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