#CTC228 Favourite Retiring Stamp Set

The Crew have a few options this week when they CASE their favourite retiring stamp set.

Yes, I have many to choose from, but in the end picked one that has had a lot of love and you'll find it on page 138 of the annual catalogue:

I decided to push the boat out a little more and take on the Stampin' Up! demonstrators May #simplestamping Challenge. 
Criteria:     Theme - Anything
                  Supplies - Stamp, Ink, Paper
                  Twist - Feature your favourite retiring stamp set
#simplestamping does not come easily to me, I seem to always add just a little more, but not this time!!

I've chosen another retiring Stamp set - Wood Words for the foliage stamp which is so tiny and detailed. I've used Crushed Curry ink and stamped in the middle of a piece of Whisper White cardstock. I've then used Black Memento ink with the fabulous bee image and greeting from Dragonfly Dreams. I've matted that piece with Crushed Curry cardstock and added Stampin' Dimensionals to attach to my base. It was #seriouslysimple!! 

I felt like I was cheating a bit when I was done, even though I'd left this to the last minute! So I made another using just the Dragonfly Dreams stamp set:

Thanks for stopping by, and I hope you'll be inspired to join the challenge this week. Make your card and post to our Facebook page using the link over to the right.  Before that - please pop over and visit the fabulous Bec and her lovely project using another of my favourites:

CASEing the Catty - #CTC169 Sale-a-bration

Not much longer but back to the Sale-a-bration catalogues this week...

I've chosen the shaker card on the top left of this image at the bottom of page 17: 

Notice I've changed the orientation to landscape to maximise the ability to hide my shaker frame which was filled with Gold Glitter Flakes and Mini Sequin Trim pulled apart. Little tip you might already know - ensure all tape covering is removed before turning your shaker card over!! (Thankfully not too much escaped!). I used thick Whisper White and diecut the word celebrate, then went crazy with my Moss Green Brusho adding a little Yellow on top then waited until it was pretty much dry. I swiped the Dynamic Hexagons TIEF with Soft Suede ink, but not evenly so as to replicate a hive, and it gave random bits of colour in the grooves. I then used my Versamark pad and swiped across the top and added Clear Embossing Powder. Before I heated, I brushed some of the powder off again randomly, to give a shiny image as honey might on a hive. Initially I went towards a Crushed Curry base, but it didn't give me enough contrast, so I drew my inspiration of Elegant Eggplant from the dots of Brusho at the top of the image. You can see these better in my collage photo below.

I made faux washi tape with a strip of Color Theory DSP ripped, and added the banner greeting with words from Party Pandas. You may have seen similar bumblebees to these here before, but I was meant to make more for this card. Stamped with Memento Ink and coloured with Watercolour pencils with Wink of Stella on the wings and antenna - yes I fussy cut their antenna! Little moment of insanity perhaps. I used Tombow to adhere them, added some of the foil hexagons and a few Metallic sequins.

A hard card to show the effects but I've tried with the photo below:

Thanks for stopping by and time to move on and see what Kathryn has been up to this week:

Feel free to play along - create your card and upload with the link over on the right.

CASEing the Catty - #CTC168 Petal Passion

We are heading to the Occasions Catalogue this week, pages 22-27 Petal Passion

I headed to page 27, and the picture on the left hand side, using Brusho and the Heat Embossed Resist  technique - an old favourite of mine.

I opted to use Shimmery White cardstock as my canvas for the Brusho as it is similar to water colour paper and a little more forgiving when background colouring and using a lot of water, doesn't warp the same as normal cardstock.  I used the vintage truck image from Country Livin', and initially used Clear Embossing powder but it didn't give me a sharp enough image, so I changed it for White Embossing powder and was much happier. I simply spritzed the card after embossing, and tapped Prussian Blue to the top area, Brilliant Red over the truck and Moss Green towards the bottom, then spritzed a little more to the areas which were still dry. If it is a very hit and miss colouring method - you could never get the same image twice, which is what I love about this - each card is certainly unique!  I tipped the card back and forth a bit, added more water if required and poked at the colour with my aqua brush, but in a very minimal way. I resisted the urge to speed the process up and as the colours dried I just tipped back and forth to get an even distribution. The base is thick Whisper White cardstock with a 1" strip of Color Theory DSP adhered to the bottom. My image has been raised on dimensionals. Whisper White Baker's Twine tied around the spine and a greeting from Dragonfly Dreams white embossed on Old Olive cardstock adhered slighly off the edge as in the case. A few copper sequins to finish.

This close up shows how the shimmery white cardstock really shines, even after colouring.

Thanks for stopping by, now please head over to see what amazing creation Rose has for us and then be inspired to CASE from the Petal Passion section and add your photo using the link over on the right.

CASEing the Catty - #CTC150 Favourite Big Shot Project

Hello there - thanks for stopping by as we hop through the Design Crew's take of Caseing their Favourite Big Shot Project - Holiday Catalogue.  

As you know that gives a lot of choice, but I ended up near the back of the catalogue - page 51, and the bottom card of the last picture.

I chose the Oh So Eclectic bundle to create with. I think I was drawn to this card after seeing Fresh Fig used by some of the team last week and decided it was time I did too. I used a base of Fresh Fig. I soaked colour into a piece of watercolour paper until I was happy with the intensity, I was a bit impatient and in the end just slapped the ink pad on so it became extremely intense, but I played with it lifting colour out, waiting til it was dry and adding drops of water, that's where I started to get the blue tinge coming through. I still own the colour spritzer that Stampin' Up used to have and used that with the Fresh Fig marker to get the splatters. 

If you look closely you will see there is a leaf image stamped onto the card but you won't find the stamp in the set - because it is actually the die inked up (the one that only embosses the card - doesn't cut it), such a cute image. In the card they have some little crosses cut out, instead I versamarked the crosses image and silver embossed it. Next I cut a foil skeleton flower, and popped Powder Pink under the centre. I stamped Powder Pink cardstock with the smaller flower image in Fresh Fig and after diecutting it lopped off the stalk. Next was the leaves, two were stamped with Lemon Lime Twist, the other plain vellum - all die cut, and then some little foil sprigs. Once my cutting was done I layered it up pretty much as per the CASEd card. Silver Metallic thread behind and I used the white out of the Metallic sequins, but it has a kind of mother of pearl shine to it, so it worked well with my pinks. Image is stamped from Dragonfly Dreams and chopped then raised with dimensionals...

I realise some of you will look at this and just think 'epic fail', especially those of you who prefer 'clean and simple', but every now and then I like a bit of messy play, so quite enjoyed creating it.  Time for you to hop on over to see what Rebecca has been up to... hope you'll feel inclined to join in - click the icon on the left to add your project

CASEing the Catty - #CTC143 Artistic Expression

Another chance for Artistic Expression this week - from pages 132-181.

I've chosen the top card from Pg 138, and pretty much just switched out colours.

First I chose my DSP, and it was Delightful Daisy, my colours just evolved from there. Not how I had imagined but happy with the result. There are five dragonflies in this card, first a body from the DSP, with a vellum detailed d-fly laid over, Wisteria Wonder stamped in Night of Navy with the dragonfly stamp and die cut with the outline shape again, then one of each size of the detailed dragonflies in Wisteria Wonder. They are all glued at the upper body only, so there is a lot of movement to this card which is hard to see in a photo. I have used a vellum scalloped layering circle for under the big dragonfly rather than the white, which you can only see when you go hunting for it. Greeting from Dragonfly Dreams which has been stamped off in Night of Navy for the repeat stamped background. A little silver metallic thread along with Night of Navy baker's twine for the bow. And rhinestones to finish.

I think I'll definitely do this card again, and will try it in different colours...  Thanks for stopping by, please carry on and visit Peta now:

Bumblees Galore

You know I love them! Bumblees! When the Global Design Project #GDP076 chose to case Kylie Bertucci this week, I had an idea of what I'd like to do, but didn't have a chance to sit and do it until now.

I die cut bumblebees from Basic Black with the Detailed Dragonfly Thinlits, then adhered them to body size pieces of Crushed Curry. I recreated the same Basic Black discard with Delightful Dijon and embossed with the Hexagons Dynamic TIEF.  This was adhered to a slightly wider piece of Whisper White and the bumblebees were placed in position. The greeting is from Best Birds and I used the Stitched Shapes framelits to diecut, you just need to shift it for a 2nd cut to create the rectangle shape.  Keep reading after the first photo to see what else I did - told you I hate to waste!

I already had the Basic Black scrap which the bumblees had been cut from, and adhered it to a piece of Whisper White.  I then used the bumblebee image from Dragonfly Dreams to fill in the gaps before colouring with the new Watercolor Pencils. Thanks to Paula Dobson, for the colouring idea - loved how you shaded yours and it does make them appear more fluffy, making them pop!  

I like them both, but can't decide which I like best!  

But wait there's more... Remember the Sunburst birthday cards from my last post? I showed how I had stamped before I diecut the butterfly.  Check out what I did with the 'waste' piece of card:

I was happy to use a few pieces on this card that would likely have been in the bin.  Hope it leaves you feeling inspired to have a play with your scraps too.  

Rose for a Friend

Talk about leaving things to the last minute!  Another colour INKspiration challenge card - #CI03 which finishes tonight.  Colours to use were:  Marina Mist, Peekaboo Peach, Soft Suede, Whisper White and Soft Sky.  

I made the background by using marker pens scribbled onto an acrylic block and spritzing with water - Soft Sky at the top, Marina Mist then Soft Suede, I lay a sprtized piece of Whisper White onto the block to pick up the colour.  The Rose Garden Thinlit cut out the rose in Peekaboo Peach and the leaves in Soft Suede.  Prior to sticking the rose on I decided I wanted some specks of Soft Suede and am rubbish at the flicking the end of your marker, so reverted to the now retired Colour Spritzing tool.  It made a lovely even and light spritz where my flicking often ends in blobs of colour.  I spritzed the top corner of the stamped image and curled it back to dry.  The greeting comes from Dragonfly Dreams Layered onto mat of Soft Sky and a card base of Marina Mist.

The background really does lend itself to a beach theme, but I'd already decided I was using the rose and this will be a great card ready to have on hand. When needed I can personalise, as the greeting lends itself to a number of follow on words.

Love a Challenge

After leaving for holiday, I learned we could apply to be an onstage display stamper in April, and the challenges continue!  I thought it was something I could try for and reading in a hurry, thought I had a few days up my sleeve, but thankfully checked again yesterday and had until today to post...  this is what I came up with:

The cards were kept clean and simple (if you know me, you'll know I struggle doing that!), so I stuck with a similar colour scheme, Night of Navy and Whisper White, Card 1 used a patchwork technique with the Stitched Shapes square, and the Floral Boutique DSP, the greeting from Dragonfly Dreams and tied off with Night of Navy Baker's Twine. Card 2, a Night of Navy dragonfly over some Falling in Love DSP, with a greeting from Beautiful You and the dots from Avant Garden.  Card 3 is the So Detailed Thinlits cut from Night of Navy and pieced onto Whisper White, the greeting from Avant Garden was cut with an oval from the Stitched Shapes Framelits, and backed with a Night of Navy diecut from Tags & Labels. I opted to tie a knot in each side of the greeting for this card.

The scrapbook page was totally inspired by the place I am lucky to be relaxing for a few weeks, Cromwell in Central Otago, NZ.  I chose the Tip Top Taupe floral design from  the 2015-17 In Colour DSP stack, but sponged over with Sahara Sand to blend in with the summer colours in the area, the crisp white would be ok for winter perhaps.  I then trimmed a sheet of the daisy design from Falling in Love DSP to finish the base. The title, using Large Letters, was die cut from another sheet from the same DSP and I used the negative for the first word.  The next word was cut from both Blushing Bride and Sahara Sand, and all were layered.  As were the dragonflies.  The map is hard to see in the photo but shows the area location on a map of NZ, along with facts on how long it will take you to travel here!

The 3D items were a little harder for me with the supplies on hand, so I opted to go with the tissue paper on a candle idea, along with a small calendar.  Beautiful You and Watercolor pencils, which I was lucky enough to receive for Christmas, teamed nicely with the new Delicate Details from Sale-a-bration. The relevance of the doily?  Check out the top of the candle, I trimmed one of the new lace doilies and inked with Night of Navy. (If I were to gift this, I would be mindful to ensure the recipient removed prior to igniting).

The calendar, I did have with me, and I constructed a backing and stand from the scrap card out of the DSP packs.  Floral Boutique DSP helped make the image and calendar stand out.

My final project was a trio of framed prints.  I found these frames in the back of the cupboard and they screamed Pacific Point and Mediterranean Moments at me... so thanks again Susan Nygaard, loving this set.  I only had 3 frames, but managed to use all images from the set, coloured with the same watercolor pencils, and just a light spritz with my Stampin' Spritzer.  Not enough to wet the thick Whisper White I had stamped on, but it made my colour soften just a tad...

Thanks for staying with me til the end...