Impressions Abloom for Mother's Day

Hi there

Yet another month has passed and it went so quickly with the combination of a messy late season cyclone, the OnStage event for Demonstrators in Brisbane and wrapping up our latest bathroom and pantry renovation, so we just made it into March with the class on Sunday.

Today I'm sharing the first of three cards we made and this was the most timing consuming one (or maybe we just chatted more, lol)  - a labour of love for Mother's Day, which is the first Sunday in May in Australia. It's always nice to be ready a bit ahead of time, don't you think?

This is an Accordion Gatefold card and I've also seen it called a Double Accordion Gatefold, but either way, it combines a gatefold card base and fun pop out accordion panel.  I've customised the measurements for our metric card stock and the folded card fits into a standard medium envelope.

I created the gatefold card base with Basic White Thick card stock and I've used the beautiful NEW (coming 6 May) Floral Impressions DSP and coordinating Impressions Abloom Dies to embellish the card.  The photo above shows the card closed with the embellished art panel on the front.

The card opens out to display the accordion panels that can be embellished as you desire. I decided to add another greeting in the centre panel, which is seen when the card stands for display. I love the colour combination of Fresh Freesia, Pool Party and Misty Moonlight in these particular designs from the Floral Impressions DSP which is coming in the next Online Exclusives drop on 6 May. The clever dies I have used for the flower embellishments come as 2 pieces - the outline and an optional inner piece that creates the highlights in the centre. Using the outline die alone allows you to cut some of the images from the paper as well, making it very versatile. 

This photo shows how the accordion folds down, leaving the single panel displayed on the front of the card. This would be a fabulous fold for a milestone birthday with large numbers in the centre panel or any special occasion as it has a lot of presence when standing for display.

 I've created the greeting panel on the reverse to provide more space to write and it remains private when the card is standing for display.

 

Project Details
Stamps	Layering Leaves, Heartfelt Hexagon, Perennial Postage
Card stock & Papers	Basic White, Fresh Freesia, Old Olive, Misty Moonlight, Floral Impressions DSP
Ink	Fresh Freesia, Misty Moonlight, Pool Party
Accessories	Brushed Brass Butterflies, Adhesive-Backed Heart Sequins
Tools	Impressions Abloom Dies, Stampin' Cut & Emboss, Dimensionals, Tombow Glue, Glue Dots, blending brushes, white gel pen

Before I finish, I just want to mention that new products have been added to the Last Chance category (under the Specials Category) in my Online Shop. These are the products from the 2025 January-April Mini Catalogue and the 2024-2025 Annual Catalogue that will be retiring.  Everything in this list is 'while supplies last', so once sold out the products are discontinued. If you're after a bargain, below are some links to help you quickly get to the good stuff!

Products Discounted 40% or more

Products Discounted 50% or more

Retiring from the 2024-2025 Annual Catalogue 

Retiring from the 2025 January - April Mini Catalogue

 

Thanks for visiting today!

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Perennial Lavender for Mother's Day

Hi there

This past week was very busy as I prepared for and held the first card class in my new studio on Sunday. It has been a long time (too long) since the last one, as we moved states during the COVID pandemic and then spent well over 12 months renovating the house we purchased and in the process created my craft studio. The long journey has definitely been worth it and I love the space we created. It has had lots of use during this hot summer as a place we can escape to in the afternoon, when the rest of the house gets unbearable. Before we moved I had the smallest upstairs bedroom as my craft room and I was always getting complaints about being anti-social, but now we can share the space! Here is a pic of the room set up for the class:

Today I'm sharing the first of 3 projects we made, which is a Double 'Z' Fold card. It is a great fold for using/showcasing beautiful papers and although straightforward it does have a bit of a 'wow' to it. 

I chose to use the beautiful Perennial Lavender DSP for a Mother's Day card. I'm pleased that this paper is being carried over to the 2024-2025 Annual Catalogue, so there will be more opportunities to use it. This front-on pic above shows the 'Z' folds, which collapse down to a card that fits into a standard size envelope. I've used the Perennial Postage stamp set for both of the greetings and I love that they can both be used for the front or inside the card. The greeting on the front was cropped with the smallest of the nesting set from the Thoughtful Expressions Dies, which are sadly retiring (but not the stamp set). The butterfly sitting on the greeting from the Paper Butterfly Accents pack was ink blended and coated with Wink of Stella for a lovely sparkle.

This pic shows the card fully open, with the centre panel hosting the pretty Lavender posy. The Lavender sprig was cropped from Lost Lagoon card stock with Adhesive Sheet on the reverse. The Lavender flowers are cropped from Basic White and ink blended with Highland Heather and a touch of Gorgeous Grape. I arranged the die cuts and used the Lost Lagoon sprigs to hold the Lavender flowers in position so they still have some movement. I finished the posy with a double Linen Thread bow. 

I added a simple writing panel on the reverse for the message. 

I'll be getting this in the post very soon as it takes so long to get from one side of Australia to the other! If you're in the Toowoomba region, please get in touch if you'd like to attend a cardmaking class.

 

Project Details
Stamps	Perennial Postage
Card stock & Papers	Basic White, Highland Heather, Lost Lagoon, Perennial Lavender DSP
Ink	Gorgeous Grape, Highland Heather
Accessories	Linen Thread, Basic Jewels Rhinestones, Paper Butterfly Accents
Tools	Painted Lavender Dies, Thoughtful Expressions Dies, Stampin' Cut & Emboss, Dimensionals, Tombow Glue, Glue Dots, Detailed Trio Punch (retired), Wink of Stella

 

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CASE-ing the Catty - Front Cover of 2022-23 Annual Catty

Hi there

Welcome to CASE-ing the Catty for this week! I've been MIA for the last few weeks, as we continue to work on our renovations.  We are doing all the finishing so there is always lots of filling, sanding and painting that needs doing. I've spend the last 4 days staining and sealing the french doors for my new craft studio.  That makes it all worthwhile!

If you've come from visiting  Michelle, 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. 

It's only a few more sleeps until the new 2022-23 Annual Catalogue goes live! Woohoo, so much new product to enjoy. This week we are CASE-ing the front cover to get you in the mood. Here is the card layout as a sketch, so you can see the element more easily. It is Mother's Day in Australia this coming Sunday, so I thought I'd take the opportunity to make my card for Mum. I forgot it was another long weekend here in Queensland, so I hope it will arrive in time in Western Australia. 

I love flowers of all kinds, whether they be in the garden or on cards, so the Hues of Happiness Suite is one of my stand out favourites from the new catalogue and I was so happy to see it on the Demonstrator preorder. I love all the elements of this suite and better still, the dies crop many of the floral elements from the Hues of Happiness designer paper, making it perfect for creating lovely cards, quickly.

You can see that I have stayed close to the sketch, although my focus panel is centred, rather than to the left. As my card is slightly smaller than normal, it worked best for me.  I used a piece of Fresh Freesia/Gorgeous Grape painterly design for the background and the Pool Party and Gorgeous Grape roses for the focus. The greeting is from the Peaceful Moments stamp set, stamped in Gorgeous Grape ink and cropped with the Stitched Rectangles Dies.  I finished with a trio of the gorgeous Glossy Dots Assortment, which are also part of the suite.

You might be wondering what the smaller panel to the left is. Well, this panel is one of 4 in my Pinwheel Tower card, so the smaller panel is the reverse side of another blade on the pinwheel!

Here is a view from the top, so you can see how it looks. This is very simple to make and you can easily adjust the dimensions to suit. My card is 10.2cm x 14cm (4" x 5 1/2"), to suit the elements I'm using. It does fold flat for posting, but mine won't fit in a standard envelope, so I will be making a custom envelope for it. 

 This is the second 'blade' of the pinwheel. I've created a frame with the Stitched Rectangle Dies and heat embossed the sentiment from the Blessings of Home stamp set in white. Small roses add colour to the frame and I finished with a trio of Brushed Brass Butterflies.

This is the 3rd 'blade' of the pinwheel and I've added a piece of one of my favourite designs from the Hues of Happiness paper pack. It includes all of the colours that I've used in the card.  The sentiment is from the Lovely You stamp set, stamped in Gorgeous Grape and cropped with the Stitched Rectangles Dies. I finished with a Pool Party flower and leaf set in the corner and a trio of Brushed Brass Butterflies.

The final 'blade' in the pinwheel is the stitched writing panel, cropped with the Stitched Rectangle Dies. The greeting from the Daffodil Daydream stamp set, is stamped in Gorgeous Grape ink. I have kept all the previous left sides blank, so it wouldn't be quite so busy, but I've added a little cluster of flowers this time. 

 

Project Details
Stamps	Happiness Abounds, Peaceful Moments, Lovely You, Blessings of Home, Daffodil Daydream
Card stock & Papers	Basic White, Gorgeous Grape, Hues of Happiness DSP
Ink	Versamark, Gorgeous Grape, Granny Apple Green
Accessories	Brushed Brass Butterflies, Glossy Dots Assortment
	Stitched Rectangles Dies, Blossoming Happiness Dies, Stampin' Cut & Emboss, Dimensionals, White EP, Heat Tool, Tombow Glue

 

We would love to see your CASE this week of  the cover of the new 2022-23 Annual Catalogue. 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 head over to Lauren to see her lovely project and follow the hop to see the inspiration from the rest of the CTC Crew.

Please get in touch, if you would love to get a copy of the new 2022-23 Annual Catalogue. 

Thanks for visiting today!

• Shop my Online Store 24/7
• See the latest Stampin' Up! Promotions
• Request a FREE Catalogue
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CASE-ing the Catty - Inspired by Kits

Hi there

Welcome to another week of CASE-ing the Catty! I have most of my craft room packed now, preparing for the move north, so this will probably be my last participation for a few weeks. 

If you've come from visiting Peta & Marvi, 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 taking inspiration from kits in either the Annual Catalogue or January-June Mini Catalogue.  The Hello Dear Friend All Inclusive Card Kit took my eye when I first saw it in the January-June Mini Catalogue. It has a great 7 piece Photopolymer stamp set with really useful greetings and the colours really spoke to me (yes, it does include pink, of course!). You can see the cards created with the kit in the photo above right.

As I have limited supplies available now, I've taken the opportunity to use the kit to create a Mother's Day card that I can have ready to put in the post shortly. I've used the card above for my inspiration, staying close to the design and stepping it up a little (although it is already a lovely card!)

I started by cutting the front from the leafy card base and dry embossed it with the Tasteful Textile 3D Embossing Folder for some lovely texture. I cut a custom card base from Melon Mambo card stock and adhered the panel. The copper foil vellum die cut was adhered to the card base by sponging a small amount of Tombow glue around the edges. Press it down lightly and you will not see any adhesive.

The Mother's Day greeting from the Dressed to Impress stamp set was stamped on one of the included copper trimmed labels and positioned on the vellum panel. The floral die cuts were popped up at different levels around the label and I added some leaf die cuts. I finished with a little bow from the new Polished Pink Open Weave Ribbon and a trio of 2020-22 In Color Enamel Dots.

For the inside, I have a narrow border of Pear Pizzazz for my writing panel and I've stamped the leaves and flower from the included stamp set along the bottom in Pear Pizzazz and Melon Mambo ink.

 

Project Details
Stamps	Dressed To Impress
Card stock & Papers	Whisper White, Melon Mambo, Pear Pizzazz, Hello Dear Friend All Inclusive Card Kit
Ink	Memento Tuxedo Black
Accessories	2020-22 In Color Enamel Dots, Polished Pink Open Weave Ribbon
Tools	Tasteful Textile 3D EF, Dimensionals, Glue Dots, 1mm Foam Pads (not SU),

 

We would love to see your CASE of a kit project from either of the current catalogues. 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 head over to Lauren's blog to follow the hop and see the inspiration from the rest of the CTC Crew.

 

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 - 'Painted Seasons' Mother's Day Projects

Hi there

Welcome to the blog hop for the IDEAS (International Demos Exciting Artistic Stampin') team. 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. There will be a theme for each month and this month it is Mother's Day/Father's Day/Friendship. We have 12 fabulous tutorials in this month's bundle, many including multiple projects.

If you've come from looking at MaryKate's sweet projects, 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. 

This month, I have a Mother's Day gift set for you, comprising a card and coordinating gift box and tag. The card also includes a gift card holder, so you can spoil Mum with a gift card for her favourite store. However, these projects would also be perfect for a birthday, thank you or friendship gift with a change of greeting.

I have used the pretty Gingham Gala Designer Series Paper with the Painted Seasons stamp set.  My tutorial has step by step instructions to make the card (with gift card holder) and coordinating gift box and tag shown in the photo above.  Plus, I have included instructions and photos showing you how to get the extra pop in the centre of the flowers without losing the detail.

You will receive another 11 detailed, step by step tutorials with more ideas for Mother's Day/Father's Day/Friendship occasions as part of the bundle. You can see a preview of all of the projects in the bundle as you move through the hop.

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 April 2019 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 for FREE every month to use for your personal crafting or for classes. Stampin' Up! has a fabulous joining special during Sale-a-bration, until 31 March 2019. 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 Laura's Blog to see her gorgeous Friendship projects.

Thanks for visiting today!