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

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

WWC283 - Tristan's Challenge: Anything Goes With a Feminine Twist

For Tristan's challenge this week, I decided to get in touch with my inner "cat person".  Seriously, I've been accumulating a lot of cat dies of all kinds lately and am happy to be able to use one.  

Isn't it darling?  For my background I used a Darice embossing folder with a combination of debossed and embossed pawprints.  I love the variation, don't you?

For a change my base is Basic Black which make the embossed Whisper White layer stand out beautifully.  I used the little "cat in the square" die to cut out a piece of Basic Black and then used my stitched square die to cut out a piece of Whisper White which I used as a backing.  That allowed me to colour the background a very soft green, the inside of the ears a very soft pink and the eyes a warm yellow.  The sentiment from the retired Pretty Kitty stamp set works perfectly, doesn't it?

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 10th.

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

Lemon Shortbread Challenge #125 - Anything Goes

Show Us Your Pussycat Challenges #57 - Furrything Goes

2 Crafty Critter Crazies Challenge #41 -     Dry or Hot Embossing

Crafty Creations Challenges August #412 - Anything Goes

WWC278 - Michelle's Challenge: Anything Goes With a Feminine Twist

I love Coneflowers (also known as Echinacea)!  They have become a popular garden addition and boast a whole lot of colours now.  I bought a die set with three sizes of Coneflowers which I've been wanting to use.  And, finally, I've used the dies for this week's challenge card.

I decided to use a slightly cream coloured base and then added two mattes.  The first is a very narrow Daffodil Delight followed by a wood patterned paper.  On top of that, I added a lovely retired piece of Designer paper which has a Heat Embossed finish to it.  Not only does that add interest and weight but it also has a wonderful shine to it, almost like mosaic tiles.

I cut the pieces for the Coneflowers from Watercolour Paper.  When I first cut the pieces, I intended to check on the internet to see the possible  colours.  To my surprise there were many from which to choose.  I think I changed my mind half a dozen times and then, finally, decided on yellow.  Watercolouring them allowed me the opportunity to add shading, which I prefer to simply using a yellow cardstock.  Of course, seeing the close-ups of the cones showed me that there was more of a pattern and more colours to them than I had anticipated.  For the additional dots of red, I used a paint brush to add some pearlized Nuvo Drops.  

As you can see from this picture, I created an easel card.  I added an outline of the same patterned paper to the inside as well as a little die-cut bee.  Not only is the bee perfect for the flowers, it provided that very important little "stopper" for the card, forcing it to stay put in the easel position.

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, July 6th.

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

Lemon Shortbread Challenge #123 - Anything Goes

Tuesday Throwdown Challenge #460 - Anything Goes

Crafty Creations July Challenge #411 - Anything Goes

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

WWC265 - Marsha's Challenge: Anything Goes With a Feminine Twist

Are you ready for another fabulous House Mouse creation?  This week's challenge has to have a Feminine Twist and what could be more feminine than a huge cupcake with sparkly pink icing?  Just don't shriek when you see that two adorable little mice have been enjoying it, too.

I used a Heavy Whisper White cardstock for my base and then added two mattes, the first using Pineapple Punch cardstock and the second using Melon Mambo.  I stamped the adorable Ellen Jareckie House-Mouse images using black Memento ink directly onto a piece of Mixed Media paper.  I love that paper because I can do any kind of colouring without worrying about my paper pilling, buckling or otherwise betraying me.  The Memento ink is wonderful when I use my wax based crayons and Gamsol for colouring the images since it doesn't lift and mix with my colours.

Once I finished colouring everything and using my paper stub and Gamsol to smooth the colour out, I added some shimmer to the delicious-looking pink icing.  My Nuvo Glitter Gloss pen worked beautifully for that purpose.  I also wanted the candles to have a bit more dimension as well as more of a waxy look and so I carefully covered them using my Shimmery Crystal Effects.  Once dry, they were perfect.

 

Once assembled with a simple "happy birthday" sentiment added, I decided that a bit more "bling" was needed.  I found some Melon Mambo sequins and added a tiny silver pearl in the centre of each.  I think I've made it feminine enough, don't you?

I hope you'll enjoy my card as much as I enjoyed making it.  Have fun with our Watercooler Wednesday Challenge.

I'm also entering this card in the following challenges:

Lemon Shortbread Challenge #116 - Anything Goes

House-Mouse & Friends Monday Challenge #313 - Anything Goes (and the option of sparkle)

Crafty Creations #408 -  Anything Goes

Simon Wednesday Challenge Blog - Simon Says Happy Birthday

WWC253 - Karen's Challenge: Anything Goes With a Feminine Twist

Oh my!  It's a brand new year!  Time has flown by, hasn't it?  Last time I was here, I was getting ready for Christmas.  Welcome back to our challenge and to my blog. 

A new year brings changes.  One positive change in my life is that I've chosen to leave Stampin' Up!  It was time.  There is so much to explore in the world of art and crafting, and I couldn't do that fairly while tethered to a company.  Mind you, that doesn't mean you won't see some of SU!'s terrific products here.  I bought them and I'm using them.  Why not, right?

If you've seen the new Mini Catalogue from Stampin' Up! then you'll have seen the sweet Grace's Garden stamp set.  It comes as a bundle but I chose to buy only the stamp set.  I know myself and I would not have used the dies very much.  You can see from the details of my card that it is, for the most part, simply stamping and watercolouring.  I've masked the hollyhocks before stamping the gate, but I've kept the masks I fussy-cut for future use.  The little cat?  Yes, I've fussy cut it as well.  But I prefer the lack of white border and so I probably would have felt compelled to cut that away if I had the die--a waste of effort, really, but I love clean lines.

If you look carefully at the watercoloured sky, you will see that I've used some 3-D gloss gel to stencil in clouds.  They're subtle but they show up better in person, as does so much that we create.

I hope you'll check out the wonderful creations by the Watercooler Artists over at our Watercooler Wednesday Challenge.

I've linked this card up to the following challenges:

Tuesday Throwdown TT448 - Something New (the stamp sets from the new catalog)

Dream Valley Challenges #216 -Something New (stamps and 3-D gloss gel)