Colour Creations Insta Hop - Pretty Peacock - Week 43

 When the January-April mini catalogue was released late last year, I could not have been happier! With a predominately masculine family, the Gears & Textures bundle and Nature Walk DSP (and scrapbook workshop) were absolutely what I needed.

Pretty Peacock is the featured colour for Colour Creations Insta Hop this week, and I have to say, this colour is in my Top 10 favourite colours. Luckily it was included in the Nature Walk DSP to make the creating of this card so much easier.

Taking inspiration from page 53 of the J-A catalogue I pieced the card front with DSP to create a contrasting central panel. Some stamping with Versamark was next, followed with a sprinkling of silver embossing powder before heat embossing. This is always amazing to see the powder magically melt, and this time speckles were totally permissable!!!

Of course, it made sense to heat emboss the sentiment too and then the fun of die cutting and decorating could begin.

This card was for a special grandson turning 16 so the inside was decorated and a silver foil "16" was cut using small retired numeral dies and added to the centre of a cog. I've been making good use of The Right Words to add this larger sentiment inside cards and the 'Happy Birthday' from this set is just the right size too. This stamp will soon retire as it is a red rubber stamp. There are ingredients in red rubber which is becoming difficult to obtain, so the decision was made to cease using it.

 

If  you've ever wondered why Stampin' Up! makes black Dimensionals this is a perfect example. The black disappears behind a darker shade such as Pretty Peacock, and because there are 2 sizes in the one packet, these mini Dimensionals are the perfect fit.

Wishing you a crafty week, Onstage in Sydney begins for demonstrators tomorrow afternoon - very excited!!!

CTC #485 CASE a Water Colour technique

CASE-ing The Catty Crew are a group of Stampin' Up! demonstrators from Australia & New Zealand who take inspiration weekly from the catalogues. The catalogues are a fantastic resource, and we love to inspire you to seek inspiration there too. 

The assignment is CASE a watercolor technique and several are shared on pages118-119 in the Stampin' Up! annual catalogue. Firstly, a disclaimer, I am by no means an expert here, but I do watch others and thought I could give it a try. So I have CASE-d water colouring like for the pears in sample one, but mine is sloppier!

There are two choices when you watercolour. You can stamp in Stazon ink which is waterproof, or you can heat emboss. The second method wasn't actually mentioned in that section, but I went ahead, stamped Layers of Beauty in Versamark onto Fluid 100 5" X 7" watercolor paper and applied white embossing powder.

This created another problem for me as white on almost white is difficult to see! I was attempting to selectively wet portions of the image e.g. the flowers or the leaves to prevent colour from running between them. It was challenging but I am happy with the result.

I like to create a palette on a large acrylic block and drop ink there to dilute with more water. I have used a mix of Pretty in Pink and Petunia Pop for the roses and Granny Apple Green in different strengths for leaves. A very diluted Granny Apple Green was applied to the background.

Now it's your turn. We do request that the projects you submit have been created especially for this challenge. You can CASE directly or be inspired by a sketch/layout, colour combo or embellishment. Ask to join our Facebook group, and then add a picture of your CASE.

Next along the hop is the amazing Andrea Sargent.

I have been an active Stampin' Up! demonstrator for 14 years, and thanks to my wonderful team, I am at Silver Elite level. One of the joys of crafting is sharing it with others, so I hold monthly classes both in my home and in the community. Do get in touch if you have questions about classes or Stampin' Up! products.

 

Craft & Chat Class Schedule to end of 2024 This is the schedule for Craft & Chat card classes. Classes are held in my craft room in South Morang, VIC. 2½ hours, $25, 3 cards & envelopes. You get to try out product, equipment and learn new techniques with guidance from me. Team members craft for free. There is nothing nicer than meeting new friends and crafting together. September 2024 Wednesday 4th 1pm-3:30PM Saturday 7th 1:30-4pm October 2024 Wednesday 2nd 1pm-3:30pm Saturday 5th 1:30-4pm November 2024 none, I am away seeing more of Australia. Again, if you have an idea which day you might be interested in, please let me know for my future planning. SHOP: Your orders are very much appreciated, no matter how small or big, every little bit helps me to meet my minimums and keep on creating. Hopefully you are inspired by some of the projects I share and want to make your own. My online shop is open anytime and delivery by tracked Australia Post takes 5-10 days. UHXQAWXA

More So Saffron

 So Saffron features on the background of this card and again it's matched with a blue, but this one is the intensely deep shade called Starry Sky.

Conversation Bubbles is a fun, cartoon-like set, perfect for someone who also has a sense of fun.

Master M is learning about letters and numbers, so I needed to add a 5 on a Stitched Shape circle die cut.

Have a happy & safe Easter weekend!

Best Day

 

A second card, also using Best Day but a different stamp was used to make another version using a different colour combination.

After stamping the image in black Memento ink, I used blending brushes to apply colour.

The image was cut using Stitched Rectangles dies. and layered skewed over a Poppy Parade rectangle of a similar size.

The party streamer stamp was used on the inside of the card, in the background of the focal piece and heat embossed in white on the card base.

MY3KXATY

CTC#355 CASE SAB

 

The CASE-ing The Catty Crew are a group of Stampin' Up! demonstrators from Australia & New Zealand who take inspiration weekly from the catalogues. The catalogues are a fantastic resource and we love to inspire you to seek inspiration there too.

This week we are CASE-ing SAB again, and invite you to get inspired and join in on Facebook. Despite being a small booklet with few products, the SALE-A-Bration catalogue is packed with inspiration! 

Two weeks ago Michelle Strazds CASE-d this same card from page 6, and its a winner whatever stamp you use. It's the second card from the left, and I stamped garden tools from Home & Garden.

First step is colouring the strip of card with blending brushes. I chose Daffodil Delight and Old Olive.

The three stamps were mounted onto one block to simplify the stamping. Just twist the block  45 degrees each time you stamp to get a different orientation. There are many gardeners in my circle of friends, I just have to decide who this goes to.

Home & Garden is a great bundle, with stamps and dies which suit handy people and gardeners alike.Although my opinion is that it should be included in the next Annual catalogue, there's no guarantee the powers that be at Stampin' Up! will agree, so if this has caught your eye, order during SAB when you'll earn a bonus stamp set or paper too.

The greeting is from Special Moments, another SAB offering which requires a 'spend' of $180 to earn. It has been heat embossed on a label from the Simply Succulents bundle.

The good news is that ALL SALE-A-Bration products are currently available. Of course this is for a limited time (March 16 in the South Pacific) so don't wait too long to order your mini catalogue must-haves!

We love having you join in our challenges. Ask to join our Facebook group, and then add a picture of your CASE, and let us know which card or project you've CASE-d. No blog required, no special qualifications.

Next design team member to share is Peta Stephen

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Your orders are very much appreciated, no matter how small or big, every little bit helps me to meet my minimums, and keep on creating. Hopefully you are inspired by some of the projects I share, and want to make your own. My online shop is open anytime and delivery by tracked Australia Post takes 5-10 days.

Even better, join my team for $169 (remember to have your order for $235.00 worth of products written down), and after that get a 20% discount on orders. Which 2 free stamp sets would you add on?

If you live in Australia, you can join my team, the FUNdamentals.  One of the great things about Stampin' Up!® is the support they give to their demonstrators, creating a lovely 'family' feel. There is no pressure to hold parties, classes or demonstrate unless this is a path you want to go down. For January through to March 16th, there is a special joining offer of two free stamp sets from either catalogue, in addition to the other $235 worth of product. YES, you can pick expensive stamp sets! Want to find out more? Message me to make a time to chat. MOB: 0417 500 681

Quiet Meadow

Quiet Meadow has been used once already this week on a very different card, with very different colours. This is a much softer version.

A couple of different sprigs have been die cut  and bunched together for the focal piece. A small linen bow is the finishing touch.

The text stamp from this lovely set has been stamped in Versamark and heat embossed in white. A blending brush with Soft Seafoam ink has been rubbed over the area, emphasising the text and providing a defined space for the foliage to be placed.

If you'd like to make cards similar to this, and need more information, feel free to get in touch. If you live anywhere in Australia, you may order from my online store (and I'll do a happy dance)! I hold classes in my home - South Morang, Victoria and can do at Phillip Island Victoria as well.

 Your orders are very much appreciated, no matter how small or big, every little bit helps me to meet my minimums, and keep on creating. Hopefully you are inspired by some of the projects I share, and want to make your own. My online shop is open anytime and delivery by tracked Australia Post takes 5-10 days.

Currently, through January and February, Stampin' Up! offer a bonus with your $90 order, a free item. This promotion is called SALE-A-Bration, and there are a number of different rewards including a couple of higher value ones for larger orders.

If you live in Australia, you can join my team, the FUNdamentals. One of the great things about Stampin' Up!® is the support they give to their demonstrators, creating a lovely 'family' feel. There is no pressure to hold parties, classes or demonstrate unless this is a path you want to go down. For January through to February 28, there is a special joining offer of two free stamp sets from either catalogue, in addition to the other $235 worth of product. YES, you can pick expensive stamp sets! Want to find out more?