Bah! Humbug! #47 --- Cute Christmas Critters

When the last Bah! Humbug! challenge of the year is upon us, Christmas is not far behind.  And this week is the last BH challenge of the year --- Yikes!  But if it wasn't for Ann and Max and all the guest designers during 2011 I wouldn't have nearly as many cards done as I do!  For the last challenge of 2011 the ladies of Humbug Hall have us seeking out Cute Christmas Critters.  I'm glad they specified "Cute" or we could see another invasion of the ugly spider critter from last September!  EEK!

So, what would Christmas cards be without a House Mouse stamp or two?  There are so many and they definitely qualify as "Cute"!  

I was going through a stack of stamps and images I had already colored and found this angelic pair that I colored last year.  There was even a sticky note attached reminding me to do white-on-white with candy cane ribbon.  So, that's what I did!  Dotted Swiss embossing on the bottom layer and a Nesties frame around the image which is mounted on a piece of red card stock.  And a simple candy cane bow with Martha Stewart snowflake punch.

I colored them with Copics, but I don't remember what I used to make them shimmer.  I just love the humor in this scene and I get the feeling that the bugle is not only loud but off-key as well!

As sad as it is that we won't be seeing Bah! Humbug! for a few weeks, they will be returning in January with even more challenges to get our creative juices flowing for 2012.  In the meantime, hop on over to take a look at the inspiration by the design team and participants.  

To Ann and Max, thank you for another great year!  Love and hugs and Merry Christmas!

House Mouse Challenge #53 --- Buttons!

I haven't done a House Mouse challenge for awhile. Actually, I've had the cards made, just didn't get them on the blog in time. Well, this time I am ready! Not only do I have a card for Challenge #53, but also a matching gift tag! The theme is buttons and I have them --- and they are BIG! This was a fun project!

If it seems I'm on a Christmas theme, well, I am, sort of. I need to have a lot of cards in my shop by next month since many people start their card sending right after Thanksgiving. So, this card features those adorable mice busily wrapping a pile of packages. (They must be in a whole different economical universe!)

Making a matching gift tag is a great use of scraps. This tag is a bit large. I'll be making them a tad smaller in the future. The template for the tag is cut with the Cricut. If I use paper scraps rather than card stock, I put a light weight card stock as a backing. The back of this tag is white with plenty of room for the "To" and "From" and a short note.

I'm still on this mission to color the HM & friends with Copics, but I really do have so much more success with the Prismacolors. This image is colored in Copics. In the near future I will be posting images that are a combination of both Copics and Prismacolors. What a great combo that is!

Thank you for stopping by! I hope you hop over to the House Mouse & Friends blog to see what the Design Team has come up with. They are a-m-a-z-i-n-g! Join in the fun, too!

Barb

In God We Trust

House Mouse Monday Challenge #44 - Paper Tole

This week's House Mouse Monday Challenge is Paper Tole. I wasn't sure what that was but the gorgeous cards by the Design Team gave me some wonderful inspiration.

I just had to ink up this new stamp, but I probably could have chosen a simpler one for the paper tole technique. But I'm a bit of a jump-in-with-both-feet kind of gal, so here I go. The roof of the well, the middle and right-hand bunnies, and the pile of pennies are paper tole. I used Copics to color the whole image.

Other supplies:

Card base: Kraft paper

Patterned paper: Basic Grey

Effects: Cuttlebug bubble embossing folder with Kraft paper

Rhinestones

Sentiment: my own (yea! I actually wrote a sentiment!)

I just love this stamp. It is so animated and can be used for several types of cards.

Thanks for stopping by! Please be sure to pop over to the House Mouse Monday and look at the fabulous cards by the DT and the participants. Join in with your paper tole card, too!

Have a happy and safe holiday weekend!

God Bless America!

Barb

House Mouse Monday Challenge #43

Oh my gosh! Here it is Sunday evening and I haven't posted my card for the House Mouse Challenge #43, even though I have it finished! In fact, I was at Starbucks picking up some coffee beans when I realized that this is Sunday, not Saturday!

With no further ado, here is my card. I love this image of the happy mice in the coffee bag. I found the sketch to be a bit more challenging than it looks, but I am quite happy with the results.
The image is colored with PrismaColors blended with baby oil. The paper for the circle and the mesh are from my scrapbooking stash. When you've been scrapbooking as long as I have the stash will hold many surprises! The brown paper looks like crumpled burlap and the mesh comes pretty close to burlap. I have hundreds of buttons from my days of sewing. (True to the scrapbooker's oath, I never throw anything away!) So, a few buttons here and a few more there, a couple of tabs of houndstooth ribbon and it's done!

Hopefully I'll get a quicker start on the next challenge. I can't wait to see what it is!

Thanks for stopping by. Please drop by the House Mouse Monday blog to see the DT's fabulous cards as well as the participants.

House Mouse Monday #42 --- Neapolitan

I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream! What's your favorite? Vanilla? Strawberry? Chocolate? This week the fun designers at House Mouse Monday picked all three flavors and created a challenge to use the colors of Neapolitan ice cream.

Well, I like ice cream that has extra goodies in it like caramel, cookie dough, or cherries. But whether it already has chocolate in it or not I love to pour hot fudge over the top. Oh, who am I kidding? Forget the ice cream. Just give me the hot fudge! That's why this adorable image is near and dear to my heart!

I colored the image with PrismaColors blended with baby oil. The DP is two-sided scrapbook paper from Heidi Grace. One of the papers had circles of various designs so I cut those out for the embellishments. The corners are made from one circle cut into quarters. The wide twill ribbon is some I grabbed at Michael's at one time or another and it just happened to be a perfect match with this paper. A couple of shiny embellies and it's finished. And I am left with a craving for a very large hot fudge sundae!!

Thanks for stopping by! Be sure to pop over to House Mouse Monday Challenge and take a look at the Design Team's delicious creations. The participants are showing very fun cards, too.

Barb

House Mouse Challenge #41 "Red White and Blue"

The House Mouse Challenge this week is a color scheme: red, white, and blue! I just can't think of those colors without visualizing fireworks, summer picnics, days at the beach, and so many activities that come around this time of year.

These two Gruffies friends are enjoying a day at the beach, though one seems to have found the water a bit chilly. And aren't they smart bears, using sunscreen?

I colored the image with PrismaColors and baby oil. The DP with fireworks is from a collection from Oriental Trading Company, as are the metal embellies and the stick-on "America" ribbon. The ribbons around the edges are from my stash.

This was a pretty simple layout to put together, but it took me forever to get the embellies just right. I think it came out ok. Please, tell me what you think and be sure to pop over to the HM Challenge blog and see all the terrific cards by the design team and participants.

Thank you for stopping by. I hope you all have a fun weekend! Remember, Sunday June 14 is Flag Day here in the US. Fly her high and proud!!

House Mouse Challenge #40 --- Wedding/Anniversary

The House Mouse Challenge for this week is for Wedding/Anniversary. I don't have any of the adorable wedding stamps for the Mousies, Bunnies, or Gruffies, but I think this image of the cuddlesome twosome in the sunflower fits the theme just perfectly. After all, not all weddings are white veils and tuxes. I think this could fit well for anniversaries, too.

I colored the image with Copics, a change from the PrismaColors that I usually use for House Mouse stamps. Then I found in my stash this beautiful printed vellum sheet from Paper Pizazz. I've probably had it for years! But I trimmed it to fit this 5" x 7" card, cut a slip around the lower butterfly, and slipped the HM image inside. Add a sentiment and a bunch of jewels for sparkle, and voila! --- a lovey dovey card for your favorite couple.

Thanks for stopping by and be sure to visit the House Mouse Challenge to add your own and to take a look at all the great creations.

Gruffies Wonderful Friend Card

I've had this card in edit mode for a couple of weeks, but didn't get it ready in time when the House Mouse Challenge theme was "moving". I was going to build a bamboo tree for the panda to carry with him on the skateboard. But I found myself wrapped up in too many projects, as usual, and didn't get it done. It is such a cute little image all by itself anyway, and anyone who would pull a panda on a skateboard most certainly is a wonderful friend!

These furry friends are colored with PrismaColors and blended with baby oil. The card itself is Kraft paper, as is the fence piece which is trimmed with the Martha Stewart picket fence border punch. I love that punch! The other papers are scraps from other projects and the flower is from my stash.

Thanks for stopping by! If you haven't joined in on the House Mouse Challenge blog yet you just must!! The images are beyond cute and the Design Team is ultra-talented. Pop over and take a peek! This week's theme is Weddings/Anniversaries.

House Mouse Challenge #39 --- Birthdays!

Hi, everyone! I hope you had a satisfying week and that you have some fun stuff planned for the weekend!

The House Mouse Challenge this week is birthdays. This is very good timing for me as I have many birthdays this month. So, I am actually going to show two cards. These cards won't be going into my shop, but actually sent out. On the off chance that the recipients take a look at this post I won't be identifying them (like they can't guess anyway! Ha!).

The first stamp is, of course, such a party image and I glitzed it up in the papers and ribbon. These little guys are so cute and if they don't get those party hats unstuck they won't be able to see the gifts behind them!

This card uses an image that is so versatile. I chose it for a masculine card, especially if one likes wine. Ok, so it is unfermented wine, but it looks like someone forgot to tell our little friend. He looks positively blitzed --- uh, blissful!!

A Jane Austen quote might seem a bit odd for a man's card, but the message is non-gender specific and timeless!

Both cards were colored with PrismaColors and blended with baby oil. The papers are actually scraps from previous projects. I used my Nesties for the die cuts and frame on the second card.

I hope you enjoy these cards, as I hope the birthday honorees will, too. Thank you for stopping by and I invite you to leave a comment, even if it is just to say "Hello!"