Fusion - ombre peony

Hello!

This week has been crazy! Monday night my eldest had the Grade 6 Expo - the kids all presented on an aspect of a different country (100 kids!). My daughter presented on education in Iran. How's that for a topic for a 12 year old to explore? Last night (Wednesday night) my daughter had her Music Extension performance assessment (violin). Tonight she performed solo violin in the Middle School eisteddfod. Tomorrow night (Friday) she sings in the choir. Saturday morning is water polo, as always. Sunday morning, 6am, she leaves for a week-long school camp. I'll be sending her away exhausted. I can't imagine what she'll be like when she arrives home next Friday night! My little girl has only had her usual activities. She's still only 7, so school isn't quite as demanding on her. ;-)

The actual reason for this post is that it is time for another Fusion Challenge! And what a beauty it is! I have only used the inspiration photo, although the sketch is great, too!

Stamps are Jane's Doodles Pretty Peonies and Hero Arts Year Round Sentiments. I did a little ombre colouring with Copics.

One day I want to learn how to make a sugar flower like the one on this cake! It's amazing!

I cannot wait to see the gallery this time around. I love aqua, and I love flowers, and I love white embossing, and this inspiration has it all!

Edit: I'm also joining in at CASology where the theme this week is 'sea'. My card is made using sea colours. Thanks for the suggestion, Kimberly!

Thanks for coming by to visit!

Michelle
xxx

MUSE 90 - red and yellow celebration

Hello!

I love the inspiration at Muse Card Club this week. I would have loved to have completely copied Marion's gorgeous, fun card from top to bottom... but I didn't. ;-) I used the colour scheme and scattered my images "bursting" around the sentiment, as in the inspiration.

I used PTI Sentiment Signs and Hero Arts Year Round Sentiments. Colours are SU! Poppy Parade and Daffodil Delight.

We have the most amazing day here in Brisbane today. Hot and a little windy. The wind takes the heat away just enough to enjoy it. In our front yard we have a jacaranda flowering purple and in the back yard is a giant oleander covered in pale pink. The sky is clear blue. It's my hubby's birthday and it's turned into the perfect day for it. :-)

Thanks for visiting!

Michelle
xxx

Watercolour flower

Hello!

I debated whether to share this or not. It was a bit of an experiment. I wanted to play with watercolour and add a little hand drawing. I was not aiming at realism, I hope that is obvious! ;-)  I don't even know what this style is called, but I want to experiment a little more with it. It was fun!  My six year old has the word "special" on her spelling list this week, and that is what prompted the making of the card. She's delighted.

The sentiment is Hero Arts Year Round Sentiments. The watercolours are Winsor & Newton Cotman. The pens are Faber-Castell Pitt markers.

Now, I'm off to prepare for the week ahead. Sunday night, sigh!

Michelle
xxx

Insider - Day 3, Take 1

Hello!

The Day 3 lesson over at the Online Card Classes Insider Class is about surprises inside the card - little pockets and envelopes! After watching Laura's video (entertaining as always), I set to work straight away.

Is it just me, or are these "Insider" cards difficult to photograph? It's probably just me!

The envelope is made using the Envelope Punch Board. The paper is My Minds Eye Kraft Funday. The stamps are Hero Arts Year Round Sentiments. I cut the hole in the front of my card using my paper trimmer (I don't own any square dies). I added a red panel inside the card, which contrasts beautifully with the brown. Colours are SU! Real Red and Early Espresso.

I haven't added a sentiment yet. I may do so when I decide who this card is going to.

On another note, my almost 11yo daughter was playing along with me while I learned the watercolouring techniques yesterday, and she decided she would start a blog to share her "stuff". If you would like to visit her, she is Liv For Dreams (not a typo on the "Liv", that's her name).

Thanks for visiting me!

Michelle
xxx

Dynamic Duos #62

Hello!

This week at Dynamic Duos we are using Calypso Coral and Basic Black, with an optional Butterfly theme. Before you start trying to adjust your monitor colour, I did not have Calypso Coral in my supplies. All of my corals (I have several) are more pink than orange, so I chose the closest colour I have. I also went a bit radical and stretched my papercrafting skills - I masked, sponged, and splattered using distress inks! It was fun!

I used PTI Heart-2-Heart #10, and Hero Arts Year Round Sentiments stamps. Ink is Tim Holtz Distress Ink in Worn Lipstick and Memento Tuxedo Black.

This colour scheme is showcased also by my amazing team mates. I'm sure they would appreciate a visit. :-)

Alison Barclay

Anne Marie Hile

Debbie Henderson

Hayley Kew

Janet Bagnall

Janet Zeppa

Lori Turner

Susie Wittwer

Tara Bourgoin

Tracey McNeely

Thank you for visiting me. I hope you can join us in the fun this week!

Michelle
xxx

A study in YELLOW

Hello!

If you don't like yellow, you had better switch away now, LOL! I've made a card for CAS(E) This Sketch #32 and CASology #48. It's bright and happy!

I used Daffodil Delight card, Wplus9 star die, PTI Star Prints, Hero Arts Year Round Sentiments, and a little washi.

The sketch is this one:

And the colour came from this cue:

In my last post I was mentioning my daughter's swim meet. The super news is that in all six races she swam personal best times. In one race she took 20 seconds of her previous time (100m freestyle). In another race, her PB time almost won her a medal (missing out by a split second). I'm a very proud Mummy tonight. :-)  All of her hard work in the pool is showing results. She is feeling pretty good, too.

Thanks for coming by to visit!

Michelle
xxx

Starry birthday

Hello!

I'm sneaking in a quick blog post while my little one dilly-dallies around instead of getting ready for school. I've nagged 500 times, so now I'm holding my breath before exploding.

My card:

I used wPlus9 Star Stax, Hero Arts Year Round Sentiments. Colours are SU! Pretty in Pink, Pumpkin Pie, and Perfect Plum.

My card is made in response to two challenges. The Play Date Cafe Challenge #184 colours.

And the sketch from Seize The Birthday Challenge #18.

I've been meaning to join in at Seize The Birthday since the beginning, but keep missing the deadline. I think I've squeezed in in time this time! :-)

Thanks for visiting.

Michelle
xxx

Fusion #6

Hello!

I'm joining in over at Fusion Card Challenge #6. I looked at those gorgeous teacups in those pretty colours for a very long time, but in the end I chose to just follow the sketch on this one. The card in my head was BOLDER than I could achieve with pinks and peaches. :-)

I used Hero Arts Year Round Sentiments. The star is a Wplus9 die. Colours are SU! Poppy Parade and Night of Navy.

I made the card for a special friend of mine who is endlessly helpful and just plain lovely. I am so lucky to have her in my life.

Thanks for coming by to visit me!

Michelle
xxx

Muse #16

Hello!

I received the most awesome little package in the mail today from one of my blog friends. It held chocolates, stamps, and a gorgeous card. The chocolates are ones that are not available here in Australia, and I was curious about how they would taste. Now, I'm not really a chocolate person, but I was wondering about these ones, and today I tasted Turtles for the first time... they are DELICIOUS! I gave one to my little girl and she announced, "I LOVE American food!"  For those of you who don't know, Turtles are pecans and caramel covered in chocolate, a perfect combination!  So to my friend, I say THANK YOU, your thoughtfulness really made my day.

I used PTI Sentiment Signs stamps, and Hero Arts Year Round Sentiments (stars). The star dies are WPlus9. Twine is Caribbean by The Twinery. The border is washi tape. Colours are SU! Poppy Parade, Daffodil Delight, Memento Tuxedo Black, and PTI Hawaiian Shores (patterned paper).

My card was made for Muse Challenge #16, where the Muse is Laurie Willison. Laurie is an amazing card maker who truly is one of my muses every day. I adore her work. Laurie's card is this one. I kept the red card base, and the basic layout, making minimal changes in my own card.

And now, it is time to get some beauty sleep.

Thank-you for visiting!

Michelle
xxx