CASE Study 4th Anniversary Blog Hop

Hi friends! I'm excited to be participating in the CASE Study 4th Anniversary Blog Hop today. CASE Study is celebrating 4 years of challenges with a month of inspirational Blog Hops featuring their past Muses and former & current design team members.

The theme for today's hop is inspiration.  Lately most of my inspiration has come from YouTube videos.  I've been a bit overwhelmed this summer by trying to keep up with a business and my 2.5 year old twins and still find time for art.  So I've been attempting to get up a little bit earlier in the morning so I can drink a cup of coffee and watch a video to inspire me.  Then I have the day to mull it over and hopefully have a plan by the time I actually get into my studio.  The topics I pick are kind of random, I usually just search for a product I have that I haven't used or want to use and see what I find.

inspiration piece

I searched for distress paint daubers and found this video, which inspired my card for today.  The video is pretty long, but you get the gist of the process in the first few minutes.  She doodled over her painted circles, but I thought it would be the perfect way to use the Poppy Birthday set.  So I  made a few rows of paint dauber circles using Picked Raspberry, Worn Lipstick and Squeezed Lemonade, then stamped the three sizes of flowers from Poppy Birthday over the dried circles and accented with a white gel pen.  I quickly hand trimmed a bunch of them, and layered together.

For my background, I swiped a piece of card stock to clean up some of the excess paint on my craft sheet, then used the coordinating colors of paint daubers to add in color.  I sketched in some stems, stamped the leaves from Poppy Birthday and finger painted them with some mowed lawn paint.  Next I added more white gel pen accents and layered all the flowers on top. The edges are hand torn and I inked them up with some black soot distress ink and sketched in a little frame before adhering it to my so saffron card base.  I stamped the sentiment directly on the card base, rounded a few corners and added some enamel dots to finish things off.

Well, that's all for me, I'm the last blog on today's hop list, but if you haven't already, be sure to head on over to the CASE Study blog for all the hop details and deadlines. To be entered in a drawing for some awesome prizes, just leave a comment on all the blog hop entries this week before the deadline midnight eastern next Tuesday.  

There’s also a challenge open for all to play along! You're invited to CASE any one of the projects featured in the blog hop. Check out the CASE Study blog for more information. Thanks for hopping by!

Tasnim Ahmed
Barbara Anders
Julie Ebersole
Mariana Grigsby
Debby Hughes
Cristina Kowalczyk
Anika Lerche
Jocelyn Olson
Jennifer Rzasa
Laurie Schmidlin
Amy Sheffer
Julia Stainton
Julee Tilman 

Enabler's List
Stamps: Poppy Birthday (Verve Stamps)
Paper: so saffron (SU!), pearlized white (Paper Accents)
Ink: black archival, black soot distress (Ranger), picked raspberry, worn lipstick, squeezed lemonade, mowed lawn and picket fence distress paint (Ranger), white gel pen, black PITT pen (faber-castell)
Accessories:  Market Street enamel dots (MME), corner rounder

CASE Study 3rd Anniversary Blog Hop

Hi friends!  CASE Study is celebrating 3 years of challenges and as a former Muse (March 2011), I've been invited to celebrate in today's blog hop!  If you're just popping in, you'll want to head on over to the CASE Study blog to start from the beginning.   If you've already been hopping, you should have just arrived from Julia Stainton's blog.

The theme for the blog hop is Inspiration, and in the spirit of CASE Study, I chose a papercrafter I've been admiring as of late as my inspiration.... Dana Fleckenstein of Pixels & Glue.  I love her "this & that" approach to card making, which is always fresh, interesting and simple, but with more dimension and embellishment than traditional CAS cards.

To keep my own style present in the card, I added in a bit more mixed media than the original I was CASE-ing.  (You can see a pic of Dana's card below.)  And of course my beloved Soft Sky had to make an appearance.  I saw sequins, tags, butterflies, a one word sentiment and stenciling in the original, so I added all of those things in, along with a little flair of my own.  The butterflies are made with the All Aflutter Die Set   I cut three copies of each size of butterfly from book paper, then glued the centers together, fluffed them out and added sequins and liquid pearls for the butterfly body.  There's also a bit of dry brushed paint on each butterfly, left over from doing the stenciling on the card base and sentiment panel.  The fly. sentiment is from the Wings of Love set and I accented it with a little pre-made banner embellishment.

Thanks so much for stopping by!  I hope you have time to hop around to all the hops - there's so much eye candy to see and a chance to win some fab prizes if you comment on all the stops.  Check out the CASE Study blog for all the details.  Next up on the hop is...  Torico.

by Dana Fleckenstein

Enabler's List
Stamps: Wings of Love (Verve Stamps)
Paper: soft sky, basic black, crumb cake (SU!), Key Lime (BoBunny)
Ink: black, pool and white paint (Martha Stewart)
Accessories:  All Aflutter Die Set, Scalloped Trim Trio Die Set (A Cut Above by VERVE), polka dot basics ribbon collection (Verve), Pinking circles nestabilities (Spellbinders), corner rounder, Chicken Wire embossing folder (Cuttlebug), bubbles stencil (Studio Calico), onyx liquid pearls (Ranger), Fact & Fiction Flags & Banners (BasicGrey), sequins

Out of the Box Beautiful

Hi friends!  Today I'm hopping along with an all-star list of stampers celebrating the 2nd anniversary of the CASE Study challenge.  If you've come here from the blog of Joy Taylor you're on the right track! If not and you want to start from the beginning, you can view the whole list of designers over on the CASE Study blog.  You'll definitely want to check it out and leave a little shout out on each blog, since there are PRIZES to be won (including a little Verve)!

The challenge for today is Out of the Box, and we were tasked with trying something we've never done before.  At first I kind of scratched my head a bit, and then headed straight to You Tube!  LOL  Isn't the Internet great?  I found this SUPER easy tutorial on making tissue paper flowers (something I've always wanted to do, but for some reason thought it was a much more involved process!) and decided to give it a go with some of the sparkly tissue paper we use to package orders at Verve.

I used circle punches for the flower layers and followed the tutorial, using some decorative brads and  finishing off with some Mister Huey Shine spray for a super shimmery look.  While the flowers were drying, I decided they would look great with a mixed media style of card, so I pulled out some paints and Gelatos.

And I got to do something else I've never tried before... baby wipes and Gelatos!  I LOVE the effect, it blends so beautifully and easily.  I've never had a reason to have baby wipes around the house until now and it always seemed a little weird to go buy some just for a craft project.  But now with the twins, we've got baby wipes galore, and I can try all the baby wipe techniques!!! {grin}

I dug deep into the back of my craft closet and tried to pick embellishments that I hadn't used in a long time, like these patterned ribbons, the pearl string (from Pizzazz Aplenty) and the binder clip from Tim Holtz.  I even added a little bit of accent with an old pack of rub-ons.  The stamping on the card (the sentiment and leaves) are from the Sunny Days set and are cut with the Leafy Sprigs Die Set, both by Verve.

Oh, and if you recognize the layout, it's Jen's Sketch For You To Try for August, which I turned into a 5.25" square card to fit my elements.

Okay, that's all from me today.  Thanks so much for stopping by!  Next up on the hop is Amy Wanford.

Enabler's List:
Stamps: Sunny Days (Verve Stamps)
Paper: Classic Calico Vol. 2 (Studio Calico), Basic Gray, Basic Black (SU!), aqua gemstone tissue paper
Ink: Black Mix'd Media Ink (Color Box), Pumice Stone Distress (Ranger) Black Gelato (Faber Castell) Dark Turquoise acrylic paint (DecoArt), blank canvas Studio paint (Claudine Hellmuth)
Accessories: Leafy Sprigs Die Set (A Cut Above by VERVE) ribbons, decorative brads, binder clip and tiny attacher (Tim Holtz), circle punches (SU!), Mister Huey's Shine spray (Studio Calico), silver pearls on a cord (Pizzazz Aplenty), rub-ons (BasicGrey)

CASE Study Anniversary Blog Hop

Hi friends!  The CASE Study challenge is turning one and celebrating with a blog hop...and it's an incredibly talented line-up filled with their design team, as well as many of the past year's Muses, so you won't want to miss a single stop!  If you've come from the uber talented Jill Foster's blog  (Oh my word....I've had such a huge stamp crush on Jill for a while now - she turns color into magic on a regular basis!), then you're right on track, if not head on over to the CASE Study blog to start from the beginning and read all about the bucketful of prizes the DT members are giving away along the hop.

The Challenge:  Make a card inspired by a creation from one of the CASE Study design team members (current or alumni).

My Card: 

My Inspiration:  As soon as I read the challenge, I knew exactly who I would CASE.  I was first introduced to Teneale Williams when I was a CASE Study Muse back in March and was literally blown away by her stamping style.  Every time I head to Google Reader, I head to her blog first to see if she's got something new.  Her cards almost always leave me breathless.

So, I happily went perusing her blog and after much internal debate (picking a favorite was so hard) I decided on this gorgeous little yellow number.  I chose it mainly because it was so crisp and modern and different from my own style.  My jotted notes were... simple color scheme with black accents, layered stamping with silhouette in the background, and that oh so fabulous little book text torn photo corner and flower accent.

I didn't stray too far from the inspiration piece because I loved it so much.  I changed up the stamps (but kept them all Stampin' Up!) and the layout, but kept as many of the colors and design elements as I could while still making it my own.  {grin}|  And since Teneale usually decorates the insides of her cards just as beautifully as the outside, I went ahead and finished off the inside, too...

Okay, that's all from me today!  Thanks so much for stopping by!  Next up on the hop is CASE Study DT member, Julie Smith!  Go say hi and see what fabulousness she has to share with you!

Flutterby CASE Study

Hi everybody! This is my final week of being the muse over on the Case Study challenge blog! I've had so much fun playing along with them and seeing all the beautiful inspired creations from my little cards!

I hope you'll play along with us this week as we CASE this creation of mine from back in July.  That butterfly from Blue Skies is one of my favorites and who can go wrong with a little wild wasabi?  You can read more about the inspiration card on my original post.

This was probably the easiest card of  the whole month for me to CASE.  Maybe after an entire month, I'm finally getting the hang of it!  Or maybe this card was just my favorite.  {wink}  When I started the month, I had no idea how hard it would be to CASE myself - especially when I'm the kind of gal who tries never to do the same thing twice!  LOL  Anyhow, I had a lot of fun and it stretched me to make some great cards, like this one with some of Verve's new stamps and dies!

I took my inspiration from the layout, the large scallop circles, the butterfly and the flower.  I started by cutting the large scallop circles, then embossed the flower trio from Chicks Rule in black and colored with Copics.  Next up I embossed the butterfly from the same set once on patterned paper and once on vellum, trimmed out and layered.  Then I cut a black mat for them with the coordinating Flutterby Die and added some black  pearls for the butterfly body.

I stitched and embossed piece of vellum directly to the For the Record designer paper, then inked up with Antique Linen and Vintage Photo and distressed the edges a bit.  Some stitched red ribbon was the perfect divider and I added a big bow.  The sentiment is from the Friendly Phrases set and is stamped and matted on die cuts using the Charming Banner Die Set.

The little trio of pearls is set off with the 4 petal flower punch from the SU! Itty Bitty Shapes Punch Pack.  I just glued the pearls down, then folded up the petals.  Love how it turned out.  I finished off with the eyelet lace border punch and a few drops of liquid pearls.

Okay, that's all for this post, be sure to check out these inspired creations by the CASE Study Design team...

Iwona Palamountain

Amy Wanford

Andrea Ewen

Cristina Kowalczyk

Jean Martin

Julie Smith

Lenet Mos

Melyssa Connolly

Sue Kohler

Teneale Williams

Enabler's List:
Stamps: Chicks Rule, Friendly Phrases (Verve)
Paper: For the Record (Echo Park), Basic Black (SU!), Natural White (Neenah)
Ink: Onyx Black (Versafine), Copic Markers, Antique Linen, Vintage Photo (Ranger Distress)
Accessories: Charming Banner Die Set, Flutterby Die (A Cut Above by Verve), Clear Detail Embossing Powder (Judikins), Itty Bitty Shapes Punch Pack, Eyelet border punch (SU!), Big Scalloped Circle Nestabilities (Spellbinders), 5/8" red grosgrain with side stiching, black and white flatback pearls (Pizzazz Aplenty), paper distresser, Diamond Glaze (Judikins), white opal liquid pearls (Ranger), Dots embossing folder (QuicKutz), sewing machine, Distrezz-it-All (Zutter)

Chicklet CASE Study

Hi everybody! This month I'm honored to be the guest muse over at the Case Study challenge blog! Each Thursday in March they'll be challenging you to be inspired by and loosely CASE a given card of mine.  There's usually a pretty cool prize, so I hope you'll play along with us!

This week, we're CASE-ing this shabby little card I made during my last trip to Laurie's.  Her craft room is so inspiring and I remember having so much fun laughing with her while I made this card using Joy for the Journey and the Vintage Oval stamp and die.  You can read more about the inspiration card on my original post.

For the remake I was inspired by the colors (a very Vervey combo), the layered punches and dies, as well as the diagonal ribbon.  My original card was made as a sneak peek of Verve's October release and today's card is a sneak peek of our March release that's coming up this Friday!

This little chicklet is from the Chicks Rule set the Divas will be previewing on Friday.  Yep, I got all mixed up on my days, so you're getting an extra sneaky peeky!  Good thing  I'm the owner, or I might be in trouble!  {wink}  Charley (yep, that's her name) is colored with prismacolor pencils and gamsol, then I trimmed her out, along with her little scepter and glued the crown on top, adding some turquoise pearls from Pizzazz Aplenty.  She's on a crumb cake background stamped with the title sentiment from the Chicks Rule set.

There's also a few new die sets releasing Friday, and a couple showed up on this card.  The Charming Oval and Charming Banner Die sets can be layered together and were designed to fit many of the sentiments in our Phrases line of stamps.  Here I thought the Princess of Quite a Lot from Munchkin Phrases was the perfect fit.  These layered dies are matted with the SU! scallop oval punch, then I added a mini rosette fit for a princess behind it all.  I finished off with some silk ribbon and a bit of bling.

Okay, that's all for this post, be sure to check out these inspired creations by the CASE Study Design team...

Iwona Palamountain

Amy Wanford

Andrea Ewen

Cristina Kowalczyk

Jean Martin

Julie Smith

Lenet Mos

Melyssa Connolly

Sue Kohler

Teneale Williams

Enabler's List:
Stamps: Chicks Rule, Munchkin Phrases (Verve)
Paper: Road Show (Fancy Pants), Crumb Cake, Early Espresso, Cream
Ink: Early Espresso (SU!), Vintage Photo (Ranger Distress), Prismacolor Pencils & gamsol, Copics
Accessories: Charming Oval Die Set, Charming Banner Die Set (A Cut Above by Verve), Martha Stewart border punch, Mini Rosettes Die (Tim Holtz), Say it in Pearls bling (Prima), silk ribbon (May Arts), aqua flatback pearls (Pizzazz Aplenty), Scallop Oval Punch (SU!), paper distresser, Diamond Glaze (Judikins)

Chirpy CASE Study

Hi everybody! This month I'm honored to be the guest muse over at the Case Study challenge blog! Each Thursday in March they'll be challenging you to be inspired by and loosely CASE a given card of mine.  And this week Verve is sponsoring the prize, so I hope you'll play along!

This week, we're CASE-ing this whimsical little card I made a while back with the Text Objects and Wordy Birds sets.  To read more about this card, you can check out my original post  here.

For the remake I was inspired by the whimsical feel, white accents and the bottom border of the card.  I chose this fun paper I just got by My Little Shoebox and thought the Wordy Birds set would fit perfectly with all the fun little birdhouses.

I started off by cutting my borders using the Big Scallop die from The Cat's Pajamas.  Next I stamped the birdie from Wordy Birds, colored with Copics and cut out.  I made a little nest for him by gluing some linen thread together in a nest like fashion, then added the sentiment strip using the Sentiment Flags die from Lil' Inker Designs.  I layered this all on some circle punches, accented with liquid pearls and glued on so it looked like the nest was about even with the branch on the dp.

My final touch was a bit of white twill knotted, then a big white grommet placed over it.  I highlighted each of the little bumps on the grommet with some liquid pearls to dress it up a bit and then added a bit of Stardust stickles to the birdie's wing and I was finished.

So before you run and start the challenge, be sure to check out these inspired creations by the CASE Study Design team...

Iwona Palamountain

Amy Wanford

Andrea Ewen

Cristina Kowalczyk

Jean Martin

Julie Smith

Lenet Mos

Melyssa Connolly

Sue Kohler

Teneale Williams

Okay, for those of you who read my blog regularly, I came back from the doctor on Monday armed with medicine to treat my sinus infection, ear infection and laryngitis. I had an afternoon and evening of relief and renewed hope that I was on the road to recovery only to wake up Tuesday morning with nausea and I've hardly kept any food down since then.  When it rains, it pours, I guess.  Maybe I'm just getting all my sickness out of the way for the entire year!  LOL  Thanks for all of you who've left such sweet get well wishes and comments.

Enabler's List:
Stamps:  Wordy Birds (Verve Stamps)
Paper: Home Tweet Home DP (My Little Shoebox), White CS
Ink: Black Dye Ink (A Muse), Copics
Accessories: Big Scallop Die (TCP), Sentiment Flags Die (Lil' Inker Designs), Circle punches, jumbo grommett, linen thread (SU!), Stardust Stickles, White Opal Liquid Pearls (Ranger), white twill

Shabby CASE Study

Hi everybody! This month I'm honored to be the guest muse over at the Case Study challenge blog! Each Thursday in March they'll be challenging you to be inspired by and loosely CASE a given card of mine. They usually have some fun prizes, too, so be sure to check it out!

For this week, we're CASE-ing this card I made a while back with the Text Objects set and some dies from TCP.  To read more about this card, you can check out my original post  here.

It's kind of fitting that this is the card we're casing this week.  When I made the original card, I was going through a really rough time and chose the sentiments specifically to remind myself that I am blessed.  And when I sat down to CASE this card, I had just returned from my grandmother's funeral and wanted to give myself a reminder that through everything God is good.  My inspiration came from the subtle text stamping behind the sentiment, the light colors with dark accents and the way the sentiment/die shape looked like a flower.

I started off with a couple Waltzingmouse Stamps, first the tag from Very Vintage Labels No. 4, then I masked off the outer edges and stamped the background from Text-It in Sahara Sand on the tag.  I then embossed over this with the sentiment from Verve's Joy for the Journey set.  Then I did a little sponging and matted on a Labels 4 Nestabilities die cut.

While doing a little organizing, I rediscovered the Tim Holtz Tattered Flowers die in my stash, and thought it would be a great time to break it out and make a shabby flower.  These Julianne papers from K & Company are so soft and pretty, that I was inspired to add some aqua Oregon raindrops to the center and also highlight the Apron border die edge with them as well.  I also found a bit of transparent film strip from Tim Holtz and added that to the card, too.  I finished off with a little chocolate toffee metallic dream string (so shiny and pretty) from Pizzazz Aplenty.

Okay, so before you run and start the challenge, be sure to check out these inspired creations by the CASE Study Design team...

Iwona Palamountain

Amy Wanford

Andrea Ewen

Cristina Kowalczyk

Jean Martin

Julie Smith

Lenet Mos

Melyssa Connolly

Sue Kohler

Teneale Williams

Enabler's List:
Stamps:  Joy for the Journey (Verve Stamps), Very Vintage Labels No. 4, Text-It (Waltzingmouse Stamps)
Paper: Julianne (K & Company), Early Espresso (SU!), Cream
Ink: Sahara Sand, Early Espresso (SU!), Vintage Photo (Ranger Distress)
Accessories: Tattered Florals Die, Damask Texture Fades, Film strip transparency (Tim Holtz), Labels 4 Nestabilities (Spellbinders), Aqua Oregon Rain Drops (Pink Hedgehog), Apron border die (The Cat's Pajamas), chocolate toffee metallic dream string (Pizzazz Aplenty)

Case Study Friend

Hi everybody! This month I'm honored to be the guest muse over at the Case Study challenge blog! If you haven't heard of them, I hope you'll take a moment to check out their fun challenge! Each Thursday in March they'll be challenging you to be inspired by and loosely CASE a given card of mine. They usually have some fun prizes, too, so be sure to check it out! 

For this week, we're CASE-ing this card I made for Mark for our anniversary. It's one of my recent faves and I hope you find some inspiration there!  To read more about this card, you can check out my original post here.

I took my inspiration from the overall shabby chic feel, the rosette and the flower... oh and those little hearts from the Text Objects set.. love them!  My card for today went with a much more feminine feel, but Mark seemed just as impressed by it.  He even momentarily stopped his video game to ooh and ahh over it!  And he knew right away exactly which card I had CASE'd.

I started with the Good Day Sunshine collection by My Mind's Eye and embossed the cheerful friend quote from Text Objects in Early Espresso directly onto the coral paper. Next I used the Damask texture fade to dry emboss above and below the sentiment, then sanded lightly for a super shabby feel. The rosette is made from coordinating paper using the Tim Holtz Rosette die and I matted it onto a Petite Scallop Circle Nestabilities die cut for a little more oomph! Next I added the stamped heart, sponged with a little Groovy Guava then the friend sentiment punched with the modern label punch. The Prima sets it off and I added a hint of glitter and diamond glaze mixture for a little sparkle.

Okay, so before you run and start the challenge, be sure to check out these inspired creations by the CASE Study Design team...

Iwona Palamountain

Amy Wanford

Andrea Ewen

Cristina Kowalczyk

Jean Martin

Julie Smith

Lenet Mos

Melyssa Connolly

Sue Kohler

Teneale Williams

Enabler's List:
Stamps:  Text Objects (Verve Stamps)
Paper: Good Day Sunshine (My Mind's Eye), Early Espresso (SU!), Cream
Ink: Groovy Guava, Early Espresso (SU!), Vintage Photo (Ranger Distress)
Accessories: Rosette Die, Damask Texture Fades (Tim Holtz), Petite Circles Nestabilities (Spellbinders), Prima flower, Modern Label Punch (SU!), Flourish die (Sizzix), Loop trim punch (Martha Stewart), lace, tiny pearls (Pizzazz Aplenty)