And you don't want to miss a thing!!!
WRAP UP POST: 2022 CAT LOVERS HOP (goes live Wed. Nov. 2)
If you have a project to linkup, please SIGN IN HERE (required to be eligible for prizes) and then go to the Main Hop Page
(Please use #2022CatLoversHop on social media!!)
Also, please check out my
2022 Cat Lovers Hop Guidelines and FAQs
Hi, Friends.....
Welcome, Everyone!!! I am so glad you're here to join in the DAY 1 festivities of the 2022 Cat Lovers Hop!! Each day I will be posting fun things to see and do and win!
So how are you all doing? You might remember that last year I got hit with Covid in September and missed that entire month for getting ready for Hop. Thankfully a number of Hoppers came to my rescue and helped in a million different ways to make sure the Hop happened. I remain so grateful for how they stepped up!!
Happily, I didn't get sick this autumn but our crazy family always adds a wild card to my plans. Our grandson just turned 2 yrs old and is a total joy and a total chaos and noise machine!! Hahaha!! Life with a toddler in the house is just way more than I remember it being when my kids were small. It is with good reason that God in His infinite wisdom gives kids to young people!! ❤
Fortunately several Hoppers contacted me this summer and fall and stepped up again to help relieve the stress and work involved in getting this Hop off the ground. I will be introducing them each day but I want to say THANK YOU to Chris, Angela, Suzanne, Michele, Kitty, Becca, Mandy, Karen, and Carole for volunteering and encouraging me so much!!
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If you are new to our Hops, you might wonder what these Daily Posts are all about.
Here's what to expect on these Daily Cat Hop Posts:
1. Brief introduction to call attention to any important items that Hoppers should know about....corrections, special alerts, etc. So be sure to check each day's post!
2. Featured Sponsors
for that day with the awesome prizes they are offering. My thanks to
all these fabulous companies and individuals who provide photos and
graphics....as well as very generous prizes!
You also will find
Bonus Links to special Cat Hop blog events, sales, challenges, etc the
sponsors are hosting during the week. Sometimes I will feature a
special Guest Designer from sponsor Design Teams or my Helpful Hoppers
to showcase sponsor products.
3. Daily Games: I encourage ALL Hoppers to join in these
special games by answering each day's icebreaker question or activity.
There are no specific prizes for this feature since we lost our dear Ike, but I hope everyone will participate in these fun activities. This is one of the ways we get to know each other!!!
NOTE: I realize these Daily Posts are looooooong. I try to have them formatted in an easy to navigate "magazine article" style with dividers and text in different sizes and colors. Sorry if it is difficult. There is a lot of material to cover!!! :)
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Just a reminder.....You must SIGN IN HERE to be eligible for prizes. Also, LINK UP ALL PROJECTS ON THE MAIN HOP PAGE by 11:55 pm Pacific, Saturday, Oct. 29, 2022. I have my 2022 CAT LOVERS HOP - Guidelines and FAQs in a handy tab just under my header at the top of each page. All these links are at the top of each Hop post, too.
BRAND-NEW Cat Challenge!!!!
Before I mention our featured sponsors for the day, I would like to introduce a brand-new challenge blog that is going to be of interest to all of us Cat Lovers.
Many of you know the fabulous Cat Holt from her wonderful Dragonfly Creative Challenges. Well, she has recently started TWO new challenge blogs. (Does she EVER sleep????? lol...) Her Most Magical Time of the Year challenge focuses on 365 Days of Halloween and Christmas and more!
The next one is launching with its first challenge TODAY and we Cat Hoppers have the opportunity to celebrate together with her.
I am honored to introduce to you the Crazy for Cats Challenges.
Cat has dedicated her challenge blog in memory of our dear friend, Ike. What a wonderful idea!! We all are going to love participating in this challenge!! And guess what.....you can start right now!
Cat projects you make for this Hop can be entered in her opening challenge, too!!! Here's the link: Crazy For Cats - Challenge #1. Congratulations, Cat, on your new Challenge blogs. Hope to see everyone over there!!!
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Okay......on to the regular Day 1 festivities.......
My featured sponsors today are:
Newton's Nook Designs, Kat Scrappiness, Lost Coast Designs, Darkroom Door, Fiki, Unity Stamp Co., Joy Clair, and Leigh SB Designs Art Stamps.
Let's get started with the introductions.....
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Newton's Nook Designs
Newton's Nook Designs is our first company for today. Jen at Newton's Nook Designs has been a faithful encourager and sponsor all 8 years of our Hops! Many thanks, Jen!! You were instrumental in these Hops ever happening.
PRIZE: Newton's Nook Designs is offering a $25 Gift Coupon to their online store.
BONUS: Jen has a special Cat Lovers Hop post planned for today over on the Newton's Nook Designs blog. So be sure to hop over there and take a look. Tell her thanks for sponsoring ALL EIGHT YEARS!!
GUEST DESIGNER: Today we have an adorable card made by our own Helpful Hopper, Angela H over at Crafting with Jack, using Newton's Bootiful Night.
Please take time to visit Newton's Nook Designs at these social media spots: Blog, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and Twitter. Don't forget to Like, Follow, Share, and Comment with a big "THANK YOU for sponsoring the 2022 Cat Lovers Hop at Her Peaceful Garden!"
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BONUS: The Kat Scrappiness team has a special Cat Lovers Hop Blog Post for us today. So check out their Blog..and tell them THANKS for sponsoring our Hop while you are there!! ❤
Please take time to visit Kat Scrappiness at these social media spots: Blog, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube. Don't forget to Like, Follow, Share, and Comment with a big "THANK YOU for sponsoring the 2022 Cat Lovers Hop at Her Peaceful Garden!"
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Here's another returning sponsor...Lost Coast Designs and sister company Carmen's Veranda. They feature a wonderful and eclectic assortment of rubber stamps that are so much fun.
Our friend, Gail, Ionabunny (who wears so many hats in blogland that she must have her own millinery store!) ....has kindly arranged for Lost Coast Designs to sponsor. (THANKS, Gail!!)
PRIZE: Lost Coast Designs is offering $10 worth of stamps from their online store to one lucky winner!!
BONUS: Right now there is a 31 Days of Halloween Challenge going on at their shared challenge blog. If you make a
Halloween
Cat Lovers Hop project, you can enter it over there, too! Your entry
must have actual real stamping as the focal point. Rules and Details
for their challenges are HERE.
EXTRA BONUS: Right now the regular twice-monthly challenge at Lost Coast Designs has a fun theme: Cats and/or Dogs!
If you are linking up a stamped project to our Cat Lovers Hop, you can also enter it over there at this challenge!
EXTRA EXTRA BONUS: Gail has a special Cat Lovers Hop Blog Post today on the Lost Coast Designs challenge site. Be sure to check it out!!
GUEST DESIGNER: I have another Helpful Hopper who is guest designing for us today. Please welcome Suzanne H from Suzanne's Cards and Cross Stitch who is sharing a gorgeous card using Lost Coast Designs - Star Cat Silhouette.
You can take a look at Suzanne's brand-new blog and find out more about this card on her Blog Post HERE. Thank you for Guest Designing, Suzanne! ❤
Please take time to visit Lost Coast Designs at these social media spots: Blog, Facebook, Carmen's Veranda Facebook. Don't forget to Like, Follow, Share, and Comment with a big "THANK YOU for sponsoring the 2022 Cat Lovers Hop at Her Peaceful Garden!"
PRIZE: Darkroom Door is generously providing one of their fabulous Sitting Cat Eclectic Stamps to a lucky winner.
NOTE: This Sitting Cat is my favorite of the Darkroom Door cat stamps. Hahaha...it stiiiiiiiiiill happens to be the only cat in their catalog, but it is one of the BEST I have seen. I told them I will keep requesting it as a prize until all my Hoppers have had a chance to win it! :) They told me they keep meaning to design and release new cats but the last couple of years have had a lot of interruptions with suppliers. When you visit to thank them for sponsoring, you might mention that we sure would love to see more cat stamps. ❤
Please take time to visit Darkroom Door at these social media spots: Blog, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and YouTube. Don't forget to Like, Follow, Share, and Comment with a big "THANK YOU for sponsoring the 2022 Cat Lovers Hop at Her Peaceful Garden!....(and please release more cat stamps!)" :)
We'll be seeing our dear friend, Fiki, of Bad Kitty's Craft Room throughout the week with her lovely cat projects.
BONUS: Don't forget that Fiki also runs the Show Us Your Pussycats Challenge that Ike started. I am so grateful she is continuing it for Ike!! ❤ You can enter any of your Cat Lovers Hop projects over there, too! HERE is the link to the current challenge. Let's make October her biggest month!!! 😸😸😸
Please take time to visit Fiki at these social media spots: Blog, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube. Don't forget to Like, Follow, Share, and Comment with a big "THANK YOU for sponsoring the 2022 Cat Lovers Hop at Her Peaceful Garden!"
Unity
is a returning sponsor and a wonderful company. I appreciate their
focus on encouragement and support, especially for women....like us!! PRIZE: I can always count on Unity to be helpful and generous. This year they are donating FOUR $25 Gift Codes to their online store!!! WOW!!! I know the winners will love the great quality of the designs and the construction of their stamps, which they make themselves right on site!! So cool!! (or maybe hot...)
Please take time to visit Unity Stamp Co. at these social media spots: Blog, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and YouTube. Don't forget to Like, Follow, Share, and Comment with a big "THANK YOU for sponsoring the 2022 Cat Lovers Hop at Her Peaceful Garden!"
I am totally thrilled to welcome Joy Clair back on our roster of returning sponsors. It's been several years and we have missed them!! They carry lovely products for crafters....including digital and clear acrylic stamp formats.
#1 - Funny Times Digital stamp set
Please take time to visit Joy Clair at these social media spots: Blog, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter, and YouTube. Don't forget to Like, Follow, Share, and Comment with a big "THANK YOU for sponsoring the 2022 Cat Lovers Hop at Her Peaceful Garden!"
Please say a welcoming Meow to returning sponsor Leigh SB Designs Art Stamps.
Leigh designs absolutely wonderful whimsical and quirky digital
images.....and hosts Monthly Hops and Challenges over at her
blog....with prizes!
PRIZES: Leigh SB Designs Art Stamps is offering a whole smorgasbord of prizes....6 prizes in all!! WOW!!!
TWO lucky winners will receive a $3.50 Gift Certificate to the LeighSBDesigns Digi Stamps & SVG Cutz store.
ONE Hopper will win the wonderful digital Cats Galore Collage and Senti Set. Super-fun!!!
ONE Hopper will receive the Kitty Geisha Doll & Senti Digital Stamp Set. Super-cute!!
TWO physical prizes of Cat themed SVG Cutz sets cut from white mixed media cardstock. Winners can pick either the Black Cats Silhouettes SVG Cutz set or the Skeleton Cat SVG Cutz set.
There are a ton of exciting things going on over at the LeighSBDesigns blog. Check these out:
BONUS: Leigh and Val will feature special Cat Lovers Hop Blog Posts all week so be sure to check them out HERE!
EXTRA BONUS: Leigh is celebrating her 12th Annual 31 Days of Halloween Blog Hop
with a
challenge and great sponsors and prizes for her Hoppers linking up
Halloween projects and for those who just want to hop around and
comment! Details are HERE.
If you make a Halloween project for our Cat Lovers Hop, be sure to
enter in her fab challenge, also!!
EXTRA EXTRA BONUS:
Leigh's Monthly Challenge theme going on right now is "Too Cute To Spook". Read the rules and join in HERE. If
your Cat Lovers Hop entry is Halloween-themed, you can enter in either
this Monthly Challenge OR in her 31 Days of Halloween Blog Hop
Challenge...not both.
EXTRA EXTRA BONUS: Leigh also has all kinds of specials going on at her LeighSBDesigns Digi Stamps and SVG Cutz store.
1. Fall Sale: Oct. 24 - Nov. 18.
2. Halloween special: going on through Oct. 31.
3. Kitty Sale: Oct. 24-29.
(All cat-themed Digi Stamps and SVG Cutz on sale for the duration of the Cat Lovers Hop and ends at Midnight Pacific Oct 29!)
GUEST DESIGNER: And heeeeeeeere's Angela again! This time, my Helpful Hopper, Angela H from Crafting with Jack, is using one of the prize sets Leigh is offering to a lucky Hopper: Cats Galore Collage and Senti Set. Yay......you might win it!!
You can read more details about her fun card HERE. Thank you so much, Angela, for sharing your talents with us!! ❤
Please take time to visit Leigh SB Designs Art Stamps at these social media spots: Blog, Store, Facebook Page, Facebook Group, Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter, and YouTube. Don't forget to Like, Follow, Share, and Comment with a big "THANK YOU for sponsoring the 2022 Cat Lovers Hop at Her Peaceful Garden!"
DAILY GAME TIME!!!!!
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NOTE: Comments on The Daily Game posts will be included when I do the random draw comment prizes. You might recall that half the prizes are drawn from projects linked up and half from comments here and on the linked up projects. So the more you play in these games, the more chances you have to win a comment prize. Yay!
COMMENT here on the Daily Games and on any or all projects that are linked up on the MAIN HOP POST by 11:59 pm Pacific Daylight Time, Wednesday Nov. 2, 2022 to be in the drawings for Comment Prizes! Be sure to SIGN IN.....required to be eligible for prizes.
DAY 1 GAME: Kitty Roll Call and In Memoriam :(
As usual, our Day 1 Game is Kitty Roll Call where we share with each other the names of each of the cats who call your home (or your back porch) their own....even if it is just a home away from home. During Kitty Roll Call, you can tell us a little about your cats and you also may add to the roll call any that you have lost since last Cat Lovers Hop. :( :( :( Some of you might not have any kitties at home anymore, but please tell us about cats you have had in the past.
I will start.......
Here are my kitties:
1. Jetta - Jetta is my most senior cat, age 19. She is black with one adorable white whisker (which is currently shed out, but will grow back after a while). That whisker has only turned white as she became advanced in age and her black coat became flecked with white. For years, she used to travel the half-mile across coyote-filled pastures to our old house, but finally retired here during the 2017 Cat Hop...much to our relief! Jetta is in remarkably good health for her age. She is mostly deaf and doesn't see as well as she used to, but her daily thyroid meds, vitamins, and joint supplements keep her looking and feeling amazing well for as old as she is. She is a round little muffin of a cat and is most definitely Queen of the Roost inside the house!
2. Marshmallow - Marshy is the self-proclaimed King of Beasts of the outside cats. Quite a lofty title for this big soft clump of something sweet. This formerly timid, very simple soul with a long coat and magnificent tail has turned more irascible with the other cats in his advancing age of 16 years. Marshy has had some interesting disputes with our resident tom, Oreo. But they seem to have come to some understanding and Marshmallow is the Reigning Monarch.....with his best buddy, Alexander, as his Court Jester. They are still so adorable together!!
7. Andromeda - Our sweet little Night Sky Kitten, age 10, with her unimaginably soft, solid black coat. She is outside only, and dearly loves, loves, loves to be petted whenever we step outside. Such a sweet baby who diligently searches for any exposed skin on your neck or arm to lick when being held......infantile nursing instinct even though she is all grown up!! lol...
8. Alexander - Started as a part-time tom but now is neutered and inseparable with his best buddy, Marshmallow. Alexander is still a little nervous about eyes looking at him, but will come over to me to be petted most anytime I call to him. Loves his tummy rubbed when I find him in a nest on the back porch. He's still too nervous to enjoy being held, so mostly I just pet him and don't try. No need to get him spooked. We don't know how old he is, but I am guessing somewhere around 8-10 years.
10. Caspian - A gentleman kitty with a gentle personality. He is littermates with Brian and Judith.....so, also, age 8.
11. Judith - Littermates with Brian and Caspian, so also age 8. She is our very, very naughty wanderer. When the weather is decent, she shows up every 2 or 3 weeks (or even months!) for a day or two or three...then she is off again. A storm or cold weather will usually bring her home again...for a time. Each summer she seems to stay home more often than she has in the past, so I am hopeful that this wandering will gradually occur less and less often. We have several new neighbors who are doing construction in our neighborhood so I am hoping that gives us even more of a buffer zone against predators. But there are still way too many coyotes around here for adventuring to be a good lifestyle choice for a kitty. :( When she is home, she is my snuggle buddy.....sleeping beside me on my pillow at night. ❤
12. Skippyjon - Age 6. Siamese-X and still a character! Poor Skippy had too many transgressions in the house and now is outside only. He's strong and athletic and loves to play rough and tumble with the other kitties. Not surprisingly, the others are not nearly as enthusiastic about the game as Skippy is! His domain on the property is the area around the clothesline and greenhouse. He loves to "help" hang out laundry! lol...
13. Lyman - I am very happy to report that Lyman who until last year was only an on-again-off-again visitor now lives here. We were so hoping he would stick around after vet hubby neutered him a couple of years ago. It took him awhile, but he definitely has decided to live here now. He is a gorgeous orange tabby in the prime of his life.....maybe 4 or 5 years old. He is very, very sweet and just loves getting to come in and nap with my daughter and grandson! I hope his original owners are not too sad to not have him anymore. We love him. In our area, it is not all that unusual for people to discover their "missing" cat is living with a different family not too far away. lol....
Last
Hop I had 14 kitties on my roster, including 1 visitor. With our two regular visitors this year, we are back at 16.....for now.
Okay, now it is your turn!!
Tell us about your kitties. We all love to hear how each other's cats are doing from year to year! After doing this Hop for 8 years, we have come to know and love many of each other's kitties and wonder how they are doing. So please share with us!!
Remember to SIGN IN and then COMMENT here through Wed. Nov. 2, 2022, 11:59 pm Pacific Daylight Time to be eligible for Comment prizes.
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Thank you for laboring through this long post, everyone. And THANK YOU sooooooooooo much for being a part of the 2022 Cat Lovers Hop. Let the kitty fun BEGIN!!!
🖤
Janis
