Wednesday, September 16, 2015

On a Magic Carpet

It's time for another House Mouse & Friends Monday Challenge, The subject is Bingo or Anything Goes. This card is for Bingo, and I chose the vertical middle squares; orange, yellow and green. The green is subtle, because the leaves have put on their autumn colours, and only a little summer green remains on the veins and the stem.

The stamp is House Mouse Floating on a Leaf, coloured with Stampin' Up watercolour crayons (retired, alas!); the background paper comes from my stash and has been there for ages, the base is discontinued Stampin' Up Marigold Morning.

I'm drawn to the House Mouse mice because of their irrepressible joy. They take delight in everything, and their--or rather Ellen Jarecki's--inventiveness in using everyday objects for mousy mischief and fun is inspiring. Their mischief is never harmful or mean, and they cherish their friends and each other. Here they're using a couple of leaves for a magic carpet. I think I'll grab that leaf stem and sail along with them. Want to join me?

Tuesday, September 01, 2015

Back to School...in the rain!

The new House Mouse & Friends Monday Challenge is Back to School. A card or other project must feature any of the House Mouse & Friends, Gruffies, or Happy Hoppers, and Anything Goes is the alternate subject.



Maxwell, Monica, Mudpie, and Muzzy are on their way to the first day of school. They don't seem bothered by the deluge, semi-protected as they are by the last of the summer's flowers. Mudpie seems a little hesitant about getting his feet wet, while Monica is happily splashing, Muzzy is soaking his tail, and Maxwell is leaping from rock to rock.

The scene reminds me of my first days at kindergarten. My house was not far from school, so after a couple of days being accompanied by my Grandmother, I was to walk there and back--an adventure in itself--and had a shiny new pair of red rubber boots for rainy days. When the first rainy day came, I set out, joyfully splashing in every puddle I could find. I was later told I was to avoid the puddles, which totally boggled my mind, because I couldn't see the point of boots if one was to avoid puddles.

I remember, too, my two sons' back to school days. I always saw them off reluctantly, because it meant the end of more relaxed time together. They were a joy to be with, not perfect, but full of energy, ideas and thoughts that could surprise and amaze. To keep them entertained during family vacation trips, while my husband did the driving,  I made up stories, which the boys haven't forgotten.  It's not so much the stories themselves, I'm sure, which stay in their minds, but the feeling of the four of us being woven together by the magic of imagined worlds.

Rainy Days and Back to School, what treasured, bittersweet memories!

The card base is Stampin' Up Lovely Lilac, overlaid with SU Sheer Perfection Vellum. The stamp is House Mouse Rainy Daisy Day. To watercolour, I used various SU watercolour crayons, markers, and ink. I used Judikins Diamond Glaze on the raindrops.