CTC 58 - 3D Gift Packaging

Don't you just love gift giving? I love making people's gifts extra special by creating the packaging to go with them, and at this time of year when there are lots of people to give little gifts to Stampin' Up! comes to the rescue with lots of packaging options.

I have used the adorable Square Pillow Box Thin letsFramelits for this little gift, ready to hold a gift card, or sweet treat.  I just love using blues at Christmas and for this I used Marina Mist and stamped it with the snowflakes from Perpetual Birthday, it is just wonderful for this type of small stamping.  I cut out the window using one of the framelits from the set and the tag from the Tags & Labels Framelits, cutting just one edge.  To make the embelishment I punched a Marina Mist 7/8" Scallop Circle and then layered a Kraft Corrugated Paper snowflake, again using one of the many little framelits that come with this set.

Sadly the Square Pillow Box Thinlets is on the Retirement List so if I have inspired you to get one, don't wait too long to order it, they will only be available until 4th January 2016.

I am the last blog on the hop, so if you have been all the way around then hop back to the main blog and if you get inspired to join in add a link to your project in the comments.  Otherwise follow the link to Stasia's blog and check out her project inspired by the Holiday Catalogue. 

Happy Stamping

Monique

CTC #57 - Season Of Cheer

This week on CTC Blog Hop we are taking inspiration from the Seasons Of Cheer section of the Holiday Catalogue, p 28-34.  There are so many lovely projects in this section, and I chose to take my inspiration from the card on page 32. 

 I don't have the stamps or vellum that the card in the catalogue uses, so I decided to try using the products I do have.  One of the things I love about CTC is that it not only makes you look at all the samples, but gets me thinking about how I can use what I have.  For this card I used the Merry Moments DSP for both the background and the gift, however with the gift I layered this onto two layers of Whisper White cardstock to give it some strength.  I just love the silver cord and it is just perfect for the gift, I cheated a little by just wrapping it around the gift and adding the bow separately to get it to sit nice and straight.  The sentiment is from Wondrous Wreath.

I am the last blog in the hop so you can make your way to the main CTC Blog if you would like to add your own creation in the comments. or hop over to Stasia's blog and keep hopping.

Happy Stamping
Monique

CTC #54 - Christmas Colours

I have missed the last couple of CASE-ing the Catty blog hops and am so happy to be back this week for this hop, taking inspiration from the colours Real Red, Pool Party and Mossy Meadow. I love how Pool Party gives a modern look to the more traditional green and red.

I have used one of my new sets for this card, with the sentiment coming from Among The Branches, stamping it in Real Red before mounting on a piece of Mossy Meadow that I punched twice with the scallop circle punch, I love the effect this gives and it wasn't too hard to line up the second punch.  Also new on this card is the very pretty ribbon with it's snow like sparkle, it inspired me to cut the third tree from Glimmer Paper rather than the third identically stamped tree.  I added some of my favorite snowflakes to the left of the ribbon.

From here you can either hop on over to Julia's blog, or if you started there you can hop to the main blog page and upload a link to your own creation.

Happy Stamping
Monique

TGIF 24 - White Christmas

I had a great time last weekend playing around with my new Stampin Up! products, particularly the Sleigh Ride Framelits which were perfect for my entry into this week's TGIF Challenge.

To make this card I cut a circle out of glimmer paper then used the houses framelit first, removing the bottom piece and then running through again with the trees framelit, saving the little piece that was cut off on the left of the last house.  I then used my markers to colour parts of the glimmer paper, including along the line of the hill side to give some added depth.  I adhered these onto a piece of card stock that I had stamped with the Perpetual Calendar snowflakes and added the piece onto the square background.  The DSP and sentiment are from retired products, but I love the colour combination and the stamp set sentiments that I just can't part with them.

Happy Stamping
Monique

CTC #50 - Gift Tags

Hi and welcome to another CASE-ing the Catty Blog Hop.  This week the team are taking inspiration from the Gift Tags section of the Stampin' Up! Holiday Catalogue.

I have taken my inspiration from the card on page 21 of the catalogue, and plucked the tag off the front of it, adding a layer of corrugated card stock behind for a little something extra. I have added some lovely gold satin ribbon to keep in with the gold theme of the tag.

Gold embossing never shows up well in a photo but I hope this gives you an idea of how it looks, I just love gold embossing on Very Vanilla card stock.  A little washi tape done each edge finishes off the design.

There are so many tags, and tag ideas in the Holiday Catalogue, why don't you join in the hop by adding a link to your creation to the main blog page.

Time to hop on over to Rachel's blog and see what she has created inspired by the gift tags in the holiday catalogue.

Happy Stamping
Monique

CTC #49 - Home for the Holidays

Its time for another CASE-ing the Catty Blog Hop. CASE-ing the Catty is all about using the Stampin' Up! catalogues as inspiration, it is amazing how many samples and ideas there are in these wonderful pages.  This week we are looking at the Home for the Holidays section of the Stampin' Up! Holiday Catalogue.

I chose the card on page 11, but for my card changed up the colours a little bit, and used the Festival of Trees for the scene looking into the house through the Hearth & Home Thinlit window.  Did you notice the tinsel at the top of each window?  That is a section of one of the stamps from the Festival of Trees that is usually for adding tinsel to the trees, I love how perfectly it fits in the windows.  The sentiment comes from Petite Pairs, one of my must have stamp sets, and I added silver cord and a metalic pearl.  The snowflakes on the base layer are stamped using the Perpetual Birthday Calendar stamp set, again this is a great stamp set for doing backgrounds.

Now its time to hop on over to Alison's blog, then just keep following the arrows at the bottom of each post until you have visited all the blogs.

Happy Stamping
Monique

Inlaid Watercolor Wings

What a fun mash up they have this week at Friday Mashup challenge: use the sketch above and/or a technique called inlaid die cutting.  Now I have never tried this before but had a little bit of time on my hands and decided to give it a go.

I have been having some fun with Watercolor Wings and could see this technique working well, it was a bit tricky with the little pieces but I think totally worth the effort.  I used Delightful Dijon and Blackberry Bliss getting the different shades by stamping off and layering colour on colour.  The faux stitching was a last minute addition, but I think it just gives a nice finish.

Happy Stamping
Monique

CASE-ing the Catty #48 - Holiday DSP

This week at CASE-ing the Catty we are looking at the beautiful DSP from the holiday catalogue and some of the wonderful projects from that catalogue that feature DSP.

I have chosen the card on page 34 of the catalogue, using some of the very cute and super handy 6" x 6" Merry Moments DSP stack from page 27.  These paper stacks are so great with 48 sheets in each stack, this one matches the 12"x12" DSP from the main catalogue.  I mounted the DSP onto some whisper white card stock to give it some added strength as I wanted to mount the panel on dimensionals and wrap the gorgeous Silver cording Trim.  This trim is such great value as you get almost 23metres and it is great for so many projects, whether adding some bling to a card like this, or hanging ornaments from the tree, or tags from Christmas gifts.  

The Joy is cut from red glimmer paper using one of the Framelits from Wonderful Wreath Framelits.

Time to hop on over to Jessica's blog

Happy Stamping
Monique

ESAD Blog Hop - Holiday Catalogue

Welcome to another ESAD Holiday Catalogue Blog Hop.  We have some great samples for you from the wonderful new Holiday catalogue that runs from 1st September to 4th January and is just packed full of stunning new products. You may have arrived from Kathryn's blog, or you may be starting here, just follow the link at the bottom of the posts to hop all the way around until you get back where you started.

For my two projects I am using the All Ye Faithful stamp set, available in wood mount or clear mount which is great. I chose clear mount and I will share why with my first card.

This is a card I wanted to make ever since seeing this set in the catalogue, it took a little bit of working to get it to all line up, but I am so happy with how it came out.  I stamped the main images with Memento ink then coloured with colour pencils.  Now, here is why I love clear mount stamps, the sentiment "O, come all ye faithful" is actually all on a single piece of rubber, but because it is clear mount, I have actually cut my stamp into two pieces, with the sentiment split like you can see it on my card.  I can still line the pieces up on the clear block when I want it to be stamped as a single image.

 Here is my second card with the same stamp set. This time I stamped with VersaMark and embossed with Gold Embossing Powder.  I really like this simple monochromatic look and simple layout.  The sentiment is stamped on the inside of the card on Very Vanilla card stock.

Now it's time to hop on over to Bernice's Blog and see what she has created.

1. Libby Dyson
2. Paula Reid
3. Keryn Campbell
4. Carly Middleton
5. Rachael Lewsley
6. Narelle Fasulo
7. Emily Campbell
8. Emma Palonek
9. Jo Weedon
10. Rebecca Scurr
11. Andrea Buckland
12. Rochelle Blok
13. Kathryn Ruddick
14. Monique Fielder
15. Bernie Collins
16. Liv Ingle
17. Sally Williams
18. Ria Kaire
19. Delys Cram
20. Jessica Williams
21. Lou Kitzelman
22. Barbara Williams
23. Kelly Kent
24.  Jenny Hayward

Happy Stamping
Monique

CASE-ing the Catty #46 - Make A Difference

Life has bee busy for me lately, I have just started back at university after almost 20 years! Still seeking the balance between working full time, studying part time, and everything else! But I wanted to make a special effort to join in the blog hop this week as it showcases one of my favourite stamp sets Sprinkles of Life and matching Tree Builder Punch.  They are great because not only are they super cute, really versatile, but best of all $3 from each set sold is donated to Ronald McDonald House Charities®.

This week I made a set of 3"x 3" cards to go into the cute little Square Envelopes, making each one using a different set of stamps from the set.  Each of the cards has an Early Espresso frame cut using two of the Squares Framelits.

The first one is using the "basket" stamp which could also be the base of a cupcake, and the bunch of flowers stamp which I punched using the Tree Builder Punch.  I added a little flower at the base of the basket partly to tie in with the envelope and partly to cover a little smudge!

This next one would go beautifully with a gift for someone's birthday.  I love how cute the bird is, and best of all you don't have to fussy cut him out, like the branch there is part of the Tree Builder Punch that cuts them both out.   

Lastly is a cute little cupcake, for this one I chose not to use the "basket" base, but rather the ice cream cone stamp, covering most of it with the icing.  I added matching sprinkles to the envelope.

These are such fun cards to make and with such a cute stamp set the combinations are almost endless, with coordinating sentiments, and you get to help out a great cause.

I hope you enjoy the rest of the design team's creations this week. If you are inspired to join in with us, just put a link to your blog as a comment on the main CTC blog and one of the team will link you in.  

Time to hop on over to Rebecca's blog and check out her creations:

Happy Stamping
Monique

JUGs 308 - Anniversary

Despite being busy recently I had time to make a quick card today so went searching for a sketch challenge that would inspire me.  The Just Us Girls  sketch challenge was just what I was after.

The reason I "had" to get crafty today was that tomorrow is our 24th wedding anniversary and I wanted to make my hubby a card.  This is made using one of his favourite stamps from the Fun & Fast Notes stamp set that retired some time ago, but as hedgehogs are one of his favourite animals I won't ever sell this set.  I used sentiments from Something to Say, with the second matching sentiment "Love You Always" stamped on the inside of the card.  I wanted to keep it fairly masculine so used some of the corrugated card stock, and then added a strip of Real Red behind the Early Espresso strip punched with the cute Confetti Hearts Border Punch.

Happy Stamping
Monique

CASE-ing the Catty #43 - Artistic Expression

 Oops, any of my frequent visitors might have noticed that my post went live without any content!!!  I had scheduled the post with plans to write up the content after work, but got invited out for drinks so didn't get home in time! At least I am not toooooo late : )

This week on CASE-ing the Catty we are taking inspiration from the Artistic Expressions section of the Annual Catalogue (pp 111-134).  Like last week this is a fairly large section of the catalogue with lots and lots of samples to take inspiration from.  I chose the pretty flower card at the top of page 119.

For my card I chose to use the pretty Birthday Blossoms stamp set along with Petite Petals, I just love CASE-ing a card with different products that gives a similar look.  I also liked the pretty floral side of the Neutrals DSP so used that instead of the diagonal stripes. 

Hop on over to Emma's blog to see her pretty creation. 

Happy Stamping
Monique

CASE-ing the Catty #42 - Everyday

Have you had a good look at the Stampin' Up! Annual Catalogue's Everyday section??  It is jam packed with projects of all types, so many beautiful things! 

I had a hard time picking one to CASE this week, but after some consideration I chose this one from page 109. I think it is really soft and pretty, but I also wanted to put my own twist on it so changed out some of the stamps and colours.

I have recently purchased two new stamp sets Awesomely Artistic and Endless Birthday Wishes and thought they would go beautifully on my CASE. I changed up the colours to the more rich tones of Blackberry Bliss and Island Indigo, adding just s thin strip of the gold DSP from the neutrals stack.  I kept the medallion from Serene Silhouettes but used a flower instead of the butterfly in the original, adding some gold embossing and some gorgeous Gold Metallic Thread to give it some pop.  Take a close look at the dragonfly:

While the Blackberry Bliss was still wet I added some gold embossing powder, then carefully used a fine paintbrush to remove most of it on the wings, leaving only the edges and some of the body embossed.  This photo doesn't do it justice, it really gives the dragonfly an extra special feel.

Time to hop on over to Katheryn's blog and see what she has been inspired by.  Don't forget that you can join in too if you would like, just add a link to your creation in a comment on the main blog.

Happy Stamping
Monique

Sketch Frenzy Roses

I have had such a fun day today creating, my last card to share is one inspired by the Sketch Frenzy Friday sketch. 

I love the Timeless Elegance DSP, so vintage and pretty.  For this card I layered on Basic Black and Blushing Bride and then used a sponge dauber to add Blushing Bride to the roses on the DSP.  I chose a sentiment from Teeny Tiny Sentiments layering again on Blushing Bride, of course with so much blushing bride it had to be a wedding card!

Happy Stamping
Monique

Dragonfly Birthday

I had some fun today searching for excuses to play with my new Awesomely Artistic stamp set, and the colour challenge from Just Add Ink and the Seize the Birthday anything goes challenge were perfect. 

 

The anything goes challenge "topping" was to use embossing, and I chose the Brick Wall embossing folder for the background layer.  I originally stamped the dragonfly using just Bermuda Bay ink, but decided it needed some depth so added some Blackberry Bliss to the edges of the stamp with my sponge dauber before stamping - I like the look it gives.  The ferns are stamped in Island Indigo, and even though this isn't a traditional colour for ferns I like the effect.  The dragonflies on the background I stamped once in Smokey Slate and then stamped again without re-inking but off setting it slightly to give a sense of fluttering wings.   The gorgeous sentiment is from the hostess set Happy Birthday Everyone, I love the mixed font and size of this stamp.

Happy Stamping
Monique