Tuesday Throwdown Challenge 335 - Add Dimension

Unlike Julius Caesar, we've have made it past the Ides of March! Personally I mentally celebrate every "Ides of" during the winter months knowing it brings us closer to warmer temperatures. That said, welcome to a Tuesday Throwdown sponsored by Sami Stamps. The challenge this week is to add dimension to your creation. Not always an easy feat for someone who generally does clean and simple.

I chose to work with Sami Stamps SneakyWhiskers2. Seeing this image immediately took me back to when we lived in the country. The previous occupants moved and deserted their outdoor cats, two of which were expectant mothers. Thankfully we were located in the country and surrounded by cornfields so they earned their keep by mousing. My last count was 17 little and 5 adult kitties. They are the inspiration for my card.

I filled a card sheet with the kitty images, cut a small border around them and colored with Prismacolor pencils. I didn't want them to be too realistic looking, going for a more humorous look to match the sentiment. The grass was cut with an Amuse die and the fence is something I've had in my stash for years - a doll house supply on clearance for less than a quarter at the time. Sunflowers also from old stash and butterfly was punched twice from some watercolor experimenting with Peanut, glued together and edged with black marker.  Assembly took a while as I wanted the kitties to pyramid a bit; Zot dots to the rescue. Simply rolled the small dots to give dimension and added to the chest of each kitty and pressed behind the previous row. Once assembled, I printed the sentiment on a 5 x 7" card and added clouds. The last row of kitties have rolled Zots on the back and Zot's zip glue lines were added to the fence which adhered everything to the card.

I honestly love this card and the curious look on the faces of the kitties. I certainly hope it brings a smile to yours.

Now that I've shown you mine, I can't wait to see yours! Head over to Sami's as there are lots of great images to use for dimension and then be sure to enter into the Tuesday Throwdown, Challenge 335. You can't win if you don't enter.


Parting thought:

 "Cats are smarter than dogs. 

You can't get eight cats to pull a sled through snow"

Jeff Valdez

PIP Challenge 1712 March 20th - Bugaboo Stamps

Good morning! Welcome to my blog and PIP's challenge 1712. As always, it's anything goes and Bugaboo Stamps is our sponsor. I picked Girls Portrait 1 as the image I wanted to work with. It's a bit outside of my comfort zone and usual style; maybe that's why it was so much fun to work with.

She's colored with Copics, listing of colors at end of post. The card base is white and 5 x 7". The frame is cut from brown Bazzil card stock while the background Bazzil in a teal color. She is fussy cut, tucked in at the bottom, behind the frame and her hair and face are mounted out a bit with Zot Dots so it appears as if she is gazing out her window. The sentiment from The Angel Company is a quote of Erma Bombeck. Here is my take on Girl Portrait 1 (just love those unexpected skulls!)

As promised the colors used were:
  Skin: E000, E01, E50, E51 and RV23
  Eyes: BG34
  Shirt: YR31, Y00, Y32, Y35
  Bow and trim: RV10, RV23, Y35, YR20
  Hair: E33, E35, E57 and Y32

Parting thought and quoting Erma Bombeck again:
  My second favorite household chore is ironing. My first being hitting my head on the top bunk bed until I faint. 
  

Tuesday Throwdown Challenge 333 - Thinking of You

It's Tuesday and time for a Tuesday Throwdown challenge with our sponsor Sasayaki Glitter Digital Stamps. The theme this week is "thinking of you" and I am using her adorable image Shy and Froggie.

This cutie is colored with Copics and then cut with a small border. I was fortunate enough to find two sheets of card stock that are almost a perfect match to my coloring. I know, I know ...  I should plan the papers and then color but I love coloring to much to think that far ahead. The blue panel was punched on one edge with Martha Stewart's Trellis Punch. Shy and Froggie were added along with some greenery, hopefully giving you the feeling of them being in the great outdoors. Sentiment stamp (The Angel Company) added to upper right for balance.

Still a fairly clean and simple card and I'm loving this duo!

Thanks for stopping by and please be sure to visit our sponsor, Sasayaki Glitter, and enter your creation in the Tuesday Throwdown Challenge 333.

I like to think this parting thought is true:  

Someone remembers, someone cares;

Your name is whispered in someone’s prayers.

~Author Unknown

PIP Challenge 1710 - March 6th - Newton's Nook

The sun is up a little longer, the snowfalls aren't lasting as long so spring must be on it's way. That's my inspiration this week for Pip challenge 1710. Newton's Nook is the sponsor and I'm happy to say they are located right here in Wisconsin and have a wonderful on-line store you can find here. Don't forget to admire Newton, the awesome cat who allows his humans to use his name.

Keeping the "spring" train of thought and my insatiable desire to see flowers, I used their Garden Starter stamp and Garden Window Die Set. I have to say I was very pleased with how easy the dies were to snip apart. I had originally die cut the banner and smile die for use with my card but apparently I put the resulting images "somewhere safe" as I couldn't find them when assembling. Since my work space at the time was being shared with 2 others, I didn't feel right in asking them to clear the table so I could haul my machine out to cut again. So I rethought what I wanted to do and the result is below. I am in love with the stitching and embossing details the dies provide.

Card stock is a light cream color and the green paper is from an old mat stack. Ribbon is from stash. Sentiment is from The Angel Company.  Flowers are colored with both Copics and Prismacolor pencils. Listing below.

I had so much fun with the stamps and dies that I am working on another idea that came to me while assembling this one. Blog post in the making?

Thanks for dropping by and I appreciate when you leave comments (those little things in life.) Thanks to Newton's Nook for sponsoring this challenge.  Remember to enter your creations!


Supplies used:
Flower petals: Copic Y32, YR82, Prismacolor PC1002, PC921, PC922
Flower Center: Copic Y04, Spica 19
Leaves/Stems:  Copic YG01, G00