Carnival Time!

It's the weekend! What better time to consider going to a carnival? And that's exactly what we're doing at Drunken Stampers this week. 

We're focusing on a place this week, and that place is a carnival, or anything you might find at a carnival. I ended up making two cards. I wanted to go with the capital "C" carnival... Mardi Gras! 

So I've never been to Mardi Gras, or to New Orleans for that matter. (And doesn't Mardi Gras sound so much more festive than Fat Tuesday? How could you have a celebration around that?) Luckily, the Web can tell you anything about Mardi Gras you might want to know. I used the traditional Mardi Gras colours of gold (power), green (faith) and purple (justice). I found a clipart mask on the internet and printed it onto the back of gold cardstock to cut out. Completely influenced by Emily, I layered purple pearls onto green sequins. I thought the misted panel looked appropriately Carnival-y. :D It's tricky to see in my photograph, but I also embossed a fleur-de-lis tipped border along the bottom of the misted panel.
I also wanted to make a small "c", fun-fair type of carnival card. 

When I initially saw the Carnival theme, this elephant stamp was my first thought. He is so winsome! He's paper-pieced and watercoloured. If you go to a carnival, you're going to need tickets, so here they are in the patterned paper and for the sentiment. (Thanks for the idea, Chris!) I also used an embossing folder to add polka dots to the ticket paper. My design is based on this older Mojo Monday sketch. Loosely. ;) 

Both my cards qualify for this week's challenges at Shopping our Stash (#122: Embossing x2) and Simon Says Stamp (Use a Rubber or Clear Stamp). 

There is a carnival of inspiration over at the blog from my fellow Drunken Stampers! Check it out, then come play with us!

Supplies: (party) white & Recollections gold cardstock, Echo Park For the Record 2 patterned paper, Unity Mix-Up of Cuteness stamp, Colorbox violet ink, Zing! clear embossing powder, Art Anthology Colorations timeless colour spray, Cuttlebug border embossing folder, May Arts ribbon, Darice sequins, Queen & Co. lavender half-pearls, feathers, pop-dot tape; (fun) white cardstock, My Mind's eye Miss Caroline Dilly Dally patterned paper, Unity It's a Party & Mix-Up of Cuteness stamps, Memnto Luxe gray flannel & Stampin' Up riding hood red inks, Zing! clear embossing powder, watercolour pencils, Cuttlebug seeing dots embossing folder, Simple stories Sn@p sticker, silver Stickles