CASE-ing the Catty – Artistic Expression

Hi there

The Artistic Expressions chapter on pages  126-179 of the Annual Catalogue is the focus this week at CASE-ing the Catty. This chapter has a fabulous array of samples and I only wish I had time to do more than one CASE. 

If you've come from visiting the lovely Kelly Kent, then welcome to my blog ! If you're visiting me, I appreciate you stopping by today! You can continue your journey to see the other inspiring creations from the CTC Crew by clicking on the buttons at the bottom of the post. 

This week, I've taken my inspiration from this card (above) on Page 151 of the Annual Catalogue. I really love the layout and the bright pop of white against the floral image and Rich Razzleberry side panel. 

You can see that I have also used the 'Floral Statements' stamp set for my card and stayed close to the layout with a few small changes. I started by stamping the image in Early Espresso ink as I wanted it to be a little bit softer than black would be.  You may not notice the difference  in the photo, but you would if you saw it side-by-side with a black version.  I decided to have a tiny border showing around the white stamped panel and I think it adds a bit of extra pop. I've also used the 2 halves of a Pearlized Doily for the embellishment on the side as it worked better with the slightly long length of our cards.

I've coloured the image with my Stampin' Blends alcohol markers in my current favourite colours of Granny Apple Green, Gorgeous Grape and Highland Heather.  These are 3 of the new colours added this year and I think they are fabulous! Stamping your image in any of the Stampin' Up! Classic inks works perfectly fine with your alcohol markers. I always heat set the image before I start colouring, to make sure it is perfectly dry.

If you look closely on the Stampin' Up! sample card you can see that the lace image from the 'Southern Serenade' stamp set has been stamped in the background. To add interest and texture to my stamped panel I ran it through the Big Shot after finishing the colouring, using the 'Subtle' embossing folder and you can see the result in the close-up photo above. It was a bit of gamble, but I'm really happy with the way it turned out. I love the pretty Mini Striped Grosgrain ribbon that borders the stamped panel and I decided to finish it with a flat bow that sits in the centre of the doilies.

I wanted to finish off the inside of the card with something in a similar style and remembered this small rose from the 'Graceful Garden' stamp set. Don't you think it is perfect?  I've coloured it with the same Stampin' Blends as the main image and then fussy cut it. I did go a little OTT (over-the-top) with a double mat and a narrow strip of Granny Apple Green DSP at the base of the writing panel. Do you see that cute embossed stitching? I've used the border die from the Stitched Labels Framelits and the new Embossing Mats to add that little decorative touch. I love having the inside of the card as pretty as the outside!

Finally, you can see the pretty rhinestones that I coloured with the Gorgeous Grape Stampin' Blend marker for a perfect match.

Project Details
Stamps	Floral Statements, Graceful Garden
Card stock & Papers	Whisper White, Gorgeous Grape, Brights DSP
Ink	Early Espresso, Highland Heather
Accessories	Rhinestone Basic Jewels, Pearlized Doilies, 1/4" Mini Striped Grosgrain ribbon
Tools	Stitched Labels Framelits, Subtle EF, Big Shot, Stamparatus, Stampin' Blends (Gorgeous Grape, Highland Heather, Granny Apply Green)

 

I hope you liked my card and now it's time to click on the Next button below to hop over to see what Jackie has to inspire you this week. 

We would love you to join us with your CASE this week, using our Facebook group. Click on this link or the image below to go there. The first time you will need to click on the 'Join Group' button at the top. Once you have been added to the group, you can go ahead and post your creation and you do not need to have a blog. 

 Thanks for visiting today!