CTC #213: Floral Romance

Hi!

Welcome back to CASEing The Catty Sunday Challenge and Blog Hop.

Being a blog hop, all the blogs are linked in a loop, so you just keep hopping until you get back to where you started. The blog before mine was the lovely Elizabeth Gross. You may have started here, there, or anywhere on the hop - it really doesn't matter - but do make sure you see everyone's creations as they are always fabulous.

This week we are CASEing the Floral Romance section of the Occasions Catalogue. I'd sort of skipped over that section when I first looked at the catalogue, as I'm not big on Valentines and I don't make a lot of wedding cards. I realised what I was missing when I was made to look for this challenge. So many gorgeous things!

For the challenge, I settled on this pretty gift box. I don't have any of the product, but that's not really the point of CASEing. You don't have to copy exactly! Having said that, I did copy fairly closely, but I used alternate products.

My first thought when looking at this box was that I don't have the die used on the background. A quick flick through my Annual Catalogue reminded me that there was a similar piece in the Delightfully Detailed SDSP. I layered it over the top of some of the soft pink paper in the Petal Promenade DSP and then mounted it on some Smokey Slate cardstock that I'd run through the Big Shot with the Subtle 3DTIEF.

The main floral panel is also from the Petal Promenade DSP, cropped with a Stitched Oval Framelit. The leaves were cut using the Flourish Thinlits leaf from Mint Macaron and Soft Sea Foam cardstock. I love how the soft grey, pink and green work together!

I used a second piece of the Delightfully Detailed SDSP to create the border piece along the side of the inside. Silly me used the Very Vanilla side rather than the Whisper White side. Oh well, most people wouldn't even notice that! The hearts, like the vellum heart on the front, are cropped using the Support Ribbon dies.

Now you're off to Peta Stephen's blog so that you can continue your way around the Blog Hop.

Don't forget to join us in our Facebook group. It's where you can see what everyone has made for the challenge, and you can add your card to the group to join in the challenge too.

Bye for now,

Tina

A Belated Farewell to Springtime Foils

Hi!

Today I have tow very different cards for you that feature the gorgeous Springtime Foils SDSP from the recent Sale-A-Bration promotion. I took a little longer than everyone else falling in love with these papers, so I didn't really use them much until they'd already retired.

This first card I made as a class sample to demonstrate the technique that was all the rage earlier this year. I can't recall what it was called, but you basically cut a slot in the front of the card so that the butterfly (which was adhered to the inside of the card) could pop through the slot. I teamed the Foils DSO with Berry Burst and some plain Gold Foil. Such a luxe combo!

After the class, I remade this card and gave it to my mum for her recent milestone birthday. I wish I'd taken a photo before I mailed it! I added a half circle under the 'celebrate' punchie and added the appropriate numbers. I won't reveal her age, but she looks young for it!

Here's a look at the side of the card so you can see how the butterfly pops through the card.

And the inside. I love how the butterfly does most of the work for both the inside and outside of the card!

My second card also uses the Springtime Foils SDSP. Funnily enough, I used the same sheet of paper but got a very different look!

My sister was invited to a wedding and asked me to make a card for her that wasn't 'girly'. She sent me through a pic of the invite, which was black with metallic leaves on it. Straight away I thought of this DSP. I coloured it black by rubbing my Memento ink pad over the paper and then buffing it with some paper towel to remove the ink from the foil part of the design. I repeated this process about 4 times until I was happy with the black. It looked too grey to start with! Just a tip - you can't use a permanent ink like Archival Black for this technique, as it won't buff off of the foil.

I matted the piece on Gold Foil to add some extra luxe to the card. I used Vellum to go under the sentiment so that I didn't lose too much of the gorgeous black foil pattern underneath.

Isn't this sentiment great for a wedding card? I combined two stamps from Beautiful Bouquet and added some tiny gold hearts to help tie in the front of the card. They were punched from the Cookie Cutter punch.

So there you go, two different cards using the gorgeous Springtime Foils DSP. Even though it's retired, I hope I've given you some new inspiration for using it.

Bye for now,

Tina

Farewell Sweet Sugarplum

Hi!

I think that of all of the colours about to retire, Sweet Sugarplum would have to be one of my favourites. It's a gorgeous, dusky pink that works beautifully with a range of other colours.

This card is a CASE of this card made by Dawn Olchefske. I liked it a lot, so I didn't really change much. It's teamed with Soft Sky (also retiring), Very Vanilla and Silver.

I left off the sentiment, as I preferred it without. I also stamped the starry swirl on the base card for a little extra something.

The swirl was also stamped on the inside, but this time in Soft Sky. It's a great backdrop for the sentiment. I love the way it follows the slant of the swirl!

I have a second card for you today, also using Sweet Sugarplum. This time I've used it to colour some Embossing Paste.

It's such a fun trick, to be able to colour the paste.

The flower was watercolored using a mix of Sweet Sugarplum, Rich Razzleberry and Old Olive.

Will you miss Sweet Sugarplum? Is it a colour you've used a lot over the past two years?

Bye for now,

Tina

CASEing The Catty #160

Hi!

EDIT: I was so excited to be awarded the Crew Pick for this card! Thanks to the CTC Crew!

Often when the school year kicks into full gear I have way less free time on my hands. So over the summer break I try to enter a few challenges. Today's card is for CASEing The Catty Challenge #160, which is to CASE a card from pages 4-9 of the new Occasions Catalogue. I also had two team members celebrating their first anniversaries with Stamping' Up!, so I thought I'd kill two birds by using the challenge as a launch point for making them a card each.

The card that caught my eye was the card on the left on page 7 - the front of the roller coaster card. I don't have that bundle, it was more the layout of the card that inspired me. I also had a few panels of card that I'd used embossing paste with the could stencil on that were laying around on my desk ready to use. Bonus!

I loved the layering of ribbons on the front, so I did the same on this card. I have a bad habit of buying the sequin trim and not using it as it's too pretty to cut into. Sound familiar? This was a great time to bust it open, as I wanted these cards to be special for my team girls. I also blinged up the die cut sentiment by running my Wink Of Stella pen over the top. Instant shimmer!

Thanks for checking in with my blog. I'm off to look for some other challenges to participate in before the summer holidays are over and life turns crazy again!

Bye for now,

Tina

JAI #363: Just Add An Anniversary

Hi!

Are you ready for a new Just Add Ink challenge? I am!

This week Chantell has challenged us to Just Add Anniversary. It could be the anniversary of anything you like, as long as it celebrates an Anniversary.

I recently hosted an ATC swap, and I had a stamped and cut butterfly left over, as well as a 'love' die cut from vellum. I decided to put them to good use for this challenge while they were still floating on the surface of my desk. If I left them too long, they may have been lost forever!

The butterfly was stamped using the solid stamp from Watercolour Wishes in Powder Pink ink. I then inked the flourish from Timeless Textures in Berry Burst ink and 'kissed' the two stamps together. I then repeated on the other wing before stamping the butterfly image on my cardstock. It's such a pretty look, isn't it?

Do you have an upcoming Anniversary to celebrate? I've only just celebrated mine, so this card will go into my stash until such time as I require an anniversary card. They are always handy to have on hand. Why don't you pop on over to the Just Add Ink blog so that you can join in the fun?

Bye for now,

Tina

Decorated Photo Frame

Hi!


Today I have a project for you that was my sample for two different classes. The ladies in the groups were all pretty much non-crafters. I was asked to design a decorated photo frame for them to make, so I had to design something WOW, but that was easy for beginners to make.

When I first showed the ladies they were all a little freaked out. They thought it was going to be hard, but thankfully they trusted me that it wasn't, and gave it a go. They were all so happy with the end result. The kits had a variety of colours, and I had a huge selection of dies for them to choose from, so all the frames looked very different.

Most of the flowers were 'punch, brad and scrunch'. We punched 6-8 layers of cardstock or tissue paper, pierced them and added a brad. The layers were then scrunched up, and flattened out a little to give a dimensional look.

Sitting underneath the flowers were diecuts from the Flourish Thinlits. The word love is from the Sunshine Wishes Thinlits.

I was so pleased that everyone had a fabulous time making the frames, and came away with a great sense of accomplishment. Mine is now hanging proudly on the wall between my dining room and craft room where I can see it all day long.


Bye for now,


Tina

JAI #358: Just Add Stitching

Hi!

This week's challenge at Just Add Ink was suggested by Rochelle, and it's one that's right up my alley! This week we are adding stitching to our projects. It cane be real stitching, or faux, it really doesn't matter as long as it's stitching.

I've been sewing since I was a very little girl, and it's something that I've wanted to incorporate more in my card making. I've recently purchased/modified a new desk so that I can have my paper crafting on one side and sewing on the other. It's not quite finished (IKEA has temporarily sold out of the drawers I need!), so the sewing side has become a little bit of a dumping ground. I managed to clear a little space to allow me to sew on my card though.

I went for a mix of retiring and new products on the card. I stamped the sunburst from Kinda Eclectic (retiring) on some Powder Pink cardstock in the matching ink (new!). I then laid the two die cuts from Sunshine Wishes (carrying over) on the card and sewed through the three layers. I finished by stamping the You from Crazy About You (retiring).

I then adhered the Powder Pink panel to some Berry Burst cardstock (new!) and stitched around the edge of the BB card to give a border. Now, if I'd been paying attention and not trying to cook dinner at the same time, I would have noticed that the tension was all wrong on the sewing machine. Whoops! I did notice in time to sew a much nicer looking border on the PP panel. Lesson learned!

I probably should have stitched a border on the inside BB card too, but by this point of time in making the card and trying to cook dinner the vultures children were circling and demanding to be fed. Oh well!


I hope you can join us - will it be real or faux stitching on your card? I can't wait to see it over at Just Add Ink.


Bye for now,


Tina

JAI #318: Just Add S

Hi!


TGIF! Do you feel like that some weeks? I certainly do! We have one more week to go before school holidays and we can't wait. No school runs in wet, miserable weather for two whole weeks!

But enough of that, you're here for the new Just Add Ink challenge, so let's get to it! This week it's my challenge and I'm challenging you to Just Add 'S' to your cards. As usual, it can be anything to with the letter S - let your imagination run wild!

This time I decided to go with the stamp set and Thinlits as my 'S' features - Sunshine Sayings stamp set, and Sunshine Wishes Thinlits.


I'm a little bit obsessed with watercolour washes lately - they seem to be popping up quite frequently on my cards! This time I used Daffodil Delight and Emerald Envy on Shimmery White cardstock. It's a fabulous cardstock for watercolouring as it doesn't pill like other cardstock.

I think used the flower Thinlit to cut both the watercoloured cardstock and a piece of Whisper White. It was a little tricky, but I switched the coloured flower with the WW flower and left all of the inside pieces in place. I really love the look it gives.

I can see myself having a lot of fun with the Sunshine bundle! I'm really loving the scribbly look right now.


You can see what the rest of the Design Team made using the 'S' theme of this week's challenge over at the Just Add Ink blog.


Bye for now,


Tina