Bizzy Bec's June Blog Challenge

 I hope you join in our June 2021 Blog challenge.  The theme is the same every month "Anything Goes".  

This month I have used another digital stamp available in the shop.  It is called Boyz will be Boyz - Cody on a Scooter.

Supplies used

Boyz will be Boyz - Cody on a scooter digital stamp
Kraft card base
Timber and soil design paper from my stash
Woodgrain washi tape
Tyre tread washi tape
Bizzy Bec's Ticket Stubs - Birthday 1
Flair from my stash
Coloured pencils

I hope you can join us in June for our Blog Challenge.

Gail xx

1920's Lady 3 Greyscale

Morgan's ArtWorld

This is my first inspiration as a Creative Team member of Morgan's Artworld and what a gorgeous stamp to start my journey with a fantastic team - 1920's Lady 3 Greyscale.  

This image is perfect for my mum's birthday.

I have used a square pearl white card base, a square of Kaisercraft Wandering Ivy patterned paper, some punches for sentiments, a flower and sequins from my huge stash.

If you aren't a member of Morgan's Artworld Facebook Group here is the link (20+) Morgan's ArtWorld | Facebook.  It's a great way to catch up on all the latest new releases and the Creative Team are always on board with inspiration.

The Creative Art Designs shop link is here and if you want to follow Sherry's Pick of the week in the shop there is a discount code you can use for her picks.

I would like to thank Morgan and Sherry for giving me the opportunity to join the Creative Team of Morgan's Artworld.

See you soon,

Gail

I am entering Classic Design Challenge Blog : Classic Design Challenge 5th Birthday April # 4

Sandra Caldwell Stamps - 1st Digi Release Day for June 2019

I am so excited to be doing a Guest spot with Sandra Caldwell again.  I love her digis and this month there is so many I will be buying to add to my rather huge collection lol.  I chose to work with
 #2916 Birthday Fun.

You can never have enough birthday cards on hand, right.

#2916 Birthday Fun is available at babycakesdnd Etsy Shop.  While you are there check out the other new releases.

#2919 Flamingo Bikini

#2915 Going My Way

#2918 Fruity Cat

#2914 Grandpa Pete

Thanks for letting me show you my inspiration for Sandra's latest release and don't forget she has some other great digis in the Etsy shop and her Zibbet store as well.  If you are like me, you won't stop at just one.

I would like to thank Sandra for giving me the opportunity to help her wonderful Design Team showcase the June releases.  Yes, I said releases, so come back later in the month and you will see more inspiration for the second release, more great images from the talented Sandra Caldwell.

I am entering:

https://outlawzchallenges.ning.com/group/friday-color/forum/topics/festive-friday-s-challenge-june-14th-through-june-27th

https://colourcrazychallenge.blogspot.com/2019/06/week-23-anything-goes-colouring.html

https://bizzybecsstore.blogspot.com/2019/06/june-challenge.html

AAA Cards Clean & Simple Challenges 5th Birthday

Happy Birthday to AAA Cards Clean & Simple Challenges and Congratulation on 5 Years.  Here is my inspiration for a birthday card for Game #141

For this CAS card I have used washi tape, a left-over sentiment from a Scrapmatts Retreat Make & Take project and the flower I have coloured with Copics, is from the set Friends Like You, from one of my favourite flower digi companies, Graciellie Design.

Come and join in the birthday fun!




There are lots of sponsors and lots of ways to win prizes on this birthday hop.

I have entered:

https://aaacards.blogspot.com/2019/05/cas-game-141-our-5th-birthday-bash.html?fbclid=IwAR3e7gUhX4b7cwam8L9vbZnp6fcQaNFNj3Vlr1hVqV-QsdArZKjP6DtdKd0

A Day for Daisies "Flowers in my Garden"

A birthday card using A Day for Daisies "Flowers in my Garden".  Of course I have coloured this image with my favourite technique, Copics.  Not a day goes past without me having a Copic marker in my hand, especially at night while in front of the television watching my husband's favourite shows, not mine.  It is so easy to get out my Copics and colour digital images.


This digital image can be found here

I am entering:

http://creationsinpink.blogspot.com/2019/05/challenge-10-anything-goes-in-mainly.html

https://hereisaplacetostart.blogspot.com/2019/05/may-mid-month-inspiration-showcase-your.html

The Outlawz Sketch Challenge 17-30 April 2019

Stuck for a layout for a card, why not take a look at The Outlawz Wednesday Sketch Challenge and enter your project as well.  

This is my interpretation of this fortnight's sketch, using a digi our team received on a recent Alicia Bel challenge.

The name of the digi is "Hawaiian Dance".  If you want to join in with the fun of Alicia's challenges, join her Facebook Group.

I am entering:

https://outlawzchallenges.ning.com/group/wednesday-sketch/forum/topics/sketch-challenge-april-17-april-30

Cute as a Button April Progressive Facebook Challenge

This is the image for the Cute as a Button April 2019 progressive challenge which is on the group's Facebook's page.  The image this month is https://cuteasabuttonstamps.com/products/digital-digi-stamps-big-eyed-digis-img000202-enjoying-the-rain-by-francesca-lopez

I am entering the Progressive challenge and:

https://cuteasabuttonchallenge.blogspot.com/2019/04/welcome-to-challenge-43.html

A Daughter's Birthday card

For this birthday card I have used Power Poppy's Dahlia digital stamp to create this card.

I am entering:

http://creationsinpink.blogspot.com/2019/04/challenge-9-anything-goes-in-mainly-pink.html

http://allsortschallenge.blogspot.com/2019/04/week-515516-blossoms-butterflies-bugs.html

Some Odd Girl - 12 days of Colouring

Well it's Day 8 of the Some Odd Girl 12 Days of Colouring challenge on the Facebook Group and we have all been colouring like mad women possessed.  In fact, between family life and craft life, I have not had enough time to even show you some of my colouring on the blog.

So today I thought I would share Day 8.  I have used Swoon Dakota, coloured with Copics and fussy cut, then placed on a stencilled background with foam dots.  I stamped the sentiment straight onto the stencilled mat.

If you are not a member of the Some Odd Girl Facebook Group, you should check it out.  Some Odd Girl puts on these fun challenges and you don;t even have to complete a project in the one day.  You only have to show a WIP project with progress made each day and then start a new one.

Some Odd Girl is getting together an ATC swap which I am looking forward to as well, haven't done many of them this year and it could be an ongoing thing, with only one ATC required each swap - EASY!

I am entering:

http://modsquadchallenge.com/stencil-your-background/

http://www.thehousethatstampsbuilt.com/designers-choice-challenge/dcc43-use-a-stencil/

Power Poppy Creative Confetti Thank You Challenge

This is my entry for the Power Poppy Thank You Card challenge.  

The theme this week was to create a simple card that could be mass produced.  I have used the Forget-me-not heart digital set for my cards.


I am also entering:

Digi Choosday Challenge Wk13 - Anything Goes
Creative Moments #165 challenge

SheepSki Designs February 2019 Blog Challenge "All you Need is Love"

For the inspiration for our February 2019 Blog Challenge theme "All you need is Love",  I chose Little Heart.

This image has been very popular with our team, along with Ready for Christmas.

I also added to the card Flutterby, an earlier image from Andrea.  I came up with the sentiment myself, thinking this would be a nice card for a small boy to give to his Mum for Valentine's Day or anytime for that matter.  I used some washi tape, a bit hard to see in the photo because it is a shiny gold and black.  I also added a small Aussie business, Charms Creations.

I hope you enjoyed my inspiration for "All you Need is Love" and be sure to join in on our Blog Challenge in February.

AND DON'T FORGET TO USE OUR DISCOUNT CODE FOR ANY PURCHASES FROM OUR ETSY STORE


                                             SKIANDREA10

SheepSki Designs January 2019 Blog Challenge

The theme for our January 2019 Blog Challenge is "New and/or Old".  For this interpretation of the theme I chose a NEW image I purchased recently from SheepSki Designs Etsy Shop.  It is called "Curley"  Don't forget whenever shopping at our Etsy shop, use this code to save 10% off your order.


                                                       SKIANDREA10


I chose to use "Curley" on an Anniversary card to a husband.

Don't forget the Blog challenge starts on 1st January and goes right through to the end of the month, so you have plenty of time to enter.

Also stop by our Facebook Group;  if you aren't a member, join today.  In the group, you will be the first to catch up on the SheepSki Designs new releases.

MKC Digitals - Designer's Choice 11th December 2018

My Designer's Choice for December is "Sunflower Mug".  I decided to make a thank you card for a teacher with this beautiful image.

I those pink shades for the sunflowers, using a simple background paper and a doily.  Unfortunately, our website is still down for maintenance, so keep an eye in the group for when it re-opens so you can grab this digi.  It is so versatile you could use it for anything.

Ericraft Stamps - "Reindeer Laying Down"

Here is a new release from Ericraft Stamps for Christmas 2018.

It is a bit hard to see with the gold lettering shining on the camera, but the stickers at the top left say "Joy to the World".  "Reindeer Laying Down" is available in the Etsy shop and while you are there check out the Sale Section where all the new releases are discounted for a short time.  Also don't forget we have some other Chrissie digis in the Christmas section too. 

If you aren't a member of Ericraft Stamps Facebook Group we would love to have you join us.

The Outlawz Challenges - November 2018 Progressive

This month's progressive challenge presents us with "Snowman Couple" from Drawn by Krista.  Be sure to check out Krista's Facebook page as well as her Etsy shop.

https://www.facebook.com/drawnbyKrista/

https://www.etsy.com/shop/DrawnwithCharacter?fbclid=IwAR1Dbox5DcZlhwvGpD0JpvK_boFV3dP86Ih809UQpCD6uGzL1uloUKauw4Q&section_id=18859315

This is my entry for the challenge

MKC Digitals - Black Friday Freebie with purchase

Wow look at this great deal from MKC Digitals

This is the image you get when you spend $5.00 or more.  Here is my inspiration for this digi.

Get into the shop before this deal ends on Cyber Monday.  You won't get a better deal than this - don't forget the code - you will save heaps and spend over $5.00 and get Foxy's Christmas Trees as a bonus.

"Unicorn Onesie" by Ericraft Stamps

Well there is a bit of a story to this Christmas card. 

I coloured "Unicorn Onesie" with Copics and I thought I would enhance a little of the lip line on Erica's image. Well I am no artist and it was a complete failure. I wasn't sure what was happening with this creation until I thought of what to do with my botch. I thought what might cause this redness around your mouth at Christmas. . . an addiction to candy canes of course! Well it's possible if you are a sloppy sucker, please friends, work with me here on this scenario! So this is the result - Erica, I promise I won't deface your images again!

This image is available in the Ericraft Shop on Etsy and is still at the special new release price, but be quick.  

Ericraft Stamps also has a group on Facebook.  We would love to see you join, so you can keep up to date with all the new releases.

Sandra Caldwell Stamps - Second November 2018 release

I just love the second release of Sandra's images for November 2018.  There is such a varied range to choose from, some great Christmas ones, as well as others you could use for any occasion.

Here is my inspiration using #2480 Elf Fairy

Isn't he a cutie.  I hope you will check out Sandra's shop.  There are 648 images to choose from and just saying, I might have about 197 at the moment, with no sign of stopping.  I love Sandra's images and so will you.

Don't forget to join her Facebook Group too.

I would like to thank Sandra for giving me the opportunity to be a Guest Designer on her team and also to thank the Design Team for their support and encouragement over this month.

Incy Wincy Designs Challenge

The theme over at Incy Wincy Designs for the 3rd Monday in November is ONLY SQUARE CARDS.  Thank you to Heather from Incy Wincy for the guest spot.

Here is my inspiration for a square card using an image from our sponsor StarStampz.  This image is called "Thanksgiving Harvest Chibi" and is such a versatile image, it does not have to be used just for Thanksgiving.  We do not celebrate Thanksgiving as such here;  we are always thankful for the country we live in and as my card shows very thankful for our friends, so I guess we celebrate Thanksgiving all year round lol.

Thank you for stopping by and don't forget to join in the Incy Wincy Blog Challenge.  There is a new challenge on the 1st and 3rd Monday of every month.

MKC Digitals - Digi Stamp Week 18-23 November 2018

Mari asked the Design Team to create a project showcasing what we love about digital stamps or something you can do with digital stamps that you can’t do with traditional stamps. So that is what we will be doing this week, showcasing the versatility of digital stamps.

I am first cab off the rank, so here goes. When I first heard of digital stamps on Facebook, I thought no not for me, I am too old for this technical stuff. Self-taught on the computer, managed to hold down quite a few jobs using the computer but this digital stuff; you've got to be kidding.

Well I can't remember just when or what changed by mind, but I am hooked. I love how you can resize, twist, crop, but my most favourite is merging and recently paper piecing using digital paper.

When I play with my digis I always use Publisher, I know - why, when you can just do it in Word. Well I have always used Publisher for newsletters for various groups over the years, and I only ever used Word for letters, documents etc.

Well enough of that, OK, merging is fun. I am no expert on it but as long as you put down a .jpg image and then a .png image and merge the two as if they were meant to be together, you've got a scene. This can also be done with 2 .png images as long as the .png images are not transparent behind the actual image. From what I have found the image has to be solid but the background is transparent. I could be wrong, you can correct me, I am only a beginner.

I have just looked through my folder for examples. Here is a good example of 3 single images before Mari's relaunch, merged together to make a scene. When you have the images on your working page you can use the send backward or bring forward feature to get the scene to your liking.

Paper Piecing with digital papers I have only recently played with. I have bought digital papers and even found freebies in the past to use as backgrounds and just printed them off separately, until I discovered I could place the paper down and then the image over it, not needing to print separately unless I wanted the image foam taped over the paper. Now I know that is technically merging, but here is where the paper piecing comes into it. As I said before, some .png have transparent backgrounds only, but others can have another portion transparent in it, or you can even use a photo editing program and make parts of the .png image transparent to be able to paper piece. If you go to your purchased images and move your mouse over them, there might be some there already. I have just done it with mine and found one example. Little Snowman with Cocoa, has a transparent part in the inside of the cup; this part can be paper pieced and I did it recently on my "Old is New Again" post. In my following examples, I have changed parts of Mari's image to be transparent so I can paper piece. Whatever photo editing program you have, you can Google for help if you can't find it in the program. Sometimes I prefer to Google it because the instructions are easier to understand when other people have done it, rather than rely on your photo-editing program to tell it simply. That is what I did for the free program I use - GIMP2. I don't understand much of it, but I use it to add my watermarks and now for paper piecing. I am learning a bit more technology through digital stamps. I just have to find the bits of paper I write on when working out these revelations, so I can do it again.

Flower 1 (top right) has transparent leaves already, so I placed some digital paper under the leaves. Pumpkin and Flower (top left) I modified in GIMP2 to be able to put some digital paper behind the pumpkin. Fall Floral Jar (bottom right) has been modified to put digital paper behind the vase and of course last but not least, Fall Floral Jar and Fall Floral Arrangement have been MERGED over the top of some digital paper with an added sentiment from the Fall Sentiment Collection. This can be done because the background around the images is transparent.

Here is my finished card with the last example, coloured using the Colour Palette for our Facebook Challenge in our Group page.

Now here is Flower 1 with the leaves paper pieced. It is a small gift card with the flower lifted by foam tape.

Some more examples using digital paper under images are shown below using Pumpkin Spice. In the first one I have paper pieced and in the second one, I have paper pieced and added the sunflower from Fall Floral Arrangement. I inserted the image, cropped it and resized it to hide the pumpkin, printed, coloured and cut around the petals, placing it over the finished coffee cup with foam tape.

I do think merging and paper piecing is easier with digital stamps than what it is with traditional stamping; do you agree?

Thank you reading my blog about my experience with the digital stamp world. This must be the longest post I have ever done.

I hope you will continue reading the other MKC Digitals DTs' posts on why they like digital stamps.

The list of the DT links and dates are below.

19th - Tania

20th - Charlotte

21st - Jane

22nd - Claudia

23rd -K M Meena

See you next time and enjoy your digital stamps!