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Wednesday, March 28, 2012

A Little Mo Wall Hanging


Recently I was over in the Silhouette online shop when I saw THIS file for a 3D Trees Wall Art Shadow Box. It gave me the fun idea to use Mo Manning's "To Grandmother's House" (aka Little Red Riding Hood) to create a little 3D wall hanging with Little Red heading through the forest to Grandma's House - but her Wolfy friend doesn't look so big and bad in this scene does he - LOL. 

I added some DP on the back and some embellishments to the edges - but all in all it was a fun little project to do - and too easy with my Cameo doing a lot of the work - LOL. 

Copics used - Skintones (R20, R11, E11, E00, E000) plus R39, R37, R35, R32, Y000, Y0000, B95, B93, B91, B000, T4, T2, T0, C0, C00, E49, E44, E43, E42, E41, E40, E33, E30, E29, E18, E15, E13

Sunday, March 25, 2012

Magnolia Down Under Challenge #139



This week at Magnolia Down Under Challenges we are playing Bingo. I went straight across the top of the Bingo card and used Lace, Dies/Punches and Ribbon on my card - but I snuck a few of the other elements in too - like flowers and bling LOL. 

Just for once I wasn't putting it all together at the last minute so I had time to make a little matching necklace. The charm on my card and the medallion for the necklace were made by gluing a glass cabochon onto my Magnolia DP and then cutting it to size before gluing it into a matching silver base - the joys of having all sorts of crafting "crap" to play with - LOL. 

Here's a little close up of the necklace medallion. You can check out the Bingo card and the rest of the fabulous MDUC DT inspiration on our BLOG.
I'm also going to enter this into Simon Says Stamp's Bingo Challenge -  Charms, Punches/Dies, Ribbon/Twine

Copics used - Skintones (R20, R11, E11, E00, E000) plus E39, E35, E33, E31, E30, Y19, R85, R83, R81, RV10, RV000

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Happy Easter with Mo


Today I have a little Easter card to show you using one of Mo Manning's sweet Easter images - this is Easter Carly. I had such fun paper piecing the last Mo image I did for our blog hop that I decided to use the technique again. I still add in some definition with my cool greys though.

I cut the egg shaped card and layer out using my Cameo - and then just added some simple embellishments and textures. The sentiment was computer generated to fit my word window punch because I wanted this look. One thing I do when I scrunch up my seam binding ribbon is to spray it with diamond glimmer mist - not only does it hold the scrunched look better when it dries but it adds a sweet shimmer to the ribbon too.

Copics used - Skintones (R20, R11, E11, E00, E000) plus C4, C2, C0, C00, E44, E43, E42, E41, E40, YR31, YR30, YG17, B21, R85, R83, R81, RV10, RV00, RV000

Monday, March 19, 2012

Nature Babies by Angel's Landing


Recently I received a really sweet email from Judi over at Angel's Landing wondering if I'd like to play with a couple of her newly illustrated sets if she sent me the free downloads. I already had another of Judi's animal sets - The Penguin Chicks and loved the look of these too so of course I said YES! 

This card uses Nature's Babies 1 and what I LOVE about these sets is the way the animals come either as individuals, or already merged together in different groups. This makes them just soooo easy to use. I printed off the full group 3 times and layered them for added dimension. My original idea for this group was to make an Easter card - but this cute group of friends led me down a different path in the end - LOL.

Judi also sent me the fabulous Nature Babies 2 set featuring a baby fox, raccoon, squirrel, and chipmunk - so watch out for what I do with those cuties - coming soon.

Copics used - C4, C2, C0, C00, E44, E43, E42, E41, E40, E19, E08, YR31, YR30, YR14, Y35, Y11, Y00, R01, R000, BG0000

Friday, March 16, 2012

Tickled Pink Stamps is Sponsoring Forever Night Challenges


This week Tickled Pink Stamps is proud to be sponsoring  Forever Night Challenges with their theme of BLING. Since they tend to be a challenge that enjoys the "darker" side of crafting they asked our DT to bring that into our inspiration creations too...you can check out what the rest of our DT have done on our BLOG.

For my card I chose to use Lil Haunts Vampire Lilith. The bat frame and sentiment were from the Silhouette Store and were cut using my Cameo. Some bling added to the frame brings a bit of sparkle to liven the whole thing up. 

Copics used - Skintones (R20, R11, E11, E00, E000) plus  100, T8, T6, T4, T2, T0, YG17, YG05, YG01, E19, E08, YR18, YR14, V17, V15, V12, V09, Y08

Thursday, March 15, 2012

Mo's Dream Team Blog Hop



I know it seems a bit early but it IS the third Thursday of the month so that means it's time for Mo's Dream Team to get together for a hop. This month's theme is Verdigris (a bit of Green in your design) and our hostess with the mostest is Debby Yates and all the fun starts in DEBBY'S blog HERE. If you are already hopping you should have arrived here from ALICE'S blog.

I needed a masculine card so came up with this using Mo's Game On image. I chose an olive green based DP to work with and paper pieced the chair after colouring the rest of the image. With the simple layout I used I like how the paper piecing ties everything together and adds interest. I gave our guy a 5 o'clock shadow - it looks like he's been at the controls for a while - LOL. I made the "faux button" out of layered CS and topped it off with some matching DP before punching some holes and covering it with crystal effects. A twine bow finished it off. 

Now it's time to hop on along to MINA'S blog.

Here's the blog hop order for you in case you get lost along the way - the links are on my left sidebar under Mo's logo.... Debby. Y, Heidy, Alice, Debbie {me}, Mina, Pops, Jak, Lori, Gretha, Kerttu, Jane, Julie

Sunday, March 11, 2012

Tickled Pink Stamp Around the World Release Day Blog Hop


YAY - it's release day for the Around the World Lil Lolitas from Tickled Pink Stamps. We thought because the theme is "Around the World" that a hop was in order - and also because we haven't had one for a while. Each girl is giving away one digital image to one lucky commenter and one lucky girl that comes back to the Tickled Pink Stamps BLOG  and lets us know they have left a comment on each blog is in the draw to win all 4 amazing images!

You have until the 13th to take the world hop and have a chance to WIN. All winners will be announced on the 15th so be sure to come back then to see if you're one of the lucky winners...Can't wait? They are in store NOW and you can get yours with 15% OFF for 24 hours.

It all starts on AMY's Blog - but if you're already hopping you should have arrived here from BRON'S blog. You'll find the full hop list on the Tickled Pink Stamps BLOG

For my card I chose to use LIL AUSSIE LOLITA KELLITA being an Aussie myself. Australia is an amazing place to visit so I gave my card a travel and adventure theme. I used my "Dream" bead as the sentiment because the Aboriginal Dreamtime is an important part of our culture. I remember my parents reading us some of the folk lore tales when we were children.

Now it's time to hop along to JANE'S blog where the excitement continues.

Chipboard and flowering gum digi from Make it Crafty, DP is from MME.

Copics used - Skintones (R20, R11, E11, E00, E000) plus C4, C2, C1, C00, R37, R32, R000, E49, E44, E43, E42, E41, E40, E18, E08, YG17, YG01, B05, Y19, Y11, Y08, Y0000, YR27, YR07, YR04, YR02, G85, G46, G43, G40

Magnolia Down Under Challenge is Turning THREE



WOW - I can't believe Magnolia Down Under Challenges is turning THREE!!! And what's scarier is that I have been there from the very start. To celebrate our challenge for this week is "BIRTHDAYS" and you'll notice we have a fresh new look to take us into our 4th year. We have also asked any of the DT who wanted to join us to play along this week - we are usually split into 2 teams. So pop on over and check out all of the AMAZING inspiration from our fabulous DT and our fresh new look on our BLOG

This DT and these gorgeous images are why I am STILL here - these gals inspire me and are some of the sweetest people I know. We've had DT members leave us in the past but they will always be a part of our MDUC family. I'd like to thank all of these amazing people - past and present DT - for their inspiration and friendship over the past 3 years.

For my birthday wall hanging I used a base which was cut using my Cameo from a pattern available at the Silhouette Store. I Cut it twice using Magnolia DP and a darker CS before layering them to give a slight shadow effect. I then cut a "base" which I doused with glitter before attaching some trim and the top. Add my little Tilda and some embellishments and it's time to PARTAYE! The lasercut chipboard is from Make it Crafty.

Copics used - Skintones (R20, R11, E11, E00, E000) plus  E53, E50, E35, E33, E30, Y23, Y21, R89, R85, R83, R81

Saturday, March 10, 2012

Tickled Pink Stamps Preview Day 4 - Lil Dutch Lolita Lylah


Today is Day 4 of previews for the latest release from Tickled Pink Stamps. Since today is the last preview the release will be available tomorrow and we will be celebrating with a BLOG HOP.

DONT FORGET...... Leave a comment on each post on the Tickled Pink Stamps BLOG for your chance to WIN this image via digital download ONLY.

Today we are bringing you LIL DUTCH LOLITA LYLAH. I created the Dutch Windmill card using a pattern from the Silhouette Shop - just turning it into a card instead of a flat shape before cutting it out with my Cameo. A few added bits and pieces and the scene was all set for our little Dutch gal.

Copics used - Skintones (R20, R11, E11, E00, E000) plus B26, B23, B21, B0000, C3, C2, C00, YG17, Y19, Y11, R27, E57, E47, E37, E35, E33, E31


Friday, March 9, 2012

Tickled Pink Stamps Preview Day 3 - Lil Spanish Lolita Willow


It's Day 3 of our "Around the World" previews from Tickled Pink Stamps and we hope you're loving them as much as we do.They are illustrated by our very own Christina Dee, the Lolita and Lad designer. We have 4 new images we will be previewing and then the release will be on the 11th of March 2012 with a BLOG HOP

DONT FORGET to leave a comment on each post on the Tickled Pink Stamps BLOG for your chance to WIN this image via digital download ONLY.

Today we are bringing you LIL SPANISH LOLITA WILLOW. Once again I've used my Cameo to cut out the sentiment and my daughter helped me a little with the Spanish - LOL. I love Willow's gorgeous dress and can almost hear the click, click clicking of her heels and castanets.

Copics used - Skintones (R20, R11, E11, E00, E000) plus V15, R89, R39, R37, R35, R32, R30, E42, E18, E17, E15, E13, 100, G28, G24, G21

Layering and Blurring Digis

I had a few people mention they didn't know how to layer digis like I did for the background of my card yesterday so I offered to do up a little tutorial. But being the kind of anal person I am I know I NEED step by step pictures so I have done the same for you so this post is a little 'picture heavy' - LOL.

Make it Crafty uses png images with invisible backgrounds which makes it soooo easy to layer up. Other digi companies may not offer these which means you have to spend time deleting backgrounds to allow the images to layer properly. Try the "magic wand" tool to do this, but if that doesn't work you'll have to use the eraser and that can take a LOT of time and patience!

I use a free downloadable program called paint.NET - and it comes in both windows and mac versions though I have the windows version. You can find it by using "google". So here goes - any questions just ask - and leave me your email address so I can try and answer!

Open up paint.NET and then go to the "file" tab and find the "open" button - this leads you to your files where you can find the image file you want to use.

Once you have your image in you may want to blur it a little to make it recede more into the background so it gives your image depth.

Use the "Effects" tab and drop down to "blurs" and then to "unfocus". A window will pop up to let you choose how much you want to blur your image. I only used #4 for my first image - but you can play and work out what suits you. I was only layering up 4 images so I decreased the amount of blur by 1 for each. 

Be aware though - in this program once you layer on the next image you can't change the earlier ones without re-doing it all so pan ahead.

Next you need to give yourself a bigger space to work on so you'll need to increase your canvas size. Go to the "image" tab to do this. 

A window will pop up letting you work out how much more space you need and where you want your original image to sit. Remember to go bigger than you think you need - you can always crop back later!

I just added extra width to the left of my canvas. The new screen will look like this with the white part the extra space. You can make this part "invisible" by clicking on the "tools" tab, selecting the magic wand tool, right click on the white background (it will turn blue) and hit delete.

Now you need to add in your next image. To do this go the the "layers"tab and drop down to "import from file". Find the image you want to layer up when the files window opens and open it up. The new image probably won't be in the right spot so drag it where you want it to be.

This image imported at the same size as the original one - all I've done is drag the corner to enlarge and moved it where I want it to be. I then added a #3 blur like I did before.

Keep Layering and blurring as before until you are happy with the effect. If you make a mistake you can always hit the "un-do" arrow (it curves backwards). This button takes you back one step at a time.

I then just cropped to suit the look I wanted.

I always save my "merged images". To do this you need to use the "save as" function - or your new image will save in the name your orginal file was and overwrite it. I speak from experience when I say that sounds like common sense - but when you've been playing around with images it's a step easy to forget!!! This program will save in a paint.Net file so use the drop down menu to save as either a jpeg or png file. You can also use this funtion to change images from one format to another FYI!

Two windows will pop up to complete the save - one is a "save configuration" window - just hit OK. The other asks you to "flatten" the image - this just finishes merging the 4 layers into one. 

There, you're DONE! You now have this file in your folder and can import and print it out like you do any other digi!

I use the same basic principles to merge all my images - although I don't often use just ONE image and this is the first time I've used the "blur" effect.

I hope this has been helpful.....

Thursday, March 8, 2012

Tickled Pink Stamps Preview Day 2 - Lil French Lolita Lilith



Today is Day 2 of previews for the latest release from Tickled Pink Stamps - be sure to stop by the blog HERE to check out yesterday's previewed image. This release is taking you around the world and I just think you are all going to LOVE them, I know I do. They are illustrated by our very own Christina Dee, the Lolita and Lad designer. We have 4 new images we will be previewing and then the release will be on the 11th of March 2012 with a BLOG HOP

DONT FORGET...... Leave a comment on each post on the Tickled Pink Stamps BLOG for your chance to WIN this image via digital download ONLY.

Today we are bringing you LIL FRENCH LOLITA LILITH. I created the background DP by layering the Eiffel Tower digi from Make it Crafty and blurring some of the layers. The sentiment was cut out using my Cameo.

Copics used - Skintones (R20, R11, E11, E00, E000) plus T4, T2, T0, W00, R39, R35, E35, E18, E08, B23, B21, B18, B05, B000

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

Simple Joys



After the sadness of the previous week and a bit I wanted to get back into some crafting and remember to celebrate life - and what could be better than one of Mo Manning's cute toddlers to remind me of the simple joys in life - like a child taking her first steps. Who knows where those steps will lead her but it's the start of an incredible adventure.

This little cutie is called "Walker" and you can find her instore HERE.

Copics used - Skintones (R20, R11, E11, E00, E000) plus RV63, RV55, RV10,  RV000, E35, E33, E31, E30

Tuesday, March 6, 2012

Today is a Sad Day



Today I'll be attending the funeral service of a fine young man who was lost to us way too early. My thoughts go out to his family and friends. It's never an easy thing to make a card for these occasions - and I just hope this brings a tiny bit of comfort to his mother, my friend.

Later in the week my thoughts will be with my extended family as my DH's sweet aunt is laid to rest. Unfortunately this funeral is on the other side of the world so we can't attend - but our hearts and thoughts will be with everyone there on that sad day.

Hugs to you all...

Debbie
xXx

Friday, March 2, 2012

My "Better Late Than Never" Blog Candy



Well I have FINALLY put together the blog candy I had promised back in um.....December I think it was?!?!?! It was to celebrate reaching 200,000 hits on my blog AND 700 followers - all of which happened in the week before Christmas. I have NO EXCUSE for being tardy but I hope the delicious parcel I will be sending someone will make up for it. I can't BELIEVE it's MARCH already!!!!

This is just to say THANK YOU to all my blog followers and visitors - and a HUGE apology for not reciprocating blog visits very well over the past few months. I always have good intentions and I LOVE to visit as most of my inspiration comes from these visits - but there are just never enough hours in a day!

There are some of my favourite things in this parcel - from some of my favourite stamp companies Tickled Pink Stamps, The Craft's Meow, Make it Crafty and Magnolia - to my favourite embellishments - glitter, bling, flowers and mesh ribbon. You can click on the picture for a better look at what's here...

To enter - just leave me a comment telling me some of YOUR favourite things and I'll post a winner on March 31st, 2012.