Calico Kitty in the Barn: Heart to Heart Favorite Things Challenge

I chose this card for the My Favorite Things Challenge at Heart to Heart  since this card was inspired by so many favorite thoughts!

Yesterday I was out doing barn chores when I saw a kitty run past me.  As I was thinking through this card (sweat pouring ~~ from barn chores....not the card thought process) I envisioned a plain kitty.  Then I remembered she was a calico.  Of course, this conjured up pictures of calico fabrics which in turn took my brain to Laura Ingalls and Little House.  That made me think of her mom in the mercantile looking at fabrics for the dress she wanted to make for herself, but she ended up making dresses for her girls...........wait, I've digressed!  Back to the card!

I used CTMH Dakota for the Card Base and cut it using the CTMH Art Philosophy Cartridge.  In CCR, I inserted the window, in place of the leaf, from the same cartridge.  I also cut two window frames from the Whisper cardstock.  Kitty was cut from CTMH Clementine; shadow from Twilight cardstock.  I embellished with Mocha Adhesive Gems and a piece of ribbon from my bag of scraps.

Now for the inside.  I didn't have a stamp I wanted to use.  Therefore, it was the perfect opportunity to try out a new (for me) technique I saw on Youtube!  I made my own stamp using CCR, my machine, and Cricut Cuttables Stamp Sheets.

First I went into CCR and chose the branch from Spring Seasonal.  I found the bird in A Child's Year and welded them together.  Then I cut my new stamp using the Cricut.  Here is a link to a video on that topic!  www.youtube.com/watch?v=WXj87uPw4pU

I recommend using a new mat when cutting stamps.  I used pigment ink to stamp the image; the dye based inks don't seem to hold very well to the stamps.  I'm still experimenting with this!  I hope to have a better idea of how to make it work better later.

I stamped the image on CTMH Sky Blue cardstock.  I made the cloud affect by inking around a tree cut-out with Sky Blue ink.  The sentiment is from the CTMH Art Philosophy Bundle.

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