WWC302 - Marsha's Special 3-Week "Anything Goes" Challenge

Oh my!  This is the final Watercooler Wednesday challenge for this year.  Just when I was thinking this year would last forever, it's almost over. Unlike the others, however, this challenge will last for 3 weeks, giving  us a bit of a break before we begin again in 2021.

I decided not to make a Christmas card for this challenge since, after all, it lasts well past that holiday.  Just for fun I played with an upbeat, purely fun honeybee set which I've had waiting at the side of my desk.  With the matching dies saving me time from some fussy-cutting, this was a pure pleasure to create.

I began with a base of the Heavy Whisper White, added a matte of Basic Black cardstock and then proceeded with the creation of the honeybees.  I stamped all five at once, spacing them so that using the dies all at once would not be a hardship.  Once I had them all cut out, I proceeded to watercolour them using my Derwent pencils and Aqua Painter.  I love the vivid yellows and reds, don't you?  To add a special sparkle, I added some Nuvo Glitter Gloss Aqua Shimmer.  

For the background, I took a piece of the Craft Consortium Light Tones Grunge paper.  Then I used my Tim Holtz stencil to add some hexagonal colours to the edges.  The deep yellow, purple and aqua shapes look great against the softer similar shades underneath, don't they?  Before placing my bees, I stamped the sentiment in the centre.  I love the way this turned out.  It makes me smile and look forward to "flying" into the new year.

 Have fun checking out our Watercooler Wednesday Challenge and I hope you'll link your creation before the deadline on Monday, January 4th, 2021.

I've also entered my card in the following challenges:

Lemon Shortbread Challenge #135 - Anything Goes

Crafty Creations Challenge #416 - Anything Goes

Creative Moments Challenge #204 - Anything Goes

The Paper Funday Challenges #24 - Anything Goes

WWC301 - Dawn's Challenge: All About Occasions

With Christmas a bit over two weeks away (eek!), I had to make a Christmas card.  Of course it features the adorable House-Mouse images.  Even with all the other gorgeous stamps I own, this year I'm drawn to the sweet and funny ones.  The ones with a bit of animated magic.  The ones which make me smile.

The image by Ellen Jareckie is called "Squirrel Singers".  I love the combination of realism and fantasy.  As always, I checked to see what colours would be best for a squirrel and the pine tree.  The mice have their own, individual colours, set by Ellen.  I love that each one is a little bit different, not just in size, but also in colour.  This time I turned to my Derwent watercolour pencils since I have a large selection and was able to get all the colours for this scene.  I love how the Aqua Painter brings the colours to life after I've pencilled them in.

I was happy to find this lovely Christmas coloured tartan paper in my stash.  It sets off the colours in my little scene perfectly, doesn't it?                                                                                  

 I've taken this photo at a slight angle so that the candle flames caught more light.  After everything was dry, I covered the flames with some Shimmery Crystal Effects.  Once that had dried, I added a second layer.  It gives the flames substance and a 3-D effect.  I love it!

Have fun checking out our Watercooler Wednesday Challenge and I hope you'll link your creation before the deadline on Monday, December 14th.

I've also entered my card in the following challenges:

HM&FMC #330 - Anything Goes

Simon Says Monday Challenge Blog - Favorite Technique (watercolouring)

Crafty Animals Challenge #45 - Must Have Animals

Lemon Shortbread Challenge #134 - Anything Goes

WWC300 - Tristan's Challenge: Anything Goes With a Feminine Twist

 We have snow outside but my eyes keep falling on the stamp sets which show flowers and sunny days.  So I'm giving in.  While I work on my "happy" cards, I can forget the cold outside and pretend I feel the sun on my shoulders.  This adorable scene with the ginger cat in front of its best friend, surrounded by green grass and gorgeous blooms is making me happy.  I hope it does the same for you.

I like to imagine this is my daughter with her rescued ginger, Honey.  I used a base of Heavy Whisper White and then added a matte of Melon Mambo cardstock.  After stamping the image using Memento ink, I decided to colour with my wax-based pencils.  Usually I use the wax-based pencils along with Gamsol and paper stubs to blend the colours into the paper.  This time, however, I chose to use a new product I found.  Made by the Gamblin Artists Colors in Portland, Oregon, this product is a solvent-free fluid made primarily from a safflower-alkyd medium, I found that it actually worked better with my wax pencils, blending the colours beautifully and giving it a look almost reminiscent of watercolouring.  Bonus, I was able to use artists' brushes rather than the paper stubs.  The added control was fantastic. 

You can reall see the blending in this close-up of my finished image.  I will probably never go back to Gamsol again.  Oh, and in this close-up, you can see the centres of the flowers, to which I added a touch of Gold Nuvo drops for effect.  

 As you can see, I also outlined all the tiny black ink paw-prints using my Uni-Ball silver pen. Since I also added a matte of silver to my die-cut sentiment, I think it looks great, don't you?

Have fun checking out our Watercooler Wednesday Challenge and I hope you'll link your creation before the deadline on Monday, December 7th.

I've also entered my card in the following challenges:

Lemon Shortbread Challenge #134 - Anything Goes

Show Us Your Pussycats Challenge #61 -  Meowy Christmas/Furrything Goes

Pammie's Inky Pinkies Challenge #2048 - Animals

WWC299 - Heidi's Challenge: All About Occasions

 I am so very excited!  A few weeks back, for Challenge WWC294, my card was the winner of Sue's hostess prize over at the House-Mouse and Friends Challenge.  That's exciting in itself, but the prize was a gorgeous House-Mouse rubber stamp of a Hallowe'en scene.   I have a lot of House-Mouse stamps, but this stamp would be my very first for Hallowe'en.  So please forgive the sudden upset in seasons, but I have decided to use that wonderful stamp for this challenge.  It is the challenge I'm hosting, after all.

 Aren't the little characters in this scene absolutely adorable?  I love the various costumes and all the wonderful detail which Ellen Jareckie has added to her creation.  She's a terrific artist and brings these images to life.  I'm just excited that I can work with them and try to do justice to her magic.

I began with a base of Heavy Whisper White.  With all the colours I've used, I had to think about what I would use for the matte and, in the end, decided on two colours which are in the scene and which also suggest Hallowe'en to me:  Gorgeous Grape and Pear Pizzazz.  For the colouring of this very detailed image, I used a combination of Stampin' Blends and my Koh-i-Noor and Derwent wax-based pencils.  The pencils are fun to use along with the Gamsol to blend and "melt" the wax.  I love the finished product and the nice, bright colours which resulted, don't you?

I'm so grateful that Sue Drees picked my card and sent me this wonderful stamp.

Have fun checking out our Watercooler Wednesday Challenge and I hope you'll link your creation before the deadline on Monday, November 30th.

I've also entered my card in the following challenges:

HMFMC #329 - Anything Goes

Lemon Shortbread Challenge #133 - Anything Goes

Simon Says Wednesday Challenge 79 - Anything Goes

Two Old Bats Halloween Challenge - November Anything Halloween

WWC298 - Kath's Challenge: Anything Goes With a Masculine Twist

With the idea of gratitude in mind for the USA Thanksgiving, I decided to use an adorable Fall set featuring Ellen Jareckie's wonderful little House-Mouse images.  I hope you love them as much as I do.

I began this card several weeks ago and put it aside.  I had done a lot of masking and didn't like the cluttered results.  This week I took it up again and used the Stitched Nested Label dies to cut out the portion which most appealed to me.  After that it was easy.  I found some retired Designer Paper which suited the image very nicely as well as supporting the colours I had used for watercolouring.  Big win there!

My base is the Heavy Whisper White to which I added a matte of Merry Merlot before adding the Designer Paper.  Then I took the cut out image, added a matte of Merry Merlot to it by using the next size up of the Stitched Nested Label dies, and attached that to the card.  For the sentiment I turned to the lovely Country Home stamp set.  I think it's perfect for the time of year and also for the card, don't you?

It's so hard to see some details in photos.  In this close-up you can just tell that some of the twigs on the Designer Paper are metallic.  That really adds a nice touch of elegance.  To make the nut portion of the acorn show up against the rougher "cap", I added a layer of the Shimmery Crystal Effects, which really looks awesome in real life.  I think you can tell by the highlights in the photos just how shiny the results are.  I love the way the colours work together and the way those adorable images seem so animated, don't you?
 

Have fun checking out our Watercooler Wednesday Challenge and I hope you'll link your creation before the deadline on Monday, November 23rd.

I've also entered my card in the following challenges:

Dare 2 B Artzy November Challenge - Thankful

HMFMC #328 - Anything Goes OR Option Theme Use a Die or Punch

Lemon Shortbread Challenge #133 - Anything Goes

WWC297 - Helen's Challenge: All About Occasions

 Oh those Gnomes!  They're everywhere this year.  But I love them and was thrilled to get this stamp set by Stampendous with  the little birthday Gnomes.  Who wouldn't love a card like that?

I decided to keep this card clean and simple.  I began with a base of Whisper White, added a thin matte of Bermuda Bay cardstock and then added my piece with the stamped image and sentiment.  

I used a piece of Mixed Media paper for my image and sentiments.  Once I had stamped that little Gnome, colouring him was a real pleasure.  The image is very simply drawn, but it's easy to add some dimension by shading the colours.  For that I did watercolouring with my Derwent watercolour pencils.  I just love how much control there is and how easy it is to mix colours as well.  To ground my little character, I added some ground and then just topped it off with a bit of happy background.  

For a bit of birthday sparkle, I used my Nuvo Aqua Shimmer pen to add some lovely sparkle and shimmer to that balloon.  You can really see it in this close-up.  And that's it.  Just clean and simple.  I think it's a perfect birthday card and should give someone a great big smile, don't you?

Have fun checking out our Watercooler Wednesday Challenge and I hope you'll link your creation before the deadline on Monday, November 16th.

I've also entered my card in the following challenges:

Lemon Shortbread Challenge #132 - Anything Goes

Seize the Birthday Challenge #203 - Anything Goes

WWC296 - Michelle's Challenge: Anything Goes With a Feminine Twist

I bought the loveliest stamp and die set from a company in Australia, the Paper Rose Studio.  It's a pretty set called the Daisy Bouquet.  I absolutely fell in love with it as soon as I saw it.

I began with a base of the Heavy Whisper White.  Then I cut a piece of Flirty Flamingo using one of my rectangle stitched dies for the matte.  I cut another piece to fit that matte, using Whisper White cardstock and then used one of my fancy scalloped stitched edge dies to cut the right side.  After that, I played around splattering some of the Broken China Distress Oxide ink over it to make a pretty background for the daisies.

I stamped the daisies onto a piece of Mixed Media paper and then used the matching die to cut it out.  Using my Aqua Painter and the Flirty Flamingo ink, I watercoloured the petals, shading them with additional layers to give them form.  For the stems and leaves, I watercoloured with the Mint Macaron.  Finally, for the centres, I watercoloured them with several layers of Pineapple Punch and then, when dry, added some Nuvo Glitter Gloss.

The finishing touch for the card was heat embossing the simple sentiment in White Embossing Powder.  I love the results, don't you?

Have fun checking out our Watercooler Wednesday Challenge and I hope you'll link your creation before the deadline on Monday, November 9th.

I've also entered my card in the following challenges:

Lemon Shortbread Challenge #132 - Anything Goes

Dream Valley Challenges #236 - Dies and/or Punches

WWC295 - Karen's Challenge: All About Occasions

Only a few days remaining before Hallowe'en!  It's the time of year when I go scrounging around in my retired products to see what might make a suitably spooky card.  Surprisingly I found my inspiration in some Designer Paper that is probably the farthest one could think of from Hallowe'en.  Can you believe that the awesome background paper is actually from the Stampin' Up! Come Sail Away Designer Series paper?  It certainly doesn't look marine-oriented to me!

I don't use a black base frequently but Hallowe'en is a perfect time for an exception.  Not only does it compliment the patterned paper perfectly, but it also suits the occasion.  Rummaging further in my stash of retired papers, I found one with a whole page of haunted houses.  How perfect!  Of course I used that, cutting out one single panel and then using a matte of Smoky Slate.  I decided to sponge the perimeter of both with black ink and love the effect, don't you?

Time to haul out one of my retired stamp sets.  The Stampin' Up! set, Spooky Fun, was the perfect size for this card and I knew immediately that I wanted to use the moon and the witch.  And possibly the gravestones.  After stamping the moon and colouring it with a mix of orange and golden yellow, I sponged it lightly around the perimeter and also over the top with the Smoky Slate, just to dull it a little bit.  Then I stamped my witch and cut her out with the matching die.  I also sponged just a bit of Mint Macaron around the haunted house and then stamped, die-cut and coloured the gravestones.   They just asked to be at the bottom left, beside the sentiment (also from the same stamp set).  

This card is larger than normal, winding up a full 5"x6".  In order to use all the images I wanted and still have an adequate amount of that patterned paper showing, I had not choice but to make it that large.  The scene makes me think of that classic Hallowe'en movie, Hocus Pocus. I love the way it turned out, don't you?

Have fun checking out our Watercooler Wednesday Challenge and I hope you'll link your creation before the deadline on Monday, November 2nd.

I've also entered my card in the following challenges:

Simon Says Stamp, Monday Challenge:  Movie Inspired

Always Fun Challenges #186 - Hallowe'en Fun

Lemon Shortbread Challenge #131 - Anything Goes

WWC294 - Marsha's Challenge: Anything Goes With a Masculine Twist

 

And we're back with the House-Mouse Designs.  I fell in love with this beauty and can see how easy it would be to use it for masculine cards, feminine cards and everything in between.  I'll bet I could even use it for Christmas.  Yes, I'm in love!

Ellen Jareckie has brought these three little musical mice to life, hasn't she?  I love their various poses and the way they're handling their instruments.  To give the card a masculine "flavour", I went with deeper, more neutral colours for my background.  I began with a base of Soft Suede and a matte of Basic Black.  The musical patterned paper is from a retired Stampin' Up! collection and is a lovely deep shade of Mossy Meadow (green).  I added another matte, this time in Soft Suede, around the die-cut image piece and added a bit of black by sponging the edge of the die-cut with my black ink.

In the close-up you can see the colours I've used for my mice and their instruments.  Each mouse is slightly different.  Muzzy, the violinist, is coloured a soft charcoal and grey; Mudpie, the Banjo player, is coloured a sable brown; and, finally, Amanda, the guitarist, is coloured an auburn brown.  I love the way the Derwent watercolours offer such a nice variation in colours.  They're a pleasure to use along with my Aqua Painter.

While it's difficult to see, I added a touch of silver to the plate at the lower end of the banjo as well as a bit to the guitar.  Finishing up with the simple sentiment and a couple of hand-drawn musical notes is all this card needs.  I'm so happy with it and hope you love it, too. 

Have fun checking out our Watercooler Wednesday Challenge and I hope you'll link your creation before the deadline on Monday, October 26th.   

I've also entered my card in the following challenges:

HMFMC #326 - Always Anything Goes (Optional twist FALL)

Lemon Shortbread Challenge #131 - Anything Goes

WWC293 Tristan's Challenge: All About Occasions

Well, I'm a couple of days late with my occasion.  Our Canadian Thanksgiving was on Monday, October 12th, after all.  But let's face it, we should be thinking of giving thanks every day, right?  So I'm really not out of sync.  (What happens to be out of sync at the moment is my weather.  We're barely into Fall and it is snowing steadily outside.)

I've used a lot of retired Stampin' Up! products for this card.  The wheelbarrow full of pumpkins is from the Pleasant Pheasants set as is the sentiment.  The leaves, on the other hand, are the dies from the Colorful Seasons bundle.  After stamping the image and sentiment, I used the tiny maple leaf die to cut out three leaves along the left hand border, each in a different  position. 

I decided to use a strip of retired Specialty Designer paper under those die cuts.  This piece from the Mosaic Mood papers was perfect, with the gorgeous, warm Fall colours.  I didn't, however, like the squares which were white and so, before adhering the strip under the die cuts, I coloured them using the light Old Olive Stampin' Blends.  I think the results really work well for those leaves, don't you?

I watercoloured the wheelbarrow and pumpkins using my Derwent watercolour pencils and Aqua Painter.  Then I used a larger, flat brush and my Oxides to add the ground and sky. 

They may all be retired images, but they certainly work well for my Thanksgiving card, don't they?

Have fun checking out our Watercooler Wednesday Challenge and I hope you'll link your creation before the deadline on Monday, October 19th.   

I've also entered my card in the following challenges:

Lemon Shortbread Challenge #130 - Anything Goes

Shopping Our Stash Challenge #431 - Happy Fall Y'All

Make My Monday Challenge #133 - Orange as a Dominant Colour

WWC292 - Dawn's Challenge: Anything Goes With a Feminine Twist

Who doesn't like hedgehogs?  They're so adorably innocent looking, aren't they?  They look more like a "Gund" than an actual animal.  Well, this week I'm using a sweet image from the Craft Consortium Little Fawn and friends stamp set as well as the sentiment from the Stampendous Peeking Friends set.

For a change I used a base of Blushing Bride.  It compliments the colours in my images as well as adds a bit of a feminine flair, doesn't it?  

For my stamping, I used a piece of Mixed Media paper.  After using my stamping platform to get all the images set up and stamped in black, I  used my Derwent Watercolour pencils and Aqua Painter to colour the images and also to anchor them with some grass.  After distressing the perimeter of the paper, I adhered it to the base.  I don't often use embellishments, but the scene just seemed to call for some pink heart sequins.  They finish it off nicely, don't they?

Have fun checking out our Watercooler Wednesday Challenge and I hope you'll link your creation before the deadline on Monday, October 12th.   

I've also entered my card in the following challenges:

Lemon Shortbread Challenge #130 - Anything Goes

The Paper Players Challenge PP511 - A Theme from Claire, Fall Critters

WWC291 - Fifth Week Anything Goes Challenge

 Oh my!  We have five Wednesdays in September and so this week we're having our fun, special "Anything Goes" challenge.  I've been looking forward to this.  Of course I've gone back and forth with all sorts of ideas, from special folds to boxes to fancy cards.  And then I suddenly needed a card for a special someone's birthday and my decision was made.  

This adorable birthday card is stamped and stencilled on one layer of Mixed Media paper.  I began with that sweet fox and bunny, stamping the image in the bottom right corner of the paper.  Then I took a scrap of  self-adhesive masking paper and stamped the image on it.  Once it had dried, I carefully cut it out just inside the lines.  Then I peeled off the backing and masked the stamped image on my Mixed Media paper. 

I had decided to use the large Crafter's Companion sentiment and knew it would stamp onto my little fox, hence the masking.  With mask in place, I used my stamping platform to stamp the sentiment in black ink.  It took several passes to get the nice even coverage I wanted (thank goodness for the stamping platform).  At this point I removed the mask from my image and used my heat gun to dry the sentiment thoroughly.  

Since I planned to use a stencil over the sentiment and image, I attached the mask onto the image once again and proceeded to use my Nuvo Blending Brush to stencil the heart-shaped pawprints using Frayed Burlap Distress Oxide ink.  Once that was done I could finally remove the mask for good.

While that dried, I stamped the sentiment inside the card and used the stencil and Blending Brush to add a few pawprints on the left hand side.  I outlined the prints with a thin black pen and like the effect.  I hope you do, too.  

Have fun checking out our Watercooler Wednesday Challenge and I hope you'll link your creation before the deadline on Monday, October 5th.   

I've also entered my card in the following challenges:

Lemon Shortbread Challenge #129 - Anything Goes

All Fun Challenges #16 - Anything Goes

Crafting Happiness Challenge #68 - Anything Goes

WWC 290 - Michelle's Challenge: All About Occasions

I love owls!  Imagine my happiness at buying an adorable stamp which has FOUR owls, all dressed in scarves and winter caps, holding their Christmas stockings.   

I used the Heavy Whisper White as my base and actually die-cut a piece of Craft Consortium patterned paper: the Grunge in Light Tones.  After die-cutting that wonderful snowflake edge, I stamped the Wild Rose Studio image of the four owls (Owl Family) and then, near the bottom edge, the sentiment.  Because the paper is lighter in the centre, it was easy to colour the owls using my Stampin' Markers.  The colours show up nice and clean and bright, exactly the way I had hoped they would.

Rather than use a matte behind the paper, I attached it directly to the white base.  The soft colours show up well against the white and give a cooler, more wintery look, don't you agree?  To add a bit of dimension, I used my Snow Marker on the "furry" edges of the hats and stockings.  After this dried, I used my heat gun to  make it nice and puffy.  A final bit of bling, thanks to my Silver Nuvo drops, in the centres of the snowflakes, and my card was finished.    I hope you like it as much as I do.

Have fun checking out our Watercooler Wednesday Challenge and I hope you'll link your creation before the deadline on Monday, September 28th.         

  

I've also entered my card in the following challenges:

Make My Monday Challenge #131 - Christmas in September    

Lemon Shortbread Challenge #129 - Anything Goes    

CAS Christmas Card Challenge: Christmas September 2020    

Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas Challenge #508 - Anything Goes     

WWC289 - Heidi's Challenge: Anything Goes With a Masculine Twist

I love the wonderful images created by Bonnie Krebs for Art Impressions, don't you?  In the set which I'm using, Bonnie has brought the adorable Opossum images to life.  I had such fun using them.

 

A lot of little things came together to make this card work.  I began with a base of Garden Green cardstock.  Then I added a layer of Whisper White which I first embossed using the confetti embossing folder and then adhered to the base.  For the background oval I used a piece of Pool Party cardstock to which I adhered three clouds which I had fussy cut from some retired patterned paper .  Then I heat embossed the sentiment using White Embossing powder.   To give it some added interest, I ran the piece through my Big Shot using the Subtle embossing folder.  I like the  way the  embossing makes those clouds appear to be part of the paper and yet still lets the sentiment be legible.  Win/win.  

 After stamping my little Possum on a piece of Mixed Media paper,  I carefully fussy cut it out and then used my Aqua Painter to watercolour it.  I kept the colours neutral but layered them to give a sense of dimension and shadows.  I used Crumb Cake, Gray Granite, Petal Pink, Pink Flamingo (for that sweet little nose), Garden Green and Pineapple Punch.   After the watercolouring had completely dried, I added some Shimmery Crystal Effects to both the balloon and that cute nose.  I love the shimmery shine, don't you?

 The oval is raised above the base and matte with a ring of Adhesive Strips around the perimeter.  I love the effect!

Have fun checking out our Watercooler Wednesday Challenge and I hope you'll link your creation before the deadline on Monday, September 21st.  

 I've also entered my card in the following challenges:

Lemon Shortbread Challenge #128 - Anything Goes

 Creative Craft Cottage Challenge #133 - Include an Animal

Simon Says Monday Challenge - Frame It

WWC288 - Kath's Challenge: All About Occasions

I am falling in love with the wonderful images by the Craft Consortium.  The one I've used this week is from the "It's Snome Time', by the talented British illustrator, Helz Cuppleditch.  The stamps are beautiful and the premium patterned paper pads are even more so.  But judge for yourselves.

Isn't that the cutest Gnome ever?  I had such fun watercolouring him with my Aquapainter and stamp pads.  The red is Real Red, the blue is Pool Party, the tips of his boots are Gray Granite, the lowlights in his beard are a very pale Smoky Slate and, finally, the nose and hands take their colour from the Petal Pink Stampin' Marker.

I used a base of the Heavy Whisper White.  Actually I had meant to use a base of Garden Green but when I checked out the layers against both the white and the green, the white made it look lighter and more festive, so that was an easy decision.  Behind the adorable Gnome is a strip of patterned paper with a matte of Real Red and then a layer of another design of the patterned paper.   It's difficult to see in the photo, but those snowflakes all look as if they've been heat embossed onto the paper.  It's a lovely effect.

While the layers of paper are all adhered directly onto each other, the Gnome is raised up on Dimensionals.  I thought a very small sentiment was best so that no attention was taken away from the gorgeous colours and design.  I love the way it turned out, don't you?

Have fun checking out our Watercooler Wednesday Challenge and I hope you'll link your creation before the deadline on Monday, September 14th.

I've also entered my card in the following challenges:

Lemon Shortbread Challenge #128 - Anything Goes

The Holly and Ivy Christmas Challenge #78 - Anything Christmas Goes

Craftyhazelnut's Christmas Challenge #506 - Use some patterned paper

WWC287 - Helen's Challenge: Anything Goes With a Feminine Twist

Oh my!  I just bought a gorgeous stamp set from the Craft Consortium and had to use it.  The set is called The Riverbank and the images are simply beautiful.

I decided to use the retired but absolutely lovely Perennial Essence Designer Series paper as my background.  The look of the artist's brushstrokes and the bold mix of colours compliments the swan image which I've used as well as the water lilies in the foreground.

My base is the Heavy Whisper White and then I've used a matte of the Gorgeous Grape to accent the colours in the patterned paper.  I fussy cut the swan as well as the water lilies since, alas, there are no matching dies in this set.  For the swan I used a light watercolour wash of Smoky Slate to add form to the body and neck.  For the water lilies, I began with watercolouring the blossoms, using the pretty Powder Pink.  Layering the colour in places, adds form to the blossoms, too.  The leaves, however, were coloured using my Stampin' Blends.  I used both the dark and the light Call Me Clover to give them form as well as carry the colour from the background.

While I adhered the swan directly to the background, I used dimensionals to pop up the water lilies and thus add dimension to the card.  A quick heat embossing of the sentiment using white embossing powder, and the card was done.  I love the way it turned out, don't you? 

Have fun checking out our Watercooler Wednesday Challenge and I hope you'll link your creation before the deadline on Monday, September 7th.

I've also entered my card in the following challenges:

Lemon Shortbread Challenge #127 - Anything Goes

Crafty Hazelnut's September 2020 Patterned Paper Challenge

Crafty Cardmakers Challenge #262 - Things With Wings

Simon Says Stamp it in STAMPtember

WWC286 - Marsha's Challenge: All About Occasions

Oh my goodness!  If you've been following me for a while, you know all about my House-Mouse obsession.  Unbelievably, I found a stamp for our strange and weird 2020, created by Ellen Jareckie to acknowledge the COVID 19 restrictions.  Of course I had to use it right away!

Is that not the most darling image?  I love little Muzzy and her sweet mask.  Because I didn't want anything to draw attention away her, I made this card clean and simple.  The base is the Heavy Whisper White while the matte is Coastal Cabana.  

I stamped the image and sentiment on a piece of Mixed Media paper and then drew in the lines to ground the image.  (Can't just have Muzzy floating in the middle of a piece of paper, can I?)  For the background I used my Aqua Painter as well as the Smoky Slate and Soft Sea Foam re-inkers.  While I  have been watercolouring my images most of the time lately, this time I reached for my Stampin' Markers.   I used a layer of Crumbcake and a layer of Gray Granite for Muzzy's fur.  Then, for her face, ears, paws and tail, I used the Blush Blossom.  I had fun with the mask.  For the outline, I used the Coastal Cabana and then for the two inside colours, I used the Calypso Coral and the Crushed Curry.    

I love the way the card turned out and hope you do, too.  Have fun checking out our Watercooler Wednesday Challenge and I hope you'll link your creation before the deadline on Monday,  August 31st.

I've also linked my card to the following challenges:

HM&FMC  #322 - Anything Goes With an Option of Flowers

Lemon Shortbread Challenge #127 - Anything Goes

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - Anything Goes

WWC285 - Karen's Challenge: Anything Goes With a Masculine Twist

I fell in love with this adorable set of "Frenchie" pups enjoying all sorts of summer activities.  The only problem was choosing which image to use for Karen's fun masculine challenge this week.  In the end I couldn't resist the one of the pup enjoying a swim.  I suspect our hot weather made me decide to live vicariously through him.

I used the Heavy Whisper White as my base and added a matte of Granny Apple Green.  Then I embossed a piece of Pineapple Punch using the Darice Pawprint embossing folder.  I love the vibrant colours together, don't you?

I stamped the image on a piece of Mixed Media paper using my black Versafine ink.  I fit the fancy stitched die over the image to get the placement of the "Just Chillin" right and then cut it out.  As a matte backing, I used the next size up die to cut a piece of the Granny Apple Green.  I love how the watercoloured image just "pops" against the bright colours, don't you?

I love the way the card turned out and hope you do, too.  Have fun checking out our Watercooler Wednesday Challenge and I hope you'll link your creation before the deadline on Monday,  August 24th.

I've also linked my card to the following challenges:

Lemon Shortbread Challenge #126 - Always Anything Goes

Make My Monday Challenge #129 - On the Beach

AAA Birthday: Fame #16 - Tic Tac Toe  (I used "bright, embossing, masculine")