CASE-ing the Catty - Favourite Hostess Set

Hi there

Welcome to the CASE-ing the Catty blog hop for this week, where we are looking at our favourite Hostess stamp set from either the Annual or Holiday Catalogues. This was a hard choice as I really love quite a few of the Hostess sets, but I only had time to make one project.

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

This week I have taken my inspiration from this card on the bottom of page 200 of the Annual Catalogue. 'Gift of Love' was the stamp set that I received from Stampin' Up! to create display board samples for Onstage in April 2016, so I do have a soft spot for it.

I have used some of the products and techniques in the sample, but also did a bit of my own thing. I started with Shimmery White card card stock and did a light wash with my aqua painter and Pink Piroutte reinker diluted with water. The flower image was stamped in Basic Gray Archival ink and then water coloured with ink pads and aqua painter and fussy cut.   I went with a double row of the Very Vanilla Lace Trim and topped it with some of the gold Natural trim.

Instead of using ink to give the speckled effect, I decided to try a technique that Sara talked about at OnStage where you dilute Tombow glue with water and then flick it onto the card stock. You then sprinkle on embossing powder and melt with your heat gun as usual.  The result is raised gold specks which look great.  I found that it works best if the spots aren't too large. Also, less is more as you get some very small spots that you don't see until you put the embossing powder on. It is definitely worth trying.  I need a bit more practice getting the spots where I want them, lol. I hope you can see the raised speckles in the closeup photo below.

 

For the inside, I stamped the flower image again and left it uncoloured and added a striped of striped Watermelon Wonder washi tape at the bottom.

 

Project Details
Stamps	Gift of Love
Card stock & Papers	Watermelon Wonder, Crumb Cake, Shimmery White, Whisper White
Ink	Basic Gray Archival, Watermelon Wonder, Cucumber Crush, Pink Pirouette
Accessories	Natural Lace Trim, Very Vanilla Lace Trim, Gold EP, Affectionately Yours Washi set
Tools	Aqua painter, Tombow glue, Heat Gun

Now it's time to click on the Next button below to hop over to see the lovely project that Monique has to inspire you today. 

 

                             

We would love you to link up your CASE of the Hostess sets from the Annual or Holiday catty by clicking on the button below to add your project. Remember, you don't need to have the Hostess sets, you can take your inspiration from the samples and use other products.

You can see the full list of the CTC Crew participating this week over at the CASE-ing the Catty blog.

Thanks for visiting today!

AWH Blog Hop - It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

Hi there

Today, ladies from the 'Art with Heart' team are sharing some amazing Christmas projects to inspire you, with the theme, It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas! We have tags,  gift bags, teacher gift ideas, decorations and many more fun projects to create this holiday season.

 

You may have hopped to me from Catherine's blog, but if you are visiting me, you can start hopping here and then at the end of each post is a link to the next blog. There is also a list of participants at the end in case there are any broken links.

 

I love creating for Christmas and this year I have really enjoyed using the 'Candy Cane Lane' suite of products. The colour combo of Real Red, Crumb Cake and Early Espresso is definitely one of my favourites and the cute  images from the coordinating 'Cookie-Cutter Christmas' stamp set are fun to use. Gift tags are a 'must have' at this time of year and you can never have too many - you can always use them next year. They also make a great pre-Christmas gift for friends who appreciate handmade with love. I was inspired by the fabulous Stampin' Up! project kit 'Tin of Tags' to make this 'Box of Tags' with the Candy Cane Lane suite of products.

 

I've decorated the top with the Candy Cane Lane DSP matted onto Real Red card stock. The centre piece is one of my new favourite Stitched Shapes framelits matted onto Real Red and topped with 'TAGS' cut from Red Glimmer paper. It is very sparkly in real life and matches the bow and buttons on the gingerbread girl. The finishing touch is the gorgeous Stitched Edge ribbon that is wrapped around the lid. 

 

Originally I was going to buy a box and decorate it, but then couldn't find the 'Goldilocks' size - not too big and not too small. I wanted the box to fit tags of different shapes, so I ended up making my own. It is sized at at 6" x 4" x 2" using Crumb Cake card stock for the base and lid. To make it really sturdy plus add colour and interest, I lined the box and lid with Real Red card stock.  You can see the lining and a sneak peak of the tags inside.

I've created the tags in a number of different styles, to give you a few different ideas, but all use the same products for a coordinated set. I had a heap of fun making them and you really are only limited by your imagination. I did want to keep them quick and easy though. First up is a quick make set created with the Scalloped Tag Topper punch. You could just make a heap of these with different greetings, but I love the 'Go ahead, tear it open' from the 'Tin of Tags' stamp set.

I then gave my Stitched Shapes framelits a work out with the next few sets.  I love the finishing detail it adds to your project. They should be back in stock on 5 December 2016, if you haven't purchased your set yet. This set uses the oh-so-cute bear stamp from 'Cookie-Cutter Christmas' stamp set and I gave them a Christmas touch with the Santa hat using the Jolly Hat Builder punch.

The next set is a banner style and I've used the Banner Triple punch to flag the end of the card stock and candy designer paper. I kept the top of the tag straight for a sharper look. You can't really see in the photos, but all of the Santas have been trimmed with Dazzling Diamonds glitter for extra sparkle.

I've used the Layering Squares and Stitched Shapes framelits for the next set, using the pair of greetings from the 'Greetings from Santa' stamp set with the Santa image. Santa is very quick to colour, using markers of your choice and then a glue pen on the white trim of his suit and a sprinkle of Dazzling Diamonds to add Christmas sparkle.

This last set uses the Layering Ovals framelits with the Stitched Shapes framelits. I love how well they work together, both the plain and scalloped shapes.

Now, if you think this is all too much effort for tags, then you can use the designs as toppers for quick-make cards. I've made a basic card using the small red design from the Candy Cane Lane designer paper at the top and bottom with the Cable Knit embossed Crumb Cake between.  I've attached one of the oval tags to it and voila! 

For the inside, I added a strip of another design from the Candy Cane Lane designer paper and a coordinating strip of Gold Glimmer. 

Finally, this is the pile of tags I made, but there is still plenty of room in the box for more!  I hope this gives you some ideas for your Christmas tags this year.

 

Project Details
Stamps	Cookie-Cutter Christmas, Tin of Tags, Greetings from Santa, Candy Cane Christmas, Teeny Tiny Sentiments
Card stock & Papers	Whisper White, Real Red, Early Espresso, Crumb Cake, Candy Cane Lane DSP, Gold Glimmer, Red Glimmer, Dazzling Diamonds Glimmer
Ink	Memento Tuxedo Black, Real Red, Crumb Cake, Early Espresso
Accessories	Candy Cane Lane Baker's Twine, Baker's Twine Trio pack, Rhinestones Basic Jewels, Real Red Stitched Satin ribbon, Crumb Cake Stitched Satin ribbon (retired), Real Red Stitched Edge ribbon, Burlap ribbon, Metallics Enamel Shapes, Dazzling Diamonds glitter
Tools	Cookie Cutter Builder punch, Stitched Shapes Framelits, Layering Framlits (Circles, Squares, Ovals), Little Letters Framelits (retired), Cheerful Tags Framelits, Cable Knit Dynamic TIEF, Big Shot, Jolly Hat Builder punch, Cookie Cutter Builder punch, Scalloped Tag Topper punch, Banner Triple punch, Classic Label punch, 1/8" Circle punch (not SU), 1/4" Circle punch (not SU), Dimensionals, Glue Pen, Copic Markers (R29, R20, E51,N5, C1)

 Now it's time to hop over to see what Rebecca has to inspire you. Click on the arrow below.

 

Here is the full list of participants in today's blog hop, so make sure you hop around to everyone and leave them some blog love.

1. Rebecca Jacovou
2. Ros Davidson
3. Kathryn Ruddick
4. Kate Morgan
5. Rachel Palmieri
6. Claire Daly
7. Mary Kelly
8. Monika O'Neill
9. Tina Gillespie
10. Kathryn Mangelsdorf
11. Catherine Proctor
12. Judy May   <-------------- You are here

 

Thanks for stopping by!

CASE-ing the Catty - Fancy Frost

Hi there

Welcome to the CASE-ing the Catty blog hop for this week, where we are looking at the 'Fancy Frost' section of the Holiday Catalogue. This gives me the opportunity to ink up some stamps I haven't used yet.

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

This week I have taken my inspiration from these projects at the top of page 36 of the Holiday Catalogue. The 'Frosted Medallions' stamp set is flexible for a number of occasions, including weddings, birthdays, Christmas and New Year. Even better it will discounted 20% for the Online Extravaganza sale that commences tomorrow, 21 November.

My first project was inspired by the card at the top right.  I have white embossed the medallion on vellum card stock and backed it with a slightly smaller circle of Soft Sky card stock before layering on Sweet Sugarplum embossed with the 'Sparkle' embossing folder. Underneath the circle is 2 strips of the Silver Glitter ribbon slightly overlapped. The Sweet Sugarplum panel is matted on Silver Foil and the whole panel has been popped up on the thick Whisper White card base.

Here is a close-up of the embossed medallion. It stamps and embosses beautifully. I love that this sentiment works equally as well for a number of occasions. You can put another greeting for a birthday, anniversary or wedding inside the card.

For the inside, I added a strip of the Silver Glitter ribbon and some coordinating flowers to finish it off. 

I then decided to make a coordinating gift bag to go with the card. It maybe difficult to see, but I stamped the large medallion with Versamark ink all over a sheet of Soft Sky card stock before scoring and making up the bag. I have cut and embossed a Sweet Sugarplan banner and attached the die cut silver embossed medallion. The retired Circles Collection framelits work perfectly with this stamp. I punched some holes with my Cropadile to thread through the Silver Glitter ribbon.

 

Project Details
Stamps	Frosted Medallions
Card stock & Papers	Whisper White,Soft Sky, Sweet Sugarplum, Vellum
Ink	Versamark, Sweet Sugarplum
Accessories	Silver Glitter ribbon, Rhinestones Basic Jewels
Tools	Circles Collections Framelits, Sparkle TIEF, Big Shot, White & Silver EP, Heat gun, Scoring Board, Cropadile

Now it's time to click on the Next button below to hop over to see the fabulous project that Monique has to inspire you today. 

 

                             

 

We would love you to link up your CASE from the 'Fancy Frost' section of the Holiday catty by clicking on the button below to add your project.

You can see the full list of the CTC Crew participating this week over at the CASE-ing the Catty blog.

Thanks for visiting today!

Cute Santa Spinner

Hi there

I have a fun project to share with you today, that I designed for my class today.  It is a spinner card using the cute Santa from the 'Cookie Cutter Christmas' stamp set. The great thing about circular spinner cards is that you can easily adjust the dimensions of the circles you use so long as you keep a distance of 1cm (3/8") between them. You can see the first one I made here, which is a different size and I also provided some information about how to make the spinner mechanism.

For this card, I have stamped the 'Ho, Ho, Ho' from the 'Greetings fromSanta' stamp set and then die cut with the fabulous new 'Stitched Shapes Framelits'. These framelits are brand new and have been brought forward from the 2017-18 Annual Catalogue. There are 12 dies in the set - 4 circles, 4 squares and 4 ovals and they work with the Layering framelits (circles, squares and ovals).  The stitched effect just adds that perfect finishing touch of detail. The set is $50 AUD and is flying off the shelves and is likely to go on back order very shortly. Order yours now to have them for your Christmas crafting. You can click on the image to go to my online store to order them.

Now back to the card. The top layer has been embossed with 'Holly' embossing folder and then matted onto Garden Green. The layer was then attached to the card with the 1/8" foam strips. Here is the finished card.

Here is a close up of the Santa and the lovely Stitched Shape framelit I have used for the centre. Doesn't the stitching really finish it off beautifully.

For the inside I decided to keep it a bit fun and bold, using the 'Merry' die cut for the greeting to finish off the 'Ho, Ho, Ho' and some striped Candy Cane Lane washi tape at the bottom.

Finally, here is a top down perspective that shows up the lovely 'Holly' embossing folder and Santa. I coloured Santa with Copic markers to give a lovely smooth finish, but you could also use Stampin' Write markers. I used the glue pen on his hat and suit and then sprinkled on Dazzling Diamonds glitter for a nice sparkle.

 

Project Details
Stamps	Cookie Cutter Christmas, Greetings from Santa, Holly Jolly Greetings
Card stock & Papers	Real Red, Garden Green, Whisper White
Ink	Memento Tuxedo Black
Accessories	Dazzling Diamonds Glitter, Rhinestones Basic Jewels, Candy Cane Lane Washi set
Tools	Layering Circles Framelits, Stitched Shapes Framelits, Christmas Greetings Thinlits, Holly TIEF, Big Shot, Washers, Dimensionals, 1/2" Circle punch, 2" Circle punch, Glue Pen, Glue Dots, 1/8" Foam Strips, Copic Markers (R29, E51, R20, N5, YR23, C1)

I hope this has inspired you to give the spinner card a try.

Thanks for looking!

CASE-ing the Catty - Petals & Paisleys

Hi there

Welcome to the CASE-ing the Catty blog hop for this week, where we are looking at the 'Petals & Paisleys' section of the Holiday Catalogue. There are some lovely products and samples in this small section and I haven't spent nearly enough time on it.

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

This week I have taken my inspiration from this card on the bottom of page 46 of the Holiday Catalogue. It uses the emboss resist technique to highlight the delicate and detailed paisley designs.

I have kept very close to the sample this week with my card. 'Paisleys & Posies' is a photopolymer stamp set, so I arranged all (but one) of the stamps onto my largest 'F' acrylic block and then stamped with Versamark ink onto Whisper White card stock.  I heat embossed the stamped images with white embossing powder before sponging ink over the top with sponge daubers. I have used Blushing Bride at the top, followed by Daffodil Delight and Rich Razzleberry. 

I created a border at the bottom of the sponged area with 2 strips of 1/8" gold ribbon and added the lovely script birthday greeting from the 'Cottage Greetings' stamp set. A few gold sequins have been scattered about to finish. The Rich Razzleberry mat helps to make the design pop, I think.

 

The closeup up pic shows a bit more of the depth in the sponging. I love sponging with the daubers as I think they give a lovely smooth blending of the colour. For the inside, I added a small strip of the embossed/sponged design and finished with the gold ribbon.

 

Project Details
Stamps	Paisleys & Posies, Cottage Greetings
Card stock & Papers	Whisper White, Rich Razzleberry,
Ink	Versamark, Blushing Bride, Daffodile Delight,Rich Razzleberry
Accessories	1/8" Gold ribbon, Metallic Sequins
Tools	White EP, Heat Gun, Stampamajig, Tombow glue, Spong daubers

Now it's time to click on the Next button below to hop over to see the fabulous project that Kelly has to inspire you today. 

 

                             

 

We would love you to link up your CASE from the 'Petals & Paisleys' section of the Holiday catty by clicking on the button below to add your project.

You can see the full list of the CTC Crew participating this week over at the CASE-ing the Catty blog.

Thanks for visiting today!