CTC #475 - CASE The Country Woods Suite

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 two page spread for the Country Woods Suite Collection, pages 48 and 49. This is such a lovely collection of products with two packs of DSP, and two stamp and die bundles, as well as an embossing folder, ribbons and pearl embellishments!

I was inspired by this card from the left hand side of page 48, in particular the overall layout of the card.

I used a collection of products on this card, keeping to the layout and botanical theme but using very different products. I used dies from Flowers of Beauty and Painted Lavender Dies. I also used the Fern 3D and Cane Weave 3D embossing folders which add some lovely texture to the card. 

For the "vase" I thought I would try creating one of my own as I don't have any vase dies.  I started by embossing Crumb Cake cardstock with the Cane Weave 3D embossing folder and then punching out with my Heartfelt Hexagon Punch, I then cut off a small strip from one end of the hexagon and rounded the corners.  To finish off the basket I cut a thin strip of the tungsten Textured Metallic Specialty Paper, and added three of the retired Brushed Metallic Adhesive Backed Dots.  I am so pleased with the end result, what do you think?

  

I hope you are inspired to join in the challenge this week, just use the samples on pages 48 & 49 to inspire your creativity, then post a picture of your project to the CTC Facebook page.

  

This week we have a guest designer, Rebecca, and her blog is next in the hop, so head on over and see what she has created. 

Happy Stamping
Monique

CTC #474 - CASE A Technique

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 techniques featured in the catalogue. Did you realise that there are two sections of the catalogue that focus on techniques?  That's right Stamping Techniques are featured on pages 81-91; and Crafting Techniques are featured on pages 118 - 131.  Best of all, the products you need to complete these techniques are also on those pages right beside the technique. 

I was inspired by this card from page 119 of the Annual Catalogue, in the Crafting Techniques section.  I have recently rediscovered my love of water colouring so pages 118&119 really popped out to me.  I chose this card as it used a couple of different techniques.  The first one is the layer directly under the focal image is created using an Aqua-painter to create lines across the paper, and secondly is the lovely blending that you can achieve on the focal image, and the third use of water colouring is the background of the focal piece.  I also used Colour Theory, which isn't really a technique but I do explain my choices below. 

I chose to use all of these water colouring techniques on my card, and I knew I wanted to keep with a Basic Beige card base. I started with the striped background piece, using Crumb Cake on water colour paper, then crumpling and blending additional colour over it to give an aged look. Another sneaky water technique is when you are wanting to create a controlled torn edge, simply run a line of water where you want the tear to go, let it absorb and then the tearing will be much easier!  

Next I chose my colours for the focal image using the colour theory wheel on page 132 of the catalogue.  I chose Peach Pie and Calypso Coral from the Orange section, and to make them pop against the background chose Balmy Blue, a complementary colour, from the blue section.  Because I didn't want to have the leaves stand out so much I then chose them from the Blue-Green and Green sections, picking Lost Lagoon and Pretty Peacock.  I purposefully kept gone over the background so the blotchiness of the water colouring gave a feeling of clouds in the sky.  For comparison the original card used analogous colours that sit beside each other on the colour wheel, so no one part of the image stands out vibrantly from the others. 

Finally I did something that I have never done on a card before, and that is secure the layers together with random cross-stitches.  I achieved this by using the paper piercing end on my Take Your Pick tool to create four holes close together, and then threaded Crumb Cake twine through the holes, securing with a knot and sticky tape on the back of the bottom layer.  I love the rustic look this gives the card!

I hope you are inspired to join in the challenge this week, just use any of the techniques in the 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 Courtenay has created this week.

Happy Stamping
Monique

CTC #473 - CASE A Bundle

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 bundles on pages 57 - 73 of the Annual Catalogue.

I was inspired by this card from page 69 of the Annual Catalogue using the Spotlight on Nature Bundle. I received this bundle as part of the evening event at On Stage in March and absolutely love it.

I kept with the same basic sketch of the original card and the Spotlight on Nature stamp set, as well as the colours on the flowers.   I did change many of the other elements on the card as I was inspired to go with a vintage look for this one.  Its been a while since I have roughed up cardstock and it was actually quite fun.  Scrunching the cardstock, using my scissor blade on the edge, and adding ink directly from my stamp pad and with blending brushes.  

I hope you are inspired to join in the challenge this week, just use the projects in the Bundles section of the Annual 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 Andrea Andrea has created this week.

Happy Stamping
Monique

Let's Craft Together - Tic Tac Toe Challenge

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 have a Tic Tac Toe challenge.  Using the above grid choose three squares that line up in a row, column or diagonal and use those techniques in your project. For these types of challenges I usually gravitate toward three options that are not lined up in a row, and it was initially the same for this one, but I soon decided on the middle row.  So I have chosen - Die Cut Shape + Favourite Stamp Set + Technique.

I often find it hard to pick a favourite stamp set because I usually love all of the ones I buy, but I was saying just the other night that I am really loving the simplicity of the Poised Peony set. Its easy to miss as it is right in the front of the catalogue on page 28 and is part of the Quick & Easy section.  Another set from the same section is Simply Said as it has a great selection of common sentiments in cursive and type printed fonts, I love the size of these sentiments.  The technique I am showcasing is water colouring, something I haven't done for quite some time, but I was recently reminded of how relaxing it can be and its a great way to colour an image.   I also used water colouring to add colours to the piece I die cut as a background for the flowers.  I don't usually go for such vibrant colours, but while I was on a roll I layered these on a piece of DSP from Unbounded Beauty DSP.

Time to follow the link below to hop to the next blog. 

Happy Stamping

Monique