Crazy Conversations With a Friend - FWF 10-14

It makes sense to them!!!  

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CAT LOVERS HOP

Oct. 26-30, 2015

Right here at Her Peaceful Garden

 

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Hi, Friends.....

I was sorting through old boxes yesterday and found the cooooooooooooolest newspaper advertising supplement!!!  It's from the Kennewick, Washington newspaper and dated May 16, 1974. Ha!  
TOO MUCH FUN!!!   I knew I wanted to use some of the images from the ads for my Unity - Friends with Flair project.  :)


Now, before I go on, I want the record to show that I, Janis, am not the one that saved this paper for so long.  I only lived in the Tri-Cities for a couple of years and it wasn't ANY time in the 70s!!! Hmmm...now who could it be that has had this sitting around in a box for so long...???  lol...

I also want the record to show that just because I am in love with this newspaper section now in 2015, this in NO WAY should be interpreted to mean that we should save all current newspapers for me to use in 40 years for making craft projects!!!  Ha.  
[Too bad my dear hubby doesn't read my blog when there's actually something he should see!!!  :)  Okay, to be fair, this might have been in with some things that my dear MIL sorted through when she was clearing out her house of 40 years.  Come to think of it, I'm not sure she lived in that house in 1974!  Maybe, though... ]

Gals...Get your man some white knit jeans!!  At this price, they won't last.... lol...

This newspaper is so full of great ads that I couldn't bear to cut up the original.  
Instead, I made copies of the images I wanted to use for this card...then I didn't destroy things on the other side of the page like this one.  So funny.




 Okay.....enough fun and games.....

Here's my card:

Isn't this Unity sentiment a riot!!!???  D. Ann of D.Ann's Crafting Whims sent it to me with some other wonderful items and I absolutely LOVE it!!!  
(THANKS, D.Ann!!!)  I couldn't resist teaming it up with my 70's gals.

I mounted a couple of the images from the ads on cardstock for stiffness and fussy cut them out.  Then I colored portions of the images with pale pink and lavender tones from my Spectrum Noirs.  I layered one over the other with foam squares on my Distress Ink watercolor background.

Here's a closer look at the sentiment.  I stamped it with Versafine Ink in Smokey Gray and heat embossed it with clear powder.  I also added a few iridescent sequins here and there....just to remind us of the shimmery pale pink lipstick of the era.  lol...

Here's a little closer view of my fresh-faced beauties.  




Note:  By the way....If these gals do NOT look outdated to you, then you need to turn off your computer and get out more often!!!  Ha.





Hope you have enjoyed my card.  It sure was a lot of fun to make!! 

Are you all getting ready for my Cat Lovers Hop????  It's not too early to be working on your projects, but please don't post them till my linky goes live on Oct. 26!!!  Go ahead and snag the badge for your sidebar right away, though, and tell your bloggy friends!!!   

<3
Janis

Thank you for the honor of entering this card in the following challenges:
1.  Unity - Friends with Flair Link-Up
2.  Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge - Wonderful Watercolor
3.  Crop Stop Linky Party #9 - Anything Goes using a CS product (I used Distress Inks)
4.  Tuesday Throwdown Challenge #266 - Watercolor
5.  DL.Art October Linky - Anything Goes
6.  Little Scrap Pieces Linky Party
7.  Twofers Challenge #5 - Vintage/Retro

Wrapped with Love - Waffle Flower

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CAT LOVERS HOP

Oct. 26-30, 2015

Right here at Her Peaceful Garden

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Get a head start by looking at the Hop Guidelines Page!!

Hi, Friends......

I am here with a sweet little card I made for the Waffle Flower October Technique Challenge.  This month they are asking us to use embossing. (Oh, YES!!!!  My FAVORITE!!!  :)  )  They have changed things around a little bit on their challenges.  Now they run monthly, instead of twice monthly, and they focus on a technique.  They offer a sketch and inspiration photo, too, but those are optional to use.  Also, a Waffle Flower product must be used if you want to be one of their two monthly winners.  

Here's the Waffle Flower October inspiration photo:  

I love the cozy, warm yarn and all the colorful crocheted patterns in the photos, so I ran with that.  

Here's what I made:


You know I can't get enough of that looooooooong kitty in the Waffle Flower - On My Mark stamp set!!!  So fun.  Well, with the yarn for inspiration, and a sentiment in the set that said "wrapped with love"....what else could I do but wrap a length of nubby variegated yarn around the kitty's tummy!!  Awwwww.....  :)



















As you can see, I did quite a bit of embossing on this card.  The background technique is layered dry embossing, using DCWV paper.  I used the Darice - Honeycomb folder.  The pattern reminds me a bit of some of the inspiration pieces.  :)  I gently inked over the ridges with Distress Ink in Evergreen Bough to accentuate the texture.

The kitty and the sentiment are heat embossed in white on kraft.  The balloons are two layers of vellum.  One has the image heat embossed in white and the other has it in Splash, a chalk ink by Color Box.  I cut the balloons out and layered the two pieces with the white on the bottom and the aqua offset just a bit over that.  Then I put a piece of kraft underneath them so they wouldn't get lost on my card.  Do you like the effect?  I think it works.

The wrapped up kitty is quite dimensional because of the thick yarn, so I put foam squares under the head and legs to make them the same height.  I tucked the balloons underneath and tied the card with some shimmery dollar store twine.  Cute!

Hope you liked my card today.  Thanks for stopping by!!!

<3
Janis

Thank you for the honor of entering this card in the following challenges:
1.  Waffle Flower October Technique Challenge - Embossing
2.  Winnie & Walter WCMD Color Challenge GP  - Use aqua, mint, yellow, and kraft.
3.  Make My Monday - Cats, Big or Small
4.  Mojo Monday #418 - Sketch Contest

"Be YOU".....FWF 10-9

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CAT LOVERS HOP

Oct. 26-30, 2015

Right here at Her Peaceful Garden

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Hi, Friends......

I am back to share a card I made for this week's Unity - Friends with Flair link up and also for the Hop to Stop Challenge over at Becca Cruger's Damsel of Distressed blog.

I'm sure you have seen the purple cards all over the papercrafting blogosphere, but in case you don't know.....October is National Domestic Violence Awareness month and purple is the color they have chosen to help us remember this important issue.  

I am very touched by the stories I have read on Becca's blog and elsewhere from women who have suffered violence at the hands of their husbands or boyfriends.  My work at our local crisis pregnancy and family resource center (before my daughter and granddaughter came to live with us last year) put me in contact with many women with similar heartbreaking stories.  In fact, domestic abuse is one of the unifying themes among the clients there.  In the middle of the pain and devastating loneliness these victims experience, we offer a listening ear, prayers, encouraging words, and referrals to agencies and organizations that can help.  What a joy to see women be strengthened and empowered to make healthy decisions for themselves and for their children.  Thank you, Becca, for hosting this important hop.

For my card today, I made a watercolor background inspired by the Winnie & Walter WCMD watercolor challenge.  I smooshed Distress Inks around on a craft sheet and misted with water.  Then laid my wet mixed media paper on top.  

I used this lovely Wistful stamp that I recently won from Penny Black (THANKS, PB!!!) and a neglected Unity grab bag stamp - "Be YOU".  (I am still challenging myself to use my under- or never-used Unitys!)  Both are stamped with Versafine ink in Onyx Black and heat embossed with clear powder.  I added some little bits of bling from my stash and tied it with a soft yarn bow.  LOVE how it turned out!!!

Yes, I really DO craft surrounded by this mess!!

Winnie & Walter is also having another fun little WCMD challenge to post a "craftie" of your workspace in action......at least they didn't require a selfie!!  lol...  Here's my "adopted" workspace since my real craft table doesn't have a spot for me to work in, anymore.  Ha.  My son is moving his bedroom library down to the basement, so sometime in the future I will have his room as my craft room!  Yay!!!  In the meantime, my craft space is in several places.  :)

This photo shows today's card in process.  

That's all for now.  Thank you so much for all your wonderful comments you made on my ATCs!!!  Since it was my first attempt, I was pretty unsure of myself.  I appreciated each of your encouraging messages!  Have a wonderful weekend!!!

<3
Janis

Thank you for the honor of entering this card in the following challenges:
1.  Unity Friends with Flair Link-Up
2.  Hop to Stop
3.  Winnie & Walter WCMD Craftie Challenge  GP
4.  Winnie & Walter WCMD Watercolor Challenge GP
5.  Simon Says Stamp World Card Making Day Challenge
6.  DL.Art October Challenge - Anything Goes
7.  Fashionable Stamping Challenges #103 - Words
8.  Crop Stop Linky Party #8 - Anything Goes with product that CS sells (I used Distress Inks and Fiskars Triple-Track Blades in my Fiskars cutter, shown in my workspace photo.)
9. Your Next Stamp Sketch and Color Challenge #24

Autumn ATCs --- My first ones ever!!

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CAT LOVERS HOP

Oct. 26-30, 2015

Right here at Her Peaceful Garden

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Hi, Friends.....

I am here today with my first-ever artist trading cards!!  I made them for the Mark's Finest Papers - Everything Fall Blog Hop Project Challenge, where they asked us to follow one of their tutorials:  Making ATCs or Making Fall Designer Paper.  I thought the ATCs sounded fun and I also happened to have the MFP - ATC Cards stamp set (redundant, I know...but that is what it is called!), so it was perfect!!

For me one of the most unexpected parts of making ATCs was how easy it was to use bits and pieces and odds and ends of little things that I find on my craft table!  You know what I mean, right?  Those little embellishments that don't quite make it back into their rightful home....a sequin, a flower, a couple of hearts, a short strand of fiber?  Perfect for ATCs!!!  I know this is old hat to most of you, but for me it was quite an exciting concept!!  lol....

So....here's my little set of 4 autumn ATCs.  All the paper I used came from my scrap bags.  Yay!!!



I started with one large strip of orange patterned cardstock and layered on some brightly colored K&Co. scraps I had cut into narrow oblong leaf shapes a long time ago.  (I think I intended them to be colorful feathers at the time, but that project never worked out....so now they are leaves!!  Ha.)  After gluing them on, I cut this masterboard background piece into 4 ATC sized cards (2-1/2" X 3-1/2").   I dry embossed two of them with my Darice - Interlocking Circles folder and two with my Darice - Fall Leaf Background folder.  I gently rubbed Distress Ink - Vintage Photo on one of each design with a sponge dauber to accentuate the pattern.

Eeek.....I even masked on the pumpkin and owl one.....  What was I thinking?????  lol....
I painted my owl and pumpkin scene with watercolor pencils and a waterbrush.  Fun!!! 

I double embossed the other one of each design by sponging ink gently over the design and heat embossing with gold powder.  Oh, yum......Love that shimmer!!!

The little foam pumpkin was from a dollar store bag.  I inked and watercolored it a bit and scored some lines for the ridges.  Then I rubbed on some gold glitter glue so it collected in the scored lines.  Love that effect!!!  The punchinella is a crumpled up piece that I have chased around for several weeks....it is always ending up on the floor.  Not anymore!!!  :)  

The Mark's Finest Papers - Halloween Selections was great for these ATCs because of all the various sizes of little Halloween icons.  That's where the owl and all those little acorns came from!  Those are some tiny acorns, let me tell you!  I also used the Mark's Finest Papers - Calendar stamp set for the pumpkin and the "Celebrate" tag.  The "I <3 Fall" is from my Lawn Fawn - Into the Woods stamp set.

I cut a piece of kraft for the backs and personalized each card with the aforementioned Mark's Finest Papers - ATC Cards stamp set, stamped with VersaFine ink in Vintage Sepia and heat embossed with clear powder.  Then I glued them each together and inked around the raw edges.  

Here are a couple of angled shots so you can see the glimmer a bit easier:

So what do you think of my first attempt?  I am pretty pleased with them.  There are a few things I would have done differently, but that's how I learn.  :)  

Thanks for stopping by today.  I hope you are having a great week!!!  Thank you for your awesome comments.  They are very much appreciated.

<3
Janis

Thank you for the honor of entering this set of ATCs in the following challenges:
1.   Mark's Finest Papers - Everything Fall Blog Hop Project Challenge
2.   Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge - Autumn is in the Air
3.   Pixie's Snippets Playground Week #197 - Use Snippets
4.   Craft Stamper October Take It Make It Challenge - Use one or more listed techniques
5.   One Crazy Stamper October Challenge - Christmas, Halloween, or Fall
6.   Simply Create Too Challenge #95 - Autumn Splendor
7.   Try it on Tuesday - Autumn
8.   Mod Squad Challenge - Get Your "Fall" On 

9.   Dragonfly Journeys Challenge #26 - It's the Great Pumpkin
10.  Crop Stop Linky Party #8 - Anything Goes with product that CS sells
(I used a Lawn Fawn stamp and Darice Embossing Folders) 

11. Rubber Dance October Challenge

12. Penny Black and All Sorts October Challenge - Warm Autumn Colours

13. Stamping Sensations October Challenge - Colours of Autumn

14. Wow! Embossing Powder October Challenge - Anything but a Card  (I hope ATCs count!)

15. The Kraft Journal Challenge #244 - Halloween or Harvest Festival
16. Winnie & Walter WCMD Masterboard Background Challenge
17. Winnie & Walter WCMD Use Metallic/Gold Challenge

18. Winnie & Walter WCMD Watercolor Challenge

Collaged Stamping Background #2 - Autumn, too

A kitty enjoying its "camo time of year".

In our family, we talk about a cat's "camo time of year".....probably because we have so many cats that can hide in plain sight outside!  Autumn is that time of year for cats who are orange tabbies, and tortoiseshells.  I have 3 in this autumn camo category: orange striped and white Chaienne (Shy-Cat) who is my blog logo cat, Alexander who is orange tabby, and Andale who is a torty.  Some cats have a "camo time of day" like our black Othello at night, or our gray Ivan at dusk.

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CAT LOVERS HOP

Oct. 26-30, 2015

Right here at Her Peaceful Garden

Hook your claws into this badge for your blog!!!!

Hi, Friends.....

I am back with my second of two cards for this week's MFP Speedy Fox & Friends -  Collaged Stamping Challenge.  You can see my first card here and get an explanation for how I made the background, using a variety of Mark's Finest Papers stamp sets:  Halloween Selections,  Corn Ears, Nature's Brushstrokes, and Calendar.  I still had a couple pieces of it leftover, so I made a second card and teamed it with a scrap of patterned cardstock that I had dry embossed with my Darice - Interlocking Circles folder and sponged gently with Distress Inks to bring out the texture.

I embellished it with burlap ribbon, leaves punched from scraps of patterned paper with added glitter glue for the veins, some punchinella and a big shimmery orange bow.  (Someone sent this delicious ribbon to me and I regret that I lost track of who it was.  I only have a short scrap of it left after using it on several cards, now....alas!)

See the shimmer in this angled photo???  LOVE!!!!  I also really like the almost monochromatic look this card has with the blends of oranges and warm tans.  I love the "forest floor" look with that scattered collage of fallen needles, leaves, and twigs littering the ground.  This is sort of what my card reminds me of.  

Hope you have enjoyed my card.  Autumn cards are some of my favorites to make!!  Thank you for your amazing and encouraging comments!!!

<3
Janis

Thank you for the honor of entering this card in the following challenges:
1.   MFP Speedy Fox & Friends Challenge #282 - Collage Stamping
2.   Simon Says Stamp World Card Making Day Challenge
3.   Stamped Blessing Amusing Challenge - Hello, Fall...
4.   Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge - Autumn is in the Air
5.   Pixie's Snippets Playground Week #197 - Use Snippets
6.   Craft Stamper October Take It Make It Challenge - Use one or more listed techniques
7.   One Crazy Stamper October Challenge - Christmas, Halloween, or Fall
8.   Simply Create Too Challenge #95 - Autumn Splendor
9.   Crop Stop Linky Party #8 - Anything Goes with product that CS sells
(I used Distress Inks and a Darice Embossing Folder)
10.  Try it on Tuesday - Autumn
11   Mod Squad Challenge - Get Your "Fall" On
12. Winnie & Walter WCMD Masterboard Background Challenge
13. Winnie & Walter WCMD Use Metallic/Gold Challenge

Collaged Stamping Background #1 - Autumn

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CAT LOVERS HOP

Oct. 26-30, 2015

Right here at Her Peaceful Garden

Hook your claws into this badge for your blog!!!!

Hi, Friends.....

I am here to share the first of two cards I made for this week's MFP Speedy Fox & Friends -  Collaged Stamping Challenge.  For this one, they asked us to make a background using collaged stamping for a patterned paper look.  I used a variety MFP stamp sets for my autumny background:  Halloween Selections,  Corn Ears, Nature's Brushstrokes, and Calendar.  Truly a collage!!!  :)  I stamped them on a scrap of apricot colored cardstock with several different colors of Distress Ink:  Brushed Corduroy, Spiced Marmalade, Ripe Persimmon, Fired Brick, and Walnut Stain.  Then I heat embossed them with clear powder.  I sponged around with some more of the inks, also.  Then I dry embossed it with my Darice-Checkered folder.  Lastly I lightly dragged a sponge with more of the Walnut Stain ink over the embossed pattern to accentuate the squares a bit more.

I embellished it with: a thrift store leaf I rubbed with sparkly gold glitter glue, a glittery pumpkin from a dollar store pack, some thrift store striped ribbon, and, as an afterthought, stuck in a few sprigs of shiny gold leaf ribbon.  LOVE!!!!

Hope you like my card.  I have another one to post using the other piece of this same background.  So, stay tuned!!!  :)

<3
Janis 

Thank you for the honor of entering this card in the following challenges:
1.   MFP Speedy Fox & Friends Challenge #282 - Collage Stamping
2.   Simon Says Stamp Word Card Making Day Challenge
3.   Stamped Blessing Amusing Challenge - Hello, Fall...
4.   Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge - Autumn is in the Air
5.   The Male Room Challenge #20 - Autumn/Fall
6.   Crop Stop Linky Party #8 - Anything Goes with product that CS sells
(I used Distress Inks and a Darice Embossing Folder) 
7.   Little Scrap Pieces Show it Off Saturday Linky Party
8.   Craft Stamper October Take It Make It Challenge - Use one or more listed techniques
9.   One Crazy Stamper October Challenge - Christmas, Halloween, or Fall
10. DL.ART Thankful Thursday Challenge #165 - Fall
11. Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - Anything Goes
12. Simon Says Stamp Work-It Wednesday - Use a stamp
13  Dragonfly Journeys Challenge #26 - It's the Great Pumpkin
14. Winnie & Walter WCMD Masterboard Background Challenge
15. Winnie & Walter WCMD Use Metallic/Gold Challenge
16. Pixie's Snippets Playground Week #197 - Use Snippets

WINNER and a BIGGGGGGGGG ANNOUNCEMENT!!!!!

Hi, Friends.....

I have two announcements to make!!!! 

First of all, I want to announce the random winner of my Coffee Lovers Hop giveaway from last week.


The WINNER of this sweet House Mouse stamp  is:  

Teresa Doyle

Congratulations, Teresa!!!  I have emailed you.  Thank you for including your email address with your comment.  It makes things sooooooooo much easier for me!! 




Second of all, I want to announce something I am super-excited about.  You might have noticed a new badge (Woo-hoo!!  I made this myself!!  lol...) up at the top of my sidebar:  

October 29th is National Cat Day!!!!  Sooooooo.....I am going to hostess a Cat Lovers Hop right here on my blog Oct. 26-30. 

I have some awesome sponsors already lined up who are donating cat-themed prizes and I hope to hear from more this coming week. So far, Graphic 45, Waffle Flower, Newton's Nook, Paper Smooches, and Art Impressions have prizes for some lucky random cat lovers.  There will be prizes for people (like you!) who link up cat-themed cards or projects....and prizes for those who comment, too!  

The projects do not have to be Halloween-themed.  In fact, I hope that many of them will not be!  Let's try to have cats as the main theme of the card or project, though, and not just an incidental part.  However, I'm not going to be picky on that point, because I love seeing cats anywhere on people's creations!!!  Any projects are fine, so be creative and get working on something awesome to link up at the end of the month.  But no back-linking, so don't post it on your blog until my linky tool goes live!!!  :)

Feel free to snag the blog badge, too, to let others know about this fun event!!!

Thanks and love all your kitties today!!! (Okay....give your dogs some love, too.  Ha.)

<3 
Janis