Thinking of You

Oh what a privilege - to be a guest designer with Mo's Digital Pencil Challenge blog.  I so wish there were more hours in the day so I could colour more of these fabulous images. In July I was lucky enough to gain a Top 3 and the wonderful prize digi I chose which I have used for the 2 cards below in preparation for being a GD this month with the theme 'Pets'.   When I saw this digi I fell in love, it is not one that, to me, is Mo's usual style, this one has less detail more free flowing but it was the emotions that oozed from the image which drew my eyes to it - sympathy card shouted at me :) :) but I didn't want to make a sympathy card at this moment in time. However, my youngest daughter is on a 6 month deployment with the British Army and has had to leave her beloved dog here in the UK.  Her dog is called Grey and is a Staffie, an adorable lady too.  I know the image is not a Staffie but what does that matter, it is the heart inside that counts far more.

I do love creating with added meaning behind what is visible and that is the case with this card which I will be sending to my daughter in her next care package :).  I lived for many years in Africa, born in Nigeria, 5 years in Zambia and then onto Kenya in 79.  I met my hubby there, got married had our 2 kids, eventually returning to the UK in 85.  With my youngest daughter back on the beautiful continent of Africa linked to the UN this card had to have an Africa home feel along with my thoughts and no doubt Grey's too of thinking of her.  The colours represent the beautiful sun sets and sun rises we saw so often .

For this card I used a digital photograph because I can't draw for toffee :) :).  The downside of digital is the finished printout still 'feels' flat so to get around this I then coloured the background with Pan Pastels and white pen for the crests of the waves.  Mo's image - Thinking of You, was coloured with Promarkers and then touched up with Prismacolour Pencils.  The backing paper was stamped with a large stamp I have and so perfect for this creation with the maps, compass and hand pointing to the Hello text.  To finish off a simple black mount for the coloured image and a few black die cut hearts.

This second card was sort of planned, I printed the image twice in case I made a boo boo.  Thankfully the colouring came out as planned first time so I thought I would make a second CAS card with a grey dog.  Now that didn't work, I do find the ice grey Promarkers hard to work with so I printed the image again onto water colour paper and raked out my water colours, it has been a long time since they have seen the light of day.  Such good fun, quick to do and very relaxing, I should use them more often but it is not easy to colour with water colours when you have your feet up hahahaha.  A simple embossed background was all this card needed, it really is CAS.  Hope you like it, I do :)

Image :- Thinking of You by Mo Manning
Colouring :- Promarkers, Pan Pastels, Prismacolour Pencils, (image 2) watercolours
Other items :- large background stamp, die cut hearts, embossing folder

I am entering in the following challenges :-

• 2 Crafty Critter Crazies (M, P1, E5, must have a critter) #29 - Anything Goes with a Critter
• Ching-chou Kuik Digital Stamps (M,P1,E3,SIO) August - Four legged friends
• SheepSki Designs Challenges (M, P1, 3E, C10, SIO) #29 - Animal madness
• Colour Crazy Challenge - W, 2E  - Wk 30 (W1 of 2)  and Wk 29 (W2 of 2) -   ANYTHING COLORING GOES (NO Precolored Images) Weekly Challenge run for 2 Weeks 
• Polkadoodles - W, C10 - No. 31 - ALWAYS ANYTHING GOES 
• QKR Stampede – W, 4E, SIO – No. 359 - ALWAYS ANYTHING GOES