CASEing Kelly Blog Hop

Hello!

There is a fabulous blog hop underway! Kelly Latevola has been running an awesome series called CASEing Genius. I was one of the lucky ones who she CASEd. There are quite a few of us. I think Kelly is the Genius! We all do, which is why we thought we'd pay the compliment back and CASE Kelly. So much fun! We've each chosen three of Kelly's cards and CASEd them. I cannot wait to hop around and see what everyone else came up with.

For my inspiration I chose these three cards of Kelly's.

 
 
I love everything that Kelly makes, but her florals are at the top of my loves! From these three cards, I took dramatic colours; watercoloured, splattered, and patterned backgrounds; a bold sentiment paired with a sentiment banner. I used a darker, grungier style than Kelly and I came up with this:

I used Altenew Striped Florals,Wplus9 Whole Lotta Happy, and Hero Arts Dots and Flowers Background stamps.

What is a blog hop without some fun prizes? Leave a comment by 11.59pm EDT on Thursday October 29th along each stop in the hop to increase your chances of winning a prize from one of our sponsors:
a2z Scrapbooking
Altenew
Create a Smile Stamps
Dee's Artsy Impressions
DJkardkreations
Hero Arts
Ink Road
Lia Stampz
Simon Says Stamp
Winners will be notified by email after October 29th.

Here is a list of everyone joining in on this hop!

a2z Scrapbooking   

Amy Tsuruta 
Ardyth Percy Robb 
Brandi Hall   
Char Kochensparger   
Cindy Chiu 
Darnell Knauss 
Dawn Turley 
Debra James 
Deepti Malik
Donna Idlet
Elizabeth Campau
Ellen Haxelmans
Heather Ruwe
Jennifer Loftfield
Joan Bardee
Kara Vrabel
Kara-Lynne
Kathy Wade
Katie Gehring
Kristie Goulet
Kristina Beagle
Kymona Tracey
Laura Jane
Leigh Penner
Lin Brandyberry
Linda Trace
Lindsay Amrhein
Lydia Evans
Maria Sabina
Raita Marika Rahtu
Martha Lucia Gomez
Michele Cunningham
Michele Ferguson
Michelle Lupton
Michelle Williams <That's me!
Monica Maier
Niki G.
Nina-Marie Trapani
Rubeena Naz
Shelly Kurth
Taunya Butler
Thordis Dogg
Vera Yates
Kelly Latevola

Thank-you for dropping by! I hope you're enjoying the hop!

Michelle
xxx

The Play Date Cafe Challenge #163

Hello!

The Play Date Cafe Challenge #163 has a gorgeous colour scheme this week, which I probably wouldn't have chosen if left to my own devices, but which I will use again. That is one of the benefits of playing along with challenges - being forced into trying something new. :-)

This is my card.

I used PTI Pretty Peonies, Hero Arts Dots and Flowers background. Colours are SU! Very Vanilla, Pumpkin Pie, Bashful Blue, PTI Fine Linen. The blue panel has been embossed with PTI impression plate linen.

This is the colour scheme.

Thanks for coming by!

Michelle
xxx

CASE Study 89 and ColourQ 135

Hello!

I'm a bit distracted, my 4 1/2 year old is using scissors to make bird legs out of paper, eek!  I'm popping in today to show you my entry to CASE Study 89 and ColourQ 135.

The muse over at CASE Study for May is Agnieszka Malyszek.  I am a big fan of Aga's. I have been for a long time. CASE Study has been inviting many of my card-making heroes to be their muses lately. It's wonderful!

Aga's card for us to CASE this week is this one:

From this I have taken the dark card base, the dark on dark embossing, the bright letters, and the two directional sentiment.

I have used the colours from ColourQ 135, which this week are:

I wish I hadn't left this to the last minute. I really love this colour combination. I think I could have made three or four different cards using this one!

And this is my card:

I have used Hero Arts Dots and Flowers background stamp with copper embossing powder.  I bought this powder by accident last Christmas. I grabbed what I thought was dark brown powder. Didn't I get the surprise of my life when I heated it up? LOL! In this photo it looks a bit shinier than it really is, I think. The sentiment is made using Papertrey Ink Block Alpha dies and SU! cardstock - barely banana, ruby red, pool party, white. The card base is early espresso.

I'm quite happy with how this one turned out. After I sat there cursing about sticking down tiny letters in the evening light, I took a look at the finished product and decided the effort was worth it. :-)

Thanks for coming to visit!

Michelle
xxx

Tuesday Trigger: Sweet Surprise

Hello!

This is my second crafter's block card... This one is for Tuesday Trigger: Sweet Surprise over at Moxie Fab World.

The inspiration this week is lovely.

What did I see? That gorgeous big bow. And I saw lots of white. There is so much there that inspires that I didn't use. I might have to make a second entry if I can find the time (and some mojo).

Here is my card:

This card is 4 1/2" square.  I have used Stampin'Up! bashful blue and pool party for my two colours. The card base is PTI white. The embellishment is SU! Triple Layer Doily punch sparkled with dazzzling diamonds. The ribbon is SU! ruffled taffeta in pool party. Stamps are Hero Arts Dots and Flowers and PTI Tag-Its #11.

Here is a closer look at the card.

Thanks for dropping by. I hope you are having a great Easter week-end so far.

Michelle
xxx

For Your Inspiration #19 - Brisbane!

Hello!

For Your Inspiration Challenge #19 is VERY EXCITING for me, because of the inspiration photo.  Take a look:

Yes, it is beautiful purple... but more than that... this is my home... BRISBANE...yay!

Now another reason to celebrate, is that we have a sponsor for this challenge. One of our lucky participants is going to win two rubber stamps from Sparkle Creations Rubber Stamps. There are some very cute images over there - go take a look quickly and then pop back here for the rest of my post.

A beautiful photo of Brisbane to inspire and the chance to win a prize, what more motivation could you need?

In celebration of the fact that the photo inspiration is Brisbane, I went out taking photos in my lunchtime at work yesterday, so that I could show you the Story Bridge in the daylight, and a little bit more of Brisbane. I will go out again, it was a really nice way to spend my lunch time - wandering along the river with my camera.

Before I get to my photos, I will show you my card.  It had to be purple, of course. I couldn't get past the purples and pinks in the photo. I didn't quite have the makings of the "city silhouette" that I had in my mind, but I feel that I captured some of the "twinkling lights" feel. Here it is:

My card base is Soft Suede, which is about the exact colour of the Brisbane River. The Brisbane River is tidal and it is ALWAYS brown, unless the blue skies are reflecting off the surface, LOL!  I used Hero Arts Dots and Flowers to clear emboss the background panel.  I used my yellow rose to represent the yellow lights on the bridge.

The rest of the Design Team have also come up with some beautiful projects, so go take a look at their posts, too:

Debbie

Debby

Keva

Peggy

Rochelle - welcome to the team, Rochelle!

Sara

Steph

Vicki

Now, once you have read this post, please come along and play at FYI#19. It would be lovely to see you there. 

Are you still with me? Come and take a look at some photos of Brissie...

This is looking back at the Story Bridge from the opposite side to the inspiration photo.  I'm standing in Riverfront Place here (I think). I love those stair/ramps in the foreground, great design (very functional) and fun. That tall building to the left in the background with the crane on top is going to be Brisbane's tallest building. I think it is already the tallest, and it isn't finished yet.

Looking up. I like the contrast of the different buildings against each other.

Still looking up, but a bit more abstract.

Walking further along the river walk. It was raining on me. You wouldn't know it from the photo.

A City Ferry. These little ferries are small, noisy, and smelly (of diesel fuel), but very convenient to hop from one side of the river to the other. The trees along the river's edge in Brisbane are mangroves (quite stinky if you get too close).

A City Cat. These BIG ferries are sleek and fast, and if you ever come to visit Brisbane, you MUST jump on one and take a cruise up and down the river. It's worth it. 

And to finish off, a Moreton Bay Fig. This tree is amongst a group of figs that sit in the middle of a busy intersection in Brisbane City. I love these trees. There are quite a few scattered around Brisbane, and they are always spectacular to look at.

Are you still with me? Are you inspired?  Leave me a comment to let me know you were here. I promise to visit back as soon as I can. And I look forward to seeing your entry over at FYI.

Michelle

xxx

Birthday Peony for PDCC#100

Hello!

Another card being squeezed in at the last minute. This time for The Play Date Cafe Challenge, number 100.  I've been thinking about the colours for this challenge since they were released. Some of my favourite colours.

Here they are:

I actually made my daughter's birthday invitations in these colours on Monday, also. But I hadn't realised they met the challenge at the time. I might edit this post later and add a photo or two of the invitations. I haven't taken photos yet.

The card I made in response to the challenge is this one:

My inspiration, other than from The Play Date Cafe, was from a couple of cards I'd seen over at Lime Doodle recently.  They are here:


Debby just has CAS perfected. I love everything she does.

What I used for my card:
Card: Old Olive, Pumpkin Pie, Daffodil Delight, Very Vanilla
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Daffodil Delight, Pumpkin Pie
Stamps: Hero Arts Dots and Flowers background (borrowed, thank-you Manda!), Janes Doodles Pretty Peonies
Other: Inktense pencils, assorted rhinestones

So my effort doesn't really even approach Debby's cards, but I still like it (even if it is a bit too "green" for me).

What do you think?

Michelle
xxx