Clean and Simple Card Making 2 - Day 3

Hello!

Today's lesson over at Clean & Simple Card Making 2 was wonderful. Three fabulous videos jam-packed with inspiration. Unfortunately my day didn't lend itself to actually using that inspiration so well, but here I am sharing what I did anyway. ;-)

Jennifer showed us a new technique for creating gradient colour. I've never done it before, and I was a bit scared to try, but I'm happy with the outcomes as far as colour go (I won't go into the bits I'm dissatisfied with!).

This card uses PTI Background Basics: Circles and Think Big Favorites #16 (?). Colours are SU! Pool Party, Certainly Celery, Daffodil Delight.

My second card was following Shari Carroll's tuition. The lesson was great, my application of it not quite what I planned. Instead of properly finishing this card, I dealt with a major 5-year-old tantrum. After that, I was too exhausted to play anymore. ;-)

This card uses PTI Teach & Inspire stamps and dies. Colours are SU! Poppy Parade, Certainly Celery, and Early Espresso.

There was more inspiration at Day 3, and I know I'm going to have to revisit the lessons again to soak up all the ideas.

Thanks for coming to visit!

Michelle
xxx

Clean and Simple Card Making 2 - Day 2

Hello!

I had visions of stamping one-layer cards all day today. Instead I've been doing a very last minute job of covering books and ensuring my girls have everything they need for the start of the school year. They were supposed to start today, but due to the storm damage and flooding in Brisbane, school was delayed. My big girl starts Grade 5 tomorrow and my little girl starts Prep (first year of school) on Monday next week. I can't believe school holidays are over. It's been so nice not doing all those school lunches, chasing kids to brush teeth and hair, etc!

Anyway, back to the reason for this post. I did manage to make one card for Clean & Simple Card Making 2, where today's theme is one-layer cards. A couple of years ago, one-layer cards petrified me. These days I actually really love them.

This is what I made today. I used masking to add depth and interest.

I used PTI Rosie Posie and Think Big Favorites #12. Colours are SU! Pretty in Pink, Certainly Celery, PTI Berry Sorbet, and Memento Tuxedo Black. Card base is PTI white.

Thanks for coming by to visit!

Michelle
xxx

Clean and Simple Card Making 2 - Day 1

Hello!

I was starting to worry that my absent internet connection was going to seriously mess with my real-time participation in the Clean & Simple Card Making 2 online classes, but at the last minute service was restored. Hooray!

Today is Day 1. There is lots of inspiration to work with, and four sketches to choose from. So far, I have managed to make one card. Part of taking this class (and I did take Clean & Simple Card Making last year) is that I want to try some new things. So my choice of what lesson/idea to apply today was dictated by the technique I hadn't tried before - using misting sprays and a template.

I don't actually own any mists. I made my own using diluted re-inker in a mister bottle. It worked! It was MESSY! I almost gave up at the point that I had navy blue speckles all over the place (lucky I'd taken Tracey's tip and taken my work to the laundry tub - and I did clean up before the hubby discovered my mess!) I also discovered (again) that I have a serious shortage of sentiments in my stamp supply. That said, I'm VERY happy with the outcome and think I might try this again!

The photo doesn't do this card justice. White and navy work so well!  I made a template using the happy hexagon plate. I sprayed SU! Night of Navy over it and then set the card aside to dry while I worked on the other bits. I silver embossed the PTI Strawberry Patch sentiment, and stamped the PTI Star Prints sentiment in navy. The card was finished without those little stars, but I felt it needed just a little bit more, so on they went. :-)

I can't wait until tomorrow's class!

Michelle
xxx

Mobile Blogging...

Hello!

It's been a few days without home Internet, and I'm becoming quite frustrated, like most blogging addicts would! Here in Brisbane, and Queensland generally, we have experienced some wild weather. Unfortunately that has left about 260000 without power and about 400000 without phone or Internet services. We've been lucky - we won't flood (although many are), we still have power, and my mobile phone has had service most of the time. But, we don't have home Internet, and the whole family are feeling it - modern day problems, LOL!

This brings me to today's attempt at mobile blogging. I've added my photos, but I'm not sure how they'll show up in the post because they aren't inline with the text, so confusing.

One card is for this week's Dynamic Duos where we've been asked to use Soft Suede and Crumb Cake. My other card is one I made yesterday to while away the time stuck at home while the wind and rain howled outside.

Hopefully this works. If it doesn't, I'll be back to fix it when my Internet service returns. :-)

Michelle
xxx

Papertrey Ink January Blog Hop - Part 2

Hello!

Today has been rainy here. It's forecast for even more rain right over the long week-end. Tomorrow (January 26) is Australia Day for us. It appears that it will be a soggy celebration! Fingers crossed for a miracle.

This is my second card for the Papertrey Ink January Blog Hop. It was quite tricky to photograph!

I used Rosie Posie and Think Big Favorites #16. The dies are Rosie Posie for the leaves, and a Spellbinders circle for the flower.

I really like black background cards. Because I love my white card bases so much I often forget about black!

Thanks for coming to visit!

Michelle
xxx

Papertrey Ink January Blog Hop - Part 1

Hello!

It's time for the Papertrey Ink January Blog Hop! This month the theme is Black Backgrounds. I have made two cards. I had more inspiration to go, but I haven't had enough time this week to put it into cards. Perhaps I'll find some time before the blog hop ends. :-)

This is my first card.

I used Tag-Its #11 and Think Big Favorites #11 stamps. 

This is the inspiration.

Thanks for coming by to visit.

Michelle
xxx

The ridiculous ways of a perfectionist crafter...

Hello!

I am a perfectionist. BUT, I make big attempts to crush my perfectionism down to a manageable level, because (as it turns out) it is very difficult to actually ACHIEVE perfection. It also makes it difficult on those I live with when I let my inner-perfectionist have full-reign. I have made a discovery over the years - people still like my creations in which I can see multiple flaws.

Today, the perfectionist came out to play! Argh!

Here is the card that I THINK is the one I want to put forward (and I'll show you the others anyway, so you can have a giggle at my craziness).

The flowers are Jane's Doodles Pretty Peonies. The colours are SU! Real Red and Memento Tuxedo Black. The card base is PTI Basic White. The black line is made using a Copic Multiliner.

This card (and the others) was made for Retro Sketches #47 and Dynamic Duos #36.

I was determined to respond to this Retro Sketches challenge, because the last time I attempted the "framed sentiment" technique I couldn't quite get it.

Dynamic Duos has the dessert option of a Valentine Theme. Here was my attempt that included the theme. This one was actually my most technically perfect for the stamping and masking, but I felt I had misplaced the flowers at the top of the frame, they were too even, sigh! And now I'm getting the urge to go and make another to get it REALLY perfect, LOL!

This was my other version, which was almost right, but didn't quite do it for me. Maybe if I'd used the outline flower on the bottom frame?

Thanks for coming to visit. You now know me a little better!

Michelle
xxx

A card in 10 minutes?

Hello!

I've been watching the 10 Minute Craft Dash for a while now. I've been intrigued. I look at everyone's amazing creations and think to myself, "There is NO WAY I would ever be able to create a card within 10 minutes!"  It turns out I was wrong. I can actually create a card in 2 minutes 27 seconds. And then if I want to fancy it up a bit, it will take me 6 minutes and 8 seconds. And then, if I want to add a little extra bling at the end, I'm pretty confident it didn't take me 3 minutes and 52 seconds to adhere it. :-)

This is the final card. Yes, I've been photographing at night again (sorry!).

I used Mama Elephant Nursery Deco stamps. Card base is PTI Basic White. Ink is Memento London Fog and SU! Pretty in Pink. The paper is Pebbles.

The 10 Minute Craft Dash for Challenge #10 asks us to use the colours Green, Pink, and Grey.  I immediately thought of this stamp set and a one-layer baby card. It definitely helps to have an idea in your head before you start a 10 minute card!

The following photos show my stages and timing. This was the first version.

Totally acceptable if you only have 3 minutes before you have to dash out the door and you've forgotten a card. But, I felt that little giraffe needed a little boost... so...

This was the second stage.

It takes me 3 1/2 minutes to stamp and fussy cut one tiny giraffe. Now, can you see why I like dies so much?

The final version (up top) has a couple of rhinestones, but I'd stopped timing, and only decided to add them while I was photographing the card. It took me another 10 seconds or so to attach them.

I might give this challenge another go, and try to make something more involved next time! I think I made it too easy on myself by going one-layer. ;-)

This was fun!

Thanks for coming to visit!

Michelle
xxx

Kara's Inspiration Challenge

Hello!

Kara over at KandRDesigns is hosting a little challenge to celebrate 100 weeks of pinning her weekly Friday Inspiration File on Pinterest. I have been enjoying Kara's blog and her Pinterest pins FOREVER, so I thought I'd take part in the challenge (I always love a chance to CASE someone!).

The challenge is to pick one of the cards in the Friday Inspiration File and CASE it. I chose a card from week #98.

This is the card I created.
I warn you, I didn't come close to the card I was CASEing, probably because I chose a MASTER to CASE. :-)

I used (all PTI) Rosie Posie stamps. Block Alpha dies. Patterned paper Plain Jane. Basic White card base. Fresh Linen ink. SU! Soft Suede ink, and Ranger Liquid Pearls in bisque.

Are most of you already shouting - "That's Pamela!"?  - well, you would be right.

This is Pamela's gorgeous card (please, if you want to pin this, go to Pamela's blog and pin from the original source).

It would help if I kept the original in front of me while I worked, but I like to CASE by looking, examining, and then going with what is in my head, rather than the actual card. I think my card has promise, and I'll be using this design again (thanks, Pamela!).

Thanks, Kara, for hosting this challenge, and for your inspiration file. I love your work, and I love your choices for inspiration!

Michelle
xxx

Blue Birthday with a tiny bit of embossing!

Hello!

Turns out you CAN whip up another card while dying of heat exhaustion! (Joyce, I'm in Brisbane, Australia, and it is about 35.5C = 98F?). I heard that yesterday Sydney had its hottest day ever at 45C. When it's that hot, it's a different heat. It's DRY. I'm not sure if I prefer our sticky, humid heat or the dry heat... probably neither, I'd rather snow!!

This card started with a lot of embossing, and a little  bit of blue. But then it just didn't work, so most of my embossing ended up covered in blue! You can still see the embossing at the top. The whole bottom section of the card is embossed, but I covered it up with die cuts. ;-)  Can someone tell me what die will cut the right size star for Papertrey Ink Star Prints? I really don't like hand cutting them!

I used PTI Botanical Silhouettes (sentiment), Star Prints, Background Basics (Circles) stamps. I also used PTI Chevron Stripes dies to emboss and die cut. I hand cut the star. Colours are SU! Bashful Blue and Night of Navy. Card base is PTI Basic White.

This card was made for Addicted to CAS #4 and CASology #27

Thanks for coming to visit!

Now, I might just jump in that pool!

Michelle
xxx

Birthday card and an envelope...

Hello!

Today it is HOT, HOT, HOT!! Again! I think I may expire!

Despite the heat, I pondered the problem of packaging over-size cards.

This is my card. I've been playing around with Papertrey Ink Teach & Inspire stamps to see what I can do that is not a "teacher" card.

I used PTI Teach & Inspire and Happy Hexagons (sentiment). Colours are SU! Crumb Cake, Pretty In Pink, Pumpkin Pie, PTI Berry Sorbet (I don't have Melon Mambo). Card base is PTI Basic White.

I made it in response to two challenges - Color Throwdown #225 and CAS(E) This Sketch #11

Looking at the sketch again, I see that I didn't quite place my sentiment in the right place, but I'm sure you get the picture!

My card has a few points of the star going over the edge, which will require custom packaging. Usually I just get a bigger envelope, but this week at Make It Monday #100 we've been challenged to find a different way to package our oversize cards. I made a few attempts at this. I really like the glassine bags that Dawn used in the video, but I don't have any. So I tried a brown paper bag. It sort of worked, but I got too fancy and it didn't match my CAS card so well. Back to pondering how to get the glassine bag look... and I ended up with greaseproof paper from my kitchen drawer. Turns out greaseproof paper makes a lovely, delicate envelope!

Here they are together.

And then packaged up.

Thanks for coming to visit. Now, should I make another card, or should I jump in that pool?

Michelle
xxx

Dynamic Duos #35

Hello!

Apologies for bombarding you with posts today! I forgot to post this one, and the deadline approaches for Dynamic Duos #35, so I can't reschedule for another day...

I used Hero Arts Bicycle stamps. Colours are SU! Barely Banana and Certainly Celery. Card base is PTI Vintage Cream.

Edit to add: I made this card with A Blog Named Hero Challenge #18 in mind, and I forgot to link it up! Lucky it is still open! The Hero Arts Bicycle stamps package have a (c)2011 date, so I'm guessing they're from the 2011 release... does that qualify as "old"? :-)

In other news, I signed up to take the Clean & Simple Card Making #2 online class. I did the first one, and it really made a difference for me creatively. I hope that I can step it up again this year! I'm sure I will, since the Guest Designer list is a roll call of some of my very favourite card makers, so I'm sure to be inspired! If you haven't done one of these classes before, I recommend you consider it, I found it $25 well spent. :-)

Thanks for coming to visit!

Michelle
xxx

For Your Inspiration #38

Hello!

It's time for another challenge at For Your Inspiration!

This is my card.

I used PTI Snowflake Flurries (as fireworks). Colours are SU! Pumpkin Pie, Daffodil Delight, Certainly Celery, Old Olive, Soft Suede, Early Espresso. Card base is PTI Vintage Cream.

This is the inspiration photo for FYI Challenge #38. What I saw was the bright oranges and browns with a little green peeking through. The lacy leaves meant that I wanted my images to be a little more delicate. The wonky branches are reflected in the wonky sentiment.

I am entering this card into CAS-ual Fridays #85 where the theme is "a round of applause", with at least one circle. I have several circles in my design here, and I think fireworks and a great big "celebrate" is perfect for someone who has just achieved something super!

I'm also entering this over at Moxie Fab World's Make Your Own Background Paper challenge.

I'd love you to take a wander over to look at the rest of the FYI DT contributions, they're awesome, as usual!

Debbie
Karen
Mynnette
Regina
Rochelle
Rudlis
Sara
Steph
Vicki

Thanks for coming by to visit!

Michelle
xxx

Happy Birthday and a Wedding...

Hello!

I have two reasons for this post. One is a card, which is this one.

I used PTI Strawberry Patch stamps. Colours are PTI Fresh Linen, SU! Barely Banana & Pool Party. Card base is PTI Basic White.

I made this card for Retro Sketches #46. I just LOVE this sketch, but then, I love most of the Retro Sketches!

And I used the colours from CR84FN #70. I wanted to join in before they go on holidays until March!

And the other reason for this post is a bit of fun which is happening over on Ardyth's Blog to celebrate Darnell's wedding anniversary. I like Ardyth and Darnell a lot, and I thought I'd join in. I'm sorry, Darnell, that I didn't make an anniversary card, but today inspiration on this front eluded me! I hope your day was fabulous! We have been invited to share our wedding photos, and I have two here to share today.

This was us back in 1999.  One day I might show you some photos from our early days. We met early in 1993, became friends, and started dating in September that year. And the rest, as they say, is history! :-)

Thanks for dropping by to visit!

Michelle
xxx

Itty Bitty Cards

Hello!

I've just spent a wonderful day with family at Caloundra (on the Sunshine Coast), celebrating my step-mother's birthday! We had a fantastic lunch, which included prawns, mussels, oysters, atlantic salmon, calamari, and so much more - all super-fresh! Yum! After lunch my hubby and I took our kids down to the beach for a quick swim before heading home to Brisbane. Apart from the heavy traffic on our way home, it was pretty much a perfect day. It's a pity I have to go back to work tomorrow. :-(

Tonight I'm bringing you some cards that I made for the Moxie Fab World Itty Bitty card challenge - make a card no more than 3"x3". They don't have to be square, but I do love a 3"x3" card, so I made three, and then threw in a round card for the fun of it.

 

 

All stamps are Papertrey Ink, a section of Heart-2-Heart, Framed Out, and Tag-Its. I can't remember all the numbers right now...

I started super-CAS, because that is what I like, but I wouldn't mind working on something a bit more fancy in this small format. Just to see what it looks like. ;-)  So perhaps I'll be back with another, more elaborate mini-card.

Thanks for dropping by!

Michelle
xxx

Moxie Fab Sweet Dreams

Hello,

I have made a card for two challenges over at Moxie Fab World.

Tuesday Trigger: Sweet Dreams  and Make Your Own Background Paper.

I used PTI Guidelines II to white emboss the background, and PTI Botanical Silhouettes for the sentiment. The paper is PTI Aqua Mist. Card is PTI Basic White and SU! Pool Party. The Little Leaves are Sizzix.

This is the inspiration photo for the Tuesday Trigger. It's so pretty, I wish I did it more justice. I think if I made this card again, I'd use a paler yellow, and while the guidelines circles is what I was aiming for, I'm not sure I like them now that the whole card is finished, LOL!

Thanks for coming by!

Michelle
xxx

Choo choo!

Hello!

Sometimes I start making a card with a particular idea almost fully formed, other times the card just seems to make itself. This card is an example of the latter. Not quite what I had in mind, but still cute. ;-)

I used PTI Little Hot Rod stamps and dies. Colours are SU! Cameo Coral (I didn't have anything like Melon Berry), Pool Party, Certainly Celery, Barely Banana, Daffodil Delight, and Memento London Fog for the sentiments. Card base is PTI Basic White.

This is in response to two challenges. Make it Monday #99 calls for us to use rainbows and repeats. My repeats are the clouds. The rainbow scheme I chose was colour scheme #2.

CASE Study this month has the amazing Amber Kemp-Gerstel as muse, and the first card for CASE Study #123 is one of my many favourites of hers.

I really did mean to CASE this more closely, but I ended up focusing on the creation of movement through the use of repeated images.

Thanks for coming by!

Michelle
xxx