CAS(E) This Sketch 212 - Green Birthday

Hello!

Another week has whizzed by and it is time for the new CAS(E) This Sketch Challenge!

I created a little greenery on a green trellis for this card. Stamping the trellis using Square Prints was the usual exploration of allowing myself to be satisfied with imperfection... If I ever align these perfectly, it will be a miracle! ;-) I still love this set, despite the alignment challenges, it's really versatile.

I used PTI Square Prints, Turning a New Leaf, and Happy Birthday sentiment stamps.

This sketch is super cool. I love it! I hope you're inspired to join us this week.

I'm also going to enter over at Curtain Call, where the green inspiration was provided.

Thanks for dropping by!

Michelle
xxx

Birthday balloons!

Hello!

I really love stamping balloons! They make me happy!

I masked and stamped SU! Celebrate Today stamps. I used silver embossing powder to create a little bling.

I'm entering this into One-Layer Simplicity Challenge #18 - sparkle and shine!

and Curtain Call Inspiration Challenge - Celebrate!

and also Virginia's View Challenge #16 - 100% Stamped!

Thank-you for visiting me!

Michelle
xxx

Winter beadwork

Hello!

Virginia's View Challenge this month has the theme "Clean Slate". That sounds right up my alley! I love a good  expanse of white on my cards. :-) I was also inspired by the photo at Curtain Call Challenge which is all white and ivory and beige, yum! The sponsor at Curtain Call is Altenew, so I couldn't resist pulling out my Altenew stamps. I settled on using Modern Beadwork with Label Love for the sentiment.

Once I had finished this card, it gave me the feeling of marble mosaic tiles and I was whooshed off to Italy in my imagination! :-) Colours are PTI Soft Stone, Fine Linen, and Hero Arts Wet Cement.

I'm also entering this into Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge where the theme is Anything Goes.

Today I had a mole excised from my face. It was only a little mole, but it appeared right where I had previously had mole removed through a shave biopsy and found pre-cancerous cells. The fact that a shave biopsy had already been done meant they had to do the excision this time. I really don't like local anaesthetics. I don't like the numb feeling, I don't like the tingling and itching as the feeling comes back, and then I don't like the pain that arrives later on. :-(  I'm such a sook! I have two friends this week with their gallbladders removed, and I'm sooking over a little mole removal, lol! You can check my Instagram account if you'd like to check my sooky face. ;-)

I will be back with more entries to Virginia's View challenge. I just love Virginia's challenges and I am off work this week, so I plan to make good use of my time and make multiple entries.

Thanks for visiting!

Michelle
xxx

P.S. I have started updating my other blog again. I'm putting some of my daily life photos (not professional, just snapshots) and some of my art practice over there. Feel welcome to take a look.

Curtain Call - Tropical Trip

Hi there!

Just a quick one tonight. I made a card for Curtain Call Challenge. I couldn't resist those bright tropical colours!

I used wPlus9 Whole Lotta Happy stamps to create this bright and happy card.

And now I'm rushing towards my bed! It's been a long day. :-)

Michelle
xxx

Curtain Call - Sweet Peas

Hello!

I've found a little time to join in at Curtain Call Challenge: Sweet Pea. I love sweet peas, they are so pretty and they smell so sweet! Today I tried my hand at drawing and watercolouring them.

I hand drew the flowers in the vase and used Cotman water colours. The sentiment is wPlus9 Fresh Cut Florals.

Now to race and get my little girl to her ballet class!

Thanks for visiting!

Michelle

xxx

Sunshine and Happiness

Hello!

I have a card for One Layer Simplicity, Virginia's View, and for Curtain Call.

This card was quite tricky! I usually do my watercolouring on watercolour paper. This time I just painted directly onto my regular cardstock (PTI Basic White). My card ended up a little warped, and the solution was to run it through my Big Shot (no dies, no impression plates, just the card with a rubber mat and the regular plates). It worked! My card was ironed flat. :-)  Stamps used were Mama Elephant Party Kit and So Breezy. Inks were PTI Melon Berry and Berry Sorbet. Sentiment was white embossed.

I have wanted to use these sentiments in this way since I first got So Breezy. I can't believe it's taken me this long to find a way to do it!

One Layer Simplicity calls for us to Just Add Water.
Curtain Call is Perfectly Peach.

And Virginia's inaugural challenge gives us lots of watercolour inspiration. Virginia tells us she misses Tuesday Triggers. I do too, so I'm really looking forward to seeing what inspiration she brings us as the challenge grows. :-)

Thanks for visiting!

Michelle

xxx

Christmas is coming!

Hello!

I just love Christmas! I love Christmas carols. I love Christmas decorations. I love it all! I think I would happily buy every Christmas stamp available every year if I didn't have a stern talk to myself about how useful those stamps may be for the rest of the year. Regardless of my self-talks, I still ended up with some yummy new stamps this year, yippee! When Mama Elephant released their October release, I wanted just about everything on the release. Unfortunately for me, but perhaps fortunately for my wallet, by the time I returned from my travels and got to my computer many things had sold out. I had to wait. Then the "other" things I wanted sold out, argh! Not to worry, I still ended up with a very happy haul. :-) Then I went away for work again, and had to wait to play. I know that my work pays the bills, but sometimes it really cramps my stamping style, haha!

Enough of my talk. Here are a couple of cards.

Aren't Santa and Mrs Claus just so cute? Don't look too carefully at the colouring. I don't own Copics, so I used my daughters Faber Castell connector pens. The dies are Mama Elephant Femme Frames, and I am in love with them. You'll see these quite a bit, I think. The stamps are Cozy Christmas. Can you see how the presents and hands are popped up? That involved fussy cutting, sigh! The good news is that the stamp set includes a set of hands, so I don't have to cut around the Santa and Mrs Claus stamps just to get their hands out. The present is also separate.

This next card was just a quick play with the Christmas tree from Cozy Christmas. I like the simplicity of this card, although I'll probably go back and fill in that star with gold now that I've taken another look at it. There are those Femme Frames again... ;-)

Edit to add: I'm linking this tree up with Curtain Call CAS-ual Christmas. I forgot to link up when I published, and managed to miss the CAS-ual Fridays side of this challenge!

Thanks for visiting!

Michelle
xxx

Sunflower Wishes

Hello!

Tonight I snuck to my craft desk right after I tucked the kids into bed to make a card for CASE Study #157 and Curtain Call challenges. I've been staring at the CASE Study inspiration card by Kathy Racoosin since it went live last week, and sifting through various ideas. Tonight this card came to me.

I used PTI Rosie Posie and Sentiment Signs stamps. Ink is SU! Gumball Green, Daffodil Delight, Pumpkin Pie, PTI Fresh Linen, Delicata Gold, and Ranger Archival Black. Twine is from the Twinery.

My take on Kathy's card uses pretty much every element as inspiration. Firstly, I went with the big bright flower. I was pondering the stripes and the vellum, and I decided to reflect those in the sentiment lines stamped on vellum, and I also added a little bit of striped washi tape up the side of my card. My little green twine bow is a nod to Kathy's ribbon.

For Curtain Call, I was responding to the Sunflower theme. I would have loved to have used burlap and raffia, but I had neither. I did make a big, luscious sunflower bloom, though!

Before I go, I'll share a little close up of my card, which hopefully shows to golden highlights on my flower.

Thanks for visiting me!

Michelle
xxx

An Apple for the Teacher

Hello!

I'm back! With a simple card that I just love. I cannot begin to explain how happy a really crisp one-layer card makes me feel. :-)

I used PTI Teach and Inspire (apple) and Wonderful Words: Teacher (sentiment). Colours are SU! Poppy Parade and Gumball Green, along with Memento Tuxedo Black.

I know that in the Northern Hemisphere you are all just now back to school, but here in Australia, we are just ending third term and winding up for the last blast before Summer holidays. After Spring break, we only have about 7 weeks left (filled with concerts, exams, and other end-of-school activity). This means I need to start getting organised so that I'm not running around like a mad chook in the last few days of school having forgotten to organise cards and presents for the hoardes of teachers that my girls have, LOL!

I made this card in response to three challenges. This is my first entry over at Curtain Call. I plan to enter many more times in the future. ;-)

I'm also entering CASology, where the theme is Apple.

And last, but not least, CAS-ual Fridays where the theme is also Back To School.

Thank-you for visiting me!

Michelle
xxx