Getting Awesomely Artistic

Hi there

On the weekend I got the opportunity to have a play with the fabulous 'Awesomely Artistic' stamp set for the first time, which is a new one in the 2015-16 Annual Catalogue. I was inspired by this card from Michelle Zindorf who does the most amazing scenes with sponging, most of which I would not be game to attempt.  However, this card is fairly simple and fun to make and quite flexible I think for use as a friendship, get well or 'just' because card.

I enjoyed using the new Brick Wall embossing folder for the first time to create the flower bed in the foreground. I added some Early Espresso ink to the 'mortar lines' on the embossing folder (the side with the Sizzix logo) to create a contrast to the Crumb Cake card stock. I also sponged some Crumb Cake ink over the vertical and horizontal mortar lines to add some shading to the bricks. 

 

Sponge daubers were used on the centre panel which I masked off with strips cut from full adhesive sticky notes. You can also use the Stampin' Sponges, but I prefer sponge daubers as I think they give a softer end result to your colour blending.

For the inside I stamped part of the flower image in the top right hand corner and added a strip of Lost Lagoon Washi Tape from the the new In Colour washi tape set to continue the theme. The flowers on the front and inside were coloured with the Tangelo Twist Stampin' Write Marker.

 

 

Project Details
Stamps	Awesomely Artistic, Wetlands
Card stock & Papers	Lost Lagoon, Tangerine Tango, Whisper White
Ink	Early Espresso, Memento Tuxedo Black, Old Olive, Pool Party, Lost Lagoon, Crumb Cake
Accessories	In Colour Washi Tape
Tools	Brick Wall embossing folder, Big Shot, Stampin' Write Markers (Old Olive, Tangelo Twist), Stampamajig, Sponge daubers

Thanks for looking!

CASE-ing the Catty Blog Hop - Love & Sympathy

Hi there

It's Friday evening again and time for the CASE-ing the Catty Crew to bring you more inspiration from the Stampin' Up! catalogues. This week we are looking at the 'Love and Sympathy' section on pages 19-30 of the 2015-16 Annual Catalogue.   

You may have come from Stasia's blog but if not, you can start here and hop over to the next blog using the button at the bottom of this post.

This week I have taken my inspiration from the card at the bottom of Page 20. I've been wanting to try out the sweet ribbon treatment on this card for ages, so I decided to case the layout to go with it. I love that this card is very clean and simple with lots of white space and my version is bright and cheery as well, which I think is perfect for a 'get well' card. I have used a selection of elements from a range of stamp sets. 

After stamping the flourish from 'Everything Eleanor' I added a strip of 6mm double sided tape to the edge of the Whisper White card stock.  Start at the bottom placing the Melon Mambo ribbon on the tape for about 2cm  (leave a short tail to fold under the card) and then fold back the ribbon for 1cm and then forward another 2cm to create the pleat. Do this 3 times and then continue the ribbon to the far end of the card. Cut the ribbon and fold it under the card at each end. Create and attach the bow in the centre separately with a glue dot. I used a glue dot to hold down the first pleat, but the rest stayed in place without any adhesive.

This is how I finished the inside of the card, using a strip of the Bermuda Bay washi tape from the 'Cherry on Top' set.

  

Project Details
Stamps	Everything Eleanor, Thoughts & Prayers, Kinda Eclectic, Butterfly Basics
Card stock & Papers	Smoky Slate, Melon Mambo, Crushed Curry, Whisper White
Ink	Bermuda Bay, Memento Tuxedo Black
Accessories	Tea Lace Doilies, Melon Mambo 1/4" Cotton Ribbon, Pearls Basic Jewels, Cherry on Top Washi set
Tools	Elegant Butterfly punch, Bitty Butterfly punch, Itty Bitty Accents Punch Pack, Corner Rounder punch

Now it's time to hop over to Elizabeth's blog, by clicking on the button below.

You can see the full list of participants in today's blog hop and join in by linking up your creation over at the CASE-ing the Catty Blog.

Thanks for looking!

CASE-ing the Catty Blog Hop - Saying Thanks!

Hi there

It's Friday evening again and time for the CASE-ing the Catty Crew to bring you more inspiration from the Stampin' Up! catalogues. This week we are looking at the 'Thanks' section on pages 13-18 of the 2015-16 Annual Catalogue.   Saying thank you is such a small but important way to help build a kinder and gentler society and what better way to do it than with a beautiful handmade card!

You may have come from the blog of the lovely Kathryn Mangelsdorf but if not, you can start here and hop over to the next blog using the button at the bottom of this post.

There are lots of new thank you sets in the catalogue and my card uses a stamp from the 'One Big Meaning' set show below, which I love. It has a great combination of small and large sentiments in different fonts that should suit any style of card you want to make.

I have taken my layout inspiration from the card on the bottom left of page 16 of the catalogue. I recently  received my 2015-17 In Colour Background Stack, so it was a great opportunity to try out one of the lovely new designs on the bottom section of the card. I have chosen Watermelon Wonder in the tiny floral design - it's so cute! The flower spray is from another new set appropriately called 'Wild about Flowers' and I have stamped it in Tip Top Taupe with Watermelon Wonder flowers. It is photopolymer set so it makes it a snap to line up the flower heads.

To add some extra pop I have layered the die cut greeting onto a Bermuda Bay mat and added the Bermuda Bay Thick Baker's twine. You can also see I have stamped a matching envelope.

It only takes a couple of minutes to finish the inside of your card when you already have everything on your craft desk. I have used a Watermelon Wonder Mat to contrast with the white base and rounded all the corners. This is my first card made with the new THICK Whisper White and I LOVE it! It was so much easier popping up the front panel with this sturdier card stock.

 

 

Project Details
Stamps	One Big Meaning, Wild About Flowers
Card stock & Papers	Whisper White Thick, Bermuda Bay, Watermelon Wonder, In Colour Backgrounds Stack
Ink	Tip Top Taupe, Watermelon Wonder
Accessories	Bermuda Bay Thick Baker's Twine, Rhinestone Basic Jewels,
Tools	Circles Collection Framelits, Big Shot, Paper Piercer & mat, Updated Essentials Paper Piercing Pack, Dimensionals, Corner Rounder punch

Now it is time to hop over to Monique's blog by clicking on the button below.

You can see the full list of participants in today's blog hop and join in by linking up your creation over at the CASE-ing the Catty Blog.

Thanks for looking!

New Catalogue Blog Hop

Hi there

Today I'm participating in another blog hop with some of the lovely ladies in the Art With Heart Stampin’ Up! Team. Today our focus is on our new 2015-16 Annual Catalogue!

I would also like to mention the joining special for the month of June. Our group is one of the largest teams in Melbourne and offers support, fun and friendship to anyone who would like to join us; from hobby demonstrators to business demonstrators and anyone in between. For the month of June there is a bonus special, you receive two stamp sets of your choice (of any value) for FREE  along with your starter kit ($169). What are you waiting for, contact me today to find out more.

You may have come from blog of the lovely Tina Gillespie, but if not, you can start here and continue to the next blog by clicking on the button at the bottom of this post.

I going to show you some of the new designer series papers from the Annual Catalogue. The first card uses one of the 12 bright, fun designs from the 'Cherry On Top' paper stack. These smaller stacks are now 6" x 6" and contain 48 sheets - 4 sheets each of the 12 doubled sided designs. This is a simple but effective gate fold card, held closed with a magnetic catch. The candles on the stamped panel are from the new 'Build a Birthday' stamp set. The colours in this stack are Bermuda Bay, Crushed Curry, Pool Party, Cucumber Crush and Watermelon Wonder.

For the inside I have added a strip of the matching spotted washi tape and the sweet cake is from the new set 'Endless Birthday Wishes' and coloured with copic markers.

 

Project Details
Stamps	Build a Birthday, Endless Birthday Wishes
Card stock & Papers	Pool Party, Bermuda Bay, Watermelon Wonder, Whisper White, Cherry on Top DSP Stack
Ink	Memento Tuxedo Black, Cucumber Crush, Watermelon Wonder, Bermuda Bay, Crushed Curry
Accessories	Rhinestones Basic Jewels, Cherry on Top Washi Tape, Magnets
Tools	Circles Collection Framelits, Big Shot, Dimensionals, Glue Dots

 

This  second card is a complete colour contrast. It uses the 12" x 12" 'Timeless Elegance' paper with the colours of Very Vanilla, Sahara Sand and Basic Black. I wanted to keep this card really simple to let the beautiful rose design take centre stage.  I added one of the new metallic gold doilies to mat the birthday sentiment from the new 'Circle of Spring' set.

 

 

Project Details
Stamps	Circle of Spring
Card stock & Papers	Basic Black, Very Vanilla, Gold Foil, Timeless Elegance DSP
Ink	Memento Tuxedo Black
Accessories	Gold Metallic Doily, Pearls Basic Jewels
Tools	Bitty Butterfly punch, 1 1/4" Circle punch, Dimensionals

 

Click on the button below to head to Kathryn's blog for more inspiration from the new Annual Catalogue.

If you find a broken link or have come to this blog hop from a different entry point, you can view the participants below:

• Kathryn Ruddick
• Jenny Van Dijk
• Kathryn Mangelsdorf
• Nikki Sadler
• Ros Davidson
• Kate Morgan
• Kayleen McLean
• Genna Gifford
• Tina Gillespie
• Judy May - that's me!

Thanks for looking!

CASE-ing the Catty Blog Hop - Celebrating Birthdays!

Hi there

It has been a crazy week, with most of my time taken up with making DSP Swatch Books. However, I didn't want to miss this week's CASE-ing the Catty Blog Hop where we are focusing on the Birthdays' section (Pages 5 -12) of the new 2015-16 Annual Catalogue. I cut it a bit fine, but I managed to borrow the beautiful 'Birthday Blossoms' stamp set from a lovely friend today.  Needless to say, this set is now on my wish list. Apologies for the lighting in the photos, but I ran out of daylight.

You may have come from the blog of Rebecca Benson, but if not, you can start here and hop over to the next blog using the button at the bottom of this post.

I have created a little matching set with the card and sweet spotted glassine bag, perfect for small gifts or treats.  I love the new nesting 'Tags & Labels' framelit dies, which make it super easy to create a nicely matted tag. The greeting comes from the new 'Endless Birthday Wishes' set.

 

I have cased the card on Page 8 fairly closely, using the new 'Lots of Labels' framelits to create the banner for the front of the card.  I have extended the length of the banner by cutting a piece of card stock the exact width of the die, so that only the scalloped end is die cut.

The blossom image has been watercoloured in Watermelon Wonder using an Aquapainter and ink pad and punched out with the Pansy Punch. I have wrapped the top of banner with some Tip Top Taupe Spotted Lace Trim and tied Calypso Coral thick baker's twine around the whole card. A little bit of silver sequin trim and a few sparkles finish it off.

Project Details
Stamps	Birthday Blossoms, Endless Birthday Wishes
Card stock & Papers	Mint Macaron, Watermelon Wonder, Tip Top Taupe, Shimmery White
Ink	Mint Macaron, Memento Tuxedo Black, Versamark, Old Olive
Accessories	Tip Top Taupe Dotted Lace Trim, Basic Jewels, Rhinestones, Silver Sequin Trim, Calypso Coral Thick Baker's Twine, Sketched Dots Tag a Bag
Tools	Lots of Labels Framelits, Tags & Labels Framelits, Big Shot, Pansy Punch, Petite Petals Punch, Itty Bitty Accents Punch Pack,  Early Espresso Embossing Powder, Heat gun, Dimensionals, Glue Dots

 

Now it's time to hop over to the Stasia's blog to continue the journey. Click on the button below.

You can see the full list of participants in today's blog hop over at the CASE-ing the Catty Blog. 

Thanks for looking!