CASE-ing the Catty - Favourite Annual Catty Project

Hi there

Welcome to CASE-ing the Catty for this week.

Wow, it's our last CASE from the 2023-2024 Annual Catalogue!  Next week we will be starting on the brand new 2024-2025 Annual Catalogue that goes LIVE to customers on 1st May, 2024.  I cannot believe how quickly this year is speeding past and it is only 7 weeks until we leave for our overseas trip to Scandanavia.

If you've come from visiting Lauren, 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 button at the bottom of the post. 

This week we are taking inspiration from our favourite project from the 2023-2024 Annual Catalogue.  There are so many great samples to choose from and I've CASE-d many of my favourites. However, I  love this page (below) from the Annual Catalogue showing samples for the Masterfully Made Suite.  

I think the Masterfully Made Designer Series Paper is amazing. I love all of the colours in the paper and as I'm a pink fan, the Berry Burst and Fresh Freesia designs are winners for me.  The paper is now in the Last Chance Sale, so you can get it for $10.87AUD, which is close to a 50% discount. I've already CASE-d the layout of the card at the top in this post here, for cards for new team members, so I decided to focus on the Berry Burst project at the top right in the photo above. 

I decided on Fresh Freesia for my card base, which is a colour in the paper and cut another piece slightly smaller. I like the interest this extra layer adds, but the other advantage is that if you make a mistake or don't like your stamping, you can turn it over and start again! I stamped off the text in from the Quiet Meadow stamp set at the bottom and top corners using Fresh Freesia ink, which looks quite faint in the photo, but I just wanted a subtle hint in the  background. The foliage spray from the Gorgeously Made Dies was cropped twice from Fresh Freesia card stock and I adhered them with tape across the stems. You can also add Adhesive Sheet to the reverse of the card stock but I wanted a more free flowing look. 

I added the piece of patterned paper from Masterfully Made to a piece of Fresh Freesia card stock to make it more robust for the 'lumpy' surface it was being adhered to. The white banner was cropped with a die from the Nested Essentials Dies, and I extended it to be a little longer. The second banner is the reverse side of the floral paper. Inspired by the paper, I created a shabby chic flower by tearing Berry Burst card stock and rolling it up and squishing it a little and adhered it at the top of the banners. I finished with a flowing bow from (retired) Crinkled Seam Binding Ribbon under it and a trio of silver pearls from the new Basic Gray & Smoky Slate Pearls. The birthday greeting from the Go To Greetings stamp set was stamped in Berry Burst ink, fussy cut and popped up.

For the inside, I have a Basic White writing panel and I've used the spiral look die from the Gorgeously Made Dies at the top which gives it the look of being torn from a notebook. At the base I have stamped off the text and adhered part of the foliage spray under a strip of the designer paper.

This card isn't one for a standard envelope, but it's worth it for something a little different, don't you think?

 

Project Details
Stamps	Go To Greetings, Quiet Meadow
Card stock & Papers	Basic White, Berry Burst, Fresh Freesia, Masterfully Made DSP
Ink	Fresh Freesia, Berry Burst
Accessories	Basic Gray & Smoky Slate Pearls, Crinkled Seam Binding Ribbon (retired)
Tools	Gorgeously Made Dies, Nested Essentials Dies, Stampin' Cut & Emboss, Dimensionals, Glue Dots

 

We would love to see your CASE of a favourite project from the 2023-24 Annual Catalogue this week. 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 the Julia to see her lovely project and follow the hop to see the inspiration from the rest of the CTC Crew.

 

Thanks for visiting today!

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Country Flowers Pretty in Pink

Hi there

Today I'm sharing another of the cards we made in my class on Sunday. This time we had a play with the new 2024-2026 In Colors which are such a lovely collection and the Country Woods Suite Collection. 

I started with a Thick Basic White card base and added a layer of Pretty in Pink embossed with the Eyelet 3D Embossing Folder, which is also part of the Country Woods suite. For the centre panel I have layered up Basic White with a Pretty In Pink design from the 6" x 6" In Color Paper Stack and finally a Basic White stitched rectangle.

I used the sweet images from the new Country Flowers Bundle for the focus of the card. The stool and teapot were stamped directly onto patterned paper from the Country Woods and Country Lace packs and then cropped with the coordinating die. The floral bouquet was coloured with Stampin' Blends using the new In Colors with Misty Moonlight to coordinate with the teapot.  The stool was adhered flat with the teapot and flowers popped up, with a white Baker's Twine bow popped under the flowers. The birthday greeting from the retiring Go To Greetings stamp set was stamped and fussy cut and popped up across the stool.

For the inside, I have repeated the Pretty in Pink embossed layer with a stitched rectangle for the writing panel and another sweet bouquet of flowers in the bottom corner. 

Make sure you come back tomorrow, as I'll have a special offer of a 2024-2026 In Color Creative Pack. You'll be able to create with these lovely new colours as well, at an affordable price. 

 

Project Details
Stamps	Go To Greetings, Country Flowers
Card stock & Papers	Basic White, Pretty In Pink, 2024-2026 In Color 6 x 6 Stack, Country Woods DSP, Country Flowers DSP,
Ink	Night of Navy, Early Espresso, Basic Gray, Memento Tuxedo Black
Accessories	Baker's Twine Basics, Brass Butterflys
Tools	Country Flowers Dies, Stitched Rectangles Dies (retired), Eyelet 3D EF, Stampin' Cut & Emboss, Dimensionals, Tombow Glue, Glue Dots, Stampin' Blends (2024-26 In Colrs & Misty Moonlight)

 

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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 - Perennial Lavender Birthday

Hi there

Welcome to CASE-ing the Catty for this week.

If you've come from visiting Rebecca, 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 button at the bottom of the post. 

This week we are taking inspiration from projects using Retiring Punches.

I've chosen the project above for my inspiration, as I thought the background was interesting, with punch outs from the retiring Ink & Tiled Punch Pack creating a textured background for the focus image. I'm not a fan of Crushed Curry, so I'm not at all partial to this particular sample project. However, if you can get past your initial view, often you will find an interesting idea or technique that you can take into your own card making.

Instead of punch outs, I've used die cuts to create a textured background for my bouquet of Lavender. I started with a Lost Lagoon card base and then cut a smaller piece to leave a border at the top and bottom and added the mottled Pretty Peacock/Lost Lagoon design from the Perennial Lavender DSP.  I've die cut 4 of the Lavender branch from Lost Lagoon card stock to which I added Adhesive Sheet, first. This turns the die cuts into stickers and makes it super easy to adhere them to the background. 

The tops of the lavender heads were stamped with Highland Heather and Gorgeous Grape ink in a two-step process and cropped with the coordinating die. I stamped 3 stems in Lost Lagoon ink and then fussy cut them as a group and adhered it to a white stitched rectangle cropped with the (retired) Stitched Rectangles Dies. The Lavender heads were adhered over the stems with the bottom layer flat and the top one popped up. The panel was adhered flat to the background and I tied the pretty Silver & White 1/2" Sheer Ribbon around the panel and finished with a bow over the Lavender bouquet. The finished panel was adhered flat to the Lost Lagoon card base. 

The greeting from the soon to be retired Go To Greetings stamp set was stamped in Gorgeous Grape ink, fussy cut and popped up. The teeny butterfly was stamped in Gorgeous Grape ink and fussy cut and popped up above the greeting.  I finished with a trio of  Purple Fine Shimmer Gems.

For the inside I have a white writing panel cut with the same style border as the front and I've added a lavender branch and flower head on the right and an even teenier Gorgeous Grape butterfly in the top corner. The butterflies are from the Painted Lavender stamp set.

I hope you give this idea a try in your card making, when you want to add texture and interest to your background.

 

Project Details
Stamps	Painted Lavender, Go To Greetings
Card stock & Papers	Lost Lagoon, Basic White, Perennial Lavender DSP
Ink	Highland Heather, Gorgeous Grap
Accessories	Silver & White 1/2" Sheer Ribbon, Purple Fine Shimmer Gems
Tools	Stitched Rectangle Dies (retired),  Painted Lavender Dies, Stampin' Cut & Emboss, Dimensionals, Glue Dots, Adhesive Sheet

 

We would love to see your CASE of a project using a Retiring Punch this week. 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 the Peta & Marvi to see her lovely project and follow the hop to 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

CASE-ing the Catty - Easter Lilies Bundle

Hi there

Welcome to CASE-ing the Catty for this week! Happy Easter to all those celebrating this special time in the Christian calendar or taking the opportunity to gather with friends and family. I hope some chocolate treats found their way to your house!

I prefer to make my own chocolates so they are dairy free and I can make them as dark as we like by adding plenty of raw cacao and no refined sugar or other additives that we don't need in our lives! These are ginger flavour - so yum!

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 button at the bottom of the post. 

This week we are taking inspiration from the Bundles on pages 67-73 of the 2024 January-April Mini Catalogue. There are lots of great samples on these pages and it was difficult to choose. 

I chose the sample above from page 68 using the Easter Lillies Bundle. I liked the layout of the card with the two tones and diagonal placement. The scored lines are also a simple but effective way to add extra interest, but I didn't see that until I looked at a larger image as I was writing this post.  Something to remember for next time.

I don't own this bundle (you can't have it all, right?), but a lovely Demonstrator friend die cut a whole lot of pieces for me, so I could make an Easter card for my Mum.  The wonderful friends you make are one of the best aspects of belonging to the fabulous Stampin' Up! papercraft community. 

When I saw this layout, I knew I was going to use the Highland Heather check paper, which is a favourite from the Flowering Zinnias DSP (new in Online Exclusvies this month). I cut a card front-sized piece of Basic White and blended Highland Heather ink in the bottom right section, leaving it a little lighter in the centre. I decided to make this a sympathy card, although it would also be perfect for Easter as well. The sentiment from the Heartfelt Hexagon stamp set was stamped in the bottom right corner in black ink. I adhered the check paper to the top left corner and then thought it needed a bit of pop, so I butted a narrow strip of Gold Foil against the paper.

The Easter Lilies Dies include all the pieces to create your own 3D lilies, in additon to cropping the stamped images. The petals and stamens were cropped from (retired) Shimmery White card stock, which gives you some options if you want to do a little watecolouring. I used a blending brush and Granny Apple Green ink to add some colour to the base of each petal and then a watercolour pencil to add some finer details and a Blender Pen to soften the pencil. The lines in the petals are cut by the dies to add a more realistic look.  I adhered the first 2 layers together with 1mm foam pads and then added the stamens flat at the bottom end, but with a foam pad in the centre to lift them off the petals. The final two smaller pieces were also adhered with 1mm foam pads.

There are 2 shapes of leaves which were cropped from Old Olive and Mossy Meadow card stock. I added Granny Apple Green ink to the Old Olive leaves and Old Olive ink to the Mossy Meadow leaves to give them some shading. The leaves were popped around the flower after it was adhered to the card.  I finished with a trio of the lovely Flat Adhesive-Backed Pearls. This is a very dimensional card (which I love), but you can make it flatter if postage is an issue.

For the inside I normally add an extra writing panel, but as I wanted to add a little more ink blended Highland Heather, it worked better without it. I finished it at the bottom with one of the sweet borders from the Delicate Forest Dies cropped from Old Olive card stock and I added a little Granny Apple Green for shading. These dies come as a bundle with a stamp set, but easily standalone. I finished with a little bird from the Adhesive-Backed Dragonflies & Birds embellishments.

If this card has piqued your interest in the Easter Lilies Bundle, you can purchase it from the Last Chance Products on April 9th. You will get the dies 50% reduced and stamps 30% reduced for a total of $59.40AUD instead of $91.75AUD for the bundle. This is for Australia, so check the prices in your local market.

 

Project Details
Stamps	Heartfelt Hexagon
Card stock & Papers	Basic White, Shimmery White (retired), Old Olive, Mossy Meadow, Gold Foil, Flowering Zinnias DSP
Ink	Memento Tuxedo Black, Highland Heather, Granny Apple Green, Old Olive
Accessories	Flat Adhesive-Backed Pearls, Adhesive-Backed Dragonflies & Birds
Tools	Easter Lilies Dies, Delicate Forest Dies, Stampin' Cut & Emboss, Dimensionals, Stampin' Blends (Daffodil Delight), Blender Pen, Blending Brushes, Watercolour Pencils, 1mm foam pads (not SU)

 

We would love to see your CASE from the Bundles on pages 67-73 of the 2024 Jan-Apr Mini Catalogue, this week. 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 the Julia to see her lovely project and follow the hop to 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