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Friday, September 26, 2014

More Mini Brads & Altered Little Letter Dies

Hithere! We have a big celebration coming up so I decided to have another play with the Little Letter Dies & silver mini brads to make a focal point on this card:-


I added a pierced pop up star to the inside of the card to highlight the simple sentiment & finished it off with some red candy dots:-


I have kept the layout very clean & used the design elements of the brad star outline & negative die-cut numbers to take centre stage.  I have added this card to the gallery at The Paper Players where Jaydee is currently hosting a masculine CAS challenge.  You can find the challenge here:-

http://thepaperplayers.blogspot.com.au/2014/09/paper-players-challenge-214-jaydees.html 

To create the "8", I partially cut the letter "B", then flipped my panel over, re-aligned the die & partially cut the "B" again to create the "8" outline (eek, please excuse the horrible colour of the photo - I snapped it with a tablet!):-


To get the star outline, I used a piercing mat & then popped a mini brad in each opening:-


This is what the reverse side looks like:-


I added a simple scored border around the top navy layer, then layered it onto a panel of shimmery white with dimensionals & then layered that onto the navy card base with dimensionals.  Once it was complete, the empty numbers looked a bit sad, so I added the centre of the "O" from the die & punched two circles to add to my "8".  These pieces were all popped up on dimensionals too.

Hope the Birthday Boy likes it.  :) 

You can see my other mini brad & altered little letter die card here.

Thanks for stopping by! 

Card Components
All Stampin' Up! except for an office hole punch (used for the bottom circle in the "8") 

Thursday, September 25, 2014

CASE-ing the Catty #10 - Emboss Resist Feathers

Hithere!  I didn't think I would be able to play along with Bron & the Team at CASE-ing the Catty this week, but I just managed to squeeze in an entry, woohoo!


This week's challenge is to take inspiration from the "Artistic Expression" section of the Annual Catalogue, which runs from pages 154 to 175.  I have CASED the layout of the Wetlands Thank You card on page 173.  It certainly looks different though!  :)

I used the emboss resist technique to create the background by stamping the line art feather with Versamark ink on Very Vanilla cardstock & then heat embossed it with clear embossing powder.  I brayered a layer of perfect plum ink & then sponged over my feathers with Rich Razzleberry & Elegant Eggplant inks.  Next I stamped some splotches from Gorgeous Grunge & flicked water droplets over the panel.  A quick buff with a tissue removed the excess ink from the embossing.

I used the Gold Baker's Twine for the trim, but stripped out the gold thread, making it a perfect match for the vanilla cardstock & vintage button.  Some die-cut banners complete the layout:-


The whole panel had a spritz of shimmer spray made from rubbing alcohol & frost white ink, which gave it a beautiful sheen (but I didn't quite pick up):-


Thanks to the Team at CASE-ing the Catty for another great challenge.  You can find it here:-

http://caseingthecatty.blogspot.com.au/2014/09/case-ing-catty-challenge-10-artistic.html

Card Components
All Stampin' Up!

Saturday, September 20, 2014

Silver Mini Brads & Little Letter Framelits

The current challenge (#105) at SU Only, is to feature Embellishments (AC Pages 206-209 ). When I first saw the challenge I thought it would be fun to turn a simple embellishment into one of the main features of the card, rather than just using it as an enhancement, as they usually are.  This idea has been floating around in my head since then, so I decided to make it into a card before the challenge finished:-


I used the cute little silver mini brads to highlight my sentiment.  To get a nice neat circle of brads, I used a circular piercing mat & pierced every second hole.  The spacing was perfect!


As you are probably aware, there are no numbers in the Little Letters die set (I wish there were!), so to get the "4", I partially cut the "Z", then recut with the "I".  It worked like a treat!  :)



The whole black panel is popped up with lots of dimensionals & is covered with a scattering of black embossed stars.  I love how this card turned out IRL!  :)

You will find the challenge here:-

http://suochallenges.com/?p=4098

Edited to Add
A big thank you to the Team at SUO for choosing my card in their Top 3:-

 
Card Components
All Stampin' Up!
Basic Black, Tangelo Twist & Whisper White cardstock, Something to Say stamp set, Versamark & Tangelo Twist Inkpads, Black Embossing Powder, Little Letter Framelit Dies, Essentials Piercing Pack, Dimensionals 

Thursday, September 18, 2014

CASE-ing the Catty - A Second Attempt, this time with brayered tissue paper!

Hithere!

I discovered a big "oops!" with the card that I posted yesterday.  While flicking through the Annual Catty looking for inspiration for the CASE-ing the Catty challenge, I actually turned one page too far & slipped into the "Artistic Expression" section rather than the "Thanks" section.  You would have thought that I would realise that the page numbers in my post didn't correlate!  Sorry for the brain-freeze!  So I thought I would make another card &, this time, stick within the confines of Pages 144 - 153!!!  :)

You can never have too many thank you cards, so I made this little notecard, inspired by the spotty bag on Page 148.



The card is all SU, except for the flower petals, which are made from generic tissue paper that I had in my wrapping paper supplies.  I have brayered a piece with Coastal Cabana at one end & Bermuda Bay at the other end.  Then I layered the almost dry (Bermuda Bay inked) brayer over a section of Coastal Cabana to get a nice in-between colour.  I have used 4 different sized scallop punches, with one layer of each colour (so 12 layers in total).  I added a gold brad in the centre & scrunched up each layer individually & then unfurled them to create the bloom.

You will find the challenge here:-

http://caseingthecatty.blogspot.com.au/2014/09/case-ing-catty-challenge-9-thanks.html

& my "oopsie" entry here.

Luckily I am quite comfortable with having a good laugh at myself because I also discovered that the Yippee-Skippee MDS download that I thought wasn't available HAS been available for over 12 months!  :o  The upside of that is I can now do the wall art I was hoping to.  :)  Yay!

Thanks for stopping by.

Edited to add
Thank you to the Team at CTC for choosing my card this week.  :)


Card Components
Stampin' Up!
Notecard from the Hip Hip Hooray Card Kit, Bermuda Bay, Coastal Cabana & Garden Green ink, Scallop Circle Punches, Gold Sequins, Gold Brad, Four You stamp set, Flower Patch stamp set, Flower Fair Dies, Versamark Ink, White Embossing Powder, Sticky Strip
Non SU
White Tissue Paper

Wednesday, September 17, 2014

Vellum Brayered Balloons

Hithere!  This week I have a challenge card for both CASE-ing the Catty & Stamping Up Only:-


This week CASE-ing the Catty are exploring the "Thanks" section of the SU Annual Catty (Pages 144-153).  My layout was inspired by the tag in the centre of page 155.  The strong lines created by the flower stems & the vertical placement of the sentiment really caught my attention.

Stampin' Up! Only are featuring creations with Embellishments which you can find in the SU Annual Catalogue Pages 206-209.  Seeing as I have used baker's twine as a prominent design component & the sentiment is punctuated by little rhinestones, I thought this card fitted the criteria nicely. 


I wanted to create balloons with a transluscent quality, so I used vellum cardstock, which I brayered with the inks.  I brayered the Coastal Cabana on both sides of the sheet, to give it the same depth of colour as the black & curry.  I embossed my balloons with the Perfect Polka Dots folder for two reasons, firstly, because polkadot balloons are my absolute favourite and, secondly, the polkadots gave me some "cover" to hide my adhesive.  I used small, rolled up pieces of sticky dot placed strategically underneath a few polkadots on each balloon.  I love how you can still see the neck & the bow of the black balloon, even though it is covered by the curry balloon.  They're just like the real thing!  :)

You can play along in these challenges, & see what the Design Teams & challenge players have created by simply clicking on the respective graphic:-


Thanks for stopping by!  :)

Edited 18/9/14 to Add
Oops!  I realised today that I had skipped ahead one page too far for the CASE-ing the Catty challenge & ended up in the section after "Thanks", so I have created a new entry here.  Sorry about that!  :)

Card Components
All Stampin' Up!
Basic Black, Whisper White, Coastal Cabana & Crushed Curry cardstock, Basic Black, Coastal Cabana & Crushed Curry markers & inkpads, White Baker's Twine, Circle Framelit Dies, Itty Bitty Accents Punch (balloon necks), Remembering Your Birthday stamp set, Perfect Polkadots Embossing Folder & Glue Dots 

Thursday, September 11, 2014

Star Framelits Card for CASE-ing the Catty

This week the Team at CASE-ing the Catty are exploring the "Card Giving" section of the Annual Catalogue & it is full to the brim with wonderful inspiration.  I have chosen the card at the top of page 135 as my inspiration for this card:-


I have kept to a very neutral palette & love the way it turned out.  Rather than stamp the card base as in the original, I opted to sponge the edges of the card & the printed layers.  I've used four of the five star dies, the round tag from the Curvy Keepsake Box die set, a sentiment from the Endless Wishes set, a snowflake print from the Trim the Tree DSP stack, some silver glimmer paper, a rhinestone and some twine.

Here is a side view so you can see the dimension of the DSP star.  I used rolled up glue dots to attach this layer to the card.  :)


The reverse side of the DSP has a red tone print & it casts a lovely warm glow on the silver glimmer paper:-


You can see what inspired the Design Team & check out the challenge here (click on the graphic):-

http://caseingthecatty.blogspot.com.au/2014/09/case-ing-catty-challenge-8-card-giving.html

Card Components
All Stampin' Up! 
As listed above plus Crumb Cake cardstock & inkpad, Whisper White cardstock

Monday, September 8, 2014

The Creative Blog Hop

Hi, today I am taking part in the Creative Blog Hop, a continuous hop that happens every Monday where all sorts of crafters share a little about their work & creative processes.  There are four questions & at the end of the post there is an opportunity to tag other crafters, who in turn complete the questions the following Monday.

I was tagged by the lovely & awesomely talented Nance Lempinen-Leedy (Canopy Crafts), who I had the honour of working alongside when a did a guest designer stint at The Paper Players challenge.  Not only does Nance make the magic happen behind the scenes at The Paper Players, she definitely makes the magic happen with her fabulous designs.  You can find Nance's Hop post here & one of my favourite creations here.  Thank you, Nance, for inviting me to participate in The Creative Blog Hop. ♥

So here goes with the questions:-

What am I working on now?
Right now I am actually working on a house floor plan.  I designed a major renovation for friends several years back & now they have asked for my input on a second home that they plan to build on a seaside block of land.  Not only will this be their eventual residence, it will also house their respective businesses, so there are a lot of aspects to consider.  Other than that we have quite a few upcoming birthdays for family & friends, so I am creating for those as well as any papercraft challenges that spark my interest.

How does my work differ from others in my genre?
I don’t believe my work is necessarily any different to anyone else, but my head definitely works differently, lol!  I like to push my own boundaries & create a range of items, in a range of styles.  

Why do I create what I do?
Friends tell me I have an “outside the box” mind.  I tend to “see” different things when I look at my supplies & I like to push those supplies to the limit, by using them in ways other than those they were designed for.  I have a real persistent streak & like to create things from scratch, nutting out the pros & cons as I go.  This applies to all my crafty pursuits including designing patterns, house plans, fancy dress costumes or hand cut pop-up & 3D creations.  Creating something from start to finish gives me enjoyment &, believe it or not, I actually find fiddly fussy cutting relaxing! 

How does my creative process work?
Most of my designs begin with a sketch, whether I am working from a challenge, or whether a random thought popped in my head.  I draw up a rough sketch & go back to create when I get the chance.  My favourite new toy is a tablet that has a stylus, so now I can sketch up my designs on that, rather than having little bits of paper here, there & everywhere.  When I do sit down to create the eventual outcome can be quite different from the original sketch, but, chances are, I have made a range of new "discoveries" along the way.  :)

Here is a project I made quite a few years ago that combines some of the things I love to do when papercrafting - making a one-off pop-up from scratch, stamping, watercolouring with my inkpads & an aquapainter, plus lots of hand & fussy cutting!  (You can find the original post here.)

 

As part of the Creative Blog Hop, I get to nominate other crafty bloggers & these ladies are two of the sweetest & inspiring I have come across.  The best part is we have actually met in real life & get to share our friendship & love of crafting in person.  Thank you both for participating in the Hop with me! ♥

Bron & I crossed paths via the Just Add Ink challenge site & I was thrilled to work on her Design Team at Still Addinktive challenges.  Bron is well known for her gorgeous easel creations, & more recently, her fabulous MDS/e-cutter projects.  Here is a wonderful e-cutter version of her popular butterfly easel.  You will find many more inspiring projects & tutorials on her blog.  :)

Bronwyn Eastley

Hi.  I live in the beautiful state of Tasmania, Australia.  I have been paper crafting since May 2008 and joined up as a Stampin' Up! Demonstrator in August of that year.  My day job as the Principal of Newstead Christian School keeps me super busy.  When I do snatch some time for myself, you’ll find me in my craft room, playing with MDS and my Silhouette Cameo, stamping and die cutting, discovering different ways to make an easel card, or writing the occasional tutorial to help fund my paper craft obsession. I am the founder of CASE-ing the Catty Challenges (an idea that popped into my head when I was preparing for a Team Catalogue Launch).

Nikki & I "met" when Nikki first entered the challenge world as an entrant at Inkspirations Challenges.  I loved the stunning palette she had used on her project & we had a lovely chat behind the scenes.  Nikki is currently on the Design Team at Just Add Ink & regularly posts her beautiful projects, including lots of wonderful gift packaging.  You can see some of Nikki's fantastic candles, complete with stunning packaging here.  :)

Nikki Spencer

I am a mum to 3, Nan to 5 and wife to 1 and also have shared care of a pampered Spoodle called Ralph! I live in Melbourne, Australia and my passion of choice is papercrafting, followed closely by Candle making & Crochet, well for now that’s my list. But l do love Painting, Jewellery making and the list goes on.
I have been enjoying stamping and cardmaking for about 7yrs and became a  Stampin Up demonstrator in 2009.

Thank you, Helen, for tagging me to participate in the “ Creative Blog Hop” and for always inspiring me with your clever and creative projects, but mostly, for the happy you bring to my life..:0)

Bron & Nikki will both be answering the Hop questions on their respective blogs (Addinktive Designs & My Sandbox) on Monday, September 15, so please make sure you check them out & take the time to stay awhile to browse their awesome blogs!

Thanks for dropping by & Happy Crafting!
Helen  :)

Thursday, September 4, 2014

MDS Wall Decor with CASE-ing the Catty

The latest CASE-ing the Catty challenge is drawing to a close, but I was lucky to get some time this afternoon to finally have a go at something that has been on my "to do" list for ages.  This week's challenge is to use the "Home Decor" section of the catalogue as inspiration for a project.

Here is what I have done:-


I love the large wall art on pages 100 & 101, & was planning to use the "you can never have too much happy" sentiment from the Yippee-Skippee set to create a BIG image above my crafting cupboard.  I was really disappointed to find that the set hasn't been released as an MDS digital download yet, so I changed plans & used this one from Feel Goods to create my home decor piece. 

I have placed it on the wall in my study, next to some family photos & above the desk where my e-cutter resides.  It's very decorative script, so I kept it small (roughly 10" wide x 8 high"), as I only wanted a subtle look.  I needed to tweak the file a bit in my cutting program to make those twirly whirly bits suitable for cutting!!!  I have used white vinyl to match the furniture in the room & the vinyl has a matt surface which I think looks better when you are putting it on the wall.  :) 

Here it is in situ:-


I really had fun with this & am looking forward to creating more wall art (hopefully I don't have to wait too long for the digital version of Yippee-Skippee to be released!)

Thanks to the team at CASE-ing the Catty for the fabulous inspiration!  You can find the amazing DT samples & gallery here (just click on the graphic):-

http://caseingthecatty.blogspot.com.au/2014/08/case-ing-catty-challenge-7-home-decor_29.html

Project Components
SU Digital Download Feel Goods Stamp Brush Set,
Matt Vinyl cut on electronic cutter with ACS software 

Wednesday, September 3, 2014

A rainbow coloured CAS card - Reverse Masked Sentiment

The current challenge at SU Only calls for a CAS design while Just Add Ink have a delicious inspiration picture with a rainbow theme.  I combined these two challenges to create this card:-


The large dots were stamped using one of the "waste" inner circles from the Daydream Medallions set.

I struggle with CAS cards as I feel the need to add some sort of texture or layering to make them feel "finished".  To combat this I die-cut the "hi" from the Label Card die & used it as a stencil to ink directly onto the card with versamark ink.  Then I used black embossing powder to get a bold, glossy, raised sentiment!

A simple rhinestone, a skinny black mat & a white notecard finish my project.  :)

You can check out both teams' fabulous DT samples & play along in the challenges here (click on the respective graphic):-

http://suochallenges.com/?p=4068      http://www.just-add-ink.blogspot.com.au/2014/08/just-add-ink-229.html

 Card Components
All Stampin' Up! 

Edited to add
Thank you to the Team at SUO Challenges for choosing my card in their Top 3