Funky Fronted Halloween Card

Happy Spooky Day to y'all. I thought I'd share this fronted gatefold card with you. The base design is your average gatefold card but the left side gets a card front that covers the whole card when closed. When you pull it open it stands up nicely and gives you lots of room to decorate or write messages.  It was a fun card to make. Have a great day and remember..... if the broom fits, fly it!

The Fine Print: Probably mostly likely all supplies by Stampin' Up.

Steampunk Pussy

Did you know that tomorrow is Halloween?! 

Well, it is. 

The Fine Print: Stamp by Stampendous, bat from Recollections, and other parts from my stash. 

Cat Lovers Hop - Day 6

Let's see, by using all my fingers and toes I think this is the final day for the Cat Lovers Hop. I've enjoyed seeing all the cat themed projects, ogling all sorts of wonderful cat stamps, and coming up with projects of my own.

I thought I'd start out by sharing this very old one-layer card I made using a friend's stamps. She had all these fluffy cat body parts that you put together to create cats in various poses. This is the only one that I made that didn't look weird. I had a penchant for putting cat legs backwards.

I kept this card because it always reminded me of that playtime with Anne (RIP). Plus, you don't get a more typical cat pose than this one.

On this final day of the Cat Lovers Hop I'd like to offer this cling stamp set below from Amuse Studio (who is soon to be RIP) to one of my lovely readers. To be eligible all you have to do it comment on this post. That's it--you can be anywhere in the world. I'll draw and announce the winner on Halloween. If you don't want to be included in the drawing, just mention that in your comment.

Edited to add: Random.org picked commenter no. 5 as the lucky winner! Congrats to MandySea in Australia.

The Fine Print: I don't know who makes the fluffy cat body part stamps but I wish I did. And I actually have more fingers and toes than six. You know, in case you wondered. 

Merry Monday - For the Birds

This week over at the Merry Monday Challenge they are asking us to create a Christmas card with a bird on it. That gives me an opportunity to break out this oldie but goodie, but for some strange reason little used stamp set!

I was excited to get to use these new stitched dies by Kat Scrappiness that I won in a blog hop. They make stitching on both the inside and the outside of the rectangle. And yes that means I have an opposite card topper at home waiting to be used. It might even end up being a Christmas card for all we know.

The Fine Print: Bird and holly stamp by Stampin' Up "Beautiful Season," double stitched rectangle dies by Kat Scrappiness, designer paper by DCWV, and ribbon from my stash. 

Cat Lovers Hop Day 5

Here we are at Day 5 for the Cat Lovers Hop. I hope you've been enjoying all these cat themed projects. I know I have! Today I have a big cat to share with you. This is another image from a friend, but I do know he is by Eureka. I colored him in and used glossy accents on his nose and all those wee hearts in his mane. I laugh that there is a cat hair stuck to this card. Such is my life.

I also have a domestic cat to share with you, also an image from a friend (I swear to you, I do have my own cat stash!!!). He got the glossy accent treatment on the eyes and do you see that I used an eyelet? How old fashioned of me, huh?!

Those are my cat offerings today. I'm glad I finally got around to playing with one of the Crazy Cats. That seems like a must-do thing for this hop.

The Fine Print: Lion stamp by Eureka, Ginger cat and yarn ball stamps by Tim Holtz, Cat thing cat greeting by Lost Angeles Rubber Works.

Cat Lovers Day 4 - Go Chickens!

So remember yesterday when I suggested we change from Cat Lovers to Chicken Lovers because cats are jerks?  Yeah, well, I guess my cats took offense to that because I came home to this:

dramatic reenactment

I kid you not, the cats knocked my photo of a chicken off the wall. Hubby says he thinks the chicken jumped to its death but I'm not convinced. I guess I'm in the minority though and cats still rule, here at the Cat Lovers Hop. So check out these two hidden cats I colored yesterday. My friend gave me these images so I don't know who makes it.

The top card is a 4.5" square card that I also got from my friend and the bottom card is a regular A2 size. I kept the cards simple to not distract from this busy garden scene and those curious green eyes peering out.

The Fine Print: Chicken stamp by Stampotique, all other stuff from my stash. 

Cat Lovers Day 3 - Cats Rule

So um... cats may rule but I've had quite enough of them now. Can we change this to say the Chicken Lovers Hop and share stamps and projects made with chickens instead?

I was eating dinner last night when the Cat decided to vomit near me, and you know how cats have that uncanny ability to throw up more than twice their body weight? Yeah....  Just what you want when you are eating dinner.

Then later the Cat decided to vigorously clean her butt and left a wee dookie on the floor for me.  The Other Cat took offense to that and tried to cover it up, first using a catnip banana and then moving on to items she knocked off my craft desk--ribbon, scissors, scraps of cardstock...  *sigh* Cats.

But cats rule. Just ask anyone of us from the Cat Lovers Hop. 

The Fine Print: Dimensional sticks from JoAnns, cats rule greeting from my stash. 

Cat Lovers Day 2 - Holiday Kitties

It's Day 2 for the Cat Lovers Hop over at Her Peaceful Garden. Be sure to check out all the wonderful cat themed projects we've got going on.

I've got a two-fur to share with you today. We'll do this in chronological order.  First up I have a sweet little mummy kitty for Ike's Meowolloween challenge over at Show Us Your Pussies.

Next up I have a Christmas kitty that I'll share over at Scrappymo's Rudolph Day Challenge. I used those fun holly leaves that I got last year. They came on small sprigs and I just pluck them off to use on my creations.

I got home so late last night after a rainstorm made the world dark and wet. The street lamps and parking lot lamps didn't come on and I almost got run over and drowned in the PetSmart parking lot. Even though I missed the deadline for linking up I still want to share part of my cat stash with you because this photo includes a cat.  You know, Dio likes to be included.

Have a Happy Day! Cuz Dio says so!

The Fine Print: Buddy and Mummy stamp by Whippersnapper. Kitty and Mouse stamp by Penny Black. Brand new bag of cat food from PetSmart (they are not impressed by it, darn cats). 

Cat Lover's Hop

Yipee! The cat lover's hop is open over at Janis' Her Peaceful Garden. It's going to run all this week so there will be lots of kitty themed items to oogle and purr over.

I had this card ready to share on my blog earlier but decided to pull it and wait for this week. It starts off with a gatefold card with a sweet kitty in a pot of flowers. I tried to make the card look delicate and feminine.

Once you open it up you discover that it's a feat of engineering inside as sliding tabs open to reveal the greeting. This style of card is called a variety of things from magic window card, shutter card, gatefold shutter card, to peek a boo card.

Here are a couple of tutorials I used to learn how to make this card: JanB's Shutter Card and Terri's Magic Window Card so you too can make one (engineering degree not required).

I hope you can come join us at the Cat Lover's Hop! If you can't join I hope you can at least stop by to visit all the cats and kittens.

The Fine Print: Stamps by Stampin' Up.

Another Fall Birthday

A friend of mine recently said she couldn't believe how many birthdays in October there are and how she's been a birthday card making machine lately. I had to disagree because I only knew of one October birthday and that lady was recently deceased.  September is a whole other story though.

However, recently I befriended someone who just happens to have an October birthday. I guess that works out since I had a vacancy and all.

The Fine Print: Card and parts by Club Scrap.

Tag Cards

I made a couple of fall colored tag cards the other day. That's really about all I have to say about that.

The Fine Print: Most parts by Club Scrap, heart punch by EK Success. 

Plaid Christmas

Plaid is where it is at these days. I recently purchased a couple of plaid shirts from a sea of plaid in a department store (so I can look like a lumberjack, natch). And over at both  Merry Monday and the Double D Challenges this week the challenge is to use plaid on your creations.

So I pulled out a Merry Mouse and made a card with a plaid background. I didn't make just any old card though, I opted for a more interactive one--a wiper card. When you pull the sides this surprise piece pops up.

The Fine Print: I didn't get to wear my lumberjack shirt to work today. Instead we have to support our sports team and wear these neon pink shirts. At least we won't be mistaken for a deer in the woods and shot (nevermind there are no woods). All products on my card except cardstock by Stampin' Up. 

Autumn Leaf

I'm pretty sure that I have no idea what I'm doing, but that's okay. Somewhere along the line I made this autumn leaf card using up some left overs I had lying around, which means I can go visit the Snippet Playground and get into trouble with all the other cool kids.

But before we run off and play I want to talk about that leaf. It's from an old Marvy punch I have and its large and rounded and sits off by itself on shelf (because of its awkward size) so I never remember I have it. I pulled it out this year and discovered that I have to step on it to make it punch. That right explains the popularity of die cuts! I used a Wink of Stella pen (yes, I'm finally coming around to liking that thing) to trace over the veins in the leaf.

The Fine Print: Greeting stamp by A Muse Artstamps, leaf punch by Marvy, designer paper, card topper and ribbon by Club Scrap. 

Simply Simple

After yesterday's junk card experience I had to tone it down a bit. Well, actually I had to tone it down a whole lot.

These simple layered notecards are about all I have the energy for these days--just a few layers with some fun papers and ribbon for a bit of interest.

The Fine Print: Cat stamp by Hero Arts, ribbon and black cardstock from my stash, all other products by A Muse. 

Junk Pizza

You've heard of  goulash right? It's where you throw all the leftover meats and veggies into a stew and call it good.  Junk pizza is the pizza equivalent of that. I suspect junk pizza is how the pineapples on pizza craze started. Anyway, it is a good way of using up lots of the leftovers but sometimes it works out and sometimes it doesn't.

This is a junk Halloween card, where I tried to use up some of the leftovers and excessive parts I have lying around. I'm not sure if it works or not. It feels so cluttered to me. It might be the excessive patterning on it--little dots, stripes, chevrons, and webs or it just might be that I don't normally throw everything onto a card.

Check it out--I even junked up the inside for good measure. *sigh*

The Fine Print: Buddy's Mummy stamp by Whipper Snapper, web border die by Memory Box, all other stuff from my stash.

Feral Hair

The other day my coworker was looking at me askance and after a while of that she asked what was up with my hair. I had to think about it for a moment and then I remembered, "Oh, I probably didn't bother to comb it today."  That's not nearly as bad as that sounds. My hair is crazy thick, stick straight, and hangs where it wants to hang so about the only difference when I do comb it is that there is some vague semblance of a part.

HER: You really need to do more with your hair.

ME: What do you mean? I take it with me wherever I go. We do a lot a together, me and my hair.

HER: That's not what I mean...

ME: Oh, you mean I should attempt to tame it. That way lies madness...

HER: I think you could do something if you tried.

ME: I've tried. My hair is feral. There is no hope.

I think she's just jealous of my easy care hair. She primps hers every day without fail. She is its master and it obeys her. My hair is independent.

I know what she's talking about though. My one layer has grown out to the point where it flaps out on the sides of my head like wings. I can't do anything about it. It just needs to grow out some more and then it will be too heavy to do the wing thing and it way lay down like all the rest of my hair. I'm not about to shellac that stuff into place. It wouldn't listen anyway.

The Fine Print: More Club Scrap "Equestrian" (mostly). 

Terrible Tape

HER: Look, I found this weird craft tape in my desk. I have no idea about it...

SOMEONE ELSE (mumbling): Oh, it's Scor Tape

ME: Oh! It's that tear-able tape.

HER: It's terrible?

ME: No, it's tear-able.

HER: It's no good huh? Terrible...

ME: No, it's great. It's... um.... rip-able.

HER: OH! That tear-able tape. That stuff is the bomb! I didn't recognize it.

I don't even want to tell you how many random rolls of Scor Tape I gave away before I discovered that that stuff is indeed the bomb. The fact that it is tear-able is so awesome. You don't have to hunt around on your desk under all the piles for the scissors and it sticks really great too.

If I ever finish off the enormous pile of random roller tapes my friend gave me Scor Tape will be my go-to tape. It will probably be a couple of years before I get to that point unless I go on some very serious card-making benders.

The Fine Print: Cards and parts from Club Scrap "Equestrian" kit. 

Let's Foal Around

I'm feeling a little horse today and I still have my cough but I'm hoping it won't be around furlong. You know how it is whinny been sick; you lose track of reality and it seems like you are just racing around in one big ring.

I haven't been crafting lately. It's almost the stuff of night-mares. Luckily I have some old cards to show you. I know you've herd that from me before but I know I'm not the only one. Sometimes days/weeks/months go by without you making cards and other days you stay up pasture bedtime happily crafting away.

Hay, I have to tell you that it takes a rather stable hand (and mind) to heat emboss these detailed horse stamps. I actually wanted to bale out of the process several times as you know what a neigh-sayer I am when it comes to heat embossing. I just never got the feel for it. I mustang out in the wrong crafting circles.

I don't mean to pommel you to death with horse cards or stirrup any trouble, but I've got a lot of them to show you. It's time for me to hoof myself on out of here but I'll have more from this kit later.

The Fine Print: Cards 'n parts 'n stuff by Club Scrap "Equestrian." 

Bedroom Games

I received the best spam email the other day. It read: When it comes to the bedroom, I will do anything you want.

Of course, my eyes lit up and I got all excited! Anything? Anything?!! Well, let's start with that big pile of dirty laundry in the hamper in the corner of the bedroom and while you are working on that you can iron these clothes. After that you can take a damp rag and carefully clean the windowsill and each and every vertical blind. The cats tend to leave them really filthy and Jack sneezes cat boogers on everything. Since you want to do anything my heart desires you can also dust and vacuum the room and figure out why the under-bed drawer has fallen off its track again. If you are feeling really kinky and want to wander into the bathroom that connected the bedroom, you could work on the sink's hot and cold knobs. They are so hard to turn and creak like a haunted house. Once you've finished that you might as well scrub out the shower, the toilet, and sink and make it gleam.

Wait? Why are you running away?

The Fine Print: Card parts 'n stuff from Club Scrap "Equestrian." 

No Card Left Behind

I made this card for and exchange for my stamp club. The theme was "long ago and far away" which many interpreted as vintage but I thought sounded more like a fairytale.

I made it back when I was having a hard time stamping, like I'd lost all my skills. This was about the 4th or 5th castle I'd stamped. I colored it in very, very carefully because I didn't think I had it in my to stamp another one. Given my lack of skills I was impressed with how the front of the card came out. Then I decided to decorate the inside.

That dragon came out looking like a 5-year old colored it. He started life as a much lighter purple but kept getting darker and darker as I tried to cover up the streaks and mishaps.

Then to top it all off I forgot to bring the card with me when I went to my club meeting. Ah, heck!

The Fine Print: Stamps by Stampin' Up. BTW, I don't have bubonic plague and I haven't turned into a zombie yet. 

Spooky Birds

Hi. My name is Charles. I'm kinda shy around peoples I don't know, okay? My mom asked me to do a guest post for her cuz she doesn't have any oxygen. She's coughing and coughing, and probably has bubonic plague. I keeped a close eye on her to see if she's gonna turn into a zombie. Not yet.

Here's a spooky card for a spooky day.

The Fine Print: My mom said I had to write about the card here. It has purples on it and birds. Then she said Inkadinkado. I think she's trying to cast spells.