Peace and joy... possibly

Hello, crafting friends!

 

It's time for another fun challenge at Addicted to CAS and the talented Toni has come up with the cue word this time:

 

 

I might be a dog person but I love cats too and I had an idea for a festive card especially made for a friend who is owned by a beautiful black feline called The Lady Dora.

 

I created a background for my cat by sponging blue ink into the Arched Window stencil by Funky Fossil. After clapping wet hands over it to create falling snow, I added smaller dots with a white Posca acrylic paint pen once it had dried. To create the window sill, I just masked of a small area under the window and sponged pale brown ink into it.

 

I used Funky Fossil's Cat Silhouettes stencil for the cat, choosing one of the images and drawing round the inside of the stencil with a black fineliner pen. The cat was coloured with alcohol markers to look like Dora - her ladyship has trainer socks on her front paws and knee highs on her back legs! I fussy cut my cat and set her on the window sill so she could complain about the birds!

For a bit of balance, I thought I'd decorate the window. This graphic leafy image comes from Uniko's Peace and Joy and I liked the way it sort of echoed the shape of the arched window. I added a red enamel dot and stamped a sentiment from the same set to finish the card. (The sentiment made me smile as it would probably be the last think on The Lady Dora's mind while watching those birds!!)

So now it's your turn! Do hop over to the Addicted to CAS challenge site and admire all the amazing inspiration from my team mates. You'll find the Linky Tool at the bottom of the post and can use it to upload your own creation. Have fun!

 

CHALLENGES

I'm joining in with Jingle Belles' Frosty The Stencil challenge; also at Peace on Earth where I was inspired by the snowy window on the mood board; Addicted to Styamps and More have an Any Occasion theme going so I'm linking up there too.

 

AND IN OTHER NEWS

I thought you might like to see a photo of The Lady Dora:

She is telling me she requires stroking and I'm afraid I've fallen rather short of her expectations. She is prepared to let me off this time however, as she rather enjoyed the Sheba I served at breakfast, but she hopes I will pull my socks up in the future. Indeed, she hopes she will not have to speak to me about my behaviour again.

Sending hugs,

The witching hour

Hello, crafting friends!

Happy Saturday and welcome to the latest challenge at Addicted to CAS! It's Barb's turn to select a code word to inspire you and I think you're going to have fun with this one:

I know lots of you enjoy halloween and go all out decorating and trick or treating. I don't do halloween but every year I make one or two cards for card challenges and have the best time doing so :) You don't need halloween-themed craft supplies, as I've proved with this card, so if you're not a halloween fan either, go on - have a bit of spooky fun!!

 

My card started off with the cat. I used Funky Fossil's Cat Silhouettes stencil to draw an outline with a fineliner, then coloured the cat with alcohol markers and fussy cut her. For the background, I masked off the bottom of a card base and blended some spooky coloured inks (purple, orange and lime) upwards and towards the centre. 

I stamped some books from Beautiful Books by Sugar Pea Designs, fussy cut them and gave one of them a 'spells' title using a fine-nibbed Posca Acrylic paint pen. The books were arranged in a pile and the cat perched on top. I enjoyed finding some mismatched embellishments in the background colours and finished with a halloween sentiment from Clearly Besotted's Simply Said. 

I hope I've inspired you to make something a bit spooky! There's loads more inspiration on the Addicted to CAS challenge site from all my teamies and you'll find the Linky Tool at the bottom of the post so that you can share your own creation with us. Don't forget to keep you card nice and clean and simple with plenty of clear space - and have fun!

CHALLENGES

I'm linking this card up with Happy Little Stampers Stencil Challenge, where Anything Goes; and Watercooler Wednesday where Helen is hosting the All About Occasions challenge.

AND IN OTHER NEWS

I'm just back from the North Norfolk coast where my daughter and Eva and I stayed in a charming traditional flint cottage and enjoyed walking for miles on the beautiful beaches there. It was a bit of a milestone because it was Eva's first time visiting a beach and she truly embraced it...

... as you can see from this photo - joy in canine form!

Sending hugs,

A purrfect birthday

Hello, crafting friends!

Happy Saturday! And it's a very happy Saturday today because it's time for a new challenge at Addicted to CAS! Let's have a look at the code word for the next two weeks:

So plenty of scope there. Think of all the animals out there big or small, wild or domesticated! I've chosen a cat (much to my golden retriever's outrage!)

Cats love the sunshine don't they, so I positioned Clearly Besotted's Sunny Day stencil over the corner of a thick card base and sponged yellow ink into it.  I gave my cat a nice lawn by masking the top of the card off with a piece of scrap paper and sponging a green ground over the bottom of the card.

Then came the fun! I chose a cat from Funky Fossil's Cat Silhouettes and positioned it on my ground. I sponged black ink into it and added detail with a black coloured pencil. I thought my cat would enjoy a garden, so I used markers to ink up a floral stamp from Stampin' Up's Corner Bouquet and stamped flowers in the foreground. The card was finished with a sentiment from Clearly Besotted's On Your Day

Okay, it's over to you now! We would love to see your CAS creations. The team has some fabulous cards to show you, and we also have the wonderful Jen Mitchell as our special guest, so hop on over to the Addicted to CAS blog and prepare to be inspired! 

CHALLENGES

I'm joining in with the birthday celebrations at Time Out Challenges with this card. Congratulations to their lovely team on seven years of inspiring us all to get creative! I'm also linking up with Seize The Birthday where Lindsey has chosen Make A Scene as the Topping :)

AND IN OTHER NEWS

Spring has sprung here (at least for a few days!) and I've been tidying up the garden and clearing the weeds that always seem to spring up at the side of the house where the footpath goes. That's a public area and cars drive past, so I can't let Eva just join in as she does in the garden. She really wants to be where the action is though, so I use a double length lead which I fasten around my waist so she can 'help' me but won't stray far from my side.

Here's a photo of some early spring gorgeousness! These crocuses are the palest mauve which look stunning mixed with the bold yellow celandine - but of course the star of the show is Princess Eva with her happy smile! (I'm just trying to distract her from the cat card!!)

Sending hugs,