Easel card for a challenge.

     Hey, long time no see >.< Sorry about that. I have been working on a card for my college students and three have been mailed, but I forgot to take photos of them (hurrying to get those out the door, my son comes home on Friday, Yippeee!) Should have more of them done soon and then I'll post those (only 11 more to go, hee hee.) They are cocoa cards.

     Today's card is for the Progressive Challenge over at Crafter's Digital Art Center (here.) This is the last leg of this group of the Progressive, so you can get in the next round, if you would like to join. We get they greatest images to work with and the next group is free as long as you use one from the current group in a project within the challenge period (usually 2 weeks.) The first group is free and if you missed the first group you can join in for $1 and as I said we will be starting with a new first group on March 1st.

     From the title, you can tell todays' card is also an easel card ;- ) You are a quick group!  I used the image provided by A Day For Daises which is perfect for a card for my best friend from grammar school's daughter. I colored in in PhotoShop Elements. The only thing fancy was a multi-bristle brush you would find in the Assorted Brushes at the bottom left. It kind of looks like half a squiggly doodled spider, LOL. I used that with hair highlights and lowlights and dabbed or stippled with it on a base colored hair to make the hair look more realistic. I just kind of messed around with it until I got something I liked. You have to love that undo button. Only remember with doing this dabbing you can only undo so far (depending on how many levels of undo you have set) and you might dab a lot of times, if you use a small brush which will look better.

     The solid color papers are from Core'dinatiions and the pattern paper is from Paper Studio's Four Seasons paper pack, which is available at Hobby Lobby and has so many great patterns. I cut the scalloped circle with Quick Kutz Nesting Circle Dies, but I cut the circle with the Martha Stewart Circle Cutter, because I didn't want a circle as large as the one that came with the Quick Kutz set. For the oval sentiment I used Nestabilities Large Oval and Large Scalloped Oval. I inked the card edges and the image with Dusty Concord Distress Ink. The image also has some Tumbled Glass Distress Ink on it. I wanted to know back some of the starkness of the white. The sentiment is from Hero Arts Sweet Wonderful You and is stamped with Tumbled Glass Distress Ink. The ballet slippers with the bow is a free SVG from SVG Cuts, which I used Sure Cuts A Lot 2 and my Expression to cut. They have lots of free images and the ballet slippers are still available here.  You can check out SVG Cuts here. There is a link to the Sure Cuts A Lot software on my sidebar. I inked the edges of the ballet slippers and the bow with a Copic to give it more dimension and popped up the bow.

     Thanks for fluttering by today. I'm really glad that you were here. I do love reading your comments. Please leave one before you go ;- ) Have a wonderfully creative week!

Progressive Challenge for chocolate and book lovers.

     Today's post is another bookmark using a Bugaboo freebie image from Creative Digital Arts Center's (CDAC) Progressive Challenge. You can join this series for $1 here and as long as you participate, the next set of images are free. I colored the image in PhotoShop Elements and got the reflective effect on the glasses by using the plastic wrap effect that's available in the Filters in PhotoShop. The print fabric was made by using the Abstract Flower brush which comes in PhotoShop. The background paper is Jenni Bowlin's Brown and Cream Collection from Core Impressions. I sanded it to bring out the design. The sentiment was done digitally in PhotoShop as well using the font SNF Jester Curls. You can find Scrap N Fonts here. I inked both the image and the sentiment (the sentiment more heavily) to knock down the whiteness of the paper with Tea Dye Distress Ink. I think this will make a great gift for a friend, shhhh ;- )

     Thanks for dropping in and checking out my newest challenge entry. Hope you had a great day. Please leave a comment before you go. they really make my day ;- )

Still no elves in sight, but here is a card ;- )

     Today's card uses the image for the Progressive Challenge at the Crafter's Digital Art Center. The image is by Doodle Pantry.  I colored it digitally in PhotoShop. I've been thinking I will do a tutorial on coloring images in PhotoShop some time soon. Maybe after the holidays, if people are interested ;- ) The font I used for the sentiment is LD Leaves from Lettering Delights. I have an affiliate link to their site on the side bar to the right. I plan on completing the card as a gift card holder inside, as soon as I decide to whom it is going and have purchased the gift card. The papers are DCWV's Lemon Flower Stack. Love the glittery paper in this stack ;- ) The flower in her hair, is a button I picked up at JoAnn's.

     Well, this is a short one because I, like all of you, am busy with Christmas stuff and am trying to make Christmas cards (a first time for me and... HAPPY DANCE... my son finish his finals tomorrow, so is coming home from college, Yipppeee!

     Thanks for flying by during all you holiday preparations. Please leave a comment before you go, they really mean so much to me. Have a super creative rest of the week!

I think I'm ahead, only to find I'm behind ;- (

     I started out thinking I was doing so well. I had finished a tag for the Progressive Challenge at Crafter's Digital Art Center on Saturday, but it was dark when I took the photo and I never got one taken on Sunday and by the time we got back from taking my son back to college, I was too tired to post, so I just figured I re-take the photo during the day today. Still, it isn't due until the 30th and I was done on the 26th and could have gotten it there if I had to. Such an accomplishment. That along with finishing my Aunt's card, mailing her gift and working like crazy on the house, because we have a huge Christmas party coming up on Sat. and my hubby is still recuperating and can't lift over 15 lbs. (How heavy are your Christmas boxes? Mine are a lot heavier than 15 lbs.) Now, I know my neighbor just had a death in the family and that will be 3 cards to make, but I have a bit of a grace period on that, so I think I'm doing pretty good and then.... I remember, just before writing this, that today is the anniversary of some dear friends of ours, so dear that they are coming all the way from Kansas to the Christmas party (Kansas City to Chicago is a looonnng way for 1 evening's visit.) Not only that, tomorrow is another friend's daughter's birthday. I didn't miss the birthdays of either of her sisters :-0 Wait .... what happened, everything was going so well? Maybe this is why the tag is done early!!! and my house is partial decorated!!! and my family room has been dusted!!!

     The tag uses an image by Tracy from Sugar Creek Hollow and the challenge and info on it can be found here. She reminded me of a partridge. I colored her digitally and printed her twice, cutting off her tail, legs and top feathers for the top image. The top image was edged with Zig Gold Painty marker and  sprayed with Crafter's Companion's Iridescent spray, which of course doesn't photograph well. The tail and top feathers on the bottom layer are actually inked with Distress Inks. I hadn't colored them because I didn't know I was going to cut it out like that until I did ;- ) The pattern papers are both freebie papers from Papercraft Inspirations. They have lots of great freebies. check out there site here. The tree came from issue 91 and is called Crafty Orchard and the music paper is from issue 93 and is All Join In. The golden yellow cardstock is Core'dinations and it was embossed with Birds and Swirls by Cuttlebug. The sentiment is from Clear Dollar Stamps and was sprayed with Yellow Daisy Glimmer Mist. My favorite part is the ribbon, which you can barely see. It's very shimmery and silky. I was inspired to do a tag by Sue at http://scrumplescrunch.blogspot.com/ who was doing the 12 tags of Christmas Challenge. Now she is in a class way beyond me, but that's where inspiration comes from ;- )

     Now on to my Aunt's card. I'll re-fresh your memory with the outside photo, but you can go here for the info on it. I just wanted to show you how I finished off the inside.

     The stamped and embossed image at the top is actually an unmounted stamp. I wanted to give a tip that to use one, that you hadn't gotten around to mounting (I'm not sure that ever has happened to anyone ;- ), but you can use re-possionable adhesive on the mounting block to attach the stamp. That stamp was a gift with purchase and isn't marked so I don't know whose it is. The Happy Birthday is from Scrappy Cat. After I took the picture, I added a gift stamped with blue chalk ink in the huge white space. The gingerbread men were colored over with a glitter gel pen.

     And finally, (I know you thought this would go on forever and it's not over yet) here are a few photos of the gift I sent my Aunt. We found this at a craft fair in Sept.  and this artist had so many lovely pieces in a huge variety of sizes. This is made of clay and the petals are very soft. 

      Thanks for making it through today's post. I'm sure you  have so much to do too ;- ) If you have any time left, please leave a comment. It means so very much to me to know you were here. Have a great week and remember to do something creative that you enjoy!  

My 2nd Progressive Challenge Entry... bookmark.

     If you follow my blog, you may remember that I'm participating in a progressive challenge over at Crafter's Digital Art Center (CDAC). "How does the CDAC Progressive Challenges work? The CDAC Progressive Challenge is a proactive freebie challenge. What that means is as long as you are proactive by making and submitting cards to this challenge you will continue to get freebies offered in a large variety of styles. These images are created by the artists that have groups here on CDAC and by those that participate in the CDAC drawing Challenges. This is a fun way to get and use fabulous images that will be offered during these challenges." You can join in the middle or if you miss a time by paying $1 for the images at that point. Find all of the info here. All of the images for this round were kind of back-to-school related. I really didn't have a card to make using those type of images and they weren't really what I needed for my college students, so I decided to make a bookmark for my neighbor. She is a big Elvis fan and, it's hard to see but the small book says, Gigi, which is what her Grandchildren call her. I colored the image and added the titles in PhotoShop Elements. I used Core'dinatons, with a white core for the main piece and embossed it with Sizzix Texturz Starter Kit's plate called Dashes, because they kind of looked like books. I used a sandpaper block to bring out the embossing. I matted the image with a green pattern paper from my scraps, that I'd gotten at Hobby Lobby and some reddish scrap cardstock. I used the Martha Stewart circle cutter to cut out the image.

Click on image to make it larger.

     Now I'd thought I'd get more done today, because, well, it's only a bookmark, but when putting the blade in the circle cutter, it popped out of it's blade protector and slashed my finger, Yowie! As  you can see, I got no blood on the image, he he, but bleed I did. So, a bandaged fingertip, makes for awkward, crafting, including this typing BTW ;- ) So, hopefully with a smaller bandage, it's back to creating tomorrow. You should come and join us at CDAC, we'd love to have you.Thanks for stopping by and please leave a comment, so that I know you were here. I'm sooo happy to hear from you. Have a wonderfully creative week.

Tiny Dancer!

     This card was made for the progressive challenge at Crafter's Digital Art Center (CDAC - find them here)  with the freebie image by WhoopsieDaisy Digital Stamps.  I colored the stamp using Photoshop Elements. I've never colored anything using Elements before and I like how she turned out. The scalloped mat is Core'dinations and the pattern paper is from Basic Grey's Wisteria Stack.  I colored the ribbon with a Copic because I didn't have any dark enough (the color matches better than it appears in the photo, sorry the camera I usually use is in Finland with my husband.) This was the first time I tried to make a pleated ribbon (another first, this is also my first challenge ;- ) All of the tutorials I've seen have you use a hot glue gun, but I decided to try it with Aileen's Tacky glue and it worked fine. The flower is from Creative Charms, just love them.  I stamped the sentiment with Dusty Concord from Ranger and a stamp from Clear Stamps.

     I haven't finished the inside like I usually do, because I'm not sure whom I'm giving this card to. I have a friend whose birthday is coming up, that this card would be great for (ok, now that's the 2nd time I dangled a preposition, it's beginning to annoy me), but I had a different card in mind for her, before I had to finish this image for the challenge. So, maybe I'll just finish this card up for her.

     What would I do differently? Well, I meant to corner round the card, but put the ribbon on the pattern paper, before I remembered and couldn't do it then. I think that would look nice with the ruffles and the flowers. I also thought this image might look nice on a round scalloped card.

     Thanks for stopping by and spending some time with me. Please, leave a comment so that I know you were here. Take some time to be creative today! Have a wonder-filled day.