WWC311 - Kath's Challenge: All Things Feminine

I'm enjoying the early Spring we're experiencing at the moment.  Yes, I know as far north as I live, actual Spring weather normally comes sometime in April if we're lucky.  Most likely there will be another snow storm, more cold weather, and just the memories of this warm spell to sustain me.  But for now, it's lovely and so I had to find an image which reflected my mood.  This House-Mouse image by Ellen Jareckie comes close.

I used a base of Heavy Whisper White followed by a matte of Balmy Blue cardstock.  My image is stamped on a piece of Watercolour paper using the VersaFine "Morning Mist".  I love the lighter grey because it leaves the watercoloured images showing off without much in the way of intrusive lines.

I used my Derwent InkTense Watercolour pencils for the images and then used my AquaPainter and Balmy Blue stamp pad to watercolour the background.  I love the results, don't you?   If you look closely, you'll see a bit of sparkle on the butterfly's wings as well as in the centre of the wide open flower.  For that I used the Nuvo Aqua Shimmer.  I love that stuff!

Have fun checking out our Watercooler Wednesday Challenge and I hope you'll link your creation before the deadline on Monday, March 22nd, 2021.

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

 Lemon Shortbread Challenge #141 - Anything Goes

HMFMC #335 - Anything Goes

Simon Says Monday Challenge - Use Something Green (used green watercolour pencils)

WWC304 - Kath's Challenge: All About Occasions

Even though it's only January, I had to use this adorable House-Mouse image for my card this week.  Isn't it just the perfect Valentine?

This image is aptly named "Love Treat".  Don't those adorable mice look like they're deep into a sugar high?  Where a candy heart like this might be one of many we might consume in one sitting, I think it's going to last  Mudpie and Amanda at least a week. 

I used a base of the heavy Whisper White.  Then I added a much smaller rounded corner matte of a sparkly pink glitter paper.  On top of that I glued the watercoloured image.   Of course I used my Derwent Watercolour pencils for this job.  They offer such pretty, bright, clear colours.  Besides, I  love watercolouring.

This time I used a much lighter ink than normal to stamp my image.  The Versafine Toffee is closer to the colour I imagine the hair would be on these mice.  As a result, the image wound up looking much more like a no-line watercolour.  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, January 18th, 2021.

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

House-Mouse & Friends Monday Challenge #331 - Anything Goes or New Beginnings (and what is a better new beginning than Love)  

Lemon Shortbread Challenge #137 - Always Anything Goes

WWC298 - Kath's Challenge: Anything Goes With a Masculine Twist

With the idea of gratitude in mind for the USA Thanksgiving, I decided to use an adorable Fall set featuring Ellen Jareckie's wonderful little House-Mouse images.  I hope you love them as much as I do.

I began this card several weeks ago and put it aside.  I had done a lot of masking and didn't like the cluttered results.  This week I took it up again and used the Stitched Nested Label dies to cut out the portion which most appealed to me.  After that it was easy.  I found some retired Designer Paper which suited the image very nicely as well as supporting the colours I had used for watercolouring.  Big win there!

My base is the Heavy Whisper White to which I added a matte of Merry Merlot before adding the Designer Paper.  Then I took the cut out image, added a matte of Merry Merlot to it by using the next size up of the Stitched Nested Label dies, and attached that to the card.  For the sentiment I turned to the lovely Country Home stamp set.  I think it's perfect for the time of year and also for the card, don't you?

It's so hard to see some details in photos.  In this close-up you can just tell that some of the twigs on the Designer Paper are metallic.  That really adds a nice touch of elegance.  To make the nut portion of the acorn show up against the rougher "cap", I added a layer of the Shimmery Crystal Effects, which really looks awesome in real life.  I think you can tell by the highlights in the photos just how shiny the results are.  I love the way the colours work together and the way those adorable images seem so animated, 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 23rd.

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

Dare 2 B Artzy November Challenge - Thankful

HMFMC #328 - Anything Goes OR Option Theme Use a Die or Punch

Lemon Shortbread Challenge #133 - Anything Goes

WWC277 - Tristan's Challenge: All About Occasions

Oh, I love our "Occasions" challenges.  It's the perfect opportunity to use another one of the wonderful House Mouse images which I've accumulated over the past year.  This one is all about birthdays!

I love this image!  I didn't have to go looking for a sentiment since those adorable little mice are busy painting "Happy Birthday".

I used a base of Heavy Whisper White and then added two mattes, one of Night of Navy and the other of Balmy Blue.  The image is stamped on a piece of Mixed Media paper and all the colouring, except for the silver of the metal near the brush head, is done with my Derwent Watercolour pencils and an Aqua Painter or the inks from several of my ink pads (and, of course, the Aqua Painter).

At this angle you can more easily see the shine of the "Happy Birthday" letters.  I achieved that by stamping the words in Balmy Blue and then covering the ink with clear embossing powder so that I could heat emboss them.  The brush heads, too, are shiny because I added Shimmery Crystal Effects to them after colouring them with the Balmy Blue.  You can also see the shine of the silver on the brushes, which I achieved by using my UniBall silver pen.  Finally, since the Mixed Media paper is towards a creamy shade, I coloured the inside of the paint box with one of my white "snow" pens.

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, June 29th.

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

House-Mouse & Friends Monday Challenge #319 - Anything Goes or Celebrate

Lemon Shortbread Challenge #122 - Anything Goes

Simon Says Challenge - Anything Goes

WWC274 - Dawn's Challenge: Anything Goes With a Feminine Twist

As you know, I have an obsession with those adorable little House-Mouse images by Ellen Jareckie.  This little image simply delighted me when I saw it.  Being a bit (a lot) of a choco-holic, I couldn't pass up creating a card with a mouse totally covered in chocolate sauce.

I've kept the design rather CAS.  My base is the Heavy Whisper White and then I've added a matte of Gorgeous Grape.  I stamped the image and sentiment onto a piece of Mixed Media paper using the Versafine black ink so that it wouldn't smear when I watercoloured.

I had so much fun colouring the images, but you know how much I love these little House Mice.  I used my Derwent Watercolour pencils and, of course, my Aqua Painter brush to turn the pencilled colour into gorgeous watercolour.   Once that was totally dry, I put some Crystal Effects onto a pallette and mixed in a bit of water to make it easier to brush on.  Using a very small brush, I covered the chocolate on the Mouse, on the floor, and dripping down the jar with the Crystal Effects mix.  Once it dried, it looked so much like real chocolate that I wanted to lick it.  Thank goodness for self restraint.

The sentiment isn't by Stampendous like the House Mouse image.  Actually, I hunted around to find "the perfect sentiment".  You know how hard that can be.  But finally, in a rather old set which I haven't used for years, I found it.  By Hero Arts, it's called "Friends" and came out in 2010.   Old, but perfect.

Have fun checking out our Watercooler Wednesday Challenge and I hope you'll link your creation before the deadline on Monday, June 8th.

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

HMFMC #317 - Anything Goes with an Option of Gingham or Plaid

CAS on Friday Challenge #181 - Animals

Lemon Shortbread Challenge #141 - Anything Goes

WWC259 - Dawn's Challenge: Anything Goes With a Masculine Twist

Oh my goodness!  We have a masculine challenge at our Watercooler Wednesday and it's perfect timing since it's also my grandson's birthday.  It's a very special birthday since he's entering the TEENS!  So, what kind of card will I make for my awesome almost 13-year-old grandson?  I'll give you a hint.  It has a house-mouse on the front.

The backstory to this is, of course, Xavian's obsession with Chinese fortune cookies.  He has loved them from the first time he was given one.  He likes the cute fortunes but he loves the flavour.

You can see why I bought this stamp, under the circumstances.  What could be more cute than a darling house-mouse surrounded by new and broken fortune cookies?  None of the little papers had any writing on them.  I added that myself.  The one being held up is, again, perfect for our talented showman.

 I invite you to check out the awesome samples by the other Watercooler Artists over at our Watercooler Wednesday Challenge.

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

House-Mouse & Friends Monday Challenge #310 - Anything Goes

Make My Monday #116 - Critters

Animal Friends Challenge #83 - Februar Mause

Addicted to Stamps & More Challenge #377 - Make Your Mark

WWC247 - Marsha's "All About Occasions" Challenge

I have a brand new House Mouse stamp that is perfect for our "All About Occasions" Challenge.  And this time I was able to "marry it up" with one of my favourite Stampin' Up! Specialty Designer Series papers, the Feels Like Frost.  I hope you love the results as much as I do!

Isn't that a fun image?  I love the way the mice appear to be swinging on top of those bells, hanging from the snow-laden branch above.  For this card I used a base of Heavy Whisper White and added a matte of Night of Navy.

I stamped the adorable little House Mouse image onto a piece of Mixed Media paper using my Stamparatus.  I left the paper attached with the magnets and proceeded to paint the bells using the Champagne Mist Shimmer Paint.  Once that had dried, I inked up the bell images again, avoiding the mice, and then stamped the lines back onto the bells.  I love the results, don't you?

I used the Stampin' Blends to colour the mice, the ribbons, and the details on the bells.  Of course I had to fussy cut the images and it was simply impossible to cut each hair that sticks out around those sweet mice.  I therefore used my Basic Black Stampin' Marker to ink only the hair around the mice and stamped that where I intended the images to be on the Designer Paper.  You can see how well that worked once they had been glued down.  It looks as if the entire image was stamped in one piece, doesn't it?

I also used the Shimmery Crystal Effects to add sparkle to the snow on those branches.  It adds more dimension, not to mention the pretty shimmer.

Since I had a strip of the Designer Paper left over, I used it inside the card, adding a wide strip to the left side and a very narrow strip to the right.  I think it makes a perfect border for the sentiment, 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:

House-Mouse & Friends Monday Challenge #304 - Anything Goes

Lemon Shortbread Challenge #106 - Anything Goes

Arty Divas Challenge #8 - Anything Goes