RIC#8 - last minute entry!

Hello!

I'll edit this post in a sec. It was a true last minute entry and I only had 4 minutes to spare! Phew! I think I made it. :-)

Well, that was exciting! I've been pondering this challenge since it first went up, and somehow I forgot to make my card, LOL! This is for Runway Inspired Challenge #8. This is the lovely inspiration from Alexander McQueen.

I wanted to get the brown of the leaves and the charcoal of the wall in with the black with bright flowers. I didn't want too much white on my card (and this was my challenge, I like white!) While I've been pondering this picture for a couple of weeks, I only left myself 20 minutes to make, photograph, post, and link the entry. Talk about procrastination!!

Here is a closer version of the photo. Not my usual background. Although, my sofa makes a lovely colour background to this card. :-)

I used PTI Rosie Posie, Hero Arts Say It All. The paper is Stampin'Up! Mocha Morning. Card is Early Espresso, Black, and White (all SU!). I white embossed the sentiment.

Thanks for stopping in to visit!

Michelle
xxx

Happy Tulips for Tuesday Trigger

Hello!

Bringing you a card to look at today... surprise! :-)

When I saw the Tuesday Trigger: Happy Happy Joy Joy, I was in love. I had an instant idea. I love it when that happens. Take a look at the inspiration photo.

I love it. The colours, the patterns, the NEATNESS of it. Yum!

Things were looking positive, I stamped out that tulip background and was VERY happy with how it looked. All those gorgeous earthy colours. Then I got stuck... and I sat and stared at it for a while... and I cut a couple of pieces of ribbon... and I die-cut and fussy cut the frames... and sat... and stared... and then I cut that mustard banner... and sat staring at it all... and then I sent up some prayers... because I seriously had crafters block!!!!  Can you tell this was a frustrating process? LOL! Each and every part of this card took long hard work.  When I finished I thought it looked too plain. Then I looked at the photo again and thought maybe it wasn't plain enough? And THEN I decided to just live with it the way it is and call it finished. Phew!

Here is the card again.

Despite the angst, I like it. :-)

I used PTI Think Big Favorites #12, Fillable Frames #10, Flower Fusion #11, SU! inks (daffodil delight, really rust, more mustard, soft suede, crumb cake, pumpkin pie, old olive), ribbon is SU! taffeta. Card is SU! early espresso, and the panel is white. That little button and bow is tied onto my ribbon with a piece of twine (this allowed me to fiddle with the placement before sticking everything down).

Before I go, I wanted to say a big thank-you to Lisa from I'm in Haven for nominating me for the Liebster Blog Award.  I did receive and forward this award a little while ago, but I didn't want to miss the opportunity to thank Lisa and to offer you the opportunity to go and check out her awesome work. In fact I am not sure why I didn't nominate Lisa myself, perhaps I thought she had over 200 followers? I'm surprised she doesn't! Lisa is one of my favourite card makers and she is a totally inspirational woman way beyond her cards. Please make a little time to pay her a visit and let her know I sent you. :-)

Thanks for coming to visit today.

Michelle
xxx

Easter is coming!

Hello!

I actually published this over at my photo blog but I thought it was a little bit crafty, so I would share it here as well.

Today I am showing a tiny bit of "super-Mummy" powers.

First I will disclose that while I make cards, I am not a particularly crafty Mum, and my kids don't get to take cool gifts to school at Valentines or Christmas, etc. Usually I don't do anything at Easter either, because I'm a bit of a grouch and don't like my kids eating too much junk food and SO MANY kids give SO MUCH chocolate at Easter time! I can honestly say that each year we often still have Easter chocolate left over as Christmas approaches because we end up with so much given to us all. Crazy! Oh, I should also tell you, I'm not one of those women who swoon over chocolate. I can totally enjoy eating one box of chocolates over a period of months. Yes, I'm strange, LOL! Put a block of cheese in front of me with some crackers, and it is a very different story...

Back to Easter. Tomorrow is the last day of school before Easter break. I realised this tonight. And I remembered that I'd seen some cute Easter Egg Butterflies that I told my daughter I might make. She took this to mean that I would make them (and if she thinks I will, then I must). This is what I saw:

I don't have the right punches for this. Or the time and patience to make those cute antennae. So I took a short cut, and this is what I came up with:

They're little butterflies sitting on scallop circle flowers. :-)

They're colourful, aren't they?

I'm pretty sure I'll be my daughter's hero for at least five minutes tomorrow morning.

:-)
Michelle

Papertrey March Blog Hop Challenge

Hello!

I think this is the first time that I have managed to organise myself at the right time to participate in a Papertrey Ink Blog Hop. A bit of a miracle. All I need to do now is to remember to link it up in the morning (when it is past 10am US EST). :-)

The inspiration is this:

All of that happy yellow and a touch of aqua. Lovely!

Here is my card:

I used PTI Rosie Posie, Think Big Favorites #12, Mat Stack #1 and Layers Mat Stack #1. I used a Sizzix Stripes embossing folder and covered it in yellow ink before embossing to created the yellow stripes. Colours are SU! Daffodil Delight, Barely Banana (retired), Pool Party, and Soft Suede. I used PTI white card.

I really love those yellow stripes. :-)

Thanks for coming by to visit!

Michelle

xxx

Butterfly birthday

Hello!

Today I am combining two challenges - Gayatri's Inspired by Pinterest and CASE Study #83.

I follow Gayatri on Pinterest (as well as here in blogland), and her pins are always inspiring. I don't know how she managed to choose just one image for this challenge, LOL! This is the image.

I love butterflies, don't you?

At CASE Study this week, the muse is still Laura Bassen (yay!), with this lovely card.

I love the layout. I love the simplicity.

By the time I finished my card, it wasn't as simple as I had planned, but I still like it. :-)

I used PTI Background Basics: Circles and Pretty Peonies. The colours are SU! poppy parade, pretty in pink, and soft suede. Card is PTI white (the card) and SU! white (the front panels).

Thanks for stopping by to visit. I hope you like the card. :-)

Michelle
xxx

Simple Spring Elegance - Tuesday Trigger and Jay Gee's Nook Challenge

Hello!

Once again I have been pondering the current Jay Gee's Nook Challenge for a long time. It is Easter themed - bunnies and eggs. BUT, it also has lots of pretty pastels and I was thinking pastels and kraft and "Spring" even though we are in Autumn for Easter at this end of the world. This is the photo inspiration.

I thought about borrowing some bunny and egg stamps, or borrowing any of the gorgeous silhouette stamps that are out there at the moment, but then I decided to fall back to my Spring theme when I saw the Tuesday Trigger: Simple Elegance this week. Here it is:

Yummo! I could LIVE in that room. This room appeals to me through and through. See that vase of tulips on the table, and that lovely pale pink rug? All that brown and beige and cream, a touch of white and a touch of pink. PERFECT.

This is my card:

The card base is SU! early espresso, the cream panel is PTI vintage cream. The colours are SU! crumb cake, pretty in pink, certainly celery. Stamps are SU! Bliss (the damask), PTI Think Big Favorites #11 and Flower Fusion #11. (I used a ruled pencil line and a stamp positioner to get that background stamped). Oh, and I used Spellbinders Nestabilities Circles to cut the aperture and circle.

Thanks for stopping by!

Michelle
xxx

CAS-ual Fridays #45 - pastels and black

Hello!

CAS-ual Fridays challenge #45 this week is to use pastels and black. I have to say, I don't think I've ever made a card using pastels and black, and yet all the DT cards were so gorgeous, I had to give it a go myself.

This is my card:

This card was claimed as soon as it was made. It's a hit here at home! That always makes me happy.

The stamps are PTI Think Big Favorites #12 and Tag-Its #10. I used PTI white card, SU! black, almost amethyst (retired), pretty in pink, barely banana (retired).

This card looks very simple, but for me it meant a little bit of maths to figure out just how wide those three stripes had to be, and how much border needed to go around the panel. I adhered the pastel stripes onto a piece of card, and then trimmed the edges to make sure they were all neat. THEN I stuck the whole panel down on the black panel. The black panel is up on foam to give it some depth.

Thank-you to everyone who left me lovely get-well wishes this past week. I had a shocker of a time with that headache and all the rest, and all of your good wishes went a long way to making me feel much better.

Thanks for stopping by!

Michelle
xxx

CASE Study #82 and Clean and Simple #181

Hello!

The CASE Study muse this month is Laura Bassen. I wish I had had time to enter all of the challenges. I love Laura Bassen. For CASE Study #82, this is the inspiration.

My interpretation doesn't come close, but here it is:

I used PTI Tiny Tags and cut my stars from Stampin' Up! Ruby Red (retired), Pumpkin Pie, Daffodil Delight, and Old Olive. I strung them up on Twinery twine. The sentiment is Think Big Favorites #13. The card base is PTI basic white.

Edited to add: I just realised that this card also fits with the sketch over at Clean & Simple #181, so linking up now. :-)

Skip this paragraph if you don't want to listen to me whinge... I have spent most of the past few days in bed. I am aching all over, including a massive headache, I have a sore throat, and I am very tired. I was lying in bed (very bored) thinking "Maybe I feel worse because I am just laying around? Perhaps if I just got up and got moving around a bit, I'll feel better?".  I got up, made a sandwich, threw on a load of washing, and made this card. I can now report that I do not feel better, I feel worse, and I'm off to jump back into bed, sigh! I really don't like being sick. I am ready to get better now. :-)

Thanks for coming by to visit!

Michelle
xxx

Happy 1st Birthday!

Hello!

Today I attended my niece's 1st birthday party. The card was made using the sketch from Pals Paper Arts Challenge #131 and the colours from CR84FN Challenge #50. I also made it with the guidelines from CAS-ual Fridays #44 which dictates that we use 1. A pattern 2. An image and 3. A sentiment.

It actually looks better in real life. It is very pretty. :-)  I used the new PTI Anniversary Set Pretty Peonies (image and sentiment) and Hero Arts Zig Zag (my pattern). Colours are Pretty in Pink, Pumpkin Pie, Apricot Appeal, Daffodil Delight. The dies are PTI.

And just before I go, I will give you a peek at my niece's very gorgeous cake.

Thanks for coming to visit! It is always lovely to see your comments.

Michelle
xxx

For Your Inspiration #26 - Get Well

Hello!

It's time for another For Your Inspiration challenge!  The inspiration photo this week is full of rich colours and so much inspiration. You could take the colour theme, the asian influence, the bridge, the trees...and so much more.

I liked that cream bridge hiding in all those red leaves. The colours are so rich.

I used PTI vintage cream card, and Stampin'Up! Ruby Red (retired). The flower is Jane's Doodles Pretty Peonies stamped onto patterned paper and vellum, fussy cut, layered and glued together. The sentiment is Hero Arts Say It All. I stamped on the vellum with Stayz On ink, the other stamping is Memento Tuxedo Black.  I did use the PTI canvas/linen impression plate on the red panel, but it doesn't show so well in this photo. Try this other photo (taken at night, so not so great).

I do hope you join us at FYI for this challenge. I can't wait to see what you come up with!

Why don't you pop over to visit the other DT members, they have some awesome cards for this challenge.

Debbie

Debby
Irena
Karen

Rochelle

Sara

Steph
Sylvia

Vicki

Michelle
xxx

Happy Birthday, Mum!

Hello!

I have two cards to share today. They were both rejects from a recent submission call. That was actually okay, because I really created them for my Mum and my Mum-in-Law for their birthdays. I was a bit worried that if they got picked up in the call that I would have to recreate them for the Mums, LOL!

The first was for my mother-in-law. She likes purple and she likes flowers, especially roses. She is one of the most talented gardeners I know. She has a small garden which always has something pretty, something that smells nice, and it is always under control (unlike my garden). I love looking over it EVERY time I visit. Here is her card:

The second was for my Mum. My Mum is more into Spring colours, she also loves flowers, and she is also a great gardener. My Mum's garden is gigantic. She has a half acre block with very little lawn, it is pretty much ALL garden. It is full of shrubs, trees, and flowers galore. There are also many, many fruit trees and a couple of vege patches. There are also food plants growing all amongst the flowers. Mum likes the cottage garden style, and she does it well. She has a fairy garden built for my girls and when we visit, they disappear in there for ages. The fairy garden is full of fairy lights and at night it is magical. This is my Mum's card:

The photo is terrible. It is an easel card, but to get all of the card properly in the photo, I had to angle it weirdly. Trust me, it's pretty, LOL!

I'm loving the combination of PTI Rosie Posie and Filigrie Border, yum!

Happy Birthday to both my Mum-in-Law and my Mum. Lots of love to you both.

Thanks for visiting today, I hope you like my cards.

Michelle

xxx

OLW#81 and LIM#57

Hello!

This week's challenge over at One Layer Wednesday is to use Black, Cream, and Bling. I love this colour combination, and for some reason I never use it. Along came Less Is More for the week, and the colour theme is Neutrals. I love neutrals. If I can find the time, I am going to make another card (or two) in the neutrals theme.

Here is my card:

I used PTI Harvest Berries, and Hero Arts Say It All, along with some SU! Pearls, and a Copic Multiliner to create the frame. Easy peasy!

That was my second card. My first card, didn't turn out quite as I imagined, so it gets relegated to second place in my show-and-tell.

The flourishes are a retired SU! roller. The sentiment is Hero Arts Say It All. The little flowers with the bling actually belong to a PTI set, which I can't remember the name of. The bling is SU! Rhinestones.

Thanks for coming to visit today.

Michelle
xxx

For Your Inspiration #25 - blue and orange

Hello!

It's time for For Your Inspiration Challenge #25! The photo inspiration looks like it is from Greece, those beautiful white walls and blue roofs. And we get sunset thrown in as well.

Our March sponsor is Your Next Stamp. All participants at For Your Inspiration Challenge #25 get 15% discount off their next order. Their stamps are absolutely lovely, lots of cute images to choose from. The code for the discount is over on FYI, to collect when you link up your entry. :-)

The inspiration I took from the photograph this week was blue, white, and orange. As soon as I thought of that colour combination, I was thinking a fun kids' card. So that is what I made.

Fox and Friends (Stampin' Up!) are having a party!

Once I'd finished this card, I thought I ought to find a little Dutch boy to give it to. I'll tell you why (bear with me while I give you a small history of Brisbane football (soccer). I don't know much about Brisbane football history, so some of my facts may be wrong, LOL!

Several years ago, when my hubby and I built our first house, we lived down the road from the Brisbane Lions Football Club. The clubhouse was small and definitely not inviting. Around the same time, there was a merger of two of the AFL (Australian Football League - Australian Rules football, not soccer) clubs - Brisbane Bears and Fitzroy Lions. They wanted to become the Brisbane Lions, but the little soccer club in Richlands already owned that name... so there was a deal done. The Brisbane Lions turned into the Queensland Lions FC. (And the Brisbane Bears turned into the Brisbane Lions AFL club.)

Suddenly, overnight (or it felt like that at the time) the little soccer club in Richlands turned into a mega, super-duper, fully-fledged football club with their colours (blue and orange) blazing in all their glory. It's amazing what a little money will do for a sporting club. The club was excellent - the food was great, they had child-minding so you could relax, they had a cafe for coffee and cake, as well as the usual gaming machines. This is when I learned all about football clubs in Brisbane. The orange and blue blazing all over the new club reflected the Dutch heritage of the team. Orange is the Dutch national colour and the colour of the royal family (their flag is red, white, and blue). The Royal Standard is orange and blue. Other teams in Brisbane were other nationalities, and other equally bright colours.

Queensland Roar (managed originally by Queensland Lions) became a professional team in the new A-League national competition, and a few years later changed their name to Brisbane Roar (because there were now two more Qld teams), and in the 2011 season saw them win 36 times in a row to take out their first Premiership and Championship.

Now that you have learned more than you ever wanted to know about football in Australia (and let me tell you, football in Australia is much bigger than that little story), why don't you go and visit my teamies from the For Your Inspiration Design Team:

Debbie

Debby
Irena
Karen

Rochelle

Sara

Steph
Sylvia

Vicki

Thanks for coming by to visit, it's always lovely to have you drop in.

Michelle
xxx