Retro CAS[E] this Sketch #328/32

This month's Retro Sketch goes so far back … way before my time making cards.  But!  I love seeing those of you who continue to play after all this time … and those players who became Design Team Members, too!  So fun! 

I'll give you a link here to #32 so you can take a trip down memory lane with us... btw if you played in June 2013 - please, share your first card next to your newest CTS #328 version!

I've taken Dad's hammer to this one … always a bit of fun to use an embossing folder this way - but watch how hard you hit it!  [ask me how I know how hard is too hard - yikes!]

I've also borrowed one of my friend Laurie's trademark ways with cards using my scoreboard!

 

A quick and easy way to make CAS cute, don't you think?  I look forward to seeing what you made back then, and make brand new!

=]  Michele

Supplies used:
The Stamp Market:  Bloominous and Hey die.
PTI Bitty DP in Razzleberry, and coordinating ink.

Wait!!! this just in...

OH my goodness... Quick SHOP!

Inspired By #78 ... barbeque party!

 

Don't think for a second that I didn't think about pulling out the cutlery for my card … last year, I did.  This year's

Inspired By #78 BBQ party had me searching through my patterned paper stash!

 

The colors, rustic feel of the wooden box, and rope handle all played a part in my choices... tell me what you think:

 

 

Hope you like enough to play along... if not, just join me as I check in with my IB sisters!  Sure to please!  every.  week.

=]  Michele

Pinkfresh June 2019 Challenge

I was the lucky winner of a fabulous give-away from Pinkfresh Studios recently … the entire release of their fabulous Essentials collection of dies, and these fabulous jewels and crystals! 


Every set is amazing... I've used a few today to enter the June 2019 - Mix & Match Challenge.  I will be honest, though the big JOY is cut from Indigo Hills paper, that die is not from Pinkfresh Studios - it may disqualify my card, but since this is a 'new baby' card for first-time grandparents, that is truly the perfect word!  If you look very closely, you'll find the family in the little nest I've created within the O - three little jewels!

Here are the Pinkfresh products I've mixed & matched:
Braided Tag
Dainty Blossoms
Lacey Edgers 1
Fancy Label Frames for the tiny tag and
Pretty Paisley stamp set for the sentiment
Indigo Hills, and Felicity collections of papers

Ready for my little card?

Thanks for stopping by today … now I must get back to my butterflies, and bluebirds!  OH have you heard the news?  We have [as of now] over 100 Monarch caterpillars in different stages of their magical metamorphisms!!  AND four baby Bluebirds in the box!  I sure wish you all lived in my neck of the woods!

=]  Michele

MFT Color Challenge #119

MFT Color Challenge #119 screams Summer to me … these guys are happy about it,  too...

Big Hello, You Gnome Me, Copics, and a teensy bit of selective hammer-embossing

 

Hello, Summer!!

 

=]  Michele

Hopping with Hero Arts

I am so happy to be hopping with my fellow Ellen Hutson design ambassadors, and a whole group of fabulous designers today … we're celebrating our love for Hero Arts!  45 years delighting us with fabulous products!  BTW there are prizes available - more on that later!!

You should have arrived here from the very talented Debi Adams' blog - isn't her card collection amazing?  She's certainly added to my wish list! 

I've used a favorite set from my Hero Arts stash:  Color Layering Koi!  Even though Hero Arts put together a fabulous collection of inks specifically for this Koi set, I've chosen a few Hero Arts inks [I'll list them below] that I love stamped on card stock I've used - EH Oyster Gray!

You'll see another favorite Hero Arts sentiment set used today:  Acts of Kindness  - it provided the little heart-in-a-circle in the pond, and my sentiment today.  Did you catch my little heart-highlight... a bit of humor to draw the eye back to those tail-biting Koi!  Hero Arts' Infinity Nested Ovals provided my Koi pond.

Remember I mentioned prizes?  You can win one of three $25 gift certificates to the Ellen Hutson shop! Winners will be drawn from commenters along the blog hop so make sure to comment at each stop before Friday, June 28th at 11:59pm PST. Winners will be notified by email.

It is now time to send you over to Laurie Willison - no need to be KOI … Laurie never fails to catch my attention!!  lol

=]  Michele

Inks:
Soft Cantaloupe
Soft Pool
Soft Granite, and Chalkboard - from the Shades of Grey cubes
Hero Arts - dies for Color Layering Koi

Here is a complete list of Hop links!

Adelina Starace
Caly Person
Ardyth Percy-Robb
Janette Kausen
Carly Tee Minner
Ilina Crouse
Emily Midgett
Libby Hickson
Kelly Griglione
Julee Tilman
Lisa Spangler
Debi Adams
Michele Ferguson * you are here - thanks!
Laurie Willison
Sandy Allnock
Amy Kolling
Therese Calvird
Lydia Fiedler
Julie Ebersole

It had to BEE TWO!

… it had to bee YOU!  Oh dear, stop me now or it could go on for hours! 

Those Twofer gals  are asking us for BEES!!  I had a few buzzing about so I had to play along!

My bumble bee is from Verve - called The Buzz - I miss that company!  and this is one of those timeless sets!  Perfect for my duo!

Card one is an encouragement/never give up card - everyone knows that it's a scientific wonder that a bumblebee can fly, right?  His wings seem far too small to carry the weight of his body... a little miracle with wings!

Card two is a thank you … it uses a phrase that I just don't hear enough - don't you love that honeycomb?  of course it's full of honey, and cut from glitzy yellow cardstock!

Honeycomb??!!! oh, oh.  there's another song brewing!  I better get these posted or the lyrics will block my brain!

I had one more bee in my Bun-ette… have a great weekend, my friends!  Thanks for buzzing in today! 

=]  Michele

Card one
Verve:  The Buzz, and coordinating dies
The Stamp Market: Hexagon Hello, and dies
MFT Blueprints 33
Card two
Cuttlebug Honeycomb embossing folder
Bun-Ette
EBE Voices in my Head
and tiny bitty bee from Verve The Buzz

CAS Mix Up and The Flower Challenge

I have a stamp that wanted to play with the CAS Mix Up team today … of course I listened!  Out came the Altenew Water color pans, and water brush & this totally groovy  Flower Power stamp from The Stamp Market!  It was stamped with VersaMark, and heat embossed with Hero Arts white on water color card stock. 

Perfect for one little Pinkfresh Studio Dainty Blossom, that I die cut twice from the same water color cardstock.

 



Stamped + water colored + die cut!

 



Guess where else it wanted to play?  The Flower Challenge!  Think this is a big-enough panel to qualify for a background?  We'll soon find out!

Thanks for your visit! 

=]  Michele

CAS[E] this Sketch #327

Donna Mikasa is our Sketch #327 artist … always a pleasure trying to get into her head!  Take a looky-loo at this one...

Well I tipped it … literally... put your right ear on your right shoulder - go ahead, you'll see it!

A simple little card, but I used a mountain of product to create it!  lol  hope you like it, and cannot wait to play, too!  Now, as is my custom, I invite you to tag along as I run over to CTS#327 to see how Donna's sketch was created, and thank you for stopping by!

=]  Michele

Reverse Confetti: Circles 'n Scallops Confetti Cuts
Pinkfresh Studios: Classic Edgers*
Winnie & Walter:  Audrey Cutaways [that teensy tag]
Penny Black:  Christmas Fun [my tiny bird!]*
Altenew: Story of Us [love word]*

*affiliate links - thank you for your support! xx

Inspired By #77... bright and cheery

Is there a better time for a bright and cheery card than when a friend needs a pick-me-up?  My SIL [whose name starts with R] is scheduled for a new hip soon... I know she'll be feeling rather stressed leading up to it, who knows how she'll feel after, but I hope this will at least make her smile.  For Inspired By #77 ...

If you look closely, you'll see I created a little patterned paper of my own using Everyday Doodles, and CP Fiesta Blue ink.  The white bloom is from The Stamp Market's Bloominous dies - left white to carry through the CAS-ness.   A few old DCWV Citrus Stack papers, and a little old peg, top off my design.  [you know, just in case she left her sense of humor in the OR]  I'll leave the inside sentiment up to your own sense of humor... he hee. wink, wink.

Come along with me to see all that my teammates have created... I know it will be a treat - and that YOUR own IB77 card will be, too!

=]  Michele

*affiliate links used with no extra cost to you... thank you!

Quick edit … since this is a bit on the funny side, I'll send it over to our friends at Time Out!

My friend Alex

I have a very talented friend who has started an Etsy shop for her wonderful digital designs … AlexSyberiaDesign!
Alex does the most amazing dot-coloring!  Have you found her on Instagram yet?  @alexsyberia to see the multitude of fabulous cards she's created using this fantastic dot-coloring style of hers with other company's stamps, too.

Imagine how delighted I was to receive* three of her digi designs in my inbox … all along I've resisted buying digitals because I don't own a laser printer!  But, because she is my friend, I was determined to try them using my good old Epson Artisan 725 inkjet printer with standard ink.

I loaded my photo tray with 4x6" pieces of Neenah Solar white 80# card stock for printing Alex's designs.  Then I allowed them to dry overnight.  Here are the results:  two using Copic markers, one with Zigs!

My Copic markers had little if any effect on the printed image.
I did a little dot-background with two grey Copics! =]

 

 Dots with a Copic Multi-liner,

a Spellbinder Hem-stitched rectangle accent,

and Altenew sentiment.

 

Here is a closeup of Alex's wreath - you'll see that

adding even just a tiny bit of water did affect

the printed lines … but not enough that I don't still love the results!  For the most part, I scribbled the Zig color onto a block and added/mixed the colors as needed! 

Four Zigs were used for all of these colors!

Very rudimentary fussy cutting here... and a circle die from my stash was just the ticket for raising the center sentiment.

 

Thank you, Alex, for entrusting me with your gorgeous designs!  I hope I've done them justice!

 

Thank YOU all for stopping by today … I hope you'll take a look at all of Alex's beautiful digital stamps!  especially those of you who have a laser printer!

 

=]  Michele

 

*full disclosure: the digis were a gift, but Alex did not ask me to blog about them!





More than Words!

I made two cards for the June EBE release that were calling me back … here are the originals:

 

LOved creating these using EBE's Landscapes.  Even though I think it's always good to have a few blank cards on hand for any old occasion that can pop up... 

… these just screamed for a little more attention!  I felt I had to accommodate.







Remember Julie's scooters from her Good Times set?  Seems like I had an entire showroom of those colored up and ready to go!  Here's how I finished them using my own words...

Don't worry... Julie has given me permission to play with her words - wheelie!

 

 



Those little Speech Bubbles are the perfect way to die-cut my words … here's how I do it:

 

Using Microsoft Office's Word program, I've chosen a 3.5 x 5" size in the page setup.  I've cut my panel from 80# Neenah Solar white paper - it has no problem getting through my Epson Artisan 725 printer.  That card is loaded into the photo tray of my printer.

 

 

Then it's just a matter of choosing a font, font size, ink color & typing in your very own sentiment - taking care to leave yourself room for that Speech Bubble die!

I can easily cut two from this size.

Or a bubble …

 

 

… and inside sentiment!

 

 

Big City went to Greece - I really wish I had gone with it!

 

Hope you find your words, and that I've given you some thoughts about how to make a card to go with them!

=]  Michele

 

Don't forget! today only: 20% off with Code SPLURGE19

at the Ellen Hutson LLC shop - Sale ends 6/18/19 at 11:59pm PST - please read the

 small print at the website.

 



Why, yes. There is another sale!

you know... just in case you didn't find what you had your heart set on during the OOPS sale!!!!  Can you believe there is a day to splurge... isn't that every day?  lol

ready.  set.  SHOP!

but don't forget that CODE!

Sale!! 30% is nothing to sneeze at!

Ellen Hutson LLC
Go. shop. SAVE! 

 

=]

 

Julie's EBE Scooter

I was thrilled to find Julie's darling Scooter in the Good Times set of stamps, and dies, from our June release … especially because it is Tom's pet-name for me - don't ask, because even HE doesn't know why!  lol

I came across this lovely patterned paper in my stash - undoubtedly it isn't available anymore [in other words: don't ask about THAT either!]  I fell in love with the colors and fun way they've colored the images … had to give it a go, stamped on a natural cardstock, colored with Copics [below]. 

 

warning:  for those CAS-loving crafters, these may not be your tasse de thê but it was so fun! and Frenchie loves it! [is it me, or does he look a bit intimidated by that little poodle?]

Another one? ... Oui! = wheeeeee!

Mama Elephant: Waverly creative cuts

EBE: Stitching Lines on vellum

DYMO Label Maker for sentiment strip - I found mine on Amazon

 

 

I do hope you'll look at your supplies through a different lens … one never knows how you'll see them today! 

=]  Michele