Hi everyone 😀
Today I am sharing a mixed media Welcome to your New Home Card that I made for my niece and her partner who have moved into a new home and were having a Housewarming Get-together to celebrate.
This is also my card for the following Challenge:
- Crafty Catz Challenge #694 - Anything Goes with Optional Twist of Make Us Smile. My card did make the recipients smile so I hope this qualifies for that part of the Challenge. Click on the underlined link to take you to the Challenge.
Anyway, into my card: I looked in my stash for anything that I could use. I don't think I have ever made a Housewarming Card and I was quite stumped 😐 The only house types of stamps that I had were really only suited to someone who was retiring to the country and they looked too old-fashioned for people in their 20s. And then it hit me: I had a Lavinia stamp called Druid's Inn which had a door on it so I decided I could make a whimsical scene instead. I can honestly say that this is one of the HARDEST cards I have ever made because it was really taking me out of my comfort-zone and using products that I have never used before. However, as my year is all about challenging myself with new techniques and styles of card, I was up for the challenge and was very determined to keep going despite nearly binning it at one stage.
I have a pad of 8" x 8" Lavinia Dreamscape Papers and picked one of the sheets that was quite light as I knew I wanted to able to have a moon in the scene.
Firstly, I stamped The Druid's Inn using Versafine Clair Fallen Leaves which is a lovely brown ink. I stamped the two hares using Versafine Clair Nocturne then left the paper to sit overnight so the images dried and didn't smear once I started adding my colouring mediums.
I have never coloured on these Dreamscape Papers before and it isn't watercolour paper so I had to be super-careful with how much water I added. For the Druid's Inn: I coloured it using multiple products: Faber-Castell Watercolour Pencils in brown tones + black, an Albrecht-Durer Watercolour Pencil in the colour Indian Red, Kuretake Zig Clean Color Real Brush Markers in the colours Mid-Brown 065 + Dark Oatmeal 066 + Red Ochre 604. I added white highlights using a White Gel Pen and Titanium White Pan Pastel. This is my first time using Pan Pastels.
To make the moon, I diecut a circle from acetate in the size I wanted using my Big Shot and Lifestyle Nesting Circles Dies - then placed that where the moon was going to be and lightly sponged around the edge with my Ink Blending Tool using Weathered Wood Ranger Distress Ink.
I sponged underneath the hares to ground them using the Weathered Wood Ink then added some shadow behind them where they would be casting a shadow from the light of the moon. I used a White Gel Pen to add highlights to the hares but smeared it with my finger to make it look more natural.
I used ALOT of stamps to add the foliage and mushrooms. Some were stamped with Versafine Clair Twilight - others with Rainforest and Fallen Leaves. Some are 1st generation - some are 2nd or 3rd generation. I again used my White Gel Pen to add some highlights to the mushrooms smearing them to again make them look more natural.
I stamped some text on the LHS and RHS using Versafine Clair Twilight Ink in 1st and 2nd generation then went around the edges of the card with the same ink. I darkened the edges a little more with Versafine Clair Nocturne Ink.
To brighten the moon, I added Mont Marte Lemon Yellow Pastel Pencil and Titanium White Pan Pastel. This was also my first time using a Pastel Pencil.
I used a Sunshine Yellow Posca Paint Pen to add yellow to the window so it looked like the lights were on and casting light on the vines of the tree and on the stones below it. I added dots here and there around the images using other Posca Pens in the colours Light Pink, Metallic Pink, Apricot and White.
I drew a red heart between the hares using a Red Fine-Point Sharpie then added Candy Cane Stickles to make it sparkle.
Of course, the card needed MORE glitter and it's amazing how much it brightens your card and makes it more special; it just seems to come alive somehow. I added dots of glue using my Quickie Glue Pen around the moon then just added dots here and there around the scene - then sprinkled on some Bellbird PaperArts Diamond Glitter. It's just a shame that you can't see it on my photo but it does look lovely.
Once I had finished the scene, I ran it through my Big Shot with fresh plates and a couple of shims to flatten it which worked surprisingly well.
I added some coloured cardstock layers to the scene using Kaisercraft Ivory, Forest and Cinnamon and trimmed the ivory to 1/16" and the others to 1/8" using my WRMK Perfect Layers Guides. I then glued it to a White Card Base using Tombow Mono Multi Glue.
Finished size is 5-7/8" x 5-7/8" or 149mm x 149mm.
Phew, that was a marathon! Thanks for sticking with me if you got this far - and for visiting my blog today!
Jocelyn
Card Recipe:
Stamps: Lavinia - Leaf Creeper LAV742, Slender Mushrooms Mini LAV151, Quirky Mushrooms LAV413, Forest Mushrooms Mini LAV564, Berry Leaves LAV577, Druid's Inn LAV572, Wild Hares Set Small LAV614, Uniquely Creative Longhand UC1832
Ink: Versafine Clair - Fallen Leaves, Twilight, Rainforest and Nocturne + Ranger Distress Weathered Wood
Designer Paper: Lavinia Dreamscape - Colourburst Collection 8" x 8"
Accessories: Big Shot, Acetate, #4 Round Paintbrush, Pan Pastel - Titanium White, Mont Marte Lemon Yellow Pastel Pencil, Faber-Castell Watercolour Pencils - Brown Tones + Black, Albrecht-Durer Indian Red Watercolour Pencil, Kuretake Zig Clean Color Real Brush Markers - 065 Mid Brown + 066 Dark Oatmeal + 604 Red Ochre, Posca Paint Pens - White + Sunshine Yellow + Metallic Pink + Apricot, Red Fine-point Sharpie, Candy Cane Stickles, White Uniball Signo Gel Pen, Quickie Glue Pen, Bellbird PaperArts Diamond Glitter, Ink Blending Tool + Domed Pad, Square White Card Base, Kaisercraft Cardstock - Ivory + Forest + Cinnamon
Dies: Lifestyle Nesting Circles (retired)
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