WWC166 - Kath's Masculine "Anything Goes" Challenge

This week's challenge, hosted by Kath Ricks, is one of my favourites because of all the men in my life.  It's our Masculine "Anything Goes" Challenge.

For my card this week I decided to use a brand new set which will be in the new Annual Catalogue, launching June 1st.  It's called Animal Outing and comes with a set of framelits (yay!).  I decided to use the adorable kangaroo which is giving a ride to a good friend of his, the little koala bear.  For some reason I couldn't get the thought out of my head to combine this set with the One Wild Ride set, so I went with it.  I think the sentiment is perfect, don't you?

My base is the Heavy Whisper White followed by a layer of the retiring Dapper Denim cardstock and then a layer of the retiring Myths & Magic Specialty Designer Series paper.  I love the colours in that paper and decided to use them throughout my card.

I hope you'll check out the cards created by the other Watercooler Artists at our Watercooler Wednesday Challenge.  I look forward to seeing what you've created and linked up this week.

I'm also entering my card in the Cardz 4 Guyz Challenge #192 - Travel or Transport (because this is clearly both travel and transport).

WWC164 - Marsha's Feminine "Anything Goes" Challenge

I love our Feminine "Anything Goes" challenges!  And this week Marsha is hosting it.  What fun!  The great thing about feminine challenges is that there are so many wonderful stamps that are absolutely perfect for them.

Of course with all the wonderful choices, it's easy to get lost trying to decide what to create.  I was going to stamp some flowers and then Mr. Winter came and covered everything up with his white mantle and somehow I didn't feel that inspired any longer.  So I turned to our fantasy set, Myths and Magic, and had a great time ignoring the cold outside.

I have to say that the Myths & Magic Specialty Designer Paper is the heaviest I've ever had the pleasure to use.  Because one side of each double-sided sheet has iridescent glittered images or designs, the paper is as heavy as our Whisper White cardstock.  That's one of the reasons I love cutting out some of the images and using them in my designs.  The colouring is sensational and, of course, there is that wonderful glitter.

You can see that I've carefully fussy cut the gorgeous mermaid, the gallant knight, the seahorse and the castle.  The sassy dragon, however, has been stamped and cut with its coordinating die.  I had such fun colouring him and adding a bit of glitter to his scales and wings with the clear Wink of Stella.

The rocks on which the mermaid is perching?  Those are from a retired Designer Paper Stack.  I've heat embossed the sentiment from the Myths & Magic set on vellum using black embossing powder and then cut around the shape tightly before adhering it using Tombo liquid glue.  The black stamped sentiment beside the knight is from the Magical Mermaid set.

I hope you'll check out the wonderful creations by the other Watercooler Artists over at our Watercooler Wednesday Challenge blog.  I look forward to seeing what you create and link up this week.

I'm also entering my card in the TGIFC #153 - March Madness! Anything Goes!

And the Addicted to Stamps & More ##286 - Anything Goes

And, finally, the Inkspirational Challenge #157 - Mythical

Watercooler Wednesday Challenge #155 - Anything Goes

Every time we have a fifth week in the month, our challenge has an "Anything Goes" theme.  I love those times because it lets me do what I please.

Of course one of the downsides to an "anything goes" challenge is that my mind goes wild with the possibilities.  I really have to rein myself in and force myself to stick to a project.  This time I decided to create a nice, large shadow frame using the wonderful images from the Myths & Magic Suite.  Yes, even that opened the door to a lot of choices but in the end I decided to concentrate on an "under-the-sea" theme.  Enter the mermaids and seahorses!

Of course even that meant I had to make some major decisions.  First I thought of having a treasure chest and then, before I began cutting out some of my Wood Textures DSP, I thought about having the stone portion of the wishing well from the Bright Wishes stamp set.  I could imagine something like that in a flooded area, taken over for use by the sea creatures.  In fact, a mermaid and her sea serpents could easily store their jewels there, right?  (Yes, the dragons became sea serpents in this little scene--a little "snip" and those wings were history and who needs fiery breath underwater?)

The images are all cut from various Designer papers:  the Myths & Magic Specialty Designer Series paper (mermaid, dragons, branches, and seahorses) and the Naturally Eclectic Designer Series paper (jewels and the background ombre piece).  The long grass is cut with the Swirly Scribbles Thinlits and the "amazing" is cut with the Sale-a-bration Celebrate You Thinlits.  That wonderful wavy watery look in the background is created by the Seaside Embossing folder.

I love the way this shadow frame turned out, don't you?

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

I'm also entering this piece into the Make My Monday  Challenge #63 - Fancy Folds

I've entered this piece in the Crafty Creations Challenge #359 - Anything Goes as well.

And, finally, I've entered this piece in the Simon Says Wednesday Challenge - Anything Goes