Celebrating 30 Cats in 30 Years + GIVEAWAY

Hi, Friends......

WARNING: Very long photo-heavy post!!! But worth it, I hope...

I am here with a very special project I made for my son's 30th birthday last month. I wanted to make something extra-cool for this milestone and got to thinking....what about a mini-album with a photo or stamped representation of all his cats over his lifetime: Thirty Cats in Thirty Years.  I didn't know if he had personally had 30 or not, but I figured it would be close. 
(Now...make no mistake, our *family* has likely had over triple that number of cats in 30 years....but of the ones that James claimed, I didn't know if there would be 30!!)

I started by listing all his cats the best I could remember and finding photos to print for as many as I had. Then I got out my Graphic 45 "Raining Cats and Dogs" collection and decided on the colors to use. I ended up using the entire palette: rust, teal, cream, black, and tan. 

Then I got out my stamps and figured out which images went well with the vintage G45 elements I was using. I went for mostly realistic images instead of cartoony ones. Stamping and coloring those cats took quite a bit of time!! I found a few stickers in my stash that looked remarkably similar to some of his cats and used them, too.

Then I got to work constructing my mini-album. I used my computer to make and print out the title and the nameplates of the cats throughout.





Here's a top front shot tied with some fabulous cat ribbon that Liz Cavill sent me last year (THANKS, Liz!!). I have it strategically tied in such a way that only "Celebrating 30 Years" shows and doesn't give away the contents. :)







Here's an angled shot so you can see the thickness of it.

Here is the front with the tie undone showing the embellishments and fussy cut elements from the G45 collection. Every edge in the entire mini-album except for the ivory base was inked!! 


 





I used a double-sided accordion fold design that I contrived using some dimensions from a totally gorgeous Graphic 45 Double Fold Card design. You can see that particular YouTube tutorial HERE and find the link info to print out your own instructions.

I cut each page panel to measure 3" x 4". Then I took 2 standard 8-1/2" x 11" sheets of vanilla cardstock and scored at 3-1/8", 6-1/4", and 9-3/8". That left one panel not quite 2 inches wide, which I would use as a tab for gluing over the first flap of the neighboring panel to make this long accordion shape. 

I cut each scored sheet roughly in half width-wise and trimmed so I had two scored panels 4-1/8" tall and scored and folded accordion-style from each piece of cardstock....4 long narrow scored pieces in all.

I glued the short tabs over the next page to make this long folded base.  The seams would be covered with the page panels and would barely show.  You can see them slightly along the top edges in the above photos.  Then I started adding the page panels I had made.  Trying to keep all the cats in chronological order the best I could remember!!! 



I will take you through each panel of pages all spread out, but I wanted to show you that you can hold this in your hand and turn the pages like a book as you leaf through it, also. You don't have to have it spread out long!





Supplies used throughout my mini:
A wide variety of ancient thrift store stamps
Dollar store stickers
Occasionally a stamp that is still current, which I will detail in the notes.
Versafine ink in Smokey Gray or Vintage Sepia
Clear embossing powder
Coloring done mostly with a combo of Prismacolor colored pencils and Distress Ink markers and Spectrum Noir markers.
Papers are mostly scraps from Graphic 45, but there are some DCWV snippets used, too.
Various embossing folders detailed in the notes.
Dies: My Favorite Things Die-namics - Stitched Square STAX die set, My Favorite Things Die-namics - Stitched Oval STAX die set, M&C Boutique - Large Circle Frame die set.


Panel 1: Starts with Henry, James' first cat that he got when he turned 3 years old.





A few notes and acknowledgements:
Henry - Dollar Store sticker.
Blotchers - image is from the Jessicalynn Originals - Cats & Kitten Purr-n-Fur Fuzzy Buddies stamp set that Michele Henderson sent me. (THANKS, Michele!!)
Junior - he was tail-less so I trimmed off the tail of the same image I used for Felix.
Penguin - retired image from Hampton Art made for Graphic 45 "Raining Cats and Dogs" collection.
Diamond - digital image kindly provided by Ike's Art for one of my Cat Lovers Hops, from her Fleaz Navidad collection. (THANKS, Ike!!) This is the "I LUV my Teddy" image...with the Teddy trimmed off. lol...
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Panel 2:

A few notes and acknowledgements:
Xena - Dollar Store sticker
Skedaddle - Digital image kindly provided by Mynn at MHK Designs from her "A Girl and Her Cat" set. (THANKS, Mynn!!)
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Panel 3:

A few notes and acknowledgements:
Nigelle - Hero Arts - Fluffy Kitty (B937) stamp
Tiger Lily - Embossed background Sizzix - TH Texture Fades - Collage folder
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Panel 4:

A few notes and acknowledgements:
Dusty - same image that I used for Blotchers above....they are from different litters but had the same wild barn mommy....as did Marshmallow. They all looked alike!
Ophelia - Background is dry embossed with Sizzix - TH Texture Fades - Courtyard embossing folder.
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Panel 5:

A few notes and acknowledgements:
Blackie - Same image I used for Blotchers and Dusty.
Rabbit - Digital image "Hello There" kindly provided by Ike's Art for one of my Cat Lovers Hops from the Ike's Art - I LUV CATS digital set. (THANKS, Ike!)  Background is dry embossed with Darice - Paw Print embossing folder that D.Ann Comer sent me.  (THANKS, D.Ann!!!)
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Panel 6:

A few notes and acknowledgements:
Huckle - Long-retired All Night Media stamp. I couldn't get a photo of this part-time tom who has taken up residence, so a stamp would have to do.
The Title Page is the "last" page on the back because the way the album folds makes it the "first" page. LOL...sounds like cat logic to me!!!  Ha.
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All spread out long....:

And the other side of it all spread out long:

Soooooooo................Did you count the cats???? 

Did I manage to find 30 cats for his 30 years?

I haven't had a GIVEAWAY for a long time, so why don't we do one today?????
Please tell me in the comments:
(1) How many cats you count that belonged to James
AND
(2) Which cat you think is the most beautiful and/or which cat page you like the best.

Eligible commenting closes at 11:59 pm Pacific on Saturday, July 6, 2019. To continue celebrating my son's 30th birthday, I will draw a random winner to win a $30 USD credit to the online store of your choice among those comments answering both questions. Open worldwide!! Yay!! (Currency exchange rates will vary for my international readers!)

Thank you so much for stopping by and seeing my project.  This is the first time I have attempted something like this!!!  I had a great time making it. My son says it was his favorite of all the birthday gifts he received.
(Awwww......he sure does know how to make his crafty mom glow with pride!)

🖤
Janis



Thank you for the honor of entering this mini-album in the following challenges:
1. Graphic 45 - June Selfie Challenge #G45Selfie
2. Pixie's Snippets Playground Challenge #355 - Use Snippets
3. The House that Stamps Built Anything Goes Challenge #J2619
4. Crafty Calendar June Challenge - Masculine
5. Crafty Hazelnut's Patterned Paper Challenge - June
6. DL.Art June linky
7. Word Art Wednesday Weeks #392-393 - AG
8. Let's Create June Challenge - AG w/ opt. Masculine
9. Ike's World Challenge #121 - F is for Fold (more than one fold)
10. Die-Cut Divas June Challenge - Birthdays
11. Show Us Your Pussies Challenge #43 - Furrything Goes
12. Power Poppy Creative Confetti Challenge - For a Man
13. Addicted to Stamps Challenge #175 - For a Boy/Man
14. Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - Anything Goes
15. Stamplorations June Challenge - Stamps & Birthdays

16. Mini Album Makers June Challenge - Any Handmade Book Goes