Spring is in the Air

I thought I should make a card and pop it on my blog, before I am forgotten! I'm working on trying to get more balance in my life and create at least one or 2 days a week. Now I just need to find my Mojo!

This card is inspired by an earlier card I made, which you can see here. I was asked to make 3 cards, the same as the original, but I didn't have any of the designer paper left, so I did a watercolour background using distress inks and Gansai Tambi paints. On this card, I decided to add a bird, rather than a flower.

The bird imaged is from Inspired by Stamping and  I've coloured on the back of the fussy cut bird with Copic markers.
The embossed background is one of my new favourites. 

I am entering this in the Simon Monday Challenge - the theme is Throwback - we are challenged  to choose a previous challenge! I chose a theme from July this year - No Ordinary Paper. I love stamping and colouring on vellum.

Mixed Media Card Challenge - Orange & Black

Hello strangers! Well I'm back from my Italian sojourn and have lots of wonderful memories.  I can definitely recommend getting an apartment and living like the locals - next time I'll stay for longer and maybe it will be a villa!

Now on to my card. The theme this month at the Mixed Media Card Challenge is 'Orange & Black' - perfect for Fall and Halloween. The optional element is glitter.

I decided to use some of my new WPlus9 stamps - Autumn Leaves and a NBUS die for the black butterfly. The sentiment is also new - it's from Inspired by Stamping, an Australian company.
Now when you look at this, you might not think it is Mixed Media, but I've used dye ink, and Memento Luxe (orange) and the outlines have been embossed with metallic embossing powder. I've also added some splatter with the memento luxe ink and perfect pearls and added Wink of Stella to the butterflies.  So although it doesn't look very artsy, it still fits the criteria*.
I really love Memento Luxe ink, because it is thick and when it dries it feels like paint!
I have included shimmer as opposed to glitter, by adding the perfect pearls and Wink of Stellar.

You still have lots of time to join in the challenge - the deadline is 25 October. Click here to add your card to the gallery.

I'm also adding my card to the Fusion Card Challenge, inspired by the colours in the photo.

*WHAT'S A MIXED MEDIA CARD?

Straight up, a mixed media card is a card that is created using a variety of mediums.

For this card challenge blog*, it means using any of the following in addition to the usual stamps and inks:

• Mediums that add texture. Some examples: fabric, stitching, embossing paste, texture gel, gel medium, modeling paste, gesso, textured paper, glitter, found objects
• Mediums that give dimension. Some examples: die-cuts, chipboard, embossing powders, epoxy/thick stickers, embellishments, found objects
• Mediums that allow you to use (and even combine) different techniques. Some examples: watercolor, pastels, alcohol inks, markers, chalks, acrylic paints, oils, crayons