VVC23 and LIM292 - Happy Father's Day!

Hello!

Happy Father's Day to all the Dads out there today. I'm sneaking in a quick post as the hubby has a LONG Father's Day sleep in. I think a sleep in is the one thing all Mums and Dads love as their number one present on their special day, haha! Later on we'll go out for lunch and then do my hubby's second favourite thing - eat gelati!

I was stumped for a card this year. My darling has very peculiar taste in cards (according to me) and I always struggle to find just the right design. But then I saw two ideas out there in blogland that got me thinking - peacock colours and mist/spray/splatter. That was all I needed to get started and this is what I came up with.

I used Stampin' Up! Celebrate Today stamps and dies for the balloons. The background is Distress Inks in multiple colours, lots of gold Smooch spray, and bronze paint splatters. The gold cord is from Kikki-K.

I'm entering this into Virginia's View Challenge #23

I am also entering into Less Is More Challenge #292 where we are invited to use Peacock colours.

Thanks for visiting!

Michelle
xxx

Butterfly rainbow

Hello!

Today I bring you a rainbow of butterflies!

The stamps are Craft's Meow Butterfly Kisses. The sentiment is actually gold, but I found it hard to photograph the sparkle of it.

I made this card for One Layer Simplicity Challenge #2. I had meant to enter Challenge #1 in celebration of the fact that One Layer Wednesday just became bigger and better, but time ran out on me!

I also made this card to celebrate Less Is More's 3rd Birthday, where they are celebrating with rainbows. :-)

While I had this little stamp set out, I made another simple one layer card.

The white sections of the fairy's wings sparkle. The simplicity of this card makes me smile.

And before I go, here is my Peggy, stretching herself up to her full 4-week-old height. The chicks are spending their days outside in the coop (they come inside at night still). They're hilarious to watch when I pop them in there - there are chicken races and wing-flapping competitions galore!

Thanks for dropping by to visit!

Michelle
xxx

Happy Birthday, Lynn!

Hello!

Today is Lynn's birthday (that's Lynn from The Mango Boys and Me)! What better excuse for making a card than the birthday of one of the sweetest bloggers out there? :-)

I am playing along with Less Is More for the first time in a very long time. The inspiration picture and the challenge - to use a pop of colour on a dark background - enticed me! This is my take on it.

I used PTI Snowflake Flurries stamps. The star was made using a mask (made from wPlus9 Star Stax) and stamping in white ink and then chalking in two tones of pink. The little tags are made using Tiny Tags II, inked in SU! Pretty In Pink and Primrose Petals.

This is the inspiration picture.

I always think fireworks when I use PTI Snowflake Flurries stamps, so when I saw this picture, that was the stamp set that came straight to mind.

Lynn, I hope you have a fabulous day and that your boys all look after you like a princess! Happy Birthday!

Michelle
xxx

Blooming One Layer!

Hello!

Just a quick one tonight. I'm already past bedtime, and fading fast!

The other day, I was looking at Chrissy Stokes' card, which is super gorgeous, and some vague ideas that had been circulating in my head formed into something concrete. Then I had to wait a day or two before I could make the idea into a card (if only I didn't need to go to work). The card(s) I made didn't live up to my imagination, but I think there is promise in the idea. ;-)

Card base is Poppy Parade. Stamps are Hero Arts Tall Flowers and Say It All. White embossing with Delicata Gold selective colouring.

I also made another one, which I had decided was too subtle, but now that I made the bolder one I am switching back and forth with my choice as to which one I like best.

Card base is Pool Party. Stamps are Hero Arts Tall Flowers and Say It All. White embossing with Clear Spica pen selective colouring.

I am entering into CASology Challenge #44

I am entering into A Blog Named Hero Challenge #24

Also Less Is More Challenge #119 where it is one-layer week and we're asked to use a coloured card base.

And last, but not least, One Layer Wednesday #140 where we are making borders.

Four challenges for one simple card. I think that might be a record for me!

Thanks for visiting!

Michelle
xxx

Black and white and a pop of blue!

Hello!

Phew! What a week! I was back to work this week, and spent a couple of days in Canberra, which left me with zero time for crafting. The trip to Canberra involved a 3am wake-up, 4am taxi, and 5am flight - exhausting! I flew home late the following day, and the next morning was 5am start to get my daughter to swim training. I am ready to sleep for a week, but I'm about to launch into another week of work and I haven't recovered from the last, LOL!

Anyway, today I prioritised a little time at the craft desk and came up with this little card.

I used PTI Little Hot Rod, SU! Tempting Turquoise, and Memento Tuxedo Black. Simple!

This card was made in response to three challenges. Less Is More #107 has the theme UP IN THE AIR. My little plane is up in the air at the top of the card.

Dynamic Duos #40 brings us Tempting Turquoise and Basic Black, with a dessert option (which I only noticed after making the card) of Clouds.

CAS-ual Fridays #90 asks us to use Black and White and one other colour.

I hope to sneak back to the craft desk later today, but I have a tonne of housework and grocery shopping to do first... running out of time!

Thanks for coming to visit.

Michelle
xxx

New Baby - a splash of pink

Hello!

This morning I have a new baby card to share, using a splash of pink.

I used Mama Elephant Nursery Deco stamps, PTI Basic White card, SU! Pretty In Pink, Memento Tuxedo Black ink, and a little Blossom Twine.

I am seriously in love with this Mama Elephant stamp set. I can't wait for more babies to arrive so that I can make MORE baby cards, LOL!

This card is for two challenges.

Less Is More challenge #101 - black and white with a splash of colour. It has been so long since I've played along at LIM! It's good to be back. :-)

Simon Says Stamp - new something.

EDIT: I'm adding this as a second entry to CAS-ology #25

Thanks for coming by to visit!

Michelle
xxx

LIM#79 in green and blue

Hello!

A quick one-layer card for Less Is More challenge #79 where the theme this week is a colour theme - green and blue.  It's been a while since I played at Less Is More. I need to become a full-time crafter so that I don't keep missing challenges! :-)

I still had PTI Little Hot Rod sitting on my desk, and I couldn't resist making another card. :-) Colours are SU! Night of Navy and Garden Green. The middle vehicle has rhinestone headlights.

You wouldn't believe how many cards I have to make this week-end. I also have to make birthday invitations for my little girl's 5th birthday. Time is rapidly running out!

Michelle
xxx

Yellow for LIM66

Hello!

I was sitting surrounded by paper and ink and totally stuck. I am working on presents for Mothers' Day, and I have come to a halt.  So what do you do when creatively stuck? Do something else completely!

The challenge over at Less Is More this week for Challenge 66 is to use YELLOW. I love yellow, it's such a happy colour for me. To be honest what is in my head for this challenge is not what I created. But this card was waiting in the sidelines of my mind and jumped the queue. :-)

Just looking at it makes me smile.

I used PTI Rosie Posie (image) and Botanical Silhouettes (sentiment). Memento Tuxedo Black and SU! Daffodil Delight. Card base is PTI basic white and panel is SU! Whisper White.

Such a quick card to make. I might make a set.

Thanks for dropping by!

Michelle
xxx

CAS-ual Thanks

Hello!

The theme over at CAS-ual Fridays challenge 50 is to use trees or flowers in a CAS card. I made a flower wreath.

And at Less Is More challenge 65 we have been provided with a sketch.

I promise that I started with a little circle in my 4.25" square card. But once I stamped it, it looked bigger than I intended! I think it still qualifies, as there is lots of white space and it is a relatively CAS design. :-)

Stamps are PTI Rosie Posie, Turning a New Leaf, and Pretty Peonies. Ink is Stampin'Up! Poppy Parade, Daffodil Delight, Cameo Coral, Pretty in Pink, Certainly Celery, Pool Party, and Soft Suede.

Thanks for coming by. I'm off to see if I can come up with another card to share before the afternoon is finished. I'm having a lovely afternoon stamping with my big girl. :-)

Michelle
xxx

Less is More 61

Hello!

First up, I want to confess... I have crafter's block. It may seem that someone who has crafter's block should NOT be posting two cards, but I'm working on the theory that if I just keep on making cards, eventually my mojo will return...maybe!

The worst thing is, this inspiration from Less Is More this week for Challenge 61 is a Design Seeds colour palette, and I was totally in love with it the minute I saw it. Here is the inspiration:

Yummo! Pale pink gerberas. I just love gerberas. And I love pale pink.

Well, onto my card.

I used Stampin'Up! Organic Grace and PTI Think Big Favorites #12. Colours are certainly celery, pretty in pink, pale plum, and old olive. Lots of masking, a little bit of bling and a little bit of twine to finish it off.

Thanks for stopping by.

Michelle
xxx

OLW#81 and LIM#57

Hello!

This week's challenge over at One Layer Wednesday is to use Black, Cream, and Bling. I love this colour combination, and for some reason I never use it. Along came Less Is More for the week, and the colour theme is Neutrals. I love neutrals. If I can find the time, I am going to make another card (or two) in the neutrals theme.

Here is my card:

I used PTI Harvest Berries, and Hero Arts Say It All, along with some SU! Pearls, and a Copic Multiliner to create the frame. Easy peasy!

That was my second card. My first card, didn't turn out quite as I imagined, so it gets relegated to second place in my show-and-tell.

The flourishes are a retired SU! roller. The sentiment is Hero Arts Say It All. The little flowers with the bling actually belong to a PTI set, which I can't remember the name of. The bling is SU! Rhinestones.

Thanks for coming to visit today.

Michelle
xxx

OLW79, LIM55, and Jay Gee's #16 - Colourful flowers

Hello!

I have told you before how much I love rainbow colours, haven't I? :-)  This months challenge inspiration over at Jay Gee's Nook uses so many bright and happy colours, it's irresistible. As is usual for me, I've been pondering this card for ages. The original concept for the card I've made today came from Amber over at Damask Love. For some reason I can't find the card that inspired me, but if you've seen Ambers cards and calendars, you'll recognise the inspiration (Amber does it so much better than me). The layout and design for the card is a very direct CASE from Michelle at Pigment of My Imagination. When I saw Michelle's card, I knew I just had to bring my ideas to reality, right now! Again, Michelle has done it so well, I'm not sure why I am even considering doing it within the same challenge that her card is in (that would be One Layer Wednesday), LOL! I also made this card for Less Is More Week #55 (theme punches or dies), because it has been too long since I visited and had a play there, and I miss it. :-)

Here is my card:

I had to hold it together so that you could see it more clearly:

And here is the colour inspiration collage from Jay Gee's Nook Challenge #16:

Gorgeous, isn't it?

For my card, I used Stampin' Up! inks in a variety of bright colours. I used PTI Fillable Frames #5. I used PTI Rosie Posie, PTI Turning a New Leaf, and PTI Botanical Silhouettes stamps - 8 stamps in total.

I really like this card. It's exactly what I wanted to create. I just love it when a card turns out as I imagined. 

Thanks for visiting. I love having visitors, and hearing what you have to say. :-)

Michelle

xxx

Silhouette Thank-You

Hello!

I have an entry for three challenges today.

Less Is More, Week 42: Silhouettes. Thank-you Chrissie and Mandi, I have had this little silhouette idea in the back of my mind for months, and you've galvanised me to action.

The Play Date Cafe Challenge #108, which has these beautiful, warm autumn colours:

Clean and Simple Stamping, Layout #167:

As soon as I saw this layout, I imagined cutting a circle out and placing my image inside the aperture, which is exactly what I did.

And my card is this one:

Forgive the wonky photo, I didn't realise I had put it on such a lean until making this post, and I only took one shot, oops!

I quite like this card. What do you think?

Now I'm off outside to play in the water with my kids. We have a water amnesty this week-end, which means we can use as much as we like, yippee! We usually live with very, very strict water restrictions due to the effects of drought, but the powers-that-be are preparing for another bumper wet season, so trying to reduce the water in the dams.  I hope it does end up being a big wet season, otherwise all this water wastage will feel very frivolous in hindsight. I washed my car yesterday for the first time in a long time. It's so shiny! I love using water guilt free sometimes...

Michelle
xxx

Leaves and Christmas

Hello!

I am excited. My September Papertrey Ink order arrived after travelling to Brazil on its way to Australia. 7 weeks is a really LONG time to wait when you ordered Christmas stamps to make your cards this year!  I hope my next order doesn't take quite so long to get here...

I think Mandi and Chrissie KNEW that I had ordered lots of LEAVES and would want to try them out, because that is the theme they chose for one-layer week at Less is More Challenge #41.  Woo hoo!

I have a few things to share. Two cards are one-layer cards with leaves.

First card:

I used:
Stamps: Think Big Favorites #8, Turning a New Leaf, Harvest Berries
Ink: SU! Certainly Celery, Ruby Red, Early Espresso
Card: PTI White

Next card:

I made this card for my daughter's classroom teacher, to match the present I made her. The colours used are the same as the above card, I used Vintage Cream Card instead of white. The sentiment is from Stylish Sentiments: Holiday (I am loving this set). The leaves are Harvest Berries.

The present to match is a note book (A5 size), which I created a new front cover for:

The notebook has a hard frosted plastic cover (which I opened to take the photo). The pages inside are beautiful thick unlined paper. All stamps used here are Harvest Berries. The same colours again as above - Certainly Celery, Ruby Red, Early Espresso.

And the last card I have to show you is the card I have made for my daughter's music teachers (I made three of the same card):

I love this card. Really LOVE it. The papers are SU! Mocha Morning, and KaiserCraft Sheet Music. The stamps are Stylish Sentiments: Holiday and Tag-Its #8. The Ink is Early Espresso, Soft Suede, and Crumb Cake.

This week-end has been stunningly beautiful here in Brisbane. We've had the first hit of Summer weather this week. The temperature has been very (stinking) hot at times. This means that our family, between school swimming carnival and solo violin concert, have spent most the the last few days in the swimming pool. I'm lucky I got any card-making done at all!

I hope you enjoyed your visit. Thanks to everyone who gave me advice for my Big Shot from my previous post. I appreciate your guidance, and I'm putting it to use. Some time soon you'll see the first projects using dies, embossing folders, and impression plates.

Michelle
xxx

LIM 40 and a Question

Hello!

It's been a while since I joined in the fun at Less Is More. Time seems to slip away from me so quickly!  I love red and orange, which is the colour challenge this week. I didn't quite produce what was in my head, but you take a look and let me know what you think.

I also have a question, so if you'd like to give me some advice (and I'd really love it if you would!), keep on reading after you take a look at my card.

The card:

What I used (all SU! other than the ribbon and black ink):
Stamps: Snow Swirled, Dasher, Curly Cute
Card: Real Red, Pumpkin Pie, Whisper White
Ink: Real Red, Memento Tuxedo Black, Versamark
Clear embossing powder, miscellaneous ribbon (which I had to colour to get the orange) and bling.

And now onto my question. I finally purchased a Big Shot. Yay! If you are in Australia, and looking for a good price, Lincraft are selling them online for $99 currently. But my problem is that I have no dies or embossing folders. There are SO MANY of these out there. I want to know from those of you who use die-cutting and embossing machines: Which dies and embossing patterns do you use the most? What could you not live without? Do you have any recommendations for me?

Thanks in advance for any comments or advice you decide to leave me. I appreciate each and every visitor.

Michelle
xxx

One Layer Monochrome

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

Hello!

Over at One Layer Wednesday this week, the idea is to let the sentiment take centre stage, or at least have equal billing with the images. I'm not sure I've achieved this here. I did discover that I am very short on sentiments in my stamp collection.

For CAS-ual Fridays Challenge 21, we are being asked to use three shades of one colour and to add brown.  With this challenge, I discovered I need more colours!  I did find that I have quite a few greens in my collection.

With eight hours to go over at "Less Is More", I thought I'd throw in another card for their Anything CAS Goes challenge, where they are hoping for 1000 entries this week. They might make it, if Mr Linky doesn't succumb under the pressure of all those entries!

So with those instructions, this is what I came up with:

I don't usually embellish my one layer cards, but this card needed something extra, so my new twine came to the rescue.

What I used:
Stamps: PTI Take Three: Summer, and PTI Botanical Silhouettes (sentiment)
Ink: SU! Certainly Celery, Old Olive, Mellow Moss, Chocolate Chip

Now, I'm a little weary, so I might toddle off to bed. Tomorrow I go to visit my new nephew, who will be around 24 hours old by the time I get to him. I'm smiling already.

Michelle
xxx

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

An Aussie Christmas

Hello!

It's a colour challenge this week at "Less Is More" and we have been asked to create a card using the colours from our nation's flag.  You may or may not know that I am Australian.  The Australian flag is:

Blue, Red, and White



The card I posted yesterday was my first effort at answering to this challenge, but as you can see, it became "More" rather than "Less" the more I worked on it, so I submitted it elsewhere, LOL.  I really wanted to do the navy blue card base, but every attempt I made didn't quite work for a "Less is More" card.

So, I reverted back to the first idea that came to me, and I am so, so happy that I did.  I'm not sure the photo does this card justice.  In real life it is a beautiful card (and you don't hear me say that very often about my own cards).

Here it is:

What I used (all SU):

Ink: Real Red, Night of Navy

Card: Whisper White

Stamps: Snow Swirled, Four the Holidays

I'm loving this card so much, I might make some more. What do you think?

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