WWC332 - Tristan's Challenge: All Things Feminine

Another year, another challenge.  Let's all hope for a happy, healthy 2022.  I think, after the ups and downs of the last two years, we all deserve a break, don't you?

For this challenge I chose to combine some old designer paper featuring a realistic photographic scene with a beautifully animated cow image from an Art Impressions set I just got called Dairy Christmas.  If you're a fan of AI, you'll know how much fun their wonderful images can be.

This is an oversized card, measuring 5" x 6 1/2".  I simply had to keep as much of the background as possible because it's gorgeous and, of course, the image of the leaping cow is not exactly small.  But they work together, don't they?  I just love the exuberance of her body position and the joyous look on her face.  I coloured her using my Derwent watercolours and added some silver to the bells around her waist.  I also added some silver shimmer to the snowflakes which are far more visible in person than in the photo.   For a bit of realism, I also added the shaded-in hoof-prints behind her with my watercolours.

My base for the card is the heavyweight Whisper White and then I've used a matte of Pacific Point under the lovely background designer paper.   After stamping the image, I carefully fussy-cut her so that she'd appear to be jumping out of the background.  I think it works, especially with that sentiment I found, don't you agree?

Have fun checking out our Watercooler Wednesday Challenge and I hope you'll link your creation before the deadline on Monday, January 17th, 2022.

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

Simon Says Monday Challenge - Something New

Crafting Happiness Challenges January #119 - Always Anything Goes

Dare 2 B Artzy January Challenge - Winter Fun

WWC328 - Tristan's Challenge: All About Occasions

This is such a lovely stamp set called Wonderful Autumn by StudioLight.  I love the background paper, as well, also created by StudioLight.  It's easy to be inspired when everything works so well together.

For some reason the colours are not photographing true.  I find that singularly annoying.  But after spending altogether too much time in Photoshop, I threw in the towel and gave up any chance of actually showing the true colours of the card which stands to the right of me at the moment, heckling the colours on my screen.  I feel I have to apologize to the card for misrepresentation.              

The sentiment appealed to me especially at this time since we are having to let go of our sweet and loving Khali Kho.  Quite honestly, it doesn't feel beautiful at all having to do that, but Chronic Kidney Disease is stealing her away at a young 13 years.  She has been a cat in a million, so completely gregarious and enthusiastic about life.

So our journey began when I found her, nearly dead from starvation with a bleeding gash in her neck. A few years later she suddenly suffered tooth resorption and had to have all but two teeth extracted. Through it all, she's stayed happy and outgoing, loving every person she's met. As if that wasn't enough, now she's dying with failing kidneys.  The world isn't going to be the same without her.

UPDATE:  This morning sweet Khali crossed the Rainbow Bridge.

April 4th, 2008 - November 3rd, 2021

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

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

Lemon Shhortbread Challenge #157 - Anything Goes

Crafty Sentiments Challenge - Anything Goes

Dare 2 B Artzy October Challenge - Fall

WWC321 - Tristan's Challenge: All Things Masculine

Time for some adorable little Gnomes at the beach!  I just got this set from Stampendous and have to use it for Tristan's masculine challenge.

For this card I decided to use a top fold since I had plans for the inside, as you'll see.  My base is a Heavy Whisper White followed by a matte of Pool Party.  For the images, I used a piece of Mixed Media paper and stamped my scene.  I love the fact that this set has lots of background images as well as images of the gnomes.  It really helped a lot since I didn't have to go hunting through various stamp sets just to set a scene.  For a change I watercoloured my images and background using a variety of Stampin' Up! stamp pads as well as my Stampin' Markers.

I love the way I was able to have a veritable waterfall of images by using this top fold, don't you?  The background paper is stunning and I'm so glad I got it from the Craft Consortium.  The grunge colours really compliment the colours in each scene, don't they?   I've even added one extra frame with the sentiment stamped right on it and waiting for personal greetings to the birthday boy/man.  I love that there is such a variety of images with which I could play.  This set will definitely be used many more times, it's such fun.

Have fun checking out our Watercooler Wednesday Challenge and I hope you'll link your creation before the deadline on Monday, August 9th, 2021.

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

Lemon Shortbread Challenge #151 - Anything Goes

Unicorn Challenge #67 - Summer Time

{PIN}spirational Challenge #279 July

WWC313 - Tristan's Challenge: All Things Masculine

Oh my!  I discovered a Canadian stamp company and am the proud owner of one of their stamp/die sets.  It's called Beaver & Hockey, both of which epitomize what the world considers as Canadian.  

I had a few different ideas for this set, which included a bookmark, but finally decided on a tag attached to a card.  Wouldn't the tag, by itself, be perfect attached to a present for the hockey player in your life?  But attached to the card, it's looks pretty perfect anyway, doesn't it?

I used a base cardstock of Soft Suede followed by a plain layer of Pacific Point and, finally, a layer of Whisper White put through the Big Shot with a star embossing folder.  I stamped the cute little beaver and the smiling puck onto a piece of Whisper White and coloured the images using my Derwent Watercolour pencils as well as an Aqua Painter.  

I used a fun stitched tag die to cut the tag from a piece of Soft Suede and tied a piece of blue ribbon at the top.  Then I heat embossed the top sentiment and complimentary bottom sentiment using white embossing powder.  After using foam dimensionals to attach the tag to the card, I added the smiling puck and hockey beaver to the tag, also using foam dimensionals.  The result is a fun card that would appeal to both young and old(er) hockey fans.

Have fun checking out our Watercooler Wednesday Challenge and I hope you'll link your creation before the deadline on Monday, April 19th, 2021.

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

Simon Says Monday Challenge - Layer It (many layers in this card)

HLS April Watercolour Challenge - Anything Goes

Cardz 4 Guyz #268 - Use Something new to your Stash 

Lemon Shortbread Challenge #143 - Anything Goes

          

WWC283 - Tristan's Challenge: Anything Goes With a Feminine Twist

For Tristan's challenge this week, I decided to get in touch with my inner "cat person".  Seriously, I've been accumulating a lot of cat dies of all kinds lately and am happy to be able to use one.  

Isn't it darling?  For my background I used a Darice embossing folder with a combination of debossed and embossed pawprints.  I love the variation, don't you?

For a change my base is Basic Black which make the embossed Whisper White layer stand out beautifully.  I used the little "cat in the square" die to cut out a piece of Basic Black and then used my stitched square die to cut out a piece of Whisper White which I used as a backing.  That allowed me to colour the background a very soft green, the inside of the ears a very soft pink and the eyes a warm yellow.  The sentiment from the retired Pretty Kitty stamp set works perfectly, doesn't it?

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,  August 10th.

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

Lemon Shortbread Challenge #125 - Anything Goes

Show Us Your Pussycat Challenges #57 - Furrything Goes

2 Crafty Critter Crazies Challenge #41 -     Dry or Hot Embossing

Crafty Creations Challenges August #412 - 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

WWC270 - Tristan's Challenge: Anything Goes With a Feminine Twist

Mother's Day is almost here.  In Canada, we're celebrating it this Sunday, May 10th.  Since Tristan's Challenge this week is an Anything Goes With a Feminine Twist, it's a perfect time for me to show off my Mother's Day card.  If my Mum were still alive, I think she would love it!

The images are so sweet, aren't they?  They're from Stampin' Up!'s Wildly Happy stamp set.  I thought it was perfect for such a special day.  I kept the colours rather neutral, not wanting to shift attention away from the darling Pandas.

My base is the Heavy Whisper White with a matte of Pear Pizzaz which I first embossed using the Subtle 3D embossing folder before adding it to the base.  Next, I embossed a piece of Soft Sea Foam using the Layered Leaves 3D embossing folder.  I cut the bottom on the diagonal before adding it to the card.

For the centre oval, I stamped the Pandas on a piece of Mixed Media paper using  Black Versafine ink and, once it was dry, used my watercolour pencils and Aqua Painter to colour the images. I used the Leaf Punch to cut out two pieces of vellum which I sponged with Mossy Meadow ink.  Once that had dried, I added white lines and then added the sentiment which I cut using the stitched circle die.

I love the way the card turned out and hope you do as well.  Have fun checking out our Watercooler Wednesday Challenge and I hope you'll link your creation before the deadline on Monday, May 11th.

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

Cuttlebug Mania - To all kinds of Moms out there

 Lemon Shortbread Challenge #119 - Anything Goes

Always Fun Challenges #161- Female or Mom

Dream Valley Challenges #224 - Our Four-Legged Friends

WWC254 - Tristan's Challenge: All About Occasions

I am forever hunting around for Birthday cards.  Yes, I make cards and so technically should never be without cards, right, but it doesn't turn out that way.  It seems as if a lot of the cards I make are for all sorts of other occasions.  This year I intend to make at least one feminine and one masculine birthday card each month and, hopefully, the problem will be solved.

For my last Stampin' Up! order, I included those stamps and dies which I knew I could happily use from the Mini Catalogue.  One such bundle was the Timeless Tropical which has so many images that "speak" to me.  I love the hibiscus flower in particular.  What a beautifully detailed stamp that is, and it has lovely leaves as well as the accompanying dies.  I went online to search out hibiscus blossoms and was blown away by the variety of colours.  I finally settled on the yellow/pink version but am determined to try my hand at some of the other gorgeous colours with future cards.

One thing you'll notice about my card is the layering of patterns.  I didn't want to use any patterned paper but instead turned to some of my current and retired embossing folders.  The background pattern is the debossed side of the Hammered Metal 3-D ef.  After embossing the cardstock, I used a sponge and some Cajun Craze ink to pick up the raised pattern.  I used a second embossing folder, the Stone 3-D ef, for the retired Galvanized Metallic paper.  It has a duller sheen than the silver foil, but I think it compliments the silver embossing in the sentiment perfectly, don't you?

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

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

Just Us Girls Challenge #518 - Trend Week: Create Dimension

Lemon Shortbread Challenge #111 - Always Anything Goes

Addicted to Stamps and More #372 - Make Your Mark