CASE-ing the Catty - Sale-a-bration

Hi there

This week the CTC Crew are taking inspiration from the Sale-a-bration catalogue samples using products that you can earn for FREE during Sale-a-bration. An order of $90 or more (before shipping) entitles you to choose one of the many fabulous Level 1 products and a $180 or more order (before shipping) entitles you to choose two Level 1 products or one of the Level 2 products. You can see the new Sale-a-bration products released last week, here.

You may have come from visiting Megan'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 showcasing the 'Heartfelt Blooms' stamp set with its amazing imagery.  I've taken my inspiration from the card in the photo above.The asymmetric layout with the bold border really appealed to me, plus it is pink, so that is always a winner, lol. This stamp set has 3 greetings in a lovely script font, making it perfect for a range of occasions.

My base card is Sweet Sugarplum and I added another layer of Smoky Slate, which was embossed with the 'Simple Stripes' embossing folder, showing the de-bossed side for a more subtle look.  I have reversed the layout, having the shorter edge on the left. The stamped panel of Whisper white has a narrow border of Sweet Sugarplum on the left and the small scalloped edge from the Decorative Ribbon border punch on the right. I added the Smoky Slate gingham ribbon at the top before adding the borders, for a pretty finish. 

 

To get a really great result from this stamp, your ink pad shouldn't be too juicy.  You can reduce the juiciness very easily, by opening the ink pad and leaving it for about 10 minutes. This allows the ink to sink to the bottom of the pad. Once you close the pad, the pad is upside down and the ink falls to the top again, so there is no wastage of ink. I have stamped the lovely greeting from the same stamp set in Rich Razzleberry ink, cropped it with an oval from the Layering Ovals Framelits and popped it up on a slightly larger Stitched Oval. A trio of 4mm rhinestones is the finishing touch.

For the inside, I stamped part of the design featuring the daisy in the top right corner of the writing panel and then added two strips of washi tape to the base. The finished panel was layered onto a Smoky Slate mat and adhered to the inside of the card.

 

 

Project Details
Stamps	Heartfelt Blooms
Card stock & Papers	Whisper White, Sweet Sugarplum, Smoky Slate
Ink	Sweet Sugarplum, Rich Razzleberry
Accessories	Rhinestones Basic Jewels, Smoky Slate 1/2" Gingham ribbon, Basics Pack 1 Washi, Year of Cheer Washi (retired)
Tools	Stitched Shapes Framelits, Simple Stripes TIEF, Layering Ovals Framelits, Big Shot, Dimensionals

 

Now it's time to click on the Next button below to hop over to see what Angela 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!

CASE-ing the Catty - For Babies and Kids

Hi there

This week the CTC Crew are looking at the 'For Babies & Kids' section of the new Annual Catalogue on pages 102-111.

You may have come from visiting Mel'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 CASE-ing the layout in the card above. I also really liked the gold embossing and gold trim at the bottom, which is one of the designs from the gorgeous 'Bundle of Love' designer paper pack.

I have used the lovely tree design from the 'Thoughts & Prayers' stamp set as my focal image.  This is such a classic image and can be used for many occasions, however, I've paired it with the coordinating sentiments for a sympathy card. I masked the bottom part of the greeting to just have the 'thinking of you'.  The base card is thick Very Vanilla card stock with the Blushing Bride layered on top. The tree and sentiment have been heat embossed in gold and I have used the arrow design from the Bundle of Love designer paper for the trim at the base.  This is such a great paper pack, with gold foil designs on one side and either Blushing Bride or Soft Sky in the same design on the reverse. It is perfect for packaging, babies and just about everything else too. I added some pearls for an elegant and understated finishing touch.

The art panel sits on the vellum card stock, which has a lovely softening effect as it extends out each side. You can see all the luscious gold embossing and the gold foil designer paper in this closeup. 

 

For the inside, I have a Blushing Bride mat and a strip of the gold foil DSP at the bottom. I have heat embossed in gold one of the lovely sentiments from 'Thoughts and Prayers in the centre.

Project Details
Stamps	Thoughts & Prayers
Card stock & Papers	Very Vanilla, Blushing Bride, Vellum card stock, Bundle of Love DSP
Ink	Versamark
Accessories	Pearls Basic Jewels
Tools	Stampa-ma-jig, Gold EP, Heat gun

 Now it's time to click on the Next button below to hop over to see what the lovely Kelly has to inspire you today.  

 

We would love you to join in with your CASE from the'For Babies & Kids section of the new Annual Catalogue 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!

CASE-ing the Catty - Sending Love

Hi there

Can you believe how quickly the weeks have already gone this year?  We are into our second month of the new Occasions Catalogue and the CTC Crew are taking inspiration from the 'Sending Love' section on pages 14 -19.

You may have come from looking at the fabulous project on Mel'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.

The project I have chosen to CASE this week is the the little card tucked into the left pigeonhole in the photo below. Those cute little envelopes and the colour combo took my eye (Soft Sky and Real Red is one of my favourites).

I don't have the 'Sealed with Love' stamp set and the coordinating Love Notes Framelits Dies, but a lovely friend gave me the 'Sending Love' 6 x 6 designer paper stack and that was enough to get me started.  I made my little envelopes (sooo cute!) with the Envelope Punch Board. Yes, you really can make envelopes that small! The lovely greeting is from the 'Lift Me Up' stamp set and is perfect when you want to let someone know you are thinking of them.

If you haven't already found it, there is a fabulous tool created by Carole in the UK that gives you the paper size and score line for any card measurements you enter. It took me a couple of prototypes to get the proportions right (a mm either way makes a big difference at this size), but I was happy with the finished result. If you would like to make some, cut the DSP 6.5cm square and the score line is at 3.6cm. Here is a closeup of the envelopes and the sweet wooden heart from the 'Sending Love' Embellishments pack. 

 

I've embossed the Soft Sky background with the new  'Falling Petals' embossing folder. This embossing folder gives a very deep impression, so to prevent cracking, I recommend a light spritz with water on the back of the card stock before embossing. To tone done the intensity, I popped the embossed piece between 2 pieces of 1mm chipboard (in lieu of the embossing folder) and ran it through the Big Shot again. You can see from the closeup it is still raised, but looks softer. I drew the little note by hand using the note image from 'Lift Me Up' as a guide, as it was too small for my envelope. 

For the inside, I have stamped the flourish from the Bloomin' Love stamp set at the top and bottom for a simple finish.

Project Details
Stamps	Lift Me Up, Bloomin' Love
Card stock & Papers	Real Red, Soft Sky, Whisper White, Sending Love DSP Stack
Ink	Real Red
Accessories	White Baker's twine, Sending Love Embellishments, Rhinestones Basic Jewels, Real Red Stitched Satin ribbon
Tools	Falling Petals TIEF, Project Lift Framelits, Big Shot, Envelope Punch Board, Glue Dots, Dimensionals

Now it's time to click on the Next button below to hop over to see what the lovely Kathryn has to inspire you today. 

 

                             

We would love you to join in with your CASE from the 'Sending Love' section using our new 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 - easy peasy!

You can see the full list of the CTC Crew participating this week over at the CASE-ing the Catty blog.

Thanks for visiting today!

Gift of Love Keeps Giving

Hi there

Today I want to show you the variety of ways you can use the 'Gift of Love' stamp set. It is a Hostess set that you can choose if you have a party or order over $250. It is a 9 piece, 2-step photopolymer set with 6 lovely script greetings in addition to the flower (which looks a bit like a gladioli). Settle in, as I have 5 cards to show you.

For this first card, I have used the 2-step option to colour the flower. I have used markers for the outline of the flower and leaves and then filled in the outline with the same stamped off colours. For some added texture, I have stamped and fussy cut the main flower again and popped it up on the main piece. I have stamped the sentiment on a small piece of cardstock and used the corner rounder punch to create a tab under the focus image. The whole panel was popped up on the Tip Top Taupe designer paper, that was trimmed with the Watermelon Wonder Mini Striped ribbon. Some linen thread was wrapped around the card to finish it off.

Project Details
Stamps	Gift of Love
Card stock & Papers	Tip Top Taupe, Whisper White, Watermelon Wonder, 2015-17 In Color DSP Stack
Ink	Watermelon Wonder, Mint Macaron, Tip Top Taupe
Accessories	Pearls Basic Jewels, Watermelon Wonder, Mini Striped Ribbon, Linen Thread
Tools	Dimensionals, Corner Rounder punch, White Gel pen, Black Marker

The next card uses a background splotch from the 'Work of Art' stamp set  to provide colour to the flower image. Many colour ways could be used for different looks, but I've gone with a soft combo to suit my sympathy card. 

 

Project Details
Stamps	Gift of Love, Rose Wonder
Card stock & Papers	Mint Macaron, Blushing Bride, Whisper White, Dazzling Diamonds Glimmer
Ink	Basic Gray Archival, Versamark, Blushing Bride, Mint Macaron
Accessories	Pearls Basic Jewels, 1/8" Silver ribbon
Tools	Curvy Corner Trio punch (retired), Silver EP, Heat gun

For this next card, I have used the flower outline as a silhouette, heat embossing in black. The clear Wink of Stella pen added some shimmer to the flower, which also slightly darkens the card stock.  I've wrapped doubled black Baker's Twine around the card and through the label and finished with a bow. The watermelon panel was popped up and a trio of banners and a scattering of rhinestones finishes it off. The greeting from the Rose Wonder stamp set makes for a lovely friendship card.

 

Project Details
Stamps	Gift of Love, Rose Wonder
Card stock & Papers	Basic Black, Watermelon Wonder, Whisper White, 2015-17 In Color DSP Stack
Ink	Versamark, Watermelon Wonder, Basic Black
Accessories	Black Baker's Twine, Rhinestones Basic Jewels,
Tools	Rose Garden Thinlits, Banners Framelits, Big Shot, Banner punch (retired), Clear Wink of Stella, 1/8" Handheld punch, Dimensionals, Black EP, Heat gun

For the next card, I stamped the outline flower image on Shimmery White card stock and water coloured it with ink pads and an aquapainter. It is very quick to do and gives a lovely result. The greeting is from the 'Layering Love' stamp set. I've added some detail with the Curvy Corner Trio punch and a little silver bling butterfly and the whole panel is popped up.

 

Project Details
Stamps	Gift of Love, Layering Love
Card stock & Papers	Mint Macaron, Watermelon Wonder, Shimmery White, 2015-17 In Colour DSP Stack, Silver Glimmer
Ink	Basic Black Archival, Watermelon Wonder, Mint Macaron
Accessories	Rhinestones Basic Jewels
Tools	Curvy Corner Trio punch (retired), Itty Bitty Butterfly punch, White Gel pen, Aquapainter

For my final card, the flower outline image has been stamped and water coloured and then fussy cut and positioned next to the inlaid Tags & Labels greeting. The larger label was first die cut from the white panel and embossed with the 'Softly Falling' embossing folder. The white panel has been popped up with the 1/8" foam strips to give a really firm even finish. I've finished it with the pearl trimmed die cut butterfly.

 

Project Details
Stamps	Gift of Love, Butterfly Basics
Card stock & Papers	Delightful Dijon, Whisper White, Early Espresso, Shimmery White, 2015-17 In Color DSP Stack
Ink	Basic Black Archival, Soft Suede, Delightful Dijon, Crumb Cake
Accessories	Pearls Basic Jewels
Tools	Tags & Labels Framelits, Bold Butterfly Framelits, Softly Falling TIEF, Big Shot, Dimensionals, White Gel pen, Aquapainter

 Thanks for hanging in until the end. I hope you have enjoyed seeing the variety of ways the 'Gift of Love' stamp set can be used.

Happy crafting!

CASE-ing the Catty - Love & Sympathy

Hi there

I'm glad to be back this week with the CASE-ing the Catty Crew looking at the 'Love & Sympathy' section of the new 2016-17 Annual Catalogue. I've had a very hectic couple of weeks making DSP swatch books and preparing for and holding my first little catalogue launch.  I will show you a bit more about that during the week. 

You may have come from Rebecca'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.

It is great to finally have time to break out a few more of my new products from the Annual Catalogue. This week I was inspired by this gift/treat bag project on page 47.

I have used the treat bag as a layout for my card; with the folded section on the left represented by the strip of  lovely 'Blooms & Bliss' designer paper. I added some of the Sweet Sugarplum Envelope Paper on the right hand side to provide more of a contrast and a very narrow strip of Mint Macaron between the two. I love the subtle dots pattern on this paper that will make it so versatile to mix and match with the other designer papers we have this year. I've also used the 'Lots of Labels' Framelits for the sentiment and traced around it to hand cut a narrower mat in Rich Razzleberry. The large flourish that curves around the sentiment is from the 'Flourish' Thinlits dies. I've snipped a few pieces off to simplify it and make it fit. 

The Flourish Thinlits cut beautifully with the updated Big Shot Platform and Precision Plate. This platform has a slightly raised section in the middle that compensates for the extra pressure at the sides caused by the gears mechanism. Basically, it ensures a more even pressure across the full width of the platform.  I strongly recommend the Die Brush and foam mat to make removing all the little pieces from the die an absolute snap. The die cuts are very detailed so you do need to be careful when handling them and don't forget you can add and remove pieces to make them suit your purpose as I have done here.

 
For the inside I have used a Mint Macaron mat and a small piece of the 'Blooms & Bliss' designer papers at the bottom. This is definitely one of my favourites at the moment. I've added a small flower from the 'Flourish' Thinlits in Sweet Sugarplum to finish it off. 

 

Project Details
Stamps	Flourishing Phrases
Card stock & Papers	Rich Razzleberry, Sweet Sugarplum, Mint Macaron, Whisper White, Blooms & Bliss Designer Paper, 2016-18 In Colour Envelope Paper
Ink	Rich Razzleberry
Accessories	Sweet Sugarplum Ruched Ribbon, Pearls Basic Jewels
Tools	Flourish Thinlits, Lots of Labels Framelits, Big Shot, 1/8" Handheld punch, Dimensionals, Tombow

 

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

 

                             

 

If you are in interested in becoming a member of the CTC design team, there is still some time to link up your entry to the birthday challenge here. You need to be a Stampin' Up! Demonstrator from Australia or New Zealand who blogs on a regular basis, to be considered. You can head over to the CASE-ing the Catty blog to find out more details.  While you're there, you can see the full list of DT members participating this week. 

Thanks for visiting today!