Spring Mouse with Glitter, Pearls & Distress Inks

easel card standing

card open showing base & personal message panels detail of image with sparkly yellow bows & green ribbon

close-up of floral embellishment & 2 checked patterns

This has been a week of discoveries with the paper bin becoming full of punched out flower elements & half painted mice as I worked until I was reasonably happy with the floral embellishments & Distress Inks watercolouring. I was rather taken by the subtle colours of the Distress Inks & I have to thank the A Spoon Full of Sugar challenge (Distress Inks, pearls & glitter) for prompting me to start using them. I shall need a lot more practice but the challenge deadlines are imminent!

I wanted to enter the Penny Black colour combination challenge but my Penny Black stamps are all Christmassy so I was particularly delighted when I found that the small snowflakes in the Giving & Receiving acrylic set are ideal for stamping on flower petals. Bev Rochester's Punched Flower Tutorial (http://bevscrafts.blogspot.com/2009/06/how-i-make-my-flowers.html) gave me the inspiration.

All the punches used for the flowers are Woodware except for the outer one which is EK Success. I used ColorBox Silk Green for the stamped yellow petals & also edging the outermost & innermost petals; then Brilliance Sunflower Yellow for the edges of the remainder. Pearls & Stickles glitter glue completed the flowers & I shall use this formula, or a variation, again as I'm really pleased with the effect.

The mouse is another of the Cute Companions (Crafter's Companion) watercoloured with Distress Inks except for the bouquet's ribbon (Sakura Stardust) & the yellow bows of the outfit (Sakura Stardust & Stickles glitter glue). The scalloped circle background was punched (Woodware) from cardstock. All the edges of the cardstock & patterned papers (floral - Nancy Watt Spring Florals Collection, yellow check - Provo Craft French Country Colors Bitty Scrap Pad) were inked with ColorBox Raw Silk.

I used the sketch from this week's Create 4 Fun challenge & the floral embellishment entitled me also to enter the Totally Gorjuss challenge.

Everything apart from that already mentioned is from my "stash" & I am entering the following challenges:

A Spoon Full of Sugar Challenge 92 - Distress Inks, Pearls & Glitter

http://aspoonfullofsugarchallenge.blogspot.com/2010/02/challenge-92-guest-designers-choice.html

Create 4 Fun Challenge Week 08 - Sketch

http://create4fun-challenge.blogspot.com/2010/02/challenge-week-08.html

Penny Black Saturday Challenge 89 - Colour Combo: Pink, Green & Yellow
http://pennybfriendssaturdaychallenge.blogspot.com/2010/02/week-89-colour-combo.html

Totally Gorjuss Challenge 18 - Flower Power
http://totallygorjuss.blogspot.com/2010/02/flower-power-challenge-18.html

Bunny-Zoe's Blogoversary Candy - until 25th Feb

Bunny-Zoe has an amazing candy offer - click on the following link to see all the details
http://bunny-zoes.blogspot.com/2010/02/bunny-zoes-2-year-blogoversary-candy.html

Dazzling Green with Mouse Looking Towards Spring

easel card standing open card showing detail of base & panel for written message detail of glittered strip & floral embellishment

This was incredibly difficult to photograph. The bluey-green of the card on the floral embellishment I made (Woodware punch plus some sequins & a bead) immediately above is actually a brilliant emerald metallic green, more pearlised than mirror in effect but, nonetheless, so shimmery that the flash reflected back into the lens unless I also lit the area with a daylight lamp. The main easel panel, the scalloped circle on the left & the strip to the right are the same green so the whole effect with the strip of glitter & the shiny embellishments is actually quite dazzling.

I followed Hazel's Sketch at Moving Along With the Times intending to enter that challenge but missed the deadline. However, as the "cute" mouse with her floral bonnet (it could be an Easter one) looking up towards a blossom gem in combination with the floral patterned paper & predominantly green & pink colouring gives such a seasonal sense of Spring, this week's Spring time theme of the A Spoonful of Sugar Challenge is quite apt. I watercoloured the image using Derwent Inktense pencils & made the glittered strip by sprinkling a length of extra strong double sided tape with glitter. The embellishments at either end of it are again made from sequins & beads in my "stash". The circle & scalloped circles punches used are Woodware whereas the corner rounder punch used on the mouse panel is an EK Success one. The mouse stamp is one of the Cute Companions (Crafter's Companion) & the patterned paper is Dovecraft Retro Floral Prints. All the other items are from "stash".

I am entering the following challenges:

A Spoon Full of Sugar Challenge 91 - Spring is in the Air http://aspoonfullofsugarchallenge.blogspot.com/2010/02/challenge-91-spring-is-in-air.html

Fussy & Fancy Friday Challenge 4 - Dazzle Us http://fussyandfancychallenge.blogspot.com/2010/02/challenge-4-dazzle-us.html
My Time to Craft Challenge 79 - Green Plus One!http://mytimetocraftchallenge.blogspot.com/2010/02/challenge-79-green-plus-one.html

Stamp Something - Something Cute

http://stampchallenges.blogspot.com/2010/02/something-cute-challenge.html

Whimsy Stamps Inspirations Blog

The first blog that I am following is a new one "A blog showcasing creativity and a shared passion for stamping and crafting while using Whimsy Stamps products for inspiration!"
I have added the blog's badge on the sidebar so clicking on this should lead straight there. I am particularly excited myself as I am just starting to experiment with colouring & stamps of this kind. Until Sunday 28th Feb there is some candy on offer:
http://whimsystamps.blogspot.com/2010/02/spread-word-candy.html

Colour & Sketch Valentine

card standing in easel position
detail of ribbon & designer brad
detail of embossing & gems
detail of panel inside for personal message

My brief was to make a gentleman's Valentine card which was neither cute nor fussy. For the first time I followed a sketch (Friday Sketchers) & a colour recipe (red, white/off white, chocolate & pink - Colour Create - the optional extra being silver & hearts) with a result that both surprised & thrilled me: I would never have dreamt of combining brown with white or silver/grey.

I stamped & embossed the image (Elusive Images) with Winter Wonderland embossing powder (Stampendous) & inked the background diamond panel using Alabaster (ColorBox chalk), Moonlight White (Brilliance) & Starlite Silver (Brilliance). The latter was also used to edge both the inked panel & the main easel panel. All the red elements were edged in Coffee Bean (Brilliance). The grey pearls which top & tail the inked diamond panel are Kan Ban & the ribbon is from a Woodware pack. The punches used for the various sizes of ovals are also Woodware. Apart from the Dovecraft designer brad everything else is from my "stash".
The card also fitted the Allsorts Challenge recipe of 3, 2, 1 (in this case 3 panels, 2 pearls & 1 brad or 3 pieces of red card, 2 pieces of silver moondust card & 1 embossed image). The Double Dutch Valentine theme also fitted & my 3 red focal points fitted the red Crazy 4 Challenges theme. So, this time I entered 5 challenges:

Friday Sketchers #89

http://fridaysketchersblog.blogspot.com/2010/02/friday-sketchers-89-sponsored-by.html

Colour Create #38 - Red, White/Off White, Chocolate Brown & Pink

http://colourcreatechallenge.blogspot.com/2010/02/challenge-38-time-to-par-tay.html

Allsorts Challenge #39 - A Recipe With a Difference: 3, 2, 1

http://allsortschallenge.blogspot.com/2010/02/week-39-recipe-with-difference.html

Double Dutch Challenge DDC#36 - Be My Valentine

http://doubledutchchallenges.blogspot.com/2010/02/ddc36-be-my-valentine.html

Crazy 4 Challenges C4C24 - Red

http://crazy4challenges.blogspot.com/2010/02/crazy-4-challenges-c4c24.html

Recipe Loving Leftovers

card open showing ribbon & button detail plus tag for personal message

I wanted to try making an Easel Card & catching sight of a pile of inked card on my work bench it gave me an idea. Then, whilst blog hopping when the card was half done, I realised that with a few extras I could enter the A Spoon Full of Sugar Challenge since I had an embossed heart & patterned paper (inked background) &, since I'd used some oddments from my pink & red leftovers (anything smaller than A5) box, I qualified for the Creative Inspirations theme as well, especially when I added the ribbon & small black hearts. There's a Valentine theme at Crazy 4 Challenges so that was 3 challenges I could enter in one go. The oddment of ribbon must have been salvaged from something since it was a bit kinked in places & surfaced in my ribbon extras box. The button is probably Woodware, stamps are Tim Holtz (background) & Elusive Images (embossed heart), the small black hearts are from my tub of punched scraps (Woodware punch) & the rest is from "stash".

With this I'm entering the following challenges

Crazy 4 Challenges - C4C23: Be My Valentine

http://crazy4challenges.blogspot.com/2010/02/crazy-4-challenges-c4c23.html

Creative Inspirations - Challenge 47: Anyone for Leftovers?

http://cinspirations.blogspot.com/2010/02/challenge-47-anyone-for-leftovers.html

A Spoon Full of Sugar - Challenge 90: Recipe of 1 pattern paper, 1 embossing, 1 button, 1 ribbon

http://aspoonfullofsugarchallenge.blogspot.com/2010/02/challenge-90-recipe.html

First Post - Forever Friends Challenge Inside Out

"I love" on the front

"You lots and lots" when you make the first turn

turn again
and finally "With all my heart" & a space to sign

My first Challenge entry - a Never Ending Valentine Card