WWC273 - Marsha's Challenge: All About Occasions

I love Stampendous Stamps.  Not only does the company make those wonderful House Mouse stamps which I adore, but it also makes some wonderful stamps for all sorts of occasions.  This one, called Little Mushroom Cling Set, is one which really speaks to my heart.

I love these images so much that I decided to make this a single layer card.  I simply didn't want a matte or secondary colours to take any attention away from the stamping.

After stamping the images and the sentiment in black, I traced a circle around part of the mushroom image and butterfly image using one of my blue watercolour pencils.  Then I proceeded to use my Derwent Watercolour Pencils to colours all the images.  Once that was done, I used my Aqua Painter to "magically" turn the pencilled-in colours to watercolour.  I love the control that the pencils afford me.

Then I used the same blue pencil with which I traced the circle to fill it in.  After that I used the Aqua Painter to give it the watercolour finish.  It took a while for everything to fully dry, but once it had I took my Nuvo Aqua Shimmer pen in a clear Glitter Gloss and covered the blue completely.  While that dried, I used my White Inkssentials Enamel Accents to add a bit of dimension to the white on the butterfly's wings.

This close-up shows off the glitter as well as the pretty white enamel accents quite well.  I love the final effects 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, June 1st.

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

Crafty Cardmakers Challenge #257 - Butterflies

Simon Says Monday Challenge Blog - We're Going Around in Circles

Addicted to Stamps & More Challenge #391 - Anything Goes

Arty Divas Challenge #22 - Anything Goes

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - Anything Goes

WWC272 - Helen's Challenge: Anything Goes With a Masculine Twist

It's been a while since I pulled out my Brusho Crystals.  Since I recently bought a really different little die which I have been dying to use, a Brusho background seemed like an excellent idea.

As you can see, the die actually gives a silhouette reflection of a man walking his dog.  Of course I cut that out of a piece of Basic Black cardstock.  I also decided to use a Basic Black matte so that the edges of the die-cut would blend right in.  For the background, I chose to use a piece of Watercolour paper.  It holds up much better to the amount of water one usually uses with Brusho than does the Whisper White cardstock.

I decided to use only two of my Brusho colours:  Gamboge and Ultramarine.  The Gamboge has a lot of the yellows, oranges and reds which one sees in some spectacular sunsets.  Well, I was aiming for a rather spectacular sunset for this background.  I had marked in pencil where I intended the die-cut to be placed and I created an "explosion" of the Gamboge so that it would look like a fiery sunset behind the man and dog as well as a fiery reflection of that same sunset across a pond. 

After that was well dried, thanks to my heat tool, I used a brush to wet the remaining white areas and carefully shook some Ultramarine crystals onto those areas. 

I love the final effects 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, May 25th.

I've also entered this card into the following challenges:

Lemon Shortbread Challenge #120 - Anything Goes

Artsystamper Challenge #12 - It's a Guy Thing

It's a Sketch for Challenge #245 at Cardz 4 Guyz

The new challenge for the next two weeks at Cardz 4 Guyz is #245 - A Sketch, chosen by Julie with the winner picked by Julie.

Please check out the blog for details and also to see the awesome samples by our Design Team.

I used a base of Heavy Whisper White for this card and then added a matte in Basic Black and then a  piece of grey toned patterned paper with a lovely wood grain pattern.  I thought the wood looked weather beaten much in the same way that an old fence would or, perhaps, an old barn.  Using my circle dies, I cut out one circle in Basic Black and then another in Whisper White.  I stamped the horse images on the Whisper White and used watercolours to colour the scene.  Then, before adhering the image circle to the card, I  went around the perimeter of the circle with my distressing tools and then sponged the edges with a soft grey.

 For the additional shape, I decided on a die-cut cowboy hat.  With a bit of watercolouring I think it wound up looking nice and worn.   After stamping my sentiment, I cut it out using a stitched rectangle die.

I hope you enjoy my card as much as I enjoyed making it. Have fun with our challenge.

WWC271 - Kath's Challenge: All About Occasions

So often, in conjunction with an Occasion, I need a "thank-you" card.  Surprisingly I don't make those often enough to satisfy the need for them.  Lately I've been trying to make them more frequently.  This time I turned to the lovely Free As a Bird stamp set and the stunning Mosaic Mood Specialty Designer Series paper.

My base is the Heavy Whisper White cardstock.  I added a matte of Garden Green and Whisper White and then a piece of the beautiful Mosaic Mood DSP.  That patterned paper really must be seen in person to be appreciated since it looks as if it has been heat embossed with all those leaves.

I stamped the single bird image from the set onto a piece of Mixed Media paper and then added some background by hand.  After the inks had fully dried, I watercoloured the bird and background using a combination of Stampin' Up! and Derwent watercolour pencils and my Aqua Painter.  I cut that image out with one of my circle dies and then added a matte of Garden Green.

I had such fun creating this card and hope you love 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, May 18th.

I've also entered the following challenges:

Lemon Shortbread Challenge #119 - Anything Goes

Crafting Happiness Challenge #48 - Anything Goes (Optional Nature)

The Sisterhood of Crafters - Birds, Bees, Butterflies

WWC270 - Tristan's Challenge: Anything Goes With a Feminine Twist

Mother's Day is almost here.  In Canada, we're celebrating it this Sunday, May 10th.  Since Tristan's Challenge this week is an Anything Goes With a Feminine Twist, it's a perfect time for me to show off my Mother's Day card.  If my Mum were still alive, I think she would love it!

The images are so sweet, aren't they?  They're from Stampin' Up!'s Wildly Happy stamp set.  I thought it was perfect for such a special day.  I kept the colours rather neutral, not wanting to shift attention away from the darling Pandas.

My base is the Heavy Whisper White with a matte of Pear Pizzaz which I first embossed using the Subtle 3D embossing folder before adding it to the base.  Next, I embossed a piece of Soft Sea Foam using the Layered Leaves 3D embossing folder.  I cut the bottom on the diagonal before adding it to the card.

For the centre oval, I stamped the Pandas on a piece of Mixed Media paper using  Black Versafine ink and, once it was dry, used my watercolour pencils and Aqua Painter to colour the images. I used the Leaf Punch to cut out two pieces of vellum which I sponged with Mossy Meadow ink.  Once that had dried, I added white lines and then added the sentiment which I cut using the stitched circle die.

I love the way the card turned out and hope you do as well.  Have fun checking out our Watercooler Wednesday Challenge and I hope you'll link your creation before the deadline on Monday, May 11th.

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

Cuttlebug Mania - To all kinds of Moms out there

 Lemon Shortbread Challenge #119 - Anything Goes

Always Fun Challenges #161- Female or Mom

Dream Valley Challenges #224 - Our Four-Legged Friends

It's all Vintage for Challenge #244 at Cardz 4 Guyz

It's my turn to pick the theme for this fortnight's challenge and I decided on Vintage.  Challenge #244, therefore, is Vintage,  and I will also be picking the winner.

Please check out the  challenge for details and also to see the wonderful samples by our Design Team.

I had all sorts of ideas for my Vintage theme.  One of my older stamp sets includes a gorgeous   old-fashioned camera which I wanted to use and just let that stew in the back of my brain for a week or two.  I do some of my best creating by leaving my sub-conscious at work while going along with other things in life.  The final  result turned out quite well, I think.

My base is a heavyweight vanilla coloured cardstock on top of which I've added a matte of Early Espresso which I first made ragged along the edges with my distressing tools.  I had kept some old, retired newsprint patterned paper which I distressed along the edges by simply tearing it.  To give it some real age, I dampened it, sponged spots of Crumb Cake ink onto it and then crumpled it tightly.  After about fifteen minutes or so I straightened it as well as I could but it retained a real old, discarded look which I had wanted. 

 For the "vintage" photos which I had resolved to add to the card, I chose a couple of stamps, one of sailboats and the other of some grazing elk, and  off-stamped once before stamping the images on glossy cardstock using Versafine Toffee ink.  

After stamping the old camera using Black ink, I fussy cut the image and then mounted it on a piece of  Kraft cardstock, cut out with a square stitched die.  Then I stamped my sentiment on a smaller piece of Kraft cardstock, cut out with a small rectangular stitched die.  To finish, I added some frayed burlap and a couple of old-fashioned buttons.

I look forward to seeing what you do with my "Vintage" theme.  Have fun with our challenge, which closes on Monday, May 18th.