WWC209 - Marsha's Masculine "Anything Goes" Challenge

What fun!  This week's challenge, hosted by Marsha Reed, is our Masculine challenge.  Better still, it's an "anything goes" challenge.  And there is one bundle in particular from the Stampin' Up! Occasions catalogue, which is perfect for this challenge.  Wait till you see what I did with the Classic Garage Suite.

I took the colour inspiration from the gorgeous Classic Garage Designer Series paper.  That led to a base of Basic Black, a layer of Tranquil Tide and a layer of Crushed Curry, all colours in that wonderful designer paper which is the next layer.  Don't those tire tracks in all those colours look amazing?

Among the designs in the paper stack, there is a page all in black and white, featuring classic cars.  I fussy cut the one featured for this card and used Dimensionals to attach it to a strip of prepared Crushed Curry cardstock.  How did I prepare it?  First I stamped it with the "oil spill" image from the Geared Up Garage stamp set using Gray Granite ink.  Then I sprayed it liberally with water and scrunched it tightly into a sort of ball, squeezing the cardstock tightly.  After a few moments, I straightened it and put it under some weight to dry.  I love the rumpled, worn finish, don't you?

While that was drying, I cut a bunch of gears out of the Galvanized Metallic paper which is, unfortunately retired.  I love the dull metallic look to that paper, don't you?  I glued the gears randomly and then attached the strip of "beat up" Crushed Curry, matted by a piece of Basic Black.  I saved one gear to attach to the top right corner.   Then I heat embossed my sentiment using Black Embossing Powder on a scrap of Vellum.  Once that was cold, I glued that just under the gear.

For the inside of the card I merely added a piece of Whisper White and then stamped the tire tracks from the One Wild Ride set using Smoky Slate ink and added the sentiment which is also from the same stamp set.

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

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

The Cutie Pie Challenge #132 - One for the boys 

Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge - Things With Wheels

The Corrosive Challenge Blog #2 February - Anything Goes

"Less is More" #388 - Navy & Yellow

When I saw the Fable Friends stamp set in the Stampin' Up! Occasions Catalogue, I fell in love.  Those little images remind me so much of the wonderful characters in some of my daughter's "read-to-me" books.  Nostalgia made me buy them. 

Since the challenge for which I decided to use this set asked for Navy & Yellow, the ducklings were a sure pick.  I stamped them, coloured them with a combination of Stampin' Markers and my Blending pen and then began the meticulous job of cutting them out. 

On a piece of Whisper White cardstock, I used my AquaPainter and Night of Navy ink to create a puddle and shadows near the bottom.  Then I used the clouds and raindrops from my retired Weather Together stamp set to finish the simple rainy scene.   At the very bottom I stamped a sentiment which is also from the Weather Together set. 

Having glued the ducklings down to join with the shadows I painted, I took my glaze pen and created little swirls to give the illusion of puddles.  I also put a spot of glaze onto each raindrop.

To finish, on a base of Heavy Whisper White, I used a matte of Night of Navy and then attached the stamped scene.  I love the results and hope you do as well.

I've entered my card into the following challenges:

"Less is More" #388 - Navy & Yellow

Crafting With An Attitude #48 - Anything Goes

WWC208 - Charlotte's "All About Occasions" Challenge

I love our "All About Occasions" challenges!   They're perfect for all sorts of celebrations throughout the year.  This time I decided to go all romantic with a Valentine's Day card using colours inspired by the gorgeous vellum pattern in my favourite Specialty Designer Series paper, the Floral Romance.

I used that pretty Vellum patterned paper along the left side of the card and complimented it along the right side by embossing the Whisper White layer with the retired Falling Petals embossing folder.  Since I love those darling little mice from the Sweet Storybook set, I stamped one on each of two Whisper White hearts which I cut using the Be Mine Stitched Framlelit dies.  I love that there is a scalloped stitched piece to be used as a matte for the simple hearts.  I also cut a much smaller heart from a piece of Petal Pink cardstock to link the two larger hearts and also to compliment the Petal Pink in the patterned Vellum. 

I wanted a smaller Whisper White heart to pop on top of that scalloped Petal Pink heart but there wasn't a die in the right size and so I cut another scalloped heart from a small piece of Whisper White and then simply cut off the stitching and scallops and had the piece I wanted.  For the centre of that white heart, I cut a small heart from the gorgeous Sale-a-bration Grapefruit Grove foil sheets.  That foil is amazing because it looks a different colour from every angle, just like an opal.

For the inside of the card I used a matte of Petal Pink behind a piece of Whisper White and then stamped the pretty flourish from the Timeless Textures set using Petal Pink ink.  The sentiment is also from the Sweet Storybook set.

Remember, you can get the Grapefruit Grove Foil free with qualifying purchases from Stampin' Up! until March 31st.

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

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

Always Fun Challenges #97 - Love-Valentines

Dream Valley Challenges #195 - Love & Kisses

WWC207 - Helen's Feminine "Anything Goes" Challenge

I love our feminine challenge!  The best part, in my opinion, is that it's an "anything goes" challenge so, as long as I stick to a feminine theme, I can do anything.  This time I decided to give some love to the gorgeous Sale-a-bration Botanical Butterfly Designer Series Paper, among other products.

I began with a base of the Heavy Whisper White, followed by a layer of Basic Black which I first cut along the right side using  one of the border framelit dies from the Be Mine Stitched Framelits dies.  Just for fun I also rounded the upper and lower corners on that side using my Detailed Trio punch.  Then I added another layer, this time the lovely Highland Heather.

For the "main image" I turned to the Sale-a-bration Botanical Butterfly DSP.  I decided to cut a piece of the black and white butterfly print.  Then I chose a beautifully coloured butterfly from another sheet and fussy cut that to be glued on top of one of the black and white butterflies.  I only glued it along the centre so that the wings appear to be ready to take off at any moment.  As you can see, that coloured butterfly is what helped me to choose the colours for this card.

Along the lower border I decided to use the open, connected hearts die, also from the Be Mine Stitched Framelits dies.  I first cut a piece of the Sale-a-bration Grapefruit Grove Foil and then cut a piece of the Highland Heather cardstock.  When I attached the openwork hearts, I did so at a slant so that there would be room for a heat-embossed white sentiment.  Then I proceeded to glue in the hearts cut from the Highland Heather.  I left one heart open and glued in the appropriate Grapefruit Grove Foil heart.

I wasn't completely happy with the card at this point.  It seemed to empty between the butterflies.  So I took the small random dots stamp from the Wonderful Romance stamp set and proceeded to fill in the white using Grapefruit Grove ink.  I think that was just what the card needed, don't you?

Remember, you can get the Grapefruit Grove Foil and/or the Botanical Butterfly DSP free with qualifying purchases from Stampin' Up! until March 31st.

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

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

Lemon Shortbread Challenge #86 - Anything Goes

Try It On Tuesday Challenge - Romance

Crafting By Designs - Anything Goes

Double "D" Challenges - Hearts

WWC206 - Anything Goes Challenge

It's the fifth week of January and so the theme for our Watercooler Wednesday Challenge is "Anything Goes".  What could be better than using the brand new House-Mouse Design, "Sweet Workout"!  It's a huge stamp but, oh, was it ever fun colouring it and bringing it to life!

I love the detail in this image, don't you?  I decided to use my Faber-Castell colour pencils and Gamsol for this.  I find layering the colour and blending it with the Gamsol and my little Blending Tortillons really added dimension to the images.  After colouring the adorable little Mudpie Mouse and the tasty looking fruit candies, I added a soft grey to the floor and a soft blue to the wall.

The Poppy Parade cardstock came closest in colour to those yummy looking candies and so I used that as my matte.  Of course I stamped the Happy Birthday sentiment using the same colour of ink.  My base for the card is the Heavy Whisper White cardstock.

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

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

Lemon Shortbreat Challenge #86 - Anything Goes

Tuesday Throwdown Challenge #424 - Anything Goes

House Mouse and Friends Monday Challenges #283 - Anything Goes

Simon Says Wednesday Challenge - Anything Goes

WWC205 - Donna's "All About Holidays" Challenge

I love the "All About Holidays" challenge but decided that I had to get away from Christmas cards this month.  What could be better than making an Easter card, especially since I was dying to use the gorgeous new Sale-a-Bration stamp, Lovely Lattice.

I love the colours I chose for this card, don't you?  My base is the Heavy Whisper White followed by a layer of Calypso Coral and then a layer of Soft Sea Foam.  Before adding the Soft Sea Foam, I ran it through my Big Shot in the Subtle embossing folder and then cut it using the lovely stitched Rectangle framelits.

For the actual image from the Lovely Lattice stamp set, I decided to heat emboss it onto a piece of vellum cardstock with the Silver embossing powder.  Once that dried and cooled, I carefully fussy-cut it out.  Then I used my Calypso Coral, Old Olive, Mango Melody, Daffodil Delight, and Mint Macaron Stampin' Blends to colour the image from the back of the vellum.  I love the beautiful colours and especially love the look of the coloured vellum.

For the sentiment I turned to the You're Inspiring stamp set because of its size and the pretty Font.  It's stamped with Calypso Coral ink and then cut out with the stitched Oval framelits.  The matte is cut out of Calypso Coral with the Oval framelits.

Remember, you can get the gorgeous Lovely Lattice stamp set free with a qualifying purchase from Stampin' Up! until March 31st.

And let's not forget that the talented Sandie Munro is our Guest Designer this week as well.  Check out her work and the wonderful creations by the Watercooler Artists over at our Watercooler Wednesday Challenge.

I've also entered this creation in the following challenge:

Stampin' From the Heart #235 - Anything Goes

WWC204 - Gail's Masculine "Anything Goes" Challenge

Both my husband and my son-in-law are avid fly-fishermen and so the brand new Best Catch bundle in the Stampin' Up! Occasions Catalogue was on my very first order.

I used a special "X" fold for this card because it added dimension and spotlights the action.  I thought the wonderful Floral Romance Specialty Designer paper would be perfect for the card and so I took all my greens from the paper.  The hardest thing about the card, I will admit, was the fussy-cutting I chose to do along the left side of the card.  I wanted those leaves hanging over the opening and love the effect, don't you?

For the base of my card I used the Mossy Meadow cardstock.  I love the way it compliments the other colours and also gives a real "out-in-the-woods" feel to the card.  For the narrow panel I made a background using my re-inkers and some of my Brushos.  It looked like moving water--perfect for the die-cut fisherman.

For my fish I wound up using two layers.  The top layer is vellum onto which I've heat embossed the trout using silver embossing powder.  Then I used my Stampin' Blends to colour both the front and back of the vellum.  I found that intensified the colour, which I was hoping it would.  The second layer isn't stamped at all, but is merely a piece of Whisper White which I've also die-cut with the same die.  It really helps the colours to "pop".

The reeds and grasses are included among the dies in this bundle but don't have a stamp to go with it.  I found it was easy to colour the grasses and reeds using my Stampin' Markers.  The cattails have an extra glow thanks to my Wink of Stella.

Finishing off, I stamped the sentiment on Whisper White, cut it out with my 1" punch and then mounted it on a square of Mossy Meadow, cut with the smallest of my Stitched Squares.

The above pattern should help should you wish to try this fancy fold pattern.

And let's not forget that the talented Sandie Munro is our Guest Designer this week as well.  Check out her work and the wonderful creations by the Watercooler Artists over at our Watercooler Wednesday Challenge.

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

Crafty Creations Challenges #382 - Anything Goes

The Male Room #102 - Anything Goes

Simply Create Too #145 - Anything Goes

WWC203 - Karen's "All About Occasions" Challenge

I am super-exited to announce that I was the winner of the top prize at the House-Mouse & Friends Challenge for this card.  What a super celebration! 

I was so excited to have found this wonderful House Mouse stamp set!  It's perfect for this week's challenge, too, since it's quite normal to celebrate occasions, isn't it?

Don't those little characters look as if they're bringing in the New Year or, perhaps, celebrating a birthday?  I love the way little Monica is jumping around, don't you?  I used my Pencils and Gamsol to colour the images.  Afterwards I added a bit of ground to anchor them (can't have my images floating about, can I?)

And let's not forget that the talented Sandie Munro is our Guest Designer this week as well.  Check out her work and the wonderful creations by the Watercooler Artists over at our Watercooler Wednesday Challenge.

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

House Mouse & Friends Monday Challenge #282 - Anything Goes 

Simon Says Monday Challenge Blog - Use Something New

WWC202 - Dawn's Feminine "Anything Goes" Challenge

Happy New Year, everyone.  I'm excited to show off the card which I created for Dawn's Feminine "Anything Goes" Challenge.  It's a fun (and easy to do) double easel card.

I created this card after seeing Rick Adkins' lovely double easel card.  I love special folds and this one is showy but, oh, so easy.  If you want the instructions and measurements, they're all over on Rick's post.

I have to admit that I've fallen madly and deeply in love with the Floral Romance Suite.  For this card I used some of the gorgeous Floral Romance Specialty Designer Series paper.  The leafy background is a normal, two sided print while the design in the foreground is only printed on one side and is vellum.  Set against the white background, the colours really shine.  I cut the twig and leaves with the Wonderful Floral Framelits dies and love the way they emboss the veins of the leaves so deeply.

Of course I had to use the new Nine Lives set.  I still have the cat punch which goes with this stamp set and love that I can stamp so many types of cats.  Don't you just love the orange tabby?  He's happily sitting on some of the logs which I cut from the Wood Textures Designer Series paper.  After all, he doesn't want to be hidden behind the front easel.

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

And, of course, enjoy the wonderful creation by our January 2019 Guest Designer, Sandie Munro.

WWC201 - Marsha's Special Two-Week Year-End "Anything Goes" Challenge

Wow!  The year is almost over.  Did anyone else think  it went super-fast?  It's already time for our special year-end challenge, which is always two weeks long to allow everyone time to enjoy those wonderful holidays.  I love that it's an "Anything Goes" challenge.  I have just the right stamp which is perfect to end one year and begin the next.

This stamp set by Gina Marie is s triple stamp set.  So you stamp the first image which is really just the light greys of the elephant and then, with the second and third image, you stamp in the details.  I love how realistic the finished image is, don't you?  Since I don't like my images to just "hang" in mid-air, I used my AquaPainter and Smoky Slate ink to create a shadow-shape .

I kept all my colour to greys and black.  I like the way it looks against the white.  The sentiment is, I think, perfect for many things, including looking forward to the New Year.  After all, isn't that what we're doing when we approach the new year?  We set new goals and dream ourselves more dreams.  It's a new beginning.  To finish off, I added three black rhinestones to the top right and three to the bottom left.  It's a CAS design and I love it.

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

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

Cardz 4 Guys Challenge #210 - New Year/New Beginnings

{PIN}spirational Challenges #231 - Anything Goes

Crafty Creations Challenges #380 - Anything Goes

WWC200 - Helen's "All About Occasions" Challenge

Wow!  We're celebrating our 200th Challenge this week.  Isn't that extraordinary and wonderful, all bundled into one awesome celebration?  I felt like celebrating earlier today when my Stampin' Up! order arrived.  All those wonderful goodies from the upcoming Occasions and Sale-a-bration Catalogues--YAY!  So, of course, I had to jump right in and use some of the new stuff.

Needless to say, I had to mix and match.  (There was so much to play with!)  And so I grabbed the new Tea Together stamp set and a piece of Whisper White cardstock and stamped the teacup as well as the teapot using Balmy Blue ink.  Then I took the green twig from the Wonderful Romance stamp set and, using Tranquil Tide ink, stamped it across the lower portion of the teapot and then stamped only a portion of it diagonally across the teacup.  For this creation, I just didn't want flowers.

The framelits for the teapot and teacup are only available free with a purchase of $120 in regular products.  So, of course, I have the framelits.  I cut out the teapot and teacup, put them aside, and proceeded use the framelits from the Wonderful Romance bundle to cut that beautiful grid and leaf background out of Tranquil tide cardstock.  Finally, while I was still at the Big Shot, I used the gorgeous new Lace Dynamic embossing folder on a narrow piece of Whisper White.

Colouring was easy since I had the Balmy Blue Watercolour Pencil which is part of the Cute Crew Punch Box in the Occasions Catalogue.  For the leafy twig, I used the Tranquil Tide ink and my AquaPainter.  For the sentiment, I used the Tranquil Tide Stampin' Marker on the stamp from the Tea Together set, colouring the tiny heart with the Berry Burst Stampin' Marker.  After "huffing" the stamp to remoisten the ink, I stamped it onto a piece of Whisper White and then cut it out using the Stitched Round framelit.

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

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

Crafty Sentiments Challenge - Celebrate challenge

{PIN}spirational Challenge #230 - Inspiration photo

Creative Moments Challenge #158 - Always Anything Goes

Enjoy the Warmth of the Season

When I saw the image of those adorable House Mouse characters huddled inside a broken ornament, warming their little hands with the flame of a candle, I knew I had to have it.  And now, having bought it, I've loved every moment of bringing the little characters to life.

Once I had stamped my image on a piece of Whisper White cardstock, I proceeded to colour it using my Kooh-i-noor Woodless Colour Pencils and Gamsol.  In order to make the ornament appear to be glass with a shiny finish, I went over it with my H2O paints.  The shine is subtle but makes it stand out against the furry mice.  For the snow, rather than colour it, I used my White Embossing paste and a spatula.  I didn't like the way it looked against the Whisper White once it dried and so painted over it using the Frost White Shimmer paint.  For the candle's flame, I set some yellow and red colour around the wick and then covered it with a coat of clear Nuvo drops.  Once it was dry, I added some more yellow with my Stampin' Blends and a coat of Wink of Stella.

I cut the image using a large Oval Die and then cut a matte from Poppy Parade using an Oval Rickrack Die.  I mounted it onto a piece of the versatile Wood Textures DSP and backed it with a piece of Kraft cardstock before mounting it onto a base of Heavy Whisper White.  The sentiment, from  the Hearts Come Home set, is heat embossed on Kraft Paper using White embossing powder.

I created this card for fun but am entering a couple of appropriate challenges with it:

HMFMC #280 - Anything Goes with an option of "Something Warm"

Colour Crazy Craft Challenge week 49 - Anything Goes Colouring Challenge

Winter Wonderland:  End of year, Anything Christmas goes!

WWC199 - Tristan's Feminine "Anything Goes" Challenge

Oh, I had such fun with my card!  I used the Seasonal Wreath embossing folder for the first time and added the sweet mice from the Sweet Storybook stamp set.  Don't you love it?

Of course my plans for the card forced me to do a whole lot of additional work.  You see, I wanted to use the Softly Falling embossing folder for my background, to give the card a wintery feel.  That meant I had to give us either the Softly Falling or the Seasonal Wreath since it's rather difficult to use two embossing folders without winding up with a mess.  But then I thought, why not fussy cut the embossed wreath?  Now that I've done it, I love it, but I freely admit there were some rather strong words said during the cutting, which wound up being fussy, indeed.

Once the wreath had been cut, I took a small paint brush and the Frost White Shimmer Paint.  I carefully painted the entire wreath and put it aside to dry.  While it was drying, I stamped the two little mice and then realized that, for placement on the wreath, I would have to fussy cut them rather than use the die from the bundle.  A small setback but at least they were easily cut out.  By this time the wreath was dry and so I took the Soft Sea Foam ink pad, forced some ink into the lid, and proceeded to colour the twigs in the wreath using my AquaPainter.  Because I painted over the Frost White Shimmer Paint, the pale green has a real shimmer to it.  I love it!

So, with my base of Heavy Whisper White and a matte of Soft Sea Foam, I took a piece of Whisper White and embossed it using the Softly Falling embossing folder.  I adhered that to the matte and then glued on the wreath, being careful to simply glue the edges so that the depth of the embossing wasn't affected.  Then I used Dimensional foam to attach the little mice.  I held my breath while stamping the sentiment (from a retired set) but luckily it stamped cleanly.  A trio of little Faceted Dots and my card was done.

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

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

Cards in Envy:  The Spirit of Christmas Challenge

Papercraft Challenges #26 - Wintertime 

The Holly and Ivy Christmas Challenge #42 - Anything Christmas Goes

Crafty Creations Challenge#379 - Anything Goes

ATSM #321 - A piece of my heart

Oh my goodness, today it's "Anything Goes" for the Addicted to Stamps and More Challenge!  How much fun is that?  I love it when I can just go off and do what I want, don't you?  And with a new House Mouse stamp having arrived, can you guess what I'm using for my card this week?

This one is called Paper Clip Heart and sweet little Maxwell is offering Amanda a heart which he's just created out of a paper clip.  I used my Watercolour Pencils and Aqua-Painter for the colouring.  Of course once I got into the paper clips, I turned to my Silver Gel Pen.  And for a few of those paper clips, I turned to my Gold Gel Pen.  After all, don't we all have a mix of both?

For the paper clip heart I decided that I would give it a bit more of a 3-D effect and used the Silver Liquid Pearls for that.  Before adding my coloured image piece, I put the base through my Big Shot with the Falling Petals embossing folder (retired).  It just continued the heart theme.

This was such fun to create.  I'm looking forward to seeing what everyone else links up as their "anything goes".

Check out the creations by the rest of the Design Team and link your own project up HERE.

I've also linked up to the following:

House Mouse & Friends Monday Challenge #280 - Anything Goes

WWC198 - Gail's "All About Holidays" Challenge

I've said it before and I'll say it again, I love those adorable little "House Mouse" critters!  Small wonder that I chose to use this adorable stamp for Gail's "All About Holidays" challenge this week.

Don't you just love that image?  This one is a large stamp called Carousel Ornament, starring the adorable little Monica Mouse.  I love the amount of detail in this stamp!  Because the horse is a Christmas tree ornament, after colouring it using my Watercolour Pencils I added quite a bit of shine.  On the horse's body I added some of the Frost White shimmer ink and on the tail, hoofs and mane, I added some Champagne Mist shimmer ink.  I also added some silver to the pole and the harness using a silver pen.

Although the stamp itself has lots of greenery at the top and right of the image, I decided to add a bit of dimension by cutting several pine twigs from Pear Pizzazz cardstock.  Once they were cut, I added Soft Suede along the centre to make it appear woody and then added some Granny Apple Green to a few of the needles for added interest.  Glued on top of the stamped twigs, you can still see the stamped image but there is a sense of depth to the image.

Since I absolutely love the Silver Foil-Edged cards and envelopes available in the Holiday Catalogue, I cut the image panel to size, allowing for a narrow matte of Poppy Parade.  A tiny sentiment from the Wishing You Well set (also in the Holiday Catalogue), finishes the card off nicely.

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

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

House-Mouse & Friends Monday Challenge #280 - Anything Goes

Mod Squad Challenge - Happy H-Owlidays (Use a Critter)

Cardz 4 Guyz Challenge #208 - Christmas Critters

WWC197 - Kath's Masculine "Anything Goes" Challenge

With Christmas getting closer and closer, I decided that I'd make a Christmas themed masculine card for our challenge this week.  Of course the fact that I found this awesome stamp with the two horses wearing Santa caps made it an easy decision.

Isn't that a lovely image?  The stamp is from Impression Obsession with the image by Melissa Gordon.  After using my watercolour pencils on the images, I used an oval die to cut it out.  I wanted to give the card a real masculine flair and so mounted the oval on a piece of the wonderful Wood Textures Designer Series Paper.  With a base of the Heavy Whisper White, I chose Real Red as a matte to bring out the colour of those Santa hats.

I tried stamping a sentiment on a banner but it just didn't look right and decided to cut out the "Noel" from the retired Christmas Stockings Thinlits dies using some of the Red Glimmer paper.  Cutting them apart allowed me to use them vertically and I think it works beautifully, don't you?

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

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

2 Crafty Critter Crazies Challenge #20 - Anything Goes with a Critter

Cardz 4 Guys Challenge #208 - Christmas Critters

The Holly and Ivy Christmas Challenge #41 - Anything Christmas Goes

ATSM #319 - CAS

It's time for another Addicted to Stamps & More Challenge.  This time it's all about CAS (clean & simple).  While it's fun to put together a really detailed and layered card, sometimes it's great to see how much impact you can have by keeping it rather clean and simple.

When I saw the adorable snowmen created by Bonnie Krebs for Art Impressions, I knew I had to have the set.  It's perfect for this challenge, too.  I decided to use the image of the joy-filled snowman, skating along and using Christmas lights as a banner.  I knew he'd be fun to colour and decided that the "Oh What Fun!" sentiment included in the set would be perfect.  With all the wonderful details and the amount of colouring, this worked perfectly as a single layer added to a base.  For that base, I used the brand new Gorgeous Grape colour and love it!  It compliments the same colour which I used for his vest.  

I used a watercolour wash of Balmy Blue for the ice.  Before I added the wash, I sketched a few lines to show blade marks on the ice with my glaze pen and those lines did not take on the colour.  Love that!  

Check out the awesome creations by the rest of the Design Team and link up your card HERE.

I've also entered my card in the following:

Crafty Sentiments Designs - Snowman

Stamping Sensations November Challenge - Get Ready for Christmas

WWC196 - Heidi's "All About Occasions" Challenge

I'm so glad that we're having our "All About Occasions" challenge this week.  It gave me the perfect opportunity to use Gina Marie's wonderful layered stamping set, Tabby Cat.  I thought it would be fun used for an anniversary card.

What I love best about this stamp set is that with each layer stamped, more detail appears in the image until, when one is finished, it looks absolutely realistic.  Isn't that a wonderfully stamped tabby cat?  I love it!  I chose to use a base of Heavy Very Vanilla and then added a layer of Poppy Parade.  On top of that I added a retired piece of the Naturals Ivory cardstock (love those little flecks in it, don't you?)  But first I ran that cardstock through the lovely Basket Weave Dynamic embossing folder.

Then I cut out a heart from a piece of Poppy Parade cardstock, using Sunshine Wishes Thinlits.  The red really showed off the cat well, didn't it?  To anchor my cat, I stamped the sentiment onto a piece of Very Vanilla cardstock and then cut it out using one of my stitched rectangle dies. and then had the cat sitting on it.

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

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

Lemon Shortbread Challenge #80 - Anything Goes

Show Us Your Pussycats Challenge #36 - Furrything Goes

WWC195 - Charlotte's Feminine "Anything Goes" Challenge

Oh, I love our Feminine challenges, don't you?  It's such fun to figure out what to make and to try new things.  After all, cards don't have to be frilly or full of flowers to be feminine.  They can be clean and simple, like my card:

First let me say that I am madly in love with the sweet House Mouse images.  I am amazed at the detail in Ellen Jareckie's little mice.  For this card I used the Strawberry Wish stamp which is a 2015 release.  I loved the image so much that I didn't want any clutter to take away from it.  Colouring sweet little "Mudpie" and that lovely strawberry was pure pleasure.  I used my watercolour pencils and AquaPainter.  To finish, I added just a bit of shadow around the bottom using my Smoky Slate ink and AquaPainter.

For my sentiment I wanted something simple but feminine.  The beautiful script in the sentiment from the Happy Little Stampers Dandelion Wishes stamp set was perfect and so I stamped it in black.  I mounted the image onto a narrow black matte and then onto a base of the Heavy Whisper White.  And I love it!

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

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

Lemon Shortbread Challenge #80 - Anything Goes

Retro Rubber Challenge #99 - Anything Goes

House Mouse & Friends Monday Challenge #278 - Anything Goes

Crafty Creations Challenge #377 - Anything Goes

ATSM #317 - Make Your Mark

It's time for another Addicted to Stamps & More Challenge.  This time it's all about making your mark.  What does that mean?  We'd love to see any creations for which you use your pens, pencils, watercolours, markers, anything that creates a mark. 


For my card I decided to use my Stampin' Markers as well as my inks and Aqua Painter.  To add a bit of interest, I also used a Glaze pen over some of the design.

I used a fun Penny Black stamp called Cup of Java to make a card for my daughter who, some days, just can't find a coffee cup large enough for the amount of caffeine she needs.  I used my Stampin' Markers for everything but the soft yellow background which is a wash of So Saffron ink, painted on with my Aqua Painter.  I also used a wash of Coastal Cabana inside the cup and at the bottom of the cup.  The flourishes on the cup and the stitched "ribbon" frame were both coloured with my Melon Mambo Stampin' Marker and then made glossy with the Glaze pen.

Check out the awesome creations by the rest of the Design Team and link up your card HERE.