Lights & Brights . . .

. . . and Nesties and Maya and Storage, OH my!

That UPS man is so nice! Look what he brought!


Click here to go get 'em!

It's a Keychain

I've not had too much of an opportunity to spend in my studio lately . . . things have been busy!

But I did manage to get this done last night . . . it's a keychain for a friend of mine . . isn't that key so fancy??

What I used:

Grungeboard Basics - Harlequin

Grungeboard Alphabet - Stripes

Charcoal Black and Blank Canvas Studio Paint by Claudine Hellmuth

Studio Matte Multi-Medium by Claudine Hellmuth

Pitch Black Adirondack Pigment Ink

Polka Dot stamp by Studio 490

Zip Dry Glue

Crescent Tag Combo die by Sizzix

Very easy to create . . . die-cut the Grungeboard Basic sheet, paint it black, apply multi-medium. Paint letter with white paint (I applied two coats for good coverage), apply multi-medium, stamp polka dots, apply another layer of multi-medium; adhere letter to tag with Zip Dry Glue . . .ta-da! all done!

Thanks for visiting today!

A Maya Road Wall Hanging

My friend, Jilly, got a new studio! New flooring, new paint, new shelves, new storage, new desk . . . you get the idea. She even "named" her new creative space Studio 9-1-1.

She (and her husband) have worked so hard to make it the perfect place for her to create and I wanted to congratulate her on having a new studio. So, I made this: My inspiration came from a variety pieces created by Wendy Vecchi, artist of Studio 490 Stamps.

What I used:
Rectangle Banner Coaster Album by Maya Road
All About Art, Forever Art, and Flower Art Stamp Sets by Studio 490
Mustard Seed, Spiced Marmalade, Black Soot, Brushed Corduroy, Dusty Concord, and Peeled Paint Distress Inks
Pitch Black and Espresso Adirondack Pigment Ink
Dusty Concord Crackle Paint
Copper Adirondack Paint Dabber
Chocolate Brown Acrylic Paint
Non-Stick Craft Sheet
Ink Blending Tool
Brilliant White Cardstock by Prism
Grungeboard Elements and Alphabet
Chocolate Splendid Treasures by Chatterbox (for the flower center)
Zip Dry Glue
3-D Foam Squares by Scrapbook Adhesives
Wire, Chocolate Brown Ric Rac, and Gingham Ribbon from my stash

Thanks for stopping by!

Shari's Shoes

Fashion Week begins here in Downtown Escondido on April 3, 2009 and in the spirit of Fashion Week, the Escondido Municipal Gallery had a workshop a few weeks ago to alter some shoes.

Check out the pair my friend Shari altered! Aren't they soooooooo cool?? She even used some of Tim Holtz' new Foliage embellishments!

Thanks for stopping by!

5 Year Celebration!

Whoooo-eeee! What a party! People started arriving bright and early to get their goodie bags and tickets for the Grand Prize.

My DH is usually on hand to take pictures, but he wasn't able to this year. Sooooo, I was the photographer and only got a few shots. . . but at least I got some, right?

Cupcakes by Icing and Ink! (OMG! Soooo yummy! And cute, too!)

The Grand Prizes! (Yep! There were TWO this year! Congrats to Yolanda and Julie!)

People! (I wonder what they're looking at up on that wall ?)

Make-n-Takes! (So happy the weather cooperated!)

Thanks for celebrating Cat's Craft Cupboard's fifth anniversary! I appreciate your continued patronage and friendship!

Note to self . . . be sure to take more pictures next year!

Julie's Journals

Look look look what Julie will be bringing up to the party on Saturday!

They will be available for purchase and let me tell you . . . if you like one, don't wait! Last time her journals grew wings and just flew out of the store!

Speaking of wings . . . if you want to spread your wings and learn about Mixed Media, attend her workshop!

Wait . . .Party? Did I say party? Yep . . . Cat's Craft Cupboard will be celebrating 5 years this Saturday! Here are all the details:

Saturday, March 21, 2009 from 10 am - 2 pm.
FREE Goodie Bag for the first 20 people, plus 5 tickets for Grand Prize Drawing*
FREE Make-n-Takes all day
Door Prize Drawings** every 30 minutes, beginning at 10:30
Receive one entry for the Grand Prize with every $20.00 in purchases

*Need not be present to win Grand Prize
** Must be present to win Door Prize Drawings

Hope to see you there!

Yikes! A Whole Week?!?

Sheesh . . . I can't believe it's been a week since I last posted!

But, I have been pretty busy planning a party. Yep! We'll be celebrating our 5th Anniversary on Sat., March 21 with goodie bags, door prizes, make-n-takes and cupcakes!

And . . . I also went up to Carson for the Rubber Stamp Convention this past Sunday and guess what!?!

Rather . . . guess WHO!?!

The Wendy Vecchi, artist of Studio 490 stamps was there . . .and I got to meet her! In person! She is amazing . . . and soooooo inspiring! Look look look what she gave me:

Cool, huh?

I was very much inspired and stayed up late last night playing in my studio and made this:

See . . .that's one more thing to love about her stamps . .. they come with color idea sheets, which is where some of the inspiration came from . . .but most of it came from the samples she had at Carson and the little plaque she gave me.

I gotta tell ya . . . you need these stamps. Really, truly . . . you need them. They are so versatile and perfect for just about any project! Keep your eye on the Blog here . . .I'm getting ready to alter a pair of shoes! (Fashion Week is a-comin' in just a few weeks!)

Okey dokey . . .I'm off to play in the studio . . .thanks for stopping by today!

New Goodies!

Daisy D's has arrived!

New Whitewash Cardstock from Core'dinations has arrived!

New Embellies from Tim Holtz have arrived!

New Mini Masks from Tim Holtz have arrived!

Click here to see all that's new!

It All Began . . .

. . . in the Ranger Booth at CHA.

We made little house pins using Claudine Hellmuth's Sticky Back Canvas and Studio Paints. The house was by Maya Road.

I was hooked on her paints and all things Maya Road. And then . . .I found Studio 490. . . the samples were just delicious!

Fast forward . . . Orders have begun arriving. . . Maya Road and Studio 490 . . . lots of those goodies have made their way into my studio.

I stepped out of my comfort zone when I made that little house pin at CHA and decided to really leap out of my comfort zone and made this:

What I used:
All stamps by Studio 490 (you're not surprised are you?)
House Binder Album by Maya Road
Dash of Red Studio Paint
Vintage Photo, Mustard Seed and Peeled Paint Distress Ink
Vintage Sepia VersaFine ink
Espresso Adirondack Pigment ink
Ink Blending Tool
Art Flowers by Hero Arts
Swiss Dots Cuttlebug Folder
Paper Distresser
Zip Dry Glue
Adage Tickets and Philosophy Tags by Tim Holtz
Grungeboard Alphabet and Elements
Patterned Paper by 7 Gypsies
Variety of ribbon

Thanks for visiting today!

Wanna Color with Prismacolor Pencils?

Of course you do! And I bet you want to learn all sorts of fabulous techniques using these pencils from Mr. Terry Medaris, huh?

Guess what?? You CAN! The details have been finalized!

Click here for all the information and to register!

A Shamrock Tree

Another winner from Impression Obsession . . .I love their stamps. . . and of course, this Shamrock Tree was another opportunity for me to use Shamrock Green Flower Soft AND Jillibean Soup cardstock!
What I used:

Stamp by Impression Obsession
Onyx Black Versafine Ink
Bamboo Leaves Memento Ink
Brilliant White cardstock by Prism
Patterned cardstock by Jillibean Soup
Shamrock Green Flower Soft
Yellow Stickles (on the stars)
Curved Rectangle Nestabilities
Prismacolor pencils

Thanks for visiting today!

Wanna Make This?

Of course you do! And you can by attending Julie Prichard's Mixed Media Workshop!

Click here for all the info and to register!

Funky Flowers

Eeeeeeeeee! (that would be a squeal of delight)

I woke up (late) this morning . . . wwweeellllll, I was working on a project until the wee hours of the morning, so I let myself sleep in a bit . . . anywho . . . when I finally dragged myself out of bed, I checked my email and look look look what was in my inbox:

A nice note and picture of these "Funky Flowers" from the Wendy Vecchi . . . artist of Studio 490 stamps!

Aren't they just fantastic?!? And they could be attached to anything! A card, a scrapbook page, a canvas, an altered book, anything! Her stamps are sooooo versatile, I just love them!

Okay . . .I just had to share . . . thanks for stopping by today!

St. Patty's Margarita

I just knew that Shamrock Green Flower Soft would be perfect for the "salt" on the rim:

What I used:

Stamps by Impression Obsession

Brilliant White and Classic YellowGreen cardstock by Prism

Patterned cardstock by Jillibean Soup

Onyx Black Versafine ink

Lime Juice Radiant Rain

Shamrock Green Flower Soft

Prismacolor Colored Pencils

Thanks for visiting today!

Two More St. Patty's Day Cards

And I'm not even Irish!

What I used:

Stamps by Impression Obession

Brilliant White and Iced Kiwi Cardstock by Prism

Patterned Cardstock by Jillibean Soup

Onyx Black Versafine Ink

Classic and Scalloped Circle Nestabilities

Prismacolor Pencils

What I used:

Stamps by Impression Obession

Brilliant White, Frosted Yellow and Intense Kiwi cardstock by Prism

Patterned cardstock by Jillibean Soup

Onyx Black Versafine Ink

Petite Oval, Petite Scalloped Oval, Classic & Scalloped Circle Nesties

Satin Ribbon

Prismacolor Pencils

Thanks for visiting today!

Amgen Tour of California

I can describe this event in one word: AMAZING!!


There was an energy that filled the streets like I have never experienced before. So many people were there, it was . . .well . . . amazing!


One of the cutest things I saw was this:

Look closely . . . see the dogs in the backpacks? I spoke with the owner (who, by the way, made the backpacks) and she said the pooches just love going on a ride.


Here are more pics from the event . . . it was just so cool!







It was a long day, but I gotta tell ya, it was fantastic! I hope the Tour of California comes back to Escondido next year!

A Leprechaun

Yep . . .I'm gearing up for St. Patty's Day! Green is one of my favorite colors . . . so you can expect to see lots of projects with lots of green over the next few days.

What I used:

Leprechaun stamp by American Art Stamp

Pot of Gold stamp by Impression Obsession

Brilliant White, Iced Kiwi and Intense Kiwi Cardstock by Prism

Key Lime Biscotti Cardstock by Memory Box

Onyx Black Versafine Ink

Goldenrod Stickles

Polka Dot Grosgrain Ribbon

Prismacolor Pencils

Thanks for visiting!

Meet Fergie

How cute is this guy?? And how perfect does the new cardstock from Jillibean Soup go with him?

What I used:

Stamps by Stampendous

Brilliant White and Classic Yellowgreen cardstock by Prism

Patterned cardstock by Jillibean Soup

Onyx Black Versafine Ink

Cool Water Shimmering Mist

Prismacolor Pencils

Thanks for stopping by!

My Goodness!

My UPS man sure has been good to me! Look look look what's come in:

New stamps from Impression Obsession

New stamps from Studio 490

New goodies from Maya Road

New Tim Holtz Stamps

Click here to see it all!

A Country Bicycle

Well . . .I haven't been keeping up with all those challenges, but I have been trying to make some time to stamp in between checking in all the CHA orders, rearranging shelves, filling on-line orders and helping clients.


Here's a card using Flower Soft (which it just doesn't show very well in the pic).

What I used:


Country Bicycle Stamp by Flower Soft (currently out of stock, but more are on the way)
Brilliant White, Suede Brown & Crabapple Dark cardstock by Prism
Vintage Sepia Versafine Ink
Sandalwood and Sea Spray Shimmering Mists
Fuschia & Lilac Flower Soft (also out of stock, but on the way)
Prismacolor Pencils


Thanks for visiting today!

A Sweet Deal

Yep! It's time for another Sweet Deal! How about Buy 2 Tim Holtz stamp sets and get a third set at 50% off!

You read that right! Three Tim Holtz stamp sets for only $49.99! (Regular retail price is $60.00!)

Available on-line only. Limited quantities available, so hurry! May not be combined with any other offer, special or Rewards Card. Orders will be filled in the order in which they are received. . . i.e., she who completes the checkout process first gets the Sweet Deal. LIMIT ONE "Sweet Deal" Kit PER PERSON, please. All sales are final.

Click here to go get it! Returning clients: Remember to login to your account prior to adding the Sweet Deal to your cart.

I'm Here! I'm Here!

Whew! Been pretty busy here at the store . . . lots of goodies from CHA have started arriving and I'm trying to find a place to put all of it.

Speaking of CHA . . .remember that Storage System I was telling you about? Well . . .here's a video so you can see it for yourself! I can't wait to get started in my studio with this new system!



Click here to see all that's come in!

He was Right!

Santa didn't have his sleigh today . . . after all, it is off-season for him . . . I guess that's why the big brown truck brought 61 lbs (SIXTY-ONE!) of sparkly goodness!

Yahoo! ALL of the Shimmering Mists & Radiant Rain Daubers from Luminarte have arrived! AND, there's new packaging for the Shimmering Mists! It now comes in a flip-top bottle with an empty spritzer!



some of you may recall that I had listed a different company, but it is my job to keep an eye out for the best value for you. Let's just put it this way . . . shimmering mist-wise, you get twice as much for $1.00 less! Dauber-wise, you get the same amount for $2.00 less! besides, Luminarte's customer service just can't be beat! I am confident that you will love Luminarte's Radiant Rain as much as I do!

Look Who Stopped By!

Santa!

In February!
And look what he brought! All the NEW Flower Soft!


And, he even let me know that another package of sparkly goodness will be arriving a bit later this afternoon!

Click here to go get it!