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