Sweet Baby Bear

Hi there

The card I'm sharing today is one that I designed especially for a recent private class. One of the lovely ladies wanted to learn how to get a good result with the Baby Bear stamp. It is a 3-step stamp and the images are numbered 1, 2 and 3 in the order in which Stampin' Up! suggests they should be stamped.  Personally, I find it easier to go 3, 2,1 so that you are putting down the darkest colour first. I think it makes it easier to line up the other 2 stamps - I use his bottom and the inside edges of his paws as reference points when lining up the second and third stamps. 

I have provided a patchwork background for this sweet bear image using the smallest square from the Stitched Shapes Framelits to die cut 3 of the patterns from the Blushing Bride designer paper (from the Subtles Designer Series Paper Stack). I wanted to have 2 designs that were predominantly Blushing Bride and 2 that had more white, so I die cut 3 squares in Whisper White and then stamped over them with the heart stamp from the 'Bloomin' Love' stamp set in Blushing Bride ink to produce the floral squares. The squares are mounted onto a piece of Whisper White card stock and a strip with the 'congrats' greeting from the 'Vertical Greetings' stamp set was added to the right hand end, making the finished panel level. I added a strip of Crumb Cake and some White Organza Ribbon before mounting the panel onto a Crumb Cake mat and then onto the Blushing Bride card base.

I wanted a soft natural looking bear, so the ink colours I used were (in my 3, 2 1 order) - Soft Suede, Crumb Cake and Sahara Sand. I then die cut the image (not an SU die) and popped it up over the Crumb Cake strip with foam pads. I have finished it off with some tiny flowers with pearl centres.

This close-sup shows the lovely stitched detailed in the squares and the soft browns in the bear. With all the detail on the front of the card, I have kept the inside simple.

I have used a Crumb Cake mat for the writing panel and a greeting in the same colour from the 'Made with Love' stamp set. A strip of spotted Blushing Bride designer paper at the bottom finishes it off. 

Project Details
Stamps	Baby Bear, Vertical Greetings, Bloomin' Love, Made with Love
Card stock & Papers	Blushing Bride, Crumb Cake, Whisper White, Blushing Bride DSP
Ink	Sahara Sand, Crumb Cake, Soft Suede, Blushing Bride
Accessories	White Organza ribbon, Pearl Basic Jewels
Tools	Stitched Shape Framelits, Baby Bear die (not SU), Big Shot, Itty Bitty Shapes Punch Pack (retired), Glue dots, Dimensionals

 Thanks for looking!

Shop with me in March and WIN!

Products used in this project - click on the images to shop in my Online Store

Baby Bear Photopolymer Stamp Set [141859] $45.00	Vertical Greetings Clear-Mount Stamp Set [141876] $33.00	Bloomin' Love Photopolymer Stamp Set [140643] $30.00
Made With Love Photopolymer Stamp Set [138662] $44.00	Card Stock A4 Blushing Bride [131287] $14.00	Crumb Cake A4 Card Stock [121685] $14.00
Whisper White A4 Card Stock [106549] $15.75	Subtles Designer Series Paper Stack [138437] $38.50	Blushing Bride Classic Stampin' Pad [131172] $11.50
Sahara Sand Classic Stampin' Pad [126976] $11.50	Crumb Cake Classic Stampin' Pad [126975] $11.50	Soft Suede Classic Stampin' Pad [126978] $11.50
Stitched Shapes Framelits Dies [145372] $50.00	Whisper White 5/8" Organza Ribbon [114319] $10.50	Pearl Basic Jewels Embellishments [119247] $8.75

CASE-ing the Catty - Sale-a-bration Last Hurrah

Hi there

Sale-a-bration finishes next Friday 31 March, so this week the CTC Crew are CASE-ing a project of our choice from the Sale-a-bration Catalogue or the Second Release brochure. 

You may have come from looking at the inspiring project  on Kathryn'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'm CASE-ing the gold and white striped tin. I've had this in mind for a few weeks, so this was the perfect opportunity to do it. These tins are fabulous for storing your finished cards, embossing folders, washi tape, pearls and rhinestone embellishments and many more besides. I'm going to use my tin to take swaps to the next Stampin' Up! OnStage event that is  just over 2 weeks away - woohoo!  Love these events and we will get to see the new 2017-18 Annual Catalogue for the first time, plus get our own copy to pore over.

 

I've stayed with Night of Navy for the letters  as it coordinates so well with the gold and white. The letters were die cut with the 'Large Letters Framelits', which were a fortuitous recent purchase. I cut a strip of card stock and adhered Sizzix adhesive sheet to it and then cut the letters. The result is instant stickers that make for a quick and mess-free embellishment. I removed the backing paper from a piece of Dazzling Diamonds Glimmer paper and also adhered the adhesive sheet before cutting the flourish from the 'Flourish Thinlits' dies. I attached the S, W, P and S first and then partly adhered the flourish and wove it through the A. 

Here is a close-up showing all the yummy sparkle. I did trim off one leaf behind the 'A' and re-positioned it. I didn't want anything too delicate for the embellishment, so I think this fits the bill. Now I have to get my act together so I will have something to put in it, lol.

Project Details
Stamps	None
Card stock & Papers	Night of Navy, Dazzling Diamonds Glimmer paper, Sizzix Adhesive Sheet (retired)
Ink	None
Accessories	Rhinestone Basic Jewels
Tools	Flourish Thinlits, Large Letters Framelits, Big Shot

I had time to squeeze in one more project, although there were more that I would like to have done. This one is from the Sale-a-bration Second Release brochure. It isn't a particularly good photo, but hopefully you can see it is a clean and simple card using the 'Reverse Words' stamp set.

I have swapped to a portrait style card, still using the 'cheers' stamp in Sweet Sugarplum to match the glimmer paper at the top and bottom. I wanted this to be a congratulations type card, that you could give to a colleague or friend. I don't have any stamp sets with wine glasses, so I improvised using the little bird cage from the 'Builder Birdcage' stamp set the other way up. I wanted the final result to still have a clean look, so I've left lots of white space and not too much extra embellishment.  

 

Project Details
Stamps	Reverse Words, Crazy about You
Card stock & Papers	Whisper White, Sugarplum Glimmer paper, Sweet Sugarplum
Ink	Versamark, Sweet Sugarplum, Rich Razzleberry
Accessories	Rhinestone Basic Jewels, Playful Palette washi
Tools	Silver EP, Heat gun, Versamarker (not SU), Stampamajig, Copic marker

There is still time to place your $90 qualifying order so you can choose one of the fabulous Sale-a-bration FREE products. Did you know there are 8 additional products from our current catalogues that you can also choose - you can see them here. You can contact me to place your order or shop in my Online Store until 11.50pm AEDST on 31 March 2017.

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

 

                             

We would love you to join in with your CASE of the Sale-a-bration Catalogue using our new Facebook group. Click on this link or the image below to go there. The first time you will need to click on the 'Join Group' button at the top. Once you have been added to the group, you can go ahead and post your creation and you do not need to have a blog.

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 Easter Blog Hop

Hi there

Today I am participating in a blog hop along with the super talented ladies in the Art With Heart Team. We thought it would be fun to share some Easter projects, seeing as Easter is only about 3 weeks away!

Sale-a-bration is a great time to join or place a $90 order to get extra free items – ask me how! There are only 8 days left and there are 8 fabulous new items that you can choose for your FREE gift. Don't forget my special promotion for March - win $50 of Stampin' Up! product of your choice. You receive an entry into the draw for every $90 of product you purchase, plus you get an additional gift from me if you use this month's Hostess code shown in the left sidebar.

Blog Hops are full circles, so you can start hopping here and then at the end of each post is a link to the next one. There is also a list of participants at the end in case of any broken links. Now let’s get started!  

I have a cute Easter treat box (well, a basket actually) to share with you today. I've used the fabulous Window Box framelit dies to create the basket and decorated it with the super cute images from the 'Basket Bunch' stamp set. There is a co-ordinating framelit die for each image, plus some extra dies for the grass and some cute eggs.

 

 

To create the basket I cut one of the window box die as normal and then using the left over strip, I cut just the side panel, as it only needs the base and not a lid. Before putting the basket together I stamped it with the 'Hardwood' background stamp for a woodgrain look. On the panel with the base, you trim off the tabs on the straight panel that forms the sides as they aren't needed for the basket. You then put it together as normal.  

  

 

 

To give the basket extra strength I lined the base and sides with Daffodil Delight card stock as you can see in the pic above. Cut just the hexagon for lining the base and trim off the tabs and place into the bottom of the basket first. To create the side lining, cut a strip 4.7cm x 28cm. Score at 4.6, 9.3, 14, 18.7 and 23.4. Fold on the score lines and check it fits snugly and does not peek over the top. Place some Tombow liquid glue around the top inside edge and down both sides of the corner where the strip starts and finishes, as there is no overlap.

 

 

Here is a close-up showing the decoration around the base of the basket. I've cut 6 panels using the grass die. I found I got the best result by cutting the cardstock the exact size required, rather than trimming it as I adhered it.  Aren't the images sooooo cute! You can see the Melon Mambo egg on the side which is one of the extra dies and I've backed it with Dazzling Diamonds glimmer paper.

 

 

Finally, here is a view from the top showing the Lindt hen and eggs. The basket fits quite a lot of treats in it, as you can see. 

 

Project Details
Stamps	Basket Bunch, Hardwood
Card stock & Papers	Soft Sky, Daffodil Delight, Melon Mambo, Whisper White
Ink	Soft Sky, Memento Gray Flannel
Accessories
Tools	Basket Builder framelits, Window Box Framelits, Big Shot, Bow Builder punch, 7/8" Scallop Circle punch (retired), 1/2" Circle punch, Glue Dots, Tombow Liquid glue, Simply Scored board, Copic markers

 Now it's time to hop over to see the lovely project Catherine has to inspire you. Click on the button 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. Judy May  ---------------------> You are here!
2. Catherine Proctor
3. Ros Davidson
4. Rebecca Jacovou
5. Kathryn Mangelsdorf
6. Claire Daly
7. Kate Morgan
8. Monika O'Neill
9. Tina Gillespie
10. Rachel Woollard

 Thanks for visiting!

CASE-ing the Catty - Urban Underground

Hi there

It's Sunday again, so the CTC Crew have more creative inspiration for you from the Urban Underground Suite on Pages 46-49 of the Occasions Catalogue. 

You may have come from looking at the fab project  on 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.

The Urban Underground Suite is a fabulous collection of stamps, dies, designer paper and embellishments that are perfect for masculine cards. I do find masculine cards a challenge, so I need all the help I can get, lol. I've chosen this card on the top right of page 46 to CASE. I've cropped it from the main photo, so you can see a bit more of the detail. It uses the 'Urban District' stamp set, which I don't have, so I have improvised.

   

Did you notice the cross washi used at the top and bottom of the sample card (it is hard to see as it is silver on a vanilla background)?  I decided to use the Basic Gray striped washi from the Urban Underground Designer washi set around the edge of my mat so that it frames the art piece and provides a nice contrast to the black card base and the Very Vanilla centre panel. 

The hexagon die comes from the 'Build It Framelits' dies and I've cut 3 from the Urban Underground Speciality designer paper and positioned them on the Very Vanilla panel. This gave me the reference points for the paint splotch from the 'Gorgeous Grunge' stamp set which I stamped in Basic Gray ink.

I die cut a 4th hexagon in Basic Gray card stock and then embossed it with the Hexagons Dynamic embossing folder. As shown on page 46 of the Occasions Catalogue, you get a fabulous result if you spritz it lightly on the back before embossing. The happy birthday greeting is from the 'Designer Tin of Cards' stamp set (I masked the bottom half of the stamp) and is stamped in Delightful Dijon and cropped with the label die also from the Build It Framelits. This is not one of my favourite colours, but looks great as an accent colour on this masculine card. This hexagon is layered over the top of the other three and I added a couple of screw heads from the Urban Underground embellishments to the greeting label. They are probably a tiny bit large but they do add to the 'urban industrial' feel of the card. There is nothing 'sissy' about this card, lol! The nut and bolt have been die cut from silver foil and you will need to use your Precision Plate to get the best result.

For the inside, I have used two of the designs from the Urban Underground  washi set at the base, together with a nut and bolt die cut from silver foil and a paint splotch in the top right corner.

    

Project Details
Stamps	Gorgeous Grunge, Designer Tin of Cards
Card stock & Papers	Basic Black, Basic Gray, Delightful Dijon, Very Vanilla, Urban Underground Speciality DSP, Silver foil
Ink	Basic Gray, Delightful Dijon
Accessories	Urban Underground Embellishments, Urban Underground washi set
Tools	Hexagons Dynamic TIEF, Build It Framelits dies, Big Shot, Dimensionals

I'm at the end of the line this week, so click on the Next button below to hop over to see what fabulous project Kelly has for you today. 

 

                             

We would love you to join in with your CASE of the Urban Underground section on pages 46-49 of the Occasions Catalogue using our new Facebook group. Click on this link or the image below to go there. The first time you will need to click on the 'Join Group' button at the top. Once you have been added to the group, you can go ahead and post your creation and you do not need to have a blog.

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!

Reverse Words for Baby

Hi there

I've been away visiting family  for the last 10 days, so I'm looking forward to getting crafty again. I did take a stamp set and my water colour paper and pencils with me so I will have a few cards to show you shortly.

Can you believe we are more than half way through March already, so there is less than 2 weeks left to take advantage of the FREE Sale-a-bration products available with every $90 order. We are at that stage where Sale-a-bration products are available only while stocks last, so order now to make sure you don't miss out on the item you want.

Don't forget, as an extra bonus from me, you will get an entry into the draw for $50 of Stampin' Up! product of your choice and if you use this month's Hostess Code YURRHD6U, you will receive another small gift directly from me. That is 3 great reasons to place your order now.  My random number generator will be drawing the winner on 1 April 2017 and you will have an excellent chance of being the lucky person I contact.

Today I wanted to share a card I made with the Sale-a-bration Second Release stamp set, 'Reverse Words'. This is a set of 2 large stamps with the words 'hooray' and 'cheers' that show through the stamped background. The 'hooray' is perfect for greetings on birthday cards, but I wanted to extend it a bit further, so I have made a sweet baby card.

I have stamped the 'hooray' in Crumb Cake ink towards to bottom of the art piece and then added the cute baby from the 'Moon Baby' stamp set. I stamped the image with Basic Gray Archival ink onto Shimmery white card stock before colouring with my Aqua painter and ink pads and then fussy cutting. The banner from 'Endless Thanks' has been stamped with the 'it's a girl'  greeting from the Sale-a-bration stamp set 'Any Occasion', fussy cut and popped up at the base.  I used a Copic marker to give the banner the pale pink background. The art piece has been matted on the beautiful Sweet Sugarplum glimmer paper from the Glimmer Assortment pack, another of the Second Release Sale-a-bration items. The base card is Crumb Cake and I have finished it with a little banner and double bow in white Baker's twine and a little bling.

The writing panel has a mat of Sweet Sugarplum and at the base is a strip of Crumb Cake washi topped with a narrow strip of Sweet Sugarplum glimmer paper. The greeting is from the 'Made with Love' stamp set with the stars from the 'Perpetual Calendar' stamp set stamped off across it in Sweet Sugarplum ink. 

Project Details
Stamps	Reverse Words, Moon Baby, Made with Love, Any Occasion, Perpetual Calendar, Endless Thanks
Card stock & Papers	Crumb Cake, Whisper White, Sweet Sugarplum, Sweet Sugarplum Glimmer, Shimmery White
Ink	Crumb Cake, Sweet Sugarplum, Basic Gray Archival, Pink Pirouette, So Saffron, Daffodil Delight, Rich Razzleberry
Accessories	White Baker's Twine, Rhinestone Basic Jewels, Tasty Treats washi
Tools	Glue Dots, Dimensionals

You can click on the button below to place your order online now. 

Thanks for looking!

Shop with me in March and WIN!