Independent Stampin' Up! Demonstrator Catherine Carroll

Blog Hop for World Card Making Day 2015

Welcome to another Pinkies Blog Hop! As it's World Card Making Day today, we hope everyone will get some time to craft, and we've created some lovely projects to help inspire you to create your own beautiful card. Simply use the buttons at the end of each post to keep hopping!

While I love Autumn (the colours, the clear but cooler days, cinnamon in everything being completely acceptable), I never really get on with those colours in crafting! So here is something completely un-seasonal as inspiration for some bright and cheerful crafting on World Card Making Day.

The flowers are stamped in Soft Suede (stamped off first to make them form more of a faded background) using an outline stamp from the Garden in Bloom stamp set. I know they are perfect for two-step stamping, but sometimes the outline on its own is very useful. The sentiment is cut using the Greetings thinlits from Melon Mambo cardstock.

I grabbed some time last weekend to prepare my project for this blog hop, and I've since seen a couple of cards with this kind of pleated DSP as a pretty feature. It's so simple and an effective way to show off a teeny bit of the "other" side of our lovely DSPs. This pattern is from the English Garden DSP, which coordinates with the Garden in Bloom set.

I started by cutting 2½" strip from a piece of 12"x12" paper (make sure you choose one that has two patterns that you like - it's not usually that hard!).

1. Score at 4".
2. Move your paper along ¾" and score, then move it along 1½" and score.
3. Repeat step 2.
4. Move your paper along one more ¾" and score.
5. Cut a diagonal line from the edge of the paper at the second score line (at 4¾") to the end of the DSP strip, finishing roughly halfway along the width of the strip. You'll be cutting over the scored part of the paper, rather than the bit that's left flat.
6. Stick to your card, and trim off the excess DSP after the last pleat.

If you're using a scoreboard instead, your score lines will be at 4", 4¾", 6¼", 7", 8½" and 9¼".

Why don't you give it a go?

Next on our blog hop is Hannah, and I know you are going to love her project!

 

 

 

 

Butterfly Basics Pop Out Swing Card

I have always been a fan of so-called "fancy fold" cards. So when I first saw the pop out swing card, I knew I wanted to give it a go - but it has taken me a while to get round to it! I actually saw it on Julie Davison's blog, but the original idea I think belongs to Dawn Griffith, and you can watch her share it from her Stamping Studio here.

I tried one with the lovely Butterfly Basics set, with the Hardwood background set used to give more interest to the front of the card.

Cutting the square out (using the endlessly useful Squares Framelits) after having stamped the background means that you can match up the panel afterwards and it creates a seamless join when the card is closed.

You'll have to forgive me for using some of my left over Naturals White cardstock to complete this project as my Very Vanilla and Whisper White were both nowhere to be found. Luckily, I have now located many of my missing stampin' supplies, including what I can only say is a ridiculous number of packs of Very Vanilla Envelopes. I think I should take on the challenge to ensure that they are all gone by the end of the year!

 

 

 

 

Showcasing the New Spring Summer Catalogue from Stampin' Up!

Thank you for joining us on another Pinkies Blog Hop! We're showcasing lots of gorgeous projects using products from the new Stampin' Up!® Spring/Summer Catalogue. Simply use the buttons at the end of each post to keep hopping!

The current cold weather is perfect for staying in and crafting, don't you think? So what better to inspire us all that a fun blog hop to celebrate the launch of the new Spring Summer catalogue. Even though we might not feel very spring-like...

I am really looking forward to finishing off my Perpetual Birthday Calendar kit, but it has taken me a while to get through all the months. So with the stamp set on my crafting table I wanted to see what else I could make with it, and here's one of the cards I created:

All of the small patterns are so useful in creating textures and patterns. I'm now looking at it as a kind of "tidy" Gorgeous Grunge set - just perfect for making the background a little bit more interesting, or adding a bit of extra decoration to an envelope. 

Do you want to know the best thing about embossing on vellum? You can stick it on to your project much more easily because you can hide the glue behind the embossing!

I have to admit that the Hello You Thinlits are driving me a little bit crazy, but that's only because I want to use them on everything and I've managed to lose my roll of wax paper to help pop the words out once they've been through the bigshot... It's taken a lot of prodding with my stylus and very careful poking with my paper-piercing tool to get them out! But I think it's worth it.

Next stop on our blog hop today is Lizy, but I hope you find time to see all of the lovely projects my fellow demonstrators have put together for you today.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Quick Card Using Flower Shop

The card I have to share with you today was made at our most recent quarterly team training, which was the weekend before my trip to the USA.

Some crafting is always planned for the day, but I have to admit that I usually spend the time gossiping and rarely make the project planned! Michelle wanted to try something different this time, so she challenged us to come up with a card using limited supplies within 45 minutes... All I can say is that the time limit was both very motivating and rather scary!

It's a very simple card, but was completed rather quickly so still left me with time to chat. Some of the other cards completed in the same time were amazing, and as I have photos I am sure to CASE them in upcoming weeks.

Stamp Sets:	Flower Shop, Six-Sided Sampler (sentiment)
Cardstock:	Naturals Ivory, Afternoon Picnic DSP
Ink:	Basic Gray, Coastal Cabana
Tools:	Pansy Punch
Finishing Touch:	Pearl Basic Jewels, Stampin' Dimensionals

 

 

 

 

Convention Swaps

I've just got back from the most amazing holiday. Not only have I finally been to New York, but I was also able to go to the Stampin' Up! convention in Salt Lake City! As it was the 25th anniversary convention and we were planning on being in the USA anyway, it seemed a shame not to make it part of our trip. I was able to share the wonderful experience with my upline, Michelle Last (incentive trip winner, so this was all her fault really), Lynne Fahey and Nicky Whittall. They are all really amazing friends that I would never have met if it wasn't for Stampin' Up!

So, how about I share the swaps I made? I'm very much a last minute person - I had all the pieces stamped and cut for me to assemble on the plane. I thought that would be the perfect distraction (I hate flying far too much for someone who loves to visit new places...), but then my carry-on was stashed right at the back of a locker way at the back of the plane! Luckily I really struggled with the changing time zone, so my insommnia meant I could finish them at the hotel.

My first swap used Blushing Bride and Basic Gray. With hindsight, maybe there were a few too many elements on this one! 

I also made the same design with Soft Sky and Smoky Slate (I said this was my new favourite colour combo, didn't I?):

I really hoped everyone I swapped these with liked them. The swaps I received in return are amazing!

Check back tomorrow to see my other swap design. For such a special event I couldn't just go with one design now, could I? 

Stamp Sets:	Happy Day, Label Love
Cardstock:	Basic Gray, Blushing Bride, Smoky Slate, Soft Sky, Whisper White
Ink:	Basic Gray, Smoky Slate
Tools:	Big Shot Die-Cutting Machine, Chevron Embossing Folder Artisan Label, Bitty Butterfly, Hexagon punches
Finishing Touch:	Stampin' Dimensionals