WWC329 - Cathy's Challenge: All Things Masculine

Do you know what is the problem with having a lot of supplies?  Making a choice!  I must have changed my mind a half dozen times before finally deciding to make a humorous masculine card using one of Bonnie Krebs' delightful Sloth images.  Who doesn't love sloths?

I chose to make the card in a slimline format since I wanted lots of room under the sloth which was hanging from a branch as they customarily do.  The base is heavy Whisper White and then I've added a layer of Old Olive to bring out the colours of those little leaves.  I used my Derwent watercolour pencils and an Aqua Painter to colour the image and love the results.  To add some festive sparkle, I heat embossed a series of gold sparkles around the image.  It's a birthday card, after all.

I simply love the sweet expression on the sloth's face.  Don't ask how that party hat is managing to stay on his head.  That was Bonnie Krebs' idea.  I think the card would work beautifully for a guy of any age, 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 29th, 2021.

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

Use Your Stuff Challenge #435 - Tic Tac Toe (blue, masculine, simple stamping)

Crafty Sentiments Designs - Anything Goes

Lemon Shortbread Challenge #158 - Anything Goes

WWC319 - Helen's Challenge: All Things Feminine

It's wonderful when one can use some fabulous Designer Paper, a brand new intricate die set and a terrific new stamp set on a card.  

This Pressed Petals Specialty Designer Series paper was so fabulous that I decided not to have a sentiment on the front of my card.  I love the way the photographed flowers actually appear to be on top of the paper rather than just being a design.  I feel as if I could reach out and pick them up.  This part of the card was simple to make.  I used a base of the Heavy Whisper White, added a matte of Crumb Cake and then adhered the piece of patterned paper.

And then we get to the inside of the card.  I was excited to use Karen Burniston's Photo Collage dies for the first time.  First I adhered some patterned paper  to each side of the inside.  Then I used the die on a piece of heavyweight Mixed Media paper.  In Karen's video, she suggested using a very heavy paper since the pieces of this photo collage move each time the card is opened or closed.  Once I  assembled the die cuts and adhered them to the centre of the card, I was ready to add some fun sentiments from Penny Black's "Choose Happy" stamp set.  I also added some fussy-cut butterflies since they complimented the floral paper so nicely.

You can just tell from this photo of my hand and the card, how they mechanism pulls the pieces inside the card as you close it and then has them "explode" out as you open the card.  I love the effect and hope the recipient gets just as much of a kick out of it as I did.  Don't you just love it?

 Have fun checking out our Watercooler Wednesday Challenge and I hope you'll link your creation before the deadline on Monday, July 12th, 2021.

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

Lemon Shortbread Challenge #149 - Anything Goes

AAA Birthday Card Challenges #26 - Flowers

Dream Valley Challenges #251 - All Occasions

WWC308 - Tristan's Challenge: All About Occasions

 Ooooh!  I have a fun birthday coming up and am excited to be able to use a brand new stamp set: Art Impressions by Bonnie Krebs, Frog Set.  I know my grandson is going to absolutely love the card!

My base is the Heavy Whisper White followed by a matte of Old Olive.  I did the stamping on a piece of Mixed Media paper and watercoloured the images using my Derwent watercolour pencils and Aquapainter.

At this angle it's a bit easier to tell that I've coloured the confetti with my silver pen and added the Shimmery Crystal Effects to the flame of the large candle.  All the "bodies" of the candles also have a layer of Nuvo Aqua Shimmer on them and, in real life, are quite gorgeous.  Of course I had to ground the group but felt a huge waterlily leaf would be more appropriate than actual ground and so sketched one in.  I used my Stampin' Up! Mossy Meadow ink for that, fading the colour as I came to the front of the group.  I love that the Mossy Meadow is different enough in colour to compliment the green of the frogs, don't you?

For the inside of the card I decided to use a matte as well, again in Old Olive.  Then I used another sentiment from the set for the centre and the bullrushes from the retired Wetlands stamp set for the right-hand side.  I was excited to use a craft "spring" for my frog.  It allows the card to close tight for the envelope and doesn't create a bulge but when you open the card, Mr. Frog is suspended outwards from the paper by about half and inch.  I'm just crazy about these springs and will use them again for certain.

Have fun checking out our Watercooler Wednesday Challenge and I hope you'll link your creation before the deadline on Monday, February 15th, 2021.

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

Cardz 4 Guyz Challenge #264 - CAS

Lemon Shortbread Challenge #139 - Anything Goes

Dream Valley Challenges #241 - Add Some Green

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

WWC280 - Kath's Challenge: Anything Goes With a Masculine Twist

With Kath's masculine challenge, I thought it was the perfect time to play with the fun (and new) stamp set I bought from Art Impressions.  The images are by Bonnie Krebs and reflect her usual humorous look at life.

This is what happens when men go hunting.  If one of them is celebrating a birthday, all bets are off.  Clearly both the birthday boy and the birthday cake have gone missing.  Are they carrying their guns for any reason other than protecting themselves from wild bear and disgruntled deer?  We'll never know.   What happens in the woods, stays in the woods.

I had such fun watercolouring Bonnie's terrific images.  Keeping each of the men separate and giving each a bit of a different look took a bit of time and a lot of thought, but I think, in the end, it worked out well.  I used Mixed Media paper for the watercoloured image and, of course, my favourite Derwent watercolour pencils.  I used a matte of Gray Granite and the base is simply white.

In this slightly off centre photo, you can just see the sparkle of the Shimmery Crystal Effects on the glass of the binoculars and the soft sheen of the silver buckles.

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 20th.

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

  Cardz 4 Guyz Challenge #249 - No patterned paper

 Lemon Shortbread Challenge #124 - Anything Goes

The Male Room Challenge #140 - Sport

WWC248 - Kath's Masculine "Anything Goes" Challenge

I had a whole bunch of half-thought out ideas of masculine cards I could create but somehow nothing really caught my interest.  Then I came across a stamp set which I picked up quite a while ago and put aside.  It's funny!  It's cute!  To my mind it was the perfect choice for this week's challenge.  I hope you like it, too.

The set comes as one stamp with this trio of laughing animals and, of course, a nice selection of sentiments from which to choose.  There is something about these three that tickles my "funny bone".  I had fun colouring them with my Stampin' Blends, too.  For the background, I just "scribbled" around the animals using the Light So Saffron.  The ground is coloured using the Light Gray Granite.  The zebra is coloured with the Basic Black and Light Flirty Flamingo.  The giraffe also has some Light Flirty Flamingo and then the body is Light Crumb Cake covered over with Light Pumpkin Pie.  Finally, the elephant is coloured using the Smoky Slate with touches of Flirty Flamingo.

I used a base of So Saffron, a matte of Gray Granite and then stamped on Whisper White.  It's a light-hearted card.  I love it and hope you do, too.

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

I've entered my card into the following challenges:

Arty Divas Challenge #9 - Anything Goes

Crafty Creations Challenge #402 - Anything Goes

Lemon Shortbread Challenge #107 - Anything Goes

WWC243 - Heidi's Masculine "Anything Goes" Challenge

Masculine challenges can be such fun.  I have some birthday "boys" coming up for whom I always make outdoorsy cards.  This is where the "Let it Ride" stamp set comes in handy.  Strangely enough, I also used the gorgeous Pressed Petals Designer Series paper and the Stitched Nested Labels dies added some dramatic detail.

Isn't that a fun card?  I used a base of Heavy Very Vanilla for a change.  It really complimented the layer of Soft Suede and the lovely piece of Designer Paper.  That burlap pattern is one of the "back" sides of the Pressed Petals DSP, and is perfect for the masculine feel I for which I was striving.  Instead of adding the stamped layers to the top, I actually cut out a "window" using the medium sized Stitched Label die, to expose the Soft Suede underneath.  Then I used a much smaller Stitched Label die to cut out a piece of Very Vanilla and stamped the horses onto that.  By mounting the stamped piece to the left, I had sufficient room to stamp the trees from the set onto the Soft Suede.

At the bottom of the card you can see I cut only portions of a piece of Soft Suede and a piece of Very Vanilla using the Stitched Label dies.  After stamping the "Happy Birthday" using Old Olive, I mounted the Very Vanilla to the far right of the die-cut Soft Suede before attaching the whole to the bottom of the card.  I think it balances the card nicely.  The horseshoes?  There's a story.  Remember the Home Sweet Home thinlit dies?  Well one of those dies is a round-topped window so I used that to cut two scraps of the retired Galvanized Metallic paper and then, after cutting off the window cross-pieces and bottom, I had horseshoes.  A few nail-holes added with my black pen finished the job.

For the inside I added two die-cuts of that great burlap paper and then added a special fold as a surprise.  It's an easy fun fold but will give added pleasure to the receiver of this card.  The remaining images and sentiments from the Let it Ride set fit onto the squares perfectly and look great, don't they?

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

I've entered my card into the following challenges:

2 Crafty Critter Crazies Challenge #31 - Anything Goes with a Critter

Crafty Animals Challenge #31 - Anything Goes

Crafty Creations Challenge #400 - Anything Goes

The Card Concept Challenge #121 - Adventure Awaits (I was inspired by a combination of the colours and the textures in the inspiration photo.  When I think of horses, I always think of adventures).

WWC241 - Dawn's Feminine "Anything Goes" Challenge

Ooooh!  It's a feminine challenge at the Watercooler this week and Dawn is our host.  I decided to combine that awesome Pressed Petals Specialty Designer Series paper with the terrific Wonderful Moments stamp set.

Doesn't that combination look wonderful?  I used a base of Heavy Whisper White and, after fussy cutting carefully around the inside of the floral wreath image on that pretty wood-grain paper, I was ready for the image which would be featured inside the wreath. 

I took a piece of Whisper White cardstock and, after using my Basic Black Stampin' Marker to ink up everything but the bouquet and ribbon at the back of the dress, I stamped the "bride".  My intention was to simplify the dress and also to have her hold some balloons rather than the bouquet.  I used my Stampin' Blends to colour the image.  The dress is Rococo Rose while the hair is a combination of Crumb Cake and Daffodil Delight.  Her skin is Ivory and the balloons are Daffodil Delight and, again, Rococo Rose.  Then I covered the image and stamped the dots from the stamp set (confetti?) as my background. 

I love the way she fits into the cut out of the wreath, don't you?  And the banner finishes off my card perfectly.

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

I've entered my card into the following challenges:

Lemon Shortbread Challenge #103 - Anything Goes

{PIN}spirational Challenges #248 - Photo Inspiration

WWC233 - Karen's Feminine "Anything Goes" Challenge

Oh my goodness, we're having a Feminine challenge this week and I've decided to finally introduce ink to my Beautiful Day stamp set.  Am I ever lucky that it hasn't retired since I bought it!  Strange how one can buy something and then keep passing it by instead of using it.  Has that ever happened to you?

I've used a base of Heavy Very Vanilla.  I had thought to use the Heavy Whisper White but the Watercolour Paper onto which I stamped the butterfly image had too much cream in it.  The Very Vanilla compliments it far better.  There was quite a "journey" for this butterfly image.  First, after cutting my piece of Watercolour Paper, I heat embossed a generic piece of music onto it using my Clear embossing powder.  I didn't want it to appear on the paper except where the watercolours were repelled by the embossing.

After having heat embossed the music, I stamped the butterfly image from the Beautiful Day set using my black StazOn.  I don't often use the StazOn because of the smell, but for this image, I wanted the black to stay on the heat embossed notes rather than be repelled by them.  After that dried, I spritzed the paper with water.  Then I took my four new In-Color re-inkers and, one by one put a drop of ink onto the wings, helped it spread with my AquaPainter, and, by the fourth colour, had my finished image.  Beginning at the top of the right wing and moving clockwise, I used the following inks:  Pretty Peacock, Seaside Spray, Terracotta Tile, and Rococo Rose.

I used a matte of Basic Black and then attached it askew onto the base using my Foam Adhesive Strips.  Finally, I stamped the sentiment in black ink and the card was done.  I love the watercolour effect and the whimsy of the musical notes, don't you?

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

I've entered my card into the following challenges:

The CAS Watercolour Card Challenge - August 2019 Butterflies

Seize the Birthday Challenge #171 - Anything Goes with optional twist of flowers

MOO-MANIA #197 - Butterflies

WWC221 - Tristan's Masculine "Anything Goes" Challenge

I love masculine challenges!  And this one came at the perfect time for me to create a card for my awesome son-in-law.  Could the timing be better?  And I'm sure the images are just what he's day-dreaming about, too.

I love this terrific new stamp set in our new Stampin' Up! Annual Catalogue.  Finally, "A Good Man" offers some awesome images of men at leisure.  This image lends itself perfectly to that beach and palm trees, doesn't it (palm trees not part of this set).  I did some masking to get that beach watercoloured in place and then, once that was done, coloured in my images using my Stampin' Blends.  As expected, Adam loved it.

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

I've entered my card into the following challenges:

Cardz 4 Guyz:  Challenge #219 - Man Cave

Crafting from the Heart Challenge #243 - Anything Goes

Addicted to Stamps and More Challenge #341 - Anything Goes

The Male Room Challenge #111 - Anything Goes

WWC210 - Heidi's "All About Occasions" Challenge

Oh, I love special occasions, don't you?  For this challenge, I decided to use that adorable Sale-a-bration So Hoppy Together stamp set and the new framelits that compliment it.  How perfect for a special birthday!

I decided to use Basic Gray cardstock as my base and then added a layer of Crushed Curry before adding the stamped Whisper White layer.  I stamped the unicycle slightly crookedly since I intended to have my frog counterbalance by standing on the seat on one leg.  Yes, this is a very daring frog!  I used the framelit die to cut out the frog image and then coloured it and attached it using Dimensionals for a 3-D look.  Above the frog, I added two mosquitoes (flies?) which I had stamped and cut out using the framelit die.

I wasn't entirely certain when I began the card, whether I would have the unicycle balanced on a lilypad or on a tightrope.  In the end I chose the tightrope, to add to his daring feat.  I think the green retired thick baker's twine is perfect, don't you?

Since the front of my birthday card is relatively simple, I decided to add a little special something to the inside.  what could be better than a little pop-up scene?  For that I combined a number of products including the So Hoppy Together bundle.

The grasses in the centre are die-cut using the Catch of the Day thinlits dies.  The little frogs and lily pad are from the So Hoppy Together bundle and those cute balloons were cut with the Balloon Bouquet Punch.

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

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

The Cutie Pie Challenge #132 - One for the boys

Simon Says Wednesday Challenge - Anything Goes

WWC178 - Crystal's "All About Occasions" Challenge

It's Crystal's turn to host our challenge, which is "All About Occasions" this week.  I love special occasions, don't you?  This time, since I was dying to use a brand new stamp set which I just bought, I decided on a birthday card.

Which stamp set?  I can just about hear people asking the question.  Well, I won't delay any longer.  This week I finally got an Art Impressions set which I had ordered a little while ago.  Bonnie Krebs, the original artist, has done a wonderful job creating this adorable set of Sloths.  The image of the one in the birthday hat, hanging off a branch "spoke" to me.

I wanted this to be a bright and happy card and so, after using a white card base, I used a "skinny" layer of Soft Suede as a matte for the gorgeous new Pineapple Punch In-Color.  It's such a clear and bright yellow and sets off the Real Red of the "celebrate" die-cut sentiment and rounded matte for the main image.

On a piece of Whisper White I stamped that wonderfully goofy Sloth and had a ball colouring him.  For the balloon, I coloured the image using Real Red even though it is mainly covered with that cute Real Red Honeycomb embellishment (sadly retired).  For the party hat I continued with the red and yellow theme.  To finish up the image panel, I used my aqua-painter to add splotches of Pear Pizzazz, Coastal Cabana, and Old Olive to give an illusion of leaves and sky peeking though.

What can I say?  He makes me smile.  I hope he makes the birthday boy smile as well.

For a look at the wonderful creations by our Watercooler Artists, check out our Watercooler Wednesday Challenge blog.  And then feel free to link up your own special occasion card.

I'm also entering my birthday card into the Addicted to Stamps & More Challenge #300 - Birthdays
And also into the Sunny Day Crafting Challenge #26 - Any Animal

WWC160 - Heidi's Feminine "Anything Goes" Challenge

It's my turn to host the Watercooler Wednesday Challenge this week.  What fun!  The challenge this week is our popular Feminine "Anything Goes" challenge.  I can think of so many possibilities!

I decided to make a Birthday card using the Beautiful You stamp set as well as the Charming Cafe bundle.  I wanted to create this card in the "Z" fold style and also wanted to have the image of the girl swing out when the card opened.  After a bit of planning and some detailed work, it came together beautifully.

I used the Memento Tuxedo Black ink to stamp all my images as well as the sentiments.  That made it possible for me to use both watercolouring and alcohol colouring techniques without any smudging.  For the image of the girl, I pencilled in a line where my fold would go and carefully centered her on that line.  Then I took my craft knife and cut around the image from the top middle of the umbrella to the bottom of her shoes, along the side facing into the card.  That allowed her to swing out as the card opened.

For the inside image, of the cafe, I used both the base for stamping and a second piece of Whisper White.  First I stamped the image of the table and chairs on the second piece of Whisper White.  Then I used the framelit for the table and chairs to cut those out, after which I used the square topped framelit with the table and chairs at the bottom to cut out the remainder of the "window".   After colouring my images, I attached the die-cut  Whisper White to the base using Foam Adhesive Strips to create dimension.  I also attached the table and chairs with the foam strips.

Unfortunately, the added depth of the inside of the card made closing it virtually impossible.  To fix that, I scored a second line along the score line I had made at 4 1/4", thus giving it a 1/8" fold, and the card closed perfectly.  It still fits into a normal envelope as well.  Bonus!

I'm dedicating this card to my Mum, whose birthday it is today, March 7th.  I miss her every day and know she would have loved a simple little card like this.

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

I'm also entering my card into the Seize the Birthday:  Anything Goes Challenge

I've also entered my card into the Addicted to Stamps & More #181 - Make Your Mark

Watercooler Wednesday Challenge #152 - Kath's "All About Occasions" Challenge

It's time for that new "All About Occasions" Challenge we introduced before Christmas and this time it's hosted by Kath Ricks.  I love this challenge because there are so many occasions which we celebrate throughout the year.

I decided on a birthday card because that is, without a doubt, the occasion that comes up most frequently.  I had ordered the new Bird Banter stamp set before Christmas and last week, finally had a chance to play with it.  Those birds make me smile.  And the types of birds lend themselves to some awesome colouring.  For my card I turned to the new Stampin' Blends.  Didn't the parrot turn out wonderfully bright?  I love the shading that's possible with the Blends as well as the lovely brilliant colours.

The stamp set comes with the branch and additional leaf and flower stamps.  I decided to add quite a bit of foliage and some flowers to add to the birthday fun.  And the sentiments that come with the set--so much fun!

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

I'm also entering this card in the Inkspirational Challenge #151 which is "all about stamping".

And I'm entering it into the Addicted to Stamps and More Challenge #274 which is "clean and simple"