CASEing Genius: Tracey McNeely and Celebrating Nina-Marie

Hello Crafters! 

As you can see it's busy day here on the blog :) 

I hope you'll forgive me for combing two completely amazing designers into one post. 

Life is hard, I know. 

On the hop  . . .You should have arrived from the super sweet Katrina's blog (P.S. She is Nina-Marie's little sister and her cards are darling.) 

and if you have no idea what CASEing Genius is and would like to you can click here  or if you don't care what so ever please scroll down for the video. 

But first prizes . . . 

Nina-Marie is giving away $25 gift cards to Pretty Pink Posh and Neat and Tangled along with a $20 gift card to Newton's Nook. That's good stuff. The winners will be picked from comments left on the blogs included in the hop. The winners will be picked February 12th. 

Without further ado . . 

This week's CASEing Genius is the fabulous 

Tracey McNeely!!

I have been a big fan of Tracey's for quite some time. Her clean and simple style is right up my alley along with her gorgeous use of color. Tracey rocks the stamping but also die cutting. I'm so jealous because die cuts are something I struggle with. She makes out of this world cards with them easy peasy. Not only is she an incredible card designer she is an open kind hearted person. She's always involved in challenges and leaving encouraging comments. She's literally making people happy all over the internet and that makes me so happy to know her. You can check out her genius on her blog, In My Creative Opinion.   

The Interview: 

1. Who are you and where do you live?

My name is Tracey McNeely and I live in the beautiful Ontario Muskoka’s, Canada with my husband James and two away at University kids Ben (21) and Brooklyn (18).

2. How would you describe your style?

My style is primarily CAS but I venture into CAL (clean and layered) on occasion.

3. Name one product you're completely crushing on right now?

Believe it or not it is my Distress Inks. I had such a learning curb getting to know them even though I starting 'collecting' them years ago.

4. What is was your first crafty purchase? Would you still buy it now?

My first crafty purchase was a large Magenta woodblock stamp and a Hot Boss heat tool because I saw a card sample in a craft store and thought--how hard could that be--LOL No on the woodblock stamps and yes I would buy a new heat tool, the boss is getting tired.

Fun Stuff:

5. What is your current favorite song?

I like all music new and old but my most recent downloads are Break on Me (Keith Urban), Hello (Adelle) and Someone New (Hozier)

6. Who would play you in a movie?

Hubby and daughter see me as Rachel McAdams in a romantic comedy—really?

7. One random thing about you that people would never guess?

I have MS

Don't feel bad Tracey I still love my Distress Inks too, also that Hozier song is awesome. 

Time to check out all the talent . . .

Eeep. CAS perfection. 

I love the bright colors and how that banner grounds the palm tree. So cute. 

Talk about clean and simple AND stunning. 

A bold sentiment with soft florals and sparkles. I'm sold. 

I love how it's colorful without being overwhelming. Love the subtle background that let's the sentiment be the star of the show. 

The CASE: 

I really wanted to go with something tropical based on the first card so I grabbed WPlus9's new Happy Wishes set. Plus the flowers in card one and two. I wanted to do no line coloring because Tracey's second and third cards both have no line (dies, stamps) focal points. The design layout came from the third card with something in the top left and bottom right. The banner is from card one and the bold sentiment is from cards two and three. 

You know there's a video. :) 

 I tried to keep it relatively short, this is a hop after all. If this is your first time here 11 minutes is short for me. :/
Let's have a close up shall we?!

I hope you'll stop by and visit Tracey to leave some love but if you'd like to finish the hop first your next stop is the exceptional Maria Sabina Riata. 

The whole hop is included below in case you get lost. 

Nina-Marie Trapani 

Ellen Haxelmans

Katrina Trapani 

Kelly Latevola (You Are Here)

Maria Sabina Riata 

Ruby Naz 

Virginia Lu

Thanks for visiting!