CTC #551 - Farewell To The Mini Catalogue

Welcome to another week at CASEing the Catty Sunday Blog Hop, where utilise the projects within the current Stampin' Up! catalogue to inspire our own projects each week. We also invite you to join with us in the challenge each week by using this inspiration in your own creations and uploading a photo to our Facebook page.

This week we are taking inspiration from the projects in the September to December Mini Catalogue as a farewell to some wonderful products. 

I was inspired by this card from page 16 of the Mini Catalogue, mostly because this was a stamp that caught my eye on my very first look at the catalogue. Having said that I do have a confession that before this challenge I had not inked it up even once! So it was a clear choice for this challenge. 

Having such a large stamp it stands on its own with confidence, not needing a lot of embellishments added to create the wow factor. I stamped in Secret Sea on DSP from the Peaceful Garden pack, which I loved because it is such a subtle pattern that lets the sentiment shine. I couldn't help using one of my favourite products from this mini catalogue the gorgeous Traditional Sparkling Sequins, and to tie them in I mounted my DSP and Secret Sea layer on a Pool Party card base. 

  

I hope you are inspired to join in the challenge this week, just use any of the projects in the Holiday Mini Catalogue to inspire your creativity, then post a picture of your project to the CTC Facebook page.

  

Time to hop on over and see what Judy has created this week.

Happy Stamping
Monique

Let's Craft Together Blog Hop - Monochromatic

Welcome to the monthly Blog Hop by Let’s Craft Together and thank you for joining us. We are a group of multi-cultural Stampin’ Up!® demonstrators in Australia who have developed a strong friendship though our love of stamping and our admiration of each other’s style of crafting.

This month we are creating monochromatic projects, as defined as "containing or using only one colour", although this does allow shades of that colour to be used. 

Here is my card, my base colour being Blackberry Bliss, with the addition of Berry Burst which I always think of as a lighter shade. I stamped the flower and sentiment using the new Simply Beautiful stamp set, colouring the flower with my water colour pencils to lighten some areas even further and deepen others. 

Time to follow the hop along to see what the other design team members have created. The next in the hop is the lovely and talented Carolina you can find her blog link in the list below.

Happy Stamping

Monique

Card Swap Chain Series 4 - CASE-ing Tracy

Back in May 2025 we started the fourth series of the Card Swap Chain, arranged by the lovely Tracy Held. The idea is the we each made a card and sent it to another person in the chain. That person would CASE (Copy and Share Everything or Copy and Selectively Edit) the card and send it to the next person who would in turn CASE it and send it on. There are 10 of us in this chain so quite a few variations between the first and last card, and these blog hops take you on the journey through the CASEing process. 

Tracy's Card

This chain started with this pretty floral card from Tracy, Tracy used a fun technique for the DSP which is to cut two 7.5cm squares diagonally to create triangles, then rearrange them on the card front over some coordinating cardstock. If you didn't begin this hop with the first blog, don't worry too much as I was second after Tracy so you won't have missed much, but I would recommend you visit her blog so you can learn from Tracy why she chose this design.  

Being second in the chain you can easily see the links between Tracy's card and mine, I kept the design the same, but changed up the colours and stamps. I did stick with floral images, I love this image from Gallery Blooms which I have stamped in Saddle Brown StazOn ink before water colouring. I love the texture of colour water colouring can give, I used a little ink from my stamp pads and my Aqua Painter to add the colour. For the DSP triangles I found it easiest to find the centre of the card layer and mark with a pencil (it gets covered up anyway, then make sure the tip of each triangle was in line with the centre of the card to get an even cross. I finished off with Petal Pink & Pretty Peacock Foiled Gems 

Time to keep hopping to see how this card was interpreted for the rest of the chain, and if it is still recognisable by the end of the chain What elements do you think made it all the way down the line?

Happy Stamping

Monique

Card Swap Chain Series 4 - CASE-ing Me!

Back in May 2025 we started the fourth series of the Card Swap Chain, arranged by the lovely Tracy Held. The idea is the we each made a card and sent it to another person in the chain. That person would CASE (Copy and Share Everything or Copy and Selectively Edit) the card and send it to the next person who would in turn CASE it and send it on. There are 10 of us in this chain so quite a few variations between the first and last card, and these blog hops take you on the journey through the CASEing process. 

This chain started with this card of mine!  This was a card that just evolved as I played with the cardstock and images. I had fun embossing and then distressing the Pretty Peacock Two-Tone cardstock and the other rectangle layer. I just love the images from the Online Exclusive Bundle Textured Notes, they really lend themselves to this style of card. I am so sad that this bundle has now retired, well at least the DSPs and stamp set have, though they are still available in Australia on the last chance list. 

Time to keep hopping to see how my card was interpreted for the rest of the chain, and if it is still recognisable by the end of the chain. Do you think it will still have the rustic elements by the last card?

Happy Stamping

Monique