Just a Note Card with Cat

Hello and happy Monday! Today is National Cat Day and we are certainly a pro cat household. Our cats are a constant source of entertainment and joy. Although, there is a lot of work involved in keeping the litter boxes clean, washing their blankets and providing for all their needs. We wouldn't change a thing... they are our family and life would be boring without them.

This Just a Note Card with Cat was made using the color challenge at Catch The Bug. After selecting the patterned papers and layout, I decided to add stitching for extra detail. The digital Cute Kitty image by Bugaboo Stamps was colored with Copic markers and die cut with a stitched circle die. A retired sentiment from Stampin' Up! was added along with a small butterfly from the Newton's Birdbath stamp set by Newton's Nook. That's it! Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the rest of your day!

Challenges entered:

• Cardz 4 Galz: Let's Go Digital
• Catch The Bug: Colors
• Sunny Day Crafting: Use an Animal 

Halloween Shaker Card

It's time to shake things up and make a shaker card to play along with the challenge at Simply Create Too. The design team has created some fantastic inspiration, click HERE for all the challenge details. We hope to see your shaker card in the gallery! You have until October 26th, 2018 to link your creation.

This Halloween Shaker Card is actually my first shaker card. I watched a couple of videos and it really isn't as hard as I expected. The scalloped frame die and stamps are from Newton's Nook. Copic markers were used to color the image and the coordinating dies were used to cut out the image. The bat paper is from the Trick or Treat paper pad by Pebbles (2016) and the grass paper was a scrap from my stash. A selection of sequins were added for the shaker element and everything was assembled. That's it! Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the rest of your day!

Challenges entered:

• Brown Sugar: Halloween or Autumn
• Crafty Creations: Anything Goes
• Cute Card Thursday: Anything Goes
• Cut It Up: Halloween

Halloween Card with a Cat

A big welcome to the month of October!!! I love making Halloween cards and especially Halloween Cards with a Cat. It may be traditional to use black cats at Halloween but I decided to color this cat as a gray tabby. The image and sentiment are from the Newton's Boo-tiful Night stamp set by Newton's Nook. It was stamped with Memento black ink and colored with Copic markers. The coordinating die was used to cut out the image. On the focal area Wilted Violet distress ink was applied with a sponge dauber and then some green grass was added. All papers are from the Not Too Spooky paper pad by Pink & Main. The colors were selected to play along with the Inky Paws color challenge to use: Lime Green, Yellow, Orange and Purple. This is definitely my favorite Halloween color combination! To add a little sparkle three silver sequins were added and that's it. Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the rest of your day.

Challenges entered:

• Cute N Crafty: Fall/Halloween 
• Dragonfly's Journey: Happy Halloween!
• Inky Paws: Colors
• Just Us Girls: Stripes
• Make My Monday: Animals

Another version using the same layout:

Purrrfect Day Card

Hooray for Friday! This morning I got up and finished this Purrrfect Day Card to give to the Humane Society of Tulsa along with a food donation. They have a lot of puppies and cats right now and have requested food donations, so when we can we try to help. 😺

The layout for this card is my "go to" layout. When I'm in a hurry it works for almost everything. Copic markers were used to color the cat from the Nine Lives stamp set by Paper Smooches. The cat and yarn images were fussy-cut and then adhered to the die cut square. All paper is from The Pets Stack paper by DCWV and some twine was tied for detail. That's it! So glad you stopped by and I hope you have a wonderful weekend.

Challenges entered:

• City Crafter: Pet Company
• Creative Knockouts: Anything Goes 
• Fab 'n' Funky: All Creatures Great and Small
• Show Us Your Pussycats: Pussycats Only
• Sunny Day Crafting: Anything with Animals
• QKR Stampede: Anything Goes

Autumn Newton Card

Hello and happy Friday! One more day until the arrival of Fall/Autumn! A cool front is arriving in our area today and we are expecting some rain, both of these make me happy. Our weatherman assured us the heat is over!!! So, bring on the cooler weather.

There are several Fall/Autumn challenges right now and I made this Autumn Newton Card to participate in a few. My intent when making this card was to send it to my Aunt Cindy, but now I kinda want to keep it. I just love the mix of colors and of course the Autumn Newton stamp. The floral patterned paper is from the Woodland Forest paper pad by Pebbles (2016) and the Fall plaid is by Lawn Fawn. I made the inky background using Distress Oxide Inks and then die cut it with a deckle die by Tim Holtz. After stamping and coloring the images with Copic markers they were die cut with the coordinating dies. Everything was adhered flat for easy shipping and that's it. Thanks for stopping by and I hope you have a lovely weekend!

Challenges entered:

• Back to Basics and Beyond: Inky Backgrounds
• Creative Knockouts: 2 or More Patterned Papers
• Inky Paws: Fabulous Fall
• SumMore Fun: Mood Board Inspiration
• The Sisherhood of Crafters: Cozy Plaids

Home Sweet Home Card

It's Monday! Today I had an unusually early start to my day. I've already been to the grocery store, ran a few errands and made this Home Sweet Home Card. This card was pretty simple to make. The sketch at Sketch Saturday was used for the layout and I used the colored version of the Whimsical Cat image by Bugaboo Stamps. All I had to do was cut the patterned papers, stamp the sentiment (With You I'm Home sentiment kit by Unity Stamps) and assemble the card. Three aqua glimmer dots were added for detail and that's it! So glad you stopped by and enjoy the rest of your day.

Challenges entered:

• Cute N Crafty: Anything Goes
• Lil Patch of Crafty Friends: Anything Goes
• Sketch Saturday: Sketch #528
• Use Your Stuff: Lots of Colour

Heart Spots Card

Hello and happy August 1st! August is definitely not my favorite month, but we are one month closer to Fall and that makes me happy. This past weekend we went to the Tulsa Zoo and currently they have four snow leopards. The mother had three babies last year, two boys and a girl. My hubby and I love watching them. The boys are being kept apart from their mother and sister. Eventually they will go to another zoo as part of the species survival program. It makes me so sad to think about this species vanishing from our Earth. They are so beautiful!

Supplies for this Heart Spots Card include:

• Stamps: Heart Spots by Reverse Confetti and retired Thoughtful Branches by Stampin' Up! (grass).
• Inks & Coloring: Memento black ink and Copic markers, Warm Gray for the Leopards and Neutral Gray for the stone, YG17, YG25, V15, V17, Daffodil Delight Stampin' Blends marker. Tumbled Glass distress ink and Wild Wasabi ink pad by Stampin' Up!.
• Other Stuff: Heart Spots Confetti Cuts by Reverse Confetti and Frames & Flags die set by Newton's Nook.

Challenges entered:

• Crafting By Designs: Anything Goes
• Pause Dream Enjoy: Stitched Dies
• Simon Says Stamp: Wild Things
• That's Crafty!: Animal Magic
• Word Art Wednesday: Anything Goes

Snow Leopard from Tulsa Zoo

Newton's Ice Cream Card

This week I was really excited to receive my recent Newton's Nook order! The new Newton's Summer Treats stamp set is super cute! When I was growing up I remember my mom would eat ice cream almost every night. I'm pretty sure her motto is "ice cream solves everything," so when I saw this set I knew it would be perfect for numerous cards. This Newton's Ice Cream Card was created using the sketch challenge at Inky Paws. I was definitely feeling a sherbet vibe with the colors selected. All patterned paper are from the Sugar & Spice paper pad by Doodlebug Designs. Some Lemon Ice Stickles was added to the strip of yellow paper for some sparkle. Copic markers were used to color the image and I colored the kitty to look like my first house cat. That's it, no other embellishments were added and everything was adhered flat for easy shipping. Thanks for stopping by and may the rest of your day be wonderful!

Challenges entered:

• Alphabet Challenge: Ice Cream
• Cardz 4 Galz: Food and/or Drink
• Crafting with Dragonflies: Spots and Stripes
• Inky Paws: Sketch #77

My first house cat, she was so pretty and sweet.

Let it Snow Card

There is still plenty of summer left but I would take a few snowflakes about now. We were lucky today and it stayed overcast and it wasn't blazing hot, it was actually nice for a change. The forecast for the weekend includes rain and my flowerbeds would be really happy if that happened. So, I'm thinking positive thoughts for rain!!!

It was nice making this Let it Snow Card and thinking about a snowy day. I started by selecting the Winter Cat and Puppy Dog image by Bugaboo Stamps. Then I selected the patterned papers by Doodlebug Designs which have been in my stash for quite some time. The image was then colored with Copic markers to coordinate with the papers. To play along with the Catch The Bug Christmas in July Day 4 Bingo Challenge I added sparkle die cut snowflakes and blue rhinestone brads for bling and I used a Bugaboo image, so I went diagonal from right to left. The Let it Snow sentiment is from the retired Snow Place stamp set by Stampin' Up! and that's it. Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the rest of your day!

Challenges entered:

• A Snowflakes Promise: Anything Goes
• Catch The Bug: Bingo
• Crafty Creations: Anything Goes
• Cute Card Thursday: Too Cute!
• Use Your Stuff: Anything Goes with Title/Sentiment

Season to be Freezin' Card

Good day crafty friends! It's always fun to play along with the Christmas in July challenges. Especially when the heat index has been over a hundred degrees for several days. At this point I would take a really strong cool front or an early Fall would be nice too. To help create some cooler thoughts I used the Meowy Christmas image by Bugaboo Digi Stamps along with patterned paper from the Altitude paper pad by Bo Bunny. Copic markers were used to color the kitties and then the image was die cut with a cross-stitched die by My Favorite Things. To finish off the card the 'Tis the Season to be Freezin' sentiment by Taylored Expressions was added along with two snowflakes cut with a Cricut machine. That's it! Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the rest of your day!

Challenges entered:

• Aud Sentiment: Christmas in July + Sentiment
• Brown Sugar: Two Patterned Papers 
• Catch The Bug: Baby it's Cold Outside
• Dragonfly Journeys: Christmas in July

Always on My Mind Card

Hello! You know what they say "when the cats away the mice will play." That's exactly what I did tonight when the hubby worked late. I was inspired by the current Inky Paws color challenge to use: white, blue, green and yellow. After looking through my Newton's Nook stamps the Newton's Birdbath stamp set got the pick. The images were colored with Copic markers and die cut using the coordinating dies and my Big Shot. For the background Tumbled Glass distress ink was sponged onto mixed media paper and then die cut with the Frames & Flags die set by Newton's Nook. Yellow polka dot paper was also die cut and some green grass punched with a Fiskars grass punch. It was a pretty simple card to put together. Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the rest of your day.

Challenges entered:

• Crafty Creations: Anything Goes
• Crafty Sentiments: Water
• Inky Paws: Color
• Show Us Your Pussies: Furrything Goes

Three Cups Coffee Card

Hello and happy Thursday! When it comes to coffee... one cup is not enough! I must admit without my morning caffeine fix I'm not much of a conversationalist. My coffee drink of choice is cold brewed coffee but if it's freezing cold outside I'll drink the warm stuff too. This Three Cups Coffee Card features many of my favorite things: a cat, coffee, butterfly, flowers, gingham along with purple and green colors. All stamps on this card are by Newton's Nook. The cat and coffee cups are from the Sending Hugs stamp set, the flowers and leaves are from the Deer Friend stamp set and the little butterfly is from Newton's Birdbath stamp set. Copic markers were used to color the images and the coordinating framelit dies were used along with a Big Shot. The sentiment was created in a Word document and printed. Using a scalloped frame die by Taylored Expressions with black cardstock finishes the card and that's it. Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the rest of your day!

This Three Cups Coffee Card is entered into the following challenges:

• Coffee Loving Cardmakers: Spring/Summer Blog Hop
• Craftaholics R Us: Gingham
• Simon Says Stamp: Anything Goes
• Watercooler Wednesday: Anything Goes

Kitty Coffee Card

Good day! Are you playing along with the Coffee Lovers Spring/Summer Blog Hop? If it weren't for a couple of my crafty friends posting their creations I would have completely forgot. It's going on until Friday, June 1st, so there is still plenty of time to join the fun. This Kitty Coffee Card features a stamp by Whipper Snapper Designs called Kealy. I ordered it a few months ago to use during the hop. The image was colored with Copic markers and then die cut with a stitched oval die by My Favorite Things. All patterned papers are from the True Stories paper pad by American Crafts (2014). The layout is from this weeks sketch challenge at The Paper Players and I'm also entering this card in the Creative Knockouts challenge to use Furry Friends. The sentiment stamp is by Hampton Arts and I used a black marker to mark through the word love and write the word coffee. For the final touch a bitty blue butterfly was added and that's it. Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the rest of your day!

Shamrock Kitty Card

One more St. Patrick's Day card that I'll be hand delivering to our feline veterinarian tomorrow along with some chocolates. We had our rescue kitty, little Daisy, spayed last week and she is doing really well. I wish I bounced back from surgery as fast as she did. We kept her separated from the other cats for one day but she was ready to get back to her normal routine.

This Shamrock Kitty Card features a digital image by Gerda Steiner Designs. To color the image Copic markers were used in various shades of green: G29, G46, YG67, YG11, YG06 and YG25. The kitty is colored with: YR21, E53, E50, Y23 and E95. Plaid shamrock paper by Recollections and Garden Green polka dots by Stampin' Up! worked well together along with Garden Green and Wild Wasabi cardstock. The sentiment is by SKdigis and it was punched with a retired oval punch. Three gold sequins add some sparkly detail and that's it. Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the rest of your day!

This Shamrock Kitty Card is entered into the following challenges:

• Craftaholics R Us: Green
• Crafting by Designs: St. Patrick's Day
• Sunny Day Crafting: K is for Kitten
• Show Us Your Pussies: Furrything Goes
• Pause Dream Enjoy: Anything Goes

Little Daisy was taking it easy and showing off her stitches.

St. Patrick's Day Card

Good day! I'm making a couple more St. Patrick's Day Cards and then I'll have to focus all my crafting time on Easter. It's sad how slow I am at making cards! If there were a speed card making competition, I would lose.

This St. Patrick's Day Card features a darling cat digital image by Gerda Steiner. It was colored with Copic markers and then die cut with a stitched circle die by My Favorite Things. The sentiment stamp is by SKdigis and was punched with a 1 1/2" circle punch. I love the green gingham by Recollections with the black polka dots for contrast. The green banner is actually glitter paper, although you can't tell from the photo. It adds a nice sparkle to the card. Everything was adhered flat for easy shipping and that pretty much sums it up. Thanks for stopping by!

Challenges entered:

• Cards in Envy: Green Things
• Dragonfly Dreams: All That Glitters
• Jo's Scrap Shack: Anything Goes
• Simply Create Too: Use Green
• Pile It On: Circles

Purr-fect Valentine Card

Happy Valentine's Day! I have a quick post to share the card I made for my hubby. You won't see any pink on this Purr-fect Valentine Card. The background was created with the Tumbling Hearts Stencil by Newton's Nook and the stamp set is called Furry Kisses by Simon Says Stamp. Distress inks in Tumbled Glass and Peacock Feathers were used along with a Classic Stampin' Pad in Tempting Turquoise by Stampin' Up!. To color the cats I used Copic markers in Cool Gray and Black tones. To help pull in the eyes I used a piece of black diagonal striped paper and matted the focal panel to it. That's pretty much it, a simple Purr-fect Valentine Card. Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the rest of your day.

Challenges entered:

• Crafty Gals Corner: Add a Heart
• Crafting By Designs: Valentine
• Pause Dream Enjoy: Anything Goes
• Show Us Your Pussies: Furrything Goes/Love

Here is a picture of a couple of our kitties all snuggled up together. These two really love each other and had an immediate bond, it's so sweet. The smaller tortie is the kitten we rescued back in December, she is getting big.

More than Naps Card

Good day crafty friends! This year has flown by, especially the last couple of months. I want to thank each of you for following my blog and leaving your encouraging comments. It's fun to share my creativity and I love all the inspiration I receive from my the online crafting community.

This More than Naps Card was inspired by the current Inky Paws Color Challenge #62 (see photo below). I love the combination of colors and the cable knit sweaters. So, I knew I had to use the cable knit embossing folder by Stampin' Up!. Surprisingly... there is NO patterned paper on this card. Copic markers were used to color the Newton's Naptime image and then it was die cut using a cross-stitched oval die by My Favorite Things. Circle punches were used to cut out the sentiment and some Very Vanilla twine from Stampin' Up! adds the final detail. That's it! Thanks for stopping by and have a happy and safe New Year's Eve.

Challenges entered include:

• Inky Paws: Color Challenge
• Cute Card Thursday: Anything Goes
• Simon Says Stamp: Anything Goes
• C.R.A.F.T.: Anything Goes
• Hiding in My Craft Room: Freestyle!

Jolly Christmas Wishes

Hope everyone is having a Jolly Christmas! I don't have a card for you today, but I wanted to share a picture of Daisy. She is the feral kitten my hubby and I rescued from our neighborhood. We decided she was our Christmas gift this year. No store bought gifts, just the gift of knowing we helped this little girl. It's funny that two days before she ended up in our yard I told a coworker the best way to get a kitten is to adopt from a shelter. I told her it was expensive to take a "free kitten" from an ad. The exam fee, shots and eventually getting the kitten fixed will cost over $500. Adoption fees are usually around $55-90 and everything is included. This is our third time to rescue a kitten/cat, so we knew the cost going in, but it had to be done. Her life was worth saving and we could never live with ourselves if we didn't step in. She has been with us for a little over three weeks now and she is adjusting very well to indoor life. Saving her life was the best gift and each day we are rewarded by the little purrs and furry cuddles.

If you want to donate to her rescue fund click HERE.

Kitty Thank You Card

Thanks for stopping by today! I have a quick post to share this Kitty Thank You Card I made for one of our neighbors who gave us a donation to the Rescued Kitten Medical Fund. For the story click HERE. The Really... Kitty? stamp is from Unity Stamps and I used a Catch the Bug Sketch for the layout. To select the colors I used the challenge at Color Throwdown to use: Red, Gray and Black. It's a simple card but I'm happy with how it turned out. Wishing you a wonderful day!

Challenges entered: Color Throwdown (Colors), Crafty Creations (Anything Goes), Word Art Wednesday (Anything Goes), Crafty Gals Corner (Anything Goes) and Cute Card Thursday (Anything Goes). 

Newton Wanted Card

Happy Monday! Last week we rescued a feral kitten from our backyard and took her to our veterinarian for care. The kitten was spotted early in November on the other side of our neighborhood with siblings. However, nobody did anything to help them. At the time they weren't in my yard and even though I offered to help nobody responded. So, when fate brought this little one to our yard we knew we had to rescue her. It took us five days and we finally trapped her last Friday. We tried finding a local shelter to take her but many of them are at capacity and wouldn't take a feral kitten. To help with her medical expenses we have set up a Go Fund Me account. The hardest part about rescuing animals is the cost involved. If you feel like contributing every little bit helps!

This Newton Wanted Card was made for one of our neighbors who gave us a donation. The inside is stamped "for being awesome!" The stamp set is by Newton's Nook and it's called Newton Rides West and the matching dies were used to die cut the stars. Copic markers were used to color the image. The Pioneer plaid paper is by Authentique and cardstock colors include: Crumb Cake, Cajun Craze and Hello Honey all by Stampin' Up! That's it! Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the rest of your day!

This Newton Wanted Card is entered into the following challenges:

• Lil Patch of Crafty Friends: Anything Goes
• Show Us Your Pussies: Furrything Goes
• As You Like It: Favourite Animal
• Cats have been my favourite animal for as long as I can remember. I think it's because they resemble my personality... perfectly happy being alone with occasional social interaction.

Below is a picture of the rescued kitten we named Daisy. She is getting used to being inside, it's only been two days since we picked her up from the veterinarians. She is still really shy and doesn't like being picked up, but she isn't hiding from us and she is starting to play with toys. We are just happy she is safe and warm!