A New Paper Pack Freebie

I'm taking part in a design challenge at Pixel Scrappers and this week's challenge is to create a repeating pattern that you can use to make digital papers.  I love making digital papers.  I find it the easiest part of designing.  I did these papers up last night for the challenge and I'm offering them up for you to download.  I'm also offering the templates I created so you can play around with your own colour combinations and textures to see what you can create. :)

You can download these papers from here:  Call Me Paper Pack.

Here are the templates:

I'm offering these as CU, so if you make something you like and you want to sell it, your free to do so (you just can't sell the template as is or just recolouring it and selling it).  You can download the Paper Makers from here:  Call Me Paper Maker Pack.

Well, that's it for this post.  I bet you're falling out of your chair to see that I've actually posted twice today eh?  I'm on a roll...

Oh yeah, if you download, please leave a comment.  I just like to know what you all think of my designs (your feedback will help me determine what kind of designs you all like) and I'd really, really love to see any projects you do using my designs - really...

Ok, talk to you later...

Cat

Just a quickie...

I guess I've been MIA for a little while.  I've been working on something and just haven't been able to get here.  I have a little gift for you all today (or tonight as I'm writing this).  I've been brushing up on some of my designing skills lately and have a paper sample pack for you.  Just in time for Valentines day for those last minute layouts or cards.  They are 12x12 papers at 300dpi so they are perfect for printing.  Here's a preview:

I tried to include something that wasn't so girly for those guy cards you still have to make. :)  For all you Silhouette Studio Designer Edition users out there, you can also import these to your library to use as fill patterns for your print & cuts. Hopefully, you can use them.  If you do download them, please let me know what you think and also, I would love to see what you do with them. *sorry this link has now expired* Click here to download them.

Talk to later...

Cat

Digital & Paper Layouts...

UPDATE:  The contest officials opened up viewing and voting early!!  You can vote for my layout here:  Vote for Cat's Layout - Inspiration

Thanks!   I need those votes!

Hi everyone!  Well, I've recovered from the blow to my ego from the MFT contest. ha ha.  I found another contest on Persnickety Prints to make a layout using a free digital scrap kit from Scrap Orchard.  The kit is really beautiful and I've been wanting to do another layout for a long time.  They are going to have open voting for the winner of the contest, so please go and vote for me.  They are keeping the layouts a secret until voting starts on Monday, so I will post a link then.  But in the meantime, I wanted to show you the digital layout I made for the contest:

The theme of the contest was to create a layout about what inspired you in 2012.  Well, of course, it had to be my little Mitzy.  We just love our little dog and dote on her.  Rob and I were in our mid forties when we married, so it was too late for us to have children, which was ok.  But, without having kids to focus on, its easy to become somewhat self-centred and only pay attention to what affects your own life on a day-to-day basis.  She's made us look at life outside our own self and see there are people and creatures that need our care and attention.  She has taught us to be more compassionate and patient.  So, in essence, she has inspired us to be better people.

So, I loved this layout so much that I wanted to see if I could re-create it in paper.  So I printed out all the papers I used on the layout and fired up my CraftRobo.  Here is the paper version of the layout:

I was having problems with the print & cut (of course - stupid Silhouette software screwed that up), so I had to make my own embellishments for the layout.  I was, luckily, able to still cut shapes, so I found some files that I liked and cut and glued and glittered.  As luck would have it, I even had some bottle caps in my stash, so I printed out the bottle cap from the digital kit and glued it to the top of my bottle cap and then put Dimensional Magic on top to give it a glassy finish.

I think the layouts look very similar.  And as I look at it them right now, I just realized I forgot to put the little heart with the mini clothes peg on the paper layout.  Darn!  I even have the mini clothes pegs too.  Oh well.

Well, that's it for today.  Come back on Monday and I will have the link posted so you can see the other layouts for the contest, and of course vote for me. :)

Talk to you later...

Cat

MFT DT Contest & My Entries...

Hi all! My Favorite Things is have a contest for a guest design team spot.  I'm so excited by the chance to win a spot as a guest designer for MFT.  I love their products, although I don't have very many of the dies.  I do have quite a few of their stamps though.  I debated whether  I was going to submit anything for this contest because, lets face it, the girls on their design are like crafting geniuses.  I love looking at all the things they create.  I have made cards for their monthly contests, but never have time to finish them before they're due or chicken out and don't submit them.  Well, damn it!  This time I'm not going to chicken out.  I think that if I were to win a spot on the DT, it would really push my creativity.  And lets face it, I have been in a really big slump the last year or so.  So I put together 3 cards to enter.  My dear, sweet husband says they're really nice (and that I should put them up for sale).  He always says that.

Here is the first card I made.  I cut the label shapes with my CraftRobo and then stamped the image on the one label and coloured it with Copic markers.  I also cut the tag with my CraftRobo and then stamped the sentiment onto it.  It doesn't show up well in the picture, but the tag is quite a bit wider than the label, so I adhered the ends of the tag to the sides of the label so it would bow out from the image.  It looks pretty cute in real life. :)

I also decorated the inside of the card.  I've been trying to do this with all my cards now.  I think it just makes it so much nicer and gives it a more professional finish. It also uses up my little scraps so I'm not wasting or storing a whack of tiny pieces of paper (I know I have a problem! I'm a pack rat.) Here's the inside:

Supplies used:

Stamps:  MFT Key to my Heart set
Papers:   Shery K Designs - Penguins in Love (Digital Papers), Recollections cardstock, Wausau Exact Index 110#
Inks:  Stampology - Onyx
Embellishments:  Rhinestones (Michaels)
Tools:  Copics - RV000,RV02, RV04, RV29, R29, C0, C3, C7, 100, 0, E00, E02, E33, E35, E37, Primsmacolor - Cool Grey 10%, Sharpie - Dark Grey, Magenta, Rose Red, Bic Mark Its - Rambunctious Red, Craft Robo, pop up squares (Michaels), ribbon (unknown - from my stash), Martha Stewart Lace Heart edge punch

I had to fiddle with the settings on my printer to get the papers to print the colours properly since I was using plain white cardstock.  Once I got the intensity and the contrast set to where I liked how it was printing, I went to town and printed a whole bunch.  I also used digi papers on this next card:

I used 3 different colours of copic markers to create the dotted background on the label that the main image sits on. I stamped one image on scrap and cut around that to use as a mask so I knew where to put the dots. Then, I cut out the image and popped it up over the dots.  I stuck together the sentiments from two sets to get the sentiment I wanted - "Feel Better Soon" - for the panel running across the top of the card. I inked the edges of the cardstock and patterned papers as well as embossed the upper panel on the card. Again, I finished the inside of the card:

Supplies used:

Stamps:  MFT Pure Innocence World's Best Doctor set. MFT Pure Innocence Girl Doctor set
Papers:   Aprilisa Designs - Funky Mama (Digital Papers), Recollections cardstock, Wausau Exact Index 110#
Ink:  Stampology - Onyx, Cats Eye - Blue Lagoon
Embellishments:  Dew Drops (Michaels)
Tools:  Copics - E00, E02, E04, E33, C3, C7, 0, BG05, BG10, BG15, Primsmacolor - Cool Grey 10%, Sharpie - Dark Grey, Tan, Bic Mark Its - Cloud 9 Grey, MFT Designer Label 1 dies, pop up squares (Michaels),  EK Success ZigZag Stitch edge punch, Martha Stewart Scallop with 2 dots edge punch,  Stampin' Up Scallop edge punch, Stampin' Up Square Lattice embossing folder

 This next card is a bit different for me.  I almost never make square cards.  I would have to say that 95% of my cards are A2 size and 4% are 5x7, just because the envelopes are readily available and I don't have to pay extra postage if I make them flat enough.  This card is definitely a "hand deliver" card.

The card is pretty straight forward.  I inked and distressed the edges of all the papers.  I was going to use all three sizes of the flowers, but they were a little too big, so I just went with the two smaller layers.  I think they have a good balance with the rest of the card.  I left the inside fairly simple since there was so much going on on the front of the card:

Supplies used:

Stamps:  MFT Vertical Greetings set
Papers:   Stampin' Up (Riding Hood Red, & White)
Ink:  Stampin' Up - Riding Hood Red
Embellishments:  Rhinestones (Michaels)
Tools:  MFT Botanical Beauty dies, MFT Vertical Greetings die, pop up squares (Michaels), Fiskars Large Scallop decorative edge scissors, Heidi Swapp distresser tool

I know I'm going to be checking out what the other entries look like once I get these uploaded to the SCS gallery.  I try not to look at the other submissions just so I don't get influenced by the other designs and can have something to enter that I created totally on my own.  I'll be on pins and needles as well until they announce the winner.

That's all I have for now.  I'm working on a couple layouts and I'm hoping I'll have those done by the middle of the week. So, check back then to see what I've been up to.

Talk to you later...

Cat

Breast Cancer Awareness Cards

Hello again.  I'm back today to show you some cards I made for Breast Cancer Awareness month - which is October. I wanted to send these cards to the women that are important in my life and give them a gentle reminder that we need to take care of ourselves and that early detection is the key to surviving this ugly disease.

Here are my cards:

The images are digital stamps from Bugaboo stamps that I coloured with pencil crayons and oms and cut out with my Craft Robo using the print & cut feature. I also put some stickles on the images. All the cardstock and patterned paper is Recollections brand and the ribbon and rhinestones are from the dollar store.  The corner punch I used on the image mat is also from the dollar store. I used my Craft Robo to print & cut the tags with the sentiments. The inside sentiment says: "Have you felt yourself up lately? October is Breast Cancer Awareness month. Give yourself a breast exam. Just do it!"

Other than that, I have been in a Christmas card making mood.  I'll post them after Christmas though 'cause I don't want the recipients to see them just yet. :)  I do have a little surprise for you.  I was fooling around making some digital papers, so I thought I would share them with you. They are 300dpi letter size papers, so they are perfect for printing and using just as you would any other patterned paper for your Christmas cards. Here is a preview:

I hope you can use them.  I had already picked out all my supplies for my cards, so I didn't get to use these papers.  Maybe for next years' cards, but more than likely I will have designed a whole bunch more papers to use. You can download them from here: CatScrapFever Christmas 2012 Papers.  Please leave a comment if you download them.  I would also really love to see any projects you make with them.  You can leave a link in a comment or contact me through the contact form on the right-hand side.

That's it for tonight.  Talk to you later...

Cat

Valentine Gift to You

SORRY!  THE FREE PAPER IS NO LONGER AVAILABLE.


Tuesday, January 25, 2011

I was busy making some Valentine's cards today and I needed a paper, but I didn't have one of the design I wanted, so I had to design it myself.  I haven't taken a picture of the card yet, so I'll post that later this week, but I wanted to share the paper I designed.  Here is a small preview of it:

I used a few "stock" brushes in PSPX and then typed in the poem "How do I Love Thee" over top, and then did a little more distressing and overlay blending.  I really like how the paper turned out.  Now, if you would like to receive a link to download the paper, use the contact me form in my sidebar, with the subject "How do I Love Thee" and provide a return email address, and I will send you the link to download this paper.  The paper will be offered until February 14, 2011 and I'll keep this post on top.  I'll delete the file after that date and it won't be available for download.

I hope you like the paper, and if you use it, I'd love to see your creations.

Take care...

Cat

Just a Quick Reminder

I you want the link to download the How Do I Love Thee paper, you will need to email me before the end of tomorrow (use the contact form in my sidebar).  After tomorrow, its gone. :)