YAPPING CAT STUDIO

Tiny Delights

I love tiny.  Miniature.  Itsy, as in Bitsy.  It delights me.  It makes me gasp in wonder and clap like a two-year old.  But hey, so do M&M's.  So I guess a simple mind is easily amused? 

But seriously.  There is something about miniatures that I find intriguing.  So when my BFF Swap Gal LisaLisa (as I like to call her) suggested an "inchie" swap, I was curious.  And it is WAAAYYYY harder than I thought.  Working in Lilliputian sized elements.  I struggle.  But not my LisaLisa.  Are these not beautiful?  I LOVE Em!  Tiny, delightful works of wee art.
 
And the icing on the cake?  This wee, darling match box filled with postage sized images for me to play with.  LisaLisa.  As always, you rock!  I am totally enthralled.  Totally.  Thanks gurl for one of the coolest swaps yet.

Happy Monday. 

Wee Wonderful

Joanna over at Sweet Finds set up this wonderful little swap of Valentine ATC's and I was very honored to be amongst these oh-so-talented ladies to participate.  Wanted to drop and bow and say, "I'm not worthy! I'm not worthy" ala Wayne (as in Wayne's World).  

Like a tiny, delicious bon-bon.  That is what this wee, little Valentine ATC book is.  Come and take a look.

Joanna did the adorable cover.

Jana at Scrappin Jana did the next page.  Is that itsy, pom pom fringe not the sweetest?

 
Me.  Sneak peek revealed! 

Missy Valita (whom I had the pleasure of meeting at last years Paper Cowgirls), did this adorable page.  LOVE that mica heart.

 

Joanna did this page as well.  See the cute little silver heart?  She had a cupid charm on there as well.  The details on this tiny page are amazing...stitching, the stones in her necklace.  Just wonderful.

This little bit of wonderful by "the other Cindy" at JunqueArt.  Loved the colors and that sweet bit of velvet ribbon. 

 

How could a yapping cat not love this page by my friend Maija?  It has kitties and a wee red flower, what's not to love? 

 

Love the somber colors with the touches of red on this pretty page by Gina.  She has a cute blog called Embrace your Bliss.  Tickled to have found her.

See the wee heart at the top of the page?  Wooden.  Covered in old book page and edges rolled in glitter. Divine.  Simply divine.  Done by Heather.  All the little details are delicious.

 

Sorry.  Shot these at the end of the day, so not as crisp as I would have liked.  OK, I'm a sucker for turq/red combo.  And add black polka's....well, I'll say yes to anything.  Are the details here not scrumptious?  The tiny heart with the sweet banner, the pearls, the scalloped ribbon....Jenny...get a blog gurl.  Get a blog.  LOVED the wee bluebird on the back as well.

 

Simply adorable!  What's the old saying, "less is more?".  Ali..you had me at "would"...LOL.  Even her other side page is too stinkin cute!

 

See?   Her moo card slips under the tulle bow?  *sigh*.  Ali, Ali, Ali.  

And the little sweetheart on the right is by the awesome Alisa over at Life is a beautiful place to be.  Loved the colors.  And the tiny wee silver heart on the back side (which sorry did not take a pic of). 

And...there was more.  Sweet goodies of all shapes and sizes and even a cookie. 

I can't think of a better and more sweeter Valentine.  Thanks gals for allowing me to be a part of.  Again, I'm not worthy, I'm not worthy. 

She just Rocks!

As I mentioned a week or so ago, my best swap pal Lisa, over at Lisa Laughs, and I had a tag swap!  I showed you what I sent her, but I have not had a chance to show you what she sent me.  Wonderfulness indeed! 

First the tags!  Look how adorable these are!!

Are these just not the cutest?  I especially love the kitty ones, of course!  The thing was, we were just supposed to send tags.  Four.  Four tags.  So imagine my surprise when this was what I saw as I opened the box.

Look at all of this wonderfulness!   See now, why she ROCKS!

Look at all this fun stuff.  Can't wait to play with these.

Or these.

And part of these...

Went on this comp book...

...that I mentioned on Friday.

Thanks Lisa Lisa!  You are just the best!  And truly, you ROCK!

Happy Monday!

I wanna be a Cowgirl!

So says the song.  And I have always wanted a pair of Cowgirl boots.  But, sadly, I'm pretty much a city slicker.  LOL.  But that is why I thought it would be fun to take part in Missy Tina's Cowgirl swap that she hosted a few months back. 

So, here is what I received from the lovely Andrea!  A box of generous and cute goodies for my "inner" Cowgirl! 

Look at everything she sent me!  She went above and beyond.  She had some of the most clever and crafty ideas.  (Start at the top and go clockwise and click on pic to make larger).  Andrea sent me the cutest star shaped mirror.  So cute.  And the little book, she used Tina's logo on it.  And a wonderful keepsake box, the top slides open.  Some of her artwork talked about a man named Rogers.  Wonder if the same Rogers that built the hotel here?  I guess Roger's is a pretty common name.  A belt buckle.  Yellow Roses!  Yellow Rose of Texas, of course!  A cute little scroll that reads, "Five Generations of Texans Can't be Wrong".  Got a big kick out of that.  Lovely ribbons - vintage and wide and lace.  A sweet little child's boot with a collage on it  (that was packed in that beautiful tin) and a lovely boot chain.  As I said, she was too generous!  Not that I'm complaining. 

See the cute scroll?  The base of it is a tiny rolling pin!  Clever girl!  I loved it. 

This was my favorite thing in the box.  She altered this cute little boot chain.  Sorry, I could not photo well, but she did a teeny-tiny collage in that gold heart.  Just adorable.  I will probably wear as a charm bracelet, since I don't have boots.  Isn't that sad?  A Texas gal with no boots.  Every year I ask, but Santa (Sweet Hub) always seems to forget.  Maybe this year. 

Loved this little book too.  With the charms and dangles at the. The little tag is sweet.  Italian?  I think.  And loved the Cowgirl ribbon.

The little child's boot was so tiny and perfect. 

This was Andrea's first swap.  She went above and beyond.  All of her things where so very clever and cute and she totally captured the spirit of the swap.  I'm blessed indeed.  Actually Tina says I'm spoiled.  OK, I can go with that one too. 

Thank you so much Andrea.  As usual, I'm perpetually behind.  But hopefully yours will go out this week. 

And I've been tagged twice last week.  Twice.  Cute little Laurie Anna tagged me to say six unimportant things.  Heck, don't I do that on every post?  LOL.  And my cherry cutie Dolly tagged me for 5 questions.  Really guys, I've run out of weirdness.  Oh there's plenty more, but none that I want to share.  So.

Six Unimportant Things:

1.  My right foot is bigger than my left.  Very annoying when purchasing shoes.  Flips are not a problem.

2.  My Sweet Hub calls me the Emelda Marcos of Flips (as in Flip Flops).

3.  I keep a Trapp Honeysuckle candle in my dresser drawer and sniff it for aromatherapy.  Reminds me of my childhood.

4.  I love cilantro and my Dad hates it.  So, where did that come from? Mom was not a huge fan either. 

5.  Mom and I used to go eat Mexican Food every Wednesday.  It was our standing date. 

6.  I hate summer.  I'm a fall gal.  Through and through.

Now questions, per Miss Dolly.

1.  What was I doing 10 years ago:  Starting Yapping Cat, my wholesale biz of gifts and painted home decor, in Austin.

2.  Five things on my to do list:  Scrub the bird bath.  But that would involve going outside in 94 degrees.  See above.  I hate summer.  Finish laundry.  Get things ready to mail out.  Cook dinner and hang some clothes up.

3.  Snacks I enjoy (when I'm good):  Fresh fruit (one of the things about summer I do enjoy), light Popcorn, ice cream, cookies and chocolate.  When I'm bad:  Doritos, Doritos and oh yeah Doritos.  And Chocolate cake.  And little Debbies Swiss Rolls.  Those are the best.  But I digress.

4.  What would I do if I were a millionaire?  I have no earthly idea.  Seriously.  Probably same thing I'm doing now.  But I would buy expensive sheets.  A really high thread count.   

5.  Five places I've lived.  Texas.  Through and through.  But I would not mind Maine.  Not at all, cause I bet it's a lot cooler than 94 degrees there.  And they have a beautiful Fall.  : D

lots of swappy goodness

My oh my.  There are "those" who say I'm spoiled.  And you know who you are!  : D  Well.  Sweet Hub said he had to order something for himself just so he would get a package in the mail too.  Poor guy.  But spoiled me?  Yeah.  I'll wear that label proudly if it means I keep getting goods like I've been getting.  Look at what this week has brung me! 

About a jillion months ago, OK, about three I guess, Tina, formerly known as Paper Mojo.  Now, the adorable {glue on my fingers} paint in my hair hosted a kitchen swap.

And In my typical, "oh crap I'm behind" mode, well, I was just able to send mine out to the lovely Maija last week.  I've had her box for over a week now.  And I must say, I've had considerable restraint, for someone so spoiled mind you, to NOT open the box until she received mine.  And when I got the word that she got mine,  I ripped her box open like a kid opening presents on Christmas morning.  Look at this cuteness!

Is this not the coolest?  Love red and black and this was just too much fun.  It all came packed (which I don't think you can see) in a cute Mud Pie box.  The apron (on the left) is just so sweet.  Yeah, I'll wear it.  Might even wear it to work.  As some days, we can get pretty dirty unboxing goods.  Old Good Housekeeping Christmas cookbook, circa 1958.  I chuckled when I saw this cause I sent her an old cookbook too.  I love those things.  The recipes are sometimes scary and I just love the old photo's and illustrations.  The penguins salt and pepper.  Butter molds, can't wait to play with those.  Wish I had had them for the garden party.  And LOVE the black and white mustard jar.  So cute.  Will be great with my dishes in the hutch, it's got spoons and a spool of red/white twine in it.  And the black and white and red tea towel, very cool, almost has a french look to it.  And I do so love tea towels.

Are'nt they cute?

This is cool.  But I'm not sure what this is.  Does anyone know?

But I've saved the best for last!

Isn't she adorable?  I feel in love at first sight.

A little spoon fairy.  Sweet indeed.  Thank you Maija!  I love everything and it was so much fun to open. 

Then on the heels of all that funness.  I got my bird swap panels.

I got some very lovely ones indeed.

And the other side:

I got all mine from these lovely ladies:

Cheryl @ Rosey Posey Confections (sweet name)

Margo @Dining Room Studio (love that name!)

Rhonda @ Rhonda Mum (blogspot) (beautiful biz card!)

Tiffany @ Shabby Scraps (another cute biz card)

Thanks ladies for all your hard work.  The panels are lovely and I'm going to enjoy looking at it for quite some time. 

Spoiled.  Yeah.  That's me!  Bring it. 

Pretty In Pink

Or "A Paler Shade of Pink" or "Pink Perfection".  I think any of these titles are perfect for the swap that I just received from my best swap pal, Lisa. 

Lisa and I met, relatively speaking, when we were assigned to each other in Artsy Mama's Sweet and Sinister swap.  And as they say, the rest is history.  Lise and I have been swapping stuff every since.  She's a talented gal and one of her boxes is always the highlight of my day.  When you see these pics, you will see why.

Lisa got to choose the last theme, which was "Things that bring you Bliss".  Of course mine were creating, chocolate, my home and my kitties.  Not necessarily in that order.  Oh.   And color.  Which was a pale pink.  And pale pink perfection it is. 

Such a bounty of goodies and the color is just gorgeous!

Look at this adorable wall hanging!  I love it.  The images, the color, the bling.  So sweet.  The five pink jewels represent my nieces, who make my hair grey...er um, bring me grey-ate joy!  LOL.  They do. 

But this, this is too adorable.  A cigar crafting box.  The flip open lid literally inspires one to create.  I love the colors.  The papers are amazing and the big Peonies on top, well, she had me at the flower.  I love Peonies.  And she filled the box with the sweetest little trinkets and bottles of glitter (gorgeous) and buttons, all perfection.  That sweet little pink bird. 

But this piece is my favorite.  A little album shaped like a house!  I love it.  She really out did herself with this one. 

Isn't this page sweet?  Love the mix of colors and the details and the ribbons.  Oh Lisa, I am swooning! 

See?  Perfect!  My fav saying and look at that sweet button.  Lisa is always all about the details. 

And is if this were not enough, I got supplies and candy too! 

Even the "fuzzy kids" got a treat.  And look at the adorable card that came with.  I'm running out of adjectives to describe everything.  I'm truly over-whelmed.  Lisa's packages always take my breath away!

While it was a bit too warm to ship chocolate.  Lisa covered me by shipping me toffee's.  Which is my next fav candy.  And look at this bowl filled with pens and fabric and ribbon. 

See?  What fun and sweetness where in that bowl.  Love the cat stamp too. 

Had to sneak in one more shot of the cigar box.  It's so wonderfully done. 

Lisa you are the best!  I'm so blessed by our bloggy friendship and you swappy goodness.  Thank you honey, I love it.  It has all truly brought me BLISS. 

If you have not had the chance to check out Lisa's blog, go see that girl at Lisa Laughs (blogspot).  See for yourself how adorable she is.  Pink perfection.