Digital Super Hero

Today, I thought I would show you something a little different.  This card is entirely digital...made up in Photo Shop, then printed on glossy photo paper and attached to a card blank.  It was a true learning experience!

This is my grandson, all dressed up in his Halloween gear from last year.  First you must take your picture and remove all of the background, saving it as a png image.  Select a digital paper that suits your theme, the fonts to make your wording, clip art, some starburst brushes and of course the photo.  I am sure with practice, it will all be as easy as I made that sound.  Keep in mind that the photo png. element that you created can be used again and again, on cards or on a scrapbook page.

I'm not sure if this type of card is accepted, but here are a  few challenges that don't necessarily require the use of stamps:
Lexi's Creations -  #23 Picture Perfect
Charisma Cardz Challenge - #38 Anything Goes
Pear Tree Designs -  #19 Celebration
Pile It On Challenge - Cute and Charming

Character Cafe DT

Just a little note to let you know that I was selected as a new member of the design team for The Character Cafe.  This is my first go at something like this, and I am really looking forward to it.  Be sure to stop by and check out their weekly challenges, and the great selection of digital stamps available at their store. 

Little Church in the Snow

Its now Saturday, the sun is shining, the leaves are turning and the temperature is cooler...a great day!  Hope your day will be as nice, and thank you for dropping in.

This is my first Christmas Card, and uses this beautiful image from Just Inklined.  Although at first it seemed a bit intimidating, the image was actually a dream to colour!   Prisma pencils and mineral spirits were used for the buildings and shading, and glitter was added to the snow and trees.  I will be entering this in their monthly challenge, where the prize would be a Guest Spot on their design team.

If you have noticed, I tried for a vintage look this time around, adding distress ink to the edges and stamping the edges of the striped DP.  The mat is made using a Nellie die, to which I have added a border of silver peel-offs.  The little snowflakes were stamped with white and then gone over with clear glitter pen.

Other challenges that you should also check out:

Little Red Wagon - #47 Glitter

Charisma Cardz - #38 Anything Goes

Raise the Bar Challenge - #37 Bundle Up

Alys Sunday Challenge - #25 Sparkle and Glitter

One Stop Craft Challenge - #99 Snowflakes in September

Lavender and Lace

This is my final submission as a Guest Designer for Crafts 4 Eternity.  It was my very first time as a GDT and I must say it was a wonderful experience.  There was even a week's vacation in there, and I still managed the deadlines thanks to pre-scheduled posting.

This week we used this lovely sketch and the added recipe of Lavender and Lace. My lace is paper punched using a MS punch. 

I have used an image from Sew Many Cards, which I coloured with distress inks and Tombow markers on water colour paper.  Little white rub-on stars have been added to the heart, and glitter pen adds some sparkle to the bow and the eyes.  The little tufts of white fur have been treated to some white flocking for a little extra detail, then the entire image has been cut out and attached with foam tabs.

If you look closely you may see a few other details, such as the feather behind the flower, the added doodling and gems, and the white sentiment and polka dots that are actually rub-ons.

Be sure to check out the other cards made by the DT members, and maybe give this week's challenge a try.  Just remember....Have Fun!!

I will be entering this card into the following challenges:

A Spoon Full of Sugar - #122 Anything Goes Pocket Full of Posies - #7 Lavender and Old Lace Pollycraft - #22 Cute and Cuddly papertakeweekly - #49 Animal Magic Flourishes Timeless Tuesday Challenge - #85 Celebration Cards Charisma Cardz Challenges - #38 Anything Goes

Little Puppy

Well, we are back from our trip to New Hampshire, everything has been put away, and things are almost back to normal....whatever that is.   Fall is definitely in the air, the leaves are changing colour, the air conditioner is off and the windows are open....ahhhh I love it!  Let's just hope it stays this way for a long while!

My card today uses both an image and the current week's sketch from The Character Cafe.  The expression on the little puppy's face just seems perfect for a Thinking of You card, and the bold autumn colours should definitely cheer someone up.

I have used water colours again, and no sparkles or glitter, just a bit of distress ink for the outer edges.  The polka dot ribbon has been altered with yellow and orange marker to match the cardstock, and the buttons have been altered with alcohol inks to provide the colour needed.

A punched border, a tag and a bit of string, and a few rub-ons add a bit more embellishment.  Definitely no flowers this time around!

Other challenges being entered:

Pixie Dust Studio  - #40 Fur or Feathers

Paper Sundaes - #36 Fall or Halloween Colours

A Crafty Llittle Place - #57 Colour

Stampin' for the Weekend - #47 Tag It

The Stampman Challenges - #5 Distress It Lollipop Crafts - #8 It's a Boy Thing Simple Doodles -  #26 Spots and Dots

Happy Birthday 2U

Good morning all! It's Friday, and this is my GDT project for today's new challenge at Crafts 4 Eternity. I have pre-scheduled this post, as I am on vacation, and hopefully it all goes well.

Note the exciting new sketch with all the circles! The recipe also calls for using fall colours, so I chose to make a 'Guy' card.

This time its a card for my grandson, who will be 6 in a few weeks time. He is very much into computer games, super-heroes, and outer space characters, all of which are quite Alien to me, so I think this card should fit the bill.

Both the image of Roddy and the sentiment are from Crafts 4 Eternity, and can be found here in their shop. I have coloured with Prismacolor pencils, adding just a little glitter, for accents. The only embellishments on the card are the little black gears...no flowers today!

All of the circles have been sponged with distress inks which helps blend the colours in the papers. If you look closely, you will also see a lot of different faux stitching around their edges.

Here's wishing you all a great weekend!  And here are some challenges that I will be entering:

Allsorts Challenge - #69 Colours of Autumn
Pollycraft - #61 Autumn Colours

Incy Wincy Designs -#59 Autumn Colours
A Spoon Full of Sugar - #121 Fall into Autumn

Creative Cottage - #23 Birthday Boy

C.R.A.F.T. Challenge - #68 Colouring Pencils Only
Stamp Something - September Digi Day

Wow! It was my lucky day!

I thought I would add a post tonight to let you know of my lucky  day.  Although on vacation, I have access to WiFi.  In checking my challenge entries, I discovered I had won Top 5 in the All That Scraps Magnolia Challenge, Top 3 in the challenge at Cards for Men, and then I was chosen as the weekly winner in the Comment to Win contest at Motivet.    When I get home again, I will be able to add 2 more badges to my blog, and I will have 5 new stamps to work with from Motivet.  Life is good!  Be sure to check out these blogs and maybe next time it will be your turn!   Good Luck!

Over the Hill

Hello everyone, and thank you for visiting me today.  Tomorrow we leave on a holiday, so this little card seems appropriate.  We will be traveling by car and I will be celebrating my birthday.  The sentiment works too...hmm..

The image, coloured with water colours and Tombow markers, is from The Stamping Boutique and I am entering it into their September Challenge for a chance to win more of their designs.  I find water colours are a good medium when a background needs to be filled in, as the colours blend so well.  Cut with a Nestibilities die then inked in brown, add a few more layers including one in red metallic and the image is done.  Oh yes, and attached with metal brads.

The papers, I have had forever, and the stripes and dots allows me to enter a couple of different challenges.  The blues and green, separated by a purple, brings to mind a skyline at dusk.  The little white flowers are rub-ons, and added to the dots resemble stars.

I am also entering this card into the following challenges:
Fab'n'Funky Challenges - #39 What'eva'
Crafty Creations - #84 Transportation
Digital Tuesday - #7 Dots and Stripes
Stamp Something - Something with Spots and Stripes
Crafty Sentiments - #34 Use a digi
City Crafter - #21 One for the boys
The Creative Cottage - #22 Celebrations

Leave a trail...

I was thinking fall when creating this card, and the lovely colours to be found at this time of year. Although I do enjoy summer, spring and fall are my favourite seasons, as intense heat and bitter cold are just not for me!

It is my second week as GDT at Crafts 4 Eternity, and the challenge this week is to make an aperture card using the following sketch.

This was a first for me, a bit more of a challenge, but it is always fun to try something new.

My card, being made from brown cardstock, is layered inside with a light coloured paper and the plaid DP. The sentiment is on the inside of the card, placed so that it shows through the aperture(opening).

All papers have been sponged with distress ink, which mellows and blends the colours, and a little extra detail is provided by the ribbon, threaded through a MS punched edging.

The image used, from Mo's Digital Pencil, was worked with water colour pencils, then cut out and attached with small pop dots. A little faux stitching and a punched butterfly seems to be all the extra that it needs, so I think I will leave it at that. Hopefully I have provided you with some inspiration, and you will give this week's challenge a go. Have fun!

Challenges that I will enter with this card:
Corrosive Challenge - Colour - Old Olive/Real Red
Cowgirl's Sunday Stemp'en Challenge - Anything Goes
Stamptacular Sunday Challenge - Distress It
Cupcake Craft Challenge - Books and Stories (Jack & the Beanstalk)
3D Cards Challenge - Children
Kaboodle Doodles - Get Inspired (photo inspiration)
Fussy and Fancy - #19 Christmas Colours

Flower Child

Well, it is Wednesday again, the kids are back in school, and the weather...well it doesn't seem to know what it wants to do.


For my card today, I have used this sketch, #66, from Sweet Sketch Wednesday. Their sponsor this week is Meljen's Designs and there are four digi images up for grabs.

You may notice that I have used a lot of pink, faux stitching and flowers, and these all tie in to a number of challenges to be revealed at the end of this post.

The image is from Sassy Studio Designs, and I can remember blue jeans such as these. The embroidery was done by hand, not bought in a store...can you imagine!

I have coloured with Prismas, then inked the edges. The blue layer is actually white card stock, embossed with Cuttlebug folder and inked with Spun Sugar distress ink, then sprayed with blue glimmer mist. I didn't want everything to be pink, and this works well with the blue jeans.

The flowers, once again, come from Fred She Said, and pink gems have been added to the centres. White ribbon wraps around the card, but I have coloured the edges with pink marker.

Now for the challenges I am entering. Be sure to follow the links for lots of inspiration.

Musikkstua - #3 Girls Just Wanna Have Fun
Aly's Sunday Challenge - #24 Pretty in Pink
Lexi's Creations - #22 Flower Power
PaperPlay Challenges - #35 In Stitches
A Pocket Full of Posies - #6 Floral Fantasy
Cuttlebug Challenge - #10 Happy Birthday

My first Magnolia stamp

, This weekend, my daughter and I got together for some crafting. I worked with these two Magnolia stamps, and completed my first successful project using her Copics.

Before now, I have always made a mess with them by going outside of the lines. This time, I tried the feathering approach and it worked out just fine. My usual medium is either water colours or Prismas, ...hmm we'll just have to see.

For the layout, I thought I would try this wonderful sketch at CLP. Their challenge lasts until the end of September, so why not give it a try.

As usual, my DP is from my stash, something in keeping with my autumn coloring scheme. An MS punch has been used to create the orange lace pattern, while the scalloped border is a purchased die cut that I have inked and distressed.

Dimension has been added by cutting out and layering both the Tilda and the Garden Gate stamps, attaching them with foam tabs. Also, the flowers, which are from Fred She Said, something I won in a challenge a few weeks ago.

Here are some challenges which I will enter with this card:
All That Scraps - First Magnolia Challenge - Anything
Magnolia Stamp Lovers - Autumn
Just Magnolia Special Monthly Challenge #71 - Anything
By the Cute and Girly - Indian Summer
Tuesday Throwdown - #16 Celebrate Fall
The Wild Flower Patch - Fall Colours

Good Vibrations

Well, finally some cooler weather! Now I have a choice, crafting or gardening, hmmm... But first I will post this card.

First of all, the layout. Once again I have used Priscilla Style's Midnight Madness sketch as seen here. I have used the CAS version, but have added extra bling.

Next the image. I have finally taken the plunge and worked up one of Kenny K's images for this week's challenge of Music. I have used my Prisma pencils, then glitter and glossy accents.

The image is cut out and then attached to a mat cut with a Nestibilities die. The mat is first inked with green and purple distress inks, then accented with perfect pearls, and finally edged with green glitter. I really wanted the shine, but with a funky look!

I finished it off with some silver metallic card, a starburst cluster of beads, a few die cut flourishes and some green gems. The result is very different from my regular card style.

I am also entering this card into the following challenges:
The Stampman Challenge which also has a Musical theme
Craftalicious Challenge - Purple and Green
Crafty Cardmakers Spotlight Challenge - Glitter and Sparkle
Crafty Catz 3-2-1 recipe challenge (3 embellishments, 2 papers, 1 image)
Craft Your Days Away - Girlie and Glitter
Charisma Cardz - Inspired by a Song

Precious Little One...

Lucky me! I was chosen for the Guest Designer spot at Crafts 4 Eternity, for the month of September, and here is my very first card.

This is the lovely sketch for this week's challenge, and the theme (lucky me!) is Angels and Fairies. It is always a treat to make girlie cards. You have until next Friday to enter your card in the challenge, so be sure to give it a go.

The image is Wish Pickle from Bella Digi Studio, which I have coloured with Prismas and odorless mineral spirits. Stickles have then been added to the wings, to add some fairy sparkle!

The paper is all from my never-ending stash, and all layers have been sponged with blue ink. I have used my embossing folder to create the blue layer, and my MS punch to create the lace edging. Both the image and the sentiment have been cut with my Nestibilities dies. Then, with just a few brads and tiny gem flowers, my card is complete.

I will be entering this card into the following challenges:
One Stitch At A time - Girlie or Colour Scheme
Scrap It With a Song - Isn't She Lovely
Cupcake Craft Challenge - Let's Get Digital
A Crafty Little Place - Anything Goes
Crafts and Me - Gems and Sparkle
Daisy Doodles - Anything Goes