CAS Mini Card

For my For Your Inspiration post, please scroll down, or click HERE

Hello!

Today I had a tiny little bit of time to do some stamping, so I made a little tiny card.  I'm responding to CAS-ual Fridays Challenge #20, which is to make a mini-card, no more than 4 x 4 inches.

I'm also responding to "Less Is More" week 33, where they are aiming for 1000 submissions, and the theme is Anything CAS Goes. That is a huge goal. This is my contribution.

My little card is here:

It is 4 x 4 inches. The central square is 3 x 3. The flower and sentiment are from Jane's Doodles Pretty Peonies. I used SU! Crumb Cake card, Soft Suede ink, and Derwent Inktense pencils to colour. It is hard to capture the soft, subtle colours of this card in a photo.

Now you may wonder what my post header photo is about. Well, I went out with Mum yesterday to buy my birthday present. Actually we swapped presents (I still owed her one from ages and ages ago). We visited an art supplies shop... I'm lucky I came out without taking the whole store with me!  What did I get?

This:

Mmmm, yummy! Derwent Inktense pencils. I had to make up a colour chart for myself. The colours are delicious. You'll notice I left some gaps where the other colours are missing *grin*. I had a few pencils already, so now I have 40 of the 72 colours.

I mucked up my chart and didn't leave a space for one of the blues. One day, when I have that blue, I'll make a new chart. For now it sits at the bottom right side corner holding its blank space.

See how beautifully these pencils turn into watercolours? So bright and fresh! And when they dry, they're permanent, which I love.

Thanks for popping in today.

Michelle
xxx

Reject Blog Hop

For my For Your Inspiration post, please scroll down, or click HERE

Hello!

Amber over at Damask Love is holding a Reject Blog Hop for those of us who have cards that did not make it into the March/April Paper Crafts magazine, but still wanted to show off some of our creations. Amongst those "rejects" are some truly beautiful cards. Go and take a look. And if you also have a reject, perhaps you'd like to share too?

Here is my card:

This was responding to one of the sketch challenges. I still really like this card, even though it was "rejected". The colours appeal to me, the contrast of the Modern Basics with the floral In Bloom, I like it all. Part of what I like is that, as someone who doesn't do much colouring, I really like the way my flower and leaves turned out. In real life it looks pretty, too. I might even make more like this.

So, what do you think?

Michelle
xxx

Pretty Peonies for OLW & PDCC

For my For Your Inspiration Post, scroll down. 

This is my second post for today.

Hello!

I am very lucky. So, so lucky. And feeling blessed. And excited!

You may ask why.

I won a new stamp set. *squeal*  Not just any stamp set. . . a BEAUTIFUL new stamp set. From Jane's Doodles! This is the set:

Every time I look at it I'm inspired. Pretty Peonies was released last week.  I won this set when I was selected from the Jane's Doodles Flikr Gallery entries for August.  All you have to do to enter each month is use Jane's Doodles stamps, and load your project into the gallery. That's your entry. This is pretty easy for me, because I'm loving these stamps... as you may have noticed, LOL!

It may sound like I'm advertising, or that I'm being paid to say these things, but I'm not. I'm just thrilled with the stamps. I love them.

On to the reason for my post. I'm entering a card into One Layer Wednesday, which is over at Susan's blog Simplicity this week. The challenge is to stamp an image and colour it.

For my colours I have used the colours from the Play Date Cafe Challenge #99 (Ooh, almost to #100!).  The colours are so soft, pretty, and sweet this week:

My card is here:

I used:
Stamps: Jane's Doodles Pretty Peonies
Card: Stamping Up! Whisper White
Ink: SU! Barely Banana, Lavender Lace, and Memento Tuxedo Black, and a Blender Pen

I'm still learning how to colour. I think I'm improving. I also did a little masking on this card.

A couple more photos for you, if you feel like continuing to hear me waffle on. . .

This week was my birthday. Presents aren't really my big thing. I like presents, but I am not so fussed on presents for presents' sake. BUT, when someone puts some thought into a present, and gets me something that I have never asked for but really, really wanted. And that present is USEFUL. This rings all my bells and fills me with gratitude.  I received a couple of these types of presents this year. But one in particular I'm sharing with you because it is stamping related:

My very own, personalised stamp for the back of my cards. I didn't have one. And I wanted one. My sister-in-law is one of the most thoughtful present-givers in the world.

And one more. To take my card photos, I sit on the floor, beside the big windows at the front of my house, with my cards on a chair, getting as much natural light as possible. So each time I sit down, I suddenly have a very nosy companion attempting to get her nose into my picture, or her body on my lap. Every time.

She's cute, but I don't want her wet, sloppy nose on my camera lens. And I don't want to be bumped when I'm carefully focusing on a sentiment. Especially when she's been digging in the sandpit. I do love her, though. This is Coco.

So if you made it all the way to the end of this post, would you take a little time to leave me a comment to let me know you were here? I really love hearing what you have to say. I promise to come and visit you in return.

Michelle
xxx

For Your Inspiration #14

Hello!

Welcome to my second challenge as a For Your Inspiration Design Team member.  I'm still excited! If you haven't joined us yet, please do! The inspiration photos are beautiful, and you get lots of lovely comments on your work. It is also worth taking a look over the work of the other DT members, as they offer so much inspiration.

This week's inspiration photo is this one:

I was inspired by the beautiful greeny-blue water and the heavenly look of the sun through the rain in the background.

My card is here:

I used PTI Snowflake Serenade (such beautiful snowflakes and sentiments). I stamped the sentiment first in navy, then I clear embossed my snowflakes. Because I didn't have the colour inks that were in my imagination, I had to get a little creative with making my colour. I sponged (SU!) bashful blue, certainly celery, tempting turquoise, and night of navy inks to create just the right colour feel, and then I spritzed the whole lot with champagne shimmer mist (oh, how I love shimmer mist) to create the shimmery, heavenly, light feel I was looking for. It was a bit naked at the top, so I added a night of navy ribbon to create some balance. I used Whisper White, Night of Navy, and Crumb Cake cardstock. I thought of making the card base white, but it didn't work. The  Crumb Cake reflects the rocks of the photo better, and it doesn't distract from the other elements of the card. To finish off, I added some rhinestones for that little extra sparkle.

I really like this card. What do you think?

Please do head over to take a look at my fellow Design Team members' blogs and leave them some love too.

Debbie
Debby
Keva
Peggy
Sara
Steph



Michelle
xxx

OLW #63 - Baby card

For my For Your Inspiration post, scroll down

Hello!

One Layer Wednesday is back! Yay! If you haven't looked at Jennifer and Susan's challenge, you should pop over to Jennifer's blog this week and have a go. If you haven't tried one layer yet, you should definitely have a go! For me, it is extra challenging.  This week there is the added bonus of a giveaway up for grabs - A Muse products, LOVELY!

This week's challenge is to create a one layer BABY card.  I have a few cards sitting on the table right now after spending last night trying to create SOMETHING that looked good on one layer.

I'm still playing with Jane's Doodles "Noah's Ark", because I adore the image, and I know I haven't explored everything I can do with it yet. This time, instead of paper-piecing (because of the one-layer rule), I coloured. Yes, ME, I coloured. Another of my personal challenges. I used SU! inks with a blender pen.  It turned out okay. I was using pale colours and attempting to make a gender-neutral card. I tried to anchor with the blue sponging, but I think I need something more. Maybe that is just because I have been anchoring this image with "water" in all my other cards, I feel it is a bit NUDE this time.  This was quick to create, which is always a bonus. I must be getting better at one layer.

What I used:
Card: SU! Whisper White
Inks: Memento Tuxedo Black, SU! various colours
Stamps: Jane's Doodles "Noah's Ark"

What do you think? Do you like my simplified Ark?

Michelle
xxx

Nicely Neutral Baby!

For my FYI post, please scroll down, or click HERE.

Hello!

It's Fathers Day! I probably should be spending some time with my family instead of blogging. . . but my hubby and kids are having fun between basketball and Playstation, so I'm having some time out to myself.  I've been having stamping withdrawals these past two, very busy, weeks.

Today I decided to respond to the Tuesday Trigger over at Moxie Fab World, which this week really, really appeals to me. . . all those neutral colours, yum! 

I needed to make another baby card. It seems that there are babies arriving left, right, and centre at the moment. I loved the idea of making a baby card in neutrals, something different to the usual pinks and blues. And I ABSOLUTELY love how this card turned out.

In real life this is so soft and warm looking. The frilled ribbon is the first time I have done anything like that for a card. I ended up having to sew the ribbon down on small strips of card to keep it in place. I do like how my "ribbon water" turned out.  The ribbon treatment was to reflect the frills on the cushions. Because of the ribbons, I had to double-pop the ark to get it to fit over the water! I added the bunting to Noah's Ark to reflect the bunting on the headboard above the bed. I luckily had a bunting stamp from Pink Paislee that fit across Noah's Ark perfectly.

What I used:
Card (SU!): Crumb Cake, Chocolate Chip, Very Vanilla
Paper: retired SU! paper which I forget the name of
Ribbon: Chocolate Chip Taffeta, kitchen twine
Stamps: Jane's Doodles "Noahs Ark", Pink Paislee "Soiree"

Sigh! I just LOVE this card.  What do YOU think?

Michelle
xxx

Some exciting news. . . For Your Inspiration!

Hello!

Well, do I have news for you!  I was invited to join the For Your Inspiration Design Team. . .  and I accepted! Can you tell I'm excited? I just love the photo inspirations at this challenge. Every new photo sets my creative spirit alight.

Lucky me, I get to start with an extra exciting challenge - the first challenge in September, and the first sponsored challenge. Yes, you heard me right, this challenge is sponsored by Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps.  What does that mean for you? Well, when you enter For Your Inspiration Challenge #13, you have the chance to win a $10 voucher from Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps. As if the beautiful inspiration photo wasn't enough to drive you to enter the challenge to start with...

Sigh! I wish I was in Paris. . .

My card in response to this beautiful photo uses Sweet 'n Sassy digi-stamp "Forget Me Not".

I really loved the purples and blue of the sky in the photo, so I have tried to reflect those in my card.  I also just had to throw in the Eiffel Tower while I was at it. I was very clever with the ribbon, but it turns out that when photographed, a dark purple ribbon doesn't really show up the detail, LOL.

What I used:
Stamps: Forget Me Not by Sweet 'n Sassy, Artistic Etchings by SU!, a random birthday stamp (which I forget the maker of)
Card: Pale Plum, Perfect Plum, Whisper White
Ink: Perfect Plum
Assorted Inktense pencils and ribbon from my stash

This is quite a grungey card compared to my usual style. I hope you like it.

Now, why don't you take a look at what the other inspired ladies on the team have come up with?

Debbie
Debby
Keva
Peggy
Sara
Steph


Talk to you again soon.

Michelle
xxx