Talking Turkey Part III

Mosaic Dog & Titus





These two tags were done as a "couple" as Leah the Mosaic Dog and Titus are a "Cyber couple". I can't really explain it and thought it was silly at first until Diamond fell in love with Zed Monster and I STILL can't explain it. But they suit each other.

In any case, the Scraps are from Queenbrat's "Gobble, Gobble" taggers kit. The Painted Fall Alpha is by Tempus Fugit. I figured I should get this finished up as the fall kits are going to be retired soon, so....

Mr. Hendrix the Kitty



Mr. Hendrix is a Bengals fan, so the football tie in was a natural for him. I used the "Jive Turkey" taggers kit from Toni's Scraparoni for the scraps. The Stitched Felt Alpha is from Raspberry Road Designs.

Maggy & Zoey



It almost looks like they're watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade!

"Turkey Lurkey" was a freebie from Sakb's Scraps. The rest of the scraps are from Scrappy Lover's "Knowledge is Power" taggers kit. The "Hot Brass" alpha is from Free Digital Scrapbooking.

Badge



Anne from Zoolatry was the one who told me to start doing a badge and posting it on Cat Blogosphere. I don't usually credit these however...

The turkey and the background are from Crops 2 Dawn Creations. The Autumn Alpha is by Cindy Lea. I though the turkey was pretty cute so, I just thought I'd mention it.

Two ploppers

Scout Cat is contemplating camping out on the scanner this weekend. I have different plans for it. This plopper is from Rasberry Roads Design, using their Scouts Honor Set. There are five separate sections to that set, each a $1.00 each. I sort of doctored it up a bit with some additional elements from other parts of the set:



After all she is a cat - not a cub - scout.

From Helly comes this lovely desktop freebie:



It is part of her Faery Magick collection and I'm not really sure what to do with it, as it says it's active deskop element...but...it doesn't really do anything?

Oh well.

Cecil the Cougar

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My friend Ed is a "people" person, meaning he has kids where the rest of us "animal" people have pets. He will occasionally try to yank my chain, and one of his comments is "In the end, they're just animals."

I disagree. Animals, all of them, are in fact living, thinking, self aware beings whose intelligence and agenda is just different then ours. Humans are not superior to them, and given the way we tend to ruin our lives, we may be in fact, quite inferior to them.

Cecil the Cougar was the kitty on duty for FelineDirect.com, but sadly has become nothing more than a personae to be dropped just because his human has people in her life that doesn't understand her "hobby" in so much as Cat Blogging can be considered a hobby.

Sorry Cecil, you've just been downgraded from being a "furson" to being just an animal in the world of people persons. We enjoyed your blog and watching you grow up from being a kitten into a young mancat. We are sad to see you go.

Happily, I'm not one to bow down to peer pressure about my "hobbies", I don't care if people call me "fat" or "four-eyes" or any other childish foolishness, and I certainly disappoint Ed because he can never get a rise out of me, despite all the chain yanking he does.

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This piece was done using Raspberry Road Designs' Scouts Honor kit which can be purchased in several installments for a buck each in their dollar store. The Camo alpha is from Free Digital Scrapbooking.

(Ah, poor Cecil, you could have become a cat scout!)

I know that there are several nice pet related kits out there, I even have a couple of them, but I am loath to use them in the creation of these layouts because I think there is more to the fursons of the Cat Blogosphere than collars, food dishes and paw prints.

Grr's Great Adventure (Part IV)

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Grr's Great Adventure (Part IV)

Having jumped on a cruise ship to escape the attacking aliens, Grr arrives several days later at a small island somewhere in the Caribbean.

For any other cat, it might be a bad dream, but there is one place in the known universe that could never intimidate Grr...

And it appears she's found it!

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Where the hell is Grr? That's exactly right, she's made her way to Hell, Grand Cayman.

Once again, Grr's travels are made possible by Raspberry Road Designs Wild Kingdom kit.

Dog Daze I

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Part of the annual festivities at the ball park is the Dog Daze of Summer, usually in 2 parts, but last year we did three after one of days devolved into a thunderstromy affair that forced dogs and owners alike into the dubious shelter of the concourse. While the dogs were mostly behaved, it got dubbed Mike Vick appreciation night, as people attempted to stop their pooches from pounding on each other.

This layout was done with Raspberry Road Designs' Java Joe Freebie...and a lot of flea spray.

Tybalt's Chinese Theater

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I love Tybalt's take on Friday, and so does Diamond since she loves to watch "moovees". Tybalt is the Blogosheper's Hollywood Film Celebrity cat, but don't expect any scandals from him. He believes in behaving like the stars during the time when they were owned by studios and held accountable for their actions.

Tybalt lives with two Torti Sisfurs, Holly and Ivy. He says he is the supreme ruler of the house though, is an expert at purring and loves naps and sunny spots.

His Princess is Samantha of Life from a Cat's Perspective.

Tybalt's family could use some purrs right now as his human Grandpaw is going in for emergency eye surgery early this morning. Her is hoping they can fix the damage so that he can continue to see Tybalt's wonderful reviews.

You can catch Tybalt's take at Tybalt the Prince of Cats.

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I used the Movies way back mini-kit from Kyra, but supplemented the elements with the New Beginnings kit from Raspberry Road Designs. The lettering is from Shabby Princess' Urban Kiwi freebie.

All of the kits are freebies. The layout is sized to 8 x 10 for printing easy.

My only problem is when I start working in black and white I want the whole piece to be in black and white, but...I also wanted to show off Tybalt's lovely coloring.

Ah well....maybe next time...

Sarah in the Garden

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After the April Fools bit, I figured I should be nice and do a more er...serious...piece on Sarah. The problem is, despite being a Geezer, Sarah strikes me as a cat that does not take her self seriously.

So I'm not entirely happy with this. I will consider a re-do later, when I think up something that fits.

I used Raspberry Road Designs' Rose Garden freebie and the Black Epoxy Alpha from Free Digital Scrapbooking.

Origins

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I found the quote I used on this while I was researching Sunday and Monday's entries for Diamond. I thought it very appropriate as domestic felines so quickly revert to their wild origins when allowed to run feral.

Many people know what dogs were domesticated from wolves, but what about cats? How did they come to live with humans? A study published in the July 2007 issue of the journal "Science" helps answer that question. Using genetic methods, scientists from the National Cancer Institute and the University of Oxford report that the origins of the common household cat can be traced back 100,000 years to ancestors in the Middle East. This much earlier than the earliest archaeological evidence of feline domestication that dates back 9,500 years to Cyprus.

By looking at the DNA of wildcats and domestic cats, the research team found five matriarchal lines from which all modern domestic cats have descended. Their ancestors, the Near Eastern (Asian) Wildcat (Felis Sivestris Ornata), still lives in Israel, Saudi Arabia and other Middle Eastern countries. It is believed that the domestic cat's ancestors become helpful to early farmers by hunting rodents and that domestication evolved out of the relationship between humans and cats. In turn, cats followed their human companions as they migrated across the globe.

It is still however, believed that domestic cats developed their long standing relations with humans in Egypt, and that the spread of domestic cats across the globe started with domestics smuggled out of Nile Region. (It was illegal to export a cat from Eqypt.)

I used the Wild Kingdom kit from Raspberry Road Designs on this piece.

The Diamonator

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It's that time of year again, and Diamond gifted me with a large one this time.

That's a six inch ruler next to the victim in the crime scene shots.

I used the ArrrMatey kit from Digital Freebies, except the lettering came Shabby Princess' Urban Kiwi kit and the tag is from Raspberry Road Designs Java Joe Kit.

HRH Yao-Lin

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Yao-Lin is a work of art, a masterpiece of royal Siamese ancestry and as such, he cannot possibly be improved upon.

I can only showcase his magnificence in the regal backdrop he so richly deserves. A two year old Seal Point, he rules over the Isle of Wright in the United Kingdom.

You may worship His Highness at Yao-Lin's Yawnings.

I used Raspberry Road Designs Always Asia kit on this, an absolutely beautiful freebie that is still available. Several of their other heritage sets, like the India kit, is sadly expired.

The Alpha is the rather useful Black Epoxy from Free Digital Scrapbooking.

Snarf

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Snarf is named for a character in Thundercats. He is one of Miss Diamond's mancat interests, and she's been Pikadating him for 9 months now. Snarf is a 2-year-old Flame point Himalayan who lives with two other cats and a dog in Gloucester Point, Virginia.

His story is I think one of the things that is wrong with the adoption process in this country as the local shelter rejected their application based on the fact that their then 13-year-old woofie was not neutered. So his mom turned to a breeder and got Snarf.

I used Raspberry Road Designs Java Joe freebie on this one, the Alpha is from Digital Freebies' African Beat. Formated to 8 x 10 and suitable for framing.

Grr's Great Adventure (Part I)

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I had this idea to do something with "The Diary of Grr" but it wasn't coming. For April though, I decided Grr wanted to go to the Beach but decided to save money and book through another agency.

What can I say? She should have gone with Catatonic Travel!

So this is the first of four inter-related pieces as Grr gets sent to random spots around the world, always looking for the beach.

Here, she's found the edge of the world.

This uses Raspberry Road Designs' Wild Kingdom kit with elements from Digital Freebies' African Beat kit.

Panthera Domestica

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Panthera Domestica, a.k.a. the common House Panther is found in major cities and rural areas all over the world. Their territories may range from single room apartments to several urban blocks, although few tend to roam far from their lairs.

The House Panther is a naturally occurring melanistic color variant of the tabby variety of the Near Eastern wildcat. Subspecies of the Panthera Domestica include a gray (a.k.a. blue) variant.

Despite the name there is nothing "common" about these majestic creatures, who are close direct descendants of the sacred cats of the Temple of the Egyptian Goddess Bast.

Loving, fiercely loyal and very protective of those things that they hold dear, Panthera Domestica is one of the best friends anyone can have.

Find out more about Panthera Domestica at House Panthers as we celebrate a festival of black fur during Midnight Monday.

This public service announcement was brought to you by Raspberry Road Design's Wild Kingdom.

Hockey Puck

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Hockey Puck is the youngest of the Felines at Petronious the Arbiter. The last post we was from Petey, which was in February of 2008 saw the Puckster all grown up!

With a cool name like Hockey Puck, I had to do something wintery, so I used Raspberry Road Designs Mystic Winter Freebie on this. The lettering and the snow flake overlay are both from Free Digital Scrapbooking.

An April Fool

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I knew that Monday we'd be doing and April Fool's post for Myth Monday, but my problem was who/what was going to be the April Fool. Then it occurred to me that Sarah celebrates her birthday on April Fools Day. So here she is, clowning around a bit and making a purr-fect April Fool of herself.

This uses Raspberry Road Designs' Free Clovis the Clown Mega-Kit. The Alpha is Little Monster, from Free Digital Scrapbooking.

I also made a matching card to send to her:


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When Sarah is not clowning around, this reformed criminal and cheese wiz thief is out tracking down bad guys as a Bounty Hunter...



Sarah lives with her Mommy and her Auntie in Red Deer, Alberta, Canada.

Swanky Cocoa

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Cocoa is a little more skittish than Midnight and is afraid of a lot of things: strange people, strange kitties, moving water plastic bags and loud noises are all listed amongst the things that scare him. He loves Fishy Flakes and Temptations for treats and like Diamond, will try to get them as often as he can.

He will occasionally whap Grr in an attempt to start a game of Thundering Herd of Elephants. He's not afraid of putting the big bitey on Grr though if she should play too rough.

Cocoa and Grr look quite a bit a like, but Grr is bigger. You can find Cocoa at Grr, Midnight and Cocoa.

This piece was done with Raspberry Road Design's Swanky kit, and is the companion to the Midnight page. Created to 8 x 10 portrait size for printing.


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Cocoa was previously featured on House Panthers on March 7, 2007.

Midnight in Swank

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This pieces matches with Swanky Cocoa, both being done with Raspberry Road Designs' Swanky freebie. The lettering is from Oceans by Butterfly and the Black Beads are from the Beach Nut Mini Kit by Pam Lefors Designs.

Midnight, Cocoa and Grrr were all feral kittens found living under a junk car in 2005.

Midnight gets a lovely red ruff around her neck in the winter, that sheds out in the summer. She and Cocoa are the closest of the siblings, although she has a very close relationship with Grr as well.

Like her siblings, Midnight blogs at Grr, Midnight and Cocoa.

(On a side note, I was checking out Pam Lefors' Shop and she's got some REALLY NICE stuff. Worth the visit. Really!)


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Midnight was previously featured on House Panthers on Monday, March 3rd.

Bad to the Bone

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And this, of course, was an excuse to play with the MeeGee Designs Aussie Scout set. I used some elements from Raspberry Road Designs' Scouts Honor set. The Bone Alpha is from Free Digital Scrapbooking.

Diamond however, has some interesting ideas on what Johnny Rotty is up to.

Wrestling with Rascal

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Rascal is Riley's brother, one of the two kittens that were adopted together by Grr, Midnight and Cocoa after they were found abandoned in a park at the end of August, apparently on the day they were born.

This is the companion piece to Riley's Room and also uses the Baily's Room freebie from Raspberry Road Designs. I took the pink out to make it more fitting for a young mancat. The flower alphas on both pieces came from Free Digital Scrapbooking.

Rascal is going to be our featured House Panther on April Fools Day. But don't tell anyone, it's a secret!

Silver Screen

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I always wanted one of those negative thing-a-ma-bobs and now I have one!

After I grayscaled the photos, i went back in and hand colored Diamond's eyes. The green never seems to come out right when I shoot her, and often her eyes seem to match whatever she's wearing.

Like the Grr piece, this uses the "New Beginnings" freebie from Raspberry Road Designs.

What I need to do now, is take a series of shots, and reverse them so that they DO LOOK like negatives!