Switchy Witchy...

So if you follow any Stampin Up blogs

or view Pinterest

or any other paper crafting site

you know the Witches Hat clothespin

is all the rage!

 

They are everywhere!

They are ADORABLE!

They are made with SU's new Christmas tree punch,

some circle punches,

black glimmer paper,

their mini clothespins

and their bow builder punch.

WOW!

Quite a shopping list!

 

Unfortunately

this little Lady Liberty

is sick.

Chronic vomiting led to a new diet

(24 cans = $ 75! YIKES!)

and an ultrasound

which has led us to schedule exploratory surgery

and we are praying hard that it's not that "c" word...

The good news is...the new diet is working--NO vomiting!

And so I am praying that whatever was seen on the ultrasound

was just something terribly inflamed that didn't like the old diet.

PLEASE God....not another sick cat-and a baby at that!

 

That said-Momma's crafting budget just can't buy every new thing out there

that I'd like---

so I got to thinking....

my CTMH Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge has a Christmas tree...

and  a circle...

WM had the medium mini size clothespins

and hey, black cardstock may not be a pretty as glimmer paper

but we'll go with what I've got-

some Halloween ribbon---

and I have a CTMH witch's treat bag clip

just as cute as SU's! 

And, for the record,

I did order some other SU products

so I don't feel too bad casing their project.

I am going to use the same concept

for some Christmas Santa hat gift clips for the

upcoming craft shows...so stay tuned.

Before that tho,

I have to finish the treat bags for the vets, techs and staff---

we spend a lot of time with them

and they do an awesome job

even when my kids aren't too cooperative

(Lady bit a tech during her ultrasound!)

 

Until next time,

please keep your paws crossed for us

and surgery next week Friday morning...

This little gal has stolen my heart

and acts completely normal!

 

Happy Stamping and scrapping!

Blessings,

Scrapbooking Meets Quilting....

So as if I do not have enough hobbies...

I fell in love with an applique quilt and,

when I couldn't find someone to make it for me...

I found someone to teach me how.

So here's to yet another hobby!

 

I had my first lesson

to see what I have, what I need (to buy!),

and to identify all the parts of the kit.

 

This is the quilt I first fell in love with...

which had virtually no instructions.

I had no clue where to even begin!

While I was searching for someone to help,

I fell in love with this quilt....**
(**note that the link goes to the PATTERN ONLY--not the quilt kit!)

which sounded easier as it was precut and backed

with fusible web.

So I got it, too.

 

Well,

there are a lot of itty bitty teeny tiny pieces

to that turtle's shell---

and one of the things suggested

was to trace the pattern on clear plastic

so you can lay it over your pieces

for proper placement.

Easier said than done!

The plastic slipped and slid and...

then I remembered my ancient Basic Gray Magnetic Mat

that almost got tossed out/resold.

And the tons of cheapy page protectors from various scrapbooks

I bought.

I cut the page protectors apart,

put the pattern down, covered it with plastic,

anchored it with my magnets

and off I went!

My pattern was traced in no time!

 

 

So!

Now when I put kitties to bed

I can begin putting the puzzle-er, quilt pieces together!

 

Speaking of kitties,

this little gal had her spay surgery last week

was vomiting over the week-end

and yet....she does this...

Too funny!

Crawling inside the pillowcase!

Bummers-Blogger won't play the video---boo hiss blogger!

She is climbing in, out, tumbling over, chasing her tail...

being a completely normal kitty--except for stitches!
I sure wasn't up to that after any of my surgeries!

 

Now back to the craft room to work on yet another project!

That involves stamping and big shot and tape and...

Until next time,

happy stamping and scrapping!

Blessings,

 

ATG GUN: LOCKED AND (RE) LOADED!

So anyone who knows me or has followed my blog

can probably guess what, compared to pop dots fun foam

is my next absolutely-cannot-craft-without item...

so much so...

that I now have back up!

So when I run out of "ammo" I can "throw it down"

and start again without having to stop and reload.

Ammo--throw down---reload...

get it?

It's my Scotch ATG gun!

Yep, I have two.

Because Murphy's law---if I am in the middle of a project

and particularly if under a time constraint

it's a given that I am going to run out of tape.

I LOVE my ATG gunS!!!

What I don't love however

is after having to travel 2 hours round trip

to get more ammo

and pay a pretty penny for it...

to go to load and discover the roll was loaded

BACKWARDS!

I've done the contact Scotch to get replacement thing

several times-

more often than not the rolls get pulled out and tossed aside

and I go to pack 2 that I picked up and pray that it isn't the same way 

('cause the second roll in the first pack inevitably backwards too.)

WELL---

NEVERMORE!!!

Weather here has been sunshine-rain-sunshine-rain-and more rain.

My fibro is off the charts so I just put myself down for the day-

and have been on Pinterest and Facebook all day.

After hours and hours I came across a video

on how to fix a roll of ATG tape that's loaded backwards!

I ran to try it-only to discover

my tape gun was on the opposite side of the door Inky was on

(all the other kitties were with me).

Of course-there was a break out--

and of course Momma and Poppa had to break up the cat fight that almost ensued

not once but twice.

Everyone re-corralled and back to the trial.

It didn't work.

So I Googled it

(no clue why I never thought to Google it before---)

and I found

THIS HOW TO FIX ATG GUN TAPE LOADED BACKWARDS

video-

and it worked!!!

Thank you, Tammy! 

So easy.

And since I was down to a small tidbit of tape

besides the backwards roll---

I'm good for a few more rounds!

Give it a try!

It really does work!

Maybe some projects later in the week.

But not today.

The kitties and I are back to Pintrest and Facebook.

And the storms are rolling in again.

Until next time,

happy stamping and scrapping!

Blessings,

For the birds....

Long week-end

but I didn't get much accomplished-

rain = pain

and I had plenty of both unfortunately

and as my grandmother would say in exasperation,

"it was for the birds!"

I did create a gift bag and card

and while I can't show you the contents...

I will say---

both were created around the contents...or the theme of the item therein!

I had help....Lady Liberty was inspecting the final design...

 

smelling the flower...!

 

The base is just a plain old lunch bag..

the designer paper (dp) is old old old Stampin Up from my stash-

except for the tag--that was from a small atc sized stack

Lace, twine and other trims from my stash

Washi tape on the clothespin along with a burlap bow

This was going to be the front side of the tag (Happy Birthday)

But then I decided to make it the backside.

Or maybe not---can go either way!

Of course that blue sentiment oval is popped up

with fun foam (my new cheap pop-dot alternative!)

And that's about all creatively that got finished this weekend.

My mojo and focus has left the brain, body and building!

Did lots of blog hopping---just couldn't seem to settle in to create beyond this.

 

Time for work, vet visit (all paws crossed for good blood work results!),

and then helping a friend with a computer project

so long day ahead after a long week-end!

 

Until next time,

happy stamping and scrapping!

Blessings,



All About Cats...

 

 

I am slow---very very slow going this am.

My fibro pain level is off the charts.

Must have been the rain yesterday--or more on the way that they haven`t predicted yet.

I was blog hopping in bed when I looked over and saw this...

Actually, he was sound asleep on it when I first saw him

and of course my getting up and getting the camera woke him up...

 Doesn`t he just look like ``I don`t know why they haven`t texted me..!``

And, when I downloaded these pics from the camera...I found ones I had forgotten about.

We are at the vet`s office so much with so many cats...

we graduated from a mere file folder

to a 2`` binder notebook!

The front desk gals know I scrapbook and wanted me to design a cover for it...

This is what I came up with...

I am sure none of the front desk gals are old enough to remember

The Brady Bunch

unless they have seen reruns!

But when they asked me for a page-that immediately popped into my head

and I was doing a cat count while I was standing there!

They haven`t actually seen Moe---he was taken care of by another vet

and is feral---taking him even as gentle as he is with me

I think would undo him.

We do the best we can with him on our own.

 

Our first girl...

I added the heart with halo and wings to Ms. Dolly, Poppa Cat and Bad Cat

since they are now our angel kitties...

For some reason---I didn`t take a close up of Sir Stirling`s picture...

he`s the guy in the upper left corner upside down!

There was always confusion with new staff when I would make appointments for Bad Cat!

Bad Cat was AWESOME at the vets office! They could do anything and he could care less!

Inky---just the opposite.

He was the one plastered on the front window of the office with a vet tech on either side of the vet

and they were trying to figure out how to get him where they needed him.

 And the next-runner up for the bad Russell cat was Poppa Cat

(he BROKE the blood pressure machine and ran off with the thermometer cover

stuck in his butt and hid under the bench!)

 

The boys pics I matted in the aqua and the two girls in the pink!

Not sure why my close up pics are fuzzy-sorry about that!

I made a similar layout for a shadow box for us

only added a ball of twine to The Russell Bunch with the end

wrapped around that square.

And it`s back to the vet this afternoon with Lady Liberty.

She`s been vomiting and with a holiday week-end coming up

I want to be sure to settle that tummy down and have something on hand if I need it.

She is acting completely normal otherwise-

in fact last night she came running into the bedroom,

bounced on all fours off the edge of the bed and went tearing back out

into the living room.

And we`re going for a sick cat visit...eye-yi-yiii!

Lol!

 

That`s it for today.

I had so much I wanted to get done---

but it is a definite be gentle to myself day like it or not.

Better mimic Moe up there-or Sir Stirling!

Until next time,

happy stamping and scrapping!

Blessings,

Breaking News....!

 

It's been forever since I posted again...

and the few projects I've done have been

last minute and run them out the door so fast things

that I haven't even taken photos!

 

And the Magic Kingdom aka craft room

is in desperate need of cleaning---

(some things never change from post to post!)

 

So-what is my breaking news?!

No, NOT ANOTHER CAT!

The Russell Inn is full!

Lady Liberty is still sweet as ever and holding her own with two of her three brothers.

Inky still doesn't want anything to do with all the littles---

but has been much more cuddly (for him, anyway!) at night

when it's just the two of us.

He misses his big brothers and (first) sister as we do.

 

So---if you've followed my blog you know my go-to-absolutely-cannot-craft-without item

is pop-dots.

LOVE THEM!

But...

drumroll please...

I am giving them up!

I found something better!

Cheaper.

Just as amazingly good

and no funky liner paper you have to try and peel off.

What is it?

Fun foam!

Seriously!

An huge sheet of Fun Foam is less than $1!

My ATG tape works fine to hold it-low temp glue does, too.

And you can cut it to whatever size you need!

I have to be careful with little bits of things---

Lady LOVES to get on the worktable, look at me,

grab something, grin at me (I swear she does---she looks at me like,

"Ha! I got it! Do you see me Momma?! I dare you to try and catch me!),

and runs off with it!

I don't want to hear Dr. Travis say she's stopped up with Fun Foam

(and I have had to secure the roll of cork as well!).

I do not know if a deep-cut Cricut blade will cut FF---but that would be

interesting to know/try!

I know you can die cut it through the Big Shot!

I typically keep white on hand and if I need to

I color the edges of the FF with Sharpie so they match the paper

and don't show.

So that's my tip for the day.

 

Sadly,

the church I work for

chose to close its preschool.

Breaks my heart

and so I really don't have a lot of

 kiddos to make cute holiday things for now.

I usually make things for our vets office staff---we're there so much-

so looking at ideas for Halloween things for them.

Holly Days is coming up

and I got fabric for catnip toys last week

and just ordered the catnip!

Not sure what other items I will do this year--

may just stick with cat-themed things.

Time will tell!

 

Until next time, happy stamping and scrapping!

Blessings,

What a WILD World I Live In!

Wondering if I even have any followers left its been sooo long since I've posted.

Not that I ever had that many to start with but still...!

 

It's been tough what life has thrown at me this past year +

and I've struggled to stay afloat at times.

 

We've had some good things...

This girl not only went to her Great Gatsby themed prom

but also graduated this year as well---

and I got to be a part of it all!

Way to go TT!

 

And then one day

a new little --and I do mean little--

fur ball showed up on our front deck.

Now Momma in sight--no other little brothers or sisters.

Our older feral cat was tolerant---but not real happy about having a ball of energy

disrupting his space, afternoon naps, etc.

And we are surrounded by rental properties so there's lots of traffic to worry about.

We decided to try and trap it and yes,  bring it in.

Worked the first try and---

THANKYOUJESUSIT'SAGIRL!!!!

Meet Lady Liberty

Just 11 weeks old and under 3 pounds!

She is as sweet as she looks!

The stuffed cat she`s curled up with looks like our outside feral cat

and she was trembling terribly when we first crated her but when I put the stuffed cat in

she calmed right down!

I was able to handle her the very first night she was inside with us!

She made herself right at home!

My papasan chair makes a good napping place...

and when not napping she loves running around the edge of it!

 

When I am not cuddling the kitty

I have done some crafting...

This card format was cased from Dawn`s Stamping Studio--

That front panel is acetate (aka transparency) and the girl image

is stamped with StazOn.

The bottom panel says ``I am LATE & missed the DATE...

`

I have another birthday card I made in this similar style

but those pics are yet to be downloaded from my iphone.

 

I also made a beachy WELCOME banner

but my photos aren`t where I thought they were

so that will  have to wait for another day!

I hosted two great girls and their Grandma (my coworker)

and they each did their name in glow in the dark foam letters

with beach-themed embellishments.

My WELCOME banner was to give them an idea of what they were going to do!

 

So stay tuned!

I promise to post those soon!

 

Until next time,

happy stamping and scrapping!

Blessings,

 

 



They say it comes in three's....

 

First we lost Miss Dolly

then Bad Cat

and this week our Poppa Cat (the guy on the left)



 

 

The poor guy on the left has lost three of his buddies

and even tho we still have "the littles" (aka Sir Stirling and Sir Sebastian)

they don't get along too well.

I am praying that will change.

 

And please God, no more sick pets for awhile.

This gal needs a break....

 

Sorry-my heart just isn't into crafting right now...

 

Until next time----

 

Wanted: Close to My Heart Consultant...

So if anyone out there is still following my blog

from my former CTMH consultant days

(Yes, I were one once upon a time...)

I am in search of a consultant

so I can restock some of my basic supplies.

I gave other consultants/good customers a break...

so let me know if you are interested.

Oh- I am in NC (but that doesn't really matter if you

don't mind direct shipping.

 

Sorry, SU consultants-I already have one of those locally.

 

 

That said, I am still on my decluttering mode...

Last week-end I tackled and conquered the attic---

I so should have taken before and after pictures...!

 

This week-end it is the bedroom

AND the Magic Kingdom (aka my craft room)!

Ambitious, I know!

 

But it's all good.

It's use it, organize/keep it, or LOSE IT

(yard sale or donate it).

 

 

Break over.  Back to it.

Until next time,

Happy Stamping and Scrapping.

Messy Magic Kingdom + More Stuff = Time to Organize!

Rain, rain go away---

but at least Sharon won't go out to play!

 

Another rainy day!

But I can't walk through my much-neglected Magic Kingdom

aka my craft room...

and the magic wand still isn't working...

so I'd better get to it.

 

Yesterday I got a new stamp set in the mail.

I saw some cute cards on a blog

and wanted to be able to make them.

Now it's time to put the stamps away

until I do---

but how will I remember where to find the instructions

whenever creative mojo strikes and time allows?

Chances are---I won't

and I will spend precious crafting time

just trying to track down the image and measurements.

We've all done it.

 

Since I was filing away some more digital stamps

from last week's project-

I had a great idea!

Why not...

take the time NOW while I KNOW where the images and measurements are

on the blog I follow

and print out a pic

put the directions on the back of that-

and put it away with the stamp set?!

 

Brilliant!

I know.

It just took a gazillion years to

think of it!

Lol!

 

I may "flutter" with the Flylady system but boy,

sometimes I SOAR like with this idea.

Actually

I got two new stamp sets-

so off to do the other one the same way

before I get back to putting stuff away.

 

Next I need to organize my Copic refills.

I've outgrown the box I had them in

and I want to be sure they are stored upright.

 

Stay tuned.

Rain + raging Fibromyalgia = lots of breaks inbetween work

(which Flylady also advocates!)

 

Until next time,

Happy stamping and scrapping!

Blessings,

 



Organizing Digital Stamps: A Day Late and SEVEN POUNDS + later...!

So I promised a post yesterday

regarding organizing (some of) my digital stamps.

 

Two days

six flash drives

one external hard drive

a ton of plain white cardstock

5 packages of page protectors

one package of dividers

and one 2" Avery one-touch notebook later...

 

And my biggest collection is organized!!!

And it weighs a whopping 7.5 pounds!

And I learned---a lot!

 

For years I've used numerous flash drives

and then an expansion drive-

had computers crash (the cat threw up on the open laptop...)

and most of my data saved...

so I had files everywhere

and not always organized in the best manner.

At first I thought "gee, I will just log into the site

and print off a list of my orders...."

Well, there was only about 1/16 of them listed

and most of them had expired so that was useless.

(Insert note: anyone considering a Kindle

Amazon's site TELLS YOU if you've already ordered a book!)

So I started searching my laptop and flash and other drives.

And saving files.

But when I went back to get them---

well, some were there, some weren't.

More searching.

Some I had "hard copies" of---so that helped fill in a few gaps.

I then spent the time and went through the artist's entire site

image by image,

and rechecked my drives to fill in even more gaps!

I think I recovered all but 3.

And losing 3 out of 90+ is a darn good average!

So, from here on out-

THIS IS HOW I WILL ORGANIZE MY DIGITAL STAMPS!

This is what will work for me.

Take what you like and leave the rest!

Each image has it's own page.

The name of the image is at the top

(I pretty well know what image is by who-

but if I were uncertain, I would have included that as well!)

and then I sized it to what I am most apt to use--

and copied it three times on the page.

 

 

I LOVE pop dots and it typically takes three images

to do the layering I like to do.

I also included a colored image

(if not by me then one I liked/found--I can color-

but I can't get the "shadow" stuff down--

so I like to have something to go by)

I then put this sheet in a plastic page protector.

That way when I want an image,

I can pull out that MASTER worksheet,

copy it and go!

I got this binder

and at first I didn't think I would like it.

But after a few seconds, I fell in love love love!

My fibromyalgia is raging today--



and this baby just has that one little lever

and opens in a heartbeat.

NO PINCHED FINGERS-NO PRODDING AND PRYING!
This is NOT your average notebook of yesteryear!

I don't get paid by Avery-but I should!

 

I put all my things together one way-decided that wouldn't do-

so reorganized them all a second time.

(Actually, a 3rd-as Poppa Cat decided he was going to "help"

and they slid every which way!)

I gave that lever a workout

but had it been a regular notebook-

no way I could have handled it today!

 

Once I got all my MASTER SHEET IMAGES together

and divided in a way that suits my pea brain

I then gathered the odds and ends of images I had already printed

in days gone by.

Each like image went into its own page protector as well

and I simply filed that in after the MASTER IMAGE SHEET.

 

So now I can go pick an image,

if there's a copy ready to go just pull it out and get craftin'!

It's not a big deal if there isn't---

I just pull out the MASTER IMAGE SHEET

make my copy

(sizing it as needed)

and start coloring!

I have also kept/printed copies of variations on the images

I've seen and liked-color combos to try, embellishments, etc-

and stashed that in there, too, for future FYI)

 

This book was HEAVY!!!!

I had to weigh it---

a whopping 7.5 pounds!!!

I may have to divide it out into smaller books-

but at least I KNOW where all that brand images are!

This took hours and hours---

and even after saving it three times

in three different places

before I closed my file

I lost the last 25 pages (on the computer?!)

BUT I HAVE THE HARD COPIES NOW!

 

Only 4-5 more artists digi's to go!

Lol.

Not nearly as many tho-thank goodness!

 

I am just going to get in the habit of doing this

each and every time I order a stamp.

Be forewarned-

if your computer crashes-

or the time frame "expires"

or the artist retires the image

the artist has no obligation to replace your lost image.

Some are nice-and will.

Others-not so much.

I also found that I was able to pull up about 3 different sites

for the same artist

and saw different stamps on each one---?!

And the organization by catagories

wasn't consistent between the three...!

So having the hard copy-or the external hard drive--

CYA (cover your ART my friend!)

 

Until next time,

happy stamping and scrapping.

Blessings,



A Whole Crop of Thank You's and Washi Tape: it's not just for crafting!

Hi there!

I have a lot of pictures today and a lot to share!

So grab your fav beverage and settle in for a few....!

 

First, I will give credit where credit it due...

the images used in today's cards are from

Mo's Digital Pencil.

The idea (technique) for today's card was cased from

Dawn's Stamping Studio and can be found here...

 

My pics look dark in Blogger-no clue why....

 

I needed thank you notes and not 5 minutes after I thought,

"Gee, what am I going to make?"

I saw Dawn's post and was stunned!!!

WOWZERS!

This was soooo cool!

And I knew EXACTLY what I wanted to do!

I love this image from  Mo...

and it has nothing  to do with the fact that

there's a CAT in the chair with her...hidden by the flap!

 

The other image I wanted to use was Mo's "shucks"

It just called out SWEET corn to me!

 

And since my birthday gift to myself

were some new Copic colors-and they came the same day--

sitting a coloring was a good way to continue to celebrate!

 

 

In case you are wondering how I did the chair---

I put the image in Publisher and cropped out all but the chair.

Then I duplicated it on the page x 6

cut my dp to 8 1/2x11" and ran it through.

I repeated the process with just the girl and the cat

(although A LOT more of them fit on one piece of cardstock!)

and then fussy cut it all.

Of course I popped it all up!

I want to try adding some mini mini bows to her pigtails next time!

 

 

 

So!

Those are my cards!

 

On to new unexpected uses for Washi Tape!

Poppa Cat as you know if you've followed my blog

has had a number of health issues

and we are still fine-tuning all his medicines

and the pharmacy we had been using closed

so that changed things up as well.

So now I have two almost identical bottles

and two identical syringes

and of course each have different meds and dosages.

Not wanting to confuse myself-

and that is so easy to do lately---

oh-and one is 1x a day

and the other 2x a day....!

when I needed a solution I headed for the craft room.

One med is super oily

and the numbers soon rub off of the syringe.

I had used a piece of duct tape to mark the dose

on the old syringe---

so why not try some WASHI TAPE

for the new ones?!

The AM med (1x a day) got bright yellow

(sunrise--it will  help when my eyes aren't quite open

and coffee hasn't had time to kick in!)

and the nighttime med got black w/white polka dots

at the dose line

(since it gets dark at night---)

along with the yellow above it

(since he gets it 2x a day)

 

 

So---we'll see how the crafty nurse does with med rounds

with washi-tape coded syringes!

Lol!

Last week-end I was home alone

and med duty fell to me alone.

Have you ever tried to pill a cat?

Have you ever tried to pill a cat followed by

doses of liquid medicine?

I have my technique down pat!

I take a large, heavy towel

and wrap the cat up snuggly in it

so just his head is sticking out

(you need to have those paws covered-trust me!)

Next I sit down with my legs spread open,

place the towel-wrapped cat with his butt up against my body,

head facing my feet.

Then I wrap my legs around the front of him

so he is in a secure hold-with my legs!

I am right-handed, so now I get his head into the crook of my

left arm,

facing semi-forward and semi toward the right.

This gives me the advantage of prying the bottom jaw open

with my left hand and the pill-popper and/or syringe

while I shove the medicine in with my right hand.

Repeat the above process as often as necessary.

Preceeding  said process with a treat-

followed by more treats after the process

(providing there has not been any blood shed)

is highly recommended.

Now---it's not as hard as it sounds.

We had Bad Cat to practice on before Poppa Cat

so I feel like I am a cat-wrangling expert!

Hey, is that a category in the Olympics?!

Tomorrow

I will post my tale of my digital stamp organization.

So stay tuned.

 

Until next time,

happy stamping and scrapping!

Blessings,