KCTV, Altered Tin, with Tutorial

It's February,  and who's ready for some valentines? Me and Alpha Stamps, that's who! Let's tune in to KCTV (KittyCat TV, of course) for some good old-fashioned Valentine's Day fun. I love the vintage charm of these cheerful kittens; they remind me of my elementary school days, and valentines from my classmates.

The new retro tv, designed for use with Altoids sized tins, is perfect for this sweet kitty scene. And these cats know how to celebrate! Some happy sprinkles make this Valentine's party extra festive. I pulled a few hearts out of the sprinkles for little dimensional accents behind the kitten's heads, and on the front of the television.

Even the back of the tv is full of feline love.

Here's how KCTV was built. After deciding the theme of the program, I first decorated the tin. The cats were all cut out, then layered with foam tape to give dimension. A thick layer of glue was applied to the bottom of the tin, which was then sprinkled with... sprinkles! In the photo below, you can see the speaker vents in the upper corner of the tv. I wanted to preserve those, so I colored that area with a red marker so they will match the red paper that will be used on the front.

 

To cut the paper where the vents will show through, I traced the tv on the wrong side of the paper, and used a pencil to mark where the vents are. I then used an x-acto knife to cut out one hole for the vent area.  I used a red marker to draw around the opening. This will help this area blend in with the red paper. Then, the front of the tv was glued down and cut out along the edges with the x-acto.

Below you can see the finished front of the tv, and the back of the back. I did not put paper on the entirety of the insides of the tv, as the back of each piece won't show once it's fully constructed. The "brass" bottoms of the legs were painted with gold metallic paint, and a silver Sharpie was used for the antenna. A grey Copic marker was used on the red legs to make them look like they're set back a bit from the tv cabinet. I used a red Copic marker around the lip of the tin, in case any showed through once the tv facade was attached. A little bit of the turquoise paper is glued behind the speaker.

Here's how to make sure your tv is sturdy: glue the tin to the front of the tv first. Once that's good and dry, put lots of glue on the back of the tin and sandwich the two parts together. While the glue is wet, use some blocks (or whatever you have handy that will work) to make sure the back and front are exactly lined up. Let dry.

Once it's completely dry, you can add the antennas, paint the knobs and add any other embellishments to the front and call it a day. I did want to add some sides, though. A 12" long piece of the same red scrapbook paper is just enough to go from the outside of one leg, all around the top and other side of the tin, to the outside of the other leg. Cut the paper to the width of the side. I cut a notch in the paper to accommodate the antenna, so I glued the paper at the top of the tv first. Then one side at a time, I glued the paper around the curves. Be patient and hold that paper in place for a bit while it dries! You'll have to trim the paper a bit when it gets to the legs. I went ahead and cut another piece to finish the bottom. That piece was notched for the legs as shown below.

Now sit back and enjoy the show! 💕 For a complete list of supplies, click here.

Teeny Tiny Halloween Shriney (x 3!)

It's the most wonderful time of the year: college football, and Halloween crafting. Yay! Today I present to you three out of the five adorable mini Halloween shrines just released from Alpha Stamps. The opening of each one measures just 2" by 2". The tallest one shown below is a little less than 6" tall. So cute! Here's what I did with mine...

For the Raven October Shrine, I painted the front with acrylics, and gave the raven a witch hat and a red rhinestone eye. The interior is lined with a very dark paper (with bats!) that is pretty much impossible to photograph due to the depth of the box. Please use your imagination.  Three tiny trick or treaters stand on a bed of moss and select from the available pumpkins. I considered printing out the "pumpkin patch" sign, but every pumpkin patch I've ever been to seems to sport a crudely painted sign, so I hand painted the sign in the interest of historical accuracy. Rickrack covers the tabs that show on the front when the box is assembled.

I love the orange polka dot paper that I used on the sides so much that I used it on all three of the shrines.

Here's a slightly better view of the inside.

I considered painting details on the top part of the Haunted House Shrine, but once I painted the back black, I really liked the plain silhouette, so I painted the front plain black as well. This shrine was lined with a dark purple paper with a bed of moss on the floor. A full moon smiles at a black bat, as two little black rats explore the graveyard. Black and white baker's twine hides the tabs on this one.

There's that orange polka dot paper again!

The interior. The rats were actually tiny white mice, but a little black paint made them look more sinister and rat like.

And, the cat. I gotta be honest: I am not a cat lover by any means. However, there was something about this cat that I just couldn't resist. This shrine is similar to the others, so it comes with the 2" by 2" square opening, but I gave my kitty a mouth. And teeth. I cut a piece of shirt cardboard just big enough to attach to the front, and painted a nose and mouth. Once the paint dried, I cut out the interior of the mouth, and it was the perfect size to catch a big ole black rat. The cat looked so happy, that I felt it needed a Halloween party hat.

And yes, the cat got the orange paper sides as well. Kitty better watch out, or that rat's going to get away!

There are two other shrines in this set: a cat sitting on a pumpkin, and a cat in front of a full moon. I might get around to constructing those soon, but I'm working on a different Halloween project for next week first. Meanwhile, if you want to make some of these tiny shrines, click here for a complete supply list.

Halloween Cat Bat

Here's a little paper clay cat bat I made for the Vintage Halloween swap on Craftster. I don't often work with clay, so each time I try, it's a real adventure. He stands about 6" tall, and is dressed to go trick or treating. To help him stand, I bent a wire hanger into a U shape, turned it upside down, and built his body onto the wire with the two ends of the U becoming his legs.

 

The open polka dots on his costume were the result of a happy accident. When I first painted them, I wasn't happy with the color, so I attempted to wipe them off. They had already partially dried, so I was left with a little ring of color that I happened to like. I did the rest of the dots in that same way: putting dots in a small area, and then wiping out the centers. Once he was all painted, I used some ink to dirty him up, and then painted him with glaze to make him shiny.  

My partner in the swap said she liked a bit of humor, so oops! cat bat has lost a button and his little rear end is exposed.

Ready for my close up, Mr. DeMille.

Halloween Peg Doll with Boo Blocks

One of my favorite swaps on Craftster this time of year is the One Tiny Thing October Holiday swap. My partner mentioned she loves peg dolls, so I decided to make her a couple, along with some little Boo blocks. The only rule of the OTT swap is that your swap item has to be under 4". These blocks are 3/4" square, and the little cat is 1" tall, for reference. Depending on your monitor, you're probably seeing them actual size.

 

One thing I thought would be fun is that they can be arranged in many different ways. I hope my the recipient enjoys playing with them!

 

Black Cat

My favorite swaps to do on Craftster are always the Halloween swaps, and especially the Vintage Halloween swap. I can't resist doing those just about every year. Here's what I made for my swap partner this year. It's about 8" tall, made from paperclay on a foil armature. The star stand is the bottom of a paper maché box.

 

My partner mentioned on the signup form that she like black cats, bats, and pumpkins, so I got in all three. The ruffle around his neck was originally white, so I colored it with a Copic marker.

The back:

And a little closeup of his face, just for fun.

Want to see what my partner sent to me? This awesome seated skeleton, nestled in an old cheese box:

Detail:

That pretty much sums up why I love the Vintage Halloween swap over on Craftster!

Cute as a Button: Kitty Photo Holders

This month, everything at Alpha Stamps is cute as a button! I received collage sheets and buttons, and lots of kittens! I had a bunch of 2" wooden blocks, so I set out to make a set of three blocks that would (hopefully) look like they had been played with, and then I added a wire to hold some vintage photos.

To start the project, I painted each block and a wooden wheel a different color, chosen to coordinate with the Sew Lovely 6" paper pad. I sanded all the edges, inked them a bit, and then covered each side with a different paper, cut a little smaller than the side of the block. One side of the blocks got kittens and a couple of buttons, while the reverse side got some adorable children. After I adhered the images, I lightly sanded each one to distress the surface.

I made some good use of my Silhouette Cameo cutter for this project, cutting out the word cat...

...and the numbers 1, 2, and 3 to put on the sides of the blocks.

I also decorated a couple of spools with some of the kitty and heart buttons. That cat on the right cracks me up. He's so excited to be on that spool!

For a complete list of Alpha Stamps supplies, click here.

Better Homes and Gardens Holiday Crafts

Earlier this year, I was contacted by the editor of Better Homes and Gardens Holiday Crafts magazine, asking if they could feature my Halloween cat in this year's addition. The magazine came out this week, and I just got my copy! Here's the kitty, from page 13. So exciting!

The Holiday issue has lots of great ideas in it, plus tutorials. There are several Halloween and Christmas crafts I plan on making this year.

Three Little Kittens

I have a hard time keeping the Vintage Cats in my etsy store around this time of year, so I made a few new ones. It's funny to see how the faces have evolved in the last couple of years. I had started making their mouths so huge! When I pulled out the original cat this year, the difference was really striking. Here's the first cat I made, back in 2007.

And here are the three I just made. With this set, I made the mouths smaller than I recently have been, but they're still way bigger than this original.

I think the newer cats look less constipated, don't you?