Retro Rubber Challenge #199 - Tickled Pink!

Hey,

Welcome to another fun Retro Rubber challenge.

It was fun to see so many people in the gallery for the last challenge. I hope you will love this one too. This time we have a colour challenge for you.

I went with pink, white, and silver (I am using creative license here with my grey cat counting as silver).

This is one of my fave stamp sets - 'Pawsome Love' by Simon Says Stamp, I have had it since 2020. It has a great range of sentiments and critters. I really like the Palentine's Day idea, as I love to send Valentine's cards to my girlfriends.

I got all fancy and created my OWN folding banner using an ancient MFT banner die.. I have always felt the banners are too long and finally learned to fold my own!

Which colour combo will you use? Don't forget to pop over to Retro Rubber, and get inspired by the things the DT has made.

Challenge ends on February 10th.

Don't forget to tell us the age of your stamp, that is part of the fun of our challenge and please only enter 10 challenges including Retro Rubber.

Cx

Fusion Card Challenge - Kitty Butterfly...

Hey,

Welcome to another fantastic Fusion Card Challenge.

This time we have 'Kitty Butterfly' for you! As always both the sketch and the inspiration image are awesome.

I decided to be brave and fuse them because I had a crazy idea in mind..

I used a pencil to recreate the sketch on my white panel and then I masked off all the individual areas and blended them using distress oxides. I was pretty pleased with the outcome.

I knew I was going to use this amazing stamp by Carabelle Studios x Birgit Koopsen 'Cat Angel' - isn't it gorgeous.

It came out exactly as I had imagined and I just added a simple Happy Birthday and it is now winging it's way to my boss in London.

Make sure you check out all the rest of the inspiration by the DT over at the Fusion challenge blog, and play along with your own creation! 

When playing along you may use the sketch OR the photo to inspire your makes. OR, if you are feeling adventurous, you can fuse them together (see what I did there!).

Can't wait to see your makes. 

Challenge ends on August 17th

Cx

Retro Rubber Challenge #159 Anything Goes...

Hey,

Welcome to another fun Retro Rubber challenge.

This time we have everyone's fave - Anything Goes.

I have to apologise, no matter what I did, I couldn't get the sentiment to appear sharp in my photos.. I took this photo like a MILLION times.

I love this set of 'Hipster' animals by Tim Holtz, I have had them since 2018 and I got the dies as a gift from a friend a couple of years ago. 

I kept this card simple and just stamped a strip of leopard print along one edge of the red paper - that stamp is actually a new one from Amy Tangerine 'Brave & Bold'.

I added the hilariously perfect sentiment strip 'I'm sorry, did I roll my eyes out loud?' it's from Tim Holtz 'snarky chat' stickers.

Fun card, that I have earmarked for a good friend..

What retro goodie will you pull out and use? Don't forget to pop over to Retro Rubber and get inspired by the things the DT have made.

Challenge ends June 4.

Don't forget to tell us the age of your stamp, that is part of the fun of our challenge, and please only enter 10 challenges including Retro Rubber.

Cx

Cat-Cactus aka Catus...

 

Hey,

Happy Monday!!

I have been neglecting my blog a bit, so over the next couple of weeks I am hoping to bring you a few more posts ;)

Starting with today's punny beauties.

On a recent trip we popped into numerous craft stores and these amazing Cat-cactus stickers were on sale.

So I turned them into super quick slimline cards and added stickers for 'Catus - get it...

LOL.

Cx

Paw You...

 

Hey,

Just before Christmas 2020 my work colleague's small Daughter got Covid (she is fine now).

But it was rather upsetting for the whole family and I thought a small child would be very confused by what was going on. So not to downplay the situation, I made and sent her this little card, in the hope that a piece of mail just for her would cheer her up.

Apparently, it worked and she carried the card around for a while, how sweet is that?

I LOVE Clearly Besotted stamps and this cute 'Paw You' set was perfect for this card. I have this amazing die by Simon Says Stamp that cuts 3 circles in a row, so I cut it twice to create the 6 aperture's for my card.

I blended over the panel and then stamped the cats and the sentiments into the openings.

For a quick, random make it came out well and I liked the doubling up of the die.

Cx

Carabelle Cat...

 

Hey,

I am a big Birgit Koopsen and Carabelle Studio fan.

So when I saw this amazing Cat by Birgit for Carabelle last year I really wanted it!!

I finally got my hands on it, during the Summer and this card was actually made for a friend's Daughter in September last year.

I heat embossed the cat using white powder and then blended over the top of it. I can be a bit hit and miss when using this technique, but it came out really well here.

Easy peasy make, finished off with one of my fave Taylored Expressions Simple Strips.

Cx

p.s you can find Carabelle products in the US - Simon Says Stamp, Scrapbook.com, Joggles, TopFlight, etc

TMS: Happy Purr-thday..

Hey,

Hope you are all having a good week.

I was fortunate to be a prize winner over at Tuesday Morning Sketches, during their anniversary bash.

So I thought it was only right that I play along with the current challenge -

This sketch is so fun!

I thought it paired well with my new Lawn Fawn Dandelion papers that were a gift from Lisette.

I love the Newton's Nook 'Newton's Birthday Balloons' set, so I stamped, coloured and die-cut the main image from the set. The sentiment is also from the set.

I am super happy with the die-cut circles - both of them are from The Works in London and I have recently 'rediscovered' the fancier circle and it's getting ALOT of use.

Super simple and pretty card.

Cx

Pawsome Love..

Hey,

Happy Friday!!

Hubby and I have the week off next week. It was supposed to be our week to de-clutter the apartment ahead of our move to Tampa. We are probably not moving this year, given the CV-19 pandemic, but we are still going to de-clutter.

I made today's cards right at the start of the lockdown because the Simon Says Stamp 'Pawsome Love' set arrived and I just had to play.

For the main photo I combined the cute kitty with clouds and house dies by Avery Elle. The card blank is by Concord & 9th and I love these.

I am so happy with how this came out and even though you can see a paw below the cloud (a mistake), I quite like that!

I had this cover plate die out on my desk and was determined to incorporate that into my card. I just wish I had used a more neutral paper behind it. I am loving the glittery hello die cut though - that die is also by Simon Says Stamp.

Have a great weekend.

Cx

You're Pawsome..

Hey,

Hope you are all well?

One of the things about being home permanently is that can do more crafting.. it is starting to look a bit like Hallmark in my house though!

It also means that I have been putting the NBUS and shiny stuff aside for the most part and digging through my stash using older things.

My bestie Lemon, loves dogs and tolerates my cats LOL. So I thought this great 'Best Friends' set by Studio Katia would be perfect to send her a thank you for some stuff.

I love the heap of dogs and cats and it's a lot of fun to colour, for this version I watercoloured using distress inks.

As it's obviously quite busy, I kept it simple with a die-cut thanks with an additional sentiment from the set.

She loved it and I got to play with something that had been a bit neglected.

Happy Gotcha Day - Clint Catwood!

Hey,

After losing Archie 3 years ago and then Boscat so suddenly last January, I really didn't know if my heart would mend fully..

It was SO silent in the apartment that we only waited 5 weeks after the passing of Boscat before we got another cat.

We chose 'Pantera' who promptly got renamed Clint Catwood - aka Clint.

Clint is approx 3 and he has Feline FIV - which really isn't that dramatic, we just have to keep an eye on him if he gets sick, as he doesn't have a good immune system.

We really lucked out with him, he is the most gentle creature we have ever met, he loves to be picked up and carried and held. Snuggling is the thing that he loves the most and he has this weird meow bark that he does to demand snuggles. The strangest thing is that he loves to lay on us for hours, I have had a lot of cats and this has never happened before and I have to say, I'm rather enjoying it!

Clint has turned Hubby and I into even bigger softies than we were before!

It's not easily to lose a beloved pet and it can be hard to welcome a new one, but we have had a super smooth ride with Clint, it was like he just wanted to be with us!

Hope you like my little collage of photos of our beautiful boy.

Cx

Kitty Cat Thanks..

Hey,

As tomorrow is the 1st anniversary of us owning Clint I wanted to share a card I made for our amazing Vet.

They are amazing, they were wonderful when we had to put our beloved Boscat to sleep. When we got Clint, they gave us great advice to help us understand what having an FIV positive cat would mean.

Late last year Clint got an infection and it was our first time dealing with illness in him and the first time after the loss of Boscat, so to say we were a teeny bit antsy is an understatement.

Fortunately they understood and guided us through it all and Clint is fine now (he did get another infection earlier this year, but we are learning how to deal with this now).

So I made them a card to say thanks and to apologise for our slightly manic behaviour!

I used the awesome Picket Fence Stamps 'I love your face' set - which I had discovered when Cheiron made us a 'Congrats' card for the arrival of Clint, using the same set. How cute is the cat in his bandana?!

The sentiment is by Hero Arts and I created the fun stenciled background using a Tim Holtz gradient diamond stencil (mini version).

I love how the card came out and they loved it too.

If you are looking for a vet and you are in the East Village area of Manhattan, I would highly recommend Urban Vets Animal Hospital - they are kind, caring and super friendly.

Cx

NND InkyPaws - Ornamental Newton..

Hey,

Hope you are well and had a good weekend.

I am currently playing along with Kathy Rac's 30 days of colouring and Carabelle Studio's 30 days of ATStamps. Busy, but a lot of fun. I'll show you both of them at the end of November.

Today I wanted to join in the fun over at Newton's Nook. I really like their Inky Paws challenge and I was sad to hear recently that Newton had passed away. Always sad when we have to say goodbye to fur babies.

The current challenge is a colour one -

I love non-traditional Christmas colours and so I thought these colours would make a great holiday card and work really well with the lovely 'Ornamental Newton' stamp set.

I stamped snowflakes in green and teal (Snowflakes are by Simon Says Stamp) and die-cut the panel out.

I added a big teal piece of card to hold my sentiment and anchor Newton.

I love the bauble, so big and bright in the 2 shades of pink that I used. I hope it's ok that I coloured Newton in Grey?!

I added a few teal sequins here and there to finish off my card.

Cx

Cards for Colleagues..

Hey,

Happy Friday!

Tomorrow Hubby and I leave for Mexico - WHOOOP!! So excited, can't wait to feel the sun on my body again. Summer seems to have gone by so quickly.

I thought I'd show you a batch of cards I made a while ago for a few of my colleagues in the London office.

The first one was a leaving card and the colleague in question loves a Llama. I forgot all about the great wooden Llamas that I had bought in London earlier this year and it seemed like the perfect time to use one. I kept the card simple. The sentiment is by A-Muse Studio.

The next card is for a colleague who got promoted, she has a French Bulldog, so I thought she would appreciate the headphone wearing dog. Again, kept super simple with a negative die-cut out by Tim Holtz.

The final card was also for a colleague that was leaving - yes you guessed it, she likes Cats! The stamp is from the same set as the dog above and I added the great self-adhesive sunnies! The sentiment is by Simon Says Stamp.

3 really simple, but impactful cards.

Have a great weekend. I know I'm gonna!

Cx

Lots of little birdies...

Hey,

Happy Monday!

I can't believe that it is nearly July!! This year is whipping by.

I have been a bit patchy with my posts recently.. SO much going on.

Today's card is a bit old and has been sitting waiting patiently to be posted..

I love this stamp set - it's by Scrapberry's and there is a whole set of them and someone sent them to me in the post?!

The birdies are all individual stamps and I stamped them all over to create a mini scene. The sentiment stamp is ancient and by Hero Arts.

I added little white dots to the scarf for a bit of extra detail.

I love a simple card like this and I think the sentiment means that the card could be used for a variety of occasions.

Cx

Slay Today...

Hey,

Happy Friday!

It's been a great week, but I am looking forward to the weekend and only 1 more week before I go to London.

Today's card I made for a friend, who I know will love the 'Slay' badge.

There is an amazing Japanese bookshop / stationers here in NYC and by the checkout they have a whole box of these awesome kitty badges. I normally resist buying them, but when I saw this one, I knew it would make an awesome card.

I wanted the papers to tone with the badge, so I used a piece of paper from a 6x6 stack by American Crafts. I die-cut a star out of coordinating spotty paper, affixed the badge and affixed that to the card.

The 'today' sticker is from a set by American Crafts and IRL it's gold and shimmery.

A fun card for a super fun friend.

Have a great weekend, I'll be doing some eating, gyming, crafting and packing.

Cx

Kitty Kat Thanks...

Hey,

I had to make a thank you card for a friend recently and she is a cat fan too.

I thought it would be a good excuse for using an older stamp I love by Your Next Stamp 'Happiness is You' (no longer available).

I kept it super simple and let the stamp shine. I added some gel pens details to her jumper.

I love making thank you cards, they are so rewarding, as I always feel you can personalise them so much.

Cx

Love and a Cat...

Hey,

I have friends who are cat people and some who are dog people..

So generally when I am making cards for these people I try and think about what they might prefer, as I tend to use critters / animals / monsters a lot.

I wanted to make a fun anniversary card for my friends who have been married for like a bejillion years! And remembered I have this fun cat stamp by Unity Stamp Co, that I have hardly used.

This was another super simple make, I stamped the cat and the sentiment (I added the Happy Anniversary part), coloured the cat with Promarkers and added a bit of sparkle pen to his bow tie and the heart.

Die-cut it out and voila! Anniversary card.

I love the sentiment, it's pretty true in my house.

Cx

I'd face ninjas for you...

Hey,

If you know me well, you know that I am a big Ninja fan.

I LOVE old school Kung Fu movies and especially the Ninja scenes.

I don't have a lot of Ninja stamps, but I recently got two new sets of Ninja stamps - one by MFT Ninja-mazing (which is now retired) and the other by Le Petite Market - Ninja Animals.

Check out the ones from LPM, aren't they awesome?!

I stamped, coloured and fussy cut the Cat head Ninja..I thought it would look fun, if I printed it a bit bigger.

I paired it with a great pre-doodled background panel by Taylored Expressions (they are called Boxed In) and a sentiment from the MFT Ninja set.

I added some bling, because why not!

So simple! I love it - it's already on it's way to it's new owner!

Cx

4 cards from one stamp set: Cattitude..

Hey,

Happy Monday to you!

I had a great weekend, starting off with an awesome night out with Hubby on Friday - check us out..

We went to a Jungle themed night..hence our banana / parrot attire. We spent Saturday recovering - aka slumped on the sofas watching the World Cup and eating.

Yesterday I had a fun skype playdate with JT - she sent me a magazine that had a great set of Cat Stamps as the free gift. So I made x4 cards using the set yesterday whilst gossiping.

They are all a bit different, as the Cats are super versatile. I love them all, but I think the butt to butt anniversary card is my fave.

Cx

Clumsy Kitty....

Hey,

I bought a whole bunch of stamps when I was in London last October.. and sadly they have been NBUS until now!

They are quite random!

They all feature a Cat and he has all kinds of random objects / critters with him.

Today's card uses the one with the Kitty holding a fishbowl. It also comes with a few 'spare' fish stamps.

Because of the look on his face I thought it would be fun to have a few 'leaping' out of the fishbowl.

The sentiment is by Simon Says Stamp and was a perfect fit here.

I haven't played with all the other ones yet..so watch this space.

Cx