Beautiful You AWH Blog Hop

Today I'm excited to bring you a blog hop with some of the awesome ladies in the Art With Heart Stampin' Up!® team. You may have just arrived from the lovely Kate Morgan. Today we focus on the new Occasions Stampin' Up!® Seasonal Catalogue and also Sale-a-bration! If you place an order with me during Sale-a-bration, you can choose a free item with every $90 you spend in one transaction. There are lots of fabulous free items to choose from (ask me for a brochure and an Occasions Catalogue) and the promotion goes right through until March 31st.

Better still, become a part of the fun, friendly and supportive Art With Heart team. We have a really large team Australia-wide that has been around since Stampin' Up!® came to Australia over ten years ago. We have a very active team forum and also have in-person stamp days, challenges, card swaps, product shares and more. When you join with me during Sale-a-bration, you get to choose get to two free extra stamp sets (any value) plus whatever product to the value of $235 from any of the current Stampin' Up!® catalogues. That is a total of  $414 in product for $169. You also get free postage!. It's

 quick and easy to join online too. Ask me how!

There are many different ways to inspire your creativity: checking out blogs and Pinterest and CASE-ing (copy and share everything, or copy and selectively edit, if you prefer). That is perfectly acceptable, as long as you also credit the original which inspired you, preferably with a link to it.

You can start with a sketch or some colour swatches, that often really works for me. Another crazy way is this - I can't bear to throw out something that might be able to be used, so if I die cut extra leaves or labels etc, they go into a container, and from time to time I check it out to see if I can use anything. That is exactly how this trio of cards came about. The Crumb Cake frames were from a project ages ago, and I was playing with the flowers, leaf and 'happy'. Later, when I searched for more, it occurred to me that I had three frames, and there are three girls in Beautiful You. This stamp set is on page 24 of the Occasions Catalogue, and it has been very popular already, mainly because you can use it in so many different ways.

The girl with umbrella is bringing 'hope' (from Sunshine Sayings), paired with the Beautiful You sentiment, 'wishing you brighter days to come'. The clouds are from Lift Me Up, the beautiful hot air balloon set. The other addition is a few strokes with the White Stampin' Chalk Marker on page 181 of the Annual catalogue. It's only $6.00 and can make such a difference.     

                                                                                                         

This figure is so elegant, and I couldn't resist adding Botanical Blooms to the picture frame. 'You' comes from Hello You Thinlits, which pairs with a stamp set Crazy About You. Of course, you don't NEED to have both, but they sure do come in handy.                                            

This card was my actual starting point, with the Flourish Thinlet leaf and 'happy' from Hello You Thinlets. The Tip Top Taupe has proved to be a great base for the other lovely shades, whether it's the soft pastels or bold brights. It also allows the Crumb Cake frame to show up. Which card do you like the most?

Now you'll be hopping over to my good friend Kathryn Mangelsdorf, I'm sure she has a gorgeous project to share.

Cheers, and happy crafting

Rachel

If you find a broken link or have come to this blog hop from a different entry point, you can view the participants below:

1. Ros Davidson
2. Rebecca Jacovou
3. Tina Gillespie
4. Judy May
5. Kate Morgan
6. Rachel Palmieri
7. Kathryn Mangelsdorf
8. Monika O'Neill
9. Kathryn Ruddick
10. Claire Daly
11. Rachel Woollard
12. Alisha Watson
13. Kim Dallinger

Pretty Papers - Art With Heart October Blog Hop

Today some of the Art With Heart Stampin' Up! team girls are sharing some wonderful ideas to inspire you with our Designer Series Papers. This month is the start of a new Stampin' Up! year and we have a special promotion on our Designer Series Paper, buy 3 get 1 FREE for the month of October and there is no limit!

 The DSP included in this offer is Floral Boutique, Moroccan, Fruit Stand, Blooms and Bliss, Festive Birthday, By The Shore, Presents and Pinecones and Candy Lane. There is still more than a week left for these specials.

You may have come to my blog from the very talented, Judy May. Now you're visiting, me, Rachel Palmieri in Victoria. Blogs are full circles, so you can start hopping here and then at the end of each post is a link to the next. There is also a list of participants at the end in case of any broken links.

Floral Boutique is totally lovely in just two colours - Night of Navy and Whisper White. For the card on the left I used a square framelit and cut a couple of squares from each of the papers, and arranged them on a square of Night Of Navy in a pleasing patchwork pattern. The bow was from the same suite of paper, and punched out with the Bow Builder Punch. The sentiment is from Suite Sayings. The second card features the 'folded back' effect. I have no clue what it is actually called but it sure does show off two sides of pretty paper! Mixed Borders provided a few similar flowers and sentiment on a circle.

I needed a 'thank you' card for a party hostess and decided to CASE my friend Kelly, and the lovely card she sent me earlier this year. Using a different paper, Moroccan is the name of this DSP, in rich shades of Cajun Craze, Dapper Denim, Delightful Dijon, Early Espresso, Emerald Envy and Very Vanilla. The Hello You Thinlets provided the big 'thanks' and I added another little piece from the Paisley Framelits cut from gold foil. It's a simple design which really allows your patterned paper to show off its design.

   

This card also uses the Moroccan DSP, but a more subdued pattern this time. I used Fa-La-La-La Friends for the daddy bear and baby bear. It was inspired by the photo bombing Llama, but this reminds me of when a dad throws the baby up and catches him again. Again, it is a good showcase for the delightful DSP, which is buy 3, get the 4th free for October.

Now it is time for you to continue around the blog hop, and you're going to Tina Gillespie next. If the links don't work or you get lost along the way, there is a full list at the bottom for you to rejoin the hop.

Thanks for visiting,

Cheers, Rachel

If you find a broken link or have come to this blog hop from a different entry point, you can view the participants below:

1. Judy May
2. Rachel Palmieri
3. Tina Gillespie
4. Ros Davidson
5. Monika O'Neill
6. Kate Morgan
7. Kathryn Mangelsdorf
8. Rebecca Jacovou
9. Claire Daly
10. Rachel Woollard

All That Glitters CTC96

Welcome to my blog this week. Whether you have started here with me or come from Rebecca's blog, don't forget to continue hopping around until you reach your starting point again. This week we are CASE-ing the Big Shot, pages 8-11.I have taken a lot of creative liscence with this week's challenge, since Rebecca has already featured the cards I had planned, Only fair, as she didn't leave her entry to the last minute like I did!!!!

I HAVE used my Big Shot to texture emboss with the Pretty Paisleys textured embossing folder and I also die cut Botanical Blooms with the very same Big Shot. My inspiration comes from the many wreaths featured through the Holiday Catalogue.

Now I have to confess, I stayed up late after my Friday night class students left, so I may have been a bit hyped-up, and those bling-loving-girls may just have influenced the design a tad. The Wink of Stella clear had a bit of a work out in class, and again on my wee project. (I'm pretty sure you'll even be able to glimpse it in the second picture),

My last order had the Bunch of Banners Framelits in it, and I broke them open to cut 'birthday' from the Hostess set in the Annual catalogue, Time Of Year. I did try my card out with the big sentiment from the same set 'thinking of you' but there was no space for 'on your' so I whipped out the 'happy' from  Hello You Thinlets which fits perfectly!

Whatever did I do before I had my Big Shot?

My September classes featured some different things you can do with Flourishing Phrases stamps and the Flourish Thinlets, and the Friday girls were happy to share their cards (but not their faces).





The lovely Monique is next on this blog hop, I wonder what she has shared?

Thanks for dropping by, Cheers, Rachel

Mixed Thanks

As the end of the year draws closer, I try to start early to increase my supply of 'Thank You' cards. Maybe you find that you also have to do that. There are so many people to remember, my hairdresser, doctor and the very much appreciated man who delivers my Stampin" Up!® supplies.

Mixed Borders is the fun set used here, and I combined a couple of die cut leaves from Vintage Leaves tied with twine on the green version.Both have 'thanks' from the Hello You Thinlets, and the gap in the borders is especially designed to fit the sentiment in, and they include four of these, from thanks to birthday.

You can see more of this stamp set on pages 122/123 of you Stampin' Up!® Annual Catalogue.

Don't forget, if you're making an order through my online shop, it will ask for the HOSTESS Code before you check out. August 21st - Spetember 20th it is P2KYFUU9

Cheers, Rachel

Everyday Occasions - CTC92

Sunday has arrived very quickly for me this week, but it might just be that I have an awful lot on my plate at the moment. Welcome back for another turn of CASE-ing The Catty blog hop. Did you like Julia's  pretty card made with Thoughtful Branches? We are always telling you how there is so much inspiration to be found within the pages of the catalogue. I do hope you are finding it useful to check out the catalogues to see what the talented designers at Stampin' Up! have made before CASE-ing it. That might mean using the sketch, the colours or some other aspect to stir your creativity into action.

The first card CASES the sketch on page 70 of the Annual catalogue, but changes the colours from yellows to pink and plum. Instead of stamping on the base card, I used my favourite piece of patterned paper from Blooms & Bliss DSP. The stamp set is the same as the catalogue sample, Crazy About You and I even used exactly the same Hello You Thinlet and sentiment. 

The second card uses the same idea, but the banner has been changed to a piece of washi tape, the Hello You Thinlet  has been used with a different sentiment along with Jars of Love stamp set. Jars of Love is one of my favourites amongst the new additions to my stamp shelves, and just wait until you see the Christmas version in the Holiday Catalogue. It is called Jar of Cheer and you can order from the Holiday Catalogue from September 1st 2016- January 3rd 2017. Although I've only used the matching thinlets to cut flowers on this card, they can come in quite handy when you want to make a shaker card using this set too, as I did a while back. 

Don't forget, if you're making an order through my online shop, it will ask for the HOSTESS Code before you check out. August 21st - Spetember 20th it is P2KYFUU9

Next you're heading over to the lovely Krissy Buck, to see what loveliness she is sharing this week. I love it!

We'd love you to share your creations here too. The link to do that is here at CASE-ing The Catty.

I will be absent from CASE-ing The Catty for a few weeks while I take my hard-working hubby on a well-deserved holiday in the sun. There will be other posts from me over the next couple of weeks, but its too hard to link in with the CASE-ing The Catty Crew from afar!!!

Cheers, Rachel

Floral Butterflies or Christmas? CTC54 Colour Challenge

WE don't often have colour challenges at CASE-ing The Catty, but this week is an exception and we're mixing Mossy Meadow, Pool Party and Real Red together. I'm sure it will be lots of fun to circle the blog checking out what the design team has thought to produce with this colour scheme.




Have you come from admiring the Christmas ornaments lovely Kathryn in South Australia made, or did you join in here with me? Either way, a big welcome, and keep on blog hopping!


When I first saw the picture above, I thought the Mossy Meadow was overwhelming. It really hasn't been a favourite of mine, but in different (=smaller) proportions, it is a very useable combination. I began with a Christmas card, because the red and green spoke to me of Christmas. Recently I ordered  Sparkly Seasons stamp set and Seasonal Frame Thinlets Dies as a bundle and was keen to try them out. The 'Falalala' is part of the Seasonal Frame Thinlets Dies. One was cut in gold glitter paper, the other in the red. They're stunning!

I stamped onto watercolour paper and experimented a little with the colouring. Finally, I decided my preference is for ink squeezed into the stamp pad lid and applied lightly with an Aqua Painter. You do need to take care not to get the paper too wet and have the colour 'run' outside the lines. Another option would be to use the Shimmery White card instead of watercolour paper. On the Pool Party card, I've used the Hardwood stamp for a background and stamped Mossy Meadow onto card the same colour for the snowglobe stand and it looks soft & velvety, like suede. It was the cute snowglobe images which made me buy this stamp, I can see some sweet scenarios using another of the images, a cute, little ballerina when a young lady in the family becomes a tiny bit older, and {maybe} becomes a dancer.She looked very sweet today at her cousin's birthday party wearing a green tutu.

Inspiration for the other set of cards came while I was still creating the Christmas card. I decided the colours would be perfect for the Floral Wings Hostess stamp set. I have an order from a customer for a half dozen thank you cards and I know she likes butterflies, so although I will also use Butterfly Basics, I thought I would make her a couple from the Floral Wings too. I've made a couple of cards the same, and then I also made another with a vase of roses. I'm thrilled with how they've turned out.

The Hello You Thinlets have cut the 'thanks' and its so much easier now I have the Precision Base Plate. You can see it demonstrated here on Youtube.The Bold Butterfly Dies cut like a dream with the Precision Base Plate, as does the much more intricate Butterflies Thinlets. The other great new addition to the Stampin' Up!® range, introduced in the Holiday Catalogue, is the Fine-Tip Glue Pen. It has a needle which slides down the tip after use of the glue pen to seal it shut properly, so it doesn't clog up and you can easily place the right amount of glue on the back of  very fine die cuts.
 Our Hostess sets are at the end of the catalogue and you can earn them by hosting a party, hosting a catalogue party with your friends, or even by buying all the goodies on your own wish list, and once you pass $250, you will have $25 Hostess Dollars to spend (and Floral Wings will only use $18 of those Hostess Dollars).Have I confused you? You can call 0417 500 681 or email rpalmieri5@bigpond.com and ask questions.

Now it's time for you to hop on over to  the amazing Rebecca's to check out her fabulous project for the colour challenge.

Cheers

Rachel

Built for Free Using: My Stampin Blog

Birthday Balloon CTD364

Lately I've been neglecting some of my slightly older stamps and dies. The ColorThrowdown challenge this week is aqua, lime green and coral and this DSP - Birthday Bash, from earlier this year in the Occasions Catalogue, is in those tones, if a little bolder than the sample. Hopefully the Crushed Curry won't disqualify me from the challenge. The Balloon Framelits Dies were introduced in January 2015 along with Celebrate Today, and I have made a lot of cards using them. Now that I have pulled them out again, I might get another batch of cards done using this theme. Celebrate Today has 17 stamps and includes a great variety of sentiments including 'birthday'.

I've decorated the inside too, using the same delightful DSP and a stamp which seems to 'echo' the die cut happy perfectly. "You can never have too much happy" is from Yippee-Skippee, which retired this year, but will stay on my shelf for a while longer.

Thanks for reading my blog
Cheers
Rachel

Joy Fold Class

We had a very lively workshop last Friday night despite some last-minute cancellations, or perhaps because the numbers were down, the girls really let loose! I had pre-cut Sahara Sand card for all the attendees, so they all started with this card. One made it as a wedding card, using Bermuda Bay as the accent colour, and two changed it to a birthday card with Big News providing a big sentiment.



Annette also made a second Joy-Fold card using Adventure Bound DSP Paper Stack as her starting point. The dies for Something For Baby provided the soccer top (shhh... don't tell Haris).She has made a birthday card for her soccer playing son.






Genella also had certain people in mind as she put together her three cards. We especially loved her fish card, using By The Tide and Adventure Bound DSP. Unfortunately, it is slightly out of focus at the back of the photo.
Apothecary Art, retiring June 2nd, has made a final appearance here, looking gorgeous in shades echoing the colours of the DSP.


You might notice the theme of Prue's cards was happiness in one form or another!
She was needing a wedding card immediately, hopefully the recipients realise the thoughtfulness of a handcrafted card, Bravo is where the middle sentiment comes from, and of course the Hello You Thinlets has 'happy' and yes, that set is carrying over for another 12 months.


Next month's class is pencilled in for Friday June 19th and we will be using a new stamp set, Sprinkles of Life, Tree Builder Punch and doing some heat embossing. Already two of my regulars have indicated that the date might not suit them, so if you think coming to a class in South Morang, Victoria might interest you, contact me to find out more. It is Friday night at 7pm, although I'd love to start daytime classes on a Thursday or Friday, if two or more people were interested. There's no obligation to purchase supplies from me, the $20 fee covers the class and everything you use. You're more than welcome to collect a catalogue to study at your leisure of course, and anyone in Australia can purchase from my online shop.

Have a great week
Cheers
Rachel

Happy @ HB CTC#27

Each week at CASE-ing The Catty we turn to our Stampin' Up! Catalogues for inspiration. This week we are seeking inspiration from the Occasions Catalogue  Join us blog hopping and hopefully it will inspire you. If  a project makes you happy, please leave a comment.You may have arrived from H2 Designs, if so, did you like Helen's card? If you are beginning here with me, you can click on the links at the end of our blogs until you have gone all the way around the team.

You can view the online version of the catalogue with a click here. We are CASE-ing from the Memory Keeping section. My memory keeping is a bit spasmodic, I'm still working on the earliest part of my overseas adventure in 2013, and I'm nearly ready to visit Europe again. Even my family photos aren't really up to date. So, I've used the idea of a window with a word over it, as shown on page 48, to create a masculine birthday card. Happy from the Hello You Thinlets was cut from black Chalkboard Paper, because it is so sturdy. @ , #Hello,was stamped in Cherry Cobbler and shows through a round opening cut in the card front. Sadly, this stamp has made it onto the Retirement List, so you can get it at a reduced price while stock lasts. The clear mount is $23.21, while wood mount is $32.21.

After trying a couple of additional greetings, I settled on HB from Balloon Bash, because the hashtag suits the rest of the card. When it still seemed to need a little more, Gorgeous Grunge filled the need for some splatters in black.

Do you think we'll see Crazy About You and the Hello You Thinlets in the next Annual Catalogue? Not too long till we find out, but I certainly hope so.







Hostess code

If you choose to shop with me to stock up on your Stampin' Up! supplies and remember to use the hostess code, I will mail you an additional small gift.

Perhaps you want to order from the Weekly Deals on a Wednesday, and you're not sure if you might do that again in a week or two. If you use the code each time, all your totals will accrue, giving you a chance to spend some hostess dollars too. I keep track of that for you and contact you with the amount you have available to spend, if the 'Virtual Party' reaches $300 and qualifies for Hostess Dollars.

The code is only 'good' for one month. It is typed above the online shop button over to the right if you are reading this online or just before my signature at the end of this post. Just copy and paste the code into the section for Hostess code on the page where you enter payment details.

This month's Hostess Code is 6MGVWWGH

Next stop on this blog is Rebecca Benson.

Built for Free Using: My Stampin Blog

Love You, Happy Valentine's Day - CMCC#58

Do you celebrate Valentine's Day? My husband and I haven't ever really bothered. We were probably too busy with the day-to-day raising of our five sons, and we frequently forget our wedding anniversary too!!! Despite that, I love him and know he loves me.

This card is a sample for the class I am holding tonight, but I might just give it to my love on Saturday, with some chocolates. He'll wonder what's going on!!! My class features the Hello You Thinlets and Crazy About You stamp set, so I've made some other cards to show the versatility of the Thinlets.

Looking at the inspiration picture by Colour Me....! reminds me of a time hubby went out to buy some plumbing supplies and came back with three rose bushes for my garden. He knew I love roses and thought this was more sensible than a bunch of flowers. These roses continue to bloom, year after year, and I have a lifetime of flowers instead of a week's worth. My favourite of the three is the one above. I do have a two-tone flower like the one pictured too, but it doesn't have a sentimental story attached!


I decorated the inside too, with another two layers of card and some stamping using the Hostess stamp set, Time To Celebrate. Love that script, and some hearts came from Perpetual Birthday Calendar.


This challenge gives us some sweet colours to play with, don't forget to have a look at Colour Me...! and see if it gets you creating too.
Have a lovely weekend, however you are spending it.

Rachel

Built for Free Using: My Stampin Blog

Crazy About You Class

Just a reminder to check out the class page on the blog.

February has two dates penciled in: - Friday 13th February 7pm
Crazy About You

The cards above are suggestions of what you might make with this stamp set.
With three floral images and 30 separate sentiments plus four Framelits, your choices are endless.

We can certainly include a masculine card or a Valentine among the three cards you make this evening.

Another date penciled in is the following Friday night to make the Card Kit

Hooray! It's Your Birthday.

There are a number of ways you can participate in this class, check on the blog for more details, or leave a message.

Classes are in South Morang, VIC in my home studio. Email rpalmieri5@bigpond.com or text a message to 0417500681 (I work in a classroom and can't take calls at work).

Cheers
Rachel

Happy Birthday Shoes

 I made this card using a retired hostess stamp, Making A Point, which has some great images 'for the ladies', such as shoes, sunglasses, lipstick etc. The paper in the new Occasions Catalogue, Stacked With Love Designer Series Paper Stack seemed to be a perfect starting point and I chose this one with cross-hatched love hearts in various shades of red/pink.

I was super-happy to use the Hello You Thinlets AGAIN and the 'birthday' sentiment from Crazy About You. Starburst Framelits cut the red mat while Circle Collection Framelits have so many sizes in circles, one is bound to be perfect!

What was most fun, was stamping out multiple images of the shoe and layering them to give the slightest hint of dimension. The shoe upper is layer two while the bow is the third layer. I curved slightly with a bone folder.



For a glamourous lady, sparkles are a must so Dazzling Details were added to the platform sole and the bow. A rhinestone was added to the bow after I'd taken the photos.

The inside is finished off with more paper from the paper stack and although each sheet is only six inches by four inches, that is a little more than you need for a full card front, so the little strip left over is better used for a trim than binned.

Stamped in Real Red is the Yippee-Skippee sentiment "you can never have too much happy", which is my absolute go-to when using the large 'happy' from the Hello You Thinlets,

Now, I only hope it has survived the mail!

You know that it's that magic time of the year, for Stampin' Up! enthusiasts? That's because there is a new Occasions Catalogue out. You can click here to connect online or you can go straight through to shop 24/7 with only a very moderate $5.95 charged to deliver your order anywhere in Australia.

BUT that's not all.....

If you need so much that you spend $90, you'll be asked to choose one of the SALE-A-BRATION items to add to your order! Would you really prefer to look through your catalogues on paper, so you can post-it note it all the way through? Then you're a girl after my own heart, and I'd be happy to drop one or post it to you.

AND if you love Stampin' Up! so much that you want it all, or as near to it as storage space allows, I'd love to help you join up.

Thanks for dropping by, you can contact me by phone (0417 500 681) or email if you need a Stampin' Up! Occasions Catalogue or have any questions about how SALE-A-BRATION works, or anything Stampin' Up! related.

Rachel

Built for Free Using: My Stampin Blog

HAPPY Birthday CTS#105

I'm so HAPPY that Stampin' Up! gave us some more thinlet words! I first tried them out with the Wondrous Wreath set, and now I'm hooked on the Hello You Thinlets. 
The sketch at Case This Sketch is perfect to show off this large word to it's best advantage. I grabbed the Sweet Taffy DSP to try some different colours, and although I've been a big fan of Blackberry Bliss, it was fun to revisit Rich Razzleberry, which used to be a favourite. The big spot is perfect and the striped paper provided the rest of the palette for this birthday card. The new stamp set Celebrate Today provided the 'birthday'.

You can only just glimpse the inside greeting, but it's "you can never have too much happy" from Yippee-Skippee. To my way of thinking, it is absolutely perfect for this big HAPPY greeting, and the font is almost the same.

How do you think you would use this sketch?

Cheers, 
Rachel

Built for Free Using: My Stampin Blog