Cat Cards

Here are the two cards I made for the "Cat" swap on one of my groups. I have had the image on the card above for simply years and have always liked it (it is quite huge) but have always found it difficult to use apart from just plain stamping.

This time I stamped and embossed it, painted the eyes with Twinkling H2O's, applied some Glossy Accents to them (as usual), put more paint on the actual cat and then computer generated the words. The words are from "Cats" and about Macavity the criminal cat. Thought this image rather suited it. You can read the verse by clicking on the picture. To complement it I put some Treble Clefs on the side and footprints going around to suggest the musical - kind of Macavity dancing his way around.

Hope Val likes it.

My second card is stamped and embossed on glossy card then coloured in with Brilliance Aurora to suggest the cats are there early in the morning. The paper behind is from some given to me by a friend in America and looks like planks of wood. The letters 'CAT' are punched out down the side. This one has gone to Thommo so I also punched out a cat at the back as this is the way she always signs her cards.

That's it for now as I must get on with my altered corset - nearly there with this one.

A Bit of Fun

Yesterday I made some more ATC's but I cannot put them on here as yet because they are both for swaps which are not until the end of the month.

I also made a couple of cards for swaps which are going out today so I will post them tomorrow.

This is a bit of fun. I started a background for the Lots to Do recycle challenge using a piece of cereal packet and some cardstock which I had used underneath my work (so it got colour on it - you know what I mean). Unfortunately with going away I did not get it completed in time and so yesterday I decided to do something with it.

I spritzed the cardstock with Adirondack Color Wash and Sticky Fingers Misters to make a background for the card. Previously I had covered the cereal packet with Gesso and then put some Distress Inks on so that went on top. Then I stamped some images (Non Sequitur) (pocket watch by Rubbadubbadoo - one of my favourite stamps) and made the Doll.

Now I love playing about with this Doll so I cut her arms and legs off and re-attached them with jump rings. I know, I know, I have put the legs on the wrong way round - intentional - honestly - I love her being "twine toed". I decided to colour her gloves and stockings with some Gel Markers and the card was complete, but if you look closely I got my "red, white and blue" a bit muddled on one leg. Now when you jangle the card she dances and sways her arms.

Quite fun I think. Hope you like it.

Lots to Do Challenge

I am in an ATC swap on one of my groups so my mind is on them at the moment. I am spending my spare time making ATC's today and below is a Stampbord one I have done for the challenge on Lots To Do.

First of all I stamped the head, masked it and put a scarab beetle behind at the top. Then I painted them both with Twinkling H2O's. When I came to scratching bits out they didn't show up very well (you can't see the scratchings on the head-dress but if you look closely you can see some on the beetle) so I took another Egyptian stamp and put that down the left hand side - much better to scratch out. I then added the word "Egypt" at the bottom and highlighted that with some more scratching.

So my entry is an ATC. Wonder if my dil would like it?

TMTA Challenge

Over on TMTA the Challenge this week is "Friendship".

Despite having a few days away I have not been feeling at all well this week so almost missed this Challenge. Here is my ATC:

I had a photoart stamp of a mother teaching her daughter to sew. I have used this stamp on an ATC before when I first began the altered corset swap I am in because Paddy's (whose corset I was altering at the time) mother was a corsetiere so I thought sewing was appropriate. Can't remember what I did then with the image as it was so long ago but I know it involved cut out lilacs..

This time I DTP'd the ATC with Brilliance Inks (Twilight) and stamped a second generation Harlequin Background (Hero Arts) on it. Then I stamped the photoart stamp with Versamark Sepia and cut it out, rounding the corner to match the ATC.

The words are computer generated as I did not have suitable stamps and then some silk flowers are stuck on with glitter centres.

Hope this is fine for the Challenge - I know my Mother was my Best Friend.

A Little Trip

To celebrate Chas' birthday we went down to Nottingham to our favourite pub, the Nelson and Railway, for a couple of nights.

On the way down we stopped at Matlock Bath but I left the camera in the car so we could not take any photographs. We did manage to sit outside a pub though and have a glass of cider.

On Thursday we went to Belton House which was featured in the BBC's Jane Eyre, Pride and Prejudice and Tom Jones. The weather was glorious and so we spent most of our time in the grounds but we did manage to get a trip in of the servants quarters before noon. We both really enjoyed seeing how they lived "below stairs" - dare I say I recognised some of the things in the kitchen? Whilst walking down to the lake we came across this tree and I thought it looked like a dinosaur with his front paws reaching out. Just had to take a photograph.

This is part of the courtyard doesn't it look lovely with the ivy growing around it.

Another tree which I liked was this weeping willow. Quite spectacular when you turned the corner and came across it with the sun shining on it.

Once down by the lake we found the boathouse which has been renovated. It was lovely to peer in through the leaded windows and stand on the balcony watching the fish and the beautiful blue dragonflies as they hovered over the water - there were lots of them.

We went into the main house about 3 pm and when we came out it had started to rain so we dashed back to the car and back to Nottingham.

On Friday we set off home in the drizzle but before we got to Bakewell the sun was out and we had a lovely walk by the river. The ducks and geese were going crazy, flying across the River Derwent and landing skidding along. Lots of people were busy feeding them with bread - no wonder they are so huge.

Happy Birthday

Friday is Chas' Birthday and this is the card I made for him. It is getting increasingly difficult to think of what to make for him that is different to the year before. The subject causes more pains as his interests are such that I do not have stamps for them. So I decided on "Time" for this one.

Think they call this a tri-shutter card. I have seen it on one or two blogs and thought I would have a try at it myself.

Here it is opened out. You can see I have gone a bit slushy and sentimental this time and the main wording is "Time flies when I am with You" - quite true, we never seem to have time to get bored with one another.

I have attached a piece of chain from the ear of one face to the ear of the other to link them and there is a watch charm dangling below the "Time face". Maybe I should have loaded a larger picture!

The other words are "We all have our time machines, Some take us back, They are called memories, Some take us forward, They are called dreams" and "Don't count every hour in the day, Make every hour in the day count".

Hope he likes it. Think I will do this card in my next workshop for Paddy.

A New Obsession?

Yesterday I posted my entry for the Ready Steady Stamp Challenge and said I had found the "ingredients" difficult in the thought process. Well, since then I have had a couple more thoughts as to what I could have done so here they are.

The one above fulfills the criteria in that there is a Sun, it is Yellow, and I have put a Triangle on in the form of a stamped and painted Trionimo. At the bottom there is a piece of Ribbon and hanging from that is a Yellow tag with the sentiment "Best Wishes" on a piece of Acetate which is over the top. (I have actually put a finding on the back of the Trionimo so that it can be used as a pendant gift for someone.)

This is an atc which also fulfills the criteria. A Yellow Sun (Maiden - hope that is acceptable), a piece of Yellow Ribbon (I dragged a piece of white over a yellow inkpad) and the words "Sun Maiden" in different languages printed on a piece of Acetate which forms a Triangle in the bottom corner.

Think I need to find some other challenge to enter or I could get carried away with this one.