Archive for the ‘Catty Cruise line’ Category
Shew, I have so much to tell you, so grab a seat and get comfy.
Have you figured out yet that I'm obsessed with Mo's Digital Pencil images? I can't seem to get enough. They're whimsical, poignant, funny . . . well, you can find an image for just about any mood you want to set. This one makes me just want to pinch those delicious chubby cheeks.
When I was a little girl I was constantly pulling at the corner of my eyes trying to convince my eyes to look like pretty China doll eyes. Don't laugh. I was convinced it would work, and, hey, I wasn't much older than this little baby girl. When I saw the Copic Creations Challenge this week was to create Ethnic Skin Tones(Challenge No. 20), I knew I wanted to take a stab at creating Asian skin tones. Well, okay, I'm not sure I succeeded, because my China doll doesn't look much different from my baby girl. Oh well, at least I gave it a stab.
Here are the markers I used for the China doll (YR0000, YR00 and YR61 for her skin).
And here are the markers I used for the baby girl (E0000, E00 and E21 for her skin).
If you want a better idea of markers to use on Asian and other ethnic skin tones, be sure to check out the challenge; there are links for some great ideas and tutorials.
Once again, I really went to town mixing up challenges. They're just so much fun and they're such a great jumping off point for designing. I used the sketch from the Card Patterns Challenge #48.
And, I got my color theme from Mo herself, at Mo's Bronte and Belle Challenge Blog, Challenge #15.
Oh yeah, I almost forgot . . . here's the card!
- Fibers: Stampin' Up! Satin Ribbon
- Ink – Copic Markers (see above)
- Paper – Stampin' Up! cardstock: Bashful Blue, Whisper White, Almost Amethyst, and elegant Eggplant. Stampin' Up! Designer Series Paper in Almost Amethyst. Neenah Classic Crest Solar White.
- Stamps: Mo's Digital Image I Love It CG
- Tools: Cuttlebug Embossing Folder
Before I leave you, I have some very exciting, Stop-the-Presses news to share. One, is just a hint to stay tuned next week for a big ole' fun announcement. Oooo, that's just a tease, but that's all you get for now.
The other news I have for you is that the Catty Cruise Line has weighed anchor again. The Catty Cruise is a blog hop of some of the most amazing paper craft artists highlighting the latest Stampin' Up! catalogs (aka Catty's). You will not want to miss seeing their beautiful creations – they're stunning. They're also very sweet and dear friends of mine, so be sure to leave them some love (comments), and tell them Linda sent ya.
You can jump on to the Catty Cruise at their home port, here, or just click on the icon below.
Anchors Away!
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Welcome to the second Texas port of the Catty Cruise blog hop. If you just joined me from Angie Tieman's site, Schwooo, isn't she amazing? She put me in such a great mood for Christmas with her Just BeClause projects. We're heading from East to West and back again to 11 ports of call, all highlighting the latest Stampin' Up! mini catalog. If you lose you're way, you can always rejoin us at the Catty Cruise Home Port.
I get to show off the new Stampin' Up! digital scrapbooking program, My Digital Studio (MDS), available October 1. My very first project is - this blog. Of course, I couldn't stop there, so I also redesigned my Twitter page (link to the side). Yep – It's all Stampin' Up! – how cool is that. The MDS software comes with some great ideas and templates for making cards but I wanted to make a "hybrid" card (a combination of digital and non-digital). I challenged myself to see if I could "CASE" one of the prettiest cards in the Splitcoast Stampers gallery, Heather T's "Simply White" card. It was amazingly easy not only to make the card, but to switch out the colors.
Can you see my new watermark? Yep – made with components of the MDS. I opened the MDS stamp, Certified, in Photoshop, erased the word "Certified" and replaced it with my name. Here's the before and after. Very clever, no? Here's the before and after. Very clever, no?
Because MDS is a digital medium, you can also turn your digital scrapbooks into an on-line video. Using the pre-designed scrapbook kits in MDS is so freakin' easy, I made this 19-page scrapbook in one evening – with one eye on the Dallas Cowboy football game. (Thank goodness the Cowboys won. Who knows what the pages would have looked like.)
I made this scrapbook to honor my daughter's college graduation in August. If you don't want to take the time now to see the whole video (do come back later), here's my favorite page. 
I have a confession. The MDS does have an option to export your scrapbook into a movie, but when I tried it, I got a fuzzy result. No worries – you can export all your scrapbook pages into .jpg files. Using the .jpg files, I was able to make my movie with the Windows Movie Maker. The MDS software package is so versatile, you can use it with whatever other programs you like, such as Photoshop, Smilebox, Flickr . . . the options are mind boggling.
Blog and Twitter Page:
- MDS Background: Crushed Curry Designer Series, Soft Flower
- MDS Stamps: Garden Whimsey and Frames with a Flourish
- Font: TPDoodle. (My Digital Scrapbook does not come with fonts, it uses the fonts in your computer)
Garden Whimsey Hybrid Cards
- MDS Background: Bermuda Bay, Crushed Curry, and Rich Razzzleberry Designer Series and Cardstock; Whisper White Cardstock
- Cardstock: Whisper White; Bermuda Bay, crushed Curry and Rich Razzleberry
- Fibers: Whisper White Taffeta Ribbon
Happy Graduation Caitlin Scrapbook
- MDS Summer Home Designer Template
Watermark 
- MDS Stamp Set: Certified
- Font: Mistral
I just opened the box to My Digital Scrapbook last week – that's how easy this program is to learn. And guess what, I'm not the only one on the cruise whose been having fun with the program . . . so it's time to send you onward and Westward to North Dakota where you can visit LeeAnn Greff's Flowerbug's Inkspot. Lee Ann's highlighting the Delightful Decorations stamp set and Ornament punch – you're in for a huge treat.
Ahoy, me Hearties! Welcome to our maiden voyage on the Catty Cruise. If you just sailed from Linda Heller’s port of call, Where the Rubber Hits the Road, isn’t she amazing?! I’ve been following (stalking) her for ages, and I love everything she does, especially the magic she performed with those wood sheets.
Grab a deck chair. We’ve gathered 12 incredible stampers for an amazing cruise through the new Stampin’ Up! catalog. You’ll get to the next port by clicking on the port hole at the end of this post. But, if we somehow lose you along the way, you can always rejoin us by visiting our home port, Catty Cruise Line.
My favorite thing about the new catalog is that it combines some of my favorite stamp sets from the previous catalog with some amazing new products. So, while I’m highlighting the new butterfly punch and the Cottage Wall Designer Series Paper, I’m also showing off one of my favorite sets not-so-new sets, Flight of the Butterfly.
Does this look familiar? Check out page 118 of the catalog. I forget sometimes what a great inspiration the catalog is. When I saw the butterfly shadowbox, it reminded me so much of collecting insects at girl scout camp (yes, I was a girl scout). If you look really closely, you can see I even stuck little pins in the butterflies, just like we did at camp. (I promise, no butterflies were injured in the making of this specimen case.)
Now, if you look real, real close, you can see a few other new products: the brown butterfly in the top left corner is textured with the new Finial Press Embossing Folder and the Playground and Button Latte Designer Buttons embellish two of the butterflies on the right. Oh, and I love the new 1-1/4″ Striped Grosgrain Ribbon.
I used our new Circle Scissor Plus to cut circles out of cork sheets and layered them on our Medal Edge Tags – clever for pinning down my butterfly specimens, huh. The butterfly in the middle is stamped with the baby wipe technique – a great technique for creating one-of-a-kind specimens. And, because each butterfly is unique, the tag at the very top left uses the “Define Your Life” stamp set and says: “or-i-gin-al: Fresh and innovative, One of a kind, unique, first in its class. Work of Heart. ‘Be original.’ ”
So, now we need a card to go with this.
But, wait, this is a quad-fold card.
And, yep, I snuck in a few more new products, like the 1/2″ Polka Dot Grosgrain Ribbon, Modern label Punch, and Elegant Bouquet Embossing Folder (sanded to make it pop out a bit). Shew . . . too many ingredients in these projects to give all the details today. But, later this week, I’ll give you all the recipe and instructions so you can make your own specimen bo x and coordinating card.
As much as I’d love to keep you at Catered Crop, it’s time to weigh anchor again and embark on to the next port, the fabulously talented Lynn Weiss at L W Designs. She’s going to show you projects with the tranquil set, Peace Within.
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Till next time when I’ll give you more details to make your own butterfly card and specimen box, smooth sailing to you all. I’ll also share with you a very special cause for celebrating and making butterfly crafts.
Oh my goodness, we’re all so excited over at the Catty Cruise Line. Our blog hop is now just hours away. Our 12 incredible stampers and crafters will have all the cargo packed and our maiden voyage will push away from shore at midnight (Central Standard Time) tonight!
I have to say right up front – I am so incredibly honored to be included with these stamping superstars. . . . Just had to get that in before all the excitement begins.
Okay, speaking of excitement, I can’t wait to share with you what I made. So, I’m going to cheat and give you just a port-hole sneak peak. Ready?
That’s it . . . more to come tonight!
So, Landlubbers, what is a Catty Cruise you ask? Well, Catty is our affectionate name for the Stampin’ Up! Idea Book and Catalog. And our Cruise is a blast of creativity by some of the
Our crew of 12 crafters (Stewards) will give you a treasure map of the great bounty to be found in the new catalog. Our blogs (or
We’re anchored ashore for now, but bookmark or subscribe to this site to make sure you don’t miss the boat. You can also visit our home port, Catty Cruise Line to stay in touch with the latest cruise information and visit all of our Cruise Stewards and Boatswain (on-deck backup crew). Our ship will leave her port on July 25, 2009. Don’t be stuck in steerage – embark with us on July 25.
