Make It Monday 231 - Motif Building

Hello!

I was so intrigued by Betsy's motif building over at Make It Monday this week that I just had to try it out for myself. I think I need a little more practice! It was a fun exercise, so I'll be trying this technique again. :-)

I used PTI Lovely Layers, Rosie Posie, Sparkle & Shine, and Scripted stamp sets to create my motif. Colours are PTI Hibiscus Burst, Smokey Shadow, Soft Stone, Hawaiian Shores and SU! Certainly Celery.

I'm also linking this up to Susan's Thanksgiving challenge and also to One Layer Simplicity where the theme is Gratitude.

Thanks for visiting me!

Michelle
xxx

CAS(E) This Sketch 127

Hello!

This week's sketch at CAS(E) This Sketch is beautiful in it's simplicity. Although butterflies were at the front of my mind, I moved in a different direction creatively and replaced the butterfly with a flower.

I used PTI Lovely Layers and Keep It Simple: Sympathy stamps. I used PTI Lovely Layers dies. Ink colours are PTI Melon Berry, Soft Stone, Smokey Shadow and SU! Crumb Cake and Soft Suede.

My colours for this card were inspired by Papertrey Ink Make it Monday where Dawn has us stamping with neutrals.

Thank-you for dropping by to visit me! I appreciate it!

Michelle
xxx

So Grateful

Hello!

Here I am at the end of a long week-end, at the end of a very hot day (36 degrees), where I have spent some quality time lazing around with my hubby and kids. :-) We swam in the pool, which was the perfect temperature to cool us off but at the same time not too cold. This afternoon I snuck to my craft desk and made a card, just so that I had actually made A card somewhere near World Cardmaking Day, LOL!

I used PTI Lovely Layers stamps. Colours are SU! Real Red, Pumpkin Pie, Daffodil Delight, Cool Cabana.

This card is in response to two challenges. The sketch comes from CAS(E) This Sketch

and the colours come from Colour Q

Now, I'm thinking I ought to go and start thinking about dinner for the family and getting the kids ready to return to the last term of school tomorrow.

Thanks for dropping by to visit!

Michelle
xxx

Pretty Pastel Birthday

Hello!

When I saw the colours at The Play Date Cafe this week, I couldn't resist making a card. Added together with the sketch at Seize the Birthday, and I had a plan!

I used PTI Lovely Layers and Stylish Sentiments:Birthday. The inks are SU! Pretty in Pink, Orchid Opulence, Hero Arts Pale Tomato, and Ranger Archival Black. I textured the front panel with PTI linen impression plate.

I think I've found a new favourite black ink. Stamping the Ranger Archival Black onto vellum was the easiest EVER stamping on vellum I've done. Crisp, black, and no smudging. :-)

The colour story for The Play Date Cafe Challenge this week is so pretty.

The sketch for Seize the Birthday is so much fun. I've made a card using a similar sketch previously, but the end result was completely different!

I'm still fighting my cold. Today's a little busy. Tomorrow I plan to lay back and relax the whole day!

Thanks for popping by!

Michelle
xxx

Spread the Love...

Hello!

Over on Amber's Blog, Damask Love, you will find Clear & Simple Stamps' Spread The Love Campaign. The idea of it is that we reveal our "Blog Crush" and create a project using the colour schemes provided. We are encouraged to use Clear & Simple Stamps, but the sad truth is that, although my wishlist has a number of C&S stamps on it, I don't yet own any. :-(

I think it will be no surprise for people to find that I have several Blog Crushes, and they aren't all card makers. Amongst card makers, I have quite a few crushes... but today I've singled out one of my crushes. If you follow my Pinterest Board, you'll know that one of my biggest crushes is on Laura Bassen. I love Laura's clean style, I love her rainbows of colour, I love her plaid, I love her big flowers, in fact I don't think there are any cards of Laura's that I don't like. Along with that, I like Laura the person, too! If you've seen some of her recent videos, you'll know she's funny. She makes me smile!

Today I tried something new for me, but very classic Laura. I worked on Big Flowers. When Laura made a flower out of cloud dies, I was amazed, and I've wanted to try it ever since. This one isn't perfect, and I will have to go back to try this again. But I do like the feel of this card.

I used PTI Stylish Sentiments: Birthday stamps. The flower is made from Memory Box Puffy Clouds dies. The background panel was cut using PTI Mat Stack #6 and embossed with Woodgrain. Colours are PTI Soft Stone, SU! Daffodil Delight, and another yellow that I forget the name of. Ink is Memento Grey Flannel.

I used this colour scheme.

While I was channeling Laura, I CASEd another of her cards. Just quietly, I like this one I've made better than the first that I showed you. ;-)

I used PTI Lovely Layers and Birds & Blooms (sentiment). Colours are PTI Vintage Cream base, Fresh Linen, Berry Sorbet, Melon Berry, and SU! Red (retired, and I've forgotten the name, it must be too late at night for my brain to work). Ink is SU! Early Espresso, and PTI Berry Sorbet.

Now it is time for me to get some beauty sleep. Thanks for dropping by!

Michelle
xxx

Papertrey Ink February Blog Hop - Part II

Hello!

Good morning! This is my second card for the Papertrey Ink February Blog Hop where the theme is Marvelous Monograms. I have a limited selection of alphabets in my supplies. One set of dies and one set of stamps. I used the dies for my two cards, and promised myself I would buy more alphabets sometime VERY soon!

I used Lovely Layers and Think Big Favorites #13. The "F" is from Block Alpha Lowercase dies.

My friend loves purple and black. I hope she loves this card.

Thanks for coming to visit.

Michelle
xxx

PDCC#170 and Papertrey Ink February Blog Hop

Hello!

Another weather update. I think I prayed too much for rain to break the unrelenting heat yesterday. It has been pouring down all day, and I think we've had more than 20cm (6-7 inches) of rain today (the pool is overflowing). The rain would have been beautiful if I didn't have to make my way through it to get to and from work!

Tonight I bring you a card for Papertrey Ink February Blog Hop, where we've been given the theme "Marvelous Monograms". I have actually made two cards, they are a matching pair, for friends who are celebrating their birthdays soon. They are husband and wife, and the cards are masculine and feminine of the same design. Tonight I'm putting up the BOY version, and then tomorrow I'll post the GIRL version when I link these up to the PTI Blog Hop (which goes live right in the middle of my beauty sleep). :-)

I used Lovely Layers and Think Big Favourites #13 stamps. The letter "A" is from the Block Alpha lowercase dies. 

The colour scheme I took from The Play Date Cafe Challenge #170.

Thanks for coming by to visit! I'll be back in the morning with my second card. ;-)

Michelle

xxx

CASADIA (a CASE + an idea)

Hello!

Have you been following Wida Miller's CASADIA? I have been watching since day one, and it is such a fun idea! I finally built up the courage to ask to be one of the participants, and here I am!

What's CASADIA? It's a card chain, like the game of Chinese Whispers (or Telephone, if that is what you call it). Each time the "message" (card design) is sent, it is interpreted and then sent again slightly differently by the next person. I'm person number 24, following Kelly Griglione. The first person in the chain was Laura Bassen (and she didn't know what she was starting), who was CASEd by Jennifer Rzasa, who was then CASEd by Wida Miller, who then invited all of us to join in the fun!

The first card was this one by Laura. (Please, if you want to pin, go visit Laura's post and pin from there).

The most recent card was this one by Kelly (again, please visit Kelly's post if you want to pin this one).

To see all the cards that came in between, pop over to Wida's CASADIA page.

So now to my card. Kelly was a very hard act to follow. Pop over to her post to see just how she created those gorgeous trees! Amazing! It took me a couple of weeks (in between Christmas preparations and family visits) to think up my own idea. Finally I decided to use the three trees (only I used flowers), the colours, the dots, and the green sentiment. Here it is.

I used PTI Lovely Layers stamps and dies, Hexagon Cover Plate die, Aqua Mist patterned paper, vellum (between patterned paper and cover plate), and Basic White card. Colours are SU! Tempting Turquoise, Glorious Green (which I don't believe I've ever used before), and Garden Green. The buttons are SU! Itty Bitty Buttons, and they fit the central flower image on Lovely Layers perfectly! All topped with three rhinestones for some extra sparkle.

Thanks for coming by. If you want to join in this fun, contact Wida for more information.

Michelle
xxx

Jay Gee's Nook #24 and Moxie Fab Thank You

Hello!

Just a quick post tonight. It's bedtime, and I have to work tomorrow...

I made a Thank You card using soft grey and aqua and a little beige. It feels so serene and gentle to me.

Stamps - PTI Lovely Layers, Heart-2-Heart #3. Card - PTI Basic White. Paper - My Minds Eye All Is Bright. Ink - SU! Pool Party, Memento London Fog. Button - PTI Aqua Mist.

The inspiration came from Jay Gee's Nook Challenge inspiration board for this month, it is delicious. If I get a chance, I'll use it again. I really love that curtain!

I also submitted this to Moxie Fab World's Thank You challenge.

Thanks for dropping by.

Michelle

xxx

Happy Birthday, Cassandra!

Hello!

Today is my friend Cassandra's birthday. When making cards for Cassie, I suffer major performance anxiety - her cards are always so beautiful and elegant! But this time, I think I've created the perfect card for her. It's clean and elegant and it has a good stack of bling. :-)

Happy Birthday, Cassandra! 

I used PTI Lovely Layers and Pretty Peonies (sentiment). The colours are SU! Night of Navy, Pool Party, and Bashful Blue. Rhinestones are SU!

Cassandra is an early riser, so I am betting she'll see this post before she sees the card in person. Cassie, it looks better in real life! ;-)  Have a wonderful birthday!


Michelle
xxx

Happy 80th birthday!

Hello!

CASE Study this week is celebrating their 2nd anniversary. We get to enter a card in our "signature style". Mmmm, I think this card uses my signature style. I usually use more white, but imagine the pale plum is white, and I think it is "me".

This week it is my aunty's 80th birthday. That's quite a milestone. We will be celebrating next week-end. She's grumbling about how big the party is getting, but I think she is in her element - all this attention from her very large, extended family!

I spent a lot of time with my aunty while I was growing up. She was living on a pineapple farm with her husband (my uncle) and her four boys. I learned early how to play rough and tumble with my big boy cousins! :-) Some of my favourite memories involve sitting in the kitchen, having cups of tea, sitting on the wood box in front of the wood-fired stove. They've retired now and moved into town, but I hold fond memories of that farm.

This is the card I came up with. My aunty likes purple, so that set the colour-scheme. The card is 4" x 6", a little different in dimension to my usual 4 1/4 x 5 1/2.

I used PTI Lovely Layers, Think Big Favorites #13. Colours are SU! Perfect Plum, Pale Plum, Certainly Celery, Old Olive. The dies were PTI Lovely Layers, Block Alpha Numbers, and Spellbinders Nestabilities (circles).

I used the sketch from My Favorite Things.

And while I am talking purple. I took this photo in my garden this week. It is a purple blue-centred daisy. My garden thinks that spring has arrived, everything is starting to flower!

Thanks for coming to visit!

Michelle
xxx