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

Tag You're It! 51

Hello!

I'm back from holidays and keen to get some card making done to rejuvenate the mojo! :-) I've just spent almost four weeks in Europe visiting with my brother and his family. What a wonderful time we had! We visited Budapest, Vienna, and Italy (Pisa, Florence, Piombino, and Elba). It had been about 12 years since we last travelled, so it was lovely to get out and about again.

Today I am playing along with Tag You're It! This is my little tag.

I used PTI Doodlie-Do stamps for the images. My inspiration was Donna's gorgeous tag where I've taken her watercoloured background, red/yellow flower, and strip of washi.

And now, my jet lag is still trying to confuse me, so I think I need to get myself to bed for a good night's sleep.

Thanks for visiting!

Michelle

xxx

Papertrey Ink September Blog Hop

Hello!

I love it when the Papertrey Ink Blog Hop happens on a week-end and I have a spare bit of time to join in the fun! Blackboard technique and autumn colours together, oh so delicious!

I used Doodlie-Do and Stylish Sentiments: Birthday stamps. I white embossed and then brushed with white ink. I coloured with Copics.

This is the beautiful inspiration.

Thank-you for coming to visit!

Michelle
xxx

Fusion - Wedding Belles

Hello!

This week's inspiration photo at Fusion Card Challenge is so amazingly beautiful! It is so beautiful that I completely forgot that there was a sketch sitting right beside it, lol! My card this week takes its inspiration from the photo only.

I used PTI Doodlie-Do stamps and dies. I white embossed the leaves and sentiment, die cut and stamped the flowers and adhered using dimensionals. A relatively quick and clean and simple card (QACAS as Darnell would say).

I just love beautiful cakes like this! Such artistry! I have a cousin who was a pastry chef and made the most amazing cakes (including my wedding cake). Watching him work with icing was magical! I actually don't eat the icing off these cakes, I peel it off and eat the cake underneath, but I do enjoy looking at them before they're cut. :-)

I hope you are inspired to join us at Fusion! The gallery from the last challenge was full of beautiful cards and I imagine this time will be just as amazing. :-)

Thanks for visiting!

Michelle
xxx

Fusion - Teal, Orange, and Brown

Hello!

It's Fusion time again! Last challenge had SO MANY awesome entries! This time we move away from the hearts and go for a modern colour palette of teal, orange, and brown. I still stuck with the "love" theme. I couldn't resist.

I used both inspiration photo and sketch to create a fusion card. At first glance, I wasn't sure I could use the sketch, but it turns out that I CAN add some layers every now and then. ;-)

I used PTI Doodlie-Do stamps and dies. Colours are SU! Tangerine Tango, Coastal Cabana, Early Espresso, and PTI Fine Linen.

I hope you are inspired to join in on the fun!

Thanks for visiting. :-)

Michelle

xxx

CAS(E) This Sketch hits challenge 100!!!

Hello!

This week we're celebrating over at CAS(E) This Sketch as we hit the magic 100 number! Yes, this week is our 100th challenge! Woo hoo!!! And do we have a line-up for you this week! We have the All-Star CTS team brought together for this one special week!

The sketch is a beautiful CAS design this week. And I know that there are a few different interpretations from the team. Here is mine.

Some patterned paper with PTI Doodlie-Do stamps, and I was done! Super-CAS! When I look at this card, I think someone's climbed some mountains and come out victorious. ;-)

How about some G20 news. The roads this morning were very quiet. It meant the usual 30 minute trip to school took 10 minutes. I got a seat on the train. I didn't have to wait for my coffee. There was a police officer about every 10 metres along the streets in the City. I felt like today was NOT the day where I would have my purse stolen, lol! At the train station this afternoon, it was so crowded with police that I almost couldn't fight my way through the crowd into the station. We've brought in police from all over the country and I believe we even have some NZ police here, too! I'm glad they are here. Tomorrow is our G20 public holiday. I have major spring cleaning plans, and perhaps I'll make some time to swim in the pool with my kidlet as well. I might even make a card!

Thanks for visiting! I hope you can join us in our 100th challenge celebration. I would love to see you there!

Michelle
xxx

Die cutting at its simplest

Hello!

I had grand visions of joining in at Virginia's View Challenge this month with a card made with all sorts of die-cutting magic. It hasn't happened yet and, looking at my schedule over the next few days, the magic is not going to happen, lol! I've run out of time! So, I thought I'd join in anyway with a simple card using a die-cut sentiment block.

Despite its simplicity, I quite like this card. Golden smooch spritzed background with a little stamping for interest, patterned paper behind the black sentiment block. That patterned paper looks like there just might be a party going on back there!

Today was my youngest daughter's first ballet exam. She went off confidently and came out smiling. She thinks taking a morning off school to do an exam is an excellent way to spend her time! She danced for RAD Primary Grade today. Now she progresses to Grade 1 ballet. I thought that getting her into the exams while she's still little may demystify the process before she hits bigger, more important exams later on. The way she was today, I have the feeling that she will never find exams a problem. ;-)

Thank-you for visiting me!

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

CAS(E) This Sketch 76

Hello!

What a great sketch we have at CAS(E) This Sketch this week! It took me a little while to think what I would do with it, and then about a hundred ideas hit me at once! This is one of them.

I used PTI Doodlie-Do stamps, which I coloured in. Card base is PTI Hibiscus Burst.

I hope you are inspired as much as I was. I look forward to seeing your creations in the gallery!

Michelle
xxx

CASE Study 190 - some amazing news!

Hello!

I have some amazing news. Well, it's amazing to me... and completely exciting... and completely overwhelming! I've been invited to join the CASE Study Design Team! I'm still pinching myself!

The icing on the cake for me is that I get to start in the month when Wida Miller is the Muse! Wida is one of the nicest, friendliest, talented card makers out there. She inspires me all the time, not just when she's the muse at CASE Study. :-)

To celebrate joining the team (as of this coming week), I have made a card to join in this week, too! In Wida's card I saw black, grey, and yellow, stripes, flower, and a window.

I used PTI Sentiment Signs and Doodlie-Do stamps. I've forgotten the brand of the grey striped paper. The yellow card is SU! Daffodil Delight. 

Thanks for coming to visit me and share in my news!

Michelle
xxx

Papertrey Ink April Blog Hop

Hello!

I thought I wasn't going to have time to enter the PTI Blog Hop this month, but then I found myself with an hour "spare" in between swimming lessons, vet visits, and ballet lessons... yippee!! I quickly did a google search on "embroidery" and found a lovely piece that inspired me immediately. Actually, I found two, but I only have time to make one card. ;-)

This is my card.

I used PTI Doodlie-Do stamps. Colours are SU! Night of Navy, Real Red, Daffodil Delight. That strip on the side is actually navy, not black.

The inspiration I used was this lovely handbag, which I found at Harujion Design.

This is the PTI inspiration board.

And just before I go, here is a photo of my Penny in all her colourful glory.

Thanks for visiting... now, back to the crazy Saturday kid-taxi schedule... ;-)

Michelle
xxx

A Country Quilt

Hello!

I'm back with a quick post before bedtime. I had another quilt idea for Make It Monday that was inspired by the sketch at Retro Sketches.

This card feels like a warm country-style quilt to me. :-)

I used Papertrey Ink Birds & Blooms and Doodlie-Do stamps. Card is PTI Vintage Cream. Patterned paper is SU!

Now I'm racing to bed. Back to work tomorrow and I need a good rest before then. Still not well and I need as much sleep as I can get.

Thanks for stopping by to visit!

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

A little bit of sunshine

Hello!

I have made another one-layer card. Stretching my one-layer thinking prior to starting Online Card Classes, Clean & Simple #3. This one was for my Mum's birthday this week. She loved it!

I used PTI Doodlie-Do stamps. Colours are Derwent Inktense watercolour pencils. I added SU! Dazzling Diamonds glitter to the centres of the large flowers, adding a little extra texture and interest.

I'm entering this into:
Make It Monday - add texture to one-layer cards, 
One Layer Simplicity - just add water,
and Cure For The Monday Blues - I couldn't resist the yellow :-)

I'm a little tired today. My eldest daughter had a friend over for a sleepover last night. They were great, but... My littlest girl decided she should have a sleepover too... in my bed... in my space... sigh!

Thanks for coming to visit!

Michelle
xxx

A little bit of green

Hello!

I have some new stamps. I couldn't wait to try them out. I had to wait DAYS before I got a spare moment. It was an agonizing wait, lol! Here is the first of the cards I made.

I am so happy with this card! It worked better than I had hoped. The green and espresso brown speech bubbles really pop off this one-layer card in real life. I'm not sure if you can get the effect on the computer, or not. This card involved a little masking to create the effect. I used PTI Doodlie-Do and Sweet Speech stamps. Inks are SU! Early Espresso and Mama Elephant Mojito.

I hesitated to get Doodlie-Do, even though I loved it at first sight. The hesitation was that some of the most striking examples I've seen are coloured with Copics, and I don't have Copics. But, it turns out that it works without being coloured, and in another card I made, I coloured with Inktense pencils and that worked too. :-) I am in love with this set!  I have several ideas brewing.  The Sweet Speech set fills a little gap in my stamp collection very nicely. They really are sweet!

I am entering into three challenges. In no particular order, I have entered:

The Card Concept. I'm not sure what style this is, CAS or CAG. Is it even clean with all those flowers? It was relatively simple to make.

CAS(E) This Sketch.

Make It Monday. We were asked to add texture to a one-layer card. I have used masking mixed with bold speech bubbles against a doodle background.

Today I had my Mum over for lunch to celebrate her birthday, which was yesterday. We had a lovely morning of playing cards (500) and a light lunch of salad and meats. It was really nice to spend some relaxed time together.

Thanks for coming by to visit!

Michelle
xxx