Feline peckish with Storybook Friends

It was such a busy week last week that I had to have a lie-in this morning to get my strength back and, when I did finally surface, I ignored the hoovering and the washing up (hoping someone else might do it!) and checked out some challenges - aren't I the rebel today?! Less is More would like to see Cats and Dogs; stamping on designer paper is the order of the day at CASual Fridays; and there's a birthday card challenge at Addicted to CAS. Come and see how I combined them:

Stampin' Up's Patterns designer paper stacks are subtle enough to behave as 'white' space. I stamped the cute little cat from Storybook Friends onto this striped design and then again on a white banner so that I could make the tail appear to drape over it. Let's zoom in a bit so you can see:

A circle of piercing and a line of Island Indigo under the sentiment add detail and I gave that naughty cat a butterfly to bat at - but rest assured no butterflies were harmed in the making of this card! My own cat, Tuppence, is a fiend for eating small flying creatures and actually ate a wasp the other day. I panicked all afternoon but she didn't appear to suffer any adverse reaction!

Here's what you'll need to make this card
Stamps: Storybook Friends, Itty Bitty Banners
Ink: Basic Black, Crumb Cake, Calypso Coral, Island Indigo in marker form
Card stock: Crumb Cake, Whisper White, Calypso Coral
Other: Patterns designer paper stack in Subtles, Essentials paper-piercing pack and tool, Big Shot, Beautiful Wings embosslits die, stamp-a-majig
I CAN ORDER STAMPIN' UP ITEMS FOR YOU AND HAVE THEM DELIVERED STRAIGHT TO YOUR ADDRESS IN THE UK. I'M COMMITTED TO PROVIDING EXCELLENT CUSTOMER SERVICE AND AM ALWAYS HAPPY TO OFFER HELP AND ADVICE. TO FIND OUT MORE OR TO PLACE YOUR ORDER, JUST SEND ME AN EMAIL OR GIVE ME A CALL ON 01280 820593.
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When my children were small they all enjoyed the Beatrix Potter books and definitely identified with her naughty mice, cheeky squirrels, bold cats and foolhardy rabbits! One of our favourites was the Tale of Mr Jeremy Fisher and they would always squeal with delighted horror when the frog says: "I will eat a butterfly sandwich and wait till the shower is over". I still say that now if it's raining and I want to go out, although naturally I've never actually eaten one!

Enjoy the rest of the weekend,

PS. No-one did the washing up and hoovering of course - better do it now!

Happy Day Storytime Friends pup!

The cue word at Addicted to CAS is 'Friend' and I've been mulling it over all week without any success. But yesterday, I had a lightbulb moment when my oldest son came in wagging his tail (not literally of course!) and thought of man's (and woman's) best friend - the dog. Come and have a look:

How cute is this little chap?! He's from Stampin' Up's Storybook Friends, a stamp set full of sweet animals. He's been stamped onto watercolour paper using black stazon ink and then coloured in Soft Suede ink. I scored a line under him and washed in a sky above it and grass below before stamping the sentiment from Friendly Phrases.  The little scene was cut out with a circle punch and I added a bit of linen thread for a bit of manly interest!

I've fallen in love with this little pup and I think he deserves a bit of a close up! I was imagining him careering around and so naturally I gave him a ball to play with! Let's hope he has a happy day - we're having sausages for tea so you never know, someone might smuggle a spare sausage under the table for him!

Here's what you'll need to make this card
Stamps: Storybook Friends, Friendly Phrases
Ink: Wild Wasabi, Pool Party, Soft Suede, Riding Hood Red, Black stazon
Card stock: Crumb Cake, watercolour paper
Punches: 2 1/2" and 3/8" circle punches
Other: Linen thread, Simply Scored, stamp-a-majig
I CAN ORDER STAMPIN' UP ITEMS FOR YOU AND HAVE THEM DELIVERED STRAIGHT TO YOUR ADDRESS IN THE UK. I'M COMMITTED TO PROVIDING EXCELLENT CUSTOMER SERVICE AND AM ALWAYS HAPPY TO OFFER HELP AND ADVICE. TO FIND OUT MORE OR TO PLACE YOUR ORDER, JUST SEND ME AN EMAIL OR GIVE ME A CALL ON 01280 820593.
• Get more for your money - place an order for £250 and choose £65 worth of products free! Or join SU and get £155 worth of products for just £99! Offers end 30th May 2013

It's a good thing Tuppence can't read otherwise she would be outraged at me wasting blog space on a mere dog and give me one of her Resentful Looks. And we wouldn't want that! Here's a photo of her giving one of her RLs to my husband, who had the temerity to sit in a chair she'd had her eye on. Do you see what I mean? Really, we are a sad disappointment to her!

Hope you have a lovely weekend - oh and if you're in the Buckingham area on the FOLLOWING Sunday, 28th April, why not take a trip to Tingewick village hall where there's going to be an exhibition of patchwork and quilting? There'll be some amazing work on display and for sale, and I'll be there selling some of my cards to raise funds for Arthritis Research UK and Medical Detection Dogs. It would be lovely to see you!

Hugs,