Christmas Came Early Challenge #361 and the FINAL Cat Lovers Hop

 Hello and welcome to week two of our Christmas Came Early Challenge!
This challenge has a bit of a twist if you'd like to participate.

First and foremost...

Our current challenge is anything handmade that has a Christmas theme.

Our twist this week is that we are, for the last time, participating in the Cat Lovers Hop.
Janis passed away earlier this year and this one final Hop is a tribute to her. Art Impressions is one of only two or three companies that supported her Hop all 8 years.  These prizes are NOT being given away as part of Art Impressions Challenge.  You will be eligible to win a free stamp set of your choice if you win the Ai challenge.  To win one of the 3 sets featured for the Cat Lovers Hop you must join in through them.  Let's all HONOR Janis if you can, with one final cat themed card.

Though our challenge is a Christmas challenge,  we would love it if you added a cat to your project to honor Janis.  Here's the link to join in her memorial Hop and win lots of wonderful prizes.

Art Impressions has donated these three sets, and all you need to do is follow that link, and their instructions, to possibly win these sets and also some prizes from other companies.

4933 – Catastrophy Set

SC0652 – Crazy Cat Lady

M4877 – Be Joyful Window

Last week, Lynn kicked off our Christmas Came Early Challenge with this amazingly creative card in which she "re-thought" the 5183 – Christmas Kitty Flip Card set into a cat tree!  You can view her video tutorial HERE.

And now, being week two of the challenge, we have the rest of the Design Team cards. 

This "bonus cat" challenge was not mandatory so we'll start with those DT members that chose to participate.

First up, we have Nina who created an amazing slimline card featuring 5782 – Snowflake Frame Die,

4936 – Christmas Wonder Set,

5457 – Christmas Truck Set (for the tree and Gifts) and 5463 – Slimline Dies Set.

Next up we have Tasha who used 5098 – Cozy Cat Cubbies and 5566 – Christmas Sentiments.

I used: 5785 – Gnomes Set, 4929 – Winter Window MTF, 5712 – Christmas Journal Paper Pack, 5324 – MB Cat Accessories, 5489 – Front Porch Christmas Set

The rest of the Design Team participated in the Christmas Came Early Challenge (minus the cat theme) and those cards are just as FUN!!

Tasha used 5782 – Snowflake Frame Die and 5564 – Mousey Christmas Set.

You can see all of the products Karen used on her Watercolor Weekend post.

Mercy's final DT post used 5457 – Christmas Truck Set.

Janet used 5791 WC Snow Globe Set and 5353 – Large Snowflake Dies.

Sharon used:

5576 Little Trucks Set

5489 Front Porch Christmas Set

5782 Snowflake Frame Die

We'd love to have you join in on our challenge. whether you choose a Christmas theme or a Christmas project with a cat on it! 

✻ Please make a new card or handmade crafty creation. You can make any item you wish; this is not limited to cards!

✻ Limit two submissions per person. You will receive extra votes if you use Art Impressions stamps!

 ✻Please include your first name and last initial on your submission.

✻We love to comment on your entries, but keep in mind if you use a private group or a platform that you need to sign up for, we probably won't be able to.

✻ The Ai Challenge is open to everyone, international submissions are welcome!

✻ Include a link back to the Ai Blog or grab our button on the top right of our sidebar!

✻ Share the Ai love if you can, by clicking and commenting on your fellow crafters.

✻ Make sure to get your link up by the deadline to enter your creations.

✻ Good luck and happy stamping!

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Oh...were you gonna eat this? by Reneé Matarese

 Hello Ai fans!

Today I'm sharing the card that I made for the 2022 Cat Lovers Hop.
I combined several sets to create this humorous birthday card.
There are actually two men in the boat but I only wanted this guy on my card.  I tried to just ink up the one guy but didn't do a great job of it.  Dr. Ph Martin's Bleed Proof White to the rescue!

I used a bit to dab over the part of the other guy that was showing. I think it just looks like a cloud in the background now.

My main image and the fish are from 4900 – Reel Great Guys Set.

The fisherman is mounted on 5061 – Square Double Stitched Dies.
The sentiment on the banner is from 5369 – Feline Set and the naughty cat (lol!) is from 5110 – Housework Set. I cut the Roomba off from under him and used my x-acto knife to cut a slit for a mouth to put the fish in.  The banner die is from 5543 – Journal Template Die Set.

This card would be so perfect for the fisherman in your life but it doesn't even have to be for someone who fishes.  Who doesn't love a funny card?  Maybe you know someone who has a pet that steals things.  When we first got our dog he used to steal bread, muffins, rolls etc. off our counter and hide them around the house.  Our bread basket has been on top of the fridge ever since we figured it out.
🐕🍞😂

Copics used:

W00, C0, N1, T4, E00, E02, E35,
E50, B000, B00, B3, G12, G2

Have a Meow-val-ous Birthday Card by Tasha!

Good morning Ai Fans!

Tasha here sharing a cat-themed card created with the 5369-Feline Set. This set is purrr-fect for year-round cards and includes the coordinating dies!

I love all the cat stamps in this set, but thought this group of alley cats would look great in a night scene. I stamped the cats with black ink and colored them with Copic Markers. It's so fun to color their fur and mix up the colors and textures. Which one is your favorite?

The background was created with a large moon stencil and various shades of Distress Oxide Ink. I used white ink to create paint splatter details, I love the bright moon! 

Lastly, I added a stamped greeting and attached several paper layers. The colors in the paper coordinate with the colors used on the cats; I like blue and orange together with the gold glitter. I also stamped one of the included sentiments to the bottom to complete the design.

I hope you enjoyed today's card and are having a wonderful day!

 

Cat Lovers Hop 2022!

 Hello Ai fans and hello to all the CAT lovers out there!

We always look forward to this week.
Once again, Art Impressions is participating in the Cat Lovers Hop.

#2022CatLoversHop

Ai has provided a prize for the hop.

5369 – Feline Set

You MUST sign in to be eligible for the prizes!

You can sign in, read all of the rules and hear about all of the prizes here.

We had several of our Design Team members participate
in the hop with some adorable cards!

All Art Impressions products are linked below.

Tasha has a birthday card.

Mercy made 3!  Two Halloween and one Halloween birthday card.

Reneé made a birthday card.

There are so many prizes to be won!

Be sure to join in on the hop to see how to be eligible to win.

We hope you have a PURR-FECT day and enjoy the hop!

Projects galore! by Reneé Matarese

 Hello Ai fans!

Today I'm sharing a few cards with you.
My first cards were created for the current Feline Crazy challenge and the Cat Lovers Hop.
Art Impressions generously donated the Feline Set as a prize for the hop.

For my cards I used  M4877 – Be Joyful Window.  The Windows to the World series is one
of my all-time favorites at Ai.

Have you ever had one of "those" days?  Well, I sure did.  If you look carefully you'll see that on the white card the clouds are puffy.  That's because I got carried away and started to color them green like the foliage below them!  Oops!  I didn't want to scrap the entire picture and start over so I pulled out my Nuvo drops and viola!  Puffy clouds where there once were trees.

For my second projects I used the new 5462 – Web Dies Set and the 5072 – Block Letters Die Set.

The oval that the webs are on was made using the 5065 – Oval Double Stitched Dies.

The treat bag was a gift for my son.  His birthday is Oct. 2 and since he was little 

he's been obsessed with Halloween.  He even keeps Halloween decorations up in 

his bedroom all year round!

My window was cut using the 5061 – Square Double Stitched Dies.

I used the 5135 – Hexagon Double Stitched Dies to reinforce the ribbon handles and make

the bag more decorative.

I hope you all have a safe, fun and spooky Halloween!

Be Joyful Window Copics used:

G12, G40, R81, R89, BG000, T1, T2, T4, T5

Cat Themed Birthday Card by Tasha

Hi Ai Fans!

Tasha here sharing a fun birthday card created with the 5369 - Feline Set from Art Impressions!

The Feline Set includes a variety of cat images, but this one is my favorite!

This birthday-themed cat is so fun and I just love the expression on his face; naughty kitty! I colored the image with Copic Markers and added Distress Oxide Ink around the edges to frame the cat. It looks like a spotlight on the cat and I love this golden color!

This set also includes several sentiments to mix and match with the images, but how fun is this one! This cat knows exactly what he is doing! 

Lastly, I added some yellow enamel dots and blue glitter paper before attaching the card to a deep yellow card base. I think this card is super fun and would be great to give to anyone on their special day!

Thank you so much for checking out my card today and I hope you are inspired to create a cat themed birthday card! Be sure to check out the new Ai Challenge and the 2021 Cat Lovers Hop!