CASEplorations January

Well, flip that calendar page over and say hello to 2016, will ya? Hope you enjoyed a lovely holiday season and are ready for a new year of creating. Thanks for stopping by. We at CASEplorations are here to help ;)

We have tweaked the challenge a little bit. We'll still be sharing one amazing card from blogland to CASE each month. We'll still be sharing our CASEs with you on the first of the month. We are asking you to join us by CASEing that one amazing card and hooking your project(s) up in the CASEplorations gallery by the end of the month. Easy peasy. We've got a new challenge graphic for you to share and we'll even give you a reminder mid-month ;)

We've tweaked the prizes too. The team will vote for a winner who will receive a $15 gift certificate to the STAMPlorations store OR a 3x5 stamp set. Two runners up will receive a $5 gift certificate. Are you ready to play?

I am delighted to welcome one of blogland's favorite cardmaking "personalities" as our guest designer to CASE this month. Impeccable design - usually clean, seldom simple. Awesome use of colors, usually rainbow. Hilarious videos. Any guesses? Need more clues? How about french fries and chocolate? (Chocolate was actually how I got to know Laura - Aldi chocolate in fact - but that's another story ;) Please meet her amazing card.

Image Source

This perfectly-executed-ombre-embossing-paste beauty is from the amazingly talented Laura Bassen of Doublestick Heaven! I'm pretty certain you know her, but if you don't you must check out her blog and fantastic videos. She continuously inspires with her spot on designs for Simon Says Stamp, Mama Elephant and Paper Smooches. And in her role as instructor at Online Card Classes and Craftsy! And don't you just love how she CASEd herself in this card that just screams "take me to Hawaii"?

Again, Laura used a stencil (Bold Florals) with colored embossing paste, but this time accentuating the shading of the blooms and leaves. I love the sentiment treatment, especially the big and bold "hugs". And again she used the wispy thread nest and dew drops to add that perfect final touch to her design. There's always something to learn from Laura B. Thanks for being a never-ending source of inspiration!

We'll be back with a mid-month reminder post and another card of Laura's to share with you. For now, and before we get on to the DT CASEs, I've got a tidbit of crafting wisdom for you.

I asked Laura:

What are your favorite tricks for covering up an ink smudge?
"Here's my top secret trick for covering up smudges. I throw it away and start over. I guess if I absolutely cannot start over again, I would try to cover it up with either a die cut image or sentiment."

See, that's what separates the men from the boys. I was looking for a trick and got wisdom. If you wanna do it right, like a pro, start over again!

So here's how the DT CASEd Laura's card.

Kim

Cornelia

Vicki

Shirley

Deepti

Maria F.

Monika

Color scheme, embossing/paste, bold sentiments, thread. You can recognize many of Laura's elements in all the DT cards, yet they are each unique. How would you go about CASEing Laura's lovely leaf card? We would love to see in the gallery below. You can read the challenge rules here. The linky is open until the end of the day January 31st. Won't you join us? 

An InLinkz Link-up