Fall/Winter House Mouse release at Spellbinders

Do you miss me?! I'm over on the Spellbinders blog today with a coloring tutorial - please come learn something and say hello!

When you shop through the affiliate links used here, the company sends a small commission my way at no cost to you as thanks for the referral.
It's a lovely way to partner with these companies that mean so much to our creative community. Everybody wins!

Spellbinders House Mouse feature - Spring Has Sprung!

You can find me over on the Spellbinders blog today, with some colorful cards and coloring tips! I always enjoy playing with House Mouse stamps!

When you shop through the affiliate links used here, the company sends a small commission my way at no cost to you as thanks for the referral.
It's a lovely way to partner with these companies that mean so much to our creative community. Everybody wins!

Spellbinders - House Mouse stamps!

Just a quick post to share in case you didn't know - Spellbinders is the new home of House Mouse stamps! I have a large collection of vintage wood block HM stamps but I love the artwork on the cling stamps too... these are high quality red rubber stamps on indexed cling foam backing and they are just delightful! This set is called Popping By, and it's a nice card-sized image of little airborne Amanda with 2 sentiments to match. I used colored pencils to color this image up while I was listening in on an extended family phone call, and I added some stenciled clouds in the background. I didn't cut my stamp apart, but it's easy to stamp either section alone - I inked up just the flowers and stamped them up the side of my mini slimline panel here - I thought they looked like they were reaching up to the sunshine that way, and it made me happy. I'll just mention too - I was not a fan of how Stampendous used vinyl on their cling stamps, so if you're like me you'll be happy to know these stamps are not mounted on vinyl. It's cling foam with the index printed on the back for easy placement. This panel is watercolored, and I used my drywall tape trick to paint the background.If you're a fan of House Mouse stamps, be sure to check out the new release and other HM sets! These are a nice large format, and I'll be adding a couple more designs to my cart soon! I've enjoyed these little guys since I was a little girl, and it's been fun to follow the license to so many different companies!

(I added my card to the House Mouse and Friends Monday Challenge for challenge #392 - so happy to see those still going on! Once upon a time I did some blog designing for them and they are still using a couple of my graphics. Fun.)

When you shop through the affiliate links used here, the company sends a small commission my way at no cost to you as thanks for the referral.
It's a lovely way to partner with these companies that mean so much to our creative community. Everybody wins!

Splitcoast tutorial: Layered Retiform

It's my turn to share a tutorial over at Splitcoast, and I've got a fun new one for you - the Layered Retiform technique is a great way to make colorful backgrounds, as well as swatching your coloring mediums to discover new colors! Believe it or not, this sample was made with just 3 pencils...!
I used 4 Copic markers for the next background (the mouse was colored with Copics and pencil):

...and this one was done with watercolors. I used Copics and pencils to color the image, and whatever yellow ink was left in my blending brush for the background. 

It was fun to pull out a few of my House Mouse stamps today! I have over 100 of them - eek! The sentiments I used are my designs - the typed ones are from THIS new clear set, which stays on my desk for all its useful sentiments, and the brushed words are from THIS older clear set (it's got a countdown on it, so I would guess it will not be around much longer but how CUTE are those snails!!)

Speaking of collections, I added a few new Winnie the Pooh jewelry pieces to my Etsy store this week! One has sold already, but there are still two, and I've had requests for Eeyore necklaces, so those will be coming soon!

When you shop through the affiliate links used here, the company sends a small commission my way at no cost to you as thanks for the referral.
It's a lovely way to partner with these companies that mean so much to our creative community. Everybody wins!

Fall Coffee Lovers Blog Hop - Super Sponsor!

It's time for the Coffee Lovers Blog Hop, and I'm so excited to be a Super Sponsor again! Keep reading to find out how you can win one of 2 mini canvases or a domed glass art pendant, and receive a special coupon code for my online store! 

In case you're new to my blog, I'll tell you a little about me.  I adore Winnie the Pooh, randomly burst into song, and collect fun socks. I'm a working artist (see my commissioned pet portraits HERE), have my own line of stamps, and I'm the Artist in Residence at Splitcoaststampers, among other roles behind the scenes. I love to create, and I love sharing what I learn in the process. I have an online store where you'll find prints of my original artwork as well as jewelry and other items. I've been blogging here for almost 11 years!

This little Gruffies image (Bearly Working) is full of empty coffee cups - this September has been really busy for me, so I can relate to his little scene! The main panel is watercolored, and the background was an experiment with ColorBox sprays.

On to the fun stuff!

For a chance to win prizes in our hop this week, you have to play along! Head over to the Coffee Loving Cardmakers blog for all the details, and to link up your fall coffee, tea, or cocoa themed project! 

Two lucky winners will receive a hand painted mini canvas for participating this week, and one winner will be getting a domed glass art pendant - You can find these and more coffee (and other!) themed gifts in my online store - and to thank you for hopping and visiting today, you can use coupon code COFFEEHOP for 20% off your entire order through the end of the hop next Friday!

Thanks again - enjoy the hop, and go make something pretty!

SPRING Coffee Lovers Blog Hop!

It's time for the Coffee Lovers Blog Hop, and I'm so excited to be a Super Sponsor again! Keep reading for the prizes and a special coupon code for my online store!

I watercolored this fun little caffeinated scene from Stampendous for the occasion ... I used QoR watercolors along with some Zig and Distress markers for the details and shadows. The sentiment is from my stamp line at Impression Obsession. The paper strips I used for the background panel were on my desk from a few other projects - I love putting random scraps together to make a panel like this - such a fun way to build a color palette!

For a chance to win prizes in our hop this week, you have to play along! Head over to the Coffee Loving Cardmakers blog for all the details, and to link up your spring coffee, tea, or cocoa themed project! 

These 3 handmade pendants are up for grabs as prizes this week! You can find them and more coffee (and other!) themed gifts in my online store - and to thank you for hopping and visiting today, you can use coupon code COFFEEHOP for 20% off your entire order!

Thanks again - enjoy the hop, and go make something pretty! xoxo

PS. I linked up to the current House Mouse Challenge (#237) too, just for fun!

Love and Joy - House Mouse challenge!

I made this card just for fun, not for an assignment or any obligation... it's been a long while since I've done that, and it was relaxing and fun. I have a short lull between projects, so I'll take it! I'm entering this card in the current House Mouse challenge, HMFMC# 231.

I used an unmounted House Mouse image that I purchased from Joanna Sheen - she isn't carrying the line any more, but they're sometimes available on ebay.

This was my first time coloring the image, and I loved adding the little details - I stamped it on a 4-inch Art Square from Inchie Arts, and used QoR watercolor paints to fill in the scene. The sentiment is one of mine, available from Impression Obsession. The banner die is from Simon Says Stamp.

Once my envelopes and packaging arrive, I'll be having a big card destash sale - one of my goals this year is to purchase a wide format printer so I can begin doing my art prints on demand instead of ordering away for them. This would open up a lot of possibilities for me, maybe even including some watercolor kits and classes in the new year... so a fundraiser is in order to make that printer mine! I will keep you posted.

In the meantime, take a peek in my store - I have more pendants to choose from!

Follow Inchie Arts on Facebook for more inspiration!

Falliday Fest tutorial: Twist Gate Fold

Today's tutorial for Falliday Fest is this adorable Twist Gate Fold card - it's the cutest little size, and fits in a regular A2 envelope.

I had this little mouse already colored up - all I needed to do is add a little color to the background to make it match my papers. Speaking of the papers, these panels are so small - this is a great project for using up scraps. Dawn has really good tips for cutting the panels to perfection!

This little House Mouse was an unmounted stamp available through Joanna Sheen - she has discontinued that line. The sentiment is one of mine, and it's in the Life Stuff Sentiments clear set (it will be available in rubber soon with the upcoming Valentine release!)

Come over to the Falliday Fest Challenge Forum for all the details!