Home Sweet Home challenge

One thing I always wish I had more time for is entering card-making challenges. I think challenges are a fun way to get new ideas, try new techniques, or just focus my creativity when I'm not sure what to make next. So I was excited when I saw that the theme for the current Art Impressions challenge was Home Sweet Home -- I had the perfect idea.

Supplies:
Stamps: Woodland Tree Cubbies 5100 (Art Impressions)
Paper: Soft Sky, Pear Pizzazz, Whisper White card stock (Stampin' Up!)
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black (Tsukineko), colored pencils and blender pencil (Prismacolor)
Accessories: Partly Cloudy dies (Honey Bee Stamps), Grassy Border die (Lawn Fawn), foam tape (3M), Art Glitter Glue (Art Institute)

Aren't all those critters the cutest? I love how they can peek out all the different doors and windows. I received this stamp set as a prize for participating in a previous Art Impressions challenge, so it seemed only fitting that the first time I use it is for a new challenge.

I will admit, though, that having all these different images to color and die cut was a little intimidating. So to make this first card a little easier, I used the stamp set packaging as inspiration for a lot of my color and placement choices.

I used colored pencils and a blender pencil to do my coloring. I feel like I have a little more control with pencils than alcohol markers, especially for these little images. (Not that I am a coloring expert by any stretch of the imagination.) I think all the critters turned out okay, but my favorite is probably the chipmunks.

Once I had all the animals and pieces of the tree house colored colored and cut out, I adhered everything together with liquid glue and set it aside to dry. For the card base, I used light blue card stock and added a layer of die-cut grass along the bottom edge. I cut out a few fluffy white clouds and added them to the sky and then stamped the sentiment below one of the clouds. I wanted to add some dimension to the card, so I used foam tape -- lots of tiny pieces! -- to attach the tree and critters to the card base.

Do you have any favorite challenge sites or blogs? If you do, let me know in the comments. I'd love to check them out. Thanks for stopping by!