Eclectic Expressions for CTC171

Hello! How are you? I really hope you have had a great week. It is time for the Crew to wow you with their masterpieces all CASEd from the wonderful Stampin' Up catalogues. If you have started with me grab yourself a cuppa or glass of something and sit back enjoy what we have to show you today on the hop, or maybe you have just hopped on over from viewing Judy's fabulous creation, thank you for continuing on. This week we are CASEing the Sale-a-Bration Catty's. Only one week left to snap yourself up some freebies. Did you see the third installment of freebies to choose from? They just keep coming!

For my CASE this week I have chose a card that was pictured in the second release brochure. I have kept the layout pretty much exactly the same and just changed the colours up.

This card uses the Eclectic Expressions Stamp Set, it is one of the free sets that you can earn with a $90 purchase. I really love playing with the splotches and circles to create backgrounds. For my card I used Lemon Lime Twist, Bermuda Bay and Basic Grey. The card also features that amazing 3D Textured Embossing Folder - Basket Weave. It can be earned also, along with a super cute stamp set for a $180 spend. The below image is the Stampin' Up original that I CASEd from.

©Stampin' Up!

Why not join in on the challenge yourself. Challenges are a great way to get motivated and creating. Just click the graphic below for more info.......

Don't forget to keep hopping and see all that the crew has created this week. Next stop is the very talented Angela Meiritz-Reid, just click the graphic below to hop on over.......

Thanks for stopping by today, hope you have a great week.

Cheers Megan xx

Sketch Challenge for Just Add Ink 401

Just a quick post as I have another going out tonight. I just wanted to share with you my creation for this weeks Sketch Challenge over at Just Add Ink. I couldn't believe how quick this card came together, I might need to start doing sketch challenges more often! This is the sketch.....

And here is my card.....

I've used the Lots of Lavender Stamp Set, yours to own for free with a $90 spend, I've also used the stamp sets, Dragonfly Dreams and Touches of Textures. The Hexagons Textured Impressions embossing folder also adds a bit of texture and complements the bees with a hive looking impression.

The inside also got a bit of love.....

For more information on the weekly challenges that the Just Add Ink team deliver click HERE.

Thanks for stopping by!

Cheers Megan xx

Picnic with You Shadow Box Card for JAI400

Good morning lovelies! It's quite early as I write this blog post, I am determined to participate in the Just Add Ink 400th challenge. Yes 400 challenges this talented bunch of artisans have posted! An amazing feat, don't you think?

Anyway, the last week and a half has been very challenging, with nothing major, just things that pop up and prevent me from crafting (like working the weekend, aaarrghh, as one said challenge). I get cranky when I don't get into my studio and create (so my family tells me!) so I pushed myself to come home from work each day and do a little bit and it has made a huge difference. Once I started creating I forgot that I had been on my feet for hours and that my brain is fried!

Just Add Ink have all sorts of challenges that they post weekly, this week it was an inspiration photo.

From the above photo you can take whatever inspiration it provides you with and run with it. I decided I loved those colours and went for an Easter theme.

I have made a shadow box card. I'm sorry but I don't have any measurements or a tutorial to share with you as I didn't follow one and just "nutted" it out as I went looking at pictures of others. If trial and error is not your thing I do know that the lovely Bronwyn Eastley from Addinktive Designs has tutorials for sale, check it out HERE.

The beauty of this card fold is that it sits up on a table/shelf but folds down flat to be able to be posted.

I have used several stamp sets to create my little scene Picnic with You (had to use it as I hadn't inked it up yet!) for the flowers, basket and grass (love that grass!), Seasonal Layers Die set for the chair and branch, A Good Day for the little bunny, Labeler Alphabet for the sentiment letters and Large Number Framelits for the little banners.

Make sure you check out the Just Add Ink blog by clicking HERE.

Thank you so much for stopping by, I had better go get myself ready for work, sitting in my studio has lulled me into a false pretense of not going to work........

Cheers Megan xx

Lookin' Sharp - CTC169

 Happy Sunday everyone! It's time for the weekly blog hop with the CASEing the Catty Crew. We love to take inspiration from the beautiful images provided in the Stampin' Up catalogues and use them as a jumping off point for our own creations. This week we are CASEing from either of the two Sale-a-bration catalogues. Yes! I did just say two, if you haven't already realised Stampin' Up have brought out another release of free items but all of them are only available until the end of March, so be quick and don't miss out on the free stuff! For every $90 you spend you get to pick a free item. There is also great incentives to join Stampin' Up! too, for more details just give me a hoy!

 I have a few cards to share today as I went on a little journey with my creating. Firstly, I decided to CASE the card on the left (with the circles) from the front cover of the second release catty.

 Instead of stamping a background I have utilised some of the awesome Designer Series Paper, True Gentleman. It's from the suite also called True Gentleman and can be found in the Occasions Catalogue.

 I LOVE this suite, the Truly Tailored Stamp Set has some really great sentiments and it coordinates with the brand new punch Tailored Tag Punch. Punches make creating super easy and quick. From there I decided that I would try the card sketch as a landscape format.

How gorgeous is that new Night of Navy Corduroy Ribbon?! We had a bit of a giggle with this card and where I placed the elements. It kind of looks like an abstract person......... 

As I was putting this one together I thought about how cute three of those bows made with the Bow Builder Punch would look on a card with the bow tie DSP.......

So, not CASEd just where my creating led me. That's why I love papercraft (or any craft for that matter), it's for me, like going to a meditation session. Once I've started creating there is no more worrying about anything, I'm completely absorbed with what I am doing at that moment in time.

It would be great if you could play (meditate) along with us this week. For more details click the graphic below.....

Thank you so much for stopping by, it is now time for you to hop on over to the very creative Angela, who has a very cool card to show you this week. Just click the graphic below.....

Cheers Megan xx

Petal Passion Easel Card for CTC168

Hello everyone, just flying by to share with you my CASE for this week. This week the crew are CASEing from the ........

I'm actually CASEing the card above that the lady is holding. As you will see I have a very similiar layout only that I have stepped it up a notch and turned it into an easel card and a window card.

Standing up as an easel.

I've used the gorgeous Petal Passion suite, all my fingers and toes are crossed that it continues onto the new Annual Catalogue!

Front view.

I've used the Stampin' Blend Pens on the Window Sheet because they are alcohol based and will dry on plastic.

Side view

View from above

Inside view

I'm so sorry I am a woman of very few words this week a bit of something, something has come up (always the weekend that I haven't written my blog post before the afternoon of said blog hop!). Rather than let the team down I will just be short and sweet!

Time for you to continue your hop press the graphic below.....

And don't forget to join in on the challenge!!

Thanks for stopping by! Promise I will be more chatty next week!

Cheers Megan xx

Blooming Basket - CTC167- Saleabration

Here I am again! I know, busy Sunday with two blog posts! I am blogging now with a group of demonstrators who love to take inspiration from the fabulous catalogues that Stampin' Up! put out three times per year. For this hop we are CASEing (aka Copy And Selectively Edit) from the Sale-a-bration Catalogue (aka the FREEBIE catalogue). Yep, a catalogue full of free things for everytime you spend $90, my favourite catalogue of the year. You may have started the hop with me or you may have just been wowed by what Rose had to share.

The card I have decided to CASE is the card in the picture below on the far right. I've switched it up a bit by changing the orientation of the card to landscape rather then portrait.

Have you seen the new release Saleabration items? They are awesome and as soon as I saw the Blooming Basket Stamp Set with the coordinating Basket Weave Embossing Folder, I knew I had to have them. I am so glad my order arrived in time to use for this blog hop.

I'm really happy with how this card turned out. I love the watercolour pencils blended with blender pen on Crumb Cake cardstock and the white heat embossing really makes it pop. The inside of the card got a little bit of love too.

We would love it if you played along with our challenge, for more details click the graphic below...

Now it is time to continue hopping around, next stop Judy, she always has something really creative for you!

Have a fabuous week!

Cheers Megan xx

ESAD Sale-a-bration Blog Hop

Woohoo! It's time for another ESAD Blog Hop. I love seeing all the other creations from other demonstrators. If you have started with me, get yourself your favourite beverage (it's only fair I'm writing my blog with mine!!) and strap yourself in, for an amazing amount of inspiration. You may have already started and if so, have hopped on over from the ah-mazing Jessie Holton, OMG I love her work! What is ESAD?, I hear you say, well do not fear I have a very neat graphic for you......

The theme for this blog hop is Sale-a-bration!!! Everyone's favourite time of the year in the Stampin' Up! universe, well level pegs with our conferences, aka OnStage (I am a bit excited as I have just finalised the details for our next one and the big reveal will be the new Annual Catalogue!). Sale-a-bration is a catalogue of free items that you can earn when you spend $90 and this year they made the catalogue bigger and better and added a level 2, where, if you spend $180 you can get an extra special goodie for free, oh so much choice! On the 15th or maybe it was the 16th?? Stampin' Up released more freebies to the collection and mine arrived in time for this blog hop - yeah new things to play with! My cards today use the new Eclectic Expression Stamp Set, a freebie when you spend $90.

Ok, this card is very busy, I know that. It stemmed from just getting the stamp set out and having a play with the end result I thought, "Well why not make it into a card?" and there it is, not a great masterpiece in my eyes but you know what, others will probably think, well who knows what they will think but at least I didn't waste the piece of Whisper White!!! The Celebrate die cut was a discard from my other cards too, so pretty happy that I used all these elements rather than adding them to the discard pile of items that didn't make the cut!

Onto the "dinky di" cards..... I created two cards at the same time by using the second generation stamping technique. This is simply achieved by stamping the first image with full strength ink, ie you have just inked it up in your stamp pad and stamped it directly onto your cardstock but instead of re-inking the stamp you then use the residual ink to stamp onto another piece of cardstock with the remaining (lighter) ink and you end up with one card that is saturated in colour and one in a more muted tone.

1st generation

**Please excuse my "Celebrate" die cuts, I have coated them with fine tip glue to give a glossy finish but as we are experiencing a huge amount of rain here on the Sunshine Coast it has not quite dried out yet for the photo shoot**

2nd generation

Ok, enough from me, it is time for you to hop on on over to see what amazing creation Delys Cram has in store for you, just click the graphic below....

Thank you so much for stopping by! If you get lost at all on your hopping tour I have included all the participants in a list below, just click their name and you will be taken straight to their blog.

Cheers Megan xx

Blog Hop Participant List

1. Lou Kitzelman  

2. Sandra Mastello  

3. Courtenay Heuston

4. Ellen Woodbridge

5. Cheryl Algie

6. Peta Stephen

7. Nicole Wilson

8. Maree McIntosh

9. Kristel Rimmer

10. Libby Dyson

11. Leonie Schroder

12. Jessie Holton

13. Megan Lenske

14. Delys Cram

15. Rachael Lewsley

16. Kim Oliver

17. Sharon Dalton

18. Melinda Whittington

19. Jenny Hayward