Say It With Me - Aaaaaaaaaaw!

When I saw this image from Mo Manning I just couldn't help but say aaaaaaaaw! When I was a little girl I had a bear that was just as big as me - I used to sit on it as I went down the slide and have such fond memories of cuddling it. Every little kid should have a special friend to sit by their side. 

This cutie is Beatrix with Bear - but if Beatrix isn't exactly right for you there are four different children to choose from HERE.

Copics Used - 

Bear - E44, E43, E42, E41, R20, R11

Beatrix - Skin (E11, E00, E000, R20, R11) plus R89, R85, R81, RV10, W2, W00, E35, E33, E31, E30, BG0000

Mini Magnolia Fun Tutorial

Last week I posted some little key-rings I made for Christmas using my mini Magnolia Stamps - you can see that post HERE. I had a couple of people ask how I made them so I thought Id show you - it's really easy! I also decided to use a different Tilda for a change - but make sure the image you choose fits underneath the glass...

You'll need crystal effects, glue, a rectangular glass tile cabochon (these are flat on one side and have a curved edge on the top), a glue on bail and a coloured image. I bought my hardware at a recent craft show from a  Queensland company called Beads N.Crystals and the links I have given are to their pages.

I keep my glass in the plastic until I'm ready to glue it on to keep it from getting dirty- although I still give it a clean before using it. Once you have your coloured image ready add some crystal effects to the flat side of the cabochon and then flip it over and onto the image. Press firmly.

There will be some excess crystal effects ooze out from the side - simply use a scrap piece if paper to scrape it away before it sets. Now comes one of the hardest parts - WALK AWAY and leave it to dry - LOL.

Once it's dry flip it over and rub some dark ink over the back to hide the colouring lines and give it a clean look.

Then you can flip it back over and use a sharp knife to remove the excess paper.

I also use the knife to carefully clean any dried crystal effects left on the side of the glass - working the blade away from your hand for safety!!!! I also lightly sand the edges of the paper from the back.

The bail has a flat side and an indented side - designed to sit over the top of the glass and leave the back flat. 

I use a glue called GOOP to glue the bail on - it gives a nice strong bond. You can see the inked back in this photo too....

I then cover the back with more crystal effects to seal and protect the paper. And once again comes the hard part - WALK AWAY and leave it to dry - I usually leave it overnight just to be sure!!!!

Then just add your keychain, necklace or whatever else you want!

See I told you it was easy - I hope you give it a go!

Copics Used - Skin (E11, E00, E000, R20, R11) plus E44, E43, E41, E18, E13, BG49, BG13, BG11, BG000, G03, RV69, RV66, RV19, RV10

Magnolia Down Under Challenge #181

This week at Magnolia Down Under Challenges we are asking you to use WINGS in your project. I decided to do something a bit different and used a mini painter's tray from Collections elements that I had hiding away. Most of the chipboard pieces are from them too - although the little butterflies are from Make it Crafty.

It was such a fun little project to put together - although I did forget how messy painting can be when I am in charge of the paintbrush - LOL.

Don't forget to check out the rest of the AMAZING inspiration from my talented MDUC teamies on  our BLOG.

Copics Used - Skin (E21, E13, E11, E000, R20, R11) plus YR27, YR23, Y19, Y13, Y11, Y00, YG67, YG63, YG61, YG21, B99, B93, B91, B00, B000, B0000, BV000, W2, W1, W00, E57, E44, E43, E42, E40, Gold Smooch

Stitchin' Up a Storm in La La Land

How funny is this - our last challenge for La La Land Crafts was "No Flowers" - and I struggled!!! This week our challenge is "In Stitches" and once I'd done all the stitching and laid out my design I struggled to work out where to add flowers - so I didn't - LOL. I really think the LLLC dies are so beautifully detailed that they can hold their own in the world of embellishment. 

For the stitching I pulled out my sewing machine and used a standard zig zag stitch around the outer border and then used free arm zig zag stitching around the heart - can you tell it's a heart - LOL.

Don't forget to pop over to our BLOG where you can check out inspiration from my amazing teamies and see the rest of the release being showcased. And remember La La Land Crafts also have a Facebook Page HERE and La La Lands Facebook Group HERE. We love seeing your amazing creations using La La Land Stamps and Dies too.

Stamps - 

 Image - Sweet Friends Marci

Sentiment from Heart Key Marci

Dies - 

Butterflies Set 1 Die (heart diecut on sentiment)

Garden Bench Die

Cloud, Sun and Island Dies (Island used for grass)

Copics Used - 

Skin - E21, E11, E00, E000, R24, R20, R11

Hair - R59, E39, YR24, Y26, Y21

Clothes - G46, G43, G40, R89, R85, R83, R81, T4, T2, T0, Y21

Panda - T8, T6, T4, R00, R000

Australia Day Blog Hop for Make it Crafty

As an Aussie this is an important time of year for us - the 26th of January is Australia Day - our National Day - when it's OK to use a bit of Ocker Slang and pop some snags on the barbie while sucking down a tinnie or two when friends lob in. To celebrate the fun the Make it Crafty team are blog hopping along to all things Australian.  

And to help us celebrate Australia Day in style Zoe has a hum dinger of a prize on offer - hidden along the hop is this prize for one lucky commenter...

 THE WHOLE AUSTRALIAN OUTBACK COLLECTION 

How AWESOME is THAT!!!!

I have created my scene with some of the Outback Elements and my favourite Jolly ol' fella - Aussie Santa, who is obviously taking a well earned break after the Christmas rush while checking out Uluru - one of our national wonders. I also added a gumnut corner to my scene - although later I thought I should have done it in 3D. I was wondering what to use for an embellishment when I saw an old corrugated fence on a walk recently so I came home and painted some card up grey and then dry brushed on some "brown" to act as rust.

Wishing all of my Aussie mates a corker of a day.

Your next stop on the hop is the fabulous Asa's blog.

Blog Hop List - Aeryn, Trudie, Daria, Delphine, Bron, Stephanie, Debbie {me}, Åsa, Franz, Jen J, Ruby, Julie  

Make it Crafty Digi Images - Aussie Santa, Gumnut Large Corner, Outback Elements 

Make it Crafty Chipboard - Dragonflies

Copics Used - 

Scene - E89, E44, E43, E41, E29, E27, E23, E19, E09, E07, YR27, YR21, R27, R08, G99, G85, C8, C4, C2

Aussie Santa - Skin (E21 E13, E11, E000) plus R59, R29, R24, R20, C5, C2, B97. B93, B91, E44, E42, G16, G14

Mini Magnolia Fun

Before Christmas I made these little key-rings to pop into a couple of Secret Santa parcels I was sending out - they were so fun to do and sooo easy! I used this mini magnolia because she fit the glass tile I had the best - some of the others would have had bits missing - LOL. After colouring them up I simply used some crystal effects to glue them together. I also used an ink pad to tidy up the back before trimming to size and adding more crystal effects to the back to act as protection for the paper. Then it was a simple job to glue on a ring and add the key chain. 

I had it in my mind to make these into pendants but my daughter thought I was a bit strange and said no-one would wear them - although I don't think she knows what we crafters can be like at times - LOL. There is a pendant coming though - I can feel it in my bones!

Copics Used - 

Skin - E21, E11, E000, R20, R11

Hearts - R39, R27, R24, R21

Blue Tilda - B99, B95, B93, B91, E47, E44, E42, E40, W5, W2, W1

Yellow Tilda - YR27, YR24, Y08, E18, E17, E13, B93, B91

Help in the Kitchen - or Maybe NOT!

When I saw this little guy I jusy knew he was a must have for my Mo Manning collection - he's just toooo cute! This is Cookie Dough (C) - he also comes in a straight hair version HERE. It also gave me a chance to practice my darker skin tones - I don't do them enough!

Every kid - young and old - seems to love chocolate chip cookies so I added a few "chips" to my cookie dough too. The whole idea of a chubby little kid in a bowl of dough just made me smile - hence the word tile I used as my sentiment. Hope he puts a smile on your face too.

Copics Used - Skin (E37, E35, E33, E31, E30, R20) plus E59, E44, E43, E40, E41, E29, Y26, Y21, YR20, C6, B16, B14, B12, B00, B0000

No Flowers Allowed!

This week in La La Land we are not allowed to use flowers - oh boy this was a toughie for me - LOL. I decided to fill the spaces I would normally throw in a few flowers with a larger than normal sentiment and die cuts made with LLLC's fabulous dies.

Neither the sparklets on the banner nor the prima letters were the right colour for my layout but luckily they both coloured up fabulously with my copics and ended up fitting in well.

Don't forget to pop over to our BLOG where you can check out inspiration from my amazing teamies and see the rest of the release being showcased. And remember La La Land Crafts also have a Facebook Page HERE and La La Lands Facebook Group HERE. We love seeing your amazing creations using La La Land Stamps and Dies too.

Doctor Marci

Filigree Corner Die

Heart Banner Die

Fancy Bracket Die

Copics Used - 

Skin - E21, E11,E00, E000, R24, R20, R11

Hair - E33, E31, E30

Clothes - B39, B34, B32, B00, B000, C2, C0, C00, Sakura gelly roll glitter pen

Panda - R01, R000, C8, C6, C4

Mo Dream Team Blog Hop

It's time for Mo's Dream team to get together for a themed hop - our very first for 2013 - woohoooo. This month the hop starts at the blog of our Hostess with the Mostest, lovely Julie and she has decided to challenge us to use embellishments, the more the merrier, as a complete contrast to last month's theme of CAS - LOL. 

Well Julie - I tried my best! I am more of an embellishment gal than a CAS gal but I don't usually go tooo overboard. My daughter's comment when she saw this was "holy moley that is FULLY loaded", so hopefully I have fulfilled the task - although I had planned to tuck a tag in somewhere but it didn't quite make it! I did use lace, rose ribbon, bobble braid, die cuts, flowers, pearls, cheesecloth, stickles, a charm and a fancy shape - cut using my Cameo.

The gorgeous image I chose is Bubbles Girl - she was the perfect chance to use my bubbles die from Memory Box - LOL.

The next stop on the hop is the always marvellous Mina. 

And here's the hop order if you get lost along the way - the links are on my left sidebar under Mo's logo...

Julie, Debby.Y, Heidy, Alice, Debbie {me}, Mina, Pops, Jak, Gretha, Kerttu, Jane

And don't forget for regular Dream Team inspiration you can check out our BLOG.

Copics Used - Skin (E21, E13, E11, E000, R20, R11) plus E59, E35, E31, E29, E18, E15, E08, R85, R83, R81, RV10, Y28, Y26, G99, C6, C2, C0, B00

Game of Thrones - Mo Style

Over the past few weeks I have been reading the Game of Thrones saga and when I saw this image by Mo Manning I immediately thought she could be Cersei Lannister - one of the novels main characters. So even though her name is Elf Queen (Bride) and based on a character from Lord of the Rings, I decided to go with my first instinct and turn her into a medieval queen with golden hair. To those who have seen the series that was created from the books I apologise if she doesn't look like the character there - but I haven't seen any of the episodes so am not influenced by it.

I thought this DP from MME (A beautiful life) fit the medieval them beautifully with the background almost looking like a tapestry. The gold braid I found in my stash was a perfect fit too. Some flicks of gold spica on her gown and gold stickles in my layout add a regal touch.

Copics Used - Skin (E21, E13, E11, E000, R20, R11) plus YG67, YG63, YG61, G20, Y19, Y13, Y00, E08, R27, R08, Y09, V06, gold spica

Magnolia Down Under Challenge #179

It's our first week back for 2013 at Magnolia Down Under Challenges and we are starting the year off with an easy one - Flowers. I had planned to have this little project finished for our Anything Goes challenge before Christmas but time just got away from me. Since I knew I would be popping on some flowers anyway I decided to finish it now.

This is actually supposed to be a snow dome box - the pattern is from the Silhouette store and it was cut using my Cameo. I decided to remove the 2 front curves of the dome to open up a "stage" area for my Fairy Princess scene. I used the other curves to help support my scene elements. It's fairly large - about 9" tall so the box is a decent size to hide some princess treasure in.

Here's a little close up for you - you can't actually see it here but I added some snowtex paste to the base, especially around Tilda's feet - to both support her and pay homage to the snow dome theme! I wish you could see all the sparkle - I've used "fairy dust" to glitter the front 2 arches, Tilda's wings and wand, and the roof of the castle - perfect for any little fairy princess

Don't forget to check out the always amazing work from the rest of my teamies over on the MDUC blog.

Copics Used - 

Tilda - Skin (E21, E13, E11, E000, R20, R11) plus E59, E18, E17, RV66, RV63, RV55, RV52, RV10, R21

Castle - T6, T4, T0, W2, W1, W00, RV66, RV63, RV52, RV10, R21

La La Land Crafts Winter CHA Release

Can you believe it - it's CHA time again in The US so we have lots of  new and yummy crafty goodness coming our way - oh my pooor bank balance!!!! I was sooooo going to be there this time - ah well - maybe NEXT January!!!! In the meantime I get to help showcase the AMAZING new release from La La Land Crafts. It's a HUGE release with 12 new stamps, 8 dies and even shadow boxes (check the La La Land Blog for a special post on these coming soon). But...

 PLEASE NOTE

Stamps, and dies from the CHA release will be available right away, but the shadow boxes won't start shipping until mid-February.

I've created four cards with the new releases - enjoy checking them out here - but if you're going to CHA you may get to see them IRL!

Leprechaun Luka

Lily of the Valley Flourish Die

Bench Die

Palm Tree Die (grass)

Small and Medium Rolled Roses Die

Copics Used - 

Skin - E21, E11, E00, E000, R20, R11

Hair and Clover - G46, G43, G40, G29

Clothes - G46, G43, G40, G28, C2, 100, E37, E35, E33, E31, E30, Gold Smooch

Pot of Gold - YR27, YR24, 100, C8, C6, C4, C2, Gold Smooch

Beret Marci

Fancy Brackets Die

Eiffel Tower Die

Copics Used -

Skin - E21, E11, E000, R24, R20, R11 

Hair - E11, Y21, E35, E33, E53

Clothes - BV29, BV25, BV23, BV20, R39, R29, R27, R24, E39, E35, E33

Heart Key Marci

String of Hearts Border Die

Bird Cage Die

Berry Flourish Die

Water Lily Die

Copics Used 

Skin - E21, E13, E11, E00, E000, R20, R11

Lips -R24, R20

Hair - E51, E33, E31, YR31

Clothes - BG93, BG78, BG75, BG72, T2, T0

Key - YR27, Y35, Y19, R89, R27, R24, R21

Easter Bunny Luka

Berry Flourish Die

Fancy Brackets Die

Copics Used - 

Skin - E21, E11, E00, E000, R20, R11

Hair - E47, E44, E43, E42, E41

Clothes - E47, E44, E43, E42, E41, R89, R46, R27, R20, R14, R11, Y13, Y00, Y0000

Easter Egg - B12, B000, B0000, V25, R83, YG05, Y13

Chocolate Bunny - R20, E59, E57, E31, E27, E25, White gel pen

And here's the full release of stamps and dies for you to check out!!!!

Don't forget to pop over to our BLOG where you can check out inspiration from my amazing teamies and see the rest of the release being showcased. And remember La La Land Crafts also have a Facebook Page HERE and La La Lands Facebook Group HERE. We love seeing your amazing creations using La La Land Stamps and Dies too.

Using Elements from Make it Crafty

Make it Crafty has some fabulous background images all ready to use but with the "Elements Collections" that are available why be limited to the pre-made scenes??? The elements are sooo much fun to play with and so easy to use. I use a free-downloadable program called paint.NET to create my scenes in and I'm here to give you some ideas on how to work the "Elements" and then I'll show you the process of creating a simple scene so you can try it yourself!

There are LOTS of pictures so grab a cuppa and hope you get something out of it.

First up I want to show you how to fix up images and create clear backgrounds to overlay images easily. Most of Make it Crafty's images are already set up to go but there may be times you need to do this - for instance if you want to "clear" windows to put an image on the other side like in this example.

When you open up the image you will notice that part the background is a blue and white check - this means it will be clear when you overlay it onto something else. Where the image shows white behind the lines the image is opaque and will block out anything it overlays. To make my windows "clear" I select the magic wand tool and move it to the area I want to clear - I've circled it in red in the photo to above. Left click once your wand is in place and you will notice the selected area turns blue. Hit the delete button to clear all the blue areas.

You can see here I've done both windows as the blue and white check has replace the white background. Save your image in a .png format ready to use. NOTE - if you save in anything other than a .png format the white background will reappear.

Sometimes when you use the magic tool you will notice areas you DON'T want to clear change (see red circled areas above left). This is because the image has "open" lines which lets the magic tool in (see photo on right). Sometimes these openings are only a pixel wide so you may need to zoom in to look for them!

A simple fix for this is to select the pencil tool in the colour of your lines and draw a simple line in to close the space. Once the image is coloured you won't even see this line. BE AWARE that some stamp companies classify this as "altering images" though - but Zoe is more than OK for you to do this if you need to with MiC images.

When clearing your background don't forget the little areas - circled in red here. And notice I forgot to close the lines on the newspaper - will go do that.....

Other Tips 

- If you want to add elements into your scene that are facing a different direction to the way they come you have to flip them to suit BEFORE adding to your scene - so just open a new page in your paint.Net, open the image and use the image tab to flip your image either vertically or horizontally. Once you've "saved as" "flipped" in your files you can then import it into your scene.

- Work from back to front as you layer in your elements.

- Make changes to each step of your image before uploading the next element - once you move on you can't  change previous elements without using the "back" key and erasing any subsequent work. And some changes may need to be made and saved prior to uploading as mention before re "flipping".

- I sometimes save scenes "mid-way" and then keep working. It means I have the beginning of a different scene OR a back-up to where I last liked what I had done ;).

- To resize elements just "grab"the edges or corners of your image and "drag" them to the right place. Move elements the same way - with your mouse hovering over the centre of the image.

- Use the ZOOM to get in close to your work if you need too.

- ALWAYS use SAVE AS when saving your work so you don't save over original digis.

And now you know those tips let's create an easy scene!

I want to mix up Paris Elements and Urban Elements to create a romantic backdrop for my image. You need to work from the back to front and so I started with the Eiffle Tower. I opened it up into my paint.NET software and got to work.

The first thing I wanted to do was make the Eiffel Tower look like it was sitting in the distance - so I didn't want it to be as clearly printed as the foreground of my image. I opened the "brightness/contrast" button and set the brightness to 73 which lightened the lines.

Then I needed to increase my canvas size to fit on my other elements. Don't worry if you get it too big - you can crop it down later. Use the "canvas size" button under the image tab to do this. You can check the space you have and your placement of your first image before moving on. If the canvas is too big or small just go back and change it. 

Since I want to overlay my finished scene onto some digital designer paper I made the whole area clear using the "magic tool".

To add in scene elements use the "import from file" button under the "layers" tab. This opens up your files so you can find and load in your next element.

I'm adding in the wall from the Urban Elements (I love this wall!!!). The file for this image is bigger than the canvas you have set up so it makes the canvas bigger to fit. Once again you can crop if you need too AFTER the element is on place.

The wall has now been resized and moved into position and now I have to use the magic tool to clear the left hand side so a white line isn't left when I overlay it later. Just use the tips above to do this if you need too.

I then laid in the footpath from the Urban Elements. This was design to be used as part of a wall so it has cracks going up the wall (red circled areas). I don't have a wall there so cracks would look out of place. I simply used the eraser tool to remove them before continuing on. Once again - BE AWARE that some stamp companies classify this as "altering images" - but Zoe is more than OK for you to do this if you need to with MiC images.

I then start adding in the Paris Building Elements I need to create a stone balustrade. 

I layered in and resized one pillar to suit and then used the "duplicate layer" button to replicate it in the same size so I didn't have to worry about getting it right. The new image is layered in right on top of the orginal you are duplicating so just grab it and move it into place.

 

I then layered in a fancy top and re-sized to make it fit across the pillars

I decided to just add a simple top to the rest of the balustrade but it sat over the wall on the right and overhung my canvas on the left. I simply used the eraser to remove the section sitting across the wall and didn't do anything with the bit on the left - it's removed when you move on.

I adding in a small touch of Ivy to the base of the wall for interest and then popped in my characters. I had flipped this image previously to orientate them the way I wanted. I then saved my image as a .png file to keep the clear background. There are 2 steps to saving - just follow the instructions and "flatten" when asked - this just removes all the layering and turns your work into a single image.

I wanted to cheat a little with my background so used a digital DP that looks a little like a romantic sunset - what more could a young couple in love want in Paris - LOL. And THIS is why I wanted to keep my background clear. To do this simply open up your digi DP and then layer in your image. You can do this in Word too if you like.

And here is the finished card - just needed to do a bit of colouring and embellishment.

I hope you've found this useful.

Make It Crafty Digi Images -

Hints - Flirty Seniors (gentleman only),  Balconies, Doors and Window Elements

Scene - Geeky Love, Eiffel Tower, Paris Building Elements, Creeping Ivy Elements, Urban Street Elements

Note - you can buy the FULL set of Paris Elements HERE

Make it Crafty Chipboard - 

Ornate Corners, Mini Dragonflies

Make it Crafty Rubber Stamps - 

Happy Days Tab Sentiments

Copics Used - Skin (E21, E13, E11, E000, R20, R11) plus E42, E41, E40, E19, E18, E08, 100, T8, T4, T2, T0, Y35, Y15, Y13, Y00, Y000, B99, B97, B95, B93, B91, G28, G24, BG78, YG61, YG01, R24