For Your Inspiration #37

Hello!

For Your Inspiration Challenge is back from holiday! Yippee!  We're kicking off the year with a beautiful, placid scene across the water.

I'm not sure where this is. It evokes feelings of Switzerland with the mountains out back and the lake in front. In any case, I'd love to be there! Edit: It's Lake Bled in Slovenija, according to Andreja. :-)

For my card, I couldn't go past the greens and blues with those wispy white clouds.

I used Hero Arts Large Flower Background and Say It All stamps. I white embossed the background onto SU! Pool Party, and then used my Inktense pencils (Sea Blue and Teal Green) to do some selective colouring. The sentiment was white embossed on vellum, to allow the beautiful background image to shine through.

I really like how this turned out. This is the type of card I had in mind when I bought this beautiful background stamp.

The rest of the Design Team have created beautiful cards, as always! Why don't you pay them a visit?
Debbie
Karen
Mynnette
Regina
Rochelle
Rudlis
Sara
Steph
Vicki

Thanks for dropping by. I'd love to see your entry over at FYI very soon!

Michelle
xxx

One for the boys

Hello!

This week I received a couple of new stamp sets in the mail. They're from Mama Elephant. Today I've used Basic Borders for the first time. And I CASEd Laura Bassen, who is the queen of plaid, as well as being superwoman of CAS.

This is my card.

Now, I realise that my sentiment is a bit low. I thought about adding that top strip, then I thought I wouldn't, and stamped the sentiment, and then decided I needed that brown strip. Argh! Anyway, you get the idea!

I masked off the top section of the card and stamped the stripes to create the plaid. I did create a nice, neat line, but the card was missing something, so I added that brown strip.  Colours used were SU! Early Espresso, Really Rust, Sage Shadow, and PTI Fresh Linen. I think Mama Elephant Basic Borders might be the solution to my "man card" creativity problems for a while. I love these stripes! Sentiment is Hero Arts Say It All.

The colours come from The Play Date Cafe Challenge #156. They're so rich and scrumptious, aren't they?

Perfect colours for the theme over at CAS-ual Fridays #77 where we've been asked to make a masculine card.

Before I go, I have a couple of photos for you. One is my constant companion and photography assistant, Coco.

The other, I thought about NOT showing, because it shows a bit too much leg for comfort, but it is fun, and it makes me smile, so I'll show you. :-)  Last week-end I attended a Halloween party, and dressed up in the costume I've wanted to wear since I was about 8 years old (that's a long time ago!).

Not bad for a 40-something Wonder Woman, hey? Oh, and sneaking at the back of the photo is my littlest witch.

Thanks for dropping by today, and please don't laugh too hard at my dress-ups photo. ;-)

Michelle
xxx

Some ultra-CAS cards

Hello!

Now we move to my ultra-CAS cards I made today.

First is a birthday card that I made for one of my daughter's young friends (a boy, so no sparkles or flowers allowed). The simplicity of this card delights me... am I allowed to say that about my own card? ;-)

For colour inspiration I turned to the Dynamic Duos colour choice for this week. I didn't have Tangerine Tango, so I used Pumpkin Pie. The stamps are Hero Arts - Bicycle and Say It All.

And I just realised that I have fit into the theme over at A Blog Named Hero this week as well, yay!

The other card I made was more experimenting with PTI Teach & Inspire. I'm thinking this might do for one of my littlest girl's kindy teachers at the end of the year. They're doing marvellous work with my little acorn. :-)

I used Early Espresso, More Mustard, and Really Rust on a Vintage Cream card base.

Inspiration came from CAS-ology #14 theme - LEAF.

Thanks for dropping by!

Michelle
xxx

Papertrey July Blog Hop Challenge

Hello!

It's Blog Hop time over at Papertrey Ink! And what a beautiful inspiration they've given us this month!

I wish I had that beautiful bunch of flowers here in my home, they're so pretty!

I made two cards, because I couldn't decide on exactly how to place my colours. Here they are:

and

I used PTI Pretty Peonies (flowers) and Happy Hexagons (border), Hero Arts Say It All (sentiment). Card base is PTI basic white. Colours are SU! Certainly Celery, Old Olive, Barely Banana, Daffodil Delight, Pretty In Pink and Cameo Coral. And I used those fabulous Pretty Peonies dies that save me from that nasty fussy cutting. :-)

Both cards are made using the rock'n'roll technique on the leaves and flowers. They are both made with exactly the same supplies. Looking at these photos, I think I'll add a little bling before I send them out. :-)

I'm a bit stuck for words (and creativity) today. My Type A, Perfectionist personality is causing my anxiety levels to hit the roof (due to a few minor challenges these past couple of weeks) and the more anxious I get, the more anxious I get, if you get what I mean! Argh! I'm not a worrier, so when I get like this I get totally frustrated with myself, and then you know what happens.... vicious circle, LOL!

Anyway, you probably are more interested in my cards than my crazy issues, thanks for dropping by!

Michelle
xxx

For Your Inspiration #33

Hello!

It's time for another For Your Inspiration challenge! The entries into challenge #32 were awesome, I can't wait to see what everyone comes up with this time around. :-)

This is the photo.

Beautiful, yes? I looked at this scene for a while, thinking about how it made me feel. It feels peaceful to me. A place of reflection. From the photo I took the colours blue, green, and white, and attempted to give them a soft feel that portrayed the feeling it gave me.

This is my card.

Colours are SU! Almost Amethyst (retired) and Certainly Celery. The stamps are Jane's Doodles Pretty Peonies, PTI Turning a New Leaf, and Hero Arts Say It All.

I used a sketch from My Favorite Things to get my layout.

I have to say, it is very dangerous going over to the MFT blog, especially at release time!  My wishlist just got a lot longer, sigh!

Now, why don't you take a little tour of what the rest of the design team came up with before creating your own beauty to enter into the challenge. :-)

Debbie

Debby
Rudlis
Karen

Rochelle

Sara

Steph
Sylvia

Vicki

Thanks for dropping by!

Michelle
xxx

Papertrey May Blog Hop Challenge

Hello!

I almost forgot to post my entry to the May Papertrey Ink Blog Hop! I think I've made it just in time. The card was made, I just forgot the post, silly me!

This was our inspiration:

I had a few more ideas than the one I created, but my limited crafting time in the past two weeks has seriously impacted my ability to make more than one card here and there (sob!). (This is where you chime in and say, "There, there, you poor dear." LOL!)

This is what I came up with.

I made another card the same, in a different colour, in fact, I might show it to you as well. When I made the green one, I wanted to add some bling, but its purpose was to be a bit more unisex, and the older men this was aimed at are not blingy types. So I made a second so I could add the bling! :-)

Both cards are constructed the same. I stamped PTI Rosie Posie, then masked and stamped the Hero Arts Zig Zag and added the Hero Arts Sentiment. I popped up the front panel to add some dimension to what is essentially a one-layer design. Card is PTI Basic White.

Thanks for stopping by!

Michelle
xxx

Runway Inspired #9

Hello!

Here I am squeezing in an entry to Runway Inspired Challenge at the last minute, again... The worst part of doing these entries at the very last minute is that I have to photograph my cards at night, and we all know that there is no substitute for daylight when taking those photos!

Here is the inspiration from Runway Inspired Challenge #9.

I really like this dress as inspiration for a card. I like that bit of bone/cream running across the white dress, the colourful strip and the small green strip. I was pretty literal with my interpretation. No matter how much I tried to think of something "more", my ideas would not budge from what I ended up creating.  Here it is.

I used a white card base. Stamped PTI Background Basics: Circles in SU! Crumb Cake, then Hero Arts Say It All sentiment in Old Olive. Then I placed my colourful strip (PTI Harvest Berries stamped in Crumb Cake, Ruby Red, Old Olive on vintage cream card), and lastly my little rectangle of old olive card.

It's a really simple card, and I like it. Unfortunately the night lighting reduces the "white" of the white base, but I think you can get the picture.

Thanks for dropping by.

Michelle
xxx

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

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

For Your Inspiration #24 - Green!

Hello!

It's For Your Inspiration Challenge 24, and the inspiration photo this week has allowed me to totally go to town with GREEN. I really like green. :-)

This is the inspiration photo:

I love weeping willows.

This photo reminds me of the Avon River in Christchurch, New Zealand. Christchurch is one of the prettiest cities I've been to, and I have been saddened by the impact the earthquakes have had on such a beautiful city, especially its people.

Here is a picture I found to show you of the Avon, Christchurch.

Photo Credit

Here is my card. The zig zag pattern reminded me of water flowing, and I wanted to add some leaves to reflect that beautiful willow just a little. And of course, I've used about four different greens in creating this card. I've added the bling for the sparkle of the water.

I used Hero Arts Zig Zag and Say It All, PTI Turning a New Leaf, PTI buttons, Stampin' Up Ribbon (certainly celery), SU! green inks (certainly celery, old olive, green galore, gable green) and Memento Tuxedo Black. The die is PTI Fillable Frames #10.

At this point I would like to welcome our newest Design Team members - Irena, Karen, and Sylvia - three wonderfully talented ladies.  Why don't you pay them a visit along with the rest of the DT?

Debbie

Debby
Irena
Karen

Rochelle

Sara

Steph
Sylvia

Vicki

Thank-you so much for stopping by. I hope to see your cards over at FYI very soon!

Michelle
xxx