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

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

WWC203 - Karen's "All About Occasions" Challenge

I am super-exited to announce that I was the winner of the top prize at the House-Mouse & Friends Challenge for this card.  What a super celebration! 

I was so excited to have found this wonderful House Mouse stamp set!  It's perfect for this week's challenge, too, since it's quite normal to celebrate occasions, isn't it?

Don't those little characters look as if they're bringing in the New Year or, perhaps, celebrating a birthday?  I love the way little Monica is jumping around, don't you?  I used my Pencils and Gamsol to colour the images.  Afterwards I added a bit of ground to anchor them (can't have my images floating about, can I?)

And let's not forget that the talented Sandie Munro is our Guest Designer this week as well.  Check out her work and the wonderful creations by the Watercooler Artists over at our Watercooler Wednesday Challenge.

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

House Mouse & Friends Monday Challenge #282 - Anything Goes 

Simon Says Monday Challenge Blog - Use Something New

WWC177 - Charlotte's Feminine "Anything Goes" Challenge

Oh, so much happening today.  First of all, Happy Birthday to our neighbours to the south, celebrating their 4th of July.  Second of all, we have a brand new Watercooler Artist who is joining our team this week, Crystal Komara, who many of you may already know from her Super Stamp Girl blog.

Last but definitely not least, Charlotte is hosting our awesome Feminine "Anything Goes" Challenge this week.  I'm dying to show you the card I designed!

I'm still sorting through my all-too-horrifically large stash of stamping products.  Of course it's a lot of work but every once in a while it's like striking gold.  (Okay, I'm easily excited.)  This time I found a sheet and a half of some Designer Paper which I absolutely LOVED when it came out and stashed away so that it wouldn't all be used and disappear.  (How sad is that?  Paper should be used.  Right?)

Well this retired paper inspired the entire card which I created.  You can see, it's all about the dandelion seeds in black, floating across the white background.  Simple, yes.  Striking---oh my goodness, yes!  And so I took my Fairy Celebration stamp set and stamped the little fairy sitting on the toadstool, surrounded by flowers.  Once the ink had thoroughly dried, I used my stitched oval framelit to cut it out.  Then I used my scalloped oval framelit to cut out a piece of Basic Black cardstock as a matte.

Because I wanted the card to be predominantly black and white, I coloured only the top of the toadstool and the little fairy, leaving the rest of the image black and white.  Because I'm still in love with the colour pencil/Gamsol technique of colouring, I turned to my set of Derwent Colourself pencils and had a ball bringing the little fairy to life.

For my sentiment I did much the same as I did with the image, using a sentiment from the Beautiful You stamp set matted on a Basic Black scalloped oval.  That pretty coard under the sentiment is black and as shiny as can be.  It's in the new Annual Catalogue and is simply called Black 1/8" Cord.  Its impact is not so  simple.

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

I've also entered this card in the Just Us Girls Challenge #447 - Anything Goes

And also the Try it on Tuesday Challenge - Things with Wings

WWC172 - Anything Goes

I love it when a fifth Wednesday comes along in a month because it means that we have a "wide open" Anything Goes challenge.  Sometimes I've created a fancy box or another type of 3-D project but this time I kept it simple.  But that's the beauty of the Anything Goes challenge.

Like I said, I decided to keep my project simple this time.  I love the Stampendous House Mouse designs.  There are so many adorable little critters, many of whom have been  given names because they have so many adventures together.  I found one which simply "spoke" to me and so, of course, I had to have it.  It's a tiny little mouse, nestled among the pussy-willows, eyes shut and clearly taking a nap. 

Because it's all about the image, I made my card clean and simple.  My base is the Heavy Whisper White, the next layer is Mossy Meadow and the final layer is Whisper White.  First I stamped my image on the Whisper White and then, after it had fully dried, I used my Derwent Coloursoft pencils, bringing the mouse and pussy-willows to life with the colours.  Using the Gamsol afterwards to blend and smooth out the colours was next to magical.  I also added a bit of soft blue around the image and stamped some "bubbles" using Soft Sky, just to finish it off.

The sentiment is one of my favourites and is from the retiring Hostess Feathery Friends set.  I added a few black rhinestones to finish off.

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

I'm linking this card to the following challenges:

Creative Moments Challenge #144 - Anything Goes/Animals

Simon Says Wednesday Challenge Blog - Simon Says Anything Goes

HMFMC #267 - Anything Goes