A new year brings changes. One positive change in my life is that I've chosen to leave Stampin' Up! It was time. There is so much to explore in the world of art and crafting, and I couldn't do that fairly while tethered to a company. Mind you, that doesn't mean you won't see some of SU!'s terrific products here. I bought them and I'm using them. Why not, right?
If you've seen the new Mini Catalogue from Stampin' Up! then you'll have seen the sweet Grace's Garden stamp set. It comes as a bundle but I chose to buy only the stamp set. I know myself and I would not have used the dies very much. You can see from the details of my card that it is, for the most part, simply stamping and watercolouring. I've masked the hollyhocks before stamping the gate, but I've kept the masks I fussy-cut for future use. The little cat? Yes, I've fussy cut it as well. But I prefer the lack of white border and so I probably would have felt compelled to cut that away if I had the die--a waste of effort, really, but I love clean lines.
If you look carefully at the watercoloured sky, you will see that I've used some 3-D gloss gel to stencil in clouds. They're subtle but they show up better in person, as does so much that we create.
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:
Tuesday Throwdown TT448 - Something New (the stamp sets from the new catalog)
Dream Valley Challenges #216 -Something New (stamps and 3-D gloss gel)
