WWC323 - Cathy's Challenge: All Things Feminine

 I'm really excited about this card!  It "grew like Topsy".  I had a plan which, bit by bit, I discarded as the card evolved and became what it had decided to be.  Does that ever happen to you?

My mail arrived with a new stamp by Ellen Jareckie.  You know how much I absolutely love her House-Mouse images.  Well, this one was just released this year and spoke to the plant-lover in me.  I immediately stamped the image twice, once on Coloured Pencil paper and once on Mixed Media paper.  I wasn't entirely certain which way I would go.  You see, I have a new set of General's Pastel Chalk Pencils and was anxious to try that media for a change.  My "insurance", in case I absolutely hated the look, was the image on the Mixed Media paper, for which I would use my watercolours.

Well, the pastel chalk pencils worked out beautifully and I was all set to use the image for the front of my card.  Somehow, despite my plans, I prepared my Base of Heavy Whisper White for a gatefold.  Fine, I hadn't made a gatefold in a while and so was willing to see where this would lead.  It led to my using several dies which I hadn't yet used as well as some silver foil paper which I hadn't thought to use for quite a long time.  I also found and used some retired designer paper and used that.

When the gate opens, the grid and leaves come up and reveal the little mouse, happily napping in its scented "bed".  

Opening the other side of the gate reveals the full scene.  Doesn't the colour of the chalk pastel pencils simply "pop"?  I love it and will likely use this medium quite often.

The close up of the inside shows the subtle blending possible with the pencils.  It's a completely different look from the watercolours.  This "something new" is definitely a happy surprise.

Have fun checking out our Watercooler Wednesday Challenge and I hope you'll link your creation before the deadline on Monday, September 6th, 2021.

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

House Mouse & Friends Challenge #347 - Anything Goes or option Water Play

Lemon Shortbread Challenge #153 - Anything Goes

Unicorn Challenge #68 - Anything Goes

WWC281 - Heidi's Challenge: All About Occasions

It's my turn as host for our awesome Watercooler Challenge this week.  One occasion for which I'm always needing more cards is when I'm sending thanks to someone.  I always seem to run out of Thank You cards.  So that's what I decided to make using some fun retired patterned paper as well as those adorable little House Mouse images.

This is a special fold which I saw on Mary Brown's blog and had to try myself.  If you're curious about Mary's, just click here.  It's actually an easy fold (which is always nice, right?) and helps to use up some of the patterned paper we all seem to wind up hoarding.

You begin with a piece of 5 1/2 x 12 patterned paper.  It works best if your paper isn't strictly "one direction" on one side.  From there you score at 2", 4", 8", and 10".  At each end, you cut diagonally from the fold line to the centre of the edge, as you can see from the pic:

Keep those little triangular pieces.  You're going to glue them onto the uncut end of that last fold as you can see from the pic:

Once glued on with all the folds in place, you will have a special fold card ready to decorate:

On a piece of Mixed Media paper, I stamped the adorable little images from Ellen Jareckie's Acorn Cap House Mouse set.  Perfect for the patterned paper which I used, right?  After using my stitched oval die to cut out the image, I proceeded to watercolour it using my favourite Derwent Watercolour Pencils and Aquapainter.  When the colours were dry, I added some Sakura Glaze to the nut portion of the acorns.

 To finish up I cut a 3" x 4 1/4" piece of Very Vanilla cardstock, added two fussy-cut acorns, and glued it to the centre of the inside of the card. 

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 27th.

I've also entered this card in the following Challenges:

 HMFMC #321 - Anything Goes ( Option: use a number)

Lemon Shortbread Challenge #124 - Anything Goes

WWC198 - Gail's "All About Holidays" Challenge

I've said it before and I'll say it again, I love those adorable little "House Mouse" critters!  Small wonder that I chose to use this adorable stamp for Gail's "All About Holidays" challenge this week.

Don't you just love that image?  This one is a large stamp called Carousel Ornament, starring the adorable little Monica Mouse.  I love the amount of detail in this stamp!  Because the horse is a Christmas tree ornament, after colouring it using my Watercolour Pencils I added quite a bit of shine.  On the horse's body I added some of the Frost White shimmer ink and on the tail, hoofs and mane, I added some Champagne Mist shimmer ink.  I also added some silver to the pole and the harness using a silver pen.

Although the stamp itself has lots of greenery at the top and right of the image, I decided to add a bit of dimension by cutting several pine twigs from Pear Pizzazz cardstock.  Once they were cut, I added Soft Suede along the centre to make it appear woody and then added some Granny Apple Green to a few of the needles for added interest.  Glued on top of the stamped twigs, you can still see the stamped image but there is a sense of depth to the image.

Since I absolutely love the Silver Foil-Edged cards and envelopes available in the Holiday Catalogue, I cut the image panel to size, allowing for a narrow matte of Poppy Parade.  A tiny sentiment from the Wishing You Well set (also in the Holiday Catalogue), finishes the card off nicely.

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

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

House-Mouse & Friends Monday Challenge #280 - Anything Goes

Mod Squad Challenge - Happy H-Owlidays (Use a Critter)

Cardz 4 Guyz Challenge #208 - Christmas Critters

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