Catula (Reposted)

Catula

Well, it’s almost Halloween, and I’m supposed to show off some Halloween inchies I made for a swap. Unfortunately, still I haven’t found the time to prep them for posting here and on Flickr. So as a backup (just so I don’t miss out on the Halloween spirit — pardon the pun!) I’m reposting this Halloween scrapbook page from my other blog, Scrapbook Cats. This is from last year, but hopefully it’s still as fresh as a newly buried vampire:

Happy Halloween! For the past three weekends, I had agonized over finding the right layout for this page. Meet Bloo, a.k.a. Catula, a name given by my brother. Bloo’s got a knack for showing off his fangs, whether or not it’s Halloween! But despite the scary looks, Bloo’s a sweet cat who doesn’t bite.

Notes: Patterned papers from Stone Accents Studio’s SAS Halloween Mega Kit Freebie by JulieO. Fonts are Blood of Dracula by Brad O. Nelson, and A Charming Font by A. Hofeld.

Have a purr-fectly spooky Halloween!

Source: http://scrapbookcats.blogspot.com/2008/10/catula.html

Tags: Cats, Digital Scrapbooking, Halloween

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

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

ATCs: Mini-Scrapbook Pages

The scrapbook page

It just occurred to me that ATCs are an excellent way to test themes and layouts for scrapbook pages, and vice versa. Of course the “page” dimensions may be different, but you can pull together different elements related to your chosen theme (say, Autumn) and see how they turn out.

I’ve done this with the “Dream” ATC and “Piper’s Dream” digital scrapbook page. Both use the same photo (though it’s not the main picture on the scrapbook page), dream theme, and color scheme, and the background of falling leaves is common to both, although done in slightly different ways.

The ATC

So the next time you have a theme or color scheme for a scrapbook page (whether traditional or digital), try a mini version of it on an ATC.

Also, if you have scrapbook page that you’re particularly fond of, try making a mini version of it on an ATC. You can even use the ATC as an added attraction to  the scrapbook page by turning in into an embellishment!

Tags: Art Cards, Artist Trading Cards, ATCs, Autumn, Cats, Digital Scrapbooking, Scrapbooking

Dream

An ATC of my cat Piper sleeping on my computer monitor.

“Dream” is an ATC version of a scrapbook page I made titled “Piper’s Dream”. The leaves punched from vellum mirror the falling leaves used on the background paper, and emphasize the autumn scene in the picture.

A totally unplanned effect was the text. I used an inkjet to print on white vellum, and the edges of the text bled into the paper, adding further to the ethereal, dreamy effect. Talk about serendipity!

Tags: Art Cards, Artist Trading Cards, ATCs, Cats, Collage, Craft Punches, Digital Photography, Inkjet Printer, Vellum

Here be ATCs (and CATs)!

I just realized that most of my posts are on ATCs. You be the judge whether that’s good or bad, but it’s simply because I’ve made quite a few of them already since they’re quite easy (and fun!) to put together, compared to other pieces (like the parchment fans) that can take some time to finish.

You may have also noticed that many of the ATCs feature CATs (hey, nice anagram, huh!). Yeah, I love those furry feline friends of mine (more than a dozen at any given time!), and I’m wondering if I should spin off an ATC Cats blog, similar to Scrapbook Cats. Hmm. We’ll see.

Tags: Art Cards, Artist Trading Cards, ATCs, Cats, Digital Scrapbooking, Scrapbooking

Shoe Crazy

Faro is Shoe Crazy!

What is it with cats and shoes anyway? If they’re not commandeering your flip-flops, they’re turning your patent leather shoes into a scratching post, or locking your sneakers in a tight embrace.

Faro seemed to be loving my battered (and hopefully not smelly!) sneaker to pieces when I snapped this pic. A background of Post-Its, inkjet printed text (font: Girls are Weird), and some hearts cut out from foil completed the look.

Tags: Art Cards, Artist Trading Cards, ATCs, Cats, Collage

Bad Days

Fifi having a bad day.

Another excuse to use my latest find — dome alpha stickers! The background is actually metallic blue card (it doesn’t show up nicely in the pic) with a strip of vellum acting as a mat for the letters.

I only realized a day after taking her photo that Fifi wasn’t feeling quite well, hence the long face, so we made a quick trip to vet. We learned she was dehydrated, and had her confined. She quickly recovered, but ran off after a few months — my sister saw her at the sari-sari store down the block. Fifi looked contented with her new family, so we didn’t bother to get her back. I still see her strolling near the store once in a while, but she probably doesn’t know me anymore.

Tags: Art Cards, Artist Trading Cards, ATCs, Cats, Collage, Scrapbooking

Best Buds

Best Buds, 16 March 2008. Collage.

One of my more recent ATCs. Note the happy, scrapbookish style. I assembled this when I was in one of my scrapbooking moods, and I was excited to try out my new heat gun, embossing powder and clear stamps.

This card commemorates the unique, though sadly short-lived friendship of Coal (in black fur) and Tubby (in white fur). Tubby passed away a few days after this was taken, a few hours into the New Year, due to some strange malady. Coal passed away last week of September this year due to some kidney ailment.  Oh well, we’ll meet each other at the Rainbow Bridge…

Trivia: Yes, that’s a stainless steel mixing bowl they’re snuggled in!

Fun tip: Jewelry price tags are the perfect size for ATCs, and for scrapbooks as well!

Tags: Art Cards, ATCs, Cats, Collage, Embossing, Scrapbooking, Stamps