One Layer Masculine Birthday

Hi there

The card I have for you today uses the reverse masking technique.  This is a very simple and effective technique to create a sponged background that works beautifully with silhouette stamps.  I have turned my piece into a one layer masculine birthday card. It has dimension (the layer is sitting on foam pads), a pop of colour and some texture with the linen thread detail, but nothing too fussy.

I used the Squares Collection framelits to create the rectangle for my sponging. You die cut the square as normal and then pop the framelit back into the die cut space and extend over the card stock to the height that you want. Run it through the Big Shot again and you have your rectangle. You can use the negative space of any shape such as a circle, heart or the myriad of other die shapes to create the mask. You can use Stampin' Sponges or sponge daubers to add the colour to your negative space. I find daubers give a softer looking finish.

The colours I have used for the sponging are Pool Party, Bermuda Bay and Night of Navy at the top.  The tree image is from the 'In the Meadow' stamp set and the greeting is from the new Sale-a-bration stamp set 'Party Pants'. The Basic Black Archival ink gives a strong true black for the silhouette image.  Unfortunately I couldn't get the photos to do justice to the beautiful bright Bermuda Bay of the base card or the sponged panel. It looks more like Island Indigo in the photo. You will have to take my word that it pops in real life!

 

For the inside I have a mat of Night of Navy card stock and the writing panel has the smaller tree stamped on the left and grounded by a strip of Bermuda Bay washi tape from the 'Bohemian' set. 

If you haven't used this technique before, then I hope you will give it a try. 

Project Details
Stamps	In the Meadow, Party Pants (2016 Saleabration)
Card stock & Papers	Bermuda Bay, Whisper White, Night of Navy
Ink	Basic Black Archival, Pool Party, Bermuda Bay, Night of Navy
Accessories	Linen Thread, Basic Metal Buttons, Bohemian Washi tape
Tools	Squares Collection Framelits, Big Shot, Stamp-a-ma-jig, Sponge Daubers, Dimensionals

Thanks for looking!

CASE-ing the Catty - Birthday Bouquet Suite

Hi there

Welcome to the 100th CASE-ing the Catty blog hop - what a great milestone! This week the CTC crew are looking at the Birthday Bouquet section of the Occasions catalogue.  

You may have come from Tricia's blog, but if you are visiting me, you can start your journey here by clicking on the buttons at the bottom of the post.

There are some lovely projects in this section, but the one that caught my eye this week is on the front cover (bottom right) of the Occasions Catalogue. It is this cute gift bag using the Mini Treat Bag Thinlits dies.

 

I decided to make my mini treat bag  into a combined card/gift card holder. I used the delicate silver polka design from the 'Shine On' Speciality DSP for the the base of the treat bag. Because the reverse side of this design is the large Cucumber Crush polka dot, I have covered the inside back panel of the bag with a sweet print from the 'Love Blossoms' DSP stack.  A 3.5" doily is the base for the water coloured and fussy cut flower from the gorgeous 'Birthday Blooms' stamp set. It makes a nice contrast with the kraft and silver bag. A banner in the same small print from 'Love Blossoms' DSP stack is tucked underneath the flower and the sentiment has been silver embossed and cut with the 'Tags & Labels' Framelits. These nesting tags and labels are fabulous for cutting and matting greetings and they are on sale this week, so check out the Weekly Deals.  A little heart in Blushing Bride Glimmer paper finishes off the greeting panel. 

 

The insert for the treat bag is double-sided, so you can add a gift card and also write a message to the recipient.  This the gift card side of the panel where I have stamped the smaller floral image in Early Espresso and coloured it with Blendabilities and Copics. I have added the second part of the greeting which is also silver embossed.

The treat bag is quite narrow, so the card insert is a firm fit to incorporate the size of a gift card. Next time I would make the score lines on the sides of the treat bag a bit wider just to add a smidge more space. I wanted a robust pull mechanism so I punched a hole using the 1/4" hand held circle punch in the Blushing Bride insert about 1cm from the top and threaded the ribbon through before adding the Whisper White panels on top.This gives gives a nice seamless finish and is not going to come adrift. The pull is finished with a double bow in (retired) Blushing Bride baker's twine. 

 

For the reverse side I have kept it very simple, so there is plenty of room to write your message. I have made the bow double-sided by adding the tails to the reverse side.

 

This is the final look with the insert in the treat bag.

 

 

Project Details
Stamps	Birthday Blooms
Card stock & Papers	Blushing Bride, Whisper White, Love Blossoms DSP Stack, Shimmery White, Shine On Specialty DSP, Blushing Bride Glimmer paper
Ink	Versamark, Early Espresso, Blushing Bride, Old Olive,Pear Pizzaz
Accessories	Blushing Bride 1/4" Cotton ribbon, Blushing Bride Baker's Twine (retired), 3.5" Doily (not SU)
Tools	Mini Treat Bag Thinlits, Tags & Labels Framelits, Banners Framelits, Big Shot, Heart Border punch, Silver EP, Aquapainter, Corner Rounder punch, 1/4" Circle punch, Dimensionals, Old Olive Blendabilities, Copic R20, R21, R22

Now it is time to head over to Julia's blog to see her inspiring project. Click on the Next button below to continue the journey.

 

                             

 

Why not join us on our 100th blog hop and link up your creation over at the CASE-ing the Catty blog. You can also see the full list of this week's participants.

Thanks for visiting today!

Botanical Gardens Box Set

Hi there

Today I am sharing the project we made in class yesterday using the 'Botanical Gardens' suite of products from the Occasions catalogue.  This suite has everything you need to make beautifully coordinated projects - stamps, framelits to die cut the images, designer paper, washi tape and pretty charms.  The bonus is that you can bundle the 'Botanical Blooms' stamp set and Botanical Builder framelits for a 15% discount when you purchase them together.  If you have been waiting to find the right option for floral elements on your projects, then I think this set of stamps and coordinating framelits will continue to be versatile for a long time. There are so many combinations that you can use with the different elements in the framelits.

First up is a photo of the completed project which is an embellished box (and acetate lid) with 3 cards. The box was designed by the Stampin' Up! Concept Artists to celebrate Patty Bennett's $1m sales milestone, which is a truly awesome achievement.  I have taken the idea and re-sized it for metric cards (10.5cm x 14.8cm) and C6 size envelopes that we use in Australia.  I've added an acetate lid that sits in the box to make it more like a gift box and it doesn't cover the floral embellishments. If you want the imperial measurements, you can find them here on Patty's blog post. I will provide the metric measures in a separate document, so stayed tuned for that. 

I love the effect from the leaf edgelit and you can adjust the position to alter the height of the bottom section. I have incorporated Watermelon Wonder into this project just to give a bit more colour to the predominant palette of the DSP. The first of the cards also uses the leaf edgelit on the centre panel reinforcing the botanical feel. The base is Mint Macaron with a strip of the tiny floral DSP from the Botanical Gardens DSP.  My favourite thank you greeting from 'One Big Meaning' stamp set in Cajun Craze brings in the final colour from the DSP. The Botanical Gardens Jewels adds the final touch.

 

For the inside, I have used a strip of the cute Cajun Craze floral washi tape at the base and a little flower with sponged edges to finish it.

 

The Botanical Gardens DSP takes centre stage in the next card. I've embellished the flowers with the mostly tone on tone centres apart from the large Hello Honey flowers which have Cajun Craze centres to coordinate with the centre panel.  The sweet greeting comes from the new 'Suite Sayings' stamp set, also from the Occasions catalogue. I've added some Wink of Stella to the little flower spray for a little shimmer and the bow in the retired Hello Honey Stitched Satin ribbon to finish.

For the inside, I've added a strip of the honey washi tape at the bottom and a smaller version of the flower spray.

The final card again uses the leaf edgelit, this time on the bottom of the card with a strip of DSP as the backdrop. It was inspired by this gorgeous project from Nikki Spencer. I've kept the edgelit right on the edge of the card to keep a reasonable amount of space for the writing panel inside. I've used Watermelon Wonder for the large flower for a pop of colour and the lovely greeting comes from the 'Cottage Greetings' stamp set. I think this was the favourite on the day.

For the inside I have created a writing panel above the DSP border. I was happy with the way this turned out.

 

Project Details
Stamps	Botanical Blooms, Suite Sayings, Cottage Greetings, One Big Meaning
Card stock & Papers	Mint Macaron, Hello Honey, Watermelon Wonder, Cajun Craze, Mossy Meadow, Old Olive, Basic Black, Whisper White, Botanical Gardens DSP
Ink	Basic Black Archival, Mint Macaron, Hello Honey, Cajun Craze, Mossy Meadow
Accessories	Basic Jewels Rhinestones, Iced Rhinestones, Botanical Gardens Jewels, Honey Honey Stitched Satin Ribbon (retired), Botanical Gardens Wash set
Tools	Botanical Builder Framelits, Lots of Labels Framelits, Big Shot, Sponge daubers, Dimensionals, Glue Dots, Tear and tape, Stamp-ma-jig

This has been a long post, so if you made it this far, thanks for your patience.

Happy crafting!