* Cat Lovers Hop: Victorian Cat Humour

 

Hello

If you are looking for my 

Gecko Galz Blog Hop post

 and free digital collage sheet

 it is HERE - have fun!

Welcome to the Cat Lovers Hop 2022.

Another big hello to all my furry, feline-loving friends!

The Cat Lovers Hop, for those that don't know, is a fantastic annual event, hosted by the lovely Janis over on her blog, Her Peaceful Garden. 

This is its eighth year and an awful lot of work goes into its planning and preparation. The community of cat loving crafters is one of the best I have come across and I look forward to this event all year long.

If you like cats pop over and have a look at the fun games and awesome prizes that Janis has organised for the next few days. 

You'll find the link up and all the beautiful projects here. 

If you enter, make sure you sign up here to be eligible for prizes.

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I have made a separate post just for the Cat Lover's Hop, using my mixed media  Gecko Galz Blog Hop projects. My free collage sheet in the Blog Hop is a kitty cat one, so please follow the link at the top of this page to collect it.

I made 4 snarky, dressed Victorian cat panels which will most likely go into a journal:

I fussy cut the cat images and inked around the cut edges. 

I made Oxide blended backgrounds and added a burst mica sprays and some white paint splatters. I stamped in tone on tone inks and in black around the edges of each background using AALL & Create background stamps. The sentiments are Tim Holtz Snarky stickers.

That's all for now.

Thanks for stopping by today.

xoxo 

I'd like to play along in these challenges:

* Pammies Inky Pinkies #2243 AG 30/10 Honourable Mention

* SUYP Challenge #82 AG Cats 31/10

* Worldwide Open DT Challenge #10 AG 2/3 11/11

* Crazy for Cats Challenges #1 AG Cats 25/11 2/5  

* Pennys Challenges #533 AG 08/11

* TTCRD AG 08/11

* Cat Lovers Hop: Trick or Treat

Hello

Welcome to the Cat Lovers Hop 2022.

Another big hello to all my furry, feline-loving friends!

The Cat Lovers Hop, for those that don't know, is a fantastic annual event, hosted by the lovely Janis over on her blog, Her Peaceful Garden. 

This is its eighth year and an awful lot of work goes into its planning and preparation. The community of cat loving crafters is one of the best I have come across and I look forward to this event all year long.

If you like cats pop over and have a look at the fun games and awesome prizes that Janis has organised for the next few days. 

You'll find the link up and all the beautiful projects here.

If you enter, make sure you sign up here to be eligible for prizes.

*** 

Today I have a Halloween scaredy cat to share:

I love these Snarky Halloween Cats from Tim Holtz at Stampers Anonymous.

I made the background by smooshing white card into Distress Oxide puddles (Crackling Campfire and Ripe Persimmon). Then I added some black Brusho pigments and spritzed with water. I stamped the images onto the background and also onto white card. I fussy cut the pumpkin and cat and coloured with Copics. The cobwebs were stamped straight onto the card and when dry were outlined with a silver glitter pen. The shadow at the base of the card was made with Inktense watercolour pencils. I added a good smattering of white acrylic ink splatters. The sentiment was stamped and cut into strips then added with a doodled border.

***

Just to let all the kitty crafters know:  

I, with the help of 8 fabulous DT members, run a challenge blog called Crafts Galore Encore. We would love it if you would shared your projects there to be in with a chance of winning the 2 digi stamp prize from our October sponsor,  All Dressed Up - she has some really cute kitty digi stamps. 

Do come and say hello!

Thank you to those who have already visited and left a project :)

Also, I was shopping at the Polkadoodles store recently and ran across these absolute bargains: 

3 kitty digi stamps for just 10p each. 

There may be more ...

Here are the links if you want to buy them:

https://www.polkadoodles.co.uk/happy-purr-day-cat-kitty-too-cute-craft-digi-download/

https://www.polkadoodles.co.uk/purr-fect-kitty-cat-wishes-too-cute-craft-digi-download/

https://www.polkadoodles.co.uk/cats-out-of-the-bag-too-cute-craft-digi-download/

         

That's all for now.

Thanks for stopping by today.

xoxo

I'd like to play along in these challenges:

* Crafty Animals #66 AG Animals 28/10

* Cupcake Inspirations #136 28/10 Sweet Pick

* Unicorn Challenge #81 Spooky &/or Cute 29/10

* SUYP Challenge #82 AG Cats 31/10

Most Magical Time of the Year #1 31/10

* TIOT Challenges Halloween Time 31/10 TOP 5

* Handstamped Sentiments #400 31/10 Artists Pick

 
* Crafting Happiness Oct Halloween 31.10

* Lost Coast #154 Cats &/or Dogs 31/10

* We Love Stamping Oct Autumn Colours 02/11

* Sweet Stampin Colours of Halloween 04/11 Top 3

* Dragonfly Dreams Halloween/Autumn 05/11

*Crazy for Cats Challenges #1 AG Cats 25/11 2/5 

* Cat Lovers Hop: Mooch

 

Hello

Welcome to the Cat Lovers Hop 2022.

A big hello to all my furry, feline-loving friends!

The Cat Lovers Hop, for those that don't know, is a fantastic annual event, hosted by the lovely Janis over on her blog, Her Peaceful Garden. 

This is its eighth year and an awful lot of work goes into its planning and preparation. The community of cat loving crafters is one of the best I have come across and I look forward to this event all year long.

If you like cats pop over and have a look at the fun games and awesome prizes that Janis has organised for the next few days. 

You'll find the link up and all the beautiful projects here. 

If you enter, make sure you sign up here to be eligible for prizes.

My first card is a winter card that I'll probably send it as a Christmas card - I am way behind on making them, as usual!

It features the lovely Mooch, a silhouette cat, from Lavinia Stamps:

Lavinia Stamps is a company founded by Tracy Dutton, the artist behind the beautiful stamps. It has grown massively in the last few years and now has an international following and fan base. Tracy owns a magical shop in Ruthin, North Wales and I'm hoping to visit this weekend for her Hallaganza Open Days :)

I have been watching quite a few Lavinia You Tube tutorials on how to create wreaths from small stamps and this is my version.

I used a circle stencil to create the centre, using torn paper and ink to create snow mounds for Mooch to sit upon. The wreath was stamped using foliage stamps (Pound Stamps) and Versamark inks - some second generation stamping was included to produce depth. I blended some light green ink around the foliage and coloured the holly berries with a red Posca pen. I stamped the Fairy Charms to give Mooch something to gaze at. The rest of the card was inked in Della Blue Elements ink and the very edges in black. I added some water droplets to bleach out some colour and splattered all over (apart from Mooch) with white acrylic.

Some Icicle Stickles was added to the snow drifts and some Lime Green Stickles to the wreath.

That's all for now.

Thanks for stopping by today.

xoxo

I'd like to play along in these challenges:

* Critter Crazy Challenge #67 25/10

* Crafty Animals #66 AG Animals 28/10 TOP PICK

* SUYP Challenge #82 AG Cats 31/10

* Most Magical Time of the Year #1 31/10 Top Pick

* Lost Coast #154 Cats &/or Dogs 31/10

* Winter Wonderland Challenge Let it Snow 04/11

* Crazy for Cats Challenges #1 AG Cats 25/11

Vera Lane Studio: London Holiday

 

Hello

We have a new digi stamp set at Vera Lane Studio today. It is the lovely London Holiday set and it has been released as the artist, the lovely Janet Klein from the US, is currently on holiday in London and has made a surprise appearance on Create and Craft TV to promote her clear stamps for AALL & Create. If you missed her and want to catch up you can watch the programme here.

I made a mini journal page:

She looks like she's having a smashing time, doesn't she? 

I coloured the images with Copics and pencils and fussy cut them. The background was made using Brushos and one of my favourite AALL & Create stencils. I added some dimension to the circles with Inktense watercolour pencils, then added lots of white splatters. I also added some of Janet's X or O stamps in the background and around the edges. I used washi tape to ground the images and choose words from two other VLS sets as the sentiment.

London Holiday                                  London 

                                                       (The word 'London' is from the bus)

  

Just in case you were wondering, I searched the shop and all of my sets for the word 'Love'  that I used. I discovered that it was a free gift for participants of a swap in the Facebook Group.

That's all for now.

I hope you'll come along and play on Vera Lane. It's such a friendly, fun place to be!

  

Here's all the info you need:

Vera Lane Studio Blog

***Vera Lane Studio Facebook Group***

Vera Lane Studio You Tube Channel

Vera Lane Studio Etsy Shop

AALL & Create carry Janet's clear stamp sets, stencils and Washi Tape. 

A list of stockists can be found here.

I'd like to play along in these challenges:

Pammies Inky Pinkies #2243 AG 30/10

A Perfect Time to Craft Oct AG 28/10 

 Welove2create  #10 AG  28/10 

Lil Patch of Crafty Friends #192 AG 29/10 1/3

613 Avenue Create Oct AG 31/10  6/8    

Worldwide Open DT Challenge #10 AG 2/3 11/11

A Gem of a Challenge #22 AG 04/11 1/3

Creative Fingers #241 AG 04/11 1/3

Thanks for stopping by today.

xoxo 

* Gecko Galz: Beautiful Boho

 

Hello

October is well and truly under way now and the leaves are fast falling from the trees. We hope you'll find some time to get cozy and do some crafting and join us with our challenges at the Gecko Galz blog.  

The theme this month is Bohemian Rhapsody.

We have the annual Blog Hop at the end of October, starting on the 27th, with lots of free collage sheets and super prizes to be won. I do hope you'll join us.

As always, we have the monthly Image Challenge, the monthly Christmas Image Challenge, the monthly Stamp Challenge, a Steampunk challenge and a Gothic Challenge on the blog, as well as 4 Facebook challenges. 

We hope you can find some time to join in the fun.

The winner of the Customer challenge will get a $25 Gecko Galz Etsy Store voucher and the runner up a $12 voucher. There are plenty of free Gecko Galz images if you don't already own any. Each blog post has a free image to collect and, if you sign up for the monthly newsletter, there is the chance to claim a free collage set each month.  Also if you make any purchase of $2 or more you receive a free image.

I made a set of ATCs:

I really like how these turned out. I used Wild Child ATCs for the background, matted onto gold card and I fussy cut images from the collage sheets Gypsy Jewels and Gypsy Beauties. I had some elaborate sequin trim in my stash and thought this matched the images perfectly.  The words are small talk stickers.

Wild Child                          Gypsy Jewels                 

 

  Gypsy Beauties.   

***

I made a mixed media Hamsa card:

I love this symbol. It is the symbol of good luck, good fortune, good health, happiness and protection from the Evil Eye. It is a stamp from the Free Sprit Stamp Set. l printed it onto a piece of card which was coloured by smooshing the white card into puddles of inks. I fussy cut the Hamsa, edged it in black and splattered some white paint I made the background by stamping and heat embossing in gold onto black card.

***

I made a Mandala Dream Catcher:

Below is the mandala design - it is a stamp from the  Free Spirit Stamp Set. 

Again I printed onto pre-inked card, this time gluing the inky card onto thick black card for strength. I doodled in sparkly gel pens and added gold highlights as well as specks of white acrylic paint.

Here are the feathers, real and paper, that I added on twine:

The feather stamp is also from the Free Spirit Stamp Set. I added colourful craft feathers to the back of each paper feather and adhered them to the mandala with ribbon trim.

Free Spirit Stamp Set

***

I also made a simple Dream Catcher card:

This is an enlarged ATC, from the Boho Dreams ATC collection, to which I added lots of glitter and sparkle. I die cut a tag shaped sentiment from the Girl Power sentiments set , inked around the edges in blue and added a pink bow. I matted onto gold, then black card - quite a simple, but effective card. 

Boho Dreams ATC                          Girl Power sentiments

   

*** 

And finally ...

This was the card I made for the start of the challenge. 

You can see the details here.

That's all for now!

I hope you'll join our Bohemian Rhapsody challenge where the winner will get a $25 shopping spree at the Gecko Galz shop.

The only rule is that you must use at least one Gecko Galz product (this can be one of the freebies or, of course, you can buy at the Etsy store!) Also if you sign up for the Gecko Galz newsletter, you'll be able to claim a free collage sheet each month and get first claim on the monthly $1 deals!

Please pop over to the Gecko Galz blog to see the fabulous designs by the very talented DT.

We also have a friendly Facebook Group where there are 4 monthly challenges, each with a collage sheet prize. 

Do come and join us!

I'll be back on the 27th October with my Gecko Galz Blog Hop projects and a FREE collage sheet. 

Here's all the info you need:

Gecko Galz blog

Current Gecko Galz Challenge : "Bohemian Rhapsody"

Gecko Galz Etsy Shop

Gecko Galz Facebook group

***

Thanks for stopping by today.

xoxo

I'd like to play along in the following challenges:

ATCs

* Pammies Inky Pinkies #2242 AG 23/10

* TTCRD AG Oct 11 25/10

* A Perfect Time to Craft Oct AG 28/10 Spotlight Winner

Hamsa Card

* Welove2create  #10 AG  28/10 

* Classic Design Challenge #10 AG 28/10

 * 613 Avenue Create Oct AG 31/10  5/8 TOP ROCKER   

* Worldwide Open DT Challenge #10 AG 1/3 11/11

I'd really love some feedback :)      

I read and appreciate all your comments. 

***