Gosh....

I am surprised to see how long it has been since I have posted anything. I am still here....it's just, just, just...it's just Christmas cards and gifts and decorating that is getting in the way. I have been so busy I did not stop to take pictures of my cards. Me bad! I will have to re-create them and then post the pictures.

So...if I don't get a chance to post again before Christmas I wish you and all yours a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Cat

Took me long enough....

Before I go any further....I really, really need to express my gratitude to Sharon Johnson of No Time To Stamp for the inspiration and ideas she imparts on her blog. If it wasn't for her I would still be purchasing cards and staring at all my toys with no idea what to do with them!

Weddings, weddings, weddings....I made invites for a friend's daughter and now I am making my niece-in-laws and of course, my daughter is getting married in March so I am making hers.

My friend's daughter asked what could I do...I told her to "Google" what she wanted and I would see if I could make them. She came back with a picture and, after a lot of searching, I made a template and she really liked them. I know I posted pics quite awhile ago...but, here is the whole collection:

The Invitation and Thank You card....the paper is from Europe, black velvet strips and red "burnished velvet" hearts. The invitation wording is printed on vellum with a photo of the bride and groom underneath.

The gift card....my Scor-pal, Cuttlebug Textile embossing folder, cutting die for the envelope and on the inside of the card, sheer ribbon from Michaels and my Nestabilities. All of my sentiments and inside verses are printed on my laser printer.

The attendants cards...the Flower Girl is clip art from the internet. I colored her hair black with my Copics as the flower girl was Asian....I went over the hair garland, waist ribbon, flowers, shoes and sporadically on the dress with my Sakura Spica pens to add some glam! The Maid of Honor and Bridesmaid dresses are coloured with my H2O's, outlined with a gel glitter pen from a 96-set I scored at Costco and I glued Swarovski crystals where needed.

The Ring Bearer (hence the bear) was another clip art from the internet. I glammed his bow tie and the heart with Sakura Spica and I made two wire rings which I attached to the heart to form a ring pillow. I also inverted the scoring to differentiate from the girls cards. The Best Man and Groomsman cards were stickers I purchased from Michaels and they were so rich looking I didn't have to do anything to them.

Then it was off to Kelowna for my sister's 25th wedding anniversary.....Scor-Pal again, a picture from her wedding album, mirrored cardstock for the sentiment, Cuttlebug and Nestabilities, the Bow-Easy, sheer silver ribbon and a wonderful brad to wrap around the knot.

For my daughter's Save The Date cards it is back to the internet for inspiration and then off to Michaels for papers. She had a friend take pictures and I put them together to appear to be from a photobooth...a magnetic strip on the back side and presto...one fridge magnet to remind people of the upcoming wedding!

I have a couple more cards to post including a birth announcement for our brand new grandson but, that can wait for another day!

I wish everyone happy crafting and I have told everyone I will not be crafting during the month of November....I need to get my Christmas cards done!

Cat

Time flies....

Just a note to say I have not forgotten my blog.....BUT, there have been wedding invitations to make, birth announcements for my brand new grandson to make, wedding invitation templates to make up for my daughter and niece-in-law. I have not had the time or energy to post anything.

I do have pictures to add and I do have stuff to say but, it will have to wait for another week. I wish everyone a wonderful Thanksgiving (for the Canada viewers).

Cat

Abby....

Have you ever looked into someone's eyes and seen no fear....I mean...eyes that say they are past fear...past hope?

That is what I saw when I first held Abby in my arms. Abby is a spaniel/terrier(?) cross. She is around one year old and we just adopted her. We heard about her from my niece-in-law. We were sitting around the table at my sister's house and talking about a show we saw on Animal Planet about a lady in Las Vegas who was hoarding dogs. The dogs had to be taken away from her and the pleas for help went out. Her local rescue group answered the call and was at the local pet store earlier in the day with six dogs. I was shown their website and I fell in love!

Abby is a miracle...actually, if it wasn't for the fast thinking of the rescue group, Abby would not be here. They went down to Las Vegas to pick up six dogs. One of the dogs was unable to travel and they saw Abby and included her in the mix. You see, Abby was at a "kill shelter" where they can only keep them for three days.

Abby was a stray...she has had a litter of puppies...no one knows where she came from, how she came to be lost and where the puppies are. She was picked up on Saturday...Tuesday the rescue group showed up to get the dogs and Wednesday Abby was slated for euthanasia. She most definitely has a guardian angel.

She was so matted she had to be shaved and her fur is growing in patchy...she had an ear infection and she clawed her face so bad she is on antibiotics and has a cone to keep her from scratching (but, she is healing nicely). She has been spayed so no more puppy mill problems for her!

We went back to my sister's on the weekend to visit Abby at the shelter. I got to hold her and we even got to take her back to my sister's house for a few hours. You need to understand this...my sister does not like dog hair...she is allergic to animals. Abby got to ride in her fancy truck...she took one look at Abby and started calling herself "Auntie" and telling me "You just have to take her, she is your dog, you can't leave her behind". That's the power this dog has over people!

Abby carries a "stuffy" around like a baby so you can imagine she misses her puppies. It is difficult with the cone but she picks the "stuffy" up and rests it on the cone and walks around with it. She sits, walks on a leash, is incredibly gentle with children and even plays fetch.

I can hardly wait until Sunday when she arrives at our home and can finally grow into the beautiful dog she is meant to be...we call her our "Vegas Showgirl"!

I wish everyone a sunny day and that you may have wonderful ideas.

Cat

Finally....

Talk about being busy!! Also, the heat wave here was brutal...I mean, it was 105 degrees last Tuesday. This was enough to send us to the Okanagan for the weekend to sit in my sister's pool for three days.

Before I left I attended my friend's daughter's bridal shower. This is the card I made for her (another Sharon Johnson "No Time To Stamp" inspiration). This is a 6x6 card and the ribbon is black satin with pearl embellishments. The dress is a Peel Off sticker on Be Creative Tape. I used Martha Stewart Crystal Glitter on the dress and I glued crystals on the necklace:

Also, as Jen and Rob bought their first home I made this one for them too. A "Home Tweet Home" stamp by Impression Obsession, some Copic coloring, Cuttlebug embossing folder and voila! Don't look too closely...when I blew this up I saw some places where I colored out of the lines...that's what I get for doing this at 4:00 in the morning and in a hurry! Thank heavens it was a small picture and went unnoticed!

And...then it was her mother's birthday so...I had to make her a card also. This is another Peel Off Sticker and I followed the pattern from Elizabeth Craft Designs and painted the butterfly with a mix of Sakura Metallic and Stardust pens. The dark spots were done with a Quickie glue pen and Microfine glitter. I used the Swiss Dots Cuttlebug embossing folder on the bottom half and the ribbon was a "find" at Michael's:

Well, I am off to make some more wedding invitation templates and cards. A friend has been diagnosed with cancer and just had surgery. I think she could use a pick-me-up card!

I hope the weather is better where you are and the forest fires are aways away from your homes!

Cat

Update on my dad....

Some doctors should have their licenses revoked!!! Not a thing wrong with him...his idiot GP can't read cat scans correctly and he scared my father (not to mention the rest of us) almost to death. It took the tests being sent to a specialist here in Vancouver (who can read these) to tell us there is nothing wrong this him.

I have been working on cards for a bridal shower and birthday. I will post pictures of them as soon as I can.

I have also been busy buying, buying, buying! I am now the proud owner of 148 Copic Sketch markers! I am addicted!!! I love them to pieces and I just enjoy so much sitting down and coloring with them.

I also took a Stampscapes course on Wednesday...for those who feel the urge to "Google" what this is - proceed at your own risk! Man, I thought Copic was additive. I can't wait for the second class on using this technique with Thomas Kincaid stamps!

I hope everyone is having a great summer.

Cat

More cards....

It has been really hectic around here. I ended up working a full week as our receptionist was on holidays...not used to that one!

MSN messages have been flying back and forth between my sister and I as our father is pretty ill and has major heart issues. We are just waiting word on the arrangements to have him air-ambulanced from his home to here for surgery. I am really glad I spent the time to make him a card for Father's Day. I spotted a website on origami shirts for Father's Day cards and I just had to try it out.

I had so much fun I also made one for our receptionist for her father...

During my usual day spent at Be Creative hanging out with Heraldine and the crew doing "Make 'N Take" for Father's Day, we were proudly informed that her son Kyle graduated from BCIT in the field of Robotics...Of course, Kyle modeled his grad hat for us and we oohhed and ahhed over the grad pictures. He was so wonderful to me (the Copic-challenged person I am) I thought I would make him a "congratulations on your graduation" card.

I spotted this idea somewhere and I had filed it away for future reference. As I was scanning my computer for card ideas I came across this one and thought it would make a perfect graduation card for him.

I tried to find houndstooth paper but was unable to and I figured "what the heck, do a Google search". I found a nice .jpeg of houndstooth, saved it to my computer and made my own digital paper. I seem to be doing that a lot lately as what I see in my head is not sold in stores!!! A simple gate-fold (love that Scor-pal) with black Bazill base and a strip of houndstooth on one flap. A very classy card!

I hope everyone is having a great summer.....

Cat