Next occasion: St. Valentine's!

Hey!

I dunno about you, but with all this holiday I'm forgetting what day it is! One thing's for sure though, it must be Friday-Eve as we're due another fabulous CASE Study :)


It's Amy Sheffer's final week with us as our muse so let's see her out in fabulous style by checkin' out this fabby card of hers up for CASEing this week:

Check out the original post of this card here!

Yup, Christmas is over now for us cardmakers so let's focus on St Valentine's - ha!

I was inspired by the layout, the occassion and the use of green (again, no surprises there!) and added a touch of CAS style to come up with this card:

OK so it's really CAS but trust me when I say it's perfect for my guy :)

***Some of you have asked for a link to the photo tent that my gorgeous guy gave to me for Christmas. You can check out the one I have in my inky possession, here!***

Anyways back to the actual CASE Study! We'd love to have you join in the fun with us; the more merrier! Need some more inspiration to get those creative juices flowing? Then why not check out what the rest of the CASE Study DT created?

Iwona Palamountain (Chupa)
Andrea Ewen
Clare Buswell
Debby Hughes
Teresa Kline
Cristina Kowalczyk
Julie Lacey
Jean Martin
Maureen Plut
Teneale Williams
Amy Sheffer (December's Muse)

Thanks so much for stopping by today!

Catch ya later!







Card Deets
{Love You}
Stamps: Sentiment from Teeny Trees (Waltzingmouse Stamps)
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento)
Cardstock: Pinefeather, White (Papertrey Ink)
Accessories: Heart Embellishment (Martha Stewart Crafts)/Linen and Canvas Impression Plate (Papertrey Ink)/Cuttlebug (Provocraft)

Hello, photo tent :)

Hey!

I hope the last few days have been as fun and fabulous for you as they have for us here! We've had a lovely Christmas and Boxing Day (yes, Diva - we have Boxing Day here too!) spent with our families along with some scrummy food, drink and giggles along the way :)

It's business as usual now on the blogeroo though, so without further ado, a card:

Can you tell that I've been a good girl this year? Santa My gorgeous guy presented me with a photo tent complete with daylight lamps on Christmas Day (along with some other beautiful gifts - I felt spoilt rotten!) This piccy was actually taken at night time, so no more having to grumble about running out of daylight hours - score! I've still got a bit of tweaking and practice to go with it, but I'm really happy with this first result :) Any tips you have about using these babies would be much appreciated!

This card for the Runway Inspired Challenge #2; it's inspired by this piccy:

I was totally smitten with those shoes and the gorgeous green bag (no surprises there!) so that dictated my colour scheme and polka dot stamping. The line across the bottom of my card is inspired by the runway, and the use of modern basics for my stamping is inspired by the cool pattern on the dress. Phew! That's a lot of inspiration from one pic!

Right then, I'd better dash as project-tidy-up needs to commence here in Sheffield...

Catch ya later!






Card Deets
{Hello}
Stamps: Modern Basics (Papertrey Ink)
Ink: Fern, Buttercup (a muse ink)/London Fog (Memento)
Cardstock: Simply Chartreuse, White (Papertrey Ink)

Christmas, Matisse Styleeee

Hey!

Happy Christmas Eve! Are you all ready for the big day? We're just about to load the car up and head off my guy's parents for the big dinner day and then we'll be heading to my folks for Boxing Day (which is also my mum's birthday!)

But before I dash I wanted to share just a couple more cards and wish you all a very merry Christmas! :)

These card designs use both the negative and positive of a die-cut snowflake and also fit the current Waltzingmouse Sketch Challenge.

First up, the positive shape:

Next, the use of the negative shape:

This design was for cards to be hand-delivered. No way was I trusting Royal Mail with the amount of fragile dimension on this design!

Although Henri Matisse was famous for 'drawing with scissors' when implementing the idea of positive and negative space, I bet if he had a die cutting machine, he'd have used it! *wink*

Wishing you all a very happy holidays!

Catch ya later! (after the turkey - ha!)






Card Deets
{It's Christmas/Christmas Greetings}
Stamps: Teeny Trees, Frame-It (Waltzingmouse Stamps)
Ink: London Fog (Memento)
Cardstock: White, White Shimmer (Papertrey Ink)
Accessories: Cuttlebug and Snowflake Die (Provocraft)/Bling (Craft Stash!)

Modern basics does holly...

Hey!

Can you believe how close we are to Christmas?! How did it sneak up on us so fast?! I hope your preparations are going well; I'm amazed at how organised I've been this year: the cards are sent, the presents are wrapped and a couple have already been hand-delivered for the special day! All I've gotta do is sit and wait....I like that! :)

Anyways I'm zooming by with yet another Christmas card (what else?!)

Still stickin' to the traditional colour combo I love so much, and still giving it a modern-kinda twist with Modern Basics posing as holly :)

Again, as I've dabbled with this fabulous colour combo, I'm entering this card into the current JUGS challenge too:



I'll be back again before the big day with a few more Christmas cards to share but if you don't pop back before Christmas I'd like to wish you all a fabulous Christmas!

Catch ya later!







Card Deets
{Happy Happy Happy Holidays}
Stamps: Modern Basics, Stocking Prints (Papertrey Ink)
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento)/Fern (a muse)
Cardstock: White, Ripe Avocado, Pure Poppy (Papertrey Ink)
Accessories: Twine (Papertrey Ink)/Apron Lace Border Punch (Fiskars)/Cuttlebug, Swiss Dot Embossing Folder (Provocraft)/Chompy! (Corner Chomper)/Gems (Stash!)

A modern take on a traditional colour combo...

Hey!

Hoooooooray for the first official day of the holidays! :) I've already been a busy bee as I've finished the rest of my Christmas wrapping (still gotta make some tags as I'm not sure the Post-It notes with names scrawled on will suffice!), took my final trip to the post-office (although it was a soggy walk, the complimentary mince pies on the counter were much appreciated!)

Anyways, onto the cards I have to share. Now I'm a total sucker for the tradition colours of Christmas (any excuse to indulge in my favourite colour *wink*) However, I'm also a sucker for modern design so here's a couple of cards to prove that a traditional colour combo doesn't have to lead to a traditional design:

Getting my dollar's worth with Modern Basics by now creating a wreath! This was easy-peasy to stamp: lightly trace a circle and follow by stamping leaves in two shades of green and add berries and a bow to finish!

Next up, a spot of masking:

Remember the tree from this card? Well using the same mask I created this one simply substituting chevrons for my yummy Classic Fabric Design Hero Arts stamp.

***Edited to add: someone in a previous post asked me what I used as my mask as they find it hard to get good, clean lines with this technique. I usually use a Post-It note, but for this larger shape used regular cheap copier paper (the thinner the better!) and don't' be afraid to add a lot of pressure to that stamp to make sure you get fabulous coverage. Hope that helps!***

These cards could totally qualify for our new challenge on A Passion for Papertrey - I'm dreaming of a GREEN Christmas (yes, this is a challenge I demanded! LOL!) So if you've put a spot of gorgeous green on your own Christmas cards and used at least one PTI product, then share the inspiration with us!

This gorgeous colour combo is also the focal point of the current Just Us Girls Challenge so I'm entering these cards over there too (not sure if that second one of mine will count with it's yellow star though!)


Right I'm now off to tidy up Santa's Grotto my crafting space! I've gotta clear some room to make some tags but I'll be back again this week to share a few more Christmas cards with ya (if you're not sick of 'em already!)

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Catch ya later!







Card Deets
{Happy Holidays Wreath}
Stamps: Modern Basics, Stocking Prints, Holiday Tree (Papertrey Ink)
Ink: Pure Poppy, Spring Moss (Papertrey Ink)/ Fern (AMuse Ink)/Tuxedo Black (Memento)
Cardstock: White, Pure Poppy (Papertrey Ink)
Accessories: Cuttlebug/Linen and Canvas Impression Plate (Papertrey Ink)/Ribbon (Craft Supply)

{Happy Holidays Tree}
Stamps: Classic Fabric Design (Hero Arts)/Stocking Prints, Around and About Basics (Papertrey Ink)
Ink: Fern, Buttercup (AMuse Ink)/Rich Cocoa (Memento)
Cardstock: Pure Poppy, Vintage Cream (Papertrey Ink)
Accessories: Cuttlebug/Linen and Canvas Impression Plate (Papertrey Ink)

Thank You (for the holidays!) :)

Hey!

WA-HOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!! School's finished for Christmas!!!! I think I'm still a little high on a sugar-rush after joining in the festivities with my students in true style by eating waaaaaaaaaay too many sweeties so excuse my over-use of capitals and exclamation marks in this post!!! :)

Now before I settle in under my snuggly blanket with my G&T, I just had to play along with the fabulous new Runway Inspired Challenge. It's led by one seriously fabulous (and super sweet) gal, Jennifer Rzasa and boy, oh boy, has she got one jaw-droppingly talented DT! Some of my most admired stampers feature on it!

The deal of the challenge this week is to be inspired by this runway pic from the Versace Spring 2012 collection:

I was taken with that gorgeous shade of yellow, the detail on that dress (that I would love to own myself!), the illuminated runway and the circular element at in the background.

Here's what a quickly whipped up, totally inspired and itching to play along!

It's a super small 3x3 card...I'm thinking I need to do something differently with it but time is against me, (my daylight has gone for today *sniff* however, I'm sat with fingers crossed that Santa brings me a photo tent complete with daylight lamps for future photography sessions *wink*)

Thanks so much for stopping by this li'l hyperactive corner of Blogland today! I'm off now to get that much-deserved G&T :)

Have a super duper weekend (and if like me, you too have finished work for the year I hope you kick off your holidays in style!)

Catch ya later!








Card Deets
{Thank You}
Stamps: Dainty Doilies 2 Small,Teeny Trees (Waltzingmouse Stamps)
Cardstock: Stamper's Select White, Lemon Tart (Papertrey Ink)
Ink: Buttercup (a.muse)/London Fog (Memento)

NOT a Holiday Card!

Hey!

Wowzers! Friday-Eve already?! This week is proving to be B.U.S.Y! Last week of school, last mad dashes to the post office (I'm becoming a real regular there!) and late night Christmas shopping has meant that I've been pretty MIA here in Blogland...

However, the good news is that the Christmas shopping is done, my trips to the post office are nearly finished and it's Friday-Eve :)



Let's kick off the pre-Christmas weekend celebrations with a fabulous new CASE Study! Our muse for December, Amy Sheffer has this beauty up for CASEing:

Check out Amy's original post of this beautiful card, here!

I was totally drawn with the butterfly (I'm a sucker for 'em!), the stamped lace and the splash of aqua, popping against the black and white. AND guess what? I didn't create a card for the Holidays this time (I've still got a couple of Christmas cards to share here but it feels so good to say that they're all done and posted - yay!):

It's a pretty CAS take on Amy's card (what else?!) and I liked the idea of juxtaposing clean and modern with fussy by using grid paper for my butterfly and a doily for my stamped element. Even the sentiment kinda mixes styles a little with it's use of two different fonts.

I'm also gonna enter this into the current Play Date Cafe Challenge too with my splash-of-aqua-butterfly.


Back to CASE Study: this week's CASE Study will run for two weeks to give you a chance to ink up and play along during the busy holiday season. I hope you can squeeze a bit of inky time to join us!

Check out the rest of the all-star CASE Study DT for more inspiration:

Iwona Palamountain (Chupa)
Andrea Ewen
Clare Buswell
Debby Hughes
Teresa Kline
Cristina Kowalczyk
Julie Lacey
Jean Martin
Maureen Plut
Teneale Williams
Amy Sheffer (December's Muse)

Right I've got a party to help organise for the final day of term...I'm thinking of suggesting we play sleeping lions for an hour but I don't think the students will buy it! LOL!

Thank you so much for popping by today!

Catch ya later! (I have a date with Google Reader on Friday night...along with a celebratory G&T for finishing the term! *wink*)








Card Deets
{Thank You}
Stamps: Dainty Doilies 2 Small (Waltzingmouse Stamps)/Botanical Silhouettes (Papertrey Ink)
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento Ink)
Cardstock: Vintage Cream, True Black (Papertrey Ink)
Patterened Paper: Aqua Mist - Bitty Box Basics (Papertrey Ink)
Accessories: Button, Twine, Butterfly Die (Papertrey Ink)/Cuttlebug (Provocraft)

A Modern Poinsettia...

Hey!

Woop woop! It's Friday-Eve! You all know what that means....



Time for a fabby new CASE Study from our muse, Amy Sheffer! Just feast your eyes upon this fabby card up for CASEing:

Check out the original post of this card here!

So what did I choose to CASE on this beauty of Amy's? Well I just couldn't take my eyes of that pretty poinsettia so I opted to create a poinsettia of my own:

Oh Modern Basics, how I love thee! Even the 'happy' part of the sentiment is from PTI's Modern Basics and 'holidays' is a partially stamped sentiment from PTI's Stocking Prints. I love how two sets have combined to make a fab sentiment - that font makes me swoon a little y'know!

In fact, I had so much fun stamping that poinsettia that I went ahead and made a few more cards based on the same design like this:

Only I couldn't spare all the bling so opted for buttons in the centre instead :)

We'd love for you to join in the fun and ink along with us! Be sure to check out the rest of the CASE Study DT for some awesome inspiration:

Iwona Palamountain (Chupa)
Andrea Ewen
Clare Buswell
Debby Hughes
Teresa Kline
Cristina Kowalczyk
Julie Lacey
Jean Martin
Maureen Plut
Teneale Williams
Amy Sheffer (December's Muse)

Thank you so much for stopping by! Oh and thanks for all the well wishes about my ankle; the good news is that I'm now able to walk about so there's no more hopping (but there will always be blog hopping of course!)

Catch ya later!







Card Deets
{Happy Holidays}
Stamps: Modern Basics, Stocking Prints (Papertrey Ink)
Ink: Pure Poppy (Papertrey Ink)/Tuxedo Black (Memento)
Cardstock: White, Pinefeather (Papertrey Ink)
Accessories: Bling (Zva)/Button (Papertrey Ink)

A Modern Christmas Tree...

Hey!

Happy Monday! I'm on the official countdown now for the Christmas holidays: T-minus 10 working days and counting *wink*!

During the past weekend I had the chance to play with some new juicy A Muse inks and inked like mad to whip out some much needed cards for Christmas. Whilst I was at it, I couldn't resist playing along with the current CAS-ual Fridays challenge too:



This fun tic-tac-toe challenge led me pick a line of Green, Kraft and Chevrons (what else?!) and I got busy:

I opted for a super-modern Christmas tree using a simple masking technique with my trendy (and much neglected!) Background Basics: Chevrons set. I love that this card is postage friendly too, meaning no bulky envelopes or higher rates of postage to say "Happy Holidays" to family and friends :)

This is just one design of a few I have to share with ya...turns out that by simply playing with some fabulous new ink helps my mojo no end! However I must get back to whipping out and actually sending a few more Christmas cards before I start showing 'em on here!

Thank you so much for stopping by today!

Catch ya later!






Card Deets
{Happy Holidays}
Stamps: Background Basics: Chevrons, Stocking Prints - Sentiment (Papertrey Ink)
Cardstock: Kraft, Vintage Cream (Papertrey Ink)
Ink: Fern, Buttercup (A Muse)/Cocoa (Memento)
Accessories: Linen and Canvas Impression Plate (Papertrey Ink)/Cuttlebug (Provocraft)

I'm dreaming of a white (and red!) Christmas...

Hey!

Happy Weekend :)

I'm popping in today to share a card with some felt-a-licious lovin' on it:

I've been spending the last week rooting through my supplies for inspiration for my Christmas cards. I've gotta say it's been like a treasure hunt; I'd forgotten all about this sweet stocking die I had and couldn't resist make a sweet felt stocking for a card :)

This card is also for our new challenge on A Passion for Papertrey. We wanna see your holiday creations that feature a red and white colour scheme (personally, I'd love to have thrown some green in the mix, but I can always place this card in green envie, or write inside it using green ink, right?! *wink*)

So if you've got a spare moment, why not join in the inky fun with us?

I'm leavin' ya now to go make some more Christmas cards; turns out I've not really made that many so far and have soooooo many more to make than I originally thought...how the heck did December crept around so quickly?

Thank you so much for stopping by! Enjoy the rest of your weekend whatever you're doing!

Catch ya later!







Card Deets
{Deck the Halls}
Stamps: Stocking Prints (Papertrey Ink)
Ink: Pure Poppy (Papertrey Ink)
Cardstock: Stamper's Select White (Papertrey Ink)
Accessories: Stocking Die, Bakers Twine (Papertrey Ink)/Felt (Craft Supply)/Cuttlebug

Peace & Joy (and snowflakes!)

Hey!

Yup. I know I've been totally MIA recently...sorry! Turns out that I damaged my ankle waaaay more than I'd anticipated last week, and have spent my days since dosed up on strong painkillers resting it. The good news is that I'm starting to hop (yes, literally hop!) around now and that includes blog hopping too :)

Anyways I digress. The reason you came here was to celebrate Friday-Eve, wasn't it?!


Well even if it wasn't, let's celebrate it anyway with a fabulous new CASE Study, and with it a fabulous new muse for the month of December! So without further ado, our muse for December on CASE Study is Amy Sheffer! And she's kicking us off with this super card of hers up for CASEing this week:

Check out the original post of this card, here!

So what direction did I take with this card? Well I'm not afraid to 'fess up to being a li'l daunted by Amy's card: she has such a different style to myself. However I found it super easy to be inspired by the elements that make up this fab card and incorporate them into my own kinda style. I chose to focus on the circular element, the placement of the butterflies and the way the sentiment was trimmed and adhered to the card:

I just substituted those butterflies for snowflakes in my case :)

Yup, another Christmas card down, another million to go (well, slight exaggeration there but it feels like a lot and it's Dec 1st already!)

Why not play along with us and join in the fun? All you gotta do is be inspired by Amy's card and get creative!

Now having a new muse isn't the only exciting news we have to share from CASE Study HQ, we also have a new DT member on board with us! Now to say I'm excited is an understatement. In fact, I don't think there is a word to express just how happy I was to find that Chupa asked this super talented Diva (now there's a clue!) to join us...yup, that's right! My super blog buddy, Moe (Maureen Plut) is joining us! I hope you can find a spare moment to welcome her with open arms and while you're at it, be sure to check out what Moe the rest of the super duper CASE Study DT created for your viewing pleasure:

Iwona Palamountain (Chupa)
Andrea Ewen
Clare Buswell
Debby Hughes
Teresa Kline
Cristina Kowalczyk
Julie Lacey
Jean Martin
Maureen Plut
Teneale Williams
Amy Sheffer (December's Muse)

...and be sure to join us! :)

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Catch ya later!






Card Deets
{Peace & Joy}
Stamps: Holiday Tree (Papertrey Ink)
Ink: Fresh Snow (Papertrey Ink)/Rich Cocoa (Memento)
Cardstock: Spring Rain, Stamper's Select White, White Shimmer Cardstock (Papertrey Ink)
Accessories: Fresh Snow Twill Ribbon (Papertrey Ink)/Circle Nestabilitiy (Spellbinders)/Cuttlebug (Provocraft)/Shimmer Chalk (Dovecraft)/Snowflake Punch (X-Cut)/Clear Gems (Hero Arts)

Polka Dot Snow...

Hey!

Happy Thanksgiving to peeps across the pond toady! If you're celebrating it, I hope it's a goodie :)

For the rest of us, we can still celebrate Friday-Eve in the traditional way, right?!


Yup. You guessed it. Another fabulous CASE Study for us to be inspired by!

Up for inspirational grabs this week is this beautiful card by our muse, Kryssi Ng:

Check out the original post of this CAS beauty, here!

As you know, I'm trying really hard to get a real start on some Christmas cards. I need 'em to be preferably flat and CAS in design (I'm not one for mass producing but it's good to whip out a few of the same design at least!) So unsurprisingly I took a festive direction after going dotty for Kryssi's CAS beauty-of-a-card (see what I did there? Dotty...as in polka dots? Tee - hee!):

This card was whipped together in a matter of minutes thanks to my inspiration point. The longest amount of time was taken in deciding whether to round that top corner or not!

So whether you're scoffin' on a Thanksgiving feast or not, we'd love to see you join in the fun with us! No matter what you're level, we love to share the inspiration!

Speaking of inspiration, why not check out what the rest of the CASE Study DT created?

Iwona Palamountain (Chupa)
Andrea Ewen
Clare Buswell
Debby Hughes
Teresa Kline
Cristina Kowalczyk
Julie Lacey
Jean Martin
Teneale Williams
Kryssi Ng (November's Muse)

Normally I'd sign off by saying I had to dash, but that would be pretty tricky at the moment. Football training last night resulted in me leaving with one ankle abnormally larger than the other - ouch! So I'm hobbling off today with an ankle strapped up...still, least it's not an injury that can stop me from stamping :)

Thank you so, so much for stopping by my li'l corner of Blogland!

Catch ya later!







Card Deets
{Happy Holidays}
Stamps: Holiday Tree, Polka Dot Basics II, Holiday Signature Greetings (Papertrey Ink)
Ink: London Fog, Tuxedo Black (Memento)
Cardstock: Stamper's Select White, Pure Poppy (Papertrey Ink)
Accessories: Gems (Craft Supply)/Corner Chomper (We R Memory Keepers)

From Silly Scape to Snow Scape...

Hey!

Wa-hoooooooooooooo for Friday Eve, Peeps! :)

Shall we celebrate in the usual style?

Why not? After all, when you have the fabulous Kryssi Ng as your muse here at CASE Study, I can't think of a more perfect way to celebrate the end of the working week!

Check out this super cool card of Kryssi's up for CASEing this week:

Check out the original post of this fun card, here.

I was totally smitten with that cityscape and the way that Kryssi has so cleverly turned it into a card for the holidays. In fact, I was so smitten that I went straight ahead and purchased the Hero Arts Digi kit, Silly Scape and got busy with my printer and pens:

I wanted to turn this cityscape (or should that be silly-scape?!) into a winter, Christmas-themed card just like Kryssi did. My snowflakes have been stamped on acetate with white Staz-On and placed over some glittered rooftops to give this cityscape a Christmas-like feel. Those sparkly rooftops add that touch of magic that I can't capture with my camera - you're just gonna have to trust me on this one *wink*!

Now before you dash to check out what the rest of the CASE Study DT have for you to feast your eyes on, we have some good and bad news. The bad news is that Julie Smith has decided to step down from the DT. Such a touch decision to make and it's so sad to see her leave; I'll miss her fabulous CAS style she contributed week after week :(

But every cloud has a silver lining, right? So where one door closes, another one opens...and those doors have opened for our newest CASE Study DT member - Julie Lacey! She needs no introductions, she's a fireball of talent and I've been a stalker fan of her work for ages! (you may remember that Julie was one of our muses not so long ago!)

So be sure to check out what our new CASE study DT rustled up for ya (and be sure to welcome our newest DT member too!)

Iwona Palamountain (Chupa)
Andrea Ewen
Clare Buswell
Debby Hughes
Teresa Kline
Cristina Kowalczyk
Julie Lacey
Jean Martin
Teneale Williams
Kryssi Ng (November's Muse)

Right then, duty calls here: I've got two more days of work including Children in Need on Friday. Friday is going to be a surreal day at work with everyone in fancy dress and me paying the students double the price of a car wash to keep them away from my car - ha! All for charity of course and good fun too!

Have a wonderful weekend (we might as well start celebrating it now y'know *wink*)

Thank you so much for stopping by! I really appreciate your visits :)

Catch ya later!







Card Deets
{Very Merry}
Stamps: Tiny Tags, Holiday Tree (Papertrey Ink)
Digi Stamp: Silly Scape (Hero Arts)
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento)/Cotton White (Staz-On)
Cardstock: Enchanted Evening, Stamper's Select White (Papertrey Ink)
Accessories: Twine, Tag Die (Papertrey Ink)/Grand Calibur, Nestabilities (Spellbinders)/Glitter (Doodlebug)/Acetate (Office Supply)