with a baby wipe. It's better, but is NOT going to win prizes.
23. Seal the entire cover again with Matte Medium.
24. Cut patterned paper to size for inside covers and the spine. 
25. Guess what you're going to apply to seal the paper so you can paint it. Good guess.
26. Paint the sealed patterned papers with Sherbert Fresco Finish paints. Let dry.
27. Apply Matte Medium to the inside covers and adhere the painted patterned papers. 
28. Seal the inside covers with Matte Medium.
29. Sponge grey ink over the Cat Stencil onto the inside front cover. 
30. Apply Matte Medium to seal.
31. Use the pink glittery brads to adhere the Ring Binders.
32. Apply Matte Medium to the spine of the notebook.
33. Adhere the painted, sealed patterned paper. Seal with Matte Medium.

If you've made it through this, go reward yourself with a leisure beverage.

*I seal cardstock die-cuts and Copic colored images with Matte Medium before adhering them to the project and then sealing them with Matte Medium because I discovered that the ink from the cardstock and/or Copic markers can run onto the project, which is highly annoying. 

Thanks for visiting today!

I shall enter this album into the following challenges:

• Country View Challenges: November 2019 Hand Stamped

• Creative Artist Mixed Media Challenge #55: Anything Goes

• Simon Says Wednesday Challenges: Anything Goes

Word-Up Weekend and Stampotique's March Release!

Stampotique's Facebook Group has started "Word-Up Weekends" where we share projects created with Stampotique's many Words, Phrases, Letters, and Numbers.

BTW, have you seen Stampotique's March Release? It's fabulous! Click on over to check it out. I'm sure you'll have some new favorites!

Anyway, here's my card  which features the brand new Cranium (Daniel Torrente) and the sentiments Happy Bird Day (Carol's Collection) and Happy, Happy (Janet Klein).

Cranium was stamped with Tuxedo Black Memento ink, colored with Copic markers, fussy-cut, and edged with a black marker. He was set aside to watch over the creation of his background.

Two sheets of patterned paper were die-cut with the larger die from the Polaroid die set (Kaisercraft). Happy Bird Day and Happy, Happy were stamped onto the gray and white polka dot frame part.

White cardstock was die-cut with one of the birds from the Cardinals set (Impression Obsession), then colored with Copic markers to look somewhat like a Blue Jay. The blue and white polka dot paper was adhered into the aperture of the frame, then Cranium was adhered overtop. The blue jay die-cut was perched on Cranium's nose.

The Polaroid die-cut was then adhered to a small blue card and I called it done!

Thanks for visiting today!

I shall enter this card into the following challenges:
• Dies R Us Challenges: Something New  (New stamp!)
• Cut It Up Challenges: Birthday Cards
• Through the Purple Haze Challenges: Male Colors

Meet Pearl Princess!

Here's Pearl Princess, one of the stamps in the New Reflections Set 1, by Carmen Medlin Designs, available at I Brake for Stamps.

Pearl Princess was stamped with Tuxedo Black Memento ink (Imagine Crafts and colored with Copic markers. Clear Gelly Glaze pen (Sakura) was used to add dimension and shine to the water bubbles around her.

Green cardstock was die-cut with two Petite Ovals Nestabilties dies (Spellbinders) to create a frame to go around  Pearl Princess. The same cardstock was die-cut with one of the dies from the Chains die set (Elizabeth Craft Designs) and also used to create a 5"x7" card.

The patterned paper is from the Voyage Beneath the Sea 8x8 pad (Graphic 45) and was edged with Stormy Sky Distress ink (Ranger).

Three Blush Pearls (KaiserCraft) were used to finish the card.

I Brake for Stamps has a huge and varied collection of rubber stamps that you ought to check out right now. Click on my badge below to be whisked over to I Brake for Stamps to check out all of the goodies! Best of all, if you buy something, you can get a 10% discount off of your purchase if you use this code: SAVE10KATHI!

Thanks for visiting today!

What's Mew?

Here's a card featuring Cat Face, one of the great animal stamps by  I Brake for Stamps. I had to have Cat Face because she looks like my late beloved Duchess, who was a Tabby/Ragdoll blend. You can see Duchess in a photo on the right sidebar.

Cat Face was stamped with Tuxedo Black Memento ink (Imagine Crafts) and colored with Copic markers. I was trying to get Cat Face to have her coloration resemble Duchess', but the kitty morphed into a dilute Tortie. I'll be trying again for sure.

Black cardstock was die-cut with a Rectangle Frame die (Die-namics) and a fancy tag die (Spellbinders). Letters for the sentiment were die-cut from rust colored cardstock using the Upper and Lower Case Alphabet die sets (All Occasion).

Since domestic cats are related to wild cats, I decided to use a leopard print patterned paper from the Safari Adventure 8x8 pad (Graphic 45), which I die-cut with the Polaroid die (KaiserCraft). Black Soot Distress ink (Ranger) was used to edge the die-cut.

I Brake for Stamps has a wide variety of awesome rubber stamps, plus some fabulous digital stamps too. Click on my badge below to be whisked over there to check out all of the goodies! Best of all, if you buy something, you can get a 10% discount off of your purchase if you use this code: SAVE10KATHI!

Thanks for visiting today!

Word Up Weekend with Stampotique!

I know that I've been MIA from the Blogosphere for the last little while. The holidays were relatively insane and were complicated by a bunch of family fun, some estate messiness, and some relatively nasty dental work. Take care of your teeth. Really.

If you've been here at all, you know that 2016 was not the best year for me, which definitely impacted my crafting time. I'm hoping that 2017 will be much better in all regards for all of us and will be filled with love, laughter, health, happiness, peace, and prosperity!

Stampotique's Facebook Group has started "Word-Up Weekends" where we share projects created with Stampotique's many Words, Phrases, Letters, and Numbers.

Here's my entry for the week featuring Love and Laughter (Carol's Collection),  Happy, Happy (Janet Klein), and Whisker Monster with Sign (Kira Nichols).

The Whisker Monster with Sign was stamped with Tuxedo Black Memento ink (Imagine Crafts). Using my stamp positioner, Happy, Happy was stamped onto Whisker Monster's sign. Many of the text stamps fit perfectly onto his sign, which makes him ever so useful and versatile.

The Whisker Monster with Sign was colored with Copic markers, fussy-cut, and edged with a black marker. Several layers of Clear Gelly Glaze pen (Sakura) were added to Whisker Monster's horn, teeth, and claws. He was set aside while I created the rest of the card.

Old double-sided patterned paper was die-cut with the Polaroid Frame die (Kaiser Craft). The polka-dotted patterned paper was the reverse of the yellow patterned paper. Brown-wood patterned paper was adhered over the bottom part of the polka dotted paper and a Whisker Monster was placed atop it, and a shadow was traced with a Copic marker. He was set aside again and the layered polka dot paper was edged with Fossilized Amber Distress ink (Ranger). 

The Polaroid Frame die cut was also edged with the Fossilized Amber Distress ink, then adhered to a yellow pre-made A2 card from my stash. Love and Laughter was stamped with Jet Black Archival ink under the aperture of the Polaroid Frame die-cut. 

Yellow cardstock matching the pre-made card was die-cut with a Happy New Year die (Cottage Cutz), an ampersand (QuicKutz), and my new Birthday Balloons die (Die-namics). Black cardstock was also die-cut with the the same die. The sentiment die-cuts were adhered to the card front. Simply Sweet Rub-Ons (Doodlebug Designs) were used to add 2017 to one of the balloons.

Whisker Monster with Sign was adhered to the card front, the balloon strings were tucked under his paw, and the balloons were adhered to finish the card.

Thanks for visiting today!

I shall enter this card into the following challenges:

• Scrapy Land Challenges: Anything Goes

• Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenges: Something New 

• Marker Pop Challenges: Happy New Year

• Dies R Us Challenges: Anything Goes

Leap Day Hop with the Stampotique Design Team!

Today the Stampotique Design Team are holding a special Leap Day Blog Hop to showcase the wonderful new stamps from Stampotique Originals! There are tons of new images from our favorite stamp designers and Stampotique is proud to welcome TWO (yes TWO) new stamp designers, Terri Richardson and also Karen Hayselden to the fold.

Both of these ladies are wonderful artists and we think you will really enjoy the new spin they both give to the Stampotique line.  I know you will find some new stamps that you need now! 

This is also your chance to win some goodies! TWO winners will randomly be drawn from TWO of the designer's blogs. These lucky winners will win a $30 gift certificate for the Stampotique online store.  In order to have the chance to win, you will need to complete the blog hop; visit and leave a comment on each designer's blog.

You should have arrived here from Arwen McCullen' blog, where you saw some fabulous artwork.

Here's my card with Fruit Bat (Kira Nichols)!

Fruit Bat was stamped with Tuxedo Black Memento ink (Imagine Crafts)  and colored with Copic markers. 

Thin cardboard was die-cut with one of the Polaroid Frame dies (KaiserCraft). Green cardstock was die-cut with the Alphabet Uppercase die (Impression Obsession). The 4 was die-cut with a Skinni Mini Khaki die (QuicKutz). The letters were adhered to the Polaroid Frame, which was used to frameFruit Bat. 

Kraft cardstock was run through my Big Kick (Sizzix) inside the Whisper embossing folder (Craft Concepts). The edges of the card front were sponged with Gathered Twigs Distress ink (Ranger). The framed Fruit Bat image was adhered to the card front and Glossy Accents was added to his eyes (didn't hurt him a bit) to add dimension and shine.

Thanks for visiting today. Your next stop on the hop is Sue Davies' blog, where you will be treated to some amazing artwork!

Here's the Leap Day Hop roster!
Stampotique Designers Challenge Blog

Arwen McCullen

Kathi Rerek

Sue Davies

Corrie Herriman

Gez Butterworth

Jackie Payne

Nellie van Leeuwen

Claudine Criner

Kristen Catalano

Coby vanWilligenburg

Carol Fox

Sam Read

Valerie Wilson

Have fun hopping! We will be pulling the random winners of the Leap Day Blog Hop at the beginning of our next challenge!

Belated Birthday Card

Here's a late birthday card that I made for my nephew, who was off at school for his birthday. Being me, I took his absence at the recent family celebration as an extension, which seemed to continue to lengthen. Ah well. He's not a wee tot anymore and he knows his aunt is a flake, so the lateness of the card is not as dire. I did wish him Happy Birthday on FB and told him I was running late. Maybe that will exonerate me. Or maybe not.

This card features Stampotique's Rabbit (Janet Klein).  Rabbit was stamped with Tuxedo Black Memento ink (Imagine Crafts/Tsukineko), colored with Copic markers, fussy-cut, and edged with a Black Pitt Artist pen (Faber Castell). Rabbit's eyes, nose, buttons, and the watch were coated with several layers of Clear Gelly Glaze pen (Sakura) to add dimension and shine. A gold gel pen was added to the watch chain to make it stand out a bit more.

Gold metallic cardstock (Recollections) was die-cut with the Clock die (KaiserCraft). A circle was cut from patterned paper from an old 6x6 pad by My Mind's eye.

Patterned paper from the same 6x6 pad was cut, all the edges were sponged with Black Soot Distress ink (Ranger), and then layered. The clock die-cut was adhered to the card front and Rabbit was glued in place.

Black metallic cardstock (Recollections) was die-cut with the Missy Micro font die (Die-Versions), Wishes from the "Best Wishes" die set (Elizabeth Craft Designs), and  Birthday from the"Happy Birthday die set (Die-Versions). They were adhered to create the sentiment.

The card front was adhered to a white card and I called it done! I even mailed it!

Thanks for visiting today!

I shall enter this card into the following challenges:
• Allsorts Challenges: Anything But Christmas
• Simply Papercraft Challenges: Anything Goes
• Crafting With An Attitude Challenges: Anything Goes
• Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenges: Die Crazy