CAS(E) This Sketch 229

Hello!

Our sketch this week at CAS(E) This Sketch, by Hannelie, has a graphic background and botanical silhouette. Quite the challenge! Of course, you don't have to take the sketch quite so literally - the background could be anything, as could the foreground. I just like to stretch my creativity when I have the chance and this idea intrigued me. So I thought about size, shape, colours, and finally came up with my card. I made it twice... the first time I forgot to centre the blocks... oops!

I used SU! Hey There Buds and PTI Building Blocks stamps.

I really can't wait to see what everyone makes with this sketch. It's a good one! :-)

Thanks for dropping by to visit me!

Michelle
xxx

Fusion - Follow Your Dreams

Hello!

I looked at the inspiration for our latest Fusion Card Challenge and thought I would be using either the sketch or the inspiration. I never imagined that I would be making a fusion card using them both, but that is exactly what I've done! That's how inspiration strikes sometimes - it sneaks up on you and takes you by surprise! It helps that both the sketch and the inspiration image are awesome and full of possibilities. :-)

I used SU! Hardwood background and PTI Building Blocks stamps.

I hope that you are inspired to join us for this challenge. I certainly had a lot of fun making my card.

Thanks for visiting!

Michelle
xxx

WCMD - CASEing Gayatri

Hello!

I'm here with another card for World Card Making Day and joining in with Winnie & Walter's WCMD celebrations. Lydia has invited us to choose a Winnie & Walter designer to CASE.

I chose to CASE Gayatri, because she ALWAYS inspires me. You can find the card I'm CASEing on Gayatri's blog HERE. From Gayatri's card I took the light coloured stamping in the background, the vellum, a floral arrangement as focal point, sequins, and a banner sentiment.

Because I don't yet own any Winnie & Walter stamps I used PTI Doodlie-Do and Building Blocks stamps and dies. The banner is Mama Elephant.

School holidays are over. Today we launch into the final term of the year. Only 9 weeks until Summer holidays and so much to do in that time!

Thank-you for visiting!

Michelle
xxx

CAS(E) This Sketch 167

Hello!

For CAS(E) This Sketch this week I created a masked stamped background to my simple sentiment banners.

I used PTI Building Blocks and SU! Blended Bloom Stamps. Colours are SU! Certainly Celery and Early Espresso.

This great sketch offers endless opportunities for creativity. It's fabulous! I hope you're inspired to join in the fun!

I don't think I've complained about the weather recently. I've been ground into submission, haha! It's the second month of Autumn and temperatures are still over 30 degrees during the day and HOT. Summer has to end sometime... That said, I do notice that the nights are slightly cooler. I can't wait until nights are under 20 degrees! :-) I solemnly promise to not whinge about the cooler weather when it comes. If it actually gets cold enough for a jacket this Winter, I'm going to be REJOICING.

Thanks for visiting.

Michelle
xxx

CAS(E) This Sketch 106

Hello!

The sketch this week for CAS(E) This Sketch Challenge really appealed to me. So much so that I took it very literally. :-) I simply turned it on its side and stamped a long row of crosses. The hardest part was making sure my crosses kept the same angles and stayed in line. That's where my trusty ruler and pencil came into play. ;-)

The crosses are from PTI Building Blocks. The sentiment is from Avery Elle Party Animal.

You don't need to make the crosses in your interpretation. I just felt like taking the graphic route this time. It's been a while. :-)

Thanks for visiting me. I'd love it if you would visit the rest of the team, too!

Michelle
xxx

CAS(E) This Sketch 101

Hello!

We had the craziest storm yesterday. About 3.30pm the sky went black. I checked the weather bureau website and decided that it was time to head towards my kids. By the time my train reached my destination station at 4pm, the rain was so heavy there was flash-flooding. Walking to my car, I was drenched, even with my umbrella! I was glad to not be struck by lightning (a real risk walking with an umbrella in an electrical storm). I collected my girls and drove them home. I decided that I didn't want to go back out in the storm to do the ballet run, so my youngest daughter got an unusual night off. I think we had about 10cm rain in about 30 minutes. Our pool won't need filling for a while. My chickens were lucky to not float away in the flooded back yard. ;-) My dog was wet, and happy. She's a crazy, happy, dog, lol! It was our first big storm of the season. We've had no rain for about two months. Everything is dead, my lawn is completely brown, so the rain was very much needed, but perhaps not 10cm in 30 mins? Living in Brisbane, Summer storms are the norm. Some are bigger than others and this was a big one!

So, beyond storm news, I'm here with my card for CAS(E) this sketch Challenge #101. Did you join in last week? There were some amazing entries in our 100th challenge. This week I wandered off on a tangent with the sketch. Seriously, some sketches are so easy to just replicate, and for some reason my brain comes up with alternate ideas! Maybe I should make a second card, lol! I always hope that my crazy tangents provide someone with some extra inspiration.

I made this card for my brother. It was his birthday this week. My brother already has an amazing life, so I don't really need to encourage him much, but I thought the sentiment worked for him. He's visiting from London at the moment. London is so far away from Brisbane. I miss him, but he has so many opportunities over there on the other side of the world, so I'm also happy for him.

 I used PTI Mighty Oak and Building Blocks stamps.

Now it is late, and I must get some sleep. Thank-you all for continuing to visit while my life is crazy busy and I don't have much time to visit back. My Christmas holidays rapidly approach, and I plan on doing some serious visiting then, I promise!

Michelle
xxx

CAS(E) This Sketch 95 - follow your dreams

Hello!

I'm using Modern Beadwork for this week's CAS(E) This Sketch. This week I challenged myself to actually stay close-ish to the sketch, lol! I think I managed it! No flights of fancy, just straight, CAS, stamping. :-)

I used Altenew Modern Beadwork and PTI Building Blocks stamps. Colours are SU! Early Espresso, Soft Suede, Crumb Cake, and Pool Party.

Just a quick post tonight. I have a couple of very tired girls just returned from visits to grandparents. I need to rush them towards their beds.

I hope you can join in the fun with us!

Thanks for visiting!

Michelle
xxx

Moxie Fab Fabulous Friday - Getting Fancy

Hello!

I keep missing the Fabulous Friday Challenges at Moxie Fab World. There has been some amazing inspiration along the way, so I've been sad to miss out! Today I managed to sneak in one extra card while I was at my craft desk. :-)

I used PTI Building Blocks and Altenew Label Love stamps with a spritz of gold Smooch. I pretty much created the photo inspiration in my card - colours, placement of the rectangles.

The reason I was at my craft desk in the first place was to make a card for my daughter's teacher from this term. She was filling in for only one term. The regular teacher returns next term. The kids want to say thank-you. This card is A5 size.

I used Mama Elephant stamps - Pandamonium, Party Kit, and Flashy Letters.Inks are a mix of Mama Elephant and Memento Luxe. The twine is Twinery. The washi is from Typo.

I also needed to make some birthday invitations for my eldest daughter who turns 12 very soon. Her brief was for pastel floral invitations. These fit the bill.

Thank-you for coming by to visit me!

Michelle
xxx

CAS(E) This Sketch 79

If you are here for my Fusion card, scroll down below, or click HERE.

If you are here for my CASE Study card, scroll down a little further, or click HERE.

Hello!

Yes, it's another busy Thursday/Friday on my blog! I'm here with my contribution for CAS(E) This Sketch. :-) I made two cards this week. I could have made more. It's a great sketch!

First up is a card made using PTI Building Blocks dies and stamps. Clean. Simple. And I love all those blues!

For both my cards, I sort of forgot there was a bit of a gap on top of that pile of chevron rectangles... oops!

This second card makes use of my huge supply of black and white washi. I picked them up for my daughter at last year's craft show. That little "HI" sentiment is from Mama Elephant Filigree.

When my hubby looked at this card, he thought I'd made it for my daughter - the moustaches (which she loves), the bird cages, the music, the cameras (for Instagram). I might have to keep it to give to her one day. :-)

I hope you can find some time to join in the fun this week. I'll be looking for you in the gallery!

Michelle

xxx

Inspired by Nichole

Hello,

I'm attempting to make a few sets of cards for a charity sale that my friend is running. It's for Alzheimer's Australia. I don't usually make sets, but making sets is a really wonderful way to explore a stamp set, or a colour scheme, or an idea.

Back in February, I pinned a card by Nichole Heady when she was introducing Building Blocks, thinking that one day I would use the inspiration. It turns out that I pretty much copied the design, but I loved the design so much, I didn't want to change it. The only change I made was to make it one layer and remove the twine.

Nichole's card is this one:

I love the mix of the uncoloured Doodlie-Do with the colourful Building Blocks.

I also made a set of envelopes to match.

Now for a closer look at those cards.

These last two are my favourites from the set.

Thank-you for visiting. I'll leave you with a picture of what I found in my laundry yesterday when I wandered downstairs.

Yes, the chickens were being harassed by the magpies again and they decided to come inside the house instead of heading to their coop. They were quite cranky when I shooed them back outside. ;-)  See that feather on the ground? It's amazing. I couldn't capture it's light, airy, fluffiness in a photo, but I tried.

See ya later!

Michelle
xxx

Case Study 192

Hello!

This week is flying by. I have a million things to do, my list is getting longer as each day passes! But, here we are at Thursday again, almost to the end of the week. The good news is that it is time for another Case Study Challenge! We still have Wida Miller as our fabulous muse. Wida is so versatile! And every new thing she tries just seems to work, amazing talent!

This week the muse card uses a collage style that I'm not experienced with, and that I wasn't sure I could pull off. So I looked carefully at the elements, the vertical sentiments, the colours, the arrangement, and made my own CAS, one-layer(ish), version.

I used PTI Building Blocks stamps and dies. This set is amazingly versatile for a bunch of words and rectangles!

Wida's card is this one.

I would love to see what you would make following Wida's inspiration card! I'll keep my eye on the gallery to check you all out. :-)

Thanks for visiting!

Michelle
xxx

Runway Inspired #57 - a little bit of modern art

Hello!

If you've been hanging around here for a while, you'll know how much I love Runway Inspired Challenge. You'll also know that I haven't entered very much lately. The inspiration is constant, but RIC really stretches me, and it takes some time for my ideas to come to fruition. Most of the time I miss the deadline! But not this time, I have almost a whole day before the deadline, yay!!

The inspiration this week took me in a whole new direction in card design. I really enjoyed the journey. This is what I love about RIC - I try so many new ideas out! :-) This is what I came up with.

I used PTI Doodlie-Do, Building Blocks, and Square Prints stamps. Inks are a mix of SU! and Memento Luxe.

And this was the inspiration. What a cute dress. I think I would like this dress in my wardrobe, gorgeous shape, and quirky pattern. :-)  I'm not sure I can pull of the short hemline these days, but you never know...  This dress had me wishing I had a pigeon stamp. On the topic of pigeons, who puts a pigeon on a dress??? So unexpected, and so much fun!

Today I went for a lymphatic drainage massage. I'm still battling my sinus infection. My massage was AWESOME. I'm hoping it has a positive impact on my health, quickly. I'm falling further and further behind at work, and I know how much is waiting for me when I am back up to speed, sigh!

Thanks for stopping by to visit!

Michelle
xxx

Fusion #7

Hello!

It's time for a new batch of Fusion inspiration! This week I used both inspiration photo and sketch to come up with this card.

I used such a big selection of products, I'm not sure I can remember them all! Hero Arts Envelope Pattern Background and Collage Music Background stamps; PTI Teach & Inspire and Building Blocks. I also used PTI Dear Jane patterned paper. Card is SU! More Mustard and Soft Suede and PTI Vintage Cream. Inks are SU! Crumb Cake, Soft Suede, More Mustard.

This week the team have all been inspired in quite different ways, it's wonderful! If you haven't visited the others yet, here are the links to their blogs.

Betty J
Cathy Weber 
Dannielle Robeson
Deepti
Geri Freeman
Julia Aston
Katie Brooks
Kelly Griglione
Kimberly Wiener 

Lyndal Higgins

Lynn Mangan 

Michelle Lupton

Sindhu
Stephanie Severin

This week I've been in Canberra for work for a couple of days. My schedule was non-stop from when I landed to when I took off to return home. Crazy! I'm back in Canberra again next week, too. Another non-stop schedule. I miss my hubby and my kids when I travel (and my dog and the chooks). Work travel is definitely not glamourous or exciting. I much prefer to stay at home. :-)

Thank you for visiting! I hope to see you joining us at Fusion sometime very soon!

Michelle
xxx