WWC308 - Tristan's Challenge: All About Occasions

 Ooooh!  I have a fun birthday coming up and am excited to be able to use a brand new stamp set: Art Impressions by Bonnie Krebs, Frog Set.  I know my grandson is going to absolutely love the card!

My base is the Heavy Whisper White followed by a matte of Old Olive.  I did the stamping on a piece of Mixed Media paper and watercoloured the images using my Derwent watercolour pencils and Aquapainter.

At this angle it's a bit easier to tell that I've coloured the confetti with my silver pen and added the Shimmery Crystal Effects to the flame of the large candle.  All the "bodies" of the candles also have a layer of Nuvo Aqua Shimmer on them and, in real life, are quite gorgeous.  Of course I had to ground the group but felt a huge waterlily leaf would be more appropriate than actual ground and so sketched one in.  I used my Stampin' Up! Mossy Meadow ink for that, fading the colour as I came to the front of the group.  I love that the Mossy Meadow is different enough in colour to compliment the green of the frogs, don't you?

For the inside of the card I decided to use a matte as well, again in Old Olive.  Then I used another sentiment from the set for the centre and the bullrushes from the retired Wetlands stamp set for the right-hand side.  I was excited to use a craft "spring" for my frog.  It allows the card to close tight for the envelope and doesn't create a bulge but when you open the card, Mr. Frog is suspended outwards from the paper by about half and inch.  I'm just crazy about these springs and will use them again for certain.

Have fun checking out our Watercooler Wednesday Challenge and I hope you'll link your creation before the deadline on Monday, February 15th, 2021.

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

Cardz 4 Guyz Challenge #264 - CAS

Lemon Shortbread Challenge #139 - Anything Goes

Dream Valley Challenges #241 - Add Some Green

WWC293 Tristan's Challenge: All About Occasions

Well, I'm a couple of days late with my occasion.  Our Canadian Thanksgiving was on Monday, October 12th, after all.  But let's face it, we should be thinking of giving thanks every day, right?  So I'm really not out of sync.  (What happens to be out of sync at the moment is my weather.  We're barely into Fall and it is snowing steadily outside.)

I've used a lot of retired Stampin' Up! products for this card.  The wheelbarrow full of pumpkins is from the Pleasant Pheasants set as is the sentiment.  The leaves, on the other hand, are the dies from the Colorful Seasons bundle.  After stamping the image and sentiment, I used the tiny maple leaf die to cut out three leaves along the left hand border, each in a different  position. 

I decided to use a strip of retired Specialty Designer paper under those die cuts.  This piece from the Mosaic Mood papers was perfect, with the gorgeous, warm Fall colours.  I didn't, however, like the squares which were white and so, before adhering the strip under the die cuts, I coloured them using the light Old Olive Stampin' Blends.  I think the results really work well for those leaves, don't you?

I watercoloured the wheelbarrow and pumpkins using my Derwent watercolour pencils and Aqua Painter.  Then I used a larger, flat brush and my Oxides to add the ground and sky. 

They may all be retired images, but they certainly work well for my Thanksgiving card, don't they?

Have fun checking out our Watercooler Wednesday Challenge and I hope you'll link your creation before the deadline on Monday, October 19th.   

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

Lemon Shortbread Challenge #130 - Anything Goes

Shopping Our Stash Challenge #431 - Happy Fall Y'All

Make My Monday Challenge #133 - Orange as a Dominant Colour

WWC238 - Tristan's "All About Occasions" Challenge

I love our All About Occasions Challenges!  It's so much fun to decide on an Occasion and then to create a card for it.  I've chosen to make another Christmas card simply because I'm going to need them sooner than I'd like to admit.  Of course the fact that I was dying to use the gorgeous Nature's Beauty stamp set and more of that stunning Feels Like Frost Designer Series Paper played a large role in my decision.

The photographic images used on this Designer Paper are simply breathtaking, aren't they?  When I saw this piece, I knew it would be perfect for the darling little bunny image in the Nature's Beauty set.  What I particularly love about the paper is that there is enough white and "empty" space near the bottom to allow for an image to be stamped and coloured, integrating it into the paper as if it had been printed there.  In fact, as well as the bunny, I stamped the little bare twigs of the bushes in the lower right corner.  And they, too, look as if they were part of the paper design, don't they?

I used my coloured pencils and Gamsol to colour the bunny and also to add the same blue to the base of the bunny and twigs so that the shadows appeared to be natural.  Continuing with the simple design, I decided to heat emboss my sentiment using the gorgeous Copper Embossing Powder.  I finished the card by mounting the design onto a copper foil matte and then onto the base of Heavy Whisper White cardstock.

A simple design, but I absolutely love it and hope you do, too.

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:

Lemon Shortbread Challenge #102 - Anything Goes

Crafty Animals Challenge #30 - Anything Goes

CHNC Challenge #454 - Anything Christmas Goes

Crafty Creations Challenges #398 - Anything Goes