CTC #221: Needlepoint Nook

Hi!

Hooray for Sunday and the new CASEing The Catty Sunday Challenge Blog Hop. Not so much hooray for the end of the weekend, but you can't have it all. At least it's going out in style LOL.

The blog before mine was the wonderful Julia Quinn, if you started here, there, or anywhere - it doesn't matter, just keep hopping until you get back to where you started.

This week we are CASEing projects from the Needlepoint Nook section of the Occasions Catalogue. Would you believe that, despite me enjoying a bit of sewing and needlecraft, I don't own anything from this suite of products? I wish I could have it all! For today's card it just meant that I had to be a little bit inventive.

The inspiration for my card ended up being the word 'friend' on the Berry Burst card to the right in the photo. I like how it was stamped and fussy cut closely around the word. It seems to be a bit of a trendy look in the paper crafting world at the moment. And look, I managed to scrounge up a small piece of DSP out of a Make & Take pack from Orlando.

I wanted to make a thank you card for a new friend who helped me a lot when I recently tried my hand at quilting. Sandra was one of my Orlando housemates and she is a very experienced quilter, only too happy to share her knowledge and experience as I made my first. The DSP was't anywhere big enough to cover the front of the card, so I had to get a little bit fancy. Then I realised it sort of looked like a patchworked piece, and that made me happy! The gingham is from the Gingham Gala DSP pack.

I don't have the stamp set from the Needlepoint Nook suite, so I used a Well Written framelit instead. I adhered a piece of a Multipurpose Adhesive Sheet to the back of a scrap of Berry Burst and then sent it through the Big Shot. The adhesive sheets are awesome for these small die cuts! I then peeled off the backing, adhered the word to a scrap of Whisper White and got to work with my snips. I was so happy with how it turned out.

I had one tiny scrap of the Needlepoint Nook DSP left, but it wasn't wide enough for a standard inside. Gingham Gala to the rescue again!

What catches your eye in the Needlepoint Nook section of the Occasions Catalogue? I can't wait to see your card in the CASEing The Catty facebook group.

Before you head on over there, don't forget to finish the hop! Next up is the lovely Kelly Kent. She's bound to blow you away with her creativity.

Bye for now,

Tina

JAI #449: Just Add Colour

Hi!

Yay, it's Friday! Time for the new Just Add Ink challenge. This week Jo has given us a bright colour combo to inspire our creativity.

As much as I love these colours, I was quite stumped for inspiration for a long time. It got to the point where I asked Rob for advice, and his words were 'it must be bad if you're asking me what to do'! In the end I went back to my basic rule for colour combos: If in doubt, use lots of white. Hooray - it worked!

I pulled out my Birthday Cheer bundle to make a cupcake card, although when I showed Rob the finished card he thought they were ice creams. It doesn't really matter I guess - either one works! I started by cutting the cupcake edgelit and then trimming each cake around the bottom to liberate it. I then used the single cupcake die to cut a section for the wrapper and then a whole cake to layer for the icing. I also cut extra pieces from the edgelit die so that I could pop in the heart and the cherry.

Each cake was popped up on Dimensionals and then I ran my Wink Of Stella brush over the wrappers, cherry and heart to give them some subtle glimmer. It's hard to see in the photo! You can see around the edges of the rectangle that I cropped the main panel from the piece behind it, and then matted it with some Lovely Lipstick cardstock before popping it up. I don't mind that the second stitched line is partly visible - it's just another feature.

I ran out of energy to die cut and piece another cupcake for the inside, so I pulled out my Blends instead. I did have to use Highland Heather instead of Gorgeous Grape, but I don't think it matters too much, the cake still looks yummy!

That's it for me, as always you can find the rest of the Design Team's cards over at the Just Add Ink blog. You can also link up your card for this week's colour challenge. It's a fun one!

Bye for now,

Tina

Powered Up Powder Pink

Hi!

Gee whizz, another week has flown around again! Where are they going? This week for Colour Creations we are making cards using Powder Pink. I'm really not a pale pink fan, so I found this week's card a little difficult to start. I needed to make a second giant Thank You card (you can see the first one here), and so I pulled out my Garden Impressions DSP, which has a multitude of pinks.

The lady I am making this card for is quite girly, so I thought this paper would be perfect for her. She has been running our support group for families of special needs kids while our regular coordinator has been on leave. One term ended up being one year and one term! We will miss her when she goes.

How cute are these little birdies?  They are from the Well Written Thinlits set, and the answer is 'super cute'! Once again, I ran my Wink Of Stella pen over the die cut Thank You and the birdies for a bit of extra bling.

As before, I added writing panels to both sides of the insides, as many people need to sign the card. It's a big one - nearly 6 inches square.

The Powder Pink ruffle ribbon adds that final, girly touch to the card, don't you think?

As always, Catherine's blog is where all the rest of the Colour Creations magic is happening this week. Why not pop on over?

Bye for now,

Tina

CTC #220: Sale-A-Bration

Hi!

It's time for the new CASEing The Catty Sunday Challenge Blog Hop. I do love these hops, there's so much inspiration and talent in the CTC Crew and I feel so fortunate to be part of the team. My friend Kelly was the blog before mine, but just keep hop, hop, hoping until you get back to where you started!

This week we are back to CASEing the Sale-A-Bration catalogues, and there are two to choose from. I'm a bit battered and bruised this week - I had a fall on Friday night and scraped a lot of skin off my hand, elbow and knees. I'm ok, just feeling a bit sore and sorry for myself. I had promised to make a card for a lady that was retiring, so I decided to go a bit easy on myself and do a fairly direct CASE.

I chose the Highland Heather card on the front of the first catalogue, but changed it to a square card, as a lot of people need to sign it. The finished card is nearly 6" square.

You can see straight away that I kept many of the same elements. I switched from flowers to butterflies, as I had a punch for the butterflies and I didn't need to colour them.

It's hard to see on the photo, but I went over the Thank You die cut with my Wink Of Stella pen for a bit of added glimmer. It's so pretty in real life. The lady this card is for ran the support group I attend that's for parents of special needs kids. She's had to step down for personal reasons and will be very much missed. I was quick to volunteer to make a card for her, as it's so much more personal than a shop bought one.

There's a dozen or so of us in the group that want to sign, so I had to supersize the card. To add to the space to write on, I adhered a writing panel to both sides of the inside of the card. The floral DSP is so pretty, so I used strips to decorate the panels.

Isn't this the perfect sentiment for someone who has supported the group through both good and bad times? She really is the best.

That's it for me, don't forget to add your CTC card to our Facebook group. In the meantime though, you're off to see the gorgeous card that Lauren has made.

Bye for now,

Tina

JAI #448: Just Add J

Hi!

It's time for a new Just Add Ink challenge. This week it's one of my alphabet challenges, with the letter J coming up for our inspiration. Hmmm, what can you do with the letter J? A stamp set, technique, colour?

I decided to go for a fancy fold and make a Joy Fold card. It's been a while since I've made one, I'm not sure why because they are so easy and have a huge impact. For some reason my mind went to Christmas (joyeux noel - another J!), so that's what I did for my card.

Once again I used the gorgeous Painted Seasons stamps and DSP for my card. I was a little worried that the green patterned paper would be too busy and dominate, but by the time I had adhered the second 'card' I realised that you can't actually see much of the DSP.

To make a Joy Fold card you take a tent fold card and chop off half of the front. Lay it on the side, decorate with DSP and then cut a smaller card and adhere it on the inside of the base with the fold facing the other way. Decorate this and you're done! I added the circle with the pinecone on the front so that the smaller card tucks under and keeps it shut.

So there you have it, a Joyous Noel Joy Fold card. What will you make? Join in the fun over at the Just Add Ink blog, where you can see what the rest of the Design team have created with J, and also link up your own J card.

Bye for now,

Tina

Poppies On Parade

Hi!

Welcome to the new Colour Creations Blog Share! This week is another favourite colour of mine - Poppy Parade. I was very excited to see it back in the lineup after a bit of a hiatus.

Once again, I decided to try a new to me technique for the blog share. I receive the Splitcoast Stampers emails, and the latest had a tutorial for Die Embossed Watercolouring. The sample looked stunning, so I couldn't resist giving it a go.

Basically, you use you embossing mats and a die to create an embossed impression on your cardstock. I used Shimmery White, as it copes pretty well with watercolouring and is a cheaper alternative to watercolour paper. I used the large flower die from Springtime Impressions to create the base of my image. You then just watercolour the image. I used Poppy Parade, Daffodil Delight, Green Apple Green, Garden Green, Highland Heather, Soft Suede and Balmy Blue.

I have said many times that I am very much a 'slap on the colour' watercolourer. This perhaps isn't the best way to approach this technique! What do you think? Do you like the look and am I being too critical of myself? You can see that Poppy Parade is a very orange red, and watercolouring really brings this out. I used a second layer of ink in the embossed sections to add a bit of shading to the flower. I think that maybe this card is one of those 'stand back and unfocused your eyes a little' types of cards. LOL!

I think I will give this technique another go when I'm a bit less time poor and have more patience. Done correctly, I think it would be wonderful!

That's it for me, now you can pop on over to Catherine's blog to see the ret of this weeks Poppy Parade cards.

Bye for now,

Tina

CTC #219: Gingham Gala

Hi!

Welcome to the CASEing The Catty Sunday Blog Hop, and hooray for a long weekend! Is it a long weekend in your part of the world? It certainly is here, and I am making the most of it by making my very first quilt. I took a break to make a card for today's Blog Hop. The blog before mine was the lovely Lauren's.

This week we are focussed on the Gingham Gala suite in the Occasions Catalogue. I love gingham - it reminds me of my nana and doing embroidery with her.

For my card this week I was partly inspired but he Thank You card on the right of page 34, but I was also inspired by memories of my Year 7 Home Economics classes in my first year of High School. I went to school in NSW, where Year 7 is High School. I can't recall exactly what the task was, but it involved cross stitching on a piece of gingham. I was mad on the boy band Bros, so that's what I embroidered! LOL! You'll be pleased that I didn't do that for my card!

Instead, I used my Real Red and Night Of Navy Stampin' Write Markers to add a faux cross stitched border around my gingham piece, which I'd cropped with a Rectangle Stitched Framelit. For a fun touch, I added an extra cross in each corner.

These cute little flowers are just the right amount of sweet to add to the gingham. Did you notice the new punch shape? It's the Story Label punch and you can purchase it this month to coordinate with many of the Sale-A-Bration offerings. It's a really lovely shape.

I kept the inside simple, using the offcut from the gingham on the front to provide a mat for the writing panel. This card is going to someone special, and I hope she loves it.

I hope you can join in our challenge this week over on our Facebook page. In the meantime though, hop on over to Kelly's blog to continue on the hop.

Bye for now,

Tina