It’s so great to be back again with the CASE-ing the Catty crew for this week’s challenge. This week we are turning to pages 142 – 153 of the annual Stampin’ Up! catalogue for inspiration.  

My card was loosely inspired by the Tranquil Tide card on page 142 of the 2018 annual Stampin’ Up! catalogue. You can see it above on the top left.

I moved things around a bit but the general layout was inspired by this card. 

Just to mix things up a bit, I added an unusual insert to make this card a fancy fold.

Well, it’s kind of a fancy fold. You’ll see what I mean…

Firstly, here’s the front: 

And here’s a top view that shows the accordion fold insert:

And opened up, standing: 

How to make an Accordion Insert Card

I had so much fun making this card, and ended up using this design for my 2018 Stampin’ Up! Incentive Trip card swap on the recent Alaska Cruise.

Want to have a go at making your own?

Here’s how:

1. Cut your A4 sheet of cardstock at 10cm wide. Leave the cardstock at the full length, which is 29.7cm. 

(I’m from Australia so I’ve started with our A4 standard size cardstock, but the same concept could easily be adapted for US Letter size cardstock). 
2. Score at 14cm, 18cm, 22cm and 26cm. Fold to create an accordion or concertina fold as shown above (ie valley, mountain, valley, mountain)

Optional: stamp to decorate. If you are stamping, it’s best to do that before you’ve stuck anything down. I actually prefer to do the stamping before I’ve even done the scoring, because when you stamp on the score lines the image doesn’t look as good. 

3. Adhere the larger panel to a 14.5cm x 10.5cm panel of cardstock.

Make sure it’s centred so there’s an even 5mm border showing all the way around. 

4. Fold up the panels and adhere another 14.5cm x 10.5cm panel to the top folded panel.

Decorate as desired. I find it easier to embellish the top layer of cardstock before you attach it to the accordion fold insert. 

Nature’s Poem Card front

The front of my card features the Nature’s Poem designer series paper, Velvet Ribbon, Leaves Trinkets, and copper trim. I just love the way the copper trim holds its shape when you stretch it out and pull it. Amazing stuff! It’s a ‘must have’ for your copper embellishment collection. 

(Click image to enlarge)

I hope you like this card and that it inspires you to make one too.  

Next on the blog hop is Judy. You can find her post here. 

Thanks for joining us this week.

For more ideas and inspiration, join me over on Facebook. And to see some of the other Alaska Incentive Trip swaps I made, just scroll back to July 2018 and you’ll see loads of photos from the trip. 

Happy stamping, 

Our amazing adventure with the 2018 Stampin’ Up! Incentive Trip is now over (so sad!). The Alaska cruise was an incredible trip. Honestly, one of our all-time favourites. I find myself pausing in mid-sentence having flashbacks of the morning we cruised up to a glacier, with floating icebergs going past the ship. Amazing! And to share this adventure with my hubby and our Stampin’ Up! friends from around the world was just the icing on the cake. 

Thanks to all those who came with me on the trip via Facebook. It was the first time I’ve posted regularly while away on an Incentive Trip and it was so much fun to read your comments and answer your questions while it was all happening.  

Now it’s time to get crafting again! I’ve missed my craft room and can’t wait to get back to it. 

I also have some news to coincide with the start of a new month and new specials from Stampin’ Up!. 

Colour Your Season 

This month a brand new, limited edition stamp set and framelit bundle is available! You can buy the Blended Season stamps on their own, or the Stitched Seasons framelits. But if you buy them together you save 10%. All the prices are shown below. 

There are 12 stamps in this set, but some of them are very big so they had to be split over two stamp cases as you can see above.

Those three large framelits are my favourite of all… they have stitching on the inside and outside of the cut lines, so you can use both the negative and positive part of the die cuts. So clever! They are fabulous for making windows in the front of cards.  

Check them out in the online store

Watercolour Pencils – New Colours! 

Do you love colouring with watercolour pencils?

Well you’re in for a treat, because this month we have a new assortment of gorgeous colours. 

The 10 acid free and lignin free pencils come in the following colours: 

• Balmy Blue
• Cajun Craze
• Cherry Cobbler
• Coastal Cabana
• Crushed Curry
• Flirty Flamingo
• Garden Green
• Gorgeous Grape
• Granny Apple Green
• Night of Navy

Have you tried my favourite watercolour pencil blending technique?

Lay down some colour by scribbling the pencils, then blend with the Wink of Stella brush. Not only does it blend the pencil lines beautifully, but you also get some subtle shimmer from the Wink of Stella. Love it! 

Prices and More Information

Click the image below to enlarge. All the information you need is here, including prices, quantities and item codes. 

BONUS DAYS

If you’ve shopped with me for a while, you might remember the Bonus Days we did back in July 2016 and July 2017. Yippee, we’re doing it again!

How it works: 

1. When you shop this month you’ll earn a $9 voucher for every $90 you spend (before shipping). Spend $180 and you’ll get TWO $9 vouchers. In fact, you can earn as many as you like and you can even give them away as gifts if you want! Pretty cool, huh?
2. You’ll be emailed the voucher codes after placing the order, so just hang on to them in a safe place.
3. In September, redeem your vouchers when shopping in the online store. It’s that easy! 

Also, just letting you know we have a Host Special next month, so get in quick if you’d like to book a cardmaking class. I do workshops pretty much all over Victoria!

Dates are limited, so contact me soon if you’d like to host your own party in September. 

Ordering online? Use Host Code RSHT7A2B if the order is under $250. For orders over $250, you’ll automatically earn $25 in free products so no need to use a host code! 

Happy stamping, 

We are in Seattle at the moment, getting ready for the 2018 Stampin’ Up Incentive Trip. So grateful to be attending our 9th trip – this time a week-long Alaskan Cruise! What a dream come true.

Just letting you know that I’ll be posting on my Stamping with Simone Facebook page while I’m away, so feel free to like and follow that page if you want to see photos of the trip as they happen.

I’ve also got a special Host Code for you to use while I’m away: 9M23XNQM. My shop is open as normal, so if you want to grab some Stampin’ Up! goodies just jump over to my online store and enter host code 9M23XNQM and you could get $25 in Stampin’ Up! shopping vouchers. If your order is over $250 then you won’t need to use the code because you will automatically get $25 in host benefits to spend all by yourself! It’s a great deal.

Also just a quick reminder that we have two great specials on at the moment:

• Buy 3 Get 1 Free papers
• Join now and get 10 free ink pads as a bonus in your Starter Kit

The choice is yours when you join Stampin’ Up! – you can join to make money or join to save money. Or maybe a bit of both! Either way, a special bonus like this one is the perfect time to test the waters and see if being part of Stampin’ Up! is for you. If you decide not to continue, then you’ll stop getting the discount but the kit is still yours to keep. I’ve loved my 10+ years with this wonderful company and still count my blessings that I took the plunge all those years ago.

Happy stamping!

Simone xxx

Happy July! Yes, it’s a really REALLY happy July if you love your Stampin’ Up! products and you love a bargain.

And don’t we all?

Let’s just get straight into it:

(Note: The July Specials have now expired and have therefore been deleted). 

Card Share

Now I can’t leave without sharing a pretty card or 5, so here are some cards we’ve made at my Stamparatus classes lately.

We’ll be making this at our Coffee and Cards class at Beechworth Bakery in Ballarat on July 11 at 10am.  Hope you can  join us.

Don’t have a Stamparatus of your own yet? Grab it now and you’ll get a 3 page ‘Top 12 Stamparatus Techniques’ document emailed to you for free!

Oh my goodness, lots of news to share today and it’s ALL good!

Happy stamping,

One of the most innovative new products released by Stampin’ Up! in recent times is the new patent-pending ‘Distinktive‘ range of stamps.  

The stamps made with this distinktive process lay down the ink at different opacities giving the finished image more depth. There’s nothing tricky about how to apply the ink: just ink the surface lightly for a perfect photographic finish. 

If you have a copy of the Australian Stampin’ Up! catalogue then you can turn to the inside back cover to see all the other stamps in this range. But for more creative ideas you’ve definitely come to the right place. 

DistINKtive Stamps Video

Curious about the DistINKtive stamps? Check out this video for some great info along with handy tips and tricks. (Keep an eye out for a big WOW moment at about the 3.19 minute mark!)

3 Ways to Add Colour to DistINKtive stamps

There are so many possibilities with these stamps, including the following:

1. Stamp with one colour ink
2. Stamp and colour in the image, or
3. Layer different inks on the stamp with a sponge dauber.

DistINKtive stamps currently available:

1. Healing Hugs

Click HERE to learn more about the Healing Hugs stamp set. 

What a stunning flower. Doesn’t it look completely different when you ink it up in two vastly different colours? We’ve got Coastal Cabana above, and Blackberry Bliss below. 

2. Bokeh Dots

Click HERE to learn more about the Bokeh Dots stamp set. 

Oh my gosh, these two stamps are so unusual and so clever! Did you know they are perfectly sized to fit on an ink pad?! Mind blown, right? 

Whenever I say ‘bokeh dots’ I always smile, because it sounds like I’m saying ‘polka dots’. Yes, it seems I’m easily amused. hehehe. 

The bokeh one on the left has a fine grid overlaid on it, and the one on the right reminds me of fireworks. Utterly gorgeous. 

3.  Seize The Day

Click HERE to learn more about the 8 piece Seize The Day stamp set. 

An outdoorsy, natural set with inspirational sentiments. 

4. Stylish Christmas

Click HERE to learn more about this festive 7 piece Stylish Christmas stamp set.

This is probably my favourite of them all. Of course, it’s to do with Christmas so it’s already a winner but I’m just totally in love with the poinsettia flower. 

Lovely sentiments too. 

5. All The Good Things

Click HERE to learn more about the Japanese-inspired All The Good Things stamp set.

The final DistINKtive stamp set on offer in the latest Stampin’ Up! catalogue features an amazing koi fish and some beautiful inspirational messages. Did you know that Koi fish are symbols of love and friendship in Japan. You can learn 15 fun Koi fish facts right here. 

I have always been fascinated by bonsai right back to my childhood so was thrilled to see one in this stamp set too. 

Pretty amazing, aren’t they! Which one is your favourite? 

If you’re in Australia you can order any of these stamp sets from my online store and they’ll be sent directly to you. To order, just click the button below and type ‘distinktive’ (with a K) into the search bar of my shop. 

Happy stamping, 

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

This week the CASEing the Catty challenge blog hop turns to pages 13 – 25 of the new annual Stampin’ Up! catalogue. So many lovely projects to inspire us, beginning with the oh-so-sweet Tea Room suite through to a number of new and carry-over stamp sets and framelits.

Technique: Die Cut Window Tearing

I was inspired by the layout on page 17 (see below), especially how the middle of the die cut shape was torn open to create a window with a stamped image peeking through. The die is from the Stitched Labels set (more on that below).

I found it easier to cut the middle of the shape with my scissors first, and then tear.

A helpful tip: Stamp the peek-through image and keep it close by. Use it to compare the size of the window you need to tear open.

Oh the possibilities! What a fabulous technique to use with all of our larger dies.

Having a look through the latest Stampin’ Up! offerings, I think the following framelits would be great ones to try with this technique:

Foliage Frame Framelits Dies	Bottles & Bubbles Framelits Dies	Layering Circle Framelits Dies	Layering Ovals Framelits Dies
Layering Squares Framelits Dies	Window Box Thinlits Dies	Stitched Shapes Framelits Dies	Tropical Thinlits Dies

(Click on the images above to learn more about these dies)

Stitched Labels framelits

All the framelits used on my card were from a newly released set called Stitched Labels. I think it’s a fabulous addition to any die cutting collection.

One of the hidden gems in the Stitched Labels dies is this circled one above.

You can see how it has been used on the lower half of this card here.

It creates a fabulous detailed cut accent without cutting the outline of the die.

Colours used on today’s project were Rich Razzleberry, Petal Pink, and the greens from the gorgeous Tranquil Textures designer series paper pack. I’m loving this paper! It’s quite striking and bold on one side, and much more muted on the other. Something for everyone.

[If you love patterned paper, you’ll be excited to know I’ll soon be offering a PAPER SHARE! Only 9 spots, so if you want to get your hands on 64 sheets of 6″x6″ patterned paper, for around the cost of a SINGLE PACK, then don’t miss out. Registration is opening later this month, ready for ordering on 1st of July. Request early access to register via email.]  

Next on the hop is the fabulous Monique. Click on the link below to see what she has for us this week.

Thanks for visiting me this week.

Happy stamping,

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave