CASE-ing the Catty - Inspired by Animals

Hi there

Welcome to another week of CASE-ing the Catty challenge! 

If you've come from visiting Rachel's blog, then welcome! If you're visiting me, I appreciate you stopping by today!  You can continue your journey to see the other inspiring creations from the CTC Crew by clicking on the buttons at the bottom of the post. 

This week we're taking inspiration from the animals in the new 2020-21 Annual Catalogue and I've chosen to use the Whale Of A Time Suite for my project. 

I was inspired by a few project samples on pages 94 and 95 of the 2020-21 Annual Catalogue, including the one above. I love shaker cards and the new Whale of a Time Sequins are really lovely and I also wanted to try out the Seabed 3D Embossing Folder that is also part of the suite. This embossing folder looks pretty ho-hum in the catalogue, but I'm here to tell you it is really fabulous. The photo above, that I cropped to give you a better view, does show the fabulous detailed design and texture variations much better.

Well, having said all that, I didn't end up with a shaker card, but rather something more like a diorama. I have used Pacific Point for the frame to coordinate with the Whale of a Time Designer Series Paper and I wanted a bold colour to show up the embossing. I started first by cutting out the aperture in the front with a Stitched Rectangle Die before embossing with the Seabed 3D Embossing Folder. I opened the folder and gently patted the inside bottom panel (the one without the Stampin' Up! logo) with the Whisper White Craft ink pad (page 147 of the Annual Catalogue) before running it through my Big Shot.  The end result is that you have the de-bossed design highlighted with white ink and I love the effect it gives. The craft ink does take more time to dry, so put it aside for a few minutes or use the low setting on your heat gun to speed up the process.

For the background of the diorama I chose one of the fabulous designs from the Whale of a Time Designer Series Paper pack. I stamped the school of fish from the Whale Done stamp set a few times in Calypso Coral ink and then added the whales that I fussy cut from another sheet of the designer paper. I like to roughly cut the shape and then adhere it to some Whisper White card stock before fussy cutting.  It makes the image more robust, especially if you're popping up on Dimensionals as I have done with the large whale. The seaweed was cropped from Vellum card stock using the Smooth Sailing Dies and I left one plain and coloured the other with the Dark Granny Apple Green Stampin' Blend marker. The turtle is also fussy cut from the designer paper and popped up over the seaweed in the corner. The small seahorse was stamped in Calypso Coral ink and fussy cut and is the perfect size to wind around the seaweed. 

I adhered the finished diorama to a Pacific Point card base of the same size to provide additional stability when it is displayed. This photo shows a top view of the diorama and the dimension it gives to the card. 

For the inside I have a Just Jade mat for my writing panel. I've stamped the seagrass from the Whale Done stamp set in Pretty Peacock and Granny Green in the corner and then the fish over the top in Calypso Coral. 

The other great thing about this diorama card, is that the frame folds flat to fit into a standard sized envelope for posting and pops back  to shape easily. If you're interested in making one of these cards, I'll a tutorial available for it shortly. 

 

Project Details
Stamps	Whale Done, Itty Bitty Greetings, Itty Bitty Birthdays
Card stock & Papers	Whisper White, Pacific Point, Just Jade, Whale of a Time DSP, Vellum
Ink	Pretty Peacock, Granny Apple Green, Calypso Coral, Whisper White Craft
Accessories
Tools	Seabed 3D Embossing Folder, Stitched Rectangle Dies, Smooth Sailing Dies, Tasteful Labels Dies, Big Shot, Dimensionals, Glue Dots, Stampin' Blends  (Granny Apple Green)

We would love to see your projects, inspired by the animals in the new Annual Catalogue. You can upload it to 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. 

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

Thanks for visiting today!

• Shop my Online Store 24/7
• See the latest Stampin' Up! Promotions
• Request a FREE Catalogue
• Check out my Tutorial Store

IDEAS Blog Hop - Punch It Up!

Hi there

I'm back with the IDEAS (International Demos Exciting Artistic Stampin') team this month to share more fabulous projects. We are a group of international demonstrators who create a Tutorial Bundle each month to give you, our customers and readers a heap of inspiration for your crafting.

If you've come from looking at Elizabeth's sweet project, then welcome! If you're visiting me, I appreciate you stopping by today!  You can continue your journey to see the other inspiring creations from the IDEAS Team by clicking on the NEXT button at the bottom of the post. 

Our theme this month is 'Punch It Up' - we are creating projects with lots of the Stampin' Up! punches. This bundle contains 14 fabulous tutorials and 61 pages of crafty inspiration for lots of occasions. You can get a peek of the projects in the collage photo above. The projects include cards, gift packaging and treat packaging.

I have used the Under My Umbrella stamp set and coordinating Umbrella Builder Punch to create my bright, fun friendship cards. This is a really sweet stamp set and I love those cute flowers that I've put into the window box and bowl. 

There are 14 different projects using punches from the 2020-21 Annual Catalogue in this bundle; you won't be disappointed!

Would you like a copy of the instructions for these projects for your personal use, or even to use in your classes? 

There are 3 ways you can get the July 2020 Tutorial Bundle.

1.  Place an order with me for $50 or more using the current month's Host Code (shown in the side bar on the right) and you will receive the tutorial bundle for FREE. I will email you the PDF file within 24 hours of your order being confirmed.  

2. You can purchase the tutorial with Instant Download through my Etsy store by clicking here. You can pay with a credit card or PayPal and you DO NOT need to sign up to Etsy to make a purchase. Check out as a guest if you are not a member.

3.  Join my team and you will get this bundle of tutorials FREE every month to use for your personal crafting or for classes. You can see all the details over on the Join My Team page. 

Once you have received the tutorials, please remember not to share or distribute the printed or electronic copies of these bundles. We have worked hard to provide these exclusive projects for your use. If you know someone that would like to purchase the bundle, please direct them to me to obtain their copy. Thanks for your support.

Now it's time to hop over to Sandra's Blog to see her lovely projects.

Thanks for visiting today!

• Shop my Online Store 24/7
• See the latest Stampin' Up! Promotions
• Request a FREE Catalogue
• Check out my Tutorial Store

 

CASE-ing the Catty - CASE a Layout

Hi there

Welcome to another week of CASE-ing the Catty challenge! 

If you've come from visiting Sandra, then welcome! If you're visiting me, I appreciate you stopping by today!  You can continue your journey to see the other inspiring creations from the CTC Crew by clicking on the buttons at the bottom of the post. 

This week we are CASE-ing a layout using the sample project from page 130, shown above on the right. You can see the sample translated into the sketch below. 

I love a good sketch and today I decided to have a play with my new Birds & Branches Bundle. Birds & Branches is a big 19 piece Photopolymer set, perfect for lining up the bird overlays. The Birds & More Dies is a set of 16, with 'more' definitely being true. Apart from cropping the bird  and nest images there are lots of additional dies to add texture and dimension to your project. I've only used a few of them today.

Because the lovely foliage circle die is quite large, I decided to make my card square. The card base is Sahara Sand and I have added a layer of Blushing Bride that has been dry embossed with the Subtle 3D Embossing Folder. Next up is a piece of woodgrain paper from the In Good Taste Designer Series Paper pack. 

I wanted the foliage circle to be a standalone embellishment, so I have die cut it in Thick Whisper White and then used the largest of the scallop circle dies from the Layering Circles Dies to cut it away from the background. I do recommend using Thick Whisper White to make the narrow border as robust as possible. I adhered it to a Sahara Sand scalloped circle (cut with the same die) that I ran through the Scripty 3D Embossing folder. I have stamped the cute birds, which are Distinkive style, meaning they give you lots of lovely shading with only one impression of the stamp. You start by stamping the whole bird image and I have used Blushing Bride for this. Next is the overlay stamp that adds more dimension to the head and wings and I have used Soft Suede as my overlay. If you set the birds up on your Stamparatus plates, you can quickly stamp them in a variety of colours and crop them with the dies as you want to use them.  The greeting is from the Lovely You stamp set in Early Espresso on Blushing Bride card stock and I have fussy cut it.

I've layered up all of the pieces, starting with the branch at the top that I have cut into 2 pieces and then popped up the scalloped circle over it. The birds were popped up on the circle, as was the greeting and finally the double bow was added with a glue dot. As we don't have Blushing Bride Blends, I have very lightly coloured the Crinkled Seam Binding ribbon with the Light Flirty Flamingo Stampin' Blend marker and I think it works OK. I finished with a few of my new favourite Elegant Faceted Gems.

Being a square card, there is plenty of space, so I have used the lovely border die from the Birds & More Dies on the side of the writing panel and added a mat of Blushing Bride card stock. I finished it with another of the birds in the bottom corner. There is such a lot of detail in the stamps with standing and sitting feet for each of the birds. 

Project Details
Stamps	Birds & Branches, Lovely You
Card stock & Papers	Whisper White, Sahara Sand, Blushing Bride, In Good Taste DSP
Ink	Blushing Bride, Soft Suede, Early Espesso
Accessories	Elegant Faceted Gems, 1/4" Crinkled Seam Binding Ribbon
Tools	Subtle 3D Embossing Folder, Scripty 3D Embossing Folder, Birds & More Dies, Layering Circles Dies, Big Shot, Dimensionals, Tombow Glue, Glue Dots

 

We would love to see your projects, using the sketch layout. You can upload it to 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. 

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

 

Thanks for visiting today!

• Shop my Online Store 24/7
• See the latest Stampin' Up! Promotions
• Request a FREE Catalogue
• Check out my Tutorial Store

Fancy Fold Masculine Card with By The Dock

Hi there

I hope you are staying safe and well. I've been very busy for the last few weeks with prepping and running my Zoom classes and life in general.  Another month has gone and we are now in the second half of the year. As 2020 hasn't been the best of years for humanity, it might be good to get it over and done and start afresh!

I just want to mention firstly, that we have the Stampin' Up! BONUS DAYS promotion during July (actually 1 July - 3 August, 2020).  In Australia, that means you will receive a $9 coupon for each $90 you spend. There is no limit to how many coupons you can earn, so if you've been holding off on ordering from the new 2021 Annual Catalogue, then July is a great time to get more bang for your buck! Not only that, we have the Holiday Mini Catalogue (now called the August-December Mini Catalogue) starting in August (yes, a month earlier than previously!) so you can redeem your coupons on the fabulous new holiday products. My customers will be receiving their complimentary copy of the August-December Mini Catalogue in the next few weeks, but you can request one, by leaving your details on my Free Catalogues page.

Now onto the card I'm sharing today. I'm using the By The Dock stamp set and coordinating Dockside Dies for my Centre Step Easel card. This bundle is perfect for masculine cards or anyone into the outdoors, boating or those who just love water scenery. There is something so calming about looking out into a body of water, don't you think, especially when it is surrounded by a lovely landscape. It would also be great for a milestone birthday or retirement occasion.

I have used Seaside Spray card stock for the card base and the Night of Navy plaid design from the retired Country Club Designer Series Paper for the side borders on the front and for the fold out easel panel. I added a strip of Old Olive card stock across the easel panel and popped up the birthday greeting from the By the Dock stamp set, that I stamped in Night of Navy ink and cropped with the Stitched Rectangle Dies. 

The centre background panel has the ground image from the By The Dock stamp set at the base and above that I have coloured the sand, water and sky with Stampin' Blends alcohol markers. I added some ripples in stamped off Night of Navy ink after I finished colouring.  You could also use ink pads and daubers or other ink blending tools to create the background. The dock was popped up on the left slightly overhanging the edge and the boat adhered flat with the bow rising from the water. I overlaid the bottom edge with the fabulous bullrushes die cut from the Friendly Sihouettes Dies. To finish I popped up the cute frog on the dock and added a couple of seagulls flying overhead.  The card has lots of dimension and texture and I love that it folds up and fits into a standard sized envelope. 

I've added a writing panel on the reverse, stamping the ground image again at the bottom in a different way and adding the fussy cut boat to the left and off the edge. It's great to have a masculine card ready in my stash, but I think I know the perfect person for it!

 

Project Details
Stamps	By the Dock
Card stock & Papers	Whisper White, Seaside Spray, Night of Navy, Old Olive, Crumb Cake,Country Club DSP (retired)
Ink	Early Espresso, Night of Navy, Soft Suede
Accessories	Gold Metallic Pearls
Tools	Dockside Dies, Stitched Rectangle Dies, Big Shot, Dimensionals, Glue Dots, Stampin' Blends (Granny Apple Green, Old Olive, Gray Granite, Crumb Cake, Daffodil Delight, Seaside Spray, Petal Pink, So Saffron, Soft Sea Foam, Balmy Blue, Smoky Slate, Soft Suede)

 

Thanks for visiting me today!

• Shop my Online Store 24/7
• See the latest Stampin' Up! Promotions
• Request a FREE Catalogue
• Check out my Tutorial Store