CAS flowers and a cranky chicken

Hello!

I saw the inspiration photo over at Just Add Ink and I just couldn't resist playing along! Such pretty flowers! I used my new favourite flowers - SU! Garden in Bloom - and, because I am also joining in with Happy Little Stampers CAS challenge where the theme is colouring, I coloured with Copics.

I masked the flowers to create my little grouping

Edit to add: I'm joining in at Time Out Challenges, too! I knew there was one I had missed listing!

Before I go, I'll share a photo of my chicken Peggy. She has gone broody and very cranky. She spent all day running around with her tail feathers flared and her hackles up making velociraptor noises (as heard in Jurassic Park). She's rather scary when she's like this, haha!

Thanks for dropping by!

Michelle
xxx

Happy Birthday, Kara!

Hello!

Today is Kara's birthday, and I'm joining in a fun blog hop in honour of her day. :-)  If you haven't seen Kara's work before, you should pop over and visit, because it's fabulous! Not only does Kara make beautiful cards, but she is also such a lovely person as well. A fab combination!

Happy Birthday, Kara! I hope you have a wonderful day!

I used PTI Stylish Sentiments: Birthday, Boutique Borders: Thanks, and Strawberry Patch stamps. Ink was PTI Fresh Snow and Versamark. Chalks and rhinestones are Stampin' Up!

I got a little experimental on this card. I wanted to use the colour scheme over at Just Add Ink, because it sounded just so pretty. And I've had the idea of trying another blackboard card this month to join in at the Paper Crafts Magazine Gallery Challenge. Trying to get colour onto black (for me) is a bit tricky. Firstly I didn't have Bermuda Bay embossing powder or chalk, so I put my thinking hat on. By mixing chalks (aqua and blue), I came up with the perfect colour! It was a miracle. The little silver tendrils are dusted with Perfect Pearls. The frame is silver embossed. The sentiment is white embossed and then sponged with white ink. The whole card ended up as a sparkly, dusty blackboard. :-)  Oh, and for those of you wondering, I used a spray fixative to stop the chalk and dust from moving around any further.

There are many more birthday wishes for Kara today, why don't you join in the blog hop and check out the cards that her other friends have made as well. :-)

Joyce
Cathy

Christina

Jeanne

Jill

Kelly G.

Kelly S.

Kim

Leigh

Lisa

Lynn

Marybeth

Michelle (that's me!)
Nancy

Renee

Sharron

Tracey

Thank-you for coming by to visit!

Michelle
xxx

A simple Christmas card

Hello!

Long time, no see! I've had such an overwhelming few weeks. The last six weeks of school always involves several concerts (solo violin, solo piano, string ensemble, choir showcase, choir carols... and it goes on), lots of activities (swim carnival, junior school graduation, chapel), and add on top of this a couple of swim meets and three music exams (piano, violin, theory) - and that is all just for one child... Luckily for me, the smaller child only has a few things - ballet concert and Christmas concert at Kindy. That will change when she starts school next year, I'm sure. Anyway, that is my long explanation for why it has been a little quiet around here lately.

This week-end we will put the tree up and the kids and I will trim it while my hubby climbs all over the house putting lights up (weather permitting, crossing my fingers right now). That is the start of our relaxation for the holidays. Even though I am still working, there are no more school lunches to make, no more concerts, and we can spend lots of time in the pool soaking up that Summer sunshine. :-)

Anyway, onto the reason for my post. I made this card for three challenges.

I used PTI Snowflake Serenade and Happiest of Holidays, SU! Christmas Deer, and Hero Arts Collage Music Background. Colours are SU! Pool Party, Crumb Cake, Chocolate Chip, and Pretty in Pink. Die is PTI Fillable Frames #10. 

Addicted to CAS is a new challenge blog, and this is their challenge #1 - SNOW. I have made a snow white card, added snowflakes to the stamping, and have stamped snowflake ornaments on the sentiment panel.

I used a sketch from Retro Sketches #39. I had to swap the sketch to the opposite direction due to a stamping error...  As soon as I saw this sketch, I had my idea in mind. I'm amazed how well the idea translated to reality. :-)

The colour scheme comes from Just Add Ink #146. I couldn't resist, they are so soft and pretty!

Thanks for coming by and brightening my day!

Michelle
xxx

Just Add Ink #139

Hello!

The theme over at Just Add Ink this week suits me just fine... they ask us to use something new... and I have just received a nice big batch of new things that has me very excited (in case you didn't notice the flurry of activity here on the blog, LOL!).

When the new Stampin' Up! catalogue is released, and also that lovely Holiday catalogue (which isn't such a "mini" this year), I find it so hard to write my wishlist and restrict myself to buying just a little at a time. I always want it all, IMMEDIATELY! I'm not a SU! demonstrator, I just really like lots of their products!

Anyway, the item I couldn't hold off on was Ornament Keepsakes (and I got the matching dies, because they are irresistible too).

Here is one of the first cards I've made.

Colours are Real Red, Certainly Celery, and Daffodil Delight. Twine is Twinery (honeydew, maraschino, and lemon drop). Sentiment is PTI.

Thanks for dropping by!

Michelle
xxx

Pretty Pastel Birthday

Hello!

Now I have two girls "helping" me with my stamping. The good news is that the big girl has taken the job of supervising the little girl with my precious stamps and inks. She is doing a good job of letting me stamp without having a heart attack every three minutes about mixing colours on ink pads or ruined stamps.

I have managed to make another card, despite my helpers. :-) This one is for Just Add Ink 115, which is a sketch challenge. I saw this sketch, and I immediately decided I was going to make a card using my Filigrie Border.

And I have used the colours from the new CR84FN Challenge #53.

Ooh, pretty colours!  I was so disappointed to miss the last challenge, so I was excited to find another pretty colour palette this week. :-)

This is my card.

I have used PTI Rosie Posie and Think Big Favorites #13. Colours are Stampin'Up! Soft Suede (sentiment), Pretty in Pink, Pool Party, and a little Cameo Coral for rock'n'rolling the roses. The patterned paper is SU! Everyday Enchantment. PTI Filigree Border die. Twinery twine in Blossom. SU! grosgrain ribbon.

Thanks for visiting!

Michelle
xxx

Sweet and Colourful!

Hello!

Well, this card is probably going to shock you, coming from me, LOL! It is a little colourful, and not particularly CAS. :-) Still not frilly, but very flowery.

I was stamping (translate that as chatting, if you will) with two of my real-life stamping buddies (Cassandra and Manda) yesterday. We spent several wonderful hours together ignoring all of our children as we had our grown-up play date (the kids were superbly well-behaved, considering we almost forgot to feed them). Anyway, the ladies noticed my scrap paper I was stamping over, and suggested politely that perhaps I was a bit OCD, because on this paper was printed the current challenges, all neatly arranged. There is a good reason for this, my memory is a sieve, and printing out the challenges reminds me what I am working on... and sometimes a brilliant idea comes to me while I'm working on something else... sometimes. Anyway, after we all had a good giggle, and someone else admitted they have a similar "system", we decided that we would give ourselves our own personal challenge - we would choose one sketch and make it using Everyday Enchantment (Stampin' Up! paper). I just LOVE that paper. It is my very favourite SU! paper of all time. I've made a big dent in my small supply already.

The sketch we chose was Sweet Sunday Sketch #156.

This sketch appealed to me the minute I saw it.

As I was preparing to sit down and create my card today, I saw that Just Add Ink had released a photo inspiration for Just Add Ink #113.

It totally works with Everyday Enchantment paper, and my design changed to work with this inspiration as well.

This is my card. I have the stripey rug, the floral curtains, the coral of the sofas, and the blue accents.

Night time photo again. I only finished this tonight while wrangling the kids into bed. Yep, I'm the ultimate multi-tasking Mum. :-)

I used SU! colours Cameo Coral (retired), Pool Party, Poppy Parade, Old Olive. SU! DSP Everyday Enchantment. Card base is PTI Vintage Cream. Stamps used were PTI Think Big Favorites #13, Postmarks, Rosie Posie. I used a square punch to make my banner ends.

The more I look at this card, the more I like it. It's pretty. :-)

Thanks for dropping by.

Michelle
xxx

Pink & Grey Christmas

Hello!

It's been a while, I've been a little busy... making halloween costumes, the usual kiddy activities, music concerts and exams, housework...

Today I'm bringing you a quick little Christmas card that I whipped up yesterday just before transforming myself into a witch (dark purple eye shadow sure is difficult to budge when you're finished with it, LOL).

The colour combination I've chosen is from Just Add Ink Colour Challenge #91.

The layout is from Clean & Simple FTL#164

And my card is this one:

The stamp sets are PTI Snowflake Serenade and Christmas Friends. I heat embossed the bauble and the string. I also added some SU! Dazzling Diamonds glitter. The snowflakes were stamped in Versamark. I love grey snowflakes.

Before I go, I'll show you one of the costumes I created for yesterday's party. I have chopped my little girl's head off in the photo because I don't put my family photos in this blog, for their privacy (a real pity, because she looked SO cute). Her hair was yellow with ribbons made from the same material as the skirt all over her head.  She was Oscar the Grouch, and she loved her costume. The skirt can now be used by my eldest daughter, because the straps and Oscar's face were all just pinned on for the evening. My big girl is thrilled because this skirt is VERY twirly and floaty.

I hope you liked the card, and enjoyed the peek at my costume. :-)

Michelle
xxx

Happy 4th Birthday, my darling!

Hello!

Today is my littlest girl's 4th birthday. I have been thinking about this card for weeks. My little girl is VERY particular, and I've been trying to figure out how to interpret her requests for her card so that she loves the outcome.  Yesterday she added to the list of requests that she wanted a cake on her card and that she wanted to "see it from the bottom". With that unreasonable and impossible request in my mind, I decided to just go ahead and make a card with cupcakes, LOL!

The colour scheme today I have taken from The Play Date Cafe Challenge #96:

Mint...Ivory...Coral

Isn't this colour scheme so pretty?

I don't have that pale mint colour, so I had to dig deep into my card stash to find something similar; and because I had to dip into my stash for much of this card, I am entering it into the Just Add Ink Challenge #82 this week, which calls on us to "use something from our stash"! I had to dig so deep that I can't even remember what the coral patterned paper is - maybe from SU Raspberry Tart?

The card I made has four cupcakes for the fourth birthday.  I used SU Cameo Coral, Very Vanilla, and Sage Shadow. I used the Build a Cupcake punch and the Create a Cupcake stamp set. The other patterned paper is Pebbles Happy Go Lucky Carefree.

The photo is terrible. It was taken very early this morning, and we have a very, very dull day outside. Even sitting right beside the window, there was barely any light.

The good news is that my little girl loves her cupcake card, even though it uses green and she doesn't like green because "green isn't in a real rainbow", LOL.  I think the card passed muster because the big sister gave the little sister a rainbow skirt as a present, and she was distracted by how BEAUTIFUL her new skirt was.

What do you think?

Michelle
xxx

Noahs' Ark - CAS#150 and JAI#78

Hello!

Well, news since I last blogged: I received an Honorable Mention (Cream in Our Coffee) over at the Playdate Cafe Challenge for this card. I was so excited. The entries were all beautiful. It amazes me sometimes, the depth of the talent out there, and I'm so grateful for all that inspiration that comes with looking at other people's work in these challenges.

This week I got some new stamps. . . and you know what that means. . . I had to get working straight away to test them out!  Back in June I came across a Blog Hop for Jane's Doodles which demonstrated Noah's Ark and Garden Friends stamp sets. Of course, I at once fell in love with both sets, and after a month of thinking about it, I couldn't hold out any longer. I have a new baby nephew arriving in the next six weeks or so, so I want to get the card prepared. . .  I might have a few prototypes along the way, LOL!  One of the great things about Jane's Doodles (apart from the fabulous stamps) is that they ship from Australia, so postage for me is reasonable, yippee! Oh, and the order arrived within two working days, and I love great service.

Today's inspiration for colour came from Just Add Ink #78:

Today's layout inspiration came from Clean & Simple FTL#150:

Unusually for me, I added some extra colours in.  I had to.  My animals needed them. LOL.  But the basic colours used stuck to the formula.  Also unusually for me, I got a bit creative with the layout.  I think it is still recognisable as FTL#150, though, don't you?

Here is my card:

Lots of paper-piecing here. Looking at my cards, you'd think I like cutting out, but I don't really.  Sometimes though, it is needed.  This stamp works beautifully with colouring, but I don't have any colouring pens, so paper-piecing it was.  I did use a blender pen to colour my monkey's nose, LOL!

What I used: Not Quite Navy sentiment, waves, and circles in the water. Sahara Sand card base, elephant and monkey's patches. Chocolate Chip monkey, giraffe spots, and all of the outlines. Certainly Celery Ark.  (I also added Pale Plum hippo, Apricot giraffe and lion face, and Pumpkin lion mane, and the Bashful Blue background because I needed sea and sky).



I actually did another card before this one, outside of any challenges, but when it was finished, I decided that I'd used too strong a blue for the sea compared to the rest of the colours, so my sea stands out and the rest of the muted papers disappear, including my animals!  I'll show you anyway, because it is still cute, and I will probably use the layout again, just with different colours. I do love my elephant's ears and my spotty giraffe on this one.  Oh, and the bird fits on this layout, I had to cut him off for the other one.

So what do you think? Isn't this image just the cutest?

Oh, I forgot to mention, I have noticed my follower count rising again. You ladies make me feel wonderful, adding me to your blog list, I feel very honoured, thank-you!

Michelle

xxx

Fanatical about Botanical

Hello!

Well, the title is the theme of the challenge over at Moxie Fab World - Fanatical About Botanical, but it is true of me also! I love botanical images.  I am also known to take photographs of random things in nature when I'm out supposedly taking photos of my family at play. . . grass, flowers, leaves, clouds, Oh, and there's a kid!

I've been mulling over this challenge for a while, wondering how I would construct it. Then last night I was sitting staring aimlessly into space when I realised that my half-formed concept actually worked well with this week's Just Add Ink Sketch Challenge. The sketch for Just Add Ink #77 is:

So this morning I set to work, and this is what I came up with:

Should I admit that there a couple of design errors that I'm unhappy about???  Probably not. . . so I won't tell you specifically what I'm unhappy about, LOL.  There are also plenty of elements in this card that I'm super happy with.

What I used (all Stampin' Up! except sentiment):
Stamps: Organic Grace, Because I Care, All A Flutter; PTI - Botanical Silhouettes sentiment
Ink: Pretty In Pink, Cameo Coral, Ruby Red, Certainly Celery, Old Olive, Barely Banana, Crumb Cake
Card: Crumb Cake, Certainly Celery, Whisper White
Ribbon: Certainly Celery Grosgrain

So what do you think?

Thanks for stopping by, I love having visitors.

Michelle
xxx

JAI75 meets LIM week 23

Hello!

First of all, WELCOME to my new followers, it is lovely to see you there.  Even though Blogger doesn't always let me see my list, I will eventually come visiting you all when it does.

Well, I'm having trouble today.  My ideas won't translate to card.  So many rejects sitting on the "what do I do with this?" pile. Argh!  I think it might have something to do with the fact that it is an absolutely beautiful day out there. You wouldn't know it is the middle of Winter - I'm in a t-shirt and feeling very warm! I spent so much time enjoying the outdoors, I'm having trouble sitting indoors for the moment, LOL! While I'm still coming up with some brilliant birthday card ideas to be made later (positive thinking), I thought I'd share what I've managed to produce so far today.

Just Add Ink 75 is a Colour Challenge with these lovely colours:

Less Is More week 23 is One Layer Week with the theme "Something With Legs".  My dragonflies have legs, you just can't see them, I promise.

Stamp Sets: Because I Care, Organic Grace, Curly Cute
Cardstock is Very Vanilla and I have drawn the frame with black pen

So what do you think?  I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Michelle
xxx

Fancy Folding in Red, Pink, and White

Hello!

Ever since the Just Add Ink challenge was released this week, I've been impatient to begin work on one of my own Fancy Fold cards. The blog hop was just one inspiration after the other. Already the entries are gorgeous. It is going to be a whizz-bang week at JAI this week with all the beautiful card folding going on!  My entry for JAI Challenge 74 is using the irresistable colours from CR84FN colour challenge , take a look at these:

Aren't they yummy?



I decided to start with the Diamond Fold card demonstrated by Mae. I'm still not sure how practical this card is (and it is very tricky to photograph), but it is so pretty, I had to give it a go. My apologies for the photography. That is me taking photos at night time again.

I used SU Real Red, Pretty in Pink, and Whisper White. The patterned paper is also SU, but I forget its name. The stamp set is Bliss.

I'll show you a couple more photos to give you the different perspectives.  First is what it looks like closed for mailing.

And lastly is just a different angle.

So what do you think?

Michelle
xxx

Box card - Happy 18th!

Hello!

Several weeks ago, before I fell ill, I was in the process of responding to two challenges.  One was Just Add Ink fussy cutting challenge.  The other was a colour challenge at Colour Q.  At the Just Add Ink challenge site, I saw one of the design team member's examples and it grabbed my attention immediately. I was inspired. Take a look at Liam's box, it's so cute! The actual tutorial for the box can be found HERE.

Well, needless to say, I never did get the challenge entry in, but I did finish the box in time for my niece's 18th birthday party.  It was a hit.  I was so pleased with the reactions to this card, it made all the hard work worth it!  :-)

Unfortunately I forgot to take my photos before we wrote in the card, so photos are limited, and I've had to "spray paint" out some of the names where they were visible.  Regardless, I still want to share, to show you some of the work!

There were lots of firsts in this box for me.  It was my first box card.  It was my first ever flower creation (boy was it hard to get that rhinestone in the middle of the flower!):

So here is the box:

Take the lid off, and it falls open to this:



There are 18 little candles each individually stuck down in one of the squares. That was probably the most tricky work I had to do, other than thinking of designs.  I wasn't happy with how the cake turned out, but it's not too bad. LOL.

So I hope you like it. I'm sorry I didn't get many photos to show of the individual squares, but you get the idea. 

What do you think?

Michelle
xxx

Bliss in Blue, Green, and Purple

Hello!

I have birthday season coming again, so I need to get some cards made in preparation. I had a few spare minutes to think about making a card yesterday, but needed a little inspiration.  I came across the new Just Add Ink Challenge   JAI#68

Well, I didn't have the exact colours, but I had similar colours, so I thought I'd give it a go.  I made two cards, one of which I'm entering in the challenge, and the other I'll let you take a look anyway!

The first card and challenge entry:

Stampset: Bliss
Paper: Perfect Plum, Certainly Celery, Bashful Blue, Whisper White
Ink: Perfect Plum, Certainly Celery, Bashful Blue

I really like Bliss, although I sent my thumb to sleep yesterday from all the cutting out - somehow I pinched a nerve, LOL!


The second card I actually made first.  I wanted to have a go at using a Digi Stamp and see if I could use them.  I don't have any Copics or ProMarkers or any type of marker really (I must do something about that!), so I used my blender pens to colour in this lovely little image I found at Little Claire Designs. She's called "Lydia Goes Shopping".

My colouring was a bit dodgy, but my family really like this card.  It was the most excited I've seen them about any of my cards for a while. :-) 

Colours: Certainly Celery, Bashful Blue,  Perfect Plum
Ribbon: Certainly Celery Grosgrain
DSP: Washington Apple
I also put some shimmer mist on Lydia's earrings, her belt buckle, and her bag button, but I don't think you can see that in this photo.

So what do you think?  I love having you to visit and hearing what you have to say.

Michelle
xxx

Just Add A Flower

While I have been playing around with my latest new stamp set, I came across the latest Just Add Ink challenge (JAI 66 - Just Add A Flower).  My hydrangeas fit this challenge beautifully.  :-)


I like these latest two cards.  I used blender pens instead of watercolouring this time.  I made a couple of mistakes, which I had to cover up.  One cover up resulted in a nicer card, the other not so successful!


Here is my challenge entry:

Gee, it's hard to photograph white on these grey days we've been having lately!  I probably should have chosen a different colour background. That pink doesn't work!  The little flowers with the diamantes are popped up slightly, also.

This card uses (all Stampin' Up!):
Stamps - Because I Care
Paper - Whisper White, Washington Apple DSP
Ink - Basic Black, Bashful Blue
Ribbon - Daffodil Delight taffeta


My other card for today is similar, because I was working on a theme.  Here it is:

And a close up to give you some idea of the levels:

This card uses:

Stamps - Because I Care
Paper - Whisper White, Tea Party DSP
Ink - Basic Black, Almost Amethyst
Ribbon - Pretty in Pink grosgrain

I hope you like these latest efforts. Thanks for coming by to take a look.

Michelle
xxx