Hooray! It's National Cat Day - and a Blog Hop!

Welcome to the National Cat Day Blog Hop! If you came from Sarah's Blog you are in right spot. But you want to start the fun at Haidee's Blog if you happened to start out here.

I am excited to have you hop with us! Each blogger participating in this hop is featuring a crafty project having to do with "Cat". You'll find unique ideas that have to do with Cat. We hope you'll enjoy each and every project along the way.

Be sure to leave a comment at each hop to show some Bloggie Love and to qualify to win a Prize.

Now on to my project...
 

Need a gift idea for that cat lover in your life? (Or want something a little special for yourself?) These mugs are SO easy, and sure to be unique.  Here's what you need to make these:

• plain mug(s) in your choice of color - I bought these at Dollar Tree
• Contact paper for a stencil
• Non-toxic paint pen (or Sharpie marker, especially if you use white mugs)
• Cricut cartridge with your favorite cat image - I used CTMH Artistry

There are just a few steps to make these, and they are super quick! First, choose your Cricut image and decide on size. I cut my cat at 2.5".  Cut from Contact paper using the settings you use for vinyl, but with less pressure so you don't cut through the backing paper.  Peel off your cat and position it on your mug as desired. Next, use your paint pen or marker around your image as desired to create the negative image.  Because my paint pen had a brush nib type tip, I chose to show these two options - the left uses a flicking motion out from the center and the right uses a splotchy dot effect. I colored the heart cutout solidly on both.

When you're done with your image, carefully peel off the contact paper. I used the pointed hook Cricut tool to carefully peel it up while my paint was still wet.  After drying, follow the curing directions for your paint/marker to make it permanent. (Mine baked at 325 degrees for 30 minute.) Remember that these should now be hand washed, even if the original mugs are dishwasher safe!

Your next blog stop is Nana's Scrap Spot.

Here is a list of the line up, just in case you get lost:
Haidee- http://created2bunique.blogspot.com
Kim - http://katydidcards.com
Connie- http://conniecancrop.blogspot.com
Sarah- http://www.sarahbiswabic.blogspot.com

Lori- http://savingmine.blogspot.com
Nana- http://www.nanasscrapspot.com
Gina - http://www.californiascrappin.com
Jearise - http://www.lorbysworld.blogspot.com
Barbara-http://barbarab3.blogspot.com/
Lisa - http://lisaslittlerascals.blogspot.com

Come back to Haidee's (http://created2bunique.blogspot.com/) Blog Friday October 30th to see IF you are the WINNER.

HAVE A SUPER FANTASTIC HOP!!!

Hello, Life - National Stamping Month

Happy National Stamping Month! We're here today with a special blog hop to share three different stamp sets available for this month only. If you've arrived here from Nikka Geers'  blog, or if you're just starting out, you're in the right place, so let's get started.

I really wanted to show the versatility of these stamp sets. So, even though the three Hello, Life stamp sets are each labeled for cardmaking, pocket scrapbooking, and scrapbooking, they can be used together on all of those items.

Using a single sheet of white cardstock (plus some scraps for Cricut Artistry cuts) and stamp pads from the Adventure family and Black, I made some seasonal pocket scrapbooking cards. You could also use these on traditional scrapbook pages, or change the words on some and they would be great additions to card fronts.

6 x 4

3 x 4

These were my Spring cards. The first could really be anytime, but the rainbow of colors reminds me of Spring.  I used second generation stamping on all of the colored parts of all of my cards, for an even greater contrast with the crisp black stamping. I used Hollyhock, Sunset, Honey, Pear, Lagoon, Pacifica, and Gypsy.

4 x 6

4 x 3

My Summer cards are inspired by Independence Day. The stamp sets only had the word "friend", but since there was also "thanks", I separated the s because I am likely to combine "thank" and "you".  I used Cranberry, Honey, and Pacifica inks.

6 x 4

3 x 4

For my Autumn cards, I was inspired by the Autumn leaves. I used Cranberry, Sunset, Honey, and Topiary for my favorite season.

4 x 6

4 x 3

For my Winter cards, I thought of crisp snowy days, and New Year's Eve. I love the color combo of Pear, Lagoon, and Gypsy for Winter.

Here is what is included in each $13.95 stamp set:

Pocket Scrapbooking

Card Making

Scrapbooking

Now, if the photos of the stamp sets alone don't convince you that you need all three (of course at a reduced rate of $34.95), here is a list of all the words included, as well as some of the phrases you can make with them!

& autumn birthday day family friend good happy hello hey life(x2) love(x2) memories oh, our(x2) spring story summer sunshine thank(s) this(x2) times today us welcome winter you

• happy birthday
• good times
• our family
• our story
• welcome friends
• welcome (season)
• hello (season)
• hello friend
• oh, happy day
• hello sunshine
• sunshine day
• love you
• love you friend
• happy memories
• thank you
• thanks
• oh, hey
• love life
• love today
• life story
• this day
• (season) day
• love this
• family & friends
• love & life
• AND MORE...

See the potential now? What a fabulous group of stamps for $34.95! I am looking forward to pairing them with even more of my stamp sets to come up with more phrases for all of my projects. Be sure to leave me a comment - especially if you have a clever phrase I missed - then let's move along to Chris Robertson's blog and see what she has up her sleeve this time.

16 Page Daytrip Scrapbook with Seaside - Part 3

Hello and welcome back for part 3 of my daytrip album! Today I'm going to share two more 2-page layouts with some tips for tying things together. The first one has my favorite pictures from our day out:

I used a sketch from Scrapbook Generation with one of my favorite design ideas - that big main panel that stretches across the center seam. It's a great way to use a paper with a large design so it doesn't overwhelm the photos. Since most of it is hidden behind the photos, you get a perfect taste of it.  Also notice that I used Hollyhock (pink) cardstock for my page bases this time. It's a minor color in the paper pack, but really enhances those jellyfish pics!

I did alter the sketch slightly to give all of those strips some banner ends. It's just a little more interesting than straight edges here and gives some more sense of movement.

Even thought the pictures are only jellyfish, I made all of my embellishments a general sea theme. It coordinates more with the papers, and it ties them in to their natural environment as opposed to the aquarium.

All of my shapes are cut from the Artistry Cricut cartridge. I used the Artisan Studs for eyes so the metal would tie in with the metal embellishments in the Seaside Collection.

This cool octopus and stamped sentiment make a third embellishment for a visual triangle on the layout.

Here's another layout based on a sketch! Instead of a large circle shown in the sketch, I cut a fun sun shape with the Cricut.

More fun ideas for replacing plain strips of paper in a sketch - angled cuts and borders cut or punched are a fun alternative. I also made a title grouping using a variety of stickers from the Seaside Complements. 

Another little grouping of embellishments using stickers, stamps, and more.

And the third grouping to finish the visual triangle - the design nerd in me just loves this stuff!

I hope you enjoyed today's post - I'd love to hear what you think before you leave! Here's another reminder of the products I used for this entire album:

Seaside Workshop on the Go

August 2015 SOTM

Paper Fundamentals - Adventure (Pear)

Paper Fundamentals - Whimsy (Sorbet, Glacier)

CS in Glacier, Colonial White, Sorbet, Pear, Hollyhock, Lagoon, and Desert Sand

Ink Pads in coordinating colors

Sponge Daubers

Assorted Adhesive Sequins

Aqua Dots

Durables Artisan Studs

Coral Shimmer Trim - backorder until 8/21

Keyboard Uppercase stamp set

Cricut Collections

Flip Flaps

16 Page Daytrip Scrapbook with Seaside - Part 1

Ever have one of those days where you take so many pictures they need their own album? Yep, I thought so. For me, it was a trip to Shedd Aquarium with my girls.

I don't normally buy the "beachy" theme supplies because we don't get to a beach much, but I thought the Seaside products from Close To My Heart would be perfect for this album.  I didn't want to overbuy and have leftovers, so I only bought the Workshop on the Go kit plus the Seaside Complements, and combined them with regular cardstock, Paper Fundamentals, and general accessories & stamps. I also used several Cricut cartridges.

Today I want to share my title page and end page with you. I'll share more pages over the next week or so, so be sure to come back and check them out too!

I actually made the title and end pages last, but wanted to share them first because there are some really good tips here for using up those leftover bits of everything.

First of all, use those biggest scraps for a focal area for your picture. Skinnier bits are perfect for banners, strips, and circles.  If you have enough of something left, you can cut a fab title with the Cricut (I used the font from Artfully Sent). Otherwise, you can always stamp a title directly on your page base.

To embellish, I used an assortment of items. Here I used Cricut cuts from Artistry, combining some with stamps that come with the cartridge as well as this month's Stamp of the Month. I also sprinkled Sequins and Aqua Dots throughout the album.

Some of the images, including this one stamped with the Seaside WOTG stamp set, are popped up on 3-D Foam Tape for added dimension.

Here's another option for leftover strips. Just line them up like soldiers and add a top & bottom border to make it look finished.

This title sticker from the Complements was perfect for my final picture. Whatever option you use for a title on this type of layout, you want to put it on a solid "plaque" shape like this. It helps to ground the title on the various patterns of the strips.

A second solid shape is good for journaling if you have it, or in my case a secondary title.  Add a scattering of embellishments for fun and continuity with the rest of the book.

That's all I have to share with you today. Hope I gave you a few ideas for your own leftovers! Here's a list of items I used for the entire album - links open in a new window:

Seaside Workshop on the Go

August 2015 SOTM

Paper Fundamentals - Adventure (Pear)

 

Paper Fundamentals - Whimsy (Sorbet, Glacier)

CS in Glacier, Colonial White, Sorbet, Pear, Hollyhock, Lagoon, and Desert Sand

Ink Pads in coordinating colors

Sponge Daubers

Assorted Adhesive Sequins

Aqua Dots

Durables Artisan Studs

Coral Shimmer Trim - backorder until 8/21

Keyboard Uppercase stamp set

Cricut Collections