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
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Cute 3D Card with Little Ladybug

Hi there

I have a bright, fun and super cute card to share, that will brighten up your day.  I was inspired by the card made by Libby Fens and I had to make one of my own (she has kindly included all the dimensions in her blog post). This is one of the easiest 3D fancy fold cards that you could make and it packs such a punch. The Sale-a-bration Host stamp set Little Ladybug is perfect for it. This stamp set is free with a party or personal order over $500, so if you've been keeping your powder dry up to now (wow, you must have strong will power, lol) you still have 3 weeks to take advantage of the Sale-a-bration promotion and earn this cute stamp set. Alternatively, get a few friends together and host an online workshop to pool your orders.

I've changed up the colours with a Balmy Blue base as I thought it worked well with the red ladybirds (we call them ladybirds in Australia) and bright yellow flowers. To add more interest, I have dry embossed the 3 pieces of the base with the Subtle 3D Embossing Folder. If you want to emboss your base, I recommend that you dry emboss the pieces first and then score them. The card is sitting on the envelope in the photo and I've stamped the flying ladybird in the bottom corner.

You can see the embossing better in this close-up. The ladybirds were coloured with Dark Real Red; Light and Dark Gray Granite for the chest; Light Petal Pink for the face, arms and legs and a tiny amount of Dark Petal Pink for blush on the cheeks. The flowers are coloured in Daffodil Delight; the stems and leaves with Granny Apple Green and centres in Light Soft Suede. I've cropped the images with the coordinating Ladybugs Dies that can be purchased for $50AUD. There are dies for all of the images, (apart from the row of tiny ladybirds), plus there are some extras as well. The greeting is also from the Little Ladybug stamp set and I've cropped it with the stitched label die from the All Dressed Up Dies.

If you were wondering where you write your greeting, then here it is. Because of the fold in the centre, I have created a panel on each side to give plenty of room to write and it also adds body to the base, making it more robust. I've used one of the Stitched Rectangle Dies which was conveniently the perfect size and stamped the cute row of ladybirds at the bottom. The panels have a mat of Granny Apple Green.

The card folds flat and fits easily into a normal C6 envelope. 

You can't help but smile when you look at those sweet ladybirds!

 

Project Details
Stamps	Little Ladybug
Card stock & Papers	Whisper White, Balmy Blue, Granny Apple Green
Ink	Memento Express Truffle
Accessories	2mm Rhinestone (not SU)
Tools	Ladybugs Dies, All Dressed Up Dies, Subtle 3D EF, Big Shot, Dimensionals, Tombow glue, Stampin' Blends (Real Red, Gray Granite, Soft Suede, Daffodil Delight, Granny Apple Green, Petal Pink)

 

If you don't have a Stampin' Up! Demonstrator, I would love to help you out.  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 March IDEAS Fun & Fancy Folds Tutorial Bundle for FREE (normally $10). It contains 55 pages of crafty inspiration and 12 projects that move, spin, wobble, pop-up, pop-out, slide out and shake!  I will email you the PDF file within 24 hours of your order being confirmed.  Don't forget, with an order of $90 or more, you can earn a FREE Sale-a-bration product too. 

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

CASE-ing the Catty - Sketch Challenge

Hi there

Welcome to CASE-ing the Catty for this week. 

If you've just come from looking at Lauren's lovely 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 CTC Crew by clicking on the buttons at the bottom of the post. 

This week, we are CASE-ing the layout of the Koala card in the photo above. 

Here is the card converted into a sketch so you can easily see the key elements, which are 3 panels and a sentiment. There is lots of scope to get creative. This is also a great layout to use your designer paper in the background, with your decorated panels over the top.

Well, I couldn't help myself, lol, I just had to CASE the Koala card because it is so darn cute!  I wanted to make my card distinctly girly though, so I have used a different colour combo. My card base is Pool Party and I've added a layer of the icecream designer paper. My stitched panels are die cut from Grapefruit Grove card stock for the background of the Smoky Slate Koalas. 

These Koalas are set to party, with the first one holding a triple scoop icecream, fussy cut from the designer paper; the second with the party hat holds the birthday greeting from the Label Me Bold stamp set, stamped in Bermuda Bay and the third is holding a bunch of balloons I stamped and fussy cut.  Did you notice the cute banner? No, you didn't miss this design in the paper pack; I have stamped the small square image multiple times in a row and then die cut the banner from it. The So Saffron metallic twine (that is more like Daffodil Delight) from the Sale-a-bration Metallic Baker's Twine & Sequins Combo Pack  was used for the cute bows.

I have kept the inside simple, with a panel of Whisper White and I have hand cut the row of birthday candles at the base. The greeting is from the Bonanza Buddies stamp set and I've added another banner  across the top using the same square stamp, this time in Mango Melody. 

I'm really happy with how this card turned out. It looks the similiar but so different from the sample, which is the great thing about CASE-ing!

 

Project Details
Stamps	Bonanza Buddies, Label Me Bold
Card stock & Papers	Whisper White, Pool Party, Grapefruit Grove, Birthday Bonanza DSP
Ink	Memento Tuxedo Black, Bermuda Bay, Smoky Slate, Mango Melody, Calypso Coral, Daffodil Delight, Coastal Cabana
Accessories	Rhinestones, Metallic Baker's Twine & Sequins Combo Pack (Sale-a-bration), Assorted Pompoms
Tools	Stitched Rectangle Dies, Bonanza Dies, Big Shot, Dimensionals

 

I had in mind another card and this time I turned the sketch on its head, literally!  Yes, you can do that! Let your creativity be inspired by, but not limited to what you see in the sketch. 

This time I have a soft and pretty card, perfect for an engagement, wedding or anniversary. I started with a Thick Whisper White card base in a portrait orientation and added the panel of Petal Pink and Champage Foil accented designer paper from the Parisian Blossoms Specialty Designer Series Paper that I had layered onto Champagne Foil.  The 3 panels were die cut from Champagne Foil with the Stitched Rectangles Dies and positioned horizontally to form the background for the cherry blossom spray from the Forever Blossoms stamp set. 

I've coloured the large cherry blossom image with Petal Pink and Mint Macaron Stampin' Blends Alcohol Markers for a soft look and cropped it with the coordinating die from the Cherry Blossoms Dies. I have cut the cherry blossom branch in two and inserted the greeting from the Here's A Card stamp set and added some extra leaves and a bud to soften the edge of the greeting banner.  The Petal Pink Metallic-Edge Ribbon is tied around the bottom panel to finish in a bow at the bottom of the floral spray. I have coloured, fussy  cut and popped up the 2 flowers with the Champagne Rhinestone centres for added interest and texture.

For the inside, I have a Petal Pink mat for my writing panel and the greeting from the Forever Blossoms stamp set in the centre. At the base is more of the Petal Pink Metallic-Edge ribbon and the top section of the cherry blossom image.

This card is so soft and pretty in real life and I hope the recipients love it too.

 

Project Details
Stamps	Forever Blossoms
Card stock & Papers	Whisper White, Petal Pink, Parisian Blossoms Specialty DSP, Champagne Foil
Ink	Memento Espresso Truffle,
Accessories	Champage Rhinestones, Petal Pink Metallic-Edge Ribbon
Tools	Stitched Rectangle Dies, Cherry Blossom Dies, Big Shot, Dimensionals, Stampin' Blends (Petal Pink, Mint Macaron)

 

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

We would love you to join us with your CASE of the Koala sketch over the next 2 weeks, 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 me 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 - Mini Catalogue Week 1

Hi there

Welcome to the first week of CASE-ing the Catty for 2019! So many amazing products and samples to CASE in the next 6 months. 

If you've come from visiting my lovely friend Tina and looking at her gorgeous 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 CTC Crew by clicking on the buttons at the bottom of the post. 

We have changed things up a bit this year, so there will be 2 weeks for each challenge, to give you more opportunity to create your own projects and pop them on our Facebook group. So this is week 1 of CASE-ing anything from the new January - June Mini Catalogue. 

Where to start, lol! I decided to go with a product bundle that jumped out at me when I first looked at the Mini Catalogue. The Bonanza Buddies Bundle from the Birthday Bonanza Suite on pages 32-34  is just so darned cute! I love that Stampin' Up! has included our iconic Koala as one of the cute animal images.  It does make me very sad to think that 20,000 of them have perished in the bushfires.

There are lots of samples that I want to CASE from this suite, but I chose this one, first up. 

Aren't those tags so cute! I decide to take the idea of the frame and translate it to a card.

I started with a Thick Whisper White card base and added a layer of the small Coastal Cabana print from the Birthday Bonanza Designer Series Paper. The stitched frame in Bermuda Bay was created with the Stitched Rectangles Dies and I popped it up on Dimensionals. I used the frame from around the edge of the sheet of Dimensionals, so don't throw those out when you have used them all. I toyed with creating a shaker card, but decided that there was going to be plenty going on without that.  I stamped the greeting from the Bonanza Buddies stamp set in Calypso Coral and then cropped it with the new Stitched So Sweetly Dies and positioned it towards the top of the frame. The banner was die cut from another design from the designer paper and positioned so it would go across the greeting. 

I have fussy cut the lion with the balloons from the Birthday Bonanza Designer Series Paper. I roughly cut it out and then adhered it to Whisper White to give it some more body. I then stamped the head (Daffodil Delight) and mane (Mango Melody) and used the Bonanza Dies to crop them. This allowed me to pop up the mane over the body and then pop up the head to give him lots of dimension. I stamped the Koalas in Gray Granite and cropped them with the corresponding die. I die cut a party hat from some leftover striped designer paper and added a cute pompom to the top for the Koala. The packages were stamped in matching colours and you can add the bows as a second step if desired. You will  need to fussy cut them, but they are simple shapes. You can crop the basic animal images from the designer paper with the corresponding dies. If they have party hats or balloons, you will want to fussy cut them.

For the inside I have a Bermuda Bay mat for my writing panel and the leftover strip of the Coastal Cabana designer paper at the  bottom. The Koala is in party mode with his party hat and icecream in hand.  At the top I have the striped banner going across the corner. 

Project Details
Stamps	Bonanza Buddies
Card stock & Papers	Whisper White, Bermuda Bay, Birthday Bonanza DSP
Ink	Memento Tuxedo Black, Daffodil Delight, Mango Melody, Gray Granite, Bermuda Bay, Calypso Coral, Grapefruit Grove
Accessories	Assorted Pompoms
Tools	Stitched Rectangles Dies, Stitched So Sweetly Dies, Bonanza Dies, Big Shot, Dimensionals, Tombow Glue

 

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

We would love you to join us with your CASE of the new January - JUne 2020 Mini Catalogue over the next 2 weeks, 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. 

Don't forget, if you would like to receive your own copy of the new January - June 2020 Mini Catalogue, then leave your details over on my Free Catalogues page. 

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

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!