CTC 317: Say Hello

 Hi!

Welcome to the new CASEing The Catty Sunday Challenge Blog Hop. It's the first challenge of the brand, spanking new Annual Catalogue, so we have given you carte-blanche for the challenge.

Which projects in the catalogue caught your eye? Was it because of a particular stamp set, or DSP, or maybe a die? For me, it was the bundle of products that first caught my eye, and the projects made with it second. It's the You're A Peach suite, on page 60-61.

I really loved the strawberry bundle, and this reminds me of it so much. Of the samples in the catalogue, the one above was most appealing to me. I don't yet have the suite, so I had to improvise, and the most natural substitute was the Sweet Strawberry bundle.

Apologies for using retired DSP - I had intended to stamp and colour my background, but this week got away from me!

I kept the card pretty much the same as the sample, except that I flipped the panel that the fruit sits on. I liked the little strip of DSP across the top in the sample, but the darker colour of the DSP I chose was more suitable for the DSP to go across the bottom of the panel.

As always, I made sure that I had some left over bits and pieces to decorate the inside of my card. I stamped the sentiment nice and low on the inside too, sometimes it's fun to do the unexpected and have it somewhere different to the centre!

I hope that you can play along with us this week. I think that the hardest part will be choosing which project to CASE! Once you've decided and made you card, just post a photo in the Facebook group, and you're done!

While you're still pondering your choices, please do finish the blog hop. Next up is the wonderful Rebecca, who does an amazing job of organising us all each week! She's used a die set that I have my eye on, too!

Bye for now,

Tina

JAI 553: Just Add A Sketch

 Hi!

Hello, and welcome to Friday and the new Just Add Ink challenge. This week Kelly has designed a really cool sketch for us to use.

In case you haven't worked it out by now, me and my family are huge Harry Potter fans. I've been wanting to make a HP card using the Suit & Tie dies since I purchased them, and this sketch gave me the opportunity.

All I did was pull the four thin strips in the sketch to the front, rather than under the main panel. Four house ties later, and the card was nearly done! The sentiment is from a long-retired Kindred Stamps set, called Wizard Friends.

To create the ties, I cut one each of a full tie and the knot piece from Cherry Cobbler, Blueberry Bushel, Crushed Curry and Shaded Spruce cardstock. For the strips, I added a piece of Adhesive Sheet to the back of the appropriate colour and used my Mini Trimmer to cut thin strips, some wider than others. I adhered the stripes to the first tie and then, to get the ties to match, I laid the next tie over the top. By doing this, I was able to line up the strips exactly with the tie underneath. Once I'd finished the second tie, I lifted it off the first, trimmed the strips and moved onto the next. A bit fiddly, but worth it, I think!

I was a bit lot over making ties by the time I got to the inside, so I settled with stamping a tie image from another Kindred Stamps set, called Magic Planing. I used my Stamparatus to line them up, and stamped them in the matching inks as the ties on the front. The card is 5 inches square, so it leaves plenty of room for writing a message!

That's all from me tonight, but please do pop on over to the Just Add Ink blog, where you'll find the rest of this week's Design Team cards. They are all as wonderful as usual! We can't wait to see the wonderful card you make with the sketch as your inspiration.

Bye for now,

Tina

Colour Creations: Smoky Slate

 Hi!

Here we go again with the Colour Creations Creative Showcase, and this time we are looking at Smoky Slate. It's usually more of a background colour, I guess, so making it a feature was a little tricky! I love pairing crisp white with grey, so it was a no-brainer to go with the combo for my card.

I started with the Forever Fern stamp set, stamping a few of the different fern images in Smoky Slate ink and cropping them with the matching Forever Flourishing Dies.

The labels are from the Painted Labels Dies. The largest was used to crop some Silver Foil, and the smaller the Whisper White card that the sentiment, from Seaside Notions, was stamped on. A few Rhinestones finishes off the front.

The inside is just more of the same die cut and images from the front. I'd stamped and cut a heap, so I had plenty left over!

It's time now to pop on over to Cathy's blog, where you'll find the rest of this week's Smoky Slate cards.

Bye for now,

Tina

CTC 316: One Final Goodbye

 Hi!

Thanks for joining me for the new CASEing The Catty Sunday Challenge Blog Hop. As it's our last challenge before the new Annual Catalogue goes live, we are challenging to you to CASE your favourite project from the outgoing Annual Catalogue.

Before I even opened my catalogue I decided that I would CASE a project from the bundle that was at the very top of my wishlist when I first saw the catalogue: Nothing's Better Than. I'm so glad that it's carrying over for another year!

I decided to combine two projects from page 91, as I liked elements from each. The background stamping on the box is very cool, and I loved the look of the cocktails on the card.

The background was stamped with Pretty Peacock ink onto coordinating card. I couldn't resist embossing it with my Subtle 3DEF. I used Silver Foil instead of Gold, and switched out the Seam Binding for some Sheer Pool Party ribbon.

How fun are the cocktails? I used Mango Melody, Melon Mambo, Daffodil Delight, Granny Apple Green and Pretty Peacock to colour them. Some colours are full strength, others I stamped off once first. To get the two layer cocktails, I inked the lightest colour first, hanging part of the stamp over the edge of the ink pad. I then went to the darker ink pad and inked the rest of the stamp. Easy!

To finish off the inside, I just stamped another cocktail and the sentiment. I think the this would be a great one to send to a friend having a rough time.

How will you go about choosing a favourite project to CASE from the outgoing Annual Catalogue? It's tough choice! To enter our challenge, just take a photo of your card and post it in our Facebook group.

For now though, it's on with the blog hop. Next up is the lovely Sandra, with a simply gorgeous card.

Bye for now,

Tina

JAI 552: Just Add Inspiration

 Hi!

It's time for the new Just Add Ink challenge. Yay! This week Nikki has found a really sweet Inspiration Photo to guide our creativity.

How much would it lift your mood, going in and out of that yellow door every day? It took a little bit of thinking to work out how I was going to translate the Inspiration Photo into a card, but I was pleased with my result in the end.

Anyone else have 'Hey, hey, hey, hey' going through their heads right now? LOL! Such an iconic song and movie from the mid 80's, reinvented for a new generation in the early 2010's. Do you remember the movie of the kids managing to have fun in a library while doing a weekend detention?

I started the card by masking off an area and using my Blending Brush to create an ombre panel, with Daffodil Delight and Mango Melody ink. I flicked with a little bit of water, and after it was dry I used my Stamparatus to stamp the main image in Memento ink. I'm glad I thought to do this, as it took 4 goes to get a solid black image. The stamps are from an Ink Road Stamps set, called Pretty Bizarre. 

I repeated the ombre section on the inside. I had to use a sentiment from Itty Bitty Birthdays, but I paired it with another image from Pretty Bizarre. It's such a fun stamp set!

What do you see in the Inspiration Photo? Is it the door, the flowers, the colours? So many possibilities! Please jump on over to the Just Add Ink blog, where you can see the rest of this week's Design Team cards. You can also link up your card to enter the challenge. Can't wait to see what you make!

Bye for now,

Tina

Colour Creations: Shaded Spruce

 Hi!

Welcome back to a new Colour Creations Creative Showcase. This week we are highlighting Shaded Spruce. It took me a long time to warm up to this darker bright green, but now it's a colour I quite like.

I kept my card quite simple this week. I masked off the edges and used my Blending Brush with Shaded Spruce ink to create an ombre panel through the middle of the card. I love the larger head of the SU Blending Brushes for a task like this - the ink goes on so much quicker than with a smaller-headed brush.

The big fern leaf from the Forever Gold Laser Cut Paper was adhered over the top. This layout is a CASE of another card that I made last year for Christmas. It's such a cool way of showing off the gorgeous gold foil laser cut piece.

I repeated the ombre look on the inside, with another, smaller, piece of the laser cut paper over the top. The sentiments are from A Good Man.

That's all from me tonight, but please do head on over to Cathy's blog, where you'll find the rest of this week's Shaded Spruce cards for your viewing pleasure.

Bye for now,

Tina

CTC 315: CASE A Kit

 Hi!

Welcome back to my blog for the latest CASEing The Catty Sunday Challenge Blog Hop. I hope you're full of energy - I'm a tad tired after getting up early to play in my band at our local dawn service for ANZAC Day. I don't mind this tired though, as it comes from remembrance. 

This week for our challenge, we are asking you to CASE a Kit from either catalogue. Do you have a favourite kit? I often like to buy them and admire the pretty box and contents, but never get around to putting them together!

The pretty box from the Looking Up kit was definitely one that caught my eye, so that's what I chose to CASE this week. The geometric design really appeals to my logical, ordered brain.

That same brain was a little lacking in power this week, so instead of attempting the 60° angles on the box, I went for the far easier 90°. I cut a heap of 1cm wide Gold Foil strips and glued three down before changing angles and gluing another three down. I used a spare strip as a spacer. It's a bit fiddly to do, but I have fun doing this kind of stuff!

After I'd completed the front panel, I got a bit stuck. I wasn't sure how to incorporate it into a card, so it sat on my craft desk for a few days. I finally decided that adding a pop of colour was the way to go, so I chose Bermuda Bay, as it's one of the kit colours. The balloons, while they are not hot air balloons, were still in keeping with the kit, I think!

As always, I made the front panel wider than it needed to be so that I could chop off a section to using on the inside. It's much easier than trying to make two separate pieces. Another balloon completes the card.

That's all from me for tonight - I'm off to bed now, so I will do my hopping tomorrow. Yay for a Long Weekend! Do you have a LWE? Perfect for crafting time! You can make a card for our challenge and post it in the Facebook Group.

But first, please do continue on with our Blog Hop. My fellow South Aussie, Michelle is up next. Hmm, I wonder which kit was her favourite?

Bye for now,

Tina