WWC334 - Helen's Challenge: All About Occasions

I'm so happy this is an All About Occasions challenge!  Perfect for the Valentine's Day card I've created using one of the adorable House Mouse images created by Ellen Jareckie in 2019.  I decided to stamp the image and then cut it out with one of my heart dies.  Don't they look adorable?

This is an oversized card, measuring 6 1/2" by 5".  The size allowed me to frame the heart with a matte of Melon Mambo and then mount it on the lovely printed vellum background.  The matte of Mossy Meadow cardstock compliments the grasses in the image as well as helps the white printed leaves to show up nicely on the vellum.

Because I wanted the card to be really special, I dipped the edge of the watercoloured heart into silver embossing powder and heat embossed the perimeter.  I did the same thing with the printed vellum.  In real life that silver simply shines and looks  wonderful, especially against the Melon Mambo and the Mossy Meadow.  The sentiment is simple:  we just fit.  I love it 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, February 14th, 2022.

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

Retro Rubber Challenge 175 - Love Love Love!

House-Mouse & Friends Monday Challenge #358  - Anything Goes  

Crafting Happiness Challenges #120 - Anything Goes

Dream Valley Challenge #262 - Love

WWC326 - Helen's Challenge: All About Occasions

It's October and Fall colours are everywhere!  We're also coming up to celebrating Thanksgiving here in Canada.  What an excellent time to create a Thankful card!

Everything in this card is retired Stampin' Up! product.   Well, except for the watercolour inks.  Those are all from my set of Derwent Watercolour pencils.  Instead of regular cardstock, I created the card itself using a fun Fall Designer paper.  Both sides are absolutely perfect, aren't they?

This is a special fold which opens in the centre and shows off both sides of that wonderful patterned paper.  On the left front, I attached a stitched oval stamped with a combination of images from the Country Home and Pretty Kitty stamp sets.  On the right front, I attached a banner with the sentiment.  When closed, the shapes overlap and "lock" the card in place.

Once opened, the card stands beautifully, displaying the sweet sentiment from the Painted Harvest stamp set.  I think it works perfectly.  I don't give out Thanksgiving cards but a card to thank someone will definitely come in handy and be used.  Don't you just love the finished card?

Have fun checking out our Watercooler Wednesday Challenge and I hope you'll link your creation before the deadline on Monday, October 18th, 2021.

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

International Art & Soul Challenge:  #118 Furry Friends

Stamping Sensations: October - Animals, Birds & Bugs

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

WWC312 - Helen's Challenge: All About Occasions

I was thrilled to discover that my card was chosen as one of the Top Three winners for the challenge.

We're having an early Spring this year.  Naturally those stamps which I have that suggest Spring and Robins and blossoms jump out at me and beg to be used.  This adorable House-Mouse scene by Ellen Jareckie is perfect for the way I'm feeling.

I used a base of the Heavy Whisper White cardstock and then added a Pear Pizzaz matte with a shorter and wider striped matte underneath.  I love that the  colours reflect the colours which I've used in watercolouring the scene, don't you?  Most of the colours are from my Derwent watercolour pencils but the bare wood fence as well as the background sky are from my Stampin' Up! stamp pads.  The Gray Granite was perfect for the look of the weathered wood and, of course, the Balmy Blue was perfect for the sky.

I simply love the look on this little mouse's face as he looks up at the offered worms and grubs and points to his friends, suggesting they are hungry rather than himself.  On the stamp it appears as if the Robin has a fly or other winged insect in its beak but I thought grubs and worms would be more effective.  First of all, they are slimier looking and second of all, they are easier to identify in the picture.  It wasn't difficult to take one of my permanent journaling pens and create the changes I wanted.  As usual I finished up by adding a touch of the Nuvo Aqua shimmer.  I think it's perfect on the buds and flowers, don't you?

Have fun checking out our Watercooler Wednesday Challenge and I hope you'll link your creation before the deadline on Monday, April 5th, 2021.

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

House-Mouse Challenge (HM&FMC #336) -Anything Goes with an Option of Bugs

Simon Says Monday Challenge - Whatever the weather

Lemon Shortbread #142 - Always Anything Goes

Inkspirational Challenge #235 - Fur/Feathers

WWC305 - Helen`s Challenge: Anything Goes With a Masculine Twist

Oh, I do love these popular slimline cards, don`t you?  I just got this awesome slimline die the other day and had to find a way to use it.  It's actually several scalloped rectangles, overlapping to fit into a slimline card and as usual I kept skipping from one idea to another until I saw the little owl on my Art Impressions set and suddenly it all fell into place.

I began with a white cardstock base, followed by a narrow matte of Shaded Spruce.  Then I added a piece of patterned paper with snowflakes in several sizes and colours.  My little scalloped frames needed filling and so I cut two vertical pieces and one horizontal piece to fit into the left two and right one.  For the rectangle at the right top, I cut a piece of vellum onto which I heat embossed the sentiment using Black embossing powder.  

For the centre rectangle I decided to stamp the little owl from the Art Impressions Woodland Holiday Set.  Echoing the colours of the treed landscape, I also added a touch of red, yellow and orange.  To finish up and add a bit of shimmer, I used my Nuvo Aqua Shimmer pen to cover the background as well as the owl's eyes. 

It's hard to see in the photo, but in real life there is such a pretty sparkle.  I just love the way it all came together in this pretty die-cut frame, don't you?

Have fun checking out our Watercooler Wednesday Challenge and I hope you'll link your creation before the deadline on Monday, January 25th, 2021.

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

Lemon Shortbread Challenge #137 - Always Anything Goes

Cardz 4 Guyz #262 - Let it Snow

Dream Valley Challenge #239 - Winter and/or Snow

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

WWC272 - Helen's Challenge: Anything Goes With a Masculine Twist

It's been a while since I pulled out my Brusho Crystals.  Since I recently bought a really different little die which I have been dying to use, a Brusho background seemed like an excellent idea.

As you can see, the die actually gives a silhouette reflection of a man walking his dog.  Of course I cut that out of a piece of Basic Black cardstock.  I also decided to use a Basic Black matte so that the edges of the die-cut would blend right in.  For the background, I chose to use a piece of Watercolour paper.  It holds up much better to the amount of water one usually uses with Brusho than does the Whisper White cardstock.

I decided to use only two of my Brusho colours:  Gamboge and Ultramarine.  The Gamboge has a lot of the yellows, oranges and reds which one sees in some spectacular sunsets.  Well, I was aiming for a rather spectacular sunset for this background.  I had marked in pencil where I intended the die-cut to be placed and I created an "explosion" of the Gamboge so that it would look like a fiery sunset behind the man and dog as well as a fiery reflection of that same sunset across a pond. 

After that was well dried, thanks to my heat tool, I used a brush to wet the remaining white areas and carefully shook some Ultramarine crystals onto those areas. 

I love the final effects 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, May 25th.

I've also entered this card into the following challenges:

Lemon Shortbread Challenge #120 - Anything Goes

Artsystamper Challenge #12 - It's a Guy Thing