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Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Our Cat's First CD Release

We're all about themed birthday parties in our family. So far birthdays in our house are a family affair, I'm sure the day will come when they ask to invite friends, but right now we usually have a special family dinner. Over the years we've celebrated with mermaids, rainbows, dinosaurs, fairies and Candy Land, but this year my daughter requested a cat cake. Since I usually tie the party to the cake request, her party will be all about cats.

My daughter loves our cat, Sushi. So I thought she might appreciate a present from her favorite feline. The cat and I spoke and decided that an album full of cat songs would be purr-fect. But it was really important to Sushi that it to look like a real CD. Sushi tried to he helpful, but her claws just kept getting in the way, so I actually made the CD by myself. It took some time, but I think the result was well worth it. (And Sushi approves.)



I began by measuring the artwork on the front of a CD. (4.75 inches by 4.75 inches.) Using photoshop, I created an image twice that size. (In my first attempt I made it the exact size I wanted but it was pixelated when I printed it. Making my image larger solved that problem.) I edited out the background of a photo of the cat, added a colored background, added the text and I was done. After getting Sushi's O.K., it was just a matter of inserting the image into Word, sizing it to 4.75 X 4.75, printing it out on card stock and trimming the edges.


The back was a little more complicated. For my first attempt I didn't measure - I just assumed it should be the same size as the front. Not a good idea. The back of a CD case is larger than the front so I had to go back and redo it. The back artwork (which goes inside the case) is 5.875 inches wide by 4.75 inches tall. The hardest part was making sure the titles for the ends of the CD were placed so they would show up when they were folded and inserted into the case. I just winged that part. I placed them where I thought they would work and then printed a tester. Then I just adjusted the placement until I was pleased, and printed my final copy on the card stock.

We already had a few cat songs in our music library, but it would have been a very short CD. An hour or two on iTunes and Sushi and I finalized the play list:

A Cat Had a Birthday - Kingston Livingston & The Party Animals
The Siamese Cat Song - Peggy Lee & Friends
Cat and the Fiddle - Heather Alexander
Alley Cat - Sherwood
The Cat Came Back - Laurie Berkner
The Cat in the Window - The Turtles
Felix the Cat - TV Theme Players
I've Got a Dog & My Dog's Name is Cat - Barry Louis Polisar
Smelly Cat Medley - Phoebe Buffay & Friends
The In and Out Song - Garrison Keillor & Friends
Smiley Cat - Parry Gripp
What's New Pussycat - Tom Jones
My Cat Can Fly - Joe McDermott
The Cat's Meow - Barbi

An odd collection I know, but Sushi wanted her first CD needed to reflect her wide musical palate. We went back and forth about including Cat Scratch Fever, Cat in the Cradle, and The Stray Cat Strut, but in the end Sushi thought my daughter would enjoy the other tunes more. Besides, Sushi assures me she's already working on her second album...

8 comments:

  1. This is too cute. Sushi is a star!

    My neighbour's cat is Sushi as well, we get to look after her quite often.

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  2. Sounds like fun!

    I think I have a cat shaped cake pan. If A would like to borrow it just let me know and I will drop it in the mail right away.

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  3. Brian and I always laugh about one of the New Year's when we stayed with you at Hart's and woke up to Sushi trying to rip the paneling off the wall and those big golden eyes glowing in the dark. Should have known she was destined for greatness!

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  4. Ha! Too awesome! Sushi is adorable. PS: That sweater in the previous post is gorgeous. I'd be hinting to mom, too!

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  5. How cute! And your cat is so pretty - you are so very creative when it comes to your little ones' birthday parties! Did you have a cat shaped birthday cake also?
    Happy Wednesday to you and your family!!

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  6. Ha! I love it Liz! You always do such a great job w/ birthdays!

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  7. Michelle from the "thumb" of MIApril 13, 2011 at 9:29 PM

    That is an adorable idea!! So darn cute!! Your very creative!

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