Social Stamping - Animals

A little late to the Social Stamping Blog Hops being hosted by the lovely Kelly Kent, but managed to get there eventually. Kelly was inspired to get a group of stamping friends together to craft and share their ideas each week as a welcome distraction to the worry and uncertainty happening around the world at this time. This was also a way to help fill the void when classes couldn't be held and social distancing was common place. 

If you'd like to check out the other blog hops and the themes telling a different part of the Covid story each week click on Kelly's name above.

This week's theme is 'Animals'. That's right up my alley with 2 dogs and 2 cats residing with us. Our pets, like many others, have enjoyed the extra human company and adjusted easily to seeing us - especially the dogs. The downside is they get a little more stressed when they need to be left but I don't think we have that problem on our own.

Today I've gone with the retiring Animal Outing stamp set and Animal Friends dies. This set always reminds me of my Australian Stampng friends, so I felt it fitting to dust them off for today's hop.

Kenny couldn't help checking out what I was up to when I headed outdoors for the photo.

My base card is thick Very Vanilla cardstock. The top layer is Old Olive embossed with the Layered Leaves 3D Embossing folder. I spritzed the card first and it really holds the texture well, I've wrapped linen thread around the top and adhered this to a mat of Smokey Slate. 

The greeting is from Stitched All Round and I'll be sorry to see it leave.It's been inked with the Black Memento stamp pad onto Very Vanilla cardstock and I've used a Painted Labels die for the shape. The images are stamped with Black Stazon onto watercolour paper and coloured by swiping an ink pad or marker onto a non porous surface and picking it up with an aqua painter. 

I've worked out where I wanted everything to sit and stuck them all down with multi purpose liquid glue, tying a bow around the linen thread to finish.

Thanks for stopping by, next up we have Vicki: #keepstamping everyone :)

#CTC185 - Best Route

We're CASEing from pages 52-65 this week!

For me it was page 52 itself - did you notice these folders on the right hand side of the large picture?

That was my inspiration!. Even though I don't (yet!) own this set of DSP (Designer Series Paper), I liked the combination of the Blueberry Bushel and Mango Melody and created my own.  I've also chosen to CASE the layout of two of the folders as well. Both cards have Crumb Cake cardstock for the base.  

The left sample has a Blueberry Bushel banner embossed with Layered Leaves 3D TIEF and the top strip was the DSP I created using strips of Mango Melody cardstock attached to Whisper White and then lines were drawn by hand with a black marker pen. A silver foil plate made using the Layering Squares framelits was popped over the bird image and greeting from Hedgehugs.  

The right hand card has a banner of  DSP created using Handwritten stamped in Blueberry Bushel with the mushroom image from Hedgehugs randomly stamped in Mango Melody. The Blueberry Bushel strip was added after having a Hedgehugs flower image self stamped with Blueberry Bushel ink, then Hedgehugs again provided a greeting and image which was placed under another silver foil plate. Relatively quick and easy, but more so if you actually have the DSP! Check with your Demonstrator about the special "Buy 3 Get 1 free" offer for July!

Feel free to join us and make a card then post using the link over on the right.  Meantime, please pop in and see what our lovely friend Angela has lined up for us this week...

#CTC179 - Favourite Kit - Any Catalogue

This week we are CASEing our Favourite Kit - any catalogue

My choice is the picture above right, Lots of Happy Card kit which is at present in the Occasions catalogue, but good news - carrying over to the new annual catalogue!  Yay.

I took a shine recently to using Calypso Coral and chose to make a set of Thank You cards using just the kit, colouring with my Calypso Coral Stampin' Blends and using a little extra cardstock and an envelope.

The main cards are pretty much as the kit suggests. I've used the Thank You from the Love What You Do stamp set (available as part of all the Share What You Love Suite of bundles until the end of May) and it fit well into all the shapes. I also made a couple of slight adjustments. The first is the card top right, I've mounted my hexagon onto the daisy pattern from the soon retiring Petal Passion DSP which was attached to a 4" square Basic Black card. I've only used one of the images for the card on the bottom left, which gives me two hexagon shapes and a cute posy image to use for another project. Next I've altered the idea for the smallest card on the bottom right of the kit picture, as it was too tiny to pop in the post, I used it as a pocket on a card base. The Calypso Coral background was embossed with Layered Leaves 3D Dynamic TIEF and adhered to a Basic Black sheet of card, because it is not what the message would be written on, I've only needed 1/4 of an A4 sheet. I've used the same daisy pattern from Petal Passion DSP to line the envelope and make a wrap for my pocket.

The envelope was attached in an open format, and I've made a pull tag with the Circle Tab punch to attach to the side of the card.  Below is what you see when you pull the tab:

A little tip to help you out if you are a bit frustrated with the kinks that occur in your Ombre ribbon - while you make yourself a cuppa, hold your kinked piece of ribbon only (not your fingers!) over the steam from the jug and pull it gently, continue until you are satisfied, it won't take long! 

Too many options for these sets, so don't be afraid to add your own personal touches. By the way, I know you're all worrying about the fact olives shouldn't be that colour, so I'm calling them a new form of apricot plum - lol. For me that sounds a little tastier than an olive too.  

Let's move on over to check out the striking card the lovely Peta has created and then we look forward to you playing along with the design team using the link over to the right.

CASEing the Catty - #CTC166 Painted With Love

From the Occasions Catalogue - pages 18-21 - Painted With Love - I'm sure there will be plenty to take your fancy this week as you hop around

I've chosen the picture on the bottom left of page 20:

Out with the hearts (most of them anyway) and in with the birds!  Oh my, if you haven't seen the Painted With Love Specialty DSP in real life - you should!  It is soo lush!  One side has gold foil accents and the other brushstroke imagery. The only downfall - it is one of those DSPs that you really find hard to cut into.  Read on for how I managed to get around that!

I have used a thick Whisper White base and added a layer of Pear Pizzazz textured with the Layered Leaves 3D TIEF. I cut four birds with the Birds & Blooms framelits, and the tiny bird out of Gold Foil.  I used the greeting from Best Birds and Gold heat embossed it then cut it with my every popular Stitched Shapes Framelits. The wooden hearts (from Hearts and Stars elements) are also Gold heat embossed. 

The metallic thread adds a nice fine bit of shimmer to finish.

Close up - the bird on the right has been raised with dimensionals.

Above I mentioned that I found this scrumptious DSP really hard to cut into, so by planning ahead - I've used the negative and the positive image and maximised my usage - think I might have to try this with some other punches as well!

Sentiment to be added, but these may be going to some customers this month - if I can part with them! The notecards are 3" square, you can get 8 cards from one sheet of 12" Whisper White cardstock. I cut the DSP to 3" square and did my die cutting, then trimmed the negative before adding to the card. Some of the little Gold Glitter Flakes have been added with Fine Tip Glue. 

Time now to head over and see what Rose has created for you. Don't forget to play along - link over on the right.

CASEing the Catty - #CTC137 Artistic Expression

 

How exciting!! I was honoured to be chosen as one of the new crew members for the CASEing the Catty Sunday Design Crew.  CASEing the Catty Facebook group is a group of Stampin' Up demonstrators from Australia and NZ who love to create using the Stampin' Up catalogue as inspiration. Anyone can join the CASEing the Catty challenge. Each Sunday night a new category is uploaded and the following Saturday night the challenge closes with the winner being the most 'liked' entry, and another card is chosen as the Crew Pick by the Design Team. 

This is my first post under that umbrella, with the theme this week being "Artistic Expression".  You have arrived here from the blog of an inspiring lady and friend of mine, Julia Quinn. She's certainly been busy creating this week!!

I have chosen to copy a design from Page 141

My interpretation:

The DSP on the top left and top right are from Pick a Pattern. All the other elements are diecut from the Eclectic Layers Thinlits Dies, with the flower being stamped first with the Oh So Eclectic stamp set (loving this bundle of late), then adhered to either Lemon Lime Twist or Basic Black cardstock, except the leaf which I chose to leave untrimmed.  The greeting is from Beautfiul You. Instead of leaving the Whisper White layer plain, I embossed it with the Layered Leaves 3D Dynamic TIEF.  If you are wanting to try this yourself, the circle size I used was 1 3/8".  I liked the quirky placement of the white layer.  

Thanks for stopping by - now be sure to pop on over and check out what Judy May has created for us this week.