More pootling...

Off to my mum's in a minute. Thought I'd pop in and post a few pic's of what I've done this week...

(Holographic embossing powder over multi-coloured ink, this next one:)
Next week I'm going to revamp my shop. I'll be putting all these in it, so if you'd like them, you can pop along and get them!!! It's set up with PayPal, which takes any currency. I'll also be adding all the 3D decoupage ones I've been doing. Seriously, I hope they sell because it will help with Fluffy's vet bill!!!! I am wondering whether to open an Etsy shop, too. I'll have to look into it further....

Have a great weekend, everyone! I'll not be back till Monday.

Cat Therapy

Things are smoothing out, gradually, I think....
Big thanks, everyone who has emailed and left messages.
It really helps y'know :)

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I've done a little pootling in my favourite subjects, namely cats and doodling. This time I've produced smaller cards. And I seem to be veering towards the simpler look at the moment, which I'm finding really appealing right now. Maybe because my head is so jumbled I need the page to be blanker!!

Anyway, as these are smaller (89mm -or about 3.5- inches square)I have put them in my online shop in packs of two. Here are a few examples. If you click this link you can see more pic's at the shop.Meanwhile here is Fluffy:Even though her kidneys are registering as OK now, the vet has recommeneded we stick to the Renal Formula diet because of her age (16). But she isn't eating very much at all. She has a few mouthfuls then just walks away. We even try to feed her from our hands, coaxing her and encouraging her. But after a few mouthfuls she just isn't interested. I've ordered a different brand of food for her, which should arrive today. It's still a premium renal formula but it's meant to be extra tasty for cats who aren't eating. I hope it works. She has lost LOTS of weight.In this photo (above) you can see how thin some of her fur is. This is where it had become matted and they had to thin it out and even did a little shaving!
(I love it when cats sleep on their brains like this. Did you know there is a tradition that this means it's going to rain?)

And here is her brother Scooter!
HE is doing SO well. He is her littermate, so also 16. He was diagnosed with FiV a few years ago. This is the feline version of HIV and spread by scratches and cuts in fights with infected cats.

When he was diagnosed the vet told me to have him put to sleep, if only, he said, to save Fluffy from the risk of infection. But I couldn't. How can I sacrifice one cat for another? Well it is years since and she is still free of it. And he is great despite having about 4 teeth and arthrititis. He has a limp at the moment: it comes and goes. But he is an enormous, butch fella, really strong.
He will cuddle only when HE wants to, and he isn't a lapcat. He prefers to sit alongside you.
He loves to be stroked, especially around the ears. When he has had enough he will push your hand away. But if you stop too soon he will "Tap tap tap" at you to carry on. Somtimes this may involve tapping your head or your face, if you are asleep in bed. And if that doesn't work the claws come out. He's very cheeky. I love them both.

A troublesome stamp.....

This stamp was a freebie but I really love the image and was determined to make a card with it.
Unfortunately it was one of those troublesome ones that I just couldn't get to stamp properly. Here are some attempts....(!)Doesn't really show in the photo's - or perhaps it will if you click on them and enlarge them- but there was always a section that didn't come out, no matter what I did!

Also, I really wanted to use my new ProMarkers :) but found out the hard way that these make the ink run, even if it says it's permanent, waterproof ink, because they are alcohol pens, Helena, and that's what they do- D'OH!!! So I have now ordered a Stazon ink pad, which should be ok with them.... meanwhile, I stamped and embossed the image (above photo) and coloured over the embossed lines. I used a ProMarker Blender to make the grass fade away a bit at its edge, then rubbed an inkpad round the edge of the card.

-(PAH! The woman in the craft shop in town said that you don't get blender-pens for ProMarkers and her chirpy-boy sidekick said I wouldn't need them PAH! When I went online to seek out colours they didn't have, I found the blender!)

I made this one into a card, but I'm not too sure about it. So it remains in my box, unused and not listed in the shop. I don't think it's good enough to sell - bit patchy on the girl's hair- but it would be nice to write a note to someone on, accompanying a pressie, say. So this is in my 'mine' box. LOL!

Don't ask about the monkey nut on the coffee table, here. I have no idea what it's doing there. We buy them to take to the park and feed to the squirrels, but...????

Still wanting to play with my new Markers, I decided to flip the procedure: I scribbled colours over a piece of card (as with the background layer on the card above) and then stamped on top. I used a ColorBox Fluid Chalk inpad for this (in French Blue) and er.... it stamped the image perfectly! Oops! Ah well, I guess this proves it isn't the stamp, it's me!!! LOL!

I inked round the edge of the card with the same inkpad.
I really like this! So I used it to make a card with, and decided to write to an old friend, Mikiko, with it. She wrote to me at Christmas and I owed her something.... she is very good at Japanese paper folding so I wanted to do something special....

You can get free template downloads like this from www.byDonovan.com

I mounted the image on an A5 piece of purple card, and added some glittery bits with a clear Sakura Sparkle pen.

I made a wrap for the card by punching a strip of vellum and securing it with a shaped paperclip.
This is how the folder closes... then it went into an envelope for sending. I hope she likes it :)

Right!
I'm off for dinner now. I'm cooking chilli :)
(TIP: add a few teaspoons of unsweetened cocoa! YUM! It really helps lift it.)

Then I need to update the shop. Here's a taster of what's going in:

Thanks again for all your comments! I love reading them :)

Cards for the shop :)

Hullo!!!

Well, in between spins and whirls and falling over and climbing up again :) I managed to finish some cards for my shop. I've just added these:

The ballerina card from my last post is also in the shop, as well as packs of my cat portrait notelets in packs of 5, for example, these:

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Info on prices and payment (because I've been asked about this in emails!):

• The average price is about $3(US) but all postage and packing is free, anywhere in the world. I have to list prices in $ as it is a US site, but if you want to see the prices in another currency, go to the bottom of the shop's page and click on the flag of your choice.
  
• You can pay in any currency. Paypal will convert it and any charge goes to me, not you.
• You don't need a Paypal account to pay via Paypal- for me to invoice you in Paypal all I need is your email.
• Alternately you could send me a cheque. Just email me.
  

Here is a link to my shop.

Sorry for the blatant commercialism. LOL!