Tigerfly's Tea

Our wonderful Queen of Queen Kat Designs, has invited me to share with you some of the paintings that have inspired my stamp designs. Being Halloween, I thought I would share Tigerfly's Tea, just cause he is orange and black.

Maybe I watched too much British Comedy growing up, or maybe it is because we always had tea in the house due to my step brother's mom owning a tea shop, but tea always seems comforting. It keeps showing up in paintings that I want to feel homey.

I really like how the wings fame his face in this one and the dots on the wings are like another set of eyes watching.

Well, I hope you all liked seeing this little fellow. I certainly look forward to getting to share some more of my paintings with you in the future.

Happy Halloween!

As I'm typing this, I'm still worrying about how to complete my son's impromptu and totally improvised Star Wars Clone costume. Here's hoping that you all have a wonderful time trick or treating or simply enjoy a fun, memorable Halloween weekend!

Instead of posting something I made, I'll let you oooh and ahhh with me at just some of QKD's beautiful stamps. Oh and they'd look great for Halloween layouts or cards or projects or whatever your creative mind can come up with. *wink wink*

Okay, so if you love mermaids as much as we do, you have to check out Maigan Lynn's beautiful creations HERE.

But you know what I love about her mermaids? That even mermaids get to play dress-up.


In the Quiet Land of Peace Mermaid Stamp

If you love manga, or even if you don't know what manga is, you'll definitely still love Che Gilson's designs HERE.


My fave kick-ass girlie would have to be Pirate Lolita.

Lastly, have you checked out Kristie Silva's designs HERE? So adorable!

My fave would have to be Conjuring Up Spells.


So, that's it for a sneak peek at just some of all the fabulousness the QKD Store has to offer yah. Now go get inspired and have a fun Halloween!

*hugs*
Nina

Thursday Focus

In honor of the new releases by Melia Newman last Wednesday, my focus this Thursday is a stamp by Melia that I have to have! I have always loved Melia's work, but when I saw this one in the store, I was like "WHY don't I have it!!!???"

This is the Ornament Kitty Stamp



It was a new release for October but somehow it slipped by me! It is such a great stamp and would be perfect for your Christmas cards. Just think each Ornament could be a different color -- add a little shimmer to them and ready to go!

So, make sure you check out all the fabulous stamps by Melia!

October 26 Blog Hop: Shoes

It's all about the Shoes for this week's Royal Kat Tuesday. (What is it about shoes and women? =p)

This week's challenge is to find a pair of shoes and be inspired by them.

And here's the blog hop order:

QKD Blog --- You are here. =)
Lara's blog
Shannon's blog
Dark Ink Sorority Blog
Stayce's Blog
Chris' blog
Alex's Blog
Whimsical Ink Sorority
Penny's Blog
Genevieve's Blog
Jules's blog
Katrina's blog
Roni's blog
Queen Kat Designs Store

And here's the shoe I've had my eye on lately:


Since we are talking about the shoes I want, I figured it was a good "All I want for Christmas" layout:


And here's close-up of that adorable Ornament Kitty Stamp:


So see you at Lara's Blog HERE up next. Have a shoe-inspired day! =)

*hugs*
Nina

Memories

My nephew, Sephie, in Louisiana sent me the most gorgeous photos he recently took of the fall season. He showed me this photo of his mom sweeping the leaves in the backyard and I wanted to capture it in a simple layout.


And here are some close-ups:




Stamps: Lucky You Stamp Set, Coffee Stain Stamp

Sometimes, it's not the big events or the special occasions that touch our hearts. It's the simple, ordinary things that we do everyday that also merit a photo or a layout.

Go and take some photos of your everyday routine or go outside and capture the changing colors of the seasons.

*hugs*
Nina

Melia's New Stamps

We are proud to announce the arrival of 6 new stamps from Melia! Check out the cards I made with them...

Please visit the QKD store and pick up some of these fancy new stamps from our friend Melia. If you order all 6 of the new ones: (or any combination of 6 of Melia's stamps)

Mer Cat Bath
Framed Dragon
Flitter
Fancy Wings
Tiger Fly's Tea II
Fancy Tail n Squid

You'll receive another of Melia's stamps FREE!!

October 19 Blog Hop: Inspiration

Welcome to another Royal Kat Tuesday! I have some very exciting news to share with you. Queen Kat has decided to release a bunch of stamps by the end of the year! This means that there will be more than one stamp release per month!! This month we have had 2 so far and will have a 3rd this week!

Tomorrow as a matter of fact, Queen Kat Designs will release some new designs from Melia Newman. Melia is known for her whimsical fantasy style animals. Please come back tomorrow to see all of the new goodies we have to offer!

For this week's inspiration we had this lovely photo as a jumping off point:

I'm sure you can't wait to see what the Royal Court has done with this week's challenge so here's the blog hop order:

QKD Blog --- You are here. =)
Lara's blog
Shannon's blog
Dark Ink Sorority Blog
Stayce's Blog
Chris' blog
Alex's Blog
Whimsical Ink Sorority
Penny's Blog
Genevieve's Blog
Jules's blog
Katrina's blog
Roni's blog
Queen Kat Designs Store

And here's my take on the challenge:


This is a recent photo taken by my nephew, Sephie, in Louisiana. He's really getting good at taking photos so of course I had to brag a little at his skills. He's turning 18 this November.

I wanted to keep the layout simple so as to focus on the photo. And of course I had to use the perfect sentiment stamp from the Every Season Stamp Set.

Here's a close-up:


Now head on to the lovely Lara's Blog HERE to see what she made. Till next time!

Verona's Saturday Challenge

Hello again bloggers! It's challenge day again. I have another fun challenge planned for you today. The theme is Fall.

So... Here's our weekly inspiration. Today's masterpeice comes from our Whimsical Ink Sister, Wynneth.

Wynneth used our whimsical mermaid named Mad Hatted for this card.

Here's the challenge this week...
1. Make a card
2. Include at least 1 stamped image
3. Include the colors Red, Purple and Orange

How fun is that challenge? Take it and post your creation by next week for a chance to win!

The Nitty Gritty...
To be eligible for this week's prizes, post a link to your project by Friday, October 22nd 10pm EST. I will randomly drawn one winner for these goodies:

$15 QKD gift certificate if you use QKD stamps on your card

OR

$10 QKD gift certificate if you do not use QKD stamps on your card

I can't wait to see what you create! To allow everyone a chance to win, each person is only eligible to win every 60 days.

Please add your creation to the link below! Thank you for coming!

Happy Halloween Banner

I've been having fun making some halloween crafts around the house. It's kinda been my personal tradition to make a banner for every important occasion. Halloween being no exception, at least this year. *Kindly click on photos to enlarge.*


And here are some close-ups:






These are made of bingo cards, a stack of old Halloween paper, QKD stamps, Halloween-themed brads, ribbon, bling, and some additional embellishments.

Thanks so much to Angie of Scrapscene for the special mention HERE.

So what has been keeping you busy? Share with us. We'd love to know.

*hugs*
Nina

Thursday Focus

Penny here -- did you miss me last week? Well of course not!!! And I don't blame you! Last week was fabulous with the first ever Queen Kat Designs Public Blog Hop! If you haven't hopped along and left some love for all the great projects, then you need to do so!! You are missing out on so much!!!

Okay, so the focus for today is on a stamp that I have that probably no one else does. That is right; no one else has this same stamp! Why you ask? Because it is one the of the fabulous personalized stamps that are available at Queen Kat Designs! Whether you need an address stamp, personalized ATC backer stamp, a personalized ETSY store stamp, or a personalized MADE BY stamp, you can have your own stamp!!

And here's the stamp that Vicki made just for me!!!




The design I picked was the Mindy Handmade By Stamp. I absolutely love my stamp and you will too, so make sure you check out all the designs that are available!!!

Lolli Pop Labs is Here!

Today we are welcoming Shannon Rene Justice to the Queen Kat Designs Family!

Shannon is the creator of Lolli Pop Labs. She has been a full time designer/illustrator Since 2007. Shannon is the illustratr of: "'The Lighter Side of Dark' Book One: Enter the Yard", a fun children's book.

She was recently chosen by SONY to help launch their APxSony ATV Lyrical Inspirations Official Collection. She has created illustrations inspired by 5 different songs, each by a famous Sony recording artist: 'Burning Love' by Elvis, 'Hit Me With Your Best Shot' by Pat Benatar, 'True Colors' by Cyndi Lauper, 'Alone' by Heart, and 'Burnin' For You' by Blue Oyster Cult.

How awesome is she? Well I'll show you!! We have created a private collection of her stamps right here at Queen Kat Designs. We are starting with 7 of them today but there are lots more to follow in the months to come!

This sweet little girl is called Black Balloon. I had so much fun making this card. I stamped the image and colored it then I embossed the red cardstock with a brick embossing folder from Tim Holtz. I tore the center of the red and "peeled" it back then I inked the red stock with walnut stain distress ink and an ink blender tool.

Next, I cut the image out with one of my nestibilities and inked the sides of it with some Stormy Sky distress ink and an ink blender tool. I adhered the red cardstock to a white card base and put the image in the middle of it with a pop dot or 4. :)

I stamped "To my best friend..." on white cardstock, inked the edges with Stormy Sky Distress ink and then matted it onto black cardstock and adhered to the front of the card.

This is a side view to show that it really pops off the page.

And last but not least, I stamped the sentiment on red cardstock and matted on black and adhered to the inside of my card. This sentiment is from our new "To My Best Friend" stamp set.

Please hop over to Shannon's Blog for the next stop on the blog hop. Thanks for coming today!

If you get lost along the way, here's the complete hop list.

QKD-- You're here!

Shannon

Jules

DIS

Chris

Vicki

Katrina

Genevieve

October 12 Blog Hop: Sketch

Welcome to another Royal Kat Tuesday Blog Hop! Hope you are enjoying the lovely fall weather and colors and getting excited for Halloween! Take lots of photos and do remember to do some crafting along the way.

For this week's challenge, we have this wonderful sketch to inspire us:

And here's a road map of the Blog Hop in case you get lost along the way:

QKD Blog --- You are here. =)
Lara's blog
Shannon's blog
Dark Ink Sorority Blog
Stayce's Blog
Chris' blog
Alex's Blog
Whimsical Ink Sorority
Penny's Blog
Genevieve's Blog
Jules's blog
Katrina's blog
Roni's blog
Queen Kat Designs Store

Here's my take on the sketch:


This lovely photo was taken by Laura Haislip, Queen Kat's mom. I edited it and put in an oil painting effect and lomo effect.

I wanted the layout to be earthy and down-to-earth, hence the woodgrain background and choice of colors. I stamped Queen Kat Designs' Aged Text Background Stamp and Bubbles Background Stamp to make my own patterned paper on kraft cardstock.

And here are some close-ups:

Now off you go to the lovely Lara's Blog HERE so get hopping. Till next time!

*hugs*

Nina

Verona Challenge Day

Hello again bloggers! It's challenge day again. I have another fun challenge planned for you today. The theme is Fall, but first lets congratulate our winner of last week's challenge...

The Crafty Den

We are also congratulating 2 winners from our Fall Public Blog hop this week, Nancy Y won a Conjuring Up Spells stamp from the Creepie Cutie line and pjritsema won an Autumn stamp set designed by Irene Tan! Congrats you two.

So... Here's our weekly inspiration. Today's masterpeice comes from our Whimsical Ink Sister, Shannon.

Shannon used our beautiful mermaid named Autumn for this card.

Here's the challenge this week...
1. Make anyta card or tag
2. Include at least 1 stamped image that's colored in FALL colors
3. Include at least 1 patterned paper
4. Include at least 3 brads

How easy is that challenge? Take it and post your creation by next week for a chance to win!

The Nitty Gritty...
To be eligible for this week's prizes, post a link to your project by Friday, October 15th 10pm EST. I will randomly drawn one winner for these goodies:

$15 QKD gift certificate if you use QKD stamps on your card

OR

$10 QKD gift certificate if you do not use QKD stamps on your card

I can't wait to see what you create! To allow everyone a chance to win, each person is only eligible to win every 60 days.

Please add your creation to the link below! Thank you for coming!

Fall Public Blog Hop

Hello!! Thanks for coming today. We are having a special blog hop today and tomorrow. Queen Kat Designs invited the public to sign up to participate in the hop today! I'm excited to get things off to a start. The theme today's hop is Fall.

For this card:

Suppies: red cardstock, patterned paper, Apple Basket stamp, Aged Text background stamp, brown cardstock, black ink pad, chestnut roan ink pad, adhesive, nestibilities, white cardstock, red ink pad, crystal lacquer, brown velvet trim and pop dots.

Directions:
1. Cut a piece of brown cardstock and adhere it to the front of your card
2. Cut a piece of red cardstock about 1/4"-1/2" smaller than the brown and stamp it with brown ink and the aged text background stamp
3. Stamp and color the apple basket on white cardstock and cut out with a nestibility of your choice and then cut a matching shape with the next size up for the mat.
4. Swipe the egdes of your apple basket on a red ink pad, layer onto the brown mat
5. Cut a rectangle of patterned paper and red cardstock to layer on front of card
6. Apply trim and use pop dots to affix the apple basket image to the card.
7. Use crystal lacquer and apply to a few of the apples to give a 3-D effect.

I hope you've enjoyed my card. Try it! It's a fun card to make. Your next stop on the hop is Shannon.

Here's the entire hop list for the day. If you get lost come back here any find your way again.

Queen Kat Designs: http://qkd.blogspot.com-- You're here!
Shannon Hawkins: http://shannonssentiments.blogspot.com/
Jenny Johnson: http://www.crazyaboutcricut.blogspot.com
Whimsical Ink Sorority: http://whimsicalinksorority.blogspot.com
Jessica Griffin: http://www.canyoupixelthis.com
Vicki Douglas: http://qksc.blogspot.com
Kat Blue: http://www.kateblue.blogspot.com
Jeanie Dickinson: http://jeaniesdesigns.blogspot.com
Dark Ink Sorority: http://darkinksorority.blogspot.com
Charlene Cundy: http://ccundy.blogspot.com
Loretta Rodger: http://www.msrhetta.blogspot.com - Please note that Loretta is out of town and can not ammend her hop order and we had someone drop out at the last minute. Please visit Bonnie after Loretta. Thank you.
Bonnie Rose: http://alifeunrehearsed2.blogspot.com
Jill: http://thescrapoholic.blogspot.com
Nina Patena: http://pasigmom.blogspot.com/
Kapree Clark: http://craftyvamp9.blogspot.com/
Ibis Arrastia: http://SmilesByIbis.blogspot.com
Penny Hartley: http://penny-randomthoughts.blogspot.com/
Nancy Yankowski http://thetrinketcollector.blogspot.com/
Shaunery Wharton http://shaunerysblog.blogspot.com
Terri Sproul: http://TerriSproul.blogspot.com
Lara Bandanas: http://youwantthecookie.blogspot.com/

Welcome new stamps!!

We are glad you're here! Thanks for coming on this day. QKD is welcoming 25 new stamps and sets today as we embark on our October release day. Heres a peek of what we have to offer today.
The Boyz Toyz is a new more masculine line that we are now offering. There are lots of single stamps for you to play with to create the purrrfect manly card or project. These were inspired by a good friend of Queen Kat Designs, Joel Wixom. He is just getting into stamping and kept on me until I came up with these stamps. It's going to be exciting to see what he does with them. This one is called The Stud. Look for more stamps coming in this collection soon!


This next image is called Lazy Days on the Ocean Floor. She is a gorgeous little mermaid from our Fantasy Art of Maigan Lynn Collection here at the castle. For only $7.99 she can be yours today.


This last peek is an introduction to our new Christmas stamps for 2010. This one is called Snowflake Deer.

There are lots of new samples in the gallery this month and we also have some new Royal Court members to welcome as well. Please help me welcome Stayce DeWid, Genevieve Rodriquez, Katrina Hunt and Chris Hurley to the court. We are very excited to have you and can't wait to see your work with our fabulous stamps.

Shop now and get your new stamps today. There's still time to shop for Halloween!!

Happy Stampin'

October 5 Blog Hop: Sketch

Welcome to another week of our Royal Kat Tuesday Blog Hop! We have some new faces here at the Royal Court and we'd just like to extend a warm welcome to Chris, Callie, Genevieve, Stayce, and Katrina! Yay!

This week's challenge is this lovely sketch here:

And here's a road map of the Blog Hop in case you get lost along the way:

QKD Blog --- You are here. =)
Lara's blog
Shannon's blog
Dark Ink Sorority Blog
Chris' blog
Alex's Blog
Callie's blog
Whimsical Ink Sorority
Penny's Blog
Jules's blog
Katrina's blog
Roni's blog
Queen Kat Designs Store

And here's my take:


And here's a close-up:


Since I have a whole stack of Halloween papers in my stash, I wanted to make a Halloween-inspired layout. I saw this vintage image from an old advertising brochure and thought: What if she's not your typical cook and cooks things like eye of newt, toe of frog?

I stamped the witch-like snow-woman in the Northern Exposure Stamp Set and the sentiment and spatula from the BBQ Stamp Set. Then I just added the ingredients with Dymo tape. =p

Do remember to check back on Thursday, October 7, for our First Public Blog Hop!

Now off you go to see what Lara has concocted up for us HERE.

*hugs*
Nina

Verona's Challenge

Hello again bloggers! It's challenge day again. I have a fun challenge planned for you today. It's anything BUT a card!

So... Here's our weekly inspiration. Today's masterpeice comes from our friend Andrea Murdock whom we miss very much here at Queen Kat Designs.

Andi created this fun paint can/ candy pail using our cute Tabitha Mermaid stamp. Since Halloween's coming up very soon I wanted to challenge you to make your own Halloween docoration or usable item.

Here's the challenge this week...
1. Make anything you want EXCEPT a card or tag
2. Include at least 1 stamped image that's colored in Halloween colors
3. Your item must be something that you can display for the season or use on the special day (pail, sign, candle wrappers, candy wrappers.. etc.) And it can be a gift if you'd like.

How easy is that challenge? Take it and post your creation by next week for a chance to win!

The Nitty Gritty...
To be eligible for this week's prizes, post a link to your project by Friday, October 8th 10pm EST. I will randomly drawn one winner for these goodies:

$15 QKD gift certificate if you use QKD stamps on your card

OR

$10 QKD gift certificate if you do not use QKD stamps on your card

I can't wait to see what you create! To allow everyone a chance to win, each person is only eligible to win every 60 days.

Please add your creation to the link below! Thank you for coming!

Happy October!

Happy October! Wow, does time fly by or what?

I'm getting pretty excited for all the fun the month of Halloween brings, even if we don't celebrate Halloween in the Philippines (at least not traditionally).

My son is pretty excited too. (Blame it on Disney channel and Cartoon Network!) Which means I'm not getting away from decorating the house and celebrating it.

So to get into the mood, I made this layout just for the occasion.

TwiHard
By Nina Pateña

Stamps: Jerseys Stamp Set, Howl Stamp Set

When our family was in Taiwan, I saw these Twilight books in Chinese. And although I wasn't a fan yet, I kinda knew all the hype about it. It wasn't until I came back to the Philippines when my brother lent me the Twilight video that I got hooked hook, line and sinker.

I love that the stamp sets have my favorite Jacob expression "Sure, Sure" and that I can still happily debate between being a "Wolf girl" or "Vamp girl".

Happy month of Halloween! Now bring on the skulls, crossbones and pumpkins!

*hugs*
Nina