Partying Pandas!

Hi there

Today I have another of the cards we made in recent classes, this time using the super cute 'Party Pandas' stamp set. This is one of the most popular of the FREE products that you can earn with a purchase of $90 or more (before shipping). I have two colour ways for this card, one very girly and one that is pretty gender neutral. The inspiration for this card came from Michelle Last who took her inspiration from Anni Karten. I love how we can each take the idea and make it our own. 

I have used the Basic Black Archival ink to stamp the Pandas. It is a crisp, saturated black that is perfect for this image. If you have a stamping platform, it will definitely assist you to get a really solid image. However, it does take a while to dry, so I recommend you give it a good blast with your heat gun to make sure it is fully dry before you start fussy cutting. The first colour combo is Pacific Point with Lemon Lime Twist and the other is Berry Burst with Lemon Lime Twist. I used alcohol markers to colour the balloons, as I wanted to get some shading,  but you need to be very careful as the black ink will bleed. I used Stampin' Write markers for the small details on the party hat and the heart on the envelope.

For the gender neutral version, I've used the round silver enamel shapes, silver star and the silver and white Baker's Twine for embellishments and the greeting comes from the 'Birthday Delivery' stamp set. The party hat Panda was also stamped onto the envelope and his hat coloured with Stampin' Write markers for a coordinated look.

For the inside, I have a Lemon Lime Twist mat for the writing panel and have used strips of designer paper at the base and a birthday greeting in the centre.

I added some cute little banners for a final touch.  The larger one is cut from the Lemon Lime Twist check design from the Tutti-Fruiti designer paper.

In this closeup you can see that I've just adhered the Pandas at the bottom of the circles, leaving the top free to give a more 3D effect. On this girly version I've used rhinestones for the embellishment.

For the inside of this version I've used some washi at the base with a strip of the Lemon Lime Twist designer paper and I stamped the dottie balloon and greeting from Happy Birthday Gorgeous.

Project Details
Stamps	Party Pandas, Better Together, Birthday Delivery, Happy Birthday Gorgeous
Card stock & Papers	Whisper White, Pacific Point, Berry Burst, Lemon Lime Twist, Tutti-Fruit DSP, Eastern Palace Specialty DSP
Ink	Basic Black Archival Ink, Pacific Point, Berry Burst.
Accessories	Silver & White Baker's Twine, Rhinestones Basic Jewels, Metallic Enamel Shapes, Basics Pack 1 Washi
Tools	1 3/4" Circle punch,  Dimensionals, Tombow Glue, Glue Dots, Stampin' Write Markers, Copic Markers, White Gel pen

Thanks for looking!

CASE-ing the Catty - More Sale-a-bration

Hi there

This week the CTC Crew are again taking inspiration from the Sale-a-bration Catalogue.  Not got your own copy of the Occasions and Sale-a-bration catalogues yet? If you are located in Australia, just leave your details here and I would be happy to pop a set in the post for you. 

There are just so many great products available to earn for FREE during the Sale-a-bration promotion that runs until 31 March 2018. When you spend $90 or more (before shipping) you get to choose one of 11 great options. If you spend $180 or more (before shipping) there are 2 additional fabulous options to choose from, including the 'Celebrate You' Thinlits Dies. 

You may have come from visiting Rachel'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. 

Last week I had the opportunity to have a crafty day with some lovely friends and got to try out the 'Beautiful Peacock' stamp set that I don't have yet. So, for this week's card I have taken my inspiration from the sample above on page 7 of the Sale-a-bration catalogue. I love the citrus colours with the bright blue and I've taken the layout and used similiar colours to create a stepped-up version of this card.

I started with a piece of Pacific Point card stock and added the Lemon Lime Twist designer paper from the 'Bubbles & Fizz' pack, which is also a FREE Sale-a-bration option, leaving a very narrow border. Using the largest die from the Eastern Medallion Thinlits I cut the decorative circle in the piece of thick Whisper White and added a circle of Pacific Point behind it, leaving a narrow border of the Lemon Lime Twist showing through. I added a narrow border of Pacific Point to each side of the panel before attaching to the Lemon Lime Twist background. The whole panel was popped up onto the thick Whisper White card base.

I used the 'Baby Wipe' technique to create the variegated feathers for the peacock, with Daffodil Delight, Lemon Lime Twist and Emerald Envy re-inkers. I stamped a number of images and picked the one that worked best. Sometimes with solid designs in photopolymer stamps, it can be difficult to get a good image. If you lightly go over the stamp with a white eraser, you will find the ink adheres better and you will get a clearer image. Don't forget to use your foam mat as well with your photopolymer stamps. I fussy cut both the peacock, which was stamped in Pacific Point and the feathers. I popped up the peacock onto the feathers for more depth and added some tiny rhinestones for sparkle.

The layered greeting starts with a strip of Emerald Envy, followed by the Lemon Lime Twist striped ribbon and then the greeting banner stamped in Pacific Point that has been popped up. The strip was positioned under the peacock and I added some rhinestones at the bottom under the 'YOU' and a sweet Baker's twine bow at the end.

For the inside, I have a mat of Pacific Point for my writing panel and a strip of the Lemon Lime Twist designer paper down the left side with the cute silver striped washi from the Sweet Soiree Embellishment Kit. The greeting in Pacific Point is also from the 'Cake Soiree' stamp set.

 

Project Details
Stamps	Beautiful Peacock, Cake Soiree
Card stock & Papers	Whisper White, Pacific Point, Emerald Envy, Bubbles & Fizz DSP
Ink	Pacific Point
Accessories	Silver & White Baker's Twine, Lemon Lime Twist 3/8" ribbon, Rhinestones Basic Jewels, Sweet Soiree Embellishment Kit, 1mm Rhinestones (not SU)
Tools	Layering Circles Framelits, Eastern Medallion Thinlits, Big Shot, Dimensionals, Tombow Glue, Glue Dots, Emerald Envy, Lemon Lime Twist & Daffodil Delight re-inkers

 

I hope you like my version of the 'Beautiful Peacock'. Now it's time to click on the Next button below to hop over to see what Mel has to inspire you this week. 

We would love you to join us with your CASE this week, using our 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. 

 Thanks for visiting today!

Sweet Friendship

Hi there

Today I'm sharing another of the projects we made in my classes last week. It uses another new stamp set from the Occasions Catalogue, called 'Friendship's Sweetest Thoughts'. It has 5 very sweet line images perfect for colouring and 3 lovely friendship sentiments. In case you have passed it by, you can see it below and purchase it from my online store.

The flower cart screams Paris to me. I hope I get to see something like this on my trip to France later in the year. I got out my Stampin' Blends to colour it, plus I also used the Lemon Lime Twist water colour pencil from the 'Lots of Happy' Card Kit. I enjoy mixing different colouring mediums to get the look you want.

I started with a piece of Soft Sky card stock and embossed it with my favourite Quilt Top embossing folder. I added a narrow mat of Whisper White before adhering the panel to my Berry Burst card base. The square Stitched Shapes Framelits were used to create the rectangle that I stamped the cart image on to. After colouring, I added a mat of Berry Burst and popped it up onto the card front. The greeting was stamped in black and die cut with the label from the Petals & More Thinlits Dies. I cut it a second time to reduce the length and placed it on a narrow strip of Berry Card stock.

I used Pool Party and Smoky Slate for the cart; Old Olive for the leaves and Lemon Lime Twist behind the flowers and for the grass. The flowers are Pink Pirouette with a touch of Rich Razzleberry blended in and then finished with a tiny rhinestone in the centre. I used a very pale grey Copic marker to create a shadow around the image to add depth.

For the inside, I stamped the smaller potting bench image at the base of the writing panel and used the same colours as previously. The pots were coloured with Pumpkin Pie to give a terracotta look. The spotted Berry Burst washi creates a base for the grass. The same image was also stamped on the envelope flap for a lovely coordinated look.

 

Project Details
Stamps	Friendship's Sweetest Thoughts
Card stock & Papers	Whisper White, Berry Burst, Soft Sky
Ink	Memento Tuxedo Black
Accessories	Basics Pack 1 Washi, 1mm Rhinestones (not SU), Rhinestone Basic Jewels
Tools	Petals & More Thinlits, Stitched Shapes Framelits, Quilt Top TIEF, Big Shot, Dimensionals, Stampin' Blends, Lemon Lime Twist Watercolour pencil

 

 Thanks for visiting today!

CASE-ing the Catty - Sweet Soiree

Hi there

This week the CTC Crew are taking inspiration from the Sweet Soiree Suite in the Occasions Catalogue. Not got your own copy of the Occasions and Sale-a-bration catalogues yet? If you are located in Australia, just leave your details here and I would be happy to pop a set in the post for you. 

You may have come from visiting 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'm taking my inspiration from the gift box in the photo above, turning it into a card instead. It uses two of the designs from the Sweet Soiree Specialty Designer Paper.

I have closely translated the layout of the box to my card. I started with a piece of Whisper White and added a strip of the Old Olive and Silver striped paper to the top and butted up the large floral design to the bottom section. To soften the floral paper so my tag didn't get lost, I added a piece of vellum over the top. A piece of Berry Burst ribbon was wrapped around the join and secured underneath and the piece was then mounted onto the Berry Burst card base. I tied a separate Berry Burst bow and then slipped the silver Baker's Twine under the ribbon strip, across the centre of the bow and through the tag and tied it in a bow. 

I decided to make my tag a little longer to give a bit more space for the greeting and floral embellishment. You do this by cutting a strip of card stock 4.8cm wide and 8.5cm long. Each end of the tag is then cut independently with the tag die from the coordinating Sweet Cake Framelits. I stamped the leaves in Old Olive and cropped them with the matching die and the other greenery in Lemon Lime Twist is from one of the included dies. I love the simple elegance of the 'for you' greeting which I stamped in Berry Burst.

For the inside, I have mat of Old Olive and a strip of the Sweet Soiree designer paper at the base of the writing panel, topped with a narrow strip of Powder Pink. I stamped and fussy cut the flowers and popped them up over some more greenery elements that were left over.

   

Project Details
Stamps	Cake Soiree
Card stock & Papers	Whisper White, Berry Burst, Old Olive, Lemon Lime Twist, Powder Pink, Sweet Soiree Specialty Designer Paper, Vellum
Ink	Old Olive, Berry Burst, Powder Pink
Accessories	Silver & White Baker's Twine, Rhinestone Basic Jewels
Tools	Sweet Cake Framelits, Big Shot, Dimensionals, Glue Dots, Tombow Glue,

 

Now it's time to click on the Next button below to hop over to see what Monique has to inspire you this week. 

We would love you to join us with your CASE this week, using our 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. 

 Thanks for visiting today!

Petal Palette in Pastels

Hi there

Today I wanted to share one of the cards we made in class yesterday. It uses the new 'Petal Palette' stamp set and the coordinating 'Petals & More Thinlits' dies from the Occasions Catalogue. The main floral image is quick and easy to colour and even better, you don't need to fussy cut as it has a die to match.  There are extra dies included in this set, including the green stems we used. 

The card base is Pool Party and I added a layer of Basic Black, the top half of which was embossed with the new Simple Stripes embossing folder. This makes for a dramatic backdrop for the rest of the elements on the card. The stamp set is designed to work with the Petal Passion designer paper, but the 'paper' at the bottom of the card is not a design in the pack. I wanted something less bold, so we used the dots stamp from the set to create the background. 

We used the Stampin' Blends to colour the floral image, which was die cut and popped up over the greenery onto a Silver Foil stitched Circle. One of the Petal Passion embellishments was tucked under the flowers together with a greeting cropped with the Classic Label punch. 

For the inside, we stamped another small strip of dots for the base and then the small floral element was coloured with Stampin' Blends.  After the class I decided to make another, this time in Pink Pirouette.  Which one do you prefer?

Here they are together.

 

Project Details
Stamps	Petal Palette, Teeny Tiny Sentiments, Wishes Your Way (retired)
Card stock & Papers	Whisper White, Basic Black, Pool Party, Pink Pirouette, Silver Foil
Ink	Memento Tuxedo Black
Accessories	Pearls Basic Jewels, Petal Passion Embellishments
Tools	Simple Stripes TIEF, Stitched Shapes Framelits, Petals & More Thinlits, Big Shot, Classic Label punch, Dimensionals, Glue Dots, Stampin' Blends

 

Thanks for looking!