Smile!

Greetings! I'm thrilled and delighted to announce that I will be a Guest Designer for A Colorful Life Designs for April! If you're not familiar with with this company and love stencils, I urge you to check them out. They also carry clear stamps and Bling!!!

Here's my first project for A Colorful Life Designs!

Products Used:

Perspective Checkerboard Stencil by A Colorful Life Designs

Cheshire Cat Cling Mounted Stamp Set by Indigo Blu *

Nested Circles Essentials Dies by Studio Light *

Tuxedo Black Memento Ink by Imagine Crafts/Tsukineko *

140 lb. Mixed Media Paper by Strathmore

Solar White Classic Crest Paper by Neenah Paper Company

Pewter and Blue Shimmery Bling Cardstock by Bazzill Papers

Text 8x8 Patterned Paper from the Timeless Type Stack by DCWV

Pacific Teal and Aquamarine Nuvo Embellishment Mousse by Tonic Studios

Copic Markers: 

Cheshire Cat: BG13, BG34, B04, B06, Y06, Y08, N4, N6,

Background: B0000, B000, <B21, <B91, BG0000, BG10, BG11, C00, C0

Circle Die Set by QuicKutz 

Shadow Script Words 2 Thinlits Die Set by Tim Holtz for Sizzix

Silvery Shimmer Delicata Ink by Imagine Crafts/Tsukineko

Silver UniPosca Paint Pen by Posca USA

White Gelly Roll Gel Pen by Sakura

Low Tack Tape

STAY-tion by Wendy Vecchi for Ranger Ink

Stamping Platform

Please note that the products marked with an asterisk ( * ) are available at Topflight Stamps!

Instructions:

1. Cut a piece of blue Bling paper to 10" x 7". Score at 5" and fold to form a 5" x 7" card. Set aside.
2. Spritz water into the jar of Aquamarine Nuvo Embellishment Mousse and let sit for a minute.
3. Use a foam applicator to apply a light layer of Aquamarine Nuvo Embellishment Mousse to cover the Text patterned paper. You should still be able to see the text pattern. Heat set.
4. Place the colored Text paper onto the STAY-tion.
5. Use magnets and/or low tack tape to secure the Perspective Checkerboard Stencil by A Colorful Life over the patterned paper onto the STAY-tion.
6. Spritz water into the jar of Pacific Teal Nuvo Embellishment Mousse and let sit for a minute.
7. Use a foam applicator to apply a thick-ish coat of Pacific Teal Mousse over the Perspective Checkerboard Stencil by A Colorful Life onto the colored patterned paper. Alternately, you could apply a thin later, let it dry, and then add another layer. 
8. Remove and clean the stencil. 
9. Let the stencilled patterned paper sit overnight to let it dry thoroughly.
10. Place the stencilled patterned paper under something heavy to flatten it.
11. Trim the stencilled patterned paper to 4.75" x 6.75".
12. Edge the stencilled patterned paper with Silvery Shimmer Delicata Ink.
13. Shake up a Silver Metallic Posca Paint Pen, start the paint flow, then tap the paint pen to splatter the stencilled patterned paper. Set aside.
14. Using a stamping platform and Tuxedo Black Memento Ink, stamp the cat from the Cheshire Cat Cling Mounted Stamp Set  onto white cardstock. Re-ink and stamp again if necessary to attain a good impression.
15. Use Copic markers to color the Cheshire Cat.
16. Use a stitched circle die from the Nested Circles Essentials Die to cut the image panel.
17. Use a slightly larger QuicKutz circle die to cut Pewter Bling cardstock
18. Mat the stitched image panel with the Pewter Bling Circle.
19. Use Copic markers to add the dotty background around the Cheshire Cat
20. Use a white gel pen to add highlights to the Cheshire Cat's eyes.
21. Use the Shadow Script Smile die to cut Pewter Bling cardstock.
22. Use the Script Smile die to cut Blue Bling cardstock.
23. Adhere the Blue Bling Script Smile die-cut onto the Pewter Bling Script Shadow die-cut.
24. Adhere the stenciled background paper onto the reserved 5" x 7" card.
25. Adhere the matted circle Cheshire Cat image panel.
26. Adhere the Script Shadow Smile sentiment die-cut to finish the card.

Thanks for visiting today!

New Year Card, Starring the Meerkats!

It's Tuesday, which means it's time to share a project created for Topflight Stamps. This week my teammates and I are sharing projects to celebrate the new year!  In the interest of full disclosure, I will admit that I had a shaker card planned with five of the six meerkats included in Katzelkraft's adorable Meerkats Unmounted Rubber Stamp Set. The image panel was completely stamped, stenciled, colored, and die-cut. 

However, things went awry when I sealed the shaker. The black foam was showing and screaming, "Look! Kathi messed up. Again!". When I tried to peel the image panel from the foam, the left part tore. 

So I started another card with completely different stamps because I do have lots of ideas. Then I stamped part of it sideways. Near tears, with two hours to go before this post was due, I rescued part of the fubarred shaker card. Or I think I did. Thank heavens for my collection of cutting dies. The instructions have been written as though the card below was my original intention. Hahahahahaha.

Anyway, here's my Meerkat New Year's card! You'll have to admit that they look like they're having fun!

Topflight Products Used:
Meerkats Unmounted Rubber Stamp Set by Katzelkraft

Classic Sentiments by Heffy Doodle

Super Hero Rays 6x6 Stencil by Paper Rose Studio

Stones Stencil by Lavinia Stamps

Blending Brushes by Time for Tea Designs

Onyx Black VersaFine Ink by Tsukineko

PSA: There are lots of fantastic new products at Topflight Stamps, so you should definitely click on over there after reading my instructions! BTW, if you'd like to get 12% off your order at Topflight Stamps use THIS LINK!

Other Products Used:
Solar White Classic Crest® Cardstock by Neenah Papers
Grey Cardstock by Bazzill Basics Paper®
Tuxedo Black and London Fog Memento™ Ink by Tsukineko®
Picked Raspberry, Tumbled Glass, Salty Ocean Distress® Ink by Tim Holtz® for Ranger Ink
Copic® Markers: 

   Meerkats Left to Right: E41, E42,E43, E44, B21;  C0, C1, C2, C3, C4, C5,C7, E04, RVV43, B21, B60;  E51, E53, E55, E56*, E57, E59, B21

Fancy Folded Banners Lawn Cuts by Lawn Fawn®

Dot-Stripe Petite Prints 6x6 Patterned Paper Pad by Doodlebug Designs, Inc.™

Powder Blue Double Dot Paper from the Bold and Bright Patterned Paper Pad by BoBunny Press®

Sunray Venus Layering Basics die set (Tonic Studios)

STAY-tion by Wendy Vecchi for Ranger Industries

Stamping Platform
Removable ID Labels by Avery®

Post-It® Notes by 3M

Instructions:

1. Use magnets to secure a piece of white cardstock onto the stamping platform.
2. Position the dancing meerkat facedown onto the cardstock.
3. Press the lid of the stamping platform onto the stamps, lift, ink the stamps, and stamp. Repeat inking and stamping if necessary for a clear impressions.
4. Place a piece of Removable Label paper onto the platform (over the image panel), re-ink the stamps, and stamp.
5. Fussy-cut the label version mask and place over its counterpart on the image panel.
6. Remove the stamp from the stamping platform.
7. Position the other two meerkat face-down onto the image panel, press the platform's lid into the back of the stamps, ink, and stamp. Repeat inking and stamping if necessary.
8. Stamp the two meerkats onto removable label paper, fussy-cut them, and position the masks over the meerkats.
9. At this point all the meerkats should be masked because these days wearing masks is very important.
10. Remove the image panel from the platform and use magnets to secure it to the STAY-tion.
11. Place the magnetic ruler horizontally over the meerkats' feet/paws.
12. Brush Tumbled Glass Distress ink over the masked meerkats onto the image panel.
13. Use magnets to secure the Super Hero Rays stencil over the image panel and brush Shaded Lilac Distress ink from the center of the stencil outwards. 
14. Brush Picked Raspberry from the edges inwards to the center of the stencil.
15. Blend the inks to your liking.
16. Use Post-It Notes on each side of the ray to extend the ray to the outer edges of the image panel. Brush Picked Raspberry Distress ink between the Post-It notes, then blend the ink colors.
17. Repeat Step #17 to extend the rays as necessary so that the rays extend to the image panel's edges.
18. Move the ruler so that it covers the top part of the image.
19. Brush Salty Ocean Distress ink over the ruler to the bottom of the image panel.
20. Secure the Stones stencil to the image panel using rulers, then brush 
21. Remove the stencils and the image panel from the STAY-tion.
22. Remove the masks from the image panel and reserve for a later use.
23. Color all of the meerkats with Copic markers.
24. Continue to work on the shaker card by die-cutting the champagne glass, trimming the image panel, adhering acetate to the back of the image panel, created a Super Hero Rays stenciled back piece, add dimensional foam adhesive, fill the aperture with shaker goodies, peel back the adhesive, and put the image panel askew so that the black foam tape is showing. 
25. Use one of the dies from the Sunray Venus Layering Basics Die Set to cut the image panel. 
26. Use the next largest die to cut grey cardstock.
27. Trim patterned paper to 4" x 5.25" and edge with a V01 marker.
28. Adhere the patterned paper onto a grey A2 card.
29. Adhere the image panel as shown.
30. Use one of the dies from the Fancy-Folded Banners dies to cut blue patterned paper.
31. Use magnets to secure the die-cut onto the stamping platform.
32. Position the "Happy New Year" clear stamp face down onto the banner. 
33. Press the lid of the stamping platform onto the stamp.
34. Ink the stamp with Onyx Black VersaFine ink and stamp. Repeat the inking and stamping if necessary.
35. Adhere the sentiment to finish the card.

Thanks for visiting today1

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year wishes to you and yours. I hope your year is filled with health, happiness, joy, prosperity, laughter, and a touch of magic.

Supplies used:
Les Pabos, Sherlock Holmes Stamp Set by Katzelkraft
Tuxedo Black Memento™ Ink by Tsukineko
Summer Sky Memento™ Ink by Tsukineko
Solar White Classic Crest® Cardstock by Neenah Papers
Copic Markers:
  Skin: BV0000, BV00, R20, E000, E11, E21, E50
  Eyes**: R0000, R02, B32
  Cape and Tie: R24, R27, R59
  Suit and Hat: B41, B45
  Bunny: E21, E23, E25, E27, E39
Sunray Venus Layering Basics Die Set by Tonic Studios
Small Talk and Occasions Stickers by Tim Holtz® Idea-ology® by Advantus
Original 6x6 pad by Authentique
Red cardstock by Bazzill Basics
Red Rhinestones by Kaisercraft
Red Star Rhinestone by A Muse

Instructions:

1. Create a 6.25" x 5" card from red cardstock.
2. Stamp the magician from the Les Pabos set with Tuxedo Black Memento ink.
3. Color with Copic markers
4. Die-cut with one of the dies from the Sunday Venus Layering Basics Die set.
5. Keep the image panel in the die and sponge Blue Sky Memento ink over the die onto the image panel.
6. Remove from panel and set aside.
7. Cut a strip of polka dotted patterned paper, edge with a Copic marker, and mat with red cardstock.
8. Adhere the strip of matted polka-dot paper onto blue patterned paper that was cut to 4.75" x 6".
9. Color the idea-ology stickers with blue marker.
10. Adhere the image panel to the card front.
11. Add the sentiment stickers.
12. Adhere the card front to the red card.
13. Add the star rhinestone to the magician's wand.
14. Finish the card with red rhinestones.

Thanks for visiting today!

I Love Coffee!

 This week the ladies on the Stampendous Design Team are showcasing the wonderful new Curio Stamps. Be sure to check out Stampendous' Blog to see my teammates' stunning projects. I know that you'll be inspired!

Here's my second card for Curio Stamps week. This time I'm showing what I've done with the wonderful Curio Coffee Friend.

In addition to my love and adoration of cats, I also love coffee, so the Curio Coffee Friend stamp had to join my collection of coffee stamps. I'm not sure if you can read what it says on the coffee cup, so here goes. "Happiness is a good cup of coffee shared with a friend". Very true, but I guess I'm my own best friend since I have to have several cups before I'm ready for company!

Supplies:

Stampendous Products:

Curio Coffee Friend

Cling Clock Collage Rubber Stamp

Fitted Frames A Die-Cut Set

Mixed Media White Paper

Memento™ Tuxedo Black ink by Tsukineko/Imagine Crafts

Other Products:

Copic Markers®: B12, B14, C04, C10, E43, E44

Tim Holtz® Brushed Corduroy Distress Ink by Ranger

Double Dot Very Vintage 6x6 pads by Bo Bunny

Rope Swing Dotted Swiss cardstock by Bazzill Basics

Kraft cardstock by Bazzill Basics

Coffee-themed ribbon (source unknown)

Big Shot by Sizzix

Mini-Blending Tool and Pads by Ranger

Tim Holtz® Stamping Platform by Tonic Studios.

Directions:

1. Stamp Curio Coffee friend onto white cardstock, color with Copic markers, fussy-cut, and edge with a black marker. Set aside.
2. Position the 6x6 Cling Clock Collage Rubber Stamp onto the Stamping Platform. Ink the stamp with Brushed Corduroy Distress ink, then stamp onto blue patterned paper. Re-ink and stamp again if necessary. Then ink again and stamp onto a second sheet of the blue patterned paper.
3. Using a die from the Fitted Frames A Die-Cut Set , die-cut one of the sheets of the blue patterned paper in the center. Sponge the edges lightly with the Brushed Corduroy Distress ink.
4. Use the slightly larger die from the Fitted Frames A Die-Cut Set, die-cut a piece of the Rope Swing Dotted Swiss cardstock. Sponge the edges with the Brushed Corduroy Distress ink.
5. Adhere the blue die-cut to the Dotted Swiss die-cut, line up the matted stamped die-cut with its counterpart on the other sheet of stamped blue cardstock.
6. Trim the other sheet of stamped patterned paper to 5 3/8" square.
7. Adhere the ribbon.
8. Cut a piece of Kraft cardstock to 5.5" x 11", score, and fold.
9. Adhere the image panel to the card.

Thanks for visiting today!

Meowy Christmas! Yep. Again.

Since I'm all about cats all the time, lots of my holiday cards will feature cats. Seeing that I have a huge collection of feline images, the only problem is choosing which cat stamp to feature!

Today's card features The Fat Cats #6 (Katzelkraft), who I have dubbed The Cat Singer. 

The Fat Cats #6, aka The Cat Singer, was stamped onto Neenah cardstock and onto Eclipse Tape (Judikins). The Eclipse Tape version was fussy-cut and adhered over its counterpart as a mask. The Santa hat from Funny Accessories stamp set (Katzelkraft) was stamped onto the image, over the mask, then also stamped onto a scrap of Eclipse Tape. It was also fussy-cut, then adhered to the image panel to mask the hat. Post-It Notes were adhered over the base of the image panel, which was then airbrushed with G43 and G46 Copic markers using the airbrush system. The image panel was trimmed, the masks were lifted, then the scene was colored with Copic markers.

The excess Copic airbrushed cardstock was die-cut with the curtains dies from the Take The Stage die set (Die-namics). A scrap of red cardstock was die-cut with the tie-backs from this set. I set my little scene by adhering the curtains, swags, and tie-backs onto the image panel, which was matted with black cardstock.

Red cardstock was stamped with the fabulous new Decor Cling Music stamp (Stampendous) using Jet Black Archival ink and my new Tim Holtz Stamp Platform (Tonic Studios).  This music-stamped piece was trimmed, matted with black cardstock, and adhered to a red card.

The Meowy Christmas (The Cat's Pajamas) was stamped onto another scrap of the excess airbrushed cardstock, then die-cut with a nameplate die (Spellbinders).

The scenic image panel and sentiment were adhered to the card and I declared this card to be complete.

Thanks for visiting today!

I shall enter this card into the following challenges:
• Die Cuttin' Divas Challenge #348: Holidays
• The Crafter's Cafe Challenges: Christmas
• Happy Little Stampers Anything Goes with Dies Challenges

A Sweet Gift Card!

I don't know about you, but I tend to give a lot of cards containing gift cards during the holiday season. Here's one  with  Sweet Holly Penguin (FRA-DIE-10309) and Gift Card Corner Holder (FRA-DIE-10301).

Outside

Inside:

Sweet Holly Penguin was die-cut from white cardstock and colored with Copic markers. Several layers of Clear Gelly Glaze pen (Sakura) were added to the Sweet Holly Penguin's holly berries to make 'em dimensional and shiny.

Old patterned paper was layered and Morning Dew Nuvo Crystal Drops (Tonic Studio) was added to the seam between the papers and to the grey and blue dotted paper. The Sweet Holly Penguin was adhered and more Morning Dew Nuvo Crystal Drop were added underneath him so he appeared to be on icy, snowy ground. 

White cardstock was cut to two 4" x 5.25" panels. The image panel was matted with one of them, then adhered adhered to an ice blue card.

The second trimmed white panel was die-cut with the Gift Card Corner Holder die, then adhered to the inside of the blue card. An Starbucks gift card was added to illustrate the way the Gift Card Corner Holder works.

A scrap of the icy blue cardstock was die-cut with the the sentiment "A Gift" from the Gift Card Corner Holder die set, then adhered to the card front to finish the card.

Thank you for visiting today!

Deep Sea Divers!

It's my second month as a guest designer over at  Frantic Stamper, a fabulous online paper crafting store, which also has its own wonderful line of precision cutting dies and clear stamps. Here's my third card featuring the dies from this month's Under the Sea Fantasy collection, which consists of 28 dies, two clear stamps, and six background stamps.

 Today's card features the Deep Sea Diver (FRA-DIE-10248), the Shipwreck (FRA-DIE-10245), and the treasure portion from the Treasure Chest (FRA-DIE-10246) dies.

The Deep Sea Diver was die-cut twice from white cardstock. One of the die-cuts was placed upside down under a piece of mid-weight cardboard, then run through my Big Kick (Sizzix). This flattened out the detail and the edges to create a mirror image of the die.

The treasure was die-cut from gold metallic cardstock and set aside. 

The Shipwreck was die-cut once from white cardstock and all three white die-cuts were colored with Copic markers, then set aside while I created a background for them.

140 lb. Mixed Media cardstock (Strathmore) was painted with Pthalo Turquoise and Bllue Green Light Media Fluid Acrylic (MFA) paints (DecoArt), then heat set. Pthalo Green Blue MFA paint was sponged through the Moving Vines stencil (The Crafter's Workshop), then heat set.

The Shipwreck die-cut and the gold treasure were adhered to bottom of the image panel. Titan Buff MFA paint was painted over the die-cuts, heat set, then Media Sand Texture Paste (DecoArt) was scraped over the paint and die-cutss to create a sandy sea bottom. This was allowed to dry, then it was touched with several colors of Distress markers (Ranger) to add depth and color to the sand.

The two Deep Sea Diver's hands were slightly bent around some black cording, which was adhered to the image panel. Morning Dew Nuvo Crystal Drops (Tonic Studios) were added to the image panel, loosely following the shape of the cording, to create the look of air bubbles.

The image panel was matted with metallic black cardstock then adhered to a kraft card to finish it up!

Thanks for visiting today!

Diva!

Some news. I've stepped down from the Stampotique Design Team. It's been a fabulous run, but after several years, it's time to give some other artists a chance. They are celebrating the new team and a new release with a blog hop. You should definitely hop for a chance to win a fab prize. Click HERE to find out more information.

With that said, here's a tag for the current stencil challenge and also for "Word-Up Weekend", which is celebrated on Stampotique's Facebook page.

I used one of the cats from the Kitty Cube (Daniel Torrente) and the "What? Never seen a diva before?" (Carol's Collection), I also used one of the die-cuts that I received for the Eileen Hull/Stampotique collaboration.

I stamped the fluffy cat from the Kitty Cube with Tuxedo Black Memento ink onto the flower die-cut (Eileen Hull/Sizzix), then colored around the flower with Copic markers. Sometimes I find it easier to color the background first, especially in a small space like the flower. The cat was colored with Copic markers, then her eyes received dots of Morning Dew Nuvo Crystal Drops (Tonic Studios), which didn't sting at all.

I put her aside so her eyes could dry while I created the background of the tag. I was totally stoked to receive the newest colors of Distress Oxides today, so I just had to use a few of them. I chose Black Soot, Picked Raspberry, and a hint of Wild Honey Distress Oxide inks (Ranger). I smooshed the Black Soot Distress Oxide pad onto my craft mat, misted it with water, then dragged a piece of 140 lb. Mixed Media cardstock (Strathmore). I heat set the cardstock, then repeated the smoosh-mist-drag process with the Picked Raspberry ink pad. I did this several times until I was happy with the result, thoroughly heat set the cardstock, then sponged the same colors directly onto the cardstock, spritzing, then heat setting each color. The last touch was to sponge just the smallest amount of Wild Honey Distress Oxide ink onto the panel. Oh! I almost forgot, I used seam binding to wipe up the excess smooshed ink, then heat set it to make it all crinkly.

Picked Raspberry Distress ink was sponged over the smallest pawprints on the Pawprints stencil (Kaisercraft), then heat set. Black Soot Distress Oxide ink was sponged over the largest pawprint on the bottom right of the panel.

What? Never seen a diva before?" was stamped with Jet Black Archival ink (Ranger), then heat set. "Meow" washi tape was added to the panel, then my diva cat panel was adhered. The tag front was adhered to a black tag and the Distress Oxide dyed seam binding was threaded through the hole at the top of the tag to finish it up.

Thanks for visiting today!

Stencil Challenge!

This week's challenge at Stampotique Designer's Challenges is "Stencils!" Here's the blurb about the challenge!

"We are talking about Stencils for this challenge." Everyone uses a stencil every now and then. For us, we use them a ton! Let's see your best project(s) using stencils!"

During June the Stampotique Design Team is collaborating with Eileen Hull's Design Team. We were supplied die-cuts from Eileen Hull's wonderful line of Sizzix dies and were to use them in conjunction with Stampotique's stamps, so I decided to combine challenges because I like to multi-task!

If you'd like the chance to win your choice of $30 worth of Stampotique stamps, you should play along with this challenge. Visit Stampotique Designers Challenge blog and be sure to read the rules so that you'll have the chance to win that great prize!!! Remember to check to see the deadline for all of this month's Stampotique Designers Challenge blog!

Here's my "Be Happy" journal with the Journal die (Eileen Hull/Sizzix) and Stampotique's Keykeeper (Kira Nichols), Folded Tags (Josie Cirincione), and "Love and Laughter" (Carol's Collection).

Keykeeper was stamped with Tuxedo Black Memento ink (Imagine Crafts), colored with Copic markers, fussy-cut, and edged with a black marker.  Keykeeper's horns, teeth, and key were coated with several layers of Clear Gelly Glaze gel pen (Sakura), then his eyes received dots of Morning Dew Nuvo Crystal Drops (Tonic Studios), which didn't hurt him a bit.  Keykeeper was set aside to relax while I created the rest of the project.

The journal was assembled, then the back and front covers were sponged with Broken China, Worn Lipstick, and Wilted Violet Distress Oxide inks (Ranger), spritzed with water, heat-set, then the process was repeated until I was happy with the result. The inside of the journal was treated much the same way.

Folded Tags was stamped on the top of the front cover and the bottom of the back cover using Wilted Violet Distress Oxide ink. It was heat-set.

Removable Scotch Tape was placed horizontally across the bottom of the front panel. Gunmetal Cosmic Shimmer Sparkle Texture Paste (Creative Expressions) was scraped across the Small Keyholes Dylusions stencil (Ranger) and allowed to heat dry. When dry, the same texture paste was scraped over the words "Be Happy" from the Inspiration 6" x 8" stencil (DecoArt) and allowed to dry.

Wilted Violet and Worn Lipstick Distress inks (Ranger) were sponged over the Sheet Music stencil (The Crafter's Workshop), then Broken China Distress ink was sponged over the Pawprints Dinky stencil (That's Crafty).

"Love and Laughter" was stamped with Wilted Violet Distress Oxide ink, heat set, then die-cut with one of the dies from the Conversation Bubbles die set (Spellbinders). The cardstock was kept in the die and all three Distress inks were sponged over the die and the sentiment.

Music themed Washi tape (Little B) was added above and below the stenciled sparkle-pasted keyholes. Sadly when I went to trim the excess Washi tape off, the paper ripped off of the spine of the binder, so I had to repair it. Fortunately, I had some very old Gaffer cloth tape (7 Gypsies) that fit the bill. Now that there was more black, I sponged all edges of the binder with Black Soot Distress ink.

Once the torn paper emergency was resolved somewhat satisfactorily, Keykeeper was adhered and the "Love and Laughter" sentiment speech bubble was adhered over his head.

It was now time to bind the journal. I followed the directions and created some black cardstock signatures to serve as pages. Waxy Flax was threaded through the holes, tied securely, then some charms (a cat, key and lock, music notes, and "live, love, and laugh" were added with more Waxy Flax. By the way, I'm temporarily closing the journal with a beribboned binder clip.

Here's a photo that shows the spine and front/back covers.

Thanks for visiting today!

Spring Time Cat!

Cats plus flowers make me happy. The Purrfect Day Cats rubber stamp sheet (Stampinback), available at I Brake for Stamps makes me really happy ecstatic because the sheet includes TEN floral cat silhouettes, four paw prints, two sentiments, one fish skeleton, and one matching flower for a total of 18 fabulous images in this stamp set, which means you'll be seeing LOTS of flowery cats! By the way, IBFS ships internationally.

Here's my card with one of the ten floral kitties!

Fossilized Amber Distress Oxide ink(Ranger) was smooshed (technical term) onto my craft mat, spritzed with water, and then 140 lb. Mixed Media cardstock (Strathmore) was dragged through the diluted ink and heat set. This step was repeated with Spiced Marmalade Distress Oxide ink, then Worn Lipstick Distress Oxide ink. When I was happy with the coverage,  Post-It Notes were placed across the cardstock and Peeled Paint Distress Oxide ink was sponged over top. I wasn't really thrilled with the color, so I sponged Peeled Paint Distress and Mown Grass Distress ink over top.

Using my Stamp-a-Ma-Jig stamp positioner, the kitty from the Purrfect Day Cats sheet was stamped with Onyx Black VersaFine ink (Imagine Crafts). I had to re-ink the stamp and stamp it again to get better coverage probably because I was too inept to get it right the first time. I can't wait to get ahold of the of one of the new trendy stamp positioner systems so that I don't have to be quite so careful when re-stamping an incomplete image! Anyway, I touched up the image using a Black Pitt Artist Brush pen (Faber Castell).

A shadow was added under the cat using a Warm Grey Pitt Artist Brush pen.

The image panel was die-cut with one of the dies from the Mixed Rectangles Layering dies (Tonic Studios). A larger die from the same set, the "Purr-fect" die from the Cat Paw Print die set (Frantic Stamper), and the word "Just" from the Just a Note die (All Occasions) were used to die-cut black cardstock. The image panel was matted with the plain black rectangle die-cut. The sentiment was adhered in place.

The leftover Distress Oxide sponged cardstock was die-cut with the Butterfly die (Impression Obsession) and punched with a tiny dragonfly punch. The butterflies and the dragonflies were a bit boring, so I added Distress ink to them to perk 'em up a bit. My black marker was used to detail their bodies and edge them, then Black Spica Glitter pen was used to add a touch of glitter to them. The insects were adhered to the image panel and a Clear Stardust Gelly Glitter pen (Sakura) was used to add flight trails. The cardfront was adhered to a rust card.

I Brake for Stamps is where you'll find great selections of Stampinback stamps plus lots of other stamps from other stamp companies. 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!

If you have any questions about the techniques or products I used, feel free to ask!

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Beautiful Tea Pot

It's time for tea with this gorgeous teapot from a fabulous rubber stamp sheet (MS78) from Merry Stamper, available at I Brake for Stamps! The tea set has four tea gorgeous teapots with four matching tea cups, two sentiments, and a tiny little teapot, which will be perfect for making backgrounds!

The Teapot was stamped with London Fog Memento ink (Imagine Crafts) onto cardstock and onto mask paper. The mask paper version was fussy-cut. The cardstock version of the teapot was colored with Copic markers in mostly grey scale with a bit of light blue and aqua here and there. The color palette was chosen to match old patterned paper from a 6x6 pad.

The Teapot image panel was die-cut with one of the dies from the Sunray Venus Layering Basics die set (Tonic Studios) and kept in the die. The fussy-cut mask was adhered over the teapot image and Copic markers were airbrushed over the die and the mask.

Grey cardstock was die-cut with one of the bead chain dies from the Chains die set (Elizabeth Craft Designs) and a corner die (SCACD).

The patterned paper was layered, the chain die was adhered over the seam of the papers and the teapot image die-cut was adhered to the card front. The edges of the card front were sponged with London Fog Memento ink, then adhered to a grey card. The corner dies were added 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!

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Just Keep On Keeping On!

This week's challenge at Stampotique Designer's Challenges is Tags! (#269). Here's the blurb about the challenge!

"Make a tag or use a tag on your project this week!"

If you'd like the chance to win your choice of $30 worth of Stampotique stamps, you should play along with this challenge. Visit Stampotique Designers Challenge blog and be sure to read the rules so that you'll have the chance to win that great prize!!! Remember to check to see the deadline for all of this month's Stampotique Designers Challenges!

Here's my card with Elaina (Daniel Torrente) and "just keep on keeping on" (Kate Crane).

Elaina is one of Stampotique's March's new release stamps, which are all terrific. You should check them out. 

Elaina was stamped with Tuxedo Black Memento ink (Imagine Crafts) and colored with Copic markers. I think that Elaina looks like a confident woman, strutting proudly, so I gave her a sidewalk to walk upon. 

Elaina's shirt reminded me that I had some very old patterned paper that had some xes on them. I was delighted to put my hands on old 8x8 pad by Cosmo Cricket almost immediately. Gosh! I love when I remember stuff! I colored Elaina to match the patterned paper and think that the pink hair suits her! 

The image panel was matted with the solid pink cardstock from the pad and other papers from it were layered. I used my Ticket Tag Duo Corner punch (Tonic studios) to punch the top edges of the patterned paper, matted the patterned paper with white cardstock, which was also punched. 

I thought that the just keep on keeping on" sentiment was perfect for the image, so I stamped it onto a strip of leftover patterned paper from the same pad and adhered it as shown.

Since I missed the ribbon/lace challenge, I decided to add a scrap of lace over the seam between the patterned papers and used my Mini Attacher to secure the lace in place (That rhymes!). The image panel was popped up over the patterned paper and lace using dimensional foam adhesives. A hole was punched at the top of the tag and ribbon was added to finish the tag.

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I shall enter my tag into the following challenges:
• Try It on Tuesday/Tuesday Taggers: Lady in Red

• Tuesday Throwdown Challenges: Tag/Bookmark

• Dream Valley Challenges: Lots of Layers

Let the Good Times Roll!

It's Mardi Gras! Let the good times roll!

Here's my card with Masquerade, a Rick St. Dennis digital stamps available at I Brake for Stamps.

Masquerade was resized in PhotoElements, printed out onto Copic-friendly cardstock with my laser printer, then colored with my Copic markers. The image was die-cut with one of the dies from the the Sunray Venus Layering Basics die set (Tonic Studios).

Ancient patterned paper from the Fusion collection (Basic Grey) was die-cut with one of the dies from the Fishtail Flags dieset (Die-namics) and a circle from the Circle Nestabilities die set (Spellbinders). The patterned paper flag was edged with Dusty Concord Distress ink (Ranger), then layered onto a flag die-cut from solid cardstock.

Another sheet from the Fusion set was cut size, edged with Dusty Concord Distress ink. The matted fishtail die-cut was adhered over the patterned paper, then the image panel was added.

The sentiment was added to the patterned paper circle with Simply Sweet rub-ons (Doodlebug). The circle was matted with a slightly larger circle die-cut from solid cardstock, then added to the card front. Purple cardstock was die-cut with a Masquerade Masks die (Poppy Stamps) and patterned paper was die-cut with one of the butterflies from the Butterfly die set (Impression Obsession. The butterfly and the mask were adhered to the sentiment circle to finish the card.

I  Brake for Stamps has a great collection of digital stamps plus 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!

Merry Christmas -- For the Cat!

Krismaus Dance is one of the Rick St. Dennis digital stamps available at I Brake for Stamps.

Krismaus Dance was resized in PhotoElements, printed out onto Copic-friendly cardstock with my laser printer, then colored with my Copic markers. The image panel was die-cut with a die from the Sunray Venus Layering Basics die set (Tonic Studios). 

Patterned paper from an old 6x6 pad was die-cut with one of the dies from the Fishtail Flags die set (Die-namics) then layered on top of another piece of patterned paper from the same pad. The image panel was adhered and a foil sticker sentiment was added. The card front was adhered to a red card.

I  Brake for Stamps has a great collection of digital stamps plus 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!