Sizing Digital Stamps to Suit Your Project

Recently on Facebook a friend posed the question - "What size do you print your digis?".  I must admit I was rather surprised how many people responded with a specific size as I nearly always size to suit the project I am working on - this is one of the joys of a digi image - you aren't restricted to one size! Since I have a fairly simple technique for choosing what size to use I thought I would share - but be warned - I'm a visual person so there are lots of pictures.

I use Microsoft Word to import my photos in to print and I discovered that if I set the screen to show the page at 100% then what prints out is fairly close to the size on the screen. This works out well with my computer but it may pay to check with yours - you can always change the size on your screen by using the slider at the bottom to change the percentage.
 

Now it's time to insert the image you want - I've chosen this cute angel from Make it Crafty. When she opens up she is nearly 12cm (~5") tall.

Unfortunately this is too big if I want to use this Spellbinder frame in my project - so I hold the frame up to the computer screen and drag the corner of the image to re-size to fit.

Then I thought I may use a round Spellbinder so I pop the one I want over the image and it's too small so I need to re-size to fit so I drag the corner to make it bigger.

That's better - now she fits!

I also use this method if I want to use a particular frame like this chipboard one from Make it Crafty. Please note I have left the extra chipboard in the frame to protect it - I'll be sure to remove it before I use it on my project.

Here are my angels in all three sizes to suit my different frames.

The other thing I use my frames for is to format the images on my page for printing so I give myself enough space around to cut them out after printing.

I also use my screen to work out if I have space to print an image onto a scrap of paper if I'm only printing one image - I hold the scrap over the image - you can see it peering through faintly. I like to use all the scraps I can - LOL.

And here they are printed and cut out using the different sizes.

I managed to card up one of the gals - here she is - the largest one set into the Circle Flourish Frame.

I hope this has been a little bit of help to someone - please ask if you have any questions.

Make it Crafty Products -
Angel Singing Carols
Circle Flourish Frames
Swirly Corners Chipboard 

Copics Used - Skin (E21, E11, E000, R20, R11) plus E44, E43, E42, E41, Y28, Y19, Y00, Y0000, YR14, B0000  
 

Back to School in La La Land

This week at La La Land Crafts we are heading back to school. I find this a bit strange as here in Australia our school year is nearly 3/4 over - LOL. Our kids start a new school year after our long Summer holidays over Christmas.

I wanted to make a little backpack so went in search of a tutorial and found THIS one for a backpack mini album - such a cute idea! I did change some of the imstructions and the measurements slightly to suit my needs - my backpack is 1/2" wider that the one in the tutorial and the front pocket is only for show and doesn't open.

When you open up the backpack you can see all of Luka's stationary ready for use!

Inside the album there are 8 pages. I've used some school based DP from Fancy Pants Design to decorate my pages - I just need to add in some photos and embellishments to finish it off - although my son is 14 now so I may gift this to someone who will appreciate it - LOL

The back of the pack has some cord straps to finish it off.

La La Land Products - 

Back to School Luka

Filigree Corner Die

Copics Used - 

Skin - E21, E11, E000, R20, R11

Hair - E44, E43, E42

Clothes - BG57, BG53, BG49, C8, C6, C5, C4, C0, Y28, Y26

Apple - R46, R43, G24, E44

Skateboard - 100, C6, C4, R46, R43

Ruler - E43, E42

Colouring with an Iron On

A while ago I saw some cute T-shirts appearing around FB with iron-on images using digi stamps. I had it in mind to make something for my great niece when she was born last December but never got around to it! Recently I saw Trudie's fabulous new tutorial on how to do this with wonderful hints and tips HERE and I was all inspired again to give it a go. I bought a little white tee and purple short set to play with from K-Mart. 

I used Mo Manning's gorgeous new ballerina image Odette to play with - I figured I could get away without too many strong colours on my first attempt at this technique! I found a quote I liked to add as the sentiment and used WordArt to add it to the image before printing off - and like Trudie says - make sure you print off your words backwards so they are the right way round once you've ironed on your image!!!

And here she is close up - there are a couple of spots where the colour bled past the lines but that just adds to the hand coloured effect - well that's what I'm telling myself anyhow - LOL. Also I found the blending isn't as smooth as when you use blending paper - but that just adds to the challenge.

I painted on some Jo Sonja Opal Dust for some glitter - this works well on fabric but I did have to grab the hair-dryer out so my copic ink didn't bleed as it was quite wet going on - and make sure you have something sandwiched between the front and back of your tee to stop any unwanted marks going through.

The one thing I hope is that my iron on media has the same qualities as the one Trudie used as there are several different ones on the market - in particular I hope it stands up to washing - I guess time will tell...

Copics Used - Skin (E21, E11, E000, R20, R11) plus V17, V15, V12, V01, V0000, E35, E33, E31, E08

Magnolia Down Under Challenge #161

This week at Magnolia Down Under Challenges we are asking you to be "All Stitched Up" - so use real or faux stitching on your project. I haven't pulled my sewing machine out for a while so once I did I decided to go a little crazy and do some free-arm stitching to add texture to the background of the circular panel. I then sat Tilda doing her own bit of sewing in front of it. I also stitched the edges of the other panels.

The DP I used is designed our very own MDUC teamie Denise and is available from Meg's Garden. The chipboard elements I used - (the bird and birdcage, and Tilda's seat) - are from Scrapmatts.

Don't forget to check out the rest of the amazing inspiration from the MDUC DT on our BLOG.

Copics Used - Skin (E21, E11, E000, R20, R11) plus E57, E55, E53, YR31, YR30, R24, G24, T4, T0

Make It Crafty Tutorial Release Blog Hop

Zoe's excited to be releasing another colouring tutorial and it is on a topic that everyone always seems to want to improve... 'Colouring long hair in fine detail!'

When Zoe was trying to decide on an image that would be perfect for this tutorial she just knew she had to contact the gorgeous Krista Smith from Saturated Canary. And... excitingly Krista has illustrated and generously donated the perfect character exploding with big luscious hair full of layers and bumps! Just perfect for you to learn all of Zoe's little secrets to colouring finely detailed hair.

We thought it would be fun to have a little hop (and a few give aways of course) where the fabulous MiC girls and Krista have followed Zoe's tips and tricks to colouring long straight hair.

The major thing to remember is - we ALL colour differently and once you've popped your image onto some pretty papers and embellished it everything looks a little bit different and the overall effect is what you want on your finished project - so don't be discouraged - we're all on a constant learning curve.

I know mine doesn't look anything like Zoe's - although there are glimpses of single strands if you look really close. The main thing is I tried it out and it is a technique that requires practice practice practice. I need to lighten my heavy handed approach to the "flicks" so I don't end up blending what I have done to soften the look. But at least by trying I know what I need to concentrate on next time!

Here is the hop list in case there are some broken links along the way.....

1. Alyce
2. Debbie {ME}
3. Franz
4. Sheila
5. Krista
6. Delphine
7. Sandie
8. Julie
9. Ruby
10. Tracy
11. JennD
12. Zoe

Copics used - (I have gone for different colours to Zoe)

Skin - E21, E11, E000, R20, R11

Lips -  R24, R11

Hair - 100, E29, E08, YR04, YR00

Plus - W5, W3, W2, G24, G21, G20, R39

DP is designed by my friend Denise Ann and available from Meg's Garden (mini papers)

Buttons and Bows in La La Land

This week at La La Land Crafts we are using buttons and bows on our creations. I had this idea to use the Carousel svg cut file from LLLC and turn it into a stage for Ballerina Marci. Once I started I thought it would be pretty cute to set up a little chorus-line of Marci's - and I must admit I'm pretty happy with how it all turned out. I didn't use the decorative panels from the carousel cut file as I thought it would look more like a stage without them.

I used a die to create my bow and centre a button in the middle, and then created a sentiment/sign for my little ballet class.

Don't forget to check out the rest of the fabulous inspiration from the LLLC DT on our BLOG.

La La Land Products -
Ballerina Marci

Carousel SVG File

Bow Die from Lil Inkers Designs

Copics Used

Skin - E21, E11, E000, R20, R11

Clothes - R22, R20, R00, R000, W3, W2, W00

Dark Hair - E57, E37, E35

Medium Hair - E35, E33, E31, E08

Light Hair - Y21, E53, E33, E11

Time for Some Christmas Fun

With September fast approaching I hate to say but there have been Christmas decorations starting to appear in some of our shops - aaaaagh! I must admit it gave me a scare and made me realise it was time to start making my Christmas cards! Of course Mo Manning's adorable ornament elves have always been a favourite of mine so were the perfect place to start. This little guy is Little Elf Finn.

I've framed him with a lasercut chipboard clock from Scrapmatts and I used the clock hands to embellish the bottom corner. The red branches are also from Scrapmatts and add a fun dimension to my project.

Copics used - Skin (E21, E11, E000, R20, R11) plus E44, E43, E42, E40, C2, C00, R39, R27, R22, G28, G24, G21, G20, YR27, Y35

Mo Manning's Parade

I just love this little gal, she's by Mo Manning and is called Waiting for the Parade. With the recent Olympic Games we've seen a lot of flag waving and excited kids and it just seemed like a fun time to colour her up while I was still in the groove. I paper pieced the doll's flag and pinwheel and cut a matching 3D mini pinwheel  using a die from Lil Inker Designs to embellish my card. 

Copics Used - Skin (E11, E00, E000, R20, R11) plus B97, B34, B21, R85, R39, R27, YR31, E50, E33, E31, C2, C0, C00

Yellow, White and Grey in La La Land

This week in La La Land we are using yellow, white and grey to work with. When I saw the colour combo it reminded me of the colours of my children's primary school uniforms so I decided to create accordingly. I have also been wanting to give the "no lines" technique another outing. The softness this technique gives the image is so worth the extra effort it takes to colour - it's amazing how much we rely in those dark lines for guidance and to differentiate between the areas. To achieve this look you need to use a pale ink for stamping or - if you're using a digi image - you have to edit the colour of the lines to a light grey before printing.

Don't forget to check out the La La Land Crafts Blog for more amazing inspiration from the DT.

La La Land Products

Backpack Marci

Heart Tree Die (used as a doily)

Copics Used 

Skin - W2, E11, E00, E000, R83, R20, R11

Hair - E43, E42, E41, E40

Clothes - W7, W5, W3, W2, W00, YR23, Y19, Y11, Y08

Bag - E43, E42, E41, W5, W2, W1

Apple - G24, G21, R27, R22, R17

Birthday Boy

As soon as I saw this cutie from Make it Crafty I knew he was a "have to have". I really need more fabulous boy images in my collection and he is just fabulous - I love the way he seems to be popping out of the page. His name is "Peter Peek-a-Boo" for obvious reasons. He reminded me of the way I used to hide away when it was time for people to sing Happy Birthday to me - I even ended up under the table in tears on occasion - LOL.

I have been wanting to make one of these candle cards for a LOOOOOONG time and was amazed how easy it was - although I had to change the candle box dimensions to fit my novelty candles. 

And here he is with the candles in the "cake". A little trick - a couple of the holes I cut for the candles were too big to hold the candle up straight - so I squeezed some Tombow mono multi glue (in the green and white bottle) into the holes and let it dry. This glues dries clear but tacky so it adds a bit of grip to keep the candles in place.

You can find the tutorial for this style of card HERE.

Make it Crafty Image - Peter Peek-a-Boo

Copics used - Skin (E11, E00, E000, R20, R11) plus E19, E08, YR07, YR04, YR02, B97, B34, B32, G40, G28, G24, G21, G20, R39, W2, W1, W00