Peace on Earth Cat in a Hat

I was searching through my stamps for a cat wearing a Santa hat to go with our Peace on Earth mood board.  The only one I found is this cat wearing a striped hat so I went with that.

The cat is watercoloured.  I made him a ginger cat so that I can send it to my nephew who has a ginger cat and who will enjoy the image of the hat falling over the cat's eyes.  I have a goal this year to make at least two cards a month that use up some of my stash of dp so now I've got one done for this month!!

I've never used the cat stamp before so I'm also linking up with NBUS Challenge.  And also with Jingle Belles "Animal Antics".

We've got lots of inspiration over at Peace on Earth from the rest of the Design Team as well as the four images in our mood board.  Please join us!

   

 

Supplies:
Stamps - Colorado Craft Co. cat, Rubber Soul sentiment
Ink - Versafine Onyx Black, Distress Lucky Clover
Paper - watercolour paper, DCWV dp, green cs
Size - A2
Accessories - watercolour paints, Spellbinders rectangle die, SU sentiment punches

Primary Red, CAS Sympathy

Shopping our Stash wants red as the primary colour on a card.

I stamped the cat image, die cut the Merry Christmas frame out of red cs and layered it over the image, then trimmed the panel to leave a border outside of the red frame, and then bordered all of that with more red.

Simply Clean and Simple have "Flower" as their theme.  I made a sympathy card to have on hand.

I die cut a circle out of scrap paper for a mask, laid it over my card base, stamped the flowers in purple and then sponged over the whole circle. I die cut the flower three times and glued them together, then very lightly sponged it with lavender. 

 

Supplies for card 1:
Stamps - Technique Junkies
Ink - Versafine Onyx Black
Paper - red and cream cs
Size - A2
Accessories - SSS Holiday Frame

Supplies for card 2:
Stamps - SU Elements of Style, Great Impressions sentiment
Ink - Distress Dusty Concord and Milled Lavender
Paper - white linen cs
Size - A2
Accessories - Alexandra Renke flower die, Spellbinders circle die

Cats and Christmas

Anyone who has ever lived with a cat knows that they can create havoc at Christmas.  Somehow, Christmas trees, Christmas decorations, etc. seem to bring out the worst in them!  This month one of the images on the Peace on Earth mood board depicts exactly that.  It inspired me to make this card.

I stamped the image, then painted the stars and the Santa hat with Twinkling H2Os, and grounded the cat with a bit of grey watercolour paint.  Trimmed the panel with a square die, bordered it with a starry dp background, and added Fun Flock to the brim and pompom of the hat.

Here's the Peace on Earth mood board:

There's lots more interpretations of it over at Peace on Earth from the rest of our Design Team.  We'd love to have you join us!

Supplies:
Stamps - Technique Junkies
Ink - Versafine Onyx Black
Paper - watercolour paper, off white cs, Bo Bunny dp
Size - 5.25" square
Accessories - red and gold Twinkling H2Os, grey watercolour paint, Fun Flock

Cosy Fireplace and Delphinium Thank You

The Jingle Belles challenge has a photo to inspire us.  I was inspired by the fireplace and by the red and blue stockings hanging from the mantelpiece.  My Time to Craft Christmas wants a rectangle-shaped card.  And Sparkles Christmas Challenge wants to see something "Warm and Cosy".  Nothing like being in front of a warm fire at Christmas time!

I stamped the image, coloured it with coloured pencils blended with Gamsol (using only blue and red for the stockings to go with the image), stamped the sentiment in red, and bordered it with a blue polka dot dp.  I added Fun Flock to the pompoms and brims of the cat's and dog's hats, and added Glossy Accents to the berries and to the candle flames.

Today's twofer - a quick thank you card for Sweet Stampin's "Thank You Card" challenge.

I blended a background using three Distress inks. Dried it with my heat tool a bit and then heat embossed the delphiniums in white. I popped it up on fun foam on a black cs layer, added a white embossed sentiment on a black banner, and embellished with some sequins.

 

 

 

Supplies for card 1:
Stamps - Penny Black image, unknown sentiment
Ink - Versafine Onyx Black, SU Real Red
Paper - white cs, blue polka dot dp
Size - A2
Accessories - coloured pencils, Gamsol, Fun Flock, Glossy Accents

Supplies for card 2:
Stamps - Magenta delphiniums, Savvy Stamps sentiment
Ink - Distress Faded Jeans, Dusty Concord, and Seedless Preserves; ColorBox white
Paper - white and black cs
Size - A2
Accessories - white embossing powder, sequins, fun foam

A Snarky Cat and a Winter Wonderland

More Christmas cards!  One for Christmas Crafts All Year Round "Dogs and / or Cats" and Christmas Kickstart "Gift":

Stamped, watercoloured, trimmed with a wonky stitched rectangle, bordered in black, put on a kraft card base, and a bit of Fun Flock added to the brim and pom pom of the hat.

Next up for My Time to Craft "Winter" and 52 Christmas Card Throwdown "Winter Wonderland":

I have lots of unused backgrounds in a box and found this one - blue and mauve inks brayered on glossy cs.  I stamped the trees and sentiment with Versamark and heat embossed with white.  Trimmed it and bordered with a glittery cs that blended in well with the colours.

    

   

 

Supplies for card 1:
Stamps - Tim Holtz
Ink - Versafine Onyx Black
Paper - watercolour paper, black and kraft cs
Size - A2
Accessories - watercolour paints, MFT wonky rectangle die, Fun Flock

Supplies for card 2:
Stamps - Paper Rose winter trees, Serendipity sentiment
Ink - Versamark, blue and mauve inks
Paper - glossy coated cs, blue/mauve glitter cs, white cs
Size - A2
Accessories - white embossing powder

A Framed Cat and a Pulled String Flower

A card for the Inkspirational Challenge "Word Prompt: Frame":

The image is watercoloured and the pierced frame is die cut three times and stacked together to give dimension.

It's a Penny Black stamp so I'm also adding it to the Penny Black Saturday Challenge.

For the Color Hues Challenge "Blue and Yellow", I made a card with the pulled string technique:

I followed the method in this video.  In the video she used watercolour paints. For mine, I used acrylic paints.

I dipped the top end of my piece of string in blue acrylic paint and the bottom end in yellow. I really liked the resulting mixture of colour. The shape makes me think of a calla lily.

I masked it and then stamped randomly inked text around it with Distress Shabby Shutters. And then stamped and heat embossed my sentiment. So my mixed mediums are acrylic paint and ink.

I bordered in yellow and popped it up on a blue card base.

   

Supplies for card 1:
Stamps - Penny Black cat, unknown sentiment
Ink - Versafine Clair Nocturne
Paper - watercolour paper, cream cs
Size - 4.75" square
Accessories - watercolour paints, MFT pierced square frame die

Supplies for card 2:
Stamps - Hero Arts sentiment, Wendy Vecchi script stamp
Ink - ColorBox Royal Blue and yellow
Paper - mixed media, blue, and light green cs
Size - A2
Accessories - string, blue and yellow acrylic paint, clear embossing powder, fun foam

Christmas Twofer - Scandinavian and Humour

52 Christmas Card Throwdown wants to see something Scandinavian style.  I thought it was the perfect chance to use my Nordic Frames dies and also a stamp of a Scandinavian reindeer.

I stamped the reindeer with Versamark on navy cs (it looks black in the photo but it is really navy) and heat embossed in white.  Then trimmed the panel with one of the Nordic Frames dies, cut one of the other frames out of off-white cs, layered it all on another piece of navy cs, and then finally on an off-white card base.  I added a small sentiment stamped in navy on a little strip of off-white cs.

My second card is for the "Lots of Laughs" challenge at The Paper Players.

I embossed a piece of green cs with pine tree branches to represent the tree mentioned in the stamp.  I stamped the image of the cat on watercolour paper and lightly watercoloured it.  I die cut the three tiny ornaments and put them on the card as if they'd fallen off the branches.

 

Supplies for card 1:
Stamps - Studio Light reindeer, Penny Black sentiment
Ink - Versamark, Distress Chipped Sapphire
Paper - navy and off white cs
Size - A2
Accessories - Greetery Nordic Frames, white embossing powder

Supplies for card 2:
Stamps - Technique Junkies
Ink - Versafine Onyx Black
Paper - green, gold, and white cs, watercolour paper
Size - A2
Accessories - Sizzix embossing folder, mini ornament dies, grey watercolour paint

Green Dotted Die Cut Trees and a Bah Humbug Cat

It's March so inevitably lots of challenges ask for green.  See end of post for the challenges.

I die cut the set of four Poppy Stamp trees out of a scrap of green dotted cs sitting on my desk, layered them on two more layers cut from scraps of white cs for dimensions and arranged them around a green stamped sentiment.  Then bordered with green and cut a few sparkly white snowflakes out of a snippet of glitter cs.

As a retired librarian who worked as a children's librarian for many years, I couldn't resist the Once Upon a Time challenge to be inspired by the book The Cat in the Hat:

I stamped it, coloured the hat with a red alcohol marker and the stars with a gold metallic pen, trimmed it with a deckle edge die, and bordered it with gold shimmer cs.

Challenges for the first card:

The Sisterhood of Crafters "Dots and/or Stripes"

Colorful Options "Green" 

Jingle Belles "Primarily Die Cuts" 

Christmas Kickstart "Get Your Grinch On (Green Takes Centre Stage)" 

Snippets

   

 

Supplies for card 1:
Stamps - Rosie's Roadshow sentiment
Ink - Distress Lucky Clover
Paper - white cs, green dotted cs, white shimmer cs
Size - A2
Accessories - Poppy Stamp set of four tree dies, tiny snowflake die

Supplies for card 2:
Stamps - Technique Junkies
Ink - Versafine Onyx Black
Paper - chalk cs, gold shimmer cs
Size - A2
Accessories - red alcohol marker, gold metallic pen, fun flock, Spellbinders deckle edge die

Decorating the Tree / Happy New Year

I'm a big fan of the original Penny Black Christmas stamps with the adorable animals in them.  So chose one of them for the Penny Black Saturday Challenge "Christmas".  I'm also adding it to ABC Christmas Challenge "Y is for Your Choice" and Sweet Stampin' "Christmas".

Stamped, watercoloured, trimmed with a stitched square die, bordered with gold cs, and added to an off-white card base.

My Time to Craft Christmas wants a Happy New Year card.  Here's mine:

I started with my top layer.  I die cut the large star and stamped and heat embossed the sentiment, then trimmed with a stitched square die, and then dry embossed with a little narrow star embossing folder.  I taped a small square of starry holographic paper on the card base and then popped up the top panel on foam tape over top of it.

It's also going to the NBUS challenge as I've never used the narrow star embossing folder or the holographic star dp before. 

    

Supplies for card 1:
Stamps - Penny Black, unknown "joy"
Ink - Versafine Onyx Black
Paper - off white cs, watercolour paper, gold cs
Size - 5.75" square
Accessories - watercolour paints, Glossy Accents, Lil Inker stitched square die

Supplies for card 2:
Stamps - SU sentiment
Ink - ColorBox gold
Paper - white cs, Hot off the Press holographic star paper
Size - 5" square
Accessories - gold embossing powder, MFT star die, Kokorosa narrow star embossing folder