Watercooler Wednesday Challenge #107 - Penny's Masculine "Anything Goes" Challenge

It's time for another masculine challenge and this time it's hosted by Penny Hanuszak.  I love making masculine cards and projects.  There are a lot of men in my extended family and it's a good thing to have some cards on hand that are particularly designed for them.

I love an "anything goes" challenge, don't you?  It means that the sky (or my imagination) is the limit, in this case as long as it's masculine.  This time I decided I would finally get around to using my Nailed It bundle.  How awesome is it that we have a stamp set with some terrific images of tools, nails, bolts, etc PLUS a matching set of dies to cut them out?  The moment I saw the set, I knew I would have to buy it.  After all, with a brother-in-law who is a master carpenter and a bunch of would-be handymen in my family, this bundle is going to get a lot of use.

I decided to keep the colours neutral except  for a splash of red (unless you consider that silver is not a neutral?)  I even managed to get a strip of Silver Foil which I embossed using the new Hexagons Dynamic Textured Impressions embossing folder.  Otherwise my base is Smoky Slate with a layer of Basic Black and then a layer of Basic Grey.  The tool box is primarily Real Red except for the touches of Silver Foil and the screwdriver has a Crumb Cake handle.

You can see there is some sponging on the handle of  the screwdriver and also on the tool box.  The splatters on the Basic Grey were stamped with an image from the One Wild Ride set.

I hope you'll check out the wonderful creations by the other Watercooler Artists at our Watercooler Wednesday Challenge.  And then I invite you to link up your own masterpiece for us to enjoy.

The Wacky Watercooler February "Spring Fever" Blog Hop

It's time for another blog hop and this time, since we're all getting rather tired of the white stuff, we're having a "Spring Fever" theme.  There is so much that goes on in Spring, isn't there?  Easter, Mother's Day, Birthdays and so much more.

As you will remember, if you've wandered through our blog hops before, our blog hop is presented in a circular fashion.  What does that mean?  Wherever you begin in our blog hop, whether you go forwards or backwards through the participants, eventually you will wind up precisely where you began.  I hope you'll take time to visit all the participating blogs and, perhaps, leave a short message letting us know  what you've thought of our posts.

If you've been moving forwards through the blog hop, you'll have arrived here from the very talented Marie Green's post.  

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It's my grandson's tenth birthday today and so I took advantage of some of the new products which I ordered to put his card together.  What better set to use than the Everyday Hero as well as the Balloon Adventures?  If you're wondering about the "X" on his outfit, it stand for Xavian---however, we always call him X-Man.

You can't really see the full effect here, but the sentiment is gorgeous since I heat embossed it using the copper embossing powder.  

I continued the theme inside with another sentiment from the Balloon Adventures set.  

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For my second project, I decided to use the gorgeous Window Box Thinlits dies.  I didn't use coloured paper simply because I intended to fill the box with colourful Skittles, one of Xavian's favourite candies.  With a white box, the colours of the skittles show up beautifully through the die-cut holes.

I decided  to put a big, shiny star on top, with the scribbly heart and the die-cut "10".  I'm happy with the result.  I just hope Xavian takes the time to have a good look before he opens it to get at the candies.

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For my third and final project, I had an idea for a framed piece of art.  I began with a 6" x 6" piece of Watercolour Paper and sketched a background of sunset, waves and sand.  Then I began using various images from my stamp sets.  I used the lighthouse from the High Tide set as well as the seagulls and sentiment.  Then I added the sandpipers from the Wetlands set to balance the seagulls.  Finally I added the dancing girl from the Beautiful You set.  Then I set to the task of colouring in the lighthouse and the girl, to make them silhouettes against the bright sunset.  Of course, to give everything some depth, I also added shadows.

I think the images work beautifully together, don't you?

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And that's it for my projects.  I hope you've enjoyed them as much as I enjoyed creating them.  From here you'll be visiting another wonderfully creative stamper, Penny Hanuszak.

Watercooler Wednesday Challenge #106 - Make a Wish!

This week I get to be hostess at our Watercooler Wednesday Challenge and even though it's a Clean & Simple challenge, I decided to step it up by making it all about sparkle.  It's fun to add that final touch of sparkle, isn't it?  And that's what my challenge is all about---having fun.

I kept my card clean and simple, leaving a lot of white space.  I began with a base of the Heavy Whisper White and added another layer of Whisper White onto which I heat embossed the swirl from the Star of Light set using clear embossing powder to which I added some Dazzling Diamonds.  You can see the sparkle in the photo but I assure you it is really sparkly and dazzling in person.

On a scrap of Whisper White I stamped the fairy image from the Fairy Celebration set and cut it out using a stitched oval die.  Then I stamped the wings a second time on another scrap and fussy cut them out.  Yes, I could have used the Bitty Butterfly punch, which fits those wings, but I wanted them cut right to the stamped line.  Fussy cutting was the only way to get that done.  After colouring the wings, I covered them with Versamark and then added a mixture of clear embossing powder mixed with the Dazzling Diamonds again.  You can see the sparkly effect in the photo.

After stamping my sentiment, I decided to cut two very narrow strips of Dazzling Diamonds Glimmer paper and attached those beside the right margin and the bottom margin.

I love all the sparkles on my card, don't you?

I hope you'll come on over to the Watercooler Wednesday Challenge and check out the wonderful cards created by the other Watercooler Artists.  And then please consider creating your own sparkly card and linking it for us to enjoy.

Reaching Out

Every once in a while a story surfaces on Facebook which touches the heart.  This week, for example, I saw a post shared on Facebook by the niece of a veteran in the United States.  What was so special about that, you ask.  Well, she shared the advertisement her uncle had placed in the local newspaper, asking for letters.  This is, actually, his last request.  James Wiitamaki, the veteran in question, is dying from cancer.

You won't find the post on Facebook any longer.  The administrators, for whatever reason, removed it.  You can, however, read about it here, in this article from the FOX news.

It doesn't matter in which country one happens to live.  Veterans who have fought for freedom in any country's military deserve to be recognized; deserve not to spend their last days ignored and lonely.  Yes, James Wiitamaki is only one of many who have come back.  No, this makes no difference to the situations of all those others.  But, symbolically, James Wiitamaki stand for them all.

I am sending him a card.  He doesn't know me.  I don't know him.  But he deserves to know that someone cares.

They all do.  All our veterans around this world of ours.

If you, too, would like to send James Wiitamaki a card, here is his address:

James Wiitamaki,

V.A. Medical Center, B51-2,

4801 Veterans Drive,

St. Cloud, MN  56303

Watercooler Wednesday Challenge #105 - We might as well Dance!

For a change we're having a color inspiration challenge over at the Watercooler Wednesday Challenge.  Marsha Reed is hosting this different slant with the photo shown below:

For Marsha's suggestions as to the appropriate Stampin' Up! colours, you can check out the post over at the Watercooler Wednesday Challenge.  If you're using colours by other companies, just let the picture inspire your choices.

I had fun with the colours.  Instead of choosing flowers, which would have been the easy choice, I decided to go with the gorgeous Beautiful You stamp set and let that lead my choices.  I have to say, I'm glad I did.  I love the final results.

There is an exuberance to the image of the girl leaping into her dance (or is she about to do a cartwheel?)  which the background Confetti Embossing Folder emphasizes.  I love the way all the colours work together in the card.  It makes me smile.  I love it when a card does that for me.

Have a look at all the other wonderful cards created by the Watercooler Artists over at our Watercooler Wednesday Challenge and then, please, link up your own creation for us to enjoy.

Watercooler Wednesday Challenge #104 - Love You Lots

I love sketch challenges.  Serendipitously we have a sketch challenge hosted by Kath Ricks at our Watercooler Wednesday Challenge this week.  As you can see, the sketch is very versatile.  Actually I didn't change it much for my card, as you will see.

Basically, I loved the layout just as it was and didn't even think about flipping it directionally.  The only little "tweaks" I made were to change it from a square to a more standard rectangle and also to change the oval to a circle.  Little things.

I had wanted to use the little love-bugs from the Hostess Love You Lots set for quite some time and the timing was perfect.  With Valentine's Day around the corner, what could be more perfect than the two love-bugs, the new Lace Doily from the Occasions Catalogue, the Falling Petals embossing folder, and the wonderful Ruched Sweet Sugarplum Ribbon, all thrown together into a romantic little card?

I used the Heavy Whisper White as my base and then added a layer of Crumb Cake and then an embossed layer of Sweet Sugarplum.  I stamped and coloured the little love-bugs before fussy-cutting them to mount them on a circle of Serene Scenery DSP, die cut using the stitched circle framelits.  The lace doily behind the circle really adds a touch of romance, don't you think?  To make the ruched ribbon stand out against the Sweet Sugarplum background, I backed it with a piece of the new 5/8" Burlap Ribbon.

To finish the card off I added three little red Glimmer Paper hearts to the upper left side.  I hope you'll check out the cards created by the other Watercooler Artists at our Watercooler Wednesday Challenge.