IHP - Thank Heavens for Colour and Sketch Challenges

Well, my wrist isn't getting better yet.  It hurts and the anti inflammatory topical goop doesn't seem to be helping.  On the bright side, my family is wonderful and has been helping so much with the foster puppies so that my wrist has had a break.  Today though, everyone is back in their assigned places at work and at school and I'm fending for myself.  Good thing the puppies don't really care about how long it takes me to mop their space or that it really isn't as clean as it normally is.  They just like me picking them up, talking to them and scratching their tummies.  Not all litters like to be flipped on their backs (dominance issues), but the little guys we have now are very high on the awesome scale.

Since my wrist sucks and it takes so much longer to do puppies, I kept it simple on this card.  I used the Curtain Call Colour Challenge Act 63 for my colours.  I saw them and the first thing I thought was that I really didn't think I could do a thing with them - just not my style.  Then I decided to bite the bullet and stretch my self and stop wimping out when I see a colour challenge combo I don't like.  i guess I cheated a little though because I used ink to make my white card stock not quite so white.


 I also used the sketch challenge from Paper Craft Planet this week by Jessica Fick.  It's a gooder people!  If you are able to play along, use code sk010111 so we can find it and leave a comment for you!

Finally, I saw the technique challenge on Splitcoaststampers for this week to paint with stickles.  Be still my beating heart!  Why didn't I think of that?!!!  I think it's a brilliant technique and I don't think I did it quite the way Joan intended, but the challenge inspired me to work with stickles in a way different than I have used them before.  I just didn't crack my coloured stickles for this image.  I used clear-ish stickles over copic marker colouring which dives more depth than I could have achieved with stickles alone.  The stickles adhere well to the copics because they are alcohol ink based rather than water based which would bleed into the stickles.  I used crystal stickles on the leaves and rock candy stickles on the tree trunk.

For this project, I used one of my favourite Unity stamp sets, Moments in Bloom/Naturally You available from i {heart} papers.  I have used this set in so many ways, and it's one that I find I reach for out of habit.  The ledger lines and the sentiment are from one half of the set, and the tree is from the other half.  The halves used to be sold separately, but I just can't split the set.  One part whimsy + one part artistic = absolutely divine!

The copics and where I used them;

Tree glow; B0000, B000, B00, B41
Tree trunk; E71, E74, E77, E79
Leaves; YG91, YG93, YG97

I have additional links for products used in the recipe below.  I hope the rest of your week is wonderfully creative!

stamps; moments in bloom/naturally you (unity from i heart papers)
paper; pyrus (basic grey from i heart papers), haley, maltball (bazzill)
ink; espresso adirondack, pumice stone distress ink (ranger)
accessories; crystal, rock candy stickles (ranger), always artichoke ribbon (SU!), taupe pearls (zva from i heart papers), edger punch combo rings (martha stewart)