In The Cat Cave

Sunday, 15 April 2018

Why do you Scrapbook? | Scrapbook Sunday Blog Hop

It was a Friday when we enjoyed the Newfoundland weather.

Have you seen the Newfoundland commercials?

Let me tell you that there are days that they couldn't be more true.

#letmegetyouuptospeed

This place in the picture is Cape Spear.

The most Easternly point in North America.

About a 10 minute drive from my house.

I'll soon be posting the pictures of icebergs, of course.

Were there whales on that day?

While I can't remember, I can tell you they were certainly there.

This photo was taken almost a year ago yet I can remember all the sounds, sights and smells of that day.

For me, it evokes happiness and pure joy.

Now let's talk for a minute.

Why do you scrapbook or preserve memories?

Here's the thing.

I have many reasons and quite often I have to re-visit why I would spend so much of my precious time on this hobby if there's wasn't a purpose.

One of those reasons is to remind myself what makes me happy.

The way I see it...

(...and you might disagree here.)

The way I see it is that my life on this Earth serves very little purpose with exception to working to make the world a better place for future generations.

And right now, the only way I truly know how to do that is to help others be happy.

And well, the only way I know how to do that is to be happy myself.

Being happy is a choice because we all have hardships.

For most of us we have to remind ourselves of what makes us happy every single day.

Scrapbooking is a way that I can do that.

And it's one of my reasons why.

So tell me.

What makes you happy?

Why do you scrapbook?

Cathy

Thursday, 12 April 2018

Share What You Love | Stampin' Up! Artisan Design Team

Well, the Stampin' Up! Artisan Team has something special for you today. While Stampin' Up! is preparing to release it's new annual catalog on June 1st, they are releasing a very small piece early called Share What you Love. #soexciting

Stampin' Up! is releasing this Share What You Love Suite in bundles in the following ways:

1. JUST GETTING STARTED (149524): a bundle for the stamper just getting their toes wet

2. A LITTLE MORE, PLEASE (149525): a bundle for the stamping ninja

3. GOTTA HAVE IT ALL (149526): enough said

The Stampin' Up! Artisan Design Team is showing you ways in which to use these products without using anything outside of the bundles. Today I'll be showing you projects for the JUST GETTING STARTED bundle. Included in this bundle is the following but keep in mind these bundles will not be available subsequent to May 31st so be sure to snag them as soon as your order period begins!

JUST GETTIN STARTED BUNDLE

· Love What You Do Stamp Set

· Grapefruit Grove Ink Pad

· Very Vanilla 8-1/2 X 11” Cardstock

· Old Olive Ink Pad

· Clear Block E

· Very Vanilla Note Cards & Envelopes

Note: Demonstrators are able to pre-purchase products from April 9th to April 30th. Customers are able to purchase these bundles beginning May 1st to May 31st.

Stamping Off: // It doesn't get much easier than this. The floral image is first stamped using Old Olive Ink on a scrap piece of paper and then stamped onto a piece of card stock 4" x 5.25". This technique is called "stamping off". The sentiment is stamped directly onto the Very Vanilla Cardstock.

Distressing:// Each of my three cards have a little distressing on the edges. To make this a little easier, rub water onto the edges of the card. Then roll the paper around with your fingers allowing the paper to roll and wrinkle.

Repeat Stamping: // Repeat stamping is when you stamp the same image over and over to create a background. In the card above you can see that I used several floral images over and over again without any clear pattern. However, on the card below I used the 'splat' in a vertical direction.

Thank you so much for dropping by today! But don't stop here - be sure to keep hopping to check out my amazing friend Charlet Mallet!

Are you following me on instagram? That's where you can find me most often!

Please see below for a list of Stampin' Up! products used in today's project as well as the Love What You Do Stamp Set as well as Grapefruit Grove Ink:

Old Olive Classic Stampin' Pad

Very Vanilla 8-1/2" X 11" Thick Cardstock

Table by StampinBuddy. Try it FREE.

"Enjoy the Simple Things." | One Stamp At A Time Blog Hop

"Enjoy the simple things".

I seriously need that reminder.
Quite frequently really.

Stop the fussing.
Just enjoy those little hugs. Enjoy your fresh cup of coffee and most definitely enjoy those couple hours of peace. And heck ya, you fed your whole family supper today.

Today, the One Stamp At A Time Blog Hop team is looking at all things floral.

While, my projects are little floral bits and bobs, we already said we need to remember to enjoy the simple things.

Let's do that, shall we?

I love a simple card.

I love the simple little wonky hearts.

I love the font pairings of this stamp from Stampin' Up!'s Yay You hostess stamp set.

And of course, might I just say "you're truly amazing".

(With a side of wonky hearts)

Don't stop here though - Keeping hopping along to my friends in the InLinkz link below!

Cathy

Wednesday, 11 April 2018

4 Easy Magical Cards. | Stamp to Share International Blog Hop

I am so excited to be back with the International Stamp to Share Blog Hop this month!

The products we are featuring this month contains some of my most favourite images so I can't wait to see what everyone will be show casing today!

This month we are featuring the Stampin' Up! Magical Day Stamp Set and the co-ordinating Magical Mates Framelit Dies.

What's Happening Here?

My projects today are a little bit different. I am going to show you how you can use your stash and make 4 cards using minimal supplies from the Magical Day Suite. I am doing this by showing you what I provided in my Magical Day Product Share.

When the Stampin' Up! catalogue was first released, I did a product share with a card kit that cost only $10. It truly is as close to $10 worth of product as you can get. I believe in value and to me, this is great value to any person. As a bonus to purchasing the product share, the customer receives instructions to create 4 cards out of the share received. Although the product share does not include any stamped images, it encourages customers to buy the stamp set or use a similar set out of their own stash.

The following shows photos for the 4 card designs.

For most of these cards, I didn't stamp any of the images. That's because this paper is...

so.

freakin'.

amazing.

It's really not necessary to stamp when the mermaids already sparkle and the unicorns already glitter.

While these cards are easy, that's the beauty of it all.

It's not necessary to re-invent the wheel every time.

Take what you have and make something beautiful.

Ta-Da!

Keep hopping along to my friend Nadine Koeller from Germany!

Monday, 2 April 2018

crafting forever. housework never. | World Autism Awareness Blog Hop

Today's blog hop is a very special one.

It's to celebrate autism and to help spread awareness!

Puzzles can sometimes be a symbol of autism so I thought I'd share a special project that myself and my crafty friends are currently doing.

A PUZZLE COLLABORATION:// HOW IT WORKS

During a retreat, we each bought a puzzle.

We then numbered each piece and indicated which direction was "up", as well as signed them.

We then distributed them one by one.

Each person would then create their own design and returned it to the owner.

The end result looks something like this:

The above puzzle was created many years ago and I cherish it for many reasons. There is an extra special puzzle piece created by my friend who lost her battle with cancer a couple years ago. She was a big part of my creative journey.

For my current puzzle collaboration, I created the same piece for everyone with a layer of gesso, as well as bermuda bay refill ink sprayed with rubbin alcohol. There is also some splatters of gold embossing powder (make those splatters before the rubbing alcohol is dry).

In celebration of World Autism Awareness Day, a group of crafters have joined together in a Blog Hop to help spread awareness. We have all created a handmade card with the focus on supporting those people with or in support of caregivers of people with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Your donation is being given directly to the Organization for Autism Research. Thank you for your support efforts, your giving makes a difference in more lives! If this cause is something, you'd like to donate to you can follow the link here: DONATE

Thanks to everyone for hopping by today. To keep hopping along and checking out everyone's project, follow along the links below. Carolina Evans is up next on the list!

Are you following me on instagram?

This is where I show the majority of my projects and inspiration, along side my loves and life.

Be sure to find me @cathycaines.

Thursday, 29 March 2018

we must celebrate. | Fancy Friday Blog Hop

hello there.
we MUST celebrate.
indeed brother.

These cards were created as part of the Fancy Friday Blog Hop where current and past Stampin' Up! Artisans join together to try to inspire ourselves and others. This month we are using several pieces of designer series paper.

My two projects includes the following:
1. Pick a Pattern Designer Series Paper
2. Tutti Fruitti Designer Series 6x6 Stack
3. Wood Textures Designer Series 6x6 Stack
4. Color Theory Designer Series 6x6 Stack

I am in love with Sans Serif capital fonts so the We Must Celebrate Stamp Set does not disappoint. But this stamp set is part of the 2018 Occasions Catalog so be sure to stamp it up because the sentiments work perfectly with all-occasion cards! The cute furry friends are just a bonus! #wink

Up next is one of my most favourite people ever - Paula Dobson! Keep hopping along to see what she created!

Are you following me on instagram?

This is where I show the majority of my projects and inspiration, along side my loves and life.

Be sure to find me @cathycaines.

Wednesday, 28 March 2018

i just love all the babies | Be Inspired Design Team Blog Hop

We are celebrating new life on the Be Inspired Design Team Blog Hop this month.

Just today my five year old son looked at me and said

"I just love all the babies. All the baby animals and all the little babies."

I am thinking that means all the little animal and human babies.

And I couldn't agree more.

PROJECT DETAILS://

Today's project uses A Little Wild Stamp Set from Stampin' Up!, as well as the co-ordinating dies. I water coloured the elephant using the Stampin' Write markers with the aqua painter. It's my favourite way of water colouring right now! I paired the designed with the Sale-a-Bration envelopes - there's only two more days to grab them!