Thanks for visiting again for CASE-ing The Catty Blog Hop. This week we are CASE-ing Cupcakes & Carousels, pages 8-13 of the Occasions Catalogue. This is a very tempting section, as it's all about birthdays, and aren't birthday cards the ones we give the most? When I saw Carousel Birthday demonstrated at Onstage Brisbane last November, I immediately thought of my young granddaughter. I was sure she'd love the carousel horse, and what about the ferris wheel with cupcakes?
Of course, the Cupcakes & Carousels Designer Series Paper Stack is a perfect fit for the stamp set, and you get 48 6" by 6" sheets, 4 each of 12 double-sided designs. They're all so gorgeous, I'm almost ready to order another stack! My first project was a CASE of a gift bag on page 8. It's in the centre of the picture below.
I'm very pleased with the way it turned out, but I still wanted to CASE the ferris wheel card shown in another pic on the same page. Now there's a tricky little secret to share with you here. if you look carefully in the catalogue, you'll see that the base of the teeny, tiny cupcake and the icing can be cut with a die. But where is that die? It's on page 10 - as part of the Up & Away Thinlits Dies!!!!
Now, I wasn't going to buy the
Lift Me Up Bundle, but my birthday came around and the very sweet, clever
Kelly Kent sent me a birthday card. You guessed it - it was the hot air balloon and I saw how gorgeous it is, and the bundle went onto my December order. Oh dear! No restraint here, is there?
The background paper had to be substituted because I'd used all 4 pieces already, but I happily cut clouds and some cupcake bases from the blue swirly paper. Stamped all the icing the same colour, actually, you stamp out the whole ferris wheel and then die cut the icing pieces.
I do think that Alice is going to prefer the card on the left most, but her birthday isn't till March, so no rush to decide. I just have to make sure I don't put it in a safe place and can't find it again' like I did for her parents' 10th wedding anniversary card!!!
Both cards are finished on the inside, it just seems to add a little more love to your handmade creation.
I'd love you to leave me a comment, maybe tell me which of the two cards you like best. Next you can hop on over to
Kelly Kent. You're going to love what she has shared!
If you would like to add your CASE of the Cupcakes and Carousels section, pages 8-13 of the Occasions Catalogue to our
FB challenge you can link here.
Cheers, Rachel
Here is a full list of everyone taking part if you happen to get lost along the way.
Elizabeth Gross - http://lillylovespaper.blogspot.com/2017/01/ctc112-birthday-blast-in-box-with-mini.html
Rachel Palmieri - http://stampinpals.blogspot.com/2017/01/cupcakes-carousels-ctc112.html -you are here
Kelly Kent - http://mypapercraftjourney.com/2017/01/22/caseing-the-catty-112-cupcakes-carousels/
Rebecca Scurr - http://thepaperandstampaddict.com.au/2017/01/22/ctc112-cupcakes-and-carousels/
Kathryn Mangelsdorf - http://klm55.blogspot.com/2017/01/case-ing-catty-birthday-blast-star.html
Jackie Noble - http://wp.me/p3uTCr-1t4
Judy May - http://judymay.typepad.com/just_judy_designs/2017/01/ctc112-cupcakes-carousels.html
Mel Pagano - http://mypaperoasis.com/2017/01/ctc112-cupcakes-and-carousels/
Julia Quinn - http://handmadebyjuliaquinn.blogspot.com/2017/01/stampin-up-cupcakes-and-carousels-ctc.html
Monique FIelder - http://stamping-with-moni-q.blogspot.com/2017/01/ctc-112-cupcakes-carousels.html
CTC Post - http://caseingthecatty.blogspot.com/2017/01/ctc112-cupcakes-and-carousels.html
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?
To get this group off the ground we are having a 'pre-challenge challenge'. The colours for the challenge are Bermuda Bay, Daffodil Delight and Mint Macaroon, but I substituted Crushed Curry for Daffodil Delight. That's allowed, we're not unreasonable people! Sometimes you don't have the colour or perhaps, just like me, prefer the stronger shade. There is some Designer Series Paper in the SAB catalogue called Carried Away, and it just so happens to have Mint Macaroon clouds amongst the selections. The name of this DSP suggests that it complements the Lift Me Up bundle (it does - ha,ha!)and so there are 2 different birds-eye views of fields.some hot air balloons and other bright papers in very useable patterns. I'm sure I'll be using lots of this paper, it's so cute, and I can add it for free to my $90 order during SALE-A-Bration, and so can you! You will find Up & Away Thinlet Dies, the Lift Me Up stamp set or the Lift Me Up Bundle (purchase using the special code for a 10% discount) on page 10 of the Stampin' Up!® Occasions Catalogue.
It seemed natural to pair those clouds with a hot air balloon, and I've kept it very simple really. The point of interest is the slant the DSP has been cut on, and a strip of white card which has gone through the Seaside textured embossing folder. My intention is to use textured embossing folders (and Washi tape!!!) a lot more in 2017. Last years resolution was to use Designer Series Paper and I definitely improved with that one, so hopefully I can this year too. Are you wondering how hard it was to make the multi-coloured hot air balloon? Not very hard at all, as the Up & Away Thinlet Dies include five shapes especially for that purpose. I use tiny dots of tombow on the back of the large balloon outline, allow it to turn clear, when it is less messy but still sticky and place the pieces in order, from top to bottom in my case. Even the basket has its own wee piece, which doubles as a base for the ferris wheel ride (or a teeny tiny cupcake) in Carousel Birthday on the previous page. It's always handy when you can use the Thinlet Dies with more than one stamp set. 
Even though it mentions in the catalogue to use the Precision Plate with the detailed thinlet, I've not found that neccessary, all the pieces pop out easily. Thought I'd include this close-up so you can see the lovely detail on this hot air balloon. Have you had a look through the 2017 Stampin' Up!® Occasions Catalogue yet? If you haven't, don't already have a demonstrator and you live in Australia, you can message me to send you a copy of that and the SALE-A-Bration catty.