Waltzingmouse Sketch Challenge #1: A Wee Hello

Today, I'm participating in Waltzingmouse Stamps' first sketch challenge! Waltzingmouse Stamps is a company from Ireland (as many of you know), with some sweet and exciting stamps with a unique flair. I had long coveted some, but held off because the international shipping price would have limited me to a set or two, and I can't order just a set or two! Well, I can but I didn't want to. :-> So then, for her first year anniversary, Claire, the owner, had a FREE shipping special, even internationally! I still couldn't go crazy-crazy, so I just went a little crazy. And then some volcano in Iceland erupted and . . . well, you know how that was. But, I did get my stamps (great quality, IMHO), and I finally inked a few up for WMS's first sketch challenge! Sorry about the "casual" picture, LOL, but I wanted to get it up before bed tonight. I really enjoyed working with the stamps--for this little card (3.5x3.5) the circle of leaves and the background stamp on the kraft base (click on the picture and you should be able to see it) are from WMS. The green paper is PTI's new Simply Chartreuse (love it), as is the button. However, so is the ink used to stamp the leaf circle, as as you can see, it's a completely different color. I now know what folks mean on the PTI forum when they have complained about this. I must have lucked out because my Hawaiian Shores is a good match, but the "mismatch bug" finally bit me with Simply Chartreuse ink. I'll need to find a match somewhere else. Any suggestions? Oh, the PP behind the circle looks like it has green splotches on it, but it's actually a leaf print. Someday I will take better pictures and not feel like I have to explain these things! Thanks for dropping by!

Supplies
Stamps: WMS--Faux Fun Circles & Pic-Nic Patterns; PTI--Communique Curves Sentiments
Paper: PTI--Kraft & Simply Chartreuse; stash
Ink: PTI--Simply [not] Chartreuse; Ranger--Vintage Photo Distress Ink
Button: PTI--Simply Chartreuse
Misc: Twine--PTI; Brads--stash; Die--Spellbinders

Papertrey Pixies Challenge #1

Yeah! I finally scanned the page I made for the first Pixie challenge! I finished it last week but kept forgetting to scan it so I could upload it. :-) The challenge is to make your own background paper. I decided to do this for a scrapbook layout, rather than a card, because it's been so long since I scrapbooked. I mean over a year, at least. Cards kind of took over (love that instant gratification) but I do love scrapbooking too and have really wanted to get back to it. I chose the title page for my kitties' album (yes, I make albums for my pets and I am not ashamed, LOL!). They are almost 3, so I thought it was about time. (I'm embarrassed to admit that my nephew is 3 1/2 and I haven't even done a title page for his first year SB! Um, guess that should be next. ;->) So, I spent an obscene amount of time choosing the picture, and then went with the colors in it to make the page. I made the polka dotted pink paper with Polka Dot Basics II, stamping in watermark ink and then using a pearly embossing powder on them. Yes, that did take a long time. The light gray paper is stamped with a CHF backgrounder in Smokey Shadow. I made the letters too, with a Technique Tuesday alphabet and the same embossing powder as on the dots. Looks different doesn't it? In person, the letters look metal, which is cool but unintended. I used a border punch, a date stamp, and punched the flowers out of paper I made like the big pink piece, only with little paw prints instead of polka dots. Some brads, PTI's medium scallop die, and I was done.

BTW, Mia is on the left and Milo on the right. They are from the same litter but I suspect they have different fathers. Mia is small, not afraid of anything, and the smartest cat I've ever come across, and Milo is clearly part Siamese (you should hear his meow), leery of his own shadow, and a real sweet mama's boy. He's also a special needs kitty, which we didn't know when I adopted them. He was born with shallow hip joints, and through veterinary chiropracty and meds, he does pretty darned well! I'm sure he has no idea he's "special," LOL! If you've made it this far, thanks for looking! ;-D

Supplies
Stamps: PTI--Polka Dot Basics II; CHF--Paw Print Backgrounder & Dotted Lines Backgrounder; Technique Tuesday--Provence Lowercase Letters, Extra Large; Heidi Swapp date stamper
Paper: PTI--Soft Stone & Smokey Shadow; stash
Border Punch: EK Success
Ink: Tsukineko--Versamark; PTI--Smokey Shadow
Embossing Powder: Lindy's Stamp Gang--Silver Moon/Sapphire
Flower Punches: EK Success (?)
Dies: PTI--Medium Scallop Die; Cuttlebug flower die (heart)