CTC 36 - Love and Sympathy

This week the CASE-ing The Catty team are focusing on the "Love and Sympathy" section of the Stampin' Up! Annual Catalogue on pages 19-30.  There are some really beautiful samples in this section, I chose the thank you card featured on page 20 as the inspiration for my card.

I kept the layout almost identical to the one in the catalogue, but changed up the colours to give it a more somber feel. I also wanted to have a bit more of a play with the new 2015-17 In-Colours and used Tip Top Taupe, Watermelon Wonder and Mint Macaron, adding in Early Espresso as a coordinating neutral.  Instead of a thank you, I decided to change the sentiment to fit with the theme and used a lovely sympathy sentiment from Petite Pairs, the second half of which I stamped on the inside of the card along with one of the other smaller images from Flowering Flourishes 

If you want to play along just take inspiration from the Love and Sympathy section of the catalogue, upload a link to your blog to the main CASE-ing the Catty page and we will add it in for you.

Now you are off to hop on over to see what the talented Alison has created.

Happy Stamping
Monique

CASE-ing the Catty - Thanks

Welcome to another CASE-ing the Catty Blog Hop, this week we are taking inspiration from the Thanks section of the Stampin' Up! Annual Catalogue - did I mention it has just recently been released? Just because it is a new catalogue doesn't me you have to use new product to join in, just take inspiration in some way from pages 13 to 18.  Don't forget that the front page of each section has a heap of samples too.

I have never tried the bokeh technique before and wanted to give it a go for this challenge.  I CASE-ed the card on page 14, but because I don't send many thank yous I changed it up to be a birthday version instead.  I was pretty happy with how this turned out, but think it is a bit dark, so next time will use lighter colours.  I think also doing it on watercolor paper meant that the sentiments didn't have as crisp an image.

I used stamps from a few different sets for the main panel, and added a few Blushing Bride and Bermuda Bay sequins for some bling.

Don't forget that you can join in by adding a comment to the CASE-ing the Catty Blog with a link to your project, and one of the team will add you in.

Time to hop on over to Emma's blog

Happy Stamping
Monique

Thank You Tags

Don't you just love it when you have a creative streak, and the time to revel in it? That was me this weekend, sure the housework might be quite up to speed, but hey, it will just need doing again anyway! This time I am joining in with the Friday Mashup, an old favourite of mine.  This week the challenge was to use tags, and/or colour combo: Crisp Cantaloupe, Primrose Petal, Bermuda Bay and Soft Sky.

As usual I like to do the mash up and I am pretty happy with the outcome.  I used some of my Chalk Talk Framelits and the very cute daisy from Best Of Flowers.  I think the sentiment from Petite Pairs works really well with the double tags.

Happy Stamping

Starburst Christmas

Don't you just love it when you find a new technique you love, and it's easy too?  For me that is Starburst cards and inking up embossing folders, so it only made sense to put both on the same card!

What do you think of the result?  I changed up the Starburst this time by mirroring the burst, I quite like this way of doing it.  I also just adore the effect of inking up my embossing folder with Cherry Cobbler ink and then just putting the Whisper White in and running my hand over the folder to transfer the ink onto the cardstock.  The sentiment is a combination of the Label Love stamp set and Petite Pairs - I love how versatile Label Love is.

Here is a little tip that I thought I would share:  I have stamped and then used a craft knife to cut out the sentiment of one of the stamps from the Label Love set. I use this to check against sentiments in the catalogue (pic on right) to see which will fit in the space.  With the new wood mount cases it is really easy to store both this template in the sleeve at the back.  I have also stamped a completed image and stored that in the sleeve as well to remind me for next time.

Happy Stamping

Mosaic Christmas

Here is another card I prepared for my Catalogue Launch.

I was inspired by Andrea Buckland for this card, I love that Mosaic Madness makes great Christmas cards. Don't they just look like cute ornaments hanging from that ribbon? I moved the ribbon to the top of the card and added some bling with rhinestones, Dazzling Details and Silver Shimmer Paper.   You could add any Christmas sentiment, I chose the Merry Christmas from Petite Pairs.

Happy Stamping

Sale-A-Bration One Sheet Wonder

I have looked for a long time at One Sheet Wonders (OSW) and found one that I quite liked the look of but unfortunately it was in imperial measurements which is usually fine, but didn't look quite right on our A5 cards so I did a bit of a re-work using similar shapes.  The original OWS can be found at Joyfully Made Designs.

Firstly here is the full set of cards.  I used a single piece of DSP measuring 19cm x 18.5cm. I chose this sheet because one side had lots of lovely colours while the other was Island Indigo and Whisper White allowing me to have two different colour pallets.

Card 1: I made this set of cards while I was away at a craft retreat and didn't have a flourish stamp with me, so I borrowed the one from last year's Sale-A-Bration set Fresh Vintange, covering the main flower with the panel and the button from SAB this year!  The sentiment is from Petite Pairs.

Card 2: For this card I used the Bloomin' Marvellous for the flowers, leaves and sentiment.  I just love these colours, so bright and cheerful.

Card 3: I flipped the DSP over to use the Island Indigo and to mute it down a little I brayered it with Pool Party.  I some fun with this one, sponging the flowers and the doily and adding lots of pearls!  The cute little bow I learned off the very lovely Andrea from EnchantINK.  After following Andrea's blog for years and being inspired by her creations it was wonderful to be able to meet her in person!  Thanks Andrea.

Card 4: I fiddled and faddled with this card for some time before I was happy with it, but am happy with the result.  the sentiment is from the SAB set Vintage Verses. It was the addition of the three little butterflies that had me happy with the balance of the card.

Card 5:  I wanted to do something a little different with this card so used my two butterfly punches and paper piercing pack then slid the strip of DSP behind so that pattern shows.  Sentiment from Perfectly Penned and the ribbon from the Sycamore Street Ribbon & Buttons Pack.

Card 6:  Keeping fairly simple on this one I added a glimmer brad and some brushed gold card stock behind the DSP panels and sentiment.  Sentiment from Teeny Tiny Sentiments.

Card 7: I love this card, I think it is my favourite of the set.  I fairly closely followed the sample on the original page of the OSW.  I love that the a la carte sentiment is so flourishy and that it ties in so well with the flourish from Everything Eleanor. 

Card 8: This is another one I struggled with just a little.  I had the basic layout in my head but it wasn't quite right.  It took a coming back after a lunch break to realise the butterflies were needed to add balance. The embossing folder used is also available for free during Sale-A-Bration - Vine Street.

Card 9: I used the Postage Stamp Punch to layer the small pieces of DSP and stamped the Whisper White with images from Bloomin' Marvellous and Petite Pairs. I love the ribbon available for free as part of SAB as well, such a lustre and so easy to make bows with.

Finally here is the layout for the One Sheet Wonder in metric.  All 9 cards made from just one piece of DSP!  If you are thinking of doing one of these, my suggestion would be to choose a DSP with a reasonably small pattern or it will get lost on the smaller pieces.  One with lots of colour also gives you lots of options for colours in your card.

Happy Stamping

Mojo Monday 278

After my last post I decided to go back and create a card for the current Mojo Monday sketch challenge (not one a month old lol).  This sketch had me scratching my head for a while but I was determined to conquer it!

I decided to go with something a little monochromatic and masculine.  The base card is Midnight Muse, which I have layered with brushed gold and some of the Natural Composition DSP brayered with Midnight Muse to bring out the embossed pattern.  In the picture this has come up with a lovely gold hue.  I am not sure about the scalloped circle sentiment, I may keep fiddling with that and see if I come up with anything else!

The main stamped image is from Feeling Sentimental set from the Sale-A-Bration promotion, the sentiment from Petite Pairs.

I did a re-work of the sentiment, I think this one fits with the feel of the card more than the first.  I added some corner stamping with another of the Sale-A-Bration sets Madison Avenue.

Can you believe I still wasn't happy with my card?  I have made one FINAL change to the sentiment and am now going to leave it well alone!

Happy Stamping

Festive Sketch

I had some time on the weekend to make a few cards, but for some reason didn't get to upload them!  I made this one on Friday night using the sketch from Festive Friday Challenge.  

I turned the sketch on it's side because I wanted to use this stamp from Tags til Christmas, I chose not to use the "to from" on the stamp so coloured it with markers and then added the Merry Christmas from the Petite Pairs stamp set. I used the new Christmas paper Be of Good Cheer DSP - I just love the Christmas paper this year, so bright and happy. Primary colours are Gumball Green and Cherry Cobbler with Very Vanilla as the neutral.  I used one of the new Vintage Faceted Designer Buttons (love these) and a small Cherry Cobbler button as my accents.  The Vintage Faceted button has a small circle of Cherry Cobbler behind it to add some colour. 

Happy Stamping

Just Add Layers

Just Add Ink have a colour challenge this week, Black and White and artist's choice for a third colour, for me Real Red was the colour I chose as I just think it really pops against the black and white.

I have seen a few of these triple layered cards lately and knew it was perfect for this colour combo.  Dawn at Do Stamping With Dawn has a great video, if you want to give it a go yourself.  

I am getting 'better' at decorating the inside of cards, and with the base of this card being Basic Black I thought it would be good to add an inside layer.   Again I have used Petite Pairs on the front and on the inside of the card. 

Happy Stamping

Dynamic 411

This weekend I had the time and mojo needed to make a couple of cards and join in a couple of challenges! Great achievement all things considered!  The two cards I made I will post next week as they are birthday cards for my mum and niece, and as mum checks my blog I don't want to spoil the surprise. I joined in two challenges with this card Stamping 411 and Dynamic Duos, Rich Razzleberry and Old Olive were two of my favourite colours when I first joined Stampin' Up! as a demonstrator but I don't use them as much as I used to, and certainly not together.

I tipped the 411 layout onto its side and added the sentiment window - the window is cut from the DSP and the sentiment is stamped onto the base card stock. I have used the Fun Flowers Die for the bottom two layers of the flower, one in card stock and the other in Newsprint DSP stamped with Creative Elements.  The top layer of the flower is stamped with the flower from Button Buddies embossed in white.  I am totally loving white embossing powder and the crisp bright white effect it gives you.  The base layer of DSP is actually from the Christmas papers Letters to Santa. 

Happy Stamping

18th Birthday

Today I want to show you the second card I made for my daughter's weekend of birthday celebrations.  This one is for a lovely young lady who is turning 18 this week, they had a sleepover on Saturday night, and surprisingly actually got some sleep!  

Because I was on a purple roll I decided to make this card with Wisteria Wonder and Island Indigo. Because the birthday girl is a fun loving girl I wanted to make a fun sort of card for her, and wanted to use Mixed Bunch stamp set in some way.  I punched one of the flowers out of the front layer of DSP and embossed one of the flower stamps with White Embossing Powder, I just love how the white gives a project real 'pop'.  The flower I punched out made a backing for another Wisteria Wonder flower embellished with a White Jumbo Brad.  The other flowers all have a rhinestone in the centre for a bit of bling.

Here is a look at the inside of the card, you can see there is a middle panel that has a hole in it and you can see the second part of the sentiment through it.  Petite Pairs stamp set is just perfect for this style of card, and I can see me making a few more with this design.  I added a lovely sparkly "18" with my Timeless Type Junior Alphabet dies, I just love these, especially teamed with glimmer paper!

Here is the centre of the card photographed at a different angle.  I also wanted to point out that the paper the card is sitting on to be photographed is a personalised matching wrapping paper that I made using an A3 sheet of photocopy paper that I have stamped on in Wisteria Wonder and Island Indigo using stamps that matched the card.  I also added some light sponging.  It looked so cute together when the gift was wrapped, and of course I stamped on the envelope to match.

Here is the video from Dawn, it is well done with clear instructions and has all the measurements up on screen to make it easy to follow.  You can also find more of Dawn's samples on her blog Dawn's Stamping Thoughts.

Happy Stamping