YAPPING CAT STUDIO

The "P" word

Sometimes one must just ...

 

An encouragement for our dreams.  We must never forget to persevere!

Happy Wednesday.

Witches

Double, double toile and trouble ;

Fire burn and Cauldron bubble.

When I was in High School, I was in Speech Class (geek!) and one of the "performance pieces" that my best friend and I did, was the three witches from MacBeth.  Only since there were just two of us, we had to modify to fit better.  But to this day, those words still run through my head sometimes and I have a soft spot in my heart for witches.

 

So, as we begin the count down to Halloween, I'm getting ready to close up the Halloween box and move on into Fall.  To me, its always a little sad and I always wish that I had started earlier.  I did not get my vintage Halloween book made or my garland, but I guess there is always next year.  Hopefully I will start sooner.

I've had so much fun playing with a great bag of paper goodies that my friend Kathy over at Country Chintz sent me.  Lots of good stuff there Maynard!  So, from that pile of goodies, came these three tags.  Three witches, three tags. 

This was probably my fave.  I think.  And I had gotten some great things off of Lisa Cooks Etsy shop as well.  

And speaking of Etsy, I'm going to try and have a few more things loaded on tonight.  I have some great vintage nut cups (sweet! Robin's Egg Blue), another great stitched piece, some wonderful pleated fabric lace, you have to see it and a baby book.  So stop over and take a peep if ya get the chance.  Click the shop button on the left.

Time for coffee.....now where did I leave my cauldron?  .......  kidding.......

Happy Thursday!

Personalized Art as Centerpieces

Thanks for all the great comments on the "craft gone bad".  Yeah, they just need a little more tweaking I think.  But you guys are so sweet! 

Here is what happened yesterday.  I was very honored to be asked to make some art canvases for my bosses,  friend Dana. 

Missy Dana is quite the diva and is celebrating her 50th birthday.  My boss wanted to use the canvases as a center piece on the table.  She got some great pics of "the princess" and we used those as the basis for the art. 

This is my favorite one.

 

Great paper (Webster's Pages), gives it the fun look that I wanted. 

This one is similar.

 

She loves music, so this paper was perfect in style and color.  Since I did these at work, I had to use what I had on hand.  I found some crayons in the office and they were great for a burst of color here and there. Got some "bling" from next door for just a fun touch.

 

Sis provided the snarky saying on this one.  Pretty funny.  Specially since my boss is in retail!  

Divatude.  You can't really see, but she has a crayoned rose tucked above her ear.  I finished these up with a rubbing of MicroGlaze.

My boss made cute place markers by using one of the crowns as a templet, blowing it up in size and then cutting several out.  They turned out really cute.  The perfect whimsical place cards. 

I hope Miss Dana has a grand evening and a very, very happy Birthday.  I was very happy to play just a very small part in the celebration.

 

Less than a blistering pace

Or.  Slower than Molasses.  Whichever charming verb-age I chose to use,  it still chalks up to one thing.  The final answer is?  Yes. I'm. Slow.  Yes, craft wise, I'm the equivalent to the "Pokey Puppy".  But I just get so caught up in the details?  Perfectionist?  Perhaps.  But I prefer Pokey.  And that's not rushing to judgment, just ask Tee or Sis.  They'll confirm.

If you recall this post from last October, then you know I LOVE to make little mini albums.  It truly is my passion.  Truly.  If I could make enough off of them, they would be great.  But with the aforementioned problem above, yeah, I think there are children in third world countries making more than me by the time I finish one of these things.  LOL.  And I'm not complaining.  I enjoy getting caught up in the "process".  That is part of the creative fun for me.

Well, enough tongue waggin, now some braggin! 

 

OK.  I'm sorry.  But I LOVE this.  Even thought I made it myself.  LOL.  I wanted to do a Halloween book for older kidlets.  I fell in love with this scrap paper and just wanted it to be the main focus of the cover page.  Bones, graveyard...get it?  They bony hands are glued on.  Hands are from Dollar Tree.

 

With the exception of three pages of the Fancy Pants, the remaining papers are left over from last year OR out of the dollar bin at Target.  Some of the pages I've left very simple, cause I like clean lines and the other is, I really want the beauty of the paper to show off.  Like the page on the left.

 

This really became a fun, little decorated book, as some pages only had room for journaling.  On the pages above, the tag is removable, so that journaling or photo's can go on the other side.  The pumpkin is a piece of chipboard.

 

It flips over so that you can journal on the back.  The page on the right, the tag pulls out of the bottom, for more journaling.

 

Again, I used allot of things from last year.  The word "Boo" was from the dollar bin at Target too.  It flips over to reveal the page underneath.

 

And the photo can be inserted under the journaling tag as well. 

  Again, another journal tag on top of a page for pics.  And hey, it's all about the candy.

 

And the last page, was the top half of that gorgeous piece of Fancy Pants paper.  I think it is just so pretty that it stands well on it's own. 

So there ya have.  And even though it took a weeeeee bit longer than what I had hoped, well, I was happy with it.  Now, I'm going to start on one for the "younger set".  Thanks for taking a peep.

Happy Monday.

PS...only 18 more to do....I DON'T think I'm going to make it.  LOL. 

Like a Chicken ...

... with my head cut-off. Sorry for the visual so early this A.M.  Well, heck, now it's almost ten, where does the time fly (Farmville).  Seems I just can't get anything done lately (cause of Farmville), I just don't understand it.  (Yes, please help me, I need Farmville Anonymous).

OK, I'm joking.  Although I am seriously addicted.  Its so stupid.  And there are way more productive things I could be doing.  Believe me.  Not only is our "mini' Paper Cowgirl a week from this Saturday, but I've also signed up to do a Craft Show the first of November.  And yet, Farm Living seems to be the Life for me.  Land spreading out so far and wide....well you know the rest.  (LOL, now that tune will be stuck in your head all day long).  Sorry.

But hey...back to bidness here!  Guess what?  I found these for a penny each at Michael's a few weeks ago.  I know, can you believe it?  The gal in front of me had like a jillion and the cashier rang em all up and said, "37 cents".  And I did a Scooby (Thanks Angela!) and said, "Whhhha" and she said, "they are over in the scrap book aile".  I swear, you've never seen women move so fast as five us (all previously in line) made a mad dash for the scrap aisle.  But once we got there, it was peaceable.  No slapping or screaming or shoving.  Shoot. Was fun really. 

So this is very much a "work in progress".  I'm trying to get some things built up for the show.  Thought I would do a little back to school book.

This is the cover.  I'll have to show it to you when it is all complete.

Well, I'm headed back to the Fa.....er uhm....Studio.  yeah. 

Spooky Fun

I know, I know.  I'm like the last person on the planet who has NOT attempted this particular craft! The old decorating the outside of the candle project!

 

But whats that saying, "you can't teach an old dog...." nooooo.  "Better late than never".  Yeah, that's it.  That's usually my life motto anyway.  In almost all circumstances.  LOL.  Seemingly anyway.  OK, yes, digressing.

 

I've seen gals do these with the French goodies and they are always so lovely.  And lace and buttons, so pretty too!  And yeah, everyone has done em, but me.   So I wanted to give it a whirl. 

 

But I thought a Halloween theme would be loads of fun.  And I wanted something kinda spooky, but kinda pretty.

Was so easy...dunno why I have not done one sooner!  Can't remember where I got the skeleton image from.  Most likely stolen off of someone else's blog.  And the hand-written paper is vintage.  But the background papers are new, well, not "new-new"...but you know, scrapbook paper.  The "Beware" sticker was at Target dollar bin.

 

I don't k now if you can see that, pic is so blurry.  But it's a moon face charm.  And a vintage crystal button, atop that great dyed vintage seam binding.  In the other hand he has a star charm as well.  That great seam binding is hand-dyed and came from an Etsy shop called Sugared Songbird.  Love that name.  She has some really cute things. 

Was so much fun, I think I'm off to make another.  Thanks for taking a peep! 

Happy Tuesday.

Scenes from a Bridal Shower

Well, as promised here are a few of the decorated areas from my nieces shower that I hosted this weekend.  If it was food, well I pretty much did NOT make it.  But if it was paper, hey, I was there!  LOL.  And I kept most of the decorations clean and simple, because my niece is not a fussy, over the top type.  So, here are a few pics.

Remember this?

Well, this is how it turned out, once hung in the main room of the cottage.

 

I keep it kinda simple and sweet, not a lot of detail as I wanted to focus on the lettering.

 

Using those MS eyelet banners could not have been easier.

 

I replaced the ribbon as well, with a fun little lavender and white gingham.  I was happy with the way it turned out.

 

I added touches of color throughout the main and front rooms.  Using our "Lovebirds build their Nest" as our theme, I added nests, ribbons, florals here and there.  I also pinked some strips of lavender patterned scrapbook paper and hand wrote quotes about home.  I tucked those into nests. 

 

And with wee birds.  This front table held two sets of birds and well as several of the small floral nests and the center piece was the party favors on a 3-tiered plate rack.

 

The party favors where Hershey's Kisses (gotta have a kiss at a wedding!).  Well, a dark chocolate kiss and a "hug" kiss.

 

As well as these silver charms that read, "Happily Ever After" and these sweet hearts that read, "Mr & Mrs". 

 

The main table had another nest tucked amongst branches of mixed florals.  Another bridal, bedecked birdie couple sat atop one of the MS lace eyelets. 

 

I flecked them with a wee bit of glitter and added a veil to her head as well as a wee bouquet on the side.  I had intended to make the groom bird a black top hat, but I ran out of time.

In the rush of everything, I forgot to take pics of the food.  Local caterer Angie did the best Corn Chowder, as well as the most wonderful Chicken Salad.  We had Strawberry Spritzers in martini glasses, which was a lot of fun, as well as some of the most wonderful cupcakes that I've had in quiet awhile.  Not too sweet, just right. 

As was the bride herself.  I think she had a great afternoon and received lots of lovely gifts. 

 

Hard to believe that my favorite "giggle fairy" is getting married.  I love ya Sweet Gurl, you're my bestest! 

Hugs,

Auntie C

Pink? or Red?

Isn't it funny how just a different background will change things up on a piece? 

I was playing with these tags and cards.  I had originally loved the contrast of the red background with the blue and pink.  But then, I decided to go a different route.

 

And changed to a background to a solid pink.  Funny how just a few elements of change make such a difference.  And I love a touch of black, keeps it from being so sweet. 

Just curious, when you create a card or tag or such...do you fly by the seat of your pants or do you follow a sketch?  Do you create one or grab something off the internet?  Just being nosy.  I'm still wrestling with the whole "sketch first or fly" thing.

Just being nosy!  :D

...And speaking of Fall...

...I think I'm in love.  But don't tell Sweet Hub...he's the jealous type.  But the object of my crush is so cute.  Looks older, but really not.  So I guess what we have here is one of those May-December things.  Or rather it would be May-October?  Wait, I'm the December...so it would be October-December...LOL. 

I'm crushing on this!

Looks old, but is new, but has a wonderful vintage feel.  It's called, "Twilight"...c'mon...what's not to like?  And it's Halloween....sigh. 

Yep, I'm in LOVE!

I'm so ready for Fall

Seriously.  I hate hot-weather.  I know, I know.  I'm a "lived here all my life Texan" and the heat still gets to me.  By mid-August I'm ready to scream.  This year my seasonal screaming appears to be starting earlier.  Yep, I'm dreaming of cold weather, cozy sweaters and pumpkin latte's.  *sigh*

 

But until then, I'll just keep playing with little thoughts of Fall. 

 

But what I will really miss most this year...

 

Not getting my fall issue of this. 

I always looked forward to my Fall Issue of MEHC.  Kinda like getting school supplies when I was little.  Or the Sept issue of "Seventeen" when I was a teen-ager. 

Oh Well, such is life. 

But, one thing I will look forward to is this, Fall Mini Paper Cowgirl!  Come join us for a great day of creativity, crowns, wristlets and beeswax!  Not to mention a great lunch by The Dove's Nest.  Its going to be super fun and we would love to have you be apart of it.  In the Fall.  *sigh*