Singing cats

Usually not a good thing, if you ever heard Amorous cats in the night...but I thought these would go very well with the music theme over at Less is More this fortnight and, well I  meant the emboss resist on the Monday Challenge, but I got confused, that was last week's challenge lol. So I'll enter it in the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge anything goes as well.

For my card I masked the top and bottom thirds and Stamped the music notes with Versamark ink, the stamps is from Woodware (sheet music) and I heat embossed it with Wow opaque bright white. As the stamp is a little over 3x3inch, it doesn't cover the whole width, so I decided to stamp it on an angle as it would be easier to line up. I did wipe off some embossing

powder from the edges to give it the distressed look.
Then I inkblended Distress inks with the mini inkblending tools.
I used: Ripe Persimmon, Spiced Marmalade, Worn Lipstick and Picked Raspberry, from left to right.

I stamped my cats from Katzelkraft with Simon Says Stamp intense black ink onto the Crafter's Companion Neenah paper and colored them with my Spectrum Noir markers. I did the two cats, but I ended up only using the singing cat on my card for the Less is More Challenge is a CAS challenge.

I don't have any Carabelle Studio things for the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge, but I thought these were very

similar in style, both from France and well they use the same size  ruler thing, so I wonder if their friends ;-)

Anyway...

I stamped the sentiment from Simon Says Stamp (it's your birthday) with Versafine Onyx black ink.

I mounted the singing cat with foamtape and adhered him on the colored panel, to ground

him.
The music note is a little punch I got once and I used black card with Stick it on the back..thought it was easier until I had to peel up the backing...

I did add the sleeping cat, but peeled him off later, I liked the way he was looking up at the commotion, hehe.

Congrats to Less is More for their 7th birthday.

2000 subscribers winners announced video

Remember  you have now 48 hours as we all live in different timezones, this is the easiest for everyone.

US A2 cards keepsake box, with video and pattern and all that

I had to look up the measurements for envelopes, so you can make a card pack gift.
I did allow about a 16th of an inch of wiggle room. If you make please let me know if it all fits.

I'm also doing a metric version on Thursday.

For this lidded box you need two pieces of paper.
Lid: 10"1/4 wide and 6" tall
Bottom: 11"1/4 wide and 10" tall.
See flowers on pattern for direction of how to cut paper, if your pattern is directional.

For the bottom score on the 11"1/4 (long side) side at: 2"and 8" and on the short side at: 4"5/8 and 6"5/8

For the lid score on the long side at: 2"and 8"1/4 and on the short side at 2"and 4"

Burnish all your scoreline and notch as indicated.

To glue it with a flush inside please see video, it's hard to explain.

I've used patterned paper, but you could use solid/plain paper and decorate with strips of (scraps) patterned paper, I just prefer this clean look.
You can also add flowers and other embellishments, I just added ribbon.
Again it's all up to your taste and imagination, the video is there for the box, not how to embellish it.

AAA cards challenge #108 all you need is love

Hello and welcome back, our challenge this fortnight is: all you need is love.

Our sponsor is Uniko stamps and I have used the All occasion sentiments #5 for my "be mine". I stamped it with Versafine onyx black ink. onto a cardpanel, slightly smaller than my cardbase. Let it dry.

Meanwhile I diecut the Simon Says Stamp hearts alive die from red, and two tones of pink glitter paper. And then also from the cardpanel.

I traced the window onto the cardbase, and applied Elizabeth Crafts double sided tape on the spot. I happen to have the 2" wide one and that fits perfectly.
I added taperunner to the cardpanel cardbase. then inlaid all the glitter bits back into the window.

and
adhered in on the
I chose to keep all the hearts red and the pink as a backdrop, but you can , of course, mix and match as you have three sets of these pieces now, you could make three cards.
I didn't ;-)

I didn't add any more gems, rhinestones, enamel dots or alike as I thought the glitter paper is pretty much the performing diva here ;-)

For more information on the AAA cards challenge, or to play along and see what the other DT members made, see this

Gerda Steiner February Challenge

This month we got this cute bunny couple, at least I made it a couple, of friends as the sentiment indicates, you never know what might blossom, But because the man bunny is holding a flower I thought it went nicely ;-)
I prepared the image and sentiment in Photoshop and then printed it both on normal printer paper and the Crafter's Companion Neenah paper.

I cut out the printer paper one to create a mask. In hindsight I should probably have made two masks, one for each bunny or cut out in the middle more, but frankly I was afraid it would compromise the integrity of the mask, so I chose not to, I will regret that later ;-)
I've put Tombow mono multi glue on the back and let it dry overnight. I did quite a thick layer, so it needs time. I also covered it as cats are shedding their coats and it's crazy how much hair I find everywhere, even dusting and vacuuming won't help.

Anyway after I woke up I continued with the card, masking the printed image and also masking a sky and grass border. To color those I used  painter's brushes and Distress Inks (mowed lawn and Mermaid lagoon).
This is where your careful cut out mask poses a problem to ink in between, I tried my best, but in the end I ended using a marker.

Then I colored the bunnies with a

combination of alcohol markers (Decotime, Spectrum Noir and Spectrum Illustrator).

Added gel glitter pen dots to the tulip and an enamel heart as a bow on the white bunny as well as lashes, to reinforce the feeling of a female bunny.
Mounted the panel with foamtape and adhered it to the cardbase.


It could well have been a Valentine card, but  as I film my Youtubes ahead, it wouldn't have made sense on February 25th when the video will go live, so please come check back then.
As I want to enter it into the Gerda Steiner monthly challenge, I felt I shouldn't wait that long, as I might forget.


I'm also entering it into the Simon Says Stamp "send a card to a friend" challenge.

2000 subscribers on Youtube video/blog hop

I've teamed up with some brilliantly creative ladies to celebrate this milestone.
We're all smaller channels on YouTube and I invited them to help promote them and myself of course.
At first I wanted to do  this at 2500, seeing 1000 celebration has just passed, but due to changes in the YouTube policy there was a sense of urgency.
YouTube has decided if you don't enough views in a set amount of time, you can;t make any  money with your videos anymore.

Now I will be brutally honest and say in the last 3 years I had 3 payments of 70 euro or dollar, I'm not sure, peanuts, but still greatly appreciated as I use this money for these giveaways.
To make a video takes hours to film, edit, upload, and that's without coming up with the ideas, working it out in your head or on try out sessions, without an hourly salary.

I put out 3 videos a week and it does take a lot of commitment and frankly I do it for my faithful viewers.
I don;t get endorsed by companies, not do I get paid otherwise, so if this money were to disappear, so will my and lots of other channels and I don;t really want to quit, but I feel we're not given other options.

So please go and hop along and support these super nice and fabulously creative ladies, like, comment, share to help us get our minimum quota.
I feel bad I have to beg almost, but it's so important I feel I must.

On to the hop and the giveaway.
I have a few prizes up for grabs, you can see them in the video.
If you're a subscriber and you comment on the video, you will have a chance to win one of said prizes, I will draw these at random, so this time you can't choose.

The giveaway is open for 48 hours. We ladies will all choose our winner(s) on Monday.
Once I have received all winners from the other blogs, I will post a video on Tuesday (February 6th). the winners will then have another 48 hours to claim their prize, otherwise others will be chosen, they will then also have 48 hours, so make sure you're available/reachable.

Maaike UIjthoven	https://youtu.be/PEjPkcSAuxg
Karen Hasheck	https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2rZK_zXGl10&feature=youtu.be
Mary Polanco	https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2ivbEM4xa8&feature=youtu.be
Charlotte Ehrukainen	https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=osVe3m1p7Uo&feature=youtu.be
Jasmine Burgess	https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LiAo3_oZ5E0&feature=youtu.be
Gerry’s craft room	https://youtu.be/fYQxbTvQYK8
Maikreations	https://maikreations.blogspot.nl/2018/01/celebrate-maaike-uithovens-2000.html
Uniquepaper 15	https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kaPbJxUDqRc&feature=youtu.be

embossing with dies and coloring you're purrfect, with video

I got a lot of requests to show how I made the embossed background on my bunny card.
It's really simple actually, I use a set of nesting dies, in this case Marianne design basic shapes cr1351 and stick them together with painters tape, so they don't move in the Big Shot.

I also us 140lbs card and it might wrinkle, usually it helps to spray it with a bit of water, but my cardstock also doesn't like water and or sticky tape , it's so spoiled ;-)

First I stamped the whiskers my Scan N cut chopped off the image onto the background, as it might be hard after embossing the cardbase.

I made sure all the open bits in the tail were closed with pencil so the Scan N cut wouldn't get "confused" by the open lines..but then it chops off the whiskers lol....

To emboss the heart shapes into the cardbase I use my embossing machine on the embossing folder settting, for my Big shot that's tab 1. I then put down one cutting plate and my silicone baking sheet, the cardstock and the dies on top, with the cutting side towards the cardstock.
Pass it through the machine, once would be enough, but I have to go backwards due to space, that might also increase the wrinkles more.


I thought the words on the stamp were enough and I didn't add a sentiment. There's one in the Penny Black stampset.

I colored the image with Spectrum Noir and Spectrum Illustrator markers. Nuvo shimmer pen on the chocolate boxes.
Mounted the kitty with foamtape and adhered it to the cardbase.

I'm entering this card into the Work It Wednesday January 2018 challenge, at Simon Says Stamp.
I'm also entering it into the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge, anything goes