I have extended the Cat Lovers Hop!!! Now you can link up through the weekend!!!! I will also add a couple extra days for comments, too.
So now...........LINK UP on the main post by 11:55 pm Pacific on Sunday, Nov. 1st. COMMENT on linked projects through 11:59 pm Pacific on Tuesday, Nov. 3.
The reason I am doing this is because I got the sweetest note from a crafter who caretakes for her 97 yr old momma. She had tried all week to be able to get a card made, but the demands made it impossible. She wrote telling me how nice it would be to have it extended through the weekend......and I was happy to oblige! This way the link-up is actually open an entire week, so that works. I hope you all understand.
For those of you who have already linked up projects, please don't feel like you need to do two more for these additional days. I probably won't do any others, myself. You are welcome to link more up, though, if you wish! This is mostly to accommodate those who just couldn't squeeze crafting in during the week. Thank you, again, for all the wonderful projects and comments you have left for me and for others. I feel like I have made lots of new friends through this hop. Hope you have, too!! <3 Janis
Hi, Friends...... Wow!!! This has been a fabulous Cat Lovers Hop week, hasn't it? I can't thank you all enough for the fun I've had looking at the totally wonderful and creative cards and other projects you've linked up. I haven't made it all the way through the list yet, but I will. Your participation has been awesome, but what I have REALLY enjoyed was how willingly you have shared the heartfelt and touching stories of your kitties!!! I have laughed and I have cried reading about how so many of you have adopted rescues, bottle-fed tiny kittens, cared for your beloved aging pets, and shared your life with these amazing animals......our cats. Thank you sooooooooooo much. By the way, I will be starting a folder for our Cat Lover Hop projects on my Pinterest page. I know I will want to browse through it in the future! For this last day of the hop, I am showcasing another of our sponsors: Newton's Nook!!! Months ago....back in May, I won the set I am using today on their blog. In my correspondence with the owner, Jennifer Jackson, I mentioned that I was thinking about having a Cat Lovers Hop sometime in the future and would she be interested in sponsoring if I ever did. She wrote back and enthusiastically said she would love to sponsor and to let her know when I got it together. That, folks, is how this got started! I just had to let the idea brew for awhile.... :) Please join me in thanking the terrific people (and the real Newton, too, of course) at Newton's Nook for sponsoring!!
I also want to give special mention to one last company who is another of our terrific sponsors: Art Impressions!!
I, unfortunately, do not have any of their wonderfully amusing cat stamps so I couldn't showcase them with a project. (That's why I am soooooo jealous of whomever wins their Cat Lady tri-fold stamp!!!) I know some of you have used their cats in this hop, though, and I really appreciate that. I hope you all will join me in thanking them for sponsoring, too.
Here are some links: Art Impressions Blog and Facebook
Okay.......on to today's project........
You wouldn't believe how much trouble I had with this card!!! My heat gun died in the middle of heat embossing this adorable image and sentiment from Newton's Sick Day. Did you hear what I just said???? MY HEAT GUN DIED!!! I had just finished heat embossing the K&Co scrap that I used to piece poor Newton's blanket.......I switched off the gun and reached for the white cardstock to heat emboss it and hit the switch again to turn it on and.....nothing....zip....nada. This was my first heat gun and so I've had it for many years. It has given me reliable service without so much as a single grunt, grumble, or unkind word and with no warning, no zapping noise, no sparks or smoke, it died. Waaaaaaahhhhh!!!! What to do.....? I know I read online somewhere recently about this happening in the middle of a project with another crafter. I tried the hair dryer....not hot enough. I have a propane stove, so I didn't want to try that....(Newton's fever isn't thaaaaaat high!) So my only option was the toaster oven!!! Yes. The problem is that you have to have the door all the way closed for it to heat up....and I couldn't get it hot enough to melt the powder by holding it in the prewarmed oven compartment with the door open. So I nervously put the entire panel inside and pushed down the toaster button, standing ready with my toaster tongs and a glass of water.....just in case!!! Ha. I had a false start or two where I opened the door too soon, but the powder finally melted and I didn't even burn the house down!! It's not really bonded onto the paper perfectly and I DO NOT recommend this technique, but it worked for finishing the card and that's what counts!!! I decided on an orange/brown striped and white Newton for this card and proceeded to watercolor. I really like how the image turned out. But after all that, I discovered I had stamped the sentiment on catty-whompus. It's partly straight and partly not. Whaaaa-aat? I had it kind of curved up on the block, I guess. (sigh...) It's been a big week for me, peeps! lol... I still love how the card turned out. And I hope you do, too. :) Well, that's my last cat project for the hop. Remember that you can still join theCat Lovers Hopby linking up a cat-themed project (by 11:55 pm Pacific Sunday, Nov. 1) and/or commenting on the linked projects (through Nov. 3). The Guidelines/FAQ page ishereand you can link up on the main page. Thanks so much for ALL the fun and inspiration this week! Hugs to you and your beautiful cats!!! <3 Janis (and all my kitties!)
Here's one that's not about cats, but I love it sooo much. If you have ever been around rescue/rehab baby owls, you have seen them do this kind of thing. So cute!! "This toy was meant to comfort this orphaned owl, but instead it inspired a new career!!!"
(Watch out, world, Janis has learned how to embed YouTubes!! lol.....)
Hi, Friends...... I am back with my second project for today. I was going to post this yesterday, but you know how it goes.... lol... I am showcasing two more of our fabulous Cat Lovers Hop sponsors with this project: Paper Smooches and Serendipity!!! I hope you will help me show them how much we appreciate their generosity by going to their blogs and/or social media sites and telling them thank you. I love how many of you have been doing this already!!!!
Here are some links for you:
Paper Smooches: Blog, Facebook (Did you know Paper Smooches has their DT Hop going on right now with more chances for you to win some PS goodies???)
Have you ever had trick-or-treaters come to the door that were a little bit too old and waaaaay too cool to be doing that on Halloween? I'm talking about 13 and 14 yr old boys (or even older!) who don't bother dressing up, except for maybe sunglasses and a long trenchcoat. These young men know they are really too old but they don't want to miss out on the loot, so they go anyway. Ha. Yep...you know the ones....I can tell!! Well, these candy treat holders are inspired by them. lol...
These Paper Smooches - Feline Friends cats are just too cool in their shades, aren't they??? Ha. I just know I've had these guys at my door in years past. (But not where we live here in Idaho now. We are so remote that we get zero trick-or-treaters and I am forced to eat all the candy myself!!! Poor me....lol... Good thing I bought two bags this year. )
The "trick-or-treat" in the hand-drawn speech balloons is from a Serendipity grab bag. (They sell these bags of 10 unmounted stamps for only $1.00!! Awesome, huh? I ordered two and the owner, Mary Lee, made sure there were no duplicates in there. Great service!!!) The sentiment is actually on a trick-or-treat bag but I inked up only the words to use this time. You can see a project I made last year using the whole image here.
I stamped the cats and sentiment with Versamark ink on scraps of orange cardstock and heat embossed them with clear powder. Nice shiny, slick kitties ready to gobble your candy!!! Kit-Kats, of course. :)
I die cut DCWV patterned paper scraps for the holders with my Sizzix - Fancy Labels Dies. I used more scraps for wrapping around the candy bar. A few wispy scraps of the dollar store "spooky cloth" adds a bit of mystery. Fun, huh? I hope you will join the Cat Lovers Hop by linking up a cat themed project (by Nov. 1) and/or commenting on the linked projects (by Nov. 3). The Guidelines and FAQ page is here and you can link up on the main page. I am absolutely thrilled with the response to this hop!!! Right now we have 77 entries and still a day to go. Thank you so much for your excitement and participation!! <3 Janis
Hi, Friends...... Welcome to Day 4 of the Cat Lovers Hop and also National Cat Day. Today I will have two cat posts. (I thought I'd have two yesterday, but today I really think I will!! Ha.)
I hope you all have been enjoying the Cat Lovers Hop this week as much as I have. There have been so many awesome projects and entertaining stories about your cats. I can tell we are a bunch of hard-core cat lovers!!! :) I want to thank each of YOU for the super-encouraging comments you've made about this hop. I'd never done anything like this before and it was kind of scary getting it all organized, and wondering if anyone would even be interested. I wasn't sure any sponsors would want to take a chance on a hop that had never been done before. You cat lovers have been FANTASTIC taking the time to send these sponsors notes of thanks on Facebook and/or their other pages. THANKS SO MUCH!!! I definitely am thinking about doing this again next year! Yay!! Today I am showcasing another of our generous sponsors: Waffle Flower. I hope you will join me in thanking them on their blog and/or social media spots.
My card uses one of my very favorite cat stamp sets: On My Mark by Waffle Flower. (This set also has a dog on it, but we won't mention that on National Cat Day, will we?!!) I absolutely adore this looooooooooong cat. I do all sorts of antics with it on my cards. :) Today, though, I have the cat actually walking on all fours in a whimsical little spooky scene.
I dry embossed my background and sanded it to make moonlit highlights on the trees. I stamped some bats on vellum with Versafine ink in Onyx Black and heat embossed them with clear powder. I cut them out with some of the vellum showing around the edges for more definition. I stamped my cat with Versamark ink on black cardstock and heat embossed with silver powder. Next, I tore my craft table apart in a panic looking for my "EEK!" Unity stamp that I had set out a couple of weeks ago.....so it would be handy.....arrrrgh! Now it is nowhere to be seen!!! (I hope I am not the only one this ever happens to!) So I printed "eeek!" out on some white paper and glued it on my scene. (sigh...)
For the grass, I cut two fringes of black cardstock and lightly brushed a silver ink pad over them to make them glisten a bit. Then I put my nervous cat in between the layers and lifted the blades of grass with a piece of paper slipped underneath them. Do you like his googly eyes? Hehehehe.... I finished it by mounting the whole thing on a glittery silver card base.
HINT: I want to mention something about heat embossing. Don't always worry if it's not perfect!! For this fun little scene, not one of my images heat embossed flawlessly. The bat wings have holes in them and the cat has a little birthmark on his shoulder. I could have fixed them easily with markers, but guess what.....I decided to keep them that way for this card. To me, sometimes the imperfection of a technique has its own charm. I like the way these not-quite-right images add to the playfulness. For other cards, you want that heat embossing to be absolutely spot-on....but for something more casual, a few holes or bubbles are fine. So, relax! :)
I hope you have enjoyed my card today. I'd love for you to join us in the hop. Read the Hop Guidelines and FAQs here and link-up a cat project through Sunday Nov. 1 on the main page and/or comment on the linked-up projects through Tuesday Nov. 3rd to be in the drawing for the fabulous prizes from our awesome sponsors!!! Thanks again for stopping by and for all your sweet comments about my projects and the hop. You make my cat day!!! A CHALLENGE AND ANOTHER HOP: Hey, Cat Lovers, did you see the "Furry Friends" challenge over at Double-Click? You can enter your Cat Hop projects over there, too!!! I already see several familiar ones linked up. :) Also, if you just can't get enough cat projects and prize opportunities to satisfy your cravings here, there is a National Cat Day Hop over at Haidee's Created 2 B Unique blog. Did I mention she has a super-fabulous prize package for a random hopper??? Wow!! Tell her you saw her fun hop mentioned at the Cat Lovers Hop on Her Peaceful Garden. Enjoy today and be sure to pet your sweet kitties (and the other ones, too...lol...)!! <3 Janis Thank you for the honor of entering this card in the following challenges: In addition to the CAT LOVERS HOP 1. Verve Stamps Inspiration Challenge - Black, White, and Glam 2 Craft Rocket Challenge #2 - Spooky 3. Double Click Challenge - Furry Friends
Hi, Friends.... I am totally loving that you are here for another of my cards for the Cat Lovers Hop. Have you started on your cat project yet? There are some fabulous sponsors with awesome prizes for some lucky random winners among those who link up a cat-themed project and for those who comment on the linked-up projects. Check out the Hop Guidelines and FAQ Page and link up on the Main Page. :) One of the generous sponsors of the Cat Hop is none other than........... Unity!!! Today, also, is Unity's Designer Hop and Friends with Flair Link Up, so I am combining my weekly FWF post with a Cat Hop card. :) I hope you will join me in showing Unity how much we appreciate them for sponsoring the Cat Lovers Hop by visiting their blog and/or social media spots and telling them thanks!!!
It is so awesome to see that several of you already posted thank yous to these companies!!! Cat Lovers are THE BEST!!!! You all make me so proud. For my Unity Friends with Flair Link Up card this week, I used one of my new Unity grab bag sentiment stamps. (I know I said I was going to use my neglected ones, but these are just irresistible!! And, at least, I am using uninked ones....even though they are new!) I teamed it up with an ancient Hero Arts kitty stamp that I absolutely love. (The date on it says 1990!!)
I used some long-hoarded K&Co. scraps for the background panels in bright autumn patterns and also some shimmery DCWV orange cardstock scraps. LOVE!!! I stamped the image and sentiment with Versafine ink in Vintage Sepia and heat embossed them with clear powder. Then I colored the image with some Faber-Castell Art-Grip Aquarelle Watercolor Pencils I won a while back. (THANKS, F-C!!!) I inked the edges of the panels with Distress Ink in Brushed Corduroy.
Here's an angled shot so you can see a bit of the gleam of the foiled K&Co. papers and the shimmer of the metallic orange cardstock. The soft velour ribbon behind the image panel is a nod to the warm, fuzzy coats on the kitties. Awwwww.....
Hint: My velour ribbon was kind of thick, but not as
thick as my foam squares. I didn't want my image panel to be bowed up
or down along the middle. So.....I cut another strip of the same ribbon
but shorter than the width of the panel (and then cut it lengthwise
into two long, narrow strips)....and used it as my "foam" by gluing it
underneath to the top and bottom edges. Voila! Exact same thickness for a level panel. :)
I hope you enjoyed my card. I absolutely LOVE how it turned out! Don't forget that you can link up your own cat-themed project and/or comment on the linked projects for a chance at the randomly drawn prizes in the Cat Lovers Hop. AND......Unity has the same sort of thing on their Hop and Linky Party!! Make a "Unity + Cat" project and link it both places!!! Yay!! (But you only have through Wednesday evening for the Unity link-up.)
Hi, Friends...... I am here with my Day 2 post for the Cat Lovers Hop. I hope you have had a chance to look at some of the super-creative entries that came in yesterday and even get inspired to link up your own cat-themed project. This goes on all week, so you have time!! Check out the Hop Guidelines and FAQ Page and link up on the Main Page. :) Remember that there are fabulous prizes for some lucky random crafters who link up a project and for some lucky random commenters who visit the projects and leave some love. I hope you will do both. Today I am showcasing some products from another of the wonderful Cat Hop sponsors: Simple Stories. Are you familiar with their Cat SN@P products? This collection has playful little cards, stickers, etc for use in pocket scrapping or traditional....or, in my case, cardmaking. SO MUCH FUN!!! Simple Stories has donated two prize collections for the hop and I hope you will join me in thanking them at their blog and/or social media spots!!!
I also want to thank you cat lovers who already visited many of our sponsors pages and left thank you notes. That means a ton to me that you did that!!! Here's my project for today. I used several of the Simple Stories Cat SN@P cards. Don't you love this little battle over whether or not to snag the fish???? I cut the angel and devil cards around the images to make them look a bit ethereal and trimmed the fishbowl card a bit to make it fit better.
The Cat SN@P stickers come with the perfect images to enhance your projects. I put the fish skeleton sticker below the devil kitty. One thing I love about the simple images in the Cat SN@P products is that you don't have to make your projects be fussy. The basic colors and lines are perfect for making a project in a snap! Using simple lines and lot of layers of matting helps the images really tell the story!!
I hope you are having fun on the hop so far this week. I sure am. I have enjoyed each of your projects so much and I have enjoyed the tales of misadventure of your cats. Ha.
CAT TALES CORNER
Someone asked me yesterday if we really have 20 cats. Well, yes.....we do. But I say that with some reservation because of the Crazy Cat Lady image that must conjure up in your mind!! (It's all true! Ha.) My hubby is a veterinarian and we live out in a very rural area, so it's not exactly like I am a cat hoarder....not exactly... All of our cats are spayed/neutered except one tom who lives under the house and eats on the back porch. His name is Big Bad Black.....but for a tom, he is quite well-behaved. He won't let us get near him but he accepts us looking at him...most of the time. Ha. We have several categories of cats in our household: 1. Ones that live here and are really, truly ours. 2. Ferals and strays that we can't touch, but that eat here. 3. Ones that my daughter and 5 yr old granddaughter brought when they came to live with us a year ago. (I'm sure at least a few of them will stay when they move out, eventually....) 4. Ones that never successfully made the move over here to our new house 4 years ago when we moved in. [They still live at the old house (or the house next-door to it) that is 1/2 mile away (as the cat travels) over some pastures and fields. I brought them over here way too many times to count, but they kept going back. I still count them as mine and ask about them when I see the people that live there.]
So here's my list of cats..... Category 1 (14 cats): Chaienne, Aliyah, Ivan, Andale, Tiger Lily, Geneva, Mistopheles, Marshmallow, Scamper, Othello, Andromeda, Whiskers, Ophelia, Alexander. Category 2 (1 cat): Big Bad Black Category 3 (5 cats): Cleopatra, Kitten, Brian, Caspian, Judith Category 4 (3 cats): Bonzi, Jetta, Charlotte
Awww.....We all know the feel of that gentle head bump that our cats do when we reach down to pet them, don't we? Also, we know about the little happy "fist" this kitty is making. Sweet picture!!
Hi, Friends.... Welcome to my Day 1 post for the Cat Lovers Hop. I am delighted you are here to join us for a week of cats, cats, and more cats!!! This is your chance to talk about cats with other cat lovers, to comment on their fabulous cat projects, to make and share cat projects of your own, and to have a chance at some fabulous prizes!!!! Please read the Guidelines and FAQ page and go to the hop's main post for linking up. I am going to try to post a project each day that features products from one or more of our fabulous sponsors. Today I am sharing a card made with some of Graphic 45's "Raining Cats & Dogs". Did you know that Graphic 45 is donating some products from this line as a prize to a lucky random winner? How cool is that???? I hope you will take a moment to visit the Graphic 45 blog and social media spots to tell them "Thanks for sponsoring the Cat Lovers Hop at Her Peaceful Garden!!"Here are some links for you:
My crafty friend, Karen L., sent me some goodies from this G45 line (Thanks, Karen!!!) and I used one of the large cards as the focal panel for this gate card. I matted it in pumpkin and black as a nod to the season....but I don't really think it looks too Halloweenish, just a little bit autumny.
Anybody out there have a cat that looks like this kitty? I have one that sort of does. His name is Marshmallow. Marshy has more white on him than this fluffy armful has, but he's the closest one I have to this illustration. We used to say Marshy was a "big soft clump of somethin' sweet". He was born feral, but his mommy disappeared. We captured him and his sister, Scamper, when they were eating on the back porch at our old house. They were crouching all the way inside the food pans. We refer to this as "the way wild kittens eat". Hard to believe they are 9 years old now!
Here's a photo of the card partially opened up, so you can see the gate effect. A big sheer black bow and some pretty pearls finished it off. I love the vintage look!! Thanks for stopping by. I hope you will join in the hop by commenting and/or linking up a cat-themed project on the main post!! Also, I hope you will tell us all about the cats at your house. I promise you'll be getting an earful about my tribe of 20+ cats!!! <3 Janis
Hi, Friends..... I am so excited you are here today to help kick-off my first ever Cat Lovers Hop!! Did you know that Oct. 29th is National Cat Day???? That's how I decided on this week for hop week. I am thrilled with the response I have had from many of you about having a Cat Lovers Hop and I am so grateful, also, for the wonderful companies who generously agreed to sponsor. Want to know who they are? And what they are donating to some lucky hop participants????
THANK YOU TO THESE GENEROUS SPONSORS!!!
Graphic 45 - Some products from their "Raining Cats & Dogs" line. (Swoon....!)
Simple Stories - Some products from their "Cat SN@P" line. (2 prizes! WOW!!!)
Paper Smooches - Their "Feline Friends" set. (Love these kitties!!)
Unity - A surprise prize. (If it's Unity, you know it's gonna be good!!!)
Waffle Flower - Their "On My Mark" set. (Longest cat in blogland!! Sooooooooo much fun!)
Newton's Nook - A $20 Gift Voucher for their online store. (Pick your favorite Newton!!)
Serendipity - A $20 Gift Voucher for their online store. (Lots of cute cats to choose from among other things!!)
Art Impressions - Their "Cat Lady" stamp. (I am sooooo jealous!!!)
Aren't those awesome prizes from some totally fabulous companies????!!!! I hope you will take the time to go to their sites or social media places to thank them for their kindness!!! I am truly humbled and grateful for their generosity in sponsoring this hop.
How to Play: There are two ways you can participate to be eligible for the random prize drawings: by linking up a project and/or by commenting on the linked-up projects. Here are more details: 1. Make a cat-themed project and link it up below. The link-up closes at 11:59 pm Pacific, Friday Oct. 30, 2015 Extended to 11:55 pm Pacific, Sunday Nov. 1, 2015!!! 2. Please, no back-linking. Make sure your project didn't show up on your blog before 12:01 am Pacific, Monday Oct. 26, 2015. 3. Please post this badge along with each of your Cat Hop projects so your visitors will see how pretty my Shy-Cat is know which of your posts to comment on for the prizes. I realize that Flickr accounts, etc. can't post the badge. That's okay.
4. Comment on any or all of the projects (the more the better!) by 11:59 pm Pacific, Sunday Nov. 1, 2015 extended to 11:59 pm Pacific, Tuesday Nov. 3, 2015!!! to be eligible for the randomly drawn comment prizes. Again, I realize that some computers can't access some photo galleries (for instance, I cannot comment on SCS pages, even though I am registered)....but do your best on commenting and I will, also. 5. Please read through the Hop Guidelines and FAQ Page for more information on playing along. 6. The hop and prizes are open to anyone, world-wide. 7. Most of all.....I hope you have fun!!! Here are some Q&A's. You can find more detailed info on the Hop Guidelines and FAQ Page, which I strongly encourage you to read. :)
What does "cat-themed" mean? Any project that features a cat or cats or is directly related to cats qualifies. Please try to make cats part of the main focal image, not just an incidental cat in the corner kind of kitty.
How about non-papercrafting projects? ANY cat-themed project is fine. It does not have to be a papercrafting project.
How about big cats? I love cats of all sizes and so I welcome the use of tigers, lions, etc. as the focal image for your project.
How many entries may I link up? There is no limit to the number of entries you link up to the Cat Lovers Hop.
May I enter my project in other challenges, too? Yes, but please limit this to 3 other challenges besides this one, so 4 challenges all together. Thanks for understanding.
Is there a special prize for commenting on all the entries? Not this time. But the more projects you comment on, the better your chances are for winning a randomly drawn comment prize!
I hope this answers most of the questions you might have. Please let me know if there are other things I need to mention. This is my very first time doing a hop, so please bear with me as things crash unexpectedly, repeatedly disappear and reappear, and ultimately cause the entire internet to be deleted!! (Eeek! Do I get a prize if this thing really works???? Ha.) Thank you soooooooooo much for participating with your comments and projects in this Cat Lovers Hop. I hope it is a lot of fun for everyone!!! I am super-excited to see your cat projects!!! <3 Janis
