HLS November Christmas Challenge - With a Twist of CAS

There are so many way in which one can make a CAS (clean and simple) card.  The one thing to keep in mind is that there should be a good deal of white (or empty) space on the card.  For this challenge I decided to turn to a lovely retired stamp which I love to colour, the Watercolor Winter set.

This is a beautiful set of images.  I stamped the Poinsettia first and then masked it to add the holly branch and the fir branch.  Colouring was easy using my Watercolour Pencils.  I really wasn't sure about adding some background colour but, in the end, I did.  And once I did, there was no going back.  I think it would have cleaner lines without, but that's second-guessing myself.  All in all, I'm happy with the simplicity, keeping it all one layer and then adding that layer to the base.

Our winner for this challenge will receive a $20 coupon to spend at the shop! Check out all the details HERE.

IF YOU USE STAMPS BY HAPPY LITTLE STAMPERS AND YOU ARE OUR RANDOM WINNER, YOUR PRIZE WILL BE DOUBLED!

Hope you'll pop over to see what my Team Mates have created and come join us this month at our Happy Little Stampers November Christmas Challenge with the optional twist of CAS.

HLS November Watercolour Challenge - With a Twist of "Get Well"

A "get well" card can have almost any image.  That makes them very versatile.  All they should really have in common is that they should be "up beat".  You don't want to depress the very person for whom you're making a get well card, do you?

I fell in love with the Lilypad Lake stamp set when I first saw it.  The images lend themselves to all sorts of cards.  In this case I've used the heron and the lilypad for my get well card.  I stamped the image onto a piece of Shimmery White cardstock using pigment black ink for the heron and the Antique Linen Distress ink for the lilypad.  I knew I'd be watercolouring over them and didn't want my inks to run.  The heron was easy.  I used my clear Sakura Glaze pen to entirely cover the white of the heron.  Then I coloured the lilypad and flower using my Stampin' Up! Blends.  I also used the Sakura Glaze pen to create ripple lines where I intended to have water.

Once all that was totally dry, I want to work with my watercolour inks.  I used Pacific Point and Coastal Cabana for the water, applying it across the paper with a broad brush.  Then I used the same brush (cleaned) to apply the Flirty Flamingo and Crushed Curry across the sky.  I sprayed the card with my Ink Blending Solution to move some of the colours around and then added a bit more of the Coastal Cabana and Flirty Flamingo in places.  Again, I sprayed it with my Ink Blending Solution, moving the colours into each other more and, while the inks were still "mobile", moved some of the Crushed Curry and Flirty Flamingo into the water, like a reflection.

I've never tried this technique before but LOVE the results.  Of course the Shimmery White cardstock added a certain something to the whole as well.  It didn't take long for everything to dry and then I took a soft tissue and "cleaned" the heron and lilies.  Once I attached it to a base of Call Me Clover cardstock, I just stamped the sentiment from the Beautiful You set and the card was done.

Our winner for this challenge will receive a $20 coupon to spend at the shop! Check out all the details HERE.

IF YOU USE STAMPS BY HAPPY LITTLE STAMPERS AND YOU ARE OUR RANDOM WINNER, YOUR PRIZE WILL BE DOUBLED!

Hope you'll pop over to see what my Team Mates have created and come join us this month at our Happy Little Stampers November Watercolour Challenge with the optional twist of "get well".

HLS October ATC Challenge - Optional Twist Holidays

At the moment when I think of holidays, I think Christmas.  Of course that has a lot to do with the snow we've had off and on since the first week of September.  Early, yes.  Wanted, definitely not.  Under the circumstances, given my ambivalence, the So Santa stamp set was the perfect way for me to go with this challenge.  After all, how often do you see Santa with a surfboard and tropical drink in hand?

I simply love these images.  They were fun to colour and I did a bit of editing to the stamp, making spots, to get that look of Santa in shorts and an apron with those cookies in hand.  For both ATCs I've added a palm tree from a sun Inkadinkadoo set called Flamingo Fun.  All the colouring was done with my alcohol inks, the Stampin' Up! Blends.  I love the bright colours and "beachy" feel.  This is what Santa loves to do for his holidays.

Our winner for this challenge will receive a $20 coupon to spend at the shop! Check out all the details HERE.

IF YOU USE STAMPS BY HAPPY LITTLE STAMPERS AND YOU ARE OUR RANDOM WINNER, YOUR PRIZE WILL BE DOUBLED!

Hope you will pop over and see what my Team Mates have created and come join us this month for our ATC October Challenge with its theme of "Holiday".

HLS October Anything Goes With Dies - Hallowe'en

I had such fun using my Brushos for this incredible background when I was creating my Hallowe'en card.  The colours I used were the Moss Green for the bottom and the Gamboge for the top.  I love the way they turned out and worked together, don't you?  They make the perfect atmosphere for the wonderful Hallowe'en dies which I used.

My base is the new Mango Medley cardstock and that incredible Designer Paper is from the Toil & Trouble Suite.  Since my scene of die-cuts includes the headstones, the ghosts seemed somehow appropriate.  After using my Brushos and letting the paper dry, I mounted it on a piece of Old Olive cardstock.  The dies for this scene, including the wonderful witch flying overhead, are from a retired set called Halloween Scenes Edgelits Dies.

Our winner for this challenge will receive a $20 coupon to spend at the shop! Check out all the details HERE.

IF YOU USE STAMPS BY HAPPY LITTLE STAMPERS AND YOU ARE OUR RANDOM WINNER, YOUR PRIZE WILL BE DOUBLED!

Hope you'll pop over to see what my Team Mates have created and come join us this month at our Happy Little Stampers October Anything Goes With Dies Challenge.

HLS October Christmas Challenge - With a Twist of "Ribbon"

I don't use a lot of ribbon.  Oh, I buy it because it looks so great in the catalogue or on the shelf, but when push comes to shove, I always love my cards with little or no additional embellishment.  Once in a while I use ribbon.  It's just not a regular "thing".  So you can imagine how I felt when I realized that the twist for this challenge would be "Ribbon".  I had a lot of ideas but the one which finally stuck was to really make the card "all about ribbon".  I kinda like it.  How about you?

This is an incredible ribbon.  It's retired now and I will admit that I didn't use it much on cards (it just seemed rather overwhelming) but it is flat out gorgeous.  You can see how pretty it looks but believe me, it feels sumptuous, too, with that silky, satin softness and all.  This ribbon is 3.2 cm wide (1 1/4") and it dominates the card.  I kept the background simple with that diagonal designer paper and also  kept the sentiment simple, adding it to a stitched tag stamped with Real Red ink and tied to the large ribbon with a skinny 3.2 mm wide (1/8") diagonal striped red and white ribbon.

Our winner for this challenge will receive a $20 coupon to spend at the shop! Check out all the details HERE.

IF YOU USE STAMPS BY HAPPY LITTLE STAMPERS AND YOU ARE OUR RANDOM WINNER, YOUR PRIZE WILL BE DOUBLED!

Hope you'll pop over to see what my Team Mates have created and come join us this month at our Happy Little Stampers October Christmas Challenge with the optional twist of Ribbon.

HLS October Watercolour Challenge - With a Twist of Gold

When you think of gold I'm sure you think of jewellery, treasure, sentiments and all sorts of things.  Do you ever think of a bed frame?  Well, think about it.  Wouldn't a gold bed frame be absolutely awesome?

I just recently got this Art Impressions "Irresistible" stamp set and was itching to use it.  I knew I'd love watercolouring it but I also wanted to do the "twist" for this challenge.  I almost moved on to a different stamp when it came to me:  the bed frame could be gold.  And the card was "born".  I love the image.  It's drawn so well and who wouldn't love that cat?  I went to town with my watercolours, using nice bright shades because this "old broad" may be sick, but she is feisty.  To finish off, I added a few gold pearls.  I think I used the twist quite well, don't you?

Our winner for this challenge will receive a $20 coupon to spend at the shop! Check out all the details HERE.

IF YOU USE STAMPS BY HAPPY LITTLE STAMPERS AND YOU ARE OUR RANDOM WINNER, YOUR PRIZE WILL BE DOUBLED!

Hope you'll pop over to see what my Team Mates have created and come join us this month at our Happy Little Stampers October Watercolour Challenge with the optional twist of gold.

HLS September ATC (Artist's Trading Card) - Vintage

I love Vintage.  There are such a lot of possibilities. I love Vintage, and so creating my ATC this month just meant deciding which type of vintage I would spotlight in my card.  In the end I  decided to stick with the sepias which really lent themselves well to my theme.  What can I say?  Sepia reminds me of the old photos and that's my idea of vintage.

I love the images I stamped in this card.  They're from a retired set which I can't seem to let go called Artistic Etchings.  I combined some retired newsprint designer paper with Crumb Cake and Soft Suede.  The distressing and sponging look great sponged with the Distress Oxide ink, Frayed Burlap, don't they?  I stamped the key and crown using the Distress Oxide ink, Vintage Photo (appropriately named for this project).  The Eiffel Tower is stamped in Soft Suede and then matted with Copper Foil.  That old fashioned button looks perfect against the woven copper ribbon which I've pulled into odd shapes.  I chose to use the sentiment "Dream" because visiting Paris is a dream of mine.

Our winner for this challenge will receive a $20 coupon to spend at the shop! Check out all the details HERE.

IF YOU USE STAMPS BY HAPPY LITTLE STAMPERS AND YOU ARE OUR RANDOM WINNER, YOUR PRIZE WILL BE DOUBLED!

Hope you will pop over and see what my Team Mates have created and come join us this month for our ATC September Challenge with its theme of "Vintage".

HLS September Anything Goes With Dies - Love You

I bought a new die and was "itching" to use it.  It's a beautifully designed die with a boy and a girl kissing on a swing.  It's a perfect size for using the branch from the Best Birds set from which I could hang the swing using some black thick Baker's Twine.  I decided that I would use the die-cut of the couple as a silhouette and also keep the sentiment in a nice bold black.  The rest I coloured.  The grass, for example, is stamped using Mossy Meadow ink and the grass stamp from the Enjoy Life set.  In fact, the sentiment also comes from that set.

For the branch I used the Best Birds set and my Stampin' Markers.  The wood is a combination of Gray Granite and Soft Suede while the leaves are a combination of Mossy Meadow and Old Olive.  That setting sun background is a combination of the Distress Oxides.  I wanted to keep it on the warm side and so used the Fossilized Amber, Wild Honey and Fired Brick.

I had such fun creating this card.  Everything worked together even better than I had anticipated.

Our winner for this challenge will receive a $20 coupon to spend at the shop! Check out all the details HERE.

IF YOU USE STAMPS BY HAPPY LITTLE STAMPERS AND YOU ARE OUR RANDOM WINNER, YOUR PRIZE WILL BE DOUBLED!

Hope you'll pop over to see what my Team Mates have created and come join us this month at our Happy Little Stampers September Anything Goes With Dies Challenge.

HLS September Christmas Challenge - With a Twist of Trees

Among the cards in my Christmas stash, I always like to include a few which are simple, elegant, and non-traditional.  That's what I decided to do with the card I created for the Happy Little Stampers Christmas challenge.

Although the challenge is an "anything goes", I decided to play along with the "optional twist of tree".  I took my inspiration from a piece of Designer Paper which is simply white with black trees randomly spaced on it.  I used a base of Heavy Whisper White cardstock, added a layer of Basic Black and then added the piece of Designer Paper.  Then I heat embossed the evergreen from the Lovely as a Tree stamp set using black embossing powder on vellum.  When that had cooled, I cut out the embossed tree and mounted it on the die-cut white rectangle with its black matte.  To finish off, I die-cut the word "peace" as well as a star from some silver foil cardstock.

The card is simple, elegant, and worked out as beautifully as I had hoped it would.

Our winner for this challenge will receive a $20 coupon to spend at the shop! Check out all the details HERE.

IF YOU USE STAMPS BY HAPPY LITTLE STAMPERS AND YOU ARE OUR RANDOM WINNER, YOUR PRIZE WILL BE DOUBLED!

 

Hope you'll pop over to see what my Team Mates have created and come join us this month at our Happy Little Stampers September Christmas Challenge with the optional twist of tree.

HLS September Watercolour Challenge - Optional Twist Butterflies

We've had a weird summer.  So much smoke has drifted over to our province from the nearly 600 wildfires burning in British Columbia that many of the birds and butterflies haven't been evident.  With September bringing colder nights (and days) in this part of the world, I think that I will be waiting for next year to see many of these delightful creatures visiting my flowers.  By now you'll realize I'm thinking of butterflies because that's our Optional Twist for September's challenge.

For my card I went "wild" with some of my Distress Oxide inks and also my Brushos (the lovely Gamboge in particular).  I think the colours are particularly appropriate for September as the greens will be turning yellow and orange this month.  But don't the colours make a wonderful background for that sparkling die-cut butterfly?  And because butterflies do make my heart sing, what could be a better sentiment than this one from the Happy Little Stampers Born to be Wild stamp set?  The black heat embossing really makes it pop against those background colours, doesn't it?

I had such fun creating this card.  Playing with watercolours brings me back to my childhood and brings back such great memories.

Our winner for this challenge will receive a $20 coupon to spend at the shop! Check out all the details HERE.

IF YOU USE STAMPS BY HAPPY LITTLE STAMPERS AND YOU ARE OUR RANDOM WINNER, YOUR PRIZE WILL BE DOUBLED!

Hope you'll pop over to see what my Team Mates have created and come join us this month at our Happy Little Stampers September Watercolour Challenge with the optional twist of butterflies.

HLS August ATC (Artists' Trading Cards) Challenge - Water

I love water.  Drinking water.  Lakes. Rivers. Streams.  Oceans.  Rain.  I love water, and so creating my ATC this month just meant deciding which type of water I would spotlight in my card.  In the end I made two cards, one with a pond in mind and the other with the ocean in mind.  It was a tie.  What can I say?

For those who don't really know much about Artists' Trading Cards, the absolutely unbreakable rule is that they must be 3 1/2" x 2 1/2" in size.  As for the rest, it's like the sports cards that boys and girls often trade.  In other words, the front reflects the theme while the back of the card has the artist's information.

Our winner for this challenge will receive a $20 coupon to spend at the shop! Check out all the details HERE.

IF YOU USE STAMPS BY HAPPY LITTLE STAMPERS AND YOU ARE OUR RANDOM WINNER, YOUR PRIZE WILL BE DOUBLED!

Hope you will pop over and see what my Team Mates have created and come join us this month for our ATC August Challenge with its theme of "Water".

HLS August Anything Goes With Dies Challenge

It's so much fun to work with dies.  Especially since I just received an order with some new dies that I'm dying to try out.  How serendipitous that I need to use dies for this challenge.  And you get to see it here, first.  Yay!

Isn't that die of the moon and bullrushes gorgeous?  I decided to keep it very simple and just coloured a background.  Then, after attaching the die cut to my background and adding the birds, I attached it all to a simple Basic Black base.  Anything more would have taken attention away from the striking silhouettes.

Our winner for this challenge will receive a $20 coupon to spend at the shop! Check out all the details HERE.

IF YOU USE STAMPS BY HAPPY LITTLE STAMPERS AND YOU ARE OUR RANDOM WINNER, YOUR PRIZE WILL BE DOUBLED!

Hope you'll pop over to see what my Team Mates have created and come join us this month at our Happy Little Stampers August Anything Goes With Dies Challenge.

HLS August Christmas Challenge - With a Twist of Sequins

Little by little I'm adding to my stash of cards for Christmas.  It makes me feel good to have these put aside and not to be frantic to create them all later, when I should just be relaxing and writing to my friends and family.

For this card I decided to go with the "twist of sequins" offered as a choice with the challenge.  Since I made that decision, I went about looking through my stamps, deciding which one would look best with the addition of sequins.  No, I didn't make a shaker card.  I chose this reindeer stamp instead.

Since I was house-sitting at the time I made this card, I actually found this fantastic stamp among my daughter's things.  Do you think I remembered to write down what the name of the stamp might be?  Let's just enjoy it and if I get time, I'll see if I can find that out.

I used a lot of H2O paints to colour this creation.  I thought the shimmery colours were perfect, especially with the added tiny silver and gold sequins.  I used the lovely Gina Marie Pierced Chain die set to cut out my stamped piece and then added a Merry Merlot matte before attaching it to the base of Heavy Very Vanilla. 

Our winner for this challenge will receive a $20 coupon to spend at the shop! Check out all the details HERE.

IF YOU USE STAMPS BY HAPPY LITTLE STAMPERS AND YOU ARE OUR RANDOM WINNER, YOUR PRIZE WILL BE DOUBLED!

Hope you'll pop over to see what my Team Mates have created and come join us this month at our Happy Little Stampers August Christmas Challenge with the optional twist of sequins.

HLS August Watercolour Challenge - You Colour My World

Can it be August already?  It won't be long before school begins again and then, of course, Autumn.  But for now it's still summer and the flowers are glorious!  The lilies and roses (and countless others which will remain unnamed since I just know the basic ones) are blooming and leaving their wonderful perfumes in the air.  If you haven't guessed by now, the optional twist to our August Watercolour challenge is "flowers".

For my card I used a Tim Holtz set of stamps which also came complete  with a set of stencils.  Of course I used the stencil and for the flower, I chose the pretty rose which I stamped and masked so that they would look as if they were beside each other.  Flowers are such fun to watercolour, aren't they?

You can see the splatter stencilling behind the roses.   I had such fun creating this card.

Our winner for this challenge will receive a $20 coupon to spend at the shop! Check out all the details HERE.

IF YOU USE STAMPS BY HAPPY LITTLE STAMPERS AND YOU ARE OUR RANDOM WINNER, YOUR PRIZE WILL BE DOUBLED!

Hope you'll pop over to see what my Team Mates have created and come join us this month at our Happy Little Stampers August Watercolour Challenge with the optional twist of flowers.

HLS July ATC (Artists' Trading Cards) Challenge - Coffee

I love coffee!  What better optional twist for our awesome July ATC Challenge than "coffee"?  Since I have images, dies and even Designer Paper which all reflect my love for this brew, this was a challenge I could happily embrace.

For those who don't really know much about Artists' Trading Cards, the absolutely unbreakable rule is that they must be 3 1/2" x 2 1/2" in size.  As for the rest, it's like the sports cards that boys and girls often trade.  In other words, the front reflects the theme while the back of the card has the artist's information.

Our winner for this challenge will receive a $20 coupon to spend at the shop! Check out all the details HERE.

IF YOU USE STAMPS BY HAPPY LITTLE STAMPERS AND YOU ARE OUR RANDOM WINNER, YOUR PRIZE WILL BE DOUBLED!

Hope you will pop over and see what my Team Mates have created and come join us this month for our ATC July Challenge with an Optional Twist of Coffee.

HLS July Anything Goes With Dies Challenge

I love working with dies and punches.  Along with some of the gorgeous colours of cardstock, using the die-cuts alone or with stamped images or sentiments, it's easy to create gorgeous cards or layouts.  I combined the adorable Foxy Friends set and punch with a wonderful leafy circle and die-cut paw print.  Don't those colours just "pop" against the background?

For my background, I took a piece of Basic Black and sponged patterns using my Craft White ink.  I left enough of the black to allow it to stand out nicely against the base of Smoky Slate cardstock and also use the Smoky Slate for my paw-print.  The leafy circle is cut from Old Olive cardstock and the little fox is a combination of Cajun Craze and Whisper White cardstocks.

Our winner for this challenge will receive a $20 coupon to spend at the shop! Check out all the details HERE.

IF YOU USE STAMPS BY HAPPY LITTLE STAMPERS AND YOU ARE OUR RANDOM WINNER, YOUR PRIZE WILL BE DOUBLED!

Hope you'll pop over to see what my Team Mates have created and come join us this month at our Happy Little Stampers July Anything Goes With Dies Challenge.

HLS July Christmas Challenge - Skating Santa

Santa Claus works hard over Christmas.  All the more reason to have some fun whenever possible.  What could be better, during those breaks between supervising his complex of workshops and checking on who is being naughty or nice, than some fun skating and enjoying that lovely crisp air?  I've cut Santa out from some gorgeous paper which I have stashed away (can't use it---it will be gone!).

I used some Coastal Cabana cardstock for his skating rink and some more of that lovely paper as a background.  It looks great stamped with those trees from the Nature Sings stamp set, doesn't it?  To finish off, I die-cut my sentiment from some Whisper White.  I just love the carefree look on Santa's face, don't you?

Our winner for this challenge will receive a $20 coupon to spend at the shop! Check out all the details HERE.

IF YOU USE STAMPS BY HAPPY LITTLE STAMPERS AND YOU ARE OUR RANDOM WINNER, YOUR PRIZE WILL BE DOUBLED!

Hope you'll pop over to see what my Team Mates have created and come join us this month for our HLS Anything Goes July Christmas Challenge with the optional twist of Santa.

HLS July Watercolour Challenge - Have a Magical Birthday

Here in Canada we open July with a huge birthday party.  You see, Canada's birthday is on July 1st.  So we bring on the games, ice-cream, pop-corn, cake, dancing and, of course, the fireworks.  How perfect is it that our theme for the Happy Little Stampers July Watercolour challenge is "Birthday"?  I love it!

For my card I decided to use a gorgeous Stampendous mermaid and friends stamp set with matching dies.  The image just begged for some watercolouring and I was happy to oblige.

What you can't see very well is the shimmer of the Yasutomo metallic watercolours which I've added to the tail, globe and crown.

Our winner for this challenge will receive a $20 coupon to spend at the shop! Check out all the details HERE.

IF YOU USE STAMPS BY HAPPY LITTLE STAMPERS AND YOU ARE OUR RANDOM WINNER, YOUR PRIZE WILL BE DOUBLED!

Hope you will pop over and see what my Team Mates have created and come join us this month for our Anything Goes Watercolour Challenge with the Optional twist of a Birthday.

HLS June Watercolour Challenge - A Little Smile

My goodness!  It's already June and time for another Happy Little Stampers Watercolour Challenge.  While the challenge is always "Anything Goes" this month the twist is to add a Smile.

I used a piece of Mixed Media vellum paper to stamp my happy little Smile stamp.  Yes, it's retired, but how could I get rid of those adorable little hedgehogs?  Once the ink was completely dry, I began my watercolouring, using my Derwent Inktense and Watercolour pencils.  Once I had coloured everything to my liking, I took my AquaPainter and brushed over the colours.  Some I did "fast and sloppy" to spread the colour beyond the lines.  Others I brushed over lightly to keep the images clean and bright. 

Afterwards I used my "wonky" rectangle die which adds so much lovely interest to the border, don't you agree?  Then I mounted the piece to a base of Heavy Whisper White, raised on foam Dimensionals.

Our winner for this challenge will receive a $20 coupon to spend at the shop! Check out all the details HERE.

IF YOU USE STAMPS BY HAPPY LITTLE STAMPERS AND YOU ARE OUR RANDOM WINNER, YOUR PRIZE WILL BE DOUBLED!

Hope you will pop over and see what my Team Mates have created and come join us this month for our Anything Goes Watercolour Challenge with the Optional twist of a Smile.

HLS May Watercolour Challenge - Make a Wish

I love CAS challenges (that would be "clean and simple").  How happy am I that this month's twist for the HLS Watercolour Challenge is exactly that?  Very happy.  And I'm happier still that I can use one of my Happy Little Stampers stamp sets for the challenge.  Bonus!

Our winner for this challenge will receive a $20 coupon to spend at the shop! Check out all the details HERE.

IF YOU USE STAMPS BY HAPPY LITTLE STAMPERS AND YOU ARE OUR RANDOM WINNER, YOUR PRIZE WILL BE DOUBLED!

I'm using the Dandelion Wishes stamp set for this challenge.  The single dandelion clock with some of the seeds lifting up into the breeze really appeals to me.  And so I used my Memento Tuxedo Black to stamp that and then also used it to stamp short blades of grass along the bottom to "ground" it.  Last, but not least, I used it to stamp my sentiment just to right of the top of the image.  

All that black on the white seemed a bit stark and so I took the splatter stamp from my new Stampin' Up! Artisan Textures set, some of the new Grapefruit Grove ink, and stamped it over a light wash of the same colour so that it appeared to be blowing out of the dandelion clock.  Love the effect!

To finish up I used a base of Heavy Whisper White and a matte of the Grapefruit Grove cardstock, attached the stamped piece and my card was done.

I love the simplicity of the card and those images and hope you do, too.  Check out the other awesome samples at our HLS May Watercolour Challenge.