A Snappy Turtle and a Wise Owl

So what do you get when you combine a Sketch Challenge with a Turtle and an Owl? - Well here's your answer. Last week on SSUS (Sensational SU Swappers) we were given a sketch to follow and create a card for our partner.

I started off using this adorable turtle image from Clear Dollar Designs (Cute Critters) stamp set to create my card. The base is Old Olive stamped with SU Sanded BG in Old Olive ink. Then I layered a piece of Lovely Lilac and some DP SU (Halloween Night from 2006 Holiday Mini ) now retired and distressed the edges of the lilac cs with the Cutter Kit.
I colored my turtle image with Prisma Colored Pencils and blended them with Gamsol. Then I cut it out using my Nestabilites Circle Dies and Scalloped Circles I added the ground by masking my turtle and sponging on some Creamy Caramel Ink. I added a Prima Flower and a purple brad to the side of the focal piece. My sentiment was stamped with Palette Noir Black ink on some lavender twill ribbon (JoAnn Fabrics) that I layered on Only Orange Card Stock and added another small flower and mini orange brad (Queen and Co.) Image and Sentiment were raised with foam mounting tape.

I completed this card before remembering that SSUS is an SU only group and so I did the 2nd card per request from my partner in SU products only.

Card #2 - Stamp Set: Owl Together Now - A new stamp set coming in the upcoming catalog
Card Stock: Tempting Turquoise, Pumpkin Pie, Old Olive and Bali Breeze DP
Ink: Basic Black, Pumpkin Pie, Old Olive, Creamy Caramel, Chocolate Chip, Tempting Turquoise

I used an Aqua Painter and smooshed the lids of my pads so that I could pick the ink color up and water colored this image.
I added flowers from the Flower Fusion felt flowers set and added Rhinestone Brads (Circles Fire Collection and cut my circles with the Coluzzle and again distressed with the Cutter Kit.
The sentiment was computer generated using SU's Journaling Font Vol. 1 - now retired.

This was a great sketch and one I'm sure I'll use again.

Cattitude Monday - Egyptian Cats

Good Morning...Stretch, Yawn....Go get another cup of coffee...Yep it's Monday morning and time for this weeks installment of Cattitude Monday - No stamped card this week as I didn't have time to stamp this weekend.

Instead I am sharing a (Gasp) ©Hallmark card that I bought way back in 1989 just because I liked it. The artist for the card is listed as, Sally Madden. I like this card for a number of reasons. First I like the raised embossing of the cat and the gold embossed trees on the bottom. I have no clue what the hieroglyphics mean but they lend an obvious Egyptian feel to this card. Which in turn reminds me of a saying on a T-shirt that I like:

"In Ancient Egypt cats were worshipped as Gods...Cat's have Never Forgotten This." - So true.

The piece next to the card is a stencil of a cat that I did years ago (probably in 1989) as it was inspired by this card. For some reason I just have never gotten around to putting this on a card. Can't seem to figure out what to do with it. Any suggestions? - I used stencil paste on the cat after it was embossed and then painted it with some Pearlescent Acrylic paints that have now dried up in their jars (bummer) after years of none use.

So that's my entry today. Remember if you have a Cattitude Monday card to share please post a link to your card in the comments section on this entry. I'd like to see people start posting their cat creations and hope you enjoy them as much as I do.

Flapper Girl

Today I had the chance to travel over to a Scrapbook store about 45 minutes away and spend some $$ on some new stamping stuff. My mom and Coleen were with me and I wasn't sure we'd be able to enjoy ourselves since there were so many things that Coleen wanted to get into. The owner of the store offered to let her sit and color pictures and that worked like a charm. She was so good on the drive over, at the store and on the drive home that as a reward Grandma let her pick out something she wanted. She settled on this "Flapper" costume and has been having a blast dancing around in it since we got home. I wanted to share her Flapper Dance with everyone so sit back and enjoy. It's not very long since our camera doesn't allow very long video posts but I think it's pretty cute.

I'll share the stamping goodies later in another post.

BCG - Wk 50 - It is all, "Black and White!"

What a great challenge! - I have always been drawn to cards done in the colors, Black and White as they just have a "crispness" about them that really draws the eye to them. Naturally when Lisa (our coordinator) posted this weeks challenge I was pretty excited about it and went our right away and bought some stuff that was related to the theme. Then I looked for card layouts that I liked and found one done by Julie Campbell http://stampedinhisimage.blogspot.com/ in the June/July issue of Paper Crafts magazine (Pg. 22). I just checked Julie's blog and couldn't locate the card there but if you have a copy of the magazine you can check out her really fun card and the great sketch she used. Thanks Julie for the inspiration.

I am also sharing a 2nd card today that I had published in (The Stamper's Sampler) magazine 10 years ago!!! - It was for a Black and White challenge as well and was my very first card to have ever been published. - What's funny now is how I've seen the change in the progression of my stamping abilities over the years but I still think it's a pretty cool card.

I've included a close up on my second card so you can see hopefully some of the sparkle that this card has. It's so hard to capture in a photo but in real life it's very pretty.

Card One: Stamps: Teapot by NumNums. Star and Swirl by Judi-Kins

I used White EP on this card and then filled in the stars with White Glitter.

Card Two: Stamps: Live Your Dream (SU) Sentiment from Hero Arts Clear Design Anytime Messages

Card Stock and paper: Basic Black, Whisper White (SU) Designer Paper, Doodlebug (White Bouquet)

Other: Acrylic Frame by Making Memories, Black Diamond EP from Judi-Kins, White Satin and Diamonds EP by Embossing Arts Co. Tiny White Brads by Queen and Co., 3 For You Flower Punch (SU), Black Spica Glitter Pen, White rickrack, Cutter kit for distressing, Foam Mounting tape.

I hope you've enjoyed this challenge as much as I did and be sure to check out all the other great cards/projects by clicking on the Bloggers Challenge icon on the right side of my sidebar.

Cattitude Monday - Another Player

Yesterday I received an email from Technique Junkies (see the icon on my sidebar) that had cards made by Nancy http://www.inkblocks.blogspot.com/ and she had some great cat cards that I thought would be perfect for Cattitude Monday. I emailed her about them and she suggested perhaps having others join in on the fun. If you have a (Cat) card to share please share them by posting a link in the comments section on my blog on Monday's under the Cattitude Monday entry. I'd love to see what you all can do with your furry feline images. - Let the sharing begin!!

Hi There - It's Cattitude Monday

Good Morning! - Yes it's the start of another new work week and of course that also means it's time for another installment of, "Cattitude Monday."

For today's contribution I have 3 things to share.

Up first is this adorable (yes I'm partial) picture of my granddaughter, Coleen. She is reading a story to our cat, Callie-Jo who apparently wasn't to interested in hearing all about a dog!

Next up is my card contribution this week. I bought this cat stamp (Hero Arts) last year and this is the first time it's seen ink. I think it's such a sweet and cheerful little stamp.

I colored my image with Prisma Colored pencils and paper pieced the dress. The grass was stamp by using a mask and my image was raised with foam mounting tape.

The sentiment is also from Hero Arts, it's part of their new Clear Design series. You can find them here: http://www.stampintreasures.com/

I used my circle Nestablities to mount my cat image on.

Card stock: Green Galore (textured) Gable Green, Ballet Blue, Designer Paper (DCWV), Whisper White

Ink Pad: Palette Noir Black

Other: 3 For You Flower Punch, small brads (Queen and Company).

Lastly here are a few interesting facts about cats that you may or may not know.

The domestic cat is the only cat species able to hold its tail vertically while walking. All wild cats hold their tails horizontally or tucked between their legs while walking.

The Giraffe, Camel and Cat are the only animals that walk by moving both their left feet, then both their right feet, when walking. This method of walking ensures speed, agility and silence.

Cats are the sleepiest of all mammals. They spend 16 hours of each day sleeping. With that in mind, a seven year old cat has only been awake for two years of its life!

Have a great week!!!

BCG Wk 49 - Stinkin Big!

It's Friday and time for Week 49's Challenge....Animals. - I loved this challenge as there were so many possibilities. Now anyone who knows me well enough probably figured I would use a (Cat) image since I adore furry felines. Sorry to disappoint you but I went with something totally different. It's a skunk (aren't skunks babies called, kittens though?)...Anyway I was enabled by one of the blogs I visit (right now I can't recall which one) to purchase the Cute Critters stamp set from Clear Dollar Stamps and decided to use this adorable little skunk for my card.

My card base is: Green Galore followed by a layer of Basic Black and then I embossed a piece of lavendar card stock (source unknown) with the Paisley Cuttlebug Embossing Folder. Then I added a piece of striped DP (Doodlebug) and some Black Grosgrain ribbon. To the side I added 3 Dew Drops (Grapes & Leaves) by Robin's Nest. I stamped my image with Basic Gray ink and colored it with Prismacolor Pencils blended with Gamsol. I added the ground by masking my image and punching out and oval that I sponged Creamy Caramel ink on. I used my Rectangle Nestablities Dies to cut out my image and mounted it on a larger piece of Green Galore card stock.

Then I added some flowers from Hero Arts Summer Collection that I purchased here: http://www.ellenhutson.com/servlet/the-1282/Art-Flowers%2C-Summer/Detail - and added a purple brad (Queen and Company) and then dyed 2 small white brads with a Copic Marker (T5 Toner Gray No. 5) which came out a nice black color after a couple of coats. I stamped the sentiment by using Basic Black and Lovely Lilac markers. My focal piece and sentiment were then mounted using foam mounting tape.

I'm sending this to a friend who is having a birthday next week. I hope she likes it. This was such a fun challenge. I'm off to check out everyone else's creations and hope you will as well. Check them out by using the Blogger's Challenge Icon on my sidebar.

Okay spell check doesn't seem to be working again so I apologize ahead if I did make any errors in spelling.

Cattitude Monday - Cat Scratch Fever

It's Monday and time for another installment of, Cattitude Monday.

First I wanted to share the bloody mess that is on my left ankle right now. - Last night I went in to our bathroom to get a drink and since I had light coming from the television I didn't bother to turn the lights on.

Suddenly I heard this hideous meowing and felt the slashing (dramatic huh) of my ankle. I saw furry flashes and 2 very unhappy cats. I'm not entirely sure what happened but somehow Snickers and Callie-Jo met each other in the dark and one of them managed to slice and dice my heel up pretty good. I'm always thankful for Benadryl since I'm allergic to cats (I know then I shouldn't have them) but I just couldn't live without my furry friends and allergy shots help tremendously. Anyway I'm keep a close eye on it as I don't want any infections. I couldn't resist adding Ted Nugent's song, "Cat Scratch Fever" to this weeks blog entry.

As promised last week I actually created a card for Cattitude Monday. The stamp is a new unmounted stamp (Third Coast Rubber - Titled: Miss Daisy) but it reminds me of our cat, Callie-Jo who is off course very playful since she's still a kitten. I tried to color the image to look Siamese but didn't include the much darker colors that our kitty has on her face.

The image was colored with Prisma Colored Pencils and blended with Gamsol. I stamped an extra image and cut out the top flower to layer over my main image. I used my new rectangle Nestabilities dies for the image and background. I added some So Saffron photo corners and More Mustard Brads.

The sentiment is by Autumn Leaves.

Card Stock: So Saffron, Blue textured by Chatterbox, Designer Paper, Sunny Pinwheels (Chatterbox - Scrapbook Walls), Whisper White

Ink: Palette Noir Black, Really Rust

Other: Frosted Lace Stickles, More Mustard Brads, Circle Punch, Coluzzle, Nestability Dies, Paper Piercing tool, Foam mounting tape.

BCG - Red White and Blue and a Sketch Challenge Too!

Okay doesn't that title just "grab ya!" - These days I find myself with "limited" stamping time.

I enjoy trying different challenges but due to time constraints this week I combined two different challenges. For Friday's Blogger's Challenge our challenge this week was to use the colors:

Red, White and Blue for our project. - Normally you think of these as traditional colors for the 4th of July but I really didn't want to go that route so instead I chose a Birthday theme.

Then I combined it with a "Sketch" challenge that I signed up for on another group (SSUS) that I belong too.

My card base is Real Red, with Brilliant Blue (I distressed the edges with BB ink & the cutter kit)

Then I used my Circles Cuttlebug folder and embossed some Whisper White card stock. I had purchased some cool red, white and blue striped paper (My Mind's Eye - Confetti from the Kaleidoscope Collection) and just knew I had to use it for this challenge.

I also recently purchased these delicious cupcake stamps by Hero Arts and decided they would go perfectly with my birthday theme. I stamped the cupcake on Whisper White and also on a piece of the designer paper. Then I cut out only the cupcake wrapper on the DP and glued it on top of my other cupcake image. I used White Liquid Applique to create my frosting. My cherry was colored with Copic Markers (yes, I broke down and bought a set) and I can tell you that right now I still need TONS of practice using them but for this little cherry image they worked just fine. Plus I highlighted the cherry with a clear Spica Glitter pen although it doesn't show in the scan.

I stamped the Polka Dot background (Cornish Heritage Farms) on Brocade Blue card stock with Craft White ink and layered that on top my striped designer paper and the white cuttlebug piece.

I cut my circles out using Nestabilities Dies. The sentiment was stamped with Brilliant Blue ink and mounted on BB card stock which I attached 2 Real Red brads and then mounted it and my cupcake with foam mounting tape to complete my card. I think it's a very festive card and could still be used for a patriotic card as well since the 4th of July is America's birthday.

Be sure to check out all the other great cards by my fellowBlogger's challenge group members by clicking on the icon on my side bar.

Mystery Image

I belong to a really fun group (Stamp Girls Gone Wild) or SGGW and we've been doing some Mystery Image swaps lately. The way it works is one person (the Hostess) picks an image and stamps several of them and then sends them out to those who sign up to create a card with. We are each assigned a partner and send the card we made to that person. Then a file is created that we all post our cards in so we can see how each person used the Mystery Image. It's really FUN and you get a lot of inspiration by seeing how different and unique each persons take on the image turns out.

This round was Janet Rains turn to chose the image and she picked this floral image by Impression Obsession to send out. It's really very pretty but I must admit when I first saw it I wasn't sure how I was going to use it to create my card.

I decided to make my card larger then the standard 41/4"x51/2" size so my card measured 51/4"by51/4" .

I took my color inspiration from a piece of designer paper (Adorned - Fancy Pants designs).

I really liked the striped pattern. My first attempt was to stamp the En Francais background stamp by SU behind the flowers by masking it but I didn't like the way it turned out so I went with plan B and stamped the background instead on the reverse side of my designer paper. I used Chocolate Chip Ink to stamp the background. I really liked how that looked.

My card base is So Saffron which I distressed the edges with Saffron Ink. Then I layered a piece of Rust colored textured card stock (Bazzill) and added my stamped designer layer. Then I added the striped piece on the side along with another small strip of the rust card stock and a crimped piece of So Saffron.

My image was colored with Prisma Colored Pencils and blended with Gamsol. I cut out the larger flower and leaves and layered them with foam mounting tape. The centers of the flowers were highlighted with a clear Spica Glitter pen for a little shimmer. I'm not sure it shows up in the photo but looks pretty in real life. I mounted the flower image on Chocolate Chip card stock that I rounded using a corner rounder.

I added a piece of Hodgepodge Hardware and some Saffron ribbon and added 3 Dew Drops to complete my card.

Can't wait to see what our next Mystery Image will be.

Cattitude Monday - A Quiz

Happy "Cattitude Monday" everyone. - Here are a couple of pictures today of some of our little furry friends. Picture #1 is my hubby hard at work painting along with his little painting buddy, Callie-Jo who sat there up there on his shoulder the entire time he rolled the walls. She loves sitting on shoulders and found painting to be quite fascinating.

Picture #2 is a "rare" photo indeed as it has our cat, Snickers actually allowing the new kitten, Harley to be so close to her. It's rare that she even lets him even in the same room as she is much less a few inches away. I snapped this photo and about a minute later he got a little to close and she was off the couch in a flash.

So here is a little Quiz you can take even if you don't like cats to test your knowledge about cats in "songs." You can find the quiz here: http://cats.about.com/library/FillBlanksQuiz/blcatsongs.htm - I scored 19 out of 24.

Have a great day & next week I hope to post a Card (yes an actual stamped card) with non-other then a CAT image on it for Cattitude Monday. I'm waiting for the stamp I ordered to arrive and it's a good one so be on the lookout for it soon.

BCG Wk 47 - And I'm Back!

Ah...it's good to be back after a 2 week absence from posting for the Blogger's Challenge Group. Life was just way to hectic to do much stamping but I took the time last night to complete this weeks challenge. In fact I finished up my card at 11:30 pm. I was determined to participate this week.

This week was a "sketch" challenge. Our sketch was to use the (Dog) card on Pg. 21 of the current SU Occasions Mini Catalog. - This time I decided to try and stick pretty much to the sketch even though it wasn't my style.

I chose to use a couple of new stamps that I bought form Hambo Stamps that you can find here:

http://www.hambostamps.com/animalsair.htm - Aren't those little "chicks" cute!

My card base is Chocolate Chip and then I layered a piece of So Saffron stamped with the Aida Cloth BG stamp with a strip of textured Red (Bazzill) card stock. I added some "faux" stitching by using a piercing tool and my Ruby Red Marker. I also added a piece of striped designer paper (Adorned - Fancy Pants Designs) which I used for my color inspiration as well.

I stamped the chicks and sentiment with Palette Noir Black ink and then colored my image with Prisma Color Pencils and blended with Gamsol. I also added some light speckles with the Itty Bitty BG set (SU) and Cool Caribbean ink. I tore the edges (not something I normally do) and added an extra piece of Cool Caribbean also stamped with the Aida Cloth BG. My chicks have Lemonade Fun Flock on them and I highlighted the flower with a Red Spice Glitter Pen. I wasn't sure afterwards if I liked that look but it was to late to do anything about it by then. For accents I added a Prima flower and a Saffron Brad and tied some twine around the focal point. Then I raised up the panel using foam mounting tape to complete my card.

So be sure to check out the other members cards to see how they interpreted the sketch. You can find them by clicking on the Blogger's Challenge Icon on my side bar.

Addendum - Giving Credit

As promised here is the source for the blue card in my previous post. It was inspired by this card made by Kimberly G. on her blog : It 's so pretty it's so cute and can be found here: http://itssoprettyitssocute.blogspot.com/2008/05/bloggers-challenge.html

Thanks Kim!

A couple of cards - Inspired by...

Not a very original title but today I don't feel to original so it will have to do. Besides neither of the 2 cards are original ideas either so I think the title fits.

These were the cards I managed to come up with for last nights Stamp Club meeting. I have had such a hard time this year coming up with card ideas because I was basically not real thrilled with a lot of the stamp sets available in the current SU catalog. - No "Flames" please but that is just how I feel about this particular catty.

I found the idea for the bright Orange and Green card here: http://splitcoaststampers.com/gallery/photo/893765?cat=5806 and was inspired by the ideas of bright tropical colors. I altered the color scheme as I didn't have enough of the Teal to use for my club meeting. Plus I just like the combo of the Only Orange and Green Galore together with the Gable Green. I altered the design a little as well. I liked the flower with the brad but wanted mine to be off set so I used my circle punches to create my flower accent. I also accented the flower centers with Orange Peel Stickles. and stamped my sentiment at the bottom instead of using the tab on the side. Thanks, Kris for the inspiration.

Card #2 was inspired I believe by a card I saw on some one's blog. They did not include a watermark with their name so I can't give credit since I can't recall offhand which blog I saw it on. If this looks vaguely familiar to anyone let me know so I can credit my inspiration.

This card used the set, Priceless. I loved the original color scheme so I kept that but added some brads to the bottom of my card and altered the placement of the sentiment and also popped my butterfly up on dimensionals.

Cattitude Monday - Introducing....

It gives me great pleasure to introduce you to the latest member of our family. This little guy is none other then, Harley ("lil hog") Krause.

With the passing of our beloved Nuisance we were left with no male animals in the house. Some neighbors down the street from us had kittens a few weeks ago so I decided to check them out and see what sex this little yellow fur ball was. Turns out he is male so naturally we (well hubby did protest a great deal about this but knew the battle was lost) just had to bring him home to live with us.

He's just about 5-6 weeks old and wasn't entirely weaned yet but the owners were wanting to find homes for the kittens as quickly as possible so they suggested we take him home early. Personally I think they were tired of my stopping by everyday and sitting on their porch playing with the kittens so they just let me take him a few weeks early. None the less he's here to stay and fitting in quite nicely. The photo on the right was taken at his old place and I'm not exactly sure what he was trying to tell me but it sure made for a fun photo.

So far the "girls" are adjusting to his being here for the most part. Dottie our short haired Calico could care less. Snickers the long haired tortoise shell Calico is pretty persnickety towards him but she knows he's not going away so she just tries to avoid him. The other new kitten, Callie-Jo enjoys hissing at him and batting at him but she has tried to get a little rougher then she should and gets promptly chastised for it. I'm sure in time they'll be bosom buddies.

Isn't he a cutie! We now have 5 cats (yes, they call me the "Crazy" Cat Lady)...the other cat, Blackie is basically non-existent as she is never around any of the other cats. She was pretty much neglected and sometimes abused by her former owners and hates all other cats so she spends her time alone in her own little room. She's fed, watered and petted though and seems perfectly content living her life that way. She occasionally ventures outside but lately hasn't even wanted to do that as loud noises scare her. It may seem cruel to keep her secluded but she appears to want it that way so we let her be. Someday I'll share some pictures of her as well.

Have a truly terrific day, pet a cat (it helps lower your blood pressure, proven fact.)!

BCG Wk 44 - Owl Together Now

Isn't this little Owl the cutest! - What's even better is this is a brand new set in the upcoming 2008-2009 SU Catalog. So how did I get it you might ask...Well it's quite a story. Patty Bennett was sharing some photo's of the Bermuda Cruise she was lucky enough to go on and how this set was one of the sets that was used for the "make'n'take" projects on the cruise. I made a comment on her blog about how if she absolutely hated the set she could send it my way.

Well before long she was emailing me saying she actually didn't really care much for the set and if I would send her my address she would send it to me. I can't tell you how excited I was and of course I sent her my mailing address zippy quick. We made a quick "trade" of sorts and in a few days I had this cute little set in my hot little hands. Today is the first day I've had a chance to play with it. - Thank You again Patty for sending me this super neat stamp set.

Our challenge this week was a color challenge using: Chocolate Chip, Certainly Celery, Brocade Blue and So Saffron. I really liked these colors when I paired them up and decided they would go well with my new stamp set.

Stamps Used: Owl Together Now

Inks: Basic Brown, Chocolate Chip, Certainly Celery
Card Stock: Chocolate Chip, Certainly Celery, Brocade Blue, So Saffron, Whisper White

Other: Prisma Color Pencils, Gamsol, Photo Corner Punch, Scallop Punch, Giga Circle Punch,

Swiss Dot Embossing Folder (Cuttlebug), Saffron Brads, Paper Piercing Tool, Foam Mounting Tape

Be sure to check out all the other great projects from the fellow members of the Blogger's Challenge Group - See Icon on Sidebar.

Memories of Nuisance

In Fond Memory of one of the COOLEST cats that ever lived.

Nuisance came to live with us one cold, rainy night in October of 1994. I had gone to the grocery store and when I came home the kids were sitting in the doorway with this tiny little soaked kitten. I asked them where on earth did they get a kitten and they said he just wandered into the yard. Well we took him in and got him dried off & fed as he was very hungry. We discovered that he was covered with fleas so we spent about an hour bathing him and picking fleas off of him as we knew my hubby wouldn't let us keep him unless we did.

We knew this kitten belonged to some neighbors as we'd seen their little boy tossing him around by his tail one day. Needless to say we just knew that we couldn't send him back home to them so he became a member of our family.

As to how he got his name...A few months earlier I begged my husband to let me have a kitten and he reluctantly agreed saying it would be nothing but, "Trouble" so that is what we named that kitten. When he agreed to let us keep this one he said he would just be another "Nuisance" around the house so that is how he came to be our beloved Nuisance.

This cat loved playing in the snow and whenever it snowed he meowed at the door to get outside so he could play. One year he had a bad ear infection so we hauled snow inside and dumped it in the bathtub for him to play in. You can see in the picture how much fun we was having.

You could put almost anything on this cat and he would let you. He's been a "Carnival" cat, a New Years Cat, and even inside a jack-o-lantern as a tiny kitten. He was certainly well loved and well photographed. In the coming days I'll share a few more pictures of him.

Coleen just adored this cat and it was sure hard trying to explain to her why he wasn't here anymore. Of course children seem to adjust rather quickly and I think she's accepted his being gone a lot easier then I have. It seems so odd to pass by the chair he loved to lay in and not see him sleeping there. He loved to purr and eat (yeah you can't tell he was well fed in those pictures can you?)...He loved to YOWL at the top of his lungs in the middle of the night, go for car rides, he even laid on the dashboard and would watch the trees as you went by and try to bat at them. He was always very friendly and people just loved him. He had a lot of fun with all our other cats and the last photo is of him and the other 3 cats taken just a day before he passed away.

It was so sudden and unexpected. I had a hard time trying to write about it the night he died.

He started having breathing problems on Sunday night and not knowing our regular vets home phone we had to take him to an Emergency On Call Vet. She thought he was having an Asthma attack so she gave him a steroid shot and some pills to give him for the next few days. We had to keep him calm (if that was possible) so he spent the night in our bathroom. I kept getting up to check on him but he wasn't any better and the poor thing didn't sleep all night long. The next morning I called our regular vet and he said to just keep an eye on him & if he got worse to bring him in. At noon I just didn't feel he was any better so I took him in to our normal Vet. He gave him a faster acting shot and said to keep giving him the Prednisone pills. By evening he was restless and still had hard labored breathing. We took him in to lay him on our bed to give him the pill about 6:00 when he soddenly started convulsing and we laid him on the floor and he was gone. It was really very traumatic to witness and also so sad to see him that way as he was such a beautiful cat.

It's hard to say "Goodbye" and quite frankly we never will as he lives on in our hearts and in these special photos we have of him. Gone but not forgotten - Nuisance 1994-2008

BCG Wk 43 - Chipboard in Burgundy

Hooray, I did it!!! - I wasn't sure I'd be able to participate this week for the Blogger's Challenge Group since I've been swamped this week. My mom had a Total Knee Replacement done on Tuesday and I've been mos of the week at the hospital. In fact the day of the surgery I was there 12 hours! Last night she got to come home and I stayed the night trying to sleep on her tiny little couch (oh my aching back) so I didn't get much sleep last night either.

I had this idea in mind though and had actually started it the day before she went in for her surgery. I can't believe as rummy feeling as I am that I managed to put this card together. I may just use this for my Anniversary card to my dear hubby as today is our 16th Wedding Anniversary. We will most likely celebrate a week late though since I can't leave my mom alone for very long as she is still having a hard time getting in and out of her bed (why do they make those beds so doggone tall?)

For this card I drew my inspiration from a patterned piece of Designer Paper by Basic Grey (Figgy Pudding Line). It just oozes romance to me. I covered a square of chipboard from SU's On Board Blossoms and Basic with the DP and inked the edges with Cranberry Crisp Ink (retired). Then I ink up one small heart with White Craft Ink and dipped it in Crystal Clear EP and heated and repeated the steps until it look pearl like. For the other 2 hears I inked them with Cranberry Crisp ink first several times and then distressed them with Bravo Burgundy Ink.

I embossed the "Love" sentiment (Hero Arts) with Winter White EP. For my background I stamped the En Francais BG with Bravo Burgundy and then over stamped the Linen Background using Cranberry Crisp Ink. I also stamped the Linen BG on the Burgundy Strip and distressed the edges with the Cutter Kit. I added a piece of eyelet lace (antique stuff from way back when that my mom had) and I distressed the edges with the Cranberry Crisp ink. Then I added some half pearls (vanilla colored ones) from the Pretties Kit.

I hope hubby doesn't think it's too "feminine" because I really like how it turned out and hope you do as well.

Be sure to check out all the other great Blogger's projects by clicking on the Icon on my sidebar.

Now I'm off to rest a little as I probably won't get much sleep again tonight. My mom is tough but she is 79 years old and just went through a major surgery so I think it's important to be there if she needs help even though she's stubborn and thinks she can do it on her own.

Giving Credit Where Credit is Due

Many of you commented on my bow tying skills for the card posted here:
http://faithartistry.blogspot.com/2008/04/bcg-wk-41-friendship-blooms.html and while I'd like to say that I'm super "talented" at bow tying I must give credit where credit is due. You see I didn't actually tie this bow at all. Instead I used a very cool and clever faux bow technique that I learned here: http://nicholeheady.typepad.com/capture_the_moment/2007/04/3.html to create my bow. In Nichole's tutorial she uses paper strips for the bow but the same technique can be easily adapted to actual ribbon. - Thank you all for your wonderful compliments though on the bow for my card.

You Quack Me Up

I belong to this really fun group called, Stamp Girls Gone Wild (doesn't that just conjure up all kinds of fun stuff!) We're actually a group of stampers that are not dedicated to just "one" stamp company meaning that our cards can use stamps and supplies from any company we choose.

Our first 2 swaps have been Mystery Image swaps. What this means is that one person picks out an image and sends it to everyone who signed up for the swap. We are then assigned a partner and send our card to that person. All the cards are then posted in a file for everyone to see what we all did with the same image.

Our first image was a Gnome sent out by our Moderator (Kerry) and the card I did for my partner for that swap is found here: http://faithartistry.blogspot.com/2008/03/roaming-gnome.html There were some really great entries for that challenge.

I asked if I could pick out the next image for another Mystery Image swap. I had my new kitten (Callie-Jo) help me out by looking at stamps from http://www.addictedtorubberstamps.com/ and then we settled on this adorable Duck image from http://www.hambostamps.com/ . It was new and I thought it was just to cute to pass up, Callie-Jo agreed with me.

I wanted a cute saying to go with my duck and picked out the (You Quack Me Up) sentiment made by Penny Black at addictedtorubberstamps. I must say here that both places have excellent Customer Service and I highly recommend shopping with both companies.

For my card base I chose: Only Orange (SU) card stock stamped with the Sanded Background in OO ink. My color inspiration was taken from this FUN piece of Designer Paper (Oh Baby!Boy - Garic by Basic Grey) I also added a small strip of Apricot Appeal that I ran through the Cuttlebug using my Swiss Dot Embossing Folder and a piece of Orange Rickrack (JoAnn Craft Essentials). I embossed the sentiment with Bold Black EP (SU) added a cloth brad (not sure of source) and a Felt Flower (Queen and Company).

I colored the duck image with Prisma Colored Pencils blended with Gamsol. Then I added Lemonade Yellow Fun Flock (Stampendous) using a glue pen to the duck and let it dry. I also added Crystal Effects to the mud pond. I used a Scalloped Square Punch (Marvy) to punch out my image an mounted it to Green Galore(SU) card stock and Textured Lavender CS (Bazzill) and added 4 tiny green brads (Queen and Company) then mounted the image with foam dimensional tape to complete my card.

The card measures 5 1/4 by 5 1/4" - I really had fun with this card and my partner loved it so I am very happy with how this turned out.

BCG Wk 41 Friendship Blooms

I started this card yesterday and didn't quite finish it. This morning I got up and just didn't like what I had done but after trying a few other things I decided it was just going to have to do for this weeks challenge. For some reason I wasn't to thrilled with the way this card turned out and in fact I told my mom I thought it was ("ugly"). She assured me it wasn't but I'm still not convinced.

The layout was pretty cool even though it was out of my normal comfort zone. So what do you think?

Stamp Set: Friendship Blooms (Sale-a-bration)

Card Stock & Paper: Chocolate Chip (Textured), Afternoon Tea Designer Paper, Groovy Guava,Cameo Coral

Ink Pad: Cameo Coral

Other: Winter White EP, Swiss Dot Cuttlebug Embossing Folder, Island Blossom Dew Drops, Wide Chocolate Chip Grosgrain ribbon, Clear Spica Glitter Pen, Foam Mounting Tape, Distressing Tool.

That's it for me this week. Be sure to check out the other members creations by using the Bloggers Challenge Icon on my sidebar.

Cattitude Monday - Fantasty Art and Real Life

Happy Monday! - Today's Cattitude Monday images are a reflections of both "art" and "real life."

For my artistic piece today I chose this fantasy art print by, Leslie Newcomer found here: http://www.fantasycatart.com/ I liked this piece because of the colors. It reminds me of Spring and while we're having a bit of a throwback to Winter right now I can still dream of balmy spring days like this.

My real life photo is none other then new kitten, Callie-Jo taking a sleep break by hogging the heat vent. Doesn't she look warm and snug. Just the place to be on a cold chilly day like today.

Enjoy your day and pet a cat today if you haven't already. Hugs, Ida

What's Wrong With This Picture

Wasn't the 1st "Official" day of Spring 10 days ago? - So what's wrong with this picture? - This is what we woke up to this morning and brrr baby it is COLD outside. The poor spring flowers look pretty sorry today.

I am so NOT a fan of snow so I'm hoping and praying that this goes away quickly.

It isn't even April 1st so this is just a really "cruel" joke for sure.

Happily (well maybe not) freezing here in the Pacific Northwest. Ida

Spring Flowers of Hope

Well I'm coming in just "under the wire" this week since it's still technically Friday here being as it's only 8:39 pm! Had some difficulties today trying to find time to stamp and coming up with an idea I liked.

This isn't the most fancy card in the world but I do like the nice fresh spring colors.

For this card I used: Pixie Pink Card stock with a layer of Lavender textured (Bazzill) and Green Galore, Whisper White.

Stamps Used: Garden Whimsy, Dots and Daises BG (both SU) and Spring Sentiment by Hero Arts

Inks/Markers Used: Green Galore, Pixie Pink, Wisteria Chalk (ColorBox) and Basic Black

Other: Oval Scallop Punches (Marvy) Green Galore Brads, Iridescent Ice EP (on bug), paper piercing tool, Ribbon SU (retired) not sure of the name of the ribbon at this time. Foam Mounting Tape.

Be sure to check out the other great bloggers challenges by using the icon on my sidebar.

Cattitude Monday - A Bit of History

Here is a picture of my new kitten, Callie-Jo and one of our other cats, Dottie have a stare down with each other.




For this weeks entry I thought I would give you a little fact about an unnamed cat that helped out in a very special way here in Washington State. I learned this information when I visited the dam.






While many cats 'work' as mousers, one kitty who was nameless actually helped build a dam! When engineers were building the Grand Coulee Dam, they had trouble threading a cable through a pipe. Someone suggested a cat would do the trick. Engineers tied a rope to the cable, tied a string to the rope, and tied the string to this kitty's tail. This nameless kitty crawled through the pipeline and finished the job that the humans couldn't manage to do

Back later with something else to share.