Watercooler Wednesday Challenge #126 - Fiona's Feminine "Anything Goes" Challenge

Woo Hoo!  Don't you just love that new banner?  I sure do.  And I love Fiona's terrific Feminine Challenge this week, too.  Since it's an "anything goes" challenge as long as the card is feminine, it let me play with a whole lot of new products and a whole lot of ideas.

I began with a base of Heavy Whisper White and a layer of one of my favourites in the new 2017-19 In-Colors line-up, Berry Burst.  After that I just let inspiration take me for a ride.

I wanted to try out the new Embossing|Paste and, of course, the Pattern Party Mask (Stencil) in the brick pattern.  Since I wanted a white background, I added a few drops of Smoky Slate to a dollop of the paste and mixed it well.  I didn't want the bricks very grey but I did want them to show up against the white.  I think the three or four drops I mixed in gave me just the right colour, don't you?  And the unique texture which each individual brick has is absolutely priceless.  I do love the paste.

I wanted a bird on a branch reaching for some berries.  I managed to get that by using the Birds & Blooms thinlits to cut a small stylized bird from a piece of Marina Mist cardstock.  The branch is cut from a piece of Soft Suede cardstock using the new Seasonal Layers thinlits.  The leafy branch is the result of the Eclectic Layers thinlits die which actually embosses rather than cuts.  After using it on a piece of Tranquil Tide cardstock, I carefully cut around the embossing.  The berries are cut from a piece of Berry Burst cardstock using one of the Eclectic Layers thinlits.

Because the bird is my "bluebird of happiness" I wanted to give him a bit of a flair and added a bit of the Stampin' Chalk marker to his chest and wing.  And that left me with the sentiment.

I turned to a retired thinlit to cut out "friend" from a piece of the Berry Burst cardstock.  After adhering that to the card, I carefully stamped "you are my" from the Sunshine Sayings stamp set and under that stamped "amazing" from the Thoughtful Banners stamp set using the Berry Burst ink.

This was such fun to create.  I hope you enjoyed my little "journey".  Please check out the wonderful creations by the other Watercooler Artists at our Watercooler Wednesday Challenge.  Oh yes, we have a new look.  Isn't it terrific.