FeedBurner Problem?

We are not amused.

Oh dear, I think I’ve a problem with FeedBurner. The last entry I posted didn’t end up in my mailbox, so I’m guessing those of you who subscribed haven’t received it either. Will go check it out and hope to fix it soon…

Tags: Cats, FeedBurner, Tech Stuff

Altered Can

Another assignment in Everyday Moodlings, the free online craft course I enrolled in, was to alter a can and make it into a vase. This required painting a recylced tin can, wrapping a strip of fabric or patterned paper around it, and prettifying it with ribbon and flowers.

In my version, I plastered a Pik-Nik canister with handmade paper (recycled from a set of paper window blinds I made years ago), glued a swath of beautiful Japanese washi paper round the middle, trimmed it with gold ribbon, then topped it off with a four-layered flower of handmade paper held together with a fancy brad.

While working on this can, I made it a point to stick to the colors on the washi paper: red, pink, blue, yellow, white and gold. Hence, the gold trim and the layered flower made with blue, pink, red and white paper.  I also patterned the cutout flower after the design on the paper, down to the gold outline and the tiny white bloom in the center.

Actually I’m extremely pleased with the way it turned out. I think it’s the washi paper that pulls everything together — and come to think of it, it’s the washi paper that inspired me a lot with this project!

Tags: Handmade Paper, Paper Crafts, Recyled, Washi

Ink-Painted Cat Tags

Cat Tags

Remember the free online course I enrolled in? One of my assignments was to make an ink-painted flower. It’s basically using the ink from your stamp pad to paint paper. The assignment called for painting a flower cut from a page of text, but also encouraged the use of other shapes. I decided to make a set of tags featuring cats, a text background and ink painting.

Here are the general steps on how to make the cat tags:

• Cut out a tag shape from card stock. An old business card with two corners cut off works nicely too.
• Cover the tag with printed paper (use a page from a book, magazine, or old office correspondence), and trim any excess paper.
• Color the paper with your choice of medium. I used stamp pad ink, but you can get great results too with a watercolor wash, watercolor pencils, or even tea or fruit juice — as long as the text shows through the color. Let the paper dry thoroughly.
• Now the fun part: Add any additional backgrounds such as a strip of decorative paper, a piece of decorative tape, or a cutout paper flower.
• Glue the cat pictures in place.
• Next, use a felt marker to write your sentiment on a piece of paper: Hello! Thanks! Relax! I used a computer printer to print the text on vellum for a soft, blurry effect. Cut out the text and stick it on the tag. Almost there.
• Punch a hole at the end of the tag, add a binder hole reinforcer, or a punched flower with a hole in the middle.
• Tie a piece of ribbon through the hole. Voila!

PS:  My cat Picart modeled for the Relax! tag.

Tags: Animals, Cats, Collage, Crafts, Inkjet Printer, Paper Crafts, Vellum