CAS(E) This Sketch 117

Hello!

It has been raining here. The volume of water coming from the sky makes me wonder if there is any left in the ocean. My backyard is a big puddle. The poor chickens have nowhere dry to stand. My dog keeps bringing the mud into the house after a wander in the rain... she just loves the water! Our tank is overflowing. All that water just running down the hill. I'm pretty sure the last time it rained like this in April was around 1996 when we were building our first house. Somehow Summer has forgotten to leave properly. The temperature is now bearable, no longer super hot, but the rain remains. Oh well, I think this Easter week-end will be spent mostly snuggling with the family inside. :-)

I'm bringing you my card for CAS(E) This Sketch. The sketch is a super CAS design so I made a super-CAS card.

I just love this giraffe from Mama Elephant's Nursery Deco stamp set. Such a cutie!

We recently had a new great-niece arrive in the family. She looks just like her big sister, and just as beautiful! We are yet to meet her, and I'm looking forward to the day we do. :-)

Thanks for visiting! I hope you have the time to visit the rest of the CTS team and then to join in on the fun! Have a wonderful Easter.

Michelle
xxx

Welcome Little One

Hello!

I'm popping in quickly tonight to share a card I made for Retro Sketches and Pals Paper Arts.

I used Mama Elephant Nursery Deco and PTI Sweet Speech stamps. The paper is SU!

I flipped the sketch.

These colours are just fabulous, and I had the perfect paper to match, lucky me!

Not much to say. I'm a bit tired after a busy day at work. My brain has shut down already! It must be bedtime. ;-)

Thanks for visiting!

Michelle
xxx

Fusion #5

Hello!

I'm back with another Fusion Challenge card! I've gone one layer and I've taken one little portion of the inspiration photo and used the colours as well for this one.

See the lower left corner of the inspiration photo, where there are the line drawings over the coloured splotches? That is where I found my inspiration! :-) I took my Mama Elephant Nursery Deco stamps, flipped them over and stamped the splotches, and then flipped them the right way  to stamp the black line images. I've never used this technique before. I think I'll play around with it a little more, it was fun! Colours are Distress Ink Mustard Seed, and SU! Pool Party. The black was Ranger Archival Black. I'm still intrigued by that handbag, too... perhaps I'll come back later in the week to respond to that little piece of inspiration. ;-)

If you'd like to see some of the other inspiration on offer for this challenge, why not drop by the rest of the design team?

Betty J
Cathy Weber 
Dannielle Robeson
Deepti
Geri Freeman
Julia Aston
Katie Brooks
Kelly Griglione
Kimberly Wiener 

Lyndal Higgins

Lynn Mangan 

Michelle Lupton

Sindhu
Stephanie Severin

Some of you will remember my dog Coco's adventures three weeks lost in the wilderness (of suburban Brisbane) through January. We took her for a haircut on the week-end, and under her fur I found her weight has been fully recovered (and perhaps a little extra, oops!). Here are some before and after photos. I like her furry, but the heat is too high at the moment to leave her with too much cover.

 This week I've been in Perth. As this post goes live I will be flying back into Brisbane. I have never been to Perth. It is over five hours flight away, on the other side of the country. Unfortunately I only get one and a half days and I'm working the whole time, otherwise I would be catching up with some of my friends while I'm there. I can't believe I'm going to Perth and can't meet up with anyone!! I probably won't even get to see much of the City, and I hear it is beautiful. I might have to get up early and take a little walk. :-)

Thank-you for visiting! I hope to see you over at Fusion soon!

Michelle
xxx

CASE Study #163

Hello!

I'm still pinching myself. I'm really in the fourth week of guest designing for CASE Study!! Eek!

This week at CASE Study challenge #163, the inspiration photo is pretty in pink! Elena made the most beautiful ballerina set of tags. She had me wishing I had ballerina stamps! I don't, so I went the next best option and made a card for a baby girl, with a tag on the front. ;-)

I used Mama Elephant Nursery Deco stamps. Colours are SU! Pretty in Pink and PTI Hibiscus Burst.

I did get some help on the card sketch this week, which came from Retro Sketches #86.

Thank you for coming to visit me! I hope you pop over to CASE Study and visit the rest of the team. Then I hope you join in the fun and make your own version from Elena's amazing inspiration. :-)  I can't wait to see what you come up with!

Michelle
xxx

CAS Baby

Hello!

Today I bring you my contribution to CASE Study #141 and CARDS Magazine May Challenge.

I used Mama Elephant Nursery Deco. Ink is PTI Hawaiian Shores, Hero Arts Pale Tomato, SU! Daffodil Delight. Twine is Twinery Lemon Drop.

The inspiration came from Maile Belles' card at CASE Study.

I was actually using the colour inspiration from CARDS Magazine, and didn't have the photo of Maile's card in front of me when I made my card (I'd sketched the layout, to try to come up with my own version). Anyway, I ended up with a VERY similar card, oops!

Today I'm back at work for the week. I think week-ends need to be a LOT longer. Two days is just not enough. ;-)

Thanks for visiting!

Michelle
xxx

Retro Baby Shower

Hello!

Just a quick one tonight. I still have a million things to do to get the kids ready for school tomorrow and me ready for work!

I didn't want to miss Aga's baby shower over at Runway Inspired Challenge to welcome baby Helena! Aga is one of my card heroines, her style is just awesome! I tried to make a card that reflected Aga's style (although I will never come close to her skill, I'm sure!). Sorry for the lighting in the photo, that's my night time photography combined with shiny elements that didn't want to shine, wah!

I used PTI Fine Linen card and patterned paper, and SU! Soft Suede and Very Vanilla. I gold embossed Mama Elephant Nursery Deco bear and sentiment, and used Delicata Gold to stamp the background. (The golds match better in real life).

I took the layout from Retro Sketches #62

The inspiration for the card came from this gorgeous bub.

Thanks for coming by to visit!

Michelle
xxx

Mama Elephant Sketch Challenge #2

Hello!

On this rainy week-end, I am loving a little extra time at the craft desk. Today I bring you my entry to Mama Elephant's Sketch Challenge.

I used Mama Elephant Nursery Deco stamps. Patterned paper is SU!. Card is PTI White and Soft Stone. Ink is Soft Stone. Sentiment is white embossed.

I really love how this card turned out. Using a baby set, I managed to create a card that isn't necessary "baby". :-)  It's so soft and pretty!  I'm loving Mama Elephant stamps. I have another set on its way to me. If I had the budget, I'd buy all of them!

This is the sketch.

I didnt' even notice until after I loaded this page that I mirrored the colour of the sketch, LOL! I really chose the patterned paper for the pattern, not the colour in particular, I promise!

I'm also popping this one into this week's CAS-ual Fridays - wallpaper. My wallpaper was made using a circle frame, and I love how it turned out.

And last, but not least, CASology - Circle

Thanks for coming to visit!

Michelle
xxx

Retro Sketches #52

Hello!

It's hot and sticky here today. So uncomfortable. I'm praying for a big storm to bring some relief.

Retro Sketches #52 is inviting us to choose one of the past 51 sketches to use for our entry this week.

This is my card.

I used Mama Elephant Nursery Deco and Basic Borders (those spots on the giraffe), and a PTI Think Big Favorites (not sure which number). Ink was Memento Grey Flannel, SU! Pretty In Pink, Certainly Celery, Bashful Blue.

The sketch I used was this one.

Off to try to squeeze in another card or two before I finish the week-end. We've had such a busy week-end, I've found crafting time non-existent! This working five days a week gig is very bad news for the crafting life, LOL!

Thanks for dropping by!

Michelle
xxx

Clean and Simple Card Making 2 - Day 4

Hello!

Again today at Clean & Simple Card Making 2, the inspiration was overwhelming! I'm still working on Day 4, and hopefully I'll come up with something amazing to share. This is where I am up to so far. :-)

One card, by Kristina, was a variation on the chalkboard theme - clean and simple chalkboard (no dust and no blurs, and lots of black space. Here is my version.

I used my current favourite baby stamp set, Mama Elephant Nursery Deco. I white embossed the stamped images, and drew the white frame using my gel pen.

My other cards are the best of a big batch. Some of my cards today actually ended up in the rubbish bin, and if you know me and my "don't waste anything" mentality, this is a sign that this technique was beyond me today! LOL! Anyway, here are two that were partially salvaged. I have to go back and do this again. The technique was demonstrated by Julie Ebersole and she is one of my cardmaking heroes. Julie makes it look so easy, and yet it WASN'T (for me).

I used Stampin' Up! Organic Grace, All A Flutter, and Because I Care (all retired).

Thanks for coming by to visit!

Michelle
xxx

A card in 10 minutes?

Hello!

I've been watching the 10 Minute Craft Dash for a while now. I've been intrigued. I look at everyone's amazing creations and think to myself, "There is NO WAY I would ever be able to create a card within 10 minutes!"  It turns out I was wrong. I can actually create a card in 2 minutes 27 seconds. And then if I want to fancy it up a bit, it will take me 6 minutes and 8 seconds. And then, if I want to add a little extra bling at the end, I'm pretty confident it didn't take me 3 minutes and 52 seconds to adhere it. :-)

This is the final card. Yes, I've been photographing at night again (sorry!).

I used Mama Elephant Nursery Deco stamps. Card base is PTI Basic White. Ink is Memento London Fog and SU! Pretty in Pink. The paper is Pebbles.

The 10 Minute Craft Dash for Challenge #10 asks us to use the colours Green, Pink, and Grey.  I immediately thought of this stamp set and a one-layer baby card. It definitely helps to have an idea in your head before you start a 10 minute card!

The following photos show my stages and timing. This was the first version.

Totally acceptable if you only have 3 minutes before you have to dash out the door and you've forgotten a card. But, I felt that little giraffe needed a little boost... so...

This was the second stage.

It takes me 3 1/2 minutes to stamp and fussy cut one tiny giraffe. Now, can you see why I like dies so much?

The final version (up top) has a couple of rhinestones, but I'd stopped timing, and only decided to add them while I was photographing the card. It took me another 10 seconds or so to attach them.

I might give this challenge another go, and try to make something more involved next time! I think I made it too easy on myself by going one-layer. ;-)

This was fun!

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

Tuesday Trigger: Frame by Frame

Hello!

Today I get to show off some of my new stamps that haven't had a blog outing yet. I bought Mama Elephant's Nursery Deco set when it was first released, because it is totally irresistible! Here is today's card.

Stamps are Mama Elephant Nursery Deco. Patterned papers are a variety from Stampin' Up! and Papertrey Ink. Colours are PTI Berry Sorbet, Aqua Mist, Fresh Linen, SU! Pretty in Pink, Daffodil Delight, Coral, Barely Banana. Ink is Memento Tuxedo Black and SU! Early Espresso.

The inspiration came from Moxie Fab World's Tuesday Trigger: Frame by Frame

I went a bit bolder in the colours that I used, but I think I still ended up with a card that reflects the trigger. :-)

Those of you who have been hanging out with me for a while will know that I'm not a fan of fussy cutting, but this card is full of it. I can say that I feel that, in this case, it was worth it. ;-)

Thanks for dropping by.

Michelle
xxx