WCMD - Pinspiration Focal Point

Hello!

Winnie & Walter are having the most fabulous celebration of World Card Making Day and they've invited us to join in the fun. The good news is that we don't need to use W&W products to take part. I have a wishlist as long as my arm of W&W products but have not yet made my first purchase. I must rectify this problem soon!

I am going to join in a few of the challenges because they're all fabulous. This one is in response to Heather's Pinspiration.

I used Altenew Hennah Elements and coloured with Copics.

This is the gorgeous pinspiration that reminded me that yellow, black, and white is one of my very favourite colour combinations.

While I was still full of this inspiration, I made a second card, and this one I'm also entering into Virginia's View Challenge 24 where the theme is "focal point".

I used SU! Celebrate Today stamps and dies. 

I'm also entering this into CAS-ual Friday's Shaker Card challenge. This is my second ever shaker card. When I made the first one for my nephew last week my eldest daughter requested one for her birthday, too. :-)  My daughter turns 14 on Wednesday. I can't believe she's 14 already!

Thank-you for visiting!

Michelle

xxx

Altenew September Challenge

Hello!

Altenew is hosting their inaugural challenge and I could not wait to join in. The inspiration photo had my brain working on a card instantly. In fact, I think it was working on about three cards. I made one of them tonight.

From the inspiration photo I took the pale yellow background and those outline flowers and leaves. I really liked the effect of the uncoloured outline image against a coloured background. So I went about creating the idea for myself. I used Altenew Hennah Elements and added some hand-drawn flowers and leaves as well. The ink is Ranger Archival Black, the pen is Faber Castell Pitt pen (M), and the yellow is Cotman Watercolour in Lemon Yellow.

Those green stripes are grabbing my attention (and that little teddy). I'm wondering how I can incorporate those into an Altenew card... let's see if the idea can fully form before the end of the challenge. ;-)

Today was Fathers Day and involved a relatively relaxed day for my hubby and the kids. They did take a shopping trip at one point today. It seems they were not yet prepared for my birthday next week, and Fathers Day was the last available day to get things organised, lol!

Thanks for visiting.

Michelle
xxx

CASE Study 207

Hello!

Did you enjoy our month-long celebration of CASE Study's 4th Anniversary? I certainly did! We're back to normal programming in September, with a new muse. I have been a major fan of this month's muse for quite a few years now, since about the time she started blogging, lol! She's awesome. She has an amazing CAS style all of her own. It's Debby Hughes aka Lime Doodle!

My card used the vellum and white embossing with a grey card base from Debby's card. I changed the colours a little. ;-)

Stamps are Altenew Hennah Elements and PTI sentiment (can't remember the set, but it's the basic Congratulations mini set). I used Distress Markers to colour the back side of the vellum.

Debby's inspiration card is this one. Just beautiful, and I'm sure I haven't done it justice.

I hope you can find some time to join in the fun with us. I'll be checking the gallery for you. ;-)

Thank you for dropping by!

Michelle
xxx

CASE Study 4th Anniversary - Week 3

Hello!

Have you been playing along with the CASE Study 4th Anniversary fun? Oh, there are fabulous blog hops each week with such fabulous talented bloggers and LOTS of wonderful prizes! I'm not in the hop this week, but I couldn't resist playing along when I saw Julie Ebersole CASEing one of my favourite cards by Aga. I just had to CASE them both!

My card doesn't come close to Julie and Aga's cards. I will have to try again. My Smooch spritz took on a life of it's own and exploded! I'm sharing anyway, because "exploded Smooch" is a technique, right? ;-)

I used Altenew Hennah Elements stamps because I'm still in love with them and can't put them away.

This was Julie's card (please visit Julie if you want to pin, and pin from there).

My card was also loosely based on last week's CAS(E) This Sketch (closing in a few minutes).

It's past bedtime, again! I'll need to rush to catch that sleep train! I hope you join in the fun with us at CASE Study this week.

Thanks for visiting!

Michelle
xxx

CAS(E) This Sketch #85

Hello!

This week's sketch at CAS(E) This Sketch truly has my CAS-loving heart all a flutter! I think I could make a hundred different cards using this one sketch! Really! Unfortunately, I don't quite have time for making 100 cards this week. Maybe next week. ;-)

Stamps are Altenew Hennah Elements and PTI Boutique Borders: Father.

Are you inspired? Do you want to rush off to your craft supplies and make your own version right now? I can't wait to check out this week's gallery to see everyone's version. :-)

Thanks for visiting me!

Michelle
xxx

Muse 72 and CASology 100

Hello!

One of my favourite, and very neglected, challenges is Muse Card Club. I really wanted to play along last week, but I didn't make it in time. This week, I'm squeezing in at the last minute, but at least I've made it in time!

Another favourite, and neglected, challenge is CASology. Casology is celebrating their 100th challenge with the cue word, CELEBRATE! Congratulations CASology team on reaching this fabulous milestone!

For this card I took Marion's beautiful layout, changed the colours, and voila! A bright pink celebration!

I used Altenew stamps - Hennah Elements and Label Love.

Thank-you for coming by to visit!

See you again soon!

Michelle
xxx

Case Study 195

Hello!

I'm just in the honeymoon phase of my love affair with Altenew Hennah Elements. This means that you get to see lots and lots of these stamps in action! This card I made for Case Study Challenge, CASEing the marvellous Pamela Ho.

I first made this card on Smokey Slate cardstock, but the silver was almost invisible, despite the card being stunning (if you looked hard enough). So I changed to PTI Soft Stone with silver embossing. Oh, I love this card! I made it for a friend who is getting married this coming week-end. Don't worry, she doesn't follow my blog. She's one of those people who throws cards away (Gives me shivers just thinking of it!). I keep giving her beautiful cards, working to tempt her to keep one. I live in hope. ;-)

My design was directly inspired by Pamela's gorgeous card.

For those of you following my chicken stories... Penny laid an egg! In fact, she has laid one egg a day since Saturday! Here are the first couple of eggs (with a store-bought egg to the right for comparison). The first one was tiny, like a bantam egg, lol!

Thank-you for visiting! I hope you join us at Case Study this week!

Michelle
xxx

A case of delayed gratification

Hello!

I have always heard that good things come to those who wait.

I am very good at creating my wishlist and slowly and carefully choosing what I pick off the list each time.

BUT.
THIS TIME.
I DIDN'T WANT TO BE GOOD.
I DIDN'T WANT TO WAIT.

But I had to, because the stamps I wanted sold out overnight when they were released (overnight for me, in a few hours during the day in the USA). I'm talking about the "new" Altenew stamps. They aren't quite as new now. But they are brand new for me, because the very first day they were restocked, I jumped online and ordered... and today is the day that they arrived in my mailbox... right in time for the long week-end! Yippee!!!

In an even bigger case of delayed gratification, I only bought two sets. I wanted them all. My budget wouldn't allow me to buy them all at once. You should have seen me agonising over which sets would make the cut, lol!

The cards I'm bringing you now are made using Hennah Elements. Oh my goodness. I don't know that I have been so excited about a stamp set for quite a while. This is superb! The first two cards I made, which I'm bringing you now, I decided to go with the henna tattoo theme. My cards are skin-coloured (PTI Fine Linen) with black patterns.

Hennah Elements is such a versatile set. I think the patterns you can create must be limitless.

Edit to add: I just noticed that my bloggy friend Darnell has reached 500 followers (she has lots of friends besides me!) and is celebrating with a NBUS challenge. Well my brand new stamps mean I qualify for this challenge, so I'm joining in. I'm joining in mostly because Darnell is one of the sweetest and funniest ladies out there in blogland. I have been blessed to get to know her and to receive some of her cards in the mail... which reminds me, I should send her a card to let her know I have not forgotten her. ;-) Congratulations, Darnell!

Thank you for visiting, and putting up with my gushing!

Michelle
xxx