CTC #289: CASE a Halloween Project

 Hi!

Welcome back for the new CASEing The Catty Sunday Challenge Blog Hop. This week we are asking you to CASE a Halloween Project from either of the catalogues.

After a quick flick through both catalogues, I settled on this card from the August-December Mini Catalogue. I really liked the simplicity, and I'm a real sucker for a flicked ink background!

If you're like me, and don't do Halloween, you can still join in - you just need to be inspired by a card. It could be the colours, or a technique, or the layout, it does not have to be the theme. I changed the theme to make a Christmas card.

My card ended up not looking like the owl card at all! There are still elements of it, though. The flicked background became a Glimmer Paper sky. The moon turned into a house, and the sentiment banner became a sentiment strip. And if I really want to stretch it, there are trees on both cards, LOL.

Each of the elements were stamped using the Coming Home stamp set, coloured with Blends and then cropped using the Home Together Dies. I finished the front of the card with a sentiment cropped from the Trimming The Town DSP.

The inside was completed with left overs from the front of the card - an extra little strip of Glimmer Paper trimmed from the front and a few extra trees that I'd coloured but not used. The sentiment is from Itty Bitty Christmas. 

Our challenge is run though our Facebook group, which means that you don't need a blog to enter. Just make your card and upload a picture in the group. Easy! Which Halloween project will you choose to CASE - and how will you choose to CASE it? All the big questions this week!

Next up is the wonderful Siobhan, I wonder which direction she has gone with her Halloween CASEing? Only one way to find out - hop on over to her blog!

Bye for now,

Tina

October Creative Showcase: Using DSP

 Hi!

Welcome to the monthly Art With Heart Creative Showcase. Stampin' Up! are holding a DSP sale this month, and so we have chosen to feature the DSP packs that are on sale in this month's Showcase. There are quite a number of packs to choose from at a 15% discount, but I couldn't go past my all-time favourite Christmas DSP: Trimming The Town. I think I will need to purchase a second pack before the sale ends!

This card was inspired by the sentiment sheet of DSP. I've only ever used individual sentiments cut from the sheet. I decided it was about time to use a larger piece of it. Because I've mounted it against a bit of a busy background, I've matted the sentiment piece in white. I also used a Thick Whisper White card base, to help balance all of the darker colours.

Each of the elements on the front of the card were cropped from the DSP. To give them a bit more stability, especially for the ones getting popped up, I adhered each roughly cut piece to Thick Whisper White cardstock before cropping them with the coordinating Home Together Dies.

The inside scene is a bit snowier! The snowy hill on the inside is simply the offcut from the snowy hill on the front. I just added some extra fussy cut elements from the DSP to finish off the scene. I have not used ink at all on my card, but I think that it would also look nice to have sponged a little Balmy Blue ink as a sky on the inside.

That's all from me tonight. Please pop on over to Rachel's blog, where you will find the links for the rest of this month's DSP Creative Showcase cards.

Bye for now,

Tina

JAI #522: Just Add A Sketch

 Hi!

Thanks for joining me once again for the new Just Add Ink Challenge. This week, Patrice has designed a fabulous sketch for us to use. I really loved it, and it's clear that the rest of the Design team did too.

I was wracking my brain, trying to think of what I could use for the square elements, when I spied my Pine Tree Punch. Perfect!

I used the new Heartwarming Hugs DSP for both the base of my card and the trees. I'd originally intended to use the other side of the DSP for the trees, but when it came to adhere them to the base, I actually preferred the gingham side.

The sentiment was cropped from the Trimming The Town DSP. I needed a long, thin sentiment, and this fit the bill perfectly. I matted it on some Gold Foil, to complement the strips of Gold Foil on the top and bottom of the Whisper White panel. It's hard to see in the photo - they look green rather than gold!

One final tree was used to finish off the inside, alongside a sentiment from Itty Bitty Christmas.

What do you see in the sketch? Will you stick to squares, or try a different shape? You can see what the Design team did with the sketch over on the Just Add Ink Blog, where you can also link up your card for the challenge.

Bye for now,

Tina

CTC #282: CASE Your Favourite Mini Catalogue Bundle

 Hi!

Wowee! Where did that weekend go? I had a very lovely weekend, because it was my birthday yesterday, but gee, it has flown by! The end of the weekend means that it's time for the new CASEing The Catty Sunday Challenge Blog Hop. Woo Hoo!

This week we are asking you to CASE your favourite bundle from the August - December Mini Catalogue. Don't have one of the bundles? Then just CASE your favourite project made with that bundle, but using what you have. Easy!

My favourite bundle (suite, actually!) is the Coming Home bundle. I really love house stamps and dies, and this is one of the best that Stampin' Up! have released. Even better, for every stamp set sold, SU is donating money to charities that support people through adoption, foster care and infertility.

I decided to use this opportunity to try something that I've wanted to do since seeing the bundle - a double opening card. It's a great way to make a scene with a lot of dimension, but it can still be flat enough to mail easily. I started with a slightly smaller than card front pice of Whisper White card. I then  cut a flap from Pear Pizzazz cardstock using the sloped die with no trees. I folded a small section of the right side of the card around to the back and adhered it to the bottom right side of the Whisper White piece, ensuring that it lined up at the bottom. I then decorated with the house, wreath and trees.

The second flap was cut from Old Olive cardstock using the sloped die with trees. It was scored on the left and adhered to the left side of the Whisper White card, and again decorated with a house, wreath, trees and a card on a road. Most of the elements on the card were cropped from the DSP, but the car and wreaths were stamped and coloured before being added to the card.

When both side flaps are opened, the card reveals yet another house, this time with the mountains as a backdrop. The second storey of the house was cropped from the edge of the DSP. It was missing it's bottom half, but by turning it into a second level of another house it can still be useful. Conveniently, the stripes on both houses matched! 

All of these layers were attached to a card front sized piece of Misty Moonlight cardstock. It isn't a folding card base, just a flat piece. The flaps on the front will support the card to stand up, so it didn't need a folding base. I created another little scene on the back so that there was somewhere to write a message. It's not your usual card, but I'm thrilled with how it turned out.

As always, you can join in with our challenge by taking a photograph of your card and adding it to our Facebook Group. You don't need a blog or any fancy equipment, so it's super easy to enter!

Before you race off to get creating, don't forget to finish the blog hop! Next up is the wonderful Michelle, who just happened to have celebrated her birthday yesterday, too!

Bye for now,

Tina

CTC #279: CASE A Sketch

Hi!

Thanks for once again joining me for our CASEing The Catty Sunday Challenge Blog Hop. Before I start, I wanted to send a big hug out to everyone in Melbourne, Australia. Stage Four restrictions are going to be tough, but the rest of the country are cheering you on, all the way!

This week we have chosen this gorgeous card on page 72 of the Annual Catalogue and turned it into a sketch.

I decided to have a play with the new Trimming The Town DSP for my card. I was quite loose with the sketch, but hopefully you can see how I've applied it to my card.

Instead of the twine on the original card, I have die cut a snowy slope with trees. The square has been replaced with the mountains, but I wish I'd chopped a little bit of sky off the top of the piece so that the mountains were a little more prominent. I have another piece of the DSP left, so I may have to CASE myself to see if I like it more!

The car was the only stamped element on the whole card - the rest has been cropped from the Trimming The Town DSP, using the Home Together Dies. I coloured the car with my Dark Poppy Parade Blend. I just used a flat colour, as the rest of the DSP is coloured that way.

I originally cropped this huge house to go on the front as the oval element, but it was too big for the space. It's perfect for the inside though. The sentiments were both also cropped from the DSP. There's a huge range sayings and languages - something for everyone!

That's all from me tonight. To enter our challenge, you just need to make a card based on the sketch and upload it to our Facebook group. No blog or fancy editing necessary!

Next on the hop is the fabulous Rebecca. You won't want to miss her pretty, floral card.

Bye for now,

Tina

Heart Of Christmas: July

Hi!

Thanks for joining me for the first of this year's Heart Of Christmas Creative Showcase. This is the fourth year the Art With Heart team have been doing the Heart Of Christmas. This year, we are starting earlier, but it will be a monthly event, not weekly.

I was a little time short this week, so I've made a quick and easy Christmas card, using the new Trimming The Town DSP. The whole suite is my clear favourite from the upcoming August-December Mini Catalogue. The trees were cropped from the DSP using the matching Home Together Dies. I used my friend, Judy's trick and roughly cut the trees, glued them to some Whisper White card, and then cropped them. I knew I was going to pop some of them up, and this gives them extra thickness, so they are less likely to sag.

One of the dies in the set is a long curved line, designed to make a snowy hill. I used the die itself as a mask before sponging a little Balmy Blue ink for a bit of sky. I couldn't quickly lay my hands on my large sticky notes, but the die worked as a mask in a pinch! The sentiment was also cropped from the DSP - no stamping required!

The DSP also has smaller sized trees, so I cropped a few of them for the inside. I also repeated the sponging with the hill die, just on a smaller scale. The inside sentiment is from another new stamp set, Peace & Joy. I think it works well with the DSP sentiments.

To see the rest of July's Heart Of Christmas Creative Showcase, you will need to head on over to Judy's blog. You will find the rest of the links there.

Bye for now,

Tina

CTC #277: CASE The Colours Of The Flowers For Every Season DSP

Hi!

Thanks for joining me for the new CASEing The Catty Sunday Challenge Blog Hop. Just this week Rebecca realised that this week is the challenge's 6th anniversary! I'm one of the newer Crew members, but there are quite a few who have been around for the entire 6 years. What an achievement!

This week the Crew are challenging you to CASE the Colours of the Flowers For Every Season DSP. The DSP includes all of the new 2020-22 In Colors, plus Poppy Parade and Whisper White. There's a great range of colours to choose from. I managed to fit all but Magenta Madness on my card.

This scene was created using an upcoming August-December Mini Catalogue bundle, called Coming Home. It was one of the first bundles to catch my eye, and I loved it so much that I ordered the whole suite - stamps, dies, DSP, ribbon and embellishments. Best of all, a portion of the purchase price will be donated by SU to charities devoted to adoption, foster care and infertility. A doubly good reason to purchase it!

One of the things I love most is that you can layer the houses in the set. I've used three different houses and layered them to create one larger house. I've stamped on watercolour paper using Stazon ink and watercoloured each of the pieces using my Water Painters.

I had a few trees left over from the front, so they were the natural option for the inside. I'd also coloured the car image from he stamp set in Magenta Madness, but I couldn't make it work in any logical way o the card, so I opted to leave it off. The sentiment is from another upcoming stamp set, called Peace & Joy. It works perfectly with this suite, as it is similar to the sentiment on the front, which was cropped from the Trimming The Town DSP.

All you need to do to join in our challenge is to make a card using the Colours of the Flowers For Every Season DSP and upload it into our Facebook Group. Easy! You could choose all of the colours, or just a few - whatever takes your fancy.

Before you go, please do finish the Blog Hop, as there's lots of lovely inspiration still to be seen. Next up is my wonderful friend, and original Crew member, Rachel. She's used Magenta Madness (that I find so challenging!) to create a gorgeous card.

 Bye for now,

Tina