Love cats? Nine Lives gift packaging

It's not always about cardmaking. Having all these lovely supplies at my disposal means I can make matching gift packaging, too. 

I was planning to send this card to a friend and wanted to wrap the small gift to match, so I created a box using the Envelope Punch Board and decorated it with some Call Me Clover Designer Series Paper and a punched cat. The box is a bit wonky (slipped up on a measurement somewhere) but you can't tell unless you look hard or someone points it out!

If you love cats – or dogs (or both!) – don’t miss my Cats & Dogs craft workshop in Aston-on-Trent next month. Places are going fast but there are a few left so please hurry over to the registration page to book your slot.

Video tutorial: Reverse stamping with Nine Lives cats

This is such a fun technique, I can’t understand why I haven’t tried it before. It worked first time and blew my mind, so I knew it would have the same effect when I demoed the technique at a party on Friday evening. This little box uses the new Nine Lives stamp set, which co-ordinates with the existing cat punch. For this cute project, I stamped the cats on both sides of the cardstock so, no matter which way you turn it, the cats are facing you.

Two black cats and a sparkly sun

Perfect for a wedding card, anniversary, Valentine, or just to say hello to a friend. This is another of the projects from my Caturday Live event.

To create the shiny sun background, we began with the 'smoosh technique' on some watercolour paper. This is how...

1. Spritz a piece of watercolour paper with water
2. Take one of your clear stamping blocks and press into an ink pad, then 'smoosh' it onto the wet paper
3. Take a clean, dry block and repeat with another colour
4. Allow to dry (or speed up with the heat gun) then die-cut your circle
5. Ink it all over with Versamark and then emboss with a mixture of clear embossing powder and Dazzling Diamonds glitter. 

The result is a no-mess glitter effect. Hurrah!

Moon cat

Cat punch time again! I can't get enough of this punch - it's sooooo versatile and, as you may have noticed, I haven't made a single Halloween project (I never do).

This was from my Caturday Live class and is a simple folded card with a piece of Brick Wall embossed cardstock to hold it all together, tucked under the cat for stability. The stars are embossed in white and there's just a hint of the gorgeous stitched Cherry Cobbler ribbon because it's too nice to share!

Eclipse cat with Wood Words

Eclipse cards don't have to spell out a word, as I showed on Wednesday. Here's another version of the eclipse concept, using the fabulous cat punch.

This was one of the cat punch projects we made at my Caturday Live event last weekend. The Wood Words bundle, Wood Textures Designer Series Paper and Copper Trim all go very nicely with this punched cat I think. And it's so great to have thick Very Vanilla cardstock to make our card bases with now - such a great addition to the catalogue.

Some non-Halloween cat punch projects

Here are the cat punch projects I demoed at a party recently... the host is the only one of my customers who actually makes Halloween projects, so I was keen to show its versatility with some generic cards and gifts.

Pizza box
We sell these fab little boxes in the Autumn/Winter catalogue. They are food safe with a shiny interior, but the exterior can be stamped or coloured. I mixed some rubbing alcohol with a few drops of Cajun Craze reinker and sprayed it all over to get this lovely effect.

It’s embellished with a black rhinestone. I’m quite embarrassed to admit I didn’t even see these in the Autumn/Winter catalogue so have been colouring my silver ones with a Sharpie! And, of course, that gorgeous black vintage crochet trim – a must have, in my opinion!

The notecards
Inside I placed three 3" square notecards - we now sell the mini envelopes again, in the Autumn/Winter catalogue. They all use the Spooky Night DSP but the reverse sides, which can be used for any occasion (not weddings perhaps, unless it’s a Goth wedding!).

I made a belly band to go round it – you can just see the pumpkins peeping out from the inside, but you can’t see them when the box is closed. 

The badge
Inside the box I also popped a cat badge mounted on a decorated backing card.

To make these badges, I punched out 6-8 pieces of the white card that backs Designer Series Paper and stuck it together using Tombow, so that it will slip and is easier to line up. I topped it with a punched cat and then Versamarked all over the front so I could emboss it with clear powder, two or three times. Finally a badge clip was stuck to the bag using a heat gun.

Hope you like!

Cat punch birthday card

I did it at last! I managed to create a non-standard cat... in Lemon Lime Twist. And why not? This is a fun card which shows you can use your cat punch with all your Designer Series Papers, and for all occasions.

For more cat projects, including a card on this theme and some really cute mini cards in a pizza box, please visit my Facebook page for a cat project video! (Give us a like while you’re there, why don’t you, please?)

Mix It Up Monday: Cat punch birthday card

Continuing my campaign to prove that you don’t need to celebrate Halloween to enjoy the new cat punch… here’s a fun birthday card in this week’s Mix It Up Monday colour combination from my In Color charts. It’s a great combo but I wish I’d made more of the Old Olive as it does get a bit lost.

Cat-wise, I’m loving the cat in an ombre Berry Burst – I knew I’d come round to colourful cats eventually. 

Cat punch - gift-wrapped!

I’ve wanted to share this card on here for ages but have had to wait for my friend and able helper Kelly’s birthday to come and go!

But now I can reveal all... along with the link to the brand new Autumn/Winter catalogue, which is where you will find this fabulous cat punch and the DSP which fits it perfectly.

I’ve placed the cat in a box by cutting off the end from a wooden crate die-cut from Kraft cardstock (yes it’s back! Page 12). The background is watercoloured in two of Kelly’s favourite colours: Soft Sky and Smoky Slate and the words are stamped with the Labeler Alphabet, which is really coming into its own now that I have cat cards to make!

Find the new Autumn/Winter catalogue here!

Mix It Up Monday: sneak peek Cat Punch

As you may have gathered, the product I am most excited about in the upcoming Autumn/Winter catalogue is the cat punch. And, as I have no reason to celebrate Halloween, I’ve been looking for ways to use it for other occasions. 

Not sure what occasion would warrant this particular Mix It Up Monday project but it kept me amused for half an hour. And I’m proud to say that I stamped the words in one go. 

Here’s my three-step method for stamping with the Labeler Alphabet stamp set (or any alphabet set):

1. Draw a fine pencil line along a ruler and mark the centre point.
2. Have the word or phrase written on scrap paper so you can copy it (it’s so easy to stamp the wrong letter otherwise), then count the characters – including spaces and any punctuation – to work out the centre point.
3. Stamp from the centre point outwards; this is when having the phrase written down will help as you will be stamping half of it in reverse. 

I scoured my In Color charts for a combo with a cat shade in it (I’m not quite ready for fantasy cats in crazy colours but I’ll get there) and found this one… and a mistake which slipped through not one, not two but THREE proofreaders! Yes, the chart says Tangelo Twist, which is a retired In Color, when actually I meant to say Tangerine Tango. I always get those two mixed up. 

Cat punch sneak peek - Catzilla!

My mind is racing with ideas for this fabulous new cat punch, which is coming to an Autumn/Winter catalogue near you in September.

I don’t know why, but I wanted to place it with the fun buildings from the hostess stamp set, In The City, so I stamped a row of properties, cut them out and overlaid them onto some Soft Sky cardstock, with a Basic Grey cat sitting there, sinisterly peering over the top. Catzilla!

Sneak Peek: Spooky Cat bundle

I don’t normally post new catalogue sneak peeks so early in the month but I am SO excited about one particular new product and I think you will know why!

Yesssssss! A cat punch! I know more than a few people who will be purchasing this in their first order!

In another first, I bought a Halloween stamp set and its co-ordinating DSP. Why? Well take a look at the black cat on the front of this card – it’s punched from the Spooky Night DSP, which fits exactly. This one was on the edge of the paper and I didn’t want to waste it, so positioned it on the edge of the layer. Not sure what I’m going to do with the bottoms from the other side of the sheet, though!

Yes, it’s Halloween DSP and no, I don’t make Halloween projects but each sheet has a patterned side which can be used for any occasion, so I thought it was worth the investment.

As for the Spooky Cat stamp set, so far I’ve only used the cat’s face stamp but there are others I can use for non-Halloween projects and some which will need some creative thinking, so watch this space!

Ok, brace yourself for the inside of this card...

How cute is that? I repurposed a design from my Crafternoon Cream Tea event to make this fun pop-up card. Cats and boxes go together so, to me, using the Wood Crate Die was so obvious! I made a “blanket” by die-cutting a scalloped oval from DSP.

So who’s joining me in Team Spooky Cat this autumn?