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

Beautiful Birthday and Product Club

I keep a tub of partly finished cards, and from time to time, set myself a challenge to get them finished. In addition to holding home classes to allow others to create with Stampin' Up!® inks, stamps and card, I also sell completed cards. Sometimes it is hard to keep up with demand, hence the need to finish partly made items.

This card uses a flower:- one of 11 stamps belonging to a hostess set, Bloom With Hope, from the previous Stampin' Up!® catalogue. The newer You've Got This would probably make a lovely substitute for this flower. I had coloured some of the white embossed DSP that was available during SALE-A-BRATION but hadn't been used. Luckily, we have something similar to this in the Annual Catalogue, look for Color Me Irresistible on page 142. This seemed to suit the flower, placed on a circle of  Bermuda Bay with some white baker's twine to dress it up. The sentiment is from Birthday Blossoms, a recent addition to the range, but snapped up by me quickly for the sentiments in beautiful fonts. Check it out on the product list at the end.

Today is Wednesday so new Weekly Deals. If you are ordering something from this week's Weekly Deals, or online shop, the Hostess code is 36JSEMF6

Product Club

You can order Hostess stamps if you are Hostess of a party selling at least $250, or you could also participate in a Product Club. Briefly, you would be part of a 'virtual party' as you would not be obliged to attend an event, and would order online. You commit to place an order of minimum $50 for 5 months, and for one of the months you will be the 'Hostess'. So you do spend the qualifying amount, but it is spread out over several months. Might not be too hard with the Mini Catalogue out in September!!!
 In the month that you are Hostess, you get to spend 10% of the total for the month (at least $25). If you think this is something you MIGHT be interested in, send me an email and I will give you more details, without obligation to sign up. I arrive home from my holiday today, so you might need to allow for a day or two of jet lag, but I will contact you!

Cheers
Rachel

Built for Free Using: My Stampin Blog

You've Got This

Sometimes my friend and I just get together to stamp and share a glass of wine and some nibblies. We did that before I went away on holiday, and we both CASE-d the Stampin' Up!® Catalogue, page 113.

That cross-hatch-style background stamp in You've Got This is fabulous and then there is the gorgeous bloom, perfect for colouring anyway you like. We used aquapainters, Watermelon Wonder ink and Tuxedo black Memento ink on Whisper White card. After fussy cutting the flower and adhering with Dimensionals we chose which ribbons we'd use. The current Hostess stamp Happy Birthday Everyone provided a nice bold greeting.  I'm really missing crafting and CASE-ing The Catty, but I'll be on my way home soon.

Cheers,
Rachel

Built for Free Using: My Stampin Blog

Beautiful Birthday CASE-ing Everyday CTC#42

This week's CASE-ing The Catty Blog Hop is from the Everyday section of the catalogue, pages 73-110. This might be my favourite section of the catty, it's far from Everyday in my opinion. Did you hop on over here from CASE-ing The Catty, or are you just beginning here? You know that if you lose your way along the way, or a link doesn't work, you can get back on track by heading to CASE-ing The Catty for a full list of all participants.

I had a lot of fun making my card this week, heat embossing the flower from You've Got This onto water color paper. Then I took an Aquapainter and dipped it into a little ink in the lid of the stamp pad and watercoloured the flower. I took the lead from Alison Barclay and used the Color Coach, actually one from when Pear Pizzazz first was released as an In Color. It suggested Pear Pizzazz, Rich Razzleberry and Tempting Turquoise. I'd have never used turquoise but I love it! I took another little hint from the card I was CASE-ing and placed it all on Crumb Cake, with a narrow strip of black. On the Tempting Turquoise I stamped with Kinda Eclectic, and Gorgeous Grunge splatters are on the Crumb Cake. Cottage Greetings has the prettiest scripts and sentiments. I cut 'happy birthday' with a banner originally but it hid too much of the flower, so stamping over it seemed like a solution. Finally I added a button and piece of ribbon in Rich Razzleberry.

While heat embossing, it seemed sensible to do two, and so the twin card was coloured Watermelon Wonder instead of Rich Razzleberry. The piece of water color paper was cut with Project Life Framelits and this one has been left full height, where the first one was double-cut to reduce the dimensions. The right side was also trimmed straight on both. The differences - well I'm sure they're quite obvious, and I find it difficult to pick my favourite. The first card is bold and beautiful while the second is light and lovely.

This will be my last CASE-ing The Catty for a few weeks, because as this blog-hop goes live I (hopefully) will be airborne and heading to Paris!!!! I'm very excited to return there after a brief stay 2 years ago, there's heaps we didn't get to see last time. We will also be visiting a few other European destinations before another long flight back to Australia. I am very thankful to have both my job and my health, which allow me to make these trips every couple of years. There are some posts scheduled while I'm away, about two a week, so pop in if you like.
I will miss my crafting and blogging but the online store operates 24/7 even when I'm away. You will have to wait a little longer for your thank you gift - sorry. The Hostess Code is 36JSEMF6, add that to your order at checkout and I'll post you a small gift during September. I'll be popping over to CASE-ing the Catty next Friday to get some inspiration from my friends on the design team.

Page 105 in the catalogue

Now you're heading on to Stasia's blog to see her lovely creation.

Cheers, Rachel

Built for Free Using: My Stampin Blog

Thank You Cards For April Orders

This month I decided to make little thank you cards for my customers using some old stamps and some new, which will be available from June 2nd. Just for a change, I cut my card to 3 inches square and used the tiny square envelopes (item #107309) which come in a pack of 40 for $12.95. These are too small for posting through Australia Post, they'd most likely get lost along the way, and because they won't be going into the post, I've stamped on the outside too.

Since we're all getting into re-cycling and up-cycling, I wanted to show my customers how to up-cycle this card by cutting off the message I've written to them, and using the front of the card. Add a couple of squares of coloured card, cut just a smidge larger!!!

My thinking is in imperial measurements, and most of my ladies would think metric, so a smidge is the technical term for just a mark or two larger than the original. My choice is ¼th  inch or 1/8th inch and metric users probably have their own favourites.

These pieces of Watermelon Wonder and Delightful Dijon could have been stacked neatly, and that was my original intention, but as they accidentally became skewed, I really liked that effect too, so that is what I chose.

The old favourite stamp on this stamp is Work Of Art for coloured splashes of colour and 'Thank you'. The new stamp is You've Got This for the flower and the texture on the Tip Top Taupe base. These new In Colors for 2015-2017 are gorgeous and slot into the existing colour palette so comfortably - it's the best-fit ever, in my opinion.

You can request a new annual Stampin' Up!® catalogue now, in time to begin ordering 2nd June 2015. Call or email to arrange a time to pick one up, or have one dropped off. Postage within Australia can be arranged for $7.50 direct debit to my bank account, again, just email rpalmieri5@bigpond.com with a catalogue request, and I will contact you for an address and for payment details.
 Hostess Code this month is B6VWKZMJ
Cheers,
Rachel

Built for Free Using: My Stampin Blog

Travel Well SSC101

Great inspiration picture! Thanks to Sunday Stamps for this one which really had me keen to throw together a very quick card with stamps that are already out and being used.
Of late, I have been focusing on masculine cards, which makes these colours especially suitable. Traveler, with the train, boat, camera and world globe has been my stamp set of choice. Gorgeous Grunge has been featuring quite a lot to but there is just the tiniest bit of black splatter on this card base. The main stamp giving the texture to the background is the new You've Got This. I think this large stamp might just stay permanently on my table!


The quirky sentiment is also from You've Got This, -'Good Things are going to Happen'.

There are four layers on this piece on the front, so for balance I added some layers to the inside too. Fortunately I'd used black Stazon to stamp the globe, because after the first photos were taken for the blog, I decided to watercolor it, just for added interest.

Cheers,
Rachel

Built for Free Using: My Stampin Blog